text:
Unwilling to Listen, Unable to Hear
by: Lynn Feinerman on April 26th, 2013 | 9 Comments »
On April 20, 2013, days after the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon event, President Obama asked: "Why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country, resort to such violence?"
Media reported that on April 22, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two brothers accused in the bombings, answered Obama' s question. He stated they bombed the event in reaction to U.S. attacks on Islam.
Is Obama listening to that answer? How does he interpret it? Are the mainstream media, and in particular Fox News' Erik Rush, listening to that answer?
I don't think Erik Rush is listening. I doubt, in fact, that the Obama administration is listening to that answer… heeding the message. And innocent U.S. citizens are paying the price.
There is an old saying, from the Taoist book the I Ching: "He who will not heed will be made to feel." In what way might we understand that the U.S. government, and this president at this time, have not heeded?
Before we conclude that speculation such as this is blaming the victim, let us review recent U.S. behavior toward the very large Muslim community worldwide.
It is clear from the chronicles of Bagram, Abu Ghraib, and other prison sites worldwide that U.S. operatives have been in the habit of pissing on Qur'ans, flushing them down toilets, insulting the dignity of Muslim prisoners, torturing them and detaining them without trial – in some cases for over a decade – in what appear, in retrospect, to be deliberate provocations of Muslim rage.
Let us examine the situation at the Guantanamo detention facility – currently the most glaring case in point. In this facility, which Obama vowed to close back in 2009, reside 86 men who were cleared for release from that hellhole three years ago. Almost all of them Muslim. Under the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act the President can release these men and get them repatriated. Instead, he abruptly closed the office that was arranging their repatriation – and left them in a limbo of indefinite detention.
I repeat: These men have been cleared for release – years ago. One of them, Adnan Latif, died last September after eleven years of imprisonment without trial. He had been cleared for release. He was totally innocent of any crime.
In desperation these men have gone on hunger strike, and have refused to eat or drink for months. The U.S. response? To force these innocent men to submit to searches of their Korans, and to force feed them. Read the editorial published nationwide from Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, one of the hunger strikers, to get an idea of how these prisoners are force fed – with tubes that are too large for the job, in abject misery and pain.
Then the U.S. military raided the Guantanamo prison and attacked the men, who reportedly fought back with improvised weapons. What weapons?! Brooms? Plastic bottles? And how much damage could the prisoners have done in their weakened states?
The cruelty of U.S. policy and actions toward these Muslims is beyond reckoning. Clearly the U.S. is not listening to any sort of moral voice in its execution of such policy and action. Clearly the U.S. is not heeding the misery of these prisoners.
We know quite well from the reportage that the same kind of cruelty was customary in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know that drone attacks have caused horrific death and injury in Pakistan. Do we heed the mass demonstrations in Pakistan against drones?
Do we heed the heroic efforts of the Guantanamo prisoners and their lawyers, to wrest a shred of justice from the U.S. government?
The answer is no. The U.S. government and military complex is unwilling to listen, to listen deeply, to the cries of those whom it has slaughtered, wounded, detained, tormented and ruined.
From this willful deafness come the retaliations, and the acts of vengeance against the U.S. Then the sick mainstream media, Fox in particular, twist the facts and blubber about how "they envy our lifestyle." Feh! What a disgrace Fox News is.
Let me say this one more time, Mr. Obama: Close Guantanamo and all other such facilities worldwide and bring justice and healing to all whom the U.S. has detained without trial and tortured. End the policy of hateful insult and injury to Muslims.
Will these words, this advice, be heeded? I doubt it.


text:
- 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Copy,Scan and Fax
- Deskjet 1110 Printer Setup
- HP Wireless Setup
- 123.hp.com/dj1110
- 123 HP Deskjet Wireless Setup
- HP Deskjet Driver Install
- 123.hp.com/setup1110
- HP Deskjet 1110 Scan to Computer
123 HP Deskjet 1110 Copy Scan and Fax:
123 HP Copying Documents:
The most important feature of the printer setup is Copy. To copy the documents from one file to another. To print a document. To scan a document. To Fax or share a document the printer setup needs to copy the document.
The 123 HP Deskjet Printer 1110 provides the copy option to its users. The Setup allows you to copy the document at an ease. Now install the 123 HP Deskjet Printer can help you to copy the document. To copy the document you can place the document on 123 HP DJ Setup.
Place your document on the printer scanner glass of 123 HP Deskjet 1110 setup. close the lid of the scanner. Now select the copy option on the printer setup control panel. Now select the mode of copy. Select the number of copies that you want to print.
Now select the copy option on the printer setup. The setup starts to copy the document and you can perform and kind of action. You can now save print and also share the document from your 123 HP Deskjet 1110 setup.
123 HP Deskjet 1110 setup printers that can perform more than one action. This is one of the setup that can perform any kind of action you can now install the printer driver from 123.hp.com/dj1110.
123 HP Deskjet 1110 – Copying Document:
- The 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Printer setup is well known for printing the documents.
- First install the printer setup to your computer.
- Connect the printer to the power source.
- Install the 123.hp.com/setup to your computer driver.
- On installing the setup you can proceed further on copying documents.
- You can now place the document on the scanner glass.
- Close the scanner lid.
- Now select the copy option on your printer setup.
- The setup prompts you to select the type of copy option.
- Select one sided copy or two sided copy.
- You can use the duplexer option to copy on two sides of the document,
- On selecting the option you can now copy the document.
- After copying the document, the printer setup prompts you the following,
- Either copy the document to your computer setup.
- Share the document to any of your recipient.
- Or save and copy another document.
You can now approach 123.hp.com/dj1110 to know more about printer setup. You can also learn more on your printer setup. This 123 HP Deskjet Printer setup can also help you perform more efficient. Neither you can also access the printer setup through your computer.
The need for the printer setup is nothing but your driver setup to perform your actions more smarter. You can also use the printer setup actions from your computer. Install the printer setup to your computer. To install the driver setup you can now download the setup.
Use 123.hp,com/setup to download the printer driver software and install the setup to your computer. On installation you can now directly access your printer setup from anywhere. For More details on your 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Printer you can visit 123.hp.com/dj1110.
Scanning Documents:
The Printer setup also offers you an advance options. In order to use the option you should know more about the 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Setup. you can also perform the actions like scan and share the document.
In order to scan the document, you can place the document on the 123 HP Deskjet 1110 setup. place the document on the printer scanner glass. Make sure you place the document on the right corner of the printer scanner glass.
After placing the document you can now close the lid. Now select the scan option on the printer control panel. After selecting the scan option make further changes to the scanner setup and proceed further with scanning the document.
How to Scan document:
- To scan the document and perform using the scan documents,
- You need to place the document on the printer setup.
- Place the document on the right corner side of the scanner glass.
- After placing the scan document, move further.
- Close the printer setup lid.
- Now select the scan option to scan the document.
- On selecting the scan option you can also perform some scanner settings.
- Now click the start scan option to start scanning the document.
Then proceed with some advancement. Placing the document on the printer scanner glass. now you can use your computer setup to scan the documents. The printer setup allows you with more advance options.
To scan from your computer setup, you can use the scan option from your computer. Select the scan option from your computer setup and proceed further. Now the document is now scanned to your computer setup.
Fax Document:
On copying or scanning the document to your computer. You can now share the document to your recipients. Select the documents that you want to share. now connect your printer setup to your telephone. Now select the document that you want to share.
You can also use a new document to share it to your recipient. Place the document on the printer setup scanner glass. Now close the printer scanner lid. Select the scan option tab on your computer driver setup.
After selecting the scan option now proceed with the scan settings. After you have changed the scanner setting proceed further with the 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Printer setup. you can use the guide for Fax and scan option that is available in the 123.hp.com/dj1110.
Sending Fax Document:
- Select the Document that you want to share with your recipient.
- On selecting the document you can select the Fax option.
- Select the Fax tab.
- On the Fax tab select the document that you want to share.
- Now select the recipients that you want to share.
- After entering the recipient you can send the document.
- Before you send the document you can proceed further.
- After making changes select the Send Fax option.
These are the initial and basic steps to send the Fax. You can use some more advance options to work with the scan and Fax option. To know more about the fax Setup you can visit 123.hp.com/setup.
You can also visit 123.hp.com/dj1110 to know more about the printer setup. The 123 HP Deskjet 1110 Setup provides added features to its users and hence it is so easy that if you know more about the printer setup.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pursuant to Article 129-A of the New York State Education Law (as amended), the New York State Legislature requires all colleges and universities to adopt rules for the maintenance of public order governing the conduct of students, faculty, staff, or other persons on college property. They prohibit, among other things, actions recklessly or intentionally endangering mental or physical health. The law further requires that a copy of such rules and regulations be given to all students in compliance with that statute. The full text of Barnard's Rules for Maintenance of Public Order follows (Columbia's Rules of Conduct can be obtained in the Office of Student Life.
I. Preamble
Barnard College, recognizing the right of an individual to protest and register dissent, is concerned with the protection of that right on the College campus and at College-sponsored events as it may be exercised by any member of the Barnard community, whether student, faculty member, staff member, or administrative officer. At the same time, Barnard College is committed to defend the right of each member of the Barnard community to carry out his or her assigned duties and responsibilities without interference: students to attend classes, faculty members to teach classes, College offices and departments to hold special events or activities, and administrators and staff to do their respective jobs. Consistent with the foregoing, the following regulations have been adopted.
II. Rules
In recognition of the rights of freedom of speech and assembly, peaceful protest or demonstration by any member of the Barnard community, in or on College property, is permitted.
The following activities which infringe upon the rights of individuals shall not be permitted and shall be considered violations of College rules:
Use or threat of force or violence against any person, or the damaging of property.
Prevention of the normal use or occupancy of any building owned or rented by the College or disruption of any normal College function through use of force or threat of force, physical obstruction, or noise.
Physical obstruction of or the use of threat of force or violence to interfere with the passage of any person about the College campus or through the entrance or exits of any College building or facility or the corridors thereof.
Entering of any private office or private room without the consent of the rightful occupant.
Engaging in the practice of hazing, including, but not limited to any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers mental or physical health or involves the forced consumption of liquor or drugs for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with any organization, whether occurring on or off Barnard's Campus, regardless of an individual's willingness to participate.
Presence in or use of any College building or facility during the hours when such building or facility is officially closed, unless permission is secured from the President or her designee prior to such presence or use.
The use of grounds, facilities, and buildings rented or owned by the College is restricted to members of the Barnard community and visitors by invitation. The College reserves the right to require evidence of any individual's qualification to use or be in or on any grounds, facility, or building rented or owned by the College and to deny use thereof to anyone who is not a member of the Barnard community, or to eject anyone therefrom who is not complying with these rules.
These rules shall apply to any student, faculty member, staff member, or visitor (including, but not limited to, invitees and licensees) in or on property owned or rented by the College.
III. Enforcement
Enforcement shall be consistent with approved College procedures and binding contractual agreements of the College. Any student, faculty member, officer of administration, or nonfaculty member may charge any person with a violation by filing a written statement of the acts allegedly constituting the violations with the Executive Director for Equity.
Alleged violations of these rules by students shall be referred to the Executive Director for Equity, or, if appropriate, Dean's Discipline.
Alleged violations of these rules by faculty shall be referred to the Faculty Governance and Procedures Committee.
Alleged violations of these rules by officers of administration or other non-faculty employees shall be referred to the Vice President of Human Resources.
Pending such a hearing, the President of the College shall have the right to restrict the campus activities of any such member of the student body or staff if she determines that it is necessary to prevent further violations of these rules.
In case of a violation of these rules by a person not a member of the Barnard community, the responsible officer of the College may refer the matter to the local civil authorities for appropriate action including ejection from the campus, prosecution under appropriate state and local laws, or both.
In case the President of the College determines that the normal College procedures are inadequate for maintaining order on the campus, she may request the local civil authorities to deal with the situation. The President may obtain court action, where appropriate.
IV. Penalties
With due regard for civil liberties and professional rights, any individual who is found to have violated these rules may be subject to immediate ejection from college property. In addition, any member of the Barnard community who is found to have violated these rules may be subject to suspension, expulsion, or such other appropriate disciplinary action as shall be determined upon a prompt hearing before the designated council or committee. Disciplinary action against a member of the faculty shall be subject to the review of the Trustees.
Any organization which is found to have authorized any violation of these rules may be subject to the rescission of said organization's permission to operate on the Barnard Campus or any other college property. The penalties described herein shall be in addition to any criminal or civil penalty pursuant to any penal or other law to which the violator or organization may be subject.
The Student Conduct Administrator, comprising student, faculty, and administrative members, hears cases arising from alleged student violations of the rules, as well as other matters. The College has established the General Grievance Procedure and it may, in appropriate situations, be used to assist in the resolution of grievances not covered by other policies.
Students may choose to bring their complaints to the Dean of Studies, their Class Dean, or their Residential Area Director. Complaints may also be brought directly to the Director of the department in which the student bringing the complaint is employed, Provost, Dean of the College, or area Vice President. Students who believe that College policies do not conform to applicable state or federal law (including but not limited to The Americans With Disabilities Act or Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) or that a College employee has acted unfairly or improperly in carrying out assigned duties may bring complaints under the General Grievance Procedure.
The General Grievance Procedure includes inquiry, mediation, investigation and decision, appeal to a hearing panel, and appeal to the Vice President of Human Resources, Provost, or Dean of the College or their designees. A copy of the complete General Grievance Procedure is available from the Office of Human Resources. (http://barnard.edu/policy/generalgrievance)
Revision History
Policy effective as of August 2011
Revised February 2018


