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Below is a reposting of a ULI article by Ed McMahon, ULI Senior Resident Fellow for Environmental Policy, followed by our rebuttal to that article:
May 13, 2009
Learning from Los Angeles
Editor's note: This post was written by Ed McMahon, ULI Senior Resident Fellow for Environmental Policy. He is a panelist at ULI's Developing Green conference underway this week in Los Angeles. This event is focusing on green issues related to the Western and Southwestern regions of the U.S. ULI is hosting a second Developing Green conference June 23 in Washington, D.C., that will focus on green issues related to the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and South.
While driving from the Los Angeles airport to the Beverly Hilton yesterday, it occurred to me that Los Angeles was the perfect city to host ULI's Fifth Annual Developing Green Conference. Los Angeles is of course the world capital of America's car culture, but it is also in the state that has become the national leader in developing innovative solutions to the inter-related problems of sprawl, green house gas emissions and energy consumption.
The Developing Green conference began with presentations by two California public officals: Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board and Darrel Steinberg, President protempore of the California Senate. Both speakers focused on California's precedent-setting Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32). This act requires a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. To achieve this goal California is pursuing three strategies: 1) Better (more fuel efficient) cars; 2) Better (less carbon intensive) fuel; and 3) Better (more walkable and transit friendly) development. The last strategy is of course the one with the greatest relevance to the real estate industry.
For the first time in American history, California is requiring all local goverments to coordinate their transportation and land use stratgies to reduce VMT (vehicle miles travaled). This idea will eventually ripple through the entire country setting the stage for a fundamental shift toward infill development, transit-oriented development and mixed-use development, as well as walkable suburban development. Sometime soon I can see a new book entitled Learning from Los Angeles.
GDW's Rebuttal
With all due respect, as an architect and urban designer who has called LA home for most of his nearly 50 years, I beg to differ. By the early 90's, LA's air quality and general environmental had substantially improved, while quality of life, especially as relates to traffic, has grown relentlessly worse. Recent "improvements" have much more to do with politicians capturing headlines than improving the quality of life of those of us that live here. To your three points:
1) Better (more fuel efficient cars). Over the years autos have, in response to consumer demand and evolving technologies, become substantially more fuel efficient and run significantly cleaner. General engine efficiencies, hybrid technology and clean diesel have made an arguable difference. New technologies, such as fuel cells, are extremely promising. They are also extremely expensive and time intensive to develop. Yet consumers will demand more efficiency, so develop they will. To force vast improvements in efficiency at a pace that outstrips technological development, however, can only have tragic results. Dead people and dead auto manufacturers. The only way to achieve the new standards is to build smaller cars – much smaller cars. That means more dead people – click here to observe the results of a Smart car meeting a mid-sized sedan. Smart cars are great in Europe where there is a culture of small. They are deadly here.
2) Better (less carbon intensive) fuel. Much progress has been made, much has yet to be made. Forcing the issue has one of two results. Either we use more ethanol, which makes us feel good but is absolutely unconscionable as it comes at the expense of those who starve in the third world, or feel good technologies like "zero emission" electric or compressed air cars. No emissions from a tail pipe, but as much or more at the energy source.
3) Reduction of VMT (vehicle miles traveled). We all want that – traffic in LA, especially West LA, reached completely dysfunctional status about five years ago, and even the current economic difficulties are not improving the situation. Forcing the issue, however, will improve nothing. Politicians will create cover for themselves, usually by talking about public transit, and little will change. LA has spent billions on public transit over the past twenty years, yet traffic is significantly worse.
From an urban design perspective, the solution is quite simple. LA needs two things:
Densification. Quality densification, affordable densification. Environments that people want to live in at prices they can afford. Not just young and wealthy singles, but also middle class families. Currently people move to distant suburbs for quality of life (as they define it, not as you and I do) and for price. When we create an environment in midtown where folks want to live and can afford to live, they will drive (or take a train or their feet) ten minutes to work, instead of the one to two hours each way they spend now. Urban designers tend to define quality of life as we think it should be, design to that standard, then wonder why only young and affluent singles or artists live in the worlds we create. A Hobbesian cynic defines quality of life based on the self interest of people as THEY define it. A Hobbesian cynic is wise.
Critical Mass. Quality lifestyle requires variety and lots of other people. Choices. Many choices. A rich and varied environment, not a perfect prototypical project. An empty restaurant will fail – no one wants to go there. A crowded restaurant will succeed – everyone wants to go there. A district of crowded restaurants is better yet – everyone will succeed. One or two small projects here and there will do no good. We need critical mass – either districts of projects or huge, beautifully master planned projects. See also my blog post that describes why Playa Vista has failed as an urban place.
We don't need feel good solutions, we need pragmatic solutions that people will love, that will substantially improve our way of life. As designers, master planners and urban designers, we have two methods to achieve our means: we can force people to go where we want (the IKEA approach) or we can design a place, based on an understanding of human psychology, that will encourage people to intuitively decide to do as we would like them to do (Apple's approach). IKEA's approach creates resentment and drives folks to find a short cut, a way to cheat the system. Apple's approach creates devoted followers and evangelists who happily choose to do as Apple likes and bring their friends.
Perhaps I'm a bit Machiavellian, but I've always found the latter to be the preferable approach. Urban design, not urban dictation.


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Orange Juice Does Your Heart Good
A long time coming
Heart disease doesn't just happen overnight; it's the result of many complex processes that are typically at work over many years. Some of the better-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease include:
- High blood pressure
- Family history of heart disease
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Diabetes
- Excess weight
- Smoking
- Metabolic syndrome
- Elevated blood markers, such as total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels
The effects of CRP were addressed in a study conducted at the University of Palermo, Italy. CRP is a measure of inflammation in the body. Anything that causes inflammation can cause a rise in CRP levels, like a flare-up of certain types of arthritis. But high CRP levels in a person without another disease that could explain the elevation could indicate an increased risk of heart disease.
A juicy way to keep inflammation at bay
Fruits and vegetables seem to protect against heart disease by providing blood pressure-lowering minerals, blood sugar-stabilizing fiber, and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Red oranges, also known as blood oranges, are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances, so the researchers wanted to see if drinking red orange juice might improve blood flow through the arteries and help decrease inflammation.
Nineteen people (average age 48 years) at risk for heart disease took part in the study. Twelve people who were not at increased risk served as a control group.
The study took place in two parts. In the first, half of the people were given 500 ml of red orange juice to drink each day for seven days; the rest of the people were given a placebo drink. After a three-day break, the groups were switched.
The researchers measured blood fats and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress (caused by free radicals), as well as blood flow through a major artery.
After the red orange juice period, people at high risk for heart disease had significantly better blood flow through their arteries. Compared with the control group, the high-risk group had significantly higher markers of inflammation at the start of the study. But after one week of drinking the red orange juice, these markers decreased significantly.
Free-radical damage markers (which measure the amount of oxidation damage that is occurring) were elevated at the beginning of the study in the high-risk group compared with the control group. Red orange juice didn't appear to significantly change these levels.
Other studies have looked at blonde (regular) orange juice on blood vessel function, as well. The results weren't as impressive, with improvements only lasting for a short period after the juice was drunk. "Red orange juice tested in our study seemed to induce a more sustained and stable improvement of [blood vessel] function than that of similar fruit beverages," said the researchers.
Putting it in perspective
While it appears that drinking red orange juice could decrease inflammation and improve blood flow, the study didn't show that there was any direct effect on the people's heart disease risk. Reduced inflammation and improved blood flow does not necessarily imply a reduced risk of developing heart disease. This was a small study whose results need to be confirmed in larger trials.


