First, I want to express my gratitude to fellow skeptics for allowing me to post to the NTS site. At this point I will take advantage of that privilege to express some personal thoughts. These are mine and do not necessarily represent those of the NTS Board of Directors.
The North Texas Skeptics is organized as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit educational and public service corporation. We do not get involved in politics, and officially we do not engage in religious disputes. That philosophy is not, however, a surrender flag on our intellect. Skeptics have always been and should always be able to call out religious stupidity.
While skeptics may step around religious statements of faith, there are still issues painted over by religion that we can and must dispute. If somebody tells us his faith in Jesus is a comfort to his life, then we nod, not necessarily approvingly, but knowingly. However, when statements about the creation of the universe, the age of the Earth, the origin of the human race conflict with known facts, skeptics must step up to the challenge. We have done that before.
All the while, skeptics must take care to understand that people of faith are not the natural enemies of truth. Science, and rational skepticism, have many friends in the world of faith. One of the staunchest defenders of modern theories of biology is Professor Kenneth Miller, author of biology text books and a reliable defender of biological evolution. His testimony against creationist arguments has been invaluable.
Yes, Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Bill Nye, who turned 60 last month, graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His popular show Bill Nye the Science Guy ran from 1993 to 1998 and went a long way toward popularizing science for young people. More recently he has taken his honed TV personality on the road, giving lectures, delighting audiences, and at the same time continuing to educate the public on science.
I saw this posting today on Facebook — that the incident happened isn't very surprising, but is it true that the Waco Tribune took down its story about it (mentioned at the bottom of this post)? I'd be interesting in knowing what really happened.
The story was published on April 6, 2006, and is still posted on our paid subscription website. Therefore, it's available only to readers who pay for access.
pressure, when in fact we have not.
I've copied the story from our site and am attaching it below for your reference.
Audience members who expected to see Bill Nye "The Science Guy" conduct experiments and wow their children received quite a surprise Wednesday when Nye spoke at McLennan Community College.
Nye instead addressed such topics as Mars exploration, global warming and energy consumption, particularly oil and gas. He even ruffled a few religious feathers along the way.
The problem came when Bill disputed the Genesis story of the creation of the sun and the moon as two great lights, one to do during the day time and the other to serve at night. Bill observed that the moon is not a light unto itself but serves only to reflect light from the sun. He could also have pointed out the moon shines during the day when its light is not needed, but that would have been superfluous.
Anyhow, some people objected to this as anti-religious and walked out. And the Tribune-Herald did not subsequently delete the story from their Web site. Like all their news, it eventually went behind their pay wall, as seen above.
And the Tribune-Herald did not pull the story in deference to the Science Guy. They could possibly have pulled it in deference to the fools who objected and walked out, but reputable news sources do not do this.
I have a separate blog that treats religious and political areas where the North Texas Skeptics must not venture. I do this so the NTS won't have to. In the mean time there is no area of religious irrelevancy I will not avoid on behalf of the North Texas Skeptics, and these observations will continue to be posted here.
Your drive could get shorter.
How come we did not see this one coming? How clueless can you get?
That was news. The last we heard the ICR was out in Santee, California. Did we miss something?
Creationist Henry M. Morris, Ph.D., formed the ICR as an offshoot from the Creation Science Research Center in 1972. Their principal entity previously was the Museum of Creation and Earth History in Santee. The museum featured dioramas recreating the story of Genesis and especially the flood of Noah. An upper level school was in the same building, and here students of a creationist bent were expected to achieve college-level training in science that conformed to Biblical teachings.
Founder Henry Morris died in 2006, and in 2007 the decision was made to relocate to Dallas because of its more central location and because Dallas offered logistical and demographic benefits. Ironically, Dr. Morris was a native of Dallas.
The move to Texas has meant starting the accreditation process over, meeting stiffer resistance in Texas (surprise). So far, Texas education officials have denied the ICR recognition of its degree program by a slim vote margin. The tussle continues.
The Institute for Creation Research, which teaches there's scientific proof that God created the earth in six days, is ready to expand its headquarters in Northwest Dallas, adding a museum and "3D planetarium" to its existing facility at Royal Lane and Luna Road. But first the proposed Dallas Museum of Science and Earth History needs to stop at Dallas City Hall.
There are a few road bumps on the ICR's path to museumship. The land at Luna and Royal is zoned for industrial research, meaning a variance will be needed from city zoning. Skeptics, will you join me in wishing the ICR the best of success. We can hardly wait to see this icon of human stupidity coming a short drive away. It's the kind of thing what gets us going in the morning.


