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Mosquitos vs. Homo sapiens
I know I have titled this blog as them versus us, but, is it really? The mosquito is classified as the world's deadliest animal, but it is really? Even when they are not "out to kill," is the itchiness that comes from a mosquito "bite" actually their fault? In the following blog I will address these questions, delve into the origins of the diseases they carry, specifically West Nile virus, dengue fever, yellow fever, and of course, malaria, and why it is our fault they pose such a threat to us. Now mosquitos are first in the "deadliest animal" category (humans themselves come in second), but, and I feel a bit silly saying this, it really is not their fault. The mosquitos that bite are all female; they need the blood to help their offspring. I know what you may be thinking "why should we want more?!," but think of it from the mosquitos point of view, they are just trying to survive and procreate like every other living being out there. And, it really is not their fault they carry so many deadly diseases.
First I would like to start off with the disease that has claimed the least amount of lives, the West Nile virus. This virus was originally discovered in 1937 in the West Nile District of Uganda, and it was not til 1999 that it was reported in the United States, New York to be exact. Not to startle anyone, but you may have had it if you live in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia, the Middle East, or the United States. What I mean by this is the signs of this virus is very close to those of the flu; fever, headache, body aches, but one thing that sometimes happens with the West Nile virus is the appearance of skin rashes and swollen glands. Serious cases of West Nile virus are 1 in 150. Those serious cases, if not handled, can result in death. In the United States alone, out of over 20,000 who had infection of the brain or spinal cord, more than 1,900 have died according to the CDC. Unlike the other diseases I will discuss, this one originated in birds.
Next up we have dengue fever. Mosquitoes infect widespread areas of Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Eastern Mediterranean, South and Southeast Asia, and Oceania. This is found throughout the world, but it is more prevalent in these specific areas because it mainly occurs in tropical and subtropical areas. This information of common areas is curious because the "first recognized Dengue epidemics occurred almost simultaneously in Asia, Africa, and North America in the 1780s, shortly after the identification and naming of the disease in 1779." Even though the first recognized epidemics happened in the late 1700's, the first record of a probable case was in a Chinese medical encyclopedia from the Jin Dynasty, which was from 265 to 420 CE. Some of the symptoms are similar to West Nile, but to add to them we have nausea, vomiting, mild bleeding (nose bleed, bleeding gums) and pain behind the eyes. Now, the origin of dengue fever comes from our extended family, it comes from monkeys. It took one mosquito to take the blood of an infected monkey, and that was it. "Each year, an estimated 390 million dengue infections occur around the world. Of these, 500,000 develop into dengue haemorrhagic fever, a more severe form of the disease, and dengue results in up to 25,000 deaths annually worldwide."
We now have yellow fever. This disease affects less of the world, being only found in, like dengue fever, in tropical and subtropical areas; but unlike the many places dengue can be found it, yellow fever is found in South America and Africa. Yellow fever may not have a hold on the world, but it does have a hold on our history. What I mean by this is scientists believe yellow fever has been in our lives in Africa since around 3,000 years ago. It was isolated just to Africa for a good 1,400 years, until it was imported to the west during the beginning of slavery. Symptoms of yellow fever have all the symptoms of both West Nile and dengue, but, again, there are more to yellow fever; these add on chills, loss of appetite, and yellowing skin. Unlike West Nile, but just like dengue the origin comes from nonhuman primates. As for the death rate, the World Health Organization estimates "200,000 cases of disease and 30,000 deaths a year occur; the number of officially reported cases is far lower." It does not seem as that much more than with dengue, but that is 5,000 more lives lost because, once again, the monkey did it.
Lastly we have the biggest bringer of death, malaria. If you were impressed with how long yellow fever has been around, you are going to be flabbergasted by how long malaria has been in the world. This disease predates humans, or mammals. As of 130 million years ago, malaria has been around, but what I mean is the parasites that cause malaria because there are four types that evolved just for humans. These are "P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. falciparum; the first three likely either co-evolved with humans or at least first became associated with infecting humans very soon after anatomically modern humans evolved." To give you an idea how much of a role malaria has played in human history, it is said it helped in the fall of the Roman empire. Now a days malaria is not commonly found in Europe, but "About half of the world's population is at risk. Large areas of Africa and South Asia and parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania are considered areas where malaria transmission occurs." But seeing how the humans living in Africa have been there for most of human history they have a diesease named "sickle-cell anemia (I mentioned it in this blog:
http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/genetic-drift) which helps few in the population in the resistance to malaria. Now, malaria has all the symptoms I have previously mentioned in the diseases I have spoken of, but to add to those, malaria has profuse sweating, diarrhea, anemia, convulsions, bloody stools, and to top it all off, coma. Unlike the two previous diseases that originated in unnamed monkey species, malaria originated in African gorillas and chimpanzees, which makes sense if it were to co-evolve with us, because both gorillas and chimpanzees are very close to humans in genetic make up. Now I know I said earlier that the people of Africa have a safe because of sickle-cell, but not all have it. Which is why "Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds, about 3000 children every day. Over one million people die from malaria each year, mostly children under five years of age, with 90 per cent of malaria cases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa." Compared to the fatalities of the previously mentioned diseases, they have nothing on malaria.
 So, why humans? Why are we stuck with the most fatalities? I am sure if one million gorillas or chimpanzees or even 25,000 annually got infected there would be no more. The answer is our brains and what we did with them. What I mean by this is we went from being nomads, to settling down, to farm, to build what we now see as "civilization." With a good amount of humans in one place, it must have felt like a buffet for the mosquitos. Everything we have to deal with mosquitos is really our fault....or our bodies fault. What I mean by our bodies is the only reason we itch after a mosquito has bitten us is because our body's immune system reacts to the saliva the mosquito is putting into out bodies (their saliva has protein that keeps the blood from clotting). What our body does is it sends out histamine to get rid of the saliva and the histamine is where the bump comes from; and because the skin in that area is not used to being in bump form the nerves are disturbed, thus the itching. And if you have noticed when you scratch the bump gets itchier and bigger it is your nerves response to your action. So, blame our brains and our bodies for the disturbances mosquitos cause us.
I know I did not mention the Zika virus, but the reason I did not is it is relatively new, as in the known existence and fear of it is relatively new (because it has been around since 1947). As mentioned before, it really is not the mosquitos fault, it is all the humanness of humans that are to blame. I think if our evolutionary ancestors, like Homo erectus or Homo habilis, would have had big communities as we have now, there would be no us As in malaria would have been our downfall before there was a chance to become Homo sapiens.
The Evolution of Food
Not so much the food's evolution, but how as we evolved so did our teeth. In an earlier blog I discussed how different teeth can influence what a specific species eats (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-diet-and-teeth). The following blog is about what our evolutionary ancestors ate, and what types of teeth they would have to have to eat those foods.
 Just like in my earlier blog about the means of the names of our evolutionary ancestors (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/meanings-and-origins-of-evolutionary-ancestors-names), I will start with Ardipithecus ramidus. This species foods are interesting because they were most likely omnivoures. That means that their diets consisted of plants, meat, and fruit, but did not eat hard foods, such as nuts. How we know this is because of their enamel (the visible part of the tooth, covering the crown). The enamel of Ar. ramidus was not thick or thin; if it was thick that would imply they could eat tough foods. It is theorized they "probably also avoided tough foods, as they did not have the heavy chewing specializations of later Australopithecus species."
That brings us to the next of our evolutionary ancestors, Australopithecus afarensis. These, unlike Ar. ramidus would eat hard foods, but soft ones as well. They had a diet of leaves, fruit, seeds, roots, nuts, and insects. This is the reason I said the foods of Ar. ramidus was "interesting," because we do not see a meat eating (even though insects are seen as meat) evolutionary ancestor til we begin to speak of the family of Homo. Now unlike Ar. Ramidus, the way we know what Au. Afarensis ate is because of dental microwear (scratches and pits that can result from chewing) and the tooth size and shape. At the end of the previous paragraph I stated that the Australopithecus species had the ability to chew on hard foods. We know this because of their jaws; they were more robust and could take the chewing of hard foods.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the next evolutionary ancestor was thought to have eaten meat because the bones of Australopithecus africanus would be found next to broken animal bones. It was assumed these broken bones were used as weapons. But in the 1970s and 1980s other scientists recognized there were other predators alive at the same time Au. africanus was, so the bones they found of them were the remains of a meal. The actual meals of Au. africanus could not be further than meat. "...diet similar to modern chimpanzees, which consisted of fruit, plants, nuts, seeds, roots, insects, and eggs (although modern chimpanzees eat other apes, that is the difference in their eating habits)."
Now we will dive into the world of the meat eating Homo's. First we have Homo habilis. Seeing how the meaning of the name of this species is they could make tools, they did eat meat. But meat was not the only part of their diet. Because their dental microwear and because of their thick strong jaws (even though they had smaller teeth that those of the Australopithecus), they had a "broad range of foods." These included leaves, woody plants, meat, and (bone) marrow eating. Notice how when I said "they could make tools," I did not say "weapons." Reason for this is because early Homo scavenged for meat, but for H. habilis to get to the bone marrow they had to have had some sort of tool to crack the bone open.
Next we have Homo ergaster. Not much is known about this Homo's diet, but we knew they definitely ate meat. How we know this is because of their skeletal make up. They had a "narrower pelvis and rib cage," and this suggests they had a smaller gut that Australopithecus afarensis. That said, they had a bigger brain, which means they needed more nourishing foods, so this suggests they would have had more meat in their diets.
The Homo I will address next is the first to cook their food, mostly because they were the first to have discovered fire. This is Homo erectus. This was not only the first Homo to cook their food, but to hunt for it as well. They discovered fire just in time because they had relatively small teeth and jaws which were not suited for eating raw meat. Not only did H. erectus eat meat, but they got their fill of veggies; mostly leaves and crunchy foods (root vegetables, like carrots, celery, potatoes, or radishes). Their tools give insight on what kinds of foods they would eat. For example their hammers (big rounded and/or pointed stones) were most likely used for nuts and seeds.
Homo erectus may have been the first hunter, but Homo heidelbergensis was an even more skilled hunter. I say this because they hunted large animals, from rhinos, bears (they were not skilled enough to hunt mammoths because the Neanderthals were the first to hunt those). H. heidelbergensis would then use the hides of their kills for the colder temperatures. Even though they did eat other foods, such as grasses, fruits, and nuts, a good 70% of their diet was meat.
Last we have Homo sapiens. Not much is known about the foods of this Homo. Some eat meat, vegetables, and fruits, while others eat only vegetables and fruits. This is a very confusing species. Of course, I am speaking of our current species. It is interesting (but saddening) how some have an abundance of food in which they can not decide what to eat, while others have none.
I am sure you are questioning the image above seeing how todays blog is titled "Blood," but it has a purpose. All I ask is that you keep this image in mind and try to figure out just how much it is and how it pertains to this blog. Now we are all acquainted with blood, it is the red liquid that keeps us alive. That said, how much does the average person really know about blood other than what I have already stated. In the following blog I will discuss what makes up blood along with other facts; what facts? Well, you will have to read the following to find out.
Before we get into what exactly is blood, I want to speak of just how much blood are we made of. The average amount of blood in a human is about one and a half gallons, which makes up approximately 7 percent of a person with the weight of 150 – 180 (although it slightly less in women because of the blood loss in their menstrual cycles). What is most interesting about this blood is that once children reach the ages of 5 or 6 they have the same amount of blood as adults; "But because children are smaller and their bones, muscles and organs don't weigh as much, their blood makes up a larger percentage of their body weight than it does in adults."
Now that we have that out of the way, what is blood, as in what makes it up. Like the skull that is made up of many different bones, our blood is made up of different components. The ones that most people know of are the red and white blood cells it carries. The white blood cells are very important to everyone because these protect us from infectious diseases and foreign invaders. When we are sick, one of the reasons you feel so tired is because your white blood cells are busy fighting off what is making you sick. The red blood cells on the other hand need some "foreign" substance. This substance is oxygen. They carry this oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and takes the carbon dioxide from the body back to the lungs so it can be exhaled (and it is a little sad because the average red blood cell can only survive for 120 days).
As I said, many people know of the white and red blood cells, but along with them are two very important components. The first of which is plasma. Unlike the cells that are in the blood, we are able to see this with our naked eye. The plasma of the blood is a light yellow liquid that "transport nutrients, hormones, and proteins to the parts of the body that need it." And it helps out the white blood cells because plasma contains antibodies. The last component blood has is vital when we get cut or have our skin broken, this component is known as platelets. These, unlike plasma, are tiny blood cells, smaller than both red and white blood cells (of which white are the biggest, red is bigger than platelets by a small margin). Platelets are the ones that spring into action to form clots to stop bleeding. "If one of your blood vessels gets damaged, it sends out signals that are picked up by platelets. The platelets then rush to the site of damage and form a plug, or clot, to repair the damage."
There are those people who are diagnosed with hemophilia whose ability to clot is severely reduced. This brings me back to the image at the start of this blog. I am sure you thought I forgot all about it, but I wanted to save it for the end. The amount in the pitcher is half a gallon (2 liters) which is all you need to lose to die. The average human body has 1.2 to 1.5 gallons (4.7 to 5.5 liters) of blood. The image below is a pack of donated blood which is 1 pint or half a liter. Even after donating blood, you will not be able to donate again for about four to six weeks for your blood to recover. This is why you are given water (plasma is 92% water, which also makes sense that you would die from dehydration first than starvation) and food after donating. The amount you would have to lose to die is 4 times the amount in the image below...or just the amount of the image at the start of this blog.
So with all that in mind, the blood network sounds like a well oiled machine. Does what it needs to do when it needs to do it. Without even one of these components...I do not see us surviving for the long run. The white blood cells keep us healthy, the plasma keeps us nourished, the platelets keep us from running dry, and the red keep us breathing. Sure you have all of the organs to help keep us alive, but without blood...we would be dead.
 Please feel free to comment on what you thought of the blog, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover. Below is a cute comic that I think accurately illustrates how the different components of the blood work together.
Meanings and Origins of Evolutionary Ancestors Names
Most of us have been met with names of our evolutionary ancestors and we think, "Where did they get that from?!" Seeing how some of them are so long and difficult to say, for some, it makes sense. But I promise you that with every name that is given to a species within our lineage or not, the anthropologist, or the scientists given this task go through every possibility to make it as exact to represent the species as they can; at least most of the time. In the following blog I will address the names of our evolutionary ancestors, what they mean, and hopefully by the end of this blog you will see how each of the names fit perfectly.
 Let us start at the beginning of our "bloodline." I put bloodline in parenthesis because even though we can say with mild certainty this one is where we began the trek to becoming Homo sapiens sapiens, there is no way we could have access to their blood. Mostly because this evolutionary ancestor lived about 4.4 million years ago. This ancestor's name is Ardipithecus ramidus. Ardi (as the fossils of an almost complete skeleton, image below, are known) was amazing. She, of course, could climb trees, but had adapted to bipedal activity. But I am getting off blog topic. Ardi's name is very fitting to the first in our lineage. "Ardi" means "ground" or "floor," "pithecus" means ape, but the meaning of "ramid" is perfect. "ramid" means "root."
On to the next one which most of the world is aware of their existence because of a female that was found in 1974. A female that we know as Lucy (image below). Lucy's species name is Australopithecus afarensis. This ancestor lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. This species is seem to be more closely related than the Australopithecus that came after them, which I will address. "Australo" means "Southern," and as I stated with Ardi, "pithecus" means ape. The meaning for afarensis is "of or belonging to Africa," or just "Afar." The entire literal name of Lucy makes more sense than Arid's. Her species full meaning is "Southern ape from Afar," or "Southern ape belonging to Africa." Next we have another type of Australopithecus which is Australopithecus africanus. This one is frequently referred to as "the younger Australopithecus," or "the younger Australopithecus africanus." Just like Lucy's species Australopithecus means "Southern Ape," but unlike Lucy's species with the "of or belonging to Africa" or "Afar," africanus just means "African."
We are now done with the Australopithecines, and dive right into the genus Homo. Since the rest of our evolutionary ancestors I will speak of all belong to the Homo genus I will define it right now for the rest of them. Homo means man or human. The reason the evolutionary ancestors I will speak of all fall under the genus "Homo" is because unlike our Australopithecine or Ardipithecus brethren, they are seen to be more human than Lucy or Ardi. The first one of the Homo genus is Homo habilis, who lived from approximately 2.33 to 1.4 million years ago. This evolutionary ancestor is thought to be the first that was not only able to use tools but make them as well. The word "habilis" means "handy" or "skillful," so their species name was "handy man." That is why they have the species name of Homo habilis (given to them by Louis and Mary Leakey).
Next up is a combination, of which H. habilis should be part of but they are always put apart. H. habilis is one of three that are given the most credit to get us to where we are today; the other two are Homo ergaster, who lived between 1.9 and 1.4 million years ago, which not many people know of this one that said I am sure everyone know of the third one, which is given the species name of Homo erectus, who lived 1.9 million years ago. The reason, I think, all three are put together, most of the time seen as the same species, is because what they did is seen as the building blocks and vital to our evolution. With H. habilis using and making tools and H. erectus being the first one to walk exclusively on two feet, they might as well had been H. sapiens; but it was just a matter of their cranial capacity and skull shape. For H. ergaster the "ergaster" means "work," so their species name really means "workman." With H. erectus, "erectus" means "upright," which makes sense seeing that they were the first to walk upright.
