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Stuart Semple is known for his wry social commentary through his colour injected works. In April 2010, he opened his new show, The Happy House, at Morton Metropolis in London.
Contemporary image-making is rife with critical debate. It always has been, in fact, that's part of its definition, but combine that with an overarching analysis of popular culture, and the consequences of the recent recession, and this result is a new compelling sense of urgency. Following in the footsteps of Andy Warhol, Barbara Kruger and Jeff Koons, Stuart Semple (b. 1980) turns popular culture on its head by critiquing it through its own vernacular, and so themes of disillusionment serve to deconstruct the very world in which we live, producing a series of metanarratives that attempt to redefine our comfort zone. Semple is a pro; he joins aesthetic discourse with the acidic residue of consumerism, which is not only thought provoking, but also serves as an acute reminder to the current state of play.
Semple's latest offering, The Happy House, inspired from Siouxsie & The Banshees' song of the same name (1981) will open at one of London's newest galleries, Morton Metropolis, this April. In his first UK solo exhibition in three years, Semple returns to the city where he first became recognised for his politically charged witticisms, presenting his most personal collection to date. The Happy House offers a glimpse into the artist's past and a much-longed return to his natural colour-fuelled style. Semple's latest series also signals a new era, as he reveals provocatively illustrated works in which his wry social and political observations are entwined on each canvas.
In the aftermath of tumultuous recession and with the general elections looming in Britain, Semple commands the undivided attention of his audience, removing the veil of conformity from the eyes of an idle and meek society. Semple forces viewers to question the extent to which contemporary culture can impact upon everyday lives. In Comfortably Numb there's a sense of sadness, as we say RIP to Borders, Cool Britannia, and even the mixed tape, but there's more to it than that. Ultimately, it's a re-evaluation of our value systems and disengaging appropriated meaning. Semple subverts these systems through a distinct juxtaposition of colour, image and text.
Semple is making images with a purpose; undercutting current trends to engage with the wider social context. Lifting the lid on the state of Britain today, Semple pushes the manipulation of image-making to the extreme; revealing the empowering effect of pictorial demonstrations in an active stand against the "middle of the road" attitude prevalent in today's society and perpetuated through modern media. With programmes like X-Factor propagating the McDonaldisation of popular culture, it's no surprise that Semple is angry about the complacency erupting in every cul-de-sac in Britain. His work shouts loudly and fluently in the language of a young media-soaked generation, depicting a world that is absorbing and exciting, yet precariously underpinned by the concave cycle of daily tabloids, Hollywood films, Facebook, and a little bird called Twitter. From the macro to the micro, the cultures of consumerism operate on many levels; they are almost omnipotent.
For Semple, it is crucial that his work speaks to audiences on an emotional level, inspiring a response that transcends the limits of the work itself and encourages a critical re-evaluation of daily life. In The Happy House the homogenisation of culture is the backdrop for the exhibition. At once, we must question the artifice of the image, and how it intervenes with globalisation and interrogates the associated power structures. Semple does not create work to be consumed along with popular culture but reverses and redefines the power of these memes to reveal a narrative of deeper human interaction.
At Morton Metropolis, Semple's compilation of 10 – 12 large-scale paintings will flow like tracks on the bygone mixed-tape. Alive with intense imagery and a direct humour they make no attempt to obscure meaning.
Your work has been received with great acclaim over the past five years with Fake Plastic Love (2007) and Everlasting Nothing Less (2009) gaining widespread attention, can you tell me how it all began?
I suppose the attention started at the Fake Plastic Love show, which was pretty frightening, putting on a show of that scale would be hard not to notice. I still can't get my head around the fact that 10,000 people came. But it really started in 2000. I started making a lot of work and I wanted to get it out there, so I put it anywhere that would take it – bookshops and cafés. Most of the time nobody bought one. While I was at university (in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park) I got really ill and nearly died – after that the work just kept coming. I started selling these works on eBay, remember in 2000 it was the bare bones of the web; we were still paying by the minute for dial up. But every night I sold three and people would tune in at the same time every night, and before I knew it there was a fledgling online community. I made and sold about 3000 pieces during that time, mostly they sold for £20 – £30, so I wasn't rolling round like an art-star, but the landlord was off my back.
Much of your work is an analysis of popular culture, yet you critique it through its own language, can you tell me more about this decision?
When I think about pop-culture, I think primarily about images, moving images and static images. That's the language I'm fluent in, and while English is a language for me, I think pop is another one; it might even be my first. So it's natural to use that for me. The beauty is that it's a shared language so it's quite efficient at relaying a concept, more so I think than more abstract ways of saying something. The point is that most of that pop-culture world, and the images that surface from it do a really good job of pretending that they reference reality. The fact is that they are manufactured, normally with a goal focused purely on consumption, either of the image itself, a product or lifestyle choice. We start to become what we see, and we assume this environment. We camouflage ourselves to fit in. It's self-fulfilling. The point is that I'm trying to make a definite contribution to image-making, but I'm also trying to be truthful and critical.
What are your main concerns about today's society and how does your work define and explore these anxieties?
My main fear at the moment is one of alienation and a type of ghettoisation, one in which there's a sort of bland, homogenised, middle-class with super safe aspirations. This is what we're told we should be, this is what's perpetuated. Where the fringes are reduced, where we'll all be okay as long as we adopt a certain ideology. Fundamentally it doesn't work like that, we still have a huge amount of poverty in this country, we still have a working class, we are part of a bright and varied community but a lot of it doesn't conform to the ideal, so it's hidden. I like the idea of a glossy West End gallery exhibiting an image of Poundland, and I can show something where people wouldn't normally expect it. I'm so lucky with the gallery actually; they are probably the first I've found that really understands what needs to happen. They are brave; they are as much for the artist and the culture as they are for the collector. You don't normally see that. The art world couldn't be further away from what I'm talking about. The works are about the majority of our population, so it's like the camera angle changes and I hope you see how limited that frame has been for so long. So in the show you see suburbia, where I was bought up, and you see me getting beaten up outside Poundland.
Your work transcends art, as you move between divides in contemporary visual culture, most notably fashion and art, can you tell me more about the fusion of these two worlds?
I can't see a difference anymore. For me, it's about finding a route to voice something, it's still art for me if it's critical. There's no grand plan, so if I need to learn a new skill or jump over a barrier into a neighbouring discipline in order to carry on that's what I do, and I find myself almost organically stepping back. I decided a long time ago that I would do whatever the work needed from me. One day I'll be on my hands and knees with a tiny paint brush for 16 hours and the next I'll be photographing a rock star or going on a mission to a paint lab to get a formula to do what the work requires. I could even have to learn new software or painting techniques. I'm not running the thing; it's totally running me.
I am very interested in finding out more about who your influences are and where your draw your inspiration from?
There are so many and I surround myself with them, in books and music and film. In the past great painters like Van Gogh or Caravaggio, the Pop Art guys: Rauschenberg is a big one, Warhol of course and the Polke. Equally people like Lawrence Weiner or Jenny Holzer for what they do with language. With regards to contemporaries, I get as much inspiration from artists that I don't want to be like, as I do with those I do. I don't like art that's driven by money, I don't like art that's not critical so perhaps in that way my biggest inspirations are Hirst or Murakami, in as much as I think they could say more. But the big one is always the music because music can change the way I feel, it's like a tap into my emotions. Right now I'm listening to a lot of Blur again and the new Eminem album. Actually I think Eminem is really important. I think he might be the greatest, most critical pop artist we've had yet. Dylan, Conor Oberst. Van Gogh has influenced my painting more than anyone else, but I don't think you can see that in my pictures.
The Happy House has been described as your most personal collection to date, how does it differ from earlier shows, say Fake Plastic Love?
Well the other shows look at culture, they are sociological and reference art. This one dives into very personal experiences I've had, the other stuff becomes the context. There's a painting that's a bit like a love song to an ex-girlfriend, there's a time when I got beaten really badly outside Poundland and there's another one called Would the Real Stuart Semple Please Stand Up where there are 10 of me in my granddad's front garden with different phrases on my t-shirts each showing a different aspect of how popular culture has made me what I am. I am a product of popular culture. I'm here because it made me this way. At its grittiest you see me after my allergic reaction, I use the real ECG printout of my flatline, it provides the context for the portrait, it's one of the most shocking and painful things I've ever had to make. This picture is the bit where Frankenstein turns against its creator or the robot with artificial intelligence tries to take over the world.
We're definitely "recessioned out", it has pretty much consumed our daily lives for nearly two years, so how do you feel this event has impacted on your artistic practice?
The art market has undeniably gone through one of its darkest moments, and things have been corrected I think. My practice has changed but not because of the economy, I'm still here doing my thing, plodding on. Perhaps a bit, I'm more aware of economic systems that I was before; I think I took that for granted. The work has interacted with some of those ideas, like the HappyCloud performance from Tate Modern, which was directly about recession. I think artists who had a really big elaborate production line work going on will have been changed more. It was a tough time for everyone; it was like the whole thing was put on pause for a while and nobody, not even the biggest artists and galleries, knew if they'd ever sell work for the prices they did before. I just decided to get my teeth into these pictures and keep going the best I could.
For newcomers to your work, what would you want them to experience; essentially what would you like them to take away?
I don't know, in a perfect world, where I'd really pulled it off. I'd like them to remember the images, I think at least one or two. For me, the sign of a good picture is one I can remember. I can remember seeing a Van Gogh 21 years ago, vividly. There you go, that's a thing to aim for isn't it? A picture someone might remember 20 years later.
Finally, what's next for Stuart Semple?
For once I don't know. There's some work for the Hong Kong Art Fair and I'm collaborating with China's biggest fashion/lifestyle magazine on a project. After that, I'm praying it's going to be a holiday. I never know though from one week to the next, I'll go wherever it takes me.
The Happy House ran between 26 April – 29 May 2010. www.stuartsemple.com.
Cherie Federico


