text:
Stunning pics of loved-up puffins and marvel moggy top RSPCA’s Young Photographer Awards 2019
Dec 18 2019, 15:36 ET
Updated: Dec 18 2019, 16:00 ET
A RECORD 6,595 entries were submitted to the RSPCA's young photographer 2019 competition.
The snaps included one stunning image of a pair of loved up puffins nestling into each-other, orange glows ablaze against their black and white feathers.
Overall winner, Tinker’s Gaze saw 16-year-old Grace snap her cat's profile on her iPhone as he stared longingly at the birds outside her bedroom window.
The Young Photographer of the year said: “I’m so happy that the judges liked my photo so much.
“I took this photo while admiring my cat watching the garden birds. I just loved how the natural sunlight illuminated her green eyes and filtered delicately through her fur, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to snap a photo."
A panel of judges deliberated over the record number of entries this year, which also include a breathtaking close-up of a heron, and a group of waddling penguins.
MOST READ IN NEWS
OUT OF IT
'Two YEAR' implementation even if last-minute Brexit deal struck before deadline
RATS TO THAT
Workers find 'rat the size of a CAR’ in sewer - but all isn’t what it seems
CIA spies drowned tracking Chinese military with pod disguised as rock
Sister, 3, of abused girl, 7, who begged docs to die mysteriously died at home
Journalist who reported on gangs found beheaded & tortured near train tracks
Biden in new blunder as he claims 200MILLION Americans died of Covid not 200k
'CAPABLE OF ANYTHING'
UK's most dangerous lag 'Hannibal the Cannibal' reveals bloodlust
Willie Thorne has £475k house repossessed days after splitting from wife
George Michael’s sis ‘to be buried next to him but he'll NEVER get headstone’
Boris Johnson wife - The PM's marriages and past relationships in full
Reflecting on the strength of the competition this year, award-winning nature photographer Chris Packham said: "It’s nice to see so many creative photos of people’s pets and a range of wildlife in such a strong competition.
"It needs real imagination to make commonplace species interesting, and demonstrates that the photographer has been really innovative.
“There are some beautiful pictures in this year’s winners’ gallery, with real talent shining through. This year’s entrants have been really creative and that is what we wanted to see.”
Baby Albatross is almost killed by 70mph storm in Seven Worlds, One Planet


text:
Free click and collect
Next day delivery available
Welcome to our website!
Hi there, we at Alexanders natural are a family run business.
We try our best to produce the best, highest quality natural treats for your pooches and kittys.
We always keep in mind the health of our furry customers, so everything we produce is aimed at healthy snacks that pack a punch.
We are defra approved and all of our produce is biologically tested, to ensure that it is nothing but a pleasant experience for you and your pet.
We produce our products from our own cultures, that have been in our family for a long time.
The kefir we produce using heirloom grains have been scientifically tested for probiotic and healthy yeast cultures, and we can proudly put that on our labels.

domain: food


text:
I just realized that I never even bothered to review “The Happening.”
Wow. I’m not sure what surprises me more… the fact that I just plain skipped discussing an M. Night Shyamalan film, or the fact that I didn’t even remember if I’d written about it or not. I’ve been writing about Shyamalan’s work since 1998 at least, when I covered “Wide Awake.” I was already a fan at that time thanks to the scripts he’d written for “Labor Of Love,” “Stuart Little,” and “The Sixth Sense,” and I spent a lot of time talking him up, calling him one of the best writers in the business.
What a difference 12 years makes, because with “The Last Airbender,” the ride is finally over.
Over the last few films he made, I’ve been saying that Shyamalan’s priorities as a filmmaker had shifted, and he had become a much better director than writer. Now, based on the evidence of this film, based on the acclaimed Nickelodeon TV series, I’d say he’s not particularly good at either of those skill sets anymore. “The Last Airbender” is a total stiff, and a disappointment for fans of the show as well as a confusing mess for anyone who’s never seen an episode.
I was late to the party with the TV show. I don’t spend a lot of time watching Nickelodeon, oddly, but after hearing enough talk about it to make me curious, Paramount sent me one of the five-episode DVD collections they put out, and I checked it out. Even picking up mid-series and just watching a few episodes, I was immediately taken with the show’s energy and style and approach to character. It’s sort of like watching a slightly sillier Miyazaki film each week, full of the same genuine spirituality as Miyazaki’s best work, but unafraid of broad and goofy humor at times. The action on the show is inventive and unique, and the way the series builds from year to year is focused and controlled and eventually pays off in an experience that pays off in ways that few “kid-oriented” shows ever even attempt, much less accomplish.
One of the things that impressed me most as I watched the series was the way it incorporated notions from various faiths from around the world without disrespecting any of them. It’s one of those rare accomplishments to write something that is undeniably a corporate product aimed at young people that somehow ends up being this lovely, heartfelt, spiritual riff on the basic monomyth that drives about 2/3 of all pop culture blockbusters these days. Considering the importance that Shyamalan has always placed on the spiritual in his work, he seemed like an unlikely but oddly appropriate choice to bring the series to life on the bigscreen. For the last few films, I’ve been strongly advocating for him to work for somebody instead of creating another original, to work with material that is not his. I think it’s a good challenge for him as a storyteller, and since “The Last Airbender” isn’t built around a twist or a narrative trick so it’s outside his comfort zone.
Unfortunately, it’s waaaaaay too far outside his comfort zone. As a director, he is swallowed alive by the technical demands of the movie, and as a result, the entire film has this stiff, phony quality. I’ve seen this happen on occasion to other filmmakers who jump into these giant franchise movies without any real FX background, like when Chris Weitz made “The Golden Compass.” It’s not that they do anything wrong, per se, but it feels like they’ve walked out of a CGI classroom onto a set, and there’s nothing about the technical side of this film that feels passionate or inspired or loose, and for FX to really work, they cannot be the stop-the-show focus of a scene. They are simply a tool, meant to help tell a story, and in “The Last Airbender,” they frequently take center-stage.
Little wonder, though, and I want to be diplomatic in how I say this, because I always feel bad picking on child actors. The sad truth is that Noah Ringer simply doesn’t work. He seems like a sweet kid, and that sweetness is appropriate for the character, and he looks like he’s had some martial arts schooling, so his moves aren’t bad. But there’s zero emotional depth to the performance, and although he is a child on the outside, Aang is a reincarnated soul and this particular incarnation is over 100 years old. There are levels to the character that the show tapped beautifully at times, and in a film that tries to jam a full year’s worth of story into a two hour film, there is little room for nuance.
Then again, I might be totally wrong about his performance, and I’d never know it because of how the film’s been edited. It feels like a film that was just randomly chopped up after it was delivered to the studio, and there’s this bizarre rushed quality to the storytelling, lurching from story point to story point without ever leaving any room for any signs of life. When you’re dealing with a word that is fantastic, and you’re lading the exposition on as heavily as this film does, you need to offer up some recognizable humanity at the heart of the film to hold onto. If you can’t create a dynamic relationship between Aang (Ringer) and his two young friends Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), then nothing else matters. I’d say Peltz is probably the person that comes closest to nailing their role down, and she works so hard to convince that there’s a connection between Katara and Aang that I wanted to believe it. I think it’s safe to say that I have had more than enough Jackson Rathbone this week between this and “Eclipse.” More than anything, I feel bad for the guy because he’s in two giant movies with the two worst onscreen haircuts of the year. It’s like someone is actively trying to make him look like a jackass.
Dev Patel, though, is bad enough in this film to distract my attention from pretty much every other performance. If “Slumdog Millionaire” was his breakthrough, then this is his breakdown. He is truly awful here, and his earnestness as he has to spit out ridiculous dialogue that basically just hammers one point over and over is pretty much laughable. Whatever Patel is, he’s not threatening or menacing or particularly charismatic. His personality was perfectly suited for his role in “Slumdog,” but he’s as miscast as poor Ringer, the two of them offering no polar charges at all, a problem when they are ostensibly your bad guy and good guy for the film. Cliff Curtis, who I normally like, is weirdly bad as Fire Lord Ozai, gnawing scenery every single time he shows up. And then there’s Aasif Mandvi, a regular correspondent on “The Daily Show,” and although he’s got a long career as an actor under his belt, that “Daily Show” gig has absolutely destroyed my ability to take him seriously. It’s like if Rob Corddry showed up as the villain in the new “Die Hard” film and played it totally straight. He might be able to pull it off, but there’s no way I’d be able to take it seriously.
I have a sneaking suspicion this is going to be the only film in this particular live-action franchise. If they do move forward, there is little or no chance they will be doing so with Shyamalan attached. And the idea that he’s not even competent enough to pull off a live-action version of an action cartoon pretty much puts the last stake in the heart of the notion of him as “the new Spielberg.” After I saw “Lady In The Water,” I called a friend of mine and compared the film to that footage from the ’60s of the monk lighting himself on fire in public as a form of protest. I’d forgotten about that call until my buddy reminded me the other day, but I think that sums up that film and “The Happening” both… cries for help that were public and ugly and left little behind aside from ash and horrifying images. This time out, I think the cries for help are over. This is more like you’re at a party and a dude walks up to you and starts telling you a story, but he’s so drunk that he gets most of the details wrong and he gets things out of order and he skips important information and, most importantly, he’s totally unaware that he’s pissed his pants and his dick is showing. It’s embarrassing, and you hardly know where to look.
For fans of the show, I can sum up how big a misfire this is very simply. They got Appa wrong. As you can see in the photo, he looks right, but he’s just used as a transition from one scene to the next without any discernible personality. I repeat… they got Appa wrong.
There are moments that hint at the film this could have been, and there’s one beat towards the end of the film, when Aang finally steps up to push the Fire Nation back, that suggests how the spiritual and the visceral could have been combined into something special and unique. Instead, “The Last Airbender” just lays there, stillborn, potential squandered. And not just the film’s potential, either. This is a sad indicator of just how completely Shyamalan has thrown away his own gifts, the last stop on what has been a very disappointing career arc. Honestly, I don’t see how he redeems himself after this. I do understand why he worked to set up his next film before anyone had seen this one, though, because after today, even his staunchest defenders are going to have to admit that he has lost whatever connection he once had to the audience.
Oh… and the 3D conversion? Stop it. Ugly. Pointless. Unconvincing. Please knock it off.
Can’t get enough of Motion/Captured? Don’t miss a post with daily HitFix Blog Alerts. Sign up now.
Don’t miss out. Add Motion/Captured to your iGoogle, My Yahoo or My MSN experience by clicking here.
Not part of the HitFix Nation yet? Take 90 seconds and sign up today.
Become a fan of HitFix on Facebook.

