text:
33 Tips to Launch Your Personal Jihad Against Racism and Nationalism
by Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid
This article was originally published by SoundVision
Alhamdu lillah, all Masjids in the world are open to all people. Muslims pray shoulder to shoulder with no regard to any national, ethnic, class or color differences. Islamic egalitarianism still gains converts from the untouchables of India to Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali in America. However, this dominant reality is sometimes marred by individual behavior, which is contrary to the ideals of Islam.
Some Muslims fall for the age-old trick of Satan and start playing the silly inferiority/superiority game. Some stereotype others and tolerate prejudice against other human beings, despite the fact that all human beings are equal, from the same man and woman. (Quran 49:13)
How should we save ourselves from falling into this trap? How should we help others stay above the killing fields of racism and nationalism? What can we do now to become a better human being? Here are some tips on how we can launch our personal Jihad against this disease.
The Prophet said: If one of you sees something evil he should change it with his hand. If he cannot, he should speak out against it, and if he cannot do even that he should at least detest it in his heart, this being the weakest form of faith (Sahih of Muslim).
1. Knowledge is power
Do we know what the Quran and Sunnah say about racism? The Quran established individual character as the criteria of success, not color, tribal or economic status of a person. The Prophet preached and established these ideals in the peace sanctuary of Madinah and Islamic society which he developed.
Let our parents, children, Islamic schools, and Imams learn and teach the ideals of Islam.
2. Ask the only One who can really help
We can get rid of racial and prejudicial attitudes within ourselves with the help of God.
Make sincere and focused Dua for those people and groups who remain oppressed, subject to humiliation, subject to difficult behavior. After all, Dua increases love between people (Hadith).
Also make Dua for yourself and others to gain an appreciation of others. Pray together with your family for those friends in the Masjid or at your job who are from other groups. And remember that dua without actions is nothing.
3. Hate the hatred
The Prophet never hated anyone. He neither hated Makkah nor the Makkans who tortured him, starved him and his people and killed his companions, may Allah be pleased with them. He continued to pray even for his worst enemies like Abu Jahl.
4. Make sincere Tawbah (repentance to God)
If we have hurt someone through our tongue or attitude, we need to seek God's forgiveness. It is also important to seek the personal forgiveness of that persons as well if s/he is within reach as an Islamic pre-requisite to seek God's forgiveness. There has to be a personal acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a commitment to change. This is done by turning to God and seeking His Forgiveness for looking down on other beings due to a false belief in someone's inferiority.
5. Watching Our Tongue
The Prophet said: Whoever can give me a guarantee for what is between his two jaws and between his two legs, I can assure him Paradise (Sahih of Bukhari).
Keeping this in mind, effort should be made to curb useless talk, which can lead to worse things like backbiting and slander of individuals and groups of people.
Defining backbiting, the Prophet said that backbiting is anything that you say about someone in his absence that may displease him. When he was asked by one of the Companions, 'even if he is as I describe him?' he responded by saying, If he is as you describe him then you are guilty of backbiting, otherwise you are guilty of slander (which is worse than backbiting) (Sahih of Muslim).
To add emphasis to how awful slander is, consider that the Prophet said it is worse than adultery because if a person commits adultery, Allah can forgive him if he repents. But a slanderer will not be forgiven until the person he had been speaking about forgives him (Baihaqi).
6. No ethnic jokes please
Ethnic jokes are not innocent humor. They carry the virus of bigotry most of the time. Think about how hurt we feel when some comedians depict Muslims as terrorist.
Consider this verse of the Quran: "O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed wrong doers" (Quran 49:11).
Such silly and hurtful jest clearly goes against the type of manners Allah and His Prophet expect from us. It's a sin in Islam to ridicule or laugh at any beings, and if they are a group, the sin is stronger.
7. Don't call people, Kalla, Gora, Desi, Chapta, Abd or Rafeeq
Muslims disliked being called Moslems, Moor, or Mohammaden. We insist that since we write our name Muslims that's how everyone should spell our name. So let's call other people with the names they like for themselves. Fair enough?
Alhamdu lillah most Muslims don't do this. But once in a while we hear names, which we need to challenge. The Urdu term "Kalla" is used by some for African-Americans. While it literally means "black", the way it is used most of the time is demeaning. The same is true for the Urdu term Chapta or Peela, which refers to the color, and features of South East Asian people. Gora in Urdu for Caucasians falls in the same category although it also just means a white person, but is used to convey historical distrust and betrayl of the white colonial lords. Desi on the other hand is mostly used to describe stereiotypical images of South Asians "curry smelling" Indians and "pakis." It is often used as a term of self hate in the second generation.
Similarly some Arabs use the term Abd to describe black people, despite the fact the Prophet catogarically prohibited use of this term. Another term Zingy is used for the same people in the demeaning way. Some Arabs use the term Rafeeq (literally comrade) for Pakistanis in demeaning way similar to how the "N word" is used in the west. Ibn al Khinzeeer (son of a pig), a reference to whoever you are angry with amongst some Arabs and specially towards Jews is not only unworthy of the followers of Prophet Muhammad, it is a direct violation of his command not to insult one another's parents (Sahih of Bukhari and Muslim).
Even the Islamic term Kafir has to be use with care. Not every non-believer is a Kafir. This Quranic term, regarding those who rejected Allah's guidance after recognizing it to be the truth, should not become a term of hate.
8. Challenge the offensive, names, jokes and comments
If someone uses a hurtful name in our presence, we might simply say, "Don't call him/her that. Call him/her by his/her name." If you are the victim, simply say "That kind of joke offends me," or say "You don't like to be called bad names and neither do I".
We should feel comfortable in pointing out unfairness. It is very rewarding in the eyes of Allah, since by challenging this we are following three of Allah's commands:
Stand up against injustice
Discourage the evil
Don't call people with bad nicknames
It's part of a Muslim's duty to enjoin the good and forbid the evil. Let's do it with wisdom and patience. Be polite but firm.
9. Do not generalize
If you observe something wrong in some persons' behavior, don't generalize it to their ethnic group. Attribute it to those persons not their group. For example, I have heard several times that Arabs in Chicago run liquor stores. While it is true that there may be 100 or so Arabs who have this type of Haram business, they are a small minority among hundreds and thousands of Arabs living in Chicago. Without condoning what they are doing, we must see that there are Muslims of other nationalities who are also involved in Haram businesses.
10. Defend the abused group
Note unique and special qualities in other people. Show the positive points of an ethnic group that is being made fun of. Whether it's the hospitality of the Arabs, the respect for elders in Indo-Pakistani culture, the resilience of African-Americans, for instance, point out the positive to those who don't want to see the other side of the coin.
If you're still tongue-tied, consider this Hadith: the Prophet said: If a man's Muslim brother is slandered in his presence, and he is capable of defending him, and does so, Allah will defend him in this world and in the next. But if he fails to defend him, Allah will destroy him in this world and in the next.
11. Speak everyone's language
What do you do when there are say, three people, one of whom speaks your native language and the other doesn't?
Too often, many of us do the wrong thing.
It creates suspicion and discomfort if you speak a language in front of others who may not understand it. Use a common language understandable to all. So if Br. Muneer and you both understand Arabic, but Sr. Yasmeen doesn't, speak in English instead, so she doesn't feel left out. If you observe this behavior tell them it's unfair. If you are the one who is doing the wrong thing, then don't defend it by saying, "you should learn our language".
The Prophet said: When three people are together, two should not talk secretly, leaving the third alone since this may grieve him. (Sahiah of Bukhari & Muslim).
12. Read about others
Read about people to gain positive insights into other cultures. Read what they have written about themselves. Read about, for instance, what African-Americans have contributed to America. Even better, read an autobiography like that of Malcolm X, which recounts the personal experience and struggles of one Muslim African-American. Much of what he has to say is also a reflection of the experience of other African-Americans.
13. Share your joy
Have you invited people other than your cultural group at an occasion of happiness in your family?
Whether it's Eid, a wedding or the Aqiqa of a newborn baby, expand your next guest list to include those of different backgrounds. Sharing joy is a great way for people of all ethno-cultural groups to bond.