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Vaccination remains the strongest defense against COVID-19. For more information about where you can schedule a vaccine, be tested for COVID-19 or learn more about the virus, visit https://www.bjc.org/coronavirus.
Many women today are waiting until later in life to have children. In the United States, birth rates for women in their 30s are at the highest levels in three decades. However, an older mother may be at increased risk for miscarriage, birth defects, and pregnancy complications such as twins, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and difficult labor and delivery. Some studies show that while there may be a greater likelihood of pregnancy complications in older women, their babies may not have more problems than babies of younger women.
The risk of chromosomal abnormality increases with maternal age. The chance of having a child affected by Down syndrome increases from about 1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25, to about 1 in 100 for a woman who conceives at age 40. It is possible that risks may be higher as many statistics only report live births and do not take into account pregnancies with chromosomal abnormalities that were terminated or ended due to natural pregnancy loss.
In general, after having one child with Down syndrome, the chance of having another baby with Down syndrome is higher. After age 40, the recurrence risk for Down syndrome is based on the age of the mother at delivery. It is important to know that most babies with Down syndrome are born to women under the age of 35. This is because women under the age of 35 have more babies than women over 35. The doctor may refer parents to a genetic specialist or genetic counselor who can explain the results of chromosomal tests in detail, including what the recurrence risks may be in another pregnancy and what tests are available to diagnose chromosome problems before a baby is born.
Prenatal testing is available to help diagnose or rule out chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic birth defects. Testing may include blood tests, ultrasound (using sound waves to look at internal structures), chorionic villus sampling (testing the tissues around the fetus), or amniocentesis (withdrawing a sample of the amniotic fluid).
Some studies have shown a higher chance of miscarriage in older mothers. When considering all women, about half of first trimester miscarriages occur because of a chromosomal abnormality in the fetus. Because these abnormalities increase with maternal age, miscarriage is also more likely. A new test is available that looks at cell-free fetal DNA in the mother's circulation to check for chromosomal abnormalities.
Age 35 is considered advanced maternal age, but the risks increase as a woman ages. If you are pregnant and over the age of 30, talk with your doctor about your individual health and discuss plans for helping you and your developing baby maintain a healthy pregnancy.
For more information about getting pregnant and healthy pregnancies after the age of 30, call (314) 996-5433 or email us.


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Research Articles
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Historically, one of the best ways to fight the effects of inflation has been to utilize growth-oriented investments.
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Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different gifting strategies available for planned giving.
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Both fixed and variable annuities could be appropriate options for an individual interested in purchasing an annuity.
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There are other ways to invest in stocks and bonds besides owning individual shares or bonds.


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Book News: Anger Over 'Superman' Author Who Condemns Homosexuality
The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.
- DC Comics has tapped Orson Scott Card, the Ender's Game author who has said homosexuality is "deviant behavior," to write for its new, digital-first Superman. That has sparked outrage among fans. Card also suggested in a 2004 essay that if same-sex marriage is legalized, "our civilization will collapse or fade away."
- Eric Carle, the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is coming out with a new book this fall.
- A school in Brooklyn will be named after Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak.
- "The only items there truly unfamiliar to me were two wire racks full of paperbacks, their covers each backlit with the golden glow of God's everlasting presence and bucolic perfection: wheat fields, corn fields, rivers and barns beneath cerulean or honey skies. A plain-clothed woman in some state of muted emotional duress gazed into the middle distance beneath her white bonnet. I spun through the racks, elated, repulsed. Could there be anything better, or worse, than Amish romance novels?" — Rachel Yoder, on Amish romance novels.
- Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak makes emergency parking announcements with poetry: "Since this is the week/To say je t'aime/Move her car off the even side/By 8 a.m./(Plowing on even side starts at 8 am)."
- Morning Edition's Renee Montagne interviews John Borling, an Air Force fighter pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam who spent more than six years in a North Vietnamese prison composing poetry without paper or pencils. He says the resulting book of poetry is a testament to "power of the unwritten word."


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In my mind, there's only one way to bring in the New Year...
besides rocketing in a space ship from NASA up into outer space to look for aliens...
and, that's with a fabulous giveaway!!!
So, I'm giving away those three books
as well as:
(and since I have plenty of pans) I've decided to pass on to you.
a package of Cajun Magic Jambalaya mix.
And this yummy chocolate brownie mix.
I might throw in some more stuff as a surprise, like a picture frame or a photo album...
But only the winner will know for sure.
Leave me a comment a day to earn an entry each day,
Tweet about it for 5 extra entries,
blog about it for five more.
Giveaway ends Tuesday, January 6th at midnight U.S. central time.