domain: artistic


Asian Games: Indian women's squash team wins bronze medal
Hangzhou [China], September 29 (ANI): The Indian women's squash team comprised of Joshna Chinappa, Tanvi Khanna and Anahat Singh bagged bronze medal after losing to Hong Kong, China 1-2 in the semifinals at the ongoing 19th Asian Games on Friday.
Tanvi Khanna's three-game loss against Sin Yuk Chan in a match that lasted for just 22 minutes put India on the back foot. The first match of the tie ended in scores of 6-11, 7-11, 3-11.
The focus then switched to veteran player Chinappa, who displayed incredible resilience and skill to make the score even for India at 1-1 against Hong Kong. The Indian veteran registered a victory against Ho Tze-Lok with a score of 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8.
After being two games down, Chinappa came right back into the match with a resounding 11-6 win in the fourth game of the fixture. Chinappa closed the match with a commanding performance by maintaining her composure and winning the final game.
With both teams winning the match the pressure fell on 15-year-old Anahat in the decisive match.
Even though the youngster lost the match 0-3, she made sure that at least in the first and third games, her opponent was kept on their toes.
The teenager had a strong start to her match but lost some steam near the finish and gave Lee Ka Yi the opening game 8-11.
Lee tightened her hold on the match by winning the second game 11-7. She repeated the performance in the third game and was about to end the match when Ahanat launched a final burst. The teen attempted to score eight points in a row but ultimately dropped the match 10-12.
Meanwhile, the Indian men's squash team's semifinal clash against Malaysia will begin later in the day. (ANI)


text:
Mai Wei Di Huang Wan - Herbal Supplement
Product code: FC10BX
Mai Wei Di Huang Wan is a trusted herbal supplement in Asia that supports the health of the following systems of the body:
This product contains an herb called rehmannia root. According to some herbalists in China, this herb is helps to keep the liver in proper balance with the body. It is thought to promote healthy liver function. Our liver is responsible for removing hormones and drugs from the body, so if the liver has too many toxins, it may cause health problems.
Mai Wei Di Huang Wan contains:
Prepared Rehmannia Root, Asiatic Dogwood Ripe Fleshy Fruit, Tree Peony Bark, Chinese Yam Rhizome, Poria Sclerotium, Asian Water Plantain Tuber, Dwarf-lilyturf Root Tuber, Schisandra Fruit, and Starch.
We recommend that you take eight pills, three times per day.
Not to be used during pregnancy.
Not recommended for long term use or in excess of recommended amounts, for use in cases of diarrhea, indigestion, painful or difficult urination, frequent copious urination, or excessive menstruation, or in early stages or coughs or rashes.
Make sure you understand the actions of this product before taking it.
If you have severe kidney problems or disease, seek the advice of a doctor, acupuncturist, or health practitioner before taking this product.

domain: medical


Some of the industry's biggest players were interested in acquiring Mellanox and had submitted offers before Nvidia swooped in to make a bid over the., and had all emerged as potential buyers before the Nvidia deal was announced.
Mellanox had 2,330 full-time employees and 116 part-time employees as of the end of past year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nvidia has come out on top in a bidding war for chipmaker Mellanox.
Nvidia is the leading bidder ahead of rivals including Intel, though no final decision has been made and the outcome could still change, the sources said.
Nvidia's advantage is that it would have a greater chance of obtaining USA and Chinese regulatory approval as Intel and Mellanox control the market for InfiniBand technology, a networking communications standard commonly used in supercomputers, Calcalist said.
Huang said Nvidia studied carefully how the deal would be reviewed by regulators and believed it wouldn't face significant hurdles because the two companies are complementary.
Ranveer Singh welcomes Salman Khan at the Akash Ambani-Shloka Mehta's wedding
While the bride was dressed in a beige gown for the event, the groom can be seen crooning the song for her in a black sherwani. Moritz, Switzerland (no less!) where the performers included Coldplay's Chris Martin and the band The Chainsmokers.
Captain Marvel is officially the biggest box office opening of 2019
With Captain Marvel now in theaters, I was lucky enough to get a little time to chat with Jackson. Tyler Perry's A Madea Family Funeral was third with $12 million in its second weekend.
Is DeSean Jackson trying to force his way out of Tampa Bay?
In 12 games last season for the Bucs, Jackson had 41 catches for 774 yards and four touchdowns. Despite being 32, Jackson is still among the fastest wide receivers in the game.
"The emergence of AI (artificial intelligence) and data science, as well as billions of simultaneous computer users, is fuelling sky-rocketing demand on the world's data centres", said Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Hung.
Nvidia gets more revenue diversification and data center sales.
Even if Nvidia doesn't explicitly repurpose Mellanox's networking technology for distributed GPU clusters of this type, it still owns another piece of the data center puzzle at a time when data center markets have been enjoying long-term robust growth and are expected to continue growing in the future as the IoT scales up and more enterprises shift to the cloud.
NVIDIA says it will use the acquisition to cement its leadership in high-performance computing (HPC).
It is expected to close by the end of 2019.
Add it up and Nvidia with Mellanox can better optimize systems. With its ownership of Mellanox, Nvidia hopes to go forward and "optimise datacenter-scale workloads across the entire computing, networking and storage stack to achieve higher performance, greater utilization and lower operating cost for customers." .


There are so many websites out there. Some of them look alike, some don’t but heck why are we talking about them? Wanna know why? Because you would want to look at the successful ones and try to look like them. There must be something in their site’s design that attracts target market like no other. As my friend says “The best person to ask directions from is someone who’s already been there.”
Recently, the team from Portent attended the latest installment of Seattle Interactive Conference, a fantastic digital conference just down the block from our shiny new home office. Thousands of attendees flocked to downtown Seattle and listened to dozens of speakers share their insights about the digital marketing landscape. (Portent’s own Tim Mehta spoke at SIC...
An omni-channel approach not only benefits consumers but also benefits business bottom line: Research suggests that customers spend more than double when purchasing through an omni-channel retailer as opposed to a single-channel retailer, and are often more loyal. This could be due to the ease of purchase and the wider availability of products.
There are so many visual marketing tools out there that it is turning what used to be a rather arduous task into a simple process anyone can do in half the time. No one has a single excuse for why they aren’t implementing visuals of all kinds into they social media and website content. It is just so easy these days, and it takes hardly any effort at all. But… [Read More…]
While there are currently tens of millions of blogs worldwide, close to 60 million powered by WordPress alone, many bloggers are not yet monetizing their sites. If you're one of these bloggers, a good place to start is with affiliate marketing: directing readers to a product or service in exchange for a commission on the sale (or other action) when it occurs.
Best Forex Partners (BFP) was established in 2011 by a group of international financiers and global online marketing professionals who saw a need to change the nature of affiliate marketing for the better. In a few short years they combined their over 60 years of combined financial and marketing experience to create a new way to affiliate market and have never looked back!
There is no shortage of products you’ll be able to promote. You’ll have the ability to pick and choose products that you personally believe in, so make sure that your campaigns center around truly valuable products that consumers will enjoy. You’ll achieve an impressive conversion rate while simultaneously establishing the reliability of your personal brand.
Hubspot provide an inbound marketing and sales service to it’s clients. In addition, they have an interesting marketing blog full of lists, calculators, and infographics. Inbound marketing is about bringing potential clients to you rather than beating them over the head with your messages (cold calling, email spam) and this idea is the content we love most from Hubspot.
Affiliates were among the earliest adopters of pay per click advertising when the first pay-per-click search engines emerged during the end of the 1990s. Later in 2000 Google launched its pay per click service, Google AdWords, which is responsible for the widespread use and acceptance of pay per click as an advertising channel. An increasing number of merchants engaged in pay per click advertising, either directly or via a search marketing agency, and realized that this space was already occupied by their affiliates. Although this situation alone created advertising channel conflicts and debates between advertisers and affiliates, the largest issue concerned affiliates bidding on advertisers names, brands, and trademarks. Several advertisers began to adjust their affiliate program terms to prohibit their affiliates from bidding on those type of keywords. Some advertisers, however, did and still do embrace this behavior, going so far as to allow, or even encourage, affiliates to bid on any term, including the advertiser's trademarks.
You can make really good commissions from the eBay partner but it depends on the products which you decide to promote. Interestingly the commission levels vary according to where you are in the world not just on the products you decide to promote. One of the great reasons to sign up is that you can earn DOUBLE commissions in your first three months. They offer free to use link generators, ad creatives and widgets for you to promote different eBay items. eBay has over 162 Million active buyers which means there is a great potential to convert your traffic.
Affiliate marketing - Affiliate marketing is perceived to not be considered a safe, reliable and easy means of marketing through online platform. This is due to a lack of reliability in terms of affiliates that can produce the demanded number of new customers. As a result of this risk and bad affiliates it leaves the brand prone to exploitation in terms of claiming commission that isn't honestly acquired. Legal means may offer some protection against this, yet there are limitations in recovering any losses or investment. Despite this, affiliate marketing allows the brand to market towards smaller publishers, and websites with smaller traffic. Brands that choose to use this marketing often should beware of such risks involved and look to associate with affiliates in which rules are laid down between the parties involved to assure and minimize the risk involved.
This one’s not for everyone, but adding a few symbols to your LinkedIn profile can really help it stand out from the crowd. You don’t want to over do it, but putting arrows or bullet points next to your core skills or abilities can point potential clients to what you want them to read. There’s a great list of symbols here that you can just copy and paste.
5 Jam penutupan DISKON 65%.... INI... memudahkan Jualan Online samb...il Bangun Kolam Retargeting... bahkan tanpa Website Sekalipun. DISKON 65% tinggal hari ini ? Cocok untuk Pemilik Toko Online/ Reseller/ Dropshipper/ CPA & Affiliate Marketer, dan Marketer Secara Online yang Ingin Lebih Banyak Lagi Mendapat Daftar Prospek. Ambil DISKONnya disini : http://bit.ly/Onderlink Kalau ada yang tanya kapan terakhir order silakan dijawab "pesan malam ini, supaya diskon 65% masih dapat, bayar bisa dalam 2x24 jam..." Alias --> Pesan sekarang, bayar 2 hari lagi :D Lihat Lagi
Ksenych explains that their customers come from several contact channels: “Our contact information is displayed at the very top of every page on our website. A potential customer can contact us by phone, email us directly or submit a detailed moving quote request. These options accommodate all needs, from those that want to speak to someone right away as well as those that might be multi-tasking and prefer to send a detailed email.”
But I think you have missed one point “Adding offers from cpa networks related to your niche. They have higher payouts and works pretty well with banner ads.”. Once I had a finance related site and one of the post ranking well was on credit score. So i added credit score checking offer on that post and surprisingly making 10-15 folds what i was making from google adsense every day.


