text:
WASHINGTON, D.C. - After reports of three infant deaths, the government ordered a recall Wednesday of 1 million "SlingRider" and "Wendy Bellissimo" infant slings, in conjunction with the manufacturer Infantino of San Diego, Calif.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission urged consumers to immediately stop using these slings for infants younger than four months of age due to a risk of suffocation and contact Infantino for a free replacement product.
At the same time Canada Health is recalling 15,000 of the slings that were sold in Canada.
The commission is aware of three reports of deaths that occurred in these carriers in 2009: a 7-week-old infant in Philadelphia, Pa.; a 6-day-old infant in Salem, Ore.; and a 3-month-old infant in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Infantino "SlingRider," is a soft fabric baby carrier with a padded shoulder strap that is worn by parents and caregivers to carry an infant weighing up to 20 pounds. "Infantino" is printed on the plastic slider located on the strap.
"Infantino," "SlingRider" and the item number are printed on the instruction label inside the baby sling carrier. "Wendy Bellissimo" branded sling carriers were sold exclusively at Babies "R" Us and have a sewn-in label on the inside of the sling strap that says in part "Wendy Bellissimo Media, Inc." and lists item numbers 3937500H7 and 3937501H7.
Infantino sold the slings in the U.S. and Canada from January 2003 through March 2010 at Wal-mart, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Babies "R" Us, BJ's Wholesale, various baby and children's stores and other retailers nationwide, and on the Web at Amazon.com, for between $25 and $30. The products were manufactured in China and Thailand.
Consumers should not attempt to fix the carrier and are advised to contact Infantino toll-free at (866) 860-1361 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or go to www.infantino.com to receive a free replacement product.
The recalls follows a recent government warning about suffocation risks from the popular carrier-style slings. Reports singled out the "SlingRider" by Infantino because babies can slump into a curved position while inside the sling.


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OAKLAND — A reputed gang member who was free on bail in a pending gun case has been charged in a West Oakland shooting Jan. 11 that left a suspected rival dead and two other men uninjured, authorities said Wednesday.
Lamar Eric Webster, 21, who gave a Concord address, is charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the attack, which happened about 4:15 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Street. Other suspects are still being sought, police said.
Killed was Eddiebo Rodriguez, 20, of Oakland, who was driving an Audi with two other men as passengers, police said.
Police would not identify the gangs but said they are among those responsible for an upsurge in violence in the city that began last summer. Even though the shooting was gang-motivated, the charges against Webster so far do not include any gang enhancement clauses, although that could change in the future, authorities said.
The killing was one of four in a six-hour period that police have said all had links to gangs.
Officer Steve Bang said Webster and other gunmen had gotten out of a car and opened fire on Rodriguez's vehicle as it drove on West Street. Rodriguez was the only one in the Audi hit by gunfire. He died later at a hospital.
Some homes in the area were hit by gunfire, but no one else was hurt.
Police said witnesses were able to identify Webster as one of the gunmen. He was arrested Saturday and denied involvement in the shooting, Bang said.
According to authorities, Webster was free on $40,000 bail at the time of the shooting for a May 3, 2012 case where he was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm and carrying a loaded firearm. According to court records, a police officer thought Webster was carrying a gun at a shrine for a homicide victim in East Oakland. Police later stopped a car that had left the shrine. Webster was a passenger in the car, and police found the gun, a semi-automatic pistol with a 30 round clip attached, the records state.
At the time of that arrest, Webster was on probation for an October 2011 conviction for carrying a concealed firearm, authorities said.
Staff writer Paul T. Rosynsky contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients and Preparation
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and oil. Pour over flour mixture; stir until well-mixed.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently for 10-12 strokes. Roll or pat dough to ¾-inch thickness. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, dipping cutter in flour between cuts. Transfer biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.


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You know a sale is big when even can't-stop-talking-about-fashion Bryanboy takes a break from posting about the couture shows to marvel at the latest markdowns at online superstore Shopbop. The literally thousands of new markdowns are discounted between 30 and 70 (yes, indeed, 70) percent, and include everything from strappy platforms to maxi dresses to skinny jeans, as well as some seriously high-end selections from Shopbop's Designer Boutique section. A quick tour through the 70 percent off section unearthed the following finds—act now, these pieces won't last.
Velvet Maxi Dress
(Was $152, now $46)
The simplest, sexiest maxi dress ever—in crisp white, this just exudes summer.
Pour La Victoire Buckle Sandal
(Was $299, now $87)
The quintessential "Sex and the City" heel: sky-high and covered in hardware. Oh, and under $100.
Marc by Marc JacobsHerringbone Vest & Tweed Jacket
(were $378 and $388, now $114 and $116)
Wear both these layers straight through October with slim denim and a slouchy tank.
Jean-Michel Cazabat Gladiator Sandals
(Was $585, now $175)
Living in New York, one is constantly in need of a stand-out pair of flats. Wear this gold, python-embossed pair to brunch, cocktails, or dancing.
Jerome Dreyfuss Cross Body Bag
(Was $488, now $146)
Dreyfuss's star has really exploded this season, so you can expect to see the price points on his bags continue to climb this fall. Snapping up this convertible piece (the fringe is just so cool) at this kind of price is really phenomenal.


text:
Listen free for 30 days
Good Book
And, of course, he absorbed from all around him other bits of the Bible - from stories he heard in churches and synagogues, in movies and on television, from his parents and teachers. But it wasn't until he picked up a Bible at a cousin's bat mitzvah - and became engrossed and horrified by a lesser-known story in Genesis - that he couldn't put it down.
At a time when wars are fought over scriptural interpretation, when the influence of religion on American politics has never been greater, when many Americans still believe in the Bible's literal truth, it has never been more important to get to know the Bible. Good Book is what happens when a regular guy - an average Job - actually reads the book on which his religion, his culture, and his world are based.
Along the way, he grapples with the most profound theological questions: How many commandments do we actually need? Does God prefer obedience or good deeds? And the most unexpected ones: Why are so many women in the Bible prostitutes? Why does God love bald men so much? Is Samson really that stupid? Good Book is an irreverent, enthralling journey through the world's most important work of literature.
Critic reviews
"Thanks to David Plotz's amazing book, I will never have to read The Bible. When can he do this for Madame Bovary?" (Andy Borowitz)
"Highly entertaining." (The Jerusalem Post)
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
- Mark
- 08-07-09
Good Background and thought provoking
I have never read the bible all the way through either. I was raised going to church every Sunday and most Wednesdays too. I really found it fascinating what was in the Bible vs. the digested stories I was taught.
I wish someone would look at the new testament the same way.
I would definitely recommend this book, unless you are easily offended by an analytical book at the bible.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
- Michael T.
- 06-06-09
Lots of fun!
Wildly entertaining and humorous. The short sections also make this ideal for listening to off-and-on. The narrator (who is also the author) has just the right tone for the book. While most of the book is a romp through the Old Testament, the final discussion of how this reading affected the author's faith was insightful and thought provoking.
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
- Ron L. Caldwell
- 07-05-09
Rollicking trip through the Old Testament
Plotz is smarter than his narrator, even though the author reads the work himself. That is to say, there's a bit of "aw shucks" here, which doesn't conceal Plotz's fundamental seriousness and intelligence.
I've read some other reviews of the written work; many Christians lambast it for not dealing with the New Testament. THAT is NOT Plotz's Bible. He's Jewish, & that's his point-of-view. Bemoaning the lack of NT treatment is absurd.
The author gives us a very thoughtful, amusing, humane reading of the OT. He gives time and attention to stories that we don't hear in Sunday School (nor in Hebrew School, apparently). Even when one might disagree with Plotz's take on some character or event, there's no doubt that he's reading with an open mind. (The only time I had any quarrel with him was when he bent over backwards to put a positive moral spin on some appalling event, though we seldom disagreed for long.)
26 of 30 people found this review helpful
- Tom
- 23-05-12
Clarifying, thought provoking, endearing...
To anyone (like me) who has read the bible cover to cover before, and thought - no, wait, I have to re-read that bit - or - "How come I never heard that verse in church before?" - this is a refreshing reminder that you are not alone. Opening up the bible and embracing its complexity, and providing a wonderful summary of it in all its difficulty and glory, this is a great non-Sunday School re-listening to all the old stories.
I've always felt that many of the Christians and churches I know cherry pick the bible before re-interpreting it and mixing it with pop-psychology to spout some way of living that doesn't always feel biblically authentic actually does the bible a great disservice. This book does not do that - it just lays open the stories and thrust of the words, along the way asking valid - if often irreverent - questions. Listening to the bible like this, you actually feel the Good Book evolve and grow up as it makes its way from Genesis to Chronicles.
I will listen to this again.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
- Joshua Kim
- 10-06-12
A Good Book
The perfect book if you are: a) Biblically illiterate, b) want to know more about the roots of your religion, and c) are too lazy to actually read the Bible. Since I hit on all three of these criteria I definitely quality - I'm thinking of buying copies for my whole family. We could discuss Plotz's book at Passover. Actually, I'm more convinced then ever that I need to sit down with the Bible as a route into my heritage. I got so much out of Good Book because I know so little about the Good Book. Stunningly little. Plotz is funny, smart, irreverent, generous, and argumentative.....all the things that my people pride ourselves on. This book came out of "Blogging the Bible on Slate" - perhaps one of the few instances of any redeeming qualities for blogging.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
- John S.
- 25-01-10
Glad I got the audio version!
Although his voice took some getting used to, I think the humor comes through much better on audio than print.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
- 14-05-09
I agree!
While browsing in a book store a couple years ago I came across a bible broken down into 365 daily installments, enabling you to read the bible in a year. One year later my thought was -- why would anyone want to worship the cruel, vicious God of the Old Testament. I thoroughly enjoyed David Plotz' book since it pretty much agreed with what I thought.
16 of 25 people found this review helpful
- Matt
- 04-02-10
I liked it
I thought this was a great listen. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I think there may be a few things that slipped past the fact checkers but all in all it was a good book, very funny, very captivating. I would recommend this to anyone regardless of religious views.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
- Lotus54
- 19-09-11
Thoroughly Entertaining!
What did you love best about Good Book?
This book is downright funny. In the very beginning, the author's lisp annoyed me, but as I kept listening, it actually became part of the humor; his voice and tone are perfect for this content. I'm so glad he read it himself or much of the humor might have been lost. If you think you would enjoy a humorous interpretation of the bible, then I can't see not loving this book. Being Jewish, he only covers the Old Testament, although he has Christian schooling under his belt too, and I can only cross my fingers that he writes another one on the New Testament because I would buy it in a heartbeat! I learned a lot about more about certain bible stories when I *thought* I already knew them, so the education was an added bonus to the humor. Many laugh out loud moments. If you're looking for a bigger picture, like does he believe the bible, is he mocking the bible, etc., I would not look so deeply at it. It's simply a humorous retelling of the Old Testament that I think believers and non-believers alike would find very funny. I have listened to it several times now. I fall asleep listening to it, and if I lose my place by the next night it's no big deal, you can really pick up anywhere in this book as he moves from story to story. This was the best audible book I've bought in a long time.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
- Chi-Hung
- 12-09-09
Hilarious commentary on the old testament
I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, it made a very succinct summary on the old testament, so for those who do not have time to read the entire old testament, this is a viable alternative. The moral repungnance of the old testament is a common knowledge, I found his commentary a bit superficial, this book should really be longer. It's still a good book, and I agree mostly with the author.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful