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Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush, gave birth over the weekend to a girl.
Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager is named for her grandmothers, the former president announced in a statement. According to The Associated Press, the little girl's nickname is pronounced MEE-luh.
Jenna Hager, now 31, is a Today Show correspondent. According to the show, husband Henry Hager says "both my girls are healthy and well." Mila weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces.
CBS New York adds that earlier this month Jenna Hager "told People Magazine that her father, who has taken up art in his post-White House life, already has prepared three paintings for the baby — a portrait of the Hagers' cat, Bernadette, to place above the crib; landscape featuring a 'baby tree' from his Texas ranch; and a still life of the ranch's stone cross where the Hagers were married in 2008."
She also toldPeople that her father has "become an artiste. There's a whole new side of him, and he's so excited about the baby."
Update at 9:15 a.m. ET. First Photos:
Today has a series of photos of Mila, her parents and her grandparents.
Update at 9:05 a.m ET. Bush Says Painting Is "A Way To Create":
The former president tells The Dallas Morning News that "people are surprised" he's taken up painting. "Of course, some people are surprised I can even read," he adds.
Bush tells the newspaper that painting is "a way to create. I enjoy creating. ... You can express yourself in a way that's unique."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Maker Faire 2012
Noisebridge booth[edit | edit source]
We made it to Maker Faire!
The Kombucha didn't happen but Spacebridge and the Bio Hacking plus Mushrooms did!
Thanks to all the people that helped set up beforehand and did booth duty with us.
The info below is old, but left here for reference.
[1] is May 19 and 20 at the San Mateo County Expo Center. If you'd like to help set up/run the booth this year, please add your contact info below. NB should be getting several free passes for volunteers who work at least a 4-hour shift. First come, first served!
Projects/Items Displayed in the Booth[edit | edit source]
Project: Kombucha
Lead Contact: Rameen
Description: Kombucha samples were a big hit last year; people spent hours asking me about it and listening to descriptions and brewing instructions etc. Maybe we could make a more visually appealing version of that. Also, people loved seeing our distiller. Having something tangible to give to give or to do is most memorable, I think.
I think we should put some focus into our set-up and make our booth look really amazing this year!
Project: Spacebridge
Lead Contact: Christopher
Description: Spacebridge will be displaying their payload items (radio, tracking devices, flight computer, camera, etc) and payload buses. Above our booth, we will have a 30 foot weather balloon filled with helium to demonstrate how we loft our payloads. Tethered to the weather balloon will be a video camera and radio transmitter broadcasting a top view of the display floor. We will also have a projector displaying images from our flight and the live video feed from our camera attacked to the balloon.
Requirements: We will need 1 table to display the items, power outlets to run a laptop, a projector, the the radio receiver. We will also need the booth to be placed in an indoor location that has a ceiling above 30 feed (any of the main halls will be fine).
Project: Bio Hacking
Lead Contact: Rolf/Otute/Mindy/Alan
Description: Last year we had a bio-themed table that was quite popular. We basically want to do this again, but with a few new things to show.
Otute and I hope to have a new version of the BioBoard to show off. This time it should actually be doing something.
We want microscopes.
In addition, we would like to have a "dark" tent nearby where people can come in to see bioluminescent mushrooms.
Definitely some overlap with what Rameen is describing above and maybe the two could be combined.
Serving Kombucha last year was really popular.
Requirements: We need 1 table to display the items, and the usual of power outlets and chairs. Of course, it must be indoors.
For the dark tent, we would have to design and build a small structure to hold up some black fabric, and where a few people at a time
can walk in.
Project: Plotter
Lead Contact: Casey / Miloh
Description: A plotter that plots what you tweet at it. It might draw things, if I can get OpenCV working
Requirements: Two power outlets, internet.
Other Items to Bring[edit | edit source]
- NB flyers
- NB stickers
- NB t-shirts?
- 3d printer! they attract a lot of attention!
- Plotter. It is a robot that draws things
Volunteer Sign-up And Time Scheduling![edit | edit source]
After adding your name and time slot, please email me (cclinco AT gmail DOT com) as soon as you can with the following information:
1) The name (first and last) you want to give to the Maker Faire people when you arrive for your free "credentials"
(as they're calling the passes for volunteers). 2) When you want to start working your 4 hour shift.
Folks who want to help staff the booth:
Setup Friday May 18th[edit | edit source]
Setup times for the venue: 10am-8pm
(Note: this is tentative... because of Education Day on Friday morning, we may have to do some setup on Thurs evening)
1) Christopher Lincoln (I can get to NB at 6ish)
2) Paul Suliin (I can give 2-3 hours any time after noon.)Psuliin 04:02, 30 April 2012 (UTC)
3) Rolf (I will be there for Education Day)
4) rubin110 (earlier the better)
5) nils
6) Mindy C (bio-hacking table)
7) Mariko Miyakawa (I can be there after 5)
Set-up Saturday May 19th[edit | edit source]
Set-up times: Saturday, May 19 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
1) Christopher Lincoln
2) Keith Dreibelbis
3) Julia- (email@example.com)
6) Danny (I can get down before 10AM, but not at 7.30am!)
Event Saturday May 19th[edit | edit source]
1) Christopher Lincoln
2) Danny O'Brien Malaclyps
3) Paul Suliin Psuliin
4) Liz Henry lizzard
5) Alan Rockefeller User:AlanRockefeller
6) Shalaco
7) julia
8) Casey
9) Mariko Miyakawa
Event Sunday May 20th[edit | edit source]
1) Christopher Lincoln
2) Timothy Evans
3) Jessica Barrog (I am already signed up as a volunteer at Maker Faire, but I would be honored to volunteer at this booth if the scheduling works out.)
4) Otute (bio-hacking table)
5) Casey
6) rubin110
Take down Sunday May 20th[edit | edit source]
If you have a car that can transport projects, please state so
1) Christopher Lincoln
2) Jessica Barrog
Members with Booths at Maker Faire[edit | edit source]
"Going to Maker Faire with another group? Let us know where you'll be!"