text:
Asset owners from both Southeast Asia and Greater China are expected to enjoy easier access to green bonds in each other’s markets as China and Singapore deepen their collaboration on green finance.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in late April announced the establishment of the China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce.
The taskforce is expected to deepen bilateral cooperation in green and transition finance and trading in related instruments could be encouraged through a potential 'bond connect' scheme and digital green bonds.
Major asset owners across the region, such as Singapore's Temasek, Prudential, and China's Ping An Group have previously told AsianInvestor that they are committed to participating in the region's decarbonisation efforts via investments and engagement.
“It's good because Singapore serves as a gateway to international markets besides Hong Kong. It's always useful for Chinese investors and Chinese issuers to leverage both Hong Kong and Singapore to connect to international capital,” said Ou Yong Xuan Sheng, green bonds and ESG analyst at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
Initially, the taskforce will focus on three areas: The first is taxonomies and definitions. MAS and PBOC will work together under the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) to achieve interoperability between Singapore's and China's taxonomies.
Nicolas Moreau, global chief executive officer of HSBC Asset Management, welcomed efforts to create a common taxonomy. “I think it's a very good initiative and very positive [for investors],” he told AsianInvestor.
Second, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and China International Capital Corporation will work together to strengthen sustainability bond market connectivity between the two countries, including tissuances of and mutual access to green and transition bond products in both markets.
SGX and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, for example, successfully established ETF links and started ETF cross-listings in late 2022.
The third focus area is encouraging the development of digital green bonds.
Even as it strives for carbon neutrality by 2060, China is already the world’s largest issuer of green bonds.
In 2022, China issued the highest level of green bonds -- totalling $76.2 billion -- aligned with the commonly accepted global definition, the International Capital Market Association's Green Bond Principles.
Germany came next with $60.8 billion, according to Climate Bonds Initiative.
“From a capacity building and capital flow perspective, for us [in Singapore] to be able to access some of the green bonds or securities [in China] through SGX could be very interesting, which means lower cost,” Ou Yong told AsianInvestor.
“You don't really have to do it through the Hong Kong Connect, that's definitely a good thing for local asset owners and local asset managers [in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia],” he said.
Under the taskforce, Singapore’s digital exchange platform Metaverse Green Exchange and Beijing Green Exchange will also leverage technology to promote sustainable finance, including piloting of digital green bonds with carbon credits.
Digital green bonds are very niche as of now, utilising blockchain technology to tokenise issuances.
Trading proceses such as settlement and coupon payments can be executed more quickly.
Hong Kong has already started to experiment in this arena: In February, the goverment offered HK$800 million ($102 million) of one-year tokenised green bonds at a coupon rate of 4.05%.
It was the world’s first government-issued tokenised green bond, or digital green bond.
HSBC AM's Moreau is particularly supportive of the digital bond initiative.
“If you can access green bonds through digital ways, that's going to be great. It will make green bonds more accessible,” he told AsianInvestor.
HSBC is part of the four-bank syndicate that distributes Hong Kong government's digital green bond.
The other three are Bank of China (Hong Kong), Crédit Agricole CIB, and Goldman Sachs.

domain: geography


text:
Ngata, Apirana Turupa
Apirana Turupa Ngata, c. 1905.
General Assembly Library: Parliamentary Portraits Collection/Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand (Reference Number: 35mm-00094-D-F). Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image
Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata
You have successfully emailed this.
Error when sending the email. Try again later.

domain: library


text:
NBA trade rumors: Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs
NBA trade rumors suggest that Josh Smith might be traded after all before the deadline. The Atlanta Hawks power forward has been the subject of constant speculations of a trade with Phoenix Suns. The Suns have reportedly created a package for an exchange trade of Smith, which includes center Marcin Gortat, shooting guard Jared Dudley and a possible first-round pick.
Gortat is averaging 11.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while Dudley averages 11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. Both the players are under contract with the Suns, so the trade might not be a problem. With Suns wanting to rebuild their team, it will be interesting to see, who will be the first-round pick in the package.
Josh Smith will become a unrestricted free agent after this season, so the Suns might need to convince him to stay after his contract expires. Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly looking at options for Derrick Williams before the deadline comes to an end. Point guards, Luke Ridnour and J.J. Barea are also reported to be on the trade floor.
San Antonio Spurs have reportedly entered the bidding process of Orlando Magic shooting guard, J.J. Redick. Spurs would benefit with the trade of Redick, who is averaging 15.2 points and 4.4 assists in 31.6 minutes per contest this season, which are the shooting guard’s best statistics of his career.
The Spurs are placed fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage and with the addition of Redick they might just excel on the floor making it difficult for the other teams.

domain: news


text:
Why You Should (probably) Eat Breakfast
Admittedly, I am not always good at consistently making time for breakfast. But I am always trying to work on solidifying this habit, and “always trying” to improve anything about ourselves is usually good enough for me.
The research likes to jump around when it comes to whether or not we all should be breakfast eaters. As with anything I teach in my practice, we have to be careful about buying into new research headlines that disengage us from staying curious and in tune with our own bodies and what they ask of us.
If you don’t eat breakfast but your health is soaring and you're positively vibrant and full of life energy, then I probably won't tell you that you need to change anything. However, for most of us this unfortunately isn't the case. Only then is it worth exploring the nature of our day-to-day lives in the hopes of identifying where our health might benefit from some gentle life changes.
If you're like me and ever struggled with overeating in the late afternoon or evening, I would probably argue that incorporating a balanced breakfast into your morning routine can work wonders. A solid breakfast packed with protein, fat and plant food (fruits! veggies!) serves to rev up our metabolism in the morning following the literal "fast" we enter into while we sleep. It's called “BREAK(the)FAST” for a reason!
When we sleep, our metabolism slows WAY down and eating in the morning sends a signal to the body that food is available (yay!), it's ok for our metabolism to rev up again, that our body can stop looking towards our lean muscle as fuel (which is what happens when we sleep), and turn it's attention toward burning fat all day long.
Eating consistently also stabilizes our blood sugar, which stabilizes our mood, which equals you feeling good for your family and coworkers versus showing up to work tired and cranky with that vente four-pump mocha latte in hand. In fact one of the worst things you can do for your metabolism, your energy, your mood, (and ultimately your waist-line), is start your day with sugar (think sweetened coffee beverages, pancakes and syrup, sweet fruit smoothies with added sugar, breakfast cereal…).
My go-to breakfasts are usually very simple, with a focus on protein and fat. Carbohydrates from starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes or fruit are always welcome additions as well. Think eggs with sweet potato hash, or eggs over sautéed greens. Green smoothies with a healthy dose of fat from coconut or nut butters is another staple. I’ve posted my favorite green smoothie recipe below.
To save time I’ll also tend to prepare things like meat patties and boiled eggs before the week starts so there’s always a grab-and-go option available (as pictured in the photo above). Putting your smoothie ingredients in the blender the night before, or having chopped veggies ready to go for a scramble can help too.
And the ultimate easy breakfast…. leftovers. Breakfast can be anything if we redefine what our idea of what “breakfast food” should look like.
Green Breakfast Smoothie
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 medium banana
1/2 cup coconut milk (the full-fat canned version)
1 handful (about 1/2 cup) raw spinach
1 handful (about 1/2 cup) raw kale
1 tablespoon almond butter (look for raw, sprouted)
Throw ingredients in a high-speed blender for about 1 minute, or until smooth. Add a handful of ice cubes for a colder smoothie.
Take the time (if you can) to sit down, relax, breath and enjoy.


