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NEW YORK, N.Y. – Two former JPMorgan Chase & Co. traders falsified bank records to try to cover up trading losses that were spiraling out of control, prosecutors said Wednesday in in a criminal case that raises fresh questions about whether Wall Street learned its lessons from the 2008 financial crisis.
Javier Martin-Artajo, 49, and Julien Grout, 35, and their co-conspirators were accused of marking up the market value of securities to hide the fact that an investment portfolio was plummeting in value. The portfolio eventually sank into an eye-popping $6 billion loss attributed to Bruno Iksil, a trader who became known as the "London Whale" for his location and the supersized bets he made.
Preet Bharara, the Manhattan U.S. attorney, hinted that the misconduct was not just the work of a couple of rogue traders, but was systemic in a bank that failed to keep adequate watch over its traders. He said companies need to pay closer attention to the cultures they create.
"This was not a 'tempest in a teapot,' but rather a perfect storm of individual misconduct and inadequate internal controls," Bharara said at a news conference — a jab at JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who once dismissed the controversy around the trading loss with that flip phrase.
The "London Whale" controversy has been a millstone for the bank for months, but the new charges shift the narrative of the tale. Iksil, whose name has long been associated with the embarrassing loss, tried to raise questions about how his colleagues were recording the trades, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also portray bank employees as knowing exactly what they were doing, not workers simply overwhelmed by complicated systems — a defence banks have mounted for missteps in the financial crisis and its aftermath.
"They're shaking a big stick at the biggest bank in America," said John Alan James, executive director of the Center for Global Governance, Reporting and Regulation at Pace University's Lubin School of Business in New York.
Lawyers for Grout and Martin-Artajo, both United Kingdom residents when they worked at JPMorgan, did not return calls for comment. Martin-Artajo is a citizen of Spain and Grout is a citizen of France, which could potentially complicate the prosecution.
Bharara said his office had contacted the two men's lawyers. "We are hopeful they will do the right thing and present themselves in the United States," he said.
Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor who is a criminal defence attorney at Wilk Auslander in New York, said Martin-Artajo and Grout might try to mount a defence by placing the blame on their superiors.
"It would be a full and complete defence here that these people were transparent" to superiors who determined what the bank said publicly, Epner said.
Martin-Artajo supervised JPMorgan's trading strategy in London, and Grout, his subordinate, was in charge of recording the value of the investments each day. They were charged criminally with conspiracy to falsify books and records, commit wire fraud and falsify Securities and Exchange Commission filings. They also were charged separately in an SEC civil complaint.
The charges focus on an investment portfolio whose components were supposed to be marked at their market value each day as best as the bankers could approximate. The charges say that from March to May 2012, following Martin-Artajo's direction, Grout began using prices for the portfolio "deliberately chosen to minimize losses rather than represent fair value," the SEC said.
Iksil, uncomfortable with Martin-Artajo's instructions, asked Grout to keep a spreadsheet to track the difference between the manipulated prices and the actual prices, according to the charges.
At one point, after Iksil reported a higher loss than Martin-Artajo wanted, Martin-Artajo told Iksil in a phone call, "This only creates — it just creates more tension, you understand? It's not going to help me as much, right?" Finally, Martin-Artajo told Iksil, "I think that you're an honest guy, you know. It's just that, I did not want you to do it this way."
In April 2012, media reports publicized the large bets wagered by the portfolio, the SEC noted. The first trading day after the reports surfaced, the portfolio fell in value by hundreds of millions of dollars, it said. Still, Martin-Artajo directed Grout to disclose to management only $5.7 million in daily losses, a figure Grout put out but replaced later in the day with a loss of $395 million, the SEC said.
A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment.
The "London Whale" accusations have been a heavy burden for JPMorgan, tarnishing its reputation as a stellar risk manager and the favourite of Washington lawmakers. It has been an embarrassment for a bank that's used to coming out ahead of its peers, forcing it to restate earnings and face bruising hearings in front of Congress.
Wednesday's charges are hardly the end: The Federal Reserve, U.S. banking regulators and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, among others, are also looking into the trading loss.
JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, has so far weathered the storm. Last year, even with the trading loss, the bank pulled in its biggest annual profit ever and its stock is up by a third from its pre-"London Whale" price.
The bank has also gotten rid of top executives and taken back bonuses of some who were responsible. It has acknowledged mistakes but has been adamant that it did not try to mislead investors.
Prosecutors also announced Wednesday that they had agreed not to prosecute Iksil, the trader who allegedly made the bad bets. The deal requires him to co-operate fully with law enforcement.
Bharara, explaining Iksil's "rare" non-prosecution deal, said of the ex-trader: "I don't think you would call him blameless."
But, Bharara added, he "did sound the alarm more than once."


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Popular Science
Popular Science gives our readers the information and tools to improve their technology and their world. The core belief that Popular Science and our readers share: The future is going to be better, and science and technology are the driving forces that will help make it better.
Common terms and phrases
actinium actual alpha rays Alsace-Lorraine American appears armies atomic number atomic structure atomic weight atoms of matter babies beta particle beta rays causes charge carried chemical properties civilization conscription crystal definite deflection disease effect electrical electrometer emanation emitted energy England evidence exist fact factors forces France French fundamental gases Germany helium helium atom human hydrogen atom important increase industrial infant J. J. Thomson known liquid mass method minute modern molecules mosquito mothers motion Napoleon nation nature negative electron negatively charged nucleus charge passing peace photograph physical political positive charge positive electron possible primitive produced radiation radioactive radioactive elements radioactive substance radium railroad result ritual scientific seen shown single alpha particle social progress society Spain spectra spectrum theory thorium thought and effort timber tion tobacco transformation unit uranium vacuum tube vibration wars yellow fever Yellow Fever Commission

subset: commoncrawl


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NASA's Most Likely Movie Armagedon's
A helmeted robot lands a flying saucer in a park in Washington, D.C. Dinosaurs freely roam a small isle off of Costa Rica. The Mayan calendar accurately predicts the fiery end of the world. Are the plots of sci-fi movies really that far-fetched?
Of course they are. But NASA, whose space engineers are apparently also sci-fi movie buffs, has compiled a list of the most — and least — realistic science fiction films of all time.
They saved a particular amount of ire for the Roland Emmerich's end-of-days epic 2012, which they deemed the least realistic. Rounding out the list are other apocalypse flicks The Core and Armageddon.
The most believable? Gattaca, a 1997 love story set in a dystopian future. Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park and 1951's classic alien invasion film The Day the Earth Stood Still also make the grade.


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Milltrust International Group is a specialist investment organisation, co-headquartered in the asset management hubs of London and Singapore, with regional offices in some of the most dynamic markets in the world.
Public Investments description: With a unique multi-geography multi-affiliate structure, Milltrust provides a range of unique and sustainable investment solutions in the public markets.
We are passionate about the ideas, technologies and the business models that are reshaping the world, actively investing into solutions to the world's greatest challenges.
All the latest news, articles, commentaries, press releases, and media coverage of Milltrust International Group and its affiliates.
Milltrust International Group is co-headquartered in the asset management hubs of London and Singapore, with regional offices, affiliates and strategic partnerships around the world.
To keep in touch, please sign up to the Milltrust Ventures Newsletter for our latest news and insights.
April 12, 2016
April 13, 2016


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Story highlights
New FAA rule will require more cockpit time and other training for first officers
FAA is mandating that co-pilots complete 1,500 hours total time as a pilot
Previously, only 250 hours of flight time were required
NEW: New rules prompted by 2009 Colgan crash; training an issue in Asiana accident as well
Pilots will need more cockpit training to become fully certified first officers for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines.
The safety change ordered by Congress and imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday mainly grew out of a 2009 commuter plane crash and takes effect as attention focuses on pilot training issues around Saturday's Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco.
Co-pilots must complete 1,500 hours total time as a pilot under the new rules, which take effect August 1. Previously, first officers were required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, which requires 250 hours of flight time.
The rule also requires first officers to undergo new training and testing specific to the planes they fly.
"The rule gives first officers a stronger foundation of aeronautical knowledge and experience before they fly for an air carrier," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement.
FAA to pilots: Turn off those electronic devices
Newer pilots for U.S. airlines today typically fly for regional carriers, which operate smaller jets domestically and feed bigger airlines at their hubs. Most airline cockpit crews are comprised of two pilots – a captain and a first officer.
The crash of a Colgan Air commuter plane in February 2009 outside Buffalo that killed 49 people prompted Congress to order the new rule change as well as updated regulations on crew scheduling and rest.
Families of Colgan crash victims pushed hard for lawmakers to act.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed pilot error and inadequate training for that accident.
Questions around pilot training are also at the center of the first major U.S. airline accident since the Colgan tragedy – the one on Saturday involving an Asiana Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport.
Did Asiana pilot have enough 777 experience?
The pilot at the controls, a captain, had only limited time in 777s although he was experienced at flying other Boeing and Airbus jetliners, the NTSB said, adding that it would review training and other records as part of its probe.
Pilots of international airlines are not required to follow FAA training standards.