14. Share your sorrow
Have you visited a sick colleague, class fellow or a neighbor of another ethnic group? Have you been to the funeral of other people?
Relationships are not only built on the good times, but on the hard ones as well. Visit the sick, attend funerals, and console those who need it, and don't reserve your sympathy to those of the same skin color or country.
15. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach
Have you learned to cook the food of other cultures? Have you shared your food with them?
I know people who have become Muslim because of the hospitality of Muslims. Food is a great way to bring people together, and to get to know others. Share food with neighbors. Food is power. Use it!
16. Smiling is a charity
Who do you smile at? Do you limit your grins to groups you know, especially your ethno-cultural group?
Smiling is charity (Sahiah of Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi), not just for your people. Expand your smile "directory" to include all. Smile opens close hearts.
17. Salam is for everyone
Quran demands that we greet others better than the way they have greeted us. (Quran 4:86).
After Juma do you say Salam and meet only those people you know or do you initiate a Salam to those from another ethnic group?
Consider this Hadith: The Prophet said: Those who are nearest to Allah are those who are the first to give a greeting (Sahiah of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).
Saying Salam is also a great way to increase your love for a fellow Muslim, no matter where they are from. Consider this Hadith: the Prophet said: You will not enter Heaven until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Let me guide you to something which will cause you to love each other: spreading the greetings of peace (Assalamu alaikum) (Sahiah of Muslim).
18. Hug someone today
Have you ever experienced a hug by a Muslim you never knew? What a feeling. This one just for the sake of Allah. Try it on a Muslim in your masjid and then introduce yourself to him. He is your brother. Isn't he?
19. Beyond Salam
Alhamdu lillah, we see a lot of faces of different ethnic groups in masjids, but have we gone beyond Salam with them?
Have we invited this brother or sister to our home this year? Let's take the initiative to go beyond the Salam and invite a fellow human being of a different background over to our place. Don't wait for a specific occasion. Just invite them over for dinner, lunch, or a game of basketball.
20. A Masjid tour of other neighborhoods
While in a number of cities in America and South Africa, Masjids tend to become ethnically homogeneous due to the population patterns of the city; we can try to overcome this isolation.
Let's visit other neighborhoods and pray in a Masjid there. So if you're an Urdu speaking person, visit the predominantly Arab mosque. If you're an Arab visit the mostly African-American mosque. If you're Turkish, visit the mostly Bengali mosque.
Let's defy the neighborhood divisions which we did not create. Let's take our Sunday school children on field trips to different neighborhoods and Masjids. Providing opportunities for interaction with people of diverse groups instills understanding.
Studies show that children playing and working together toward common goals develop positive attitudes about one another.
21. Do your duty, but a little differently
Who do you usually give your Zakat to?
Is it just to your ethnic group or do you use it as one of the categories-to win over hearts? Plan to give your next Zakat to a community or individuals who are not of your ethno-cultural background. This will be a practical way to give of yourself to those who are your brothers and sisters, and those who are in need.
22. Strangers should find an open Masjid door
How are you at welcoming strangers in your Masjid?
Do you move forward in welcoming, guiding and introducing them to others or do you allow a stranger to remain a stranger while you busily chat with your own cultural group? Open your heart and arms to the new brother or sister who may have come to the Masjid with great difficulty. Welcome their choice and don't let them regret visiting your mosque.
The security staff at Masjids need to have sensitivity training as well.
23. Watch those expressions and attitudes
Did you see that twist of the mouth, or the raise of that eyebrow?
Sometimes, it's not just words, but facial expressions that also indicate ethno-racial degradation and intolerance. It's not enough for us to just avoid verbal jabs. Language is not just about words; it's about body language too.
24. Defend yourself
If you are the target of ethno-racial humor, slurs or attacks defend yourself.
First seek refuge in Allah from Satan Following the Prophet's advice, if you are angry, remain silent, sit down, move away or make wudu.
If you feel your security is being threatened seek any help available.
If you are attacked defend yourself if you are capable of it.
Document and pursue the case with local police, the department of human resources and anti-hate groups.
God tolerates a person who is being wronged to respond in the same coin but He prefers us to be better: "The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof, but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. Verily, He likes not the Zalimun (oppressors)" (Quran 42:40).
An ex-Marine member of the white supremacist movement the Ku Klux Klan became Muslim due partly to the polite and confident response of a Muslim doctor to his racist remarks calling him a "dog eater".
This is an example of following Allah's instructions that ask us to respond to evil with something which is better.
25. Stand up for justice
Take an active stand against injustices like profiling and discrimination in the workplace or at schools. Speak out against someone or a group being paid less because of their national background.
"O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it is against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a better Protector to both (than you) are. So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do" (Quran 4:135).
26. Work with other anti-racism groups
Volunteer time to organizations and groups which are working for an anti-racism agenda or for social justice. All the prophets were sent to help people take a stand for establishing justice (Quran 57:25). Working for a common cause brings people closer. Islam encourages cooperation with non Muslims for the common good of humanity (Quran 5:2).
27. Multi-ethnic Marriages
Some Fiqh books that dislike and discourage multi-ethnic marriages amongst Muslims are wrong because they conflict with the Sunnah of the Prophet and with the Quranic principle of all people being one.
For instance, the Fiqh manual Reliance of the Traveler, in a chapter on Kafa'a (compatibility), while recognizing that there should be no consideration of skin color in marriage, does mention that a match between a non-Arab man and an Arab woman is unsuitable (page 523).
I am not advising anyone to offer him or herself for a social experiment. But we must accept our children's choice with an open heart instead of resistance based on the false interpretation of compatibility (Kafa'a) offered by some Fiqh books.
28. Jihad with your taxes
Your personal jihad against racism must also include a collective effort against racism and nationalism. Your taxes are used to institute policies, some of which you may agree with and others that you may completely oppose. You can use your tax money to fight against racism by supporting policies or institutions that encourage respect for differences. We should support subsidies to human rights organizations dedicated to fighting racism, specifically.
29. Vote against racism
Support candidates who oppose racism and nationalism both within America and without. For example, former US president Bill Clinton strongly campaigned against the use of tobacco in America but ironically he also helped the US tobacco companies to achieve record profits by helping them sell and promote tobacco in the Third World. If tobacco is wrong for America, it is wrong for every other human being as well. Let's not tolerate "Cancer for other people."
30. Vote for multi-ethnicity in your Masjid
Make sure your Masjid in North America has a multi ethnic board and leadership. Follow the Prophet in engineering social change. He paired each Ansar and Muhajir as brothers as he started building the Islamic society of Madina.
31. Put money where your mouth is
There are a number of organizations dedicated to fighting racism in America at various levels. Support them by your donation. If you don't want to donate, establish your own organization against bigotry.
32. Raising race free children
Islam does not recognize race, but the society we live in does. Bridging this gap is the challenge of Muslim parenting.
Choose to live in a multi-ethnic community. Children with multi-ethnic interaction grow up to be better human beings.
Participate in your PTA with an antiracist agenda.
Help your children feel good about themselves. Children who feel good about themselves are less likely to be prejudiced.
Welcome children of all background in your home.
Debrief them if they come home with a racial slur from the school.
33. Let's have a straight niyyah to please Allah
Let's make our intentions (niyyah) that we will strive to build human society based on the equality of all human beings as Allah has asked us to do. Insha Allah, He will reward us for each step we take to get ourselves, our community, and our society rid of racism and nationalism.
As Muslims who are dehumanized day and night by the media and opinion leaders, it is our duty to emerge as a better human being through this ordeal instead of engaging in the satanic game of counter dehumanization.
Whoever starts to look at others as lower beings first kills his own humanity. Prejudice, racism and nationalism are equal opportunity diseases. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Jews, all have a choice of either using their teachings to rise up for the ideals of humanity or sink in the killing fields of nationalism.