text:
How to become a YouTube Partner?
YouTube is the biggest video platform in the world, and it has been for some time now. Many people go to YouTube to watch videos that other creators have made possible, and there are people who use YouTube as creators. Whether you are using YouTube as a creator or a consumer, it is quite imperative to be a user in this time and age. So, of course, it is worth questioning if you're not part of it yet.
YouTube partnerships are businesses that can monetize their content through ad revenue sharing. That means if you make a video about your business, you can share revenue with YouTube and get paid every time someone watches it. That's a great way to monetize your content while staying true to who you are!
If you have an audience that loves what you do and want more from you, this is a great way to grow your brand without spending money on ads. Plus, it's easy! Just upload your videos, set up an account, and get started. In essence, we are saying that this is the perfect time to be a YouTube partner.
As a YouTube partner, you'll be able to:
Schedule your videos for release at the time of your choosing (previously, this was done by YouTube)
If you love to be in control of things especially the time your content gets to be released, being a YouTube partner may be the best bet. Being able to schedule your videos for release at a time of your choosing is not something everyone enjoys. It was not a liberty YouTube users or partners enjoyed in the past. But being a YouTube partner in this time and age gives you this leverage, and if you ask us, it is a benefit worth jumping at!
Receive all revenue from ad revenue from your videos
Getting paid through YouTube takes a lot of work. You may need to engage in some rigorous marketing strategies. Some people buy YouTube watch time, and others buy YouTube subscribers to ensure that they rank high as YouTube creators. While these marketing strategies are essential, they do not guarantee automatic revenue. This is why you must cross all Ts if you want to earn income from being a creator on YouTube. Right now, being a YouTube partner is one of the things you need to do to ensure you earn more.
It is known among other creators that being a YouTube partner gives you an edge in many ways, and especially helps you earn ad revenue. This is the ultimate goal!
Increase the number of hours you're allowed to have ads on your channel
YouTube Ads are instrumental in helping you earn an income. As a YouTube creator, you should know that you get a better chance to earn from your YouTube channel when you are allowed to advertise for brands in the middle of your videos.
If you operate as an average YouTube creator, you may not get enough ad time to get you the revenue that you desire per post. However, being a YouTube partner changes the story. As a YouTube partner, you not only get the chance to decide your video schedule, but you also get to enjoy an increase in the hours you are allowed to have ads on your channel. If it is true that revenue comes from ads, you already know this means more revenue for you. This is a big deal!
Have access to tools for managing content and advertising in the YouTube Partner Center
As a YouTube creator, you would be as effective as the quality of the tools you have access to. This is why you are often advised to buy YouTube Watch Time or buy YouTube Subscribers from reliable a source. Believe it or not, doing either or both of these will always serve as important tools for marketing. And, of course, there are other tools that you need to be able to access which may be impossible to do if you are not a YouTube partner. This is why it is important to become one as soon as you can. The earlier you do this, the sooner you can begin to have access to all the tools that matter, and in turn, get closer to your goals as a YouTube creator.
From all indications, becoming a YouTube partner is a great aspiration to have. When you create your own YouTube channel, you will be able to help promote other smaller channels and earn some money through the advertisements that appear on your videos. It's a fantastic way to get paid for sharing your favorite videos with the world.
Have you ever wondered how to become a YouTube Partner? If so, you are not alone. Many people wonder just how this video-sharing site works, and even though the process of becoming a partner is quite simple, there are still many things that can make it harder for you.
This guide will explain to you how to become a YouTube partner. And, of course, the first thing is that you need to have some kind of connection with the YouTube community to do this in any serious way. This means you will have to put some effort into finding these communities or building your own. There are other ways to become a YouTube Partner. And yes, some of these ways have been mentioned below:
Be eligible
If you want to become a YouTube partner, you'll need to have a few things in place. First, you need to make sure that you're eligible for a partnership. YouTube partners are those who earn revenue from advertisements on their channels and also have an audience. You can check this out by visiting your channel's page on the video platform's site.
It is also important that you have never had to be banned on the account you would like to use as a partner. In addition, having more than 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months is as important as having a minimum of 1000 subscribers. You also need to have an AdSense account. Do you have all of these? Then you are eligible to be a partner. However, that is not all there is to it! Once you're done with that, it's time to do the following to pose as a potential partner.
Be an active user on YouTube
We know that you have had to be an active user on YouTube to gather that amount of watch time, and the number of subscribers. Nevertheless, this is the time for more! So, you should not shy away from being an active user on YouTube now that you desire to become a YouTube partner.
Watch, comment, and share videos regularly
Part of being an active user of YouTube is that you branch out of your personal YouTube account sometimes. While the crux of being active for partnership remains that you continue to actively create, you can also be active by engaging other creative content. Dropping comments under peoples' videos, and sharing videos that resonate with you.
Subscribe to Channels
In addition to watching other people's content, dropping a few comments, and sharing, it is also important that you are a subscriber. Subscribe to other YouTube channels that you can relate to as soon as you can. Use the YouTube Analytics Tool to find other people's content you might like (and subscribe to them)
Join the YouTube Partner Program
When you join the partner program, you get a better chance of becoming a partner than using any other ethos. And asides that, you also get creator support teams. Copyright match tool and monetization features. There are too many benefits attached to joining a YouTube partner program for you to ignore. So, you should certainly not ignore it.
Promote YouTube videos on your social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter)
Becoming a YouTube partner is great but the path to achieving such greatness is tasking, and rightly so. One of the things you must achieve before you become a partner is a popularity and respect as a YouTube creator. To become a household name on YouTube, there are a few things you should do. Of course, you should buy YouTube watch time or buy YouTube subscribers to grow your account. You do not need to stop at that, you also need to promote your videos on other social media accounts. This is a great way to increase subscribers and watch time too. Also, you should upload videos of yourself creating content you're proud of, or that you think your audience will enjoy (e.g., video blogging)
Come up with creative ways to promote your channel and earn revenue from it by offering sponsorship deals or other revenue-sharing opportunities with other content creators. You should also find a way to get more views on your channel by working with YouTube influencers who have large followings to promote your channel through their channels
Each of these steps is a simple one, and the process of executing it should be straightforward. Simply get started with some great content, keep your videos relevant and interesting, and work on driving traffic to your channel through a combination of searches, shares, views, and other methods. And if you follow these steps diligently, you'll make it not only easier for Google to rank your channel highly in search results but also for people to find the content you're posting.
If you're creative enough, make enough good content, build a large enough audience, gather powerful and convincing supporters to back your cause, and make them publicly known, then you'll most likely succeed in becoming a YouTube partner.
Clubhouse News
Instagram News
Linkedin News
Pinterest News
Reddit News
Spotify News
Tiktok News
Twitch News
Your Product was Successfully added in your Shopping cart!
Continue Shopping Pay Now

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


wish to know More info on Write our Essay Com?
Your topic phrase will be your initial impression and you also wish to ensure it is a beneficial one so make sure it grasps your audience straight away so that they are just as enthusiastic about what you're planning to inform them while you're with what you have got to state. Aside from the reality that, in case of my personal course it is important to recognize that the exact first words your audience will read are a few of the most essential to making an excellent essay for you here, your topic sentence isn't your thesis statement, additionally. You intend to know the way your words can look close to the rest around it.
You might be really likely to ought to create your story stick out through the pack. Every story varies. a story that is great assist, obviously, but adhere to the recommendations below and also you're planning to increase your possibilities.
Often times the journalist has to return and redraft their work. Perhaps the many writers that are experienced it tough to think about catchy introduction lines. A tendency is had by some writers to concentrate an excessive amount of in the choice of terms. With a view to that particular, tailor made essay authors are planning on changing the guidelines.
Your visitors will tend to be individuals exactly like you and me personally. The reading of magazine is very great for the learning pupils to create their language cap cap ability and knowledge of the entire world. Essay writing requires pupils to keep centered on for the lengthy time. Keep in mind your guide does not need to be very long. If merely a people that are few your guide, you'll not want to encounter a house for the extras. Write the book you ought to compose. There is no distinct guide to organize instead use your GS knowledge to write a detailed essay.
Who Else really wants to find out about Write the Essay Com?
You're choosing a general topic and composing each and every day for a few months to learn that which you've surely got to state. Towards the contrary, you do not have already been extended a particular topic in any respect. Like there is certainly simply 1012 subject which may be expected for 16 markings. Whenever you raise a concern it must be highly relevant to that which you've covered within the essay. To get the most useful grade, you need to be sure you understand issue and arrange your essay precisely. In 1 method or any other, the issue is often the identical.
there is need to know just how long you need to buy each concern from the various area. Let's say you are carrying it out incorrect. Come up with what exactly you are not help with a thesis should that is positive state. You need to comprehend effortless way to reword things, allowing for there are lots of you should do to find an ideal rewording result, regardless of the actual fact that you make use of reword generator for a phrase rewording device. Many people are overrun in the concept of writing a 3,000 term paper. It really is particularly difficult when you haven't any concept simple tips to write a successful essay that is persuasive. Besides taking into consideration the phrase, you additionally have to put the important thing suggestions and style of composing in a whole document into account when creating usage of pc pc software.
If you are trying to sell what you should be in a position to be straight to the idea. Come up with items that no body is speaking about. If you are in a location where other women and men are getting things done, then chances are you won't have option except to become listed on them. Whether it's feasible to commit the brief minute, you are halfway here. Makes it tiny and achievable in order to strike your ultimate goal each and every day to get started momentum that is building. The people who make it are those who arrive after time day.
Whom Else desires to read about Write our Essay Com?
you need your paper become noticed, meaning you don't desire to find the topic that is effortless get paper exhibit exactly a similar thing everyone's paper does. In only few ticks, you can easily secure the paper that you'll require. Understanding the proper actions whenever getting ready to write a paper is essential to achieve your goals.
An essay are often gather on any topic that is potential pretty much 's the reason a selection of individuals nevertheless believe it is quite tricky. With greater regularity than maybe perhaps not, your essay is concerning the system work. Making your suitable essay is certainly perhaps maybe not the choice that is simplest to simply take. Should you develop a descriptive essay within a wider writing prompt, you might like to find some understanding on how to write one other varieties of essay writing. In addition, a thesis does not must be one phrase. Ab muscles initial thing you need to produce a fantastic thesis is you should find out your major arguments, that you've done while focusing on your subject.


