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Will smog in China spur climate solutions?
I have read a number of news stories about air pollution in the major Chinese cities recently. A soupy smog of particulates, ozone, sulfur and nitrogen oxides hangs over Beijing, Tianjin and other northern cities. The concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in Beijing recently registered at 501 g/m3, more than 15 times the highest recorded value in Los Angeles County.
Ex pats are fleeing the country, while the lifespans of people who live in these cities fall. The primary culprits for much of the air pollution are the coal-fired power plants, which produce roughly 80 percent of Chinas electricity.
Some of my clean tech colleagues seem to be almost cheering for Chinese smog, though. They seem to believe that the Chinese will be forced to invest in renewables and cleanup their energy sector to address the local pollution. Because it is visible to the naked eye, has a distinctive smell and has immediate impacts on quality of life, smog, unlike greenhouse gases, will spur a clean energy transformation. Or, so some argue.
I love the idea of killing two birds with one stone as much as the next person, but Im skeptical of this particular application. I worry about the greenhouse gas implications of both demand- and supply-side responses to smog.
On the demand side, I worry that people will react to air pollution by consuming more energy. I was in Singapore recently and stunned to learn that 30% of the households do not have air conditioning this in a country with the third highest average income and beastly hot (to my Minnesota-born tastes) weather. If I had to live in Singapore without air conditioning, I might never sleep.
But, a good share of the local Singaporeans seem to think that air conditioning involves opening the windows wide and capturing any wisp of a breeze.
As air pollution increases, the natural, low-energy approach to air conditioning becomes less attractive. My colleague at the National University of Singapore, Alberto Salvo, is working on a study that will document by just how much air conditioner purchases and electricity consumption increased in a recent episode of poor air quality.
Similarly, wealthy Chinese are investing in air conditioners, air purifiers, and more people are spending time in the miles and miles of air conditioned underground shopping centers that seamlessly connect with above ground buildings. If the air is hot, muggy and polluted, why ever go outdoors?
But, if smog encourages governments to adopt renewables for energy production, it wont matter that city-dwellers are consuming more energy. Will that work? I have concerns about the supply side responses to smog as well.
Unfortunately, most commercial-scale technologies that remove local pollution from the energy sector create more greenhouse gases. In other words, greenhouse gases and local pollutants are typically substitutes and not complements in the production process.
Consider coal gasification, a process that transforms coal into methane. Power plants that burn natural gas emit many fewer criteria pollutants than coal plants, so turning coal into natural gas and then burning the gas to make electricity can reduce local air pollution significantly.
China currently has one operating coal gasification plant and four under construction. The government recently announced plans to produce the equivalent of more than 10% of its total gas demand using the technology by 2020. In fact, if the gas that was created from the five plants under construction plus four others that are already permitted were all used to generate electricity in an efficient combined cycle natural gas plant, it would produce more electricity than Chinas wind turbines.
So, coal gasification will help reduce local pollution and it appears commercially viable, at least in China. Unfortunately, its a disaster for climate change.
This study, reports that, If all 40 or so of the projected [coal to gas] facilities are built, the GHG emissions would be an astonishing ~110 billion tonnes of CO 2 over 40 years. To put this in context, all of China currently emits less than 10 billion tons annually. Gasifying coal to burn in a natural gas power plant can produce almost twice as much greenhouse gas as a coal power plant.
As far as Im concerned, the only potential silver lining is that it appears much easier to sequester the CO2 emitted from coal that has been first been converted to gas than to sequester the CO2 from a coal power plant.
But, this will involve convincing the Chinese government that they need to address both climate change, by investing in sequestration, and local smog, by gasifying their coal. Unfortunately, theres no free lunch from addressing smog.
Of course, coal gasification is not the only, nor necessarily even the cheapest, means of reducing local air pollution. Other options include building more nuclear plants, accessing Chinese shale gas reserves and burning gas instead of coal, replacing old and inefficient coal plants with newer more efficient plants that are also fitted with pollution control technology (scrubbers/bag houses, etc.). But, other than nuclear, these will go much further to reducing local air pollution than to reducing greenhouse gases.
So, we need to continue pushing for real climate solutions as we are unlikely to see a silver bullet emerge as the by-product of some other goal.
Cross-posted from Energy Economics Exchange (tag line: Research that Informs Business and Public Policy), a blog of the Energy Institute at Haas.


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To see the entire shower post click HERE.
I had seen similar pictures on Pinterest but no instructions.
So, I just went for it. I think it turned out super cute!!
(printable instructions)
|Cut watermelon in half but only 2/3 of the way down lengthwise as shown in the picture. Scoop out all of the melon and set aside to serve separately.

subset: commoncrawl


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By The Canadian Press
LAKE LOUISE, Alta. — A hiker has been found dead in Banff National Park.
RCMP say the man was hiking alone on Mount Temple Thursday when he was reported overdue by other hikers.
Police say Parks Canada dispatched a helicopter to search the rugged terrain and found the man unresponsive.
Fading light hampered recovery efforts and searchers returned Friday to recover the body.
Dead is a 70-year-old man from Winnipeg.
RCMP say his name will not be released.


text:
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Custom Embroidered U.S. Submarine Force "Silent Service" Golf Shirt. Each Gildan Polo Shirt is available in 50/50 Cotton/Polyester blend or 100% ringspun Cotton and is embroidered at our facilities in Scottsboro, AL with your choice of dolphins, Sub Name, and Hull Number.
This product hasn't received any reviews yet. Be the first to review this product!
All prices are in USD.


text:
April 13, 2010
How to Try the New Google Docs Apps
* create a new drawing by opening the documents list, clicking on "Create new" and selecting "Drawing".
* to see the new document editor, go to the settings page, click on the "Editing" tab and select "Create new text documents using the latest version of the document editor." Unfortunately, you can't see the existing documents in the new interface. The new document editor is code-named "kix" and it's a completely new application.
* to switch to the new spreadsheets editor, open a spreadsheet and click on "New version" at the top of the page. All spreadsheets will now open in the new interface.
The new interface is not yet available for presentations.
31 comments:
Very nice but I can't figure out how to change the default font within the new system so that it remains default for all new docs. There's no "Document Settings" function.ReplyDelete
I'm missing a table of contents generator. Also the style picker isn't there anymore.. why? I use it a lot, and was hoping that there were some improvements in that departmentReplyDelete
My editing tab in docs settings does (still) not display that feature. I use google apps for domains.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 4:28 AM
No CSS edit :(ReplyDelete
There are many missing features: translation, find bar, edit HTML/CSS, dictionary, Google search, web clipboard, special characters, document settings, readability stats. But there are also many improvements: better way to create tables, inline spell checking, line spacing, equation toolbar, ruler, better comments, more list styles etc. "Kix" will certainly add the missing features in the coming weeks.ReplyDelete
I need collaboration on Presentations, to use in college works. Please!!!!ReplyDelete
There is no possibility of linking to a bookmark in the documents, as in the previous version. I don't see how can I reach my bookmarks in the document...ReplyDelete
I hope this makes it to 'Google Apps For Your Domain' users soon.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 6:37 AM
I think its still not activated for Google AppsReplyDelete
I am wondering where you found a template for the personal budget? And then I thought. Go to Google Docs, Create new... and from Template. Very cool stuff to be found there.ReplyDelete
Getting better. IMO google docs needs to have a way to show page breaks when the user is editing documents. That is the only thing that is preventing me from using it. It's annoying to have to go to print preview to see where the content lands.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 8:02 AM
Ruler and tabs are great improvements, and the speed of spreadsheets is a great thing as well, but the overall experience is still not quite good. Hope Google rolls out more upgrades in the next few weeks, or I'll jump on office web apps this time. And please, someone tell'em to bring back offline soon: the always-on myth is becoming a pain.ReplyDelete
I like the improvements and Docs is getting better. Thanks for the post Alex.ReplyDelete
"...These features from the previous version of Google documents, however, won't be available in the new version:
- Offline document access via Google Gears
- Edit HTML
- Edit CSS"
- AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 10:04 AM
I can copy a drawing to the web clipboard, but there's no way to paste it into a document -- no web clipboard icon, and ctrl+v only pastes from my local computer's clipboard. What gives?ReplyDelete
To edit an existing document with the new interface, export using Open Document format, then import.ReplyDelete
Is there any way to convert my old documents to the new format without simply creating a blank document and pasting the old one in? (This is fine for one document, but it would be a huge pain to do a lot of them.)ReplyDelete
If there isn't a way, any ideas on when Google might add this ability?
I expect that Google will automatically migrate the existing documents to Kix. Google released a preview of the new editor, so don't expect it to be feature-complete.ReplyDelete
So sad the Equation Editor got less features nowReplyDelete
Learn something from Apple: stop caring about features and enjoy an improved experience. I really like the new document editor. It's so much better.ReplyDelete
PLEEEEEEEEASSSSEE bring back the ability to add a table of contents!!!!!!!ReplyDelete
In addition to missing features, the localization is blocked on US for properties (print settings and table settings with inches).ReplyDelete
Now I understand why the new word processor is hidden, it is not yet ready for prime time.
Anyway it feels better than previous wordly, can't wait it gets the missing features.
- AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Good grief! So we have an application to create DOCUMENTS and we can now insert EQUATIONS, but can no longer insert PUNCTUATION.ReplyDelete
Good people of Google: Go outside. Smell some roses. Feel the warmth of the sunlight. Figure out what "normal" people use a word-processing application for.
Here's how to try the new editor in Google Apps:ReplyDelete
- create new DOC using Google Docs and share it with your Google Apps account
- then, in Google Apps, open the newly shared document. You should see the the document open in new editor.
- to create other new documents using the new editor, select "File -> New" from the new editor window. At this point Google Apps will open new DOC window but using new editor instead of the old one.
no HTML/CSS edit sucks big time tho ... booooo. But oh well, C'est la vie.
Here's how to create a new document using Kix. Go to this page:
(replace MYDOMAIN.COM with your domain name)
For spreadsheets, append &ui=2 to the URL of any spreadsheet.
Keep going, you have a long way to go to catch up with Microsoft Online Services.
- AnonymousApril 27, 2010 at 1:11 AM
I am very unhappy that the table of contents feature is missing. I used this in every document I created.ReplyDelete
While the whole idea for a drawing doc is nice, the outcome is very basic. Online there are far better tools for free, even supporting layers.ReplyDelete
But, even being so basic, it could have much broader usage if it would contain some metrics. That is giving the ability to use coordinates, already incorporated in the underlying software.
Is it so difficult to give the ability of a line from here to there or a circle with a certain center?
It is supposed to be a document after all, not a playground.
Is maximus document size limite is changed in new Docs version?ReplyDelete
(I need to know size limits for documents created naturaly in Docs, not uploaded, and not general storage limit.)
i Really like the new interface works great .ReplyDelete
Can't have a consistent view of "items not in folders whoops collections" - it does not remember your last view. Can't delete multiple items (how do you select multiple items? A few random new features but from the above lots of broken stuff.ReplyDelete
Take a deep breath and assume MS is not the antichrist. Can you -imagine- what would happen if MS released such a half-assed effort?
G continues to generate WTF's. Weird.