text:
Doris E. Berhnardt, 89, died Monday at St. Luke Living Center in Marion, where she lived for a couple of months.
She was born Nov. 22, 1923, at Ramona and graduated from high school there in 1939. She and her husband, Victor, farmed in the Lost Springs area for a number of years. They later moved to Lyons where they owned and operated a motel, and moved later to Buhler where Doris worked as a supervisor in a grain sack factory.
In 1985 she moved to Marion where she was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Victor; a son, James LeRoy Bernhardt; and a daughter, Maxine Mueller.
She is survived by a sister, Edwina Wendt of Hope.
Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Marion. Interment will follow at Lewis Cemetery, Ramona.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Zeiner Funeral Home, 205 Elm St., Marion.
A memorial fund has been established for Our Savior Lutheran Church.


text: VHP will declare Guj a Hindu state by 2015: Togadia VHP will declare Gujarat a "Hindu state" by 2015 besides having its presence in all 18,000 villages of the state in the next two years, the outfit's leader Pravin Togadia claimed on Sunday. india Updated: Apr 01, 2013 09:30 IST PTI VHP will declare Gujarat a "Hindu state" by 2015 besides having its presence in all 18,000 villages of the state in the next two years, the outfit's leader Pravin Togadia claimed on Sunday."In two years, the VHP will have a presence in all 18,000 villages of Gujarat and by 2015, we will declare Gujarat a Hindu state," VHP's international working president Pravin Togadia told VHP followers who gathered here for a 'Hindu Sangam' event.The event was organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to launch a new movement called 'Hindu Ahead, for Hindu Security and Prosperity', which aims to reach out to Hindus in villages, towns, cities and tribal areas.Invoking the issue of the "insecure Hindu", Togadia said, "To protect and prosper, Hindus themselves have to gear up, by becoming true practicing Hindus, aware Hindus and active Hindus".The absence of Narendra Modi at the function was conspicuous though the VHP organised the event in the area which falls in the Gujarat Chief Minister's constituency.In the past, the Gujarat VHP has been at loggerheads with Modi over a range of issues including demolition of illegal temples in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.The VHP, through its 'Hindu Sangam' announced plans for the resurrection of the organisation, which would celebrate 50 years of its inception in 2014.Raising the issue of Ram Mandir, Togadia said, "Unless and until we will become Hindus, not only by our behaviour, but with our practice and awareness, only then will our dream of building Ram Mandir at Ayodhya be fulfilled."VHP's joint organisational secretary Vinayakrao Deshpande talked about dwindling support for the outfit in Gujarat. He mentioned that 10 years ago there were more than 10,000 committees in the state which has come down to 6,000 at present. "We will have to bring that to 10,000 by this year end," Deshpande said.Jagruti Pandya, wife of former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya, was also present at the gathering along with some Gujarat Parivarta Party (GPP) members.Meanwhile, former VHP leader Atul Vaidya -- one of the accused in the Gulberg massacre case -- alleged that Togadia had "ignored" them for all these years."VHP workers who were made accused in rioting cases have been passing through social and financial problems. Where was Togadia during all these years? He is spending lakhs of rupees for this 'Hindu Sangam' but he didn't have money to support us," Vaidya told reporters here, earlier in the day. First Published: Apr 01, 2013 08:59 IST


text:
Cryotherapy ("cryosurgery" or "cryoablation") is a minimally invasive procedure that involves cooling the tip of an ultra-thin needle to extremely low temperatures using compressed argon gas. This forms an iceball, which engulfs the targeted tissue & destroys diseased cells. There have been over 200,000 procedures performed around the world, supporting its safety & efficacy.
Visual-ICE® system is the latest offering in our family of products. The state-of-the-art Visual-ICE® system has made cryotherapy procedures easier to perform. The Visual-ICE® system has a large HD touch screen for managing the procedure and allows for precise delivery of the shape and size ice balls required for each individual patient.
Integrity - Constantly demonstrating honesty and fairness.
Innovation - Making creativity a way of everyday life.
Respect - We respect everyone and value diversity.
Excellence - Exceptional people, products, and services.
Collaboration - We build relationships and partnerships.
Quality - Doing it right, the first time.
Check out New ICEfx™
Cryoablation System Inservice Video
Galil Medical is a global leader in delivering innovative cryotherapy solutions. We focus primarily on the ablation of solid tumor cancers and nerve ablation for pain management. Our products address a range of cancers including kidney, lung, bone, liver and prostate as well as several local pain and nerve conditions. Our customers include multiple physician specialties — primarily Interventional Radiologists, Interventional Oncologists and Urologists.
GALIL MEDICAL LAUNCHES NEW FAMILY OF CRYOABLATION NEEDLES Arden Hills, MN—DATE October 5, 2015 — Galil Medical, the global leader in interventional oncology cryoablation technolo…Read More