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This year got off to a sour start for U.S. workers: Their pay, already gasping to keep pace with inflation, was suddenly shrunk by a Social Security tax increase.
Which raised a worrisome question: Would consumers stop spending and further slow the economy? Nope. Not yet, anyway.
On Friday, the government said consumers spent 3.2 percent more on an annual basis in the January-March quarter than in the previous quarter — the biggest jump in two years. It highlighted a broader improvement in Americans' financial health that is blunting the impact of the tax increase and raising hopes for more sustainable growth.
Consumers have shed debt. Gasoline has gotten cheaper. Rising home values and record stock prices have restored household wealth to its pre-recession high. And employers are steadily adding jobs, which means more people have money to spend.
"No one should write off the consumer simply because of the 2-percentage point increase in payroll taxes," says Bernard Baumohl, chief economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "Overall household finances are in the best shape in more than five years."
Certainly, spending weakened toward the end of the January-March quarter. Spending at retailers fell in March by 0.4 percent, the worst showing in nine months. And more spending on utilities accounted for up to one-fourth of the increase in consumer spending in the January-March quarter, according to JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli, because of colder weather.
Higher spending on utilities isn't a barometer of consumer confidence the way spending on household goods, such as new appliances or furniture, would be.
Americans also saved less in the first quarter, lowering the savings rate to 2.6 percent from 3.9 percent in 2012. Economists say that was likely a temporary response to the higher Social Security tax, and most expect the savings rate to rise back to last year's level. That could limit spending.
But several longer-term trends are likely to push in the other direction, economists say, and help sustain consumer spending. Among those trends:
Home prices rose more than 10 percent in the 12 months that ended in February. And both the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 stock indexes reached record highs in the first quarter. As a result, Americans have recovered the $16 trillion in wealth that was wiped out by the Great Recession. Economists estimate that each dollar of additional wealth adds roughly 3 cents to spending. That means last year's $5.5 trillion run-up in wealth could spur about $165 billion in additional consumer spending this year. That's much more than the $120 billion cost of the higher Social Security taxes.
Household debt now equals 102 percent of after-tax income, down from a peak of 126 percent in 2007. That's almost back to its long-term trend, according to economists at Deutsche Bank. And households are paying less interest on their debts, largely because of the Federal Reserve's efforts to keep borrowing rates at record lows. The percentage of after-tax income that Americans spent on interest and debt payments dropped to 10.4 percent in the October-December quarter last year. That's the lowest such figure in the 32 years that the Federal Reserve has tracked the data.
Employers have added an average of 188,000 jobs a month in the past six months, up from 130,000 in the previous six. Job gains slowed in March to only 88,000. But most economists expect at least a modest rebound in coming months. And layoffs sank to a record low in January. Fewer layoffs tend to make people feel more secure in their jobs and more willing to spend.
Gasoline prices have fallen in the past year and are likely to stay low. Nationwide, the average price of a gallon of gas has dropped 28 cents since this year's peak of $3.79 on Feb. 27. Analysts expect gas to drop an additional 20 cents over the next two months. Each 10 cent drop over a full year translates into roughly $13 billion in savings for consumers.
Lower interest rates have enabled millions of Americans to save money by refinancing their mortgages. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2012, homeowners who refinanced cut their interest rate by one-third, the biggest reduction in 27 years the agency has tracked the data. On a $200,000 loan, that means $3,600 in savings over the next 12 months.
Some economists note that the Social Security tax cut didn't spur much more spending when it first took effect at the start of 2011. The tax cut gave someone earning $50,000 about $1,000 more to spend each year. A household with two high-paid workers had up to $4,500 more.
Despite the tax cut, Baumohl notes that consumer spending rose only 2.5 percent in 2011 and 1.9 percent in 2012. In the 10 years before the recession began in December 2007, the average annual spending increase was 3.4 percent.
And a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that consumers spent only 36 percent of the increased income that resulted from the tax cut. The rest went to paying down debt or to savings.
Since the tax cut didn't boost spending that much, its expiration may not drag it down much, either. Economists say temporary tax cuts are often ineffective because many consumers assume that the tax breaks will eventually disappear. So they don't ramp up spending in response.
Scott Loehrke, 25, hasn't cut back spending this year. Loehrke went ahead in March with some car repairs that could have been delayed. And he still plans to vacation in May in Mexico with his wife, Jackie.
The couple, who live just outside Cleveland, feel secure in their jobs. Loehrke is a salesman for a company that makes T-shirts, cups, key chains and other promotional products. Business has picked up in the past year as the economy has improved. His wife is a pharmacist.
"Everything that we've planned to do we're still doing," Loehrke says.
The Loehrkes both have heavy student debt and so are focused on keeping their expenses in check. They both drive used cars. That's enabled them to build up some savings and made it easier to absorb the tax increase.
New threats have emerged. Across-the-board government spending cuts kicked in March 1. The spending cuts have triggered government furloughs and could lead private companies that do business with the government to cut staff. And the cuts are expected to shave a half-point from economic growth this year.
Even so, most economists are relieved that consumers have proved so resilient so far.
"It's very encouraging that consumers and thus the broader economy have been able to weather that storm as well as they have," says Mark Zandi, an economist at Moody's Analytics.
Follow Chris Rugaber on Twitter at httpss://Twitter.com/ChrisRugaber
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


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Resista® Soft Style
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FERME GILLOU PIT Site Details
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Fill out the owner form (or email or call) to update your listing and be included in our product finder.
Site Name: FERME GILLOU PIT
Site Address(based on lat/lon): 1305 Hwy 21, Clarence-Rockland, ON K0A, Canada Mailing Address:141 Butler Road Primary ALPS ID: 19841 Operation Status: Operating Operation Type Pit Licence Type Class A Licence Licenced Area (ha) 18.61 Tonnage 60000 Site Area: 18.61 (ha) |
Legend*Legal Disclaimer of Liability (click for more)*
1) Greycoat Software assumes no legal liability for the use of the data found within the Open Aggregates network. Information obtained here should not be used for legal or jurisdictional purposes.
2) Data on this site has been compiled through proprietary and open data including that from Land Inventory Ontario (Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence Ontario - https://www.ontario.ca/page/open-government-licence-ontario), and Natural Resources and Forestry (Pits and Quarries Online)


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
Hello to everyone on the site.I've started playing with LinuxMCE few month ago and accidentally fell in love with it. So when one night I've checked name linuxmcestore.com and found out that it is available it was too compelling to register it and park at my hosting. Now I'm thinking, since that name is really broad one and I alone probably would not be able to fill it up to it's true potential, I'm thinking to convert it into virtual mall where everyone interested could get a storefront. Thoughts?? Ideas?? Comments??
Thoughts?? Ideas?? Comments??
Or I would have registered that domain a year ago.
I still think that converting this name into virtual mall with many individual stores will greatly benefit whole community.
Quote from: tkmedia on January 21, 2009, 12:29:50 pmOr I would have registered that domain a year ago.Well, since this name had been hosting porno sites for a while, at list now it is clear of it. Somehow I don't think been associated with porno industry is helpful for LinuxMCE community anyway.I still think that converting this name into virtual mall with many individual stores will greatly benefit whole community.
I noticed the site is live and is using Unauthorized Linuxmce logos and selling unlicensed products. I suggest pulling the site before you have issues. Tim
>> unlicensed productsPlease enlighten me what is this suppose to mean??


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By Orest Deychakiwsky, CSCE Staff Advisor
The Helsinki Commission held a public briefing on February 27 which examined the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections scheduled for March 31, 2002.
Commission Chief of Staff Ron McNamara noted commitments undertaken by the 55 OSCE participating States, including Ukraine, to build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as the only form of government for each of the nations. The reason for congressional interest in Ukraine which has been manifested by Senate and House resolutions introduced by a bipartisan group of Helsinki Commissioners, he observed, is "because an independent, secure, democratic, economically stable Ukraine is important, and we want to encourage Ukraine in realizing its own goal of integration into Europe." The measures call for Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent and fair election process.
McNamara underscored the potential impact of the elections, "The parliamentary elections, along with local elections taking place on the same day, will chart Ukraine's course over the next four years, including on the presidential elections scheduled for 2004."
Three experts – former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller, Ambassador Nelson Ledsky of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Stephen Nix of the International Republican Institute (IRI) – addressed both positive and negative features of the election process and campaign. All three highlighted the importance of these elections being free and fair.
Ambassador Miller stated: "This election is a crucial election. And it's very important for Ukraine, for its government, for its system of governance, to have as free and fair an election as possible. It's crucial to its international reputation and to the dignity of its own people."
Ambassador Miller described the roles of the various blocs running for the elections, observing that – based on what the polls indicate at this point – the probable outcome reflects the reality of Ukrainian politics in 2002. He did note problem areas, stating that the smaller parties of Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleksandr Moroz are the ones to watch, "…and that's where much of the pressure on preventing their crossing the four percent threshold will be evident." These two parties are in open opposition to President Leonid Kuchma.
The issue in the next month, according to Miller, is "whether the shortcomings that have been identified by various people – Ukrainians and sympathetic foreigners – will be attended to. But, I would say, given the complexion of the polling now, there is very little that can be done to alter what seems to be the likely outcome."
Ambassador Ledsky pointed to pre-election violations documented by the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) over the last four months which fall into two broad categories – one relating to access to the media and coverage of the elections and the second to the misuse of administrative resources as part of the campaign process. Violations with respect to administrative resources include: government spaces being used for campaign purposes, which is contrary to Ukrainian law; public employees working on political campaigns and citizens pressured to join parties and blocs; the interference of government authorities in campaigning; and the denial by officials of public facilities and services to candidates, parties and blocs. (On election day, the CVU is aiming to field 20,000 observers which would complement the OSCE observation effort which will likely include over 250 international observers.)
Ledsky also emphasized "two distinct contests" going on in Ukraine – the first is the contest for the 225 proportional representation seats in which the parties vying need to surpass the four percent threshold. The second contest is for the 225 single mandate seats. "And here," said Ambassador Ledsky, "what we are seeing is that the battle is going on behind the scenes in each district, in each oblast, in each constituency. There, administrative resources are being used illegally and with subtlety to make sure that the single mandate seats move in one direction."
In response to a question about Russian involvement, Ambassador Ledsky noted the "more extensive, more prominent, more visible" level of Russian involvement in this campaign. He underscored the importance of the elections, stating, "We believe very fervently that a correction in the course of the last two or three elections is very badly needed to put Ukraine back on the democratic path."
Mr. Nix, focusing his remarks on procedural, administrative and legal issues surrounding the elections, praised the new elections law passed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) as being "very progressive and a huge improvement over previous law." Current election law provides dual remedies, both administrative and legal; if a similar complaint is filed both with the administrative agency and with the courts, the court shall issue a stay. Focusing on how election-related disputes will be handled, Mr. Nix expressed concern – based on IRI's recent pre-election assessment mission to Ukraine – that many judges did not appear to understand "… that they had the right, in fact the duty, to take jurisdiction of these cases and order the administrative actions to cease."
Mr. Nix observed that a key difference in this election is that political parties now largely staff constituency (district) election commissions and, to a lesser extent, polling station (precinct) commissions – this can be a deterrent to fraud – and noted IRI's role in training members of these commissions. While parties for the most part have placed people on the polling station commissions, there is concern that some areas in rural villages are not covered, concluding that places in which parties are not represented have "to be a big focus of the monitoring effort."