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(Courtesy Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Information for the creation of Map 3 was obtained from the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization website at http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu)
Questions for Map 1
1) Those enslaved had to travel from a slave state to a free one to obtain their freedom. Which states were slave states and which were free?
2) Using a classroom map or atlas of the United States, find the Eastern Shore of Maryland, New Bedford, and the District of Columbia. According to Map 1, are they in areas that were free or slave?3) Which free states were closest for those running to freedom? Which slave states were easiest to escape from? Which were the most difficult? What natural features might you use to aid your escape? (Water routes, mountains, forests, etc.)
Click for a larger version of Map 1


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Jörg Heiser
|Helke BayrlePortikus Under Construction, 1992–2016
Edited by Fabian Schöneich
Texts by Helke Bayrle, Kirsty Bell, Daniel Birnbaum, Sunah Choi, Nikola Dietrich, Nikolaus Hirsch, Brigitte Kölle, Kasper König, Angelika Nollert, Melanie Ohnemus, Sophie von Olfers, Philippe Pirotte, Fabian Schöneich, Jochen Volz
In 1992, Helke Bayrle began videotaping the installation of each exhibition at the Portikus exhibition space. These videos form a remarkable and intimate archive of the storied Frankfurt contemporary art institution and the exceptional artists and personnel that have worked within it. Coinciding with the launch of a website containing all of Bayrle's Portikus videos, this publication pays tribute to the artist's extraordinary work, through a comprehensive timeline, video stills, and statements by past and current directors and curators. Art critic and historian Kirsty Bell writes about the history of Portikus and the meaning of Bayrle's work. Also included in the book is a conversation with the artist and Sunah Choi, who, since 2001, has edited the videos that comprise Bayrle's truly unique undertaking.
Copublished with Portikus, Frankfurt am Main
Design by Ronnie Fueglister


