ll ecosystems from the local to the global are under threat from the pressures of human resource extraction and pollution, driven by population, consumption and technology.
Biodiversity is an immense resource, built up over 3.5 billion years of evolution. It embraces not only the number of species on Earth, but the range of habitats and genetic diversity within species as well. It is of enormous importance to humans. Of the 270 000 known plants, some 3 000 are exploited for food, and between 25 000 and 50 000 more are used in traditional medicine. Wild plants are potential sources of new medicines and of material for genetic engineering. Biodiversity is a major attraction for tourism, and not least a lasting source of human aesthetic pleasure .
Estimates of the total number of species on Earth vary wildly. Around 1.75 million species have been scientifically described. More than half of these are insects, while vertebrates -- including fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians -- make up only 2.5 percent .
Most ecologists believe that we are currently undergoing a mass extinction driven by human activities. Since 1600, 484 animal and 654 plant species are known to have become extinct through human actions. But these are only the tip of a vast iceberg. Since most species are as yet undescribed, the majority of current extinctions are going unrecorded -- species are dying out before we even learn of their existence .
Projections of future losses vary widely, from 2 to 25 percent of all species over the next 25 years. But even the low end of this range is 1 000 times the background rate of extinction .
The total extinction of a species is drastic and at present irreversible. But local extinctions are serious, and far more common. Species are disappearing from more and more locations, where they can no longer play the distinctive ecological, economic and aesthetic roles they once filled.
The prospects for the coming decades look gloomy. Forests are the home of between 50 and 90 percent of all land species in the world. If tropical deforestation continues at present rates for the next 30 years, it is estimated that 5 to 11 percent of forest species will eventually be lost .
Wildlife habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented by human activities -- making way for cities, farms and roads. Fragmentation lowers the size of individual populations, reducing their genetic variability, and making them more vulnerable to extinction. Human barriers also make it difficult for animals and plants to migrate in response to environmental change.
Meanwhile genetic engineering -- unless it is rigorously controlled -- may introduce new genes which could spread to wildlife with unforeseeable consequences. There is no doubt that genes from existing commercial crops can pass to wild relatives, and even with rigorous control measures, it is unlikely that accidental transfers could be prevented indefinitely . The extent to which this is likely to have negative impacts on the environment and biological diversity is still not known.
The Global Biodiversity Assessment found that the major threat to biodiversity was habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, due to the need for land for farms, dwellings, industry, services, transport and leisure. Of those species that are threatened, habitat loss affects 44 percent of the bird species, 55 percent of the fishes, 68 percent of the reptiles, and 75 percent of the mammals .
Population is a major indirect cause underlying most of these threats . Population density is closely linked with most forms of habitat loss. A sample of 50 non-desert countries in Asia and Africa where wildlife habitat loss has been estimated showed that the percentage loss tends to be highest where population density is highest. The top 20 percent of countries, ranked in terms of habitat loss, had lost an average of 85 percent of their original wildlife habitat. Their average population density was 189 people per square kilometer. The 20 percent with lowest population density had lost an average of only 41 percent of their wildlife habitat -- and their average population density was only 29 people per square kilometer .
As always there are many other indirect causes of loss of biodiversity: inappropriate technology, short-term thinking, and failure of markets to factor in environmental costs and benefits.
In the mid-1990s forests covered about one third of the world's land area -- probably around half the original extent before human intervention . We are continuing to lose forests at the rate of some 112 million hectares each decade, an area twice the size of Kenya or France .
As with many kinds of environmental indicator, a country's forest cover usually follows a U-shaped curve. It declines during the earlier stages of development, then as population slows in growth and becomes more urban, it stabilizes and may eventually begin to rise again.
So each year, while developing countries are deforesting some 13.7 million hectares -- an annual loss of 0.61 percent -- developed countries are actually increasing their forested area at the rate of almost 1 million hectares per year .
Among developing countries, India and China have almost come to the end of their period of deforestation and have begun to reverse forest loss. Some of the fastest rates of deforestation are found in middle-income developing countries with strong commercial logging interests (Indonesia 2.4 percent, the Philippines 3.5 percent, Thailand 2.6 percent).
Deforestation data reveal only the net loss of forest converted to other uses. They say nothing about the quality of the remaining forest -- its health and biodiversity. Logged-over forests still count as forest, since they can in theory regrow, but destructive logging methods mean that secondary forest is often impoverished. Plantations also count as forest, though they are usually made up of a single species with all competing weeds and shrubs cleared from the ground.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the more people there are in any given area, the less forest. A number of studies have found a strong correlation between population density and deforestation rates at national level .
A recent report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) divided developing countries for which data exist into two groups of 37, according to the speed of deforestation. In the group suffering faster deforestation -- with an average loss of 1.8 percent of forests per year in 1980-90 -- population density was 89 people per square kilometer. In the group with slower deforestation population density was just 34 per square kilometer, and the average deforestation rate was only 0.5 percent .
The reason for the link with population density is straightforward. The land needed for farming depends on the total population, the consumption of agricultural products per person, and the amount of land needed to produce each unit of consumption. If population or consumption increase, and yield improvements do not compensate fully, then the farm area must expand.
Land is also needed for dwellings, industry, roads, leisure and so on. These are partly a function of population, but also depend on many other things such as standards of residential space, the share of people living in high-rise buildings, the size of gardens, or the level of car ownership. Generally, non-farm land requirements per person rise in line with income.
Mangroves are estimated to cover 18 million hectares of the Earth's tropical coastlines, around one quarter of the total. Mangroves host unique species, and are important nurseries for commercial marine species.
A very high proportion of human population and activity is located on or near coasts. Coastal areas have always been important for trade, sea transport and defence, and contain some of the densest concentrations of human population and activities on Earth today. Nearly two fifths of the world's population live within 150 kilometers of a coastline. In rapidly developing regions such as China, tens of millions of people have moved to coastal cities in search of work in the last two decades .
The world has an estimated 255 000 square kilometers of near-surface coral reefs, which constitute one of the richest resources of biodiversity on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef alone has more than 700 species of coral, 1 500 species of fish and more than 4 000 species of mollusc. The net primary productivity of reefs is higher even than that of tropical forests, and 20 times higher than that of the open ocean .
Reefs are a major source of livelihood, providing 20 to 25 percent of the fish catch of developing countries, and serving as a major tourist attraction in many countries dependent on tourist income. Overall, reefs have been calculated to provide resources and services worth about US$375 billion per year.
The threats to coral reefs are many. Overfishing pushes fish stocks below their maximum sustainable yield. Destructive fishing practices like cyanide poisoning or dynamite blasting kill or damage many species. In many areas reefs are directly plundered for specimens of fish, shell and coral, and even construction materials. Tourist divers and their boats damage corals.
Water pollution from industry, sewage and fertilizer, and sediment eroded from deforested or badly farmed areas, all wash into the sea, reducing light levels and physically smothering corals. Finally there is evidence that episodes of coral bleaching -- when corals lose their symbiotic algae -- have been rising in severity and frequency as sea temperatures increase with global warming.
As with all environmental damage, these pressures have many indirect causes ranging from technologies for fishing, construction, agriculture and sewage, to changes in incomes and shifts in tastes and leisure habits.
Fishermen respond to the decline in a target species by moving to other fishing areas or other species of fish, and the sequence starts again.
Human response to any environmental problem depends on how visible it is, how good our data and our understanding of its causes are, and how directly the problem impacts on people in a position to do something about it.
Of all ecological zones, marine environments are the least visible, the least studied and the least understood. Because of this they are probably the most at risk. The sea's surface is reflective and few venture below it to check what is happening. Baseline data of pristine conditions have not been compiled, and most marine species have yet to be described. Changes due to human activity are therefore hard to document.
Fisheries pass through a sequence of phases over time. From an undeveloped phase, they enter a developing phase where catches increase rapidly, and then a mature phase where the maximum sustainable yield is reached. If the maximum sustainable yield is overshot, a senescent phase follows when yields are stagnant or declining. According to a 1997 assessment, as recently as 1960 only a very small percentage of fisheries were mature, none were senescent, and half were still undeveloped. By 1994, 35 percent were senescent, showing declining yields, 25 percent were mature, and only 40 percent were still in the developing phase .
Fishers are now shifting rapidly across the spectrum of species and areas, altering the underlying ecology in ways that we can only catch glimpses of. Many of our preferred fish are top-level predators. As these are overfished, their prey may have population explosions, which in turn reduce populations of the fish they feed on and so on down the food chain. Recent research by Daniel Pauly and colleagues shows that the fishing effort since 1950 has been moving down the food chain at the rate of about one whole level per century. But this shift does not bring respite for the top predators, as they are left with little to eat .
Fish increasingly fail to grow to full size, and may not reach reproductive age. There has been a very considerable drop in the average size of fish caught, from about 100 centimeters in the early 1980s to just over 40 centimeters in 1997 .
Fishing is not the only source of ocean problems. Alien species from ships' ballast tanks are being spread to areas where they compete with indigenous species. "Red tides" -- planktonic blooms of toxic marine algae which can kill fish and cause amnesia, paralysis and death in humans -- are on the increase.
The direct causes of these marine trends are complex. Species are being overexploited through overfishing, collecting and resource extraction. Ecosystems are being physically altered by coastal development, blast fishing and so on.
Ocean pollution is rising inexorably. Although dumping at sea is now better policed and oil spillages are less common, more than three quarters of marine pollution originates on land, where marine-related controls are absent. Pollution from runoff and rivers includes sewage, industrial effluents, fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Air pollution is the source of one third of marine pollutants. Some of the most harmful organic molecules accumulate at the boundary layer between sea and air where the early stages of many species develop as plankton, causing mortality, deformity and chromosomal abnormalities .
Behind these direct causes lie indirect ones. Fishing is driven by the level of demand for marine products. The demand, in turn, is determined by the absolute size of the human population, the level of income, and the proportion available to spend on fish.
It is not just the total level of demand, however, but the way in which it is being met that does the harm. The technologies of modern fishing -- radar, sonar, global positioning systems -- allow a terrifying efficiency in tracking down and catching every last stock. Modern net designs practically vacuum the sea and sea bottom clean of living organisms. There is a very high level of by-catch of unwanted species, or juveniles that would be illegal to land. These amount to about one quarter of the catch, and are simply discarded at sea.
The most immediate threat is the thinning of the ozone layer. Ozone losses pose serious threats to human health, by increasing rates of skin cancer, and by affecting biological productivity in plankton and some plants.
Although ozone losses have not progressed as far as was predicted in the mid-1990s, they are still serious. Total column ozone losses between 1979 and 1994-97 averaged 5 percent all year round in southern mid-latitudes. In northern mid-latitudes losses varied from 2.8 percent in summer to 5.4 percent in winter/spring .
The immediate cause was human emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals. The role of population and consumption in their growth was extremely small. The major cause was technological change -- the introduction and rapid spread of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from the 1930s on. Between 1940 and 1970 production grew at 20 percent a year, far outstripping the growth of population and consumption combined.
The ozone problem gave us one of the most encouraging examples of rapid response to a perceived environmental problem. The seminal paper documenting the ozone thinning was published in 1985. Within just two years the world had an international treaty to limit and reduce production of ozone-depleting chemicals.
In the case of ozone-destroying chemicals rapid response was possible because producers were few, CFCs were not central to our industrial way of life, and economical substitutes were already available. Prospects for similar rapid response on the major greenhouse gases are much less rosy.
Over the past century, the global mean surface air temperature has increased by between 0.3 and 0.6 degrees centigrade. Linked to this warming, the sea level has risen by between 10 and 25 centimeters. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by more than 20 percent, and methane by 145 percent over pre-industrial levels .
The climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that over the coming century average world temperature will rise by 1 to 3.5 degrees centigrade and sea level by 15 to 95 centimeters over 1990 levels. The central estimates suggest a warming of 2 degrees and a sea-level rise of 45 to 50 centimeters by 2100. The rate of warming will be faster than any seen over the whole of human history.
The potential impacts are grave. The range of certain diseases and their insect carriers will increase. The range of malaria transmission will spread. If the upper range temperatures are reached, the number of malaria cases could increase by between 10 and 16 percent by the latter half of the 21st century .
Extreme weather events such as droughts and floods may increase in frequency. Between 200 and 250 million people currently live below the annual storm surge level on the coasts, liable to annual flooding. Sea-level rise combined with population growth could double this total by 2020 . The impacts of climate change could have far-reaching consequences for social stability.
Future CO2 emissions can be considerably reduced, compared to the business-as-usual scenario, by more rapid shifts to low-carbon and renewable energy sources, and by slower population growth.
For each of the gases that cause global warming -- such as CO2, methane and nitrous oxide -- emissions are the product of population, multiplied by consumption per person, multiplied by emissions per unit of consumption. In the case of methane emissions, the population element is very significant. Rice paddies and livestock are among the most important human-induced sources. Between 1961 and 1985 population growth accounted for 69 percent of the increase in livestock numbers in developing countries, whereas changes in meat and milk consumption per person accounted for only 31 percent. As so often happens, technology -- the productivity of livestock -- worked to reduce the livestock numbers needed for any given level of production .
All projections of future global warming made by the IPCC depend on assumptions about population, consumption and technology. The technology element is the result of two factors: energy efficiency (the amount of energy used per dollar of GDP) and carbon intensity (the amount of carbon emitted per unit of energy used). Carbon intensity depends on the share of energy production due to fossil fuels, and on the relative shares of gas, oil and coal in fossil-fuel use (gas produces the least carbon and coal the most).
The IPCC has produced several alternative scenarios, but each scenario varies several factors at once, making it impossible to get an idea of the potential impact of different policies affecting population, or consumption, or technology.
However, a study for the Independent Commission on Population and Quality of Life used the IPCC's raw data to develop policy-oriented scenarios which showed the potential impacts of changes in economic growth, technology and population growth taken separately. Although these factors do interact, the exercise provides at least a rough idea of the possible gains .
The IPCC used three population projections -- medium-low (7.8 billion people by 2050), medium (10 billion) and medium-high (12.5 billion). The central IPCC scenario (IS92a) projected direct greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 14.5 billion tons of carbon by the year 2050. Applying the low population projection while leaving everything else unchanged would result in emissions of only 11.4 billion tons of carbon. The "savings" of 3.1 billion tons are equivalent to half the total emissions from fossil fuels in 1990, and more than twice the level of 1990 carbon emissions from deforestation.
Thus population measures could have a very large potential impact on global warming. Achieving the low population projection rather than the medium could, over the next 50 years, have more than twice the impact on greenhouse gas emissions as halting all deforestation at today's rates. It would be equivalent to more than doubling today's energy efficiency, or replacing more than half of today's fossil-fuel use with renewable energy.
These studies omit possible feedback effects -- for example, slower population growth might result in faster economic growth. Nevertheless they show clearly that measures to slow population growth could make a major contribution to reducing future growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
There are many other policy opportunities available which would not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also bring other benefits. They include energy efficiency measures which would save money, or shifting tax and subsidy regimes so that "bads" like fossil-fuel use are discouraged, and "goods" like renewable energy are encouraged.