text:
Information before you go
Bali Kuta Beach and its nearby beaches are located in the south of the island, just where it becomes narrow. The majority of the travelers spend the largest part of their holidays on the island here.
Which theoretically is not surprising considering these beaches are perfect for sunbathing, swimming and surfing. So what else do you need? Unfortunately like its villages, these beaches are suffering from the irresponsible tourist development and hence piles of garbage along the coast is a common scene.
View of the most famous beach in Bali
This problem isn't only from the large crowds visiting these beaches but at certain times of the year the current of the sea brings massive amount to garbage and dumps it right on the beach. Often it is so much that bulldozers need to sweep it up.
Hotels and other organizations like Coca Cola and Quicksilver organize cleaning projects throughout the year in order to keep the beaches spick and span. But if you are unlucky these beaches might not be as attractive as you thought it would be.
We are not saying that you should avoid these beaches at all cost. Generally they are still perfect holiday beaches and we love to go their for a stroll along the long sandy beach while watching the famous Kuta sunsets or to go swimming and surfing.
If you plan to go swimming too you should be careful though and look out for the flags on the beach. If they are red, don't go in. The strong current can be very dangerous. Swim between the yellow-red flags only. Fortunately there are also lifeguards on watch here.
The beaches in the south of Bali are listed here clockwise:
Sanur beach is definitely one of those beaches that fit into the list of beautiful beaches on the island.
It’s also the friendliest beach for travelers with disabilities because there’s a walk path that runs for miles on end along the beach. It’s ideal for renting a bike or to do some jogging even though it looks like there’s no end in sight...
The beach with Gunung Agung in the back
If you’re an early riser you can see the sun come up behind the island of Nusa Penida, which is located just 30 minutes by speed boat from the Hang Tuah harbor in the northern part of the beach.
You can see all the way to Padang Bai and the majestic Gunung Agung Mountain, which the Balinese believe is the place where the gods live.
It’s pretty funny to know that the beach is not what it seems to be. When you walk along the beach of Sanur you will only see beautifully sand. But don’t believe what your eyes see...
In reality the beach is volcanic black just like the other beaches along this coast.
The boats are ready to take you on a trip…
The ex-president of Indonesia, Sukarno changed the color of the beach and brought in truckloads of white sand to cover the black volcanic sand.
You can see it yourself. Just walk all the way to the Hang Tuah harbor and continue walking for 10 minutes along the boulevard and you will see the original color of the beach at the fishermen village...
Nevertheless, this nice beach is what makes Sanur a popular holiday destination for travelers from all over the world.
The reef is about 1km from shore, so at the beach the water is very calm. Surfers can rent a boat to the reef instead of paddling all the way. The best season to surf is in the rainy season, between January and March when the winds come from land.
Enjoy having food and drinks right on Sanur beach
Swimmers can enjoy some swimming closer to shore. However, there are areas where there is a lot of seaweed, which makes walking in the water very uncomfortable. Luckily the numerous up-scale resorts along the beach have found a solution...
They’ have cut away strips of seaweed so you can go for a swim or wade in the water with ease.
On the beach you will also find a lot of colorful boats (called jukung) and the boatmen would love to sail you around the lagoon or all the way to the reef or Serangan turtle island, south of Sanur.
Local Warungs are luckily still found along the beach...
Other water activities at Sanur beach are snorkeling and diving at Lebongan and Nusa Penida, para-sailing, sea kayaking, jet-skiing and fishing.
Sanur beach also has lots of good restaurant, souvenir shops that sell everything and massage ladies who are willing to show you their massage techniques.
Over the years Kuta and Tuban seemed to have emerged into one big village. Hotels claim they are located at Kuta but in reality they are in Tuban.
You can easily walk from Tuban to Kuta beach
Tuban beach is similar to Kuta beach except for one important detail: the crowd. There aren't many people here resulting in a very quiet large stretch of beach with here and there a fishing boat. It feels a bit strange considering the beach just 500m further away is packed plus there are a couple of huge resorts located at Tuban beach. Nevertheless this beach feels abandoned.
We won't be surprised that this will change over the years. But if you prefer a beach more to yourself you should definitely consider this one. It is located nearby the airport, so an ideal beach to hang around before your flight leaves.
At Tuban beach you can still find traditional fishing boats
The first time I arrived at this famous beach was in 2002 and at that time already I had to rub my eyes a couple of times to check if I wasn’t on the Costa Blanca in Spain.
The beach is crowded with tourists from every corner of the planet, from Sweden to Japan and with vendors selling ice cream, drinks, souvenirs and massage ladies who won't take no for an answer that easily..
At the end of the day the beach in Kuta is great place to watch the sunset...
However it has not always been like this. Before the 1970’s Kuta was just another quiet and poor fishing village with just a couple of farms situated under palm trees.
Only in the past did it play a role. Around 600 years ago the Javanese General Gajah Madah invaded Bali at Kuta and built a fort (fort means kuta) to defend the area from other invaders.
Later it became an important port for the Balinese slave trade and when the Dutch colonized Bali, Kuta became the place where their ships were repaired and supplied with stocks.
Rent a surf board and learn how to surf...
In the 1930’s Muriel Pearson started the first hotel of Kuta but later sold it to a young Californian surfer and his wife, Bob and Louise Koke, who named it the Kuta Beach Hotel. This hotel still exists and today you can find more backpacker hostels and massive resorts on this beach strip.
In the 1960’s hippies and adventurers started to arrive in search for some more flower power, unlimited supply of mushrooms and the relaxed lifestyle under the palm trees at the wide and long sunny beach. From then on, this stretch of sand was put on the tourist map and until today it still continues to attract a crowd.
Not only is this beach still the place for a relaxed lifestyle but is also famous for one of the best sunsets on the entire island. It’s already a busy beach but between 5pm-6pm it gets even busier with people carrying cameras and tripods.
Surfing is the activity here and you can find numerous Balinese surf instructors who love to teach you on how to surf. The breaks are perfect for first-timers and the water is shallow, so you can jump on your board in no-time.
Behind the third wave it gets dangerous so don’t try to swim here, many tourist have drowned here due to the strong underwater currents. Check out the flags on the beach too, before entering. Don’t go in if they are red...
My first surfing lesson...
If this beach is too busy for you, you can always walk towards the beach in Seminyak. You can even take a really long walk to Canggu or Bali's famous temple Tanah lot, which is 13km from Kuta. You do have to pass several river gullies though. So be prepared to get wet feet.
Legian beach is a bit quieter (but still quite busy) than its connecting beach in Kuta. Here you find less massage ladies, ice cream vendors, hawkers, surf instructors and Javanese men and students making pictures of foreign tourists in bikini ;-)
It is still perfect to stroll along the beach, feel the sand between your toes and let the water wash it away.
Not only is the beach less crowded, but you’ll be far away from the busy traffic noise. Unlike its popular neighboring beach, the beach in Legian is connected to a walkway. So you can comfortably stroll all the way from Legian towards Seminyak.
This picture was taken in 2008. Check the next picture to see how it is now...
Rows of red umbrellas dominate Legian Beach Bali now...
You can also go surfing in Legian. It is less crowded in the water compared to Kuta, so you will probably have more waves to yourself here.
At night there is still enough to do at the beach. Along the walkway, at Double Six there are many beautifully decorated restaurants and bars that serve good food and cocktails.
It’s a nice place to sit till late in the evening while enjoying the cool evening breeze coming straight from sea.
But towards the north of Legian Beach it remains quiet...
One of our favorite restaurants in Legian is located here as well. At Tekor Bali they serve mouth-watering dishes in a great atmosphere, again with stunning view on the ocean...
Seminyak beach is located just north of Kuta and Legian. You can easily walk along these three beaches in 30 to 40 minutes. A great thing to do when the sun is just about to set.
The sunsets here are truly amazing...
Entrance to Seminyak beach Bali
The sand and water at this popular beach are similar to Kuta and Legian, but the beach itself is more quieter. Not only is there a much smaller crowd, but there are also less hawkers, a few restaurants and no noise of traffic at Seminyak beach.
All you will see are sun loungers which are rented out or specially placed for hotel guests, such as the Sofitel hotel. Other then that, the only place where you will spot a crowd is at the couple of restaurants.
Surfing or sunbathing at the beach are the main activities here
There might be only two restaurant located right at Seminyak beach, but they are also the most popular in the area. First of all you have La Luciola, an italian restaurant with view on the beach.
And secondly there is Ku de Ta, a restaurant & lounge which you can't miss when strolling along the beach.
During the day a trendy crowd flock here to enjoy the sun, drinks and food accompanied with music. At night this place turns into a busy place where people from all over the island come together to enjoy a party in the evening together.
Enjoying a stroll along the beach...
But other than that, Seminyak beach Bali is pretty deserted compared with Kuta. Most people who are staying in the luxurious villas in Seminyak tend to spend their days here under the tropical sun...
Seminyak is also a good spot for some surfing. The waves are similar to those in Kuta, but again is less crowded here. The best time to go is late in the afternoon just before sunset.
For swimmers, please be careful and check out what color flag has been put out. If it is red, don't go in even if you are a good swimmer. When I was there I heard that a couple of days before someone had drowned because he unexpectedly got pulled down by a current.
So just be patient and wait till everything is clear before running in...
Canggu beach Bali is about 8 kilometers north from Kuta and is becoming more and more popular among travelers who want to spend their holiday in Bali. A couple of years ago Canggu beach was mainly popular among surfers only.
The beach is deserted if there are no waves
However over the years space in Kuta, Legian and Seminyak became limited resulting in the construction of many new private villas and accommodation in Canggu.
There are also more an more restaurants opening up, making it quite easy to stay in Canggu for a couple of days.
Canggu Beach is ideal if you find Seminyak too crowded to stay but do want to head over there every now and then during the day....
The water at Canggu is quite dangerous for swimming. You should ask around to get more information on swimming and the surf condition. There are probably some local surfers there who can tell you what you want to know.
Seseh beach is pretty much as Canggu beach was a couple of years before: deserted and underdeveloped. Hopefully it will remain as it is for a long time. The beach is really nice and the waves are definitely good for surfing.
Seseh is really easy to find. If you head towards Tanah Lot there is a clear sign at a traffic light pointing towards Seseh beach. It is still a long ride to the beach though. There is not much along the road: rice fields and a few huge villas. That’s it.
The whole beach all to yourself...
The beach is at a fishing village where you can see rows of boats. There are no restaurants or warungs at Seseh beach, so remember to bring your own food and drinks.
This is definitely the place for people who are just looking for one thing: a great place to surf. You might be the only one there, so you’ll have the waves all to yourself...
If you head more towards the south you will find a different range of beaches. Dominated by cliffs and high waves, these beaches attract a lot of surfers.Read more
Ever wanted to try out surfing? It looks difficult but after only one lesson you will soon realize that standing on a board can be done by young and old.Read more
Besides being the most visited temple in Bali it is also the most photographed. Depending on the time of day the temple can look different every time.Read more
Now and then people send us inspiring emails and this generates even more enthusiasm to share all of the things we know about this lovely island in the hope that you can plan your tropical holiday properly and have as such a great time as we always have. Hope to see you there!
When I wrote the mail I never really expected a reply. I might have expected a computer generated but never a personally written one. The information you provided is invaluable, thank you so very much. I have been using your website as a bible through Bali. Through your recommendation, I will be heading to Ubud then follow the sightseeing route to the coast of Candidasa.
WOW...what an awesome website. I could only dream that there would be a website like this for all our travel destinations! You guys have done an fabulous job and now, I am sooo excited about our upcoming trip to Bali. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure Bali was the place for us considering some of the travel warnings (we are Americans). But I can tell from your experiences that the Bali people are so very kind and peaceful.
hi and congratulations on the blog it s brilliant and helpful....we are going to Bali in September with my family (including 2 little girls) so we need to have nice spaceous rooms garden and pool access rooms preferably in Semikyak but not too far from it all...I hope you can recommend a great place thats not full of Australian crowds as we like meeting people from other countries.
Hi, I have been travelling for years and I want to say that this website is the best I have EVER come across. It is easy to navigate, it is really descriptive, gives all the info that you could ever want and is accompanied by the best photos and advice. GREAT.

