text:
This is a short technical note describing how to setup aiohttp-wsgi and aiohttp to serve Django via WSGI while allowing WebSockets on the same port.
Hopefully this setup is useful to you for doing awesome things. Note, this is just a technical note to use as a starting point and I have not benchmarked the performance in any way. I work daily with (more or less) embedded systems, big and small, and all this web stuff is just a hobby, so to speak.
What you need
Firstly, mise en place. You need:
- Python 3
- aiohttp
- aiohttp-wsgi
- your Django app
- nginx
Why do we use these
Python 3.4+ is a must since you need the asyncio support. This gives you asynchronous I/O, event loops, coroutines, and tasks. These basically let you do co-operatively scheduled single-threaded concurrent code which is quite useful when dealing with inputs/output handling from, say, the network.
The aiohttp is an (almost) pure Python HTTP server (and client), using the asyncio support. It provides WebSocket handling, among other things.
The aiohttp-wsgi is a WSGI adapter for aiohttp. This is a bit more flexible than the built-in aiohttp.wsgi. The lack of setup instructions in aiohttp-wsgi was actually the main motivation in putting up this note.
Your Django app, this is any Django application you want to make asyncio-capable, to add WebSocket support to, etc.
Nginx is a fast HTTP and reverse proxy server. You could probably also use HAProxy or similar tools as well.
Prepare aiohttp-wsgi
Note: be sure to use version 0.1.1 or higher, as in 0.1.0 Django responses will make aiohttp-wsgi nag with a RuntimeError.
The big picture
The satellite level view is as follows:
- The client connects to port 8000.
- Nginx auto-redirects HTTP (port 8000) to HTTPS (port 8443).
- SSL handshake and setup are done, further traffic to and from 8443 is SSL protected.
- Traffic coming to 8443 is decrypted internally and routed to aiohttp WSGI front-end at 127.0.0.1:8080.
- Here the traffic goes either to WSGI app (Django) or WebSockets.
- Response is sent to the client.
The ports are high ports to allow an unpriviledged user to test this - no need to be root. You can easily map the ports to suitable priviledged ones like 80, 443 and so on.
The directory structure
The directory tree is set up as follows:
├── httpd.py
├── nginx
│ ├── log
│ ├── nginx.conf
│ └── ssl
└── yourdjangoapp
├── manage.py
└── yourdjangoapp
├── templates
├── urls.py
├── views.py
└── etc.
Note: it is assumed that aiohttp and aiohttp_wsgi are installed system-wide. It's an unimportant detail - you can install into virtualenv instead (I did).
Your Django app
The Django app, which is called "yourdjangoapp" from now on, is a regular Django app. In this note, the app is stupendously simple and basically routes "/" to the index-method, which serves up a templates/index.html file.
The urls.py is setup like this:
from yourdjangoapp import views
urlpatterns = patterns('',
url(r'^$', 'yourdjangoapp.views.index', name='index'),
...and a views.py is setup like this:
from django.shortcuts import render_to_response
def index(request):
return render_to_response("templates/index.html")
Thus when "/" is accessed, the templates/index.html is sent to the client. The templates/index.html is a truly remarkable gem of state-of-the-art web design and contains:

This is the index...

This site uses cookies. Get over it.

var socket = new WebSocket('wss://192.168.1.123:8443/ws');
socket.onopen = function(event) {
console.log('a user connected');
socket.send("Howdy ho");
socket.onclose = function(event) {
console.log('a user disconnected');
socket.onerror = function(event) {
console.log('a user got sour');
socket.onmessage = function(event) {
console.log('Server said: ' + event.data);
// delayed reply
setTimeout(function() { console.log('I said: Say it again'); socket.send("Say it again"); }, 2000);
The client will ping-pong messages with the server.
Notice the address
wss://192.168.1.123:8443/ws. This is the IP address of the
Nginx reverse proxy SSL port with the WebSocket URL (see below) with an
unpriviledged port used for SSL.
Note: you must add the following to yourdjangoapp/settings.py to use the index.html template.
TEMPLATE_DIRS = [("%s/yourdjangoapp" % BASE_DIR)]
The aiohttp WSGI front end (httpd.py)
The httpd.py is a front-end component to manage routing to WebSockets and to Django. It contains also basic WebSockets logic used for testing.
Let's split the file up and examine the parts, going from the beginning of the file all the way to the end.
First, the basic imports:
import sys
import os
import asyncio
from aiohttp_wsgi import api
import aiohttp
Then, the WebSockets handler for aiohttp.
Note how this is an asyncio coroutine. You can also see the "yield from", which means that at such a point the execution can go elsewhere until the stuff that is yielded from finishes whatever it is doing. Once it does finish, the loop continues from the yield from line. On the next iteration, the same thing happens - there is no blocking for ws.receive_str() to finish.
Note how the send_str doesn't have a yield from.
def ws_testing(request):
# websockets aiohttp req-resp
ws = aiohttp.web.WebSocketResponse()
ws.send_str("Initial server hello")
while True:
data = yield from ws.receive_str()
if data == 'close':
ws.send_str(data + ' says the server')
except Exception as exc:
print(exc.code, exc.message)
return ws
Django setup for aiohttp is next. It's all in all quite simple - just 2-3 lines, thanks to aiohttp-wsgi. With the Django WSGI application instance, the aiohttp server is configured with the chosen port and host and told to run the Django WSGI application.
# Django setup
sys.path.append("%s/yourdjangoapp" % (os.getcwd()))
from yourdjangoapp import wsgi
loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
server, app = api.configure_server(
The default routes come from the Django parts (urls.py). Let's add another route for the WebSockets. Django does not know about this routing since it happens in the aiohttp level.
# paths handled as WebSockets
app.router.add_route('GET', '/ws', ws_testing)
So what did we do so far? At this point we made "/" go to the Django app, via WSGI. The "/ws" goes to the WebSocket testing method, which simply first sends a message and then starts echoing all client messages back.
Next, a basic event loop is started to loop forever.
except KeyboardInterrupt:
api.close_server(server, app, loop=loop)
print("All done, post cleanup stuff happens here")
There is no "post cleanup stuff", something could happen there but now it's just a placeholder.
And that's it for the httpd.py.
Nginx configuration
Note, here I assume your username is
bob, the nginx files are located under
/home/bob/nginx/ and your host IP is
Note: in case you're wondering, the "lh" in the SSL keys means "localhost".
SSL setup
If you need a refresher in how to make an openssl setup for nginx, refer to this tutorial. As a summary:
- cd ~bob/nginx/ssl
- openssl genrsa -des3 -out lh.key 2048
- openssl req -new -key lh.key -out lh.csr
- Fill in the information
- Remove the passphrase
- cp lh.key lh.key.orig
- openssl rsa -in lh.key.orig -out lh.key
- openssl x509 -req -days 1500 -in lh.csr -signkey lh.key -out lh.crt
- Point nginx to the .key and the .crt
That's it for the SSL setup.
worker_processes 10;
error_log /home/bob/nginx/log/error.log;
pid /home/bob/nginx/nginx.pid;
worker_rlimit_nofile 8192;
events {
worker_connections 4096;
http {
server_tokens off;
upstream wsgitest {
server 127.0.0.1:8080;
server {
listen 8443;
server_name 192.168.1.123;
error_log /home/bob/nginx/log/error-lh.log;
access_log /home/bob/nginx/log/access-lh.log;
root /home/bob/nginx/siteroot;
# django + ws upgrade
location / {
proxy_pass http://wsgitest/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
ssl on;
ssl_certificate /home/bob/nginx/ssl/lh.crt;
ssl_certificate_key /home/bob/nginx/ssl/lh.key;
# redirect http --> https
server {
error_log /home/bob/nginx/log/error-lh.log;
access_log /home/bob/nginx/log/access-lh.log;
listen 8000;
server_name 192.168.1.123;
return 301 https://$host:8443/$request_uri;
Testing it
First, start nginx and the aiohttp WSGI front-end:
nginx -c ~bob/nginx/nginx.conf
python3 httpd.py
Then point your browser to
Open the developer console. In Firefox the default shortcut for this is
You should see the HTML output from the Django app, and in the console the WebSockets output ping-ponging every 2 seconds.
What's next
- Stress-test the WS. Thor seemed to break the sort of echoing WebSockets as we have here after a few hundred connections.
- Stress-test, somehow, a reasonable mix of WS + HTTPS to know where we're at.
- Profile, make it better.
- Build something on it!