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"In Conclusion"
Endings | Resolution | Finale
Friday, October 11th – Tuesday, November 26th
Is there something you've been struggling with artistically that has now been resolved? Have you completed an artwork, solved a problem, processed or documented an event that is complete?
Give the flourish of closure, the culmination of your art to date…a grand finale. Not all conclusions are grand, however. There is beauty in a slow trickle, calmness in resolution.
Please view In Conclusion as your opportunity to share discoveries in your art through 2019 as you proceed to the freshness of 2020.
Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019
* Submissions after the deadline will be considered when feasible
Friday, October 4th, 2019
Wednesday, October 9th, 2019
(Between 10:00a and 2:00p)
Friday, October 11th, 2019
Friday, October 25th, 2019
Wednesday, November 27th, 2019
(Between 10:00a and 2:00p)
* Artwork may NOT be removed before this date, unless permitted by VCAC
1. The artwork is consistent with show theme.
2. It is the original artwork in any medium by the show entrant, unless specifically exempted by VCAC. Work may or may not be for sale at the artist's discretion.
3. The artist resides in (Ventura, Santa Barbara, or Los Angeles County).
4. The work can be exhibited using the available spaces and mounting systems of the gallery, and is "prepared" to the standards listed herein (see "About the Atrium Gallery" and "Artwork Preparation" below).
5. The work extends not more than 12" from the wall; has outside dimensions between 8" x 10" and 72" x 72"; OR is free- standing work. Discuss exceptions to these standards with the Gallery Coordinator before submitting work.
6. The artwork content is appropriate for the work place where the gallery is located. See "Limits On Subject Matter" below.
You may submit without charge up to 10 images of your artwork for review by the jury. Use the online submission form. Indicate how many pieces you are willing to enter given the applicable fees listed below, e.g. 5 of 10 submissions. If the form fails, email submissions to Gallery Curator at firstname.lastname@example.com please attach 1mb or smaller files, title, dimensions, and medium.
The Arts Council will jury the work submitted and notify artists which pieces are accepted for this show. A separate judge will select prize-winners.
A signed Entry/Release Form and entry fees will be collected when accepted artwork is brought in. Entry fees will ONLY be charged for work that is accepted for the show. Entry forms are available when art is brought in, or at the Atrium Gallery webpage.
1/$20; 2/$38; 3/$45; each additional entry $15
VCAC Member ($50/yr)
1/$15; 2/$20; 3/$25; each additional entry $10
VCAC Student (12 units) Member ($25/yr)
1/$12; 2/$25; each additional entry $10
The Atrium Gallery is located in a public office building where citizens must come to conduct business. Therefore, some limits are placed on artwork content. Nudity, violent images, and promotion of a religion or political parties are not acceptable. Contact the Gallery Coordinator for guidance.
The Atrium Gallery is managed for the County of Ventura by the VCAC with input from accomplished artists, arts professionals, and arts advocates from across Ventura County. The goal is to enrich the community by promoting a broad range of quality visual arts from diverse artists.
Usually $300 in prize money is split between 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners. Honorable Mentions winners receive a free entry into a future show.
Capacity - The gallery includes three floors and 400+ linear feet of wall space. Some 3000 citizens and 1200 employees pass through the gallery daily. There are usually seven competitive shows annually that display some 50 pieces on the first two floors of the Gallery, and some 100 pieces when three floors of the gallery are used. The upper floor (4th) is often set aside for curated exhibits that are staged simultaneously with the competitive shows (see Atrium Gallery Calendars).
Security - An information kiosk is located on the 1st floor of the gallery area and staffed 24/7 with security personnel. CCTV covers some of the gallery. County employees also informally monitor the artwork and promptly report problems to the Gallery Coordinator. Nevertheless, the VCAC and the County are not liable for loss or damage to artwork.
Photographing Artwork – Artwork is not to be photographed for commercial purposes – artists do not like it, and the security guards will approach you as well.
Wall-Mounted Work - Is suspended from ceiling-level tracks by steel cables that carry sliding hooks, and collectively support up to 40lbs. Heavier work can be supported with multiple cables. Light-weight work can be attached to the few carpeted walls with "hook & Loop" material. NO holes are allowed in the walls, i.e. no nails, hooks, staples, etc. etc.
Free-Standing Work - Three 4' diameter pedestals are available cases (30"w x18"h'; 31"w x 24"h; 32"w x 24"h) to protect small work. Limited additional space is also available for free-standing artwork adjacent to these pedestals, or for an artist's personal pedestals. Check with the Gallery Coordinator before entering such work. Delicate work can be cordoned off to further protect it. Use of electricity is very limited.
All art must be clean and ready for display. It should be appropriately presented, whether framed or un-framed. Mounting hardware (e.g. cross-wires, eye-hooks, D-rings, etc.) MUST be securely attached to the back of the work and be strong enough to support the work. Hanging wire should be attached somewhere in the top 1/4th of the piece so it will hang parallel to the wall. The center of the cross wire when stretched up-ward should be at least 2" below the top of the work so it and the hanging hooks are not visible. No saw teeth or plastic framing, please. Light-weight work may be attached to carpeted walls with "hook & loop" fasteners. VCAC will work with artists to display their artwork, and will charge to properly rig work, it but reserves the right to return work to the artist if it cannot be properly displayed.
Artists are encouraged to provide a one page Bio about their work in general, and a one page Statement about the work in the show. These will be included in the Exhibition Catalog. Provide your printed Bio and Statement when your work is delivered to the show.
Sales of artwork are coordinated through the Gallery Coordinator. Buyers provide payment to the artist, but the VCAC withholds this payment to the artist until the artist provides the applicable commission to the VCAC (15% from Arts Council members and 25% from non-members). This process helps finance the Gallery program and allows the VCAC to track sales. The Gallery Coordinator actively facilitates sales whenever possible.
The terms for participating in the exhibition are laid out on the Entry/Release Form and address damage or loss of artwork; hold harmless clauses; and photographing artwork on exhibit.
Arts Council
Ventura County Arts Council
646 County Square Drive, Suite 154
Ventura, CA 93003 – 0436
Gallery Management
Curator - Pete Ippel
Coordinator – Todd Collart
(805) 666-2532
Mounting numerous shows a year is a challenge. We therefore welcome your help. We are most busy on the Wednesdays when shows change out – monitoring out-going and in-coming work, and hanging the new show. If you are available on these days you might be granted sainthood. Your energy and imagination would be appreciated if you want to help in other ways. Artists with work in a show are particularly encouraged to assist with installing that show and the related reception.
Atrium Gallery – Three Floors:
Ventura County Government Center
Hall of Administration
800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA
Viewing Hours: Mon. – Fri. 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
VCAC Office:
646 County Square Drive, Suite 154
Office Hours:
M-Th 9:00 to 12:00
Exit 101 or 126 freeways onto Victoria Ave. Enter Government Center grounds from Telephone Rd. at Lark St. and make a hard left into parking lot "G" (uncovered one). It has a 3hr. limit, but allows you to park nearest the Atrium Gallery that is located in the Hall of Administration Bldg.


