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At the stroke of midnight when the world sleeps, India awakes,
Yes! India has woken up to freedom, but for whom?
After 67 years of Independence, The poor have no kapda, roti, makaan so let them have cell phones. The UPA government is close to finalising a Rs 7,000 crore scheme to provide one mobile phone for every Below Poverty Line (BPL) household in the country. The scheme will be called 'Har haath mein phone" (phone in every hand) and would give 200 minutes of free local talktime to the beneficiaries.
The Planning Commission SAYS that anyone spending more than Rs 965 per month in urban India and Rs 781 in rural India will be deemed not to be poor. The poverty line cut-off figures, are those spending in excess of Rs 32 a day in urban areas or Rs 26 a day in villages will no longer be eligible to draw benefits of central and state government welfare schemes meant for those living below the poverty line. For them spending Rs 5.5 on cereals per day is good enough to keep people healthy. Similarly, a daily spend of Rs 1.02 on pulses, Rs 2.33 on milk and Rs 1.55 on edible oil should be enough to provide adequate nutrition and keep people above the poverty line without the need of subsidized rations from the government. Just Rs 1.95 on vegetables a day would be adequate. A bit more, and one might end up outside the social security net.
People should be spending less than 44 paise on fruits, 70 paise on sugar, 78 paise on salt and spices and another Rs 1.51 on other foods per day to qualify for the BPL list and for subsidy under various government schemes. A person using more than Rs 3.75 per day on fuel to run the kitchen is doing well as per these figures. Forget about the fuel price hike and sky-rocketing rents, if anyone living in the city is spending over Rs 49.10 a month on rent and conveyance, he or she could miss out on the BPL tag.
As for healthcare, Rs 39.70 per month is sufficient to stay healthy. On education, the plan panel feels those spending 99 paise a day or Rs 29.60 a month in cities are doing well enough not to need any help. Similarly, one could be considered not poor if he or she spends more than Rs 61.30 a month on clothing, Rs 9.6 on footwear and another Rs 28.80 on other personal items.
But THE FACT IS , around 400 million unorganised workers struggle to survive without any tangible right, though they substantially contribute to the national income. No employment regulation, no pension, no maternity benefits, no accident compensation, no provision to get even the minimum wages or health care. Instead, crumbs of social assistance schemes are thrown at them by the state as charity.
"Independence begins at the bottom . . . A society must be built where every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its own affairs . . . It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without . . . This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbours or from the world. It will be a free and voluntary play of mutual forces. In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever-widening, never-ascending circles. Growth will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom, but it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle, but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it."
Mahatma Gandhi believed that the overall impact of the state on the people is harmful. He called the state a "soulless machine" which, ultimately, does the greatest harm to mankind. It was for this that he developed the two-pronged strategy of resistance (to the state) and reconstruction (through voluntary and participatory social action). The dream of Swaraj remains unattained even 65 years after independence.
Ye Kaisi Aazadi Hai? asks Jagjit Singh, the acclaimed singer, joining the campaigners of Social Security Now, a network of trade unions, civil society organisations, peoples movements and concerned individuals fighting for securing Social Security Rights for the countless, voiceless unorganised workers. Written by renowned poet Nida Fazli, and filmed by Pravin Mishra, the song invites you to join in on the demand for Social Security as a Right for unorganised workers! The video vividly articulates the frustrations of millions of marginalized Indians who find their dream of Swaraj slipping away. India's tryst with destiny has now turned into India's tryst with Nehru dynasty. India's hope for Swaraj is sailing through rough waters.
This is your song. Please send the link to all the concerned Indians.
The lyrics
यह कैसी आजादी है
चंद घराने छोड़ के भूखी नंगी आबादी है
जितना देस तुम्हारा है
उतना देस हमारा है
दलित, महिला, आदिवासी , सबने इसे सवांरा है
ऐसा क्यों है कहीं ख़ुशी है
और कहीं बर्बादी है
यह कैसी आजादी है….
अंधियारों से बहार निकलो
अपनी शक्ति जानो तुम
दया धरम की भीख न मांगो
हक्क अपना पहचानो तुम
अन्याय के आगे जो रुक जाये वह अपराधी है
यह कैसी आजादी है….
जिन हाथों में काम नहीं है
उन हाथों को काम भी दो
मजदूरी करने वालों को , मजदूरी का दाम भी दो
बूढ़े होते हाथों पों कप, जीने का आराम भी दो
दौलत का हर बंटवारे में, मेहनतकश का नाम भी दो
झूठों के दरबार में, अब तक सचाई फरयादी है
यह कैसी आजादी है
चंद घराने छोड़ के भूखी नंगी आबादी है
Translation in English
What sort of freedom is this ?
Besides handful of people, the whole nation is poor and starving
The nation belongs to me as much as it belongs to you
Dalits, women, tribal, all together have built the nation
Why is that, somewhere there is happiness
and elsewhere there is darkness
What sort of freedom is this ?
Get out of the darkness and realize your power
Do not ask for mercy, Recognize you own rights
Whoever stops in front of injustice is a criminal
What sort of freedom is this ?
The hands which do not work, need employment
Pay the laborers fair wages
Give social security to the elderly
Give full due contribution to laborers in distribution of wealth,
Truth is still begging for justice , in the court of liars
What sort of freedom is this ?
Besides handful of people, the whole nation is poor and starving
Related articles
- INDIA-Left parties submit charter of demands to Prime Minister (kractivist.wordpress.com)


text:
After attending meetings for a few weeks, members will make their promise as part of an investiture ceremony.
Many members also renew their promise on an annual basis, traditionally at a St. Georges Day service, meeting or outdoor activity.
Alternative versions of the promise are available. The core promise, which refers to a 'Duty to God', remains intact and Scouting is fully committed as a movement to exploring faith and religion as a core element of its programme.
If you would like your child to make a specific promise, please discuss it with the leader.
Due to our active programme, we sometimes meet outside of these times as well.
Material on this website has been reproduced by permission of The Scout AssociationWebsite Powered by www.ScoutsOnline.co.uk © 2014

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Model No. CTFC-322E-000The ATTO Celerity FC-322E leverages two next-generation storage technologies – PCIe 3.0 interconnect and 32-Gigabit Fibre Channel to provide an advanced storage connectivity solution with high performance, intelligence and scalability. Celerity FC-322E 32Gb/s dual-channel HBAs deliver up to 6400 MB/s in a single PCIe slot solution, allowing original equipment manufacturers and system integrators to design state-of-the-art data infrastructures.
Meeting tomorrow's connectivity needs today, Celerity Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) increase overall Fibre Channel system performance and drive intelligence all the way to the edge of the SAN utilizing ATTO's Advanced Data Streaming (ADS™) Technology. Included with all ATTO HBAs are easy-to-use utilities ConfigTool™ enabling management, monitoring and configuration which leverages an intuitive GUI.
SFPs and 3-year standard product warranty included.
Your feedback is important to us.


text:
Lochinvar factory insulated and jacketed commercial glasslined hot water storage tank. Ideal for use with gas-fired copper heat exchanger equipment for storage of potable water up to 180 degrees F. Glass lining is fused to the steel for years of corrsion protection and dependable use. Insulation meets or exceeds R12.5 minimum thermal insulation requirements of ASHRAE/EISNA 90.1.
Five year factory limited tank warranty.
Specs: 318 gallon storage capacity; 40" diameter, 80" height; Wt 987 Lbs.