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Tens of thousands of people from Assam and other northeastern states have fled Bangalore since Thursday despite authorities' attempts to stamp out rumors of pending attacks on their communities. On Friday afternoon, some 1,500 workers and students were camped out in the city's railway station, waiting for specially scheduled trains that have been arranged to ferry people back to their homes in India's northeast. Railway authorities told the Hindustan Times that at least eight trains carrying as many as 30,000 people had left for that part of the country in the past three days.
In the past week, rumors have been circulating via SMS of an attack on people from northeastern India on Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and is celebrated this weekend, allegedly in retaliation for riots that broke out in the state of Assam last month. More than 70 people were killed and some 400,000 displaced in clashes between the ethnic Bodo group and Muslim settlers in a conflict alternately cast as a battle over illegal immigration, religion and the struggle for limited resources in a poor and remote part of the country.
(PHOTOS: India Goes on Strike)
Although reverberations of the Assam riots have also been felt in clashes in Pune and Mumbai, the fear in Bangalore reached a unique crescendo. Though the police said no reports of violence have been reported as of Friday, rumors of thuggery and threats were circulated by the dark text messages. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in the Parliament's upper house, condemned those spreading rumors on Friday, saying they "should be brought to book as at stake is not the just unity and integrity of the country, but also communal harmony." The government has now enforced a ban on mass text messaging that it says will stay in place for the next two weeks, and on Saturday several individuals had reportedly been detained in connection with the messages, according to the Press Trust of India.
Roughly 100,000 students and workers from northeast India have been living in Bangalore for years, seeking opportunities that they could not find back home where unemployment runs high. "These people have been living in Bangalore for the past 15 years," Bangalore's deputy police commissioner V.S. D'Souza said in a phone interview on Friday. "There has never been a problem. This is totally new."
(MORE: India Continues to Grapple with Fallout from Assam Violence)
D'Souza said that by Friday afternoon his office had received 4,000 calls in 48 hours from frightened citizens and their relatives trying to figure out whether the threat was real. "This happened. That happened. Nobody knows what happened actually," D'Souza said. "Parents and relatives have been asking people from Bangalore to come back to their hometowns." Armed forces have been deployed on the streets, and authorities have held several meetings with community members around the city to try to calm the panic and assure them that they will be protected.
Though northeasterners, many of whom have East Asian features that set them physically apart from other Indians, have reported being the target of racial slurs and discrimination in many parts of the country for years, the problem has never been pronounced in Bangalore. Observers say the week's events are more a repercussion of the heated anti-immigrant and communal rhetoric used to talk about the Assam riots than the venting of deep-seated religious tensions. "They have to stop describing this as an immigrant issue, and it has to stop being projected as an attack on Islam," says Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch. "While there are many attacks against Islam, this is not one of them."
Ganguly says the onus is on political and religious leaders to start a more responsible conversation about the violence in the northeast and to work toward a resolution. "It will fester unless something is done," she says. India's Central Bureau of Investigation announced a cash reward on Saturday for anyone who has information about perpetrators of the violence in Assam.
MORE: Why Anna Hazare, Scourge of India's Politicians, May Join Their Ranks


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GENEVA (AP) — The search is all but over for a subatomic particle that is a crucial building block of the universe.
Physicists announced Thursday they believe they have discovered the subatomic particle predicted nearly a half-century ago, which will go a long way toward explaining what gives electrons and all matter in the universe size and shape.
The elusive particle, called a Higgs boson, was predicted in 1964 to help fill in our understanding of the creation of the universe, which many theorize occurred in a massive explosion known as the Big Bang. The particle was named for Peter Higgs, one of the physicists who proposed its existence, but it later became popularly known as the "God particle."
The discovery would be a strong contender for the Nobel Prize. Last July, scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, announced finding a particle they described as Higgs-like, but they stopped short of saying conclusively that it was the same particle or was some version of it.
Scientists have now finished going through the entire set of data.
"The preliminary results with the full 2012 data set are magnificent and to me it is clear that we are dealing with a Higgs boson, though we still have a long way to go to know what kind of Higgs boson it is," said Joe Incandela, a physicist who heads one of the two main teams at CERN, each involving several thousand scientists.
Whether or not it is a Higgs boson is demonstrated by how it interacts with other particles and its quantum properties, CERN said in the statement. After checking, scientists said the data "strongly indicates that it is a Higgs boson."
The results were announced in a statement by the Geneva-based CERN and released at a physics conference in the Italian Alps.
CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider that lies beneath the Swiss-French border, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to investigate how the universe came to be the way it is.
The particle's existence helps confirm the theory that objects gain their size and shape when particles interact in an energy field with a key particle, the Higgs boson. The more they attract, so the theory goes, the bigger their mass will be.


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Please note - Rift is a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game. A high speed internet connection is required (see full system requirements below). Similar to World of Warcraft where buying this retail version does give you 30 day subscription for new accounts; additional fees apply thereafter.
8 Primal Forces: Creatures from the Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Life, and Death planes battle for control of the world of Telara! Two warring faction - she Guardians and the Defiant - face off against each other and fight extra-planar creatures as they seek to save the world.
Build Your Class: No other game lets you build your class the way RIFT does. Specialize in a single class or pick and choose abilities from many to create a character uniquely suited to your play style - and have fun while you experiment!
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text: Our quality crafted Tote Bags are hand sewn in America using durable, yet lightweight, poly poplin fabric. All seams and stress points are double stitched for durability. They are washable, feature original artwork on both sides and a sturdy 1″ wide cotton webbing strap for comfortably carrying over your shoulder.