What is next is very exciting because it is just one step away from being human. The next Homo I will address is Homo heidelbergensis, who lived between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago. This one does not have any special meaning in their name. What I mean by this is the only reason they were named "heidelbergensis" is because they were found in the German city, Heidelberg; "heidelbergensis" is just a latinised version of the name. Now out of H. heidelbergensis came two subspecies; that of Homo sapiens idaltu and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis who lived between 500,000 and 10,000 years ago. Just like H. heidelbergensis, H. sapiens neanderthalensis is named after the location in which they were found in. The name of the location is Neander Valley in, once again, Germany. The German word for valley is "Tal," but in the 1800's it was spelt "Thal (which is why some people pronounce Neanderthal with a "th" sound instead of a "t" sound)."
I know I said I was one step away from being human, and I really was...well am. Homo sapiens idaltu were almost modern human beings. They lived almost 160,000 years ago, and it was these first types of H. sapiens that interacted with the Neanderthals. "idaltu" is a Saho-Afar word meaning "elder of first born," and "sapiens" from Latin meaning "wise." Which gives H. sapiens idaltu the fitting name of "First born wise man." Soon after H. sapiens idaltu, between 60,000 – 40,000 years ago, came us, Home sapiens sapiens, which means "Man wise wise." The reason there is a distinction between H. sapiens idaltu and H. sapiens sapiens is because H. sapiens sapiens are also known as "Anatomically modern humans."
You, at least those of you who are aware of our lineage, are wondering, "Where is the Cro-Magnon?" This is not really common knowledge but the Cro-Magnon, the second type of Homo sapiens that interacted with the Neanderthals, was us. The age of the first Cro-Magnon fossil that was found was about 30,000, a good 30,000 years after our species came into existence. It must have been terrifying but interesting to have been a Neanderthal, to be able to interact with and, in a way be witness to two types of Homo sapiens, last of which, would be the only one that survived. Those poor H. sapiens neanderthalensis.
 H. sapiens idaltu H. heidelbergensis H. erectus H. ergaster H. habilis
Evolution Nose What It's Doing
The nose. The thing that we always keep in our sights, whether we want to or not. But why is the human nose so...out there? In comparison to our primate cousins, we look pretty much the same. If you ignore the hair covering their bodies, our hands, feet, arms, legs, eyes, even the lips if placed on a human would not look that different. But their noses, they have flat noses with the nostrils facing forward, not down like ours. In the following blog I will address why we have protruding noses, why it is a benefit for us humans, and what influenced this notable change.
 First in our evolutionary lineage to have a nose that began to resemble a modern human nose was Homo erectus (image below on left). Before this type of homo came along was Homo rudolfensis (image below on right), in which the nose shape was drastically different. H. rudolfensis is known for having a flatter face, but with H. rudolfensis the hominid diet changed. Before H. rudolfensis came along the diet consisted of seeds, plants, and roots, but with the rise of this new hominid came a new diet consisting of plants and meat. It was because of the "meat" part of the diet did H. erectus develop a less ape-like nose and a more human like nose.
But what is so special about meat? What is special about meat is that to obtain meat they had to hunt. This hunting, which most likely involved running (one of the theories why we "lost all" our hair, but that is a subject for another time) is one of the reasons our noses look as they do now. Reason being when we run we lose moisture through sweat, and if we still had an ape like nose we would get dehydrated extremely fast because the air would just go in. I am sure you are thinking that when we humans breathe the air just goes in, it does, but it has been "suggested that this new shape of nose allowed a greater volume of incoming air to be moisturized before it reached the lungs and yet also permitted moisture to be conserved and reclaimed as air was exhaled."
I know it all seems to come together for why our noses are as they are. We could always stop here and thank our bipedal form of locomotion to our noses, but we can not. There is another out-of-body factor that is necessary for this type of evolution, and it still plays a huge part in modern noses. This factor is humidity. When there is humidity in the air is also moisture, and, as I stated earlier, our noses and moisture work together. What this means is in environments where it is hot and wet, our bodies sweat, but our noses also have to adapt, like our skin colour. "...the nose could respond to that pressure and, over time, evolve into having a wider shape, which allows for more heat loss and may help keep the brain cool..." This does make sense when we look at different people coming from different types of places. In comparing someone of European ancestry with someone of African ancestry, besides the different skin colour, the thing that jumps out is the shape of the nose.
This has been a learning experience if not only for you, but me as well. Who would have thought how big a part our noses play in keeping us cool. But the nose does so much for us that we do not realize. For example, taste. Sure the tongue helps us with that, but the noses sense of smell is what keeps us tasting. It has been theorized when were still hunting that our noses helped us smell out our prey, but once we began to domesticate animals, that ability slowly went away. Nevertheless, let us hope our noses do not stop what it is doing to keep us cool. The nose...the personal air conditioner.
Please feel free to comment on what you thought of this fun fact, or other physical anthropological subjects you would like me to cover.
Fun Fact about...Margaret Mead
Sadly, not many people know about the subject that is anthropology and even more do not know what it means. So it is understandable that the super stars of the anthropological universe are not seen as such outside of anthropology. And when they do become noticed, it is their accomplishments that make the headlines, not their line of work...at least not til recently. In this blog I will speak of the famous cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead.
It seems as though Mead was destined to become an anthropologist seeing how both her parents were social scientists. In her time she was seen as a pioneer. What I mean by this is her research (which she conducted for nine months in 1925) in Samoa was a huge hit, revered by both psychologists and anthropologists. Her research, in which she wanted to see if the pain and uneasiness of adolescence was univeral, brought her to Samoa. She explained in her book "Coming of Age in Samoa (published in 1928)" that the years of the Samoa adolescence was free to do as they pleased (ex: have casual sex, few responsibilites, "easy relations with parents and other kin, and consequently a period of harmony rather than disequilibrium and strife."). With these findings she made the conclusion that it was culture, not biology that was responsible for the "storm and stress" of American youth. Because of her research and this book, it is said that she caused a sexual revolution in America.
That said, her findings have come to have a lot of controversy. For one, there is an anthropologist from New Zealand named Derek Freeman, who in 1983 published a book "Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth" in which he challenged many of Mead's claims. For example, Mead had claimed that because of the sexual freedom the Samoan's had there was no rape, which Freeman commented that rape was common and that premarital sex was disapproved of. He also spoke with the young woman (who were now older women) who told him "They had lied to her, inventing wild tales about premarital sex to impress her. Freeman even tracked down one of her informants (by then an old woman) who admitted exactly this."
Although, Mead supporters have her back. What I mean by this is they have reasons why the information Freeman obtained contrasts with Mead's. Reason for the girls telling him they lied was most likely a lie to Freeman because when Mead went to Samoa she was a young woman close in age to them, but Freeman was a middle-aged man. And the biggest defense of Mead's study was the time. She conducted her study in the 1920's while Freeman did his in the 1980's, so something must have changed. Nevertheless, "some Samoans have found her depiction of Samoan adolescent sexuality offensive."
Even though Mead's name seems to have been dragged through the mud, she was, as I stated earlier, a pioneer. She was one of the founders of Psychological Anthropology and inadvertently created biological (physical) anthropology. What I mean by this is that "many also rejected the relevance of the biological sciences for illuminating anything about social behavior and social organization" because social scientists "were coming to reject the view that western civilization, the white race, the male sex represented the pinnacle of the human evolutionary process." Of course physical anthropologists know better now, but we have to remember how racism ran rampant in the United States for a good part of the 1900's (and still does).
Hanabi-Ko
From a very young age, no more than a year old, Hanabi-Ko was taught basic sign language ("FOOD, DRINK and MORE, to emotional signs like: SAD, LOVE, GOOD, and SORRY to more sophisticated signs like: OBNOXIOUS, FAKE, and POLITE, and epithets like: STUPID DIRTY TOILET") by her adoptive mother Penny. When she was about 5 she got a brother, Michael who was rescued after seeing his mother killed (her caretaker was hoping they would fall in love in a romantic way, but because they were together since a young age, they became siblings instead of lovers). The two of them were taught sign language together; Hanabi-Ko helping Michael with the corresponding signs to the corresponding situations.
At around the age of 11 Hanabi-Ko was seen as being able to be gentle with the smallest of creatures, in this case tiny tree frogs around her yard. She captured one, and cradled it gently under her arm (keeping it safe from Michael). After holding it for a while, she sets it down on some rocks in an area to protect it from "possible rough play." This was the first example of her "innate gentleness and nurturing spirit towards small, vulnerable creatures, and her regard for other species." but it certainly was not her last. A year after her gentle frog play, she received a kitten, whom she named "All Ball (All Ball because they did not have a tail)." Hanabi-Ko loved All Ball, always playing with them, but this joy did not last long. Only 6 months after her 12th birthday, the day she received her kitten, All Ball was hit by a car. Hanabi-Ko was heartbroken, signing about her friend's death for days after getting the bad news. It was a while until she was ready for another kitten. But in 1985 she chose two kittens, who she named Lips Lipstick, because unlike All Ball, they had a pink nose and mouth, and the second kitten she named Smoky because they looked like a cat in one of her books. Smokey passed away 20 years later due to natural causes, but recently, in 2015, she chose two more kittens, Miss Black and Miss Grey.
In 1991 Koko selected a possible love for her named Ndume who was 10 at the time. I will now stop beating around the bush, this special blog is about the lovable, adorable, talking gorilla, Koko, whose birthday happens to be today. Her full name means "Fireworks Child." The awareness the work she has done with her caretaker, Penny, has caused great changes in how people saw gorillas. It was because of the results of the unique communicative possibilities Koko gave rise to The Gorilla Foundation. Michael's rescue was because of The Gorilla Foundation who gave him a home. Sadly on June 29th of 2000, Michael passed away due to a major cardiovascular diseases found in gorillas (humans too) called fibrosing cardiomyopathy. That said, after learning sign language Michael was able to tell his story, and it is because of his ability to do so, he raised awareness of gorilla hunting. With the passing of Michael, Koko is the only talking gorilla left.
However, we need not to worry about Koko. She still has her kittens to look after, Ndume (whose name translates to "Male" in Swahili), and her long time friend, Dr. Francine Penny Patterson who is not only responsible for teaching Koko sign language, but is also the founder of The Gorilla Foundation, best known for "Project Koko." Here is a link to the website if you would like to know more about Koko: http://www.koko.org. And below I have included a documentary titled "A Conversation with Koko the Gorilla."
I will end with this. I wish Koko a very happy 45th birthday, with many coming...and with them probably kittens on the way. I hope you have enjoyed this Koko centered special blog entry.
Claude Levi-Strauss
Levi-Strauss is a big name in the anthropological community. He is not a physical anthropologist, but some of his theories and books read that way. Indirectly he was sort of involved with evolution, but more of the process our brains went through to get to where we are today. In the following blog I will discuss what kind of anthropologist he was, his thoughts on language, kinship, and magic.
With the tree of subjects in anthropology, from physical, to linguistic, to archaeology, to cultural, it does not seem there is more than these main branches. But if you have been following this blog you know that from these branches there are so many more. Structural anthropology branches off from cultural. Levi-Strauss was the founder of this school of anthropology. The way he designed this idea was according to his "theories, universal patterns in cultural systems are products of the invariant structure of the human mind." In layman terms he is saying that our minds are never changing and that is how the systems of culture are produced. Let us take the Native American culture as an example. Sure, the Europeans tried to turn them into God fearing "modern" peoples, but nowadays, even though much of their culture has been lost to the times, there are still things in modern Native American Culture in which their ancestors would be comfortable partaking in. Structural anthropology is as if saying "you can take the human out of the wild but you can't take the wild out of the human," or something to that extent.
So where does language tie into this? This is not linguistic anthropology. Yes, this is not linguistic, but the kind of language Levi-Strauss was interested in was the type that had to do with kinship. When it comes to a cultures, and I mean any culture, what is the one thing that ties them together? Skin colour? No; with the rise in immigration throughout a myriad of counties, cultures have a whole array of colours. And it is not foods either. The thing that ties cultures together is language. If the peoples of a culture spoke entirely different languages, there would be no culture. Reason being is that a paramount of culture is being able to share information, either through speech or written words. Although, that said, this is the cultural part of Levi-Strauss' mind set, not the structural anthropological. When language is looked at from a structural point of view Levi-Strauss compares language to myth, "Myth is language, functioning on an especially high level where meaning succeeds practically at 'taking off' from the linguistic ground on which it keeps rolling." His reasoning for this is because myth has attributes that can only be in myth, so he sees it as its own language. What I mean by this is unlike poetry which can get lost in translation, myth can be translated into many languages but still keeps the core of "myth." "According to Levi-Strauss, this is due to the nature of the structural components which make up a myth which are irreducible and recurrent across myths."
At the beginning of this blog I mentioned "magic." The type of magic Levi-Strauss spoke of is not what you would think of. This type of magic, Levi-Strauss theorizes, were the first steps towards religion. What he means by this is for magic to work, you have to believe in it; so belief ties magic and religion together. Some of our (as in the human race) earliest experience in religion would be with the shaman. This magical doctor who uses all matter of liquids and powders, and those who go to them somehow get better; the major factor in this is belief. With this in mind, Levi-Strauss "seems to think that psychoanalysis and the shamanistic performance he describes are structured the same way. He seems to feel that psychoanalysis can learn from shamanistic performance." He criticized psychoanalysis for basically only observing and grouping their patients together (OCD, ADHD, ect.), but not curing them.. All in all, I am glad I have delved into a completely different school of anthropology. It is so amazing to think that the theories of one man could have such an effect on such a wide practice. I have said it once, and I will say it again, as long as there are humans, there will always be a need for an anthropologist.
If you tuned in last Sunday you now know what genetic drift is (http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/genetic-drift) and that it is bad, that in mind, gene flow is the exact opposite and is very good. It is thanks to gene flow the human race is so diverse with different traits. In the following blog I will discuss how gene flow happens, give examples of it, and exactly why it is good. But first, what is gene flow?
 The basic definition of gene flow is an exchange of genes between populations (image below). Another term that is sometimes used is migration, but this term also means "movement of people," whilst gene flow is the exchange of genes. Last week I addressed the founder effect, in gene flow the separation of people from their home community is vital. Unlike the founder effect in which you have people within the same community mating, in gene flow they would mate with people from other communities. This is an important force of evolution, "the flow of alleles in and out of a population due to the migration of individuals or gametes."
Seeing how this a blog entry on a physical anthropology focused site, you would think gene flow only happens in humans; it does not. Gene flow can be seen in all types of animals, even plants. Plants for example, the way they mate is by sending their pollen via the wind, insects, or birds "to pollinate other populations of the same species some distance away." In the case of humans, it should be evident seeing how many types of humans we have. An over used, but very good, example of gene flow is of US soldiers who had children with Vietnamese women during the Vietnam war. This one act "altered the gene pool frequencies of the Vietnamese population." The gene flow of many African Americans in the US is a wonderful example of how gene flow influences microevolutionary ("evolutionary change within a species or small group of organisms, especially over a short period.") changes in modern human populations. African Americans mostly have West African descent, that said, there is also a good portion of their genes that have European American. "By measuring allele frequencies for specific genetic loci, we can estimate the amount of migration of European alleles into the African American gene pool." This method of estimating is very interesting because through this estimation they found the data from western and northern states ("including New York, Detroit, and Oakland") it shown the percentage of foreign genes (non-African) as 20 to 25 percent. But in the southern states it was a much lower percentage, 4 to 11 percent (which is not really surprising with the history of discrimination towards African-American in the United States).
In the case of mutation in gene flow is good (as opposed to mutation in genetic drift). This is an important factor for the diversity in populations. Light coloured eyes for example. Most of Europe has light coloured eyes, and seeing how we all originated in Africa, it is easy to see how these light eyes are a mutation. It all started with one person with light eyes, someone to say to themselves "they will be my mate." Even if their children, or their children's children did not have light eyes, that gene is in them; this is how most of Europe has ended up with light eyes...it all started with one person. These light eyes are yet another example of gene flow. How else could the majority of Europe have them if it was not for gene flow?
For humans gene flow is one of the things we have to thank for the survival of our species. What I mean by this is with gene flow our bodies have furthered its adaptability. Recently the human race has gotten very touchy about social rules of who they can and cannot mate with, but, in our millions of years of evolution the past thousand or so years is a spit in the bucket, thus why I use "recently." That said, it is nice to see how we are over coming these social "norms." Seeing a light skinned man with a dark skinned woman, or vice versa is becoming more acceptable in modern days (light skin is another example of gene flow and adaptation; see this blog entry for further information about that: http://anthropologicalconcepts.weebly.com/blog/-evolution). It is because of this wonderful force that when new genes are brought into a population, we can gain diversity. "Of course, migration patterns are a manifestation of human cultural behavior, and this emphasizes once again the essential biocultural nature of human evolution."