text:
ShootSprite::ShootSprite(const std::string& name, const Frame* fm) :
  Sprite(name, fm),
  bulletName( Gamedata::getInstance()->getXmlStr(name+"Bullet") ),
  bullets( bulletName ),
  minSpeed( Gamedata::getInstance()->getXmlInt(bulletName+"SpeedX") )
{ }

ShootSprite::ShootSprite(const ShootSprite& s) :
  Sprite(s),
  bulletName(s.bulletName),
  bullets(s.bullets),
  minSpeed(s.minSpeed)
{ }

ShootSprite& ShootSprite::operator=(const ShootSprite& rhs) {
  setName( rhs.getName() );
  setPosition( rhs.getPosition() );
  setVelocity( rhs.getVelocity() );
  setFrame( rhs.getFrame() );
  frameWidth = rhs.frameWidth;
  frameHeight = rhs.frameHeight;
  worldWidth = Gamedata::getInstance()->getXmlInt("worldWidth");
  worldHeight = Gamedata::getInstance()->getXmlInt("worldHeight");
  return *this;
}

void ShootSprite::shoot() {
  float x = X()+frameWidth;
  float y = Y()+frameHeight/2;
  // I'm not adding minSpeed to y velocity:

    bullets.shoot( Vector2f(x, y),
    Vector2f(minSpeed+velocityX(), velocityY()));
}

bool ShootSprite::collidedWith(const Sprite* obj) const {
  return bullets.collidedWith( obj );
}

void ShootSprite::draw() const {
  Sprite::draw();
  bullets.draw();
}

void ShootSprite::update(Uint32 ticks) {
  Sprite::update(ticks);
  bullets.update(ticks);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Chemical formula: (NaPO3)6 Molecular weight: 611.82 Standard executed: HG/T2837-1997 CAS No.:10124-56-8 SHMP Properties: White powder, relative density is 2.484 (20), easily soluble in water, but not in organic solution, absorbent to dampness, and turn sticky when absorbed dampness in air. It is possible to form solvent compound with metallic ions such as Ca, Ba, Mg, Cu and Fe; It is a fine agent for water treatment. Application: For industrial use, such as oil field, paper-making, textile, dyeing, petrochemical industry, tanning industry, metallurgical industry and building material industry, it is mainly used as a water softening agent in solution for printing, dyeing, and boiler; Diffusant in papermaking; retarding agent, floating agent, dispersing medium, high temperature agglomerant, detergent and soil analytical chemistry reagent. For food grade, it is mainly used as additive agent, pH adjusting agent and fermentation agent, and nourishment. Packaging: Plastic-woven sack with inner polythene bag; Net weight: 25kg, 50kg or 1,000kg. Stored in ventilated and dry place.


우리는 중국에서 권선 성형기 제조 업체 및 공급 업체 / 공장 전문화되어 있습니다. 권선 성형기 중 하나 인 Ningbo Nide Mechanical Equipment Co., Ltd. 중국 유명 브랜드 중 하나 인 저렴한 가격 / 저렴한 가격으로 고품질의 권선 성형기 도매업.
Wholesale 권선 성형기 from China, Need to find cheap 권선 성형기 as low price but leading manufacturers. Just find high-quality brands on 권선 성형기 produce factory, You can also feedback about what you want, start saving and explore our 권선 성형기, We'll reply you in fastest.