text:
For the first time in, well, ever, NFL referees are popular.
"This might be their one week of glory," Buffalo Bills tight end Scott Chandler said, "because next week everybody's going to be on them again."
After 65 preseason games and 48 regular-season games, the NFL finally did away with those aggravating replacement officials by ending its lockout against the NFL Referees Association.
Bona-fide NFL officials were back on the job for Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens and, after ratifying their tentative eight-year agreement with the league Saturday, will return in full force for this weekend's schedule.
No longer will NFL games be decided by slapdash crews from arena football, the NAIA, Division III, high schools or even the Lingerie Football League.
John Parry, one of the NFL's most respected referees, will be the lead official for the Bills' game Sunday against the New England Patriots in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
The agreement came after a rollicking weekend in which Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 for angrily grabbing a replacement official, a bewildering touchdown call gave the Seattle Seahawks a last-second victory over the Green Bay Packers on national television and President Obama tweeted a plea to end the work stoppage.
The lockout's root issue dealt with pensions. NFL officials technically are part-time employees, but they reportedly will make an average of $149,000 this year and receive raises that will raise their average pay to $205,000 by 2019 under the agreement.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized to fans Thursday.
"Obviously when you go through something like this, it's painful for everybody," Goodell said on a conference call. "Most importantly, it's painful for fans. We're sorry to have to put fans through that. Sometimes you have to go through something like that in the short term for the right agreement for the long term."
The Bills dodged any major officiating controversies, although defensive end Mario Williams took heat for complaining about missed calls in the season opener.
"I'm done talking about the officials," Williams said Thursday. "I just hope they do a better job than the other ones."
Authenticity is a key issue. While regular-season games officiated by the replacements will count in the standings every bit as much as the remaining games, impostors blowing the whistles made some games feel like shams.
The games were longer. There were substantially more coaches challenges. Replacement officials had trouble controlling players.
"You won't have a lot of the extra pushing and the stuff that happens at the whistle or after the whistle," Bills safety and NFL Players Association representative George Wilson said. "These refs are experienced and have the respect factor from the guys."
The NFLPA on Wednesday released a statement that suggested replacement officials were a detriment to player safety.
"These guys are the best at what they do," Chandler said of the returning officials. "From an outsider's view of the NFL it makes the league more legitimate.
"You have all the top-notch players and coaches and stadiums and then you had these officials that aren't up to that standard. Now, everybody on the field is the best."
Genuine NFL referees restore credibility to a multibillion-dollar industry in which jobs - and fortunes - can be decided on the outcome of a single play.
It's possible the Packers could miss out on the playoffs because of Monday night's fiasco. It's possible the Seahawks could get in rather than another NFC team.
"People can be fired for not making the playoffs by one game," Bills receiver Donald Jones said. "It's really a bad situation."
But don't count Jones among those who are thrilled with the genuine officials just yet.
They will be returning to the field without any preseason games. They will be rusty and perhaps not quite in game shape, while the players on the field will be flying around in regular-season form.
"It's just like when we first come back," Jones said. "It takes us some time to catch up to the speed of the game. I hope once they get back that they're on point. They can mess up this week just like the other guys were."
email: email@example.com


text:
ELENA – Rooftop Films Festival
Review by Donna K. – Rooftop Films – 8/19/2013
This feature documentary debut from Brazilian director Petra Costa charts her poetic journey in search of her sister, Elena, whose volatile life moves from their South American home to the gridded brownstones of New York City, fluidly capturing the spirit of loss through home video, tape recordings, beautifully realized artistic interludes, and a deep love of her sibling.
Before embarking on her first stay in New York to pursue her career as a film actress, Elena gives a young Petra a seashell, telling her to listen to it for sounds of the ocean, to communicate with her, to remember her by — an act that Petra takes to heart as an adult when she continues to search for Elena through the echoing sounds she left behind.
Elena, a project supported by the Tribeca Film Institute's Latin America Media Arts Fund, compiles both found footage in the form of a vast archive of home movies and also material of gorgeously staged scenes of pure artfulness. Yet it is the rich storytelling ability that stitches together these artifacts and imaginations into a strongly unique auto/biography on film, edited with a poise and ease much like the mercurial movements of the dances often performed by the expressive sisters.
The lives of Petra and Elena are most like a forceful current that moves in and out with the moon, drawn into their own personal, emotional undertow as they are confronted with the intensity of life and forced outward by living the lives of others through acting, singing, and play. Do the tides of our hearts continue to push and pull through the blood of others long after we are gone? Is anything ever really lost? The complexity of Elena, both as a person and as a film, delves into waters we rarely ask to tread, an existential journey for not only the lives floating on film but for the audience as well.


text:
This is not only a clock radio. This is the Boytone Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Stereo with USB, Micro SD, and FM Radio. Line-in 2 massive 5W drivers deliver solid surround sound for listening to MP3 music and playing format and distortion degree below 0.55%. Hidden status bar provides you with the best Bluetooth experiences. Play music from USB/Micro SD card/cell phone/laptop and so on. Dynamic Sound and Powerful. This portable Bluetooth Clock Radio speaker is designed to deliver high-quality sound. This stunning Bluetooth Clock Radio Speaker features two 5-watt stereo speakers. The output power of its high fidelity audio system is equivalent to that of two 5-watt single Bluetooth speakers. The advanced equalization technique allows the stereo audio system to deliver high fidelity sound without any distortion at all. Enjoy Hands Free Phone Calls with the convenience of hands free conversations at the push of a button. Built-in microphone and speakerphone that allows you to seamlessly answer incoming calls through a Bluetooth connection. You can end and refuse calls just as easily, and return to your favorite tunes without missing a beat. Rechargeable & Portable, built to travel with you, and that means it can charge anywhere. The speaker comes with a USB charging cable adapter that connects to a number of ports. You can recharge the lithium ion battery with a laptop, desktop, battery pack, and even a wall or car charger. Offers you the flexibility of choice - and that's never a bad thing. Package Includes: 1 - Portable Bluetooth Clock Radio Speaker 1 - USB cable with Charger Adapter (110/220 volts) 1 - 3.5mm audio cable 1 - Instruction Manual and Free Lifetime Technical Support by Boytone.
Bluetooth wireless range of 40 feet, Dual Ultra Bass Sound Stereo Speaker System. Enjoy clear audio with impressive volume powered by 10W total acoustic drivers.
ALL-IN-ONE heavy duty speaker is so much more than a speaker. It's a Bluetooth Speaker with enhanced bass, has a built-in microphone for hands-free phone calls, an alarm clock, FM radio and bright LED display.
Dual Speakers with High Quality Sound: Hi-Fi comparable speakers engineered with 3D dynamic sound technology, hundred times of tests to find suitable material for diaphragm
With 4000mAh (5W X 2) built-in Lithium-Polymer battery, you can enjoy 8 hours of non-stop music at 75% volume, three times longer than similar-sized portable speakers. Recharge in just 3 hours using the original USB cable and adapter.
Quick pairing through Bluetooth with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Samsung and other popular smartphones. 110/220 volts. One year warranty from Boytone.


text:
Thinnerview is an online solution that helps you in the quest of getting weight goals. It helps you reach your weight goals by visualization yourself in the process. You can create your digital profile and your after picture to follow your weight goals. You realize the steps achived by seeing you in your digital profile. Thinnerview creates your digital "after" picture developed by digital artists.
Venture Slogan: Letting you see a thinner you.
Thinnerview´s own description: "…ThinnerView helps you reach your weight loss goals more effectively and successfully by letting you see yourself at your goal weight BEFORE a single day of dieting! Many studies have shown the positive and powerful effects of visualization, saying that when it is utilized success rates dramatically increase. So, by creating your digital "after" picture, we give you a concrete image you can use to keep yourself motivated and focused on your road to success! Additionally, seeing the dramatic change that can be achieved when your weight-loss goals are reached, will give you a huge motivational boost!…"