text:
Up Front in Cbus | December 17 – December 31, 2021
Columbus Sports
2021 NCAA Volleyball at Nationwide Arena
Watch the top Division I Women's Volleyball teams go head to head at the 2021 NCAA Championship! The final match is set to be held on Saturday, December 18 at Nationwide Arena. Tickets to the finals are on sale now—click here to purchase.
Can't make it to the game? Watch the action from your favorite Arena District bars and restaurants. The designated fan gathering spots are below:
Moran's Bar & Grille – Wisconsin Badgers
BD's Mongolian Grill – Nebraska Cornhuskers
Celebrate the New Year with Hockey
What better way to ring in the new year than cheering on Columbus Blue Jackets from the stands? Catch the last home games of 2021 and the first game of the new year at Nationwide Arena—and don't forget to fuel up before the game at one of the dozens of restaurants and bars in the Arena District. Grab tickets to these upcoming games:
December 23 at 7 PM – Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Buffalo Sabres
December 27 at 7 PM – Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
December 30 at 7 PM – Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Nashville Predators
January 1 at 1 PM – Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Check out the 2021-22 season game schedule here.
Columbus Community
Happy holidays and best wishes for a happy New Year! We hope this season is wrapped with cheer and filled with celebration for continued happiness and prosperity in 2022.
Columbus Gift Guide
Still searching for the perfect gift? We've got you covered! Check out our 2021 Columbus Holiday Gift Guide filled with the best gifts from our favorite Columbus spots here.
A Different View
The most famous fresco in the world, Michelangelo – A Different View, is coming to the Greater Columbus Convention Center! The exhibit will open on December 22 and stay on display until January 23, 2022. Visitors will have the chance to engage with the artwork and see every detail, brushstroke and color of Michelangelo's frescoes. Click here for more information.
Columbus Entertainment
Live Music in Downtown Columbus
Celebrate the holiday season with live music! Visit the Arena District Events page to stay updated on shows and events coming to EXPRESS LIVE! and Nationwide Arena.
Don't miss these upcoming events:
Mitchell Tenpenny | Express LIVE! | December 17 | Tickets
Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Christmas Eve & Other Stories | Nationwide Arena | December 26 | Tickets
First time back at Nationwide Arena? Click here to know what to expect before you go and enjoy making new memories! Stay safe and have fun! Concert goers must now provide proof of vaccination when visiting EXPRESS LIVE!, A&R Music Bar and The Basement. Click here for more details on PromoWest's updated health policy.
Welcome 2022 at the Haus
Celebrate the arrival of 2022 at Hofbräuhaus Columbus! Hofbräuhaus will be offering a special four-course New Year's Eve menu for guests to enjoy. In addition, the Hofbräuhaus will toast the arrival of the New Year and stay open until 1:00 AM, with live entertainment by Matt Rees.
Bring Winans Home for the Holidays
Winans is now selling their holiday coffee blends for you to take and make at home! The holiday favor collection features two delicious seasonal blends–cinnamon gingerbread and peppermint bark. Grab them while you can–these delicious flavors will only be available through December.
Stress-Free Holiday Hosting
Hosting for the holidays? Wow your guests with a delicious meal, baked goods or a boxed lunch from Brekkie Shack. A locally-owned breakfast and brunch spot, Brekkie Shack has a wide variety of catering offerings perfect for parties with coworkers, friends and family this holiday season.
Columbus Living
New Year, New Home
Start the year off right with a new Columbus Downtown Apartment! Whether you're looking to live in the heart of all the action or searching for a more relaxing atmosphere, there's something for everyone. View Arena District and Grandview Yard apartment offerings by taking a virtual tour on YouTube.


text:
'use strict';

var express = require('express'),
  Grid = require('gridfs-stream'),
  errorHandler = require('errorhandler'),
  fs = require('fs'),
  http = require('http'),
  https = require('https'),
  appPath = process.cwd();

module.exports = function(Meanio) {

  var db = Meanio.Singleton.get('database').connection;
  var config = Meanio.Singleton.config.clean;

  // Register app dependency;
  Meanio.Singleton.register('app', function(access, database) {
    require(appPath + '/config/express')(app, access.passport, database.connection);
    return app;
  });

  // Express settings
  var app = express();

  var gfs = new Grid(db.connection.db, db.mongo);

  if(config.aggregation!==false){
    var jqueryminmap = fs.readFileSync(config.root + '/bower_components/jquery/dist/jquery.min.map');
    app.get('/modules/jquery.min.map',function(req,res){
      res.send(jqueryminmap);
    });
    app.get('/modules/aggregated.js', function(req, res) {

      res.setHeader('content-type', 'text/javascript');

      Meanio.Singleton.aggregated('js', req.query.group ? req.query.group : 'footer', function(data) {
        res.send(data);
      });

    });
  }

  function themeHandler(req, res) {

    res.setHeader('content-type', 'text/css');

    gfs.files.findOne({
      filename: 'theme.css'
    }, function(err, file) {

      if (!file) {
        fs.createReadStream(config.root + '/bower_components/bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css').pipe(res);
      } else {
        // streaming to gridfs
        var readstream = gfs.createReadStream({
          filename: 'theme.css'
        });

        //error handling, e.g. file does not exist
        readstream.on('error', function(err) {
          console.log('An error occurred!', err.message);
          throw err;
        });

        readstream.pipe(res);
      }
    });
  }

  // We override this file to allow us to swap themes
  // We keep the same public path so we can make use of the bootstrap assets
  app.get('/bower_components/bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css', themeHandler);

  app.get('/modules/aggregated.css', function(req, res) {
    res.setHeader('content-type', 'text/css');

    Meanio.Singleton.aggregated('css', req.query.group ? req.query.group : 'header', function(data) {
      res.send(data);
    });
  });

  app.use('/bower_components', express.static(config.root + '/bower_components'));

  Meanio.Singleton.events.on('modulesEnabled', function() {

    for (var name in Meanio.Singleton.modules) {
      app.use('/' + name, express.static(config.root + '/' + Meanio.Singleton.modules[name].source + '/' + name.toLowerCase() + '/public'));
      if(Meanio.Singleton.config.clean.aggregate===false){
        app.use('/' + Meanio.Singleton.modules[name].source + '/' + name + '/public', express.static(config.root + '/' + Meanio.Singleton.modules[name].source + '/' + name.toLowerCase() + '/public'));
      }
    }

    // We are going to catch everything else here
    app.route('*').get(function(req, res, next) {
      if (!Meanio.Singleton.template) return next();
      Meanio.Singleton.template(req, res, next);
    });

    // Assume "not found" in the error msgs is a 404. this is somewhat
    // silly, but valid, you can do whatever you like, set properties,
    // use instanceof etc.
    app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
      // Treat as 404
      if (~err.message.indexOf('not found')) return next();

      // Log it
      console.error(err.stack);

      // Error page
      res.status(500).render('500', {
        error: err.stack
      });
    });

    // Assume 404 since no middleware responded
    app.use(function(req, res) {
      res.status(404).render('404', {
        url: req.originalUrl,
        error: 'Not found'
      });
    });

    // Error handler - has to be last
    if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development') {
      app.use(errorHandler());
    }
  });