text:
In Ireland at least they already are.....
I wondered through my local PC World at the weekend and was surprised to see a kindle out with the tablet PCs - I just assumed they'd being selling them for a while.....
Dixons' stores are to sell Amazon's popular Kindle e-book reader. Amazon already makes the Kindle - in both its Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-plus-3G versions - available on the high street through John Lewis shops. Like John Lewis, Dixons will only sell Kindles through PC World and Currys bricks'n'mortar outlets, not online. Prices are …
There are 2 rip off with ebooks (nothing to do with the hardware or retailer)
1. The government charges VAT despite the green credentials of something that needs no trees to die and no diesel to distribute. Bonkers
2. Publishers like Penguin seem to be able to insist on a minimum price often higher than the paper version - banned on paper books - even though the books can't (yet) be loaned or given away or sold secondhand so are truly 1 buyer 1 reader thus increasing sales and the zero cost of printing (well they have to convert the file to a different format), warehousing, distribution and then the remaindering of unsold stock.
So write to your MP and ask why the government charges VAT on ebooks but not paper ones and why publishers can flout the ruling on the abolition of the Net Book Agreement.
1. Eh?! Wtf has VAT got to do with "green credentials"? VAT is charged on "luxury" items like tampons (I always laugh at that one. It's pretty evident that the 'VAT Man' is indeed a man). The ability to carry 100s of books in your pocket is a luxury. Ergo VAT is applied.
2. Minimum pricing in the UK is not permitted on *any* item. It's rather contrary to competition law. However, just because the prices are the same doesn't mean they're non-competitive. Look at comparethesupermarket.com (or whatever it's called). Tesco, ASDA et al all charge the same price for thousands of items. It's perfectly legal. However, should they start colluding to inflate prices they get hit with the naughty hammer.
A few more corrections - ebooks CAN be loaned. The lass just took out a library card to do just that. You download them from the library, they expire after 28 days, no having to return them manually, or late fees etc. Great idea (especially the rate she goes through them).
Finally, (big breath..) YOU DO NOT PAY FOR THE PAPER WHEN YOU BUY A BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! I hate the "oh it's electronic so it should be free/5p instead of £14" school of thought. When you buy a book/film/song you are paying for the artistic input and the temporal nature of it, not the freaking trees/plastic that went into making a copy of it.
If you buy a hardback that came out yesterday you expect to pay £15+. If you get it in paperback 12months later it costs ~£5. Did the hardback cost that much more to produce and ship? No, you're paying to have it now rather than later. Why should the fact it's rather more ethereal have any larger impact on the price than the 5p they add to cover the trees?
If you don't want to pay £15 for a book, or 99p for a single there's an easy way to avoid it. Do without. If enough ppl do so, market forces will align the prices with what ppl are willing to pay.
1. The point is taxes are used to encourage/discourage behaviour. I don't see the argument for taxing e-books and not paper books - I imagine the VAT-exemption is to encourage learning, plus there's the the added benefit of saving trees. Convenience is a poor argument for taxing it.
2. Publishers ARE fixing prices on Kindle. Amazon are not allowed to set the price as they would with anything else they sell. This seems to be abusing the market to push their own e-book formats, hence anti-competitive.
I don't have any issues with paying a fair price for the knowledge or enjoyment - I paid £23 for an e-book last night. Saved £8 on the hardback and didn't have to wait for stock to arrive.
"YOU DO NOT PAY FOR THE PAPER WHEN YOU BUY A BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! I hate the "oh it's electronic so it should be free/5p instead of £14" school of thought. When you buy a book/film/song you are paying for the artistic input and the temporal nature of it, not the freaking trees/plastic that went into making a copy of it."
Oh yes you do. Do you really think the paper mill donates the paper stock for free because it's "art"? Or for that matter do you imagine the man in the truck that delivers it does it for egalitarian motives. Then add the printer, the local branch of Waterstones that has to make space available, pay high street rent, leccy, etc., and allowing for the possibility of ending up with a turkey on your hands that has to be remaindered and eventually pulped.
All these and more are material costs of producing a (physical) book. All have to be paid for, and all make up part of the price paid by the consumer. If you factor in the fact that the author has already written the text anyway, the production costs for an ebook amount to somebody laying it out and publishing it in the appropriate DRM ridden format. A similar process will happen for a print edition, but probably at a higher cost as, for instance, physical proofs have to be produced along the way.
I don't know whether authors will receive substantially more royalties from ebooks - my guess is they won't. And before I get labelled "freetard", I'm not exactly a disinterested spectator as I'll be delivering a book for publication within the next month if all goes to plan.
When i wanted an e-reader, i went around every electronics store i could think of, to try and have a go with one, see what the screen was really like for reading.
At the time, not a single store even knew what i was talking about, and i had to take the chance and buy one online*
*I would have bought one online anyway, i just wanted to play with one first
"Dixons' stores are to sell Amazon's popular Kindle e-book reader (...) Prices are the same, whoever you buy a Kindle from"
Neat, I might consider getting one for the missus' birthday. It's not that I don't like ordering from Amazon online, I did many times. But she'll be able to see it and put her hands on it before a purchase, and I won't have to wait until the Royal Mail redelivers after failing to deliver because (believe it or not), yes, I do work during the day and thus, no, I'm not in at 10am to sign for it.
They been selling them in the "Posh" Dixon's in Birmingham since early December (Yes, there is such a thing as a Posh Dixon's - called "Black", showing off high end tech).
I'm saving up for a Kindle - least of all it's a place I can stuff my tech manuals on and try and read them in comfort...
The Kindle must be close to being sold at a loss leader price. A bit like inkjet printers - the money is made from selling the ink, or eBooks in this case.
However, there's a huge problem coming up in that once eBooks become ubiquitous, then the price of eBooks will plummet as they start to get pirated more widely. An eBook is quite a lot smaller than an MP3, and the dynamics will be the same. We already see, with the closing of many branches of Waterstones, that the days of mass-market, high-street dedicated bookstores are numbered, squashed by the same forces that hit music shops. Internet sales, electronic formats, supermarkets selling the most popular physical formats and pirated copies putting a ceiling on the prices that can be charged. What price a conscience for an eBook I wonder?
Convenience of carrying around a paper book stopped this before, now that Kindles and the like are a convenient alternative, this problem goes away.
Of course there will remain a market for specialist books, coffee-top books and the like, but the writing is surely on the wall for the mass market offerings.
Of course musicians have an advantage over authors - there is always the income from live performances. There is no equivalent in the literary market unless, suddenly, there's a splurge of popularity of paid-fore live readings in arenas...
Got mine a couple of weeks back in Curry's...
It was an impulse buy, at the front of the shop, really impressed with the screen etc..
In my so far limited experience though, I've found books largely to be cheaper than the paperback, sometimes up to 50% cheaper, therefore for me it seemed that after a while, the hardware would pay for itself.
The best feature of all though is that I can read whilst wedged between undesirables on the tube meaning I can get a lot more read and use that commute constructively.
Has to be the fact that all the books I buy for it take up zero bookshelf space. Some of mine are double-stacked, and I've still run out of both shelf space and walls to add further shelves to. I'll accept a few misplaced hyphens in exchange for not needing to extend my house.
When will people realise that is not the case.
I have a Kindle, and have not paid for a single book on it. Any of the usual ebook places can provide free books - e.g. Gutenberg. Even Amazon themselves do many many free books. I can read PDF's on my, or use Calibre to convert websites and send hem to the Kindle. Works great.
It's a nice piece of kit, which DOES have DRM on the recent stuff you pay for (as do all ebooks). And I don't have a problem with that, after all, mines full of free stuff (e.g. Dickens, Homer, Milton).
But you don't select your e-reader on the free content (as they all do this), you select it on the pay content.
Granted if you never ever intend to buy a pay e-book, then it makes little difference if you buy a Swindle or a proper EPUB e-reader (aside from the Swindles horrendous and mostly pointless keyboard), but most people DO want to buy content. Sure the Swindle is convenient, but that convenience comes at a price, the Swindle lock-in.
The Amazon Swindle truly is a horrible bit of hardware. That fugly keyboard that takes up 1/3rd of the space. What were they thinking.
You can get the same pearl e-ink screen on a same sized screen Sony reader, that half the weight and smaller (no fugly keyboard), it's also not locked into the Amazon Swindle store.#
Look what you could have had, instead of the lazy "it was on Amazons front page, so I bought one" shopping,.
I bet the people that end up with Amazon Swindles, are the same as Iphone/iPod owners, they bought it because it's all they know, the bloke next door has one, and i'm too fucking lazy to explore alternatives.
Calibre does a fine job of converting epub books and then mailing them to my kindle. The supported formats really are a non-issue. You really are not locked in.
What happens with the DRM protected epub format books bought for your Sony e-reader? I'm assuming (until someone points out otherwise) that they're tied to that e-reader and if I get a new one I'm going to have to go through all kinds of hoops to get them transferred. Oh, and I'm responsible for backing up because, correct me if I'm wrong, I can't download the books again.
On the other hand, I don't have to worry about that with the kindle. All my "purchased" books are available on any future kindle and on any kindle app. The problem would be, of course, if Amazon went titsup and no one could crack the drm to convert them to mobi format. Neither of those are especially likely are they?
"I won't have to wait until the Royal Mail redelivers after failing to deliver because (believe it or not), yes, I do work during the day and thus, no, I'm not in at 10am to sign for it."
So why not make an arrangement with your work's mail-room (or equivalent) and get Amazon to deliver Stuff to work? Works brilliantly for me. All I have to do it get it home.
that I am a bit of a techie, but since getting my Kindle for Crimbo I've been doing about 4x my normal book reading consumption. Mostly free(ish) classics so far.
Why - because it's so small & convenient, easy to read, even in the dark (yes I also got one of those covers with built in LED torch - brilliant).
Means that I can spend down time doing something useful!


text:
Welcome to Ramirez
...your partner for industrial electronics and IT technology
In 1990 Francisco Ramirez founded "Ramirez Electro". Just three years later, this one-man business had grown into a joint-stock company governed by Luxembourg law, "Ramirez Electro S.A.".
Not least as a result of the expansion of the existing customer basis, the newly founded company "Ramirez Data S.A." has gone from strength to strength over the following years.


text:
Claire is after the lunatic mystery driver of a sports car that races down their residential street. Her initial idea of yelling at the motorist through a bullhorn doesn't get the job done. Plan B involves making a sign featuring the speeder's license plate number along with the message, "slow down your neighbors."
Actually, the message is supposed to be translated as "slow down, you reckless suburbanite, and heed this important message from your neighbors." Get it? Yeah, neither does anyone else. Anyway, Claire enlists Phil's help to post signs all over the neighborhood. He's reluctant to do so because he knows the identity of Racer X. It's his new no-nonsense, high-energy client, Laura (guest star Jami Gertz). More on that later.
There's a strange man in Mitchell and Cameron's hot tub. Better call the police. UPDATE: There's a handsome man with six-pack abs in Mitchell and Cameron's hot tub. On second thought, don't call the police just yet. Better to say hello to this well-toned trespasser first. It's the polite thing to do.
The mystery soaker is a charming young man named Barry (guest star James Marsden). He mistakenly thought it was a community hot tub for the entire building. Barry is studying to be a Reiki master, so he holds his palm over Cam's arm to inject some positive energy. As you can imagine, Mitchell suspects this guy could be cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
Mitchell is eventually won over by Barry's charm and Reiki ways. Cam is quite pleased to hear his partner say that he was right about their eccentric new friend. Or was he? The boys thought Barry had moved in to a nearby apartment. In reality, Barry lives in a beautiful castle. Lily's princess castle to be exact. The guy's a loon and Cameron must physically evict him from his daughter's playhouse. Now it's time to call the police.
Jay doesn't want Manny to ride his bike to school. Why? Well, there's an outside chance that the other kids may make fun of him once they see the training wheels. Gloria never taught her son how to ride a bike because she never learned herself. It's just too dangerous. Gloria's mom used to say "that's how people grab you." Jay makes it his mission to teach them both how to ride.
Jay doesn't think Manny will be a great biker anytime soon. He says, "I've seen the kid fall down on that moving sidewalk at the airport, so I didn't have high hopes." But the kid turns out to be a natural. Gloria, on the other hand, is a natural disaster. She needs someone nurturing to teach her how to ride, so she asks Phil. When he's unavailable, Luke volunteers to help.
Luke wants to get rid of all the bad thoughts that are holding Gloria back. The only way to do that is to shoot them away with a semi-automatic water gun. Gloria pedals hard to escape the relentless onslaught of H2O. Soon she's riding down the street without a care in the world until Claire comes out of nowhere to steal her ride. Looks like Mom was right. Biking is dangerous.
Claire swipes Gloria's bike because she's in hot pursuit of that speeding sports car. But alas, she loses her suspect after Laura peels into her garage. An exhausted Claire happens to find her hubby hosting an open house at Laura's place. Phil is panicked. He says, "I wish I were one of those people who thrives on the danger of leading a double-life. You know... Bruce Wayne... Peter Parker... Hannah Montana." Unfortunately, he doesn't own a utility belt, spider-suit or blonde wig.
Phil manages to sidestep some landmines when his loving wife and speedy client finally meet. But things go south fast when Claire asks if she can hitch a ride with Laura. When the sports car screeches out of the driveway, Claire realizes the speed demon she's been chasing is beside her in the driver's seat. Better buckle up, Claire. Better get used to sleeping on the couch, Phil.


text:
iBook G4 12" 1.33 GHz Hard Drives
Ersatzteile für iBook G4 12" 1.33 GHz:
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Wrongful Convictions (LAW-729-001)
Richard Gilbert
There are no notices at this time.
Focuses primarily on the work of students participating in the Innocence Project; however, other students are welcome. Students will consider the methods of challenging criminal convictions and the resources currently available. They will focus on the methods of criminal investigation, the use of forensic evidence, the weaknesses of eyewitness identification, the problems of jail house informants, and the importance of narrative in challenging criminal convictions. The seminar also will explore the cause and effect of wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system and the current debate regarding the significance of the number of wrongfully convicted people who have recently been exonerated.
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
First Class Readings
Not available at this time.