TBB 2016 Classes Start January 18!
January 16, 2016 / Winnie N.
The Ballet Bod will be starting classes with Terpsichore Dance Company (TDC) in 2/1311 Pacific Highway, Turramurra NSW, AUS on Monday, January 18! Our Ballet Fitness program is a full-body workout and incorporates ballet movements in the cardio, strengthening and stretching classes.
We're excited to start off the new year with 2 intensity levels: TBB Basic and TBB Bootcamp (for the challengers!). Classes are available on Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Additional Ballet Bod Night Class at TDC Turramurra!
TBB Classes have Started with TDC!


PECOFacet SM100 Model 5 synthetic separator cartridges feature a specially developed treated hydrophobic media provides improved separation of fine water drops compared to standard Teflon™ screen. An ultrasonically seamed double tue of the synthetic screen is placed around an epoxy coated metal shell, then adhesive bonded to metal end caps with gaskets.
PECOFacet SM100 Model separators have the distinctive PECOFacet Velocigard which provides balanced flow of product throughout the cartridge. All metal components are treated to resist corrosion. Maximum recommended operating temperature is 240ºF (115ºC). For compatibility in extreme operating conditions, other gasket, adhesive and metal materials are available.


Specially formulated eugenol-free, acrylic/urethane based cement provides a well balanced adhesive for implant restorations. Excellent mechanical strength offers reliable prosthesis retention and trouble free removal, as well as long-term performance when desired. Cements chemically formulated not to adhere to soft tissue allowing convenient removal of excess cement without sacrificing valuable chair-time.
Ideal for organization & sterilization of implant & implant components. Composed of various sized compartments tailored to fit & order abutments, screws, and crowns or even bars, bridges, and larger instruments. Optimal for steaming & Ultrasonic Cleaning.
Foam-based material employed to close the implant access channel for protection of screwhead. A superior alternative to cotton balls as it is considerably less odor absorbent & hygienic.


Established in1992 in Singapore, FG Wilson Asia Pte Ltd is one of the leading generator suppliers in the continent. We can identify and provide the right generator for your application's needs. From installation to the commissioning of parts, to support and maintenance, FG Wilson Asia Pte Ltd.'s generator specialists can assist you in every aspect of the purchase and support of your FG Wilson generator set.
We offer complete lifecycle support for FG Wilson generators – right from specification and installation to aftersales support including genuine parts and service. We stock over 600 diesel and gas generator sets along with a comprehensive inventory of spare parts at our facilities which helps us respond instantly to your power needs.
All authorized dealers of our products provide quality FG Wilson diesel and gas generators backed by expert advice and technical support to all our customers.
FG Wilson Asia Pte Ltd. has successfully expanded into new markets and has a dealer network covering Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Our Parts Warehouse located in Singapore holds a wide range of FG Wilson Genuine Parts. We work tirelessly to provide high levels of availability and to offer fast shipment across South East Asia to ensure your FG Wilson generator keeps running without interruption.
The supply and installation of six 1500 kVA diesel generator sets to the World Trade Centre in Jakarta.
The supply of 26 diesel generator sets ranging from 90 kVA – 800 kVA to the Bangkok Mass Transit System.
Over 2000 diesel generator sets were provided to the Telecom sector in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
We pride ourselves on our ability to meet the exact needs of our customers, anytime, anywhere.
Established in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1966, FG Wilson (a trading name of Caterpillar (NI) Limited and previously known as FG Wilson (Engineering) Ltd) is one of the world's largest generator set manufacturers, with manufacturing facilities in Northern Ireland, Brazil, China, India and the USA. With a long history of craftsmanship and engineering excellence, FG Wilson's manufacturing teams, engineers, and technicians work to continue the tradition of innovation and market leadership.


text:
THIS IS THE RESULT OF OPEN IMMIGRATION IN A ONCE PEACEFUL SWEDEN
Gothenburg police and fire services were alerted to the first blaze after 9pm, after which several more calls came in from the city as well as Trollhättan, Lysekil and Falkenberg some 100 kilometres away.
"We have been to around 20 places in Gothenburg. It's mainly vehicles that have burned – cars, some truck, caravans – but also some buried waste disposal site," Johan Eklund, emergency control room officer in the greater Gothenburg area, told Swedish news agency TT shortly after midnight.
Swedish media reported that groups of up to ten youths had been seen throwing stones and lighting cars on fire in Gothenburg districts Gårdsten, Hjällbo and Frölunda, among other locations.
Videos sent to The Local showed masked people dressed in black torching cars.
One witness, who asked to be named only as Robert, told The Local he had seen a group of half a dozen people torch cars in the car park outside his home in Frölunda. His wife called the emergency services.
"We were very surprised. This area is usually very calm. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Six months ago, it happened on the other side of the square. We've been living here for eight years," he said.
"They acted like a team, absolutely. It was organized. They know exactly what they were going to do."
In Trollhättan, 70 kilometres north of Gothenburg, a larger group of people was reportedly involved, wrote TT. Six cars burned in the town and youths were reported throwing stones at police.
Gothenburg police said on Tuesday morning they believed the attacks had been coordinated on social media but added that they were still investigating and were not yet able to confirm that that was the case.
In total around 80 cars were set on fire across the region, said Gothenburg police.
Police said they had managed to identify several people believed to have been present at the scene of some of the fires. Just after noon on Tuesday they said two people, residents of Frölunda and aged 16 and 21, were being held in connection with the fires. They were later formally arrested on suspicion of aggravated arson.
Car burnings were also reported to a smaller extent in Malmö and Helsingborg. Southern police spokesperson Fredrik Bratt told TT it was "not completely out of the ordinary" and added he did not believe they were linked to the Gothenburg fires, but said they were monitoring the situation.
Around a dozen cars also burned in Stockholm, Uppsala and Åkersberga on Monday night, wrote the Expressen tabloid. There were no other reports of riots or violence in those areas, it added.
Other European nations such as Norway, Belgium, France, Germany, and the UK are also under constant attacks. These once peaceful nations are now under constant attack traced to their open immigration policies forced by the EU as well. Sweden is not the exception but the norm.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Kick your fashion into gear ~ Tortoise shell earrings have exploded in popularity & are perfect for adding a glamorous touch to your look! www.sophistycats.com ⚜ Pick up a pair of faux tortoise shell earrings that look just like the real thing, but cost a fraction of the price. ⚜ Ready to say shell yeah to this trend? Here are some of the best ones you can get for $20 and under. . . . . . #savvysophistycats #earringtrend #stylish #earringsfordays #earringdesign #trendy #earringsale #jewelrygram #earringstyle #earringsshop #earringsogood #earringlove #earringslove #earrings #earringstagram #earringsoftheday #earringswag #earringshop #jewelry #earringsforsale #earringsaddict #fashion #earringslover #earring #earringsfashion #tortoiseshell #accessories #earringshandmade #earringaddict always a classic and go well with every type of complexion.


Make cakes, tarts, and frosting!
Our islands are rich with some of the best flavors and ingredients out there—most of which we should all make a conscious effort to cook and bake with in our own kitchens at home. One of our favorite ingredients, gata (coconut milk), actually yields delicious results when used for desserts! From tender cakes to fluffy frosting, here are some ideas to introduce this ingredient to your weekend baking itinerary.
Thick coconut milk and its fat content, when mixed into light cake batter, will yield a tender crumb when it comes to light sponge or chiffon cakes. Pair coconut cakes with light, fluffy frosting and tropical-flavored jams!
2 Whip extra fluffy frosting.
Chill coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight—the oil will sink to the bottom and fluffy coconut cream will float on top. Scoop the cream into your next batch of buttercream and whip it until it becomes fluffy. It will taste delicious, too! Frost your cakes with coconut buttercream and add a sprinkle of toasted coconut on top.
You can make a simple glaze with coconut milk and coconut sugar—all you have to do is mix both ingredients together, with the sugar to taste, and reduce in a sauce pan until dark and thick. Use this to glaze and decorate your favorite sweet treats!
4 Bake creamy leche flan.
If you love thick, creamy leche flan, you will love this recipe! Use both coconut milk and coconut cream to bake these indulgent cups of leche flan. Gata helps create that flawless creamy texture!
Try making the classic leche flan with coconut milk and coconut cream!
Crazy for coconut? These products prove that it's a cooking must-have.


years old. These types of health benefits of the kiwano means that many parts of the body benefit from, such as the red bloods cells, skin, muscles, nerves and heart. However, herbalists are of the opinion that isolated experiments where purified compounds from the tree were injected into mice cannot be protection accurately relied upon to determine the toxicity of the plant. (more) As a natural antiseptic, the juice of the lemon will destroy harmful bacteria found in the cuts and other areas of infection. The health benefits include that it: increases aerobic capacity and cardiovascular health lowers body fat and improves muscle tone builds strength, flexibility and endurance increases muscle and bone strength improves health due to shifts between walking, running and sprinting. A native of the southern areas of Africa it has since been cultivated in New Zealand and Australia and renamed the kiwano, and is now grown in other countries as well. Sassafras tea is known to provide relief during cold and flu. According to 'associated content' from yahoo, it can also lower cholesterol in the blood.
As a huge fan of mussels. Some of the major ones are as follows. Compared to elizabethan about 2 short percent for the joggers. Is generally a noncontact sport teaches coordination promotes teamwork and sharing teaches you to think on the run helps to increase skills in concentration. Concentration, persistence and self discipline are difficult to achieve. Vitamin E works in the body by helping to neutralize the damage from free radicals which can cause cancer and cardiovascular disease. Persistence and selfdiscipline is a great way to meet people and exercise with friends can provide an opportunity. Discontinue the consumption of the tea and call your physician immediately.
Soccer is great for your health and can be played in competition or in the park with friends.Soccer is a good sport for maintaining health, fitness, strength and endurance.
And they may, a recent study has found that players many who often head a soccer ball are at risk for developing a brain injury. Have more energy, one large artichoke contains a quarter of the recommended daily intake of fiber. At a lower risk of diseases. Streets or on beaches, not getting worned out, develop social skills through interaction and communication before a match. With 100 grams of kernels providing 227 mcg of folate. Natural sugars found in fruits are fine. Which is about 37 of recommended daily intake.


