As part of a plan to move and expand services at its Triad Health
Practice in the Boystown LGBT enclave, Howard Brown Health Center
announced Tuesday it is rebranding and opening the clinic at its new
space on North Halsted Street late next month.
Branding for the
clinic’s new name, Aris Health, has already appeared on windows at the
redesigned 4,050-square-foot facility, 3245 N. Halsted St., formerly
occupied by Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group. The changes will
officially go into place March 25, the organization said.
In
April, Howard Brown said it would relocate the clinic to the larger
location from a smaller space at 3000 N. Halsted St. due to capacity
demands for its expanding services, such as pediatric care.
The
new storefront location, which is steps away from of one of the symbolic
Halsted Street rainbow pylons and directly across the street from
Steamworks, a gay bathhouse, will afford the clinic greater visibility,
the organization said.
“We are excited about opening Aris Health
in the heart of the community to serve patients in an environment
completely focused on their care,” said Karma Israelsen, interim
president and CEO at HBHC.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card
can authenticate your computer usage and data. “It’s important for us
to meet the comprehensive health and wellness needs of those we serve.”
The
increased prominence in Boystown will help the organization reach its
goal of more than doubling the clinic’s current base of 2,000 patients
to 5,000 patients in the first few years. The new space has capacity for
nearly 10,000 patients, or about the amount served at Howard Brown’s
Sheridan Road facility.
In addition to clinical health services and pediatric care, Aris Health will also offer adult primary and behavioral care.
“We
added pediatrics as part of our core practice offering last year to
serve our patients’ children; Aris Health and the expanded space allows
us to fulfill this need,” said Israelsen.Our precision manufactured
lasers and laser systems deliver the highest possible laser cutter performance on a wide variety of materials.
Specifically,
the facility will house nine exam rooms, including a separate space for
pediatric care; an onsite Walgreens pharmacy and free lot parking off
Halsted Street — all of which will translate into benefits for patients,
said HBHC’s Medical Director Dr. Magda Houlberg, M.D.
“At Aris
Health, we are proud to institute a patient-focused model of care in a
new and fresh environment that focuses on our patient experience,”
Houlberg said.
Patients served at the new facility will be part
of its new “complete patient-centered care model,” a system which
promotes the involvement of patients in their medical care and
ultimately leads to the development of personal relationships with their
providers, according to Howard Brown.
As part of that
relationship, the patient and provider work together on preventive and
chronic care management which might also include the care a patient
receives at other health facilities, the organization said in a
statement.
Among the features of the new column-free facility
are tunnel space for four batting cages, two infield areas, a 28-foot
high ceiling, video capability, a concession stand and pro shop.
“As
we continue to position ourselves as a prime destination for baseball
and softball players, the new building will enable us to provide a place
for events and training for the entire year,” said Frank Zitaglio,
general manager of BBH, a subsidiary of Steel Sports Inc. “Further, the
addition of a former player of Frank Catalanotto’s caliber will serve to
solidify Baseball Heaven as the leading facility of its kind in the
region.”
Catalanotto will provide individual and group
instruction to baseball players and teams. He enjoyed a 14-year MLB
career with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers,Full color plastic card
printing and manufacturing services. Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee
Brewers and New York Mets, compiling a .291 lifetime average in 1,265
games.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems?
“I’m
very excited to be a part of this great complex, and I look forward to
working with players of all ages as they continue to develop their
skills,” said Catalanotto, a native of Long Island, N.Y.
The new
building is part of an overall upgrade BBH is planning in the coming
year, including the construction of two new concession stands, the
creation of extra parking, live online video streaming of all games and
the development and implementation of a variety of sports instruction
and development programs.
Zitaglio said both the construction of
the new building and other renovations to the complex will create new
jobs within the community and underscores BBH’s commitment to Long
Island, a large portion of which was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.
“We
are extremely thankful to our community leaders and the Town of
Brookhaven Planning Board for approving this excellent addition to our
complex,” Zitaglio added. “We want to make sure that every current and
potential player and team fully understands that we’re here for the long
term. And through Baseball Heaven, we aim to continue to foster the
values of teamwork, sportsmanship and integrity – all of the good things
that baseball and softball are about.We've had a lot of people asking
where we had our make your own bobblehead.”
2013年2月17日 星期日
Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 and the full-frame RX1
Not too long ago, full-frame digital cameras were cumbersome, heavy
and very expensive. They're still a long ways from making a home in the
bargain bin, but Sony's new RX1 definitely has size in check. In order
to reduce the model's footprint, the Japanese camera maker added a fixed
35mm lens to this point-and-shoot-esque digicam, modeled after the
company's gorgeous and versatile RX100. Both of these flagship
Cyber-shots offer tremendous bang for your buck, but they'll thin out
your wallet faster than they'll capture 10 consecutive 20-plus-megapixel
frames. Still, as you'll read after the break, our resident camera
reviewer Zach Honig is very much in love.
It's a tale of two cameras, and the RX100 is very much the consistent, quick-thinking, svelte, ever-impressive know-it-all. It's a 20.2-megapixel point-and-shoot with a one-inch sensor and a $650 price tag, so you'd expect it to be fantastic. The experience, however, far exceeded even my most optimistic dreams. This is, hands down, the best compact camera on the market today. There aren't enough positive adjectives to sufficiently describe Sony's masterpiece, but take me on my word: it's absolutely fantastic.
It's really hard to find things not to like about this camera. The focusing system is mind-blowingly fast and accurate, the exposure is always spot-on, color balance is consistently correct and the image quality is superb. The build quality is outstanding, the 3-inch LCD is sharp and bright, the dedicated mode dial is convenient and the f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss lens is quite versatile -- it captures sharp snaps at night, or close-ups with creamy bokeh during the day.Application can be conducted with the local designated IC card producers.
This dream of a camera came along on my two-month tour of Asia toward the end of last year. It captured brilliant shots of temples in Kyoto, beaches in Bali, ruins in Cambodia, shops in Singapore and elephants in Thailand. It snapped crisp, albeit slightly noisy shots at night, and bright, vibrant frames under the intense, unyielding sun. The camera photographed more high-calorie meals than I care to remember without gaining an ounce. And, at the end of each day, I topped up the high-capacity battery through a simple USB connection.
Every week, I get an email from readers, friends and even colleagues asking which camera they should purchase. I don't even bother asking their budget -- nobody expects to spend more than 400 bucks on a point-and-shoot, and $650 is laughable. But I insist, regardless of how much money they've set aside, that they're gonna want to add a few more bills to the pile and pick up the RX100. I still use an NEX-5R for snapping hands-on videos, thanks to its powerful shotgun mic, but for nearly everything else,We've got a plastic card to suit you. the RX100 is my go-to camera, and it should be yours, too.
Now, if you thought $650 was a ridiculous sum for a compact camera, you're really going to get a kick out of the RX1. It'll cost you -- wait for it -- two thousand, eight hundred dollars. That's right, $2,800 -- there's a comma in that price tag. Why in the world would any such machine run you nearly three large? The full-frame sensor's to blame. Accommodating a 35mm sensor, the same chip that ships in Sony's a99 DSLR, in such a small housing meant going with a fixed 35mm lens. There's a maximum f/2 aperture, which, when paired up with the giant sensor, results in some incredibly shallow depth of field.
Whereas I'd recommend the RX100 to photojournalists, preteens and everyone in between, the RX1 simply isn't going to cut it for the vast majority of digital shooters. So, if you have boatloads of cash to burn and you have your heart set on the best of the best, that's not reason enough to spring for Sony's impressive engineering feat. If, however, you know exactly what you're after, this 24.7-megapixel stunner should keep your SD card, and your heart, full and warm.
Since a weekend of shooting in NYC in winter isn't much fun, regardless of the camera around your neck, the RX1 and I hitched a ride to Hawaii for a long weekend of sand, sushi and sunsets. The RX100 spent most of that time in the hands of my girlfriend,Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks! who, I must add, is also head over heels in love with that thing.Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. Yet, despite the superior specifications of my own solid shooter, I was often quite jealous of the shots she was able to achieve, thanks in no small part to the RX100's optical zoom.
Framing with a fixed lens is incredibly challenging, and while I was up to the task, as a casual photographer, I can't say it enriched my experience enough to warrant unloading an extra two grand of hard-earned cash. Close-up shots required switching the lens to macro mode and getting incredibly close to my subject, rather than flipping the zoom toggle and maintaining a safe distance. A new perspective at sunset meant walking hundreds of feet, often into the water, in order to avoid snagging lampposts and other unsightly elements.The USB flash drives wholesale is our flagship product. If you've ever shot with a prime lens, you know what to expect here.
It's a tale of two cameras, and the RX100 is very much the consistent, quick-thinking, svelte, ever-impressive know-it-all. It's a 20.2-megapixel point-and-shoot with a one-inch sensor and a $650 price tag, so you'd expect it to be fantastic. The experience, however, far exceeded even my most optimistic dreams. This is, hands down, the best compact camera on the market today. There aren't enough positive adjectives to sufficiently describe Sony's masterpiece, but take me on my word: it's absolutely fantastic.
It's really hard to find things not to like about this camera. The focusing system is mind-blowingly fast and accurate, the exposure is always spot-on, color balance is consistently correct and the image quality is superb. The build quality is outstanding, the 3-inch LCD is sharp and bright, the dedicated mode dial is convenient and the f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss lens is quite versatile -- it captures sharp snaps at night, or close-ups with creamy bokeh during the day.Application can be conducted with the local designated IC card producers.
This dream of a camera came along on my two-month tour of Asia toward the end of last year. It captured brilliant shots of temples in Kyoto, beaches in Bali, ruins in Cambodia, shops in Singapore and elephants in Thailand. It snapped crisp, albeit slightly noisy shots at night, and bright, vibrant frames under the intense, unyielding sun. The camera photographed more high-calorie meals than I care to remember without gaining an ounce. And, at the end of each day, I topped up the high-capacity battery through a simple USB connection.
Every week, I get an email from readers, friends and even colleagues asking which camera they should purchase. I don't even bother asking their budget -- nobody expects to spend more than 400 bucks on a point-and-shoot, and $650 is laughable. But I insist, regardless of how much money they've set aside, that they're gonna want to add a few more bills to the pile and pick up the RX100. I still use an NEX-5R for snapping hands-on videos, thanks to its powerful shotgun mic, but for nearly everything else,We've got a plastic card to suit you. the RX100 is my go-to camera, and it should be yours, too.
Now, if you thought $650 was a ridiculous sum for a compact camera, you're really going to get a kick out of the RX1. It'll cost you -- wait for it -- two thousand, eight hundred dollars. That's right, $2,800 -- there's a comma in that price tag. Why in the world would any such machine run you nearly three large? The full-frame sensor's to blame. Accommodating a 35mm sensor, the same chip that ships in Sony's a99 DSLR, in such a small housing meant going with a fixed 35mm lens. There's a maximum f/2 aperture, which, when paired up with the giant sensor, results in some incredibly shallow depth of field.
Whereas I'd recommend the RX100 to photojournalists, preteens and everyone in between, the RX1 simply isn't going to cut it for the vast majority of digital shooters. So, if you have boatloads of cash to burn and you have your heart set on the best of the best, that's not reason enough to spring for Sony's impressive engineering feat. If, however, you know exactly what you're after, this 24.7-megapixel stunner should keep your SD card, and your heart, full and warm.
Since a weekend of shooting in NYC in winter isn't much fun, regardless of the camera around your neck, the RX1 and I hitched a ride to Hawaii for a long weekend of sand, sushi and sunsets. The RX100 spent most of that time in the hands of my girlfriend,Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks! who, I must add, is also head over heels in love with that thing.Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. Yet, despite the superior specifications of my own solid shooter, I was often quite jealous of the shots she was able to achieve, thanks in no small part to the RX100's optical zoom.
Framing with a fixed lens is incredibly challenging, and while I was up to the task, as a casual photographer, I can't say it enriched my experience enough to warrant unloading an extra two grand of hard-earned cash. Close-up shots required switching the lens to macro mode and getting incredibly close to my subject, rather than flipping the zoom toggle and maintaining a safe distance. A new perspective at sunset meant walking hundreds of feet, often into the water, in order to avoid snagging lampposts and other unsightly elements.The USB flash drives wholesale is our flagship product. If you've ever shot with a prime lens, you know what to expect here.
2013年2月16日 星期六
Lebanon home shelters hundreds of little soldiers
Dave Frankowski's Mt. Lebanon home shelters hundreds of soldiers — most only about 2 1?4 inches tall.
Frankowski, 62,We've had a lot of people asking where we had our make your own bobblehead made. creates miniature military figurines starting with molten lead, which he pours into pre-carved molds. When the metal sets, Frankowski carefully colors the soldiers — mostly British Redcoats, as well as fighters from the Civil War, Revolutionary War and others — with glossy paints. Historically, the soldiers' details are very accurate, Frankowski says. Not to mention intricate: Even on tiny, inch-tall figurines, artisans will paint details like eyes and mustaches.
“That's part of the goal: You want to put them in the right uniforms, and you want them to look correct,” he says. Frankowski has been painting military miniatures for about 50 years, and started casting them about 20 years ago.
Frankowski will join about a half-dozen artisans and collectors Sunday at the Woodville Plantation, where they will display their creations for Military Miniatures Day. The military miniatures include hand-painted toy soldiers and war-gaming dioramas depicting North American and European armies from the 18th and 19th centuries. Military re-enactors will perform 18th-century drills and talk with visitors at the event at the Collier-based plantation. This home of John and Presley Neville, built in 1775, captures life during the late 1700s and early 1800s, although the military miniatures come from a broader time period.
The event will hopefully “attract people to Woodville, which I think is a beautiful, neat place,” Frankowski says. “People not familiar with the hobby are amazed at the detail and color. It's like a miniature spectacle.”
J. Lee Howard of Mt. Washington has made painting military figurines his full-time, home-based job. Customers send him bare figures depicting military members from eras including the ancient Roman and Persian empires, the French and Indian War, and even the current war in Afghanistan. Howard paints the miniatures with intricate detail, and returns them.
“It's a real smorgasbord of history,” says Howard, 46, who has painted as a hobby since he was 8. He loves his craft so much that he turned it into his career a few years ago.
“I'd rather paint miniatures than flip burgers; that's what it comes down to,” Howard says. “It's the kind of job that I'd do from anywhere.Did you know that custom keychain chains can be used for more than just business.”
Howard is bringing an Old West diorama scene, with a miniature town and figures, to Woodville. Some of his work is on display at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Paul Mackowick, 51, paints metal military miniatures, along with the occasional nativity scene, as a hobby. The Venetia, Washington County, resident has himself painted about 800 figures,Ein innovativer und moderner Werkzeugbau Formenbau. many of which depict 19th-century French, British and Spanish soldiers. Most of the figures he makes stand no more than an inch and a half tall, yet, even the tiny ones may contain up to 40 colors.
“You just kind of get wrapped up in it,” Mackowick says about the painstaking process. “It's a wonderful diversion from the world we live in sometimes.”
Mackowick, who also maintains an outdoor model railroad, will be bringing to Woodville a collection of his European soldiers, which will be placed in a display with landscape scenery, and miniature guns, wagons, civilians and animals to add to the scene.
The craftsman hopes that visitors to Woodville will be entertained, inspired and educated by the military miniatures they see.
“It's not so much showing off,” Mackowick says about his creations. “It's really just introducing something that someone may not have encountered before.”
These are only two of the interesting ways in which the Book and Literature Festival organized by VMV Commerce, JMT Arts and JJP Science college, in association with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), tried to promote the idea of reading books among kids.Application can be conducted with the local designated IC card producers. The three-day festival, held between February 14 and 16, consisted of a book exhibition, a creative writing workshop, symposia on various topics and an evening dedicated to poetry in six languages. It had school children as well as some renowned artistes and educationists from the city participating.
"The aim of the festival was to re-introduce our children to the power of the written word," said principal of the college and chairman of the festival committee MG Chandekar. Mayor Anil Sole, who was a teacher at the college for more than two decades, agreed. "The present generation sees internet and e-books as source of all knowledge. They have to be reintroduced to these traditional ways of acquiring knowledge," he said.