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Britney and Me
I have long believed that, when it comes to discourse on celebrity and celebrities, no holds are barred. High-minded proclamations of the sort that insist that they're people too, they deserve respect, privacy, etc, etc are, to my mind, entirely unconvincing: celebrities are not just like you and me, and they do not have an automatic right to privacy and respect. They're celebrities: it's their business to strut and fret their foibles upon the public stage. And if they embarass themselves - well, all the better for the rest of us, who do well to remember that celebrities are human-all-too-human, and flawed - sometimes very seriously so - and so not deserving of knee-jerk adulation simply because they're there. I respect that some people take the position that all celebrities should be treated nicely as a matter of course - it's a very nice position - but I don't really have any patience for it. If a celebrity's being a tard, then we should feel free to say so. And laugh about it. (Mockery of quote-unquote "masters" is as old as comedy itself for good reason: it's socially healthy for those with less power to laugh at those with more. Keeps differentials of power in proper perspective.)
All of this is a very long-winded way of defending the fact that I have taken my fair share of shots at Britney Spears. It's hard not to: the girl wanders around without pants, crashing cars and lamenting her lost career and prattling on and on about a comeback. The great Greek comic dramatist Aristophanes - and later, Plautus, and certainly Machiavelli and probably Shakespeare, too - would have had a field day with Britney: the comely girl turned goddess-of-sorts who falls from grace into a slatternly state of confusion (a kind of female Bottom, perhaps, minus the dalliance with fairies. Or a Poptart Gloriosus, of the sort that Plautus would have adored and pilloried). One almost wishes that she would stop being so ridiculous, so that she wouldn't be such an obvious target.
I have wished that, actually - that she'd stop being so ridiculous. She's a mom. I know from being a mom. Even if she has sixteen nannies - and I'm guessing that she has at least six - she's still under tremendous psychological pressure. A few years of pop superstardom can't prepare one for the mindf*ck that is new parenthood, let alone new new-parenthood-cum-single-parenthood. In the public eye - in the harsh, harsh glare of the public eye. But still: there's a baseline of dignity that one has to hang onto, however tenuously, once one becomes a parent. For our own sanity, and for the sake of the kids: parents need to keep it together, in some minimal way, at the very least. Staying groomed and upright, for starters. Not doing anything that's going to cause Child Services to pay you a visit. Not stuffing your post-partum, pre-Pilates body into a few scraps of satin and fishnet and tramping dully across a televised stage. That kind of thing.
I wish that Britney had stopped being so ridiculous before she got up in front of the VMA cameras, before she'd turned Puck on herself and stumbled and fumbled her way across that stage and made herself more of a laughingstock. But she didn't, and we are, most of us, laughing. And even though one might say that she asked for it, even though one might say that that's what she signed up for, way back when she was a Mouseketeer and aspiring pop tart and wanted celebrity so bad that she could taste it... even though one might say these things - even though I might say these things - the laughing and finger-pointing at Britney's VMA performance is making me a little sick to my stomach.
It's making me a little sick to my stomach because so much of it is directed at her unstageworthy physique, at her failure to regain her taut, poptart figure after having two children, at her insistence upon squeezing those dimply thighs into fishnet stockings. And it's not simply because I, personally, draw the line, in mocking celebrities, especially female celebrities, well short of the point of mocking or criticizing bodies (at least, the bodies that God gave them. The bodies that they buy are fair game. Oh, and David Caruso's body; that's fair game, too, for no good reason that I can think of. I've made fun of his legs.) It's partly that, of course - laughing at Britney for being a dimply size ten (eight? six?) after bearing two children is an insult to all women, everywhere, and to anyone who was borne of woman. It demeans all of us. But it's not that, in itself, that sickens me in the deepest part of my gut. It's mostly this: I look at those images of Britney stumbling self-consciously across the stage in that ridiculously skanky outfit and I see myself. And I cringe.
No, I don't see myself wearing that outfit, or grabbing some poor back-up dancer's crotch. I don't see myself desperately grasping for fame and adulation while shimmying awkwardly in fishnet stockings. But I do see - I have seen - myself, sometimes, desperately grasping for the girl that I used to be, the girl that I was before I became a mother. Mostly, it's an imagined grasping, but it's grasping nonetheless - it's me berating my reflection in the mirror for not having lost my pregnancy weight, it's me trying on clothes that would have suited me three years ago but are now too small and too hip and too not-me-at-all, it's me telling myself that thirty is the new twenty and forty the new thirty which makes me, like, twenty-something and not at all old and hey, I'm still up on the cool music and the cool clothes and see? Motherhood hasn't changed me at all!
There's a figurative satin-and-fishnet skank outfit in my psychic closet, and I have certainly pulled it out and tried to squeeze myself into it more than once. That I have not had to confront that image in all of its sordid glory - never mind parade it publicly - is my very good fortune, but still. It's there. It is there. It is.
So it is than when I click through on those videos playing and replaying and replaying again the footage of poor Britney wandering, sad and self-conscious and disoriented, through her VMA performance, I feel sad. Sad that she wasn't able to let go of some old dream of herself, some old, pathetic notion that she is and always will be girl. Sad that - from the looks of it - she woke up from that dream mid-stage, as the lights hit her and the music started and the elastic in her tiny satin panties cut into the ample flesh of her thighs and the giggles from the audience burned in her ears and she all of sudden knew. Not a girl, fully a woman - but a woman grasping desperately for the girl, and just not reaching her, not even close.
It makes me sad, because I've reached for the girl in me, the girl that I was - not so much to be her again, but to feel her, maybe. Understand her. Make her more a part of the woman that I am, whatever that means. And I've imagined, sometimes, that I've grazed her, with very tips of my fingers; that I've almost reached her; that I've come close to grasping that girl and integrating her with the woman that I've become and am becoming. That I've maybe, just maybe, preserved the girl inside the woman, and that maybe, just maybe, that girl will get the woman to fit into a smaller pair of skinny jeans.
And then I see Britney, and all I can think is: how ridiculous. How ridiculous, her. How ridiculous, me. How ridiculous, all of us who refuse to go gently into the good night of age and gravity and seriousness and dignity. How ridiculous, all of us who would fight the loss, mourn the loss, of the silly, beautiful girls and boys that we once were.
And how sad that we laugh at that, as if we none of us have fought that fight on the stages of our psyches, and lost, and mourned.
How very, very sad.
Labels: Britney, Britney Spears, celebrity look-a-likes