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1. Yashwant Etc. Vs. The State of Maharashtra [September 04, 2018]
2. Haribhau Vs. The State of Maharashtra [September 04, 2018]
3. Shivaraj Vs. Rajendra & ANR. [September 05, 2018]
4. Smt. Kavita Vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh through Secretary & Ors. [September 05, 2018]
5. S.K. Raju @ Abdul Haque @ Jagga Vs. State of West Bengal [September 05, 2018]
6. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. Vs. Tasneem Rizwan Siddiquee [September 05, 2018]
7. R. S. Sehrawat Vs. Rajeev Malhotra & Ors. [September 05, 2018.]
8. N. Radhakrishnan @ Radhakrishnan Varenickal Vs. Union of India and others [September 05, 2018]
9. M.P. Poorva Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Co. Ltd. & Ors. Vs. Uma Shankar Dwivedi [September 05, 2018]
10. C.R.Kariyappa Vs. State of Karnataka [5th September, 2018]
11. Devi Singh Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh [September 5, 2018]
12. State of Madhya Pradesh Vs. Shriram & ANR. [5th September, 2018]
13. State of M.P. Vs. Ratan Singh & Ors. [September 05, 2018]
14. Navtej Singh Johar & Ors. Vs. Union of India Thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice [September 6, 2018]
15. Maj. Amod Kumar Vs. Union of India & ANR. [September 6, 2018]
16. Ravinder Kaur Vs. Gagandeep Singh [September 06, 2018]
17. Durjan Singh (Dead) THR. LR. & ANR. Vs. Vir Singh & Ors. [SEPTEMBER 6, 2018]
18. K.Ravichandra & Ors. Vs. State of Karnataka [6TH SEPTEMBER, 2018]
19. State of Karnataka Vs. Yenkareddy & Ors. [SEPTEMBER 6, 2018]
20. Mysore Urban Development Authority Vs. K.M. Chikkathayamma & Ors. [September 07, 2018]
21. Gottumukkala Venkata Krishamraju Vs. Union of India & Ors. [September 07, 2018]
22. Prabhat Ranjan Singh & ANR. Vs. R.K. Kushwaha & Ors. [September 07, 2018]
23. Maqbool Vs. The State of Uttar Pradesh and another [September 07, 2018]
24. M/S Artistic Art Forum Pvt. Ltd. Vs. B. Sita Maha Lakshmi [SEPTEMBER 10, 2018]
25. Ashok Singh & Ors. Vs. State of U.P. & Ors. [September 11, 2018]
26. Narayana Gramani & Ors. Vs. Mariammal & Ors. [September 11, 2018]
27. M.C. Mehta Vs. Union of India & Ors. [September 11, 2018]
28. Rajiv Vijayasarathy Ratnam Vs. Savitha Seetharam [September 11, 2018]
29. Kalyan Singh Vs. Ravinder Kaur (D) THR. LRS. [September 11, 2018]
30. M/S PSA Mumbai Investments PTE. Limited Vs. The Board of Trustees of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and ANR. [September 11, 2018]
31. Medical Council of India Vs. State of Kerala & Ors. [September 12, 2018]
32. Sangita @ Rekha Sambhaji Malode Vs. The State of Maharashtra [September 12, 2018]
33. The State of Uttar Pradesh Vs. Hansraj @ Hansu [12th September, 2018]
34. Kannan Vs. State Rep. by Inspector of Police [SEPTEMBER 12, 2018]
35. Wockhardt Limited Vs. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and ANR. [September 12, 2018]
36. Jagjit Singh (D) Thr. LRS. Vs. Amarjit Singh [September 13, 2018]
37. Mohmed Rafiq Abdul Rahim Shaikh Vs. The State of Gujarat [SEPTEMBER 13, 2018]
38. Medical Council of India Vs. N.C. Medical College & Hospital & Ors. [September 13, 2018]
39. Abdul Wahab K. Vs. State of Kerala and Others [September 13, 2018]
40. M/S Shriram EPC Limited Vs. Rioglass Solar Sa [September 13, 2018]
41. Pravesh Kumar Sachdeva Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. [September 13, 2018]
42. T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad Vs. Union of India and Ors. [September 14, 2018]
43. M/s. Zhejiang Bonly Elevator Guide Rail Manufacture Co. Ltd. Vs. M/s. Jade Elevator Components [September 14, 2018]
44. Pankaj Sinha Vs. Union of India and Others [September 14, 2018]
45. Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar and another Vs. Union of India Ministry of Law and Justice and others [September 14, 2018]
46. S. Nambi Narayanan Vs. Siby Mathews & Others Etc. [September 14, 2018]
47. L. Ponnayal @ Lakshmi Vs. Karuppannan (Dead) Thr. L.R. Sengoda Gounder & ANR. [September 17, 2018]
48. Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi Vs. M/S Hotel and Allied Trades (P) Ltd. [September 17, 2018]
49. The State of Orissa Vs. Mahimananda Mishra [September 18, 2018]
50. Ravi Chand Mangla Vs. Dimpal Solania & Ors. [September 18, 2018]
51. Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Nanu Ram Alias Chuhru Ram & Ors. [September 18, 2018]
52. Venugopal Padayachi (Dead) Through LRS. Vs. V. Pichaikaran (Dead) Through LRS. [September 18, 2018]
53. M/S Bee Gee Corporation Pvt. Ltd Vs. Punjab Financial Corporation & ANR. [18th September, 2018]
54. Prabhu @ Kulandaivelu Vs. The State of Tamil Nadu [September 18, 2018]
55. Smt. Shamim Vs. State (GNCT of Delhi) [September 19, 2018]
56. M/s Trans Asian Shipping Services (Pvt.) Ltd. Vs. M/s Beacon Shipping Lines Ltd. Represented by Mr. Mohammed S. Aslam Managing Director & others [September 19, 2018]
57. Meena Verma Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and another [September 19, 2018]
58. Janabai Vs. Additional Commissioner and Others [September 19, 2018]
59. Doris John & ANR. Vs. Jane Wesley [September 19, 2018]
60. Subhash Mahto Vs. The State of Bihar [19th September, 2018]
61. Bhagwat Vs. State of Maharashtra [September 19, 2018]
62. Rekha Gurunath Mhashelkar Vs. Yashwant Vichare [September 19, 2018]
63. Paras Ram & Ors. Vs. The State of Haryana & Ors. [September 19, 2018]
64. The Management of Regional Chief Engineer P.H.E.D. Ranchi Vs. Their Workmen Rep. by District Secretary [September 20, 2018]
65. Sudarsan Puhan Vs. Jayanta Ku. Mohanty & Ors. [September 20, 2018]
66. Una Nagar Palika Vs. Kaliben Balubhai Makwana & ANR. [September 20, 2018]
67. The Chief Engineer (General) Public Works Department & Ors. Vs. S. Patrajan [September 20, 2018]
68. Muni Reddy & ANR. Vs. C. Nagaraju & Ors. [September 20, 2018]
69. M.L. Singla Vs. Punjab National Bank and ANR. [September 20, 2018]
70. Bangalore Development Authority Vs. B.N. Ramalingaswamy & Ors. [September 20, 2018]
71. Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, Jaipur Vs. Shri Phool Chand (Dead) Through L.Rs. [September 20, 2018]
72. Ghewarchand & Ors. Vs. M/s Mahendra Singh & Ors. [September 20, 2018]
73. Sharad Hiru Kolambe Vs. State of Maharashtra and others [September 20, 2018]
74. The State of Maharashtra & ANR. Vs. Sayyed Hassan Sayyed Subhan & Ors. [SEPTEMBER 20, 2018]
75. Harish Chand Vs. Smt. Urmila [September 20, 2018]
76. Jai Singh and Ors. Vs. University Grants Commission and Ors. [September 24, 2018]
77. Achpal @ Ramswaroop & another Vs. State of Rajasthan [September 24, 2018]
78. Sikar Kendriya Sahkari Bank Limited Vs. Bhagirath Singh (Dead) Through L. Rs. [September 24, 2018]
79. M/s Empee Distilleries Limited & Ors. Vs. M/s Gimpex Private Ltd. & ANR. [September 24, 2018]
80. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Vs. Raj Kumar Rajinder Singh (Dead) Through LRS. & Ors. [September 24, 2018]
81. Rajeshwar Mahto Vs. Alok Kumar Gupta, G.M. M/s Birla Corporation Ltd. [September 24, 2018]
82. Gopal Dutt Shukla Vs. Bihar State Road Transport Corporation and Ors . [September 24, 2018]
83. Dr. Ritesh Kumar Tarun Vs. State of Bihar & Ors. [September 24, 2018]
84. Sandip Pandey @ Sandeep Kumar Pandey Vs. M/S. Shivam Builders and Developers & anr. [September 24, 2018]
85. Coal India Ltd. & ANR. Vs. Navin Kumar Singh [September 25, 2018]
86. Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay Vs. Union of India & ANR. [September 25, 2018]
87. Reema Salkan Vs. Sumer Singh Salkan [September 25, 2018]
88. Chief Manager, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, Alwar Vs. Vinod Kumar Sharma [September 25, 2018]
89. The State of Kerala & ANR. Vs. Gouri & Ors. [September 25, 2018]
90. Shailesh Bandu Swami and another Vs. Dipak and Others [September 25, 2018]
91. Pasupati Nath Das (dead) Vs. Chanchal Kumar Das (dead) by L.Rs. and Ors. [September 25, 2018]
92. Biswajit Sukul Vs. Deo Chand Sarda & Ors. [September 25, 2018]
93. State of Kerala & ANR. Vs. Joseph & ANR. [September 25, 2018]
94. Union of India Vs. Hardy Exploration and Production (India) INC [September 25, 2018]
95. S.H Baig & Ors. Vs. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. [September 25, 2018]
96. Shri Ambadevi Sanstha & Ors. Vs. Joint Charity Commissioner & Ors. [September 25, 2018]
97. Punjab National Bank Vs. PNB Canteen Workers Union (Calcutta) & Ors. [25th September, 2018]
98. Punjab Urban Planning & Development Authority & ANR. Vs. Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia & ANR. [September 25, 2018]
99. Re- Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons [September 25, 2018]
100. Public Interest Foundation & Ors. Vs. Union of India & ANR. [September 25, 2018]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Will Jeremy Renner Be In 'Bourne 5'? An Aaron Cross Appearance Is Unlikely
By Olivia Truffaut-Wong
Matt Damon has been teasing Bourne 5 for years, and fans are finally starting to get glimpses of what the highly anticipated installment to the franchise has in store. With a July 2016 release date on the horizon, many are starting to wonder how exactly this Bourne sequel will fit into the series. After all, The Bourne Identity, the movie that started it all, was released 14 years ago in 2002, and Damon hasn't played Jason Bourne since 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum. However, in the years since the Bourne trilogy starring Damon had come to an end, the Bourne franchise continued with an entirely new action hero: Aaron Cross. The Bourne Legacy, released in 2012, was intended to reboot the super spy series, this time with Jeremy Renner as the star, but the film's lukewarm box office performance left the series in limbo until Damon announced his triumphant return. Now that Damon is back as the face of the Bourne series, some fans are worried about whether or not Jeremy Renner will be in Bourne 5 . And with good reason.
Renner's Aaron Cross was not as beloved by audiences as Jason Bourne, and despite having an all star cast that included Edward Norton, Corey Stoll and Rachel Weisz, The Bourne Legacy failed to attract the same kind of fierce fandom as the original three films. And, though a planned sequel remained in the realm of possibility, it appeared to have been put on the back-burner. With the studio in no rush to get a Renner-starring sequel in the works, the announcement of Damon's return felt, in many ways, like a death sentence for Aaron Cross.
When plans for Bourne 5 with Damon and director Paul Greengrass were announced in late 2014, it essentially took the place of a Bourne Legacy sequel with Renner. And at first, it was rumored that Bourne 5 would see Damon and Renner's super spies meet up in the Bourne universe. A few months after the initial announcement, producer Frank Marshall said in an interview with Collider in January of 2015 that they had no plans to have Aaron Cross and Jason Bourne in the same film, saying, "They're on separate tracks." This explanation for why Jeremy Renner won't be in Bourne 5 seems to be the go-to. Speaking at TIFF this past fall, Damon told reporters that they didn't want to do a crossover movie because they didn't want to interrupt the story of The Bourne Legacy. "We didn't want to mess with their mythology at all because it's its own thing, and we obviously would never want to get in the way of that," Damon said.
Whether or not the creative powers that be really couldn't find a way to intertwine the two Bourne stories, there doesn't appear to be any ill will between the stars. Renner, for his part, told ScreenRant that he would say yes in a heartbeat if asked to be Aaron Cross again: "I love that world. I love the character. If they want to do that, I'm in. There's no 'no' coming from this direction."
Of course, it ain't over 'til it's over, and, who knows, Renner could very well pop up unannounced in Bourne 5. Fans will just have to wait and see.
Images: Universal Pictures; Giphy (2)