A highlights of the event was a unique 'fight' between the brush strokes and rhymes with veteran actor Vikash Khurana reciting words from famous poems of British poet William Wordsworth like Daffodils and Solitary Reaper. Even as he recited these words, internationally renowned painter Bijaynanda Biswal tried to bring the words alive on his canvas. Regaled by this double mastery, the audiences requested for more of their enchanting jugalbandi. The artistes took the chance to etch the words of city-based Hindi poetess Nandita Soni Sahu on the canvas, too.
As Biswal puts it, "The brush began to dance on the canvas in harmony with the magical lines of Wordsworth.You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. With Nadita's poems also focusing on the beauty of nature, it turned out to be a fantastic collage between English landscape during spring and the warm Indian summers with rains in tandem." He said that the huge theater experience of Khurana and Nandita's impeccable Hindi diction had the desired effect on the artist in him.
A similar merger of arts was seen when kids expressed various facets about books and reading on paper. From the various places where they come across books to the ways in which books help them, the kids described everything about the written word without uttering any word themselves.
Frankowski, 62,We've had a lot of people asking where we had our make your own bobblehead made. creates miniature military figurines starting with molten lead, which he pours into pre-carved molds. When the metal sets, Frankowski carefully colors the soldiers — mostly British Redcoats, as well as fighters from the Civil War, Revolutionary War and others — with glossy paints. Historically, the soldiers' details are very accurate, Frankowski says. Not to mention intricate: Even on tiny, inch-tall figurines, artisans will paint details like eyes and mustaches.
“That's part of the goal: You want to put them in the right uniforms, and you want them to look correct,” he says. Frankowski has been painting military miniatures for about 50 years, and started casting them about 20 years ago.
Frankowski will join about a half-dozen artisans and collectors Sunday at the Woodville Plantation, where they will display their creations for Military Miniatures Day. The military miniatures include hand-painted toy soldiers and war-gaming dioramas depicting North American and European armies from the 18th and 19th centuries. Military re-enactors will perform 18th-century drills and talk with visitors at the event at the Collier-based plantation. This home of John and Presley Neville, built in 1775, captures life during the late 1700s and early 1800s, although the military miniatures come from a broader time period.
The event will hopefully “attract people to Woodville, which I think is a beautiful, neat place,” Frankowski says. “People not familiar with the hobby are amazed at the detail and color. It's like a miniature spectacle.”
J. Lee Howard of Mt. Washington has made painting military figurines his full-time, home-based job. Customers send him bare figures depicting military members from eras including the ancient Roman and Persian empires, the French and Indian War, and even the current war in Afghanistan. Howard paints the miniatures with intricate detail, and returns them.
“It's a real smorgasbord of history,” says Howard, 46, who has painted as a hobby since he was 8. He loves his craft so much that he turned it into his career a few years ago.
“I'd rather paint miniatures than flip burgers; that's what it comes down to,” Howard says. “It's the kind of job that I'd do from anywhere.Did you know that custom keychain chains can be used for more than just business.”
Howard is bringing an Old West diorama scene, with a miniature town and figures, to Woodville. Some of his work is on display at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Paul Mackowick, 51, paints metal military miniatures, along with the occasional nativity scene, as a hobby. The Venetia, Washington County, resident has himself painted about 800 figures,Ein innovativer und moderner Werkzeugbau Formenbau. many of which depict 19th-century French, British and Spanish soldiers. Most of the figures he makes stand no more than an inch and a half tall, yet, even the tiny ones may contain up to 40 colors.
“You just kind of get wrapped up in it,” Mackowick says about the painstaking process. “It's a wonderful diversion from the world we live in sometimes.”
Mackowick, who also maintains an outdoor model railroad, will be bringing to Woodville a collection of his European soldiers, which will be placed in a display with landscape scenery, and miniature guns, wagons, civilians and animals to add to the scene.
The craftsman hopes that visitors to Woodville will be entertained, inspired and educated by the military miniatures they see.
“It's not so much showing off,” Mackowick says about his creations. “It's really just introducing something that someone may not have encountered before.”
These are only two of the interesting ways in which the Book and Literature Festival organized by VMV Commerce, JMT Arts and JJP Science college, in association with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), tried to promote the idea of reading books among kids.Application can be conducted with the local designated IC card producers. The three-day festival, held between February 14 and 16, consisted of a book exhibition, a creative writing workshop, symposia on various topics and an evening dedicated to poetry in six languages. It had school children as well as some renowned artistes and educationists from the city participating.
"The aim of the festival was to re-introduce our children to the power of the written word," said principal of the college and chairman of the festival committee MG Chandekar. Mayor Anil Sole, who was a teacher at the college for more than two decades, agreed. "The present generation sees internet and e-books as source of all knowledge. They have to be reintroduced to these traditional ways of acquiring knowledge," he said.
A highlights of the event was a unique 'fight' between the brush strokes and rhymes with veteran actor Vikash Khurana reciting words from famous poems of British poet William Wordsworth like Daffodils and Solitary Reaper. Even as he recited these words, internationally renowned painter Bijaynanda Biswal tried to bring the words alive on his canvas. Regaled by this double mastery, the audiences requested for more of their enchanting jugalbandi. The artistes took the chance to etch the words of city-based Hindi poetess Nandita Soni Sahu on the canvas, too.
As Biswal puts it, "The brush began to dance on the canvas in harmony with the magical lines of Wordsworth.You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. With Nadita's poems also focusing on the beauty of nature, it turned out to be a fantastic collage between English landscape during spring and the warm Indian summers with rains in tandem." He said that the huge theater experience of Khurana and Nandita's impeccable Hindi diction had the desired effect on the artist in him.
A similar merger of arts was seen when kids expressed various facets about books and reading on paper. From the various places where they come across books to the ways in which books help them, the kids described everything about the written word without uttering any word themselves.
2013年2月5日 星期二
Ultrasonic sealing
Rinco Ultrasonics' new FPA series ultrasonic pouch sealing systems
enable users to increase seal strength, improve aesthetics, and broaden
the processing window versus competitive ultrasonic sealing and heat
sealing processes. They are applicable for sealing flexible packaging
for dry and liquid foods, personal care items and electronics.
The FPA-4500 was designed specifically for sealing pouches with up to four and a half square inches of seal area while the FPA-4500S was created for use in duplex and triplex applications where a narrow profile is required.Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. Rinco's entire FPA series of ultrasonic sealing systems have been designed to replace existing heat sealing equipment on liquid filled pouch form-fill-seal (FFS) machinery or pre-made pouch systems.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet.
The novel systems incorporate Rinco's patented PPS0145 seal technology that significantly expands what is possible in ultrasonic film sealing. Each FPA system features a highly rigid actuator capable of rapidly generating the clamp forces required to seal pouches with minimal cycle time.
Rinco's unique PPS0145 interlocking film sealing technology permits seal patterns with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic seals. In addition, it allows production of contour-shaped seals, unlike the straight line seals offered by competitive ultrasonic equipment. These seals can take almost any configuration, offering end users a range of branding options to differentiate their products.
The new ultrasonic film sealing system produces seals with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic systems and provides the widest processing window of any ultrasonic sealing system currently on the market. Seals anywhere from 2-mm to 25-mm are now possible compared to 1- to 2-mm previously, according to Rinco. With the interlocking design and robust equipment, Rinco can offer wider ultrasonic seals which are more preferable by end users, without the need for follow-up heat sealing, thus saving time and cost.
The patented ultrasonic seal technology also delivers an increase in bond strength over conventional ultrasonics. Depending upon the film used, Rinco has determined that its interlocking pattern can provide a 20 percent stronger bond than conventional ultrasonic seals.
Rinco offers a complete line of actuators, the FPA 4500 series and 2500 series models, for OEMs, co-packers, and end users. These are coupled with Rinco's robust system components including generators, converters, boosters, and tooling. The FPA series actuators are designed specifically for the packaging industry as a drop-in retrofit to convert heat sealing stations to ultrasonics. They are extremely rigid to accommodate the demands of sealing thin films, and various sizes are available to suit any horizontal sealing application.
The AGM series generator features 100 percent digital circuitry for precise control of the sealing process, along with upper and lower process set-up for quality monitoring and sophisticated graphing capabilities for easy troubleshooting.
Summer reminds me of fun, outdoors and adventure, so we travelled to Borneo over summer. It is exactly what I needed. Borneo is an island between Malaysia and Indonesia and it’s divided between these two countries and Brunei. We spent our time on the Malaysian side of the island in the Sabah area.We offers custom Injection Mold parts in as fast as 1 day.Which Air purifier is right for you?
We climbed Mount Kinabalu, which is 4,000 metres high, to reach the summit at sunrise, and journeyed down the curvy river of Kinabatangan to spot rare wildlife (which paid off with a rare sighting of wild orangutans). Then we visited Semporna, and finished off in the remote rainforest of Danum Valley to stay in an ultra-luxe, peaceful lodge. The experience under the sea on Pom Pom Island was a standout – incredible snorkelling and beautiful white beaches right outside our door – and the inspiration from this experience is already being put to work in the new season.
You should research and plan your trip before you go. As we were looking for an adventure, we expected to be able to show up and travel at our own pace. We were quick to realise how far apart places are and guides are required to accompany you. Who knew? I would highly recommend dining at the Filipino fish markets for dinner. Pick your fish, fresh from the day’s catch in Kota Kinabalu.
I’ve developed a warm-weather holiday uniform over the years of travelling. To save on luggage space, my advice is to bring only your favourite pieces! For me this includes cut-off denim shorts paired with loose-fitting tees for daytime tooling around cities with big dark sunglasses. I bring a couple of bright coloured bikinis and cotton gauze maxi dresses for lazy beach-hopping days.Shop for bobblehead dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. Always wear a wide-brim hat for sun protection. For night it varies from silk mini-dresses with strappy sandals matched with newly discovered market bangles, or silk West 14th camis with silk shorts.
The FPA-4500 was designed specifically for sealing pouches with up to four and a half square inches of seal area while the FPA-4500S was created for use in duplex and triplex applications where a narrow profile is required.Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. Rinco's entire FPA series of ultrasonic sealing systems have been designed to replace existing heat sealing equipment on liquid filled pouch form-fill-seal (FFS) machinery or pre-made pouch systems.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet.
The novel systems incorporate Rinco's patented PPS0145 seal technology that significantly expands what is possible in ultrasonic film sealing. Each FPA system features a highly rigid actuator capable of rapidly generating the clamp forces required to seal pouches with minimal cycle time.
Rinco's unique PPS0145 interlocking film sealing technology permits seal patterns with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic seals. In addition, it allows production of contour-shaped seals, unlike the straight line seals offered by competitive ultrasonic equipment. These seals can take almost any configuration, offering end users a range of branding options to differentiate their products.
The new ultrasonic film sealing system produces seals with greater surface area than competitive ultrasonic systems and provides the widest processing window of any ultrasonic sealing system currently on the market. Seals anywhere from 2-mm to 25-mm are now possible compared to 1- to 2-mm previously, according to Rinco. With the interlocking design and robust equipment, Rinco can offer wider ultrasonic seals which are more preferable by end users, without the need for follow-up heat sealing, thus saving time and cost.
The patented ultrasonic seal technology also delivers an increase in bond strength over conventional ultrasonics. Depending upon the film used, Rinco has determined that its interlocking pattern can provide a 20 percent stronger bond than conventional ultrasonic seals.
Rinco offers a complete line of actuators, the FPA 4500 series and 2500 series models, for OEMs, co-packers, and end users. These are coupled with Rinco's robust system components including generators, converters, boosters, and tooling. The FPA series actuators are designed specifically for the packaging industry as a drop-in retrofit to convert heat sealing stations to ultrasonics. They are extremely rigid to accommodate the demands of sealing thin films, and various sizes are available to suit any horizontal sealing application.
The AGM series generator features 100 percent digital circuitry for precise control of the sealing process, along with upper and lower process set-up for quality monitoring and sophisticated graphing capabilities for easy troubleshooting.
Summer reminds me of fun, outdoors and adventure, so we travelled to Borneo over summer. It is exactly what I needed. Borneo is an island between Malaysia and Indonesia and it’s divided between these two countries and Brunei. We spent our time on the Malaysian side of the island in the Sabah area.We offers custom Injection Mold parts in as fast as 1 day.Which Air purifier is right for you?
We climbed Mount Kinabalu, which is 4,000 metres high, to reach the summit at sunrise, and journeyed down the curvy river of Kinabatangan to spot rare wildlife (which paid off with a rare sighting of wild orangutans). Then we visited Semporna, and finished off in the remote rainforest of Danum Valley to stay in an ultra-luxe, peaceful lodge. The experience under the sea on Pom Pom Island was a standout – incredible snorkelling and beautiful white beaches right outside our door – and the inspiration from this experience is already being put to work in the new season.
You should research and plan your trip before you go. As we were looking for an adventure, we expected to be able to show up and travel at our own pace. We were quick to realise how far apart places are and guides are required to accompany you. Who knew? I would highly recommend dining at the Filipino fish markets for dinner. Pick your fish, fresh from the day’s catch in Kota Kinabalu.
I’ve developed a warm-weather holiday uniform over the years of travelling. To save on luggage space, my advice is to bring only your favourite pieces! For me this includes cut-off denim shorts paired with loose-fitting tees for daytime tooling around cities with big dark sunglasses. I bring a couple of bright coloured bikinis and cotton gauze maxi dresses for lazy beach-hopping days.Shop for bobblehead dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. Always wear a wide-brim hat for sun protection. For night it varies from silk mini-dresses with strappy sandals matched with newly discovered market bangles, or silk West 14th camis with silk shorts.
Brantley Gilbert Teams Up With Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is tapping into its southern roots and welcomed one of
country music's hottest emerging acts, Brantley Gilbert, into the DEW
family. Embracing the brand's Tennessee history and one-of-a-kind
flavor, the new partnership is a perfect fit with the hit
singer/songwriter's high-energy live shows and authentic lyrics.
"I have been a fan of Mountain Dew for as long as I can remember," said Gilbert. "I'm honored to be able to partner up with the DEW family for some exciting projects this year."
"Being part of the DEW family means making a style that's all your own, and never conforming to a traditional mold," said Greg Lyons, Mountain Dew's VP of Marketing. "Brantley exemplifies all that DEW stands for – making country music that is true to its rebel roots, in very much the same way that the brand stays true to its own. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Brantley into the DEW Nation, and hope our fans will join us in helping him rock."
“My original intent was to have him as a safety but when we were in practice I started noticing things. When we came into the fall, we knew we were going to put him in a bunch of different places.”
The younger Jackson said the change of scenery – and the decision to force him to get his academics in order before allowing him back on the football field – helped his focus.
“All my friends were at Northeast so when I came here I really didn’t know anyone so it was a fresh start,” he said. “(Sitting out the 2011season) was actually my decision. I wanted to get everything done in the classroom first before I even stepped on the field.”
His focus literally improved when Blair offered metronome testing, a method that guarantees improved focus and concentration. Jackson responded with a 19 on his ACT.
“He was having a great season, but that’s when he went into spectacular,” Blair said. “That’s when he learned the concentration. He was all locked in. He’s such a hard worker and a perfectionist, he demands not only perfection from himself but from the people around him. As a staff, our people have only tapped the surface.”
By November, Jackson was well on his way to making a name as a receiver who had 792 yards and 12 touchdowns and as a defensive star and return specialist who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns along with a pair of kickoffs and a punt for scores.
Then came the Nov. 16 death of his grandmother, Mary Williams, on the day his Cobras were scheduled to face eighth-ranked Delray Beach Atlantic in the first round of the state playoffs.
After leaving school for several hours, Jackson unexpectedly returned to play in the game.
“She helped mold him into the young man that he is,” Blair said. “He had a spectacular game for the ages offensively, defensively and special teams wise. He took that emotion to another level. I wasn’t even worried about him playing. I was more worried about his mindset and where he was at.”
He was starting to generate offers from colleges, particularly LSU and Florida State, but his mother made a special request as the college offers started flowing in.
“We liked Alabama, we liked coach (Nick) Saban,” Eddie Sr. said. “That’s one of the reasons we liked Alabama is because of coach Saban. Coach Saban reminds me a lot of my dad. He’s real serious. I think boys need that in their lives to keep them going on the path to becoming that man you’re trying to raise.A ridiculously low price on this All-Purpose solar lantern by Gordon.