domain: travel


text:
I was so excited to find these at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show! These Healing Light Quartz Pendants are so fun and channel the healing effect of light energy. When you twist these, they light up green – the color of healing Heart Chakra energy. Combined with the Soul Star Chakra emanation of clear quartz, this adornment is an attention-grabbing and magnifying piece of bling! A new design and incredibly unique, this LED-lighted custom-made pendant comes on a sparkling silvery chain and can be turned off and on depending on when you want to connect with the regenerative effect of light energy.
The deeper magic of these Healing Light Quartz Pendants
Clear quartz is the gem of magnification, intensification, and sealing of spells or intentions, and these Healing Light Quartz Pendants are ideal for holding that vibration. Because of its magnifying and intensifying frequency, clear quartz can be used to enhance the powers of other gems and tools and to hold sacred space. You can also program quartz to act like any other gem – it’s the only gem in the mineral world with this ability. Clear quartz embodies white spiritual light and activates the Soul Star Chakra. This energy center, often referred to as the seat of the soul, resides about twelve inches above your head, and serves as your portal to the stars and other dimensions. When you activate your Soul Star Chakra, you can go deeper into who you truly are – an infinite, radiant being. A star among stars. Set an intention and infuse it into your Healing Light Quartz Pendant and let the manifestation magic unfold! Harness that power in this dazzling and beautiful piece and let yourself be bathed in healing green light wherever you go.
Enjoy — another stunning treasure from Denver!
This listing is for one (1) Healing Light Quartz Pendant (about 1.5”) that comes with a silvery chain. Yours will arrive lovingly parceled along with a single leaf of white sage and a card describing the properties of the stone.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Charge your tools with orgone energy on my custom Orgonite Charging Plate.
Anoint your crystals and gemstone jewelry with my SG Anointing Blend.
Want to learn more about gems, minerals, and crystal healing? Join our private Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/GemHaven
Want to learn more about perfume and aromatherapy? Join our private Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/SGPerfumery

domain: hobby


text:
Our oceans are full of beauty and wonder, a separate world waiting for us to explore its mysteries and stir our imaginations. Bring the wonders of the underwater world to your desktop with our Ocean Life Wallpaper collection.
Note: Click on the picture to see the full-size image—these wallpapers vary in size so you may need to crop, stretch, or place them on a colored background in order to best match them to your screen’s resolution.
More Ocean-Based Goodness for Your Desktop
For more great wallpapers make sure to look through our terrific collections in the Desktop Fun section.


text:
Air pollution is the transfer of harmful materials into the atmosphere as a direct or indirect consequences of human activity.
Atmosphere is divided into four zones:
1. Troposphere: 11km to 16km thick Temperature Lapse rate: 5º C/km. 0 to -80ºC
Aeroplanes fly in this zone
Vapour, clouds, storms present
About ¾ of total weight of atmosphere lies in this zone
2. Stratosphere: Temperature slightly increases in this zone.– 80ºC to 0ºC The increase in temperature is due to absorption of U.V. radiation in stratosphere. Ozone concentration 5 ppm.
3. Mesosphere: temperature decreases from 0ºC to – 110º C atmosphere is windy and turbulent. Too little water vapour for clouds to form.
4. Thermosphere: Temperature increases indefinitely.
1. Natural sources: volcano, forest fire, dust storms.
2. Human beings
3. Stationary sources: power plants, residential heating coal, gas, oil.
4. Mobile sources: vehicles
Produced by burning of organic material. Automobiles are biggest source. Cigarette smoke is another major source. It is toxic because it binds to hemoglobin, reduces oxygen in blood. It is not a persistent pollutant, it combines with oxygen to from CO2.
Produced by burning sulfur containing fossil fuels, coal burning power plants are major source. Reacts in atmosphere to produce acids. It is one of the major components of acid rain when inhaled, can be very corrosive to lung tissue. Main culprit for Asthma.
3. NOx : Produced from burning of fossil fuels. Contributes to acid rain, mog. Automobile engine is main source New engine technology has helped to reduce but still needs to improve.
4. Hydrocarbons: These are compounds with hydrogen and carbon. These are from incomplete burning or evaporated from fuel supplies. Major source is automobiles, but some from industry. Contribute to mog.
Improvements in engine design have helped to reduce.
5. Particulates: Small pieces of solid materials & liquid droplets. Ex. Ash, asbestos, dust etc. can accumulate in lungs and interfere with ability of lungs to exchange gases. Some are carcinogens. Those working in dusty conditions at highest risk. RSPM respirable suspended particulate matter PM-1 having size <= 1 mm effect alveoli PM- 2.5 effects trachea, PM-10 effects nasal part only
1. Ozone: Ozone ( O3) is highly reactive gas composed of tree oxygen atoms. It is both a natural and a manmade product that occurs in the earth’s upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) and lower atmosphere (the troposphere). Tropospheric ozone what we breathe is formed primarily from photochemical reactions between two major classes of air pollutants, volatile organic components (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx)
2. PAN (Peroxy Acetyl nitrate): Smog is caused by the interaction of some hydrocarbons and oxidants under the influence of sunlight giving rise to dangerous PAN
3. Photochemical Smog: It is a mixture of pollutants which includes particulates, nitrogen oxide, ozone, aldehydes, PAN, unreacted hydrocarbons etc. The smog often has a brown haze due to presence of nitrogen dioxide. It causes painful eyes.
4. Aerosols and mists: Aerosols and mists are very fine liquid droplets that cannot be effectively removed using traditional packed scrubbers. These droplets can be formed from gas phase hydrolysis of halogenated acids (HCl, HF, HBr), metal halides, organ halides, sulphur trioxide ( SO3) and phosphorous pentoxide ( P2O5)
Air pollution effects: 1. CO: Headaches, reduced mental alertness, heart attack.
2. SO2: Eye irritation, wheezing, lung damage.
3. NO2 : Respiratory infections.
4.O3 : Eye and throat irritation, asthma, lung damage.
5. Lead: Anemia, high BP, brain and kidney damage, cancer.
6. Particulate matter: Eye irritation, asthma, lung damage.
1. Source control technology: Air quality management sets the tools to control air pollutant emissions control measurements describe the equipment, processes or actions used to reduce air pollution. The extent of pollution reduction varies among technologies and measures. The selection of control technologies depends on environmental, engineering, economic factors and pollutant type.
2. Settling chambers: Settling chambers use the force of gravity to remove solid particles. The gas stream enters a chamber where the velocity of the gas is reduced. Large particles drop out the gas and are collected in happens. Because settling chambers are effective in removing only larger particles they are used in conjunction with a more efficient control device.
3. Cyclones: The general principle of inertia separation is that the particulate. Laden gas is forced to change direction.
As gas changes direction, the inertia of the particles causes them continue in the original direction and be separated from the gas stream. The walls of the cyclone narrow toward the bottom of the unit, allowing the particles to be collected in a hopper. The cleaner air leaves the cyclone through the top of the chamber, flowing upward in a spiral vortex, formed within a downward moving spiral. Cyclones are efficient in removing large particles but are not as efficient with smaller particles. For this reason they are used with other particulate control devices.
4. Venturi scrubbers: Venturi scrubbers use a liquid stream to remove solid particles. The air and water are allowed to pass through a venture kind of narrow tube so the velocity increase and particulate matter mixed with water and at end they will drop because of less velocity. There are effective in removing small particles with efficiency of up to 99%.
5. Electrostatic precipitators: An ESP is a particle control device that uses electrical forces to move the particles out of the flowing gas stream and onto collector plates. The ESP places electrical charges on the particles, causing them to be attracted to oppositely charge mental plates located in the precipitator. The particles are removed from the plates by rapping and collected in a hopper located below the unit.
6. Fabric filters: They remove dust from a gas stream by passing the stream through a porous fabric. The fabric filter is efficient at removing fine particles and can exceed efficiencies of 99%.
Control of gaseous pollutants: 1. Absorption 2. Adsorption 3. Condensation 4. Incineration
1. Absorption: It is a process in which a gaseous pollutant is dissolved in a liquid.
2. Adsorption: When a gas or vapour is brought into contact with a solid, Part of it is taken by the solid. The molecules that disappear from the gas either enter the inside of the solid, or remain on the outside attached to the surface.
The former phenomenon is termed as absorption (Dissolution) and the latter adsorption.
3. Condensation: Condensation is the process of converting a gas or vapour to liquid.
4. Incineration: Incineration also known as combustion is most used to control the emissions of organic compounds from process industries.
Air pollution meteorology: Lapse rate: In troposphere the temperature of ambient air normally decreases with an increase in height.
The rate of change of temperature is called lapse rate. It differs from place to place and time to time. The prevailing large rate at a place at particular time is called environmental lapse rate (ELR) Adiabatic lapse rate: As the air parcel moves up, its temperature decreases as its own heat energy is expanded due to increase in the volume of the air parcel. Using the law of conservation of energy and gas laws, it has been possible to calculate the rate of decrease of temperature with height, called adiabatic lapse rate (ALR) Depending upon the relative positions of two lines ALR and ELR on the graph sheet, the stability of the environment is determined.
The rising parcel is always warmer then Atmosphere and it accelerate in going up.
Similarly descending parcel is always cooler than surrounding air and this also accelerate in coming down. The environment is unstable and dispersion of pollutants will be rapid. The prevailing ELR is called super adiabatic lapse rate.
In this case environment is said to be stable and the prevailing ELR is called sub-adiabatic lapse rate.
(C) ALR= ELR: The environment in such a case is neutral Negative lapse rate: In an unusual case, when the temperature of the environment increases with height, then lapse rate becomes negative from its normal state. Such a temperature inversions represents a highly stable environment.
There are two types of inversions: 1. Radiation inversion 2. Subsidence inversion
1. Radiation inversion: It happens when earth cools more rapidly than the air.
2. Subsidence inversion: It is associated with high pressure system and is caused by sinking of air in a high pressure area surrounded by low pressure area (anti-cyclone)
Plume types: Plume types are important because they help us understand under what conditions there will be higher concentrations of contaminants at ground level.
1. Looping plume: It has a wavy character and occurs in super adiabatic environment, which produce highly unstable atmosphere, because of rapid mixing.
2. Neutral plume: It is upward vertical rise of plume from stock. It occurs when ELR=ALR.
3. Coning plume: The neutral plume tends to cone when the wind velocity greater than 32Km/hr and it also occurs under sub adiabatic conditions.
4. Fanning plume: Occurs under large negative lapse rate. Extremely stable environment. The emission will spread only horizontally.
5. Lofting plume: They are created when atmospheric conditions are unstable above and stable below.
Pollutants go up into environment. Favorable plume.
6. Fumigating plume: Most dangerous plume. Contaminants are all coming down to ground level.
They are created when atmosphere conditions are stable above the plume and unstable below.
7. Tapping: Inversion is above and below the plume. Stable above and below.
National Ambient air quality standards: Pollutants Annual average daily average
|Pollutants||Annual average||daily average|
|1. SO2||60 mg/m3||80mg/m3|
|2. NO2||60 mg/m3||80mg/m3|
|3. SPM||1400 mg/m3||200mg/m3|
|4. Lead||0.75 mg/m3||1.0mg/m3|
|5. CO||2.0 mg/m3||84.0mg/m3|
|6. RPM||60 mg/m3||100mg/m3|
|1. What are the main sources of air pollution?|
|2. How does air pollution affect human health?|
|3. What are the environmental consequences of air pollution?|
|4. How can we reduce air pollution?|
|5. What are the short-term and long-term solutions to tackle air pollution?|