  // Listen on http.port (or port as fallback for old configs)
  var httpServer = http.createServer(app);
  Meanio.Singleton.register('http', httpServer);
  httpServer.listen(config.http ? config.http.port : config.port, config.hostname);

  if (config.https && config.https.port) {
    var httpsOptions = {
      key: fs.readFileSync(config.https.ssl.key),
      cert: fs.readFileSync(config.https.ssl.cert)
    };

    var httpsServer = https.createServer(httpsOptions, app);
    Meanio.Singleton.register('https', httpsServer);
    httpsServer.listen(config.https.port);
  }

  Meanio.Singleton.Module.bootstrapModules();

  Meanio.Singleton.name = config.app.name;
  Meanio.Singleton.app = app;
  Meanio.Singleton.menus = new (Meanio.Singleton.Menus)();
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas says Trump 'knew exactly what was going on'
Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani who worked to open doors for him in Ukraine, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Wednesday that his actions weren't a secret.
"President Trump knew exactly what was going on," he said. "He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani, or the president. I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials."
Parnas was arrested last fall and charged with campaign finance violations. Along with his business partner Igor Fruman, Parnas helped set up meetings for Giuliani with Ukrainian officials while Giuliani was looking to dig up dirt on a Trump political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter Biden. Trump's attempt to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into launching an investigation into the Bidens and the Democratic National Committee is central to the impeachment articles passed by the House.
Zelensky and other leaders "have no reason to speak to me," Parnas told Maddow, adding, "Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And that's the secret they're trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work." Catherine Garcia


Book of True Life: Is The Reverend Sun Myung Moon The Messiah?
Is The Reverend Sun Myung Moon The Messiah?
For over four decades, there were a lot of rage, persecution and attacks on the Unification Church and its founder, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, over his controversial claim that he is the returning Jesus Christ, and Messiah,God had promised to send to the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism. Christianity and Islam. All three faiths held the same views, expecting the Messiah to appear on earth in metaphoric supernatural way, coming down from the sky. All three faiths believed the Messiah would appear in the Last Days and leads the final battle, destroying all evil and sin and establishing God's New Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. This sound Good and spiritually uplifting, but it had never materialized, why?
Perfect lesson for the three Abrahamic religions to learn how the Messiah will come to earth is Jesus himself; how he appeared to the Jews 2000 years ago. If Jesus Christ is the Messiah as the Christians claimed, we then need to look into the fact and ask, how did Jesus appeared on earth, 2000 years ago? We read that Jesus was born as a normal human being, there was no magic about his birth; he didn't come from the sky riding on the cloud as portrayed in the book of Malachi 4:4-6. But the greatest and clearest lesson we can learn from the Bible is Elijah's Second Coming! In Matt. 17:10 the Bible reports an incident that happened between Jesus' disciples and the deciples of John the Baptist, arguing over the issue whether Jesus was the true Messiah. When the deciples returned to meet with Jesus, they turned to Jesus and asked, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come." The Jews of Jesus' days were nailed to the literal interpretation of their scriptures, just as the Christians today, believing in Malachi 4:4-5, that says Elijah must come first. Apparently, just as the Christians today, the Jews of Jesus' days were expecting Elijah to appear from the sky!
In our Modern world today, especially after 9/11 and the Islamic terrorists' attack on New York's Twin Towers, there were a lot of writings, books, TV documentaries and radio talk shows on the Last days. adding to this tragic incident are the tragic of natural calamities that took place in the last decade, such as herocain Andrew,Katrina,Tsunami in Thailand and India up to the most recent tragic indecent of Japan's earth quake, tsunami and nuclear reactors that happened in March 11th 2011, and also not forgetting the uprising that is sweeping across the Muslim world like a wild fire, coincidentally aligning to the Mayan calendar's prediction of the end time on December 21, 2012! Many believed that we are at present living in the Last Days.
Where Does Rev. Moon Fits as The Messiah In Our Time?
Personally, I am a firm believer, that we are at present living in the Last Days. I can only speak of my own personal experience why i believe Rev. Moon is the anointed Messiah sent by God. God worked miracles throughout my life, planting seeds in my mind with unusual circumstances, coincidences and powerful prophetic dreams and visions, leading me all the way to meet the Unification Church in the most unusual and dramatic ways. I have just recently published a 418 pages book about my spiritual journey, Honor Thy Gog www.honorthygod.com on how God led me to meet Rev. Moon. There were two elements that contributed to my believe in Rev. Moon and my joining the Unification Church, they are (1) God's mysterious way how He led me through powerful prophetic dreams and mysterious coincidences, and (2) the truth I find in the teaching of Rev. Moon known as the Divine Principle. One of the most revealing, intimate and heart moving experience in Rev. Moon's teaching is the Chapter titled The Mission of the Messiah. Its about Jesus' said story that made me breakout in tears,crying for Jesus uncontrollably for hours. I find Rev. Moon's teaching to be the highest truth ever told about God and human history, far clearer and intimate to God than any holy books, including the Bible and the Qur'an.


Sorry that I have been MIA for so long! I actually broke my leg on August 9th… I fractured my tibia (the big weight bearing bone in your shin) all the way through. I had the option to be in a full length cast (from my hip to my toes) for 8 weeks, or to have surgery and a rod placed so that I can walk on my leg. I chose to have surgery and now I am just going through recovery. I am working on teaching myself how to walk normal with that leg again. I am happy to be up and moving and not in a cast, but its definitely not a fun process. I have new crafts to put up soon! Some darling candy corns and a pumpkin set for the porch! I will work on getting those posted as soon as I can.
I also got a new job recently! I have been hired as a nurse to take my darling little brother to school 2-3 days a week! I am so blessed for this opportunity! It could not work out better for me!!
Here are some awesome pictures of my broken leg!
The rod is almost as wide as my leg, and it goes all the way from my knee to my ankle and is held by 2 screws, one by my ankle, and the other just under my knee.
CARE about someone other than yourself.