text:
PoliceTraining.net Training Calendar
AWD, more turbos, more choices"
By: LAW and ORDER Staff
By: Police Fleet Manager Staff
The Michigan State Police conducts its annual patrol vehicle
evaluations at two locations. The acceleration, top speed and braking phases
are conducted at Chrysler's Proving Grounds near Chelsea,
Mich. The vehicle dynamics testing are performed on the 2.0-mile road course at
Grattan Raceway near Grand Rapids, Mich.
This year, the MSP tested 12 different police package sedans
and three different police package SUV/crossovers. Many of these were the same
vehicle with a different engine. In a few cases, only the rear axle was
different. The big news was the Dodge Charger Pursuit with new All-Wheel Drive and
new oversize brakes. Just as interesting was the Ford Police Interceptor
Utility with the new 3.5L EcoBoost twin turbo V6.
The MSP did not test any special-service package (not
intended for pursuit) vehicles like the 4x4 Tahoe, Durango, Expedition or
Suburban, and they did not test any special-service package pickups. This remains
an emphasis that the special-service package vehicles are not designed for, nor
intended for, emergency or pursuit driving. Only the emergency-driving, pursuit-capable
vehicles, identified as such by the respective carmakers, undergo MSP testing.
Performance-wise, this year was a four-way tie between some
very different sedans: the new Dodge Charger 5.7L HEMI® V8 All-Wheel Drive, the
Chevrolet Caprice 6.0L V8 Rear-Wheel Drive, the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan
3.5L EcoBoost V6 All-Wheel Drive, and the Charger 5.7L HEMI Rear-Wheel Drive.
The acceleration, top speed, braking and race course lap
times were extremely close for all these sedans. On the road course, just one
second separated the entire group. One Mississippi.
Likewise for the group of V6 (or non-turbo) versions of these same sedans. So
very close. A dead heat. A virtual tie. That said, the Ford PI Utility with the
new 3.5L EcoBoost V6 was a stand-alone performer among SUV/crossovers.
2014 Police Vehicles
From Chevrolet, the police package vehicles included the
Caprice PPV powered by the 355 hp 6.0L V8 and 301 hp 3.6L V6, the Impala 9C1
powered by the same 302 hp 3.6L V6 and the 2WD Tahoe PPV with the 320 hp 5.3L
The vehicles submitted by Dodge were more diverse. The
police package sedans included the Charger Pursuit powered by the 370 hp 5.7L HEMI
V8 and the 292 hp 3.6L Pentastar V6. However, Dodge also submitted three 2014 ½
model year Chargers. Two of these 2014 ½ Chargers used the same powertrain as
the 2014 versions, but the sedans were fitted with the mid-year release Big
Brake package. (More on the standard for mid-2014 Big Brakes in the Sidebar.)
The other 2014 ½ Charger was a 5.7L V8 in All-Wheel Drive, again with the Big
From Ford, the police package vehicles included four variations
on the Police Interceptor Sedan: 288 hp 3.5L V6 in FWD-only, 305 hp 3.7L V6 in AWD-only,
365 hp 3.5L V6 EcoBoost in AWD-only and the 3.5L EcoBoost versions with
mid-2014 brake pads. Two versions of the Police Interceptor Utility were
tested, the 304 hp 3.7L V6 in AWD-only and the new, 365 hp 3.5L EcoBoost V6 in
The acceleration is recorded in 10 mph increments from 20 mph
to 100 mph. The score for the event, however, is based on the zero-to-100-mph
times. The tests are conducted slicktop, with no spotlights and with two
troopers on board.
The fastest accelerating sedan again this year was the Ford
PI Sedan with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6. (It is the time to reach 100 mph that is
scored.) The twin-turbo Ford PI Sedan was about a ¾-second faster to 100 mph
than the closely grouped pack of Caprice 6.0L V8, Charger 5.7L V8 3.06 axle AWD,
and Charger 5.7L V8 2.65 axle.
Leading the pack of the 300-ish hp V6 sedans, about five
seconds behind the 350(+) hp sedans, were the Caprice 3.6L V6, Ford PI Sedan
3.7L V6, Charger 3.6L V6, Impala 3.6L V6 and Ford PI Sedan 3.5L V6. Among the
SUVs/crossovers, the twin-turbo Ford PI Utility was more than five seconds
faster to 100 mph than the virtually tied PI Utility 3.7L V6 and Tahoe 5.3L V8.
The EcoBoost twin-turbo PI Utility was just one second off the group of 350 (+)
hp sedans.
Top Speed
The second MSP test is top speed. At the end of the last
acceleration run, the MSP troopers continue to accelerate the car around the
4.7-mile oval until they hit the electronic top speed limiter or the vehicle
obviously stopped accelerating. All police and special service vehicles are
electronically speed limited for reasons that include tire speed ratings, but
not all vehicles actually reach that preset, limited speed.
The Chevy Caprice 6.0L V8 turned in the highest top speed at
155 mph. The Charger 5.7L in both axle ratios and drivetrains, and the Ford PI
Sedan EcoBoost all ran at least 148 mph. Most of the lower-powered V6 sedans
topped out between 130 and 140 mph, except the Impala 3.6L V6 and Caprice 3.6L
V6 which reached 148 to 149 mph. The SUVs/crossovers ran in the 130 mph
bracket, led by the Tahoe at 139 mph.
A side note on these top speed tests: The police department
may not see the same top speeds from the in-service car as these cars achieve
during testing. The fully upfitted patrol car weighs much more than these cars
as tested. The addition of spotlights and lightbars adds aerodynamic drag, and
so does the addition of a front push bumper.
In some cases, depending on the extra weight and aerodynamic
load, the car may or may not shift into the gear producing the most top speed,
or may select a certain gear, hit the engine rpm limiter, and shut off without
upshifting. If your department has a specific top speed the vehicle must reach,
put it in the bid spec.
The brake tests show braking performance as heat is steadily
added to the braking system. The best 10 out of 12 stops from 60 mph are
averaged for the final deceleration rate. This braking rate is converted to a
projected stopping distance from 60 mph.
The best braking performance from any police sedan was from
the Dodge Charger 5.7L V8 with the new for mid-2014 Big Brake package. Most
sedans stopped from 60 mph in 126 to 129 feet; however, a few sedans stopped a
half car-length longer along with all the SUVs/crossovers. The new brake pads
planned for the Ford PI Sedan showed almost a 2-foot improvement.
Road Course
The Grattan Raceway is a 2-mile, 13-turn, road-racing course
with a 3,200-foot front straightaway. By the end of the straight, for example, the
Charger 5.7L reaches 120 mph. The course also has a number of twists and
off-camber turns. On some parts of the track, the cars get nearly airborne
while on other sections of track the suspension almost completely bottoms out.
Each car is driven eight laps by four different MSP troopers from the Precision
Driving Unit. The fastest five laps are averaged for the final score.
The road course times are the best overall assessment of the
police vehicle. The road course incorporates acceleration, braking and
cornering all into one number. A shortcoming in any one area will show up in
the lap times. The separate tests for acceleration and braking will simply identify
the area that the road course times tell us exists somewhere.
On the road course, the fastest police package vehicle was
the Dodge Charger 5.7L V8 AWD. This new version of the Charger was closely
followed by the Caprice 6.0L V8, both versions of the Ford PI Sedan 3.5L
EcoBoost V6 and the other versions of the 5.7L V8 Charger. In a three-second cluster
behind these 350 (+) hp sedans were the 300 hp FWD, RWD and AWD sedans, with
the twin-turbo Ford PI Utility 3.5L EcoBoost V6 in the middle of that pack. The
Ford Utility PI 3.7L V6 was three seconds behind this group and two seconds
ahead of the Tahoe 5.3L V8 around the road course.
The Winners
Fleet managers divide police cars into so many categories,
it is impossible to identify any one car as a "winner" based on the NIJ-funded
MSP tests. Across the nation, fleet bid categories are subdivided into FWD and
RWD and even AWD, or into V6 and V8. The "winning" car may be the best-performing
V6 powered sedan, or the best-performing RWD sedan, or the best AWD sedan.
For their part, regardless of vehicle platform, the MSP is
careful to point out that these tests (the minimums, the maximums and the
category weights) are all designed for the way the MSP uses its highway patrol
vehicles. Other departments will certainly use their vehicles in a different
way, and this should put a different emphasis on the test results.
The MSP weighs the six test phases to suit the needs of a
state police or highway patrol. The needs of city and county law enforcement
agencies are probably very different. While subtle changes have taken place
from time to time, the MSP typically weighs the tests as 30 percent for the
road course, 20 percent for acceleration, 20 percent for braking, 15 percent
for top speed, 10 percent for ergonomics, and 5 percent for fuel economy. These
numbers are plugged into a bid adjustment formula available at the NLECTC
Different weightings may be selected. For example, an urban
department may want to emphasize fuel economy, ergonomics and braking while
deemphasizing road course, acceleration and top speed. Since most bids are
close, this change in weighting may point to a different "most bang for the
buck" police vehicle.
With the overall results so similar, it won't be performance
that will be the deciding factor among any of these patrol vehicles. All the
350 hp (+) V8 or V6 sedans perform the same. All the 300 hp-ish V6 sedans
perform the same. Instead, the decisions will be based on front seat room, rear
seat room, trunk-cargo space, fuel economy, and bid price.
The MSP tests the police vehicles in the drivetrain mode
requested by each automaker. The Ford sedans and crossovers are run in the
default mode. That is the condition the vehicle is in at the beginning of each
key-ON cycle. The Dodge sedans are run with the Electronic Stability Program
(stability control) in partial-OFF mode. This must be manually selected by the
driver with each key-ON cycle. The Chevrolet sedans and SUVs are run in
performance mode (where equipped) in which the stability control and traction
control are partially OFF, and with the Caprice, with the transmission in Sport
mode. Both of these settings must be selected by the officer with each key-ON
Published in Law and Order, Nov 2013
No Comments
Click to enlarge images.


text:
This is the tale of a project I recently completed with Saar, my 13-year old son. Saar is interested in the creative aspects of computers (along with playing games, of course). He likes to play around with graphics programs like GIMP and Photoshop, create Flash animations, and compose electronic music. He has also worked on a few games using programs like YoYo Games Game Maker, created some web sites, and built some cool LEGO Mind Storm projects. As a programmer, I tried for years to nudge him towards programming with less than stellar success (my fault for pushing too hard). Recently, I managed to engage him a little more and with the help of a great book Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners. We worked together through the chapters and exercises and Saar did pretty well.
Then a couple of months ago, Saar suggested that we write a program to compute the area of a polygon. I got very excited because it was much more attainable than his previous ideas (writing a 3-D galactic space strategy game). I estimated it would take us two or three weeks. However, the project turned out to be a perfect example of Hofstadter's law: "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law."
Calculating the area of simple polygons (polygons with no holes) is not as simple as it seems. In addition, we wanted to have a nice UI where you can draw polygons on the screen and see a visualization of the algorithm in action. The complete source code is available here.
In Part 1 of this two-part article, I describe the design and architecture of PolyArea, the implementation of the algorithm itself, and the software development practices we have used. In Part 2 I describe the graphic and UI aspect of PolyArea.
Overall, the project has been a great experience, involving aspects of::
- Pure "research" (looking up formulae and simple algorithms)
- Mini-algorithm implementation like finding the distance between two points, finding the area of a triangle and the intersection of two lines.
- Custom graphics programming
It brought to the front some thorney programming points that bite newbies -- things like floating-point representation, comparing integers to floating-point numbers, and division by zero when computing the slope of a vertical line. It was also a great vehicle for proper software development: how to divide a project to multiple files/modules, writing unit tests to catch bugs early in isolated environment and separation of concerns (algorithmic code vs. visualization code).
The main algorithm (decomposition of the polygon into convex polygons and each convex polygon into triangles) is interesting and demonstrates common issues with computational geometry algorithms.
The user interface is user friendly and validates the polygons that you draw on-the-fly to make sure you don't create invalid polygons (e.g. with holes or intersecting lines).
Polygons are closed geometric shapes made of straight line segments. There are different types of polygons (concave, convex, simple, star shaped, etc). The polygons that the poly area project deals with are simple polygons -- the polygon sides don't cross themselves and contain no holes.
There are formulas for finding the area of a polygon given a set of vertices or the length of each side, but these are no fun (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon). A much more educational endeavor is to find the area by dividing the polygon to smaller polygons and in particularly into triangles and then adding the area of the triangles. This is called "Polygon Triangulation" and there are several algorithms that accomplish this task. The algorithm we implement in this project is a little different for pedagogical reasons. The main motivation for this project is the creation process itself and coming up with an algorithm that is visually pleasing to track its progress.
The Poly Area Project
There are three main parts to the Poly Area Project:
- The Algorithmic core that deals with breaking a polygon to triangles. The algorithm uses several mini algorithms like finding the area of a triangle given its sides and the distance between two points. These mini algorithms are a perfect task for a beginner like Saar to experiment with.
- The UI is responsible for letting users draw the polygon and to paint it gradually when the polygon is complete. It turned out to be surprisingly complicated and it took awhile to get it right.
- PyGame is a cross-platform Python binding for the famous SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) game development library: http://www.libsdl.org/. It is used as the low-level graphics library for the project. The reason we chose PyGame and not a more standard graphics library like wxPython is that Saar was somewhat familiar with PyGame from the "Hello World" book.
Software Development
We tried to build the program in a fairly disciplined fashion and use best practices even though it is a small project. For a newbie who only programmed several programming exercises it is a big project with multiple files and custom UI.
The programming language is, of course, Python. (Again, the complete Python source code for the project is available here.) I would go on a limb and say that Python is arguably the most scalable programming language from a learning perspective. It is one of the most readable and easy to learn programming languages, yet it can be used for enterprise-grade software projects too. It has excellent support for modular programming, object-oriented programming, good documentation, lots of third-party packages (many bindings for high-performance C/C++ libraries), great community and great IDEs. It is being used heavily by big players like Google, Nasa, YouTube (even before being bought by Google), Industrial Light and Magic. Don't forget Numenta (my company).
There are broadly speaking two schools of program design: top-down and bottom-up. Top-down means that you think about the big pieces of your program and how to connect them and then you take each piece and repeat the process of decomposition until you reach to pieces small enough to implement directly. The bottom-up approach is the opposite. You start with the smallest pieces, implement them and then combine them to bigger pieces and you keep going until you have the full-fledged program. Both approaches represent extremes that usually can't work for real-world programs (although pure bottom-up is much more practical). The approach we took in this project, which is the approach I prefer for most projects is a mostly bottom-up, but after I have in my mind the overall structure of the program. It is much easier to grow a program from small pieces that you can hook up together in flexible ways then trying to figure out all the interactions first (as required by top-down programming).
Unit testing is a staple of modern software development. Bottom-up programing lends itself naturally to unit testing because you develop small units in isolation that can be tested and then you combine them. Even-though poly area is a pretty small project we used unit testing for the algorithmic core.
The UI and PyGame support code has no tests and as a result I spent a considerable amount of time chasing bugs in the UI. Saar did a great job finding and pointing out these UI bugs. I think for a project of this size it is the right choice to test the UI manually. Automated UI testing is possible, but requires more effort and the cost/benefit ratio should be taken into account. For projects with significant UI that changes often it may be worthwhile to invest in a good automated UI test suite.