Dehumanization of Native Americans contributed to their almost complete annihilation. Dehumanization of Africans as nations and individuals resulted in generational loss of life and heritage. Dehumanization of Jews and Gypsies is associated with the mass murder by Nazis. Dehumanization of Japanese Americans contributed to their being sent to internment camps in America. The dehumanization of Muslims in America after the 9/11 tragedy is responsible for the virtual internment camp Muslims in America live today and the tortures in Abu Gharib and abuse at Guantanamo Bay.
Unfortunately there is a demonization of America taking place in the world, which by and large does not know how a majority of Americans today feel about the historical wrongs done on their names. Even the strong American reaction to the Abu Gharib imagesdid not slow down the harm neo-con policies are causing to American standing in the world.
Racism and nationalism are twin evils which have killed more people in last one hundred years than probably all the wars in last one thousand years including crusades and massacres of the infamous Genghis Khan.
Let's launch our personal Jihad against racism. May God be with you. Allahu Akbar.
Published with the author's permission.


text:
BIOL398-01/S10:HIV Structure
From OpenWetWare
Jump to navigationJump to search
- NCBI Structure Database
- Cn3D software site
- Bioinformatics for Dummies Chapters 4, 6, 11
- BEDROCK HIV Problem Space
- Biology Workbench
- HIV Database at Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Kwong PD, Wyatt R, Robinson J, Sweet RW, Sodroski J, and Hendrickson WA. Structure of an HIV gp120 envelope glycoprotein in complex with the CD4 receptor and a neutralizing human antibody. Nature. 1998 Jun 18;393(6686):648-59. DOI:10.1038/31405 |
- Stanfield R, Cabezas E, Satterthwait A, Stura E, Profy A, and Wilson I. Dual conformations for the HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop in complexes with different neutralizing fabs. Structure. 1999 Feb 15;7(2):131-42. DOI:10.1016/s0969-2126(99)80020-3 |
- Stanfield RL, Ghiara JB, Ollmann Saphire E, Profy AT, and Wilson IA. Recurring conformation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 V3 loop. Virology. 2003 Oct 10;315(1):159-73. DOI:10.1016/s0042-6822(03)00525-7 |
Week 7
Preparation for Week 8 Journal Club
The class will be divided into groups of 3 or 4. Each group will create and present a Journal Club (in class in Week 8) on the Kwong et al. (1998), Stanfield et al. (1999), or Stanfield et al. (2003) articles. The groups will be:
- Kwong et al. (1998): Kevin, Janelle, Ryan, Angela
- Stanfield et al. (1999): Alex, Amanda, J'aime, Bobak
- Stanfield et al. (2003): Kris, Salomon, Michael
In preparation for the Journal Club, each individual will do the following assignment on their individual Week 7 Journal page.
- Make a list of at least 10 biological terms for which you did not know the definitions when you first read the article. Define each of the terms. You can use the glossary in any molecular biology, cell biology, or genetics text book as a source for definitions, or you can use one of many available online biological dictionaries (links below). List the citation(s) for the dictionary(s) you use, providing a URL to the page is fine.
- Write an outline of the article. The length should be the equivalent of 2 pages of standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. Your outline can be in any form you choose, but you should utilize the wiki syntax of headers and either numbered or bulleted lists to create it. The text of the outline does not have to be complete sentences, but it should answer the questions listed below and have enough information so that others can follow it. However, your outline should be in YOUR OWN WORDS, not copied straight from the article.
- What is the main result presented in this paper? (Hint: look at the last sentence of the introduction and restate it in plain English.)
- What is the importance or significance of this work?
- What were the limitations in previous studies that led them to perform this work?
- What were the methods used in the study?
- Briefly state the result shown in each of the figures and tables.
- How do the results of this study compare to the results of previous studies (See Discussion).
Week 8
- Journal Club presentations in class.
Working with Protein Sequences In-class Activity
- This week we will begin to learn how to analyze protein structures. For today, we will be using the Bioinformatics for Dummies book extensively, so be sure to bring it to class. We will be using some bioinformatics tools to analyze the structure of the gp120 envelope protein.
- Chapter 2: Retrieving Protein Sequences/Retrieving a list of Related protein sequences (pp. 42-51 in second edition). The example worked through in the book uses the sequence of an enzyme called dUTPase. Follow the book example yourself and then work through the example again, this time using the HIV gp120 envelope protein instead.
- Chapter 4: Reading a SWISS-PROT entry (pp. 110-123 in the second edition). The example worked through in the book is the epidermal growth factor receptor. Work through this example and then do it again with the HIV gp120 envelope protein instead.
- Chapter 5: ORFing your DNA sequence (pp. 146-147 in second edition). In the previous section of the course, we were working with DNA sequences from the HIV gp120 envelope protein. Take one of your DNA sequences and follow the instructions to find the open reading frames in the sequence. Since you were working with just a portion of the entire envelope protein, you may get some strange results. Compare your results with the SWISS-PROT entry you found for the protein above to decipher what the output means. Besides the NCBI Open Reading Frame Finder described in the book, ExPASy also has a translation tool you can use, found here.
- Chapter 6: Working with a single protein sequence (pp. 159-195 in second edition). Work through the following examples in this chapter using the entire HIV gp120 envelop protein sequence that you obtained from SWISS-PROT. We will then compare the results of these analyses with the actual structure of the gp120 protein obtained by X-ray crystallography.
- ProtParam
- Looking for transmembrane segments
HIV Structure Research Project
Today you will begin your HIV gp120 Structure Research Project.
- For this project, you can choose to work with the same sequences you used for the HIV Evolution Project, or you may choose different sequences. You will reframe your question from the HIV Evolution Project to make it a structure→function question. Instead of looking at how the evolution of variation of the viral DNA sequence affects the different patient groups, you will look at how variations in the viral sequence affect the structure and, therefore, function of the virus. To answer your question, you will need to do the following:
- Convert your DNA sequences into protein sequences.
- How will you do this?
- How will you know that it was done correctly?
- Perform a multiple sequence alignment on the protein sequences.
- Are there more or fewer differences between the sequences when you look at the DNA sequences versus the protein sequences?
- How do you account for this?
- Which of the procedures from Chapter 6 that you ran on the entire gp120 sequence are applicable to the V3 fragment you are working with now?
- How are they applicable?
- Chapter 11 contains procedures to use for working with protein 3D structures. Find the section on "Predicting the Secondary Structure of a Protein Sequence" and perform this on both the entire gp120 sequence and on the V3 fragment that we are now working with. You will compare the predictions with the actual structures.
- Download the structure files for the papers we read in journal club from the NCBI Structure Database.
- These files can be opened with the Cn3D software site that is installed on the computers in the lab (this software is free, so you can download it and use it at home, too.) Familiarize yourself with the software features (rendering and coloring) with both the gp120 peptide and ternary complex structures. (The Dummies book has some information on this program as well). Answer the following:
- Find the N-terminus and C-terminus of each (poly)peptide structure.
- Locate all the secondary structure elements. Do these match the predictions you made above?
- Locate the V3 region and figure out which sequences from your alignment are present in the structures and which sequences are absent.
- Once you have oriented yourself, analyze whether the amino acid changes that you see in the multiple sequence alignment would affect the 3D structure and explain why you think this.
- The journal club papers we read are quite old already for a fast-moving field. Using the Web of Science (or PubMed or Structure) databases, find at least one more recent publication that has a structure of gp120 (V3) in it and download the structure file to view. What additional information has been learned from this new paper?
- Your presentation will be formatted similarly to the previous HIV Evolution Project. In this case, you will want to work on creating structure figures that illustrate what result you are trying to show.
Week 9
- Project work session
- Prepare for Project presentations in Week 10
Week 10
- Project presentations in class.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Cinema Surround Loudspeaker
The SR-1000 Cinema Surround Loudspeaker is a two-way design that features a 10" (254mm) low-frequency transducer with a 1" (25mm) compression driver. The 150 watt continuous power rating and sophisticated crossover circuitry provides absolute reliability.