text:
Recall 06V096000
Certain Airbags May Not Deploy as Expected
Recall Details
On 133 vehicles, certain airbag inflators were assembled with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper airbag deployment. In the event of a crash, if the airbag does not deploy as expected, the risk of injury will increase. Dealers will replace only the suspect airbags to correct this concern. The Toyota recall number is 60B. The Lexus recall number is 6LB.
Our Quick Take
On 133 vehicles, certain airbag inflators were not assembled correctly and may not deploy as expected in the event of a crash.
What Should You Do?
Toyota, Scion, and Lexus will notify owners of affected vehicles beginning April 6, 2006. There are no symptoms related to this recall. If you don't receive notification and you feel you should have, please contact your dealer. It's helpful to have your vehicle identification number (VIN) when you call.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bright, Beautiful Burano Houses
White may be the most popular exterior house paint color, but not on the island of Burano. Located 40 minutes away by boat from Venice, Burano is known for its lace-making tradition and brightly colored houses.
The house colors are long-standing and not randomly-chosen; the colors follow a specific system that has been in place since the 1600s. To paint a Burano home, a request must be sent to the city council, which will respond with the specific colors permitted for that house lot. The designer Philippe Starck owns three houses on Burano (according to wikipedia). Would you or do you prefer plain white?
• The Most Popular Home Exterior Color
• The Exterior Paint Files: Rusty Terracotta Reds
• What's Your Favorite Exterior Paint Color?
Images: Rachael Grad