domain: chemistry


text:
Hat tip Creeping Sharia
On December 27, Dutch politician Geert Wilders was interviewed by the Dutch state media. While the interview is in Dutch, it is sub-titled in English. In the interview, Wilders answers questions about his attitude toward Islam as well as the subjugation of Dutch sovereignty by the EU and the issue of freedom. This clip last ten minutes.


CRUZTOOLS TIRE GAUGE
Reduce fuel consumption and tire wear and improve your bike's handling by keeping your tires properly inflated. CruzTOOLS has two ways to keep tabs on your pressure: a pocket-sized digital unit for $18 (batteries included) and a dial-type gauge with a 12-inch hose, brass fittings, and a protective rubber cover for $20.
PIPERCROSS AIR FILTER
Save money and reduce waste with a Pipercross air filter. Pipercross filters start at $50 and are infinitely washable and reusable. They even come with a lifetime warranty. The filters are made in the UK and use a layered, multi-density foam element that's said to offer increased protection and improved airflow compared to OE units.
SCOTTS OIL FILTER
This is the last filter you'll ever need to buy for your bike. Scotts reusable oil filters are made in the USA and feature machined-aluminum housings and medical-grade stainless-steel filter cloth, as well as magnets for pre-filtration purposes. Scotts filters are available for most street, dirt, and automotive applications and range in price from $70–$170.
MATRIX M28 OIL PAN
This handy oil pan makes it easier to collect, store, and transport used motor oil. The Matrix M28 oil pan has a 10-quart capacity, a low-profile design that fits easily under any bike, and stores upright to save space. It's made in the USA, from recycled plastic, nonetheless. Pick one up for $20 with free shipping.
VALVOLINE NEXTGEN OIL
The concept sounds questionable, but the science is sound: Valvoline's NextGen semi-synthetic motor oil is made from 50 percent used oil and exceeds all common SAE and API standards. Valvoline filters and then re-refines used motor oil, which saves energy and resources. Buy it by the quart for $9 a bottle. (The bottle is made from 50 percent recycled content, too.)


text:
Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The UK artist and mathematician Andy Lomas specialises in digital simulations of organic life forms. Borrowing from the mathematic principles that govern cell growth, his uncanny renderings expand and contort in surprising ways. Hybrid Forms: Cell Differentiation features digital multicellular morphogenesis: simulations of simplified cell types growing in tandem, revealing how complex patterns evolve from a simple starting point.
Video by Andy Lomas
Music: Max Cooper and Tom Hodge
Witness the majesty of moths taking flight at 6,000 frames per second
Jocelyn Bell discovered pulsars. The Nobel Prize went to her supervisor
Animals and humans
A bluesy ballad tells the story of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in the US
In this 1975 lecture, the maglev train’s inventor deconstructs his ingenious design
Meaning and the good life
To know or not to know? Lillian weighs the costs of a life-changing genetic test
Information and communication
There are many ways to make a flat map of the world – each of them a unique distortion
Liquid experiments show how beautiful things can happen when chemicals meet
What is it like to clean the world for tomorrow while the rest of a city sleeps?
Philosophy of mind
Caring for the vulnerable opens gateways to our richest, deepest brain states


text:
Friday, November 23, 2007
HISTORICAL MEETING IN EL PASO, TX TO DEVELOP POLICY PROPOSALS ADDRESSING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND BORDER SECURITY
Members of the US Congress, mayors, local elected officials, law enforcement chiefs, academics, faith and business leaders and community activists from all US-Mexico Border States are scheduled to participate at the Border Policy Conference
The immigration reform initiatives that Congress debated and failed to approve earlier this year completely ignored the views and experiences of border communities. It is possible to fix the immigration crisis without sacrificing national security, infringing the human rights of individuals, and disrupting bi-national commerce.
During the last few months the US/Mexico Border and Immigration Task Force fought to include several legislative initiatives in the immigration reform bills that were discussed in Congress. Now, in a collaborative effort, the Border Network for Human Rights, the Border Action Network and the Task Force are summoning local elected officials, law enforcement agencies, faith and business leaders, attorneys, academics and community organizations from all four US-Mexico border states, to develop immigration and national security policy that t considers a new “vision of the border”. The “new vision of the border” is rooted in the belief that effective border security must integrate community security, human rights protections, government accountability and economic integration.
On November 28 and 29, 2007, during the 2-day conference on border policy “Building a New Vision of the Border” in El Paso Texas, more that 150 participants will use their unique perspective of living in the border to discuss and develop new policy to address immigration and border security issues. The Task Force will be bringing together the opinions, expertise and insight of several sectors of border communities to present policy recommendations and testimonies on the current border security and immigration reform debate to members of Congress for possible inclusion in future legislation.
Who: US/Mexico Immigration Task Force members, federal, state and local elected officials, community activists, academics, lawyers and religious leaders
What: Press conference announcing the “Building a New Vision of the Border: a Conference on Border Policy”
When: November 28th 2007, at 12:00 p.m.
Where: 2nd Floor of the El Paso Camino Real Hotel
101 S. El Paso Street, El Paso, TX 79901
# # #
About the Texas/Mexico Border and Immigration Task Force: Includes members of the Border Human Rights Collaborative, local elected officials, community organizations, academics, lawyers, church and community leaders of border cities and counties in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
About the Border Human Rights Collaborative: The Collaborative includes Arizona-based Border Action Network and Texas and New Mexico-based Border Network for Human Rights.
For more information contact:
Fernando Garcia (Texas-New Mexico) 915.577.0722
Jennifer Allen (Arizona) 520.820.0360
Elhiu Domínguez (General) 915.492.1354


Brighter Futures programme, an initiative supported by the UK government, has launched the Thrive Online campaign, as part of efforts to curb the rising tide of cyber-related crimes in Nigeria.
The initiative also launched the Cancel Cultist campaign aimed at reducing cultism and other forms of serious organized crime in Nigeria.
The Thrive Online campaign aims to reach vulnerable youths and educate them on the dangers of cybercrime while providing alternative pathways to building sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking about the campaign, Mr. Oladokun Olajde, a mentorship coach on the campaign, stated that Thrive Online is a sustainable development campaign that addresses legitimate ways for youths to be financially independent, and the dangers of serious and organized crimes to themselves, their families, community and the image of the Country.
- Bayelsa gov’ship: Petroleum minister, Sylva resigns
- Nigeria records 82,000 maternal deaths annually – UNICEF
“We enlighten youths on their roles and responsibilities as citizens in making Nigeria a better place to thrive – both online and globally”, he was quoted saying in a statement issued by the management team of the campaign at the weekend.
Over the past decades, serious organized crimes (SOC), particularly cybercrime, has caused significant damage to individuals, families, and businesses in Nigeria.
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigerian banks lost N3.5 billion between July and September 2020 to fraud-related incidents, representing a 534-per cent increase from the same period in 2019, when it was N552 million.
As part of efforts to reduce SOC activities, the Nigerian government and several organizations have implemented various measures, including the Brighter Futures campaign, to mitigate the tide of cyber-related crimes in the digital space.
The Thrive Online campaign aims to complement these efforts by reaching vulnerable youths through a series of awareness events, radio talk shows, school mentorship programs, and community-based and social media influencers.
In the same vein, the Cancel Cults campaign launched in Bayelsa State would primarily focus on vulnerable youths and educate them on the dangers of cultism and provide alternative pathways to build sustainable livelihoods.
No fewer than 10,000 people have been killed in cult-related violence within and outside school campuses between 1996 and 2019, according to Exams Ethic Marshall International (EEMI).
The Cancel Cults campaign is adopting various strategies to reach vulnerable youths in Bayelsa State, including radio talk shows, awareness events, engagements in schools and communities, and social media influencers, the management stated.
Nigerians can now earn US Dollars by acquiring premium domain names, most clients earn about $7,000 to $10,000, all paid in US Dollars. Click here to learn how to start.