text:
Two Correction-Resistant Stocks
CVR Energy and IPG Photonics could be setting up for new rallies.
By KATE STALTER Dec 31, 2012 | 12:30 PM EST
Stocks quotes in this article: RYL, MHO, CVI, IPGP
As I've written before, I don't have much use for the traditional games of predicting what stocks or sectors will be hot in the New Year. Plenty of so-called "black swans" (which turn out not to be so uncommon after all) send particular sectors up or down with no warning. Likewise, unexpected company strength or weakness can have the same effect.
So the regular, tried-and-true methods of zeroing in on top-performing stocks still apply, no matter what the calendar says.
I recently looked at some top earnings performers that may be setting up for fresh 2013 gains. Over the weekend, I looked at my screen of stocks that are bucking the market's current downtrend. It may seem a bit counterintuitive, but sometimes stocks rising during a correction can be setting up for new rallies.
Some of the familiar names that are among the best leaders of 2012 popped up -- for instance, homebuilders Ryland (RYL) and M/I Homes (MHO) were on the list --but I was more curious about companies and sectors that hadn't been discussed ad infinitum over the past several months.
Oil and gas refiner CVR Energy (CVI) rose for seven months in a row. After rebounding from a pullback to its 10-week average in November, the stock charged to an all-time high of $49.63 on Christmas Eve. It retreated along with the market since then but closed Friday at $47.68, 13% above its 50-day line.
After seven months of gains, a 50-day pullback could be a constructive development, so it wouldn't necessarily be catastrophic if the stock retreated.
The company was in the news earlier this year because investor Carl Icahn bought a majority stake in May but backed away from purchasing the rest of the company in August.
Earnings are seen declining in 2013, to $6.13 per share. That doesn't necessarily sink a stock, as long as the company meets or beats views.
I still consider this stock a bit frothy, but it is one to keep watching.
Another mid-cap that's been showing good price action despite the market downturn is IPG Photonics (IPGP). The maker of fiber-optic lasers and other scientific measurement gear had a choppy 2012 but advanced 91% for the year. It closed Friday at $64.84, below its 52-week high of $65.77 from September.
I like that this stock has some ground to make up before regaining its prior high. That could indicate that it's not too extended and may have some room to run.
The stock has been trending along its five-day exponential moving average. For traders, that's not a bad indicator. For longer-term investors, the stock could also be in a buy zone, perched between its medium-term 50-day line and that prior high.
Fundamentally, there's also reason to see potential here. Analysts are eyeing per-share income of $2.87 this year, up 19% from 2011. Next year, that's seen rising another 14%, to $3.26 per share.
One caveat: This stock can trade in extremely volatile fashion. It has a beta of 2.05. Volatility is an investor's friend, as long as you can be patient to capture the upside gains and not get shaken out at the first whiff of a pullback.
At the time of publication, Stalter had no positions in the stocks mentioned.
TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Stocks
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MondayNasty flu business. Odd infection: not so bad on the chest but inspired some very peculiar hallucinations. Whenever I wrote the word 'satellite', it turned into a spiky yellow beetle. so I went to bed.
Dream that Bill Gates is planning to send over 800 satellites into space and set up Internet Of The Air, thus bypassing all the telephone companies. Dream that he claims it'll handle up to 1Mbit/sec and cost about the same as cellphones. Wake up wondering about beetles: find out subsequently that it's all true. Watch out for Teledesic - the name of the system. Sobering thought Number 1: it'll cost around 12 billion dollars to build, launch and set up all those satellites. Sobering thought Number 2: that's only half Bill Gates' net worth.
One of Santa's reindeers stepped on my US Robotics Pilot, and the display is broken. Since I've put my entire life on it, this is a matter of more than usual concern - the question is, will the product's much vaunted ability to instantly copy itself onto and off a PC save me from digital amnesia? It'd better, especially since I've been one of the people doing the vaunting.
A new Pilot is acquired, popped in the transfer cradle and the update button hesitantly pushed. The software asks whether I want to make this new Pilot "Rupert Goodwins"? Yes, please.
Blip. Done. My life is restored in less time than it takes to put a map in a Filofax. Rather annoyingly, I have to reinstall the essential selection of games by hand and that takes. ooooh ... another minute. It's always nice to find out that something you wrote was true.
Ask US Robotics when the next version is coming out. They go very quiet, the sort of quiet people go when a product is close enough to get interesting but launch dates aren't quite finalised. Watch this space.
When oh when will 56K modems be here? The desk is straining under the weight of '56K ready' announcements, with a sprinkling of boxes that claim to have the capability already. Who knows. They may. Nobody's actually announced a 56K service yet.
Phone Demon. Demon says: "Werl, mate, once the standard's ratified, or gets close to it, we'll do it". Seems the polyphony of proprietary technologies is making the adoption process too painful to contemplate.
I said this would happen, I did. I told the modem people. Did they listen to Uncle Rupert? Nah. Serves 'em right.
Microsoft is launching Office 97. I could rattle on about the software, but everyone else is doing that, so let's talk about the launch party instead. MS turned up at the PC Magazine offices with a bus - oh dear - and proceeded to abduct some 20 journalists. Our transportation ended at The House Of Magic, a peculiar gothic pile in the middle of Kennington, one of those bits of south London that The Bill spend all their time scurrying around. It's spooky. We watch, entranced, as Microsofties get various limbs hacked off by a stage magician; things appear and disappear and inexplicable acts are performed with mechanical rabbits. Of the product, there is no mention and the only PowerPoint presentation is when The Great Mysto pokes a marketing manager with his wand. Excellent.
Late in the evening, I trap another marketing manager - there are millions of them - by the bar and am delighted when he asks me what our perception of Microsoft as a company actually is. "But but but." he splutters, clearly upset, "you can't mean people really call it the Evil Empire?". Oh yes they do, and I explained why. I leave him sadly perplexed - another soul saved? Perhaps not. But it made me feel better.
The morning makes me feel worse. Must've been something in the ice cubes last night. Get into work and settle down to a hack at some copy concerning Web servers. Hum. The day is enlivened by an in-depth discussion of the word 'swive' (go and look it up) and an even livelier discussion about what can be done with a dead CD. This soon turns into an article idea for Computer Life and. well, you'll have to wait. Suffice it to say that some of them are probably illegal, some a threat to shipping and some may even make the evening news.
To bring me down to earth, I do a telephone interview with a man about routers. Not just any routers, goodness me no, but standalone encrypting end-to-end firewall routers for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks, where you run your company's data over a public carrier but make sure it's all heavily secret before you send it. These will be big.). That's OK, but there is an unwritten rule (well, I'm writing it now) that the more acronym-ridden and technically dense a subject is, the more exotic the accent will be of the person telling you the story. In Comdex, it was Internet phone protocols and the Taiwanese that taxed me most: this time, it was hardware key generation and negotiation algorithms, a very bad cellphone and an Israeli who had a beard you could hear. Oh well.
Bit of self publicity: The Net, BBC 2, 11:15pm, Monday 20th. yours truly is followed around by the BBC at Las Vegas. See what a journo actually does when he's a long, long way from home.
Fave gadgets: Baygen clockwork radio, and Sony SRF-M48RDS Walkman with Radio Data System.
Best toys I've had all year.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Jabalah IV ibn al-Harith, aussi connu sous le kunya Abu Shamir, ou dans les sources grecques Gabalas (), est un roi ghassanide. D'abord ennemi de l'Empire byzantin, il conduit des raids en Palestine avant d'être battu et de devenir un vassal des Byzantins de 502 jusqu'en 520 environ, puis de nouveau en 527 jusqu'à sa mort en 528.