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Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Of my husband's lifelong friends, one of my favorites is Doug Meester, a smart albeit nutty entrepreneur who grew up with Kevin in Colorado Springs in the 1970s. For decades now, Doug has lived on Marco Island in South Florida. He's the kind of guy who gets you lost motor boating in the mangrove swamps and then ends up running aground just before running out of gas at the camp of some weird fellow who is his good buddy and happens to be grilling up a load of Florida lobster tails that moment. I think Doug's adventurous and rather reckless spirit may be inherited: his father, a Belgian, was Mobuto Sese Seko's pilot when the strongman was president of Congo. Doug can captain a boat and fly a plane, speaks four or five languages and fakes many more, and is always looking to make a deal. He's a spear fisherman, and full of water-lore: When I asked him about the dreaded shark—and to me the very idea of sharks is dreadful–he pooh-poohed me and said they're just like aggressive dogs, which kind of puts them in perspective. He knows the names of all the bromeliads that hang in the mangroves, and he can point out sandy trails into the swamp that lead to overgrown airstrips where the drug dealers used to land their planes. He's thin and hyper and daring and generous.
I have had some grand times bumming around South Florida with Doug, driving all or parts of the route from the Everglades down to Key West. The Keys have a history of being a tough place to make a living, even though the living is easy. From the fragile lifestyle of the early Indians, to the hardscrabble life of pioneer farmers and fishermen, to the risky lives of smugglers and desparados, the Keys seem to have always attracted adventurers and rascals. And in the last 50 years, they seem to have spoken particularly to folks who seek to escape whatever wasn't making them happy on the mainland and in society at large: writers, artists, treasure hunters…all of them looking to live life large beneath the mainstream radar.
All the Keys are formed by coral and sand, and have acquired a skin of peaty soil over the millennium. There are four main Keys: Key Largo, Islamadora, Marathon, and Big Pine Key; the Lower Keys, of which Deer Key, home to miniature deer that evolved to fit their tiny environment, is my favorite, and Key West. Unnamed on maps are tiny outer islands that are really just clumps of mangrove, sand bars, and bits of water so shallow they are on the edge of being islands. The blue and green colors of the water are infinitely variable, and tell boaters what kind of trouble they might be in: Green water is safe, pale blue water is shallow, brown water is swamp. But you see these colors swirling around each other in great curves, following the path of currents, a kaleidoscope of waters.


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1+1 Pansy F1 White Blotch - Seeds
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Description for Pansy F1 White Blotch
The history of the modern pansy begins with a small European wild flower, Viola tricolour, commonly known as Johnny-jump-up. This was Shakespeare s little western flower. Wild pansies have a strong tendency (common among violet family members) to form natural hybrids. Their appearance is also greatly affected by growing conditions resulting in a lot of variation among the species.
These plants offer colourful flowers for any season in your garden. They have one of the widest ranges of colours and are good for containers, borders, and ground covers.
Planting and care
Pansies grow easily from seed but take a long time to mature, so they should be started early indoors about 10 to 12 weeks before the last frost date. Press pansy seeds into the surface of the soil and cover to their thickness, as darkness is required for germination. Covering the pots with black plastic is a good idea. Keep the planting medium damp, and once the seeds have sprouted, (about 14 days at 70 degrees F.) Move them to a greenhouse.
A week or so before transplanting into the garden, harden the pansy seedlings off by putting them in a cold frame or a sheltered spot outdoors during the day.
Caring for Pansy F1 White Blotch
- Remember to water your pansies regularly. One of the most common reasons pansies fail is because they are not watered enough, so if your pansies are not doing well, try watering them more.
- You can use a general, all-purpose fertilizer around your pansies to help them grow.
- Remove faded/dead flowers to prolong blooming and encourage more flowers to grow.
- Pansies are generally not affected by diseases or insects. However, where slugs are common, they will not bypass a bed of pansies.
- Either set out slug traps or sprinkle a bit of diatomaceous earth around the plants.
- If signs of mildew or any fungi are observed, take a sample leaf to a garden centre for correct identification and plant treatment.
Plant seeds in late winter for early spring and summer flowering, or plant seeds in the summer for winter flowering. 6 to 8 weeks before you plan on transplanting them.
Typical uses of Pansy F1 White Blotch
Special features: Attracts Butterflies
- https://www.greenmylife.in/shop/seeds/flowering-annuals-seeds/pansy-annual-flowers-seeds/pansy-aqua-lemon/
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I gifted this plant to my father.
Do yu have scented flpwer plants also?
Beautiful flowering plant
I love this plant, these is really easy to grow and care plant.
Really nice flowers i planted in my house in goa.


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Footnote is the story of a great rivalry between father and son. Both eccentric professors have dedicated their lives to their work. The father seems a stubborn purist who fears the establishment. His son Uriel, appears to thrive on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition.
1hr 46mins long
Shlomo Bar Aba
Lior Ashkenazi
Daniel Markovich
Alma Zak
Alisa Rosen


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oy vey? where did last week go. yikes. sorry i didn't post. i think i posted in my mind, but never got to the physical part. hope you had a great week and a great weekend. i worked all weekend and back at it today, but i wanted to share with you some beach picnic polaroids. these are some outtakes from a story i shot a couple of weeks ago (food by her and styling by her). i shot a lot of digital and it looked really great (thanks to andrew). i'll share those when the article comes out.
happy monday.
Monday, May 18, 2009
beach picnic
Posted by jen gotch at 7:52 AM
8 comments:
- the purcells said...
love it love it love it - thanks for making my work look gorgeous!
- May 18, 2009 at 7:46 PM
beautiful!! i love beach picnics and yours is no exception :)
- May 19, 2009 at 6:37 PM
- Melanie said...
looks like a delightful beach picnic. great shots as usual!
- May 20, 2009 at 1:10 PM
- MsGourmet said...
What a stunning beach picnic!
- May 28, 2009 at 3:52 AM
- Kaylen said...
Looks gorgeous!
- June 2, 2009 at 10:53 PM
- Szymon said...
Nice conjunction of these two.
- August 26, 2009 at 11:41 PM
- rObrak said...
Beach picnic? Super WOW! Thanks for posting,keep on sharing, many of us are inspired of it. I love picnic and the beach. I love to eat. I love everything! By the way, let's use an eco-friendly container instead of plastics for our storage of food. Its much safer, and I suggest to use the super duper handy containers at Happy Tiffin Through that we can bring the foods we wanted without difficulty in carrying it.
- October 24, 2009 at 2:12 AM
- Zane Wooder said...
I always enjoy when people share pictures of them at the beach of their lake. I don't personally go to the lake or beach offend so it's nice to see what I'm missing.
-Zane of ontario honey
- November 6, 2012 at 6:18 PM


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Peter Hotton
Handyman on Call
Chris Neurath sent this long note that is important enough to run in the Handyman"s column:
"You may have given bad advice to Arthur from your chat room that leads to safety issues when you said not to worry about deck joist hangers that were "rusting a lot."
"Have you read the tiny print on today"s generation of joist hangers and other hardware meant to be used with pressure-treated lumber? They all warn that the current generation of treatment chemicals, which is usually ACQ (Ammonia Copper Quarternary) is more corrosive than the previous generation, which was ACC (Arsenic Copper Chromium). The ACC was phased out by manufacturers about 15 years ago because of the toxicity issue. It was loaded with arsenic and chromium.
"Most of the current generation of pressure-treated wood is more corrosive and all hardware warranties (including for joist hangers) require that only specially coated hardware designed to withstand contact with ACQ may be used. Mostly they use thicker layers of hot dip galvanizing, but some hardware is stainless steel for even better corrosion resistance.
"It is quite possible that Arthur"s deck is made from ACQ lumber but that pre-ACQ hardware was used. It took 5 or 10 years for manufacturers to realize the ACQ was causing premature corrosion of hardware and for them to develop and distribute the more corrosion-resistant products.
"Your suggestion to only worry if the deck starts shaking or sagging does not seem very safe. Catastrophic deck collapses have occurred, typically happening when there is a party with a lot of people on the deck.
"Although Arthur noticed the joist hanger itself rusting, it is possible the nails are even worse but less obvious. Joist hangers require specific nails and for ACQ lumber they need to meet the current corrosion-resistance standards. Unwitting builders, probably even now, might not have bothered to use nails approved for joist hangers. From my own experience, I have been amazed at how quickly ordinary metal hardware and nails can corrode when used with ACQ wood.
"Please read up on this issue and warn people instead of giving them false reassurances that they don"t need to worry. —
Chris Neurath
A Thank you, Chris Neurath. Duly noted and stored in the Handyman"s archives.
Q My appliances are stainless steel. Between the control panel and the front of the d
ishwasher, there are water marks that I can"t get out. I have used the recommended spray, but it doesn"t get the drip marks out. Do you have a suggestion as to what I can use? — Peggy deGeneres
A First, try rubbing with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. No luck? Buy a stainless steel cleaning lotion at a hardware store or supermarket. A lotion used for glass-topped stoves also might work.
Peter Hotton"s Handyman on Call column appears in the Boston Globe.