text:
2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Canada
|United States Department of State
|Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
|Publication Date
|24 May 2012
|Cite as
|United States Department of State, 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Canada, 24 May 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fc75ab046.html [accessed 17 December 2018]
|This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy with a federal parliamentary government. In a free and fair multiparty federal election held on May 2, the Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper, won a majority of seats in the federal Parliament and formed a government. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, who maintained effective control over the forces.
The principal human rights problems included violence against women and disparities in access to government services between indigenous and nonindigenous peoples.
Other human rights problems included alleged abuse of civil rights by law enforcement officials, trafficking in persons, and harassment of persons belonging to religious and racial minorities.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish all government officials who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. Authorities investigate and publicly report all fatalities that occur as a result of police action or in police custody.
On February 10, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced that it had addressed or was in the process of addressing all 16 recommendations on taser use issued by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC). The CPC's recommendations resulted from the investigation into the death of Robert Dziekanski in 2007 after four RCMP officers stunned him with a taser at Vancouver International Airport. On May 12, British Columbian authorities filed perjury charges against the four officers in connection with their testimony before the CPC on their confrontation with Dziekanski. On June 2, the British Columbian government passed legislation to establish the Independent Investigations Office, a civilian-led agency to investigate incidents involving police causing death or serious injury. The new office's mandate extends to all police forces operating in the province, including the federal RCMP. The creation of the office was a key recommendation of the Braidwood Commission, a public inquiry into Dziekanski's death and taser-use policies.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, but there were isolated reports of degrading treatment by law enforcement officials. Investigations into allegations of physical assault and inappropriate searches of prisoners by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) in the OPS's cellblocks during 2010 remained pending at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison and detention center conditions generally met international standards, and the government permitted monitoring in accordance with its standard modalities by independent nongovernmental observers.
In 2009 there were approximately 38,000 inmates and detainees, including 1,640 juveniles, and the official prison capacity was 38,600. In its 2009-10 report, the Office of the Correctional Investigator found that 532 offenders died in federal custody between 1998 and 2008. Of these fatalities, 107 were suicides, 36 were homicides, and the remainder from a range of known causes, including natural death and accident. Women comprised approximately 4 to 6 percent of the total number of prisoners. Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, were permitted religious observance, and could submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship. Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane behavior and documented the results of such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The government investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions. There is a prison ombudsman.
On July 13, an Ontario court sentenced a correctional officer to a 60-day prison term for an unprovoked assault in 2009 on a prisoner in Maplehurst Correctional Centre; the officer was also dismissed from the prison service. An investigation found three other officers complicit in the assault.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
National, provincial, and municipal police forces maintain internal security. Canadian armed forces are responsible for external security, but in exceptional cases may exercise some domestic security responsibility at the formal request of civilian provincial authorities. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the RCMP and provincial and municipal police forces, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
Authorities generally apprehended persons openly with warrants. A judge may issue a warrant after being satisfied that a criminal offense may have been committed. A person arrested for a criminal offense has the right to a prompt, independent judicial determination of the legality of the detention; authorities respected this right in practice. Authorities provided detainees with timely information as to the reason for the arrest, ensured prompt access to a lawyer of the detainees' choice and, if indigent, to one provided by the state, and granted prompt access to family members. Bail generally was available. Suspects were not detained incommunicado or held under house arrest. Detainees were released immediately after being charged, unless a judge deemed continued detention necessary to ensure the detainee's attendance in court, for the protection or safety of the public, or due to the gravity of the offense. Persons subject to continued detention had the right to judicial review of their status at regular intervals.
In December the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General reported that 330 persons had appeared before provincial courts on charges related to public protests, violence, and vandalism during the 2010 G-20 summit in Toronto. Courts completed proceedings against 292 of these individuals by staying, withdrawing, or dismissing charges, diverting charges by requiring individuals to make charitable donations, or closing files due to errors in charge sheets. Thirty-two persons pled guilty. Separately, the cases of 34 individuals remained before the courts at year's end. During the summit, police had arrested approximately 1,100 individuals and released more than 800 without charge. Civil liberties' groups alleged that police had arrested individuals arbitrarily; police and provincial agencies opened five separate reviews of police conduct at the summit, all of which continued at year's end.
Noncitizens may be detained and deported on national security grounds under immigration security certificates. The government issues certificates on the basis of confidential evidence presented to two cabinet ministers by intelligence or police agencies and reviewed by a federal court judge who determines "reasonableness" and upholds or revokes the certificate. A judge may order an individual detained during the security-certificate determination process if the government considers that the individual presents a danger to national security or is unlikely to appear at the proceeding for removal, and may impose conditions on release into the community, including monitoring. Individuals subject to a security certificate may see a summary of confidential evidence against them. Authorities provide full disclosure to court-appointed, security-cleared lawyers ("special advocates") who can review and challenge the evidence on behalf of these individuals, but may not share or discuss the material with them. The law establishes strict rules on the disclosure and use of secret evidence, prohibits the use of evidence if there are reasonable grounds to believe authorities obtained it as a result of torture, and provides mechanisms for review and appeal. At year's end three individuals were subject to security certificates and lived in the community subject to restrictions.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures
The law provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The judicial system is based on English common law at the federal level as well as in most provinces. In Quebec, civil law is derived from the Napoleonic Code; however, criminal law is the same nationwide. Trials are public, and defendants have a right to have their case heard before a judge alone or, for more serious cases, before a judge and jury. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. The government provides an attorney at public expense if needed when defendants face serious criminal charges, and defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys generally have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants also enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
There is an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters and access to a court to bring a suit seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation. No mechanism existed for plaintiffs to appeal decisions to an international regional court. Remedies can be monetary, declaratory, or injunctive. Federal or provincial human rights commissions may also hear alleged human rights violations, although these bodies follow differing standards and procedures.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Status of Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech, including for members of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal. The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction.
Freedom of Speech: The Supreme Court has ruled that the government may limit free speech in the name of goals such as ending discrimination, ensuring social harmony, or promoting gender equality. It also has ruled that the benefits of limiting hate speech and promoting equality are sufficient to outweigh the freedom of speech clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the country's constitutional bill of rights. Provincial-level film censorship, broadcast licensing procedures, broadcasters' voluntary codes curbing graphic violence, and laws against hate literature and pornography also impose some restrictions on the media.
Inciting hatred (in certain cases) or genocide is a criminal offense, but the Supreme Court has set a high threshold for such cases, specifying that these acts must be proven to be willful and public. Laws prohibit speech or programming containing any abusive comment that would expose individuals or groups to hatred or contempt and empower the federal Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the federal Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) to enforce the law in areas of federal jurisdiction. In addition, each province has its own human rights code.
Internet Freedom
There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by
e-mail. The CHRC investigates complaints about hate messages on Web sites and may forward cases to the CHRT for action.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The constitution and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
See the Department of State's 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons
The constitution and law provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees
Access to Asylum: The country's laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government offered alternatives to refugee claimants whose cases the Immigration and Refugee Board refused. The option for judicial review through the federal courts exists. Two other remedies of last resort are available through the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, including a "preremoval risk assessment" as well as an appeal to the minister of citizenship and immigration for a waiver based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The government accepted refugees for resettlement from third countries and facilitated local integration (including access to naturalization), particularly of refugees in protracted situations. The government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation
Recent Elections: On May 2, the Conservative Party won a majority of seats in the federal Parliament and formed a national majority government.
Participation of Women and Minorities: There were 76 women and seven indigenous individuals in the 308-member federal House of Commons; 38 members were born outside the country. There were 36 women and six indigenous persons in the 105-seat Senate (whose members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); 12 members were born outside the country. Women held 10 seats in the 39-member cabinet. Four of the nine members of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, were women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of government corruption during the year. The Federal Accountability Act provides for transparency and accountability in government. The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner reports annually on allegations of corruption. A commissioner of lobbying administers a national registry of lobbying of designated public office holders.
A conflict of interest and ethics commissioner administers the conflict of interest code for members of the House of Commons, as well as the law relating to public office holders. Provincial governments provide independent audits of government business and ombudsman services. Elected office holders (but not other public officials) are subject to financial disclosure laws for personal assets.
The law permits public access to government information, and in practice the government granted access for citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media. The law provides for denial of legal requests for information on limited and specific grounds given and cited in law, and there is a mechanism to appeal denials. The government released quarterly information on the public expenditures of senior government officials and also published expense information on individual ministerial Web sites and on a centralized Web site.
On May 13, the Supreme Court ruled that the access to information law does not provide for public access to all records from the offices of the prime minister and other ministerial offices as these offices do not qualify as "government institutions" under the law. The case resolves record requests made by various claimants almost 10 years ago.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Human Rights Commissions and Legislative Committees: Federal and provincial human rights commissions enjoyed government cooperation, operated without government or party interference, and had adequate resources. Observers considered them effective. Parliamentary human rights committees operated in the House of Commons and the Senate. The committees acted independently of government, conducted public hearings, and issued reports and recommendations to which the government provided written, public, and timely responses.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government enforced legal provisions effectively.
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, as sexual assault, and the government enforced the law effectively. Penalties for sexual assault carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison, up to 14 years for sexual assault with a restricted or prohibited firearm, and between four years and life for aggravated sexual assault with a firearm or committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization. The government's statistical office reported that in 2010 there were more than 22,000 reported incidents of sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, and aggravated sexual assault against female and male victims. Government studies indicated that victims of sexual assault reported about one in 10 incidents to police.
The law prohibits domestic violence. Although the criminal code does not define specific domestic violence offenses, an abuser can be charged with an applicable offense, such as assault, aggravated assault, intimidation, mischief, or sexual assault. Persons convicted of assault receive up to five years in prison. Assaults involving weapons, threats, or injuries carry terms of up to 10 years; aggravated assault or endangerment of life carry prison sentences of up to 14 years. The government enforced the law effectively. Studies indicated that victims of domestic violence and spousal abuse underreported incidents.
In November imams, Muslim organizations, scholars, and Muslim community leaders joined a "Call to Action to Eradicate Domestic Violence," which declared that "domestic violence and, in the extreme, practices such as killing to 'restore family honor' violate clear and nonnegotiable Islamic principles." On December 9, participating imams and Muslim leaders issued a coordinated denunciation of violence against women, including honor-based crimes.
The federal statistical agency reported that there were approximately 593 shelters for abused women; the shelters provided emergency care, transition housing, counseling, and referrals to legal and social service agencies. Shelters admitted more than 64,500 women between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010, of whom almost three-quarters had fled abusive situations. Six in 10 of those women had not reported their abusive incidents to police. Moreover, only 27 percent of those reported incidents resulted in formal charges.
Police received training in treating domestic violence, and agencies provided abuse hotlines. The government's family violence initiative involved 12 departments, agencies, and crown corporations, including Status of Women Canada, a cabinet ministry. These entities worked to eliminate systemic violence against women and advance women's human rights. Provincial governments made efforts to address violence against women as well, including Ontario's Sexual Violence Action Plan, a C$15 million ($14.7 million) effort to prevent sexual violence and improve support for survivors of sexual assault.
Sexual Harassment: The law does not contain a specific offense of "sexual harassment" but criminalizes harassment (stalking), punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment, and sexual assault, with penalties ranging from 10 years for nonaggravated sexual assault to life imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault. The government generally enforced these prohibitions.
Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals enjoyed the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children without government interference, and to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. The publicly funded medical system provided access to contraceptive services and information, prenatal care, skilled attendance during childbirth, and essential obstetric and postpartum care. Women had equal access with men to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination: Women have marriage and property rights, as well as rights in the judicial system, equal to those of men. They were well represented in the labor force, including business and the professions. Women did not experience systemic economic discrimination in access to or in the terms of employment, credit, or pay equity for substantially similar work, or owning and/or managing businesses, although some equality and labor groups reported that women represented less than one fifth of senior officers in top executive positions in the private sector. The federal statistical agency reported that hourly wages for women were, on average, about 17 percent less than for men. Women did not experience discrimination in education or housing.