text:
and international
exploratory
performance and
Contemporary Performance & Live Art
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art
Contemporary Classical & Experimental Music
RealTime Audio
RealTime Video
RealTime Traveller
RealTime Dance
RealTime Media Art
Deep Archive
Artforms:
performing new form history 1973-86
keith gallasch: mike mullins, the politics of change
Sonya Parton, Keith McDougall, Mike Mullins, Gerard Hindle
photo Richard Bruch
MIKE MULLINS AND I ARE STARING INTO THE PAST, AT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. POINTING KEENLY, MULLINS SAYS, "THAT WAS TAKEN ON MAY DAY WITH GROTOWSKI IN POLAND. MAY 1, 1975. ONE OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH HAS BEEN RESTORING ALL THIS. THERE'S EIGHT HOURS WORK GONE INTO THAT IMAGE. IT WAS SCRATCHED, IT HAD MOULD ON IT THAT HAD GONE HARD."
I'm appreciative, "It looks so fresh. You could be just down the street." We're looking at Mike Mullins' life in art in the 1970s and 80s: working in the outer limits of theatre, enacting solo performance art, establishing The Performance Space in Sydney and zealously promoting "new form" (which we now know as contemporary or hybrid performance or live art) to the Australia Council.
Mullins will launch this history at Performance Space as a performative lecture on February 16. He takes me through a chapter, a series of images which will be accompanied by recorded voice-overs quoting from letters and articles interpolated with his own live, onstage commentary. "'Early Experiments' is about the first original work I did in 1976, in Fitzroy in Melbourne when I came back from Poland. In the lecture I'll recount how Grotowski referred me to Joseph Conrad's The Shadow Line and said, 'That's you Mike.' So I took that as a context for the work and developed a piece partly based on Woyzeck but also referencing Conrad's book, which is about rites of passage. The work was very physically oriented but I started playing with symbols and metaphors. [He points to the image.] This was the performance area—imagine the OH&S on that these days! Here's the young Margaret Cameron—she must have been 23—and those are slides on two screens.
"I'll be talking about how the slides gave another dimension to the performance and indeed, one theatre critic wrote quite a good review and Reg Scott in Nation Review actually talks about how this use of photographic images in performance is something unknown at that time. We came to Sydney and performed at The Village Church where the Paddington Markets are now. But then I decided I was doing exactly what Grotowski advised me not to do. The last words he said to me were, 'Find out what it is that you do. Don't do Grotowski-style theatre.' That's what I was doing. It was a poor theatre, focused on the actor, very physical, quite violent in a way. It made me want to find out what it was that I did. People were doing theatre—with a capital T—based on scripts and there weren't many of us actually out there exploring new forms of performance."
I ask Mullins what motivated him to write and perform his history. He explains that he recently embarked on a Master of Arts degree and "decided to open about 30 boxes that I'd been carrying around for about 30 years. I'm an obsessive sort of person and an obsessive documenter of my work and of the times. So I'd fill a box, seal it and those boxes weren't opened until last year. What I discovered when I opened them was that I actually had an historically significant collection of letters, documents, people's papers, newspaper articles and Australia Council publications, from 1973 to 1986. So I had this little window of time that told the story of the battles that were fought for new form practice. There's one chapter, 'The New Form Dialogue', which is just letters between the Australia Council and me fighting, me accusing them of maintaining a colonial culture, of buying a culture rather than investing in a culture, and attacking the mainstream companies for what I considered to be colonial theatre, carbon-copy theatre. There's a whole chapter on the production of Nicholas Nickleby as evidence of this with letters between Richard Wherrett and myself and Jim Waites because we'd attacked it for reproducing the achievements of English artists.
"Now, we've come a long way—and I've been practising this line for some time—when you look at Cate Blanchett sitting passively onstage taking a golden Shakespearean shower, you'd have to say we've come a long way since Nicholas Nickleby! And I passionately disagree with [the new artistic director of Opera Australia] Lyndon Teraccini when he says we haven't come very far since The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Well, I'm sorry, but that kind of denies everything that's ever happened at Performance Space for a start."
Mullins' history also includes a chapter on the "ceiling funding strategy" debate of 1985, which he thought extraordinary, not least because it was a serious national debate, but because it lacked the language with which to discuss the issues. The attempt by the Australia Council for the Arts to cap the funding of state theatre companies was met with voluble protest from those organisations as they demanded "certainty"—something the major performing arts organisations have had ever since (if under review next year). Mullins argues that the 'ceiling funding' debate really started much earlier, if implcitly, with the collapse of The Old Tote in Sydney and the establishment of the performing arts complexes. "Suddenly the game changed. The state governments created these cultural palaces—Adelaide Festival Centre, 1973, Sydney Opera House, 1973, The Arts Centre in Melbourne, 1984, QPAC, 1985. So not only did a whole lot of arts money go into these complexes but suddenly the budgets of the state companies had to expand. So all this money was being absorbed. And to be fair on the Australia Council and the Theatre Board, the decision they took with the concept of a ceiling funding was the only way they could respond to all the work emerging outside of the mainstream that warranted support. All hell broke loose. I've got a wonderful letter from CAPPA [Confederation of Australian Professional Performing Arts] sent to me at The Performance Space saying, 'Of course we support you but not at the cost of funding to the major companies.' And my response was, 'Well what am I supposed to do—wait two decades?'"
thesis as performance
Initially Mullins opened his archive boxes when searching for historical references for the thesis he was writing for a Master of Fine Arts at CoFA. Eventually the research project evolved into a performative lecture, a work of art in itself rather than a conventional thesis or the exhibition that had been considered at one stage. Some of the material had aged badly: "One of my team, Sonya Parton, has just been doing the archive restoration—documents on fading fax paper—and putting it on slides. In one of the boxes I found the fifth carbon copy of the contract between Grotowski and the Arts Council of NSW signed by Grotowski. Gerard Hindle is doing the engineering for the multimedia presentation and the art direction and Keith McDougall is doing the sound design. Plus I'm working with a couple of graduates from the VCA who are doing the voice-overs. So the whole thing is like Media Watch meets Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. It's an investigation, an exposé of a period about fighting for new form, about fighting for the right to pursue new ideas. What really underlies all of this is the question: why is it so fucking hard to pursue new ideas in this country? And it's not just in the arts. It's science, industry…What I will show, along with the clinical evidence, is how hard it was for me 1973-86 to pursue new ideas in this country. I ask the question, has much changed?"
Mullins' archaeological dig into his archive was at moments intensely personal: "There were dead people in those boxes." But also some revelations. When in 1986 he was asked to do some research for Andrea Hull at the Australia Council about the plight of the individual artist he agreed: "as long as I could in the first instance talk about my own struggles. So I had access to all my files and I discovered that when I was arrested for performing The Lone Anzac on Australia Day 1981, unbeknownst to me all hell broke loose. I found an incredible file of letters from the RSL, from the British-Australia Friendship Society, letters to Malcolm Fraser…It was much bigger than I knew and the Australia Council was under severe attack. It was even raised in the Senate. It was like the Bill Henson case. There's a wonderful letter from Richard Perram [then a Project Officer at the Australia Council] to Mrs X from Kew in Victoria who thought the whole thing disgusting. He's writing back to her quoting Gertrude Stein. I ask what's happened with arts bureaucrats these days? All you get is a pro forma letter."