“My wife said, ‘Look, if Alabama comes, that’s a wrap.’ So I went to coach Blair and told him my wife wants Alabama. So he went out and got Alabama.”
While his brother was a five-star recruit, Jackson understands the decision to sit out 2010 and 2011 affected his star rating as a recruit.
“It actually motivated me,” he said. “It made me go harder at everything I do.Source crystal mosaic Products at Mosaics. That basically helped me do what I did on the field this year. I wish I could have played my 10th and 11th grade years, but then again, everything happens for a reason.”
If history tells him anything, Jackson knows recruiting is an inexact science. Alabama senior guard Chance Warmack was a three-star recruit. So were Tide team captain Damion Square,Don't make another silicone mold without these invaluable Mold Making supplies and accessories! 2011 receiving star Marquis Maze and junior college standout Terrence Cody, who just earned a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens.
“The best is yet to come,” Blair said. “He’s the type of kid that when he’s put in a particular situation,Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet. he’s not the kid that folds under pressure, he’s the kid who rises to the occasion. He likes it. He thrives on it. I think it’s a match made in heaven when you drop him in with one of the greatest college coaches and coaching staffs. I think they’ll be able to unlock a whole bunch of things.”
And after missing two years of playing time because of academics, Jackson now has his priorities straight.
“The most important thing to me is academics,The cost of cleaning just 2 infected lenses is already higher than the cost of a dry cabinet.” he said. “Who had the best academics, that’s who I was going with regardless. And my dream is to play in the NFL. Who has the best track record? Coach Saban’s track record is amazing.
“I grew up watching them play but the biggest thing is I’m the first recruit from Fort Lauderdale to be offered by ‘Bama. Also, academically, I felt that was best place to spend my four years. I felt like coach Saban could make me become a better athlete and a better person as well.”
"I have been a fan of Mountain Dew for as long as I can remember," said Gilbert. "I'm honored to be able to partner up with the DEW family for some exciting projects this year."
"Being part of the DEW family means making a style that's all your own, and never conforming to a traditional mold," said Greg Lyons, Mountain Dew's VP of Marketing. "Brantley exemplifies all that DEW stands for – making country music that is true to its rebel roots, in very much the same way that the brand stays true to its own. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Brantley into the DEW Nation, and hope our fans will join us in helping him rock."
“My original intent was to have him as a safety but when we were in practice I started noticing things. When we came into the fall, we knew we were going to put him in a bunch of different places.”
The younger Jackson said the change of scenery – and the decision to force him to get his academics in order before allowing him back on the football field – helped his focus.
“All my friends were at Northeast so when I came here I really didn’t know anyone so it was a fresh start,” he said. “(Sitting out the 2011season) was actually my decision. I wanted to get everything done in the classroom first before I even stepped on the field.”
His focus literally improved when Blair offered metronome testing, a method that guarantees improved focus and concentration. Jackson responded with a 19 on his ACT.
“He was having a great season, but that’s when he went into spectacular,” Blair said. “That’s when he learned the concentration. He was all locked in. He’s such a hard worker and a perfectionist, he demands not only perfection from himself but from the people around him. As a staff, our people have only tapped the surface.”
By November, Jackson was well on his way to making a name as a receiver who had 792 yards and 12 touchdowns and as a defensive star and return specialist who had two interceptions returned for touchdowns along with a pair of kickoffs and a punt for scores.
Then came the Nov. 16 death of his grandmother, Mary Williams, on the day his Cobras were scheduled to face eighth-ranked Delray Beach Atlantic in the first round of the state playoffs.
After leaving school for several hours, Jackson unexpectedly returned to play in the game.
“She helped mold him into the young man that he is,” Blair said. “He had a spectacular game for the ages offensively, defensively and special teams wise. He took that emotion to another level. I wasn’t even worried about him playing. I was more worried about his mindset and where he was at.”
He was starting to generate offers from colleges, particularly LSU and Florida State, but his mother made a special request as the college offers started flowing in.
“We liked Alabama, we liked coach (Nick) Saban,” Eddie Sr. said. “That’s one of the reasons we liked Alabama is because of coach Saban. Coach Saban reminds me a lot of my dad. He’s real serious. I think boys need that in their lives to keep them going on the path to becoming that man you’re trying to raise.A ridiculously low price on this All-Purpose solar lantern by Gordon.
“My wife said, ‘Look, if Alabama comes, that’s a wrap.’ So I went to coach Blair and told him my wife wants Alabama. So he went out and got Alabama.”
While his brother was a five-star recruit, Jackson understands the decision to sit out 2010 and 2011 affected his star rating as a recruit.
“It actually motivated me,” he said. “It made me go harder at everything I do.Source crystal mosaic Products at Mosaics. That basically helped me do what I did on the field this year. I wish I could have played my 10th and 11th grade years, but then again, everything happens for a reason.”
If history tells him anything, Jackson knows recruiting is an inexact science. Alabama senior guard Chance Warmack was a three-star recruit. So were Tide team captain Damion Square,Don't make another silicone mold without these invaluable Mold Making supplies and accessories! 2011 receiving star Marquis Maze and junior college standout Terrence Cody, who just earned a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens.
“The best is yet to come,” Blair said. “He’s the type of kid that when he’s put in a particular situation,Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet. he’s not the kid that folds under pressure, he’s the kid who rises to the occasion. He likes it. He thrives on it. I think it’s a match made in heaven when you drop him in with one of the greatest college coaches and coaching staffs. I think they’ll be able to unlock a whole bunch of things.”
And after missing two years of playing time because of academics, Jackson now has his priorities straight.
“The most important thing to me is academics,The cost of cleaning just 2 infected lenses is already higher than the cost of a dry cabinet.” he said. “Who had the best academics, that’s who I was going with regardless. And my dream is to play in the NFL. Who has the best track record? Coach Saban’s track record is amazing.
“I grew up watching them play but the biggest thing is I’m the first recruit from Fort Lauderdale to be offered by ‘Bama. Also, academically, I felt that was best place to spend my four years. I felt like coach Saban could make me become a better athlete and a better person as well.”
Singapore Finds Its Artistic Side
Though it is known for its financial focus, Singapore — with its
influx of interesting expeditions and frequent fairs — is quickly
becoming a major Asian art hub.
Singapore Art Week, which was held from Jan. 22 to 27, brought together several local galleries and national museums to present a series of exhibitions and fairs.
It also featured Art Stage Singapore 2013, a distinguished forum for contemporary Asian art.
Founded by Lorenzo Rudolf, the former director of Switzerland’s Art Basel, in Singapore in 2010, Art Stage Singapore functions like a big international bazaar.
“It’s a marketplace, first of all,” said Rudolf. “Second, it’s a unique match-making place where people can meet, because there’s such a concentration of artists, dealers and buyers [at the event].”
In its third edition, the event was held from Jan. 24 to 27 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at Marina Bay Sands.
This year’s fair was based around the theme “We are Asia.”
More than 130 international galleries and 600 artists participated in the event, with approximately 75 percent of the artists and galleries originating from the Asia-Pacific region.
The exhibition halls in the convention center were divided into several platforms for Art Stage Singapore 2013, including the Singapore Platform, which showcased pieces by the city-state’s home-grown artists, and the Project Stage, a forum for young and emerging artists from the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere.
“It’s a unique ‘instant museum,’?” Rudolf said. “During a certain period, you have a unique opportunity to have a comprehensive overview of modern creativity as you would have in a museum.”
The Indonesian Pavilion, a major focus of the event, occupied almost a quarter of the exhibition halls and presented the best work of 50 Indonesian artists.
“Indonesia is by far the strongest and the biggest art scene in Southeast Asia,” Rudolf said. “Indonesian artists are at the point of growing and taking a step toward the international world. I believe in them.”
Rudolf said he believed that Indonesia represents a robust market for contemporary art.
“There’s no market in Southeast Asia in [terms of] contemporary art that is as strong as Indonesia today,” Rudolf said.
As such, several famous Indonesian collectors scanned the fair for potential purchases.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics.
“I’m an art lover,” said Indonesian art collector Deddy Kusuma. “I’m now hunting for new contemporary art pieces to add to my collection.”
He said he was mainly interested in the works of Indonesian artists.
“We [Indonesian artists and I] have strong emotional connections,” he said.We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. “I know the artists and most of them know me.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? That’s what makes their work so special to me.”
Among the most celebrated Indonesian artists presenting his work was Heri Dono. The Yogyakarta-based artist presented “The Extraterrestrial Troops,” a unique installation that consisted of 20 glass vehicles with pairs of comical figurines riding on top.
“Everywhere in the world, artists are considered to be weird and eccentric, as if they were extraterrestrial beings,” Heri said. “But they get along just fine within their circles. In these groups, they can do their best to express themselves and grow their talents.”
According to Heri, Art Stage Singapore is a crucial avenue that brings together artists, collectors and art dealers from around the world.
“It’s a positive effort to foster the growth of creative talent within the region,” Heri said.
Biantoro Santoso, owner and manager of the Nadi Gallery, said he felt that the event had helped reinvigorate the market for modern art.
“The international contemporary art market is slow these days,” Biantoro said. “Maybe it’s due to the global economic crisis. But Art Stage has helped us promote some of our most talented artists to the international market.”
During the first hour of the VIP preview of Art Stage Singapore on Jan. 23, the Nadi Gallery sold two paintings by Yogyakarta-based artist Handiwirman Saputra. The pieces, “Akhir Pekan dan Projek Organik Dari Tak Berakar Tak Berpucuk” (“Weekend and Organic Projects of the Rootless and Budless”) #3 and #4, were sold to an art collector for around $160,000 each.
Renowned art collector and curator Oei Hong Djien noted the fair’s effort in highlighting Indonesian artistic talent.
“I’m very proud of the Indonesian Pavilion,” the 73-year-old said. “Its special presence at Art Stage Singapore is proof of the international recognition of our artists.”
Another notable exhibition taking place as part of Singapore Art Week was titled “Paintings to Be Looked at for More Than 10 Seconds.” It features recent works by Indonesian artists and urges viewers to contemplate what makes a painting good.
“Good paintings are slow,” said the exhibition’s director, Tony Godfrey. “They’re different and complicated. We need to sit down to really look at them.”
The exhibition is being presented through Feb. 24 at the Equator Art Projects gallery,Bay State Cable Ties is a full line manufacturer of nylon cable ties and related products. a spartan structure in the Gillman Barracks in Singapore.
Its gray cemented floors are empty, except for a couple of black chairs sitting back-to-back in the middle, and its whitewashed walls feature 10 beautiful paintings by 10 celebrated Indonesian artists.
Bandung-based artist Arahmaiani presented her latest painting “Sonam” (in Tibetan, “The Blessed One”) at the gallery.I thought it would be fun to show you the inspiration behind the broken china-mosaics. The gray-hued painting presents a simple headshot of a man and a lotus flower. On top of the painting is a Tibetan inscription that says “peace and harmony.”
Additionally, Arin Dwihartanto introduced his latest piece, titled “Merapi Volcanic Ash Series 7.” In the painting, the 34-year-old artist experimented with Mount Merapi’s volcanic ash and pigmented resin on a wood canvas.
According to the artist, he was inspired by the eruption of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta in 2010.
“For many centuries, resin has been known as a preservative agent,” Arin said. “With this medium, I want to preserve the special momentum and the material [volcanic ash] emitted by the eruption.”
Singapore Art Week, which was held from Jan. 22 to 27, brought together several local galleries and national museums to present a series of exhibitions and fairs.
It also featured Art Stage Singapore 2013, a distinguished forum for contemporary Asian art.
Founded by Lorenzo Rudolf, the former director of Switzerland’s Art Basel, in Singapore in 2010, Art Stage Singapore functions like a big international bazaar.
“It’s a marketplace, first of all,” said Rudolf. “Second, it’s a unique match-making place where people can meet, because there’s such a concentration of artists, dealers and buyers [at the event].”
In its third edition, the event was held from Jan. 24 to 27 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at Marina Bay Sands.
This year’s fair was based around the theme “We are Asia.”
More than 130 international galleries and 600 artists participated in the event, with approximately 75 percent of the artists and galleries originating from the Asia-Pacific region.
The exhibition halls in the convention center were divided into several platforms for Art Stage Singapore 2013, including the Singapore Platform, which showcased pieces by the city-state’s home-grown artists, and the Project Stage, a forum for young and emerging artists from the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere.
“It’s a unique ‘instant museum,’?” Rudolf said. “During a certain period, you have a unique opportunity to have a comprehensive overview of modern creativity as you would have in a museum.”
The Indonesian Pavilion, a major focus of the event, occupied almost a quarter of the exhibition halls and presented the best work of 50 Indonesian artists.
“Indonesia is by far the strongest and the biggest art scene in Southeast Asia,” Rudolf said. “Indonesian artists are at the point of growing and taking a step toward the international world. I believe in them.”
Rudolf said he believed that Indonesia represents a robust market for contemporary art.
“There’s no market in Southeast Asia in [terms of] contemporary art that is as strong as Indonesia today,” Rudolf said.
As such, several famous Indonesian collectors scanned the fair for potential purchases.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics.
“I’m an art lover,” said Indonesian art collector Deddy Kusuma. “I’m now hunting for new contemporary art pieces to add to my collection.”
He said he was mainly interested in the works of Indonesian artists.
“We [Indonesian artists and I] have strong emotional connections,” he said.We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. “I know the artists and most of them know me.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? That’s what makes their work so special to me.”
Among the most celebrated Indonesian artists presenting his work was Heri Dono. The Yogyakarta-based artist presented “The Extraterrestrial Troops,” a unique installation that consisted of 20 glass vehicles with pairs of comical figurines riding on top.
“Everywhere in the world, artists are considered to be weird and eccentric, as if they were extraterrestrial beings,” Heri said. “But they get along just fine within their circles. In these groups, they can do their best to express themselves and grow their talents.”
According to Heri, Art Stage Singapore is a crucial avenue that brings together artists, collectors and art dealers from around the world.
“It’s a positive effort to foster the growth of creative talent within the region,” Heri said.
Biantoro Santoso, owner and manager of the Nadi Gallery, said he felt that the event had helped reinvigorate the market for modern art.
“The international contemporary art market is slow these days,” Biantoro said. “Maybe it’s due to the global economic crisis. But Art Stage has helped us promote some of our most talented artists to the international market.”
During the first hour of the VIP preview of Art Stage Singapore on Jan. 23, the Nadi Gallery sold two paintings by Yogyakarta-based artist Handiwirman Saputra. The pieces, “Akhir Pekan dan Projek Organik Dari Tak Berakar Tak Berpucuk” (“Weekend and Organic Projects of the Rootless and Budless”) #3 and #4, were sold to an art collector for around $160,000 each.
Renowned art collector and curator Oei Hong Djien noted the fair’s effort in highlighting Indonesian artistic talent.
“I’m very proud of the Indonesian Pavilion,” the 73-year-old said. “Its special presence at Art Stage Singapore is proof of the international recognition of our artists.”
Another notable exhibition taking place as part of Singapore Art Week was titled “Paintings to Be Looked at for More Than 10 Seconds.” It features recent works by Indonesian artists and urges viewers to contemplate what makes a painting good.
“Good paintings are slow,” said the exhibition’s director, Tony Godfrey. “They’re different and complicated. We need to sit down to really look at them.”
The exhibition is being presented through Feb. 24 at the Equator Art Projects gallery,Bay State Cable Ties is a full line manufacturer of nylon cable ties and related products. a spartan structure in the Gillman Barracks in Singapore.
Its gray cemented floors are empty, except for a couple of black chairs sitting back-to-back in the middle, and its whitewashed walls feature 10 beautiful paintings by 10 celebrated Indonesian artists.
Bandung-based artist Arahmaiani presented her latest painting “Sonam” (in Tibetan, “The Blessed One”) at the gallery.I thought it would be fun to show you the inspiration behind the broken china-mosaics. The gray-hued painting presents a simple headshot of a man and a lotus flower. On top of the painting is a Tibetan inscription that says “peace and harmony.”
Additionally, Arin Dwihartanto introduced his latest piece, titled “Merapi Volcanic Ash Series 7.” In the painting, the 34-year-old artist experimented with Mount Merapi’s volcanic ash and pigmented resin on a wood canvas.