The SR-1000 is designed for safe and secure mounting. The cabinet is constructed of 12mm MDF with internal bracing for superior structural integrity. The rear panel of the cabinet is fitted with four threaded insert mounting points that accommodate the standard bolt pattern for most third-party bracket manufacturers. Included pre-installed speaker side hardware allows fast single-installerwall mounting, and brackets support down- angles of either 15° (QM-SW, ordered separately) or 23° (QM-BW, ordered separately). A traditional U-bracket "yoke" style bracket (YM-300) is also available.
The compact black enclosure with black grille blends into any theatre decor.
- High Performance for all Cinema applications
- 10" (254 mm) woofer
- 1" (25 mm) compression driver
- Pre-installed speaker-side QM mounting hardware
- Accepts YM-300 yoke bracket
|Frequency Range 1
(-10dB, Half space)
64 Hz to 20 kHz
|Rated Coverage Angle (-6 dB)
|90° conical
|Maximum Rated SPL 4
Calculated Peak at rated power
Calculated Continuous
122 dB
116 dB
|Rated Impedance
|8 ohms nominal
|Rated Noise Power 2
Maximum Recommended Amplifier Power
|150 watts
500 watts
|Sensitivity 3
|94 dB
|Input Connectors
Two 5-way binding posts, accepts up to #10 AWG stranded wire
10" (254 mm) LF driver
1" (25 mm) HF compression driver
|Enclosure Material
12mm MDF with black vinyl wrap, matte finish
|Dimensions (HWD) inches
|19.5 x 11.7 x 11.5
|Dimensions (HWD) mm
|495 x 298 x 291
|Net Weight
|19.8 lb (9 kg)
1 Free-field, -10 dB from on-axis sensitivity
2 AES2-1984 noise signal for 2 Hrs
3 On-axis, free-field sensitivity, 1W, 1 m
4 Calculated from rated noise voltage and sensitivity
Specifications are subject to change without notice.


text:
Arcticsid installed one antivirus program on a new PC that already had another. Then he asked the Antivirus & Security Software forum if that was a good idea.
Running two antivirus programs simultaneously is a bit like mixing a fine, vintage Cabernet with breakfast cereal. Each is good on its own right, but the combination may have unpleasant effects.
Before I explain why, let's get some definitions out of the way. The term antivirus has come to mean a program that launches when you boot your PC and stays running in memory, protecting you in real time not just from viruses (which are, technically speaking, passé), but Trojans, rootkits, and all other forms of malware.
[Email your tech questions to email@example.com or post them on the PCW Answer Line forum.]
Two antivirus programs, both loaded and running simultaneously, will be, at the very least, redundant. And it in this case, you don't want redundancy.
Keep in mind that every program running uses RAM and clock cycles, potentially slowing down every other running program. A well-made antivirus program has a very small footprint, and doesn't slow things down significantly. But two such programs running together will slow it down twice as much.
And it could be worse. The two programs may conflict with each other–remember that every time you download a file, both will try to scan it. Conflicts could result in other programs failing to work and Windows becoming less stable.
If you're worried that one antivirus program isn't enough, you can augment it with an on-demand malware scanner. Unlike antivirus programs, they don't hang around. You load one, update its database, scan your hard drive with it, and close it when you're done.
I use two of these programs–the free versions of SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Once a week, I scan my hard drive with one or the other.
Read the original forum discussion.


text:
|January 14, 1986[2]
|Creating voluntary standards to maintain and improve the usability and interoperability of the Internet.
Parent organization
|Internet Society
|Internet portal
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an open standards organization, which develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards, in particular the standards that comprise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP).[3] It has no formal membership roster or membership requirements. All participants and managers are volunteers, though their work is usually funded by their employers or sponsors.
The IETF started out as an activity supported by the federal government of the United States, but since 1993 it has operated as a standards-development function under the auspices of the Internet Society, an international membership-based non-profit organization.
The IETF is organized into a large number of working groups and birds of a feather informal discussion groups, each dealing with a specific topic. The IETF operates in a bottom-up task creation mode, largely driven by these working groups.[2] Each working group has an appointed chairperson (or sometimes several co-chairs); a charter that describes its focus; and what it is expected to produce, and when. It is open to all who want to participate and holds discussions on an open mailing list or at IETF meetings, where the entry fee in July 2014 was US$650 per person.[4] As of mid-2018 the fees are: early bird $700, late payment $875, student $150 and a one-day pass for $375.[citation needed]
Rough consensus is the primary basis for decision making. There are no formal voting procedures. Because the majority of the IETF's work is done via mailing lists, meeting attendance is not required for contributors. Each working group is intended to complete work on its topic and then disband. In some cases, the working group will instead have its charter updated to take on new tasks as appropriate.[2]
The working groups are organized into areas by subject matter. Current areas are Applications, General, Internet, Operations and Management, Real-time Applications and Infrastructure, Routing, Security, and Transport.[5] Each area is overseen by an area director (AD), with most areas having two co-ADs. The ADs are responsible for appointing working group chairs. The area directors, together with the IETF Chair, form the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), which is responsible for the overall operation of the IETF.[citation needed]
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) oversees the IETF's external relationships and relations with the RFC Editor.[6] The IAB provides long-range technical direction for Internet development. The IAB is also jointly responsible for the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), which oversees the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA), which provides logistical, etc. support for the IETF. The IAB also manages the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), with which the IETF has a number of cross-group relations.[citation needed]
A Nominating Committee (NomCom) of ten randomly chosen volunteers who participate regularly at meetings is vested with the power to appoint, reappoint, and remove members of the IESG, IAB, IASA, and the IAOC.[7] To date, no one has been removed by a NomCom, although several people have resigned their positions, requiring replacements.[citation needed]
In 1993 the IETF changed from an activity supported by the US Federal Government to an independent, international activity associated with the Internet Society, an international membership-based non-profit organization.[8] Because the IETF itself does not have members, nor is it an organization per se, the Internet Society provides the financial and legal framework for the activities of the IETF and its sister bodies (IAB, IRTF). IETF activities are funded by meeting fees, meeting sponsors and by the Internet Society via its organizational membership and the proceeds of the Public Interest Registry.[9]
In December 2005 the IETF Trust was established to manage the copyrighted materials produced by the IETF.[10]
The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) is a body composed of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) chair and area directors. It provides the final technical review of Internet standards and is responsible for day-to-day management of the IETF. It receives appeals of the decisions of the working groups, and the IESG makes the decision to progress documents in the standards track.[11]
The chair of the IESG is the director of the General Area, who also serves as the overall IETF Chair. Members of the IESG include the two directors of each of the following areas:[12]
Liaison and ex officio members include:[citation needed]
The Gateway Algorithms and Data Structures (GADS) Task Force was the precursor to the IETF. Its chairman was David L. Mills of the University of Delaware.[13]
procedures for creating and documenting Internet Standards" was codified in the IETF's RFC1602.[19]
The first IETF meeting was attended by 21 US Federal Government-funded researchers on 16 January 1986. It was a continuation of the work of the earlier GADS Task Force. Representatives from non-governmental entities (such as gateway vendors[25]) were invited to attend starting with the fourth IETF meeting in October 1986. Since that time all IETF meetings have been open to the public.[2]
Initially, the IETF met quarterly, but from 1991, it has been meeting three times a year. The initial meetings were very small, with fewer than 35 people in attendance at each of the first five meetings. The maximum attendance during the first 13 meetings was only 120 attendees. This occurred at the 12th meeting held during January 1989. These meetings have grown in both participation and scope a great deal since the early 1990s; it had a maximum attendance of 2,810 at the December 2000 IETF held in San Diego, California. Attendance declined with industry restructuring during the early 2000s, and is currently around 1,200.[26][2]
The location for IETF meetings vary greatly. A list of past and future meeting locations can be found on the IETF meetings page.[27] The IETF strives to hold its meetings near where most of the IETF volunteers are located. For many years, the goal was three meetings a year, with two in North America and one in either Europe or Asia, alternating between them every other year. The current goal is to hold three meetings in North America, two in Europe and one in Asia during a two-year period. However, corporate sponsorship of the meetings is also an important factor and the schedule has been modified from time to time in order to decrease operational costs.[citation needed]
The IETF also organizes hackathons during the IETF meetings. The focus is on implementing code that will improve standards in terms of quality and interoperability.[28]