Status of Women Canada promoted the legal rights of women. Employment equity laws and regulations cover federal employees in all but the security and defense services. However, Aboriginal women living on reserves (where land is held communally) lack matrimonial property rights.
On October 31, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal awarded nurses working for the Canada Pension Plan C$2.3 million ($2.25 million) in damages for pay equity discrimination dating back to the 1970s. On November 17, the Supreme Court awarded female postal workers at Canada Post C$150 million ($147 million) to settle a landmark pay-equity dispute that originated in 1983.
Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived both by birth within the country's territory and from one's parents. Births are registered immediately, and there were no reports of the government's denying public services, such as education or health care, to those who failed to register.
Child Abuse: The federal statistical agency recorded that almost 55,000 children and youth were victims of police-reported violent crime in 2009, including approximately 41,000 assaults and 14,000 sexual assaults. Studies indicated that family members or individuals known to the victim represented a vast majority of the offenders. Most victims were girls, especially in sexual assault cases.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The minimum age of consensual sex is 16 years. Persons convicted of living off the proceeds of prostitution of a child under age 18 face between two and 14 years' imprisonment. Persons who aid; counsel; compel; use, or threaten to use, violence, intimidation, or coercion in relation to a child under age 18 to engage in prostitution face between five and 14 years' imprisonment. Persons who solicit or obtain the sexual services of a child under age 18 face between six months' and five years' imprisonment.
The law prohibits accessing, producing, distributing, and possessing child pornography. Maximum penalties range from 18 months' imprisonment for summary offenses to 10 years' imprisonment for indictable offenses.
International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport_4308.html as well as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country_3781.html.
Approximately 1 percent of the population is Jewish.
The B'nai Brith Canada League for Human Rights received 1,306 reports of anti-Semitic incidents in 2010, a 3.3 percent increase from 2009. More than half of such reports came from the province of Ontario. The reports included 965 cases of harassment, 317 cases of vandalism, and 24 cases of violence. There were 32 cases involving attacks on synagogues, 139 involving private Jewish homes, and 26 involving community centers. Jewish students reported 86 cases of anti-Semitic incidents on university campuses, compared with 137 in 2009; another 84 involved primary and secondary school settings, compared with 73 in 2009. B'nai Brith also received 564 reports of Web-based hate activity, almost a 30 percent increase from 2009.
On March 25, the government passed a law with support from all parties to build a National Holocaust Monument in the national capital. The monument will commemorate Holocaust victims, promote tolerance and human rights, and educate visitors.
In early August vandals spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic messages on several synagogues in Toronto. Political leaders denounced the acts. Police investigations did not produce any arrests by year's end.
Trafficking in Persons
For information on trafficking in persons, see the Department of State's 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other state services or in other areas, and the government effectively enforced these prohibitions. The government effectively implemented laws and programs mandating access to buildings, information, and communications for persons with disabilities.
A class-action lawsuit against the Huronia Regional Centre, a former facility operated by the province of Ontario for persons with developmental disabilities, which was filed in 2010 by former residents alleging systemic abuse and neglect, remained pending at year's end. In August a court in Ontario allowed two similar lawsuits against the Rideau Regional Centre and the Southwest Regional Centre to proceed.
Proper facilities existed for the treatment of the mentally ill, but mental health advocates asserted that the prison system was not sufficiently equipped or staffed to provide the care necessary for those in the criminal justice system, resulting in cases of segregation and self-harm.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
According to the Federal Statistical Agency, 1,473 incidents of hate crimes were reported to police in 2009 (an increase of 42 percent from 2008), of which 54 percent were motivated by race or ethnic bias. Blacks constituted the most commonly targeted racial group, accounting for 38 percent of racially motivated incidents, followed by South Asians at almost 13 percent. Racially motivated crimes against Arabs or West Asians increased from 37 incidents in 2008 to 75 in 2009. Approximately 40 percent of the hate crimes reported to police were violent.
On May 11, after a year-long investigation, the Quebec Human Rights Commission released a report finding that ethnic minorities in the province, and especially in Montreal, were subject to "targeted and disproportionate scrutiny by police forces." The commission recommended that the provincial government take remedial measures, including the amendment of the Quebec Charter of Rights, Police Act, and police code of ethics to prohibit racial profiling. The commission also recommended that government departments adopt action plans to tackle racial profiling and that police academies implement antiracism training.
Indigenous People
Indigenous people constituted approximately 4 percent of the national population and higher percentages in the country's three territories: Yukon, 25 percent; Northwest Territories, 50 percent; and Nunavut, 85 percent. Disputes over land claims, self-government, treaty rights, taxation, duty-free imports, fishing and hunting rights, and alleged police harassment were sources of tension. Indigenous people remained underrepresented in the workforce; overrepresented on welfare rolls and in prison populations; and more susceptible to suicide, poverty, chronic health conditions, and sexual violence than other groups.
The law recognizes and specifically protects indigenous rights, including those established by historical land-claims settlements. Treaties with indigenous groups form the basis for the government's policies in the eastern part of the country, but there were legal challenges to the government's interpretation and implementation of treaty rights. Indigenous groups in the west that never signed treaties continued to claim land and resources, and many continued to seek legal resolution of outstanding issues. As a result, the evolution of the government's policy toward indigenous rights, particularly land claims, depended on negotiation and/or legal challenges. Since 1973 the federal government has concluded and implemented 22 comprehensive land claims and two stand-alone self-government agreements with indigenous people. As of January 2010, the government reported that negotiations for 69 self-government and comprehensive land claims were active. As of March 31, 504 specific claims or grievances filed by indigenous people regarding the implementation of existing treaties remained unresolved, according to government reports. Indigenous groups that cannot settle specific claims through negotiation within a three-year period may refer the claim to the Specific Claims Tribunal (a judicial panel) for a decision or to the courts.
The law imposes statutory, contractual, and common-law obligations to consult with Aboriginal peoples in the development and exploitation of natural resources on land covered by treaty or subject to land claims. The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has the constitutional duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate indigenous peoples when the government contemplates actions that may adversely impact potential or established Aboriginal and treaty rights.
In March an Amnesty International report called on provincial and federal governments to address gross disparities between indigenous and nonindigenous people in access to adequate child welfare services, clean water, education, and housing. On March 8, a federal auditor general's report found child welfare services in Nunavut Territory inadequate and reported that territorial services failed to protect children from placement in unsafe environments.
On June 9, a federal auditor general's report found that a "disproportionate number" of indigenous people lacked basic social services, especially education, housing, child welfare, and safe drinking water. On June 28, the Quebec Human Rights Commission reported that Inuit children in Nunavik, northern Quebec, were exposed to rates of domestic violence 10 times higher than the national average due to overtaxed or nonexistent community social services.
Also on June 9, the government and indigenous leaders partnered to launch a Canada First Nation Joint Action Plan to improve education, unemployment, and governance for indigenous people living on reserves. On June 18, the government extended the protection of the federal Human Rights Act to more than 700,000 Aboriginal people who live on reserves and who were specifically excluded from the ability to file complaints under the act before 2008. The protection came into force upon the expiry of a three-year transitional period.
On August 17, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the provincial government had no authority to grant industrial logging leases on land in northern Ontario covered by a treaty between the federal government and the Grassy Narrows First Nation. The court ruled that the federal government had jurisdiction and responsibility to protect Aboriginal hunting and trapping treaty rights. The Grassy Narrows First Nation had litigated for 11 years to stop clear-cut logging on their traditional lands, arguing that clear cutting contaminated the water supply and adversely affected their quality of life.
In October the First Nations community of Attawapiskat, northern Ontario, declared a state of emergency over housing and living conditions on the reserve. National Aboriginal representatives alleged that similar conditions existed in Aboriginal communities across the country. The federal government provided emergency housing to residents of Attawapiskat and appointed a third-party manager for the community.
On November 18, the federal and the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial governments signed documents with the Labrador Innu relating to land claims, self-government, and an impact and benefit agreement relating to the Lower Churchill River development.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
The law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and the criminal code provides penalties for crimes motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations operated independently and without restriction. There was no official discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and occupation, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care.
There were occasions of violence and abuse against individuals based on sexual orientation, but the government generally implemented the law criminalizing such behavior effectively.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
There were no known reports of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Courts generally interpreted prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of disability in federal and provincial human rights statutes to include discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining
The law allows workers (except armed forces and police) in both the public and the private sectors to form and join unions of their choice, to conduct legal strikes, and to bargain collectively.
Workers in the public sector who provide essential services, including police and armed forces, do not have the right to strike but have mechanisms to ensure due process and protect workers' rights. Workers in essential services had recourse to binding arbitration if labor negotiations failed. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides for reinstatement for workers fired for union activity.
Provincial governments have and enforce their own labor laws that apply to provincially regulated occupations. Agricultural workers in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick do not have the right to organize or bargain collectively under provincial law.
The government effectively enforced applicable laws in a timely fashion and respected freedom of association and the right of collective bargaining in practice. Worker organizations were independent of the government and political parties. Workers exercised the right to strike in practice.
Labor unions complained that federal or provincial governments' actions in several cases constituted interference with collective bargaining rights. On February 22, the Quebec government adopted back-to-work legislation to end a two-week strike by Quebec crown prosecutors. On June 16, striking Air Canada ticket agents settled their dispute with the company after the federal government introduced back-to-work legislation in parliament to end the strike. On June 26, the federal parliament passed back-to-work legislation to end a legal strike by Canada Post workers.
On September 20, Air Canada and its flight attendants' union reached a tentative settlement after the government gave formal notice of its intent to introduce and expedite back-to-work legislation to avert a pending strike. Flight attendants subsequently rejected the pending deal. On October 12, the government referred the stalled contract talks to the Canada Industrial Relations Board for review, legally suspending an imminent strike. The government cited the negative impact of a strike on travelers and the economy as cause for its action. On November 7, the board imposed the agreement reached in September without alteration.
In April the Supreme Court upheld an Ontario law prohibiting agricultural workers (including foreign migrants) in the province from bargaining collectively. The ruling overturned a 2008 decision by the Court of Appeal of Ontario that had struck down the law as unconstitutional. In 2010 the International Labor Organization had noted the law violated the human rights of agricultural workers.
There were no reports of violations related to collective bargaining rights or other antiunion discrimination.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government effectively enforced the law. The government investigated and prosecuted several cases of forced labor and domestic servitude, informed workers of their legal rights, and maintained some measures to hold employers of foreign migrant workers accountable. However, there were reports that foreign (or noncitizen or foreign-born) adults were subjected to forced labor in the agricultural sector, food processing, cleaning services, hospitality, and construction industries; domestic servitude; and prostitution. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that bonded labor and domestic servitude constituted the majority of cases of exploitation.
Also see the Department of State's 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
Child labor legislation varies by province, and there are sufficient laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. Most provinces restrict the number of hours of work to two or three hours on a school day and eight hours on a nonschool day and prohibit children under age 15 or 16 from working without parental consent, after 10 or 11 p.m., or in any hazardous employment. During official school or academic breaks, the federal government employed youths between ages 15 and 17 for work that is unlikely to endanger their health or safety.
Child labor laws and policies were enforced effectively, and the child labor inspections were carried out by federal and provincial labor ministries. Child labor was not a problem in the country.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wage rates ranged from C$8.80 to C$11.00 ($8.62 to $10.78). Some provinces exempt agricultural, hospitality, and other specific categories of workers from minimum-wage rates, and Ontario has a minimum-wage rate for youths under age 18 who work less than 28 hours per week when school is in session that is lower than the respective minimum for adult workers.
Standard work hours vary by province, but in each the limit is 40 or 48 hours per week, with at least 24 hours of rest. The law requires payment of a premium for work above the standard workweek. Entitlement to paid annual leave varies by province, but the law requires a minimum of 10 days paid annual leave per year (or payment of 4 percent of wages in lieu) after one year of continuous employment. Some provinces mandate an additional week of paid leave to employees who have completed a specified length of service. There is no specific prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime, which is regulated by means of the required rest periods in the labor code that differ by industry. Some categories of workers have specific employment rights that differ from the standard, including commercial fishermen, oil field workers, loggers, home caregivers, professionals, managers, and some sales staff.
Federal law provides safety and health standards for employees under federal jurisdiction, while provincial and territorial legislation provides for all other employees, including foreign and migrant workers. Federal, provincial, and territorial laws protect the right of workers with "reasonable cause" to refuse dangerous work and remove themselves from hazardous work conditions, and authorities effectively enforced this right.
Authorities effectively enforced labor standards. Federal and provincial labor departments monitored and enforced these standards and conducted inspections proactively through scheduled visits, reactively in response to complaints, and at random.
Enforcement measures included a graduated response, with a preference for resolution via voluntary compliance, negotiation, and education; prosecution and fines served as a last resort. Some trade unions argued that limited resources hampered the government's inspection and enforcement efforts.
In February the province of Ontario named a new interim council for health and safety and in August named its first chief prevention officer to oversee reforms of provincial policy in line with key recommendations of a 2010 expert panel on Ontario's workplace health and safety system.
Some NGOs reported that migrants, new immigrants, young workers, and the unskilled were vulnerable to violations of the law on minimum wage, overtime pay, unpaid wages, and excessive hours of work, and they alleged that restrictions on the type of labor complaints accepted for investigation and delays in processing cases discouraged the filing of complaints in practice. There were no known developments in the investigation into the workplace fatalities of two Jamaican migrant agricultural workers in a fruit-processing facility in Ontario in 2010.