This page displays a list of movie theaters near Fort McMurray, Alberta. You can view showtimes for movies playing near Fort McMurray, Alberta by selecting a theater in the list above. To change the distance range covered in this list, select a new range below.


text:
Sinn Féin
Viable explosive device found in Antrim garden
The device was found on Saturday night.
A "viable explosive device" has been found in a garden in Newtonabbey, Antrim.
The PSNI has said that the object was discovered in the back garden of a house in the Mayfield Village area at approximately 9.15pm.
British Army technical experts attended the scene and declared the object a viable device.
A number of residents were evacuated from their homes and returned when the security alert ended.
The device has been taken away for further forensic examination.
Detective Sergeant Coulter of the PSNI has appealed for anyone with information in relation to the incident to come forward, saying: "I would appeal to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the Mayfield Village area last night, or anyone who has information that could assist us with our enquiries to contact detectives at Newtonabbey."
Antrim.
PERSONALITY TEST: Which member of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are you?


Crimson is delighted to announce that Jayne Corbett is now certified to offer general intelligence assessments (GIA).
Jayne, who is Key Accounts Development Manager within Crimson's IT recruitment agency, was awarded the certification by Thomas International.
Thomas International is a global assessment provider that have been at the forefront of assessment innovation for 35 years.
The GIA is a cognitive ability assessment that provides an accurate prediction of the time it will take someone to get to grips with a new role/regime. By gauging candidate's capabilities, Crimson's clients can keep their staff engaged in their work by setting them appropriate challenges suited to their strengths.
Jayne said: "This certification means we can help our clients to identify potential leaders, employees that can think on their feet, and staff suited to methodical problem solving.


Bentley station is to be found on the Alton line, but there is no signal box there now.
The box opened in 1905 when the Bordon branch opened, and contained a 30-lever Stevens & Sons frame. The box is built to the L&SW's 1894 design, but these were usually built in brick - see St Denys for an example.
It is interesting to see how the brake dust released from passing electric units has highlighted the outline of the internal framing of the box.
Bentley box closed when automatic signalling was introduced on the line on 19th December 1976.


text:
Observer > 2013 > May/June
Volume 26, Issue5May/June 2013
Presidential Column
Joseph E. Steinmetz
APS President 2012 - 2013
The Changing Landscape for Research and Education in Psychological Science
Published 6 times per year by the Association for Psychological Science, the Observer educates and informs on matters affecting the research, academic, and applied disciplines of psychology; promotes the scientific values of APS members; reports on issues of international interest to the psychological science community; and provides a vehicle for the dissemination on information about APS.
APS members receive the Observer newsletter and may access the online archive going back to 1988.
Looking to connect with the Observer? Visit the About page to learn about writing for us, advertising, reprints, and more. We'd love to hear from you. If you have questions about your subscription, please email APS@psychologicalscience.org.
Latest Under the Cortex Podcast
Trending Topics >
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
Developments in AI and machine learning herald unprecedented leaps in many applications, including human psychology itself. Algorithmic bias is just one issue of concern.
Epidemics and Public Health Behavior
The psychology and science behind how individuals and groups respond to epidemics.
It doesn't seem possible but this is the last column of my term as APS President. Throughout the past year you have heard from many of our APS colleagues who hold various administrative positions in universities in the United States and Europe. They wrote on a variety of topics such as the importance of departments of psychology in their institutions, the current research climate in the behavioral sciences, new administrative structures designed to facilitate the teaching and research of psychological scientists, and the emergence of "Big Data" in our science.
APS Spotlight
Financial Decision Making and the Aging Brain
Many of the most influential financial decision makers in our society from business to politics happen to be middle-aged. The average age of Fortune 500 chief executive officers and chief financial officers is around the mid-fifties. Historically, the average appointment age of Federal Reserve Chairs and National Economic Council Directors is also in the fifties. The number is not an artifact of averaging; all current members of the Council of Economic Advisers and half of the National Economic Council members are fifty-something. Is there some sort of peak of financial reason in the fifties? Recent research in economics, psychology, and neuroscience suggests that there may be.
C. Nathan DeWall, University of Kentucky, and renowned textbook author and APS Fellow David G. Myers, Hope College, have teamed up to create a new series of Observer columns aimed at integrating cutting-edge psychological science into the classroom. Each column will offer advice and how-to guidance about teaching a particular area of research or topic in psychological science that has been the focus of an article in the APS journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. Current Directions is a peer-reviewed bi-monthly journal featuring reviews by leading experts covering all of scientific psychology and its applications and allowing readers to stay apprised of important developments across subfields beyond their areas of expertise. Its articles are written to be accessible to non-experts, making them ideally suited for use in the classroom.
Social Anxiety in the Age of Social Networks
The advent of the Internet has changed the way individuals and groups of individuals interact with one another and the world. In fact, an entire generation has been brought up with the idea that "socializing" includes an online component. Yet despite the recent technological advances in social communication, and the fact that social bonding is a crucial psychological aspect of being human, there are certain individuals for whom social interactions are difficult, leading to real-life anxiety (Stein & Stein, 2008). Although they crave the company of others, socially anxious individuals shun social situations for fear of being found out as unlikable or worse.
The Either/Or of Psychological Science: A Reflection
This article is part of a series commemorating APS's 25th anniversary in 2013. In David Lodge's book Therapy, the main character, Tubby Passmore, turns to Kierkegaard's book Either/Or to find understanding of his past, a sense of his present, and hope for the future. Tubby is particularly attracted to the essay called "The Unhappiest Man" because it sets out how such a person is never present to themself, but rather always living in the past or in the future. Always either remembering or hoping. Either thinking things were better in the past or hoping they'll be better in the future. Tubby reflects on how well this fits him.
New Guidelines for Training in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology
The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (ABCT) recently sponsored an Inter-organizational Task Force on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology Doctoral Education to develop guidelines and statements of best practices for integrated education and training in cognitive and behavioral psychology at the doctoral level. The task force was co-chaired by APS Fellow Robert K. Klepac, Immediate Past-President of ABCT, and George F. Ronan, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Violence Reduction Clinic at Central Michigan University.
Celebrating 25 Years of APS
In the next few issues, Perspectives on Psychological Science will publish several special sections celebrating the 25th anniversary of APS. Twenty-five is an interesting age for an organization: Many of our younger members were not yet born when APS began, and for many of our older members, 1988 was just another typical year in their long careers. Those of us in graduate school at the time may have wondered whether psychology really needed another professional organization and, if so, why it needed one with almost the same name as the behemoth American Psychological Association.
Awfully Funny
Mankind has endured no greater tragedy than the Holocaust, but that hasn't stopped comedians from joking about it over the years, nor audiences from laughing. Take a classic 2004 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the
Reflecting on a Lifetime of Achievement
As part of APS's 25th Anniversary celebration, the Board of Directors is honoring 25 distinguished scientists who have had a profound impact on the field of psychological science over the past quarter century. Eight individuals have been selected to receive the James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, honoring a lifetime of significant contributions to applied psychological research. The remaining 17 scientists are receiving the William James Fellow Award, which recognizes their significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology. In this issue of the Observer, APS continues the series profiling four of these eminent scientists: John Darley, Patricia K.
APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions
The APS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2013 recipients of the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, in recognition of the significant impact their work is having in the field of psychological science. The award recognizes the creativity and innovative work of promising scientists who represent the future of psychological science. It places these recipients among the brightest minds in our field. This award is a fitting tribute to its namesake, Janet Taylor Spence, the first elected President of APS.
May/June 2013 Rising Stars
This month, we conclude a multi-part APS series profiling Rising Stars in psychological science. The series, which began in the March issue of the Observer, highlights young luminaries in the field of psychological science. Eliza Bliss-Moreau Sabina Cehajic-Clancy Jonathan S. Comer Andres De Los Reyes Paul W. Eastwick Wolfgang Gaissmaier Kurt Gray Kristen M. Kennedy Ethan Kross Cristine H. Legare Lisa M. Leslie Jane Mendle Aprajita Mohanty Martin M. Monti Mary C. Murphy Derek Evan Nee Masi Noor Thomas M. Olino Christopher Y. Olivola Leah H. Somerville R. Nathan Spreng Benjamin C.
Fredrickson and Other Leading Scientists to Sign Books at the APS Annual Convention
APS Fellow Barbara L. Fredrickson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, knows how to communicate psychological science to the public. On March 24, her op-ed on electronic devices, social connectedness, and health quickly became the most emailed article on The New York Times website, and it remained among the top 10 most emailed articles for several days. The op-ed was based on a forthcoming paper in Psychological Science in which Frederickson and her colleagues explore social genomics and the profound effects that social connection and social isolation can have on health and gene expression.
White House Announces BRAIN Initiative
President Barack Obama has announced the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative, an ambitious program designed to treat, cure, and prevent Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and other brain disorders. The President has designated $100 million for the new program in his Fiscal Year 2014 Budget. According to a statement released by the White House, scientific breakthroughs in the last decade — including optogenetic research techniques and high-resolution brain imaging — mean the time is ripe for technologies capable of producing even more complex images of brain cells and neural circuitry.
NAS Receives Gift From Atkinson for Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences has received a gift of $3.5 million from APS Fellow Richard C. Atkinson to establish the NAS Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences. Beginning in 2014, a $200,000 prize will be given biennially to an individual (or pair of individuals) "responsible for significant advances in the psychological and cognitive sciences with important applications for formal and systematic theory in these fields." Atkinson, an APS Charter Member, is a former director of NSF, former Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, and was president of the University of California system from 1995 to 2003. "Dr.
Social Experiences Affect Our Genes and Health
Prevailing wisdom suggests that our genes remain largely fixed over time. But, an emerging field of research is beginning to prove this intuition wrong. Scientists are uncovering increasing evidence that changes in the expression of hundreds of genes can occur as a result of the social environments we inhabit. As a result of these dynamics, experiences we have today can affect our health for days and even months into the future.