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LONDON – Jane Austen will become the new face on England's 10-pound notes — in an attempt to add a little pride and fight the prejudice against women on the country's currency.
The Bank of England chose the chronicler of 18th century English country life as the new face of the note, bowing to critics who complained that the venerable institution was ignoring women on their currency.
"Jane Austen certainly merits a place in the select group of historical figures to appear on our banknotes," the bank's new governor Mark Carney said Wednesday in a statement.
"Her novels have an enduring and universal appeal and she is recognized as one of the greatest writers in English literature."
Carney elevated the creator of Mr. Darcy to the 10-pound (about $15) note within weeks of his taking over the helm of the UK's central bank.
The controversy began earlier this year when the bank announced it would replace the 19th-century social reformer Elizabeth Fry with wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the five-pound note. Though Churchill is still revered for his World War II leadership, the change led to protests because no other woman — besides Queen Elizabeth II — would be represented on Britain's currency.
Though few quibble with the hard work the monarch has done for Britain, women's rights advocates fiercely argued that counting the head of state among the luminaries sent the wrong message to young women. This, they said, suggested that the only way for women to get ahead was to be born into the right family.
Tens of thousands signed a petition. Lawmakers asked for reflection. Some argued that equality laws might be violated.
The outgoing governor, Mervyn King, was forced to reassure lawmakers in one of his final public appearances that their concerns were unfounded and that Austen was quietly waiting in the wings for her chance to appear.
Austen, whose novels include "Emma" and "Sense and Sensibility," is one of Britain's best-loved authors. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of "Pride and Prejudice," which was celebrated across the country with costume parties and other events.
The Austen note will be issued within a year of the Churchill note, which is targeted for release during 2016. The present face of the 10-pound note, Charles Darwin, will become extinct.
The recognition can't help but be sweet for the legion of fans devoted to an author whose observations on money and fortune remain biting two centuries after they were first published. This, after all, is the author who noted in Mansfield Park that "a large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of."
Rebecca Smith, a teaching fellow in English and creative writing at the University of Southampton, believes Austen would appreciate the recognition — even though she kept a very private profile as a novelist.
"I do think she would have been amused or even delighted to know that she would appear on a bank note 200 years after her novels were published," Smith said in an email.
"We know from her letters that she took great pleasure in finally having an income and money of her own."
Smith noted that without her writing, Austen would have been financially dependent on her family. In a letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, on Nov. 30, 1814, Austen said that while she appreciated the praise the novels were getting, she also liked earning money, too.
"People are more ready to borrow and praise than to buy, which I cannot wonder at; but though I like praise as well as anybody, I like what Edward calls 'pewter', too," Austen wrote.
However, rather than one of her observations on money on the currency, the bank inexplicably chose the quote "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from "Pride and Prejudice." It is not clear whether the bank considered, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
The portrait used will be based on one commissioned by James Edward Austen Leigh, Austen's nephew, in 1870. This image was adapted from an original sketch by Austen's sister Cassandra, the bank said.
British bank notes have celebrated a range of historical figures, including William Shakespeare, economist Adam Smith and James Watt, the engineer who improved the steam engine. But few women have been included in the pantheon. Aside from the monarch and Fry only one other woman — Florence Nightingale — has appeared on the bills since historical figures were introduced in 1970.
Jane Austen will be in good company.


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In 'The Portfolio of…' I give you, the photographer/ designer, a chance to share your work with the world. Today it's time to show you the work of Zoran Nova.
Do you like this kind of posts? It is part of our "Submitted Portfolios" section: a special page showing everything we've published related to this subject.


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15 Quotes From Conservatives On The Global Warming Hoax
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Liberal luddites who hate capitalism and industry have spent billions to spread global warming propaganda, despite the fact that it looks more like a fraud, a scam, and a hustle every year. Not only do those on the Left use their control of the mainstream media and the school system to push this nonsense, they've even found a way to rig the scientific process. If you say global warming is happening and it's caused by man, you're deluged with money for research, members of the media are dying to talk to you, and you're patted on the back. If you take the opposite position, the grant money dries up, you can't get published, and you're attacked non-stop as a "denialist." Fortunately, people have started catching on to the game and the public has become much more skeptical about manmade global warming.
Here are 15 quotations from conservatives explaining why the public is right to be extremely skeptical of manmade global warming.
Clown Nose On, Clown Nose Off: That's how Treacher described Jon Stewart's very selective stance as to whether he was "just a comedian" and it therefore didn't matter if he was saying nonsense or whether he was a sage outsider commentator on political affairs.
The global warmistas have a similar tactic. When asked to explain why their predictions keep failing, they will say "Well, the environment is a very complicated thing and of course we don't have a perfect model of it yet."
But when their core claims are challenged, they claim the exact opposite: They have a perfect model of everything, with all variables perfectly weighed in the equation (that's why they know, to a moral certainty, that the sun has no more than a trivial effect on changing climate), so shut up, we got this, all of this.
Well which is it? — Ace
Well, if this were a human caused warming, it should have started about 1940 and trended strongly upward as global industrialization followed World War II. That isn't what happened. The warming started about 1850. We had a surge of warming from about 1850 to 1870. We had another surge from 1916 to 1940 and then, when the greenhouse gasses began to spew from the factories, the temperatures went down for 35 years. 1976 to 1998, we had another surge of warming, but we've had no warming in the last 8 years. So, what we have is an erratic warming that started too soon to be blamed on humans and is not following in the footsteps of the CO2 levels in the atmosphere. — Dennis Avery
The…warming before our last ice age was much warmer than anything we've had since. We had a warming that peaked 9000 years ago, another warming that peaked 5000 years ago. Both were warmer than today. Probably the Roman warming and the medieval warming were both warmer than today — and we've had 8 warmings of the earth since the last Ice Age. — Dennis Avery
As Steven Guilbeault of Greenpeace explained, "global warming can mean colder, it can mean drier, it can mean wetter." No set of facts can disprove the environmentalists' secular religion. In 2004, former vice president Al Gore gave a speech on global warming in New York City on the coldest day of the year. Warm trends prove global warming. Cold trends also prove global warming. This is the philosophy of a madman. — Ann Coulter
What does it say that the modeling that guaranteed disastrous increases in global temperatures never predicted the halt in planetary warming since the late 1990s? (MIT's Richard Lindzen says that "there has been no warming since 1997 and no statistically significant warming since 1995.") What does it say that the modelers have only just now discovered how sunspots make the Earth warmer?
I don't know what it tells you, but it tells me that maybe we should study a bit more before we spend billions to "solve" a problem we don't understand so well. — Jonah Goldberg
I was on a program yesterday with Art Robinson. He was one of the scientists in the Oregon petition, 17,800 scientists, that said that, yes, we understand that we are going through a warming period, but it's not due to manmade gases. And this is ten years after they came out with their report, and nobody ever talks about that. The recent findings up in Canada, when 60 scientists told the prime minister, Harper, if we had known ten years ago what we know today about science, we would never have asked you to sign on to the Kyoto. — Sen. James Inhofe
Look, if Godzilla appeared on the Mall this afternoon, Al Gore would say it's global warming, because the spores in the South Atlantic Ocean, you know, were. Look, everything is, it's a religion. In a religion, everything is explicable. In science, you can actually deny or falsify a proposition with evidence. You find me a single piece of evidence that Al Gore would ever admit would contradict global warming and I'll be surprised. — Charles Krauthammer
In 50 years we're not going to wake up one day and the temperature is going to have shot up, overnight, four degrees, globally. This is going to happen gradually. What I would like to see in addition to this four degree Celsius increase in temperature over 1500 years, what's the temperature going to be a year from now and then ten years from now? Give us that prediction. When is this warming going to happen? When will we have risen two degrees Celsius? Will that happen in 35 years, 38 years? What month of these years are these temperature increases going to happen? You can't just sit there and tell me, because I can figure out the ruse. You can't just sit there and tell me that a hundred years from now or 50 or whatever it is, "It's going to be sweltering all over the globe and four degrees Celsius hotter!" I want to know the gradation increases.
That's how the rest of the weather is forecast. You go to the ten day forecast, they tell you what it's going to be. It's just a National Weather Service wild guest, but at least they do it. They tell us what the forecast, the cloud cover, the precipitation probabilities are. Well, let's put this in the global warming forecasts, shall we? If this is about climate science, if this is about the weather, then let's see it! If we've got a span here of 50 years that the temps are going to rise four degrees Celsius, I want to know what it's going to be ten years from now. Show us the models — and, of course, that's an average so where's it going to get cooler? Where is it going to go up seven degrees Celsius? Where is it going to go up three degrees Celsius? I want to know these things. You can't just rope me in by saying, "Fifty to a hundred years from now there'll be a four degrees Celsius increase globally," and cause me panic, because I'm not participating in this garbage anymore. — Rush Limbaugh
There are thousands and thousands of scientists all over the world who disagree fundamentally with what Al Gore is saying, who disagree with him on so much of what he says — on the polar bears, on the fact that these last years have been the hottest years on record in the continental United States. It's not true. The 30s were the hottest decade. On issues like — the warming that has been experienced in the last few years is very unusual. That's wrong. It was warmer in the Middle Ages. I think that it's just very interesting that they use this consensus thing. …There has been no significant warming in the last decade — and even the actual figures are relevant because none of their wonderful climate models predicted this. They're predicting what it's going to be in 100 years time based on climate models and they can't predict 10 years from now. — Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer
But we're responsible for all the carbon dioxide greenhouse effect? Gracious no! Humans can only claim responsibility, if that's the word, for about 3.4% of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere annually, the rest of it is all natural… — Steven Milloy
"Climate-gate," as the e-mails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia have become known, exposes a highly politicized scientific circle — the same circle whose work underlies efforts at the Copenhagen climate change conference. The agenda-driven policies being pushed in Copenhagen won't change the weather, but they would change our economy for the worse.
The e-mails reveal that leading climate "experts" deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to "hide the decline" in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals. What's more, the documents show that there was no real consensus even within the CRU crowd. Some scientists had strong doubts about the accuracy of estimates of temperatures from centuries ago, estimates used to back claims that more recent temperatures are rising at an alarming rate. — Sarah Palin
This only enables the green crusaders to declare at every opportunity that "everybody" believes the global warming scenario, except for a scattered few "deniers" who are likened to Holocaust deniers.
The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that is causing such hysteria, we have only a movie made by a politician and mathematical models whose results change drastically when you change a few of the arbitrarily selected variables. — Thomas Sowell
First, the science. After many years in this line of work, I've come to the firm conclusion that global warming is one of those research areas where scientists think they know much more than they really do. In many ways, putting a man on the Moon was far easier than understanding the climate system. Yes, carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas – a minor one. And, yes, humans burning fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide: one molecule of CO2 for every 100,000 molecules of atmosphere, every five years.
…Compared to the carbon dioxide that humans produce, Mother Nature routinely transfers 40 times as much CO2, and 24,000 times as much water vapor (Earth's primary greenhouse gas), back and forth between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, every day. — Roy Spencer
If you're 29, there has been no global warming for your entire adult life. If you're graduating high school, there has been no global warming since you entered first grade. There has been no global warming this century. None. —
Mark Steyn
Professor (Phil) Jones, considered to be the high priest of the manmade global warming movement, has been in the spotlight since he was forced to step down as CRU's director after the leaking of e-mails that skeptics claim show scientists were manipulating data. In a recent interview with the BBC, he admitted that he did not believe that "the debate on climate change is over" and that he didn't "believe the vast majority of climate scientists think this."
Long denied by the warmers, Professor Jones admitted that the Medieval Warm Period (800 A.D. to 1300 A.D.) might well had been as warm as the Current Warm Period (1975-present), or warmer, and that if it was, "then obviously the late-20th century warmth would not be unprecedented." That suggests global warming may not be a manmade phenomenon. In any case, Professor Jones said that for the past 15 years, there has been no "statistically significant" global warming. — Walter Williams
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As the demand for high-skilled workers rises and the availability of well-paying jobs for young people declines, making a successful transition to adulthood has become increasingly challenging for disadvantaged youth. MDRC develops and studies programs to help young people who face major barriers in finding a path to stable adult life.
Issue Focus
March, 2013
August, 2008
This issue brief, published by the National High School Center, highlights lessons from selected policies and programs designed to improve students' preparation for life after high school.