text:
|a division of Home School Legal Defense Association
|May 1, 1997
South Africa:
The Struggle for the Freedom to Home School
By Christopher J Klicka, Esq.
There are many Christians in South Africa of every ethnic group who are turning to home school their children because of the massive secularization of their school system by the ruling party, The African National Congress (ANC).
Under the old regime, home schooling was illegal, and, in 1994, we helped secure the release of two imprisoned home school parents by flooding the South African Embassy with letters and aided other home schoolers being investigated.
When the new government, led by Nelson Mandela, took power in January, 1995, there were signs home schooling might be legalized. Our hopes were soon dashed as the Ministry of Education and the subsequent special committee of parliament issued reports recommending home schooling not be allowed except in extreme medical situations. We continued to work over the next two years with the South Africans, helping draft possible legislation and corresponding with key members of parliament, committees, and the National Ministry of Education. We lobbied them extensively to recognize the legitimacy of home schooling.
During that time period,HSLDA circulated Issues Alerts, asking home schoolers to write to the U.S. and Canadian embassies. Christian Liberty Academy sent out one of our alerts in their mailings, many state leaders included it in their newsletters, and many more thousands were distributed at conferences. A noticeable shift in favor of legalizing home schooling came about and soon the Ministry of Education issued a revised report very positive of home schooling.
Finally, in November, 1996, due to the combined efforts of South African home school leaders (Leendert Van Oostrum, Graham Shortridge, and Kate Durham) and HSLDA, the parliament included language recognizing home schooling in its National Schools Act. Essentially, the new law is a national discretionary approval of home schooling similar to Massachusetts home school law. Home schoolers have to seek approval of the provincial head of their education department.
Now South African home schoolers are beginning to grow, and the leaders are planning to establish a home school legal defense fund. They continue to solicit our help regarding legal and political strategy.
As a boost to their growing movement, three of us, if God wills, are planning to visit South Africa this July. We will speak in three cities and attend strategy meetings. We also plan to bring one of the South African leaders to the U.S. for our annual home school leaders convention.
Below are details on the background leading up to this point.
In March of 1995, the South African National Ministry of Educations Draft Education White Paper One was released. This document did not even mention home schooling and pushed for licensure of all teachers and compulsory education of all children.
As a result, South African home school leaders mobilized. The South African government received hundreds of letters from South Africans and regular communication from us concerning the position of the Home School Legal Defense Association. We made clear in all our correspondence that home schooling must be protected in South Africa if that country wanted to be recognized as a free nation. We gave them much information on the legal rights of home schooling parents in the United States and Canada. We worked closely with Kenneth Menshoe of the ACDP, one of the opposition parties in the parliament. As a member of parliament, he organized a committee made up of Graham Shortridge, home school leader and president of Theocentric Education; Martha McComb, member of Peter Hammonds Front Line Fellowship organization in South Africa; and several others to draft sample home school legislation in the form of a white paper. We worked on this draft of the ACDP white paper, and it was submitted to the parliament. A letter I wrote was also distributed to every member of the parliament.
Nevertheless, the special committee assigned to draft a report on education legislation issued a report which severely restricted home schooling. This paper was named the Hunter Report after the chairman of the committee.
Issued in August of 1995, the Hunter Report stated specifically in sec. 3.18,
The Committee considered the case for home schools, and concludes that, in view of the importance of the social dimension of schooling, they be recognized only when a provincial head of department is satisfied that a childs distinctive medical or personal circumstances warrant it, and the home school teacher is professionally competent. However, no subsidy should be paid.
If this were to be adopted, it would make home schooling virtually impossible for anyone to practice. This served as the basis of an education bill passed by the National Parliament, but fortunately it was delayed by constitutional challenges from all six opposition parties in the Constitutional Court and had to be revised.
A Plea for Help
Soon after the introduction of the Hunter Report, a plea went out from home school leaders in South Africa. Graham Shortridge stated,
At the moment, the South African Government is very conscious of American opinion, and this is our greatest hope for home schoolers. Mass action in the form of pressure on the South African Embassy in the United States is probably the only way we will get any cooperation from the Education Department, since they ignore our submissions. We appeal to you to lobby on our behalf with the South African Embassy urgently before our new constitution is completed.
We agreed completely with Graham Shortridge that this was the only option left to prevent the South African Government from outlawing home schooling.
HSLDA Releases Nationwide Alert
As a result, we issued an Issues Alert in August, 1995, calling on home schoolers throughout the United States and Canada to contact their South African Embassy in order to let them know that citizens of the United States and Canada are watching them and are extremely concerned about South Africas direction regarding home schooling as indicated in the Hunter Report.
Once before in desperation, we turned to the grassroots home schoolers to help South Africa. On December 14, 1993, Andre and Bokkie Mientjies were sent to prison for home schooling their children under the old government in South Africa. Mrs. Mientjies received a two-year prison sentence; Mr. Mientjies one year. Their children, who refused to attend the government schools, were put in a childrens home by the child welfare department. In early 1994, after we distributed our alert throughout the country, U.S. home schoolers bombarded the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., with protests contributing to the early release of both Andre and Bokkie Mientjies. Their children were returned to them soon thereafter. I received a letter from the South African home school leaders stating, The help of the American people who contacted the South African Embassy for the Mientjies release was probably the most significant step in the achievement of this objective. Andre Mientjies wrote to me as well stating,
Please be ensured of our profound gratitude for all the support we received during our struggle with the South African authorities concerning the home schooling (upbringing) of our children. The external pressures exerted on the Government contributed very much to our early release from prison, as well as the subsequent court order reversing the removal and forced state re-indoctrination of our children.
The orchestrated efforts of involved officialdom to destroy our family life by means of the divide and rule principle thereby endeavoring to set an example to the rest of the country iro the possible consequences of similar such actions has backfired on them . . . Much has been achieved in South Africa regarding the legalizing of home schooling as a direct result.
We knew that calls to the South African Embassy could make a difference. So regarding the harmful Hunter Report, we sent out an alert to U.S. and Canadian home schoolers, asking them to contact the South African Embassy. Many state home school leaders in turn reprinted our alert in their newsletters and distributed them throughout their states. Many of our attorneys and I were able to attend over a dozen of the large home school conferences in various states over the next four months. Everywhere we distributed the alerts to contact the South Africa Embassy. South African ambassador Franklin Sonn received many letters from home schoolers. The letters had an impact.
Our campaign contributed to a major shift in policy. On November 24, 1995, the Draft Education White Paper Two was issued by the South African National Ministry of Education in Pretoria in response to Hunters Report of the Committee to review the Organization, Governance and Funding of Schools of August 31, 1995.
The Draft Policy White Paper Two contained the first official sign in recent history that the government intended to recognize home schooling. It made a complete about-face on the issue of home schooling from Draft Policy White Paper One, issued back in March. It also indicated a major shift from the Hunter Report of August, 1995. The new White Paper Two stated specifically,
Home schools are evidently a specific case of independent schools. While the Hunter Reports regard for the social dimension of schooling is well founded, it perhaps gave insufficient attention unto the variety of circumstances in which home schooling might be a reasonable option for a child or a family, and for the rights of parents in certain circumstances to prefer home schooling, supplemented by distance education technology, for instance. The Ministry is aware of many international precedents for the recognition of home schooling and considers that the relevant laws of other countries be examined to determine the most suitable framework for the recognition of home schooling in this country.1
This was an extremely significant development for South African home schoolers. A glimmer of hope was beginning to shine. Leendert van Oostrum, home school leader in South Africa and professor at Pretoria University, wrote a letter to me,
We praise the Lord! The latest draft white paper on education was published by the National Ministry for Education on Friday, 24th of November. It contains the first official indication in the history of South Africa that the government may provide for home schooling as a normal educational option. It does more than that. It states that the government is investigating legislation in other countries to find a model that is suitable for South African circumstances. This is indeed a historic breakthrough. Not that we should be deceived, it is evident that the intention is to restrain home schooling as much as they can get away with.
This is because [the government is] not making these concessions of [its] own volition. Ive studied the document very carefully and asked questions on a radio program the day the white paper was released. The only reason I can find for the change of tune is the international pressure that has been brought to bear on them on the initiative of HSLDA. None of the considerations have changed since their previous position was announced [in March]. The white paper admits, in so many words, that the comparative juris prudence, reflected in recognition of home schooling in other countries, is their main consideration for adopting a broader view on the matter. It is therefore to HSLDA and other groups and individuals, mainly in the U.S. but also in other countries, that we owe this breakthrough.
Please accept our profound gratitude.
However, Professor Oostrum realized the war was not yet won and the pressure must continue on the South African Embassy if home schooling was to be protected:
The magnitude of this event must not be underestimated. Home schooling is the only aspect in which the government has made any concessions in the latest white paper. In all other respects, it has chosen those options which give it more control. We therefore accept that the battle is not won. The tide is turning, but it is very far from going out yet. It is evident that the government has conceded this ground very grudgingly, and will do its best to implement the most restrictive model they can find . . . it would therefore seem that our field of battle will remain in the constitutional court on one hand [where the opposition parties are challenging the education bill] and in international support for our struggle on the other hand [which would be the letters from the United States].We can make a difference and affect policy in South Africa.
My analysis above would suggest that sustained pressure from members from HSLDA and other persons in the U.S. and elsewhere is of crucial importance. It would also seem that direct response from abroad on the matter of socialization, as raised in the White Paper Two of November 24, may be very effective to dislodge the government from its new trench. The Lord has granted us a victory in this battle. Most of all, we need the prayers of Christians that we may be able to sustain our efforts for the remainder of the war.
Another Nationwide Alert
We responded once again to the request of the South Africans and another updated Issues Alert on South Africa was launched. Hundreds of letters hit the embassy.
In addition to the Alert, we prepared about 25 letters and packets for every member of the Education Committee in Parliament explaining the benefits of home schooling and urging the passage of a good law.
The South African home school leaders hand-delivered the packets to all members of the committee and testified at a hearing. The result was amazing. Every member of Parliament who was a member of an opposition party including F.W. DeKlerk (the former president), supported our language. However, the ANC, the majority party, blocked it.
National Schools Act of 1996
Nonetheless, by Gods grace, in November, 1996, the South African Parliament enacted the National Schools Act, which includes formal recognition of home schooling. Although the law is an approval law, it is a good start. The law reads:
Registration of a learner for education at home. 51. (1) A parent may apply to the Head of Department [in the province] for the registration of a learner to receive education at the learners home. (2) The Head of Department must register a learner as contemplated in subsection (1) if he or she is satisfied that (a) the registration is in the best interest of the learner; (b) the education likely to be received by the learner at home (i) will meet the minimum requirements of the curriculum in public schools (ii) will be of a standard not inferior to the standard of education provided at public schools; and (c) the parent will comply with any other reasonable conditions set by the Head of Department.
Now that the national recognition of home schooling has been achieved, the battle shifts to the provinces. Home schoolers need to persuade each provincial ministry of education to adopt regulations which will maximize the freedoms of home schoolers and reduce the arbitrary discretion of public school officials.
Regulations drafted to reflect the following would provide maximum freedom:
The home school parent must file an annual notice of intent to home school which shall include an assurance that reading, writing, math, science, and history will be taught. The family must administer standardized testing to their children beginning in the 3rd grade and every other year thereafter. Testing records shall be retained by the parent for three years.
Possible Constitutional Defenses of the Right to Home School
In December 1996, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was enacted making it the supreme law of the Republic.
Chapter 2 of the Constitution is the Bill of Rights. In chapter 2, Sec. 15 (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion. In Chapter 2, Sec. 16 (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression which includes . . . freedom to receive or impart information or ideas.
The right to freedom of religion could possibly be used by home schoolers to defend their rights by demonstrating that they are required by God to teach their own children. The right to impart information to their children through home schooling also could be raised.
Education is discussed in Chapter 2, Sec. 29 (3):
Everyone has the right to establish and maintain, at their own expense, independent educational institutions that (a) do not discriminate on the basis of race; (b) are registered with the state; and (c) maintain standards that are not inferior to standards at comparable public educational institutions.
Under this provision, home schoolers could conceivably establish independent educational institutions that meet the three conditions: no race discrimination, register with the state, and have a comparable curriculum not inferior to public schools.
There are two optional ways to home school under the legal covering of independent educational institutions.
First, a group of home schoolers could elect a school board and then choose one parent to be the administrator of the school. The person would implement certain accountability standards and keep academic and attendance records. The home schooled children would enroll in this school but actually be taught at separate campus sites which would be located in their individual homes. The teachers would, of course, be the parents. Only the school would have to register with the state.
This independent educational institution could charge a small fee for administrative costs. The school could adopt a policy to interview all new home school parents and review their curriculum to make certain it is not inferior to the public school standards. Organized field trips, special group classes, testing services, and record keeping could be offered.
The second option uses existing private schools. If home schoolers did not want to form their own schools, they could use existing private schools which could act as an umbrella covering for them. Home schools would act as campuses of their parent school. The parents would be the teachers and their children would be the only students. Many of the same accountability standards could be used as described under the first option.
Establishing private schools comprised of home schoolers or covering home schoolers as described above are popular legal alternatives practiced throughout the United States. They have withstood many legal challenges and are commonly practiced in 18 states. Graduates of these programs are faring well in both higher education and the workforce.
A number of additional sections in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa could be used to support these types of independent educational institutions for home schoolers.
In Sec. 39 (1), when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court may consider foreign law. The case precedent and statutes in the United States which uphold home schools as private schools could be used to help direct South African Courts.
Furthermore, in Sec. 39 (2) courts must promote the spirit, purpose, and object of the Bill of Rights when interpreting legislation. The spirit and object of the Bill of Rights in this area is declared in Section 29, Everyone has a right to a basic education. A basic education clearly would be achieved by home school independent educational institutions.
When limiting any of the Bill of Rights, the existence of a less restrictive means to achieve the purpose needs to be taken in to account [Chap. 2, Sec. 36 (1)]. If Provinces try to unreasonably restrict independent educational institutions, such laws could be challenged as not the least restrictive means. These provisions also could help protect the South African home school parents right of freedom of religion to choose this educational option.
One final section no doubt will be a factor for either good or ill. In Chapter 2, Sec. 28, the rights of children under 18" are recognized. It declares a childs best interests are of paramount importance in every matter. If South African studies on home schooling are conducted, the success of home schooling will clearly demonstrate the best interest of the child is being met. Since the Constitution is newly acted, there is much opportunity to use it to protect parental rights to choose home schooling independently or as part of an independent educational institution.
A Short History of South Africa
It is interesting to note that South Africa as a nation began very close to the same period of time as our pilgrim forefathers came over from Europe to the shores of the United States. Similarly, European pilgrims migrated to South Africa for many of the same reasons. On April 6th, 1652, Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutchman, arrived on South African soil. Along with his 90 men, he attempted to tame the wilderness in Table Valley, build a fort and hospital, and provide meat and fresh vegetables for passing ships. He became successful only after his employer, the Dutch East India Company, lifted its heavy restrictions on the group, allowing a system of free burghers to develop. These burghers were encouraged to settle at the Cape and were permitted to own land and freely farm it.
As the years went by, processes of expansion into the interior by the settlers gradually evolved. In 1688, 150 French Huguenots, fleeing France because of religious persecution, arrived and strengthened the ranks of the free farmers. It was not long before the farmers experienced chronic overproduction of wheat and wine, which continued through the entire 18th century.
A local patriotism soon developed among the settlers and the term Boer (Farmer) was elevated to a badge of honor. Boer was synonymous with Afrikaaner, and it denoted a people reared on South African soil and instilled with a patriotism centered in the new homeland into which they were carrying the cultural values of Western Europe. After a few years, these Afrikaaners even formed their own unique language, completing their new identity.
It is interesting to note that the Dutch were not invaders to the cape who forcibly removed the settlements of the blacks and replaced them with their own. On the contrary, there were no settlements of blacks in that region. The European settlers did not meet a black man for the first 120 years!
As the white farmers migrated into the interior, the blacks in the north simultaneously migrated southward. This resulted in several clashes between the black tribes and the Afrikaaners. In addition, British imperialism was beginning to grow, and by 1811 the Cape went to Great Britain by formal cession. Thousands of British immigrated to South Africa and brought with them British rule. As a result, the Great Trek of 1835-37 by Boer farmers marked an intentional move by thousands of men and women, who left their homes at great personal sacrifice in order to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the British government at the Cape. After a few clashes with the Zulu tribe which they met during their trek, the Afrikaaners quickly learned to coexist with the Zulu.
This break away from English domination was accelerated and consolidated by two wars of independence (the Boer Wars) waged against the British Empire. Few people realize that these two wars were the first major struggles in Africa for emancipation from colonial rule. In fact, Afrikaaner nationalism was the first coherent nationalist movement of the continent of Africa. Unfortunately, the Boers were defeated, losing 6,000 men in action and an additional 26,000 Boer women and children who died in British concentration camps. The horrible conditions in the concentration camps causing the death of the 26,000 innocents remains a dark time in British history. The price the Afrikaaners paid in their attempt to gain freedom was certainly costly. It was not until 1961 that a totally independent republic was realized with the establishment of the Republic of South Africa.
There is no doubt that, despite their diverse European origins, these settlers evolved a nationhood and distinctive identity of their own, much like our own forefathers did North America. Today approximately 21 million people with diverse origins and languages live side by side in relative peace. These people comprise five million whites, two million coloreds, 800,000 Asians, five million Zulu, two million Xhosa, three million North and South Sotho, two million Tswana, and two and a half million representing smaller nationalities.
The religious dimension of the pilgrims and settlers of South Africa is extremely important. Many of them were fleeing religious persecution from other countries and founded their nation on many Christian principles. Those same Christian principles are also being eroded in the present government as a secular education system is being imposed through public education. Ninety-eight percent of the children in South Africa will soon be under the system.
1 Also in the draft policy White Paper Two, the South African Minister of Education indicated that all state-aided schools, including church schools, will be combined with public schools. There will remain in South Africa only two categories of schools instead of the dozen or so categories at the present time. Those two categories will be the public schools and the independent schools. Independent schools will be those schools which do not receive state monies. The remaining schools will be completely controlled as public schools. This is yet another warning to home schoolers in the U.S. who support the various school choice proposals (vouchers, charter schools, etc.)