According to the artist, he was inspired by the eruption of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta in 2010.
“For many centuries, resin has been known as a preservative agent,” Arin said. “With this medium, I want to preserve the special momentum and the material [volcanic ash] emitted by the eruption.”
2013年2月4日 星期一
Tracking the Pack
IN December, wolf 832F ventured out of her territory in
Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. As soon as she left the park, she lost its
protections, and the wolf, a 6-year-old alpha female, was shot and
killed by a hunter.
It’s rare for the death of an animal to make the news, but wolf 832F was a bona fide celebrity — one of Yellowstone’s most visible and popular wolves — and her death led to a public outpouring of grief. Making her death even more tragic was the fact that she had been wearing an expensive GPS tracking collar,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. which allowed scientists to follow her every move and gain crucial insight into the lives of gray wolves.
In recent years, there has been much pontificating about how modern communications technologies are changing the way that we relate to other people. Less discussed is the way these advances are reshaping our relationships with other species. By using satellite and cellular tags to track free-ranging animals, biologists are providing us with intimate access to the daily lives of other species, drawing us closer to the world’s wild things and making us more invested in their welfare.
Over the past several decades, the use of wildlife tags has proliferated as the devices have become smaller and more powerful. Today’s tags are capable of collecting months’ or years’ worth of data on an animal’s location at a given moment, and can be used to track everything from tiny tropical orchid bees to blubbery, deep-diving elephant seals. The devices provide crucial information about populations — helping scientists uncover the migratory pathways of Arctic terns or the ocean currents that loggerhead sea turtles like to surf — as well as individuals. Is this particular predator a pack leader or a lone wolf? A dedicated hunter or a mooch? How much time does it spend with its pups? Who are its associates, rivals and mates?
Learning about the personalities and life histories of individual animals can prompt affection for these creatures, even if we never meet them. Thousands of people followed wolf 832F’s escapades online; park visitors posted photos and discussed her on message boards. After she died, Yellowstone officials even received outraged phone calls.Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing. (There was nothing the park could have done — Wyoming’s gray wolves were removed from the endangered species list late last summer, opening the door for legal hunting. Sadly,They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. wolf 832F was the eighth wolf with a tracking collar to be killed by ranchers over the course of this hunting season.)
Some scientists are beginning to provide the public with direct access to tracking data. For instance, the leaders of the Tagging of Pacific Predators project, a 10-year tracking study of 23 different marine species, created a Web site broadcasting the movements of their subjects in real time (or close to it). While the project lasted, anyone with an Internet connection could follow the wanderings of Monty, the mako shark, Genevieve,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. the leatherback turtle, or Jon Sealwart and Stelephant Colbert, both northern elephant seals. The scientists supplemented the data with photos and profiles of some of the animals, as well as online trading cards and Facebook profiles.
Bird lovers can follow the migrations of bald eagles through EagleTrak, run by the Center for Conservation Biology. The group provides detailed updates on the journeys of two eagles, Camellia and Azalea, and people can “adopt” the birds with a donation of $25 or more. Each bird has around a hundred “adoptive parents,” proving how attached we can get to a wild creature when we have a name and a life story to assign to it.
This technology is still evolving, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s possible. In the years to come, perhaps wildlife biologists will take a page from the creators of Teat Tweet, a yearlong project featuring 12 tagged dairy cows and an automatic milking machine. Each cow was given her very own Twitter account, and a program broadcast her milking stats to all her followers. On July 14, 2011, for instance, a cow named Goldwyn Windy tweeted, “I just squirted 18.9 kgs of milk out of my teats in 7:10 minutes. What did you do today?”
Of course, tweeting cows are pretty silly, and we don’t need technology to get to know an animal. Many of those who came to care about wolf 832F simply visited the park and watched her in her natural habitat.We've got a plastic card to suit you. But sadly, too few of us have the chance to experience that, and while virtual encounters can’t replace the real-life kind, they may be the next best thing.
What’s more, tracking projects may be our best hope for getting the public to invest in conservation. We may be able to ignore a nameless, faceless mass of threatened creatures, but fill in their personalities and back stories, and it becomes harder to look the other way as their habitats disappear or they are hunted to extinction. A famous animal can become an ambassador for its species, inspiring efforts to conserve the entire population. Indeed, after wolf 832F’s death, the National Wolfwatcher Coalition started a fund-raising campaign in her honor, donating the proceeds to wolf research and education programs.
Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch's 528-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester — a discovery Richard's fans say will rewrite the history books and help restore the reputation of a much-maligned king.
Researchers from the University of Leicester announced that tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed in the central England city last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.
It’s rare for the death of an animal to make the news, but wolf 832F was a bona fide celebrity — one of Yellowstone’s most visible and popular wolves — and her death led to a public outpouring of grief. Making her death even more tragic was the fact that she had been wearing an expensive GPS tracking collar,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. which allowed scientists to follow her every move and gain crucial insight into the lives of gray wolves.
In recent years, there has been much pontificating about how modern communications technologies are changing the way that we relate to other people. Less discussed is the way these advances are reshaping our relationships with other species. By using satellite and cellular tags to track free-ranging animals, biologists are providing us with intimate access to the daily lives of other species, drawing us closer to the world’s wild things and making us more invested in their welfare.
Over the past several decades, the use of wildlife tags has proliferated as the devices have become smaller and more powerful. Today’s tags are capable of collecting months’ or years’ worth of data on an animal’s location at a given moment, and can be used to track everything from tiny tropical orchid bees to blubbery, deep-diving elephant seals. The devices provide crucial information about populations — helping scientists uncover the migratory pathways of Arctic terns or the ocean currents that loggerhead sea turtles like to surf — as well as individuals. Is this particular predator a pack leader or a lone wolf? A dedicated hunter or a mooch? How much time does it spend with its pups? Who are its associates, rivals and mates?
Learning about the personalities and life histories of individual animals can prompt affection for these creatures, even if we never meet them. Thousands of people followed wolf 832F’s escapades online; park visitors posted photos and discussed her on message boards. After she died, Yellowstone officials even received outraged phone calls.Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing. (There was nothing the park could have done — Wyoming’s gray wolves were removed from the endangered species list late last summer, opening the door for legal hunting. Sadly,They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. wolf 832F was the eighth wolf with a tracking collar to be killed by ranchers over the course of this hunting season.)
Some scientists are beginning to provide the public with direct access to tracking data. For instance, the leaders of the Tagging of Pacific Predators project, a 10-year tracking study of 23 different marine species, created a Web site broadcasting the movements of their subjects in real time (or close to it). While the project lasted, anyone with an Internet connection could follow the wanderings of Monty, the mako shark, Genevieve,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. the leatherback turtle, or Jon Sealwart and Stelephant Colbert, both northern elephant seals. The scientists supplemented the data with photos and profiles of some of the animals, as well as online trading cards and Facebook profiles.
Bird lovers can follow the migrations of bald eagles through EagleTrak, run by the Center for Conservation Biology. The group provides detailed updates on the journeys of two eagles, Camellia and Azalea, and people can “adopt” the birds with a donation of $25 or more. Each bird has around a hundred “adoptive parents,” proving how attached we can get to a wild creature when we have a name and a life story to assign to it.
This technology is still evolving, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s possible. In the years to come, perhaps wildlife biologists will take a page from the creators of Teat Tweet, a yearlong project featuring 12 tagged dairy cows and an automatic milking machine. Each cow was given her very own Twitter account, and a program broadcast her milking stats to all her followers. On July 14, 2011, for instance, a cow named Goldwyn Windy tweeted, “I just squirted 18.9 kgs of milk out of my teats in 7:10 minutes. What did you do today?”
Of course, tweeting cows are pretty silly, and we don’t need technology to get to know an animal. Many of those who came to care about wolf 832F simply visited the park and watched her in her natural habitat.We've got a plastic card to suit you. But sadly, too few of us have the chance to experience that, and while virtual encounters can’t replace the real-life kind, they may be the next best thing.
What’s more, tracking projects may be our best hope for getting the public to invest in conservation. We may be able to ignore a nameless, faceless mass of threatened creatures, but fill in their personalities and back stories, and it becomes harder to look the other way as their habitats disappear or they are hunted to extinction. A famous animal can become an ambassador for its species, inspiring efforts to conserve the entire population. Indeed, after wolf 832F’s death, the National Wolfwatcher Coalition started a fund-raising campaign in her honor, donating the proceeds to wolf research and education programs.
Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch's 528-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester — a discovery Richard's fans say will rewrite the history books and help restore the reputation of a much-maligned king.
Researchers from the University of Leicester announced that tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed in the central England city last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.
Beholden to Gun Manufacturers and Betrayers of Their Country
An error stemming from ignorance, misinformation, or sheer delusion
is sometimes labeled a formal fallacy or simply an invalid argument,
and in America, it is the identifying feature of a segment of the
population steeped in paranoia that government tyranny threatens their
existence. Most sane human beings rightly categorize paranoid
anti-government advocates as delusional, and hardly consider them a
threat to society, but after the tea party inflicted damage on the
nation over the past two years, most Americans realized political power
in the hands of lunatics is as great a threat to America as a foreign
invader. The 2012 election gave voters an opportunity to marginalize
the tea party, but instead of reconsidering the efficacy of their
anti-government rhetoric and tempering their outrage, they have
embraced the National Rifle Association’s “tyrannical government”
oratory and are threatening armed resistance against the government.
Since the Newtown school massacre in December, the national gun control discussion incited the tea party to ignore the immigration and budget debate in Congress leaving just one thing on their agenda; guns. The idea of background checks, limiting access to assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines to reduce gun violence is adding fuel to the teabaggers’ fallacy their rights are being trampled and is increasing the anti-government paranoia that drove the movement in 2009. Around the country, tea party leaders are using the gun debate as a new rallying cry for the movement’s anticipated resurgence with a wave of protests to decry “tyranny of the Obama Administration” that drives teabagger anti-government rage.
The NRA leadership droning on that the Obama Administration is waging a war on the Second Amendment has led disaffected patriots across the nation to believe they face an existential threat that fuels their “If we don’t fight, we’ll lose our rights” sentiment. The single most absurd 2nd Amendment fallacy, and deliberately promoted NRA lie to incite opposition to President Obama, is “the Second Amendment is there to protect us from losing the rest of them.” That sentiment, by a teabagger with his 3-year old daughter in one arm and a rifle in the other, is driving the tea party’s tyrannical government narrative and inflaming those waiting for a reason to begin a war against the government. Regardless the historical record that the Second Amendment was to ensure a “well-regulated Militia” was available to put down insurrections and uprisings against the government, extremist conservatives hold that the right to keep and bear arms is to fight government tyranny. Only a fool would believe that America’s Founders adopted the Second Amendment because they wanted an armed population that could battle the U.S. government, and yet this is a widely held notion among gun fanatics.They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. It is insane on its face and a fallacy of epic proportion fueling the growing threat from gun-fanatics that “this is the fundamental issue on the founding of our nation, and job one of ours–to protect gun owners from the assault on the Constitution. Might we have to have to take up arms against the government? Yeah.”
All of this anti-government sentiment did not begin with the gun debate, but with provocation by the NRA and patriot groups, it represents a threat all the same. It is fortunate that the tyranny rhetoric is not overwhelming the sanity of an ever-growing number of Americans, including NRA members, who dispel the Republican and conservative myth that the public does not support stronger gun laws to keep Americans safe. In a comprehensive poll conducted by Republican Frank Lutz seven months before Newtown, 87% of NRA members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. 74 percent of NRA members and 87 percent of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun,We've got a plastic card to suit you. and yet the NRA and Republicans in Congress vehemently oppose them today. If the tea party is depending on a wave of support because they champion armed conflict over requiring background checks, they are incredibly delusional.
Despite widespread support for stricter gun control laws, Republicans in Congress and state legislatures embolden the gun-crazed crowd by pandering to the gun lobby (NRA) and giving credence to the teabaggers’ belief that their rights are being trampled with little option but to take up arms against the government. Mitch McConnell, Wayne La Pierre, and conservative pundits have attempted to use fear to garner support against gun controls, and although they are successful with gun fanatics, they are losing favor with the public and the tea party is gullible if they think their ticket to electoral victory rests with threatening violence against the government. The greatest allies gun control advocates have are not necessarily President Obama and Democrats,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. but crazed fear mongers like La Pierre, McConnell, and conservative pundits that Fox News and liberal critics challenge publicly as insane.
Last week, La Pierre said “I think without any doubt, if you look at why our Founding Fathers put (the Second Amendment) there, they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny,” but most Americans, including NRA members, do not equate gun control with tyranny. The entire “tyranny rhetoric” is a straw man for opposition to an African American President and began long before the current gun control debate, and calls for violence predicated on “tyranny” are cover for racism.Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. In fact, no so-called patriot can cite one instance of tyranny or assault on the Constitution, but it is politically incorrect to call for violence because an African American is President, as evidenced by similar calls during the healthcare reform debate.
Interestingly, the progressive income tax was originally backed strongly by the rich themselves. Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, for example, a man widely known to be John D. Rockefeller’s “inside man” in the Senate, was a principal proponent of a federal progressive income tax made legal by an amendment to the constitution. This is not surprising, for although the “progressives” who championed the income tax claimed that it would be a tax on the rich and that it would help the little guy, in reality it was largely a tax on the middle class. This is mainly because the wealthy, through the use of trusts and tax-exempt foundations, are able to escape much of their tax burden yet still have great influence and power over business, banking, and government. There was a significant difference between the propaganda and the reality; the populism championed by the progressives and populists was not the “share the wealth” program they portrayed it to be, but a control-the-wealth program. Under the guise of helping the little guy, the elites worked hard to implement an income tax. In keeping with the ideology of its primary backers, the new income tax was to be a “progressive” tax — one in which the tax rate increases as the taxable base income increases.
While certainly not oppressive when compared to today’s income-tax schedule, the new federal income tax represented a radical departure from the type of government Americans had lived under prior to the income tax. It gave the federal government access to potentially huge amounts of revenue that the government could then tap to finance various programs,Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing. very much including unconstitutional programs. Of course, even with increased funds available via the income tax, spending money on unconstitutional programs is still unconstitutional, but with the federal government now possessing the means to siphon vast streams of money out of the pockets of the American people into the coffers in Washington, the temptation to tap this resource to empower Washington was clearly too great to resist. The transfer of revenue and power to Washington not only strengthened Washington but also weakened the states, which themselves are republics (not provinces) in our federal system of government and possess powers not transferred to the national government by the U.S. Constitution. The very fact that the income tax now imposed on the American people is a progressive tax means the tax serves the purpose not only of providing the U.S. government with a powerful means of obtaining revenue, but also enables the government to redistribute the wealth. And with the creation of a de facto central bank (the Federal Reserve), also in 1913, the federal government has been essentially freed from budgetary restraints, since it can now simply print money to cover operating expenses if revenue is insufficient.
Since the Newtown school massacre in December, the national gun control discussion incited the tea party to ignore the immigration and budget debate in Congress leaving just one thing on their agenda; guns. The idea of background checks, limiting access to assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines to reduce gun violence is adding fuel to the teabaggers’ fallacy their rights are being trampled and is increasing the anti-government paranoia that drove the movement in 2009. Around the country, tea party leaders are using the gun debate as a new rallying cry for the movement’s anticipated resurgence with a wave of protests to decry “tyranny of the Obama Administration” that drives teabagger anti-government rage.
The NRA leadership droning on that the Obama Administration is waging a war on the Second Amendment has led disaffected patriots across the nation to believe they face an existential threat that fuels their “If we don’t fight, we’ll lose our rights” sentiment. The single most absurd 2nd Amendment fallacy, and deliberately promoted NRA lie to incite opposition to President Obama, is “the Second Amendment is there to protect us from losing the rest of them.” That sentiment, by a teabagger with his 3-year old daughter in one arm and a rifle in the other, is driving the tea party’s tyrannical government narrative and inflaming those waiting for a reason to begin a war against the government. Regardless the historical record that the Second Amendment was to ensure a “well-regulated Militia” was available to put down insurrections and uprisings against the government, extremist conservatives hold that the right to keep and bear arms is to fight government tyranny. Only a fool would believe that America’s Founders adopted the Second Amendment because they wanted an armed population that could battle the U.S. government, and yet this is a widely held notion among gun fanatics.They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. It is insane on its face and a fallacy of epic proportion fueling the growing threat from gun-fanatics that “this is the fundamental issue on the founding of our nation, and job one of ours–to protect gun owners from the assault on the Constitution. Might we have to have to take up arms against the government? Yeah.”