The details of IETF operations have changed considerably as the organization has grown, but the basic mechanism remains publication of proposed specifications, development based on the proposals, review and independent testing by participants, and republication as a revised proposal, a draft proposal, or eventually as an Internet Standard. IETF standards are developed in an open, all-inclusive process in which any interested individual can participate. All IETF documents are freely available over the Internet and can be reproduced at will. Multiple, working, useful, interoperable implementations are the chief requirement before an IETF proposed specification can become a standard.[2] Most specifications are focused on single protocols rather than tightly interlocked systems. This has allowed the protocols to be used in many different systems, and its standards are routinely re-used by bodies which create full-fledged architectures (e.g. 3GPP IMS).[citation needed]
Because it relies on volunteers and uses "rough consensus and running code" as its touchstone, results can be slow whenever the number of volunteers is either too small to make progress, or so large as to make consensus difficult, or when volunteers lack the necessary expertise. For protocols like SMTP, which is used to transport e-mail for a user community in the many hundreds of millions, there is also considerable resistance to any change that is not fully backward compatible, except for IPv6. Work within the IETF on ways to improve the speed of the standards-making process is ongoing but, because the number of volunteers with opinions on it is very great, consensus on improvements has been slow to develop.[citation needed]
The IETF cooperates with the W3C, ISO/IEC, ITU, and other standards bodies.[8]
Statistics are available that show who the top contributors by RFC publication are.[29] While the IETF only allows for participation by individuals, and not by corporations or governments, sponsorship information is available from these statistics.[citation needed]
The IETF Chairperson is selected by the Nominating Committee (NomCom) process for a 2-year renewable term.[30] Before 1993, the IETF Chair was selected by the IAB.[31]
A list of the past and current Chairs of the IETF follows:
The IETF works on a broad range of networking technologies which provide foundation for the Internet's growth and evolution.[33]
It aims to improve the efficiency in management of networks as they grow in size and complexity. The IETF is also standardizing protocols for autonomic networking that enables networks to be self managing.[34]
It is a network of physical objects or things that are embedded with electronics, sensors, software and also enables objects to exchange data with operator, manufacturer and other connected devices. Several IETF working groups are developing protocols that are directly relevant to IoT.[35]
Its development provides the ability of internet applications to send data over the Internet. There are some well-established transport protocols such as TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) which are continuously getting extended and refined to meet the needs of the global Internet.[36]
It divides its work into a number of areas that have Working groups that have a relation to an area's focus. Area Directors handle the primary task of area management. Area Directors may be advised by one or more Directorates. The area structure is defined by the Internet Engineering Steering Group. The Nominations Committee can be used to add new members.[37]
In October 2018, Microsoft and Google engineers introduced a plan to create the Token Binding Protocol in order to stop replay attacks on OAuth tokens.[38]
By: Wikipedia.org
Edited: 2021-06-18 19:10:59
Source: Wikipedia.org


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The fallout over Barack Obama's decision to kill 20,000 (mostly) union jobs on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project continues as the Laborers International Union of North America left the BlueGreen Alliance Friday afternoon.
Founded in 2006, the BlueGreen Alliance is a political pairing of left-wing unions and environmental groups whose mission (so to speak) is to ensure that America's conversion to a green economy results in union jobs as jobs in industries like coal are destroyed.
Included among its stated goals are passage of cap and trade legislation, as well as the Employee Free Choice Act (aka card-check unionization).
According to the Laborers' union press release announcing the union's departure from the BlueGreen Alliance on Friday afternoon, at least Laborers' president Terry O'Sullivan seems to be understanding the Devil's pact union bosses have made by sacrificing their members' jobs in exchange for an economically-unrealistic "green" economy:
"AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka recently said there was a divide in the labor movement over this project," LIUNA General President Terry O'Sullivan said. "That is an understatement. That divide is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon. We're repulsed by some of our supposed brothers and sisters lining up with job killers like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council to destroy the lives of working men and women." [Emphasis added.]
Specifically, O'Sullivan was referencing the CWA, SEIU, UAW, Transport Workers Union, United Steelworkers Union and Amalgamated Transit Union who had sold their souls (and union jobs) to the environmentalists and praised Obama's decision to side with the green activists by killing the pipeline, as well as destroying the hopes of unemployed union members.
O'Sullivan said Keystone is only the beginning of what will likely be a protracted struggle over major projects to build and strengthen America's energy infrastructure. "LIUNA plans to unite with the support of the strong and proud unions of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department to fight for good jobs that build America and strengthen our energy resources," he said. "We will not stand idly by, nor will the Building Trades."
"Their real target wasn't the pipeline, but the oil sands. They missed that target – the oil sands will be developed whether Keystone XL is built or not – but hit tens of thousands of working men and women," O'Sullivan said. "It is impossible for LIUNA to stand side-by-side with these groups. Construction workers are struggling with 16 percent unemployment and 1.3 million of them are jobless. The Keystone XL was not just a pipeline to them, it was a lifeline." [Emphasis added.]
While another BlueGreen Alliance member, the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters, whose members would have also seen work on the Keystone pipeline project has curiously stayed silent so far, the IBEW issued its own release on its website, which stated:
While we are deeply disappointed with the U. S. State Department's decision not to move forward with the Keystone XL pipeline, we are more concerned that a vital project that would create 20,000 construction and manufacturing jobs, generate $585 million in state and local taxes plus another $5 billion in property taxes and strengthen North America's energy independence, has been ensnared in the political deadlock in Washington.
On Wednesday, in addition to the Laborers' scorching comdemnation of Obama's decision, Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO's Building & Construction Trade Division (an umbrella group of 16 AFL-CIO construction trade unions) stated:
With a national unemployment rate in construction at 16% nationally, it is beyond disappointing that President Obama placed a higher priority on politics rather than our nation's number one challenge: jobs.
Environmental activists who are not saddled with the economic and psychological scars that accompany long-term unemployment will applaud the fact that they successfully induced the White House to block this project. Meanwhile, thousands of proud Americans throughout the heartland will once again be faced with the terrifying prospect of losing their homes and their livelihoods as they struggle to find work.
As was noted in the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama's plan replace jobs destroyed with his "green agenda" was faulty at best. In fact, the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign has already destroyed up to 1.24 million jobs in 36 states—with more surely to come.
For the sake of jobs (union and union-free), let us hope that more union bosses—and, if not them, their members—wake up from their delusion that Barack Obama is actually interested in creating jobs, as opposed to his agenda to "transform America."
"Socialism has no place in the hearts of those who would secure the fight for freedom and preserve democracy." Samuel Gompers, American Federation of Labor, 1918
Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com


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Uber's Founding Architect Is Launching On Demand Healthcare for the 1%
Sources tell Valleywag that after housing and transportation, the latest slice of public infrastructure to get the VIP, front-of-the-line treatment is healthcare. We hear Oscar Salazar, the founding architect for Uber who helped design and implement the e-hailing prototype, is working on a startup that will offer personalized house calls from doctors. It plans to launch imminently.
Update: An Uber spokesperson emailed Valleywag to say that "Oscar is not a co-founder of Uber." The headline and description above have been edited to reflect that. However, the 2010 TechCrunch that we linked to refers to Salazar as a cofounder. That article was written by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who became an investor in Uber the very next year through CrunchFund.
As of last month, Salazar had at least 40 doctors lined up for the New York City-based company. "It will work like Uber, but with doctors coming to you. I mean it will start out for the 1%, clearly," said the source. Doctors make the house call and then direct you the emergency room, if necessary. The chance to invest in the stealth startup is "becoming a hot deal now," the source added.
Initially, I hear Salazar's venture would be called Housecall or Doctor Housecall. A trademark for "Housecall" was filed on June 24, 2013 for a similar sounding healthcare product using mobile devices and push notifications.