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Wednesday January 11, 2012
Bryan Ferry has married for the second time in a private wedding in the Caribbean.
The 66-year-old singer married Amanda Sheppard, 29, in a ceremony at the luxury beach resort of Amanyara on the Turks and Caicos Islands on January 4.
A spokesman for the star said it was a "simple private ceremony".
Bryan was made a CBE in November in recognition of a career in music spanning almost 40 years and covering everything from experimental tunes to sophisticated soulful pop.
His distinctive delivery, good looks, debonair sense of style and supermodel girlfriends including Jerry Hall have all added to his image as the most fashionable of rock stars.
The former Roxy Music frontman enjoyed a number of memorable hits with his bandmates – who included the enigmatic and experimental musician Brian Eno in the early days – from their debut release Virginia Plain to the dancefloor filler Love Is The Drug.
His solo output showed another side of the singer – the suave cocktail bar crooner – who covered a string of songs by well-known artists like John Lennon and Bob Dylan.
Photo:© Getty


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|2010-01-15, 19:55
|Link #881
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Age: 29
miura is a interesting character but I really do like their first editor, hattori way more, he has always put the boys interest over his own, considering the split between takagi and mashiro. Whereas Miura imposes his biases with almost iron fist towards the boys. Oh well we'll just have to wait and see how this develops.
|2010-01-16, 01:51
|Link #882
Final Elysium
Join Date: Jun 2008
Miura continues to fail and fail. Damn is this guy a failure so far and I'm so glad that Tanto didn't get serialized. Mainly because of the BS way Takagi is trying to marry Miyoshi upon serialization and because that shit isn't going to compete with Eiji which is what this duo had wanted to do early on so they could be #1. But eh, maybe they are getting desperate at this point.
They need to drop Miura's ass and get Hattori back. Hattori actually knew what he was doing and didn't shove a genre these two aren't suited for down their(and our) throats. They both should be way more worried that not only did they get rejected but that someone else who shares the same editor got canceled. I hope they speak up in the next chapter.
|2010-01-21, 14:39
|Link #889
Final Elysium
Join Date: Jun 2008
Hattori is here to save the manga with another brilliant plan. This guy should be higher up on the WSJ hierarchy. After Iwase and Eiji debut Ashirogi need to say fuck what Miura is telling them to do and just draw what they are good at and shove it in his face. He doesn't have room to be denying series names when he has nothing going for him.
|2010-01-21, 15:35
|Link #890
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 32
Best chapter in a long time. It's good to see Hattori get the spotlight again, he's the best character in this manga. Now Ashirogi needs to trash that Tanto shit and go for something completely different. Miura is wrong and they should prove it to him once and for all.
|2010-01-21, 19:43
|Link #891
Join Date: Dec 2005
Iwase managed to get Eiji's stamp of approval, and that's going to start off a lot of things. The question is how much Ashirogi is going to take the bait, and whether Miura will hinder them.
My bet is that Hattori will go to them, or Miura if he wants to keep it official, and pass on that the new series is being done by Iwase, but I have no idea about how the effect will be on them.
|2010-01-22, 03:08
|Link #894
God General
Graphic Designer
once Mashiro and Takagi learns the plan Hattori sets up
I can't wait on what they will come up with
I thoght that girl will be the writer of Aoki Ko, but Niizuma is much much much better
and he hasn't shown for quite a long time so... F*CK YEAH!
|2010-01-22, 03:16
|Link #895
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 30
I got the idea that the chief editor told them to screw what Miura says and write/draw whatever they want, and that if it's really good then even Miura can't say no to it...but who knows Amazing turn of events, my expression at the end of the chapter was the same as Eiji's when he was reading Iwase's script
|2010-01-22, 05:11
|Link #897
Mad Scientist #0000
The other crafty thing he puled out is to hide Iwase's gender. He always mentioned her as Iwase-kun, like she would be a male author. I bet he doesn't want Eji to get some strange ideas or something like that. He wants to keep Iwase and Eji's relation strickly as businesslike as possible.
Though I can't see Eji making moves on a girl even if he would find a girl good-looking. He's damn obsessed with manga.
|2010-01-22, 07:25
|Link #898
Pajama Party!
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Nowhere
I didn't notice that, but I think Eiji would be interested in a girl that could write manga he loves. I don't think Hattori was doing it to hide the gender. He was using her pen name, and he uses -kun with those all the time.
|2010-01-22, 12:52
|Link #900
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 42
|manga, shounen
|Thread Tools


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Montage features tribute to John Coltrane and jazz education lecture this month
Loyola press release - September 17, 2012
Two events celebrating the extensive history, tradition and importance of American jazz will wrap up the September events for the Montage Fine and Performing Arts Series at Loyola University New Orleans.
On Thursday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m., the Jazz Underground Series presents "A Tribute to John Coltrane: The Prestige Years," featuring Tony Dagradi and friends, in Satchmo's, located in the basement of the Danna Student Center on the university's main campus.
Considered one of the most revolutionary and widely imitated saxophonists in jazz, Coltrane is often credited with moving jazz music forward artistically and technically. Dagradi, an internationally-recognized jazz performer, composer and educator, will lead an all-star group of New Orleans artists in an evening focused on Coltrane's early work for Prestige Records, including interpretations of classic standards and unique Coltrane originals.
Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for Loyola faculty and staff, and free for Loyola students. Tickets are available online at www.montage.loyno.edu or by calling 504-865-2074, and will also be available at the door 30 minutes prior to the performance.
On Saturday, Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., the Music Education Department presents leading scholar Jamey Aebersold, Ph.D., in a lecture in the Nunemaker Auditorium in Monroe Hall. Sponsored by Loyola's Music Education Lecture Series, the seminar is free and open to the public. Louisiana continuing learning units will be awarded to music educators who participate.
For more than 40 years, Aebersold has been a leader in jazz improvisation and jazz education throughout the world. As a world-class performer and a charismatic lecturer, Aebersold's lifelong mission has been to teach people about jazz music, jazz education and jazz improvisation. The seminar will focus on the heritage of jazz music, fundamentals of teaching improvisation, common jazz styles and continuing education through training in this American art form.
The mission of the Music Education Lecture Series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty and music teachers in the greater New Orleans region and the community at large by bringing distinguished individuals in the music education profession to campus for presentations on specialized subjects.
Free parking for both events is available in the West Road Garage, located on West Road and accessible from St. Charles Avenue.
For more information, contact Jess Brown in Loyola's Office of Public Affairs at 504-861-5882 or email@example.com.