All of this anti-government sentiment did not begin with the gun debate, but with provocation by the NRA and patriot groups, it represents a threat all the same. It is fortunate that the tyranny rhetoric is not overwhelming the sanity of an ever-growing number of Americans, including NRA members, who dispel the Republican and conservative myth that the public does not support stronger gun laws to keep Americans safe. In a comprehensive poll conducted by Republican Frank Lutz seven months before Newtown, 87% of NRA members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. 74 percent of NRA members and 87 percent of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun,We've got a plastic card to suit you. and yet the NRA and Republicans in Congress vehemently oppose them today. If the tea party is depending on a wave of support because they champion armed conflict over requiring background checks, they are incredibly delusional.
Despite widespread support for stricter gun control laws, Republicans in Congress and state legislatures embolden the gun-crazed crowd by pandering to the gun lobby (NRA) and giving credence to the teabaggers’ belief that their rights are being trampled with little option but to take up arms against the government. Mitch McConnell, Wayne La Pierre, and conservative pundits have attempted to use fear to garner support against gun controls, and although they are successful with gun fanatics, they are losing favor with the public and the tea party is gullible if they think their ticket to electoral victory rests with threatening violence against the government. The greatest allies gun control advocates have are not necessarily President Obama and Democrats,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. but crazed fear mongers like La Pierre, McConnell, and conservative pundits that Fox News and liberal critics challenge publicly as insane.
Last week, La Pierre said “I think without any doubt, if you look at why our Founding Fathers put (the Second Amendment) there, they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny,” but most Americans, including NRA members, do not equate gun control with tyranny. The entire “tyranny rhetoric” is a straw man for opposition to an African American President and began long before the current gun control debate, and calls for violence predicated on “tyranny” are cover for racism.Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. In fact, no so-called patriot can cite one instance of tyranny or assault on the Constitution, but it is politically incorrect to call for violence because an African American is President, as evidenced by similar calls during the healthcare reform debate.
Interestingly, the progressive income tax was originally backed strongly by the rich themselves. Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, for example, a man widely known to be John D. Rockefeller’s “inside man” in the Senate, was a principal proponent of a federal progressive income tax made legal by an amendment to the constitution. This is not surprising, for although the “progressives” who championed the income tax claimed that it would be a tax on the rich and that it would help the little guy, in reality it was largely a tax on the middle class. This is mainly because the wealthy, through the use of trusts and tax-exempt foundations, are able to escape much of their tax burden yet still have great influence and power over business, banking, and government. There was a significant difference between the propaganda and the reality; the populism championed by the progressives and populists was not the “share the wealth” program they portrayed it to be, but a control-the-wealth program. Under the guise of helping the little guy, the elites worked hard to implement an income tax. In keeping with the ideology of its primary backers, the new income tax was to be a “progressive” tax — one in which the tax rate increases as the taxable base income increases.
While certainly not oppressive when compared to today’s income-tax schedule, the new federal income tax represented a radical departure from the type of government Americans had lived under prior to the income tax. It gave the federal government access to potentially huge amounts of revenue that the government could then tap to finance various programs,Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing. very much including unconstitutional programs. Of course, even with increased funds available via the income tax, spending money on unconstitutional programs is still unconstitutional, but with the federal government now possessing the means to siphon vast streams of money out of the pockets of the American people into the coffers in Washington, the temptation to tap this resource to empower Washington was clearly too great to resist. The transfer of revenue and power to Washington not only strengthened Washington but also weakened the states, which themselves are republics (not provinces) in our federal system of government and possess powers not transferred to the national government by the U.S. Constitution. The very fact that the income tax now imposed on the American people is a progressive tax means the tax serves the purpose not only of providing the U.S. government with a powerful means of obtaining revenue, but also enables the government to redistribute the wealth. And with the creation of a de facto central bank (the Federal Reserve), also in 1913, the federal government has been essentially freed from budgetary restraints, since it can now simply print money to cover operating expenses if revenue is insufficient.
How’d We Get Here and What Happens Next?
The amount of student loan debt and the rate of delinquency have
been climbing for years now. If it seems like every new statistic is
worse than the last, that’s because it is. Two studies released this
week are no exception.
Credit bureau TransUnion says that in the past five years, the average student loan debt each borrower carries has risen 30% to $23,829. More than half of student loan accounts, which add up to more than 40% of the total dollars owed, are in deferral status. This is just a temporary reprieve; students can defer for only a few years before they have to repay.
The trouble is, many of them aren’t doing so. FICO Labs found that delinquencies rose by 22% in five years. For the newest group of loans it studied, delinquency rates are 15.1% — higher than the 11% cited by the Federal Reserve in a November report. Like the Fed’s study, the FICO analysis doesn’t include loans that are in a deferred status — which means the number of people who can’t afford to pay back that money may be almost twice as high as what the official delinquency rates reflect.
This situation obviously can’t be sustained over the long term. “I think a few more years and it’s going to be a general crisis,” says Barry Bosworth, an economist at the Brookings Institution. Interest rates are unusually low right now; when they rise, more borrowers who were just keeping their heads above water are liable to become delinquent.
The aggregate amount of debt has soared because many people decided to go back to school after being laid off, says Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting for TransUnion’s financial services unit.
In today’s economy, people increasingly need a college degree to be viewed as employable. The New York Times says this “degree inflation” comes at a serious cost to students. “In the late 1970s, the median wage was 40% higher for college graduates than for people with more than a high school degree; now the wage premium is about 80%,” it says.
“It’s unclear whether or not it’s bottomed out,” says Frederic Huynh, senior principal scientist at FICO. One barometer of what future delinquency rates will look like is the credit quality of the people getting student loans today, he says. “If we look at some of the more recent vintages… more consumers have lower FICO scores,” which means more delinquencies.
The tide isn’t going to turn until the labor market for new graduates improves, Huynh says. New graduates need to secure a stable and steady paycheck, he says, but half of college graduates today are either underemployed or don’t have a job at all.
And even an improving job market isn’t going to help the nearly 30% of students who take out loans and never got a degree. This subset of borrowers will continue to struggle, Becker says, because they’ll be relegated to lower-earning jobs while saddled with the same level of debt as their more upwardly-mobile peers “The non-payment rates for people who don’t finish school is really high,Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing.” he says.
Another wrinkle is that the jobs today’s grads are in search of might not open up as quickly as everyone would like, because more parents are delaying their own retirements — often to help pay for their kids’ school loans.Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. “It’s kind of a vicious cycle,” Becker says.We've got a plastic card to suit you.
There’s also the negative effect a default can have on a person’s credit score: Huynh says a person with a good credit history who stops paying their student loans could see their credit score drop by as much as 100 points. For instance, Becker says, for a car loan, “you might be paying 12% or 15% instead of 4%.”
The broader economic implications are troubling. Graduates struggling to dig out from a mountain of student debt also tend to put off getting married, buying homes, and having kids. And since a bigger chunk of their income will go towards servicing the mortgages or car loans they are able to obtain at higher rates, they’ll have less spending power when they do eventually buy big-ticket items like homes and cars. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau student-loan ombudsman Rohit Chopra warned last year that the magnitude of student loan debt could even hold back a housing recovery. “Student-loan borrowers are sending big payments every month to their loan servicers rather than becoming first-time homebuyers,” he said.
But searching through each list can be frustrating. Mixed in are often strange routings connecting through out-of-the-way cities or with long layovers on airlines youíve never heard of. Just this past week I needed to book a flight from San Diego to Hong Kong, and the choices were endless, even including one itinerary with a stop in London and another in Dubai.
What Iíve learned to do is to find a few of the best selections on each of several sites and then print them out and compare. I’m often going back a day or two later, to look at the flights again, essentially conducting the same search all over again with a few variations.They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. So while the Internet brings us gobs of information,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. it still requires a lot more work on our part to find the most suitable flight. And according to industry research, the average user has nine online sessions before booking a flight.
A few days after I booked my flight to Hong Kong (a non-stop from LAX), I learned of a new software product, Pintrips, which claimed it could make these searches easier. Iíve been trying the product, which is still in public beta. (That means it works, but is not yet complete, and is still a little rough around the edges).
Pintrips addresses the difficulty of searching through different sites to come up with the best flight. In essence, it lets you compare a choice of flights selected from any travel site, by bringing them all together to a single location. Not only can I compare flights from the sites noted above, but also from the airline websites such as Delta, Alaska, United and Jet Blue.
The Pintrips name was likely influenced by the hugely successful site, Pinterest, which lets people post or “pin” images of all sorts of things to a virtual bulletin board. But Pintrips is a serious product in its own right, and has the potential to be an effective travel-planning tool. Itís currently available as a plug-in for the Chrome browser, with new browser plug-ins in the works for Firefox, Safari and Explorer over the next few months. According to the company, mobile apps are also in the works.
Once installed, Pintrips lets you go to any travel website, select one or more flights and, with a single click, capture the flight information and “pin” it to your personal dashboard or list. Youíll then end up with a dashboard listing the flights you selected from all the sites you visited, side-by-side, so that you can compare them or even share them with a friend.
You can also use Pintrips to compare flights going to different locations. For example, suppose you were looking at visiting Europe, but were open to several cities, depending on price. You can create your dashboard with several different destinations. Thatís something I would have found useful when I compare my flight options to Hong Kong leaving from either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
Credit bureau TransUnion says that in the past five years, the average student loan debt each borrower carries has risen 30% to $23,829. More than half of student loan accounts, which add up to more than 40% of the total dollars owed, are in deferral status. This is just a temporary reprieve; students can defer for only a few years before they have to repay.
The trouble is, many of them aren’t doing so. FICO Labs found that delinquencies rose by 22% in five years. For the newest group of loans it studied, delinquency rates are 15.1% — higher than the 11% cited by the Federal Reserve in a November report. Like the Fed’s study, the FICO analysis doesn’t include loans that are in a deferred status — which means the number of people who can’t afford to pay back that money may be almost twice as high as what the official delinquency rates reflect.
This situation obviously can’t be sustained over the long term. “I think a few more years and it’s going to be a general crisis,” says Barry Bosworth, an economist at the Brookings Institution. Interest rates are unusually low right now; when they rise, more borrowers who were just keeping their heads above water are liable to become delinquent.
The aggregate amount of debt has soared because many people decided to go back to school after being laid off, says Ezra Becker, vice president of research and consulting for TransUnion’s financial services unit.
In today’s economy, people increasingly need a college degree to be viewed as employable. The New York Times says this “degree inflation” comes at a serious cost to students. “In the late 1970s, the median wage was 40% higher for college graduates than for people with more than a high school degree; now the wage premium is about 80%,” it says.
“It’s unclear whether or not it’s bottomed out,” says Frederic Huynh, senior principal scientist at FICO. One barometer of what future delinquency rates will look like is the credit quality of the people getting student loans today, he says. “If we look at some of the more recent vintages… more consumers have lower FICO scores,” which means more delinquencies.
The tide isn’t going to turn until the labor market for new graduates improves, Huynh says. New graduates need to secure a stable and steady paycheck, he says, but half of college graduates today are either underemployed or don’t have a job at all.
And even an improving job market isn’t going to help the nearly 30% of students who take out loans and never got a degree. This subset of borrowers will continue to struggle, Becker says, because they’ll be relegated to lower-earning jobs while saddled with the same level of debt as their more upwardly-mobile peers “The non-payment rates for people who don’t finish school is really high,Online shopping for luggage tag from a great selection of Clothing.” he says.
Another wrinkle is that the jobs today’s grads are in search of might not open up as quickly as everyone would like, because more parents are delaying their own retirements — often to help pay for their kids’ school loans.Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. “It’s kind of a vicious cycle,” Becker says.We've got a plastic card to suit you.
There’s also the negative effect a default can have on a person’s credit score: Huynh says a person with a good credit history who stops paying their student loans could see their credit score drop by as much as 100 points. For instance, Becker says, for a car loan, “you might be paying 12% or 15% instead of 4%.”
The broader economic implications are troubling. Graduates struggling to dig out from a mountain of student debt also tend to put off getting married, buying homes, and having kids. And since a bigger chunk of their income will go towards servicing the mortgages or car loans they are able to obtain at higher rates, they’ll have less spending power when they do eventually buy big-ticket items like homes and cars. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau student-loan ombudsman Rohit Chopra warned last year that the magnitude of student loan debt could even hold back a housing recovery. “Student-loan borrowers are sending big payments every month to their loan servicers rather than becoming first-time homebuyers,” he said.
But searching through each list can be frustrating. Mixed in are often strange routings connecting through out-of-the-way cities or with long layovers on airlines youíve never heard of. Just this past week I needed to book a flight from San Diego to Hong Kong, and the choices were endless, even including one itinerary with a stop in London and another in Dubai.
What Iíve learned to do is to find a few of the best selections on each of several sites and then print them out and compare. I’m often going back a day or two later, to look at the flights again, essentially conducting the same search all over again with a few variations.They manufacture custom rubber and silicone bracelet and bracelets. So while the Internet brings us gobs of information,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. it still requires a lot more work on our part to find the most suitable flight. And according to industry research, the average user has nine online sessions before booking a flight.
A few days after I booked my flight to Hong Kong (a non-stop from LAX), I learned of a new software product, Pintrips, which claimed it could make these searches easier. Iíve been trying the product, which is still in public beta. (That means it works, but is not yet complete, and is still a little rough around the edges).
Pintrips addresses the difficulty of searching through different sites to come up with the best flight. In essence, it lets you compare a choice of flights selected from any travel site, by bringing them all together to a single location. Not only can I compare flights from the sites noted above, but also from the airline websites such as Delta, Alaska, United and Jet Blue.
The Pintrips name was likely influenced by the hugely successful site, Pinterest, which lets people post or “pin” images of all sorts of things to a virtual bulletin board. But Pintrips is a serious product in its own right, and has the potential to be an effective travel-planning tool. Itís currently available as a plug-in for the Chrome browser, with new browser plug-ins in the works for Firefox, Safari and Explorer over the next few months. According to the company, mobile apps are also in the works.
Once installed, Pintrips lets you go to any travel website, select one or more flights and, with a single click, capture the flight information and “pin” it to your personal dashboard or list. Youíll then end up with a dashboard listing the flights you selected from all the sites you visited, side-by-side, so that you can compare them or even share them with a friend.
You can also use Pintrips to compare flights going to different locations. For example, suppose you were looking at visiting Europe, but were open to several cities, depending on price. You can create your dashboard with several different destinations. Thatís something I would have found useful when I compare my flight options to Hong Kong leaving from either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
2013年2月3日 星期日
Bridger 'probably killed' April
Former lifeguard Mark Bridger is "probably responsible" for the death
of five-year-old April Jones but denies her abduction and murder, a
court has been told.
Bridger, of Mount Pleasant farmhouse in the village of Ceinws, near Machynlleth, will stand trial later this year accused of murdering April, who went missing in mid-Wales last year.
April was last seen playing out on her bike on Machynlleth's Bryn-y-Gog estate, where she lived, on the evening of October 1. Bridger was arrested the following day, but the search for April's body goes on.
Bridger entered not guilty pleas to abduction, murder and perverting the course of justice at Mold Crown Court.
But Brendan Kelly,Which Air purifier is right for you? defending, told the court his client's defence involves him "conceding that he probably killed the child".
Mr Justice Griffith-Williams said: "That matter can be reported. You have indicated that the defendant's case is that he was probably responsible for the death of April.Basics, technical terms and advantages and disadvantages of Laser engraver." The judge ordered that no other evidence in the case can be reported.
April's parents Coral and Paul Jones were in court as Bridger, 46, entered his not guilty pleas. The case sparked an outpouring of support for April's family, with hundreds of people joining the search. April's parents were led into the court before Bridger was brought up.Find the best selection of high-quality collectible bobbleheads available anywhere. Mrs Jones, wearing a black cardigan, pink T-shirt and black trousers, and Mr Jones, wearing a salmon pink shirt, sat to the side of the dock, just 10ft away from Bridger. The defendant, with short cropped hair and goatee beard, was then brought in and confirmed his name to the court.