Biographie
Jabalah est le fils d'al-Harith IV ibn Hijr (Arethas dans les sources grecques) et petit-fils du cheikh Tha'laba. Il apparaît pour la première fois dans les sources historique en 498 sous le règne de l'empereur byzantin Anastase  (491-518), alors que, d'après Théophane le Confesseur, le Diocèse d'Orient subissait d'importants raids d'Arabes dont il est l'un des chefs. Il conduit des raids en Palestine avant d'être vaincu et repoussé par le duc byzantin Romanus. Après une série de combats acharnés, Romanus réussit à expulser les Ghassanides de l'île d'Iotabe (aujourd'hui Tiran), qui contrôlait le commerce avec la mer Rouge et occupée par les Arabes depuis 473.

En 502, Anastase  conclut un traité d'alliance avec les Kindites et les Ghassanides, les changeant en alliés impériaux (fœderati). Lors de la guerre d'Anastase contre l'Empire sassanide, les Ghassanides, combattent ainsi du côté de leurs alliés byzantins. Une seule opération leur est cependant explicitement attribuée : en juillet 513, ils attaquent Hirah, capitale des Lakhmides alliés des Perses. Les Ghassanides s'installent profondément dans le limes byzantin. Une source syriaque de juillet 519 atteste de l'existence d'un « opulent » quartier-général à al-Jabiya (Gabitha) en Gaulanitide (plateau du Golan). Jabalah y succède à son père en tant que roi de sa tribu. Avec l'accession en 518 de Justin  (518–527) au trône impérial et la nouvelle imposition de l'orthodoxie chalcédonienne à travers l'Empire, les Ghassanides, monophysites convaincus, quittent l'alliance autour de 520 et se retirent dans le nord du Hedjaz.