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|August 12, 2012, 11:36 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: April 19, 2012
Posts: 479
red dot sight options?
hey everyone.. im looking for options for red dot sights.. obviously, there are the high end options such as the aimpoint, eotech, and trijicons.. but what are the options in the $100-$250 range that i could consider?... im looking for something durable, rugged, waterproof, but not insanely priced
id prefer no more than a 4MOA dot if possible
also, how important is battery life?.. i know the aimpoints can be left on for 5 years they say... but how important is that?.. im fine turning them on before i start shooting and turning them off when im done...
so what red dots would you suggest in the $100-$250 price range, and what features do they offer that make them notable?
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Modified Mustangs & FordsFeatured Vehicles
1964 Ford Ranchero - Drafted Into Action
Adding Four Weber Carbs To This '64 Ranchero Was Never More Important
Sondra Gorman's '64 Ranchero
It was a great bunch of friends that prompted Rich Gorman to buy the '64 Ranchero that was spotted unattended, in someone's garage. Judging from the quality of the '65 Shelby Mustang that Gorman restored himself, these guys knew the Ranchero couldn't be in better hands. Gorman didn't disappoint them once he got to tearing apart and rebuilding the Ranchero to its current condition. At first, it looks like a classic custom, but as you inspect it closer, you begin to see some modern components that make it faster, reliable and most importantly, very cool.
With a powerful 302ci V-8 under the hood, Gorman's finishing touch to the Ranchero was to swap out the single four-barrel carburetor for a set of four Weber side-draft units. "Unfortunately, Rich lost his ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer, and was unable to add that finishing touch himself," says Gorman's wife Sondra. Rich Gorman passed away in January 2009, but the same group of friends that prompted Gorman to buy the Ranchero, rallied to take the vehicle to J. Bittle of JBA Performance Center in San Diego, California, to see that the rest of the vehicle got finished in his honor. "We pitched in and installed the four Weber No. 45 side-draft carburetors, built the custom linkage for the Moon manifold, and delivered it to Sondra, who wanted to see the Ranchero finished the way he would have wanted it," says J. Bittle. "Rich Gorman was a good friend, a Ford enthusiast, and a great law enforcement officer, who had many funny and interesting stories to tell." For Sondra, it was an amazing experience to see how many people actually cared for Rich and went out of their way to see that the Weber carbs finally got installed.
This life-changing turn of events left Sondra Gorman with a wonderful vehicle that she loves and that truly expresses the talent that Rich had as a Ford enthusiast. His handiwork demonstrates the many modifications to the body and suspension that make this Ranchero fast, unique, and something to be admired. In his efforts, Gorman managed to retain the vehicle's classic identity in the process. He kept the body stock in appearance, but added some new tricks to the Ranchero, such as shaving the door handles, trim, and adding an electronic keyless entry system. After smoothing out the factory sheetmetal and adding louvers to the hood, a few coats of DuPont Mercedes Champagne Metallic paint gave the vehicle a modern tint to its classic design. In keeping with the vehicle's clean appearance the factory bumpers were re-chromed and the original grille restored; but not without a touch of modern technology. Gorman incorporated new halogen Hella lights that replaced the old factory headlights and driving lights.
Looking at the Ranchero now, there's no doubt that this vehicle's parts hauling days are long gone, as it proudly wears a frenched third-brake light on the tailgate as a crown of its rebirth. Furthermore, the highly polished stainless trim around the bed creates a frame for the stained and varnished wood kit and smooth sheetmetal that indicates this baby is pampered.
While the Ranchero may now be Sondra Gorman's prized possession, Rich's original intent was to drive it to shows and ultimately, get to its destination in comfort. Therefore the factory suspension was swapped out for a more comfortable and adjustable Air Ride Suspension unit. While it's cool that the vehicle can be easily raised or lowered with a touch of an in-cab control panel, the true nature of the swap allows the Ranchero to be driven aggressively in a corner or in a straight line when called upon to show its muscle. For now, the new suspension allows the use of Budnik billet aluminum wheels and Goodyear rubber to nicely fill out the wheel wells and grab some much needed traction. The suspension was also further enhanced with a Unique Performance rack-and-pinion steering unit up front and a 9-inch rear out of a Lincoln Versailles out back.
Photo GalleryView Photo Gallery
With the suspension upgraded to the performance category, Gorman realized that the factory brake system wouldn't be sufficient to stop the Ranchero at speed. So he upgraded it to a set of Wilwood four-piston calipers up front, and Wilwood two-piston rear calipers, matching them with a set of performance slotted rotors. With custom-built brake lines and a CNC dual master cylinder, the Ranchero was now ready to meet the requirements for a true performance ride.
While reaching a higher level of performance was key, Gorman had also given much thought as to the amount of comfort he and his wife would experience, sitting in this relatively small vehicle. Keep in mind this '64's original interior wasn't spacious or luxurious. This led him to toss out the factory seat and use a pair of Lincoln bucket seats with eight-way adjustability instead. They were reupholstered using dark gray leather, as were the custom-stitched door panels which are also now outfitted with billet arm rests. The factory dash was fine, but Gorman wanted to give a hint as to the Ranchero's performance. So he incorporated a JME billet aluminum bezel that houses a set of Auto Meter gauges that can be easily seen while the driver wraps his hands around the billet LeCarra steering wheel.
The heart of the Ranchero resides under the louvered hood. As mentioned earlier, the Ford 302ci V-8 crate engine sports the four Weber No. 45 side-draft carburetors and Moon aluminum intake. The air and fuel moves through the Ford Racing aluminum cylinder heads, while the combustion takes place with the help of an MSD ignition system. A set of Doug's Headers direct the exhaust gases out through custom side-exit duals that feature the same tip trim ring used on '65-'66 Mustang GTs. Approaching 400 hp, the small-block Ford is connected to a Tremec World Class T5 manual transmission, to which Gorman used an early style four-speed shifter to keep in tune with the Ranchero's classic appearance.
While some people appreciate the work and effort it takes to build a car from scratch, Sondra Gorman is lucky enough to realize that this particular Ranchero is more than just a cool little truck. She considers it a celebration of Rich's life and plans to showcase it at several shows this year in his memory. We can bet that she'll have many trophies to show for his work and for the effort of their friends that wanted to finish this unique vehicle just for him.
The Details
Sondra Gorman's '64 Ranchero
- Ford Racing 302ci V-8
- 4.00-inch bore
- 3.00-inch stroke
- Weber No. 45 side-draft carburetors
- Moon aluminum side-draft intake
- Ford Racing aluminum cylinder heads
- March Performance pulleys and brackets
- Holley mechanical fuel pump
- Earl's stainless braided hose
- Edelbrock aluminum water pump
- Matson radiator
- Ford Racing aluminum valve covers
- MSD Ignition system
- Tremec World Class T5
- Factory four-speed floor-mounted shifter
- Lincoln Versailles 9-inch
- Doug's Headers
- Custom side-exit dual exhaust
- Front: Air Ride air suspension system, Unique Performance rack-and-pinion steering
- Rear: Air Ride air suspension system
- Front: Wilwood, 12-inch slotted and drilled disc, four-piston caliper
- Rear: Wilwood, 12-inch slotted and drilled disc, two-piston caliper
- Front: Budnik Muroc II, 16x8
- Rear: Budnik Muroc II, 16x8
- Front: BF Goodrich Comp T/A, P225/50ZR16
- Rear: BF Goodrich Comp T/A, P245/50ZR16
LeCarra billet steering wheel, gray custom upholstery, billet arm rests, Lincoln eight-way power bucket seats, Auto Meter gauges, Painless Wiring 18-circuit system
DuPont Mercedes Champagne Metallic basecoat/clearcoat, louvered factory hood, door handles and trim removed, frenched rear third-brake-light, bed wood floor kit


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The DVAN-2040-60-8 from American Microwave Corporation is a RF Variable Attenuator with Frequency 2000 to 4000 MHz, Attenuation Range 10 to 60 dB, Power 1 W, (30 dBm), Insertion Loss 2 dB, Switching Time 1 micro sec. Tags: Module with Connectors, Programmable, Digital, Computer Controlled. More details for DVAN-2040-60-8 can be seen below.
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Meet with a certified naturopath for a series of scientific tests
Tests will give you your pH/alkaline balance, metabolic rate, muscle quality and body composition, cell vitality and toxicity levels
Discover your biological age, which is the age your organs reflect – it's better than your real age because if you take care of yourself, you can turn back the clock!
Get valuable insight into your digestive capacity and function, how quickly you process sugars and what foods your body likes best
Based on the results, your naturopath will recommend diet or lifestyle changes and treatments to get you on your way to feeling fantastic
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text:
Bambi Strikes Again
The attempted (and partially successful) assassination in Arizona has once again brought the gun control debate to a boil. Both sides have trotted out their usual arguments for and against gun possession and, of course, both sides refuse to admit that their opponents have anything intelligent to say on the subject.
The bleeding hearts on the left want to make sure that no one kills Bambi, conveniently ignoring the fact that when Bambi mates, he produces a bunch of little Bambis whose subsequent population explosion wreaks havoc on farmers' produce and speeding vehicles alike. Meanwhile, the gun-toting NRA folk are dead-set against giving up their right to assault rifles, extended magazines and dum-dum bullets.
Luckily, RSBS is here to explain things a little better and offer some rational solutions.
First of all, guns do kill. I just want to put that out there. In fact, this is why guns were invented. You can argue until you're blue in the face that someone has to pull the trigger but the fact is that a gun's sole purpose is meting out death. Anyone who says differently is willfully ignorant at best. It's like saying that batting in baseball is defensive because really what you're trying to do is prevent the ball from making it into the catcher's mitt. No, you're trying to put the ball in play by hitting it. When you buy a gun, although you may not have the intention of killing anything, its only power, even as a deterrent, is in the fact that you can kill if you want.
Second, some people should not be allowed to own guns. History of mental problems? You shouldn't have a gun. Even the army won't accept you? Probably shouldn't have a gun. What is so hard about this concept? We don't allow people with Alzheimer's to drive cars. Why can that same person purchase a weapon? I'm just saying that maybe we should use a little common sense here and regulate firearms at least as carefully as we regulate motor vehicles.
Third, guns are fun. Have you ever shot a gun? It's awesome, once you get past that first moment of insane fear. I grew up around guns and I grew up respecting them and learning how to use and care for them properly. Responsible gun ownership, like responsible car ownership or responsible use of alcohol, shouldn't be open to debate. But if both sides don't get together and start coming up with some responsible compromises, we're going to continue with this mishmash of worthless gun laws that irresponsibly sit on the books today.
I'm a realist. I don't actually hold out any hope that this senseless act of violence will force people to come to their senses. In fact, I have a feeling that after the first few moments of kumbaya, we're going to see even more of the fingerpointing and polarization that created the climate where this act was possible. But hey, it's 2011. We may not have flying cars, time machines or even a freakin' hoverboard but at least we can hope for rational regulation.