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Free Standing Vertical Garden
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
Earn $50 in reward dollars4 for every $500 spent on your Williams Sonoma Credit Card through December 14. Learn More
- Summary
Create a living wall filled with your favorite herbs or other plants. Designed for any indoor or outdoor area, the GroVert freestanding planter is a smart gardening solution when space is limited. Just fill the cells with the plantings of your choice, and water as needed through the top irrigator; the hidden collector tray catches excess runoff.
- Freestanding vertical planter with 40 planting cells.
- Moisture mat technology ensures even distribution of water throughout cells.
- Frame is made from FSC-certified Michigan maple.
- Irrigator and collector are made of HDPE recycled with 26% jute and coconut fiber.
- Irrigator holds 1 qt. water.
- Collector tray allows for easy disposal of excess water.
- Wall brackets included for additional security.
- Simple assembly required.
- Made in USA.
- A Williams Sonoma exclusive.
- Dimensions & More Info
- 19 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 59" high.
- 35 lb.
- Made in USA.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3-5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $26 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners, and knife storage) please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor, or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable, and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.


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Mirella P. Reed, 36
Mirella P. Reed, 36, of Pocatello and formerly of Pingree, passed away Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 at her home.
Mirella was born May 17, 1975 in Pocatello. Her parents are Marvin and Maria Guadalupe Alcaraz Preston. She was raised and lived most of her life in Pocatello but spent some time in the Blackfoot and Pingree areas. She graduated from Pocatello High School.
She was married to Sam Preston and they were later divorced.
On May 12, 2000, she married Ryan Reed and a year later their marriage was further solemnized in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on May 12, 2001.
She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in various church callings.
Mirella sold Mary Kay Cosmetics and had worked for Kesler's Market and Liberty Tomato Company.
Her hobbies included: scrapbooking, growing a variety of houseplants, interior design, puzzles, reading and camping.
She is survived by her husband, Ryan Reed; her children: Christy Preston (15), Airyl Reed (10) and Rio D. Reed (8), all of Pocatello. Also surviving are her mother Maria Preston of Pocatello; brother Marvin Preston of Las Vegas, Nev.; stepbrothers and stepsisters. Earl (Gloria) Preston of Thomas, Marcille (Bill) Minorof Pocatello, Sam (Ann) Preston of Blackfoot, Clint (Sandy Jo) Preston of Texas, and Kelly (Lori) Preston of Pocatello and a special ex-sister-in-law, Lacie Preston.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23, 2011 at Hawker Funeral Home with Bishop Stacy Jackson conducting. The family will meet with friends and family on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. and again for one hour prior to service at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Riverside-Thomas Cemetery.
Condolences may be sent to the family at: email@example.com.


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Amtrak use hits record high in March
NEW YORK Amtrak ridership increased in the first six months of fiscal year 2013, with ridership in March setting a record as the single best month ever in Amtrak's history, the railroad said Tuesday.
Ridership grew 0.9 percent from October 2012 to March compared to the prior year despite disruptions from weather including Superstorm Sandy. Amtrak said 26 of 45 routes had rider increases.
The railroad said October, December and January also set individual monthly records. Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year's record of 31.2 million passengers.
"The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multi-year federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones," Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said.
- California works with Amtrak to make high-speed rail
- High-speed Chicago to St. Louis train hits 111 mph
Routes with ridership growth in the October-to-March period included the New York City to Georgia route, the Palmetto, up 10.5 percent, and the Coast Starlight, which operates between Los Angeles and Seattle, up 10 percent.
Amtrak said ridership was up 9.8 percent on the Illini/Saluki, which operates between Chicago and New Orleans; 8.9 percent on the San Joaquin in California, 8.6 percent on the Piedmont in North Carolina and 8.2 percent on the Wolverine route in Michigan.


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Skip to comments.Early (Ancient) Hair Sample Raises Questions
Posted on 07/14/2004 8:21:37 PM PDT by blam
Early hair sample raises questions
Posted: July 26, 2000 - 12:00am EST
WOODBURN, Ore. (AP) - Under a small Woodburn city park may lie the answer to who are the earliest Oregonians yet discovered.
Scientists have found an ancient strand of hair in Woodburn's Front Street Park - a human hair that may have been left behind before modern American Indians settled in North America a few thousand years ago.
The hair, found in a core sample during a June 1999 dig, could be one of the oldest found in the Western United States, said Alison Stenger, director of the Institute for Archaeological Studies.
"We came out with a dirt clod and inside the dirt clod was a human hair 14 inches long," she said. "It was so old there was no pigment."
While scientists have yet to determine its age, the layer of soil it was in dates back 11,000 to 12,000 years.
The soil beneath the park is part of an ancient buried wetland, one of three being studied by Stenger and scientists from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. The other sites are Mammoth Park, adjacent to Woodburn High School, and Legion Park, near Highway 214.
The hair raises the question of just who peopled North America first.
Some scientists are beginning to believe the first people may not have genetically resembled American Indians.
"I'm absolutely convinced that there were multiple populations here and the hair represents one of those populations," Stenger said. Those populations could have been here long before modern American Indians appeared, she said.
Given current theories that all humans migrated from elsewhere, the term "Native American" could be an oxymoron, said Cleone Hawkinson, a physical anthropologist with Friends of America's Past.
And the fact that a population lived in the New World once doesn't mean their descendants exist today. "The hardest thing for people to understand is how long ago this was. There was a high probability that groups would die out," she said.
Within weeks, scientists will know whether the hair is related to modern Native American gene types, said Lori Baker, doctoral student in anthropology who specializes in ancient DNA testing.
"There are five founding haplotypes among Native Americans. A haplotype is a type of DNA pattern," she said. "What I'm doing now is trying to determine if this hair has any of those (patterns)."
There a chance, however, the hair could have come from a lost civilization - off the DNA map. "It could be that we had other people in the Americas that weren't related to modern Native Americans at all," Baker said.
Because she has to essentially destroy the hair to extract its DNA, she has to be selective about how many - and which - DNA patterns she can test for. "What I'll do first is compare them to ones most likely - ancient Asian haplotypes," she said.
Scientists have long known Woodburn may hold treasures of the past. In the 1950s, a scientist by the name of E.J. Packard began to recognize the Mill Creek flood plain near Woodburn High School as a paleontological gold mine because of the buried network of ancient wetlands. The anaerobic bog has a neutral acidity level, which preserves otherwise perishable remains such as strands of human hair, Stenger said.
But the site remained untouched until 1987, when a utility trench uncovered scores of bones from animals that lived thousands of years ago - bones of sloth, mammoth, horse, bear, giant bison and dire wolf from thousands of years ago.
Scientists believe the Woodburn area may have among the best preserved ancient layers of soil in the Pacific Northwest.
Coyoteman, do you know anything about this?
Don't know but there is other research that has been supressed by orthodox archeology that show there were ancient civilizations on the continent up to a half-million years ago.
Oh, oh. Better destroy the evidence REAL quick, especially if the DNA proves Caucasian. Look what happened with the Kennewick Man - the Feds destroyed the area while the Indians screamed that it was one of them and should be interred again, no questions asked.
Otherwise the guilt trip laid on us for "stealing" land from the original owners goes out the window, along with all that lovely taxpayer money.
No, seriously . . . Why didn't the hair decompose? I could see it surviving in ice maybe, like the hair on a frozen woolly mammoth.
Just asking. Seems so unlikely to me.
From the article: "The anaerobic bog has a neutral acidity level, which preserves otherwise perishable remains such as strands of human hair, Stenger said." Obviously, you didn't read to the end.
Nam Vet
Hey, Rennes, I am one of those archaeologists you're talking about and we're not supressing anything!
As for the article you posted, blam, I emailed an archaeologist in that area when I saw this here a year or so ago but got no answer. I have emailed him again so maybe I can find out what this is all about.
Current research is supporting the early coastal migration theory, that suggests different origins for the early coastal cultures and those who came somewhat later via the land bridge through central Canada. Details are still being worked out (as usual), but mtDNA is starting to point in that direction as well.
which makes this observation from the article interesting: "It was so old there was no pigment." (Sounds blond to me, or possibly grey hair - like the person whos head it came from was grey?)
Kennewick Man has not been destroyed, just the site where he was found. A judge recently ruled that the scientists can study him...the Indians are appealing, again.
Interview William Orr, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus in Geology, University of Oregon, and Director of the State Museum of Paleontology, Eugene, Oregon: "You can identify human hair, forensic criminologist types, can identify human hair from a single strand because of the granules and color and all that kind of stuff. You can distinguish human hair from all other hair just from a little piece of follicle. Strand of sixteen-inch-long, dark, human hair retrieved from the Woodburn, Oregon Ice Age archaeological site. DNA analyses of hair follicles found at the site have so far failed to find a match with any known human racial type living on earth today. Photograph © 2001 by Alison Stenger, Ph.D. We found several strands of human hair, long pieces a foot and a half long, black, long pieces of hair. And then if you can find the root of the hair that still has a follicle, you can do DNA on it. So researchers immediately sent the (Ice Age) hair off to a lab and they began to extract the DNA. Some of it was not so good, but a lot of it was well preserved in the oxygen-poor bogs of Woodburn. The geneticists found the hair didn't match any Asian hair DNA. It didn't match African, European. It didn't match anything. Dogma would be that Ice Age humans along the west coast of the United States would be from a Japanese population that is alleged to have come over the Bering Sea back twelve to thirteen thousand years ago. So right now we have DNA we can't track. We can't figure out what it's from. Apparently from a population we don't have today. They are gone. And it's only 11,000 or 12,000 years old. About that time period, there was a huge crisis in animals. The larger animals all disappeared and they disappeared in a wave. They disappeared first in British Columbia and then in Washington, Oregon, California and right on down. Some were still around until 10,000 years ago in Tierra del Fuego. So, it was like a wave of extinction at the rate of about 10 miles per year.
Thanks for the update, it's still two years ago though. Please call...and let me know the results. Thanks.
Excellent info, thanks.
I wonder if it has been compared to the DNA of Kennewick Man? Kennewick Man's DNA points to the Ainu in Japan in origin.
This is interesting.
No pigment? Is this another blond joke?
A blond woman's house catches on fire. She calls the Fire Department...
Blond: "Send help! My house is on fire!"
Dispatcher: "How do we get there?"
Blond: "Duh! Big red truck!"
Thank you. Thank you very much...
Last I heard, they were unable to obtain any DNA from Kennewick Man. Maybe with the new studies they will. Would be interesting to compare with Arlington Springs Woman, but so far they have no DNA there either.
We live in interesting times. Thirty years ago some folks had everything figured out, but now things are up in the air again. That's what keeps us going! You never know what the next dig will produce.
Yep, skimmed it and missed that part, thanks.
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Genome Statute and Legislation Database SearchStart a New Search Glossary of Terms
|Citation/ Title
(link to state's page)
|New Mexico
|State Statute:
| Employment Nondiscrimination,
Health Insurance Nondiscrimination,
Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination,
|The statutes contain provisions on the acquisition, collection, retention, transmission or use of genetic information. Consent requirements provide an exemption (1) if DNA, genetic information or results of genetic analysis are not identified with the person or person's family members or (2) for the purpose of medical or scientific research and education (including retention of gene products, genetic information or genetic analysis if the identity of the person or person's family members is not disclosed.) Discrimination by an insurer against a person or his/her family member based on genetic analysis, genetic information or genetic propensity is prohibited. Life, disability income or long-term care insurance are exempt if use is based on sound actuarial principles or related to actual or reasonably anticipated experience. Upon request a persons genetic information or samples must be promptly destroyed with some exceptions, including if retention is authorized under a research protocol approved by an institution review board pursuant to federal law. It is unlawful for a person to use genetic information in employment or recruiting. A person whose rights under the provisions of the Genetic Information Privacy Act have been violated may bring a civil action for damages or other relief.
Last Reviewed: May 25, 2018