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We've been getting requests for better support of modern build tools. With version 2.0 we're pleased to announce a switch to ES modules via NPM which should make your building, bundling, and tree shaking even smoother. Don't worry, the UMD/CommonJS flavor is still available and the CDN serves the same browser-friendly files as always. If terms like "UMD", "ES Modules", and "tree shaking" leave you scratching your head, fear not - GSAP 2.0 will work like a champ for you (as usual). There are no syntax, API, or browser-support changes. None. The major version bump was primarily due to the switch to ES modules for NPM users, that's all. DOWNLOAD GSAP NOW
NPM, ES Modules, Webpack, oh my!
Modern bundlers like Webpack and Rollup just love to snack on ES modules these days, usually grabbing them from NPM. So GSAP 2.0 is extra delicious covered in its chocolatey ES module outer shell. (If you're not using a bundler or NPM, skip this section entirely)
npm install gsap
Then you can import individual classes like:
import TweenMax from "gsap/TweenMax"; import Draggable from "gsap/Draggable";
TweenMax includes (and exports) many of the commonly-used classes so you can also do this:
import { TweenMax, TimelineLite, Power2, Elastic, CSSPlugin } from "gsap/TweenMax";
(TweenMax includes TweenLite, TimelineLite, TimelineMax, CSSPlugin, RoundPropsPlugin, BezierPlugin, DirectionalRotationPlugin, AttrPlugin, and all eases except CustomEase, CustomWiggle, and CustomBounce) As a convenience, there's also an "all" file that imports/exports every GSAP tool (except members-only bonus plugins), so you can do this:
import { TimelineMax, CSSPlugin, ScrollToPlugin, Draggable } from "gsap/all";
IMPORTANT: if your animations aren't working as expected, it's likely an issue with tree shaking which can be easily resolved by referencing any plugins you're using. Read more.
If your environment doesn't accommodate ES modules yet, don't worry - we've got you covered. There's a "umd" directory that contains...you guessed it...regular old ES5 UMD (Universal Module Definition) versions of the files which are compatible with pretty much everything (RequireJS, Browserify, etc.). So you could import them like:
//get the UMD versions. Notice the "/umd/" in the path... import { TweenMax, Power2, TimelineLite } from "gsap/umd/TweenMax"; import ScrollToPlugin from "gsap/umd/ScrollToPlugin"; import Draggable from "gsap/umd/Draggable";
What about bonus plugins like MorphSVGPlugin?
Obviously we can't distribute the members-only bonus plugins via NPM, so all you need to do is log into your GreenSock account and download the latest zip which has a "bonus-files-for-npm-users" folder with the bonus plugins. Then just plop that into your project, like maybe in your /src/ folder (or wherever) and import them directly. For example, to save some typing you could rename the "bonus-files-for-npm-users" to simply "gsap-bonus" and put that in the root of your project and then:
import MorphSVGPlugin from "./gsap-bonus/MorphSVGPlugin"; import SplitText from "./gsap-bonus/SplitText";
You could certainly put the bonus files in /node_modules/gsap/ if you prefer, but most people don't like doing that because it makes things less portable/updatable. There's a brand new page in the docs dedicated to NPM usage.
NEW: Custom rounding increments in RoundPropsPlugin
Have you ever needed to round animated values to the nearest 10 or hundredth? With the new object syntax in RoundPropsPlugin, you can round properties to various custom increments, not just integers! Simply pass in
[property]:[increment] pairs like so:
TweenLite.to(element, 5, { x:600, y:100 roundProps:{ x:10, //round x to nearest increment of 10 y:0.1 //round y to nearest increment of 0.1 } });
Watch the video
NEW: SplitText "specialChars"
SplitText recognizes a new
specialChars property that allows you to specify an array of special characters to protect. This is typically used for multi-character symbols like in some languages where there are pairs (or sometimes even 4 characters) combined to form a single character.
See the Pen SplitText with specialChars feature by GreenSock (@GreenSock) on CodePen.
No need to do this for most emoji's, though, because those are already supported natively in SplitText!
Got questions?
If you haven't checked out the forums, you're missing out! It's a great place to get your questions answered and participate in the community. We carefully monitor and answer questions there. Or feel free to contact us directly if you prefer.
View the full changelog here (note: version 2.0.0 is just 1.20.5 with a version bump to avoid breaking changes for NPM users) Happy tweening! DOWNLOAD GSAP NOW


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Hmm - been a bit.
Sorry guys - the last few weeks have been a bit strained.
I'm sitting here sore as hell after spending most of the day installing ramps for a friend. She was in a car wreck just before Christmas, and has been in either the hospital or rehab since then. The good news is she comes home tomorrow, and my GF can quit hauling her mother back and forth to the hospital.
The bad news was that I got to spend most of today trying to figure out how to attach two ramps (one to the front door and one into the living room) without tearing the joint completely up.
So, my knees are sore, my ankle feels like broken glass, and my hand just seized up - but hey at least my karma is realinged. Hopefully there will be no more little projects, but somehow I feel that wont be the case.
Oh well, we all have hostages to fate.


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The price of any item is determined by the supply of that item, as well as market demand. The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) surveys "over 50,000 real estate practitioners about their expectations for home sales, prices and market conditions" for their monthly REALTORS Confidence Index. Their latest edition sheds some light on the relationship between Seller Traffic (supply) and Buyer Traffic (demand).
The map below was created after asking the question: "How would you rate buyer traffic in your area?"
The darker the blue, the stronger the demand for homes in that area. Only four states had a 'stable' demand level.
The index also asked: "How would you rate seller traffic in your area?" As you can see from the map below, 25 states reported 'weak' seller traffic, 21 states reported 'stable' seller traffic, 3 states and Washington D.C. reported 'strong' seller traffic, and only 1 state reported 'very strong' seller traffic. This means there are far fewer homes on the market than what is needed to satisfy the buyers who are out looking for their dream homes.
Looking at the maps above, it is not hard to see why prices are appreciating in many areas of the country. Until the supply of homes for sale starts to meet buyer demand, prices will continue to increase. If you are debating listing your home for sale, a Wallick & Volk Mortgsge Advisor can direct you to Realtors in your area who can help list your home. Wallick & Volk Mortgage Advisors can help you with the financing of your new hom. Find a mortgage professional at www.wvmb.com.
Source: www.KeepingCurrentMatters.com


text: IR-2007-200, Dec. 14, 2007 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced it is expanding the number of test areas for the Fast Track Settlement program for taxpayers under examination by the Small Business/Self-Employed Division. The settlement program is now available for small businesses and self-employed taxpayers until Sept. 5, 2008, in five new areas, including Philadelphia, central New Jersey, San Diego, Laguna Nigel, Calif., and Riverside, Calif. The Fast Track program is continuing in the three original test cities of Chicago, Houston and St. Paul. The program is a jointly administered process designed to expedite case resolution. Under Fast Track, taxpayers under examination with issues in dispute work with IRS representatives from SBSE's examination unit and the Appeals Division to resolve those issues. Fast Track employs various techniques to facilitate case resolution. A taxpayer or IRS examination representative may initiate the Fast Track process after an issue is fully developed, and preferably before a 30-day letter is issued. The Fast Track process is designed to be completed within 60 days of acceptance of the application. Taxpayers retain the right to request their issue be addressed through the traditional appeals process if Fast Track fails to yield a resolution. Examination and Appeals officials will re-evaluate the Fast Track program after this test phase is completed on Sept. 5, 2008. This phase will help determine whether Fast Track is adjusted, expanded to more areas or made available nationwide. The Small Business/Self-Employed Division Fast Track Settlement program was originally launched in September 2006. Additional background is available in IRS Announcement 2006-61PDF. Subscribe to IRS Newswire