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Talk:FreeRunner GPS antenna repair SOP
From Openmoko
Does it really fix the problem?
I think there are more than this problem: [1] while my connector looks like this: [2]. please see also https://docs.openmoko.org/trac/ticket/1542
From the descriptions people give (like: works perfect sometimes, but on other days doesn't get a fix at all) it really could be bad soldering or bad antenna connector. Though I didn't chek my FR yet. Btw. the soldering on my antenna looks the same, but unbelievably there's no short-circuit ;)


text: Hi, I am a little bit of a newbie starting out with Linux. I must say that I am pretty impressed so far. I just managed to get my firewall setup and let me explain the setup as to how I got there so you have an understanding of my architecture and will allow you guys to help me here. Linux Distro: Fedora Core 4 2 NIC cards. -eth0 has DSL line coming in from provider -eth1 is connected to D-LINK router with an IP of 192.168.*.* Running FireStarter (http://www.fs-security.com/) as my firewall and it is up an running. I can ping my XP box and vice versa. Question #1: I am able to SSH into my linux box from PC's within my network. I would like to also connect to my linux box from my work also via SSH, but I am unsure as to how? Can someone please help? Questions #2: I read the "Perfect Setup for Fedora Core 4", and there are some gaps that I need answered to as my setup is a little different. I would like to setup my Linux Firewall box as a Web Server as well with Apache running on it. What would be the steps for this if I am running a setup like I have listed above as the document on the site assumes you have a static IP address from your provider with a host name? I hope this all makes sense. If not, please post a reply and I will reply in more detail. Thanks again


text:
America has fallen out of love with orange juice.
Sales dropped almost every year for the last decade. Last year, orange juice sales hit their lowest level in at least 15 years, according to Nielsen. Over the same period, per-capita consumption fell roughly 40%. And this year is looking to be another rough one for big orange.
Orange juice's precipitous decline is a big deal. For nearly five decades, the sweet beverage made its way onto more and more American breakfast tables nearly every year. At its height, almost three-quarters of American households bought and kept orange juice in their refrigerator, according to Alissa Hamilton 2009's book Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice. But shifting American eating habits—which stigmatize sugar and leave little time for breakfast—and surging juice prices have done significant damage to American demand.
Concentrate, Concentrate
America has lived without orange juice before. Until the late 1940s, orange juice wasn't even a widely available commercial drink. The little orange juice Americans imbibed was either fresh-squeezed, or boiled and then canned—a process which helped preserve the juice, but also made it taste terrible.
After World War II, a group of scientists changed the American orange juice landscape forever. Determined to find a more palatable intersection between preservation and flavor, these scientists developed a new process roughly based on the one they saw used to dehydrate food during the war effort. Instead of boiling the juice, they heated it lightly until water evaporated. Then, they'd add a touch of fresh orange, which gave the concoction a "fresh" taste. Orange juice "from concentrate" was born. As was the industry's marketing push.
The product was a hit. Per capita orange juice consumption jumped from under eight pounds per person in 1950, to over 20 pounds per person in 1960. Florida's production of concentrated juice leapt from 226,000 gallons in 1946 to more than 116 million in 1962, according to a report by agricultural economist Robert A. Morris. By 1970, 90% of Florida's oranges were being used to make orange juice and the vast majority of that was from concentrate.
The increased popularity of flash-pasteurized, ready-to-drink juice advertised as "not-from-concentrate" helped drive consumption still higher in the 1980s and 1990s.
But as you can see, things started to roll over in the late 1990s. Since 1998, US orange production and orange juice sales have fallen virtually every year. That decline comes despite strong population growth in the US, which means the average American consumes far fewer oranges today than she did in 2000.
Orange juice is getting more expensive
An insect-born disease known as "citrus greening" has been hampering production, reducing supply, and raising prices. The disease hit south Florida in 2005. Scientists now believe just about every orange grove in the state of Florida is infected. Given that Florida still produces the vast majority of the US's orange juice (over 80%, according to Florida Citrus) that's a pretty big problem.
"It's the most devastating issue the industry currently faces and has ever faced," Matt Salois, chief economist at the Florida Department of Citrus, told Quartz. "We lose more trees in a given year than are actually being planted." The US orange-tree population has fallen by nearly 25% since 2003, according to the USDA. Trees aren't merely dying off, they're becoming far less productive, too. The infection is increasing the rate of fruit drop (the rate at which unripened oranges fall off trees) and decreasing the size of oranges, sometimes by so much that they aren't even juice-able. This is the sort of sad orange the disease has given birth to.
With few trees, less productive trees, the price of growing oranges is rising. The cost of growing orange trees has doubled from roughly $1,500 an acre in 2000 to as much as $3,000 today, according to Florida Citrus estimates. And when something gets more expensive to make, it tends to get more expensive to buy, too. Wholesale orange juice prices today are about twice what they were in 2000.
Orange imports to the US have risen slightly in recent years, but not nearly fast enough to offset the fall in domestic production. Brazil, which produces almost all of the oranges consumed by the rest of the world, has suffered through its own orange problems.
Americans aren't eating breakfast
Orange juice's traditional ties to breakfast aren't doing it any favors either.
That's because Americans aren't eating breakfast like they used to. Breakfast has been on the decline for over 20 years now, according to a recent study (paywall). Some 89% of American adults ate breakfast back in 1971, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. As of 2002, that number has fallen to 82%, and is likely lower now.
"We've seen the evolution away from breakfast as a meal, which orange juice has long been associated with," Salois said. "Younger consumers especially have been increasingly willing to replace OJ at breakfast time, and it's been big a problem for the industry."
And they're trying to eat less sugar
Americans are also getting a lot more finicky about what they put in their bodies. A growing awareness around the harms of sugar, of which orange juice has plenty, is hurting sales.
The industry has responded, in part, by suggesting consumers continue to drink orange juice, but just less of it. It's also becoming abundantly clear that Americans no longer need to drink stuff to get their vitamin C—thanks to a proliferation of pills, chewable tablets, and powders.
And then there's the growing worry that the "fresh" juice the industry has been touting for years may not be all that fresh, after all. Pepsi, which owns Tropicana, has come under fire for its use of the term "all-natural." And Coca-Cola, for its Simply Orange brand of juice, which critics say may not be all that simple.
So where does orange juice go next?
It might become a luxury drink.
After all, as US orange supplies continues to shrink—annual production could dip below 100 million boxes by 2020, the lowest level since 1964—prices will likely continue to rise.
Whether Americans will continue to buy orange juice at higher and higher prices remains to be seen.
Increasingly, consumers seem to be accepting the challenge posed by the 1980s Minute Maid tagline: "For juice that tastes fresher, you'll have to squeeze it yourself." The orange industry probably didn't expect that two decades later, Americans might be happy to try.
"People are increasingly making it at home," said Salois, the Florida Citrus Department economist. "It's something we're aware of."


text:
TOKYO — Ginzo, the dolphin with human arms, is leading a dolphin fight against Japanese fishermen.
Japanese fisherman are preparing for their annual dolphin hunt, which begins on September 1st. Once again they are preparing for a slaughter like this:
But, they have a formidable opponent this time – GINZO, the DOLPHIN WITH HUMAN ARMS.
Ginzo is leading a battalion of angry dolphins in a counter-attack against fishermen. Several local citizens in "the cove" heard a human voice coming from Ginzo, who gave a passionate and dramatic plea for all dolphins to defend themselves – aggressively – against the blood-thirsty fishermen.
Japanese police and coast guard officers have held a security drill to practice protecting a village from the bloody battle they are anticipating for the annual dolphin hunt.
A Wakayama prefectural police official says Wednesday's drill was aimed at guarding the southwestern town of Taiji from protesters before hunting season starts in September.
About 10,000 law enforcement officers gathered in the bay where the Oscar-winning film "The Cove" was filmed.
Japan allows about 20,000 dolphins to be caught each year. Most Japanese have never eaten dolphin meat but the government defends the hunts as tradition.
But that's the way it used to be… Now, GINZO is take the matter into HIS OWN HANDS and will stop the Japanese fishermen from slaughtering his people again.
WWN's intrepid reporter, Dr. Taxi, will be at The Cove to cover the battle. He will be embedded with Ginzo's platoon. Stay tuned…