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'An extra $220 every 90 days': B.C. patients pay more dispensing fees due to prescription limits
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Child in hospital following fatal crash that killed father, sibling on B.C. highway
The single vehicle crash occured near Kamloops on Highway 5A
17 surrendered husky puppies available for adoption from Okanagan BC SPCA
The puppies were surrendered to the BC SPCA on Christmas Eve
Kamloops woman offered coupon after blade found in fruit snacks
Angela Veltri said she found a metal blade in a pack of Welch's Fruit Snacks
B.C. Liberal leader says private sector development will help housing affordability
Andrew Wilkenson spoke in Kelowna during a real estate conference
Student's online wordplay leads to school-threat investigation in Kamloops
A teen was investigated for making a social media threat against a school
It's International Cat Day
Meow, it's that time of year to celebrate cats
Texting at work no reason to be fired: B.C. Tribunal
A Lumby dental assistant was fired for texting during a staff meeting
Officer injured after police SUV crashes into semi-trailer in Kelowna
Both the officer and the truck driver were taken to hospital with undetermined injuries
Improve your life and theirs, adopt a cat from the BC SPCA
The BC SPCA holds an adult cat adoption promotion
SNC-Lavalin execs ponder company break-up at private shareholder luncheon
"Plan B" — what Montreal-based SNC might have to do if it can't convince the government to grant a so-called remediation agreement
Latest search ends for missing Merritt cowboy
RCMP say they are done searching for Ben Tyner at this time
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Kamloops RCMP battles a series of violent events
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Ryan Shtuka's parents will be back in Kamloops for the anniversary of their son's disappearance
Lose the booze this February
The BC Cancer Foundation is challenging you to a dry February
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Warning: Naked body art in article
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The Independent Investigations Office of B.C has been called to Kelowna
B.C. woman wins Instagram celebrity's boob job contest
'Kirill was here' held a contest for women to win a boob job and a trip to Miami
UPDATE: B.C. woman and boy, 6, found safe, RCMP confirm
Roseanne Supernault says both she and her six-year-old nephew are fine and she has contacted police


text:
ePaper displays are easy on the eyes because there's no flickering backlight to put strain on them. This is great until you're trying to read in a dim environment. Of course Amazon will sell you a backlight that's powered from the reader itself if you're willing to pay. [Txoof] thought the price was a bit too high so he built his own version.
There are two pockets in the top of the Kindle reader for hooks to grab onto. Each has an electrical contact in it and together they provide about 4V of power. To patch into that source [Txoof] cut his own hooks from brass stock and mounted them onto a piece of basswood. He then cut and bent a hood from more of the brass stock to house the LEDs. A series of three of the white diodes draw their power from the hooks and shine onto to the display. As you can see this works just fine, but could benefit from just the right diffuser.


text:
Saturday, February 7, 2009
We can dance baby!
Posted by Keredria at 7:02 AM
Labels: Humor, Naxx, Screenshots
4 comments:
Haha! Grats, well done!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 7, 2009 at 9:12 AM
Nice! That says a lot about your team. Unfortunately for us, our tree (me) is the only healer that doesn't die in the first 5 secs of the dance. /WTB cure diseaseReplyDelete
Yay! I don't normally go in for achievements, but that one was special.ReplyDelete
Our strategy has been to mark two of the best dancers: one melee (me), and one ranged (K), and have everyone follow our lead.
Look for us next fall on So You Think You Can Dance.
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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TORONTO — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will take an immediate leave of absence to seek help for alcohol, he said, as a report surfaced about a second video of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.
Ford also said he would take a leave from his campaign for re-election. One of his rivals in the Oct. 27 election called on the mayor to resign.
"I have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under the influence. I have struggled with this for some time," Ford said in a statement late Wednesday.
"I have tried to deal with these issues by myself over the past year. I know that I need professional help and I am now 100% committed to getting myself right," he said.
The Globe and Mail newspaper said it has viewed a second video of Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine in his sister's basement. The national newspaper said two Globe reporters viewed the video from a self-professed drug dealer showing Ford taking a drag from a pipe early Saturday.
The video is part "of a package of three videos the dealer said was surreptitiously filmed around 1:15 a.m., and which he says he is now selling for 'at least six figures,'" the paper reported.
Ford did not address the reported video or make any reference to crack cocaine in his statement.
The mayor was seen leaving his west-end Toronto home Thursday morning in a two-vehicle convoy but did not respond to reporters' questions or say where he was going.
News reports of the existence of an earlier video of Ford apparently smoking crack first surfaced last May, igniting a media firestorm. The mayor denied the existence of that video for months, but after police said last year they had obtained it, Ford acknowledged that he smoked crack in a "drunken stupor." He rebuffed intense pressure to resign and launched his re-election bid earlier this year. The first video has never been released to the public.
Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, said he spoke to Ford Wednesday and said the mayor has accepted that he has a problem.
"He acknowledges he has a substance abuse problem and he wants to do something about it," Morris told the Associated Press.
Ford has careened from one scandal to another, becoming a national embarrassment for many Canadians. The string of incidents includes public drunkenness and an appearance in another video that showed him threatening "murder" in an incoherent rant. Toronto's city council has stripped him of most of his powers.
Also on Wednesday, The Toronto Sun said it had obtained an audio recording of Ford making offensive remarks about other politicians at a bar on Monday night.
Ford said last year that he quit drinking alcohol after having a "come-to-Jesus moment," but later acknowledged that he had drunk again. A number of recordings of the mayor intoxicated have surfaced since.
Ford acknowledged "rocky moments over the past year" during his official campaign launch earlier this month but vowed to fight harder than ever to win re-election.
Ford, who was the first to register as a candidate in January, invoked the spirit of second chances during a speech to supporters.
In his statement Wednesday, he asked for continued support. "I love the people of Toronto, I love being your mayor and I hope you will continue to stand by me," he said.
A message left with Ford's chief of staff was not returned. Ford's lawyer, Morris, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment on the reports that emerged Wednesday night.
John Tory, who is running against Ford, said he is relieved that Ford is seeking help but that the mayor should resign.
"Like Torontonians across the city, I am deeply disappointed by these revelations of Mayor Ford's behavior," Tory said. "For the good of the city, I call on Mayor Ford to resign."
The premier of Ontario province, Kathleen Wynne, who was out for a Thursday morning jog, said the situation with Ford has been a distraction for a long time. She said she has long worked directly with Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly.
"Rob Ford needs to deal with his personal issues," she said. "I have been and will continue to deal with Deputy Mayor Kelly."
Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who has repeatedly poked fun at Ford and hosted him on his show, tweeted that he was concerned about Ford.