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Chrome for iOS nearly worthy of default browser status
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Generic Company Place Holder Chrome
Google's Chrome browser for iOS is well made and a pleasure to use, particularly if you're deeply entrenched in Google's ecosystem. But owing to a few unfortunate limitations—many of them outside of Google's control—it's tough to recommend that anyone rely on Chrome as their main iOS Web browser.
Let's start by highlighting the good features, and there are plenty of them. Chrome's tab implementation, on both the iPhone and iPad, is excellent. You can quickly create new tabs, rearrange tabs, and flip among tabs. That last one you can accomplish simply by tapping the tab you're after (on the iPad), or with a swipe from the edge of the screen. On the iPhone, that swipe navigates through one tab at a time; on the iPad, it instantly cycles through all of your open tabs—I know of no faster way to flip through tabs on iOS. It's the equivalent of a keyboard shortcut for doing so on the desktop.
On the iPhone, tab navigation is superior to Safari's offering: Tabs display in a vertically stacked list that's quick to swipe through to find the screen you're after.
Another compelling Chrome feature is its ability to sync your open tabs from other devices. If you log into Chrome with a Google account, you can quickly open tabs for pages that you visited in the Mac browser or in another mobile device. That's a tremendously compelling feature for frequent device switchers. Apple's promised iCloud Tabs—the same basic feature, sans Google—for Safari in iOS 6 and Mountain Lion, but Chrome, of course, is available now.
While Safari on iOS sports two fields—one for URLs and one for Web searches—Chrome on iOS, like its desktop counterpart, uses a single "omnibox" instead. If you type a URL into that bar, Chrome assumes you want to visit it; if you instead type a search term, Chrome searches for that instead. (The default search is unsurprisingly Google, though you can change it to Yahoo or Bing.) Google's location bar also includes a microphone button that lets you perform voice-driven searches.
The one-field omnibar is a clever enough approach that Apple's implementing it in Safari in Mountain Lion, too. But there's a limitation to the feature on iOS: contextual keyboards. In Safari, when you tap into the URL field, you get a keyboard limited to characters useful when typing in such links: a .com button, and URL punctuation marks instead of the space bar. Chrome forgoes that keyboard in lieu of the regular text entry keyboard, supplementing it with some custom keys atop the main keyboard: colon (:), period (.), hyphen (-), slash (/), and .com.
That's a reasonable approach, but it breaks with my muscle memory: I don't expect to look up for the .com button, for example. And Chrome's .com button isn't as smart as the .com button everywhere else in iOS. Normally, if you tap and hold on that button, you get other common Web extensions (like .net, .org, and the like); Chrome's button reveals no extra features of that sort.
Chrome's suggestions in the location bar as you type are quite useful. The browser can autocomplete common URLs even if you haven't visited them before—a significant bonus when you're typing on the iOS keyboard. And, of course, it provides search suggestions just like the search bar on Google's homepage.
Other clever features in Chrome include its button to switch to the desktop version of a website that's serving up a mobile-optimized version instead, and its use of black-and-white Web previews in tabs whose content is cached and will be refreshed when you select them.
But despite all the good, it's hard to recommend switching to Chrome full-time. Like the .com button flaw, some of the browser's weaknesses are seemingly easy for Google to fix. One biggie: Its complete lack of any options for sharing (via email, tweet, or other means) the current webpage. Another is its lousy bookmark handling—bookmarks take two taps to access, and bookmarklets are annoying to access.
Some other issues, however, aren't Google's fault. Apple offers no way for users to set third-party apps as defaults—so you can't set Chrome as your default Web browser. That means every link you tap in Mail, and every in-app button hardwired to open a link in Safari (say in a Twitter client or newsreader), will bypass Chrome. That leaves you with various unpleasant options: You can immediately copy links out of Safari and paste them into Chrome, or you can rely on both browsers depending on your point of entry. But in that latter scenario, you lose much of Chrome's syncing advantage, since many sites you visit on your iOS device will have skipped that browser entirely.
Another Apple limitation on iOS prevents Google from using its own fork of the WebKit rendering engine and its own V8 JavaScript engine. The former isn't a big problem; Apple's own version of WebKit works great on iOS, and it means that Chrome gets the same smooth zooming options and rendering that you'd expect.
The JavaScript limitation is a bit more significant: Not only can Chrome not use V8, it also—like every other third-party app—is unable to use Nitro, the speedy JavaScript engine employed by mobile Safari. Instead, Chrome is limited to using a slower, older JavaScript engine that Apple makes available for third-party apps. The speed difference is not insignificant: Chrome for iPad completed the SunSpider JavaScript speed test in 5598.1ms; Safari needed just 1436.9ms in my tests. For light Web browsing, you may not notice the difference, but if you surf JavaScript-laden pages, the experience will feel notably slower in Chrome.
I like Chrome for iOS a lot. Its actual chrome—the user interface—is in many ways superior to Safari's. Were I able to set it as my default browser today, I still probably wouldn't. But with a few minor fixes from Google, I suspect users will be clamoring for Apple to make changing the default iOS browser an option.
Generic Company Place Holder Chrome


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Search our database of handpicked sites
Looking for a great physics site? We've tracked down the very best and checked them for accuracy. Just fill out the fields below and we'll do the rest.
You searched for "acoustics"
We found 4 results on physics.org and 19 results in our database of sites
(of which 19 are Websites, 0 are Videos, and 0 are Experiments)
Search results on physics.org
Virtual Library: Physics
A page of links to other sites, mostly about acoustics, astronomy and particle accelerators
Art Ludwigs Sound page.
A very detailed site about sounds and acoustics, using the authors room as a case study.
Sounds Amazing
A nice site designed to help students to understand sound and waves, very well presented. There are acoustic and audio related web demonstrations and experiments.
Can a singer's voice shatter glass? (resonance)
Find out the truth behind this claim in this article about acoustic resonance from scientific american.
Waves, sound & acoustics
This site gives an overview of the physics of sound through a series of links to relevant articles.
Voice Acoustics: an introduction
A comprehensive article explaining how the voice works, looking at how different parts of the body absorb certain sounds to how sound is created by the vocal chords.
String Instruments
A list of various instruments (violin, viola, cello, double bass, acoustic guitar and electric guitar) with information on how they work and the physics involved.
Physics of Benaroya Hall
An information site on the acoustics of Benaroya Hall, Seattle's state-of-the-art performance hall.
Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats
Investigation into the physics of baseball bats including calculations. Some movie sequences of ball and bat impact and a theoretical model proposed.