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This article provides guidelines on how to deploy an existing on-premise SQL Server database into Windows Azure SQL Database and guidelines around best practices during data migration.
SQL Database is built on the SQL Server's core engine, so developing against SQL Database is very similar to developing against on-premise SQL Server. While there are certain features that are not compatible with SQL Database, most T-SQL syntax is compatible.
The MSDN link http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee336281.aspx provides a comprehensive description of T-SQL features that are supported, not supported and partially supported in SQL
The release of SQL Server 2008 R2 adds client tools support for SQL Database including added support to Management Studio (SSMS). SQL Server 2008 R2 (and above) have full support for SQL Database – in terms of seamless connectivity, viewing objects in the
object explorer, SMO scripting etc.
At this point of time, if you have an application that needs to be migrated into SQL Database, there is no way to test it locally to see if it works against SQL Database. The only way to test is to actually deploy the database into SQL Database.
The SQL Server 2008 R2 release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) provides full support for SQL Database.
The SQL Database July 2011 service release requires SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1.
For more information, see
Announcing: Windows Azure SQL Database July 2011 Service Release.
If you need to connect to a specific database, click on the Options button above, and enter the database name in the Connect to database box.
Note: USE <Database> is not supported. So if you need to connect to another database after you are logged in, right click anywhere in the Editor, click on Connection and then on Change Connection. If you
are using SQL Server 2008 R2 Management Studio, you can click on the database you wish to connect to, and then click on the New Query button.
When using prior version of SSMS, the login shall be in the format: [Username]@[SQLAzureServerName].
You can connect to SQL Database with the sqlcmd command prompt utility that is included with SQL Server. The sqlcmd utility lets you enter Transact-SQL statements, system procedures, and script files at the command prompt.
To connect to SQL Database by using sqlcmd, append the SQL Database server name to the login in the connection string by using the <login>@<server> notation. For example, if your login is login1 and the fully qualified
name of the SQL Database server is servername.database.windows.net, the username parameter of the connection string is: login1@servername. This restriction places limitations on the text you can choose for the login name.
For more information, see CREATE LOGIN (Windows Azure SQL Database).
SQLCMD does not come with the base install of SQL Server or the client tools. It can be installed from the SQL Server 2008 R2 Feature Pack.
Note: SQL Database does not support the –z and –Z options used for changing user's password with SQLCMD. To change login passwords, you can use the ALTER LOGIN (Windows Azure
SQL Database) after connecting to the masterdatabase.
The following example shows how to connect to a user database in a SQL Database server and create a new table in the database:
1> CREATE TABLE table1 (Col1 int primary key, Col2 varchar(20));
Note: SQL Database requires all tables to have Clustered Index. If you try to insert data into a table that is a heap, you will see an error message.
Deploying your database developed on premise into SQL Database involves 2 steps – schema migration and data migration. At this time, backing up and restoring an on-premise database into SQL Database is not supported. Depending on what tools you use to generate
the schema, it can be a little tricky. This is because SQL Database supports only a subset of the TSQL supported by SQL Server 2008. As new features are being added to SQL Database, the tools supporting the schema generation need to be modified to support
those new features. SQL Server 2008 R2 has full support for SQL Database. You can point the database "Generate Scripts Wizard" to script against a SQL Database and the scripts generated can be executed directly on a SQL Database. For customers that do not
have the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP version of SSMS, there is a workaround.
The November 2010 update to SQL Server 2008 R2 includes support for SQL Database. The
Generate Scripts Wizard now allows you to script for database version SQL Database so the scripts generated are directly compatible to be executed on SQL Database. The scripts thus generated are compatible with SQL Database and can be compiled on
SQL Database without any further modifications. For detailed information, see How to Migrate Schema to Windows Azure SQL Database using the Generate SQL Server Scripts Wizard.
The script generated via the "Generate Scripts" option from previous versions of SSMS needs to be modified to make it compatible with SQL Database.
· Right click on the database that you want to generate SQL Database scripts for in the Object Explorer of your on premise SQL Server, point to Tasks and select Generate Scripts.
· In the Script Wizard dialog box, click Next to get to the Select Database step. Select Script all objects in the selected database, and then click Next.
· In Choose Script Options, click on the Advanced button and, set the following options:
SQL Database does not support user-defined data types, extended properties, Windows authentication, or the USE statement.
· Click Next until Finish. The Script Wizard generates the script. Click Close when the script is completed.
· In the generated script, delete all instances of "SET ANSI_NULLS ON".
· Each CREATE TABLE statement includes a "WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]" clause. Delete all instances of that clause.
· Each CREATE TABLE statement includes the "ON [PRIMARY]" clause. Delete all instances of that clause.
In the wizard above, there is an option to script data along with schema. This option can be set to True if you have few tables with few rows of data. However, if you have several tables with tens of thousands of rows, this script can become
quite large with an INSERT statement for each row. A more efficient way to migrate your data is via BCP or SSIS or by using the SqlBulkCopy API, as described in the following section.
Data Migration: Following are the options available to migrate data from on-premise SQL Server into SQL Database.
· Setting the Script Data option to True in the database Generate Scripts Wizard
· SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) using ADO.NET or ODBC providers only
· Custom solution using SqlBulkCopy API
The Generate Scripts Wizard generates a TSQL file with an INSERT statement for each row. Depending on how much data you have this may or may not be efficient. For smaller data migrations this can be useful. However, if you have data in the order of GB, bulk
copying the data can be faster and efficient.
Support for BCP.EXE and bulk copy is included in SQL Database.
(1) Create a format file - A format file provides a flexible system for writing data files that requires little or no editing to comply with other data formats or to read data files from other software programs. Create either an XML format
or the non-XML format file using one of the methods as described inhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191516.aspx
(2) Export the data into a data file - After creating the format file, export the data in the database tables into data files by specifying the out option in the BCP command options.
-- Exporting all data from a table:
BCP YourDatabase.dbo.yourTable OUT C:\Folder\Tabledata.dat -S ServerName -U username -P Password
Note:The Queryout option is currently not supported yet.
(3) Import data files into SQL Database - The data files created above can be imported into SQL Database as follows:
BCP SQLAzureDb.dbo.YouTable IN C:\Folder\Tabledata.dat -S servername.database.windows.net -U username@servername -P password -f c:\folder\Formatfile.fmt -b 1000
Migrating data into SQL Database can cause I/O stress on the SQL Database node hosting your database. This can cause throttling resulting in the termination of your SQL Database connection. A smaller batch size can help reduce the I/O stress. Using the SqlBulkCopy
API provides flexibility in handling throttling errors. When a connection is terminated due to throttling, a specific error message with a specific error code is returned.
Following is a list of error messages related to connection constraints:
Description (message text)
The service has encountered an error processing your request. Please try again. Error code %d.
The service is currently busy. Retry the request after 10 seconds. Code: %d.
The database has reached its size quota. Partition or delete data, drop indexes, or consult the documentation for possible resolutions. Code: %d
Session is terminated. Reason: Long running transaction.
Database '%.*ls' on server '%.*ls' is not currently available. Please retry the connection later. If the problem persists, contact customer support, and provide them the session tracing id of '%.*ls'.
A graceful way to handle throttling errors in your application is to add retry logic for the errors listed above. If you receive an error, retry the command. If you receive the error again, close your current, broken database connection,
re-establish the connection and then retry the command. If SQL Database terminates the connection again, it means the system is under I/O stress and will reject new connections. The best way to mitigate this situation is to allow a wait time of 2-5 seconds
before re-establishing a connection and retrying the command.
Currently for SQL Database, there are 2 offerings - a 1 GB Web based edition and a 10 GB Business Edition. If the database reaches its maximum size limit, you will see an error stating that the database is full with error number 40544. When this happens,
you cannot add any new data or objects such as indexes, tables, stored procedures etc. You can, however, delete data, truncate tables or drop tables/indexes in order to free space.
SSIS supports connections to SQL Database by using the ADO.NET provider. OLEDB is not supported at this time. You can build the SSIS package connecting to SQL Database and create the data flow tasks the same way as you would against a typical on-premise
SQL Server.
Here are some best practices to optimize the data migrations using SSIS packages:
· Build multiple data-flow tasks enabling data to be uploaded in parallel. If there is a primary key-foreign key relationship between data, serialize the loads accordingly.
· If you have tables on the order of hundreds that need to be migrated you can spread the data flow tasks across multiple SSIS packages to further parallelize the migration. Group tables into one package logically depending upon the primary key/foreign key
relationships. Disabling the constraints and re-enabling them after data loads can also provide faster data loads.
· The DefaultBufferSize property and DefaultBufferMaxRows properties can also be adjusted to get better performance. The MSDN article Improving the Performance of the Data Flow has more
details on how to adjust their properties.
· The EngineThreads property can be changed to allocate more threads during execution. The default value is 5.
· Make sure the option Use Bulk Insert when possible is checked, in the ADO.NET Destination adapter. This option was added to support bulk loads into SQL Database for SQL 2008 R2 release. Previously ADO.NET component inserted rows on a row
by row basis. Since ADO.NET is the primary way to transfer data into SQL Database.
Typically, customers start with developing an application on-premise and deploy the application code and database code into the Azure platform. As new functionality is added or existing features are modified, both application as well as database code changes
needs to be re-deployed into the Azure platform.
Schema modifications typically consist of adding/modifying columns and/or adding/modifying indexes. The scripts generated for these modifications needs to be validated against SQL Database as some of the options that can be specified for an on-premise SQL
Server have been disabled for SQL Database. Options such as specifying a file group for tables/indexes, certain index options such as SORT_IN_TEMPDB, PAD_INDEX, FILLFACTOR etc. A comprehensive list of SQL Database options and their supportability is described
in detail athttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee336281(v=MSDN.10).aspx.
Data updates can be done via scripts or BCP or SSIS depending on the type of update. The best practices described in the previous Data Migration section can be applied for efficient data transfers in larger batch sizes.
The authors of the original information contained in this article are Dinakar Nethi and Michael Thomassy./em>
Richard Mueller edited Revision 22. Comment: Added tags
Richard Mueller edited Revision 19. Comment: Fixed <a name> tags in HTML so TOC works, header casing
patmas57 edited Revision 15. Comment: Branding update
Pantelis44999 edited Revision 14. Comment: Added code formatting
Ed Price MSFT edited Revision 6. Comment: Added "See Also" section.
Good article makes understanding how to develop and deploy for SQL Azure a lot easier.
NIce !!!!
thanks If I wanted to translate this blog I would have to do