text:
Culturally, Japan is very risk-averse, which is not ideal for entrepreneurs. But things are changing here.
Coming of age in the age of social media, Hiro Maeda '09 (computer science and economics) has long been fascinated by the intersection of technology, commerce and social interaction in which online businesses operate. Inspired by the success of Facebook and YouTube, Maeda, a Tokyo native, began building social media websites and mobile applications in his Bucknell dorm room.
Maeda's passion for tinkering with technology and creating enterprises makes him well suited to his current goal: spurring a new wave of Internet entrepreneurship in Japan. "Culturally, Japan is very risk-averse, which is not ideal for entrepreneurs," he says. "But things are changing here. The recent success of Silicon Valley companies has had a huge impact in Japan, and our entrepreneurial community is growing."
Forgoing more stable opportunities at U.S. tech companies, Maeda headed back to Japan after graduation in 2009 to help launch Tokyo-based startup incubator Open Network Lab, which provides office space, mentoring and funding to Japanese Internet startup companies. To date, 18 companies have graduated from Open Network Lab, including successful enterprises like Giftee.com, which allows users to send gifts via Twitter; and Qlippy, a social media platform for e-readers. Maeda anticipates working with an additional 10 to 14 ventures in the next year.
"At our first event for entrepreneurs, only 10 people showed up. Six months later we drew crowds of more than 200 people," he says, noting that several other Tokyo incubators have popped up since Open Network's inception.
To encourage transparency within the incubator, companies must share important business details like revenues, marketing tactics and strategies for attracting new users. "We are trying to seed the type of open culture that has served Silicon Valley so well, and I think it's working. I'm confident that in the next few years we'll have developed a few entrepreneurs that will really influence the economy in Japan," Maeda notes.
Paradoxically, the devastating earthquake that hit Japan in 2011, as well as the dismal employment rates for recent college grads, have helped to encourage entrepreneurship by "helping Japanese people to become more comfortable with uncertainty," Maeda says. "And uncertainty, of course, is what building a startup company is all about."
Posted March 2013