text: AOSIS OpenJournalshttp://email@example.com://www.koedoe.co.za1683-75842071-078XTourism and conservation in Madagascar: The importance of Andasibe National Park Madagascar is renowned for high levels of biodiversity and endemism. As a result of its unique flora and fauna, as well as the high levels of human threat to the environment, such as illegal clearing, hunting and political instability, it is a critical global conservation priority. Andasibe–Mantadia National Park in eastern Madagascar is one of the most popular protected areas visited by tourists. Observations carried out in 2011 showed that even though there were some negative impacts associated with natural-area tourism, the benefits to both the local communities and associated biological conservation outweighed the negatives. Natural-area tourism at Andasibe is well organised, with many local guide associations having partnerships with international organisations and 50% of park fees going directly to local communities. Forest loss is a widespread problem in Madagascar, but at Andasibe the forest is valued for its ecological function and as a generator of profits from natural-area tourism. Exploitation of the park was not observed. Andasibe is an example of how conservation and natural-area tourism can work together in Madagascar for the benefit of local communities and the environment. However, with the current unstable political climate and lack of adequate wider tourism and conservation planning frameworks, awakening to its potential as a leading conservation tourism destination will not be a simple task. Conservation implications: This research demonstrated that ecotourism can be an effective means of achieving conservation objectives, whilst, at the same time, improving the livelihoods of local people. We caution, however, that governments can do a lot more to encourage and support the nexus between tourism and conservation. David Newsome1 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Australia Shannon Hassell1 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Australia David Newsome email@example.com Murdoch University, 60 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia WA 6150, Australia 114456210.4102/koedoe.v56i2.114406 Feb. 201317 July 201324 June 2014Newsome, D. & Hassell, S., 2014, 'Tourism and conservation in Madagascar: The importance of Andasibe National Park', Koedoe 56(2), Art. #1144, 8 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v56i2.1144 © 2014. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. IntroductionEcological sustainability is a concept that has gained global attention in recent times, with landmark publications such as the Bruntland Report (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987) and the Rio declaration on environment and development (United Nations 1992). In response to the increasing pressure being placed upon the natural environment, aspects of the tourism industry and system have progressed to incorporate this concept. Tourism is a complex array of activities (e.g. see Mill & Morrison 1992; Weaver & Lawton 2006); however, for the purposes of exploring the context of tourism in Madagascar, it is defined as natural-area tourism which also encompasses ecotourism and wildlife tourism. Ecotourism is where attractions are nature-based, learning activities and outcomes are incorporated and attractions are managed for sustainability. Wildlife tourism is where the focus is centred on viewing and interacting with wildlife under natural conditions. Where such tourism aids in the protection of natural areas it is termed conservation tourism (Newsome, Moore & Dowling 2013). Conservation tourism (CT) can thus be viewed as a subset of ecotourism, where the activity acts as an instrument for biological conservation. Buckley (2010:2) defined it more specifically as 'commercial tourism which makes an ecologically significant net positive contribution to the effective conservation of biological diversity'. Whilst ecotourism has been defined in various ways (Blamey 1997; Ceballos-Lascuráin 1996; Donohoe & Needham 2006; Fennell 2008; Harrison 1997; Weaver 2005, 2008), CT, however, has a more specific biological conservation focus. Conservation of the natural assets (e.g. birds, mammals and flora) on which it depends is often a defining tenet of ecotourism (Fennell 2008; Newsome et al. 2013; Weaver & Lawton 2007) but it is not always considered essential (Buckley 2010), nor has tourism's actual contribution to conservation been scientifically studied and monitored in much depth in the literature (Kruger 2005; Weaver & Lawton 2007). As the need for biological conservation and ecological sustainability becomes greater due to habitat loss, hunting wildlife, population increases and poverty, using a number of tools or instruments, such as tourism, can assist in achieving conservation goals. The aim of this article is to explore the potential utility and role of natural-area tourism in conservation, with a specific focus on Madagascar. In particular, some recent personal observations from Andasibe–Mantadia National Park and surrounds are highlighted as evidence that natural-area tourism does work in conserving wildlife and their habitats. It is cautioned, however, that although Andasibe is a CT success story, much work remains to be done to realise the benefits evidenced at the national level in Madagascar. Tourism and environmental conservation Natural-area tourism, including its subsets ecotourism and CT, holds the potential for a number of positive impacts to occur on a variety of levels. It generates foreign currency and creates opportunities for local employment, which, in less developed countries, is a key limiting factor in development (Mbaiwa 2008; Sinclair 1998). Kruger (2005) studied global cases of ecotourism and found that in those cases deemed sustainable, four main effects were present. These were increased conservation of the natural resource base, revenue creation by non-consumptive means increased for local communities, revenue increased at the regional and national level and positive changes of local communities towards conservation. Using natural resources, such as landscapes and focal species, as the primary tourism attraction can encourage greater appreciation and conservation attitudes amongst local communities who need an attractive natural environment for such tourism to be successful. For example, this has been applied successfully with tigers in India (Karanth et al. 2012; Sinha et al. 2012), sea turtles and whales in Australia (Wilson & Tisdell 2003) and African wild dogs in South Africa (Lindsey et al. 2005). In places where there are competing economic interests, such as mining and logging, tourism can be a more sustainable use of natural resources in the long term (Briassoulis 2002; Curtin Sustainable Tourism Centre 2010). However, CT has its limitations and negative cases have been reported (Buckley 2010). Green and Higginbottom (2001) grouped the potential impacts of humans on wildlife through natural-area tourism into three categories: disruption of activity, direct killing or injury and habitat alteration (including provision of food). Kruger (2005) and Lansing and De Vries (2007) also questioned ecotourism's role in conservation and whether it actually contributes towards conservation or if it is only a marketing ploy used by the tourism industry to capitalise on its popularity. Cases of abusing the 'eco' label ('green washing') are common (Fennell 2008; Self, Self & Bell-Haynes 2010). This is further exacerbated by the lack of common knowledge of what exactly ecotourism entails, lack of a single global eco-certification system and the lack of political will to embrace sustainability principles (Kruger 2005; Self et al. 2010). Exploiting the very thing that tourists come to see is a concern and increased popularity can attract more tourists thereby increasing the chance of direct and indirect disturbances (Newsome, Dowling & Moore 2005; Stem et al. 2003). Other examples include proliferations of unsustainable tourism infrastructure development (Sinha et al. 2012), removing other forms of wildlife (predators, forest cover) to more easily see focus wildlife (Tisdell & Wilson 2012) and disturbances to wildlife such as disrupted courtship and mating, and finding food (Newsome et al. 2005; Newsome et al. 2013) which varies between species (Blumstein et al. 2005). Finding a balance between conserving the resource base on which CT depends and contributing to the economic, financial and social sustainability of the host community is an ongoing concern and requires careful, holistic management. Madagascar is considered one of the world's biodiversity hotspots (Conservation International 2012). Yet, it has had a tumultuous political, social and environmental history which we now turn to discuss in the context and tourism and conservation. Madagascar as a natural-area tourism destination Madagascar is located off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean and is the fourth largest island in the world. Owing to its long period of geographical isolation, it is characterised by extremely high wildlife endemism; of those that have been discovered, 100% of terrestrial mammals, 92% of reptiles and 100% of amphibians are unique to the island, with new species being continually discovered (Goodman & Benstead 2003, 2005). The natural environment of Madagascar has been detrimentally impacted by humans as a result of habitat destruction, hunting and live capture of animals, with major negative flow on effects such as erosion and wide spread species extinctions (Goodman & Benstead 2003, 2005; Grosvenor 1987; Mittermeier et al. 2010). Because of its high biodiversity, species endemism and level of human threat, Madagascar is a critical global conservation priority (Goodman & Benstead 2003, 2005). The remaining natural environment is of great interest to tourists, with wildlife tourism being the most popular subset of natural-area tourism interests (Christie & Crompton 2003), especially with appealing species such as lemurs, chameleons, birds and baobab trees (Mittermeier et al. 2010; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). The remaining protected areas (PAs) are extremely important in both biological conservation and supporting wildlife for natural-area tourism. Niche wildlife tourism providers in the USA and Europe run organised tours to see wildlife in Madagascar, focusing on lemurs, birds and endemic plant life (Figure 1). The international profile of Madagascar's endemic wildlife has resulted in the development of accommodation, tourism services and tour guiding at wildlife hotspots such as Nosy Mangabe, Masoala National Park, Kirindy Forest, Berenty Private Reserve and Andasibe–Mantadia National Park. Protected areas in Madagascar As of 2011, there were 45 terrestrial PAs in Madagascar, including 19 national parks, 5 strict nature reserves and 21 special reserves (Wollenberg et al. 2011) (Figure 2). This was a considerable increase to the existing PA network, which can be attributed to the Malagasy government committing in 2003 to a tripling of PAs to approximately 5.5 million ha by 2008 (Pawliczek & Mehta 2008; Wollenberg et al. 2011). Private and community-owned PAs add to this public network (Buckley 2010). The then President, Marc Ravalomanana, saw the potential of the unique remaining natural environment to assist in his government's plans to further develop one of the poorest countries in the world and made conservation an important pillar of his Madagascar action plan (MAP) (Anon 2008; Presidency of Madagascar 2006). Despite the high biodiversity values of Madagascar and the natural-area tourism potential, its conservation implications have not yet been fully realised (Christie & Crompton 2003; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). There are, however, examples of positive ecotourism development, which may contribute to biological conservation. Tourism and environmental conservation in Madagascar Without endemic wildlife as an attractor, the natural-area tourism industry of Madagascar