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Become Rich toward God
It is a great blessing to be here today. After briefing the office staff at our mission in Virginia, I turned to leave, and our treasurer and fleet coordinator said: "President, just tell President Lee we're behind him." On behalf of all the missionaries throughout the world who testify daily that Jesus is the Christ and of your prophetic calling, President Lee, we want you to know, "We are behind you."
William Jennings Bryan wrote:
"The human measure of a human life is its income;
the divine measure of a life is its outgo, its overflow—
its contribution to the welfare of all."
(From The Prince of Peace, by William Jennings Bryan.)
In our search for happiness we may get so involved with the "human measure of life" that we fail to recognize the temporary value of such riches. Christ warned that we can become spiritually "choked" with the "cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." (Luke 8:14.)
The Savior also said, "… a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
"And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
"And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou has much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
"But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
"So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15–21.)
It is, then, our blessing and responsibility to become rich toward God. We are to go beyond acquiring something for ourselves. The Savior also taught us how to do this when he said, "… seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Luke 12:31), and, "… whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God." (D&C 6:3.)
This means we may gain eternal life. "Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich." (D&C 11:7.)
The significance of this truth was brought to the heart of a certain man when his friend approached him with a plan to obtain the riches of this life. He wrote:
"Dear friend,
"During one of our conversations you said something which has been on my mind ever since. In fact, you might say that it has really 'troubled' me and has caused me to do some real 'soul' searching. In explaining why you felt compelled to make the sales plan known to me, you said, 'I would feel real bad a few years from now if I knew about this, got rich from it, and did not tell my friends about it.'
"You will never know how that statement has troubled me because I have made no attempt to share something more precious than money with you. I am speaking of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Now hold on a minute. I know what is going through your mind. 'This kook has lost his cool and gone off the deep end.' T'ain't so. I believe we spent enough time together in the past couple of years for you to know that I haven't turned into a freak or something. But I am sure you have noticed a change. I no longer do many of the earthly things you probably remember of me. I have a great love for my family and mankind in general. I am truly sorry for many things in my past and will do my best to never do them again. But this isn't the most important thing.
"The most important thing in all this world is that I know that I existed in the preexistence as a spirit child of my Heavenly Father; that I am here in mortality as part of his great plan for me in order that I may prove my worthiness to him by constantly making the proper choices between good and evil; and that if I prove myself worthy I will return to his presence.
"I further know that there is a prophet, Harold B. Lee, here upon the earth today who communicates regularly with the true and living Jesus Christ, the son of God. Through this prophet I can learn everything necessary to help me live my life and guide my family in the proper manner to return to his presence.
"Oh, there is so much more that I could tell you, but suffice it to say that there is absolutely no unanswered question in my mind concerning my reason for being here at this time, nor what reward I will earn if I obey the teachings of my Father in heaven.
"Of course, I have learned all of these things through study and prayer and the teachings of the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It is this that I have never shared with you that has troubled my conscience so.
"Now I am going to do something about it. At the same time this letter is mailed, I am sending your name to the Church representatives in your area and asking them to contact you. They will undoubtedly send a couple of young men (or lady) missionaries to see you. These will be people who are dedicating a couple of years of their lives at their or their family's expense to tell people like yourselves of this gospel. They have about six one-hour lessons they will want to teach you. I beg of you to listen to their message. I testify to you that it is true."
I also testify that this is the true Church, that Harold B. Lee is a prophet of the true and living God, and that this gospel of Jesus Christ is more precious than money.
A recent Relief Society film, "Walk in the Light," highlights the incident of a young granddaughter who desired to become the heir to her grandmother's watch. It seemed to the grandchild a real treasure. Here are the soul-stirring words of her grandmother's reply:
"The watch is of small value. But I do want to leave you something very precious. It is something I brought with me all the way from Scotland. I carried it with me across the plains. It is something that will be of value to you all the days of your life and into the eternities. I want to leave to you my testimony—my testimony of the gospel. I know that the gospel is true. I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ."
It is said that many grandchildren honor the name of that grandmother and recall her testimony with joy. How great are the riches she has laid up in store in our Heavenly Father's kingdom.
I am grateful to the Lord for you members of the Church who desire to share the wealth of the gospel of Jesus Christ with your family and friends. Not only are you becoming rich toward God, but you are making other lives rich also. You are giving them the true Christian religion.
Patrick Henry, a great American patriot, said:
"I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had that, and I had not given them one shilling they would have been rich, and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor."
May we all share our wealth of testimony with others that we and they may become rich toward God, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.


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Sudan-South Sudan Restart Oil Talks Amid Bitter Rhetoric
Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 06, 2012
Sudan and South Sudan have opened another round of talks on oil revenues and other contentious issues with harsh words and dampened expectations. Both sides appear to be holding to hard-line positions.
South Sudan's chief negotiator Pagan Amum went into the opening session Tuesday of 10 days of African Union-mediated talks accusing Khartoum of hostile acts on the ground even as it negotiates in Addis Ababa.
"We are concerned the government of Sudan is beating the drums of war. They are mobilizing, according to them, to wage war against South Sudan. That is what the leadership of the government of Sudan are engaged in today as we speak," said Amum.
Seemingly intractable positions
Amum spoke as word arrived of fresh clashes along the loosely defined border. The United Nations refugee agency quoted new arrivals at camps in South Sudan as saying they were fleeing because of aerial bombardment and the fear of fresh violence.
Southern negotiator Amum told VOA he had not seen any positive development since the last round of talks ended in deadlock last month. The two sides are far apart, with Sudan demanding oil transit and processing fees totaling $36 a barrel, and South Sudan offering to pay only 69 cents a barrel.
Amum suggested the South would not budge from its offer.
"The figures really for transit fee is 69 cents. They will have to accept that. If they don't accept that, then there will be no deal," said Amum.
With the future of the talks in question, the African Union issued a statement Monday urging the international community to pressure the two sides to abandon their hard-line positions. The statement said progress is urgently needed on each of the three tracks in the talks - oil revenue sharing, citizenship questions left over from South Sudan's independence, and border issues.
Diplomat's high hopes
Khartoum's negotiators were not immediately available for comment as the talks began. But a senior official of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party was quoted as saying the south's negotiating team would have to be changed before the talks could progress.
In an interview with the English-language Sudan Vision newspaper, party spokesman Ibrahim Ghandour called chief southern negotiator Amum a warlord who has no interest in peace. Ghandour said Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir had recently told South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir that Amum was not the right person to head the negotiating team.
But a Sudanese diplomat attending the talks suggested Tuesday that despite the harsh rhetoric, progress still might be possible. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he is cautiously optimistic because both countries desperately need the oil revenue that has been cut off during their dispute.
South Sudan shut down its oil production in January, accusing Khartoum of stealing from the pipeline that carries crude from southern oil fields though Sudan to international markets. Oil accounts for as much as 97 percent of the South's income, and a lesser but critical percentage of the north's.
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text:
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A dozen or so Columbus Blue Jackets players went through a light workout on Monday, their first unofficial meeting since the NHL and the players' union reached a tentative agreement a day earlier after a lengthy lockout.
All said they were pleased just to get back to work.
Forward R.J. Umberger, who spent his idle time as a volunteer coach with his former college team at Ohio State, helped organize things. Veteran defenseman James Wisniewski worked up a sweat along with team newcomers Nick Foligno, a left wing, and Adrian Aucoin, a defenseman. Toronto Maple Leafs center Dave Steckel joined them.
Several Blue Jackets are still overseas. No one yet knows when practices will officially start, or the games will begin.
But the mood was still upbeat.


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Bee Gees belter may help cheat death
Party ditty restarts hearts?
The Bee Gees' 1977 falsetto stomper Stayin' Alive could be the latest tool in the fight against people dying, according to a new study.
Bloomberg soberly relays that the slouchy beat of the squealy white-men-big-hair disco evergreen was found to help medical students attain the correct pace for chest compressions. The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria put ten doctors and five med students to the funky test, playing them the mildly irritating but actually kind of awesome track as they practiced CPR on dummies.
The strut-tastic tune packs 103 beats a minute, which is almost exactly the number of chest compressions the American Heart Association recommends for successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Weeks later, the sawbones in the small study could attain the same rhythm again by playing the disco doozie back to themselves in their heads.
Researcher David Matlock said in a statement that a larger study was needed, but these initial results were promising.
In other news, doctors announce that playing floundering rock-opera whale Bat Out Of Hell - while unsuitable for CPR due to its erratic zooming tempo - produces excellent results in rousing the comatose.
"It appears to be uniquely stimulating," said a researcher. "One chap who'd been completely unconscious for some months leapt out of bed and dashed across the room to the tape recorder. Extraordinary." ®