For his historical performative lecture, Mullins has drawn on only 20% of the boxed material: "There's 80% that's got to be restored. There was a reel of 16mm film that I'd never seen but was shot on the day that The Lone Anzac was arrested. I've had that digitised. It was shot on Eastman Colour and colour's faded, but it's in there."
The Performance Space program, 1984
courtesy the Mike Mullins Archive
the performance space years
After establishing The Performance Space in 1980, Mullins says that "the sad story is that my own work largely died because I took on the politics. In 1986 I walked away from the whole thing, exhausted. It took five years of my life and a dole cheque to start up The Performance Space. And many people contributed to that process. I came to an arrangement with the Greek family who owned the building that I'd live there rent free and that I would set it up as a corporate funded body. I have all the letters of rejection from funding bodies. There's a wonderful one: I have endorsement from one of the seminal figures of 20th-century theatre and I go to the Theatre Board and say I've got this introduction from Jerzy Grotowski and I'd like to go to New York and Europe because it will open doors for me. 'This has no relevance to our agenda,' says the Australia Council letter."
I wonder how Mullins kept The Performance Space going until it got funding. "Oh, it was hard. As I explain in the lecture, The Performance Space came about, like most major decisions in your life, from not just one thing. I was working in the Pilgrim Church's Pilgrim Theatre [over the road from the RealTime office in Pitt Street, Sydney] and because in Shadow Line 2 I had a huge cross that during Act 2 slowly fell, the church kicked me out. Fair enough, I suppose. So I was looking for space but every time you opened a new space it was time and money and energy. Then, after the Luna Park fire in 1979 the Public Halls Act became quite draconian. You couldn't have a public performance in any church hall anywhere unless it had fire equipment. So the next place had to be the place.
A former trades union hall in Cleveland Street, Redfern, was licenced for public entertainment and "had all the exit signs and fire hoses and all that sort of stuff." The third reason for establishing a home, Mullins says emphatically, "was that we artists were all working in isolation. I worked out that to do the work, you had to change the thinking of the funding bodies, by having innovative work all happening in one place. But that was the beginning of the end for me as a practitioner because all the energy was going into fighting the battles for change. Hence the title of my presentation, 'The politics of change.'"
I asked Mullins who were the artists he was supporting and nurturing at The Performance Space. In his boxes he kept all the fliers, listing Dance Exchange, Grotesqui's Monkey Choir, Even Orchestra, Nanette Hassell's dance company, Carol Woodward's Fools Gallery, Entr'Acte, One Extra and many others. "There were the ACT 1 and ACT 2 festivals which is where I did my Agent Orange piece. But The Performance Space also represented a pooling of resources in terms of audiences. It gave them a focus on this work. It gave the funding bodies a focus on this work. My God, it was in a fucking building. They could understand it now! An address. Oh, so that's new form? 199 Cleveland Street, Redfern. Right! Got it! [LAUGHS]."
Mullins created a range of performances from 1980 to 1986: "Nuke Love (1980); Long Long Time Ago (1983); The Invasion of No-one (Orange Festival, 1985); Illusion (1986); and The Human Exhibit (1984), when I spent three weeks in a cage at Taronga Park Zoo." His last performance work was Illusion, created with Peter Carey and others (with songs by Carey and Martin Arminger) at the 1986 Adelaide Festival, "for which," he says, "I got a flogging. That's a whole other story but an important part of the history. The concept for Illusion was conceived at the Pilgrim Theatre. It was the third part of a trilogy of works I wanted to do: the first two were Shadow Line 2, which was realised, and New Blood which unofficially opened The Performance Space in 1980 when I moved in there. The next work was going to be Illusion but it took me six years to get adequate funding to do it. It was a compromised work in many ways by the end. However, the ABC filmed it and I'm not ashamed of it. I've included a section from it in my presentation. It was about Australians pretending to be Americans and getting burned in the process. That's not a bad statement and how relevant was that during the Howard era?"
investment & a national cultural policy
Reflecting on the rationale for arts funding, Mullins believes a long-term notion of investment in the arts is a good one, "because there's no quick return. We're a very young country, a post-colonial settlement, still forming who we are. So investment is very important. I'm a great believer in having a cultural policy because of that. I think we're very vulnerable to outside influences and we need to protect our identity. That's got to be the basis of why we have a cultural policy. Who are we? We're actually quite strange: we're a massive piece of land with relatively few people on it; we're isolated by great oceans; we're in the middle of Asia; we have some of the oldest cultures on the planet, and this idea of multiculturalism—what does that all mean?"
Mullins then looks back longingly to a period of substantial investment: "My chapter on 1973 is full of fantastic things. Whitlam doubles the funding for the arts that year; the first Biennale happens; Blue Poles is purchased; Sydney Opera House opens; Patrick White wins the Nobel Prize; a merchant bank is formed in Sydney called Nugan Hand; Rupert Murdoch registers News Limited in America; the Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS) is established and Al Grasby announces 'a multicultural society for the future.' You know, in 1973 women were permitted to sit for the Public Service entrance examination in Victoria for the first time. It's inconceivable isn't it? Gilbert and George perform at the Art Gallery of NSW for the first time. And what was I doing that year? I was a trainee director at The Old Tote working on the three opening shows at the Sydney Opera House, pretty well learning everything I didn't want to do in theatre."
performing with a purpose
What will Mullins do with his performative lecture after its Performance Space launch? "I'd like to tour it around the country this year. I want it to start a dialogue. All this contemporary practice nowadays has a history. Australia is very good at denying its past. Spaces like Performance Space and Arts House in Melbourne didn't come out of nowhere. My intention was always to promote the need for a cultural policy. We got real close to it with Creative Nation and I know Andrea Hull was looking at it back in the mid-80s at the Australia Council. I talk about 2110 when there's been a cultural policy in Australia for 100 years and some kid from a rock near Wagga Wagga comes up with this grant application and it's for a lot of money because he wants to do the work from the outstation on Mars. It's a work referencing the red soil of Mars with the red soil of Australia. All doors open, he gets the grant."
But Mullins isn't only thinking of emerging artists: "I used to jokingly say about The Performance Space, we're creating a home for the middle-aged avant-garde. And I was quite serious. Experimental or avant-garde theatre was something you did when you were young. It was never conceived to be a life's work. And of course it is a life's work. It's not something you get over when you grow up. And I see great evidence of that in the work of an artist like Margaret Cameron."
Mullins would love to trigger change, change that builds acceptance of change, of new ideas, into our culture. He'd love it to be a certainty: "My son has recently graduated as a mathematician and we're trying to work out a formula, a mathematical equation that explains why art is a critical part of culture. We haven't cracked it yet."
The Politics of Change, Mike Mullins and collaborators Gerard Hindle, Keith McDougall, Mike Mullins, Sonya Parton, Performance Space, CarriageWorks, Sydney, February 16, 6.30pm
RealTime issue #95 Feb-March 2010 pg. 38-39
© Keith Gallasch; for permission to reproduce apply to realtime@realtimearts.net
RealTime is published by Open City, an Incorporated Association in New South Wales.Open City is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding body, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy (VACS), an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.
Open City is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding body, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy (VACS), an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.
Opinions published in RealTime are not necessarily those of the Editorial Team or the Publisher.
RealTime, Open City Inc
84 Womerah Avenue
Rushcutters Bay NSW 2011 Australia
Telephone 61 2 9332 4549 Mob 0410 664549
www.realtime.org.au
All rights reserved. RealTime™ is a Registered Trademark.