text:
Your search was: Ornithology | Wales
Your search matched 2 record(s). Numbers 1 to 2 are listed here. Use the navigation links to look at later or earlier matches if more than one page of results is shown. Results are listed alphabetically by institution name and collection title.
|1||National Library of Wales: 'Birds in Wales' Research Papers
The archive comprises general research papers (correspondence, printed materials, notes); and files on individual species....
|2||National Library of Wales: Idris Aeron, papers
Papers of Idris Aeron, 1931-1992, relating mainly to her equestrian and ornithological interests, including correspondence, 1948-1992; articles and letters to the press, 1931x1992; personal papers, 1941-1992, including some copies of biographical articles and autobiographical notes; diaries, 1954-19...


text:
Mystery Readers Journal had an issue a few years ago on Crime for the Holidays. What holiday could be more fitting to Mystery Fiction than El Dia de los Muertos: Day of the Dead?
Day of the Dead Mysteries
The Day of the Dead by John Creed
Days of the Dead by Barbara Hambly
Sugar Skull by Denise Hamilton
Dios De Los Muertos by Kent Harrington
Day of the Dead by J.A. Jance
Weave Her Thread with Bones by Claudia Long
The Day of the Dead by Bart Spicer
Any titles I missed?
Chocolate Banana French Toast: National French Toast Day - 1919 Advertisement for Log Cabin SyrupI love *French Toast: Pain Perdu* ... This wonderful food was a way to use up stale bread by dipping it in eggs and m...
19 hours ago


text:
1 of 28
Shop Ge 75 Watt Par38 Medium Base E 26 Soft White
Well, here is Bulb For Outdoor Light portrait that we all elect for your zest. Please watch close till you might could make decision to use it or not to your project.
Bulb For Outdoor Light, Kitchen Sink Offset Drain Left How To Clean Kitchen Granite Countertops Unusual Kitchen Light Fixtures Sherwin Williams Kitchen Paint Colors Cost Of Interior Designer For Kitchen Weinstein Supply Bath And Kitchen Tops Kitchen Cabinets & Granite Kitchen Renovation Los Angeles Amerock Kitchen Cabinet Hardware .
This home decoration post, Alane Ruland has built consideration selection of Bulb For Outdoor Light in order it relieve you to find superlative house decor inspiration.

domain: design


text:
Imphal: Manipur joined nationwide RTI week celebration today. The Water Resources and Relief & Disaster Management minister Awangbow Newmai, inaugurated Right to Information week celebration 2023, today at the auditorium of DIPR, Nityaipat Chuthek, Keishampat, Imphal.
Manipur Information Commission organised the event under the aegis of Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, government of India, New Delhi with the objective of popularising the RTI Act, 2005.
Addressing the gathering, minister Awangbow Newmai said that the Right to Information Act is an important Act and as India is the largest democratic country, this Act will help in bringing transparency and accountability for good governance. He maintained that we need to control misuse of RTI Act for personal gains. Minister Awangbow continued that the Right to Information Act is very important as every individual has the right to know the different activities and functioning of the government.
He said that this act was made for more public participation and to strengthen the government in state and nation building. Sharing his knowledge on RTI, additional chief secretary MH Khan said that a society has to be transparent. Development of any society will be fruitful and better if there is transparency as far as possible, he added.
In connection with the celebration, a state level workshop was also held. Advocate D Ch Narendra Singh and Rinku Khumukcham, editor of the Imphal Times were the resource persons of the workshop. State Chief Information Commissioner Oinam Sunil Singh, officials of the department and students also took part in the event.

domain: law


text:
What is cognitive dissonance?
Cognitive dissonance is a powerful tool which can be used to motivate us in various ways. As a concept, it is best explained through an example. Think about the following statement- ‘it is important that people give blood so that blood banks can be adequately supplied’. This is probably something that you agree with. Now ask yourself- do I regularly give blood? If you are reading this and do, you should feel pretty good about yourself . However, if you’re reading this you do not then you’re probably feeling a slight sense of unease. This response is the essence of cognitive dissonance – a feeling that one aspect of ourselves does not fit with another. But how does it work, and how can we harness it?
How does cognitive dissonance work?
Researchers such as Leon Festinger recognise that we have a drive towards internal balance or ‘consistency’1. Cognitive dissonance is a result of an inconsistency between one aspect of ourselves and another. When we have a thought (giving blood is important) and a behaviour (we do not give blood) which don’t balance, we experience cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance can involve a imbalance between past and present behaviours or what we believe and what we do. It can also be caused by what we think/do and what other people (that we like) think about those actions. When we experience cognitive dissonance we also experience a drive to restore balance. In the context of the example above, this would involve either deciding the giving blood isn’t so important after all (so our attitude matches our original behaviour) or changing our behaviour (so action matches our original attitude).
From theory to practice…
Cognitive dissonance is a pretty simple principle, but one which can have quite powerful impacts on motivation. If there is a a particular behaviour you want to be motivated to achieve, you are likely to shift your attitude in favour of it. Perhaps more usefully, if you strongly endorse a set of attitudes then you are likely to also be highly motivated to behave in line with them. Equally, if we behave in particular way in the past response the situation, we reduce cognitive dissonance by behaving the same way again (this is part of the reason we recognise the importance of having have virtuous cycles of forming positive habits, or vicious cycles where for negative ones). It is a powerful tool – cognitive dissonance has been shown to influence our behaviours in all sorts of areas, ranging from the very public (i.e. how we speak to people of different ethnic backgrounds) to the relatively private (such as condom use)2,3 – so how do we make the most if it?
To use cognitive dissonance, try and use your attitudes to shape behaviour, and create situations where you try and avoid generating dissonance. How do we do this? The attitudes that we are most likely to remember and think about, and be motivated to avoid cognitive dissonance around, are those driven by our core values and beliefs. So, one way of harnessing cognitive dissonance is thinking about how the behaviour you are aiming for is in line with these (or how other behavioural choices are not congruent with your belief system). For example, if I want to try and give more to charity because I felt as important. So, I may reflect on how this behaviour is linked him with my spiritual beliefs. I may also reflect on the fact that not engaging in giving behaviour may challenge this important part my self-concept.
A little help from my friends…
We can also bring in other people to help us. In general, we are very aware of what other people think of us. We also have a drive to encourage other people to see us as internally consistent in our thoughts and behaviours. Because of this, we can motivate ourselves by making ourselves accountable for actions other people. One example of this is the practice of ‘book-ending’. When you book-end, you find someone you trust will hold you accountable to your actions and whose positive regard you value. You then discuss a plan of action with that person and agree a particular set of behaviours that you will undertake (this is a form of goalsetting, which also helps motivation). You then fix a timescale in which you report back to that person to let them know how the behaviours turned out. This effectively increases the amount of cognitive dissonance that you incur if you fail to follow through in several ways. First, you would generate dissonance between your attitude and behaviour. Secondly, there would be dissonance between your behaviour and what you said you would do, and finally there’s distance between your behaviour towards the respected other and your attitudes towards them. If you are aware of these pressures were much more likely to try and avoid the dissonance by behaving in the way intended.
Not a cure-all…
Cognitive dissonance is a conscious process – we need to realise what our attitudes and values are, and recognise the way were behaving at the same time to generate dissonance (or decide to avoid it). So, anything you can do to remind yourself of your attitudes or values (particularly when in the situation where the decision as to what behaviour to pursue takes place) is likely to increase your desire to behave as you would like. So, to take the spiritual example above, if you have something which reminds you of your belief system present when making a decision then you are more likely to trigger that set of values, and motivate yourself to behave in line with them.
It’s worth remembering the cognitive dissonance (like everything) is not a quick fix nor a ‘hack’ which will impact your behavioural in all situations. In particular, dissonance requires some level of conscious/reflective thought- when you’re ‘in the moment’ and being driven by powerful emotions, when you’re low on energy which makes it hard to self-regulate, or when you simply behaving on autopilot, cognitive dissonance will have less of an effect on motivation.
How can I use this information to improve my motivation?
- Recognise the link between the values that drive you, your attitudes and your subsequent behaviours.
- Think about how your behaviours are congruent or in-congruent with your attitudes and values.
- Use visible reminders of the attitudes underpinning the behaviours you are motivated to undertake.
- Increase the level of dissonance that will be generated by publicly stating your goals (perhaps by book ending).
- Make sure you retain some flexibility – too much cognitive dissonance can make you feel negative.
- Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58, 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0041593 ↩
- Son Hing, L. S., Li, W., & Zanna, M. P. (2002). Inducing hypocrisy to reduce prejudicial responses among aversive racists. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1006/JESP.2001.1484 ↩
- Stone, J., Aronson, E., Crain, A.L., Winslow, M.P., & Fried, C.B. (1994). Inducing hypocrisy as a means of encouraging young adults to use condoms. Persoanlity and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 116-28. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0146167294201012 ↩