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Earlier this year, city officials in Boulder, Colorado discovered an unusual form of vandalism. A graffiti artist had altered the entrance sign to The Boulder County Justice Center utilizing a tool in typographic communication that has become a trend in our digital world: the scare quote.
Scare quote graffiti, Boulder, CO, July 2010. (Boulder Daily Camera)
Typing with our thumbs has added to our text-based communication chatspeak, emoticons and a plethora of new abbreviations. But its most interesting contribution to contemporary typography might be bringing the scare quote into the mainstream.
You may not be familiar with the label for the Digital Age's favorite typographic marks, but odds are you've seen them used to add playful emphasis to words and phrases in all corners of your everyday life.
Liquor store signage, Berkeley, CA, October 2010.
Ford Escort, New York City, NY, November 2010 (Tim McCoy)
Online, they're collected in the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotations, viewable at the "Quotation Mark" Abuse Flickr pool, appear on PassiveAggressiveNotes.com and can even be seen in product reviews.
Amazon.com product review, January 2007. (Amazon.com)
They've gotten so popular, professional copywriters and journalists are using them for mainstream audiences. Design-conscious Target is using them for deals that are "Unbelievable!" and just downright "Surprising!"; The Washington Post Style section has used them to describe Jon Stewart; and global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi is using them in their new Toyota Highlander ad campaign.
Target in-store signage, September 2010.
The Washington Post, October 2010. (Washington Post)
Toyota Highlander wheatpasted ad, Berkeley, CA, December 2010.
Maybe you've even used scare quotes yourself. Perhaps to add sarcasm in chat:
Text messaging dramatization, webOS.
Or in their physical extension:
Scare quotes physically expressed on SNL, sometimes referred to as "finger" or "air" quotes. (Hulu)
Whether you love scare quotes or hate them so much you wrote an essay that they are the "enemy" on the Harvard University Press Blog, it's undeniable: scare quotes are all around us, and seem to be gaining in popularity. What might be fueling the trend? Have we seen anything like scare quotes before? And if we choose to embrace them, how can we best use scare quotes?
Why do "idiots" keep using them?
Text messaging has allowed for an unprecedented level of communication to be text-based. According to The New York Times, American teenage girls send an average of "4,050 text messages a month, or eight each waking hour." And in April, an NPR story that featured a girl who texted 300 times a day, found that "the number who say they text-message daily has shot up to 54 percent from 38 percent in just the past 18 months."
Some teens text far more than they talk on cellphones. (See full infographic at Flowtown)
But unlike a basic word processor, cellphones use unformatted, plain text, text messaging. (Status updates on Facebook and Twitter are also exclusively plain text). That means lots of communication occurs without rich text options like bold and italics for emphasis. So when we need to tell our friends Justin Bieber is "so hot" in his latest video, scare quotes are not only useful, but might be the best typographic option.
The human voice is an incredible method of communication capable of a wide range of expression. Sadly, the more we communicate via text message and email, the more of that amazing ability we lose in conversation.
A SNL skit that might best be transcribed with scare quotes. (YouTube)
In walks scare quotes. Whether you're quoting someone or not, seeing quotation marks makes the reader "think" someone is saying a particular word or phrase. And in a cold, digital world, vocal expressions like sarcasm might only be possible with a faux human voice, via scare quotes.
Students and professors frequently discuss complex and sensitive topics. Whether it's class stratification, AIDS or gender roles, it would be easy to offend others by misusing particular words and phrases.
So, academia turns to scare quotes. The glyph allows them to express doubt and create distance from delicate subjects in collegiate essays.
A "kibbitzer" by Nieri Avanessian and John Swales attempted to determine the frequency of scare quotes in a body of collegiate writing. After hand-searching essays, they found that sociology papers used scare quotes most often, about four times for every 1,000 words written.
There are provocative blogs and intelligent comments, but read enough politically-slanted ones, and you might think we're a nation of clueless "elites" or angry members of the "Party of No." This "misinformation" is fueled by scare quotes.
Scare quotes let your gut do the talking. (Colbert Report)
Scare quotes can allow factual information to seem unfounded, and give ironic nicknames weight to the extreme base of a political party.
"FauxNews" is apparently "reporting" on "weapons of mass destruction."
"ObamaCareLess" was not "born" in the United States.
The technique, which is where scare quotes get their name, has even spread to the opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal (see also: TNR).
Have there been similar "mistakes"?
Sign Painted Slogans
Scare quotists seem to have taken a cue from the rich history of hand-painted signage and advertisements. The beautiful art of sign painting once gave a handwritten, human quality to the billboards that are a part of city life.
New York City, 2010. (MorgueFile)
New York City, 1905. (Library of Congress)
As sign painting technique for slogans, quotation marks effortlessly added a human voice to advertisements.
Iowa, 1940. (Library of Congress)
Today, there are some artists that focus on incredible, expressive lettering like Jessica Hische, Seb Lester, John Downer and Jim Parkinson. For today's masses, it might be said that there is an easier way to refer to the human quality of hand-painted signage in text messages and emails: scare quotes.
A retrospective of Jim Parkinson's amazing career. (Vimeo)
Greengrocer's Apostrophe
In the late 1950s, an interesting and alternative usage of the apostrophe appeared around Liverpool, England. At greengrocers — fruit and vegetable stands — a reportedly mostly foreign-born contingent of workers made an apostrophe mistake over possessives and plurals commonplace.
Instead of putting "Apples" on sale, for example, the shopkeepers over-corrected their grammar and put signs up for "Apple's." So there weren't "oranges," but rather "orange's," and the idea was further extended to change phrases like "please do not feed the birds" to "please do not feed the bird's."
Believe it or not, the greengrocer's apostrophe continues to thrive today. There's even an entire Flickr pool of collected images:
In England, the greengrocer's apostrophe has now become so ubiquitous that BBC Radio 4 had a three-part comedy based on the "mistake"; The Daily Mail ran a greengrocer's apostrophe "test" for its readers; and opinion pieces in both The Guardian and The Telegraph have called for an end to the apostrophe mark altogether.
The Original "Quotation Marks"
Those that originally drew what we call "quotation marks," might be puzzled by the criticism surrounding the marks being used for emphasis. Afterall, that's probably why the forms were drawn in the first place.
A diple is a historical punctuation mark that was used for emphasis. In the early 1500s, one style was drawn in the shape of what we call "quotation marks" today.
Printed work from 1521. "The diple (represented by double commas) has been placed in the margin to draw attention to the comments…it has not been used to indicate quotations from the King himself, not quotations from Scripture or patristic authorities." (Pause and Effect, p. 221)
Punctuation historian Malcom Parkes writes that a diple "…like italic type, was employed for emphasis even where there was no quotation. In 1526, it was used by Nicolaus Hausmann of Zwickau in the margins of a letter to Stephen Roth, against lines that contained material he wishes to emphasize." (Pause and Effect, p.59) According to Robert Bringhurst, the notion of quotation marks "did not come into routine typographic use until the late sixteenth century." (Elements of Typographic Style, p.64)
Embracing "Scare Quotes"
Scare quote tattoo. (heyitsmejaya)
So, you've decided to forgo Robert Bringhurst's wisdom that "many unprofessional writers overuse quotation marks," and chosen to embrace scare quotes. Soon, you'll simultaneously travel a down a path of great expression, humor and potential embarrassment. To guide you on your journey, here are a few, fun ways you might consider using scare quotes:
- Sarcasm.
- Walking into incoming traffic is a "great" idea.
- She's my "wife," but we're seeing other people.
- What is "racism"?
- Please "do not" pick your nose.
Be cautious: The American Heritage Dictionary recognizes that scare quotes can be used for emphasis, but since using scare quotes is a largely informal practice, different sources consider different kinds of usage to be correct. One lexicographer, for example, received dozens of hateful comments for proposing a form of scare quotes for emphasis should be recognized.
Alternate Glyphs
Since there is visual ambiguity between quotation marks and scare quotes typographically, other glyphs are sometimes used instead of scare quotes. Among the more popular options:
- Asterisk: surrounds a word or phrase for emphasis.
- I'm *so* over him.
- You must be tired, 'cause you've been running through my mind all day. 😉
- Another great season for the Royals~
There are also those that have tried to invent their own marks. Options include percentage signs, percontation point, sarcasm font and SarcMarc.
SarcMark. (SarcMark)
These alternates can be fun, and might make for a good classroom exercise, but lack the effectiveness of scare quotes. Afterall, the power of scare quotes is largely ambiguity, so to reduce that fuzziness feels like the wrong typographic choice.
Given their heavy usage online, there has been some tongue in cheek interest in establishing a HTML tag for scare quotes. Quotation-marks.com suggests using the rarely implemented <q> tag to create distinction between scare quotes and regular ones. Some utilize the fictitious <sarcasm> tag for sarcasm in forums and comments. The W3C does not approve "<sarcasm>."
Standardistas like their sarcasm without tags. (ImageShack, Reddit)
"Unnecessary" Quotations
Quotation marks are used beyond their standard purposes all around us. Known as "scare quotes," they are fueled by the need for emphasis in plain text, sarcasm, sensitivity and talking from the gut. They can be fun, and we've seen similar "mistakes" before, but if you hop on the typographic trend of the Digital Age, beware: they're not accepted by everyone.