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Free pattern sites are wonderful resources for knitters and designers on the web, but Twist Collective is something different. It's a big world, and we believe there is room in it for many different ideas. Twist Collective believes good design comes from hard work, and such effort should be valued and compensated accordingly. We came to the prices after careful consideration of the amount of time involved in our own work and the work of the designers. We hope you agree.
Why aren't the patterns free?


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Lightning/Admirals Make Pair of Deals
The Norfolk Admirals have announced that the Lightning have traded defenseman Dan Jancevski to Dallas in exchange for minor league right winger Junior Lessard. In addition, the Admirals have acquired center Paul Szczechura from the Stars' AHL affiliate, the Iowa Stars, for future considerations.
Lessard, a 27 year old 6'0" 200 lbs forward, has 10 goals and 21 points in 36 games this season with 15 penalty minutes. His career season came in 2005-2006 with Iowa of the AHL when he had 26 goals and 58 points in 66 games.
Szczechura, a 22 year old 5'11" 190 lbs center, has 2 goals and 5 points in 29 games this season. Last year, as an ATO after graduating from Western Michigan, he had 3 goals and 7 points in 14 games. In his senior season in college, Szczechura had 19 goals and 45 points in 37 games.
Norfolk has also announced that they have recalled right wing Marek Kvapil from Mississippi of the ECHL and reassigned left wing/defenseman Mike Egener to Mississippi. Egener has missed 33 games this season with injuries.
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Bowers & Merena 3/2010:3473 (as PCGS MS66), $281,750
Legend Rare Coin Auctions 10/2015:315, $205,625
Ron Guth: In 1915, San Francisco hosted the Panama-Pacific Exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. To commemorate the event, the United States mint struck a variety of coins in silver and gold, including a Half Dollar, Gold Dollar, $2-1/2 Gold, $50 Gold Octagonal, and $50 Gold Round. The coins were sold at the Exposition individually or in a variety of combinations and/or sets. Apart from Patterns and semi-official Territorial gold coins, the United States had never issued a $50 gold piece. Not sure of how many they could sell, Mint officials struck 1,509 Octagonal and 1,510 Round versions. Because of the high cost of the coins and the sets, very few coins actually sold. Of the 1,510 $50 Rounds, 10 were set aside for assay purposes, 483 were sold to the public, and the remaining 1,017 coins were destroyed. The Panama-Pacific $50 Round ranks as one of the great numismatic rarities of the Twentieth Century.
© 1999-2018 Collectors Universe NASDAQ: CLCT


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Suzanne Farrell's Notes on the Ballet, Pithoprakta (audio only)
Suzanne Farrell, George Balanchine's greatest muse, shares her unique perspective on select ballets from Balanchine's vast catalogue of works. Here, she discusses Pithoprakta.
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Common Core shifts can help teachers outline instruction
South Dakotas new content standards feature six major shifts for math, and six for English language arts. These shifts are the center upon which the standards are based, and highlight the differences between the old and new standards.
Educators should be mindful of the shifts as they guide student learning throughout the year.
A quick synopsis of each shift is outlined below. For more detail on the shifts, visit the Council of Chief State School Officers Common Core webpage.
Math Shift #1: FOCUS
Teachers concentrate time and energy in the math classroom on key grade-level concepts. This focus is necessary so students can begin to develop strong foundational knowledge and deep conceptual understanding early on in their academic careers. This focus will enable students to transfer mathematical skills and understanding across concepts and grades later on.
Math Shift #2: COHERENCE
Learning is carefully connected within and across grade levels so students are building new understanding onto previously laid foundations. This shift will help students understand how math concepts are all connected and build upon one another, ensuring that students are comfortable taking on new concepts.
Math Shift #3: FLUENCY
Students acquire speed and accuracy with simple calculations through structured class time. Through mastering the predictable procedures of mathematics, students gain insights into the structure of math, and can apply appropriate procedures flexibly to solve problems correctly.
Math Shift #4: DEEP UNDERSTANDING
Students demonstrate a solid and thorough mastery of math concepts, smoothly operating within multiple concepts prior to moving on. Such deep conceptual understanding is critical for student success in later grades, and goes beyond isolated facts and methods, understanding why a concept is important and the context in which it is useful.
Math Shift #5: APPLICATION
Teachers provide opportunities for students to apply math in real-world situations at all grade levels. The process of modeling is key in improving decisions as well as linking classroom math to everyday situations. Modeling helps students choose and use appropriate math to understand situations.
Math Shift #6: DUAL INTENSITY
Students are intensely engaged in both authentic practice and extended application of math. Teachers create opportunities for students to make use of complex skills through extended application of math.
ELA Shift #1: BALANCE
Students read a true balance of informational and literary texts. This shift isnt about making sure students can read technical manuals; its about building integrated knowledge across grade levels beginning in a students early years.
ELA Shift #2: DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE
Students build knowledge about the world and various content areas through text rather than the teacher. This shift aims to build students background knowledge and vocabulary, so theyre able to read and fully comprehend a rich variety of texts.
ELA Shift #3: STAIRCASE OF COMPLEXITY
Students closely read central, grade-appropriate texts around which instruction is centered. This shift ensures that students are constantly challenging themselves to improve reading levels, and provides them with the proper supports to do so.
ELA Shift #4: TEXT-BASED RESPONSE
Students engage in rich and thoughtful evidence-based conversations about text. Students will be able to use and interpret text; students will engage in thoughtful discussion that allows them to construct meaning from a text on their own.
ELA Shift #5: WRITING FROM SOURCES
Student writing emphasizes use of evidence from sources to inform or make an argument. This shift pushes teachers to move away from writing prompts without context, with the goal that students can work with a common body of text-based evidence more like what they might encounter in the workforce.
ELA Shift #6: ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
Students are constantly building the transferable vocabulary needed to process increasingly complex texts. Academic vocabulary increases reading comprehension and builds students background knowledge, which means theyll be able to read increasingly complex texts. Teachers will strive to consciously use academic vocabulary in context during class discussions.