domain: psychology


text:
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – A Bay Area woman beat incredible odds to snag a table for two at what has been declared the best restaurant in the world, but she doesn’t have a date. She is deciding to take applications and more than 150 men have applied so far.
Stephanie Robesky has a reservation for two at the end of January at Noma, four-time winner of the Best Restaurant in the World award by Restaurant Magazine. It’s in Denmark, but for six weeks it will be open in Tokyo and that’s where Robesky has her reservation. 60,000 people applied. But she has other reservations.
“And as it has been coming up, I was sitting around, going, ‘Oh, I don’t really have anyone to go with,’” Robesky told KPIX 5.
And that’s where this story becomes the Bachelorette meets Top Chef. A foodie romcom.
“So I was sitting around with friends and I just thought it would be fun to put it on my website and open it up and see if anybody would maybe want to come with me,” she said.
About 160 people have emailed Robesky since she put the offer on the Nerd Girl website Friday, many who fit her profile. She is looking for a single man who lives in the Bay Area, age 28-46.
“Someone that is fun, intelligent, good looking, tall,” she said.
Even though it’s her birthday, Robesky said she will pay for dinner, that’s more than $500, for a meal that could include Reindeer moss, grasshopper slush, and live ants on yogurt. The date would pay for his airfare and room.
“I’ve had people from Singapore, Taiwan, Luxembourg, people in Tokyo that are originally from the Bay Area,” Robesky said, but she has ruled them out.


text:
What is the purpose of the FMLA?
What does the FMLA do?
Equity in the FMLA’s logic (what is logic?)
The Family and Medical Leave Act is designed to address employees’ need to balance their work duties with their own health needs or caretaking responsibilities for newborns and seriously ill family members. Research finds that parents’ ability to participate in their children’s healthcare leads to better child developmental outcomes, including faster recovery periods. Yet access to family and sick leave provided through employer policies is unequal. Low-skill, low-wage, racial/ethnic minority, female and immigrant workers are significantly more likely to have fewer employer-provided benefits, such as health insurance, and less time off. Some of these populations are also more vulnerable to health conditions, which means that they may be the most in need of, but the least likely to access worker benefits that can help address health issues.
The FMLA is federal legislation that increases access to medical and family leave from work by guaranteeing job protection for eligible employees. The FMLA seeks to promote gender equity in the workplace and in the home by providing job-protected leave for both men and women. Legislators envisioned that by encouraging both men and women to take family leave, the FMLA would reduce the incentive for employers to discriminate against female employees, who typically bear more family caregiving responsibilities. They also hoped that the opportunity to take job-protected leave would encourage men to participate more equally in parenting and caregiving responsibilities. Unfortunately, the unpaid nature of FMLA leave disproportionately hinders access to job-protected leave for low-wage workers. In this sense, the FMLA exacerbates existing inequities between already-vulnerable low-wage workers and other workers.
Back to top.
What is the FMLA?The FMLA is a federal labor standard passed in 1993 that establishes and upholds eligible workers’ rights to take unpaid, job-protected leave from work for select caregiving or medically-related reasons. Prior to the FMLA guarantee, a patchwork of state leave laws and employer leave policies existed across the United States. A 1996 Department of Labor (DOL) report to Congress found that few employers and states provided leave from work for all of the reasons covered by the FMLA or offered the same level of job protection and benefits continuation during leave. The report found that under state and employer leave policies before the FMLA, “the extent of leave available to employees prior to 1993 increased with firm size and for employees with higher levels of skill and income.” In addition, most employees had no access to maternity or paternity leave, and job protection for maternity, paternity and parental leave was uncommon. Policies allowing family leave to care for a seriously ill family member (such as a child, spouse or parent) were even rarer. The FMLA filled this gap by providing job-protected family (including parental) and medical leave to eligible employees across the nation. Importantly, the FMLA is not universal. About 60% of employees are eligible for FMLA leave; the remaining 40% are excluded due to FMLA criteria which do not cover employees who work for small businesses (fewer than 50 employees), who have worked for their employer for fewer than 12 months, or who worked less than 1,250 hours in the last year (see eligibility criteria for more information).
Back to top.
What is the purpose of the FMLA?The primary goals of the FMLA are to promote workers’ family leave-taking, employment stability and security, and work-family balance. The Act recognizes that parents’ ability to care for new children and sick family members is important for child development and family cohesiveness. Furthermore, employment policies that support parents’ caregiving roles are crucial given the increase in single parent households and two-parent households where both parents work. The Act recognizes that caregiving responsibilities are primarily born by women, but that labor standards applying to only one gender may lead to employment discrimination against that gender. Although not stated in the original legislative purpose of the FMLA, an additional consideration for improving access to medical/family leave is the aging of the U.S. population. The rising population of elderly people, for whom care is primarily provided by spouses and adult daughters, also requires flexible employment policies. A logic model of the FMLA visually presents the pathways through which labor standards and other factors are expected to influence family financial stability and child health outcomes.
FMLA logic also has several secondary goals, including increasing worker productivity and minimizing any employer-born costs or burdens stemming from its provisions.
Equity and Context:
FMLA legislation details several explicit equity goals. The Act is explicitly designed to minimize gender discrimination and promote equitable employment opportunities for men and women. It acknowledges that because of societal norms, caretaking responsibilities fall disproportionately on women, and so affect their working lives more than those of men. Prior to the passage of the FMLA, much of the effort around family leave policies focused on women. However, in 1984 federal district court ruling struck down a California maternity-leave law as sex discrimination against men. In response, many stakeholders came together to design a federal law that would not be considered discriminatory toward men. Thus, the FMLA arose from a push to reduce employment discrimination against women, but is explicitly gender neutral to withstand legal scrutiny. The gender neutrality of the FMLA equally promotes both men’s and women’s access to medical or family leave.
A second equity focus in the FMLA legislation involves health-vulnerable employees and families. The Act specifically acknowledges “inadequate” job security for employees with serious health issues. Workers’ employment stability is jeopardized if they are forced to risk losing their jobs due to their own serious health condition or to care for a newborn or a seriously ill family member. By guaranteeing job protected family or medical leave for eligible employees, the Act is designed to promote more equitable employment security for health-vulnerable workers and families. However, while the FMLA’s job protection may promote job stability, its unpaid nature may also put workers on leave in financially tight situations. Therefore, the Act is designed to address employment stability, but is less equipped to ensure financial stability for health-vulnerable families who cannot afford to take unpaid leave.
Interestingly, improved child and worker health are not actually listed as a primary or secondary goal in FMLA legislation. While it can be inferred that the FMLA goals of increased leave-taking and work-family balance for families with health needs are aimed at facilitating access to health services and improving health outcomes, the FMLA does not explicitly list health as a goal, nor are health outcomes measured in government-sponsored surveys of FMLA leave usage. This omission should be addressed since the FMLA clearly has important ramifications for the health of workers and their families.
In contrast to the explicit equity focus on gender and health-vulnerability, the FMLA does not acknowledge inequities in access to and use of leave for workers of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and racial/ethnic minority groups. Although these groups are less likely to have access to employer provided leave policies, the FMLA does not include an explicit nor implicit focus on improving outcomes for these vulnerable populations. The ramifications of this omission are visible in the FMLA’s implementation and effectiveness and severely hamper the legislation’s ability to positively improve equity in access to job-protected leave.
Back to top.
What does the FMLA do?The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave for a qualifying reason in any 12-month period. This means that after an employee takes FMLA leave, he or she must be allowed to return to the same or an equivalent position with the same pay and benefits. Importantly, if an employee is enrolled in employer provided group health insurance, the employer is required to maintain this benefit while the employee is on leave. The employer is not required to maintain other benefits during FMLA leave (such as life insurance, disability insurance, or pensions) unless the employer would grant such accruals for other types of leave. Eligible employees may take FMLA leave for the following qualifying family and medical reasons:
- The birth of a child and to bond with a newborn within one year of birth.
- The placement of an adopted child or foster-care child with the employee, and to bond with the newly placed child within one year of placement.
- To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
- An employee's own serious health condition that renders him/her unable to perform the essential functions of his/her job.
- Qualifying exigency leave: an urgent need arising from the foreign deployment of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter or parent on covered active duty that falls under one of the following nine categories: (1) Short notice deployment (notice of one week or less), (2) Military events and related activities, (3) Childcare and school activities, (4) Financial and legal arrangements, (5) Counseling, (6) Rest and recuperation, (7) Post-deployment activities, (8) Additional activities agreed to by both employer and employee, and (9) Parental care.
In the case of an employee’s own serious illness or that of a family member, the employee may take leave on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis, meaning that he or she may take time off in separate shortened blocks of time or in the form of a reduction in their regular work hours. Intermittent leave is only available to workers for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a new child if the employer’s approval is obtained.
In addition, an eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a service member in the military is entitled to take up to 26 workweeks of unpaid job-protected leave during a single 12-month period to care for the covered service member with a serious injury or illness. Click here for more information on FMLA leave for military families.
Equity and Context:
The FMLA promotes equity by targeting health-vulnerable families and addressing employment discrimination against women who are more likely to take leave to care for family members and are thus more exposed to job loss. However, the FMLA’s limited eligibility requirements (e.g., exclusion of workers in small firms) and the unpaid nature of the leave present access barriers to low-income workers. These barriers disproportionately affect Hispanic and black workers. The case of the FMLA illustrates that for a given policy, equity goals may be present for a particular subgroup (e.g., women) but not addressed for others (e.g., low-income). For more on issues around the unpaid nature of FMLA leave, click here.
- Qualifying Reasons for Leave Under the Family and Medical Leave Act: Defining a “Serious Health Condition” Under the FMLA
- Intermittent leave Under the FMLA
- FMLA Leave for Military Families: Military Caregiver Leave and Qualifying Exigency Leave
Back to top.

domain: sociology