This page shows how to apply our trading tools. The forex strategy below is an excerpt from "The Strategy Manual," written by FX-Strategy CEO and Chief Trader, Doug Schaff. See how we put our trading tools to work within the strategy framework.
Our strategies are composed of four elements: trend, trade entry, trade exit and risk control. Below are brief explanations of each. To see our technical trading tools applied within this framework, take a look at Strategy Examples.
Trend is the overall direction of prices: up, down or sideways. "Trading with the Trend" may sound simple, but applying this concept to live trading is not as easy as it looks.
How do our tools determine Trend? Pro Charts and Pro Commentary provide powerful trend indicators, signals and forecasts, including two expert indicators that provide automated price commentary and forecasts on every pricebar.
Once you know Trend, the next tasks involve timing trade entry, when and at what price to get into the market. The highest probability trades are made in the direction of the trend. Selective range trading and counter-trend trades can be profitable.
How do our tools determine Trade Entry? FXS buy and sell signals are based on one or more unique indicators, such as FXS Adaptive Moving Average that adjusts quickly to market conditions or combines effectively to generate limit entry or breakout entry prices.
Maximizing profit and cutting losses are both necessary. We focus on each separately because this is where traders often make mistakes. The tendency is to close out a profitable position too early and to allow small losses to turn into larger ones.
When you place a trade you won't know for sure if it will be a winner; and if a winner, which type of order will capture the most profit. Rather than trying to anticipate the best exit for a trade, you need to use competing Trade Exit orders to maximize profits.
How do our tools determine Trade Exit? Pro Charts can be set for multiple, competing take-profit alerts that allow for different types of price moves. These include: Trailing Stops, Profit Targets, Protect Profit Orders and Time-based Exits.
Cutting your losses: To prosper from your winning trades you need to control the risk of the losing trades. To control the maximum amount of equity at risk every trade needs to have a risk control stop loss order. And you want to determine what size position to take in relation to your risk limits. Remember that when you set your sights on hi-probability trades, you are also working to avoid losing trades, which is an ongoing and essential risk control activity.
How do our tools Control Risk? The advanced trading indicators, signals and forecasts on Pro Charts and Pro Commentary help target profitable trades. Key support/resistance levels highlight potential locations for stop loss orders.
The Risk Controller takes you step-by-step through setting Risk Limits, Stop Loss Orders, and determining Position Size. Use our Strategy Worksheet before, during and after the trade as an entry checklist, to monitor exit alerts, control risk and afterwards, to review the trade.


text:
0°F ,
WTAL 1450 AM
Haggins, Noles roll to 38-31 win at BC
Quarterback James Blackman gets a little time under center during Saturday's game against Boston College. He became the first FSU quarterback to throw multiple touchdown passes of 60 yards or more in 15 years.
FSU athletics photo/Mitch White
By Tim Linafelt
Senior writer/Seminoles.com
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – He's Odell Haggins, he's back again.
Tasked with leading his alma mater as interim head coach for the second time in three seasons, Haggins, Florida State's beloved former-player-turned-assistant-coach, oversaw yet another inspiring afternoon for the FSU football team.
D.J. Matthews' 60-yard touchdown catch from quarterback James Blackman gave the Seminoles a late lead, then a 66-yard scoring run from Jordan Travis – yes, that Jordan Travis – put the finishing touches on a 38-31 win over Boston College on a chilly afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
The Eagles added a late touchdown that provided the final margin, but, by then, the Seminoles were well on their way to a welcome victory that came at the end of a tumultuous week.
"We've got some great kids on this football team," Haggins said, his grey FSU t-shirt still soaked from the Powerade – not Gatorade – shower he'd received a few moments before.
"A lot of people want to count them out, but they wanted to show the nation: 'We are Florida State.' "
Despite one of the most difficult weeks in the program's recent history, Haggins had a feeling that the Seminoles would do just that.
Not even a week ago, last Sunday afternoon, the Seminoles heard the news that head coach Willie Taggart had been fired.
A few moments later, they made their way out onto the practice fields for their usual Sunday session.
And, despite the shock and the heavy emotions that came with Taggart's departure, the Seminoles put in a few hours' worth of work that let Haggins know that everything would be all right.
"They ran the hardest they possibly could on Sunday," Haggins said. "They wanted to show we are Florida State. We are unconquered. 'Coach, we've got your back, man.'
"That's what they showed me."
Showed Boston College, too.
Despite playing without key defender Marvin Wilson, and despite trailing 14-3 late in the second quarter, the Seminoles used a big-play offense and a bend-but-don't-break defense to upset the Eagles, even their conference record at 4-4 and put themselves in position to earn a bowl berth next week at home against FCS Alabama State (noon, RSN).
Most importantly, at least on Saturday afternoon: They helped improve Haggins' overall record as interim coach to 3-0.
"You know he loves you," said FSU safety Hamsah Nasirildeen, whose 22 tackles were the most by an FSU defender since 1968.
"He's got your back, you've got to have his back."
Matthews' score – in which he caught a short pass over the middle then weaved his way through the BC defense and down the right sideline – came just moments after the Eagles tied the game at 24-24.
Boston College's ensuing drive made it as far as the 39-yard line before Stanford Samuels III intercepted a pass that snuffed out the comeback bid. Then Travis, making his FSU debut, put an exclamation point on it with his second touchdown run of the day – the Seminoles' third scoring play of at least 60 yards.
All told, Florida State racked up a season-high 524 yards of offense, a number made even more impressive by the fact that centerpiece Cam Akers (108 total yards) had a relatively quiet afternoon.
Blackman started and completed 18-of-26 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns and became the first FSU quarterback to throw multiple touchdown passes of 60-plus yards in 15 years.
No surprise, Tamorrion Terry had a big hand in that.
The redshirt sophomore set career highs for catches (seven) and receiving yards (156), and his 74-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter helped turn things in Florida State's favor.
That made it 14-10 and, early in the third quarter, the Seminoles took their first lead when Travis took his first snap of the season for a 26-yard touchdown run.
"You can tell we came out there working," Terry said. "Nobody gave up. We knew we had to go out and make plays and be playmakers. Me, D.J., J-Travis, J-Black, we just came out there and made plays. We executed."
Between those two moments, FSU's Samuels made a play that might not make SportsCenter but nevertheless proved crucial to the Seminoles' efforts.
With BC leading 14-10 and facing a third-and-19 at the FSU 43, the Eagles dialed up a misdirection throwback pass to tight end Jake Burt.
The play seemed to work perfectly – most FSU defenders had been drawn to the opposite side of the field, Burt had a convoy of blockers and the Seminoles had only one defender, Samuels, in the area.
When Burt caught the ball, it seemed certain that he would convert for a first down, and maybe even score.
But Samuels made a diving, shoestring tackle that somehow stopped Burt short of a first down.
A few moments later, BC kicker Aaron Boumerhi missed a 45-yard field goal attempt and the Seminoles went into the break down by only four points.
"I barely grabbed his toenail," said Samuels, noting that the Seminoles had scouted that very play in practice this week.
"I was running over there and the first thing I thought was, 'Don't let them score,'" Nasirildeen added. "I don't know where Stan came from (to force) the fourth down, but I was so happy about that play."
FSU's offense kept rolling in the second half, first with Travis' touchdown and then a 13-yard run from Akers that capped a run of 21 consecutive FSU points.
At that point, it seemed that the Seminoles might be headed for a surprisingly easy victory.
But the Eagles rallied, first with a 30-yard field goal and later with a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Dennis Grosel that made it 24-24 with 2:33 to play.
"I felt good, to be honest with you," BC coach Steve Addazio said. "At that point, I just felt we're going to be right in this thing right at the end with a great opportunity to win the game."
That feeling didn't last long.
Just two plays later, after a nice return from Isaiah Bolden and a short gain on first down, Blackman found Matthews over the middle for what might be the play of FSU's 2019 season.
Matthews dived for the pylon – "It's something I practice," he said – officials upheld the touchdown and the Seminoles silenced Alumni Stadium.
"Coach (Kendal) Briles told me it was time to make a play," Matthews said. "Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games."
A little while later, there was a big-time celebration, both on the field and in the Florida State locker room.
Never mind that temperatures in Chestnut Hill never climbed above 38 degrees, and that a steady wind often made it feel so much colder.
When the ice and green Powerade spilled onto Haggins' shoulders, he might never have felt better.
"It was cold. It felt great," Haggins said with a smile. "Hey, if I can feel like that every time, with our kids being successful and things happening for our kids, I'll take a Powerade bath any time."
Category Sports
FAMU QB Stanley names to Payton Award watch list
Tiger Woods ties PGA record for most wins
Warwick named FSU football chief of staff
Johnson, Cougars hold off Leon for first victory, 14-10
Tallahassee Martial Arts Trainer Wins Prestigious Grappling Title
Spring game heats up competition for starting QB job at FAMU
Eagles Complete Incredible Season in State Baseball
Simmons brings winning attitude to FAMU
Want to advertise with us either on our website or in our paper?
Contact us today at: 850.877.0105 or fill out the Advertising Inquiry Form.
Contact us to request a years subscription for $40.00 to the Capital Outlook.
» CLICK HERE
Capital Outlook is the leading publication for mature and forward-thinking African-Americans. Each issue of our weekly newspaper is devoted to journalism that makes a difference and fosters change. We are a true community paper with a unique focus.
E-mail: info@capitaloutlook.com
1363 E Tennessee St.
Grand Opening of Smokey Hollow Commemoration in Cascades Park Brings Former Residents Back Home
Child Poverty in New Orleans Surpasses National Rate
MLK Biopic "Selma" Receiving Critical Acclaim
Theme made by Different Themes