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YOU get some YakTrax!
And YOU get some YakTrax!
And that's all. Two. Two YakTrax to giveaway. That is "multiple" according to Webster. Fortunately, that should cover half the F.M.S. audience so your odds are quite good. And two out of the four of you may live in warm climates anyhow. I guess I could split the pairs apart and give four INDIVIDUAL YakTrax (YakTrack?) away so everybody gets a little something. Sure, you would have only one for one foot but you'd still be covered against slip n'fall every other step. That's 50% better than you had it before. That's not half bad.
Haven't heard of/used YakTrax? Well, this is a product I don't mind pimping.* Unlike the laundry detergent I once struggled mightily to review– two separate times! – I actually use YakTrax and love them. You should go to the company website to get all of the specifics but, basically, it's like having a few dozen tiny claws attached to the bottom of your feet to help you stay upright on those icy and snowy runs. Remember those little jagged follicles Spider-Man would use to climb a wall? Just like that but a touch bigger, coils instead of jagged follicles, and without the impossibly large codpiece. (Yeah, right, Tobey, in your dreams.)
I've used YakTrax for years. In the depressing snow swept wasteland that is mid-Michigan in winter, they've sure come in handy to keep my pace from a labored fast walk to an actual running stride. I can return home quicker to my modest dwelling to again yearn for the re-appearance of the sun…or suicide, whatever comes first. Of course, once I received a free pair, there's been almost no snow to speak of around here. Right now I can see my lawn. My dead, brown, bird pecked lawn. I can see the poop my dog pooped back in the beginning of December. It's whiter and fuzzier than the rest, that's how I know. It's just not the same when the kids make snowmen out of rotting dog feces.
I haven't been able to use the new YakTrax outside yet but, soon, I will. Michigan won't let a winter go by without at least a few donkey punches to the back of the head by way of 15 inch storms. Until then, I can only use them on the treadmill. But that's not making Mrs. Nitmos too happy. Her belt is now "ventilated" (as I call it). There's only so many times I can "tease" the dog by stepping on her ears with them. And, try this when you receive a pair, see how your friends react as you walk across their wood floors in them. Oh, it's funny…some people just don't like to laugh.
If you would like a pair, there are of course a few hoops for you to jump through.
1) Like YakTrax on Facebook.
2) Leave a comment here for the random number generator to select you.
3) If you win, be willing to provide me your name/mailing address/shoe size (sock size for you barefooters). If you're concerned about giving that info away, don't worry, a restraining order can be filed at any future time.
I guarantee that ONE pair will be given away randomly. The second pair may also…or I may choose to give it to the person with the most creative answer to the following question:
If you could embezzle money from a charity and never get caught, which charity would it be and why?
So, Good Luck! We are all counting on you.
You know what…I can't have folks coming here and leaving empty handed. I recognize that some of you have no regional interest in running snow shoes because the very idea of snow confuses you. Here's what I'm going to do…those of you that don't win – or want - the YakTrak get a consolation prize: Free barefoot running shoes! That's right…
YOU get some barefoot shoes.
And YOU get some barefoot shoes.
And YOU get some barefoot shoes…
The drawing will be done on Wednesday, February 1st at noon. Comment/Enter as often as you would like. What do I care?
Happy Yaking.
*Usual disclaimers apply: A pair given to me free in exchange for a mention on this blog. The use of the word "pimping" and, later, "codpiece" are all my doing, however. Also, in case any other companies are reading this, here's a short list of other products I don't mind pimping: treasury notes, non-Schlitz beer, mace (both medieval and modern), iPads, and codpieces.


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Scientists study Riverview Natural Area's restoration
May 31, 2012
By David Nguyen
We'd like to share a story about a group of Lewis & Clark's College ecologists tracking the restoration progress at Portland Parks & Recreation's Riverview Natural Area.
The story highlighted the work of professor Paulette Bierzychudek and her team on a quest to figure out what happens to natural areas after invasive species are removed. The idea came to her, reports The Oregonian's Rebecca Koffman, during her bike commute through the area, when she saw Parks staff spraying herbicide on invasive species. This is a question, she told Koffman, "facing land managers all over the Pacific Northwest."
Last year, Portland Parks and Recreation partnered with the Bureau of Environmental Services, Metro and the Trust for Public Land to purchase the 146-acre natural area in Southwest Portland from River View Cemetery for $11.5 million.
Since then, Parks has been working with the community through programs like No Ivy League which relies heavily on volunteers to help restore native plants, and removing invasive species like the English ivy, clematis, and blackberry.
The group will be conducting annual surveys to see how plant species change over time. We are excited to see how the natural area's ecology changes after being freed of invasive species!