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Computer software for coordinating health services, namely, software for the automated scheduling and dispatch of health service providers
IC 038. US 100 101 104. G & S: Telecommunications services, namely, routing calls, SMS messages, video calls, and push-notifications to local third-party health service providers the vicinity of the caller using mobile devicesIC 042. US 100 101. G & S: Providing a website featuring information regarding health services and scheduling for health services; Providing temporary use of online non-downloadable software for providing health services, bookings for health care services and dispatching health care providers to customers
Owner (APPLICANT) Techcare Inc CORPORATION DELAWARE 55 W 5th Avenue 18th floor, C/O 8an Capital New York NEW YORK 10044
The trademark was filed by Techcare Inc., a Delaware corporation, but c/o 8an Capital. Some digging into 8an Capital lead us to an investment firm called Abundance Partners, where Oscar Salazar is listed as an advisor. As it turns out 8an Capital is the "family office," i.e. an advisory firm for ultra-high net worth investors, for Philip Eytan. who also happens to an advisor at Abundance Partners. Eytan once worked as a VP at the high-profile private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, helping them invest in early stage tech companies like Livestream.com.
On Eytan's LinkedIn profile, he now describes himself as a cofounder and president at techCare Inc, which is "Providing a platform to allow house calls for doctors and patients."
Perhaps the company is doing business as techCare until they launch as Housecall? Archives show that the URL Housecall.com used to be redirect visitors to a site from another medical care company. Now it's just turning up a blank page.
Salazar's LinkedIn profile doesn't mention anything about techCare or Housecall. Rather he describes himself as the chief product officer of RIDE. However, Gleb Chuvpilo, who currently serves as the director of engineering at RIDE, says he's been an advisor to techCare Inc. since May. I've contacted Salazar and Eytan and will update the post when we hear back.
As the mythology of Uber's rebel libertarian faction takes shape, Salazar's name has been lightly erased from the history books. These days CEO Travis Kalanick, who stepped down as head of the company for a time, and Garret Camp are the only ones called cofounders.
Regardless, Uber has been the most successful startup to popularize the idea that technology can solve gaping holes in civic infrastructure—for those that can afford it. So the involvement of Uber's "founding architect" will no doubt bring a fanfare of attention and funding, especially after the disastrous rollout of healthcare.gov.
Let's just Taskrabbit and Uberize the Government.
— Shervin Pishevar (@shervin) October 2, 2013
According to our source, Housecall (or whatever it's called) may start with the 1 percent:
"...well paid doctors going to rich people. But most illness is solved quickly over the internet and such. Imagine the Uber X [lower cost option] scenario of Housecall. Someone out of school with training coming over for $50 instead of $500 bucks to evaluate and decide whether you need more attention. It will get tricky if someone misdiagnoses, but no more tricky than a hospital. This is why i think out of all the Uber for X co's, this is the most viable"
Housecall isn't even the first New York startup to reanimate the 1950's doctor at your doorstep model. Jay Parkinson, the hipster version of the Hippocratic oath, started a healthcare company called Sherpaa that began by selling 24/7 customized care to coddled Tumblr employees over the Internet.
Just last week, Oscar Health, the most high profile of all the New York contenders, announced that it had raised another $30 million in capital, led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. That brings its total funding to $75 million since July, so roughly 10 millie a month. Other investors include Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. Foursquare cofounder Naveen Selvadurai is working on product for the company.
According to Dealbook, the new funding was because Oscar Health "had thousands of customers and tens of millions of dollars in revenue," not because it had a high burn rate. Currently, the product is only available through New York State's health insurance exchange, but that hasn't stopped Kushner from giving it that future perfect solutionism sheen:
Oscar still charges deductibles and monthly payments. But the company focuses on offering other services intended to make life easier for patients, including free generic drugs, free calls to doctors and a handful of free primary care appointments.
The start-up also focuses on design and technology, including an online search function that lets patients type in their symptoms in natural language, then being steered to a doctor that suits their needs.
To Mr. Kushner, such services are meant to undercut the idea of insurance companies as faceless middlemen. "People just don't have a relationship with this kind of entity," he said. "The existing players don't care about satisfying the customer."
Is there any problem that a good user experience can't solve?
To contact the author of this post, please email email@example.com.


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Welcome to Nepal Trekking Guide
Nepal Trekking Article
77 Trekking Routes in Nepalfrom:
If you like hiking, mountain climbing, and other outdoor adventures, you may want to make a trip to Nepal. Trekking routes in Nepal are plentiful, and they come in a great variety of difficulties offering many different sights and experiences to suit most anyone's preferences. When mapping out the trekking routes in Nepal that you intend to follow, you may want to enlist some help from an expert or even hire a guide, as there are a lot of problems you may run into.
As you read through descriptions and reviews of trekking routes in Nepal, you'll find that there are conflicting opinions on the difficulty of most trails. For example, what one trekker may define as difficult may be considered moderate by someone more experienced. What criteria should be used to determine the level of difficulty of a trail? Based on reviews, there is no set standard, making it impossible for you to determine what is appropriate for your skill level. However, by consulting an expert and asking about trekking routes in Nepal, he or she can help you make the right choices. The guide or consultant will listen to your wishes and needs in terms of trekking routes, then make recommendations for the right trails to follow.
When thinking about all the trekking routes in Nepal, you should decide what areas of the country you want to see. Are you interested in the large city centers? Would you like to see the way of life in small villages or in the spiritual temples of Nepal? Would you prefer to see some of the lesser-known areas of beauty off the beaten path, or are you excited at the thought of spending a few days trekking through the same mountain paths in the Himalayas as so many people before you? These are things that will affect your choice of trekking routes in Nepal to follow. Many will opt for guided tours up Mt. Everest or simply through other areas of the Himalayas. However, this may not appeal to all visitors.
Others may wish to trek from temple to temple, experiencing first hand the spirituality that the citizens of Nepal are known for. In fact, what richness the people lack in monetary value, they more than make up for in their spiritual wealth. Yet other trekking routes in Nepal are set up as guided tours that take you through the wilderness but ultimately end up in city centers or welcoming villages nightly, never leaving you wanting for anything out in the open, uncivilized territory.


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Intense training schedules. Pressure to win and be the best. Painful injuries. Given all these factors, it's not surprising that some athletes simply burn out on their sport. But what is shocking to many in the field are the young ages at which this is increasingly happening -- sometimes as early as 9 or 10.
The scenario often goes something like this: Eager to nurture the next A-Rod or Michelle Kwan, parents enroll their 5- or 6-year-olds in a competitive sports league or program. Over the next few years, training intensifies and expands to the off-season, making practice essentially year-round. Youngsters may join more than one league or a traveling team. They may have to sacrifice other interests and give up most of the down time that allows them to just be kids.
Soon the stakes get higher because many parents and coaches play to win. Winning means recognition and that could lead to lucrative opportunities -– high school championships then college scholarships and perhaps a shot at the pros.
"Kids sports have become much more competitive," says Dr. Jordan Metzl, medical director of the Sports Medicine Institute for Young Athletes at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
"And in general, high-level competition for young kids is not a great thing," says Metzl, co-author of "The Young Athlete: A Sports Doctor's Complete Guide for Parents."
With more kids than ever in organized sports, an estimated 30 million of them up through high school, Metzl and other experts in sports medicine and youth athletics say they are increasingly concerned about the pressures put on some children to excel. Not only are these youngsters at risk for emotional burnout, they may also develop injuries that plague them for a lifetime. Some will turn to steroids or other performance-enhancing substances to try to gain an edge. And some may give up on sports -– and exercise -- altogether.
'It's not fun anymore'
Kids with a strong internal drive may thrive on the competition. But the pressure can be too much for others, particularly grade-schoolers who aren't as equipped to deal with the stress as older athletes.
And the goals of sports for young kids can differ dramatically from those of their parents and coaches, says youth fitness researcher Avery Faigenbaum, an associate professor of exercise science at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
"Most children would rather play on a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team," he says.
When Faigenbaum asks kids who've quit why they're no longer interested in sports, their typical response: "It's not fun anymore." They wanted to have a good time, make friends and learn something new, he says. But make the game all about hard-core training and the final score, and many kids will sideline themselves.