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Thirty years ago Friday (Aug. 30), Guion "Guy" Bluford became the first African-American in space, launching into low-Earth orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. But he never set out to be a pioneer.
"My desire was to make a contribution to the program," Bluford said in a statement from NASA.
"People came from all over to watch this launch because I was flying," added Bluford. "I imagined them, all standing out there at one o'clock in the morning with their umbrellas, all asking the same question, 'Why am I standing here?'"
Bluford was part of NASA's barrier-breaking 1978 class of astronauts. Of the 35 spaceflyers selected, three were African-Americans, and six were women, including Sally Ride.
Bluford said that he and the other two black astronauts in the class (Fred Gregory and Ron McNair) were aware that one of them would become the first African-American spaceflyer.
"I probably told people that I would probably prefer not being in that role … because I figured being the No. 2 guy would probably be a lot more fun," Bluford recalled in a statement from NASA. But he has since embraced his place in space history.
"I wanted to set the standard, do the best job possible so that other people would be comfortable with African-Americans flying in space and African-Americans would be proud of being participants in the space program and… encourage others to do the same," Bluford said.
NASA chief Charles Bolden, who became the space agency's first black administrator in 2009, remembered Bluford's contributions in a video released by NASA this week.
"What was so good about Sally and what was so good about Guy was the fact that they were good," Bolden said in the video. "They didn't need to explain why they were there."
"Guy was the first person of color to fly and that was absolutely incredible, but it was would have been empty had he been the first and only," added Bolden, who is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @SPACEdotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.


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By David Crane
defrev (at) gmail (dot) com
May 20, 2009
According to Army Times magazine, The 75th Ranger Regiment is scheduled to battle test the Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) very soon. The Rangers will reportedly be taking 600 FN SCAR rifle/carbine/subcarbine/SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle) weapons packages into battle, but DefenseReview doesn't know how many of these are the 5.56×45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO) FN MK16 (formerly SCAR-Light a.k.a. SCAR-L) assault rifle/carbine/subcarbine/SBR variant, and how many are the 7.62×51mm NATO (7.62mm NATO) FN MK17 (formerly SCAR-Heavy a.k.a. SCAR-H) battle rifle/carbine/subcarbine/SBR variant.
The SCAR weapons are select-fire and operate via a short-stroke gas piston/op-rod (operating rod) (SSGP/OR) mechanism vs. the Colt M4A1 Carbine's direct-gas-impingement (DGI) a.k.a. direct-impingement gas (DI gas) operating mechanism and were designed and developed to replace the Colt MK18 CQBR (Close Quarters Battle Receiver) 5.56mm SBR, Knight's Armament (KAC) MK11/SR-25 7.62mm semi-auto sniper rifle, 5.56mm MK12 SPR (Special Purpose Rifle) (5.56mm), and the M14 7.62mm battle rifle. The SCAR weapons are modular, and military operators can choose barrel lengths of approx. 10″, 14″, and 18″ for the MK 16 and approx. 13″, 16″, and 20″ for the MK 17. The MK16 takes a 30-round magazine, and the MK17 takes a 20-round mag. The SCAR weapons offer a reported 80% parts commonality between the two variants.
Defense Review recently spoke to one of our professional contacts in the tactical firearms community, and he told us on the phone that the MK16/SCAR-L is for all practical purposes "dead", meaning that it's not likely to survive for very long, and that the SCAR weapons are continuing to experience teething problems in the field, i.e. breaking down. We don't have confirmation/verification on this yet, so it's just a rumor at this point. Anything's possible, but we've spoken with people in the U.S. military Special Operations community who prefer either the AR-config HK416 (also written HK 416) for a gas piston/op-rod carbine/SBR solution or a good old-fashioned DGI Colt SOPMOD M4A1 Carbine or MK18 CQBR SBR for a DGI solution.
On the subject of piston-driven vs. direct-gas-driven weapons, while gas piston-driven weapons have been all the rage over the last few years, there's a growing list of tactical AR cognoscenti, aficionados, and builders that are pushing back againt the march to gas piston/op-rod Nervana, making the case that piston-driven systems may not necessarily be a better mousetrap after all, and in a number of ways, are actually inferior to the combat-proven DGI operating system.
Direct-gas-impingement operation offers significant accuracy and weight advantages over gas piston/op-rod operation in AR (AR-15)-config weapons. For example, Heckler & Koch (HK) had to significantly thicken the barrel on the HK416 (also written HK-416) to counteract barrel flex caused by the forces exerted by the offset, reciprocating gas piston and operating rod. This barrel flex resulted in accuracy problems and vertical stringing of shots during full-auto fire. Understand that a gas piston/op-rod setup is already inherently heavier than a direct-gas-impingement setup, and thickening the barrel made the HK 416 heavier than it initially was.
It should perhaps be noted that a primary reason for the movement towards short-stroke gas piston/op-rod operation (and the use of the HK416 SBR, specifically) instead of direct-gas-impingement operation by elements in U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. military Special Operations Forces (SOF) out of USSOCOM a.k.a. SOCOM was due to their desire to suppress 10.5-inch (10.5″)-barreled SBRs. Attaching a silencer/sound suppressor a.k.a. "muzzle can" to carbine or SBR changes the pressure and fouling dynamics of the weapon, and can cause reliability problems unless the weapon is specifically set up for suppressed use.
Even without a can attached, at 10.5″ inches, a DGI-operated AR15-config weapon like the Colt MK18 (formerly known as the Colt M4A1 CQBR)–which actually utilizes a 10.3″ barrel–is a bit too close to to the precipice of not working reliably, since the direct-gas operating system relies on a certain amount of barrel length to creat the correct amount of gas pressure for the correct amount of time, as well as a consistent level of gas pressure over time, to cycle the action (i.e. the bolt carrier group) and feed the next round. This "timing" element is crucial in a DGI AR-15 SBR for combat reliability. A suppressor just adds to the inherent and somewhat precarious pressure curve/timing issues of an AR-15 SBR.
However, if you add a high-tech self-lubricitous / self-lubricating, anti-rust/corrosion internal coating and a Precision Reflex (PRI) M84 Gas Buster Charging Handle – Military Big Latch, to a direct-gas AR, it may be possible to at least address the fouling issue. With this type of coating, DGI weapons may be able to handle the suppressed role (silencer/sound suppressor a.k.a. "muzzle can" attached to the weapon) just as effectively as a piston gun (unconfirmed/unverified). DefenseReview would have to test this, theory, however, and we may do this soon. The PRI M84 Gas Buster Charging Handle attenuates/mitigates hot gas and particulate matter backblast into the shooters face, which has been a criticism of suppressed DGI AR carbines and SBRs, including the M4A1 Carbine.
High-tech firearm coating technologies such as the Next Generation Arms (NGA) internal ceramic coating, the FailZero "AR-15 Basic Kit" and "AR-15 Extreme Duty Kit" nickel-boron (Ni-B)-coated AR-15 parts and components, and the Robar NP3 PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) a.k.a. Teflon)/electroless nickel coating/finish may reduce/mitigate internal "crud" a.k.a. fouling build-up inside a suppressed DGI AR-15 carbine SBR enough to allow it to work reliably at a high-enough round count to negate the gas piston/op-rod system's advantages in this specific area. We'll see.
It's noteworthy that tactical instructor, author, and DefenseReview contributor Mike Pannone, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) operator, prefers a 12.5-inch (12.5″) barrel for a direct-gas-impingement AR-15 SBR. Since a 12.5″ AR SBR can utilize a standard carbine-length gas system (DGI), Pannone believes that 12.5 inches is the optimum barrel length for a DGI AR SBR, since it provides for optimum weapon utility. Basically, a 12.5″ AR-15 SBR offers the perfect balance of weapon compactness and versatility, reliability (provided by adequate barrel length to achieve the right pressure curve and timing), and muzzle velocity for adequate terminal ballistics/lethality. The one caveat is that the weapon has to be set up right, or "sprung right".
In order to ensure this, Pannone developed the BHI Enhanced M4 SOPMOD Bolt Upgrade Kit being sold by Blackheart International (BHI), which, according to him, will solve the majority of M4/M4A1 Carbine and semi-auto-only AR-15 carbine reliability problems, all by itself. The kit includes a mil-spec extractor with a 5-coil extra-power extractor spring, Crane O-ring to elimate extractor bounce, 3 mil-spec gas rings, a mil-spec Black Buffer (H2 buffer), which also reduces exractor bounce, a Sprinco Extreme Duty Buffer Spring/Main Spring, which lasts 4-5 times longer than a standard buffer spring and "adds additional tension to absorb recoil; energy, and ensure reliable feeding, chambering and locking", and a DPMS Rate Reducing Buffer. BHI says the following about the DPMS Rate-Reducing Buffer: "This buffer, along with the upgraded buffer spring will absorb more energy as the bolt cycles to the rear, slowing the bolt velocity and giving the shooter a much more manageable recoil impulse, and a decreased rate of fire on full-auto carbines. The heavier buffer will also ensure that feeding chambering, and locking on even a dry dirty chamber is positive and reliable."
Provided the M4A1 Carbine (or semi-auto-only AR-15 carbine) is properly maintained by the end user and "sprung correctly", i.e. outfitted with a BHI Enhanced M4 SOPMOD Bolt Upgrade Kit, Pannone argues that you'd be hard pressed to find anything better (i.e. more reliable), or even as good as the combat tested-and-proven Colt M4A1 Carbine.
It should perhaps also be noted that high-end tactical AR (tactical AR-15 weapons platform) builders John Noveske of Noveske Rifleworks, LLC and Nathan Roads of Next Generation Arms (NGA) both prefer direct-gas-impingement AR-15s to gas piston/op-rod ARs. DefenseReview found out about Noveske's preference for DGI ARs during one of our interview sessions with him. Noveske and Roads also like the 12.5″ barrel length for DGI AR-15 SBRs.
So, does SOCOM really need the FN SCAR MK16 and MK17 weapons? Probably not. The fact is, while the SCAR family might potentially provide modularity and production cost advantages over the long term if SCAR is eventually adopted and it replaced all the weapons listed above that it's intended to replace, it doesn't offer any lethality advantages whatsoever over any of the already-fielded, combat tested and proven weapons it was designed and developed to replace.
The SCAR weapons simply aren't revolutionary in any way with regard to combat capability and effectiveness. If anything, they're more of an interim-level/bridging-the-gap solution until somone develops a truly revolutionary replacement for our currently-fielded weapons. Fact is, the MK-16/SCAR-L is a much more expensive proposition in the short term than just properly maintaining the legacy M4/M4A1 Carbines that are already in the system. Fact is, many SOCOM operators already prefer the HK416 (5.56mm) and HK417 (7.62mm) carbines and SBRs over SCAR for a short-stroke gas piston/op-rod weapon solution, if they're going to replace the combat-proven M4A1 with anything. Fact is, the financial health of the U.S. military procurement system isn't what it once was, due in large part to the financial realities of the country in general. And, fact is, there's a new sheriff in town (Obama), and Demcocrat administrations aren't traditionally conducive to a high level of military funding and support, at least not in the modern era.
And, again, rumor has it that SCAR weapons are breaking in the field (unconfirmed/unverified). Oh, and speaking of breaking, The HK-416 has apparently been experiencing its own share of parts breakages and reliability issues in the field, as well. Defense Review will further investigate the specific problems we've heard about for SCAR and the HK 416 as soon as we can.
Bottom line is that as time goes on, SCAR is looking more and more like an unnecessary indulgence and a waste of increasingly-scarce taxpayer dollars.
Editor's Note: Mike Pannone (a.k.a. Michael Pannone) is the author of the M16/M4 Handbook and HK416 Handbook (also written HK-416 Handbook), which are invaluable resources to anyone who owns and/or uses an M4/M4A1 Carbine, tactical AR-15 carbine, or HK416 respectively. They're also worthy additions to any tactical firearms library, even if you don't own or use any of those weapons.
Company Contact Info:
FN Herstal USA (FNH USA) Military Operations
PO Box 896
McLean, VA 22101
Phone: 703-288-3500
Fax: 703-288-4505
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.fnhusa.com
FNH USA Military Training Operations
Phone: 1-540-752-6200
Fax: 1-540-752-0967
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Talk about a buzzkill.
Hours after a leaked video showing Miley Cyrus purportedly smoking the legal herb salvia and acting loopy went viral, her dad took to Twitter to say his heart was all achy, breaky again.
"Sorry guys. I had no idea," Billy Ray Cyrus tweeted. "Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. Im so sad."
Cyrus did not spell out his daughter's name in the message, though he did seem to allude to his recent divorce from Tish Cyrus, E! News reported.
"There is much beyond my control right now," Cyrus wrote.
Earlier Friday, TMZ.com posted a video that appears to show Miley Cyrus taking a bong rip while surrounded by friends, with music from the band Bush in the background.
The clip, said to take place in California five days after Cyrus' 18th birthday party, shows the former "Hannah Montana" star giggling and wondering aloud if she was "tripping."
U.S. & World
"Is that my boyfriend? Is that my boyfriend?" Cyrus says, apparently referring to a person off-camera who looks like her ex-flame, Liam Hemsworth. "Oh my God, he looks so much like Liam. Is that me tripping, is that me tripping?"
The "Can't Be Tamed" pop star has not commented on reports about the video.
Salvia is a plant from Mexico that has been used in the past for Indian healing purposes, but has been gaining in popularity with young people, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's website.
"Psychic effects include perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors and shapes, as well as body movements and body or object distortions," the DEA says. "Other effects include dysphoria, uncontrolled laughter, a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities, and hallucinations."
While feds do not regulate the drug under the Controlled Substances Act, as of two years ago 13 states have enacted varying levels of controls on the substance, according to the DEA's website.
Keith Stroup, legal counsel at the marijuana advocacy group NORML, told MTV News that Cyrus would not be breaking any laws if she was smoking salvia in California, as was reported.
"[The video] might be embarrassing to her, but it does not put her in any legal risk," Stroup told MTV. "At the moment, [salvia] is not illegal in California, so even if she walked out on the street and smoked it in front of police, she couldn't be arrested."