Literally every functional room is filled with natural light. You'll want to linger in each space, becoming familiar with a design that seems to hesitate and ask you how it can make you feel at home. Enjoy a book on the cozy landing nook, Expand into the huge closets, and bring everyone together at the end of the day to connect easily in the large kitchen and gathering areas. Curb appeal is ample and all the logical conveniences appear even before you expect them to. We want you to flourish in the Portia floorplan.


text:
Money in New York Politics
The Brennan Center regularly compiles the latest news concerning the corrosive nature of money in New York State politics—and the ongoing need for public financing and robust campaign finance reform. This week's links were contributed by Eric Petry.
For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags#moNeYpolitics and #fairelex.
City Board of Elections Creates Another Poorly Designed Ballot
The New York City Board of Elections has come under scrutiny in recent years for designing confusing ballots that led to tens of thousands of votes being thrown out as invalid. It appears that 2014 could be no different. One of the recurring issues with the Board's ballots has been that candidates for the same races are split onto multiple lines. Splitting contests, which this year's ballot does, can cause voters to accidentally choose more than one candidate when completing their ballot. Another troubling design feature of this year's ballot is that it favors the major parties, while discriminating against the minor parties. Voters who support the Democrats or Republicans will find the ballot very straightforward, because Democratic and Republican candidates are aligned separately from the minor party candidates. Minor party voters, on the other hand, will have to search through the confusing cluster of other candidates to find their choice. The Brennan Center for Justice, a consistent advocate for ballot improvement, sent a letter to the New York City Board of Elections this week detailing how the design flaws harm minor political parties, and urging the Board to take action to address these issues.
Labels: ballots, double vote, elections, voting
Reform New York
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice.
Our NY Work
Brennan Center Website
The Brennan Center on Facebook
Lawrence Norden
Larry is the Deputy Director of the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, specializing in money in politics and legislative reform.
Carson Whitelemons
Carson is a Research Associate at the Brennan Center, focusing on voting rights and elections.
BC Blogroll
Amherst Times
Bloomberg Political Capital
Buffalo New Blog
Capitol Beat
Crain's New York Business
Daily Politics
Hinman Straub
Knickerbocker Blog
Living in Dryden
LoHud Blogs
More Soft Money Hard Law
NY State of Politics
New York Times City Room
North Country Public Radio Blog
Politics New York
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
Room Eight
The Politicker
Government Ethics
Moreland Commission


Discussion in 'General Gaming Chat' started by Canadian_Rugger, May 29, 2005.
That, and it's well worth the wait. Graphical capabilities aside, the whole game just plays much better on PC. And Xbox for that matter.
Not to mention mods etc.
Are there any major differences between the PC and PS2 version.
Better graphics, better contols, mod options, custom soundtracks etc.
GTA:SA with less Hip Hop?
Oh, and a key point, Replays.
Well, there are a few that came out for Vice City and 3.
The biggest one imo is Multi Theft Auto, which enables you to play GTA online with real players. Now, I've never played Multi before though.
Theres a lot of random mods usually aswell like weather, weapon etc.
That's a pretty big f**king mod, sounds awesome. Is it for Vice City?
Think it was for both.
They also redid Liberty City on the Vice City engine (so you could use helicopters and motorbikes in Liberty City), couldn't see them redoing Vice or Liberty City on the San Andreas engine though.
Do you know where I can find some of these mods, for Vice City?
Sorry, couldn't be arsed posting links.


text:
CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN Biography - Theater, Opera and Movie personalities
Biography » theater opera and movie personalities » carol moseley braun
CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN
Politician, Senator, lawyer, educator. Born Carol Elizabeth Moseley on August 16, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. A leading African American political figure, Moseley Braun�s career has been marked by great successes and missteps.
She graduated from University of Illinois in 1969 with a degree in political science and then went on to the university�s law school. Moseley Braun earned her law degree in 1972 and began working as assistant United States attorney in Chicago the next year.
Moseley Braun held her first political post as a Democratic representative to Illinois House of Representatives, beginning in 1978. As a representative, she was known as an advocate for social change, working for reforms in education, government, and healthcare. In 1988, she took another challenge. She was elected recorder of deeds for Cook County, Illinois and oversaw hundreds of employees and the public agency�s multimillion budget.
In 1992, Moseley Braun made the leap to the national political arena. She ran for the U.S. Senate, looking to unseat incumbent Democratic senator Alan Dixon in the Democratic primary. Up against a seasoned politician who had spent decades in office, Moseley Braun appeared to be the underdog. But many responded to Moseley Braun as a chance for political change. She won the primary, but faced another tough opponent in Republican Richard Williamson. Williamson tried to capitalize on Moseley Braun�s mishandling of a tax situation. Although the scandal marred her campaign, she won the election. Moseley Braun became the first African American woman to be elected to the Senate.
As a senator, Moseley Braun tackled many issues, including women�s rights and civil rights. She served on several committees, including the powerful Senate Finance Committee. Moseley Braun continued to support educational reforms and called for more restrictive gun control laws. Her time in office, however, was affected by claims that she misused funds from her 1992 campaign, spending the money on personal expenses. While no charges were ever filed, this allegation clung to Moseley Braun as she sought re-election in 1998.
Her re-election campaign was also hindered by her Republican opponent Peter Fitzgerald. A self-financed candidate, Fitzgerald didn�t have restrictions on how much he could spend during his campaign. He won the election by a close margin. After leaving office, Moseley Braun was appointed U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa by President Bill Clinton in 1999. She left the post at the end of the Clinton administration. A career-long advocate for education, Moseley Braun then taught at Morris Brown College.
In 2003, she campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. Moseley Braun opposed the war in Iraq and spoke out about the country�s economic situation, but she dropped out of the race in early 2004 after failing to garner enough support. She asked her supporters to vote for Howard Dean.
Since then, Moseley Braun has been working as a business consultant and started an organic foods company called Good Foods Organics. She has one child�a son named Michael from her marriage to Michael Braun, which ended in divorce.
» Robert Blake
» Penelope Ann Miller
» Maurice Ferre
» Tom Brokaw
» Leonard Pitts, Jr.
» Edwin van der Sar
» Cyd Charisse
» Elaine Chao
» Baha'u'llah
» Henry Chee Dodge
» Isabella Rossellini
» Uday Hussein
» Joe Strummer
» Jayalalita


text:
Free Trump Swag
News/Opinion
Home/Uncategorized/Issa Issues Statement Regarding Fast and Furious Contempt Vote
Issa Issues Statement Regarding Fast and Furious Contempt Vote
Rusty Weiss Follow on Twitter June 21, 2012
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa issued the following statement on the Committee's approval of a report finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his refusal to produce documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. The Committee yesterday approved the finding of contempt on a vote of 23 to 17.
"The Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt for his continued refusal to produce relevant documents in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. This was not the outcome I had hoped for and today's proceeding would not have occurred had Attorney General Eric Holder actually produced the subpoenaed documents he said he could provide.
"The President's assertion of Executive Privilege this morning took us by surprise but did not alter the Committee's conclusion that documents had been inappropriately withheld. Executive Privilege only applies to materials that directly pertain to communications with the President and his senior advisors. This assertion indicates that the White House's role in Operation Fast and Furious and the response to whistleblower accusations has been greater than previously acknowledged. Just yesterday, the Attorney General indicated a willingness to produce a small subset of documents on the condition that the Committee end its investigation before they were described or made available for review. Today, the President asserted Executive Privilege to ensure they are never produced.
"At the heart of the Congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious are disastrous consequences: a murdered Border Patrol Agent, his grieving family seeking answers, countless deaths in Mexico, and the souring effect on our relationship with Mexico. Congress has not just a right, but an obligation to do all that it can to uncover exactly what happened and ensure that it never occurs again. After the Justice Department's earlier false denial of reckless conduct, the Committee has a duty to pursue all options to gather and evaluate key evidence.
"I still believe that a settlement, rendering the process of contempt unnecessary, is in the best interest of the Justice Department, Congress, and those most directly affected by Operation Fast and Furious. I urge Attorney General Holder and President Obama to reconsider their decision to withhold documents that would allow Congress to complete its investigation."
Issa is trying to work with Holder but this has gone on long enough. Holder has had every opportunity to turn over the requested documents, and repeatedly ignores subpoenas, something that would have the average American in jail by now.
Speaking of jail, Nancy Pelosi yesterday made the wild accusation that she could have had Karl Rove arrested a number of times if he was spotted in the Captiol – but then couldn't name a specific charge he could have been arrested on.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is playing politics with its vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, an action she said that even she didn't seek as House Speaker when she thought someone was legitimately deserving of it.
"I could have arrested Karl Rove on any given day," Pelosi said to laughter, during a sit-down with reporters. "I'm not kidding. There's a prison here in the Capitol … If we had spotted him in the Capitol, we could have arrested him."
Rove was senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007.
Asked on what grounds she could have arrested Rove, Pelosi replied, "Oh, any number. But there were some specific ones for his being in contempt of Congress. But we didn't."
Pelosi has a history of spouting off at the mouth without any facts to back up her claims. Remember recently when she alleged she had some sort of secret knowledge about Newt Gingrich, that when revealed would kill his Presidential campaign? She immediately backed off, of course.
Let's see if one single member of the media repeatedly hits her with the simple question 'What could you have had Rove arrested for?' They won't, despite the fact that it would be a bombshell news story if there was an action that Rove had taken that could be considered in contempt of Congress.
The media knows Pelosi is lying, and they will not call her out on it. They know Holder is lying and they will not call him out on it. They know Obama is lying and they will not call him out on it.
Darrell Issa Eric Holder Fast and Furious Media Bias Nancy Pelosi President Obama
Rusty Weiss
Rusty Weiss is a freelance journalist focusing on the conservative movement and its political agenda. He has been writing conservatively charged articles for several years in the upstate New York area, and his writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, American Thinker, FoxNews.com, Big Government, the Times Union, and the Troy Record. He is also Editor of one of the top conservative blogs of 2012, the Mental Recession.
Obama Spokeswoman: "The President Has Killed Osama Bin Laden"
Senior Obama Adviser: "I Have No Problem" With the President Meeting Whoopi Goldberg and Ignoring World Leaders
Racist Homophobes… Er… Black Pastors Tell Obama "We Will Not Stand With You" On Gay Marriage
Video: Nancy Pelosi Refuses to Condemn Democrat Who Compared Paul Ryan and Republicans to Nazis
Trump: 'There Is No Such Thing As Obamacare Anymore'
© Copyright 2021, MenRec.com. All Rights Reserved