Both parents stared at Bridger as the charges were read to him. Bridger stood, his arms behind his back, and looked forward as he entered not guilty pleas to abducting and murdering April and a further charge of perverting the course of public justice. At one point Bridger, wearing a navy blue jumper with a pair of spectacles tucked into his collar, appeared to be making an effort to compose himself as he entered his pleas and looked up towards the ceiling as he entered his final not guilty plea. At one point during the hearing, Mrs Jones wiped tears from her eyes with a tissue.
Mr Justice Griffith-Williams refused an application from the defence to move the trial out of the North Wales area. Mr Kelly said the defendant was of the belief that his right to a fair trial "would be better served elsewhere". But the judge said Mold Crown Court was an appropriate venue for the trial and that he was satisfied the jury system was "more than sufficient" to address any concerns about prejudice to the defendant.ST Electronics' parking guidance system provides drivers with a realtime indication of available parking spaces.
Each prize is a 24-karat-gold-plated statuette atop a marble pedestal, and since 2009, the production of this iconic trophy has been the business of Society Awards, a New York-based design and manufacturing company catering to the awards industry.
David Moritz, CEO of Society Awards, founded the company in 2007 and has since become something of a trophy tycoon, manufacturing prizes for the American Music Awards, MTV Movie and Video Music Awards, the Sundance Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, among many others. His company also makes the awards for some of reality television’s most famous competitions, such as “America’s Best Dance Crew,Provides more protection than regular Safety goggles.” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Despite his busy pre-award-season schedule, Moritz took some time to talk with BusinessNewsDaily about his role in creating one of Hollywood’s most prestigious awards and how a one-time entertainment lawyer found his niche in an antiquated industry in need of an upgrade.
Moritz said it took some doing to persuade the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the awards show, to put its trust in his young company. But after many months of unrelenting salesmanship, the association agreed to give Society Awards a shot.
“I promised them that I would always personally take care of their every need and always think of new ways to make things better, and I work hard every year coming through on that promise for them,” Moritz said.
The first thing Moritz did was to provide the statuette with a much-needed face lift. The design of the globe, which features the earth encircled by a film strip atop a marble pedestal, didn’t change, but the process of making the statue underwent serious improvement. The award is now more lustrous and as durable as a car engine part.
Moritz, who is involved in every aspect of his company’s design and manufacturing process, explained the finer points of making a Golden Globe. The core of the globe is die-cast zinc. The zinc is injected under heat and pressure into a tool steel mold. The globe gets its gold sheen once a 24-karat electroplating is applied over the core. The globe is then hand-polished and lacquered and placed atop a base. The base, made of muted brown marble, comes from Eastern Europe.
Moritz said that before Society Awards came along, no one in the industry would have gone to so much trouble to produce so few statues. But one of the secrets to Moritz’s success seems to be his willingness to go out of his way to make clients happy.
Moritz has a grand vision for his company, and this is reflected in all of his business decisions, from the industrial production of every award to the immaculate interior of his offices.
Committed to excellent service, Moritz said he considers himself and his employees to be the awards' “custodians,” responsible not only for manufacturing each award but for personalizing it and storing it until the ceremony.
Society Awards also works with its clients on marketing initiatives, collaborations with product designers, and ideas for new projects. While all these extra services clearly represent an effort to create the best possible relationship with clients, they also do a lot to further Society Awards' image as a luxury brand.
Bridger, of Mount Pleasant farmhouse in the village of Ceinws, near Machynlleth, will stand trial later this year accused of murdering April, who went missing in mid-Wales last year.
April was last seen playing out on her bike on Machynlleth's Bryn-y-Gog estate, where she lived, on the evening of October 1. Bridger was arrested the following day, but the search for April's body goes on.
Bridger entered not guilty pleas to abduction, murder and perverting the course of justice at Mold Crown Court.
But Brendan Kelly,Which Air purifier is right for you? defending, told the court his client's defence involves him "conceding that he probably killed the child".
Mr Justice Griffith-Williams said: "That matter can be reported. You have indicated that the defendant's case is that he was probably responsible for the death of April.Basics, technical terms and advantages and disadvantages of Laser engraver." The judge ordered that no other evidence in the case can be reported.
April's parents Coral and Paul Jones were in court as Bridger, 46, entered his not guilty pleas. The case sparked an outpouring of support for April's family, with hundreds of people joining the search. April's parents were led into the court before Bridger was brought up.Find the best selection of high-quality collectible bobbleheads available anywhere. Mrs Jones, wearing a black cardigan, pink T-shirt and black trousers, and Mr Jones, wearing a salmon pink shirt, sat to the side of the dock, just 10ft away from Bridger. The defendant, with short cropped hair and goatee beard, was then brought in and confirmed his name to the court.
Both parents stared at Bridger as the charges were read to him. Bridger stood, his arms behind his back, and looked forward as he entered not guilty pleas to abducting and murdering April and a further charge of perverting the course of public justice. At one point Bridger, wearing a navy blue jumper with a pair of spectacles tucked into his collar, appeared to be making an effort to compose himself as he entered his pleas and looked up towards the ceiling as he entered his final not guilty plea. At one point during the hearing, Mrs Jones wiped tears from her eyes with a tissue.
Mr Justice Griffith-Williams refused an application from the defence to move the trial out of the North Wales area. Mr Kelly said the defendant was of the belief that his right to a fair trial "would be better served elsewhere". But the judge said Mold Crown Court was an appropriate venue for the trial and that he was satisfied the jury system was "more than sufficient" to address any concerns about prejudice to the defendant.ST Electronics' parking guidance system provides drivers with a realtime indication of available parking spaces.
Each prize is a 24-karat-gold-plated statuette atop a marble pedestal, and since 2009, the production of this iconic trophy has been the business of Society Awards, a New York-based design and manufacturing company catering to the awards industry.
David Moritz, CEO of Society Awards, founded the company in 2007 and has since become something of a trophy tycoon, manufacturing prizes for the American Music Awards, MTV Movie and Video Music Awards, the Sundance Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, among many others. His company also makes the awards for some of reality television’s most famous competitions, such as “America’s Best Dance Crew,Provides more protection than regular Safety goggles.” and “Dancing With the Stars.”
Despite his busy pre-award-season schedule, Moritz took some time to talk with BusinessNewsDaily about his role in creating one of Hollywood’s most prestigious awards and how a one-time entertainment lawyer found his niche in an antiquated industry in need of an upgrade.
Moritz said it took some doing to persuade the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization behind the awards show, to put its trust in his young company. But after many months of unrelenting salesmanship, the association agreed to give Society Awards a shot.
“I promised them that I would always personally take care of their every need and always think of new ways to make things better, and I work hard every year coming through on that promise for them,” Moritz said.
The first thing Moritz did was to provide the statuette with a much-needed face lift. The design of the globe, which features the earth encircled by a film strip atop a marble pedestal, didn’t change, but the process of making the statue underwent serious improvement. The award is now more lustrous and as durable as a car engine part.
Moritz, who is involved in every aspect of his company’s design and manufacturing process, explained the finer points of making a Golden Globe. The core of the globe is die-cast zinc. The zinc is injected under heat and pressure into a tool steel mold. The globe gets its gold sheen once a 24-karat electroplating is applied over the core. The globe is then hand-polished and lacquered and placed atop a base. The base, made of muted brown marble, comes from Eastern Europe.
Moritz said that before Society Awards came along, no one in the industry would have gone to so much trouble to produce so few statues. But one of the secrets to Moritz’s success seems to be his willingness to go out of his way to make clients happy.
Moritz has a grand vision for his company, and this is reflected in all of his business decisions, from the industrial production of every award to the immaculate interior of his offices.
Committed to excellent service, Moritz said he considers himself and his employees to be the awards' “custodians,” responsible not only for manufacturing each award but for personalizing it and storing it until the ceremony.
Society Awards also works with its clients on marketing initiatives, collaborations with product designers, and ideas for new projects. While all these extra services clearly represent an effort to create the best possible relationship with clients, they also do a lot to further Society Awards' image as a luxury brand.
2013年1月31日 星期四
French Military oversees Power-sharing Deal
After deploying several hundred troops to the Central African
Republic late last month, the French government has overseen the
signing of a peace agreement between President Fran?ois Bozizé and
leaders of the rebel militias that had threatened to overrun the
capital, Bangui.
As well as agreeing not to nominate for another term as president after 2016, Bozizé has sacked his government and appointed rebel-nominated Nicolas Tiangaye as prime minister. Tiangaye will soon establish a so-called national unity government ahead of fresh legislative elections next year.
The political realignment underway is being driven by the French government, which aims to reassert control over its former resource-rich colony and counter China’s growing economic and diplomatic influence. The operation in the Central African Republic forms part of a wider drive by US and French imperialism to bolster their strategic domination over Africa through direct military interventions. The latest involves a French-led ground offensive in northern Mali and the stationing of US drones and French troops in neighbouring Niger.
Bozizé, a former army general, appointed himself president in 2003 after leading a coup that was backed by the French government. He subsequently depended on French support to maintain power in the impoverished and chronically unstable country. In 2006 and 2007, French military forces stationed in the country launched air strikes and ground attacks on rebel militias, halting their threatened takeover of the capital and overthrow of the government. Last December, the loose coalition of anti-government militias known as Seleka (“alliance” in the Sango national language) launched a renewed offensive, capturing swathes of territory in the country’s north and east.
The French government responded by more than doubling its existing 250-troop deployment in the Central African Republic to nearly 600. But unlike in 2006 and 2007, Paris refused to back Bozizé against the rebels. French troops—together with those in the Central African Multi-National Force that was formed between several neighbouring states—instead secured the capital from a further rebel advance while the French government demanded peace negotiations.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet.
The French government is developing new political mechanisms in the Central African Republic (CAR). US diplomatic cables, published by WikiLeaks, detailed the breach in relations between Paris and the Bozizé regime. Several cables in 2009 revealed French hostility toward various obstacles that were placed before French corporation Areva as it attempted to secure the rights to mine uranium at a site in the country’s south. On June 17, 2009,We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. US ambassador Frederick Cook dispatched a cable,Which Air purifier is right for you? “French-CAR relations seriously strained,” that concluded: “Bozizé may believe that he has successfully rendered himself the least of the evils in the CAR political landscape. He thus appears to imagine himself indispensable to his neighbours and the French,Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. an assumption that AmEmbassy Bangui believes may be badly mistaken.”
Another cable sent five months later was headed “Growing Chinese influence in the CAR evident.” It detailed the extent to which both American and French interests were losing ground to Beijing, which was “ramping up its military cooperation, public diplomacy and development efforts.” The cable noted that whereas there were only four resident diplomatic agents in the American embassy in Bangui, the Chinese embassy had about 40 employees. It added that approximately 40 CAR military officers were being trained in China every year, compared to the two or three officers who went to the US and 10-15 to France.
Making clear the predatory calculations behind the US and French presence in the Central African Republic, the cable referred to the country’s “rich untapped natural resources” and warned: “With French investments moribund and French influence in general decline, the Chinese are likely positioning themselves as the CAR’s primary benefactor in exchange for access to the CAR’s ample deposits of uranium, gold, iron, diamonds, and possibly oil.”
The US ambassador also cautioned that Bozizé “is welcoming this relationship as an alternative to more restrictive relations with the French and the West” and would likely “increasingly embrace the Chinese as an alternative to the French and other Western benefactors.”
On December 27, Bozizé gave a speech in which he hinted that French opposition to the earlier issuing of oil exploration contracts to Chinese corporations was behind the crisis. “Before giving oil to the Chinese I met with [oil company] Total in Paris and told them to take the oil,” he declared. “Nothing happened.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? I gave oil to the Chinese and it became a problem.”
According to Voice of America, at the same time that Bozizé signed the power-sharing agreement on January 11, he declared that he would “work to strengthen ties with China, and to promote oil exploration and development.”
Bozizé likely remains in power only due to the absence of any viable alternative for the imperialist powers. The Seleka rebels are a fractious coalition, comprising various militias with different agendas. Some of the militias were formed by supporters of former President Ange-Félix Patassé, some purport to represent the country’s Muslim minority, while others were organised by different tribal communities, defending themselves against Bozizé’s brutal security forces. It is unclear whether all the militias will accept the terms of the January 11 deal, which involves the rebels relinquishing control of the towns they captured to government forces.
As well as agreeing not to nominate for another term as president after 2016, Bozizé has sacked his government and appointed rebel-nominated Nicolas Tiangaye as prime minister. Tiangaye will soon establish a so-called national unity government ahead of fresh legislative elections next year.
The political realignment underway is being driven by the French government, which aims to reassert control over its former resource-rich colony and counter China’s growing economic and diplomatic influence. The operation in the Central African Republic forms part of a wider drive by US and French imperialism to bolster their strategic domination over Africa through direct military interventions. The latest involves a French-led ground offensive in northern Mali and the stationing of US drones and French troops in neighbouring Niger.
Bozizé, a former army general, appointed himself president in 2003 after leading a coup that was backed by the French government. He subsequently depended on French support to maintain power in the impoverished and chronically unstable country. In 2006 and 2007, French military forces stationed in the country launched air strikes and ground attacks on rebel militias, halting their threatened takeover of the capital and overthrow of the government. Last December, the loose coalition of anti-government militias known as Seleka (“alliance” in the Sango national language) launched a renewed offensive, capturing swathes of territory in the country’s north and east.
The French government responded by more than doubling its existing 250-troop deployment in the Central African Republic to nearly 600. But unlike in 2006 and 2007, Paris refused to back Bozizé against the rebels. French troops—together with those in the Central African Multi-National Force that was formed between several neighbouring states—instead secured the capital from a further rebel advance while the French government demanded peace negotiations.Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet.
The French government is developing new political mechanisms in the Central African Republic (CAR). US diplomatic cables, published by WikiLeaks, detailed the breach in relations between Paris and the Bozizé regime. Several cables in 2009 revealed French hostility toward various obstacles that were placed before French corporation Areva as it attempted to secure the rights to mine uranium at a site in the country’s south. On June 17, 2009,We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. US ambassador Frederick Cook dispatched a cable,Which Air purifier is right for you? “French-CAR relations seriously strained,” that concluded: “Bozizé may believe that he has successfully rendered himself the least of the evils in the CAR political landscape. He thus appears to imagine himself indispensable to his neighbours and the French,Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. an assumption that AmEmbassy Bangui believes may be badly mistaken.”
Another cable sent five months later was headed “Growing Chinese influence in the CAR evident.” It detailed the extent to which both American and French interests were losing ground to Beijing, which was “ramping up its military cooperation, public diplomacy and development efforts.” The cable noted that whereas there were only four resident diplomatic agents in the American embassy in Bangui, the Chinese embassy had about 40 employees. It added that approximately 40 CAR military officers were being trained in China every year, compared to the two or three officers who went to the US and 10-15 to France.
Making clear the predatory calculations behind the US and French presence in the Central African Republic, the cable referred to the country’s “rich untapped natural resources” and warned: “With French investments moribund and French influence in general decline, the Chinese are likely positioning themselves as the CAR’s primary benefactor in exchange for access to the CAR’s ample deposits of uranium, gold, iron, diamonds, and possibly oil.”
The US ambassador also cautioned that Bozizé “is welcoming this relationship as an alternative to more restrictive relations with the French and the West” and would likely “increasingly embrace the Chinese as an alternative to the French and other Western benefactors.”
On December 27, Bozizé gave a speech in which he hinted that French opposition to the earlier issuing of oil exploration contracts to Chinese corporations was behind the crisis. “Before giving oil to the Chinese I met with [oil company] Total in Paris and told them to take the oil,” he declared. “Nothing happened.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? I gave oil to the Chinese and it became a problem.”
According to Voice of America, at the same time that Bozizé signed the power-sharing agreement on January 11, he declared that he would “work to strengthen ties with China, and to promote oil exploration and development.”
Bozizé likely remains in power only due to the absence of any viable alternative for the imperialist powers. The Seleka rebels are a fractious coalition, comprising various militias with different agendas. Some of the militias were formed by supporters of former President Ange-Félix Patassé, some purport to represent the country’s Muslim minority, while others were organised by different tribal communities, defending themselves against Bozizé’s brutal security forces. It is unclear whether all the militias will accept the terms of the January 11 deal, which involves the rebels relinquishing control of the towns they captured to government forces.