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The bride was 61 years old and the groom was an eight-year-old boy! Both families were present at the wedding of Sanele Masilela (8.) and Helen Shabangu (61) and the bride's husband and her five children were also at the wedding in Zimbabwe.
The boy's aunt, Patience Masilela (46), explained why the wedding took place.
She said: "The boy was named after his late grandfather who never had a white wedding, so the ancestors told the boy to get married and he chose Helen to be his bride. The family took his desire to get married very seriously. They paid for the bride in March last year and spent a lot on the wedding because they believed it was what the ancestors wanted."
The bride said: "I'm married and have five kids of my own, but I know that this is what the ancestors wanted – and now they are happy. It is a ritual. We are just playing now, but it is a sign that he will get married one day."
The young groom said: "I told my mother that I wanted to get married because I really did want to. I chose her because I love her and I'm happy that I married her – but I will go to school and study hard. When I'm older I will marry a lady my own age."
The bride's long-time husband, Alfred Shabangu (65), said that he never had a problem with her marrying the boy because he too knew that it was what the ancestors wanted. My kids and I are happy. We don't have any problems with it," he said. However, some community members said they were shocked. One woman said: "How can a family go this far for the ancestors? It shows that people do take messages from the ancestors seriously." This was a not a legal marriage – it was only done for ritual purposes.
The happy couple sealed their marriage with a kiss.
Culled from: My Zimbabwe


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Rockville, MD – Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses.
The key to the exceptional night vision of the nocturnal helmet gecko is a series of distinct concentric zones of different refractive powers, according to a study published in the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology's peer-reviewed, online Journal of Vision ("The pupils and optical systems of gecko eyes," http://www.journalofvision.org/9/3/27).
This multifocal optical system is comprised of large cones, which the researchers calculated to be more than 350 times more sensitive than human cone vision at the human color vision threshold.
"We were interested in the geckos because they – and other lizards – differ from most other vertebrates in having only cones in their retina," said project leader Lina Roth, PhD, from the Department of Cell and Organism Biology at Lund University in Sweden. "With the knowledge from the gecko eyes we might be able to develop more effective cameras and maybe even useful multifocal contact lenses."
The nocturnal geckos' multifocal optical system gives them an advantage because light of different ranges of wavelengths can focus simultaneously on the retina. Another possible advantage of their optical structure is that their eyes allow them to focus on objects at different distances. Therefore the multifocal eye would generate a sharp image for at least two different depths. Geckos that are active during the day do not possess the distinct concentric zones and are considered monofocal, Roth said.
The scientists also developed a new method to gather optical data from live animals without harm with their modifications to the Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor.
"Studies of animals with relatively large eyes, such as owls and cats, have included surgery and fixation of the head," the article states. "In this study, we demonstrate that it is possible to obtain high-resolution wavefront measurements of small, unharmed gecko eyes without completely controlling the gaze or the accommodation of the animal eyes."
The Journal of Vision is an online-only, peer-reviewed publication of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Access to articles is free and open to anyone. See www.journalofvision.org.
ARVO is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include more than 12,000 eye and vision researchers from 73 countries. The Association encourages and assists research, training, publication and dissemination of knowledge in vision and ophthalmology. For more information, visit www.arvo.org.
Journal of Vision