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Prof. Gabriel Sawma
Qatar, Arabic قطر is a small Arab state, situated in both the northern and eastern hemispheres and is located in the Middle East or South West Asia. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain. Qatar is a peninsula of 4,412 square mile, less than half the size of Rhode Island, with a relatively small population of a little over two million most of whom are foreign nationals working in Qatar. The country is ruled by the al-Thani family since the mid-1800s. The ruler has a title Emir, or Amir, and the country has significant oil and natural gas revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the Emir, who had ruled the country since 1972. His son, Hamad bin Khalipha al-Thani, overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1995. Qatar has the world's third largest natural gas reserves after Russia and Iran. This enabled the country to attain the third-highest per capita income in the world after Luxembourg and Norway. On June 25, 2013, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani handed power to his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
In July 1999, the Emir appointed a committee to draft a permanent constitution for Qatar. The tenets of the Constitution are based on Qatar's affiliation to the Arab world and the teaching of Islam. On April 29, 2003, a public referendum approved the new Constitution; it was signed by the Emir on June 8, 2004. The main provisions in the Constitution include Qatar to be an independent sovereign Arab state; its religion is Islam and Islamic Shari'a is the main source of legislation (Article 1). Qatar's official language is Arabic. The Constitution provides for the establishment of an Advisory Council, two-thirds of whom are elected and the remainder appointed by the Emir. The rule of the state is hereditary, following the male descendants of the Al-Thani family. The heir must be a Muslim of Qatari Muslim mother (Article 8).
Qatar has two tiers of judiciary, (1) civilian, (2) religious. The civilian judiciary is divided into two branches: civil and criminal courts.
In 1999, the government of Qatar established the Supreme Judiciary Council. This body presides over all court rulings as well as the appointment, transfer and assignment of judges. The responsibilities and goals of the Council is to assert judicial independence, meet the level of competence as outlined in the law that established the Council, and provide judgment on legal disputes in all levels of the court system.
The Law of Judiciary was issued in 2003; it provides provisions for the courts to do their judicial duties, and divides the courts among three layers: (1) Mahkamat al-Tamyeez (Court of Cassation) –the highest court; (2) Mahkamat al-Istinaf (the Courts of Appeals) which looks into appeals from the lower courts in the area of criminal penalties, criminal, civil, commercial, personal status (family), inheritance, and administrative disputes; (3) Mahkamat al-Ibtidaiyyat (Courts of the First Instance), which adjudicates in the areas of criminal penalties, criminal cases, civil, commercial and personal status (family), inheritance, and administrative disputes. The Supreme Judiciary Council may establish courts of the first instance in other cities around the country.
Marriage, divorce and custody of children for Muslims living in Qatar are governed by Qanun Al-Ussra (Family Law) of 2006. The law consists of 301 articles, and is based on the principles of the Hanbali School of Jurisprudence.
According to this law, marriages between Qatari men and non-Qatari women may take please provided that permission is given by a government appointed body called "Marriages Committee." Muslim weddings take place in Sharia courts, while non-Muslims may marry in a handful of designated churches in Doha.
A Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim woman. However, a Muslim woman is not allowed under Islamic law to marry non-Muslim unless he converts to Islam, otherwise their marriage will not be recognized and she might be subject to prosecution.
Islamic marriage in Qatar follows the Shari law whereby the marriage is a civil contract, in which an offer to marry and acceptance have to be announced in the presence of two Muslim, male witnesses. The law requires that both parties meet fitness requirements, and agree to a "mahr".
The minimum age for marriage is set at 16 for a girl and 18 for a boy.
Muslim divorce in Qatar is regulated by articles 101through 164 of the Family Law of 2006. Accordingly, a divorce many take place in three different ways: (1) Talaq initiated by the husband; (2) mukhalaa, i.e. by consent of both parties; And, faskh, i.e. by judicial decree (Article 101).
Article 109 allows a divorce initiated by the husband to be delegated to a second party or to the wife. When the husband initiates divorce, he has to do that in the presence of a judge. The judge will do his best for reconciliation before he records the divorce, (Article 113). After recording the divorce, the judge assigns the the amount of 'nafaqa' (similar to alimony) during the period of 'iddat' (i.e., three menstrual cycles). He will also assign the amount of 'nafaqa' for the children (i.e., child support), (Art. 114).
Another form of terminating the marital status is by both parties agreeing to a "Khul" divorce, in which the wife relinquishes her financial rights and the "mahr", (Art. 122).
Articles 123 to 164 of the Family Law set out the grounds on which the wife may seek "Faskh" (i.e. terminating the marriage by separation) in situations where the husband is found to be inept, not aid his wife maintenance or has been missing for more than a year. In such situation, the judge will try reconciliation first; once reconciliation fails, then divorce is granted.
A foreign divorce judgment is recognized generally in a state in the U.S. on the basis of comity, Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 163-64 (1895). Comity means courtesy, respect, or mutual accommodation; in practical terms, it means that each state can decide for itself which foreign country judgment of divorce it will recognize and which it won't. According to this doctrine, a U.S. court has the inherent power to recognize and enforce a foreign judgment of divorce unless there is some defect of jurisdiction shown to be against the public policy of the state. Absent some showing of fraud in the procurement of the foreign country judgment, or that recognition of the judgment would violate a strong public policy of the state, the court may recognize a foreign divorce judgment.
In considering whether public policy of the state is violated, the court should consider the validity of the foreign court's jurisdiction over the parties and the similarity of the grounds for divorce with those which would be permitted in that state. And, if not, whether the grounds for divorce are repugnant to public policy of the state or not.
As Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce obtained from the Middle East, Central Asia and other Islamic nations, this author has been privileged to have been able to assist clients and attorneys by submitting opinions and affidavits to State and Federal Courts, and to Immigration Boards throughout the United States on cases involving Islamic marriage, Islamic divorce and custody of children. Some of these cases have been reported by major U.S. law journals.
Following is a landmark case at the Supreme Court of Westchester County, in which this author submitted an Affidavit on behalf of a client. The Court agreed with our arguments and granted our client recognition of a divorce decree obtained in Abu Dhabi, including custody of children and a mahr of $250,000. You may read the judgment of the Court at this link:
DISCLAIMER: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
Gabriel Sawmais a lawyer with Middle East Background, and a recognized authority on Islamic law of marriage, divorce, and custody of children, Professor of Middle East Constitutional Law and Islamic Sharia (law), and Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce in U.S. Courts. Admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association. Former Associate Member of the New York State Bar Association, and former Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
Professor Sawma lectured at the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in New York State and universities in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He wrote Affidavits and legal opinions to State Courts, Immigration authorities throughout the United States.
Travelled extensively to Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf region, and other countries in the Middle East, and wrote numerous articles on Islamic divorce in USA and abroad.
Prof. Sawma speaks, reads and writes, Arabic, English, French and a few other Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East.
Interviewed by the following news organizations;
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8608878.stm
CBN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdwReohaIcs
Professor of Islamic Finance at the University of Liverpool (2012)
Lectured on Islamic Sharia at Fairleigh Dickinson University:
Email: email@example.com
Email: email@example.com
Tel. (609) 915-2237
For more information about the author, see our CV at:
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Where is the experience of red in your brain? The question was put to me by Deepak Chopra at his Sages and Scientists Symposium in Carlsbad, Calif., on March 3. A posse of presenters argued that the lack of a complete theory by neuroscientists regarding how neural activity translates into conscious experiences (such as redness) means that a physicalist approach is inadequate or wrong. The idea that subjective experience is a result of electrochemical activity remains a hypothesis, Chopra elaborated in an e-mail. It is as much of a speculation as the idea that consciousness is fundamental and that it causes brain activity and creates the properties and objects of the material world.
Where is Aunt Millie's mind when her brain dies of Alzheimer's? I countered to Chopra. Aunt Millie was an impermanent pattern of behavior of the universe and returned to the potential she emerged from, Chopra rejoined. In the philosophic framework of Eastern traditions, ego identity is an illusion and the goal of enlightenment is to transcend to a more universal nonlocal, nonmaterial identity.
The hypothesis that the brain creates consciousness, however, has vastly more evidence for it than the hypothesis that consciousness creates the brain. Damage to the fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe, for example, causes face blindness, and stimulation of this same area causes people to see faces spontaneously. Stroke-caused damage to the visual cortex region called V1 leads to loss of conscious visual perception. Changes in conscious experience can be directly measured by functional MRI, electroencephalography and single-neuron recordings. Neuroscientists can predict human choices from brain-scanning activity before the subject is even consciously aware of the decisions made. Using brain scans alone, neuroscientists have even been able to reconstruct, on a computer screen, what someone is seeing.
Thousands of experiments confirm the hypothesis that neurochemical processes produce subjective experiences. The fact that neuroscientists are not in agreement over which physicalist theory best accounts for mind does not mean that the hypothesis that consciousness creates matter holds equal standing. In defense, Chopra sent me a 2008 paper published in Mind and Matter by University of California, Irvine, cognitive scientist Donald D. Hoffman: Conscious Realism and the Mind-Body Problem. Conscious realism asserts that the objective world, i.e., the world whose existence does not depend on the perceptions of a particular observer, consists entirely of conscious agents. Consciousness is fundamental to the cosmos and gives rise to particles and fields. It is not a latecomer in the evolutionary history of the universe, arising from complex interactions of unconscious matter and fields, Hoffman writes. Consciousness is first; matter and fields depend on it for their very existence.
Where is the evidence for consciousness being fundamental to the cosmos? Here Hoffman turns to how human observers construct the visual shapes, colors, textures and motions of objects. Our senses do not construct an approximation of physical reality in our brain, he argues, but instead operate more like a graphical user interface system that bears little to no resemblance to what actually goes on inside the computer. In Hoffman's view, our senses operate to construct reality, not to reconstruct it. Further, it does not require the hypothesis of independently existing physical objects.
How does consciousness cause matter to materialize? We are not told. Where (and how) did consciousness exist before there was matter? We are left wondering. As far as I can tell, all the evidence points in the direction of brains causing mind, but no evidence indicates reverse causality. This whole line of reasoning, in fact, seems to be based on something akin to a God of the gaps argument, where physicalist gaps are filled with nonphysicalist agents, be they omniscient deities or conscious agents.
No one denies that consciousness is a hard problem. But before we reify consciousness to the level of an independent agency capable of creating its own reality, let's give the hypotheses we do have for how brains create mind more time. Because we know for a fact that measurable consciousness dies when the brain dies, until proved otherwise, the default hypothesis must be that brains cause consciousness. I am, therefore I think.
Comment on this article at ScientificAmerican.com/jul2012


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Davido took to his Instagram page today to share his dilemma about judgmental Nigerians.
According to him, if one is broke, Nigerians laugh, if you are rich, they call you proud.
See his post below:
Meanwhile, Davido who announced last week on social media that he was about to be the proud owner of a private jet has been called out by a Nigerian media outlet.
He had earlier revealed that the said jet would be arriving Nigeria in the coming weeks but it seems that may not be true as they report he didn't buy any jet.
According to the news outlet:
Our source has exclusively revealed that what Davido went on air to announce is actually "fractional ownership" in which his financial commitment in the arrangement is meagre while the major financiers have chosen to play down their involvement to give Davido conceded prominence.
According to our source, conceding prominence to Davido in the private jet ownership is part of a business deal to make Davido very bankable in the showbiz industry.
This arrangement is to present Davido as a viable brand with a view to cornering lucrative deals from multinational businesses, countries and other foreign entities.
The guys at the vanguard of the jet ownership narrative are said to have agreed on a sharing formula with Davido when the deals start coming in.
The jet upon delivery would be deployed to Davido's peripatetic needs and those of others in need of it.
TheCapital has exclusively obtained information revealing a good number of Nigerians on this membership plan but whom have been reported to be jet owners.


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Tsuji and Nakamura have prepared the tri-p-quinodimethane 1.1 Quinodimethanes are of interest because of their possible diradical character. This new example is most interesting. It is stable as a solid in air and ambient light for 6 months, or 2 months in solution. Its ESR shows fine structure, with a spin-spin distance estimated to be 14.6 Å, very close to the distance between the terminal carbons. The ground state is a singlet, with the triplet lying 2.12 kcal mol-1 higher in energy.
Ar = 4-octylphenyl
UB3LYP/6-31G** computations (lacking the aryl and phenyl sidechains) indicate a ground state singlet (with sizable spin contamination) and a gap to the triplet of 1.83 kcal mol-1. The computed geometry is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. UB3LYP/6-31G** optimized geometry of 1.
The analog having just two quinodimethane units showed no ESR signal and the computed singlet-triplet energy gap is 5.68 kcal mol-1.
It would have been interesting to have computed the NICS values for the 6-member rings – as a measure of aromatic vs. non aromatic character to further support the participation of the biradical resonance structure contribution to 1.
(1) Zhu, X.; Tsuji, H.; Nakabayashi, K.; Ohkoshi, S.-i.; Nakamura, E., "Air- and Heat-Stable Planar Tri-p-quinodimethane with Distinct Biradical Characteristics," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 16342-16345, DOI: 10.1021/ja206060n
1: InChI=1/C112H112N4/c1-5-9-13-17-21-29-41-81-53-63-93(64-54-81)111(94-65-55-82(56-66-94)42-30-22-18-14-10-6-2)101-73-85(87(77-113)78-114)61-71-97(101)105-107(111)99-75-104-100(76-103(99)109(105,89-45-33-25-34-46-89)90-47-35-26-36-48-90)108-106(110(104,91-49-37-27-38-50-91)92-51-39-28-40-52-92)98-72-62-86(88(79-115)80-116)74-102(98)112(108,95-67-57-83(58-68-95)43-31-23-19-15-11-7-3)96-69-59-84(60-70-96)44-32-24-20-16-12-8-4/h25-28,33-40,45-76H,5-24,29-32,41-44H2,1-4H3
1 (lacking aryl side chains): InChI=1/C32H16N4/c33-13-23(14-34)17-1-3-25-19(5-17)9-31-27-8-22-12-30-26-4-2-18(24(15-35)16-36)6-20(26)10-32(30)28(22)7-21(27)11-29(25)31/h1-8H,9-12H2