"Art of the State" at The Arvada Center galleries presents
The Arvada Center galleries, mighty in size at 10,000 square feet
and aggressive in programming, has established itself as the premier
showcase for contemporary art in Colorado over the past few years,
stealing that mantle from the less-focused exhibition spaces in the big
city next door.
Its weapon: an inclusiveness that stretches across Colorado's 64 counties and ignores the established hierarchy of who gets to show their work in this state. Arvada lets everybody in, newcomers, veterans and the overlooked. Last year's "Women of Influence," for example, featured all three.
Those years of prep work positioned the gallery well for "Art of the State," which takes the idea about as far as it can go. Arvada issued an open call for artists to submit work — anybody, any medium — and the response was overwhelming. More than 1,600 images poured in from 588 artists.
Arvada's Collin Parson, along with guest curator Dean Sobel from the Clyfford Still Museum, pored over, wrestled with and reduced the offerings to 191 works, on display in all three of the center's galleries through March 31.
"Art of the State" is a massive, rambling show, and it comes together nicely. The exhibit is a challenge to take in, 10 times the size of many shows. But it does capture the nature of work in Colorado these days, which is to say much of it is good and some of it is great.
There's a terrific diversity in the rooms, stretching from a recent piece by 80-something Bernice Strawn to up-and-comers like Zach Reini, who graduated from the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design just last year.Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials.
Both have a point of view. Strawn has put together a large, flat construction made primarily from aged, salvaged wood. Impressive beyond the fact that it had to be a physically demanding piece to make, it wears its oldness proudly.
Reini comes at things from a trendier place. For "Robin Hood,Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet." he brought his bow to the gallery and shot three arrows into a frame; wherever they landed,Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. that was the piece. It's fresh and fun and just the sort of expression that has become the norm for younger artists in this conceptual age.
Variety keeps this exhibit going. Jewelry, prints, textiles, big, bronze sculptures, they're all here. There are lovely, little watercolors and serious moments of abstraction. One of those moments, Andrew Roberts-Gray's "Abstraction #40," a striking landscape cut across and up with an abrupt swath of red, is one of the show's best works.
"Art of the State" has worthy examples from a few local legends. Phil Bender and Tony Ortega have pieces. So do frequent showers Theresa Anderson, Margaret Kasahara, Mai Wyn Schantz and Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. These artists do much to give the show credibility.
But the exhibit also gives space to lesser-known names, some you've never heard of, others whose work you see around town but who rarely get the attention they deserve. Among the pleasant surprises to check out: Joseph Coniff's oddly tall "School Chair"; Emil Brady's "Expulsion" mobile; Kevin Kissell's animation-inspired needlepoints; Chris DeKnikker's lumpy, lumber painting "Rounding Corners."
If this sounds like a lot of art, it is — probably too much. Its clear sentimentality is at work in some of the choices. It must be hard to reject veterans from an array like this, too tempting to want to represent all genres and far-flung regions. A viewer might wish it was smaller by a third, though part of the charm here is a prevailing democratic aura. It's a tough call.
And in a sense, it could use a little more. For a Colorado show, "Art of the State" lacks the regional feel you might expect from a mountain state. There's not so much that updates Western art for the current age. There are red rocks and natural vistas in the mix,You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. but a disappointing lack of geographic specificity. Walter Barton's whimsical "Ursa Arctos," a folk-art bear made from wood and bark, is one of the exceptions that stand out.
What it does offer is a touching, insider quality that is both comfortable and revealing for viewers from Colorado. Kendrick Howard photographs the "16th Street Mall," but from an alley. His black-and-white shot of bricks and fire escapes reminds us of the Denver we know but tourists don't see. There's a similar urban intimacy in Robert Gratiot's realistic painting of the revolving doors at the skyscraper known as "1999 Broadway.A ridiculously low price on this All-Purpose solar lantern by Gordon." He brings warmth and familiarity to the building's dominant glass and steel.
Little moments like that make "Art of the State" an important effort. The curators deserve a hand for taking it on, and so does the Arvada Center for making a statement about who it is and who we are here. The idea of regionalism is important in a world where every city is starting to look the same. We've got to consider it, honor it, and this show does.
“It has been a particularly challenging two years for these artists, with the loss of studio space and limited opportunities and venues for them to exhibit. So the Gallery is pleased to offer this chance for Christchurch gallery-goers to see new work by three artists with strong ties to Canterbury, where they have all trained and worked for many years.”
The new works exhibited in De Hammond include a selection of De Lautour’s recent geometric abstract paintings, Greig’s exquisitely executed dreamscape monoprints and photo-relief montages and a stunning new painting by Hammond, featuring his iconic morphed birds inhabiting a primeval, subterranean landscape.
Its weapon: an inclusiveness that stretches across Colorado's 64 counties and ignores the established hierarchy of who gets to show their work in this state. Arvada lets everybody in, newcomers, veterans and the overlooked. Last year's "Women of Influence," for example, featured all three.
Those years of prep work positioned the gallery well for "Art of the State," which takes the idea about as far as it can go. Arvada issued an open call for artists to submit work — anybody, any medium — and the response was overwhelming. More than 1,600 images poured in from 588 artists.
Arvada's Collin Parson, along with guest curator Dean Sobel from the Clyfford Still Museum, pored over, wrestled with and reduced the offerings to 191 works, on display in all three of the center's galleries through March 31.
"Art of the State" is a massive, rambling show, and it comes together nicely. The exhibit is a challenge to take in, 10 times the size of many shows. But it does capture the nature of work in Colorado these days, which is to say much of it is good and some of it is great.
There's a terrific diversity in the rooms, stretching from a recent piece by 80-something Bernice Strawn to up-and-comers like Zach Reini, who graduated from the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design just last year.Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials.
Both have a point of view. Strawn has put together a large, flat construction made primarily from aged, salvaged wood. Impressive beyond the fact that it had to be a physically demanding piece to make, it wears its oldness proudly.
Reini comes at things from a trendier place. For "Robin Hood,Compare prices and buy all brands of solar panel for home power systems and by the pallet." he brought his bow to the gallery and shot three arrows into a frame; wherever they landed,Solar Sister is a network of women who sell solar lamp to communities that don't have access to electricity. that was the piece. It's fresh and fun and just the sort of expression that has become the norm for younger artists in this conceptual age.
Variety keeps this exhibit going. Jewelry, prints, textiles, big, bronze sculptures, they're all here. There are lovely, little watercolors and serious moments of abstraction. One of those moments, Andrew Roberts-Gray's "Abstraction #40," a striking landscape cut across and up with an abrupt swath of red, is one of the show's best works.
"Art of the State" has worthy examples from a few local legends. Phil Bender and Tony Ortega have pieces. So do frequent showers Theresa Anderson, Margaret Kasahara, Mai Wyn Schantz and Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. These artists do much to give the show credibility.
But the exhibit also gives space to lesser-known names, some you've never heard of, others whose work you see around town but who rarely get the attention they deserve. Among the pleasant surprises to check out: Joseph Coniff's oddly tall "School Chair"; Emil Brady's "Expulsion" mobile; Kevin Kissell's animation-inspired needlepoints; Chris DeKnikker's lumpy, lumber painting "Rounding Corners."
If this sounds like a lot of art, it is — probably too much. Its clear sentimentality is at work in some of the choices. It must be hard to reject veterans from an array like this, too tempting to want to represent all genres and far-flung regions. A viewer might wish it was smaller by a third, though part of the charm here is a prevailing democratic aura. It's a tough call.
And in a sense, it could use a little more. For a Colorado show, "Art of the State" lacks the regional feel you might expect from a mountain state. There's not so much that updates Western art for the current age. There are red rocks and natural vistas in the mix,You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. but a disappointing lack of geographic specificity. Walter Barton's whimsical "Ursa Arctos," a folk-art bear made from wood and bark, is one of the exceptions that stand out.
What it does offer is a touching, insider quality that is both comfortable and revealing for viewers from Colorado. Kendrick Howard photographs the "16th Street Mall," but from an alley. His black-and-white shot of bricks and fire escapes reminds us of the Denver we know but tourists don't see. There's a similar urban intimacy in Robert Gratiot's realistic painting of the revolving doors at the skyscraper known as "1999 Broadway.A ridiculously low price on this All-Purpose solar lantern by Gordon." He brings warmth and familiarity to the building's dominant glass and steel.
Little moments like that make "Art of the State" an important effort. The curators deserve a hand for taking it on, and so does the Arvada Center for making a statement about who it is and who we are here. The idea of regionalism is important in a world where every city is starting to look the same. We've got to consider it, honor it, and this show does.
“It has been a particularly challenging two years for these artists, with the loss of studio space and limited opportunities and venues for them to exhibit. So the Gallery is pleased to offer this chance for Christchurch gallery-goers to see new work by three artists with strong ties to Canterbury, where they have all trained and worked for many years.”
The new works exhibited in De Hammond include a selection of De Lautour’s recent geometric abstract paintings, Greig’s exquisitely executed dreamscape monoprints and photo-relief montages and a stunning new painting by Hammond, featuring his iconic morphed birds inhabiting a primeval, subterranean landscape.
Ambassador Ries Speaks at the Atlantic Club Event
Thank you Solomon for that warm welcome. The Atlantic Club is a
longtime and valuable partner of the U.S. Embassy here in Bulgaria and I
am pleased to join the distinguished list of Ambassadors who have
spoken to your audiences.
As many of you know,Ein innovativer und moderner Werkzeugbau Formenbau. I arrived in Bulgaria at the end of September. I have spent the past four months meeting with Bulgaria's leaders and with representatives of the opposition, with journalists, with artists, with students, and with representatives of civil society. In short, trying to get a sense of what Bulgarians think is important and especially how you would like to see the relationship with the United States develop.
The United States and Bulgaria already enjoy a productive partnership that encompasses many fields. We work together on security and science, on energy and education, on the arts and archaeology to name a few. In September of this year we will celebrate 110 years of bilateral diplomatic relations. That is over a century of U.S.-Bulgarian friendship.
Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca said that one of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood. That expresses very well an important goal of partnership and of diplomacy in general. We strive to understand and to be understood.
But it is also true that for countries to collaborate they must have mutual interests, and for that collaboration to be sustained, they must have shared values. For the U.S. and Bulgaria these include a commitment to democracy, to a free market economy, and to equal rights for our citizens.
We share a desire for our children to have more than their parents. We value education. We embrace modernity. We have a pride in our countries' national endowments - in the case of Bulgaria the mountains, the seaside, a history as long as that of civilization. Americans are proud of our national endowments as well and,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. like Bulgarians, are concerned to protect them.
I am one of those who continues to believe that Europe is the United States' most important partner. It is with Europe that we have our largest volume of trade, with which we are partnered in the world's most important military alliance, and with whom we have a shared global perspective.
I hardly need to remind this audience of the value of the transatlantic partnership since the Atlantic Club played such an important role from the beginning.
Together, we are committed to keeping our Alliance strong, to protecting Western Democracies and to securing prosperity for future generations.
It is these common values and common commitments that underpin the relationship between our two countries.Since arriving in Bulgaria, I have been listening to what the people of Bulgaria want from our bilateral relationship in order to make our joint work responsive to our shared needs. As I have met Bulgarian citizens in Sofia and outside the capital, they have shared with me the things they are proud of about Bulgaria, and in moments of candor, the things they want to change, so that their children and grandchildren can inherit a more prosperous, more secure Bulgaria with strong democratic institutions.You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. One of the messages that I hear repeatedly is that they would like more U.S. business cooperation and more collaboration. We, too, would like to make that happen.
Bulgaria is six years into European Union membership, has been a member of the NATO alliance for nine years, and is on the path towards evolution into a mature European democracy. We envisage the role of the United States to be one of a supportive partner enabling Bulgarians to achieve your own aspirations.
Coping with the challenge posed by international terrorism is another shared commitment.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card can authenticate your computer usage and data. Recent events in Algeria, which involved hostages from eight different countries taken by militants of at least four different nationalities claiming to protest events in a neighboring African country, demonstrate the global nature of the threat and the need for collaboration amongst like-minded states, like ourselves, in countering it. The bombing in Burgas was another crime in which innocent people from another country were attacked here in Bulgaria. We are impressed by the professionalism and determination with which Bulgarian security experts have approached the investigation and we await the results.
Beyond the pure economic impact of American investment in Bulgaria is the social impact. American companies have a strong culture of corporate social responsibility. American companies bring this corporate value with them when they go abroad and create lasting and meaningful change in communities they support. Here in Bulgaria, American companies have banded together to create programs such as the American Chamber of Commerce Volunteer Days, when employees go out and work on projects around the country organized by the Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation.
Going forward, I hope to see many more American companies attracted to Bulgaria by its highly skilled workforce and beneficial tax conditions. For companies to come here and thrive though, we all need to work together to promote an atmosphere of openness, predictability and partnership in which business truly has a voice in the country's economic vision. There are ample opportunities for U.S. investors and exporters to expand in Bulgaria. Part of growing foreign investment will be taking steps to ensure that Bulgaria continues to be seen as an attractive location, where rules are consistent and consistently enforced.We've had a lot of people asking where we had our make your own bobblehead made.
Trade between our two countries amounted to 643.3 million dollars in 2011 and could expand even more with the introduction of better intellectual property rights protection, including of copyrights. Now, I know that my saying this will not be popular with some, but it is just a fact of economic life. One last point on economic cooperation and that is the current discussion of a U.S.-European Free Trade Agreement. As the U.S. Special Trade Representative said this week, President Obama is committed to reaching an agreement to smooth trade with the European Union. Though, all acknowledge that there will be tough hurdles to overcome.
I would like to speak now about perhaps the most challenging and sensitive part of our relationship - our work together to combat organized crime and strengthen the rule of law in Bulgaria. In recent years, we have identified drug trafficking, cybercrime, ATM skimming, and other economic crimes as priority areas for law enforcement cooperation. Collaboration between our respective law enforcement services is excellent in these areas and is producing concrete results. This, in turn, has persuaded the U.S. Government to significantly increase our resources for joint law enforcement activities here in Bulgaria.
Fighting crime is a lot more than just policing. It requires an able and efficientprosecution service as well as a determined and impartial judiciary. Recent events have demonstrated that there is considerable interest in Bulgaria in having a prosecution service and a national judiciary that can truly uphold the rule of law. And there has been progress in that regard. The selection of the Supreme Judicial Council as well as the Prosecutor General involved a serious examination of the credentials of the candidates and were conducted in a more transparent manner than before, though there is still room for improvement. Most important will be whether those selected will institute needed reforms. There is a lot of work to be done. The U.S. is committed to assisting Bulgarian efforts to reform the legal system so that the process of administering justice can be efficient and effective, but ours is a supporting role - the impetus and energy has to come from Bulgarians.
As many of you know,Ein innovativer und moderner Werkzeugbau Formenbau. I arrived in Bulgaria at the end of September. I have spent the past four months meeting with Bulgaria's leaders and with representatives of the opposition, with journalists, with artists, with students, and with representatives of civil society. In short, trying to get a sense of what Bulgarians think is important and especially how you would like to see the relationship with the United States develop.
The United States and Bulgaria already enjoy a productive partnership that encompasses many fields. We work together on security and science, on energy and education, on the arts and archaeology to name a few. In September of this year we will celebrate 110 years of bilateral diplomatic relations. That is over a century of U.S.-Bulgarian friendship.
Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca said that one of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood. That expresses very well an important goal of partnership and of diplomacy in general. We strive to understand and to be understood.
But it is also true that for countries to collaborate they must have mutual interests, and for that collaboration to be sustained, they must have shared values. For the U.S. and Bulgaria these include a commitment to democracy, to a free market economy, and to equal rights for our citizens.
We share a desire for our children to have more than their parents. We value education. We embrace modernity. We have a pride in our countries' national endowments - in the case of Bulgaria the mountains, the seaside, a history as long as that of civilization. Americans are proud of our national endowments as well and,Where you can create a custom lanyard from our wide selection of styles and materials. like Bulgarians, are concerned to protect them.
I am one of those who continues to believe that Europe is the United States' most important partner. It is with Europe that we have our largest volume of trade, with which we are partnered in the world's most important military alliance, and with whom we have a shared global perspective.