"They're getting turned off of sports at a young age -– and that's a sad tale," says Faigenbaum.
There's ample evidence that sports participation can have important benefits for kids, including improved physical health and emotional well-being. Hopefully, they'll also learn life lessons in teamwork, discipline, leadership and time management. But kids can't profit from these benefits if they're quitting sports early on.
A new ball game
While parents may have spent much of their early childhoods riding bikes around the neighborhood, playing pick-up games of baseball or basketball with the local kids and maybe joining Little League, today's youngsters often fall into two disparate groups: those who sit inside playing video games and those who participate in organized competitive sports like soccer, ice hockey and basketball.
A big difference today is that kids involved in sports play harder and younger than ever, says Steve Marshall, an assistant professor of epidemiology and orthopedics at the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And with dreams of college scholarships and multi-million dollar professional contracts, the competition can get out of hand, he says.
"Youth sports have become about more than kids having fun," says Marshall. "Frankly it's beginning to get out of control. It's almost a national obsession."
Certainly coaches who treat young athletes like military recruits can be a big problem. So can athletes who take the game too seriously and play when they're injured or, as they enter the teen years, turn to performance-enhancing substances that they hear of their idols in the big leagues using.
Parents the prime culprits
But experts in the field mostly point to parents as the prime culprits in promoting a competition-crazed environment in youth sports.
"Parents tend to think everyone's going to the Olympics," says Patrick Mediate, a physical education teacher and coordinator of the strength and conditioning program at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Conn.
Of course, many parents are a positive force, supporting their children and making sports participation possible by taking the time to drive kids to and from practice and games. But parents who live vicariously through their children can be problematic, experts say. It's one thing for kids to dream of Olympic gold medals or Super Bowl rings and to work toward those goals. But it's another matter if parents are pushing their kids to do something they don't want or pressuring them to succeed in a way that's hurtful.
Marilyn Enmark, a youth soccer coach in Detroit, says she's seen her share of overbearing parents.
Recently, one of her players, a 7-year-old boy, hit the boards during an indoor game and was holding his head. His father, a former soccer player himself, went over to the boy but rather than asking him how he was feeling, scolded him for playing poorly. A week later, his mother called him over after a play and she, too, sharply criticized him. "He was sobbing," Enmark says.
Parents -- and coaches -- who push too hard too young, particularly when they emphasize winning above all else, can easily wipe out a child's motivation to play, says Dr. Henry Goitz, chief of sports medicine at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo.
"They may be preventing the next Michael Jordan from coming to be," says Goitz, a team physician for the Toledo high schools and a former team doctor for the Detroit Lions. "They can take the heart out of a kid."
But not all pushing is bad, says Michael Bergeron, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. He acknowledges, however, that there's no good answer on where to draw the line.
"You need to know your child," he says. If kids truly hate a sport, then let them quit. But maybe they just need some encouragement. Some 19- or 20-year-olds may wish their parents had pushed them more to stick with sports when they were younger rather than giving up, he adds.
Injury toll
Aside from the psychological pressures that young athletes may experience from intense training and competition, physical complaints are a growing concern, sports medicine specialists say.
One of the most comprehensive surveys to date, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that from 1997 to 1999 sports and recreation-related injuries were more common nationwide than injuries from traffic accidents. Americans ages 5 to 24 were most likely to be treated for sports-related injuries by health professionals. Kids 5 to 14 had the highest injury rates of all -– 59.3 episodes per 1,000 people. That's slightly higher than the rate for people 15 to 24 (56.4 per 1,000) but substantially greater than the rates for those 25 to 44 (21 per 1,000) and 45 and up (6.2 per 1,000).
A fifth of kids lost one or more school days a year because of their complaints. Strains and sprains accounted for the most injuries overall, followed by fractures. Among kids 5 to 14, bicycling was associated with the most injuries, followed by basketball, football, playground equipment and baseball or softball. In those 15 to 24, basketball and football were linked to the most injuries.
Greater sports participation, particularly among girls in recent decades, is one reason injuries appear to be rising, experts say. A study published last September in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that over the last 30 years in the area around Rochester, Minn., forearm fractures, many of them resulting from sports and recreation activities, increased 56 percent in girls and 32 percent in boys, mostly among kids in the preteen and early teen years. Also on the rise are knee injuries known as anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tears that are more likely to affect girls, often those who play basketball or soccer.
Another factor that contributes to sports injuries is the couch-potato culture where kids lounge around all summer watching TV, for instance, and then jump into a sport in the fall when they're woefully out of shape. "The musculoskeletal systems of boys and girls may not be prepared for sports," says Faigenbaum. "They're an absolute set-up for injury."
On the flip side, too much training can lead to overuse injuries such as "Little League elbow," which results from repetitive throws, and stress fractures.
Metzl diagnosed a pelvic stress fracture in one 9-year-old girl who had been playing soccer two to three hours a day, five to six days a week. But in kids like her, diet could also be a contributing factor. Too much soda and not enough milk can weaken bones. So he now orders bone density tests on young athletes with curious stress fractures and tracks the kids over time.
Early specialization questioned
A big issue, many experts in the field say, is the push for kids to specialize in a single sport very early in life –- well before puberty.
"This has backfired in our faces," Faigenbaum says. "It truly doesn't work."
Kids may hone certain skills in a particular sport with early, intense specialization, but they can also burn out emotionally and physically. And they may not necessarily be achieving the goal they or their parents hoped for -- becoming the best athlete they can be in that sport, he notes.
"When you play different sports, you use a variety of motor skills -– jumping, running, twisting –- that can transfer to a lot of sports," Faigenbaum says. But if young kids focus on just one sport, they may not reap these benefits.
"There's absolutely no evidence that says that if a [child] athlete plays just one sport that will guarantee success as a teen or adult," he says, adding there's actually more evidence that if they diversify they'll play better. Ask most pro athletes what they were doing at age 10, he says, and most will say they were playing two to three sports, not just one.
Focusing on a single activity also puts all of a young athlete's eggs in one basket, says Metzl. If kids don't try other sports, how do they know whether or not they might like those sports more -- or be better at them?
And even top-notch athletes can tire of their sport because of what it takes to win. At Greenwich High School, the boys' swim team program has been hugely successful, losing only one meet in the last 25 years. But just a handful of the athletes have gone on to swim in college, says Mediate.
"They have double practice sessions -- morning and night –- almost every day for 10 years," he says. "So it does add up. It's burnout."


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'To Kill A Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Dies At 89
By Bill Trott
(Reuters) – Harper Lee, who wrote one of America's most beloved literary classics, To Kill a Mockingbird, and surprised readers 55 years later with the publication of a second book about the same characters, died at the age of 89 on Friday.
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 as the civil rights movement was heating up and its unflinching examination of racial hatred in the U.S. South made it especially poignant. Its theme could be summed up with the advice that Atticus gave Scout: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
A statement from Tonja Carter, Lee's attorney in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, said Lee had "passed away early this morning in her sleep" there and that her death was unexpected. She would have a private funeral.
Lee lived an almost reclusive life for decades and it had appeared that her sole literary output would be To Kill a Mockingbird, especially since she acknowledged she could not top the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. That was what made the July 2015 publication of Go Set a Watchman such a surprising and somewhat controversial literary event.
In the first book, Atticus Finch was the adored father of the young narrator Scout and a lawyer who nobly but unsuccessfully defended a black man unjustly accused of raping a white woman. But in Watchman, an older Atticus had racial views that left the grown-up Scout greatly disillusioned.
Lee reportedly had written Go Set a Watchman first but, at the suggestion of a wise editor, set it aside to tell a tale of race in the South from the child's point of view in the 1930s.
For many years, Lee, a shy woman with an engaging Southern drawl who never married, lived quietly and privately, always turning down interview requests. She alternated between living in a New York apartment and Monroeville, where she shared a home with her older sister, lawyer Alice Lee.
After suffering a stroke and enduring failing vision and hearing, she spent her final years in an assisted living residence in Monroeville.