text: With her slim build, great ass, and beautiful eyes, Cassidey is pretty close to the ideal woman. Throw in a great personality, a serious cock addiction, and 7 AVN Award nominations, and it's hard to imagine anything better! There's more to this sexy lady than just good looks and enthusiasm for fucking, though. When she took a year off from porn in 2005, she spent time working as a children's counselor, and even worked for Myspace founder Brad Greenspan! Cassidey has even appeared in mainstream music videos, like Enrique Iglesias's sexy video for his song "Sad Eyes." But she couldn't stay away forever. When you love dick as much as Cassidey, it's more than just a job! Take one look at Cassidey in action as she slips and slides up and down on a hard dick, and you'll agree: some people are just made for fucking!


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Berkshire Collects at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA
April 12, 2014 by Corey A. Edwards
Many of us collect something – art, watches, books, coins – but who collects collections? The Berkshire Museum, that's who – and they've collected together a bunch of local collections in their Berkshire Collects exhibit, running now through May 11th.
As a species, we love to collect and organize, seemingly, and never is the statement "one person's trash is another person's treasure" made more obvious than by viewing the grouped results of someone's long-term collecting passion.
Read the rest of this page »


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Evil monolith Apple has begun a nefarious program to snatch children from the warm arms of their home PCs with ominous-sounding "field trips." These trips do lead to a field, but not one with grass and trees and sunshine. This is a field of glass, of white plastic, of aluminium, and of shameful minimalism.
Sure, Apple has its shiny white coating of education. The (apparently free) one-hour trip can accommodate up to 25 impressionable youngsters. "Let the children create projects using easy-to-understand software like iMovie and iPhoto!" the site exclaims. "Or they can bring in a project they've already created and turn our store into a theater," the site explains. "Free t-shirts!" furthers the site. Well, Apple, let me tell you this. I will not "bring my enthusiasm," and I will not let you "bring the rest." Children should frolic in parks, not museum-like electronics shops. The t-shirts do look sort of sweet, though. [TUAW]


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Yahoo, Icahn Settle; Microsoft Out?
Page 1 of 1
NEW YORK -- Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) will appoint activist investor Carl Icahn and two of his nominees to its board, settling a proxy battle and making an immediate transaction with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) less likely.
The settlement, announced on Monday, came just 11 days before Yahoo's Aug. 1 annual shareholders meeting, at which Icahn had originally sought to replace the entire board with his own nominees and oust Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang.
But Icahn did not appear to have the backing of prominent Yahoo shareholders such as Legg Mason fund manager Bill Miller, who said on Friday that he would support Yahoo's board. Legg owned 4.4 percent of Yahoo according to a regulatory filing.
"It may be possible it does generate some positive change. Perhaps Icahn can drive some more staff reductions, persuade it to divest its Asia investments," Jeffrey Lindsay, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said of the settlement.
"Overall it seems much less likely that there will be a transaction with Microsoft. The market is already reading it that way," he added. "This looks like a compromise and in general most of these compromises, certainly with ones with Icahn in the past, have reinforced the status quo."
Yahoo shares fell 20 cents, or nearly 1 percent, to $22.25 in pre-market trading. The stock is far below Microsoft's last offer price of $33 per share, a bid that was withdrawn in May.
After six months of on-again, off-again talks with Microsoft that have undermined Yang and his management team's credibility with Wall Street, the settlement with Icahn could shore up Yahoo's position in the near term.
"Yahoo's current management is much better suited for Yahoo shareholders throughout this transition period. It's not like a vote of confidence, it's just they're the right people to get us through the disaster that we're in," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Sandler.
"They've done a poor job but unfortunately there isn't a whole lineup of really good Internet executives who are pounding down the door to take on this challenge."
Yahoo reports quarterly results on Thursday.
Icahn, who owned 4.98 percent of Yahoo, was quoted in a Yahoo statement as saying the settlement was a "good outcome" and that he continued to believe a transaction to sell Yahoo or its search business should be given full consideration.
"I am happy that the board has agreed in the settlement agreement that any meaningful transaction, including the strategy in dealing with that transaction, will be fully discussed with the entire board before any final decision is made," Icahn said in the statement.
Yahoo said it will expand its board to 11 members from nine, with eight of its existing directors standing for reelection. Icahn will be appointed and the remaining two board seats will be chosen from a list that includes Icahn's original slate of candidates and Jonathan Miller, former chairman and CEO of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) said.
Yahoo said Roy Bostock, Ronald Burkle, Eric Hippeau, Vyomesh Joshi, Arthur Kern, Mary Agnes Wilderotter, Gary Wilson and Jerry Yang would stand for reelection. Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick will not.


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The Central Connecticut baseball team dropped a 9-5 decision on the road at UMass on Tuesday afternoon. Senior Tyler McIntyre hit his fourth home run of the season in the loss. The Blue Devils are now 15-16 overall on the season.
Central returns to action on Friday afternoon at Wagner. They begin a four-game weekend series on Staten Island beginning at 3 p.m.
The Minutemen struck first with four runs in the first inning off of Blue Devil junior starter Tom Coughlin. Five hits and a pair of walks helped the home team to the early lead.
Coughlin would go four innings and allow 10 hits, four earned runs and a pair of strikeouts, but would not factor in the decision because the Blue Devils rallied to tie the game in the fourth and fifth innings.
In the fourth inning sophomore Dominic Severino singled with one out and went to second on a fielder's choice. He would score on a fielding error by the Minutemen to make it 4-1.
Three more runs scored in the fifth inning, as the Blue Devils tied the score, 4-4. All three runs scored with two outs. McIntyre hit his fourth home run of the season to make it 4-2 and start the rally. Severino reached on an error, and then went to second on a balk. Senior Mike Washburn walked and both scored on a single and an error from junior Josh Ingham.
UMass got a run back in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-4. Severino walked with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth to tie the game.
The Minutemen took the lead again on the bottom of the seventh. A sacrifice fly scored the go-ahead run, and UMass led 6-5. They added three more runs in the eighth inning for the 9-5 lead.
The Blue Devil were led by McIntyre who hit his home run. Jeff Osak, Severino and Ingham all had a pair of hits.
Central returns to action on Friday afternoon on the road at Wagner. A weekend series will see the Blue Devils and Seahawks play four games in three days.