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01/04/2012 By Ed Timperlake
There is tremendous news for the American/NATO war effort in Afghanistan. With the selection of the Super Tucano, the Afghan Army Air Force can now begin to develop a combat capable air fleet for the Afghan Air Force.
Doing so is part of the process of reducing US and allied presence and having a key element for cooperation after the substantial ground forces of the US and its allies leave. This is a core task, not a peripheral one. This is not a procurement game; this is a capability and transition building block central to the future.
"Department of Justice Attorneys Say Air Force Awarded Light Air Support Contract Last Week; WICHITA, Kan., Dec. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Hawker Beechcraft learned during this week's initial status conference at the Court of Federal Claims that the U.S. Air Force awarded the Light Air Support (LAS) contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation and its Brazilian manufacturer Embraer last week." (From December 30, 2011, HBC Press Release)
This added capability will give the Afghan Army and Police forces on the ground a significant battle tipping asset. The Super Tucano has already been instrumental in killing some very nasty and deadly warriors.
As Second Line of Defense has been informing the readers over the past few months, the Super Tucano has been a FARC killing aircraft that in all weather conditions, day or night the SuperT has been validating the tactical and strategic value of airpower in a very nasty war in Colombia.
In addition, closer to America the Dominican Republic Air Force is flying the Super T and is working with the 12th AF "Doolittle's Raiders." That team has swept their skies of aircraft being flown by drug smugglers.
So it is time to reflect on some very good news, the Super Tucano is a proven killer and will be a welcome addition to the fight against the Taliban. .
Unfortunately, there are lingering efforts to block this needed procurement.
Notably, the integrity and professional judgment of BOTH the US Air Force and the GAO have been called into question by the Hawker Beechcraft Corporation in federal lawsuit.
On the Second Line of Defense Forum (http://www.sldforum.com) has already expressed with some dismay that the U.S. lost more than a year in starting a program that would help us in disengaging and leave behind in Afghanistan a combat force of great value-both symbolically and practically.
Tragically, the HBC Civil Suit now has the potential to yet again slow down support to US and Allied troops in combat.
It is no longer the time to be kind to HBC, since they initiated the action, they should be prepared to face any adverse consequences as evidence for the suit is acquired by the USG in defending the AF and GAO
Hopefully, the lawsuit will be addressed quickly, forcefully and in a very direct way and dismissed with prejudice and America and NATO allies can continue to fight and win in Afghanistan with an added resource "cleared in hot" flying into the fight.
Procedurally "The Dog Ate My Homework" defense by HBC is both weak and ridiculous especially being made by an Aviation Manufacturing Firm woes corporate ethics should have a profound understanding that procedures being followed correctly are literally a matter of life or death in all things aviation..
However, if the lawsuit proceeds then "who knew what when" on design defects of the prototype AT-6 becomes a critical question.
After reading the GAO determination W.W (Bill) Boisture Chairman and CEO characterized the issues as "minor", and in their Dec 30 Press Release went so far as to publicly challenged the integrity of the process and their longstanding customer.
With this development, it now seems even clearer that the Air Force intended to award the contract to Embraer from early in this process.
If the lawsuit is allowed to go forward then all American taxpayers have the right to know ALL the facts. Was it HBC's intention from the start to try and win this source selection using PR to focus on jobs and also Brazil bash as it appears they are now trying to influence the court case in public.
The initial requirement was clear:
BACKGROUND AND REQUIREMENTS: LAS aircraft must be a non-developmental item (NDI) that is production-ready. No development or testing funds are available. " Introduction of LAS Solicitation FA8615-10-R-6088"
Might the FBI open a "Preliminary Inquiry," (PI) to determine what HBC knew about the prototype AT-6 on the day of submission?
The facts of the case on the technological performance and capabilities of the AT-6 on the day it was entered into the LAS competition can be develop with an easily understood starting point the AF and GAO analysis.
After reviewing HBDC's responses to issues raised during discussions, the Air Force concluded that HBDC had not adequately corrected deficiencies in its proposal. In this regard, the agency concluded "multiple deficiencies and significant weaknesses found in HBDC's proposal make it technically unacceptable and results in unacceptable mission capability risk.
ALL the facts will eventually come out. An official USG request (subpoenas) for all HBC, communications and meeting notes -electronic and paper, along with interviews with HBC principals would quickly show what HBC Management knew or thought they knew about their AT-6 prototype with "multiple deficiencies and significant weaknesses" that make "it technically unacceptable and results in unacceptable mission capability risk" prior to submission.
Collecting evidence and producing all the facts for the American taxpayer can show "intent."
Did HBC Management with full knowledge submit a "production ready" airplane-when it was not? If so, then this is the foundation for a fraud case.
Or was it just a bad business decision? If so then, flailing about in a public way and simply making bad business decisions is an issue for the capital markets.
Finally, taken in the context of the reported HBC emerging dire corporate earnings financial situation, it is a very strange strategy to turn their legal guns on the judgment and integrity of an honorable customer especially in a time of war.
Either way, the system worked with honor and integrity on the part of the USAF-Aim High is not just about flying it is also ethics.