text:
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Has science buried God?
Photo of a distant galaxy (NASA)
While "new atheists" Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have been grabbing headlines with their bold claims that modern science has killed off God, an Oxford professor has been quietly chipping away at the ground they stand on. John C Lennox, Professor of Mathematics and Fellow in the Philosophy of Science at Oxford's Green Templeton College, has been popping up at debates around the globe to take issue with the most prominent new atheists.Lennox's arguments are outlined in his book, God's Undertaker – Has Science Buried God? As The Spectator's Melanie Phillips has written, Lennox's book provides an "excoriating demolition of Dawkins's overreach from biology into religion".The brilliance of Lennox's approach is that it does not just concentrate on one academic discipline, like biology. It spans all of the most relevant fields, including cosmology, physics, philosophy, theology and mathematics, offering a compelling case for the view that scientific knowledge, rather than killing God off, actually makes a divine creator necessary.Drawing on his own discipline, mathematics, Lennox calculates the odds of life arising by chance and concludes that anyone who would bet on those odds must be either deluded or just plain mad. Of course, in the best academic traditions, he refrains from using such colourful language, but the force of his arguments leaves no room for any other conclusion.Unlike biblical creationists, Lennox is not hampered by the need to take the Bible, or any other religious text, literally. He simply shows that the most recent advances in science make it plain that there must be a mind behind the genesis of life.The big pictureBeginning with the big picture of the universe and planet earth's place in it, he notes that the ruling view in science is that the universe is not eternal but began with the "big bang" – a view that had not always been accepted by the scientific community."The remarkable picture that is gradually emerging from modern physics and cosmology is one of a universe whose fundamental forces are amazingly, intricately, and delicately balanced or 'fine tuned' in order for the universe to be able to sustain life," he writes. "Recent research has shown that many of the fundamental constants of nature, from the energy levels in the carbon atom to the rate at which the universe is expanding, have just the right values for life to exist. Change any of them just a little, and the universe would become hostile to life and incapable of supporting it."For a start, an abundant supply of carbon is needed on earth to support life and, as eminent mathematician and astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle discovered, "the nuclear ground state energy levels have to be fine-tuned with respect to each other… if the variation were more than 1 per cent either way, the universe could not sustain life."Lennox comments: "Hoyle later confessed that nothing had shaken his atheism as much as this discovery. Even this degree of fine-tuning was enough to persuade him that it looked as if 'a super intellect has monkeyed with physics as well as with chemistry and biology'."Precision tuning But, in terms of the tolerance permitted, Lennox believes that even this example "pales into insignificance" in comparison with the fine tuning of some of the other parameters in nature. They include:
Lennox goes on to list even more mind-boggling examples of precision-tuning in the universe. Such features of cosmic design were what led Sir Fred Hoyle to state that "there are no blind forces in nature worth talking about", and Paul Davies to conclude, simply, " the impression of design is overwhelming".Biology: the living cellMoving on to biology, Lennox notes that there seems to be less certainty about the need for a "God" among today's academics than there is in physics, but after reviewing the evidence he wonders why this is so. He says: "From the time of the great thinkers of the ancient world, such as Aristotle and Plato, to that of modern biologists, the living world has been a source of never-ending wonder. And the more that science uncovers, the more the wonder grows."Lennox says that one reason biologists are not so impressed by the design hypothesis is that according to neo-Darwinism the engine for evolution – the process of mutation, genetic drift and natural selection – is adequate to account for the growth and variation of all the species on earth. He distinguishes between microevolution within a species and macroevolution(allegedly between species) and notes problems with current evolutionary theory, including the shortage of examples of mutation bringing about biological advances, gaps in the fossil record and so on.But he does not dwell on these problems, noting that any serious scientist who questions the dogma of neo-Darwinism is usually branded as either a heretic, a lunatic, or both. He accordingly directs most of his attention to the question of the origin of life, rather than its progress.Quoting geneticist Michael Denton, he points out that the break between the non-living and the living world represents the most dramatic and fundamental of the "discontinuities in nature": "Between a living cell and the most highly ordered non-biological systems, such as a crystal or a snowflake, there is a chasm as vast and absolute as it is possible to conceive."Denton has said that even the simplest cell of all, a bacterial cell, is "a veritable micro-miniaturised factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up altogether of 100 thousand million atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world."He also points out that there is little evidence of evolution among cells: "Molecular biology has also shown us that the basic design of the cell system is essentially the same in all living systems on earth from bacteria to mammals. In all organisms the roles of DNA, mRNA and protein are identical. The meaning of the genetic code is also virtually identical in all cells."In summary, he says there is not "the slightest empirical hint" of an evolutionary sequence among all the incredibly diverse cells on earth.This view was echoed by Nobel Prize-winning biologist Jacques Monod: "The simplest cells available to us for study have nothing 'primitive' about them."The plot thickens: from proteins to DNA Lennox adds that it is hard to get any kind of picture of the "seething, dizzyingly complex activity" in a living cell, which contains around 100 million proteins of 20,000 different types. The existence of proteins alone is a mystery, given that each one represents an intricate construction of amino-acids in a very specific order necessary for them to function. There is no way, he says, in which proteins could have formed simply from raw matter and energy.As Paul Davies puts it: "Making a protein simply by injecting energy is rather like exploding a stick of dynamite under a pile of bricks and expecting it to form a house."The odds of getting a simple protein to form by chance has been put at 1 in 10130.But this is only the probability of getting a single protein. The most basic forms of life require hundreds of thousands of proteins. Sir Fred Hoyle famously calculated the odds of this happening by chance at more than 1040,000. This is a very big number indeed. The number of grains of sand in the world has been calculated at 1020, the number of stars in the known universe at 1022, and the number of particles in the universe at 1080. Sir Fred confessed that this fact alone had challenged his atheism. He said that the idea of the spontaneous formation of life was akin to a tornado sweeping through a junkyard and producing a Boeing 747 jet aircraft.When you move on from proteins to an even more complex part of a cell, the DNA which acts as the blueprint for all living things, the picture becomes even more astonishing. The DNA of bacteria can be around four million characters long – enough to fill about 1000 pages. Human DNA is around 3.5 billion characters – enough to fill a whole library. Lennox and other scientists compare DNA to a computer language and say that the cell's information processing capacity far outstrips anything present-day computers can do. As Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, has pointed out, "DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we've ever created."It was this very fact which led atheist philosopher Antony Flew to change his mind about God: "What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together. It's the enormous complexity of the number of elements and the enormous subtlety of the ways they work together. The meeting of these two parts at the right time by chance is simply minute. It is all a matter of the enormous complexity by which the results were achieved, which looked to me like the work of intelligence."(There have been claims that Flew's views on the need for a God were misrepresented, but Flew himself denied this.)A mind behind it all Lennox goes through all the theories put forward to give credence to the idea that all of this could have happened by chance and, as a mathematician, indicates that such scenarios are basically laughable. He says that the conclusion that a super intellect is at work in the creation of life may not be verified by scientific "induction" or experiment, but it is a valid inference to the best explanation ("abduction").He points out that the probability of a purely random origin for any sequence of even the most basic biological significance is "so small as to be negligible": "It could therefore be argued that the molecular biology of the cell shows the same order of fine-tuning that we saw in connection with physics and cosmology."He also warns against any attempt to try to write off the clear implications of a mind behind the design of living things as an analogy from something like a watch. "We are not arguing from analogy, but we are making an inference to the best explanation," he notes.Lennox points out that the obvious conclusion that arises from reflecting on the reality that sciences like physics and biology have uncovered is that "information and intelligence are fundamental to the existence of the universe and life and, far from being the end products of an unguided natural process starting with energy and matter, they are involved from the very beginning". In other words, the whole universe has the unmistakeable signature of monumental design about it.So, what if you take all of the probabilities unearthed by science together? What are the chances of life developing without a super-mind to guide it? The answer, clearly, is as close to zero as anyone could imagine. In fact, the figures involved are so profound, so enormous, that no human mind could possibly imagine them in any real sense.Despite all this, there still appears to be room for atheists to cling to their faith in a merely mechanistic universe that arose from nothing more than chance. In other words, there is room for the operation of free choice in the matter.But the real riddle in it all is: how has it come about that so many people in the modern world still think that in the God v Chance debate, science has somehow proven that everything has happened according to a series of blind accidents? And why is it that the media are more than happy to allow that status quo to continue?Go figure.William West is a Sydney-based freelance journalist and Editor of Perspective magazine.
- As theoretical physicist Paul Davies confirms, if the ratio of the nuclear strong force to the electromagnetic force had been different by one part in 1016 no stars could have formed.
- The ratio of the electromagnetic force-constant to the gravitational force-constant must be equally delicately balanced to produce the right size of star to sustain a planet with life. A variation here of only 1 part in 1040 and life becomes impossible. (Davies has commented that this feat is akin to a marksman hitting a coin at the far side of the observable universe, 20 billion light years away.)
- An alteration in the ratio of the expansion and contraction forces of the big bang by as little as one part in 1055 at the Planck time (just 1043 seconds after the origin of the universe) would have led to either too rapid an expansion of the universe with no galaxies forming or to too slow an expansion with consequent rapid collapse.
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Boat International US Edition
The sister title to Boat International for the North American market, Boat International US Edition is the leading magazine for American big boat owners.
Originally launched as ShowBoats International in 1983, it has established itself as an indispensable guide for discerning, affluent buyers in the multi- billion dollar US luxury yachting market. From its base in Fort Lauderdale, the international yachting capital, Boat International US Edition delivers the definitive inside stories on the remarkable yachts, the outstanding owners and the exceptional wealth that shape this multibillion-dollar industry.
Its select readership includes high-net-worth yacht owners and industry leaders. Boat International US Edition is the must-read for achievers and aspirers, covering the breadth of the megayacht industry and the fabulous lifestyle that accompanies it.
Prices for the United States. Additional charges for international customers. All prices are in US dollars and include shipping and handling.
Click here to manage your existing subscription.
Click here if you want to buy a gift subscription.
If you are interested in advertising in Boat International US Edition download the media pack or contact us.