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My name is Wini Caudell and I'm your host for Rock Island County.
My goal is to help you in your search of your family in Rock
Island County. Hopefully you will also learn about this wonderfully historic
Any and all contributions will be gratefully accepted and never used for profit
To contact me, email me at email@example.com
** If you would like to join my mailing list contact me here and I'll sign you up!!
Please let me know it's for Rock Island ***
**This site now has a search engine below**
The Rock Island County Genealogical Society
Board of Directors Meetings
2nd Thursday of each month
(All members are welcome at the BOD meetings)
Board meetings are held in the Oak Room of Butterworth Center on the 2nd Thursday of the month . The Oak Room is most easily accessed
through the doors under the canopy on the lower level.
Meeting time is still 6:30.
Quad Cities Vintage Football
Sunday, August 23
2:00 pm-5:00 pm
Douglas Park, 18th Avenue, Rock Island, IL
1920's Football game between the Rock Island Independents and the Moline Universal Tractors.
Douglas Park History
We're Grateful For Your Financial Support!
The townships of Rock Island. The links are below.
"We must continue throughout our lives to do what we conceive to be good"
Black Hawk
You have reached the county of Blackhawk, mighty warrior of the Sauk. The Sauk Indians lived in Saukenuk, now Rock Island, Illinois where they raised their crops, hunted, and lived peaceably until the white man disrupted their lives. Rock Island was the western-most site of Revolutionary War, and winning the Blackhawk War in 1832 was crucial to the development of the West.
Rock Island was one of the major crossing sites of the Mississippi River. Most of the early settlers went to Memphis, St. Louis, Rock Island or Minneapolis to head west. Rock Island had the first railroad bridge across the river. Abraham Lincoln began his law practice here by defending the railroads against a steamboat lawsuit caused by the Effie Afton which ran into one of the bridge's pillars. Abe was also sworn into the US Army during the Blackhawk Wars in Milan, just across the Rock River from Rock Island.
John Deere moved to Rock Island County from Grand Detour, Illinois in 1843 for better water transportation to bring in steel for his plows. David Sears offered him free water power from his dam for five years to entice him to come. John Deere is known world wide.
Rock Island County has a wonderful Genealogical Society, (Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society)and also the Rock Island County Historical Society (RICHS) and a number of preservations societies and commissions.
All of these organizations are very dedicated to keeping history alive here.Everyone is very friendly and helpful.
Join me as I take you through some of Rock Island County's history. While it is both unique and typical at the same time, I think you will find it exciting to follow on your journey to the past in Rock Island County.
|Abraham Lincoln
|Quad Cities
|Auto Directory (1918)
|Quincy Solders and Sailors Home
|Mystery Pictures
|1886 County Directory
|Biographical List
|Come to Rock Island
|News Briefs
|1870 Mortality Schedule
|County Businesses (1886)
|Resident's Portraits
|1939 Advertisements
|Brick Walls
|Family Pictures
|Old Advertisements (1918)
|Rock Island Arsenal
|1939 Breeders Directory
|Business Directories (1877)
|Prairie Famers Breeders
|Rock Island Pioneers
|1939 County Directory
|Business Directories (1918)
|Prairie Farmers Directory
|R.I. County Pictures
|1939 Township Lists
|Birth Index
|Professional Directory (1918)
|Rock Island County History
|Family Histories
A proud member of the Rock Island Illinois Genealogical Society
Please Consider Joining!!
Help Wanted!!
I am looking for volunteers who live in Rock Island Co. or the surrounding area who might be willing to do some transcriptions from old newspapers, obits or anything that may be available to transcribe for this web site.
Also, looking for volunteer's with a digital camera to photograph the cemetery gravestones in Rock Island
I'd sure appreciate the help!
If you want to see some old postcards of Rock Island visit the Rock Island Preservation Societies web site. They are a wonderful organization that advocates preservation of Rock Island's old historical buildings. They also have memberships for just $10 a year. There is also information about their tours and pictures of various homes.
Go to their site and click on " Postcards from Home"
Fern Buford Walker has a beautiful site with information about the
Rock Island Bufords. It's a great site! You'll love it!! HERE .
She just added some really great updates!
The Word of Life Ministry is housed in the Charles Buford mansion to see this beautiful place and read its history go HERE
For those of you looking for your Swedish roots, this is a great site. Elizabeth Thorsell is also the editor of Augustana Colleges Swedish American Genealogist


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Despite errors, Tribe wants Gomes to keep throwing
CLEVELAND -- Indians catcher Yan Gomes is known for his strong right arm. In the first few weeks of this season, though, Gomes has featured a loose cannon.
Entering Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Gomes had already made five errors for Cleveland. The 26-year-old catcher had three errors all of last season and only four in his career heading into the current campaign.
Gomes said it is hard not to be aware of the issue.
"It's natural to -- definitely," Gomes said. "But it's the game, man. I guess now it's becoming a learning experience. I've got to keep that aggressiveness. That's never going to get away from me."
That last sentiment was echoed by Indians manager Terry Francona on Saturday morning.
"He's pretty tough on himself, too," Francona said. "We try to keep an eye on things like that. The one thing we don't want him to do is stop throwing, because it's such a big part of his game."
During the seventh inning of Friday's 3-2 loss to Toronto, Gomes skipped a throw to first baseman Nick Swisher on a pick-off attempt. With a perfect throw, Munenori Kawasaki would likely have been thrown out easily on the play, but the error allowed the runners to advance to second and third base.
Two batters later, Edwin Encarnacion hit an RBI single with the bases loaded to put the Blue Jays ahead for good.
"I wasn't pleased with the outcome," Francona said. "But I loved what they did. I've been talking to Swish and Gomer about that play. It's there and they had the guy out, and it had the chance to get us out of a big inning."


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Views: 478
Great work! I have been putting off getting my DeviantArt page....but this is inspiring me to do so.
thanks for the peeks!
I'm at http://valtriumph.deviantart.com/
Val Triumph was an old pen name. I've more recently used HumanistRuth at social sites.
is my stuff...i find it to be a slow, confusingly designed website but I did put a few things in there to have a presence.
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Enter a product title, code or keyword in the space below to do a quick search on our product selection.
Venetian blinds
Black venetian blinds look great in any room. Venetian blinds are a very popular choice of blind when considering furnishing your windows. Venetian blinds are a great barrier for the sunlight and are very easy to clean. Venetian blinds are very versatile and can be either raised and lowered via the control cord or tilted via the transparent tilt wand. All venetian blinds are available in 25mm, 35mm and 50mm and are aluminium, finished in either a high gloss or a matt finish.


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Apskip, please! Of course it's Mauritius, home of the dodo! Compare... (Geez, still wondering why they chose a bird that, well, can't fly.)Erm, topic?
Do we have any flight info from Delhi to Almaty?
Why are we looking at GE's of planes please? Can someone point me to the source?call me confused in the islands
okay, I am WAY behind but no relevance to this leg, then?
I was looking for chickens and I got Migs
Almaty region, Iliiskii district, Pervomaiskaya Promzona, Almaty ptitsefabrika
If it helps with the searches, the rough address of the chicken farm is:Первомайская Промзона (1st of May Street?)Илийский район (Iliiskii district)It's bringing up other businesses in the vicinity, but no location yet...
QuoteI was looking for chickens and I got Migs Maybe I can help (a little) with both. This page describes the Alel location as QuoteAlmaty region, Iliiskii district, Pervomaiskaya Promzona, Almaty ptitsefabrika . I found this company that claims an airport in the same district. The wikimap is here. There's an industrial area north of the airport that has possibilites; if someone could find Pervomaiskaya village that would help in finding the battery farm ("ptitsefabrika").Nvm, it's here. Now to look for chickens...
Although it's sad to be eliminated like that..But the best scenario for me now would be -Phil: Andrew and Dan, you're team number #1!Andrew: We beat the Fast Forward!Dan: Dang! We're good racers!Andrew: I told you we rock and we are faster than everyone else! I told you!!Phil: However, the both of you lost your passports. Thus you won't be able to continue on with the race and i'm sorry that both of you are the first team to arrive, first team to lose passports on the race and first team to be eliminated by such a dumb mistake. Bye bye.
I thought that was one of the give a direction ladies! Is this one of ours?
Almaty in Kazakhstan's south is its largest city which was its capital from 1929-98 when it was moved north to Astana. Almaty shares a border with China which is around four to five hours drive from downtown. Around 100kms before you reach the border, or 193 kilometres east of the town, there is a popular tourist stop: the Charyn Canyon. It is 80kms long through which runs the Charyn River. The height of the canyon is 150-300 metres. Locals go there for picnic. They lay down mats along the edge and enjoy meals, the windy atmosphere and strong sunshine because there is no shade from trees. Kazakhs relish horse meat. They cook it the same way as beef and it is also sold in supermarkets in the form of sausage or salami, cured meat or ready-to-eat sandwiches and pastries. Horses raised as a source of meat are tended differently from those reared for riding. To the south of Almaty is another popular picnic spot, Turgen Gorge in Ili-Alatau National Park, 90kms from downtown. The place is famous for its waterfalls, hot springs and a rainbow trout farm. "I can guarantee you that any one coming here can catch a trout," said Alexander Yexhov, our tour guide. The trick is, he said, that the farm lets the fish go hungry so that no matter what you drop in the stream , they will go for the bait and swallow. Many people with baits in hand could be seen lining a small cold stream waiting for their moment. After a short while I spotted a seven-year old boy trap his first trout of the day, it was that easy, and he screamed in excitement. The farm also has a restaurants selling deep fried trout. Other activities available to visitors are horse riding or touring the area in a horse-drawn carriage. Kazakhstan is also well-known for its falcons. "People from the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates, come here to buy birds of prey. There was a flourishing black market for the birds until the government decreed a law to protect them," said our guide, adding that now owners of hawks and falcons are required to obtain a licence from the government. A privately-run falcon farm was established in 1989 to breed and train the birds and later opened to tourists. "Around 600 falcons or 70 percent of the birds raised at the farm have been allowed to go free," he explained. On view are many types of falcons segregated in cages depending on species. The golden eagle, the country's national symbol, is a major attraction. One of them, we saw, had brown feathers and proud penetrating eyes. Our guide said it was trained specially to hunt in tandem with a Russian dog whom he named as Tazi. Beside nature, there are several places in Almaty where you can enjoy a walk. You can start at Panfilov Park and visit the Ascension Church, also called Zenkov Cathedral. Built in 1904, the church is made entirely of wood without a single nail in its structure. Behind the church is Glory Memorial Park with its eternal flame. It was built to honour those who sacrificed their lives during WWII. In the park area is a museum featuring musical instruments sourced from every part of the country. From the park you can walk to Green Bazaar, the city's main open-air market where you can buy local handicraft, dry fruits, nuts, chocolate and fresh meats, including horse meat. But you are not allowed to take pictures. Security officers roam the market to make sure the ban is enforced. I even spotted some of them tailing our group after they saw us carrying cameras and video recorders, and I couldn't help wondering that it was 17 years ago the country broke free from Russia, but that siege mentality still persists. Since Kazakhstan only recently opened its doors to tourism, travel packages there are a tad pricey. But it seems destined to become a major tourist destination in due course, given the lifestyle of its people and beautiful nature that are bound to leave lasting impressions on travellers to this Central Asian nation.
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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: RE: Warranty void if seal broken
From: rinty (rinty_at_freeuk.com)
Date: 2004-06-24
I'm very much looking forward to getting an 80 GB drive in mine, I've
-----Original Message-----
Neon John wrote:
Thanks for the info. I haven't quite hit the 20 G ceiling yet, but I'm
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South Kingstown is strategically located at the crossroads of major transportation networks, but maintains a good balance between the fast-pace of urban life and the close-knit social fabric of a suburban community.
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Deeside Photographic Services
Deeside photographics have been leading the field in Wedding and Portrait Photography for over 25 years. Owned and managed by Award winning Photographer Logan Sangster LMPA LBIPP.We are based in the heart of Royal Deeside, in Banchory.
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Over the last few years, we have developed a more relaxed style in creating our images. The team at Deeside have a reputation of being one of the Northeasts "friendliest photographers". Our approach to wedding photography is stylish, artistic, natural and fresh. A combination of traditional and contemporary images to suit your individual taste.
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We are winners of the British Institute of Professional Photography Gold Award 2005.
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Deeside Photographics - Short listed for 2012 VOWS Awards
We are both thrilled and delighted to announce that we have been nominated for the 2012 VOWS Awards, in the Outstanding Wedding Supplier category. This is the second year in succession that we are up for this award. Thank you to all our Brides and Grooms who have voted for us, we are trully grateful, thank you all.
Logan and the team at Deeside Photographics.
Deeside Photographics - Short listed for 2011 VOWS Awards
Deeside Photographics are delighted to have been short listed in this year's VOWS Awards for outstanding contribution to industry in the wedding photography category.
Deeside Photographics - Winner of the 'Wedding Photograph of the Year' 2010
We are delighted to announce that Deeside Photographics have won the 'Wedding Photograph of the Year' competition sponsored by UK Wedding Belles. The winning entry, chosen out of hundreds submitted throughout the UK, will feature as front cover of the UK Magazine's next edition.