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Best Rehabilitation Centre in Tuticorin
At Abhasa, our empathic team of therapists and counsellors help you overcome all life's tribulations. Get back to the zest of living life to the fullest by getting a customized treatment option for your specific case.
Our Rehabilitation centre situated in Tuticorin is equipped to help you identify specific issues around mental health and wellness. This helps us provide the right treatment regime that shows noticeable results. We have created a serene and luxurious atmosphere in a 'one of its kind' wellness resort. This USP helps you in complete the treatment of detoxification, de-addiction and mental health disorder processes.
No need to look for options when you Google "best luxury rehabilitation centre Tuticorin". With its dedicated staff and proven track record, Abhasa is the wellness resort you can truly benefit from.
Abhasa in Sanskrit means "Constant Exercise". It is a practice that brings stillness to one's mind and which we believe is a practice for those who take the route of recovery from any form of addiction and mental health disorders. We at Abhasa Rehabilitation Centre provide a wellness retreat to the ones who have taken a step towards de-addiction and mental health related issues by understanding their mindset from the roots and take care of them with integrity in a luxurious environment by a panel of experts. We lend our hands to each and everyone who is wanting to step out of any form of addiction and be their support system until they completely recover and see the better things in life.
Why Abhasa Rehabilitation Centre?
- Location: Situated in the Western Ghats, the greenery, climate and the pollution-free environment add as a major factor contributing to healing and recovery.
- Holistic Approach towards recovery: We believe in addressing the root of the problem that leads to addiction and mental health disorders than to just suppress the urges and this is done with the help of therapy, diet and other physical activities such as nature walks, meditation etc.
- Customized Treatment: Every individual is different and the recovery program is based on keeping in mind one's preferences and choices in life to help them get the maximum benefit.
- Support, Care and Love: The last thing a person who is recovering from addiction and mental health disorders need is for someone to remind them of the bad days. We provide maximum support and care to people who have decided to step out of their problems and lend our hands to the better things in life. We take in only selected number of people so that we can take personalized care of our clients and give them a family-like set up.
To de-stigmatize and eliminate blemishes surrounding mental health and addiction, aiming to achieve our purpose through building a holistic community and customised treatment approach that aids in healing and recovery.
To establish a comprehensive footprint that would widen our reach and open our doors to aid in recovery for the needy with a compassionate, holistic and customised treatment approach.
Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Tuticorin
The holistic rehab centre is located at the foothills of Lonavala, in Karjat, Mumbai. Spread across 2 acres of lush greenery, you can look forward to the idyllic setting to recover from addiction, stress, and troubles from toxins. You are free to choose from a range of accommodation options at our wellness rehab centre. They include suite rooms, deluxe rooms, twin sharing, three sharing, or six sharing depending on your preferences.
Say hello to luxurious and empathic rehabilitation program, driven with a singular purpose i.e – to help restore your mental wellness for better mind-body balance.
Therapies that soothe the mind, body and soul
See a list of therapies available at our alcohol rehabilitation centre in Tuticorin.
- Art therapy,
- Movement therapy
- Meditative Walking around the organic and herbal garden
- Pet Therapy
Recreational Activities
- Bird Watching in their natural environs
- Massage and Spa
- Music Therapy
- Fishing
- Cycling
These therapies enable nature to speed up the healing process at Abhasa.
Why our centre is ideal for your self-introspection and healing goals?
At Abhasa, we use approaches like cognitive behaviour therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy. This way, we act as your confidant. We help you banish the substances that prevent you from being a better version of 'you'.
Our location in picturesque of Western Ghats will help in your holistic recovery amidst lush greenery. This is one more example of our efforts towards providing a comprehensive environment to accelerate self-healing. Our collective endeavours help elevate the degree of wellness you feel from within.
Our Team
Mrs. Gayathri Arvind
Founder & Managing Director
Mrs. Gayathri Arvind, an entrepreneur turned philanthropist and mental health advocate; she started Abhasa after realizing that conventional rehabilitation centres are not as effective, considering the punishment culture with which patients are managed. The alarming growth in the number of alcoholics and addicts, and lack of centres which provide critical care strongly motivated her to work on a model that takes up a holistic approach in treating their clients physically, mentally and emotionally without the usage of brute force or suppression.
Dr. Rohit Garg
Senior Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr. Rohit Garg, the Director of Mind Vriksha Clinic in CR Park, New Delhi plays a key role in treating addictions at Abhasa. He specializes in adult, child and geriatric disorders after having done immense research work using new techniques like Repetitive Trans-Magnetic Stimulation and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. A winner of many awards and recognitions, he has been bestowed the Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Ekta Samman Award and the Best Doctor's Award in India by Medi Health Magazine in 2011 and 2013. He is recognized by his patients for his virtue of putting human life above everything else and for his charitable work in different parts of the country like Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, U.P and Delhi.
Dr. Ashwin V Samilal
Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr. Ashwin V Samilal, a psychiatrist by choice and not by chance, has been practicing Psychiatry since 2014. He completed his Masters in Psychiatry from PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research in 2017. Dr. Ashwin V Samilal believes in providing customized treatment to his clients by enhancing motivation and captaining patients and their families to help individuals of substance use disorders to lead a better life.
Dr. Naveen Kumar V
Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr. Naveen Kumar V is a Psychiatrist , completed MBBS in 2006 and DPM in 2010 from Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute,Chennai. He is a member of the Indian Psychiatric Society. He has 15 years of experience in various settings that include treating patients with substance abuse and worked in inpatient facility that treated addiction and behaviour disorder. His experience include, providing mental health care for indigenous tribal community in Kerala where he helped in setting up De-addiction centre in the Government Tribal Speciality Hospital . Other Special areas of interest include PTSD, OCD, Depression and Anxiety. His work is towards prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, addictive and emotional disorders addressing biological, psychological and social components of illness.
Dr Vivek Sharma
Consultant Psychiatrist (Neurofeedback Practitioner)
Dr Sharma completed his MBBS and MD (Psychiatry) from King George's Medical University in India. After realizing the limited impact of conventional medical treatments in severe mental illness, he developed a specialized interest in neuromodulation and trained in Neurofeedback in Australia, and went on to become Board-Certified in Neurofeedback by BCIA. He has trained in use of QEEG brain mapping- a novel investigative technique, which provides precision neurofeedback training, and is in the final stages of accreditation in this discipline. Due to his combined knowledge of Medicine, Psychiatry and QEEG he has a nuanced understanding of therapeutic and adverse effects of medications on the brain and uses this knowledge to provide recommendations for neurotherapy interventions. He has considerable experience in managing some of the most challenging neuropsychiatric conditions such as Obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD and Autistic spectrum disorder which are often underdiagnosed and respond poorly to conventional treatments. He has been associated with Abhasa through carrying out Neurofeedback sessions, these sessions are curated to match individual needs. Neurofeedback sessions play a major role in treating patients by giving them closure and a new perspective and this aids in recovery.
Dr. Ramalingam p kandaswamy
General Physician
Dr. Ramalingam is a Fellow in HIV Medicine and Clinical Leadership training, a full-time 1-year fellowship from the Govt Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium recognized by the Govt Of Tamil Nadu. He is the Member of Indian Medical Association Erode Branch. And he has worked in the National Health Service UK at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro. He has also worked with an International training center and educational center for Health (ITECH INDIA) Department of Global Health, the University of Washington as a Senior Clinical Trainer. He was associated with NACO India as part of HIV training and curriculum development. He is a specialist in HIV/TB care and Infectious diseases. He is Interested in Clinical Research.
Dr. Gokul Krupa Shankar
Consultant Gastro-Surgeon
Dr. Gokul Krupa Shankar is the Head, Dept. of Surgical Gastroenterology, VGM Gastro Centre, Erode & Course Director, Post-Graduate Fellowship in Minimal access abdominal surgery, TNMGR Medical University. He is known for his proven and effective communication skills with patients, families, and other medical professionals. His leadership abilities are evident in his management of practice staff in providing patients with quality care, ability to quickly and properly diagnose patient conditions in emergencies to ensure they receive the treatment they need as soon as possible under controlled conditions. He provides detailed orientation which reduces mistakes made in patient treatment, diagnosis, and medication administration.
Ramalingam (Ramly)
Ramalingam (Ramly) graduated from Madras Christian College with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1991 and completed training from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management. He joined The Oberoi Bangalore in 1994. He initially worked as a housekeeping executive and over the years rose through the ranks to head operations at GRT hotels, Club Mahindra and Araiya hotels. He has exposure in the hotels and hospitality sectors in The Hague, Sydney and Papua New Guinea. He was instrumental in opening hotel properties at Pondicherry, Tuticorin, Yercuad, Kufri, Chennai, Palampur and Calicut. After serving as the opening General Manager at Calicut he has joined Abhasa as the Chief Executive Officer for Erode and Maharashtra and is looking forward to a challenging and refreshing experience.
Mr. Sharan
General Manager
Mr. Sharan is an enthusiastic, motivational person who brings with him his years of experience helping people with mental illness, resolving conflicts and advising people in need by listening and intuitive decision making ability. He is dedicated to providing rehabilitation and building constructive therapeutic relationship with skills development and physical education programs. He has the experience in providing mental health support for the families in times of need and guiding individuals deal effectively through their problems with compassion and involvement.
Mr. Ajaykumar Padmanaban
Operations Manager
Mr.Ajaykumar Padmanaban, He is passionate to communicate and inspire people minds with his ideas. He is committed to work with 7+ years of experience in healthcare sector at some reputed institutions in various profiles of Operations, Marketing and Relationship management and ultimately responsible for maintaining and increasing the efficiency of a business for an organization. He leads, motivates, and supports a large team and highly responsible with all conflict management.
Mr. Hari Jayaramen
Relationship Manager - Counsellor
An MSW with years of experience in serving the mentally ill, resolving conflicts, and providing guidance for those in need. Dedicated to training in rehabilitation, therapeutic intervention, skill development programs and physical training program. Experienced in crisis intervention and providing support for mental health.
Dr. P Karuppuchamy
Program Manager
Dr. P Karuppuchamy is an enthusiastic and experienced clinician who brings with him, his enriched Experience of 20 years of working with people suffering from various substance abuse, addiction and psychological Disorders. Dr. Karuppuchamy has done his MSW from MISS, Madurai, M. Phil from NIMHANS, Bangalore where he specialized in psychiatric social work. He then completed his PhD from Bharatiyar University, Erode. In addition to this he has being working in various specialities like clinical, teaching training and research. A keen observer and an active listener, he has worked with various individuals who have personality issues and challenging factors in their personality. Dr. Karuppuchamy has an optimistic approach towards any problem and prefers to spread positive vibrations to other.
Dr.N Laxamanan
Consultant clinical psychologist
Dr. N Laxamanan is a Licensed Clinical psychologist from the Rehabilitation Council of India(RCI) with over an experience of 26 years in field of mental health. He is a dedicated psychologist with a extensive experience in providing innovative treatments for patients to navigate psychological struggles using a variety of psychological assessments and tools. He received his Master's and Doctorate degrees from the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi in Medical and Social Psychology specializing in psychometric analysis and psychotherapy. With a commitment to serve the ongoing support in-depth diagnosis evaluation and implementation, he has experience in collaborating with other relevant services providers to support patients holistically.
Mr.JijoMaanthra David
Mr.Jijo is a wellness coach and a dance enthusiast who has travelled all across India hitchhiking for more than a year and learning Yoga sutras and meditation from the yogis of Himachal till Kanyakumari. He has represented India in Singapore for the United Nation peace conference. He is also awarded "Best Dance Teacher of the year 2019" by Indian education Awards. He is a movement researcher with knowledge on therapeutic movement interventions. He is also a postgraduate in social work and has various expertises in Music, Art and Philosophy. He is always optimistic and brings creative activities for the client's development. Apart from that He is keen in creating new techniques of meditation by fusing eastern principles with esoteric spiritual philosophies.
K Meera
Clinical Psychologist
Mrs. Meera Krishnanunni is a clinical psychologist who has completed her M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology from University of Calcutta, Kolkata. She has worked in the same University (under CUIPP Unit). She has worked in a Rehabilitation Centre in Kerala, in U.A.E. as School Counsellor and as Child Psychologist in a clinic in U.A.E. She feels strongly for the children and have worked for the same, especially for learning disability, dyslexia, ADHD in children.
Sutheesh Prabhakaran
Counselling Psychologist
Mr. Sutheesh Prabhakaran is an enthusiastic and experienced psychologist, compassionate therapist and a NIMHANS-trained certified counsellor. With double masters in Psychology and Social Work, he has over ten years of intensive practical experience in the field of both de-addiction and mental health. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling. He is well experienced in providing specialized psychological assessments, evaluations and various therapies, including CBT. Meditation Therapy, Bibliotherapy, Relaxation therapy, Motivation enhancement, Mindfulness and Insight building are some of his significant areas of interest.
Mr. Renosh John
A compassionate psychologist committed to serving patients by listening to concerns and guiding patients in approaching behavioural, mental and emotional problems. Mr. Renosh completed his Masters in Clinical Psychology from Manipal University and is well versed in various psychological techniques including cognitive behavioural, mindfulness based and emotion focused therapies. He is polished in screening individuals to identify their psychological needs and providing assistance and treatment. Mr Renosh has worked with various sections of the society including women and children with psychiatric disorder and is focused in neuropsychological problems.
Apart from his work, Mr. Renosh is a musician, football player and an avid photographer.
A compassionate social worker, completed Masters in Social Work with specialization in Medical and Psychiatry. She is skilled in assessment, developing treatment plans, counselling, and evaluation. Empathetical approach towards the clients with active listening skills has been forte.
Sreedhil M Sasidharan
Psychiatric Social Worker
An engineer who shifted his career to an empathetic social worker with specialization in medical and psychiatry .He is experienced and passionate in the field of de addiction and is skilled in crises intervention, individual and group therapies, case management , assessment and making treatment plans .He is an active listener and haves strong communication and interpersonal skills .He is also experienced in life skill coaching to help clients lead healthy and successful life.
Be in seamless harmony with your mind and body
We know that every person needs a different approach and personalized guidance on the road to recovery. We make the road as smooth as possible with our capabilities in mental health and wellness therapy. We use a blend of approaches like dietary modifications, nature walks, and meditation. This way, you see a better version of 'you' emerging from within. Be one with the universe and eliminate the reasons for sorrow that engulf your life.
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Hey gang... I know I left y'all high and dry there for awhile. Call it lack of inspiration. Call it work/life overload. Call it pregnancy fatigue... call it whatever you like.
I've decided that this space isn't going to be about pressure for me. Pressure to write, create, keep up. All those items should be utterly without pressure - if any of it is going to be any good. So I feel like I'll just keep revisiting this place when I feel I have something worthwhile to share.
And today folks... I actually do.
Because my version of "nesting" this pregnancy is basically to work like a bloody hound dog all day and night - I found myself completely caught up with editing and posting and the general running of the business last week. NOT something that happens altogether often... so I utilized my free weekend to dive head first into a scrapbooking project that had been "shelved" yet ready and waiting for me.
I had done maternity mini books for my other two pregnancies... and as a mom - I seriously felt like if I didn't make this happen - I was failing this poor child before his little eyes ever met mine. Red alert - MOM failure - Red alert - MOM failure! I just can't deal with that. It had to get done. And I was so grateful for the time to do it.
I still have a few pages to insert... I just today recieved the gallery of images from my professional maternity photo session with my dear friend, and esteemed colleague, Coty Jones. They are amazing pics, yo. She is an incredible photographer. And I'm a very lucky friend. Can't wait to carefully select the ones that will make their way into this little album. :)
The other piece that is missing from the book - is last Sunday - I was supposed to just have lunch with one girlfriend - but when I showed up to the restaurant - there were 8 more of my friends there waiting to surprise and sprinkle me with baby love. It was just the best, man. I couldn't quit smiling for the next two days straight. I couldn't believe they did that - went to that trouble - and that I didn't have a single clue. It was just great and made me feel super special.
So those two items - and probably one last big ol' - hey we're leaving to go to the hospital shot will make for additional pages in this album... and I'll have to get around to fancy-ing up the outside a bit too (a challenge since we don't have a name picked out yet for this little guy).
Nevertheless - I was too excited about my progress not to share the following pages with you...
I started with just a chocolate spined plain American Crafts 3 ring 8x8 album. :)
Hope you all had a great 4th of July!!!!