would struggle to survive. The impetus to conserve what remains is strong, at least with those who directly benefit from wildlife tourism, such as local communities adjacent to PAs and local guides, up to the government level (Ormsby & Manni 2006; Presidency of Madagascar 2006). Even though many PAs are small in area, they support highly significant ecological communities that often occur nowhere else (Buckley 2010; Goodman & Benstead 2003). Buckley (2010) stated that: without the income from natural-area tourism, there is a much greater risk that the small areas of remnant vegetation will be cut for firewood and timber and used to graze cattle. (p. 47) Such tourism focusing on viewing both flora and fauna shifts the attention from immediate unsustainable resource consumption to a potentially more sustainable non-consumptive pattern of behaviour (Tisdell & Wilson 2012). This direct form of conserving the natural environment through natural-area tourism is complemented by other, more indirect methods. Ormsby and Mannie (2006) studied the role of ecotourism in providing an economic justification for conservation and also the role of guides in raising awareness and support for conservation in Masoala National Park, in the north-east of Madagascar. They found that local guides played a key role in communicating to tourists the importance of the environment, with 73% of surveyed guides stating that they wanted to pursue a career in guiding to help protect the environment. Training is rigorous and involvement with a guide association is compulsory, as is knowledge of a secondary language other than Malagasy or French (Newsome et al. 2013; Ormsby & Manni 2006). In addition to educating tourists, the guides, in association with a local environmental youth group, broadcast a weekly hour-long radio programme at a local station. The aim is to communicate to local communities the importance of natural-area tourism and conservation of the natural environment. One guide explained that many local people do not realise the biological and economic importance of Madagascar's environment. Masoala National Park also allocates half of park visitor entrance fees to local management committees to use for development projects of their choice (Ormsby & Manni 2006). This further encourages the protection of the environment at the local level. International commercial tour companies can also make a positive contribution to conservation through tourism. Buckley (2010) studied the company Natural Habitat Adventures (NHA) and their wildlife viewing tour of Madagascar (Natural Habitat Adventures 2012). NHA is an American ecotourism travel and tour company with a strong sustainability focus and a unique partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature. It hires local guides at destinations, contributing to community social and economic development as well as ensuring that the tourists receive superior local knowledge. NHA utilises a variety of PAs for their tours, including private reserves. Similar economic incentives for conservation occur, such as developing markets for forest products in buffer zones between agricultural land and protected areas; however, landowners are not restricted by public land-clearing laws. Buckley (2010:50) stated that private land will remain undisturbed only if, (1) local land owners have no need or incentive to cut them or (2) if they gain greater net benefits by protecting them. According to Pawliczek and Mehta (2008:41), Madagascar is like a 'Sleeping Beauty' who is finally awakening to its natural-area tourism potential. Wildlife tourism in this unique natural environment does not, however, guarantee a positive contribution towards conservation. Stephenson (1993) studied the impacts of tourism at Perinet (now Andasibe–Mantadia National Park) and observed that despite the presence of designated walking paths, there was a proliferation of informal trails created by visitors and guides to get closer for wildlife viewing. This was causing an increase in erosion, trampling of native vegetation and favouring invasions of herbs, weeds and rats. Stephenson (1993) also reported that daily forest searches for animals such as the lemur Indri (Indri indri) were also causing animals to become habituated to humans and show no alarm in their presence. In a later study, Buckley (2010:51) reported incidences where wildlife was being exploited for profit by local people. To ensure sightings, some guides had illegally captured wildlife and both charged tourists to see these caged animals or had placed them in an easy to see spot so as to mislead tourists into believing they had 'discovered' the animal, for example a rare Tomato Frog, Dyscophus antongili that had been refrigerated to slow it down. Mittermeier et al. (2010) also reported the illegal capture and touristic exhibition of a Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), a native mammal made famous by the film Madagascar. What was most concerning was that the visitors to Perinet and the 'conservation tourists' on the organised trip did not seem to notice anything awry and seemed pleased to have photographic opportunities; potentially perpetuating an increase in both negative impacts and illegal actions which are counterproductive to biological conservation. Ill conceived and unmanaged wildlife tourism can have negative impacts on conservation; in Madagascar, however, the threats run much deeper than this. Threats to conservation in Madagascar The threats to conservation in Madagascar run deep and wide. Since humans colonised the island around 2000 years ago, it is estimated that only 10% – 20% of the original forest cover remains (Conservation International 2012; Goodman & Benstead 2003, 2005). This loss of habitat has caused widespread extinctions, erosion, loss of arable land and invasions of aggressive pest species (Durbin & Ratrimoarisaona 1996; Mittermeier et al. 2010). Systemic issues such as poverty, traditional unsustainable farming methods (primarily slash and burn), a lack of conservation and ecotourism education and repeated political turmoil have played major roles in this loss of habitat and in the battle for biological conservation (Keane et al. 2011; Mittermeier et al. 2010; Ormsby & Manni 2006; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). This is exacerbated by the variety of different ethnic groups, basic education levels and differences in values placed upon the natural environment (Scales 2012). In the period prior to 2009, the Malagasy government made several attempts to increase the use of ecotourism as a development and conservation tool with various policy statements, with varying levels of success (Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). These steps towards utilising natural-area tourism as a positive instrument for development were shattered following a coup in 2009, with tensions between the government and the then mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, leading to violent opposition and the presidents' eventual forced resignation from office (Ploch & Cook 2012). Current tourism and conservation policies such as the MAP and the National environmental action plan were dismissed with the upheaval and tourism arrivals plunged from 375 000 in 2008 to 163 000 in 2009 (Mittermeier et al. 2010). International outrage at the unconstitutional taking of power froze international development aid, which was instrumental in the battle for sustainable development and biological conservation (Ploch & Cook 2012; United States of America: Department of State 2012). In addition to this, looting and poaching has been a major problem since the 2009 coup, with a poverty stricken public taking advantage of political instability by cutting down valuable rosewood (Dalbergia baronii) and others for export, trampling fragile habitats and hunting and eating bush meat, including endangered lemurs (Braun 2009; Mittermeier et al. 2010). Those employed in the natural-area tourism industry as guides and support were suddenly out of work and living in fear for their livelihoods (Braun 2009; Mittermeier et al. 2010). This was not the first time political instability has impacted both Madagascar's natural-area tourism industry as well as its biological conservation; in 1991 tourist arrivals dropped to approximately 35 000 from 53 000 in 1990 and illegal deforestation and poaching occurred as a direct result of political instability. Another political crisis in 2002 also abruptly halted tourism development (Durbin & Ratrimoarisaona 1996; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008; United States of America: Department of State 2012). It is widely understood that without the support of the government through policy, both the conservation tourism industry in Madagascar and the resource it depends on, as well as biological conservation in its own right, will be threatened (Buckley 2010; Durbin & Ratrimoarisaona 1996; Mittermeier et al. 2010; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). In the closing section of Pawliczek and Mehta's (2008) paper, they saw Madagascar's natural-area tourism industry (and associated conservation efforts) at a crossroads between: Unstrategic tourism development for a few with exploitation of natural resources and pursuing non-sustainable and rapid results to boost the country's development; or a harmonised mix of different forms of tourism (of which ecotourism is an important one) to develop the economy of the country by integrating the local population and improving their living standards, targeting a responsible and long-term vision in which nature resources will be exploited in a sustainable way. (p. 63) This was a reflection of what Grosvenor, the then President of the National Geographic Society, said in the late 1980s (Grosvenor 1987). At that point, extinctions were rife, natural-area tourism was in its infancy and foreign scientists were only just being allowed onto the island to undertake research. Grosvenor (1987) closed his article by asking the question: 'Can Madagascar avoid a new wave of extinctions?' As an answer, he proposed: Maybe. Severe poverty still grips the island's ten million people, and projections of continued forest losses are gloomy. But if there is a turn around, it will happen because of a commitment by the Malagasy government to protect the country's natural resources. (p. 5) It has been 25 years since this statement was made and it seems as though this question remains largely unanswered. Both Pawliczek and Mehta (2008) and Grosvenor (1987) understood that without political support, the conservation of the environment, and consequently the industries of ecotourism and CT that support it, will fail. Without public spending on PAs, enforced regulations on illegal natural resource consumption, international aid for conservation and development projects and with diminished trust in investing in Madagascan tourism, the future of conservation tourism in Madagascar is again in danger (Ormsby & Manni 2006; Pawliczek & Mehta 2008). In 2008, when Pawliczek and Mehta's paper was written, the future was looking brighter for Madagascar. 