L'alliance n'est restaurée que lors de la dernière année de règne de Justin. Bien que les Ghassanides ne soient pas explicitement mentionnés dans les sources, Irfan Shahîd identifie Jabalah comme le phylarque arabe nommé al-Asfar, en grec Tapharas (Ταφαρᾶς). Il s'agit de l'équivalent arabe du gentilicum romain honorifique « Flavius » qui a pu être accordé à Jabalah par l'empereur lors de son retour sous allégeance byzantine ;  cette identification n'est cependant pas certaine. En 528, les Ghassanides participent au conflit contre la Perse et leurs alliés arabes Lakhmides. Après une expédition punitive contre le roi lakhmide Mundhir, Jabalah-Tapharas, sous le commandement de Bélisaire, est tué à la bataille de Thannuris lorsqu'il tombe de son cheval.

Famille
La femme de Jabalah semble avoir été Mariya qui, d'après la tradition arabe, était une célèbre princesse Kindite. De cette union il a au moins trois enfants : le célèbre Al-Harith ibn Jabalah, (Arethas pour les Byzantins), qui lui succède, Abu Karib, phylarque de la province Palestine III, et, comme l'indique son kunya, un fils aîné nommé Shamir, dont rien n'est connu.

Annexes

Références

Bibliographie

Ghassanides
Personnalité byzantine du VIe siècle
Militaire byzantin du VIe siècle
Décès en 528
Monarque tué au combat
Date de naissance non renseignée (Ve siècle)
Personnalité du haut Moyen Âge par nom
Personnalité des guerres romano-sassanides

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Repetition in Fibonacci series with recursion I am trying to write a method that prints the first n numbers fibonacci series using recursion.
I do not want to write the method then create a separate loop after the method to print out the first n fibonacci series. I tried using try and finally block since I know the finally statement will always be executed. The fibonacci series output works fine but keeps repeating. Is it possible to stop the repetition?
def fibonacci(n):
    if n <= 1:
        return n
    try:
        fib = fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)
        return fib
    finally:
        print("F{} = {}".format(n, fib))

fibonacci(6)

output
F2 = 1
F3 = 2
F2 = 1
F4 = 3
F2 = 1
F3 = 2
F5 = 5
F2 = 1
F3 = 2
F2 = 1
F4 = 3
F6 = 8

A: A fairly minimal change to your code will avoid the unnecessary recursion, and then only print what (I hope) you want.
def fibonacci(n):
    if n <= 0:
        return 1, 1
    try:
        nxt, fib = fibonacci(n-1)
        return nxt+fib, nxt
    finally:
        print("F{} = {}".format(n, fib))

fibonacci(6)

Output:
F1 = 1
F2 = 1
F3 = 2
F4 = 3
F5 = 5
F6 = 8

A: It is possible, but you need to have a non local value to remember whether a number has already be printed. A simple way is to use a closure and a locally defined function:
def fibonacci(n):
    done = -1
    def fibo(n):
        nonlocal done
        if n <= 1:
            fib = n
        else:
            fib = fibo(n-1) + fibo(n-2)
        if n > done:
            print("F{} = {}".format(n, fib))
            done = n
        return fib
    fibo(n)

You can now do:
>>> fibonacci(6)
F1 = 1
F2 = 1
F3 = 2
F4 = 3
F5 = 5
F6 = 8

A: You can make use of default parameters like this:
def fibonacci(n, a=1, b=1):
    if n==0:
        return;
    else:
        print(a)
        fibonaci(n-1, b, a+b)

fibonacci(10)

Output:
1
1
2
3
5
8
13
21
34
55

A: You can make your function a generator and use unpacking in the print statement (with a new line separator if needed):
def fibo(n,a=0,b=1):
    yield a
    if n>1:
        yield from fibo(n-1,b,a+b)

print(*fibo(10),sep="\n")

0
1
1
2
3
5
8
13
21
34

You can also use the print function inside the function but that is now how functions should operate:
def fibo(n,a=0,b=1):
    print(a)
    if n>1:fibo(n-1,b,a+b)

fibo(10)

BTW, the modern version of the Fibonacci sequence starts at zero

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Duterte government shuts down public broadcaster
A dark day
Public broadcaster and media outlet ABS-CBN forced off air, after House of Representatives, dominated by a "supermajority" of Mr Duterte's allies, drag their heels on renewal of the media firm's franchise to operate.
Earlier, the Solicitor General Jose Calida, a Duterte appointee, warned the National Telecommunications Commission led by Mr Gamaliel Cordoba, that the Commission could potentially face administrative charges if they acted to issue a provisional permit to operate, until the franchise could be renewed by Congress.
There is speculation that the closure of the media and entertainment company, controlled by the Lopez family, was prompted by unfavorable journalistic coverage of Mr Duterte and his allies before and since Mr Duterte's election to the presidency in 2016.
It is unclear at this time why Mr Duterte's administration, which has been pushing for the implementation of Martial Law in the midst of a national, and global, health crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, has permitted events to come to a head with the closure of a Filipino-owned media company, which TV and broadcast operations ceased early in the evening of Tuesday, 5 May, 2020.
Some 11,000 media workers will be effectively left unemployed, during a time when pandemic-related quarantine measures have severely curtailed economic activity in the Philippines. The government is currently struggling to provide financial support to millions of persons whose incomes have been disrupted by quarantine-related lockdowns.
It is expected that Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, who is expected to gun for higher office in the Philippine national elections of 2022, will make moves to "intercede" with the President on the behalf of public interest.
Author [email protected]Posted on May 5, 2020 October 13, 2021 Categories Human Rights
Previous Previous post: For the next government, a citizen's wish list


A few months back I wrote about a book sprint I was a part of for Operating Cisco ACI. Cisco ran another book sprint recently and we're now reaping the rewards in a book called Programmability and Automation with Cisco Open NX-OS. This book describes how to use Cisco's open Nexus Operating System to control Nexus switches, especially Nexus 9000 switches, programmatically. You'll learn how to use XML and JSON, as well as Python and some of the newer declarative languages such as Ansible to program your network.
The ebook is available for free on GitHub at the link above. There are also some hard copies that I might be able to get for folks. If you're interested, reach out to me on Twitter @Malhoit.


text:
Philipp Kochheim (* 4. prosince 1970 Hamburk) je německý divadelní režisér, libretista a scénograf.