text:
The signs of vascular disease appear on the legs as loss of hair, thinning and atrophy of the skin, non-healing sores, or even blackened toes from gangrene, and pain on exercise. In the heart, the signs are pain or pressure in the chest, shortness of breath or unusual fatigue. It can also affect the brain, causing loss of memory and confusion, momentary lapses of consciousness (sometimes called a TIA, or transient ischemic attack), or eventually strokes.
One of the most effective treatments for arteriosclerosis is being ignored and even maligned by mainstream practitioners. This treatment is known as chelation therapy, and it has been a successful treatment for over forty years. What is chelation therapy all about?
EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid) is a synthetic amino acid which has the ability to attach itself to metals and minerals, forming a particular kind of bond called a chelate, from the Greek word for claw. Heavy metals have a great affinity for EDTA and form strong bonds.
In the 1950's, EDTA was found to be an effective treatment for lead toxicity. In many cases, patients who coincidentally had symptoms of heart disease, such as angina, improved while undergoing treatment. Since that time, a number of studies have confirmed the effectiveness of chelation therapy for blood vessel disease, including improved blood flow to the heart, the legs and the brain. They have been published in reputable journals by experienced physicians and medical researchers.
Two events slowed down the growing use of EDTA in traditional medical settings. The patent on EDTA expired in the 1960's. Drug companies no longer had incentives to pursue or finance studies on the drug. The development of the heart-lung machine allowing open-heart surgery paved the way for more mechanical solutions to heart disease. Coronary artery bypass surgery has become a multi-billion dollar industry, including numerous unnecessary procedures. Estimates are that 50-75% of the surgery being done is unnecessary. Other studies show that non-surgical treatment is better than surgery.
The exact action of EDTA in improving blood vessel disease is not clear, and it probably works by several mechanisms. One effect of EDTA is to bind calcium in the blood stream, and alter the intracellular balance of calcium with magnesium. Calcium accumulates inside the cells with age, and this excess can disrupt enzyme systems. Pushing more magnesium into cells allows them to relax, and this opens up the circulation. There are also several other potential mechanisms of action.
One theory of aging and degenerative disease is the "free-radical theory." Free radicals are highly active molecular fragments formed during the production of energy in the cells. They have high energy, like sparks in a fireplace, and this energy can be used by the body, when properly handled. However, if these free radicals get out of control they can cause damage to surrounding tissues, just as sparks that get out of the fireplace can cause the rug to catch fire. Excess free radicals contribute to the obvious signs of aging such as wrinkling and loss of elasticity of the skin, and the deposition of age pigment (commonly called liver spots). Internal damage, such as heart disease and cancer, is less visible but even more serious.


text:
Cliona Doyle - Pink Pagoda
Cliona Doyle - Pink Pagoda
Etching and Aquatint
Image size: 20 x 18cm Paper size: 41 x 35cm
€180.00 unframed price
Add To Cart
The exhibition continues until 6th December.
Etching and Aquatint
Image size: 20 x 18cm Paper size: 41 x 35cm
€180.00 unframed price
All of the original prints are uniform and size, and price - only €180 unframed, €225 framed - the perfect Christmas gift!
The work is available exclusively through The National Botanic Gardens & Graphic Studio Gallery.
The exhibition continues at the Gardens until 6th of December, 2017.
Open Daily 10am - 4.30pm.
Images of opening night, photo credit Gintaras Varnagys
Each artist has explored aspects of the Gardens, to make new work in their individual style, be it portraits of particular flora or fauna, landscapes or vistas in the 19.5 hectares, the spectacular Palm House and Curvilinear Range of glasshouses, or abstract impressions made by the biodiverse environment.
The original prints, in editions of fifty, featuring etchings, woodcuts, linocuts, lithographs, carborundums and photointaglios, provide a wonderful opportunity to those who enjoy and appreciate Art and Botany to acquire a treasure from the National Botanic Gardens for themselves.
The exhibition is a follow up to our 2013 show, "A Natural Selection", that drew great acclaim and public attention. We are delighted to again be working with The National Botanic Gardens for "Another bite of the cherry," in November 2017.
Graphic Studio Dublin is the oldest and largest printmaking studio in Ireland. Established in 1960, and funded by The Arts Council, since our foundation we have consistently reached beyond our own shores. This show, includes many of our own members and invited artists from other Irish and international print studios. The more than 50 artists from Ireland, the UK, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and Sweden respond to the magnificence of the National Botanic Gardens and its 20,000 species of cultivars.
In this exhibition, invited artists continue the tradition, since time immemorial, of human response to the natural world; from tomb paintings in Ancient Egypt, the frescoes in Pompeii, the scientific drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, the etchings of Albrecht Durer to the paper cut-outs of Mrs Delaney or the striking paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe.