'Sleeping Beauty' was finally awakening to its ecotourism and CT potential and the positive step towards development was occurring. Unfortunately for the rich biological diversity, the remaining fragile flora and fauna communities, those species yet to be discovered and those communities who depend on natural-area tourism for their livelihood, due to political instability, the darker path at the crossroads seems to have been taken. Can this situation be turned around in the current political climate? Is CT still a viable tool for biological conservation? Recent observations made in Andasibe–Mantadia National Park point to a positive turn being made in the tumultuous history of natural-area tourism and conservation in Madagascar. The success of Andasibe through local community engagement and conservation support Andasibe–Mantadia National Park is 155 km2 in extent and comprises a range of vegetation types. The Andasibe section (formerly Perinet Reserve, 810 ha) comprises mid-altitude montane rainforest occurring at around 1000 m.a.s.l., whilst the Mantadia section consists of mid-altitude (800 m.a.s.l. – 1300 m.a.s.l.) and lowland rainforest with an area of some 10 000+ ha. Faunal components include a rich assemblage of mammals (10 species of lemur), birds (couas, vangas, ground rollers and two species of asity), reptiles (five species of chameleons, including Parsons chameleon, leaf tailed gecko and Madagascar tree boa) and amphibians. Nature-based tourism activity and access is by guide-led excursions into the park along an extensive network of formed paths where bird watching and observations of lemurs and chameleons takes place. Night-spotting activities are not allowed in the park but are led by guides in adjacent forested areas. The park has historically received about 20 000 visitors a year, with the Analamazaotra section of the park (where habituated indri occur) being one of the most visited sites in Madagascar (Mittermeier et al. 2010). Foreign visitors mostly occur in tour groups (numbers range from 5 or 10, up to 15) and at present there are few free independent travellers. Domestic tourism is increasing in importance with groups of up to 40 people at a time from schools and universities also visiting the park. As already noted, Stephenson (1993) previously found significant problems in connection with unsustainable natural-area tourism practices at Perinet. A recent appraisal of the situation, however, found that many improvements have been made since the early 1990s and that most of the specific impacts observed by Stephenson (1993) were not readily detectable (Newsome et al. 2013). At the same time, as highlighted in other contexts earlier, there are some potential tourism impacts. Based on observations conducted in 2011, Newsome et al. (2013) additionally reported tourists leaving trails in order to locate and observe indri and other species of lemur. This tourist activity has caused a proliferation of informal trails and trampling of vegetation. Some tourists were observed to call out at the indri in order to gain the animals attention for photographic purposes. Sometimes there were up to 50 people at an indri sighting along with considerable turnover of visitors as people left and others joined the sighting during the viewing period that lasts from around 07:00 until around 12:30. Despite these impacts and the presence of humans, the habituated indri groups do not show any disturbance behaviour (A. Rakotonoely, pers. comm., 01 October 2011). In terms of the delivery of information and interpretation, the quality of guiding is variable and the main function of the guide appears to be in regard to locating and identifying species, but guides are also willing and able to answer questions. Nevertheless, the situation at Andasibe today must be viewed in the positive context of increased rainforest tourism globally. Furthermore, and given the situation of reduced impacts overall as described above, there is now more emphasis on the importance of tourism in conserving remnant patches of rainforest and increased stakeholder understanding of the principles of ecotourism and the professionalisation of tour guiding over the last 10 years. Andasibe is managed according to a park management plan, but the actual details contained in the plan are difficult to obtain. Currently, the park has 40+ rangers whose duties include permit delivery, protection via enforcement of regulations, support for scientists and tour guiding. Guides who are not rangers need approval to work in the park (Figure 3) and the park runs training courses for guides. The Guides Association of Madagascar (Natural Tour Guide Federation of Madagascar) is now 20 years old. Its main objective is to join tour guides into one association with the aim of training during the low season. The Association works with experts, for example botanists from Kew Gardens and experts from Birdlife International, and generally conducts courses lasting 3 days. However, courses can last for 1–2 weeks so that aspiring and junior guides can gain skills in the identification and ecology of plants, birds and reptiles with the aim of gaining a certificate or qualification which will aid them in gaining employment as tour guides. At Andasibe, the local people, who are members of organised groups such as the Association des Guides d' Andasibe, the Tambata Guide Association and the Mitsingo local community, supply the majority of tour guiding services. The Mitsingo local community is particularly involved in conservation work such as native tree planting and the implementation of a corridor project between Mantadia National Park and Andasibe National Park. The Mitsingo Forest Station is a community reserve created by German conservationist, Mr Rainer in 1992–1993. The local community surrounding the park, such as Mitsingo, works with international non-governmental organisations and the guides association that was originally created to help protect the forest. In 2009, Vanga was developed as an English-speaking guide association with a focus on wildlife interpretation and conservation. The plan was to share knowledge especially between local guides with particular emphasis on the delivery of good interpretation. Training is conducted during the low season and there is collaboration with experts such as botanists from the Missouri Botanical Gardens and herpertologists from the capital city, Antananarivo. It is estimated that there are at least 70, and as many as 100, guides working in Andasibe–Mantadia National Park, most of which are from the local community of Andasibe village (Mittermeier et al. 2010). The economic and positive livelihood benefits of tourism to the local community living in and around Andasibe village (population c. 14 000) are considerable (D. Newsome, pers. obs., 01 October 2011). Although no actual amount has been directly calculated, there are tangible indicators (protection of community forest, improved road conditions and village services) that demonstrate positive financial benefits that are gained from a percentage (50%) of park fees that flows from the park to the local community and employment of local people as guides, as well as the creation of ecotourism-related jobs. At Andasibe, this has resulted in funding for road upgrades (Figure 4) and other infrastructural developments such as schools, market place development, a dispensary and piped water. There is employment as guides (70 from Andasibe village) and employment opportunities for the local community to work in hotels (in 1995 there was one hotel, compared with 10 hotels in 2011), in retail and as drivers. Given these opportunities to earn a living directly associated with natural-area tourism there is a major incentive to protect the forest and wildlife. Forest loss is a widespread problem (Figure 5) in Madagascar, but at Andasibe the forest is valued for its ecological function as a generator of profits from natural-area tourism and exploitation of the park was not observed (D. Newsome, pers. obs., 01 October 2011). In addition to international tourists (Figure 1), the local community, school groups and university students are now part of the visitor profile at Andasibe and such local tourism further engages Malagasy to realise the importance of wildlife in their lives and the need to conserve habitat for tourism purposes. Conclusion Natural-area tourism, comprising ecotourism and wildlife tourism, has the potential to contribute towards biological conservation through directly benefitting adjacent local communities (Alexander 2000; Buckley 2010; Burns & Sofield 2001). This can be achieved through increased economic exchange via employment and funding for infrastructure and buildings, as observed at Andasibe–Mantadia National Park in eastern Madagascar. The promotion, operation of ecotourism and the quality of guiding are fostered by Mitsinjo and the local Andasibe guides association who work in both parks. The role and value of the guides associations that are derived from the local community in promoting community-based conservation cannot be underestimated. Not only are guides working within the borders of Andasibe, they are also conducting night tours on the perimeter of the PA. Profits from this provide a strong incentive to protect the forest not only within but outside designated borders, which expands the reach of conservation for both itself and for tourism purposes. Although there were some observed environmental impacts associated with locating and viewing lemurs at Andasibe, as similarly observed by Stephenson (1993), the benefits of nature-based tourism in biological conservation far outweigh any of its impacts, such as trampling the undergrowth. Because ecotourism is firmly established at Andasibe, this, in itself, provides opportunities for ecotourism-related impacts to be studied, monitored and managed in the longer term, which should be an objective in all forms of sustainable tourism, including CT. Although local people can see the benefits of wildlife tourism, they still need to be engaged and educated for biological conservation to be more fully realised. This extension of tourism into educating the local community about the need for biological conservation was shown by Ormsby and Manni (2006) to be occurring with park guides broadcasting weekly radio programmes to the local communities adjacent to Masoala National Park. This was not observed at Andasibe; however, this extension of the guide's responsibilities could potentially be applied to further the positive outcomes of biological conservation at Andasibe. With the support of international partners, such as Kew Gardens (UK) and Missouri Botanical Gardens (USA), further programmes such as this could be put into place, extending the reach of natural-area tourism to assist with biological conservation. Larger, systemic issues such as poverty, the need for land for housing and agriculture and the reliance on forest products remain and have been made even greater by the recent political crisis in 2009. However, the case of Andasibe demonstrates that natural-area tourism can be effective in contributing towards biological conservation and poverty alleviation for people who live near important biodiversity and protected areas. It thus seems that Madagascar is now repeating the history of increasing tourism arrivals and development along with the associated recognition of the importance of the environment. At the same time, however, it appears that the hard work that has been put in place is being jeopardised through policies such the MAP being forgotten and unimplemented. Buckley (2010) made the point that an adequate conservation framework needs to be in place for tourism to assist with CT goals. This is true in that conservation frameworks in Madagascar have been created but have not had appropriate political space to be implemented. The previous government had attempted to do this by expanding the PA network in Madagascar, but large portions of this remain poorly protected (Goodman & Benstead 2003). At the government policy level, much work remains to be done and the ecotourism potential of Madagascar's wildlife needs to be valued further. Andasibe National Park is an example of how conservation and tourism can work together in Madagascar for the benefit of both local communities and the environment. However, as Pawliczek and Mehta (2008) have indicated, Madagascar is like a 'Sleeping Beauty' with great potential for CT, but with so many ongoing threats, awakening to this potential is unfortunately not a simple task. Acknowledgements We thank Alain Rakotonoely for helpful discussions and assistance in the field. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article. Authors' contributions D.N. (Murdoch University) conceived the article, conducted the fieldwork, wrote 50% of the text and supplied the diagrams. S.H. (Murdoch University) conducted a literature review of conservation tourism and investigated the issues surrounding tourism and conservation in Madagascar. 1. 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