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This quilt is relatively easy to make, although it does require just the right mix of fabrics; narrow and wide stripes, some bold, others neutral. Careful handling of bias edges is also recommended - use a quick burst of spray starch for loosely woven fabrics if necessary.
In a Spin Quilt - [workinprogress]
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By H. Knox Thames
CSCE Counsel
The second Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference on Tolerance and the Fight against Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination convened in Brussels, Belgium, September 13-14, 2004. Along with the first conference held last fall in Vienna, the two meetings were part of broad efforts by OSCE participating States to address concerns about intolerance and anti-Semitism.
Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, led the United States Delegation. Other U.S. delegates included Dr. Maha Hadi Hussain, University of Michigan; Tamar Jacoby, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute; William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore; Larry Thompson, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General; Robert L. Woodson, President of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise; and Stephan M. Minikes, U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE.
Conference participants included 47 OSCE participating States, five Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation, and many non-governmental organizations representing a range of interests. His Royal Highness Prince Filip of Belgium, His Royal Highness Prince Hassan of Jordan, and His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I addressed the opening session of the conference. United States Helsinki Commission Member Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) also spoke at the opening session in his capacity as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The Brussels Conference consisted of four plenary sessions and four workshops. Considering the broad themes of the conference, the plenary sessions focused on a variety of issues related to intolerance: governmental actions in law enforcement and promoting tolerance; efforts to combat discrimination against legal migrant workers; and efforts to promote tolerance through education and the media. The workshop topics were equally diverse, addressing discriminatory government policies affecting religious freedoms, promotion of tolerance toward Muslims, and combating discrimination based on color. The Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights also reported on its strategy and activities relating to tolerance.
Members of the U.S. Delegation participated fully in all aspects of the conference, giving introductory statements at plenary sessions and actively engaging in discussions regarding various forms of discrimination.
In the first session, "Legislative and Institutional Mechanisms and Governmental Action, including Law Enforcement," U.S. Head of Delegation, Secretary Jackson noted that "abuses prompted by disregard for the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination occur in countries across the globe. Some come in the form of individual acts of racism that harm only small numbers of people at a time. Others come in the form of national policies that discriminate against certain segments of society. All pose a challenge that all countries must confront directly in order to guarantee the freedom, democracy, and prosperity that we hold dear."
During the workshop entitled "Facilitating Freedom of Religion and Belief through Transparent and Non-Discriminatory Laws, Regulations, Policies and Procedures," Cardinal Keeler stressed that participating States must "work to implement non-discriminatory laws, avoiding those that limit the ability of groups to operate equally. Registration systems should not create unfair tiered systems offering unique benefits and privileges to some and lesser legal status to others, or establish numerical thresholds almost impossible to meet."
Dr. Hussain's contribution to the workshop on "Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Discrimination toward Muslims" addressed a number of issues, also singling out specific examples of governmental discrimination against Muslims. "While the threat of terrorism is real and it can never be condoned, the negative attention stigmatizes communities and fosters xenophobia against minorities—be they Muslims, Arabs or others," said Hussain. "It also can result in violation of individual privacy and abuse of police powers. It is hard to justify these actions, particularly in democratic states where human and minority rights are meant to be protected."
In the closing session, Secretary Jackson urged OSCE participating States and conference participants to combat all forms of discrimination, especially those based on skin color. He spoke from his own experiences growing up in the southern United States in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement. Jackson noted how far the United States has traveled toward tolerance. He observed, however, that work within the United States is not finished.
"That is why we gathered here this week to share our experiences and learn all we can from one another … to discuss the successes we have achieved in our respective countries … and to recommit ourselves to resolving the challenges that remain," Secretary Jackson said. "We know there is much work ahead of us, but as nations committed to promoting tolerance and diversity, we must focus the combined and concerted efforts of government, civil society, and individuals in the pursuit of positive change."
The U.S. Delegation proposed 13 recommendations for consideration in future efforts to address issues of discrimination and intolerance, which included:
- Leaders of participating States should speak out and take resolute action against attacks and crimes directed at individuals based on race, color, religion, political or other opinion, sex, language, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
- Participating States without anti-discrimination laws should enact such legislation at the earliest opportunity. Those states with anti-discrimination laws should make strengthening such legislation a top priority. All states may consult ODIHR on best practices.
- Participating States should reach out to minority communities and establish procedures for the reporting of possible bias-motivated crimes and violations of anti-discrimination laws. Authorities should ensure the rapid and effective investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
- Participating States, OSCE Institutions, and NGOs should cooperate in developing training programs for law enforcement and justice officials on legislation relating to hate crimes and its enforcement.
- Participating States should affirmatively declare that institutionalized discrimination against religious communities is unacceptable and ensure that their legal systems foster equality, not subordination, of religious groups. Registration laws, policies, and procedures should be non-discriminatory, neutral and transparent and should not use overly burdensome numerical or temporal thresholds.
- The OSCE should consider meetings on the promotion of tolerance and nondiscrimination toward Muslims.
The conference concluded in similar fashion to the Berlin Conference on Anti-Semitism, with the reading of a declaration by OSCE Chair-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy. The "Brussels Declaration" condemned "without reserve all forms of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism and other acts of intolerance and discrimination, including against Muslims" and organizations and individuals that promote "hatred or acts of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, or related intolerance, including against Muslims, and anti-Semitism." In parallel to the Berlin Declaration, the Brussels Declaration also declared "unambiguously that international developments or political issues never justify racism, xenophobia or discrimination," while also rejecting the "identification of terrorism and extremism with any religion, culture, ethnic group, nationality or race."
Following the Berlin precedent, the Brussels Declaration incorporated a previously agreed Permanent Council decision setting forth actions participating States and ODIHR should undertake. Reinforcing the PC decision for Berlin, participating States again agreed to "collect and maintain reliable information and statistics about hate crimes" and to forward that information to ODIHR periodically, and directed ODIHR to work with international organizations in this endeavor and to report their findings to the Permanent Council. States decided to "take steps to combat acts of discrimination and violence" against Muslims, migrants and migrant workers, and to consider "undertaking activities to raise public awareness of the enriching contribution of migrants and migrant workers to society." In addition, governments committed to "consider establishing training programmes for law enforcement and judicial officials on legislation and enforcement of legislation relating to hate crimes."
The Brussels Declaration and statements given at the conference are available at http://www.osce.org/events/conferences/tolerance2004.
The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.
United States Helsinki Commission Intern Judy Abel contributed to this article.


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Wishing You The Sweetest Of Holidays!
In the midst of all the Christmas preparations in our kitchen and I am sure in yours, I wanted to take the time to wish you a very Merry Christmas and plenty of joy and happiness this holiday season.
In my family we celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with two big dinners. In B's family, it's only Christmas Day. His is small-ish, mine is big. Huge actually. Nowadays, we are doing a bit of both even if I am not home and he indulges me in some of my traditions, like the Provencal 13 desserts and listening to "La Pastorale des Santons de Provence". Yes, baby Jesus was born in Provence and his parents spoke with the accent. You didn't know?! No Christmas is complete without it and in the 30 something years I have been around, I have had plenty of time to learn each character by heart.
Until my grandmother passed away, Christmas Eve dinner was held at my grandparents' house after church and we would go *all* out. Christmas Day's traditions were a bit more low key as it was the "in-laws" day, meaning my uncles and ant would go visit their in laws during the day and come back for dinner. Those who were without in-laws would make their way to my parents' house for lunch for macaroni, butter, parmesan and a plate of charcuterie. Came 8pm and we would have a Christmas Day dinner usually revolving around a buffet of regional delicacies.
One of our holiday traditions is to make a visit to our favorite chocolatiers, "Les Chocolats Colas" in the town of Maule. True chocolate artists making the most intricate as well as delicious chocolate creations. We usually get a few pieces to take home but we really go there for their chocolat chaud. More like ganache chaude really. Indeed, the chocolate is so rich and so thick that it is served in small espresso cups. Trust me, that is plenty. Strong, spiced just right and silky all the way down to your toes.
As part of my holiday rituals of listening to La Pastorale while baking, I always make sure to fix us a batch of hot chocolate albeit a little lighter than the one we have at the Colas chocolate shop when we go home. B. likes to have a handful of marshmallows in his hot chocolate but I really find store bought ones to be tasteless and gritty. Ok, so they can be gooey mess, marshmallows are so easy to make at home, it's worth it trying them at least once.
Both recipes for our favorite creamy and rich hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows after the bump.
Tonight's dinner will be with some of our closest friends around some French regional delicacies. Low key, reflective and quiet. Just what I like.
Thank you for your readership throughout the years. You cry and laugh with me and everytime I come here and spill some goodies, I feel like having coffee with some good friends. Thank you!
Hot Chocolate:
6 oz (180gr) semisweet chocolate (chips or chopped)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
pinch of ground cloves
Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Remove from the heat and slowly pour the hot liquid over the chocolate. Let the mixture stand for 2 minutes then slowly whisk the mixture until completely smooth. add the spices, stir and serve with the marshmallows.
Vanilla Marshmallows:
1/4 cup (60ml) water
1/4 cup (60ml) light corn syrup
3/4 cup (170 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg whites, room temperature
1 whole vanilla bean, split open and seeded
Line a 8X8 baking pan with plastic wrap. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with some cornstarch, shake the excess off.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until "soft-ball" stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites. Add the vanilla seeds and continue whipping until stiff. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and let set 24 hours at room temperature. Unmold and cut squares with a hot knife.


text: The Writing Sings Aug 6, 2018 | Current Ned Note, On Writing, Past Notes "This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important." ― Gary Provost