text:
Eckhart takes steps toward improving the life of factory-floor workers.
Eckhart utilizes Stratasys materials, Nylon 12 CF and ULTEM™ 1010 resin, to produce durable, lasting solutions.
Improving life of the line.
Eckhart, a leader in advanced industrial solutions, is committed to improving the lives of factory-floor workers through safety, reliability and efficiency in manufacturing for industries from medical device to automotive.
"Industry 4.0 is really the ecosystem that is a smart factory. It takes all of the systems in a factory, ties them together to help not only those who manage the process but also to help the employees on the factory floor become more informed on the health of the system," said Andrew Storm, Eckhart's CEO.
"Ninety percent of Fortune 500 manufacturing CEOs believe adopting Industry 4.0 technologies is imperative," added Dan Burseth, vice president of Eckhart. "And we build technology implementation plans with some of the largest manufacturers in the world, designing tools, equipment and automation that truly improve the life of the people tasked with running the line."
Industry 4.0 is really the ecosystem that is a smart factory. It takes all of the systems in a factory, ties them together to help not only those who manage the process, but also to help the employees on the factory floor become more informed on the health of the system.
Andrew Storm, CEO, Eckhart
Customized, proven additive solutions.
Eckhart customizes factory floor solutions to address specific needs of each client, walking the floor to see exactly where ergonomics, line of site or bill of materials can be improved using autonomous guided vehicles, collaborative robotics and additive manufacturing.
"Our customers want proven solutions, durable solutions; the assembly environment is harsh.
These tools are being used 60 times an hour for an 8-hour shift, 3 shifts a day, 6-7 days a week," said Bob Heath, Eckhart's Additive Manufacturing Applications Engineer. "With Stratasys engineering-grade materials, Nylon 12 with carbon fiber and ULTEM™1010 resin, we are able to produce durable, lasting solutions that can hold up and withstand the rigors of an automotive environment."
Eckhart uses jigs and fixtures for GrabCAD Print software to design new tooling with speed and ease.
Additive Manufacturing Solutions
When working to streamline production for their leading industry clients, from Ford to Mercedes to Airbus, Eckhart has shown how additive manufacturing with Stratasys materials greatly improves the way things have always been done.
"Traditionally, we had to design our parts around the way we were going to manufacture them, whether it was manually machining or CNC machine, our part design was limited to our manufacturing capabilities," said Heath. "But with additive manufacturing, the complexities and capabilities are limitless."
This 3D printed lug nut starter is a lightweight solution that improves ergonomics and assembly speed.
Many of Eckhart's clients have seen great benefits from small tweaks to their processes, adopting 3D printed jigs and/or fixtures for applications such as a lug nut starter, badge alignment tools and wiper alignment set fixtures.
"Pressing on badges, emblems on vehicles – these things are repetitive tasks. When we go into plant sand we pick up a badge tool, and it's heavy, it's either above or right at that ergonomic limit for the operator to be able to pick up 60 times an hour. So we're alleviating the repetitive injury strain on the operator," explained Heath.
Speed and customization
Partnering for a Streamlined Future
"We provide solutions that are not replacing operators but are making up for the operators they can't hire, or projecting the ability of one operator that one can be the same as five, and additive manufacturing is one of the tools that we have to facilitate that," said Drew Morales, director of business development and engineering systems at Eckhart.
Partnering for a streamlined future.
Eckhart recognizes time and innovation are top priorities, and all businesses are under an extreme amount of pressure to iterate faster. Eckhart sees this across the board, from heavy truck manufacturers like Caterpillar to medical device manufacturers Medtronic and Boston Scientific, to aerospace manufacturers Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin.


If you live in Texas and have Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you may have several Medicare plan options, depending on where you live.
Medicare beneficiaries can get health coverage in two ways: through Original Medicare or through a private health plan approved by Medicare, such as Medicare Advantage.
Original Medicare is the federally-administered Medicare program that includes Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance). Part A generally covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility (SNF) care, hospice care, and limited home health care. Part B may cover outpatient services like doctor visits, preventive services, and durable medical equipment.
Original Medicare includes only limited prescription drug coverage. Medicare Part A typically covers prescription drugs you receive as part of your treatment as a hospital inpatient. Medicare Part B, on the other hand, may cover certain medications administered to you as an outpatient, such as by injection or infusion; prescriptions you take at home aren't covered in most cases.
Most people are eligible for Medicare at age 65, or before age 65 if they qualify for Medicare through disability. Many people are automatically enrolled into Medicare.
By calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. TTY users can call 1-800-325-0778. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, from 7AM to 7PM.
Initial Enrollment Period, which begins three months before you turn 65, includes your birthday month and three months after your birthday month, lasts seven months. If you receive Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits, your Initial Enrollment Period generally starts three months before your 25th month of receiving disability benefits and lasts for seven months.
General Enrollment Period, which takes place every year from January 1 to March 31. You may have to pay a late-enrollment penalty for Part A and/or Part B if you didn't sign up when you were first eligible.
Special Enrollment Period, if you're covered under an employer group plan that is ending. You may not have to pay a late-enrollment penalty for Part B if you have other creditable health coverage, such as through an employer. If you're serving as a volunteer in another country, you may also be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period for Part A and Part B.
Original Medicare generally works the same way for everyone, regardless of which state you live in. This means that Medicare beneficiaries in Texas will have the same benefits, enrollment periods, and cost-sharing as beneficiaries in other states.
Certain types of Medicare coverage are available through private insurance companies that contract with Medicare to provide benefits. These plan options include Medicare Advantage plans and stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. You might be able to enroll in Medicare Supplement insurance. All of these are briefly described below.
Beneficiaries in Texas (as in other states) may also be able to choose to get their Medicare Part A and Part B benefits through a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plans cover the same Part A and Part B benefits as Original Medicare, except for hospice care, which Part A continues to cover. Medicare Advantage plans often include additional benefits, such as routine vision or dental services, or prescription drug coverage.
You must enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B to be eligible to join a Medicare Advantage plan, and live in the service area of the plan you wish to enroll in. You might not be eligible for Medicare Advantage if you have end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage, this is known as a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plan. Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans offer your health and prescription drug benefits under a single plan. When you're enrolled in any kind of Medicare Advantage plan, you're still in the Medicare program, and need to keep paying your Medicare Part B premium along with any premium your plan may charge.
Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) is optional. You can get this coverage in either of two ways. If you have Original Medicare, Part A and Part B, you can sign up for a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan. If you have Medicare Advantage, you'd get this coverage through an MA-PD plan (not all Medicare Advantage plans offer drug coverage). You cannot have both a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan and a stand-alone Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan.
Medicare Supplement plans can only be used to help with Original Medicare costs, and you'll need to stay enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B for your hospital and medical coverage. In addition, keep in mind that prescription drug coverage isn't included in these plans, so if you want help with your medication costs, you should enroll in a stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.
Medicare Supplement plans only work with Original Medicare. You cannot use Medigap benefits to pay for costs in Medicare Advantage.
Texas Department of Insurance: General information on Medicare coverage and health insurance for Texas residents.
Department of Aging and Disability Services: Information on long-term services for seniors and disabled individuals.
Texas Department of State Health Services: Information on state-run health services, including mental health services and substance abuse programs.