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Our list sums up to a far bigger amount than any pitiful investment Seemandhras made into Hyderabad. Telanganas will demand the compensation for the loss to our farmers and our economy over last three generations for the water they stole from us. We will then demand compensation for the loss of natural resources like coal and minerals. We will then demand compensation for the loss of opportunity to three generations of Telanganas in the sectors of government jobs, in administration, banks, education, electricity, transport, revenue, etc.
We will then demand compensation for the loss of our lands that was sold to the bidders from Seemandhra. We will then sue them for the massive and large scale pogrom of discrimination, suppression and marginalization of Telanganas for nearly three generations. We will then sue them for negative characterization of Telanganas in their movies and history books and seek compensation for the neglect of our culture that resulted in loss of self-identity. Then we will sue them for malicious delay in formation of Telangana after 9th December 2009 announcement resulting in death of nearly 600 people in Telangana.
I am not supportive of such an argument. Creation of Telangana is not about just achieving Telangana but it is also about setting a right example to ourselves so that it will be a guide to all of our future actions. We cannot start the new state on such a gross deceit. Just because Andhras meted out such duplicitous treatment to us does not mean we should behave like them. One of the key ideas while forming Telangana should be that we should do everything possible in our capacity not to emulate what our Andhra brothers did to us after they signed Gentlemen's Agreement.
We do not learn our histories to repeat the ignominies and wretchedness of the past, but to carefully avoid them for all time to come. We do not pore over our histories, documents and agreements to carefully chronicle the betrayals of Andhras to learn to behave like them, but to learn not to accept the same treatment ever again, and more so that we don't treat others the same when it is our turn.


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What We Do:
The MCB plans, develops and administers a national and international program of research on medical/clinical/health consequences associated with drugs of abuse (licit [alcohol, tobacco, prescription medications] and illicit [amphetamines, cocaine, inhalants, marijuana, and others]) and their nexus to co-occurring viral and bacterial infections including HIV, hepatitis [B, C, D], tuberculosis, STIs, and others in humans (special studies in women, minorities, children and adolescents and underserved populations. Research may include, but not limited to, studies of the impact of drug addiction on medical/health conditions and the spread of infectious diseases and other conditions that might impact on all physiological or biochemical systems including role of nutrition in drug addiction and infectious diseases; morbidity, co-morbidity and mortality associated with drug use/abuse and/or infections; pathogenesis of drug abuse-associated HIV/AIDS and other co-occurring or opportunistic infectious diseases; medical intervention research concerning consequences of drug use/abuse and infections; pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between drugs of abuse and antiretroviral drugs; interactions between virus, host, and other factors in vulnerability and resistance to infection; pharmacological, physiological, genetic, and clinical factors in progression of infectious diseases in drug users/abusers; and promotes and supports research training and career development programs in the area of clinical/medical consequences.
Staff Biographies & Research Interests:
Jag Khalsa, Ph.D., - Chief
Manages activities and resources of the Branch, including domestic and international research on medical/health consequences of drug abuse and co-occurring infections including HIV, hepatitis C/B, STDs/STIs, and others. Dr. Khalsa is trained in neuropharmacology, toxicology and epidemiology with a total of 40+ years of experience in many aspects of drug abuse research. This includes research on herbal pharmacology (India), drug development at SmithKline (2 years), environmental toxicology (SRI, 2 years), nutritional toxicology, adverse medical consequences, new drug evaluation (10 years at FDA) and about 19 years at NIDA initiating and administering research including that on medical consequences of drug abuse. He has several publications in the field of pharmacology, toxicology, epidemiology and medicine. He is a recipient of numerous awards of merit from the FDA Commissioner, Director of FDA's Bureau of Foods, NIDA and professional societies.
Guifang Lao, M.D., Ph.D., - Health Scientist Administrator/Program Officer
Dr. Lao is responsible for developing innovative research program of non-invasive techniques/methodologies for studying the medical consequences of drug abuse and co-occurring infections including HIV, hepatitis C/B, STDs/STIs, and others. Dr. Lao received MD and MS in Biochemistry from China, Ph.D. in Microbiology/Biochemistry from the Cornell University, and postdoctoral training at NINDS/NIH. She also worked in the Department of Radiology at the NIH Clinical Center. Over the past 25+ years, her research interests have been in the areas of clinical medicine, clinical molecular biology, immunology, neuroscience, protein chemistry, and non-invasive techniques of assessing medical consequences. She has several publications in Neuroscience, Molecular and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Medicine.
Featured Publication
Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction
As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior.


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UK made men's silver necklaces
The Best! British made men's silver necklaces all handmade in the UK at prices you can afford. Fully guaranteed and returns accepted. Our men's sterling silver necklaces are all based on the classic design of a silver pendant threaded onto a silver chain. Silver is the most popular choice for this type of men's jewellery, and all of these pieces come with the chains as pictured.
Men's silver necklaces just right for you
We tend to find that most men wear an 18-inch length necklace as this hangs just at the right point below the collarbone, not too low as to be obscured by outer clothing, and not too high so to be uncomfortable or irritating to wear.
Being all handmade and not mass-produced we are happy to, cater for other lengths if required, and there is no limit to size. Just let us know what you need, and we can find out if it will cost any extra which is usually only a minimal difference.
Prefer a non-leather version of one of our men's silver necklaces combined with leather?
We strive to endorse both moral and ethical values and none more so than in the vegan trend that is taking the world by storm these days. Vegan choices in diets are commonplace now which is why we at Love2Have are more than happy to assist you in purchasing a vegan option to any of the leather products on our website. If you see anything featuring leather, then contact us NOW! For your very own unique vegan alternative.