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Foreigners who have been working for international organizations in Egypt are in the country illegally and have been engaging in "political activity," a judge in Cairo just told reporters.
As we've previously reported, Egyptian authorities are preventing some foreigners who work for such organizations — including the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood — from leaving the country. Authorities are looking into what they say is evidence that such groups have given support to opponents of the ruling military council that took control after the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak's regime early last year.
The organizations have protested, saying they are in Egypt to do such things as promote democracy, but not to aid the opposition.
NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports that the judge just declared that the investigation indicates that many of the non-Egyptians working for the organizations are in the country on tourist visas, which he said is illegal given the work that they do.
Al-Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, who has been tweeting from the news conference, reports that Judge Sameh Abu Zeid also "says these organizations repeatedly applied for licenses, were turned down, ignored that & worked anyway."
The groups, however, have said in the past that such applications were "pending" and that despite their best efforts they couldn't get the government to act on them.
Rageh adds that the judge said last December's "search of NGOs office[s] was 'legal,' with warrant & shouldn't be described as 'raid.' "
The U.S. has protested Egypt's move to prevent Americans who work for the organizations from leaving the country. Rageh says the judge called a letter to that effect from the U.S. ambassador to Egypt "unacceptable."
If convicted, the judge added, according to Rageh, those working for the organizations could face prison sentences of up to five years.
Update at 9:45 a.m. ET. More From Soraya.
She just filed this report for our Newscast desk:
"Judge Sameh Abu Zeid told reporters at a news conference broadcast on Egyptian State TV that the groups violated numerous Egyptian laws. He claimed they worked here on tourist visas and without permits for years and received foreign funds here illegally. Plus they failed to pay Egyptian taxes, he said.
"Abu Zeid claimed authorities have 60 seven pieces of evidence from raids on the groups' offices in December as well as several confessions, all of which have been forwarded to the prosecutor.
"At least 16 Americans are among the 43 people referred to trial so far, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He and several others are being sheltered at the U.S. embassy in Cairo. At least half of the Americans charged are no longer in Egypt.
"The second judge, Ashraf Ashmawy said those referred to trial face up to 5 years in prison if convicted on one of the charges — that of operating in Egypt illegally.
"Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri says his country will not back down on the investigation despite U.S. warnings that the actions threaten one point five billion dollars in U.S. aid to Egypt this year."
Update at 8:30 a.m. ET. More On What The Judges Said:
According to Soraya, Judge Ashraf Ashmawy also spoke. The judges told reporters, she says, that investigators have evidence that funding to some of the organizations increased after last year's protests began and that the money was "used to direct the political process." They also alleged that there's evidence some of the groups violated Egypt's tax laws.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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After more than 25 years of providing quality nurses for the mid-Missouri area, Columbia College has announced the launch of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program. Linda Claycomb, chair of the Columbia College nursing department, believes offering the BSN is a game-changer for the already established registered nursing (RN) program.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to take the Columbia College nursing program to the next level," Claycomb said. "We are responding to the needs of the health care industry. Registered nurses can sign up for the program immediately and we are looking forward to classes starting on Aug. 18."
Courses in the program are designed to enhance complex clinical reasoning, decision-making and collaborative skills, contributing to patient safety and quality processes. Graduates will be prepared to assume advanced roles in nursing management.
The fully online program allows students to earn their degree while they work as an RN. With five class sessions each year, students can earn their degree just as quickly as students attending college full-time. Each class lasts eight weeks with sessions offered every August, October, January, March and summer. Students must have completed an associate degree in nursing and successfully completed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses.
To learn more about the nursing program, visit www.ccis.edu/departments/nursing.


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Mouse Tail Hoops
T H E MAMMAL C O L L E C T I O N is inspired by British wildlife and my fascination with animal anatomy.
These Hoops are cast from a section of a British Filed Mouse tail and are true to size and form.
Each piece is hand made in my London studio and is as unique and individual as the craftsperson that made it and the customer who buys it.
M A T E R I A L S : Produced entirely from solid sterling silver, these earrings also come in 18ct Yellow gold plate and solid 9ct gold. All pieces are stamped with my REO Makers mark.
W E I G H T : 3.3 grams
S I Z I N G : One Size
D E L I V E R Y : Each of my pieces are lovingly handmade to order so please allow up to 2 weeks before posting. If you require the piece urgently please send me a direct message to email@example.com
P A C K A G I N G : All my pieces come lovingly packed in my specially designed REO jewellery boxes.
C A R E : Just like you, my beautiful jewellery does need to be looked after. Skin and hair products can react, causing the gold plating to tarnish and erode. Remove the piece before washing up, showers and bed to keep the gold plate bright. Apply perfumes, lotions and creams before you put your jewellery on. Please note that after a long period of time plating will eventually wear off.


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"Nonbelievers Have No Objective Basis for Morality" vs. the Evidence
William Hawthorne recently expressed the sentiments of many Christians when he said...But you see, John, nobody is claiming that without God, humans must be immoral. The problem is whether and how the existence of objective value and moral facts can be explained in an atheistic world.
Well then, while the philosophers are debating this problem like they do the ontological argument and the brain/mind problem, life goes on doesn't it? Christian philosopher Terence Penelhum has gone on record as saying we cannot wait for the philosophers to conclude these kinds of debates before we make our religious choices. And G.E. Moore's shift probably applies here since he was more sure from the evidence that he's holding a pencil in his hand than that the arguments to the contrary are correct.
Let me briefly explain. You claim atheists and agnostics don't have an ultimate objective moral basis, and as such without it there is no logical reason prohibiting us from murdering, and raping, and cheating, and stealing at will without regard for any consequences. This would be your SPECIFIC claim, which is part of a more GENERAL claim. Your GENERAL claim is that all non-Christians are in the same boat as the atheist and agnostic with regard to not having an ultimate objective moral basis for how they should behave. If you want to make the SPECIFIC claim and not make the GENERAL claim, then I'd like to know your reasons for doing so.
Now here's the rub. With the GENERAL claim you indict all non-Christians everywhere in all eras of human history, Muslims, Jews, Taoists, Shintoists, and Buddhists. You're claiming that none of these potentially 50 billion people have had an objective moral basis prohibiting them from murdering, and raping, and cheating, and stealing at will without regard for any consequences, and that this applies to them as well as to us skeptics. You're saying that none of us non-believers have had an ultimate moral basis for being good, period, and so there is no logical reason why we should refrain from commiting horrendous evils. [60 billion is Frank Tipler's estimate of the number of Homo Sapiens since we developed, from which I merely subtracted 10 billion for Christians since the NT times, which I think is being very generous).
All I need to do while the philosophers settle this debate is to look at the evidence, just like G.E. Moore did. Look around the globe. Look to our human past. There are many people who act morally who are non-believers and they have been doing so since the dawn of time. All someone needs to learn who makes such a claim as yours is a basic history lesson. There have been great Chinese dynasties, the great rule of Mohammed, along with the Greek Golden Age, the Roman Empire, and nearly all Japanese dynasties, NONE OF WHICH HAD ANY DOMINATING INFLUENCE FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH to gain their ultimate objective morals from. Some of them had no influence from Christian morals at all. And if you think Christianity is waning in America, then consider the evidence that even in this secular dominated culture our government works well with diversified religious and non-religious groups of people in it, as do all European countries.
So while the philosophers debate these issues, where is the evidence that backs up your claim? Surely if non-believers have no logical reason for upholding ultimate objective morals then we should see billions of non-believing people acting logically by murdering, raping, cheating, and stealing at will with no regard for any consequences. There should be great mayhem in this world, the likes of which should send the rest of us into the asylum. But if we do just fine without this supposed ultimate objective moral standard then why do we need one at all? And if there is no evidence supporting this claim of yours then I think the claim is false no matter how long the philosophers take to decide the issue (and I personally like participating in the philosophical debate as well).