text:
Dir: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. France. 2013. 104mins
The frothy comedy-drama A Castle In Italy (Un Château En Italie) introduces us to a main character whose flustered pursuit of happiness is meant to be adorably screwball but more often than not just proves exasperating. Director-star Valeria Bruni Tedeschi has crafted a novelistic portrait of a family over the course of an eventful year, but its central figure, a former actress played by Bruni Tedeschi herself, is indicative of the film's problems as a whole: She's likeable in small doses, but she's not quite as amusing as she thinks she is.
Because it moves back and forth between moments of slapstick, melodrama and gentle introspection, A Castle In Italy has more in common with the page-turning restlessness of a summer beach read.
A Castle In Italy is set for an October release in France. Catering to adult audiences at the art houses, the movie radiates a sunny, pleasant atmosphere that could help make it a date-night selection for upscale couples.
The titular castle belongs to the French family of Louise (Bruni Tedeschi), which also includes her elderly mother (Marisa Borini) and her philandering brother Ludovic (Filippo Timi), who shares an uncomfortably close bond with his sister. With the family's wealth fading, there are discussions about unloading the beautiful castle or at least renting it for tours now that Louise's father has died.
Amidst this tumult, Louise attracts the fancy of Nathan (Louis Garrel), a much younger man and aspiring actor who has long adored her from watching her on the screen, although she retired from the business some time ago. At first wary of getting involved, she decides to plunge headlong into a relationship, figuring that a risky love affair is better than remaining lonely.
Bruni Tedeschi's third film as a director has larger aspirations than simply being a fluffy romantic-comedy. Clearly inspired by The Cherry Orchard, she also wants to craft a story about a family in flux, with both Louise and Ludovic facing major crises to go along with the questions of what to do about their family finances.
But because it moves back and forth between moments of slapstick, melodrama and gentle introspection, A Castle In Italy has more in common with the page-turning restlessness of a summer beach read, with Bruni Tedeschi piling on the incidents that keep the family members coping with one situation after another. Still, Louise's travails are the focus, specifically her indecision about having a baby before she's too old, even if Nathan isn't ready to be a dad.
The movie's funniest notion is that when Nathan first meets Louise, he really has no idea how neurotic she can be, having fallen in love with an idealised version of her from the movies. Unfortunately, Louise's screw-ups tend to come from self-inflicted wounds caused by her impetuousness. A Castle In Italy insists upon viewing her as a lovable disaster, coddling her behaviour rather than forcing her to wise up and pull her life together. As a result, it's hard to sympathise when her mistakes lead to heartbreak.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Bruni Tedeschi's close attention to her own character means that the supporting cast doesn't get much of the spotlight, although Timi does come across strongly as her overly affectionate brother who eventually must face a grave personal scare. (And in one of the nice subtler moments in a film that usually prefers to be emphatic in its emotions, there really is no explanation for Louise and Ludovic's almost-inappropriate rapport, suggesting the small little oddities present in all families.)
Garrel's performance is disappointingly relegated to making puppy-dog eyes at Louise. He's got the right look for a sensitive, seductive young lover, but A Castle In Italy mostly uses him as a device to goad Louise toward her next revelation about herself. As for Bruni Tedeschi, she remains a bewitching presence, her beguiling eyes and easy grace undeniable. But the film's occasional veering into physical comedy does her no favours, and she hasn't given her character enough time with Nathan to really demonstrate a deep connection between them. This is a crucial liability considering that their destinies may soon be linked by one of Louise's flighty decisions.
Production companies: SBS Productions, Arte France Cinema, Delta Cinema, La Banque Postale Image 5, Manon 2, Soficinema 8 Developpement, Canal+, Cine+, Arte France, Du Centre National du Cinema et de l'Image Animee, Commission du Film Torino Piemonte
International sales: Films Distribution, www.filmsdistribution.com
Producer: Saïd Ben Said
Screenplay: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Agnès de Sacy, Noémie Lvovsky
Cinematography: Jeanne Lapoirie
Production designer: Emmanuelle Duplay
Editors: Laure Gardette, Francesca Calvelli
Main cast: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Louis Garrel, Filippo Timi, Marisa Borini, Xavier Beauvois, Céline Sallette, André Wilms


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"Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California."
With those words, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
The 2-to-1 decision is expected to be appealed, setting up a likely future Supreme Court battle over the fundamental question of marriage equality under the U.S. Constitution.
Coming one month into the Republican primary calendar, it also increases the likelihood that this front in the culture war will be reignited in a presidential election year.
The decision itself focused on the constitutionality of the 2008 ballot referendum that stripped same-sex couples in California of the freedom to marry. The circuit court chose to sidestep the deeper questions at hand, stating on page 47: "... we therefore need not and do not consider whether same sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, or whether states that fail to afford the right to marry to gays and lesbians must do so. Further, we express no view on those questions."
But make no mistake: this is a landmark decision with far-reaching implications. It suggests that attempts to overturn the freedom to marry, where it exists, are unconstitutional because these efforts are primarily motivated by an attempt to remove individual rights and in effect establish a second class of citizens
"Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently," the decision stated in its first pages. "There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted … All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same sex couples the right be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation of 'marriage.' "
The Ninth Circuit Court upheld the decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, who declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional in 2010, dismissing the argument that Walker's postretirement revelation that he is gay prejudiced his judgment.
While social conservatives lost as little time in criticizing the decision as gay-rights activists and their allies did in celebrating it, the bipartisan team of lawyers who initially brought the case to court, Ted Olson and David Boies—who once faced off against each other in Bush v. Gore—illustrate the broader coalitions that can be formed on this cutting-edge issue. Our society is evolving and expanding its definition of civil rights to include full and equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans, including marriage.
This historic decision is a reminder that the civil rights era is not over. The work of living up to our stated ideals continues every day, as we try to expand the reality of individual freedom beyond rhetoric.
In America, we are always in the process of forming a more perfect union.


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• View the slideshow of quantum erasure in action
• Discuss the experiment in the blog
Quantum effects are not usually the kind of thing you expect to see around the house, but the May issue of Scientific American includes an experiment you can do at home that illustrates the odd phenomenon known as quantum erasure.
All it requires are a laser pointer, some polarizing film and a few household objects. You can check out the slideshow to see how it's done, discuss your efforts in the blog, or explore the supplementary material we didn't have room for in the print version of the article, including some sources of polarizing film, tips on overcoming possible problems, additional experiments you can conduct and more background on the physics involved:
• What You Will Need For the Experiment
• What Polarizers Do To Photons
• How A Quantum Eraser Works
• Notes on Polarizing Film
• Troubleshooting the Experiment
• More Experiments
• Answer to the 3-Polarizer Puzzle Featured in the Print Edition
• Whither Waves? More About Interference
• Cutting-Edge Experiments: Interfering Soccer Balls
• Delayed-Choice Experiments
• What Do the Quantum Particles Really Do?
• What is Being Erased?


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Duckfeet - Sjaelland | Brown
Sjaelland is our take on the classic desert boot, and was the first style we designed over 40 years ago. Today, it is one of our most popular styles due to its simple yet timeless design. Sjaelland is also a great choice for those with a higher instep and/or a broader foot.
Duckfeet in Denmark have been making shoes by hand for over forty years. Duckfeet are simple and functional, typical of mid-20th century Danish design.
Duckfeet's foot-formed design allows room for the toes to spread naturally as you walk, and for air to reach the feet. Leather midsoles and uppers breathe and transport moisture away from the foot.
We use leather because it's strong and long-lasting, but also flexible – allowing the shoe to move with and mould to your individual foot shape.
No two pairs of Duckfeet are exactly alike. Every pair of shoes is treated individually during production, the natural tanning and processing by hand allows for subtle variations in the leather. These variations are highlighted by the particular way you wear them, which imbues each shoe with personality, your story, for your life.
Sjaelland features premium full grain, double stitched and reinforced 100% leather uppers, insole, and leather midsole. Our non-toxic, vegetable tanned leather is manufactured according to strict environmental standards. It is drum dyed using high quality, non-toxic dyes and specially treated to be water and dirt repellant. Using traditional European Veldtschoen construction the upper is built up by hand over a flat last then the midsole is double stitched to our 100% natural crepe rubber outsole. Every pair of Duckfeet comes into contact with many experienced hands before they are placed in their box and fitted to your feet.
Re-soling and Accessories
Most of our styles can be resoled, you can purchase a resole from us when required.
For a little extra warmth and comfort, take a look at our woollen insoles.