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Berlin - KaDeWe
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Ged Farmer
Our voice on responsible sourcing
Ged has been working with LRQA for over 17 years. He has wide experience of a number of legal and voluntary social, sustainability, environmental, health & safety and carbon schemes and standards. This extensive experience relates to a number of industry sectors including Food, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Transportation and Logistics, Power Generation, Telecommunication and Construction.
Ged is a Certified Sustainability Assurance Practitioner, has a degree in Applied Biology and a Masters degree in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.


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Reclaimed water projects shifting into super-hot growth category
Two cities that have been reusing water for more than five years are expanding their programs to serve additional customers and meet new nutrient discharge restrictions, exemplifying a national trend toward water reclamation.
One such development is a plan by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District of Virginia Beach, Va., to deliver highly treated wastewater to two U.S. Navy bases. The second is the expansion in Cary, N.C., of a piped reclaimed water distribution system to businesses and residences for irrigation.
In both cases, reclaimed water is treated domestic wastewater deemed safe and effective for non-drinking purposes. Though more controversial and less commonly known, reclaimed water is discharged into some drinking water sources in the U.S., such as by the Orange County Water District of California, which has been injecting treated wastewater into groundwater since 1976. Another example comes from the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority of North Virginia, which discharges reused water into the Occuquan Reservoir.
Nutrient Caps Drive Water Reclamation
A lack of state-level regulations for reclaimed water use has hindered its expansion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides only voluntary guidelines on the subject. That trend appears to be shifting, however. In Virginia, that state's agency is currently working on rules related to reclaimed or recycled water, with an estimated adoption date later this year.
"Water supply issues are driving regulations in a lot of states. In this state, what's really driving it is nutrient caps on discharges," said Valerie Rourke, water reuse coordinator for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
In 2005, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation setting up a nutrient trading program and requiring operators of wastewater treatment plants by 2011 to reduce the flow of nutrients into Chesapeake Bay. The DEQ started working on regulations pertaining to reclaimed water about two years ago, covering such issues as standards for reclaimed water, appropriate uses, and which users much obtain state permits.
Hampton Roads, which operates under a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, began selling reclaimed water in 2002 to a Giant Industries refinery in Yorktown, Va. The York River Treatment Plant diverts 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water daily, following treatment, to the nearby refinery. This reclaimed water is used for cooling and other industrial purposes.
"We just saw water reuse as the future, so we started there. That was the first industrial reuse project in Virginia," said Karen Harr, chief of water reuse for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District.
Success of that initiative led the district to explore other water reuse partnerships. This past spring, the district broke ground for a new water reclamation piping system to deliver highly treated wastewater from the district's Atlantic Treatment Plant in Virginia Beach. By this fall, the system should be operational, delivering 14 million gallons per day of treated wastewater to the U.S. Navy Dam Neck Base in Virginia Beach. This supply will be used in base heating and cooling. The Navy paid an estimated $500,000 for the project.
A second partnership with the Navy is in negotiation stages and would involve piping reclaimed water to the Norfolk Naval Station, where it will be made into steam for heating and cooling. In that arrangement, Hampton Roads would divert 1 million gallons of reclaimed water daily from its Army Base Treatment Plant in Norfolk.
"We are trying to do what we consider to be the right thing environmentally. If we can defer or delay upgrades to our treatment plants, that saves ratepayers from rate increases," Harr said .
Cary, N.C. Expands Piped
Water Reclamation System
In Cary, N.C., a reclaimed water distribution system pumps up to 5 million gallons of reclaimed water per day to both homes and businesses for irrigation and cooling. The purple piping system is separate from pipes carrying drinking water to Cary customers. The program also has a bulk water permit that allows approved contractors to pick up the bulk water from either of two water reclamation facilities. Some of the approved uses for the water are: irrigation, dust control, road bed aggregate compaction, and other permitted non-discharge uses.
"The main foundational system was completed in 2001, and it was set up so it could be easily expanded. We since that time we have expanded in very small increments," said Rob Bonne, utilities director for the town of Cary, N.C.
In the northwest part of town, the town plans to build a connection from Cary's water reclamation system to the Triangle Water Reclamation Facility owned by Durham County. This will provide reclaimed water to customers in part of Research Triangle Park and to the town of Cary's Thomas Brooks Park, the site of a USA Baseball national training center.
Once the water reclamation line is expanded to that part of town – estimated by 2015 – the connection to Durham County's system will end. As of March, Cary's reclaimed water system served more than 500 residential and commercial customers encompassing 17 miles of piping throughout the town.
Residents or businesses interested in using the reclaimed water and that have access to the distribution line must apply to the town to begin using the water, which is sold at a lower rate than that of regular drinking water. The fixed rate is $3.28 per 1,000 gallons of reclaimed water compared with $5.33 per 1,000 gallons for irrigation service from drinking water. Users of the reclaimed water must complete a 15-minute training program.
"One of the advantages of using reclaimed water is we're recycling wastewater treatment plant effluent, which has some nutrients in it. When those nutrients go on the grass for irrigation, they don't end up in the river," said Bonne, referring to the Neuse River, where treated wastewater eventually goes.
As communities become more conservation-oriented or take steps to avert water shortages and wastewater discharge impacts, reclamation has become increasingly popular. As in Virginia, financial benefits are a key factor.
"We see a trend in the state of North Carolina in reclaimed water, especially with communities that are constrained by limited water plant production capacity or a limited amount of nutrients they can discharge from their wastewater plants. The ones that are constrained are really accelerating their reclaimed water programs," said Bonne.
Drought-stricken regions, such as California, Texas and Florida, have led the industry with development of water reclamation projects. But as seen with these Virginia and North Carolina projects, expanded use of reclaimed water is becoming a national trend.
This article originally appeared in the 08/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.
About the Author
Debbie Bolles is managing editor of Water & Wastewater News.
This free educational webinar will provide a detailed process for climate-driven "pre-response" in a variety of key areas including: Supply Chain Disruptions, Employee Safety and Productivity, Regulatory and Compliance Risks …and many more areas.