Život
Od svých sedmi let hrál na klavír. V mládí navštěvoval představení režírovaná Peterem Zadkem, která ho oslovila do té míry, že se začal zajímat o divadlo. V Mnichově studoval dějiny umění a divadelní vědu. Během sezóny 1992/1993 se po zhlédnutí představení Maškarní ples od Giuseppeho Verdi začal více zaměřovat na hudební divadlo. Když pobýval na stáži ve státním divadle v Augsburgu (), poznal se s britským režisérem Johnem Dewem a stal se jeho asistentem ve Vídeňské státní opeře.

Kochheim je autorem libreta k opeře Gerharda Rosenfelda nazvané Kniefall in Warschau (v českém překladu Pokleknutí ve Varšavě), jež měla premiéru 22. listopadu 1997 v operním domě v Dortmundu.

Odkazy

Reference

Němečtí divadelní režiséři
Scénografové
Narození v Hamburku
Narození v roce 1970
Narození 4. prosince
Žijící lidé
Muži


WADI DAYQAH DAM, Oman, Feb 13, 2013 (AFP) — Slovakia's Peter Sagan of the Cannondale team won a second consecutive stage on the Tour of Oman on Wednesday to strengthen his grip on the overall race leader's red jersey.
Sagan emerged victorious on the 190km third stage from Nakhal Fort to Wadi Dayqah Dam in the Hajar Mountains.
In the same spot where he claimed his first win for Cannondale a year ago, Sagan beat Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet of BMC and France's Tony Gallopin of RadioShack to take victory on the line by one second with Alberto Contador as a close fourth.
Sagan, who won three stages of last year's Tour de France, sits 16 seconds ahead of Gallopin in the overall standings but knows he faces a tough hilly fourth stage where Italian Vincenzo Nibali triumphed last year.
"Tomorrow [Thursday], the victory will be for someone else, not for me," he said after receiving the leader's red jersey as well as the green for points and white for best young rider.
A strong field in Oman is headed by last year's Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, and also features his Sky teammate Chris Froome, as well as the likes of Tom Boonen, Cadel Evans, Fabian Cancellara, and Contador.
Saxo rider Contador is expected to battle with Nibali among others for Stage 4 honors and the race remains wide open with Britain's Froome and Australian Evans also in contention.
However Wiggins appears out of the running now after losing 1min 37sec on Stage 3 while last year's winner, Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez, also lost 59secs in his faltering defense.
The British Olympic champion is now a distant 3min 29sec adrift in the overall standings and faces a monumental challenge to get back among the leaders.
Thursday's fourth stage is a 152.5km ride through the mountains from Al Satiyah to the finish line at the peak of a stiff climb at Jabal Al Akhdar.
The six-stage race concludes on Saturday.
3. Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Leopard) s.t.
4. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) s.t.
5. Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil-DCM) s.t.
7. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) s.t.
8. Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) s.t.
9. Peter Velits (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step) s.t.
10. Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) s.t.
7. Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) s.t.
10. Andrea Pasqualon (Bardiani Vaolvole-CSF Inox) s.t.


Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly linked the US President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to the Islamic State on Thursday, labelling them the "co-founders" and "MVPs" (most valuable players) of the terrorist group, of igniting fresh criticism of his inflammatory campaign style.
The New York real estate developer has previously attacked Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton, secretary of state from 2009-13, for how the United States pulled out of Iraq after the war, saying it helped create the militant Islamist group that has seized swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The idea that a sitting US president created a militant group determined to kill Americans and other Westerners took that line of attack to a new level. Mr Trump first made the "co-founder" assertion in a speech Wednesday night in Florida. He repeated it in an interview Thursday morning with CNBC.
In a speech to the National Association of Home Builders later on Thursday, he repeated the claim again and took it a step further.
"ISIS will hand her the MVP award," he said. "Her only competition is Barack Obama."
An MVP award is given out in sporting competitions to the best or most valuable player, similar to a 'Man of the Match' or 'Best and Fairest' award in Australia. The line was greeted with a smattering of laughter and clapping on Thursday from the NAHB audience.
His remarks followed a troubled week for the Republican candidate. Party leaders urged Mr Trump to focus on the campaign to beat Mrs Clinton after he drew strong criticism for a persistent confrontation with the family of Muslim American soldier who died in Iraq and for his initial refusal to support prominent Republican congressional candidates in their primary races.
Recent opinion polls have shown Trump losing ground to Mrs Clinton, a former US senator and first lady, in the race for the November 8 election. An average of polls by RealClearPolitics has Mrs Clinton 7.7 percentage points ahead, at 48 per cent to his 40.3 per cent.
"He (Obama) was the founder of ISIS. And so was she. I mean I call them co-founders," said Mr Trump, who claims he opposed the Iraq war. "He shouldn't have gotten out way he got out. It was a disaster, what he did," he told CNBC.
Mr Obama had opposed the Iraq war and campaigned for the White House in 2008 on a promise to end it. The United States pulled out combat troops in 2011.
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or IS, had its roots in the al-Qaeda insurgency that arose after the United States led an invasion of Iraq in 2003. Known for its brutality, the group in 2014 declared an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, where fighting continues to rage.
Mrs Clinton's spokesman Jesse Lehrich, in response to Mr Trump's comments, pointed to US advances against the militant group in Libya this week. "FYI - US-backed militias retook ISIS's stronghold in Libya today thanks to Obama-authorised air strikes," he said in a tweet late on Wednesday.
Mr Trump did not back down, asking on CNBC: "Is there something wrong with saying that? Why - are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS? All I do is tell the truth, I'm a truth teller."
Supporters of Mr Trump, who has never held elected office, like his combative and often insulting style but it has drawn wide criticism, not just from the Clinton campaign. Many Republicans have urged him to change tactics and focus on the economy.
US Representative Sean Duffy, a Republican from Wisconsin who backs Mr Trump, said Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton did not found Islamic State and urged Trump to stay on message.
"Stay on script. Don't go off script. Read your teleprompter and you're going to be fine," Mr Duffy said on MSNBC.
Mr Trump bristles at the notion he should change. "I don't think I've made too many errors," he told CNBC. If his style costs him the election in 90 days, he goes back to a good life, he said.
"It's not what I'm looking to do - I think we're going to have a victory but we'll see," Mr Trump added.


text:
Astronomers Have Discovered a Previously Unknown Feature of the Milky Way
Filed to: AstronomyFiled to: Astronomy
Cepheids
Using the VISTA telescope, astronomers in Chile have discovered a previously undetected band of young stars hidden away behind thick clouds of dust in the central bulge of the Milky Way.
Sometimes observation leads to some unforeseen discoveries, as in the case of this study.
Our Solar System is parked inside the Milky Way, which presents a challenge for astronomers trying to study its physical details. We're stuck on the inside of an object that stretches for 100,000 light-years and is filled will some 100 billion stars. What's more, there are parts of the Milky Way, like the galactic bulge, that are obscured by massive plumes of dust, making observations even more difficult.
This is where the VISTA telescope at the Parnal Observatory in Chile can help. It was designed to study the Milky Way's more elusive and distant features by snapping wide-field, high-resolution images at infrared wavelengths. By using this tool, a research team led by Istvan Dékány of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile was able to discover a component of our galaxy that had never been seen before.
By mapping out the locations of a class of stars that vary in brightness, astronomers in Chile have detected a previously unseen disc of young stars buried behind thick dust clouds in the Milky Way's central bulge. The red dots represent the newly discovered stars, while the yellow star represents our position in the galaxy. (Image and caption credit: ESO/Microsoft WorldWide Telescope)
Using data pulled in by the Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea Survey (VVV) from 2010 to 2014, the astronomers found 655 candidate variable stars of a type called Cepheids. These stars are unique in that they expand and contract at regular intervals. Their brightness can change dramatically in just a few days or months.
Cepheids come in two classes, one much younger than the other. Of the 655 discovered, the astronomers identified 35 belonging to a sub-group of young bright stars known as classical Cepheids. These objects are qualitatively different than their older counterparts found in the central bulge of the Milky Way.
"All of the 35 classical Cepheids discovered are less than 100 million years old," explains study co-author Dante Minniti in a release. "The youngest Cepheid may even be only around 25 million years old, although we cannot exclude the possible presence of even younger and brighter Cepheids."
This would imply that there's a previously unconfirmed, continuous supply of newly formed stars in the central region of the Milky Way. What's more, by mapping these Classical Cepheids, the team highlighted an entirely new feature of our galaxy: a thin disc of young stars that stretch across the galactic bulge.
Future investigations will seek to determine whether these Cepheids were born close to their current location, or whether they migrated inwards.
[ ESO ]
Email the author at george@gizmodo.com and follow him at @dvorsky. Top image by ESO/Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
Recent from George Dvorsky
Radiation Levels at the Marshall Islands Remain Disturbingly High
A Sunken Cold War Nuclear Sub Is Leaking Radiation at Levels 800,000 Times Normal