text:
This article originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Architectural Digest.
A couple of days into a trip around New Zealand, you see very clearly what prompted the American investor Julian Robertson to buy two sizable chunks of what he and his wife, Josie, call the "youngest country on earth." It's not just that New Zealand has it all, from glacial mountains to thermal springs, fields of lavender to vineyards and olive groves, endless beaches to peaceful sheep farms and bountiful wildlife. It's also the unique combination of and easy access to these landscapes coupled with a blessed climate and a people whose friendly openness is matched only by their rugged self-reliance.
Having taken time out from a dynamic career on Wall Street in the late 1970s—ostensibly, he admits, to write the great American novel—Robertson traveled to New Zealand and fell quickly and durably in love with the country. Nearly 20 years later he returned to North Island and bought some 6,000 acres overlooking the Pacific at Kauri Cliffs. "At that time the land cost about as much as a very modest apartment in New York," Robertson says. "Both have gone up considerably in value since, but I would say Kauri Cliffs has proven to be the better deal. Buying the land was the least part of it. Once we'd got it, we couldn't just sit there and look at it. So we had to figure out the best way to develop the property, and in the end, we turned a good part of the land, which sits about 800 feet above the sea, into a spectacular golf course."
"Julian seemed happy to leave it at that," says Josie Robertson. "I kept telling him that many of the people coming to play golf would need a place to stay. He wouldn't have it at first. I'm not cut out to be an hotelier,' he kept saying. But as the golf course took off and visitors started asking where they could spend the night, Julian saw that it made sense. That's how the hotel at Kauri Cliffs came about, as well as the cottage that was specially designed for us and our family and friends to stay in whenever we visit."
Tucked away from the main hotel but benefiting from spectacular views over the golf course and the ocean, the Robertsons' sophisticated cottage reflects the overall design of the project, headed by Auckland-based architect Lawrence Sumich and designer Virginia Fisher. The cottage is spacious and sleekly colonial.
Kauri Cliffs proved such a rewarding venture that the Robertsons were encouraged to take a second major stake in the country by purchasing a 6,000-acre ranch in the wine country around Hawke's Bay, on the southeast coast of North Island. This time, of course, they knew that a mere golf course, however stunningly designed on the cliffs overhanging the ocean, would not suffice. A hotel, and indeed another owners' cottage, were by now prerequisites on this choice site, which bears the evocative name of Cape Kidnappers. And the new project had to be, if anything, more ambitious and more successful than its predecessor at Kauri Cliffs.
"What we were looking for at Cape Kidnappers was the atmosphere of a working farm," explains Josie Robertson, who was involved in every aspect of the design. "We aimed at something that would look rural, even agricultural, with an interior that was surprisingly comfortable, with an understated, natural elegance.
It was a lot of fun working out how a barn could be turned into a really nice living room and a silo into a snug sitting area over a wine cellar where guests could order up whatever vintage took their fancy."
To help them achieve this new New Zealand dream, the Robertsons called on architects Andrew Patterson, Roger Langley and Paul Rosnell and the Aspen, Colorado-based designer Linda Bedell, who had designed a house for them in Sun Valley, Idaho. "Obviously it helps to have worked with your clients on previous projects," says Bedell. "But a hotel is more than a house, and we had to anticipate not only what Josie and Julian wanted but also what would please the hotel's future guests. What struck me every time I went out to Cape Kidnappers was the sheer beauty of the landscape and the sea. These magnificent views were what the place was about, and that gave us our cue. So we went for big, high-ceilinged rooms—even the baths are rooms on a grand scale—with huge windows and French doors. When you're inside during the day, you're lured out by the light and the extraordinary abundance of the natural world. But as soon as evening falls, there are lots of roaring fireplaces and bottles of good wine to entice you back with the comforts of civilization."
The cluster of barnlike buildings, which Patterson conceived, "makes you feel you are living on a farm," says Bedell. "That was the basic concept we kept to throughout. But we weren't going to make our guests rough it." So while the accent remained on exposed beams and plain plank floors, they also put in plenty of luxurious touches. And they carried the rough-smooth combination over into the fabrics and the furniture. "In the owners' cottage, we were able to take this sophisticatedly down-to-earth look to another level, on a larger scale, and with some choice antiques," Bedell says. "In the end, when it all came together, I wasn't so sure that farmhouses really look like this," she adds with a laugh, "but it's certainly what a great farmhouse could be."
Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy


text:
m (→Fix missing argument to i18n call.)
|Line 14:
|Line 14:
i18n("<qt>%1 does not exist</qt>");
i18n("<qt>%1 does not exist</qt>");
i18n("
History Sidebar
 You can configure the history sidebar here.");
i18n("
History Sidebar
 You can configure the history sidebar here.");
|This section needs improvements: Please help us to
cleanup confusing sections and fix sections which contain a todo
This article is describing a system currently in RFC phase, pending design modifications. Skip it unless you would like to make comments and proposals yourself.
Typical way of formatting user visible strings in application interfaces, for a long time has been that of plain text or at most visual markup like HTML tags. In most textual content environments, shift to semantic markup has been recognized as superior to visual (for example, Docbook XML for documentation). Why not go down the same road for UI strings?
In semantic model, text elements are marked for their meaning, rather than for their visual appearance. Consider a few i18n examples of visual formatting:
i18n("<qt>%1 does not exist</qt>", fname);i18n("
Using KDE UI text semantic markup (KUIT for short), these strings would be formated like this:
i18nc("@action", "Move");
i18nc("@item", "Descending");
i18nc("@info", "<filename>%1</filename> does not exist", fname);
"<title>History Sidebar</title>" "<para>You can configure the history sidebar here.</para>");
Two distinct differences between visual and KUIT markup can be observed.
The first is the use of context i18n calls, the i18nc(), to convey the broad semantic context of a string. "Move" has been assigned the @action context, which means that clicking on its widget in the interface will cause something to happen (e.g. a button text). String "Descending" is in @item context, which indicates that it is one of several possible choices (e.g. item in drop-down list).
The other difference is the use of semantic tags, which convey the meaning of the element. For example, the <filename>%1</filename> bit tells that the substituted text is the name of a file, and the <title> and <para> tags in the other message lay out a clear structure of longer informational texts.
|The semantic context @-markers can be added when working with Qt Designer too. Each text label of a widget has a comment attribute, which can be used in same manner as context argument of i18nc() call.
The context markers do not prevent programmers from providing the free-form context to translators. It is just separated by a whitespace from context marker, like this:
i18nc("@item Sorting order", "Descending");
In general, KUIT markup has advantages both to users and to translators of the application.
For the users, the use of semantic tags means consistent formatting of same kinds of text. The notorious example of inconsistent visual formatting would be filenames and paths, which are sometimes put in as is, sometimes in quotes (and ordinary quotes at that, rather than proper English fancy quotes), and sometimes in bold tags. Furthermore, the text withing the tag may be modified with semantic markup; for example, the <filename> text is transformed from "/" path delimiters to platform specific ones.
Translators will benefit from both semantic context markers and tags. The "Move" string in the example above had @action context, for which the translator may use command form of the verb, while gerund form (like "Moving") may be more appropriate in the @title context, which would be used if the string was title of the menu, option group, etc. Tags will benefit translators in the similar way, as they may clear up the structure of the sentence, especially in presence of placeholder substitutions.
The context markers also serve a technical purpose. They decide whether what form of visual formatting is used. E.g. the @title context will use plain text, whereas @info will be formatted with HTML tags.
None the least, while contexts and tags may be something more to learn for programmers, it removes the burden of thinking about the visual formatting to apply. "Should I put the path in quotes or ?", "Should the title be
 or
?", and so on.
KUIT presently defines the following semantic contexts:
The following KUIT tags are mostly-terminal, meaning that they will not admit any subtags (or just a few selected, where indicated):
i18nc("@action", "Open with <application>%1</application>", appName);
"You can try the following snippet:<bcode>" "\begin{equation}" " C_{D_i} = \frac{C_z^2}{e \pi \lambda}" "\end{equation}" "</bcode>");
i18nc("@info", "This will call <command>%1</command> internally.", cmdName);
"Consult man entry for <command section='1'>%1</command>", cmdName);
i18nc("@info", "Send bug reports to <email>%1</email>.", emailNull);
"Send praises to <email address='%1'>the author</email>.", emailMy);
The construct will be hyperlinked in rich text format.
i18nc("@process", "Checking <emphasis>feedback</emphasis> circuits...");
i18nc("@info", "Assure that your <envar>PATH</envar> is properly set.");
i18nc("@info", "Cannot read <filename>%1</filename>.", filename);
"<filename><envar>HOME</envar>/.foorc</filename> does not exist.");
The <envar> can be used as subtag.
i18nc("@info", "Executes <icode>svn merge</icode> with given revisions.");
"The line colors can be changed under " "<interface>Settings->Visuals</interface>.");
i18nc("@info", "Check the <link>%1</link> website.", urlKDE);
i18nc("@info", "Check <link url='%1'>the KDE website</link>.", urlKDE); The variant with URL/description separation is preferred when applicable. The construct will be hyperlinked in rich text format.
i18nc("@info", "Fortune cookie says: <message>%1</message>", trouble);
i18nc("@process", "Connecting to <numid>%1</numid>...", portNo);
i18nc("@info", "Replace <placeholder>name</placeholder> with your name.");
i18nc("@item", "<placeholder>All images</placeholder>");
i18nc("@info", "Apply color scheme <resource>%1</resource>?", colScheme);
"Cycle through layouts by <shortcut>Alt+Space</shortcut>.");
Some sentences can be given a special meaning, by using the sentence tags. These tags will admit any terminal tags for subtags.
"Probably the best known of all duck species is the Mallard. " "It breeds throughout the temperate areas around the world. " "<note>Most domestic ducks are derived from Mallard.</note>");
Do not explicitly add "Note:", it will be formatted automatically.
"Really delete this key?" "<warning>This cannot be undone.</warning>");
Do not explicitly add "Warning:", it will be formatted automatically.
For structuring longer texts, the following tags are available:
Structuring tags (other than <list>) can contain any terminal or sentence tags.
If any of the structuring tags is present, then there must be no text outside of these elements. The following is not valid KUIT markup:
// invalid markup
"<title>History Sidebar</title>" "You can configure the history sidebar here."); // <para> missing
Qt's rich text HTML tags can be used concurrently with KUIT tags, but this is not advised unless necessary. They may be needed, for example, to create tables or insert images, as KUIT does not implement this functionality at the moment.
Semantic markup cannot be used in "dumb" strings, which do not pass through KDE's i18n subsystem. These would be, for example, strings in .desktop format files. But not the strings in UI files, as in Qt Designer they can be equipped with both context markers (via comment field to text properties) and semantic tags.
Sometimes, the visual formatting may not be quite appropriate for the output device. For example, if the @info context is applied to string which is to be output to the terminal window, it will come out with HTML tags. To handle this, formatting can be explicitly signaled by /format modifier to context marker:
i18nc("@info/plain", "<filename>%1</filename> does not exist", fname);
Presently, the possible format modifiers are /plain and /rich.