text:
HomeFree EssaysTechWeb Services as an Evolving Technology
Web Services as an Evolving Technology
A brief history of Web Services
Definition of Web Services
Technologies used in developing Web Services
Characteristics of Web Services
Types of Web services
There is an increasing demand for technologies that support the connecting or sharing of resources and data in a flexible and standardized manner. This demand has led to the development of Web services, a phenomenon that has become a household name. Almost every company is creating its own definition for the term. Nevertheless, all point out one thing; web services are not a reinvention of the wheel but an evolutionary technology. This paper is dedicated to the elaboration of this concept through exploration of key concepts related to Web services. These include the history of distributed programming, the definition of the term Web services, main technologies used in relation to Web services. Other concepts that will be discussed include the characteristics of Web services; types of Web services that exist; the explanation of software as service as well as the concepts of tight and loose coupling. Throughout the paper, the main technologies used in relation to Web services will be used. These include SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI.
The emergence of computer networks saw the birth of distributed computing. Initially, applications were divided into the client and server. This devolution minimized bottlenecks by distributing the workload across many systems. It also provided elasticity to application design initially unknown on centralized hosts. Nevertheless, this two-tier architecture had its demerits (Guruge, 2004 p. 12). One of the major limitations of the architecture was failover and scalability. Fortunately, this was remedied later by the introduction of a third tier. This distribution model has become popular for splitting applications. This is because it makes application systems scalable. This model was improved by introducing new software (Gustavo, 2004 p. 43).
The original middlewares were grounded on a technical programming model and were outdated by the introduction of the object-oriented programming model by middlewares like CORBA, DCOM, or RMI, which are modern-day's popular middlewares. All these three middlewares have their advantages and limitations but the scope of this essay will be confined to their features and their relation to Web Services.
From the outlook, Web services may be termed as applications that can be published, located, and invoked across the internet. Examples of Web Services include obtaining weather reports, making flight reservations, and getting stock price information among many others. Up to this point of the essay, there has not been any spelled out the distinction between a server and a Web service in a distributed application. The only distinction lies in the fundamental layers for performing the application logic and data manipulation. This is the reason why the traditional middlewares do not qualify to be Web Services. On the worldwide Web, there are various environments on both the server and the client-side hence there is no prior knowledge of the type of middleware each side of the connection requires. This, therefore, calls for a new approach to Web services (Newcomer et al., 2006 p. 17).
According to Webservices.org, "Web services are encapsulated, loosely coupled contracted functions offered through standard protocols". This inclusive definition of Web services may seem jargoned and thus, it is necessary to simplify some of the keywords used. By encapsulated, this implies that implementation of the role is never visible from the outside while loosely coupled; this means that altering the implementation of one function does not need a change of the invoking function. Lastly, contracted implies that there are public descriptions of the functions.
The conventional client servers offered some functionality. This could be of use to the client. Between the server and the client, there was a certain service. Given that Web services are just another example for distributed applications, they entail the same three components. These components include a service broker, a service provider, and a service requester (Rayns et al., 2003 p. 4). As noted earlier, the traditional middlewares mentioned earlier used a kind of binary protocol for communication. However, Web services use XML in addition to HTTP. Normally, firewalls do not block the HTTP port; they do not make use of HTTP.
XML is a broadly accepted plan for sharing data and its relevant semantics. It is a basic ingredient for almost every layer used for Web Services. In total, all these layers make up the famous Web services stack comprising of XML (Extensible Markup Language), SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), WSDL (Web Services Definition Language), and UDDI (Universal Discovery Description Integration).
Web services provide a layer of abstraction of above-established software systems like application servers discussed above. Web services function at a level of abstraction equivalent to the internet. They can link any operating system, hardware platform, or programming language just like the internet. Unlike the traditional distributed computing systems, Web services are adapted to the Web. The default network protocol is HTTP. Many traditional distributed computing technologies include the communications protocol. However, with Web services, the communications protocol is already there. The first technology to be discussed here linked with Web services is SOAP. Web Services operate in a diverse setup. This implies that the protocols used to do ant transfer of data should not rely on the runtime environment. This is where SOAP comes in handy as it offers the necessary characteristics (Gunzer, 2002 p. 7).
SOAP messages have the tag ENVELOPE. This is their basic part. The envelope has two elements namely an optional header and a body. The header may have a set of header entries. These provide information like verification of the data. Further, two header attributes exist to offer information about how a recipient of a SOAP message should process the message. To add on, namespaces for the envelope and the encoding style are identified within the SOAP specification.
The SOAP body has information for the last recipient. It also has four elements. These elements include parts, use, ecodingStyle, and namespace (NIST, 2007 p. 8). The 'use' element states if the message parts are encoded using the appropriate style. The third element of the SOAP body, encodingStyle, contains similar semantics lies in the SOAP specification. The last element, namespace, is used to avoid name clashing. Information is encapsulated in body entries. If the envelope has a header, the body ought not to be the first element within the envelope. The body entries may be namespace-qualified.
The specification identifies one body entry. The identified entry is used to do verify information status. It may appear once in a SOAP message. Encapsulating RPC is a crucial sphere where SOAP is utilized. The second technology concerning Web Services will be discussed here WSDL. This technology describes services used by an XML grammar. It offers information for distributed systems. It is aimed at enabling automated communications between applications. SOAP specifies the communication between a requester and a provider. On the other hand, the WSDL describes the services offered by the provider. As such, it may be used as a recipe to come up with the proper SOAP messages to get the services (Chaudhiri, 2003 p. 67).
A WSDL document is similar to an IDL file in CORBA in terms of function. It also has a Java RMI implementation equivalent. The basic element of any WSDL document has six elements grouped into two: abstract definitions and concrete definitions. Abstract definition elements include types, messages and portType while concrete definitions are bindings and services. The elements have references to each other. It is possible for every element in the document to have a documentation element. This offers an explanation that can be read by humans. It is worth noting that all elements have the name attribute, which specifies the name of the Web Service.
WSDL describes the operations a Web service can support, the parameter each operation accepts and returns values. It is via the service description that the service provider communicates all the specifications for invoking the Web service requester. A basic service description is usually divided into two parts. These include the service interface and the service implementation. The former is an abstract definition that can be instantiated and referenced by many service implementation definitions. After a WSDLL file is instantiated and published into a directory, say UDDI, the other SOAP clients can find the service and bind it.
The last technology related to Web Services and that will be discussed in this essay is the Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI). This technology permits information about businesses and services to be electronically published and queried. The published information is stored into a single or multiple UDDI entries. The entries are available through a Web browser or through SOAP messages. This is a standard made to offer a searchable directory of businesses and their Web Services. As such, it stands for the service broker that makes it possible for service requesters to find an appropriate service provider. The UDDI is similar to a phone book. Its major component is the business registration. This XML file describes a business entity and its Web Services. In order for developers to bind to Web Services, UDDI XML schema describes four major types of information. These are business entities, business services, binding templates and tModels (Francisco, 2003 p. 5).
The business entities data structure has information on the company that publishes the Web service. This information entails the name of the company, the services offered, and how to reach an individual from that company. Business services describe the specific service offered in business terms. On the other hand, binding templates describe how to access a service trough access points called URLs. The last type of information required to bind to Web Services is tModels. They are used to describe a technical requirement like sequencing rules.
Having discussed the three technologies linked to Web services, it is only fair now that focus in this essay shifts to how they are interrelating with the three basic components of Web Service. To begin with, the Web service provider describes the Web service in a WSDL document and publishes it to a UDDI registration using the Publisher's API. The latter is based on SOAP technology. A SOAP request is sent to the service provider, and a response processed. The preceding discussions have majored on the standards or technologies that are related to Web Services (Gunzer, 2002 p. 7). The focus of this essay now shifts to the characteristics of a Web service.
All Web services have a number of common characteristics. To begin with, they are self-contained. This implies that on the side of the client, there is no additional software needed. In this case, a programming language with XML and HTTP client support is adequate to get one started. On the side of the server, an HTTP server and a SOAP server are required. The second characteristic of Web services is that they are self describing. This means that using WSDL, all the information needed to implement a Web service as a provider, or rather to invoke a Web service as a requester is provided (Rayns et al., 2003 p. 6).
In addition, Web services are published, located, and invoked across the Web. This technology deploys existing inconsequential Internet standards like HTTP. They also make use of established infrastructure. Another characteristic of Web services is that they are modular. This implies that simple Web services can be made more sophisticated by use of workflow mechanisms or by calling lower-layer services from a Web service implementation. Web services can be joined to perform higher-level business roles, hence shortening development time and enhancing best-of-breed implementations. Another property of Web services is that they are language independent and interoperable. This means that the client and server can be implemented in different circumstances. Virtually, any language can be deployed to implement Web service clients and servers. In addition, Web services are inherently open and standard (Chaudhiri, 2003 p. 70). This is because XML and HTTP are the main technical pillars for Web services. A great portion of the Web Service technology has been developed using open-source projects. As such, vendor sovereignty and interoperability are goals that can be attained (Gustavo, 2004 p. 50).
Another characteristic of Web Services is that they are loosely coupled. Initially, application designs relied heavily on tight interconnections at the server and the client (Tight coupling). However, in modern times, Web services need a simpler level of coordination that permits a suppler reconfiguration for an integration of the concerned services. To add on, Web services have programmatic access. This approach does not require a graphical user interface because it works at the code level. Service consumers are required to know the interfaces to Web services, but do not have to know the implementation particulars of services. Lastly, Web Services wrap established applications. This implies that already existing independent applications can easily be incorporated into the Service-Oriented Approach (SOA) through the implementation of a Web service as an interface (Francisco, 2003 p. 7).
The discussion on the characteristics of Web Services point out to two important concepts. One of them is that Web Services are an evolving technology. This implies that they are not a reinvention of the wheel but rather build on already established technologies. Secondly, applications that rely on the Web Services paradigm can exchange data regardless of the language, platform or internal protocols. This is because as the characteristics of a Web service have spelt out, they are self-contained and language independent, as well as interoperable.
Though the preceding paragraphs have indicated that Web Services share several common features, there exist different types of Web services. These depend on the company that has developed them, or the technology used to develop them. This essay will sample only a few from the many that exist. There are two types of Web Services developed by Microsoft Corporation. These include ASP.NET and.NET Framework. Both can permit cross-process communication. Nevertheless, each is designed to be beneficial to a different target audience. ASP.NET Web Services offer a simple programming model and a big audience. On the other hand,.NET Remoting offers a more sophisticated programming framework with a narrower audience (Gunzer, 2002 p. 12).
In conclusion, the Web services technology offers the gateway to a new business opportunity where a company can give value-added services to its customers through the composition of basic Web services. Nevertheless, the current Web services technology solves only a portion of the problem of developing Web services compositions. Building dependable Web Service compositions needs more than just addressing interoperability between client programs and Web services. Besides this, there is a need for compositions that describe the unlike transaction support of Web services, resolving the semantic and content heterogeneity of semantically equivalent Web services, specifying the transaction interaction patterns among Web Services and coordinating such services.
Working on an essay?
Let our team do it
for only $20.28 $17.24/page Learn More
Chaudhiri, AB, 2OO3, Web, Web-services, and database systems, Springer-Verlag: Berlin.
Francisco, C, 'Web Services overview', Web.
Gunzer, H, 'Introduction to Web Services', Web.
Guruge, A, 2004, Web services: theory and practice, Elsevier: Oxford.
Gustavo, A, et al., 2004, Web Services: concepts, architectures and applications, Springer-Verlag: Berlin.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce, "Guide to Secure Web Services", Web.
Newcomer, E, 2006, Understanding Web Services: XML, WSDL, SOAP and UDDI, Addison-Wesley Professional: Boston.
Rayns, C, et al, 'Application development for CICS Web Services', Web.
This essay on Web Services as an Evolving Technology was written by a student just like you. You can use it for research or as a reference for your own work. Keep in mind, though, that a proper citation is necessary.
The Personal Protective Equipment for Hazardous Workplaces
Digital Integrated Circuit: NMOS and PMOS Transistor
Strategies for Online Success and Strategies Implemented
Small Robot Testing in Afghanistan
New Assurance and Information Integrity Services