text:
Why Leslie Frazier believes this could be watershed moment for racial injustice
Bills Insider/One Bills Live co-host
Craig Melvin/Craig Melvin/ 2017
Buffalo Bills vs the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field in Jacksonville on January 7, 2018. Photo by Craig Melvin.
It was a powerful 45 minutes that Bills assistant head coach Leslie Frazier spent with the media on Thursday. In the wake of the inexplicable murder of George Floyd and the week of protests that have followed, Buffalo's defensive play caller believes this could be the moment where real change begins.
Calling the video of George Floyd's final moments "traumatic" and "tough to watch," the outpouring of emotion, cause to action and genuine apologies he has witnessed and experienced leaves Frazier encouraged that this time things could truly be different going forward.
"Seeing the results and what (the Floyd video) created across the country, I really appreciate the outpouring of love you see from people, and the passion and the empathy, as well," he said. "It seems like it could very well be a watershed moment for our country. It definitely got a lot of people's attention like never before."
Frazier, who along with other members of Buffalo's coaching staff, expressed the importance of getting involved in enacting real change with racial inequalities with their players, is hopeful that the collective energy generated from the senseless killing of Floyd will prompt them to embrace that responsibility.
"Hopefully this will galvanize our players and other players within our communities, whether it's in Buffalo or wherever you're from to get down to the grassroots level and use your platform to make a difference," said Frazier. "There's an opportunity that we have as athletes, as coaches. We can make a tremendous impact, using this pedestal that we have. Our voice needs to be heard and we need to get involved. Not sit back and wait on others to initiate change. We need to be involved.
"I talked to them about a quote that Mahatma Gandhi made, 'Be the change you want to see in this world.' That can be us because of the platform that we have as athletes. Hopefully our guys will get involved and we'll stick together as a group and make a difference in this time."
To develop action plans requires communication and understanding. That's something Frazier, along with head coach Sean McDermott and other members of the coaching staff are trying to promote in their own locker room.
"It's so important that we all educate ourselves on the things that are going on in our world in our culture today," said Frazier. "And then the other part of it is the communication. Making sure that we're communicating across racial lines and we think that's extremely important. And that's something we wanted to make sure that we hammered home.
Players were encouraged in Thursday's meetings to talk about a concern if they have one concerning racial divides.
"We're supposed to be in this as one. If we can't talk about issues without feeling uncomfortable doing it, well, let's take that out of it," he said. "Let's do what we think is the right thing to do to help us be a team, be unified. Because this is something that we need to be unified around. We may have some difference of opinions in some areas, but this is one area where we need to be unified as a group and make sure that we all fight the same fight. I think our guys got that message but time will tell."
The Bills have had a Social Justice Committee for three years. Defensive tackle Harrison Phillips invited more of his teammates to be a part of it Thursday to aid in devising constructive solutions and positive examples for the rest of society.
But the big reason Frazier feels this time will be different for racial injustice is the feedback he's gotten, particularly from white colleagues both current and former in the league.
"I've gotten a lot of calls throughout the week, some Caucasian, just asking me, 'Hey just talk to me about this, some of the things you've experienced,'" Frazier said. "I got an email today from a former GM in our league who just really poured his heart out about his inability in recognizing what some of the issues were. The videotape of George Floyd's death really brought it home to him. And he was very apologetic for the fact that he has not been as involved as he should have been in the past over the course of his life. He said I want to apologize to all my friends and make you aware that I'm going to do better. I'm going to be more involved. And I'm going to use the voice that I have, the influence that I have much more so than I ever have before and make a difference.
"When you hear comments like there have been many others. It gives you the feeling that maybe this is the time in our country where we're going to take some necessary steps to make things better as a whole, but only time will tell."
Sean McDermott listening and leading to help Bills navigate current racial injustices
Five takeaways from Sean McDermott's offseason conference call
Josh Norman, Josh McCown speak out about racial inequality in America
Knowing there have been protests in all 50 states at some point this past week has Frazier convinced that the country at large is recognizing social injustice much more than we have before.
"These are eye openers are for us all," he said. "In the past, it may have been a segment of the population that was looking at this and seeing it for what it really was. Now it seems more people are really having the seals taken off of their eyes and seeing things for what they really are.
"That's why I want our guys to understand that they have a golden opportunity at this moment, to use the platform that they have to get involved to make a difference in their own way. They can do it. They can do it. They're all leaders, but this is the time more than ever to step up and get involved."
Bills Mafia's unwavering support earns national praise
Bill Cowher, Steve Tasker + players spoke out about the resiliency of the team's fanbase during this 2022 season.
Josh Allen details season-ending loss, his elbow injury and what he'll remember about the 2022-23 Buffalo Bills
Takeaways from Josh Allen's press conference the day after the AFC Divisional game
Damar Hamlin's appearance lifted spirits at Highmark Stadium
The safety's presence brought light to Bills Mafia and his teammates during Sunday's playoff game.
"The world is going to be tapped into this game" | All eyes locked on Bills-Bengals heavyweight showdown
Buffalo and the NFL world are ready for one of the biggest games of the year
"For the boys" | How Sean McDermott's leadership has shifted in his six years as Buffalo's head coach
How Bills HC Sean McDermott shifted leadership opportunities to his players after he set the culture at One Bills Drive
"Do what we love to do" | Bills playoff journey fittingly begins at home, which is where they've been at their best
The Bills are 20-5 in their last 25 regular season games in Buffalo and 3-0 in home playoff games during that stretch
'Don't Blink' | Telling the story of the Buffalo Bills 2022 regular season as an 18-track album
We charted what each week would look like if it were a song on the Buffalo Bills' Don't Blink album.
"I felt like he was out there with us" | Bills dedicate spiritual and surreal victory to Damar Hamlin
Players share the emotions of playing for Hamlin on Sunday
How Damar Hamlin inspired big plays from Tre'Davious White and the Bills defensive backs
Tre'Davious White & Dean Marlowe share stories on how recent communication with the Bills safety fueled today's win.
"Far more than just a football player" | How Damar Hamlin's warrior spirit and giving nature is an inspiration to many
Teammates, coaches and childhood friends paint the picture of Hamlin's inspiring character
Bills GM Brandon Beane reflects on the true heroes who helped save Damar Hamlin's life
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Pacifica – The Central Pacific Region
The Central Pacific Region in Costa Rica
This is the area for surfers – but eco-tourists have discovered this area also. This area encompasses Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula and down to Dominical.
Jacó and Manuel Antonio are Costa Rica's two most developed beaches, while Puntarenas, a former seaport, offers the most urban beach setting in the country. (A short day trip from San José). If you're looking to get away from it all, without traveling too far or spending too much, Dominical is a great choice on this coast.
This is also where you'll find some of Costa Rica's most popular and spectacular national parks and biological reserves: Manuel Antonio National Park, home of three-toed sloths and white-faced monkeys; Chirripó National Park, a misty cloud forest that becomes a barren páramo (a region above 3,000m/10,000 ft.) at the peak of its namesake, Mount Chirripó; and Carara Biological Reserve, one of the last places in Costa Rica where you can see the disappearing dry forest join the damp, humid forests that extend south down the coast. You might even glimpse a beautiful scarlet macaw!
Puntarenas – This small Pacific coast city, about 50 mi/80 km west of San Jose, is making a comeback as a port and resort town. Built on a narrow peninsula, its central location on the west coast has always made it a good place from which to visit nearby national parks. It has also been the best place to catch ferries to the Nicoya Peninsula or to take day cruises to nearby islands. The beach is clean and refurbished with sand. The dock area, where large cruise ships dock, has been transformed into a pleasant place to stroll. New restaurants and shops now line the Malecon, a pedestrian walkway that runs along the waterfront north of town. Ticos on the weekend holiday are again mingling with tourists there. Take an hour or so to explore the city—it's a good place to shop for supplies and souvenirs, have coffee, and take photos.
Manuel Antonio National Park – One of the most popular parks in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio has become the focus of the debate that concerns Costa Rica as a whole. It was intended to preserve nature, but its popularity threatens the environment. Responding to some of the ill effects of mass visitation (including pollution from hotels and automobiles and dangerous interactions between humans and wildlife), the government has taken steps to limit the number of visitors to Manuel Antonio: Camping is no longer allowed; the park is closed on Monday; only 600 visitors are allowed in per day; and, like other parks in the country, the entrance fee has been raised to deter visitors. (It now costs about US$10.)
After wading through an estuary at the entrance to the park (anywhere from ankle deep to waist deep, depending on the tides), you can choose from a number of exceptional white-sand beaches. Playa Espadilla Sur—also called Second Beach—is especially good for snorkeling and swimming.
A network of trails runs through the forest, allowing you to observe an abundance of wildlife: birds, white-faced capuchin monkeys, coatis, sloths, and colorful crabs and lizards. There are a number of activities that you can enjoy in the area surrounding the park, including rafting, surfing, sea kayaking, horseback riding, and sportfishing (especially for sailfish mid-December-late April). One excursion to consider is the Canopy-Safari trip, which includes breakfast, a jeep ride into the forest, and zip-lining and rappeling through the forest. You can go in the morning and spend time on the beach when you return.
If you're planning to stay several days in the Manuel Antonio area, try to get a room at one of the hotels that line the road between the park and the town of Quepos. They're more expensive than those in town, and you must book well in advance, but they're worth it: Many are discreetly built into the jungle and bring you close to the wildlife. In Quepos you will find a large number of shops and art galleries where you can catch up on your souvenir shopping…but not much in the way of hotels and resorts.
After visiting the park, you may want to stop at Jardin Gaia, an animal shelter along the road between Quepos and Manuel Antonio. It provides temporary care for injured animals and those confiscated from poachers. You may see toucans, Red-lored parrots, and endangered squirrel monkeys, as well as dozens of scarlet macaws flying around their cage like a flag ceremony. 30 mi/48 km south of San Jose.
Chirripó National Park – The main attraction in this park on the northwest corner of La Amistad International Park is Mount Chirripó. At 12,600 ft/3,840 m, it is Costa Rica's highest peak. From here you can see the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at the same time. You'll also see lakes of glacial origin, cloud forests, and paramo—a collection of shrubs and herbs that are common to the Andes Mountains in South America. This park can only be entered on foot, and it's a grueling hike—two-days minimum each way, but it's phenomonal. There are cozy, mountaintop cabins where visitors can sleep and recuperate. Entrance fees and cabin space must be prepaid at the MINAE office in San Gerardo de Rivas. If you're interested in visiting, be sure to check whether the park is open. 60 mi/100 km southeast of San Jose.
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Address: Jaco, Costa Rica Calle Bohio, Jacó 61101 Phone:+506 8509 8902
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