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Support and advice on ICT and Digital issues for VANL members.
Staff at VANL can assist voluntary organisations in North Lanarkshire area with a variety of issues relating to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital
In particular, we can assist with;
- Technical support for PC's, tablets, installation of new hardware and software etc.
- Social Media
- Maintaining and developing simple websites
- Software licensing for charities
- Bespoke training on a variety of subjects relating to ICT and Digital
Douglas Milne, Organisational Development Advisor


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The threat posed by crude homemade bombs known as improvised explosive devices is growing and spreading across the globe, and will be the terrorists' weapon of choice for decades, the commander of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization said yesterday.
"We still need to do more," Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Barbero told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, adding that his organization is rapidly fielding critical counter IED capabilities. "But let me say up front that I believe the IED and the networks that use these asymmetric weapons will remain a threat to our forces and here at home for decades."
These bombs, he said, will be the weapon of choice for terrorists because they are cheap and readily available. Bomb makers use off-the-shelf technology to make the deadly explosives. IED's were the number one killer of American troops during the war in Iraq.
"This trend is readily apparent in Afghanistan … where IED events continue to rise," Barbero said. "In the past two years, IED events have increased 42 percent, from 9,300 events in 2009 to 16,000 events in 2011. And this year, we're on track, for 2012, to meet or exceed the historic number of IED events we saw last year."
While the overall number of IED events is high, coalition casualties are down, the general said. This is because the coalition's ability to find IEDs before they explode is steadily improving. This has reduced U.S. casualties by more than 40 percent this past year, he said.
The decrease in IED effectiveness is a result of an across-the-board effort against these devices, he said, noting that troops deploying to Afghanistan receive the latest counter-IED training and use the latest technology from airborne sensors to handheld devices.
"Commanders and troopers on the ground are continuously refining their tactics, techniques and procedures tailored to the threat they face in the region," Barbero told the subcommittee.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces and civilian personnel "will remain the target of insurgent IED attacks and the IED will remain the weapon of choice," Barbero said. "From our experience in Iraq, the reduction of U.S. forces must not equal a reduction in counter-IED or other critical capabilities."
The general said that as the military footprint in Afghanistan gets smaller, troops there "will require flexibility to shift priorities rapidly, providing the requisite counter-IED capabilities, situational awareness and security and protection," he said.
Barbero said the IED threat is growing and morphing to other areas of the world.
"Since 2007, IED incidents outside of Iraq and Afghanistan have increased to average more than 500 incidents per month around the globe," the general said. "Since January 2011, there have been more than 10,000 global IED events occurring in 112 countries, executed by more than 40 regional and transnational threat networks. The extremist networks that employ the IEDs have proven to be resilient, interconnected and extremely violent."
Wherever there is turmoil and insecurity, there will be IEDs, Barbero said.
"I believe U.S. forces will operate in an IED environment," he said. "I believe it's a reality of 21st century warfare, and we must plan accordingly."


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A co-$A_n$ space is a based space $Y$ equipped with a co-action by the Stasheff associahedron operad $K_\bullet$. This means that $Y$ is comes with certain maps $c_n: Y \times K_n \to Y^{\vee n}$, $n = 2,3,\dots$ that are inductively described (the definition of $c_n$ uses $c_{n-1}$ as input; the map $c_2$ is a co-$H$ structure). The suspension of a based space $X$ has the structure of a co-$A_\infty$ space.
Assume $Y$ is $2$-connected and has the homotopy type of a finite complex. Then Schwaenzl, Vogt and I showed that a co-$A_\infty$ space $Y$ desuspends to a space $X$ in the sense that there's a weak equivalence $\Sigma X \simeq Y$.
However we didn't try to check that the given weak equivalence is compatible in the co-$A_\infty$ sense. Part of the problem is that a morphism $f: Y \to Z$ of co-$A_\infty$ spaces should amount a co-$A_\infty$-structure on its mapping cylinder restricting to the given ones on $X \times 1$ and $Y$. However, this doesn't form a category: it's an $\infty$-category.
Now to my questions:
Question 1: is there a documented proof somewhere that the functor which assigns to a based space $X$ its suspension (considered as an co-$A_\infty$ space) induces an equivalence between the homotopy category of $1$-connected spaces and $2$-connected co-$A_\infty$ spaces?
Presumably, such a proof should be Hilton-Eckmann dual to one of the main results in the Book of Boardman and Vogt.
Question 2: Do function spaces coincide up to weak equivalence under this functor? That is, is the map $$\hom_{\text{Top}_*}(X,X') \to \hom_{\text{co-}A_\infty}(\Sigma X,\Sigma X')$$ A weak equivalence under suitable hypotheses on $X$ and $X'$?
By $\hom$ in each case, I mean topologized mapping spaces.
How would one go about proving a result like this?


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1. Service information
By means of this website, the Company provides a service that consists of, among others, the following added-value features for the downloading of third parties' programs:
- Daily review of download availability and facilitation of same
- Anti-virus analysis of the programs against known threats at the time of downloading.
- Downloading of tools and toolbars of interest for the user.
- User support.
The third parties' programs that are listed on this website are shareware, freeware or demo versions disseminated publicly and free of charge by their authors. Any downloads are always conducted from the website of the author in question. The contracting of the service provided by the Company on this website does not involve, in any case, payment for the purchase, use or licence of the downloaded program.
2. Responsibility
Likewise, the Company carries out daily anti-virus checks for known viruses on the programs listed on this website. Nevertheless, in accordance with the state of the technology, these checks cannot guarantee the full and total absence of viruses.
The Company neither offers any guarantee, nor does it accept liability, for the third parties' programs that the user downloads, including the tools or toolbars, which have also been developed by third parties. Users shall decide beforehand as to the suitability of the program or the toolbar that they wish to download and install, as well as to their agreement with the corresponding terms and conditions of the licence to which these, where appropriate, may be subject.
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The Data can consist of users' personal details, in accordance with the definition given for this concept by current Hong Kong law and, on providing them in the forms, or in the automatically captured Data, on browsing this website, users shall be revealing their consent to the collection of same, their entry onto a file and their processing by the Company in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
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The Data shall not be used for purposes other than those set forth in this Privacy Policy, nor shall they be transferred to third parties without the user's prior consent.
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The contracting shall be done in the language selected by the user from those available on the website. There may be copies of these terms and conditions in several languages; users can make their requests by way of the support form.
The contents of this website are protected by the intellectual and industrial rights of the Company and/or those of third parties. In no case whatsoever shall the user delete, alter, avoid or manipulate any protection device or security system that may be installed on this website.
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Please be advised that certain products may prompt you for elevated admin privileges. Please be advised that in case you choose to decline such elevated admin privilege request, such product may still be executed and installed without admin privilege but may not have the full product capabilities.


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THURSDAY, June 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A growing number of young American adults aren't waiting until they're married to have children, especially those without a college education, a new study finds.
Researchers analyzed data from 9,000 adults, ages 26 to 31, who took part in a federal government survey in 2011. Among those who were parents and did not graduate from college, 74 percent of mothers and 70 percent of fathers had at least one child outside of marriage.
Among young adults with children, non-college graduates accounted for 81 percent of mothers and 87 percent of fathers.
Overall, 53 percent of the women in the study had at least one child, 64 percent had at least one child out of wedlock, and 47 percent had all of their babies when they weren't married.
The lower their levels of education, the more likely mothers were to have children outside of marriage. Rates of having at least one baby out of wedlock were: 32 percent for mothers with four or more years of college; 67 percent for those with one to three years of college; 71 percent for those with only a high school diploma, and 87 percent for those who did not finish high school.
Slightly more than one-third of the mothers in the study had babies while married, including almost half of whites, 28 percent of Hispanics and 10 percent of blacks, the Johns Hopkins University researchers said.
All of the figures were similar for men, according to the study presented at a recent Population Association of America meeting. Studies presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
"Clearly the role of marriage in fertility and family formation is now modest in early adulthood and the lofty place that marriage once held among the markers of adulthood is in serious question," study author and sociologist Andrew Cherlin said in a Hopkins news release. "It is now unusual for non-college graduates who have children in their teens and 20s to have all of them within marriage."
"If marriage retains its place anywhere, it would be among the college graduates, because most of them do not begin to have children until after they are married. The difference between them and the non-college-educated with regard to the percentage of births within marriage is so striking as to suggest a very different experience of early adulthood," Cherlin said.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development offers parenting advice.
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