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Effortlessly cool and ethically sound. Our Totem Barrel Necklace fuses beadwork and gemstones to create a statement jewellery treasure.
UK standard delivery is £3.50 for orders under £50, FREE for orders over £50, and takes between 2 to 3 days from purchase.
Free international delivery for orders over £100
Special next day: £6.50 when order placed before 3pm. This does not guarantee Saturday delivery.
Europe and Ireland signed for: £7.50 for orders under £100
International Signed for: £10.00 for orders under £100
For further details please see our Delivery Terms: https://azuni.co.uk/delivery


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Adobe Experience Cloud brings together all of your marketing tech in a single place, so you can do everything from managing your content and delivering email campaigns to automating your ad buying and measuring your success. One integrated approach for one seamless experience.
First you need to know your audience. Really know them. Adobe Analytics is the leading analytics and measurement tool that guides you beyond data to insights you can act on. It's more than simple web analytics, it's customer intelligence.
Collecting data is only half the answer. With the Audience Manager DMP, you can gather every scrap of customer data from any source into a single profile—a valuable foundation that is shared across all our products.
As channels have multiplied, you have to create thousands of pieces of copy and art. Experience Manager helps you manage it all in a fluid and dynamic way, so you can keep up with every screen and platform.
Once your content is created, Adobe Campaign gives you a single place to manage and automate all your email, ads, and campaigns. With access to your audience profiles and analytics, you can drive better customer engagement.
Now you can automate all your media buying, including TV, search, and social, on one programmatic platform. Better yet, Advertising Cloud is independent of any media, so you have complete transparency and unbiased control.
Making every experience relevant and personal is the sign of an experience business. Adobe Target is a personalization engine that lets you test and optimize with machine learning across mobile apps and the web.
It's the most modern commerce platform built for today's experiences. Based on an open-source ecosystem, it extends from B2C to B2B and includes digital commerce, order management, and predictive intelligence to create any shoppable experience.
From lead management to account-based marketing, Marketo Engagement Platform simplifies how you plan, orchestrate, and measure engagement with customer and prospects at every stage of their experience.
All Experience Cloud products are built on a modern foundation that brings together all data and services in an open ecosystem. This experience system of record is where our solutions connect to create enhanced experiences with advanced AI and machine learning from Adobe Sensei.
Become an Experience Maker
Experience League is a deeply personalised learning experience where you can develop your skills, enagage with a global community of peers and earn career-advancing recognitions.
Forrester's report on ROI of experience
Forrester determines Adobe Experience Cloud yields a 242% ROI in only three years, across industries.
Digital Transformation
Discover how we used a data-driven operating model and Adobe Experience Cloud to transform our Creative Cloud business.
We have a collection of On-Demand webinars that will help you with a range of business challenges.


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Rivera plans to hit Yanks camp earlier than usual
NEW YORK -- Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is preparing for a rare on-time arrival at Spring Training this year.
Rivera, 43, has historically been granted as much leeway as needed in nudging his first appearance past the rest of the Yankees' pitchers and catchers, but he said Monday that he is looking forward to the official report date of Feb. 12.
"This time, I'm going to show up at the right time," Rivera said. "It's going to be great. I can't wait to go there."
Rivera said that his rehab from a torn right anterior cruciate ligament is proceeding well, and his throwing program included some tosses Monday.
"I've thrown a little bit, I'm running," Rivera said. "I'm doing what I can do in this kind of weather. Once I get there [to Florida], the weather will be better and the time will be right to start pushing the legs. I have six more weeks to get ready, so I have full confidence that everything will be fine."
While spotting Rivera in the first days of Spring Training will seem out of the ordinary, the all-time saves leader said he doesn't plan to alter his light spring workload, which typically amounts to a handful of Grapefruit League appearances and absolutely no road trips.
"I'll be doing the same thing. I don't need to [pitch more]," Rivera said. "If I need extra, I will do extra, and if I don't -- I will make sure that I do what I need to do; be in shape and be ready to go."


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abstract minimal 23 Folding Stool
abstract minimal 23 Folding Stool
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About Society6 Folding Stools
It's time to kick back. Our folding stools offer a lightweight, yet style-forward way to get your lounge on. There's no better way to experience the outdoors than with your feet kicked back and a cold drink in hand, add in your unique sense of style and you truly can have it all. The woven polyester top is UV protected to prevent fading and water resistant so you can avoid the last minute scramble to bring it inside when it rains.
- 13.5" W x 12" H x 14" D
- Solid wood frame
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- Every order is custom made just for you
- For more info click here
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First prototype in python, work in progress, I should think of more interesting project names.
an algoritmic music generator that interprets cellular automata as notes, its an alsa MIDI device.
Cellular automata rules are described by a simple RAM machine language and are evolved. There are some interesting things about the language itself, I'll post the details later.
Fitness function is a human clicking on "the nice ones".
a bunch of selfish prisoners having sex and mutating. WHOA. a very basic evolutionary algorithm, a last night's play.
Prisoner's dilemma is a scenario in a game theory (check it out if you don't know about it) its interesting to me in part because it explains human moral intuitions through a selfish evolutionary perspective, in other words, why people are generally nice to each other.
In the iterated prisoners dilemma the game is played repeatedly thus each agent has an opportunity to learn about other agents behaviours and potentially punish noncooperation. Cooperation may then arise as an equilibrium outcome.
I didn't get tit for tat which I originaly expected, nor did I manage to get any other cooperative equilibrium. cooperation does evolve, but it doesn't last, strange, I expected that cooperative species will raise and stay dominant as I enlarge the number of interactions before a step in the evolution. (its rational to be nice if you need to stick around) need to investigate and think about this some more.
I'll post more info and code later or never. screenshot and someone with a different approach and a spacial dimension.
After looking at the rorschach test, I wanted more. supirisingly, I couldn't find any rorschach generators online, so, python, tkinter and randomwalk with random size blobs and simmetrical reflection, I thought that some tweaking or more complicated algorithm would be needed but this works great.
click on a canvas for (re)generation.


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On clear evenings, Jacen and Jenn would play their favorite game, pointing at the moon and imagining what the people there were doing at that very moment. What Jenn didn't know was that Jacen fell asleep each night dreaming of working a lunar greenhouse, staring out the windows back at Earth. A digital composition by Steve Burg.
Burg actually used an image of Saturn's moon Enceladus for the natural features of his satellite rather than Earth's moon. You can read more about his process at deviantART.
Visible Structures [Steve Burg via The Art of Animation]