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The 1960s enter their 6th decade
It's been a few weeks since anyone's written a why-are-we-still-fighting-over-the-1960s article, so the New York Times is going large with the topic in tomorrow's paper. The piece ties together two seemingly unrelated -- no, scratch that, they really are unrelated -- events, which are Connectucut Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal and his apparent past misstatements on Vietnam and Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul and his remarks on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (It's the excuse they've been waiting for! A Democrat and a Republican -- balance!). Anyway, here's the nut:
Why then, to quote the ubiquitous Bono, is our political debate so stuck in a moment it cannot get out of? In part, it is probably because so many of the Americans most engaged in politics — as well as those who run campaigns and comment endlessly on them — are old enough to remember Altamont. It is your classic self-fulfilling prophecy: the more the '60s generation dominates the political discourse, the less that discourse engages younger voters, and the longer the boomers hold sway over our politics.
On a deeper level, though, this all probably has as much to do with our basic human tendency toward moral clarity. As much as conservatives may view the decade as the crucible of moral relativism and the beginning of a breakdown in established social order, there remains something powerfully attractive about the binary, simplistic nature of it all, the idea that one could easily distinguish whether he was for war or against, in favor of equality or opposed.
Personally, I do think the 1960s remain an incredibly important touchstone in the politics of the 2010s, although I don't think either Blumenthal or Paul are necessarily great examples of that -- especially Paul, whose politically unpopular ideas are rooted in a libertarian philosophy that's not in the mainstream of either that decade or this one. However, I'm one of the few people around who's been to both a liberal Netroots Nation (formerly Yearly Kos) convention and the conservative National Tea Party Convention, and both groups had a lot of folks who were in their 50s -- i.e., old enough to have memories of the 1960s -- if not older.
Researching my book on the right-wing movement that's arisen since Obama, I found a lot of conservative grassroots, Tea Party style activists who were stronly driven by what they'd seen in the 1960s or early 1970s (which were really an extension of the '60s). This is just anecdotal, but I met a disproportionate number of Vietnam vets in their movement. The one that I focus on in the greatest detail in "The Backlash" -- Russ Murphy of the Delaware 9-12 Patriots -- is an ex-Marine who was in Vietnam even before the 1965 escalation of the war; he says that hippies in Swarthmore, Pa., actually spit on him when he returned from the war, and anger over his treatment still burns inside him today.
Why the 1960s? I think that Times gets it right in the age group. Baby Boomers are larger than the generation that comes after them, and they are in the power-wielding years of their 60s and 50s. One thing I found is people in this generation carrying vivid memories of the 1960s just have more time for politics -- on the grassroots level, some are retirees and some are unwillingly "retired" because of the economy and some are part-time workers or homemakers. It's just easier for them to go to Tea Parties and what not than it is for some 30-something raising two or three kids, who doesn't know Woodstock from Woodstein.
But what resonates about that decade? I think it's two things. First, the factors that led to a long (and in hindsight unusual) polticial consensus were beginning to melt away in the 1960s. From 1933 and FDR's New Deal through 1968, America was run by Rooseveltian Democrats and one (again, in hindsigh) liberal Republican in Dwight Eisenhower, and economically we had a large and properous, heavily blue-collar middle class. The 1960s was when the closing of factories began in earnest (at first in Northern cities, then everywhere) and when U.S. oil production peaked. The number of people attending college rose sharply from 1965 to 1974 but I think in a nation that raises so many financial barriers for children to attend college, this positive development helped sew some of the seeds of our division.
There were increasing reasons that now economically battered, traditional middle-class voters (think Sarah Palin and her core voters) and a now larger professional class (think Barack Obama and his core supporters) distrusted and disliked each other. The future Palinites resented self-appointed elites and their snooty attitudes, and those future Obamaites resented both the fact and the way that the other side ruled (mostly) from 1968 through 2008. It's very easy to trace these battles that we fight today in a straight line to the 1960s.
And the other reason -- alluded to in the Times article -- is that just as the national consensus was cleaving apart, you had issues that presented very stark contrasts with clear moral choices. Vietnam is probably the ultimate example. Whatever you think about the muddy waters of future American wars like Iraq, Vietnam was a conflict that clearly was about nothing more than the United States throwing its weight around halfway across the world, so it easily divided the nation between those who felt that we should be doing that kind of thing and those who thought it was wrong. Civil rights was another issue with little ambiguity, and to some degree that was true of the culture wars over sex and drugs and rock and roll.
I remember vividly how the 1960s loomed over my own time as a college student in the late 1970s. People were politically exhausted. Vietnam was over and what you might call the "low-hanging fruit" of civil rights -- things like segregation that were unambiguously wrong -- had been picked. The only political issues that created even a ripple for a couple of years were protests over apartheid in South Africa and the renewal of draft registration, because they were relatively safe and low-key echoes of the 1960s, almost like a Civil War type re-enactment of those great battles of our forerunners.
And it's not much different today. And I'm starting to think that the sad reality that those of us who remember the actual 1960s won't be around forever may not change that, not for another generation or two. The truth is it won't change until there's job opportunities and educational opportunties for all Americans, especially the middle class, and there's no more Vietnam-style wars over oil -- until we eliminate the things that on a daily basis remind us of exactly what it was that divided us nearly a half-century ago. And until then Americans will be doomed just like the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, "bourne back ceaselessly back into the past."


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"Get it out of your head that 'Bush's Law' is another high-minded, high-umbrage, A.C.L.U.-channeled eulogy to the United States Constitution, which died on the table at the hands of Bush administration surgeons," writes Jeff Stein, about Eric Lichtblau's new book, BUSH'S LAW: The Remaking of American Justice, in the New York Times. "No," he continues, "it's Stephen King country, a collection of horror stories every bit as mouth-drying and finger-curling as Kathy Bates's taking the lumber to James Caan in 'Misery.'"
Pravda called the RAND Corporation the "academy of science and death," and "it's not hard to understand why the conspiracy theories developed," after reading Alex Abella's new book, The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire, writes Joshua Kucera in the San Francisco Chronicle. Rand gave the author "unprecedented access to its archives, and sure enough, Rand played a central role in some of the most secret, high-stakes military strategy during the height of the Cold War."
Andrew Ward's The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves is an "innovative and powerful new study of the Civil War," writes Adam Kirsch in the New York Sun. "By combing through thousands of slave narratives and autobiographies — above all, the series of interviews with former slaves conducted by the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s — Mr. Ward has cobbled together a fractured, incomplete, but fascinating account of the way the slaves understood the history they lived through."


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ALBANY, N.Y. — Albany-to-New York City rail service is scheduled to return to normal Tuesday after being suspended because of the arctic cold.
Amtrak shut down its Empire Service between New York City and Albany as a precaution Monday because some signals and switches were frozen. The Ethan Allen Express to Rutland, Vt., was also canceled. Trains to Montreal, Chicago and Toronto operated normally.
The Ethan Allen will run between Albany and New York City Tuesday, with buses carrying passengers between Albany and Rutland. And passengers on the route from Niagara Falls to New York should check for a schedule change involving one train.
The National Weather Service said early morning low temperatures reached double digits below zero across much of upstate New York.


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When General Motors named Mary Barra the company's new CEO in December, the announcement made instant headlines. No woman had ever steered a major global automaker .
But the hurrahs for GM's historic hire turned into hoots of derision when a company filing revealed its new chief executive's pay.
The veteran auto industry executive is making $4.4 million this year. That tidy sum amounts to about half the total pay Barra's CEO predecessor took home. General Motors, critics charge, is underpaying its first woman chief exec.
These charges quickly shoved GM into damage-control mode. The company's first response: a statement designed to "dispel any notion of pay inequity."
The $4.4 million 2014 pay figure for Mary Barra, the automaker pronounced, didn't include her long-term incentives.
How much would these rewards total? GM wouldn't say exactly. "Specific long-term incentive compensation numbers," would have to wait until April, the company explained.
This vague initial response did little to calm the waters. In quick order, GM relented, releasing chapter and verse on Barra's complete 2014 pay package.
The automaker's new CEO, it turns out, stands to take home $14.4 million this year once long-term incentives get factored in. That's roughly 60 percent more than her predecessor.
Barra's total 2014 compensation, GM board chair Tim Solso assured the company's critics, would be "in line" with her auto industry peers. "The company's performance will ultimately determine how much she is paid," Solso explained.
So CEO Barra will receive an extra $10 million if GM "performs"? But what about the men and women who make GM's autos and trucks? How much will those workers receive for GM's 2014 "performance"?
We won't know that until GM releases annual profit-sharing numbers next winter. We do know that GM's 48,500 hourly workers will receive, for the company's 2013 performance, up to $7,500 each in profit-sharing checks.
These checks, the Detroit News observes, amount to little more than "a pseudo-annual raise." GM's veteran hourly workers "haven't gotten a real raise for the past decade." And newly hired workers? Under GM's two-tiered wage system, these newcomers start out "at half the hourly rate of veteran employees."
In 2014, chimes in CBS MoneyWatch, GM CEO Mary Barra will rake in 329 times what the average auto industry worker takes home. Women comprise about 21 percent of auto workers. The first-year workers at GM among them will take home less in a year than Mary Barra makes in a day.
This pay gap between Barra and GM's rank-and-file doesn't seem to embarrass Tim Solso and his GM board mates, not anywhere nearly as much as the much tinier gap critics initially saw between the pay of Barra and her male predecessor.
We should all be pleased, of course, that GM's directors felt such an intense need to correct that "misperception" they were underpaying their first female CEO.
The pressure — and embarrassment — that GM's top brass felt helps show that years of struggle against sexist pay inequities at the top of the corporate ladder are bearing fruit.
No major American corporation, this episode reveals quite clearly, can afford these days to get publicly branded as an employer that discriminates against women. Our society has indeed come a long way.
But the flap over Barra's pay also shows how far we have yet to go.
Most women will never sit in a corporate executive suite. Neither will most men. They'll work regular jobs, doing work that generates immense amounts of wealth. The rewards for creating all this wealth? Much more than the lion's share will go to America's overwhelmingly male corporate executive class.
Maybe someday the enormity of the pay gap between workers and executives will embarrass corporate leaders as much as the hubbub over Mary Barra's compensation embarrassed General Motors.
We can hope for that day. Better yet, we can fight for it.


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The meaning of life
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Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah is a twice-yearly magazine distributed to retired employees and adult children of the Saudi Aramco Enterprise. Much of the content is compiled from letters, articles, news clippings and photos submitted by its readers. The magazine often includes historic photos that shed light on life in the Saudi Aramco community during the early years. It also includes articles prepared by retirees touching on their past and the company's history. One issue annually features the Saudi Aramco Annuitants Reunion, held every year since 1958. Other retiree reunions and gatherings of offSpecial are also covered.
Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah - Special 1958
They began to gather on Monday afternoon, the day before the big party.
Click Here to Download Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah - Special 1958