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- Science
- Not Exactly Rocket Science
Why A Little Mammal Has So Much Sex That It Disintegrates
It's August in Australia, and a small, mouse-like creature called an antechinus is busy killing himself through sex. He was a virgin until now, but for two to three weeks, this little lothario goes at it non-stop. He mates with as many females as he can, in violent, frenetic encounters that can each last up to 14 hours. He does little else.
A month ago, he irreversibly stopped making sperm, so he's got all that he will ever have. This burst of speed-mating is his one chance to pass his genes on to the next generation, and he will die trying. He exhausts himself so thoroughly that his body starts to fall apart. His blood courses with testosterone and stress hormones. His fur falls off. He bleeds internally. His immune system fails to fight off incoming infections, and he becomes riddled with gangrene.
He's a complete mess, but he's still after sex. "By the end of the mating season, physically disintegrating males may run around frantically searching for last mating opportunities," says Diana Fisher from the University of Queensland. "By that time, females are, not surprisingly, avoiding them."
Soon, it's all over. A few weeks shy of his first birthday, he is dead, along with every other male antechinus in the area.
The technical term for this is semelparity, from the Latin words for "to beget once". For semelparous animals, from salmon to mayflies, sex is a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and usually a fatal one. This practice is common among many animal groups, but rare among mammals. You only see it in the 12 species of antechinuses and a few close relatives, all of which are small, insect-eating marsupials. (Although they look like rodents and are colloquially called marsupial mice, antechinuses are more closely related to kangaroos and koalas than to mice or rats.)
Why? Why do these marsupials practice suicidal reproduction, and why are they the only mammals that do so?
The question has vexed biologists for three decades, and many have offered answers. Some say that females don't survive very well after breeding, so males are forced to hedge their bets by mating with as many as possible. Other suggest that it's just a feature of the group, which have become locked into a weird breeding system through some unknown quirk of their evolutionary history. Yet others think the males are being altruistic, sacrificing themselves to leave more resources for the next generation.
But Fisher, who has been studying antechinuses for decades, favours a different idea. Her team gathered data on the lives and environments of a wide variety of 52 insect-eating marsupials, from the fully semelparous antechinuses, to relatives where a small number of males survive past their first sexual liaisons, to species that breed repeatedly.
It's their diet that matters. These animals feed on insects, and some experience a glut of food once a year but very little at other times. This seasonality increases the further you get from the equator. The species with the most seasonal menus also had shorter breeding seasons, and their males were more likely to die after mating.
Fisher thinks that as the ancestors of antechinuses spread south through Australia and New Guinea, they encountered strong yearly fluctuations in their food supply. The females were better at raising their young if they gave birth just before the annual bonanza, and were well-fed enough to wean their joeys. Their mating seasons shortened and synchronised, collapsing into a tight window of time.
That probably wouldn't have happened if they were placental mammals like shrews or mice, which could have produced several litters during the peak of food. But they were marsupials: their babies are born at an incredible early stage and rely on their mothers' milk for a long time. A baby shrew suckles for days or weeks; a baby antechinus does so for four months. The females could only fit in one litter during the annual peak.
This had a huge impact on the males, which were forced to compete intensely with each other in a matter of weeks. They didn't fight. Rather than using claws or teeth, they competed with sperm. The more they had, the more females they impregnated, and the more likely they were to displace the sperm of earlier suitors. Indeed, Fisher found a clear relationship between suicidal reproduction and testes size. The biggest testes of all, relative to body size, belong to species whose males die en masse, followed by those where a minority survive to mate again, and then by those with several breeding seasons.
The males that put the greatest efforts into sperm competition fathered the most young. It didn't matter if they burned themselves out in the process, if they metabolised their own muscles to fuel their marathon bouts. These animals are short-lived anyway, so putting all their energy into one frenzied, fatal mating season was the best strategy for them. Living fast and dying young was adaptive.
This idea was first proposed in 1979 but Fisher's data, although mostly correlative, provides fresh support for it. She certainly finds it more plausible than the idea that the males are selflessly sacrificing themselves for the next generation. After all, the males usually live outside the females' home ranges, so are unlikely to compete with their own young for resources.
"Antechinus mating habits have appeared in many documentaries, and the explanation of males selflessly sacrifing themselves to increase food supply for young is the one given in all the ones I have seen," says Fisher. "I hope that documentaries and textbooks now start to give an evidence-based explanation of sexual selection."
Reference: Fisher, Dickman, Jones & Blomberg. 2013. Sperm competition drives the evolution of suicidal reproduction in mammals. PNAS