text:
Don't miss this year's Science Rendezvous – a free, family festival on Saturday, May 11
What's fun, free and filled with chances to learn about all things "Science"? Why, it's "Science Rendezvous Winnipeg", of course, and it's coming back to the University of Manitoba Fort Garry campus, Saturday, May 11, 2019, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
More than 700+ volunteers from the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg are helping to organize the event, which will include over 60+ hands-on activities, science shows, tours of facilities, and cutting-edge research.
"If someone hasn't attended the event before, they might think it's all about science, or akin to a school science fair. It's nothing like a science fair, and it's actually about so much more: it's about discovery and innovation and creativity and wonder," said Kyla Smith, event organizer.
From robots to bugs, fossils to outer space, it's fun for preschoolers, tweens, parents and grandparents alike. Activities are both indoors and outdoors (weather permitting), and include a giant Oobleck pool, musical staircase, glow wall, fruit keyboard, balloons in the shape of microbes or molecules, and liquid nitrogen ice-cream, and more!
Live shows include, the Chemistry Potions Class (à la Hogwarts), and the Physics Adventure Show with evil, (or not), so genius, plotting to take over the world, they promise to amaze, dazzle and delight.
Food trucks, refillable water stations, and free parking will also be available.
You don't want to miss this year's Science Rendezvous and the chance to explore the science all around you.
Science Rendezvous is a free annual science festival, a signature marquee partner event of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Science Odyssey Week, May 4 – 19. A celebration of Discovery & Innovation. Science Rendezvous Winnipeg, at the University of Manitoba. It includes indoor and outdoor hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities.
If you are interested in any aspect of the event, please contact: Event Organizer, Kyla Smith, kyla [dot] smith [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.
Media Contact, Jennifer MacRae, jennifer [dot] macrae [at] umanitoba [dot] ca
Photo gallery from Science Rendezvous 2018. Images courtesy of Kira Koop.
Alumni and Community, Biological Sciences, Campus and Community, chemistry, community outreach, computer science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Graduate Studies, faculty of science, mathematics, microbiology, Outreach, Physics and astronomy, Price Faculty of Engineering, research & international, Riddell Faculty, Statistics, Students, volunteer
In Focus: Science Rendezvous
Not just another fish tale: is there a difference between aging and getting old?
Some creatures don't age in the same way that humans do, implying that getting old does not necessarily lead to declining health
Biological Sciences, faculty of science, Research and International
Grad students represent researchers and scholars at the leading edge of science in the North
Chairs in nutrition, health economics and extreme astrophysics
Connect with the Faculty of Science
Science Events Calendar
Science Academic Advisors
The University of Manitoba Vascular Plant Herbarium (WIN)
Friends of the Buller Greenhouse
Contact the Faculty of Science


text:
Committed To Talking About Transit
What can we do in the face of an overwhelming lack of leadership?
I was thinking that, listening to Premier Kathleen Wynne explain to Matt Galloway on Metro Morning today why she'd announced pulling some possible revenue tools last week to help fund transit building. You could actually hear the political calculus at work. Or maybe it was the sound of transit planning coming to a grinding halt.
No one doubts the premier is in something of a bind here. You could make the argument she's looking down the wrong end of history's barrel, with twenty years of anti-tax and small government sensibilities having taken solid root in the political soil, dating back to the rise of the Reform Party in the early 90s. The Chretien/Martin deficit cutting and downloading frenzy. Mike Harris. Mel Lastman. Stephen Harper. Rob Ford.
Taxation not even seen as a necessary evil but simply evil.
Of course, her own party's recklessness with public funds doesn't help her cause any. We all know the names by heart. Ehealth. Ornge. Gas plants. It's a bit tough at this point for Premier Wynne to step up and ask for more money from Ontario's residents. Trust us. We'll spend it all very, very wisely.
And the politicking doesn't happen in a vacuum. The opposition parties at Queen's Park have constructed their own anti-reality bubbles in terms of revenue sources to dedicate to transit. Everybody's got some magic beans they're shilling, ways to get the transit needed at a cost that will come from almost nobody's pockets. Don't worry, folks. This won't hurt a bit.
My guess is, as we head into the provincial budget process, the government has just handed concessions over to the NDP by vowing not to increase the gas tax, the HST or income tax on middle-class families in order to fund the Big Move. Your move now, Andrew Horwath. What does your party suggest? Using exact figures, if you don't mind.
Who's going to step forward first and sign their name to a tax increase or new user fee?
Because everybody knows this can't continue. Public transit in the GTHA has to be built. That fact, at least, cuts across political lines. Only the supremely delusional Tim Hudak-led Tories are insisting it can be done without raising more revenue.
Yet, here we are, gridlocked and deadlocked.
The Liberal government has been provided with plenty of cover to take the important next step in this debate. From the non-politically realigned Metrolinx and the premier's very own appointed Transit Investment Strategy Advisory Panel, to organization as disparate as the Toronto Region Board of Trade, CivicAction Alliance, the Pembina Institute, right down to grassroots groups like Code Red TO, all have talked up revenue tools. The pump has been primed, the ground broken.
Yet, here we are, gridlocked and deadlocked. Still.
The ugly truth about this, unfortunately, is that the well being of the party takes precedence over the strength of the idea. We've all been told that if party X runs with this and takes a beating in the election because of it, well, we're right back to square one or so. The fate of transit in the GTHA hinges on the party that best touts the least amount of pain necessary to voters in order to build it.
No one's gutsy or astute enough (both integral components of actual leadership) to step forward and challenge the conventional wisdom that voters summarily oppose taxation and are unwilling to pay more for improved service. Instead it's just more nibbling around the edges, reframing the debate in the exact same dimensions we've heard for the past 20 years. Empty, empty pledges of new stuff free of charge. Promises to deliver the undeliverable.
All of which serves only to make us more cynical, more apathetic and less likely to take anything any of our politicians say seriously. Who wants to go to bat for somebody ducking from the first inside pitch they face? Why waste your time and effort?
At this point, there can be little doubt that the 3 parties representing us at Queen's Park have failed miserably at displaying anything close to resembling leadership on the transit file. Each have wilfully disregarded the hard work and dedication put in by groups and individuals, fighting to ensure that we have a robust debate and positive outcome in dealing with an issue that threatens nothing short of our well-being and way of life in this region. We've been abandoned by our elected leaders.
If our provincial politicians are unwilling to provide the appropriate leadership for us, we really should start talking about why we continue to finance them and subject ourselves to their inaction and indecisiveness.
— dim viewly submitted by Cityslikr
1 Comment	| CBC, City Building, Metrolinx, Press coverage, Province of Toronto, Provincial Politics, The Big Move	| Tagged: Andrea Horwath, CivicAction Alliance, Code Red TO, Matt Galloway, Metro Morning, Pembina Institute, Politics, Premier Kathleen Wynne, Tim Hudak, Toronto, Toronto Region Board of Trade, Transit Investment Strategy Advisory Panel	| Permalink
You are currently browsing the All Fired Up In The Big Smoke blog archives for the day Monday, March 17th, 2014.


It was a dream week along the Portuguese Coast. Waiting for what was supposed to be the biggest swell ever at Nazaré, the days building up to it all saw perfect waves around two meters high with moderate offshore winds blowing, providing all-day surf sessions from first light until sunset. And the hot, sunny days were reminiscent of summer in Portugal. At one point, I saw three different spots in Ericeira breaking to absolute perfection on the same day. For sure, this was a week to remember. How lucky are we to live in a country like Portugal?