"When I saw her just six weeks ago, she was full of life, her mind and mischievous wit as sharp as ever," her agent, Andrew Nurnberg, said in a statement. "She was quoting Thomas More and setting me straight on Tudor history."
The movie version of To Kill a Mockingbird also became an American classic. It won the Academy Award for best picture in 1963 while Gregory Peck, who played Atticus and would become Lee's good friend, was named best actor.
Spencer Madrie, owner of the Ol' Curiosities & Book Shoppe dedicated to the work of Lee and other Southern authors, said Monroeville was in a somber mood.
"You wish somebody like that could go on forever and be this lifelong legend," he said. "You don't ever consider somebody like that passing, even though her legacy will last for generations after."
Lee's state of mind would become an issue last year when plans were announced to publish Go Set a Watchman. Some friends said that after the death of her sister Alice, who handled Harper's affairs, lawyer Carter had manipulated Lee to approve publication.
Carter had said she came across the Watchman" manuscript while doing legal work for Lee in 2014 and an investigation by Alabama state officials found there was no coercion in getting Lee's permission to publish.
A family friend, the Reverend Thomas Lane Butts, told an Australian interviewer that Lee had said she did not publish again because she did not want to endure the pressure and publicity of another book and because she had said all that she wanted to say.
Lee essentially quit giving interviews in 1964 and rarely made public appearances. She did regularly attend an annual luncheon at the University of Alabama, however, to meet with the winners of a high school essay contest on the subject of her book.
In November 2007, she went to the White House to accept a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, who at the time called her book "a gift to the entire world."
Bush said in a statement on Friday that he and his wife, Laura Bush, a former librarian, mourned Lee. "Harper Lee was ahead of her time and her masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird prodded America to catch up with her," he said.
News of Lee's death spread widely on social media and tributes poured in from well-known figures, such as Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, who quoted the author in a tweet by saying, "Rest in peace, Harper Lee. 'The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.'"
Nelle Harper Lee was born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, the youngest of four children of A.C. and Frances Finch Lee and a descendant of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. Like Scout, Lee grew up a tomboy.
Lee had studied law at the University of Alabama but, six months before finishing her studies, she went to New York in the early 1950s to pursue a literary career while working as an airline reservation clerk.
In 1956 friends Michael and Joy Brown gave Lee a special Christmas gift, a year of financial support so she could work full time on To Kill a Mockingbird.
An estimated 30 million copies of the book were sold. It would become required reading in many American schools but the American Library Association said it was frequently challenged by those who did not like its subject matter.
Lee also played a key role in researching another great American book by Truman Capote, her childhood friend and the inspiration for the frail, precocious Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.
In 1959 she accompanied Capote to Holcombe, Kansas, to work on In Cold Blood, the chilling account of the murders of a farming family. Her mannerly, down-home approach undoubtedly smoothed the way for the flamboyant Capote.
There was speculation that Capote helped her write To Kill a Mockingbird but in his 2006 biography, Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, Charles J. Shields disputed that. He also said Lee's contribution to Capote's "In Cold Blood" was greater than believed.
Lee's sister said the authors eventually fell out because Capote was jealous of Lee's Pulitzer, which she won in 1961.
In 2006 Lee wrote a piece for O magazine about developing a childhood love of books, even though they were scarce in Monroeville.
"Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books," she wrote.
(Reporting and writing by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Letitia Stein and Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Grant McCool)
Photo: U.S. President George W. Bush (R) before awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to American novelist Harper Lee (L) in the East Room of the White House, in this November 5, 2007, file photo. REUTERS/Larry Downing/Files


text:
Bojan was a webdesigner, who liked playing games and then created this. In present he is a professional Family Guy and professional programmer who programms programs.
Prim was and is a programmer. The true old school style type of programmer - does things right type of programmer. He loves playing pool by the pool or inside (by the pool or not).
Niki is also a designer. She orders things and makes sure they are done. She's da boss. Loves coffee and gardening. Type of boss you want to be around with.
Bobi was a Junior programmer. He is clearly Junior no more - every day he is growing on becoming youngest Senior in the company. Smart kiddo with exceptional memory.
Piki does things her own way. Goal oriented, sees what is to be done and just does it. Moving forward is her thing. Talented, hardworking gem!
Nini is best described as persistant cuteness. High energy designer, always has a smile on her face and makes our day. She is clearly designing more than just the game.
2020-05-05: Featured on gameskeys.net
Friends at gamekeys.net found the our Matches Puzzle Games the game to play in during the quarantine.
2020-04-23: Mother earth happy b'day!
Also new lookz in this place.
2020-02-14: Did you know?
This game is not written in Unity. Well the version in development IS
2019-08-26: Game was just updated.
We have new looks and everyone likes it. Don't be a stranger
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text:
With Western States just a couple days away, I've found it inevitable for thoughts about the race to creep into my consciousness in the past couple weeks. I've been tucked away up here in Alaska the past month, and most things competitive ultrarunning have been very far removed from me. I wake each morning and if the clouds are above 4,000 feet, I pack some snacks and head into the mountains for most of the day. If the clouds are low, I find something else to do with my day: visit with friends; eat a bunch of food; or head into the forest with my chainsaw to clear downed trees from favorite trails. I'm living a very simple and satisfying life right now. I have no specific race plans for the near future, and I've paid almost no attention to the world of ultra/trail running culture that I know is out there. Western States is almost here though, and I find myself drawn to the culture of the sport more than I have in a couple months.
All spring I have had a hunch that it was going to be a very hot year at Western States, but now it appears that it's going to be a very mild year. It's actually supposed to be warmer here in Juneau on Saturday than it is in Auburn. Go figure.
From a competitive standpoint, I think the race is going to be as exciting as ever. With Kilian out, I think the men's race is really wide open and exciting. Not that Kilian was certain to win, but he was a lot more of a certainty than anyone is in his absence. I can't begin to imagine what Kilian is going through right now, and can only offer positive and supportive thoughts to him, and to all of Stephane Brosse's friends and family. It's always hard to hear about these kinds of tragedies, and each time I do it makes me so much more appreciative of and respectful of the mountain environments that I choose to spend so much of my time. Thoughts of Stephane and Kilian made my 7-hour outing in the mountains on Tuesday a lot more emotional, intimidating, and special.
On the women's side, I think this is without question the most competitive 100-mile race ever! I know this kind of hyperbole gets thrown around a lot, but I don't think there has been another 100-mile race that has been even close to this one. Nearly every woman in the world who has shown that they could potentially win Western States is running this weekend. I'm really excited to see how this plays out. Most of Ann Trason's course records have long been considered untouchable, but I think there is a group of women racing right now who might challenge that notion in the next couple of years. I wouldn't say that it's likely for anyone to break her record this weekend, but if the weather is cool, and a few of them have really good days, it could be close!
Back to the men's race: It probably sounds like I'm writing all of this because I'm bummed to not be racing myself this weekend. That might be a small part of it, but mostly I think that highly competitive races like this are really exciting. The notion of a bunch of strong runners coming together and helping each other run faster than any of them could by themselves is such a powerful thing. It becomes even more powerful when runners from one year are helped along by runners from years or decades earlier. Each time someone runs a course a little faster than anyone has before, they add a bit more energy to the collective energy of the runners to follow. Much of what Tony and I did in 2010 was fueled by what Scott Jurek did several years earlier. Just by knowing what's possible can make us all run a little faster.
With Kilian out, and with the standard course being run this year, which seems to be a bit slower than the snow routes run each of the past two years, my course record seems quite likely to stand for at least another year. With the cool weather though, who knows? There are a whole bunch of really strong runners who will be pushing each other out there. Ultimately, they are each competing to try to win the race, but if a few of them have great days, and draw a lot from each others' energy, and from the energy of past racers, then I think a course record is absolutely possible. Not likely, but possible. 15:07 is a really fast time on that course, and there are probably only a few guys running this weekend who could make that happen on a "perfect" day, but, I for one, will be here in the Alaskan tropics (Seriously, it's supposed to be 84 up here on Saturday.), rooting for someone to do it. I'd be honored to be a small part of their story.
More than anything: good luck to everyone racing Saturday.