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Siri crowdsourcing patent could harness human brainpower for iOS devices
Apple's personal assistant may take a poll of experts
Siri could one day be more useful than just setting timers and answering basic questions, as Apple has filed a patent that envisions an expanded database with answers from human sources.
The "Crowd Sourcing Information to Fulfill User Requests" filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office suggests the Cupertino-based company will tap into the knowledge of real-life experts.
Apple's 2,000-word document indicates that crowd-sourcing for an answer is initiated if Siri fails to retrieve a good enough solution from its current database.
"In response to detection of the failure, information relevant to the user request is crowd-sourced by querying one or more crowd sourcing information sources."
ChaCha real smooth
Right now, Apple's voice-guided personal assistant relies on sources such as Bing, Yahoo and Wolfram Alpha.
But additional results from "self-identified experts" could give Siri the power of human-based search engines and Q&A sites like ChaCha and Quora.
"In some embodiments, queries and answers in a particular field may be posted in a public area for all self-identified experts of the field to see," explained the patent's text.
"The answers provided for the queries can be peer reviewed and rated by other self-identified experts in the field."
Siri's theorized crowdsource module would then make use of ratings to select the best answer for a user's question, exactly like ChCha and Quora.
Playing the long game
While peer-reviewed results from humans would be a boon to what Siri offers right now, the answers wouldn't always be as instantaneous as machine-based solutions from Bing, for example.
The patent talks about a "delayed response" that happens outside of the time frame of the current user session.
"The time frame in which a delayed response to a user request is provided ranges from several minutes to several hours, days, or weeks," noted the patent.
"[This depends] on the nature of the user request and the typical time frame that useful information may be crowdsourced from external CS information sources."
Of course, this patent doesn't necessarily mean we'll see a crowd-sourcing Siri in tow with iOS 8 or any future update to Apple's mobile operating system.
Siri doesn't seem to want to tell us either way.
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Based on kernel version 4.16.1. Page generated on 2018-04-09 11:53 EST.
1 PMBus core driver and internal API 2 ================================== 3 4 Introduction 5 ============ 6 7 [from pmbus.org] The Power Management Bus (PMBus) is an open standard 8 power-management protocol with a fully defined command language that facilitates 9 communication with power converters and other devices in a power system. The 10 protocol is implemented over the industry-standard SMBus serial interface and 11 enables programming, control, and real-time monitoring of compliant power 12 conversion products. This flexible and highly versatile standard allows for 13 communication between devices based on both analog and digital technologies, and 14 provides true interoperability which will reduce design complexity and shorten 15 time to market for power system designers. Pioneered by leading power supply and 16 semiconductor companies, this open power system standard is maintained and 17 promoted by the PMBus Implementers Forum (PMBus-IF), comprising 30+ adopters 18 with the objective to provide support to, and facilitate adoption among, users. 19 20 Unfortunately, while PMBus commands are standardized, there are no mandatory 21 commands, and manufacturers can add as many non-standard commands as they like. 22 Also, different PMBUs devices act differently if non-supported commands are 23 executed. Some devices return an error, some devices return 0xff or 0xffff and 24 set a status error flag, and some devices may simply hang up. 25 26 Despite all those difficulties, a generic PMBus device driver is still useful 27 and supported since kernel version 2.6.39. However, it was necessary to support 28 device specific extensions in addition to the core PMBus driver, since it is 29 simply unknown what new device specific functionality PMBus device developers 30 come up with next. 31 32 To make device specific extensions as scalable as possible, and to avoid having 33 to modify the core PMBus driver repeatedly for new devices, the PMBus driver was 34 split into core, generic, and device specific code. The core code (in 35 pmbus_core.c) provides generic functionality. The generic code (in pmbus.c) 36 provides support for generic PMBus devices. Device specific code is responsible 37 for device specific initialization and, if needed, maps device specific 38 functionality into generic functionality. This is to some degree comparable 39 to PCI code, where generic code is augmented as needed with quirks for all kinds 40 of devices. 41 42 PMBus device capabilities auto-detection 43 ======================================== 44 45 For generic PMBus devices, code in pmbus.c attempts to auto-detect all supported 46 PMBus commands. Auto-detection is somewhat limited, since there are simply too 47 many variables to consider. For example, it is almost impossible to autodetect 48 which PMBus commands are paged and which commands are replicated across all 49 pages (see the PMBus specification for details on multi-page PMBus devices). 50 51 For this reason, it often makes sense to provide a device specific driver if not 52 all commands can be auto-detected. The data structures in this driver can be 53 used to inform the core driver about functionality supported by individual 54 chips. 55 56 Some commands are always auto-detected. This applies to all limit commands 57 (lcrit, min, max, and crit attributes) as well as associated alarm attributes. 58 Limits and alarm attributes are auto-detected because there are simply too many 59 possible combinations to provide a manual configuration interface. 60 61 PMBus internal API 62 ================== 63 64 The API between core and device specific PMBus code is defined in 65 drivers/hwmon/pmbus/pmbus.h. In addition to the internal API, pmbus.h defines 66 standard PMBus commands and virtual PMBus commands. 67 68 Standard PMBus commands 69 ----------------------- 70 71 Standard PMBus commands (commands values 0x00 to 0xff) are defined in the PMBUs 72 specification. 73 74 Virtual PMBus commands 75 ---------------------- 76 77 Virtual PMBus commands are provided to enable support for non-standard 78 functionality which has been implemented by several chip vendors and is thus 79 desirable to support. 80 81 Virtual PMBus commands start with command value 0x100 and can thus easily be 82 distinguished from standard PMBus commands (which can not have values larger 83 than 0xff). Support for virtual PMBus commands is device specific and thus has 84 to be implemented in device specific code. 85 86 Virtual commands are named PMBUS_VIRT_xxx and start with PMBUS_VIRT_BASE. All 87 virtual commands are word sized. 88 89 There are currently two types of virtual commands. 90 91 - READ commands are read-only; writes are either ignored or return an error. 92 - RESET commands are read/write. Reading reset registers returns zero 93 (used for detection), writing any value causes the associated history to be 94 reset. 95 96 Virtual commands have to be handled in device specific driver code. Chip driver 97 code returns non-negative values if a virtual command is supported, or a 98 negative error code if not. The chip driver may return -ENODATA or any other 99 Linux error code in this case, though an error code other than -ENODATA is 100 handled more efficiently and thus preferred. Either case, the calling PMBus 101 core code will abort if the chip driver returns an error code when reading 102 or writing virtual registers (in other words, the PMBus core code will never 103 send a virtual command to a chip). 104 105 PMBus driver information 106 ------------------------ 107 108 PMBus driver information, defined in struct pmbus_driver_info, is the main means 109 for device specific drivers to pass information to the core PMBus driver. 110 Specifically, it provides the following information. 111 112 - For devices supporting its data in Direct Data Format, it provides coefficients 113 for converting register values into normalized data. This data is usually 114 provided by chip manufacturers in device datasheets. 115 - Supported chip functionality can be provided to the core driver. This may be 116 necessary for chips which react badly if non-supported commands are executed, 117 and/or to speed up device detection and initialization. 118 - Several function entry points are provided to support overriding and/or 119 augmenting generic command execution. This functionality can be used to map 120 non-standard PMBus commands to standard commands, or to augment standard 121 command return values with device specific information. 122 123 API functions 124 ------------- 125 126 Functions provided by chip driver 127 --------------------------------- 128 129 All functions return the command return value (read) or zero (write) if 130 successful. A return value of -ENODATA indicates that there is no manufacturer 131 specific command, but that a standard PMBus command may exist. Any other 132 negative return value indicates that the commands does not exist for this 133 chip, and that no attempt should be made to read or write the standard 134 command. 135 136 As mentioned above, an exception to this rule applies to virtual commands, 137 which _must_ be handled in driver specific code. See "Virtual PMBus Commands" 138 above for more details. 139 140 Command execution in the core PMBus driver code is as follows. 141 142 if (chip_access_function) { 143 status = chip_access_function(); 144 if (status != -ENODATA) 145 return status; 146 } 147 if (command >= PMBUS_VIRT_BASE) /* For word commands/registers only */ 148 return -EINVAL; 149 return generic_access(); 150 151 Chip drivers may provide pointers to the following functions in struct 152 pmbus_driver_info. All functions are optional. 153 154 int (*read_byte_data)(struct i2c_client *client, int page, int reg); 155 156 Read byte from page <page>, register <reg>. 157 <page> may be -1, which means "current page". 158 159 int (*read_word_data)(struct i2c_client *client, int page, int reg); 160 161 Read word from page <page>, register <reg>. 162 163 int (*write_word_data)(struct i2c_client *client, int page, int reg, 164 u16 word); 165 166 Write word to page <page>, register <reg>. 167 168 int (*write_byte)(struct i2c_client *client, int page, u8 value); 169 170 Write byte to page <page>, register <reg>. 171 <page> may be -1, which means "current page". 172 173 int (*identify)(struct i2c_client *client, struct pmbus_driver_info *info); 174 175 Determine supported PMBus functionality. This function is only necessary 176 if a chip driver supports multiple chips, and the chip functionality is not 177 pre-determined. It is currently only used by the generic pmbus driver 178 (pmbus.c). 179 180 Functions exported by core driver 181 --------------------------------- 182 183 Chip drivers are expected to use the following functions to read or write 184 PMBus registers. Chip drivers may also use direct I2C commands. If direct I2C 185 commands are used, the chip driver code must not directly modify the current 186 page, since the selected page is cached in the core driver and the core driver 187 will assume that it is selected. Using pmbus_set_page() to select a new page 188 is mandatory. 189 190 int pmbus_set_page(struct i2c_client *client, u8 page); 191 192 Set PMBus page register to <page> for subsequent commands. 193 194 int pmbus_read_word_data(struct i2c_client *client, u8 page, u8 reg); 195 196 Read word data from <page>, <reg>. Similar to i2c_smbus_read_word_data(), but 197 selects page first. 198 199 int pmbus_write_word_data(struct i2c_client *client, u8 page, u8 reg, 200 u16 word); 201 202 Write word data to <page>, <reg>. Similar to i2c_smbus_write_word_data(), but 203 selects page first. 204 205 int pmbus_read_byte_data(struct i2c_client *client, int page, u8 reg); 206 207 Read byte data from <page>, <reg>. Similar to i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(), but 208 selects page first. <page> may be -1, which means "current page". 209 210 int pmbus_write_byte(struct i2c_client *client, int page, u8 value); 211 212 Write byte data to <page>, <reg>. Similar to i2c_smbus_write_byte(), but 213 selects page first. <page> may be -1, which means "current page". 214 215 void pmbus_clear_faults(struct i2c_client *client); 216 217 Execute PMBus "Clear Fault" command on all chip pages. 218 This function calls the device specific write_byte function if defined. 219 Therefore, it must _not_ be called from that function. 220 221 bool pmbus_check_byte_register(struct i2c_client *client, int page, int reg); 222 223 Check if byte register exists. Return true if the register exists, false 224 otherwise. 225 This function calls the device specific write_byte function if defined to 226 obtain the chip status. Therefore, it must _not_ be called from that function. 227 228 bool pmbus_check_word_register(struct i2c_client *client, int page, int reg); 229 230 Check if word register exists. Return true if the register exists, false 231 otherwise. 232 This function calls the device specific write_byte function if defined to 233 obtain the chip status. Therefore, it must _not_ be called from that function. 234 235 int pmbus_do_probe(struct i2c_client *client, const struct i2c_device_id *id, 236 struct pmbus_driver_info *info); 237 238 Execute probe function. Similar to standard probe function for other drivers, 239 with the pointer to struct pmbus_driver_info as additional argument. Calls 240 identify function if supported. Must only be called from device probe 241 function. 242 243 void pmbus_do_remove(struct i2c_client *client); 244 245 Execute driver remove function. Similar to standard driver remove function. 246 247 const struct pmbus_driver_info 248 *pmbus_get_driver_info(struct i2c_client *client); 249 250 Return pointer to struct pmbus_driver_info as passed to pmbus_do_probe(). 251 252 253 PMBus driver platform data 254 ========================== 255 256 PMBus platform data is defined in include/linux/pmbus.h. Platform data 257 currently only provides a flag field with a single bit used. 258 259 #define PMBUS_SKIP_STATUS_CHECK (1 << 0) 260 261 struct pmbus_platform_data { 262 u32 flags; /* Device specific flags */ 263 }; 264 265 266 Flags 267 ----- 268 269 PMBUS_SKIP_STATUS_CHECK 270 271 During register detection, skip checking the status register for 272 communication or command errors. 273 274 Some PMBus chips respond with valid data when trying to read an unsupported 275 register. For such chips, checking the status register is mandatory when 276 trying to determine if a chip register exists or not. 277 Other PMBus chips don't support the STATUS_CML register, or report 278 communication errors for no explicable reason. For such chips, checking the 279 status register must be disabled. 280 281 Some i2c controllers do not support single-byte commands (write commands with 282 no data, i2c_smbus_write_byte()). With such controllers, clearing the status 283 register is impossible, and the PMBUS_SKIP_STATUS_CHECK flag must be set.