I hardly need to remind this audience of the value of the transatlantic partnership since the Atlantic Club played such an important role from the beginning.
Together, we are committed to keeping our Alliance strong, to protecting Western Democracies and to securing prosperity for future generations.
It is these common values and common commitments that underpin the relationship between our two countries.Since arriving in Bulgaria, I have been listening to what the people of Bulgaria want from our bilateral relationship in order to make our joint work responsive to our shared needs. As I have met Bulgarian citizens in Sofia and outside the capital, they have shared with me the things they are proud of about Bulgaria, and in moments of candor, the things they want to change, so that their children and grandchildren can inherit a more prosperous, more secure Bulgaria with strong democratic institutions.You must not use the laser cutter without being trained. One of the messages that I hear repeatedly is that they would like more U.S. business cooperation and more collaboration. We, too, would like to make that happen.
Bulgaria is six years into European Union membership, has been a member of the NATO alliance for nine years, and is on the path towards evolution into a mature European democracy. We envisage the role of the United States to be one of a supportive partner enabling Bulgarians to achieve your own aspirations.
Coping with the challenge posed by international terrorism is another shared commitment.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card can authenticate your computer usage and data. Recent events in Algeria, which involved hostages from eight different countries taken by militants of at least four different nationalities claiming to protest events in a neighboring African country, demonstrate the global nature of the threat and the need for collaboration amongst like-minded states, like ourselves, in countering it. The bombing in Burgas was another crime in which innocent people from another country were attacked here in Bulgaria. We are impressed by the professionalism and determination with which Bulgarian security experts have approached the investigation and we await the results.
Beyond the pure economic impact of American investment in Bulgaria is the social impact. American companies have a strong culture of corporate social responsibility. American companies bring this corporate value with them when they go abroad and create lasting and meaningful change in communities they support. Here in Bulgaria, American companies have banded together to create programs such as the American Chamber of Commerce Volunteer Days, when employees go out and work on projects around the country organized by the Bulgarian Charities Aid Foundation.
Going forward, I hope to see many more American companies attracted to Bulgaria by its highly skilled workforce and beneficial tax conditions. For companies to come here and thrive though, we all need to work together to promote an atmosphere of openness, predictability and partnership in which business truly has a voice in the country's economic vision. There are ample opportunities for U.S. investors and exporters to expand in Bulgaria. Part of growing foreign investment will be taking steps to ensure that Bulgaria continues to be seen as an attractive location, where rules are consistent and consistently enforced.We've had a lot of people asking where we had our make your own bobblehead made.
Trade between our two countries amounted to 643.3 million dollars in 2011 and could expand even more with the introduction of better intellectual property rights protection, including of copyrights. Now, I know that my saying this will not be popular with some, but it is just a fact of economic life. One last point on economic cooperation and that is the current discussion of a U.S.-European Free Trade Agreement. As the U.S. Special Trade Representative said this week, President Obama is committed to reaching an agreement to smooth trade with the European Union. Though, all acknowledge that there will be tough hurdles to overcome.
I would like to speak now about perhaps the most challenging and sensitive part of our relationship - our work together to combat organized crime and strengthen the rule of law in Bulgaria. In recent years, we have identified drug trafficking, cybercrime, ATM skimming, and other economic crimes as priority areas for law enforcement cooperation. Collaboration between our respective law enforcement services is excellent in these areas and is producing concrete results. This, in turn, has persuaded the U.S. Government to significantly increase our resources for joint law enforcement activities here in Bulgaria.
Fighting crime is a lot more than just policing. It requires an able and efficientprosecution service as well as a determined and impartial judiciary. Recent events have demonstrated that there is considerable interest in Bulgaria in having a prosecution service and a national judiciary that can truly uphold the rule of law. And there has been progress in that regard. The selection of the Supreme Judicial Council as well as the Prosecutor General involved a serious examination of the credentials of the candidates and were conducted in a more transparent manner than before, though there is still room for improvement. Most important will be whether those selected will institute needed reforms. There is a lot of work to be done. The U.S. is committed to assisting Bulgarian efforts to reform the legal system so that the process of administering justice can be efficient and effective, but ours is a supporting role - the impetus and energy has to come from Bulgarians.
2013年1月30日 星期三
Protesters break into gov't building in Athens
Protesters forced their way into a government building in Greece's
latest anti-austerity protests Wednesday, reaching just outside a
minister's office before being expelled and clashing with riot police
outside.
Police detained more than 30 protesters, most union heads, sparking clashes with about 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Labor Ministry in central Athens. Police used pepper spray, batons and tear gas to repel them.
The government said the demonstrators caused damage inside the building and threatened the minister— an accusation the protesters adamantly denied.
Greece has been gripped by a severe financial crisis since late 2009 and is being kept afloat by billions of euros in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. In return, the government has imposed waves of spending cuts and tax hikes,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. leading to severe salary and pension cuts and leaving unemployment spiraling to above 26 percent.
Union members were protesting planned reforms to the pension and income contribution system — part of the latest spending cuts in the bailout program.
Other measures that took effect this year include a new 25 percent cut to the incomes of most public servants, leading to a string of new strikes and protests.
At least one protestor in Wednesday's demonstration was taken to hospital in an ambulance, while at least another two were treated by fellow protesters on the spot after collapsing, apparently from the effects of pepper spray.
A ministry official said about 30 protesters made it into the Labor Ministry, breaking doors, overturning chairs and knocking files off tables. They reached the waiting room outside the minister's office, where the minister, Yiannis Vroutsis, was present but unaffected.
"Violence in all its forms must be condemned, not only in words but also by actions," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said. "The raid on the office of the labour minister, the material destruction and the threats against Yiannis Vroutsis are practices which aim to dynamite the political climate at a very critical time for the country."
Dimos Koumbouris,We've got a plastic card to suit you. head of a pensioners' union who was among those who entered the ministry, said union representatives had gone into the building seeking a meeting with Vroutsis.
Reached by telephone while still at police headquarters, where he said a total of 35 union heads and representatives were waiting to be charged, he said it was police who damaged the doors in their attempt to arrest the unionists.
"There was no damage. ...Laser engraving and laser laser cutting machine for materials like metal, why would we do any damage?" he told the AP, adding that they had wanted to meet the minister over social security reforms.
The minister himself issued a statement saying the demonstrators had tried to occupy the ministry, a common form of protest in Greece.
"The organized raid and attempt to occupy the Labor Ministry by force does not solve workers' problems," Vroutsis said. "Scuffles and the destruction of public property only cause sadness. I am sorry, because some people aiming to create impressions are setting up a scene of tension and violence."
Strikes are to intensify in coming days, with public transport workers and hospital doctors to hold a 24-hour strike in the capital on Thursday. Port workers start a 48-hour strike the same day, leaving islands without ferry services. Other state-run services are also to be disrupted by work stoppages lasting several hours.Can you spot the answer in the fridge magnet?
Last week, the government used emergency powers to force Athens subway workers to end rolling strikes that lasted eight days.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!
The Brussels-based European Trade Union Confederation strongly condemned the action taken by the conservative-led coalition government, noting that workers who defy civil mobilization orders face prison sentences of up to five years.
"The wheeling out of emergency powers to enforce austerity policies is unacceptable," ETUC general secretary Bernadette Segol said in a statement.
Farmers in central Greece angry at higher taxes and other austerity measures have been parking their tractors by central highways as their unions decide whether they will set up roadblocks. Similar protests in the past have completely blocked the highways, essentially cutting the country in two.
Police detained more than 30 protesters, most union heads, sparking clashes with about 200 demonstrators gathered outside the Labor Ministry in central Athens. Police used pepper spray, batons and tear gas to repel them.
The government said the demonstrators caused damage inside the building and threatened the minister— an accusation the protesters adamantly denied.
Greece has been gripped by a severe financial crisis since late 2009 and is being kept afloat by billions of euros in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. In return, the government has imposed waves of spending cuts and tax hikes,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. leading to severe salary and pension cuts and leaving unemployment spiraling to above 26 percent.
Union members were protesting planned reforms to the pension and income contribution system — part of the latest spending cuts in the bailout program.
Other measures that took effect this year include a new 25 percent cut to the incomes of most public servants, leading to a string of new strikes and protests.
At least one protestor in Wednesday's demonstration was taken to hospital in an ambulance, while at least another two were treated by fellow protesters on the spot after collapsing, apparently from the effects of pepper spray.
A ministry official said about 30 protesters made it into the Labor Ministry, breaking doors, overturning chairs and knocking files off tables. They reached the waiting room outside the minister's office, where the minister, Yiannis Vroutsis, was present but unaffected.
"Violence in all its forms must be condemned, not only in words but also by actions," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said. "The raid on the office of the labour minister, the material destruction and the threats against Yiannis Vroutsis are practices which aim to dynamite the political climate at a very critical time for the country."
Dimos Koumbouris,We've got a plastic card to suit you. head of a pensioners' union who was among those who entered the ministry, said union representatives had gone into the building seeking a meeting with Vroutsis.
Reached by telephone while still at police headquarters, where he said a total of 35 union heads and representatives were waiting to be charged, he said it was police who damaged the doors in their attempt to arrest the unionists.
"There was no damage. ...Laser engraving and laser laser cutting machine for materials like metal, why would we do any damage?" he told the AP, adding that they had wanted to meet the minister over social security reforms.
The minister himself issued a statement saying the demonstrators had tried to occupy the ministry, a common form of protest in Greece.
"The organized raid and attempt to occupy the Labor Ministry by force does not solve workers' problems," Vroutsis said. "Scuffles and the destruction of public property only cause sadness. I am sorry, because some people aiming to create impressions are setting up a scene of tension and violence."
Strikes are to intensify in coming days, with public transport workers and hospital doctors to hold a 24-hour strike in the capital on Thursday. Port workers start a 48-hour strike the same day, leaving islands without ferry services. Other state-run services are also to be disrupted by work stoppages lasting several hours.Can you spot the answer in the fridge magnet?
Last week, the government used emergency powers to force Athens subway workers to end rolling strikes that lasted eight days.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!
The Brussels-based European Trade Union Confederation strongly condemned the action taken by the conservative-led coalition government, noting that workers who defy civil mobilization orders face prison sentences of up to five years.
"The wheeling out of emergency powers to enforce austerity policies is unacceptable," ETUC general secretary Bernadette Segol said in a statement.
Farmers in central Greece angry at higher taxes and other austerity measures have been parking their tractors by central highways as their unions decide whether they will set up roadblocks. Similar protests in the past have completely blocked the highways, essentially cutting the country in two.
RIT takes steps to contain costs
Rochester Institute of Technology President Bill
Destler announced Tuesday cost-savings and revenue-generating measures projected
to amount to about $3 million.
Such steps, said Destler, should keep the annual tuition increase at 3.5 percent or less.
Destler said that he was taking these measures, effective July 1, at a time when RIT’s “fiscal health is quite strong.” Applications for admissions are continuing to rise and the student population is growing while RIT is being more selective in the students accepted.
But Destler noted that there is also a limit — increasingly a matter of public concern — on how much families can afford to pay for a college education.
“I think the handwriting is on the wall,” Destler said. “We’ve got to get some control over expenditures — or else we might have to do it in a crisis situation.”
The proposals adopted would put a limit at 145 credits for no tuition or greatly reduced tuition for the children and spouses of RIT employees in undergraduate programs. That means that they could get those benefits for almost five years of schooling. The changes won’t apply to students already enrolled at RIT.
Another proposal adopted by Destler would impose fees for parking on campus. A student permit would be $100 per year. Employees earning less than $38,000 per year can still park for free, with a graduated fee system kicking in for those who make more that has a maximum fee of $150 per year.
Almost $1 million in annual fees are expected to be generated by the parking fee changes. Presently, students, faculty and staff can park for free, although there are fees for those wanting reserved spaces near classrooms.Laser engraving and laser laser cutting machine for materials like metal,
The proposals grew out of recommendations made over the past year by committees consisting of more than 100 RIT faculty and staff. Destler selected areas that he wanted to address and in November floated proposals for comment.
RIT student Alicia Matherson, 20,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. of Brooklyn welcomed the cost-containment measures. “The economy is not getting that much better. It’s hard to pay tuition as it is,” she said.
But Samuel Kennedy, 22, of Bristol, Conn., said that the annual tuition increase needs to be brought down more. “I don’t think I should be impressed by the 3.Can you spot the answer in the fridge magnet?5 percent. It’s a start but not exactly great news,” he said.
Destler said that about two-thirds of the $3 million would be used for reducing tuition increases, with the rest going for existing programs and new initiatives, including salary enhancements for faculty and staff where RIT is not competitive with other colleges.
RIT, which has an annual operating budget of $666.1 million, is taking these steps at a time that the cost of college is increasingly a factor for most families. President Barack Obama has also put colleges on notice that “if you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!”
Moody’s Investors Service recently released its annual tuition survey and found that a third of universities expect net tuition revenue either to decline or grow at a rate below inflation. A Moody’s analyst, in a statement announcing the survey results, said that the “cumulative effects of years of depressed family income and net worth, as well as uncertain job prospects for many recent graduates, are combining to soften student market demand at current tuition prices.”
Destler wants to reduce tuition increases close to the U.S. inflation rate, which is growing at 1.7 percent a year, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Over the past three decades, college tuition and fees have increased more than four times the rate of inflation.We've got a plastic card to suit you.
Destler also adopted changes in purchasing policies such as requiring RIT to compete when outside vendors are being considered for catering pizza and subs on orders exceeding $400.
Such steps, said Destler, should keep the annual tuition increase at 3.5 percent or less.
Destler said that he was taking these measures, effective July 1, at a time when RIT’s “fiscal health is quite strong.” Applications for admissions are continuing to rise and the student population is growing while RIT is being more selective in the students accepted.
But Destler noted that there is also a limit — increasingly a matter of public concern — on how much families can afford to pay for a college education.
“I think the handwriting is on the wall,” Destler said. “We’ve got to get some control over expenditures — or else we might have to do it in a crisis situation.”
The proposals adopted would put a limit at 145 credits for no tuition or greatly reduced tuition for the children and spouses of RIT employees in undergraduate programs. That means that they could get those benefits for almost five years of schooling. The changes won’t apply to students already enrolled at RIT.
Another proposal adopted by Destler would impose fees for parking on campus. A student permit would be $100 per year. Employees earning less than $38,000 per year can still park for free, with a graduated fee system kicking in for those who make more that has a maximum fee of $150 per year.
Almost $1 million in annual fees are expected to be generated by the parking fee changes. Presently, students, faculty and staff can park for free, although there are fees for those wanting reserved spaces near classrooms.Laser engraving and laser laser cutting machine for materials like metal,
The proposals grew out of recommendations made over the past year by committees consisting of more than 100 RIT faculty and staff. Destler selected areas that he wanted to address and in November floated proposals for comment.
RIT student Alicia Matherson, 20,Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. of Brooklyn welcomed the cost-containment measures. “The economy is not getting that much better. It’s hard to pay tuition as it is,” she said.
But Samuel Kennedy, 22, of Bristol, Conn., said that the annual tuition increase needs to be brought down more. “I don’t think I should be impressed by the 3.Can you spot the answer in the fridge magnet?5 percent. It’s a start but not exactly great news,” he said.
Destler said that about two-thirds of the $3 million would be used for reducing tuition increases, with the rest going for existing programs and new initiatives, including salary enhancements for faculty and staff where RIT is not competitive with other colleges.
RIT, which has an annual operating budget of $666.1 million, is taking these steps at a time that the cost of college is increasingly a factor for most families. President Barack Obama has also put colleges on notice that “if you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!”
Moody’s Investors Service recently released its annual tuition survey and found that a third of universities expect net tuition revenue either to decline or grow at a rate below inflation. A Moody’s analyst, in a statement announcing the survey results, said that the “cumulative effects of years of depressed family income and net worth, as well as uncertain job prospects for many recent graduates, are combining to soften student market demand at current tuition prices.”
Destler wants to reduce tuition increases close to the U.S. inflation rate, which is growing at 1.7 percent a year, according to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Over the past three decades, college tuition and fees have increased more than four times the rate of inflation.We've got a plastic card to suit you.
Destler also adopted changes in purchasing policies such as requiring RIT to compete when outside vendors are being considered for catering pizza and subs on orders exceeding $400.
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