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Make Money Mowing
|By Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano
If you're a design/build landscape contractor, we don't have to tell you that it's been a tough go over the last few years. If you've been smart enough and lucky enough to stay in business during this recession, when many of your competitors closed their doors, you've had to run lean and mean to do it.
When the new housing starts slowed down, or became nonexistent, many landscape companies had to find other ways to bring in revenue. Some of the ones that have survived have done so by refocusing on mowing and maintenance.
The fact is, mowing and maintenance can save your hide during the rough times. That was the case for Thornton landscape in Maineville, Ohio. "If it wasn't for our maintenance business, we wouldn't be here," said CEO Rick Doesburg. "That saved our company."
Six years ago, Thornton was 100 percent design/build, with the lion's share of its business tied to new housing developments. In recent years, the company has survived by downsizing and refocusing. They haven't given up design/build, but the company is about half the size it used to be.
When Thornton added maintenance, it included mulching, trimming, and insect and disease control for commercial clients, including large residential developments, condo complexes and HOAs. Some of these are properties for which they originally designed and built the landscapes.
"I'm a landscape architect by background—that's kind of my love," says Doesburg. "But you've got to do what you've got to do." Doing what you've got to do will vary, depending on what part of the country you're doing it in.
Gachina Landscape Management in Menlo Park, California, provides landscape maintenance, landscape management, irrigation management and irrigation analysis. Their client base is mostly commercial—office parks, HOAs and large corporate campuses in the Silicon Valley. it generates about $20 million a year for the company. Gachina also maintains all the parks for the city of Palo Alto.
But the heart of that business, according to John Gachina, president and CEO, is mowing and maintenance. "We make money by the quality of our turf. it's a selling point for us. People see our work and say, 'That place looks great; who did it? let's call them.'"
But how do you make money mowing?
Sometimes the money is made by saving. Every landscape maintenance company has been squeezed 'to sharpen its pencil'. It's difficult to reduce your prices and still try to maintain the level of quality. Maybe it's time to look around how you can save. You'd be amazed at how much you can pick up—a little here, a little there. More importantly, you'll begin to realize how much money has been spent in the past that could have gone right down to the bottom line.
Buy quality mowers
When it comes to making money mowing, Gachina says it's all about hours—reducing the time it takes to do a quality job. Their company mows quite a few parks and ball fields, so for those jobs, they use the largest mowers they can get.
He advises anyone getting into mowing to buy the best mowers they can. It may cost more upfront, but in the long run, it will cut labor costs. Using large mowers, one of his crews can mow a football field in an hour, versus two-and-a-half hours using smaller-decked ones. That's labor saved, and that equals money.
Mowers that break down in the middle of a job cost money in time and labor, even if they're under warranty. Consider this illustration: a contractor traded in all of his mowers for some new ones, all one brand. (Having all the mowers the same brand can be a good policy, as parts are interchangeable, and you go to one place for service.)
Since he bought several at one time, he got a great financing deal, which saved money upfront. however, the mowers didn't hold up as well as expected in the field. So in the long run, he spent far more in repair costs and downtime than he saved on the deal. That's money lost.
Gachina prefers stand-ons. he considers them quicker, more maneuverable and more efficient, even for large properties. "They have more power and do a better job on mulching. They give a good, clean cut, as fast as possible." The company is replacing its 36" and 48" walk-behinds, as well as some of the smaller riders that are used on smaller turf areas, with stand-ons.
Pick the right dealer
Even more important than the mower you buy is the dealer you buy it from, in Chris Kujawa's opinion. He's the executive vice president of Kujawa Enterprises, inc. (KEI) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
KEi services large commercial and some residential clients with maintenance, design/build, holiday lighting, interior plantscapes and snow removal.
"Commercial equipment can be pretty comparable, in many respects," says Kujawa. "But who's your dealer? What kind of guy is he? You can buy the best mowers in the world, but still lose because the dealer is never there, or won't pick up the phone. Or maybe he doesn't have the parts or service you need."
Check out a dealer's reputation before you buy. Find out if he's going to support you with people and good service in your area. Does his repair shop work fast, with a sense of urgency? Will he provide you with a loaner in place of a downed mower? A good relationship with a good dealer is crucial.
Estimate correctly
Make sure you know exactly how big the property you're mowing is and how long your crew takes to mow it. This is critical, because the effects of underestimating are cumulative. If it takes your crew 15 minutes longer every week to complete the job, that adds up to a lot of money in labor and fuel over time.
Routing is not routine
Scheduling and routing your crews is the next vital consideration. "The thing about scheduling routine maintenance is that it's not all that routine. That's the area where most guys fail," says Kujawa. "If you think this is simple, you're going to find yourself out of business pretty quickly." He elaborates, "To me, there's almost a lean manufacturing process in routing mowing services. You have to be vigilant about it. There are a lot of planets out there spinning. You've got to get them all aligned correctly."
Schedule your clients' service days so that your crews spend as little time—and as little fuel as possible— driving to and from each job. (Remember, you're paying your people even when they're sitting in the truck). "You want to build route density," says Kujawa. That means scheduling all the clients who live on the same street and around the corner for the same day, so your crews can knock them off one by one.
One wild card is the weather. "The one thing that you can count on about our weather up here in Wisconsin is that you can't count on it," says Kujawa. "It's not uncommon for us to go through extremely wet periods." Of course, drier climates have different issues. You need to be aware of changing weather, and growing conditions, and be able to adjust easily.
Scheduling can get complicated; what once took hours to do manually can now be done with a variety of scheduling software. Just make sure you look at many software products, to figure out what would work best for your company. Some may have a different approach than others.
Mulch mowing
Gachina believes wholeheartedly in mulch mowing, both as a moneymaker and a green solution. "Mulch mowing is a big win-win-win. You're not hauling all those grass clippings in burlap bags, loading them onto trucks, then driving to landfills or greenwaste dumpsters." That all costs additional money—in labor, time, fuel and dumping fees.
Mulch mowing, of course, is simply the method of pulverizing grass clippings and leaving them on a lawn. It's healthier for turf, according to Gachina. The clippings provide organic matter that breaks down, returning nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil—"free fertilizer," he calls it. Fertilizing less means spending less. He also thinks it's the right thing to do for the environment.
Gachina Landscape mulch-mows most of its properties, with very few exceptions. (So does Thornton and KEI). Some clients with big estates still insist on having their clippings bagged because "they just don't get it." But it's not just the odd customer who sometimes objects.
Gachina says veteran landscape workers sometimes have old habits that are hard to break. "Even though it means picking up catchers full of heavy, wet grass, some older guys have the mindset that lawns look better if you take the clippings off. You really have to train them and keep checking up. If you don't, they'll revert back to their old ways."
According to Gachina, mulch-mowing is "very much a program and a process. You don't just run out and buy a bunch of mulch-mowers— you have to change your practices." That includes cutting down on watering schedules and mowing later in the day, after the sun has a chance to dry up the dew. His crews are instructed to do all other maintenance tasks first and save mowing for last.
Personal attention
"Our successes have come through giving our clients lots of personal attention," says Doesburg. "Being available, communicating often about what we're doing and why we're doing it, and delivering what we promise." He says that his crews try to exceed customers' expectations by finding out their wants and needs, then going out of their way to fulfill them.
Fuel prices have gotten much more expensive in this country, especially in California. In response to that, Gachina is experimenting with propane. "We've converted six mowers to propane; it's supposed to be cheaper. So far it's working out fine, but we're still trying it out before we go into it large-scale."
"We've fitted out a few things with propane, just to get ahead of the curve," says Kujawa. But KEI is not considering a wholesale changeover, because their mowers are refitted in the winter for snow work. Propane has been known to cause hard starts in below-freezing temperatures. However, a spokesman for the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) said that was mostly the case with older technology, not today's fuel-injected equipment.
Ivan Giraldo, president and co-owner of Clean Scapes in Austin, Texas, a full-service commercial landscape company, started converting his mowers to propane in 2006.
He did it to save money on fuel and because he believed, "it's the right thing to do, environmentally speaking. We do government work, and here in Texas, they don't allow you to use gasoline-powered equipment on 'ozone days.' Using propane gives us an edge over the competition." Giraldo says his propane-fueled mowers last longer and need less maintenance.
"It's the difference between paying $1.32 per gallon versus $3.80 per gallon," says Jim Flippo, president and co-owner of Lasting Impressions Landscape and Golf Services. His company is a full-service commercial landscape company that maintains HOAs, corporate campuses, ball fields and golf courses, headquartered in Bowie, Maryland.
They have been running the numbers on propane for four years. Although he thinks the jury's still out on whether propane mowers last longer or need less maintenance, so far he's impressed with the fuel savings. Twenty-six of his company's 80 mowers run on propane, and his fuel savings are edging up on three dollars per day, per mower. He's found even greater savings running 15 of his trucks on propane. Pulling loads, his trucks cost 36 cents per mile running on diesel, 30 cents per mile on gasoline, but only 14 cents per mile on propane.
Another way of controlling fuel costs is by having your own tanks. You can get a discount of several cents per gallon by buying fuel in bulk. "We have our own tanks here in our yard," says Doesburg. "Our crews fill up here every night when they come in. We don't want them going to the gas station and wasting time buying snacks and things. When they leave here, they go straight to the job." (One precaution: if you have your own tanks, make sure that employees aren't fueling their personal vehicles with your gas.)
Opportunity abounds
You don't have to live in a major metropolitan area with big corporate campuses; there are still opportunities. Every town has school districts, shopping centers, restaurant chains and office parks. If they have grass, it needs mowing. You could be doing that mowing.
An ongoing revenue stream
Mowing and maintenance, like Rodney Dangerfield, can at times suffer from a lack of respect. Kujawa says that "Some design/build contractors look at mowing and think it's easy. They lack a deep appreciation of what maintenance is all about."
In his opinion, that's an expensive attitude to have. He points out that in design/build, you do a $100,000 job once; it's "one and done." You might do some upgrades to it, but it's not the ongoing client relationship that maintenance is. But maintenance brings in revenue on a steady basis. A maintenance contract over a 20-year period can be worth millions of dollars.
There is one pitfall to that long relationship, however, according to Kujawa. "The longer you go, the more valuable you become to the client, so you have to guard against vulnerability. You can't just take your two-percent-a-year increase and call it a day, or eventually you'll price yourself right out of the market."
The green is out there
There's a lot of green in grass. Mowing and maintenance can provide the kind of ongoing revenue stream that business owners dream about. In landscape, we have the good fortune to have a commodity that keeps growing and that needs constant care and attention. With some effort by you, it should keep your business growing strong, too… or perhaps even save it.


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Key Content
- OCHA: UN Resident Coordinator calls for urgent support to Angola to address rising humanitarian needs [EN/PT]
- OCHA: Southern Africa: Humanitarian Key Messages, December 2019
- IPC: Sumário da Situação de Insegurança Alimentar Aguda IPC 2019/20 [PT]
Appeals & Response Plans
- UNICEF: Humanitarian Action for Children 2020 - Angola
- UNHCR: The Democratic Republic of Congo Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) January 2019 - December 2020
Useful Links
Alerts/ Disasters
Most read reports
- OCHA: Southern Africa: Humanitarian Key Messages, December 2019. 6 Dec 2019
- Govt. Angola: 125 suspected land mines in Cuanza Norte identified. 18 Feb 2020
- Thomson Reuters Foundation: Cheap as bread, girls sell sex to survive crisis in Africa. 31 Jan 2020
- FAO: As climate shocks intensify, UN food agencies urge more support for southern Africa's hungry people. 31 Oct 2019
- World Vision: The number of people affected by hunger in southern Africa 'will stretch around the world'. 10 Nov 2019
On Monday 16 October 2017 the Council adopted the EU Annual Report on Human Rights And Democracy in the World in 2016.
2016 was a challenging year for human rights and democracy, with a shrinking space for civil society and complex humanitarian and political crises emerging. In this context, the European Union showed leadership and remained strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and democracy across the world.
The map below shows asylum applications by under age 18 year olds and gender. Darker colours mean more people have applied in a certain country. Use the slider to select a year or the drop down menus below to display data for different age groups or different home countries.