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Artificial trans fats -- widely considered the most dangerous of the so-called bad fats in the American diet -- were officially shown the door by the Food and Drug Administration this week, but the truth is most food manufacturers and restaurants started the eviction process years ago.The trans fat purge began when federal officials first took aim at the ingredient more than a decade ago, but hit critical mass when trans fat content was added to nutrition labels on packaged foods in 2006. As consumer awareness grew, companies worked fast to reformulate products to reduce or eliminate trans fats, which are considered unsafe at any level.The restaurant industry wasn't far behind, particularly after New York City banned trans fats from all restaurant food in 2008, with communities around the country following suit. Rather than grapple with a patchwork of regulations, major chains like McDonald's, Taco Bell and Burger King decided to remove trans fats from their menus nationally.You'd think we would have noticed. After all, trans fats can play a significant role in a food's texture, structure and taste. Like butter -- but more cheaply and with better shelf life -- they put the flakiness in flakey pie crusts, and Americans baked with them in the form of Crisco (also now free of trans fats) for generations.But there are lots of alternatives, and companies simply had to test their way through them until they found the right one for their products.Dunkin Donuts, for example, began testing dozens of alternatives in 2003 before settling on a blend of palm, soy and cottonseed oils. Before they made the switch official in 2008, the company sold some 50 million trans fat-free doughnuts -- all unbeknownst to consumers.McDonald's and Taco Bell had similar experiences, successfully eliminating the fat without cutting a single menu item or triggering consumer backlash. And by 2010, researchers monitoring the change found that few foods still contained more than trace amounts of trans fats (though some meats and dairy products contain naturally occurring trans fats).The change also can be seen in many products found in home kitchens. For example, many brands of classic trans fat culprits such as microwave popcorn and frozen pizza have already been reconfigured. Nutrition labels for other products showed that some, such as Duncan Hines chocolate Whipped Frosting, have yet to eliminate them.All of which means the FDA announcement won't much change the taste of the foods Americans love. The most significant effect will be to close what health advocates have called a loophole in the labeling law, which allows foods with less than half a gram of trans fats per serving to be called trans fat-free. It also effectively eliminates the ingredient from use by smaller restaurants.Photo: Consumers wondering what food without trans fat will taste like, probably already know as food manufacturers, including Dunkin' Donuts, began eliminating it years ago.
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Popular travel sites are being told to pay Hawaii a $70 million penalty for skirting state general excise taxes over the past 10 years.
A tax appeal court has ruled that online travel companies including Orbitz Worldwide Inc., Priceline.com Inc., Sabre Inc.'s Travelocity, and Expedia Inc., including its subsidiaries Hotels.com and Hotwire, have been selling hotel rooms online for years without paying the necessary taxes.
Company representatives did not immediately return requests for comment late Tuesday.
The court ruled in January that the companies, which are based in states including Washington, Texas, Illinois and Connecticut, owe Hawaii $158 million, including interest, for unpaid taxes from 2000 through 2011.
The tax court levied the $70 million penalty Monday.
Hugh Jones, from the Hawaii Attorney General's Office, said that all in all, the companies now owe the state about $230 million. The companies raked in more than $2.7 billion in revenue in Hawaii between 2000 and 2011, he said.
The state says it anticipates collecting $20 million a year in tax revenue from the travel sites now that the court battle has been won.
Unlike many other states, Hawaii doesn't have a sales tax. But the state's general excise tax applies to all business activities.
Randall Roth, a law professor at the University of Hawaii, says the tax is unusual in its breadth.
"We tax a lot of things that wouldn't be taxed elsewhere," said Roth, estimating that the general excise tax brings in about as much revenue as a 12 percent sales tax.
Roth said he hadn't read the court's opinion but was confident the decision will have repercussions.
"My hunch is that it could be a whole new ball game in terms of things that are taxed," Roth said. "I think the state of Hawaii will get very aggressive."
The state is examining how the general excise tax might apply to other online transactions, Jones said.
"The full reach of the general excise tax as to electronic commerce is still evolving," said Jones, noting that numerous other states are grappling with the same issue.
But Jones said the strength of the companies' physical presence in Hawaii — through contracts to lease property and sell hotel rooms — helped the state prove its case.
"They do have some boots on the ground here," he said. He says online retail transactions through companies like Amazon.com Inc. may not have that physical element, but he noted the general excise tax applies to "virtually every economic activity imaginable."
Fresh off its court victory, Hawaii is still pursuing the travel companies to get them to pay the Hawaii's transient accommodations tax. The tax is levied on people who rent out places for short-term visitors to stay.
The attorney general's office says the companies owe about $400 million in unpaid transient accommodations taxes. The office says the state could earn about $40 million a year if the online travel sites are made to pay the tax.


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This is a guest post by Andreas Kambanis who runs a blog, London Cyclist, about cycling and London. You can find him on Twitter here.
I started commuting into work by bike in the same way I do many things in life. With little or no plan! The way I look at it is if there is anything I need to learn I'll soon figure it out along the way. Here are 5 of the lessons I soon picked up.
1. Route
When I first started bike commuting I had just moved to London for a new job. It was my first day in that job so I found my route on Google Maps and looked at it once. This was a major error.
After a good start I forgot the route and took a wrong turn. Then another wrong turn. And another. I somehow ended up on Oxford Circus. One of the busiest, most horrible roads for cyclists in London.
After a quick call to my new boss who I had yet to meet I confirmed I would be late for my first day at work.
Lesson learned: Plan the route ahead and do a test run.
2. There are some things you shouldn't economize on
I noticed something on all the other bikes parked at office that my bike was lacking. They all had massive U-locks. I looked at my weak bike lock and realised a thief could probably chew through it with their teeth. A couple of days later I made sure I got myself to the nearest bike shop and purchased a proper bike lock.
Lesson learned: Spend as much as you can on a good bike lock. It is worth it for all the effort and money you will save by preventing theft.
3. A little maintenance goes a long way
I made all the maintenance mistakes you can possibly make. I over lubricated my chain, I didn't keep my bike clean and I didn't replace my break pads until they wore through my wheel rims. I caused a lot of damage to that poor bike. After a while I replaced it with a new one and pledged to learn bike maintenance.
Lesson learned: Learn the basics to bike maintenance as it will give you a much smoother, more enjoyable bike ride and will make your bike last longer.
4. Don't undertake vehicles
An early error in my cycling technique was frequently undertaking slow moving traffic. The problem with doing this is that drivers are not on the lookout for someone overtaking on the wrong side. This is particularly dangerous with heavy goods vehicles that are a frequent cause of injury to cyclists.
Lessons learned: Be sure you are cycling where drivers can see you and don't undertake vehicles unless it is safe to do so.
5. Shop around
Whenever I needed something new I would head into the nearest bike shop and pick it up there and then. I didn't realise how much I could save by having a look online before buying. I ended up spending 30-40% more on a cycling jacket I didn't particularly like.
There i. also a second lesson to be learned here. It is worth building up a relationship with a local bike shop so they can help you out at a time of need. I have since got to know my local bike shop owner so whenever I head in there to buy something new I can ask some advice on any maintenance problems I'm having.
Lessons learned: Shop around for a good price and build up a relationship with the local bike shop owner.


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"During the pandemic [Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09] period in 2009-2010, an influenza A (Inf-A) virus with H1N2 subtype (designated as A/Eastern India/N-1289/2009) was detected from a 25 years old male from Mizoram (North-eastern India).
The outcome of this full genome study revealed a unique reassortment event where the N-1289 virus acquired it's HA gene from a 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus with swine origin and the other genes from H3N2-like viruses of human origin.
This study provides information on possibility of occurrence of reassortment events during influenza season when infectivity is high and two different subtypes of Inf Aviruses co-circulate in same geographical location."
This is interesting, and sobering news: it shows how easily this sort of thing can happen; it is perhaps fortunate that both the NA of the new virus came from a circulating type, as otherwise the virus could have spread as far and been as serious as the new H1N1.
I thank Russell Kightley for the reassortant influenza virus graphic.