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Laws - Hold You Down
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User:Mobeen Ashraf/Notebook/Chem-581/2012/10/03
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DMA- Dynamic Mechanical Analysis on PVOH films
Following PVOH Films were Cross-linked:
DMA Analysis:
PVOH films were subject to stretch( elastic tension ) mechanical analysis to test its mechanical durability.
The films that were cross-linked in the oven had some considerable changes in color and toughness:
*PVOH MW 100,000- film was firmer and there was no apparent color change.
*PVOH MW 22000- no apparent color and physical change that was observed.
*PVOH MW 22000 cross linked with H3PO4- film became much tougher and turned a slight yellowish brown color.
*PVOH MW 22000 with H3PO4 and maleic acid- no apparent color and physical change that was observed.
*PVOH MW 100,000 cross-linked w/ hydrochloric acid- slightly firm, but color change was very prominent- dark, jet blackish.
This area is for any observations or conclusions that you would like to note.


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Probably the only thing I like about Word is the Track Changes feature. Once you turn it on, you can track all changes you make to a document, and when you have multiple co-authors editing, this can be handy when attempting to resolve disputes. Also, often what happens is that I make some changes that my co-author doesn't notice because they are buried deep in the middle of a section, and it would help to have some way of marking these up.
Most people I know have some kind of \note mechanism for making margin notes, but that doesn't help with changes that you know you want to make, but also want the co-author(s) to look at. Does Emacs/LaTeX have macros for tracking changes in documents ?
p.s for those of you who will immediately write in suggesting that I use CVS, remember that I am behind a firewall, and even if I weren't, CVS is a heavy hammer for something as simple as this :).


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Did you know that a crab grows a new leg if it loses one? Or that a crab walks sideways? Young readers will learn about the shells, eyes, and legs of this scuttling creature. Blastoff! Series
Did you know that octopuses are good escape artists? They can squirt dark ink into the water to surprise predators. Beginning readers will discover how octopuses use their eight arms to move, hide, and search for prey. Blastoff! Series
Did you know that there is a fish with the head of a horse? This book introduces children to sea horses; how they look, use a snout to eat, hide on the ocean floor, and have babies. Blastoff! Series
Angelfish are colorful ocean creatures known for their vibrant beauty. This book introduces young readers to the attractive appearance of angelfish and explains where angelfish live and what they eat. Blastoff! Series
With sleek bodies, dagger-like teeth, and ferocious appetites, barracudas are excellent ocean hunters. Beginning readers will learn where barracudas call home and why they are nicknamed the "tigers of the sea." Blastoff! Series
The sea anemone and the clown fish are ocean friends. They live together and care for each other. Children will discover what a clown fish is and its special relationship with the sea anemone. Blastoff! Series
Though corals look like plants and sunlight helps them grow, corals are actually animals! Find out where corals live, what they eat, and how they make coral reefs. Blastoff! Series


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What a difference a well-pitched game makes. On consecutive nights the Mets received length from their starter to alleviate some of the burden from the bullpen. Tonight Mike Pelfrey will attempt to snap out of his miserable start.
Chris Capuano was superb last night, giving up a run in seven innings. He only walked two, which meant the game moved along at a crisp pace.
David Wright also snapped out of a 0-for-20 funk with a homer, double and three RBI. He's not all the way back, but for one night at least played like an All-Star. The long loop that had been his swing during a stretch of 23 strikeouts in 73 at-bats seemed shorter and quicker.
Jason Bay went 1-for-4 in his return, but more importantly didn't hurt himself. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Angel Pagan, who pulled a muscle in his left side. That's a tricky injury so don't expect him anytime soon. Such injuries usually land on the disabled list.
The Mets open a three-game series tonight against Arizona at Citi Field, with Pelfrey going against Joe Saunders.
I sure hope Pelfrey took notes last night on Capuano, who challenged hitters with his fastball and whose command was nearly flawless. Also vital was his quick pace. His tempo was up all night, and unlike Pelfrey when he struggles, Capuano didn't labor.
One thing I've noticed about Terry Collins, is he sometimes writes a check with his mouth that his team can't cash. For instance, last night he said he believes the Mets are capable of playing like they did every night.
Easy, Terry.


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I like to gripe about our current conference/journal system, and how ungainly a method it is for publishing and disseminating quality work. Not surprisingly, other areas of computer science appear to have similar issues as well.
Hal Daume, my colleage at the U. of U., has sparked off a rather interesting discussion with his post on NLPers about the need for a new open-access journal for NLP research. The original motivation for his post is partly NLP-specific, but the evolving discussion over at his wiki provides a closeup view of the process of designing a new publication model that sits somewhere between traditional journals and traditional conference.
It's too early to tell what will come of this, but if their model gains some traction, it might provide a good exemplar for future reform in other disciplines in computer science.


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Conservation group sues over pollution from Big Stone
PIERRE, S.D. -- A conservation group has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the Big Stone Power Plant in South Dakota violated federal environmental laws by failing to install modern pollution controls in the past decade.
Sierra Club officials said the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in South Dakota, asks a judge to order Otter Tail Power Co. and other owners of the coal-fired plant to install equipment that would reduce pollution at the plant near Milbank.
The utilities should not be allowed to build a second coal-fired plant at the site when they have not cleaned up the existing plant, the conservation group said.
"What we are alleging is for the past decade beginning in 1995 this power plant has been operating illegally without modern pollution controls," said Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign.
The lawsuit alleges that federal law required Big Stone I to install modern pollution-control equipment when it made three changes to the power plant in the past decade.
The suit also seeks to make Big Stone I pay financial penalties for not installing pollution-control upgrades.
Cris Kling, director of public relations for Otter Tail and Big Stone I, said the changes were not of the type that would require the pollution-control upgrades.
"We complied with the law," Kling said.
Five utilities are seeking to build a second plant near Big Stone I, and the project would include improving pollution-control equipment in the existing plant.
They have said that Big Stone II will more than double the combined plants' generation capacity, but emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury from the two plants will be less than or equal to emissions from the current plant.
Big Stone II, estimated to cost $1.6 billion, also would produce less carbon dioxide than existing coal-fired plants in the region, the utilities have said.
"To my way of thinking, you get twice the power and you're going to have significant emission reductions from that site," Kling said.
The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations are also opposing the construction of Big Stone II in Milbank, which is in South Dakota near the Minnesota border, and the construction of transmission lines to carry the additional power into Minnesota.
Prevailing winds would carry most of the pollution into Minnesota, the groups have said.
Nilles said federal law requires that when an existing coal-fired plant is upgraded or modified, the plant must install modern pollution controls. Big Stone I has undergone three major changes in the past decade, but modern pollution controls have not been installed as part of those changes, he said.
The three changes were a switch to coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin in 1995, the replacement of a heater in a boiler in 1998, and changes made to supply steam to an ethanol plant in 2001, Nilles said.
The Sierra Club in 2006 asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources to require the upgrades, Nilles said.
The EPA and the South Dakota officials never responded, Nilles said.
"The state and the EPA have simply been unwilling or unable to enforce clean air protections that are fundamental to making sure the air we breathe is safe and that pollution coming out of these power plants doesn't pose a public health menace," Nilles said.
Kling said changes mentioned by the Sierra Club lawsuit generally reduced pollution from Big Stone I, and utility officials believe the changes did not trigger requirements for pollution control upgrades. However, one of the projects in the lawsuit is different than one mentioned in Sierra Club's 2006 request, she said.
The switch from lignite to subituminous coal lowered sulfur emissions, a boiler change was related to the switch to the new coal, and the provision of steam to the ethanol plant did not cause any change in the power plant's boiler, Kling said.
Big Stone I is run by Fergus Falls-based Otter Tail, Montana-Dakota Utilities Resources Group Inc. and NorthWestern Energy.
The Big Stone II plant would serve about 1 million people, about half of them in western Minnesota. South Dakota officials have already approved some permits for the project.