Do you like elegant style? Let your favourite four-legged friend enjoy wearing such collars on! Order this impressive leather dog collar with adornments from FDT Artisan . This gear is crafted for those who just love fashion collars. In this stunning collar, your doggie will have more elegant, but impressive look. Your attractive Belgian Malinois will get the finest treatment when wearing this gear. Full grain natural leather is flexible and absolutely eco-friendly.
Brass plated hardware will stand out even the hardest dog power. Stunning decorations are brass plated and have superior look. Point up your Belgian Malinois's individuality, buy this FDT Artisan stunning natural leather accessory!
Full grain natural leather was selected to provide total comfort and safety while wearing. The material is carefully oiled that prevents it from cracking. Among the benefits of full grain leather are flexibility, wear-resistance and sturdiness. The layer of leather is rather thick that doesn't allow the tool cracking. It helps you to walk even big and strong dog safely. Rounded and smooth edges of the supply are non-cutting and don't irritate the four-legged friend's skin. Besides, full grain genuine leather doesn't include any harmful elements being totally eco-friendly.
Speaking about the decorative elements, they are elegant! Catchy studs are set along the leather strap. These studs are brass plated and, therefore shine with stunning glittering. The posh design of this FDT Artisan collar is unmatched and individual. Due to these decorations, this leather dog collar has a spark. That means your four-legged friend will have his individual and exquisite style .
As for the hardware of this studded full grain leather collar, it is brass plated. It matches amazingly with the decorations. This covering provides the best safety for the details as it prevents rust. The set of hardware consists of a traditional elegant buckle and reliable D-ring for attaching a leash. These fittings are easy to use and reliable in service they provide. Add more zest to your Belgian Malinois's look, buy this fashionable leather FDT Artisan collar!


ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 Orlando) - "The Fortress" is nearly a reality on Full Sail University's campus.
On Tuesday, school leaders showed off the almost-completed arena that will house the school's eSports team, known as the Armada.
The arena includes more than 21,000 square feet of space, moveable stages for different competitions, spectator areas, and more than 10 million pixels of LED screens.
eSports are the fairly new world of professional video gaming that is quickly growing in Orlando and worldwide. Members of the Armada play in a variety of games and also train at the school to expand the scene and the world of gaming in general.
Leaders at the school said the arena will also serve as a classroom for those students and will be operated by many of the students.
The Fortress is now the largest full-time collegiate eSports arena in the country. School leaders plan to unveil it publicly during a ribbon cutting in the coming months.


text:
Carbon storage in nature
Micro-organisms will help African farmers
Press release 14 March 2017
Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal in the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, many farmers rely on this grain for food and feed. But Striga, a parasitic weed, can have a devastating impact on crop yield. With an 8-million-dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an international team will now explore the potential of soil microbes to offer crop protection. The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) is coordinating this 5-year project.
The world's most spoken language is...Terpene
Press release 13 April 2017
If you're small, smells are a good way to stand out. A team of researchers led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has demonstrated for the first time that two different types of micro-organisms – bacteria and fungi – use fragrances, known as terpenes, to hold conversations. And that's not all. "We actually believe that terpenes are the most popular chemical medium on our planet to communicate through."
Sniffing out your dinner in the dark: how miniature predators get their favourite soil bacteria
Press release 08 December 2016
Tiny predators in the soil can literally sniff out their prey: soil bacteria, which communicate with each other using scent. A team of researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has discovered that these predators - called protists - 'eavesdrop' on the bacteria's communication. It's a discovery that opens up perspectives for agriculture. The results are available online this month in The ISME Journal, from the publishers of Nature.
Live-in bacteria protect plants against infections
Press release 31 October 2019
Micro-organisms living inside plant roots team up to boost the plant's growth and tolerance to stress. This research is featured this week in the scientific journal Science.
New greenhouse gas-eating bacteria found in highly acidic sulphur cave
A team of ecologists and microbiologists that includes NIOO's Paul Bodelier has identified a unique organism in samples from a Romanian cave nicknamed 'Stinky Mountain'. The novel bacteria can grow on methane, an important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
Microbes can act as bodyguards for plants and can foster plant growth in other ways as well. At NIOO, we are digging into the mechanisms: in what ways do they interact? And how can we stimulate this, to make our agriculture more sustainable? Let's rewild our microbes!
Discovering methane eating mycobacterium
Event 07 December 2022
Join the Pint of Science lecture where Paul Bodelier and Chrats Melkonian tell us all about their recent discovery of Mycobacterium (a type of immobile, rod-shaped bacteria) that live on eating methane. Hear what we can learn from these microbes and how we can use that to tackle the issues facing methane in our atmosphere today.
Nature research and society
NIOO has a vigorous and long-standing commitment to societal impact. Not only is NIOO housed in a sustainable building designed to translate our ecological principles in terms of architecture and construction, we also have a number of units that are tailor-made for disseminating our ecological knowledge to specific target groups, we have a very active outreach policy, and we actively involve citizens in our research through large-scale citizen-science projects.
Soil has no borders, and neither should soil policy
Zonder gezonde, biodiverse bodem geen gezonde samenleving. Maar hoe vertaal je dat in goed beleid?


text:
Роберт Езра Парк (1864−1944) − американський соціолог, ідейний натхненник і лідер Чиказької школи емпіричної соціології.

Жодному із відомих американських соціологів до Роберта Парка не вдалось створити свою соціологічну школу, яка б могла розвиватися і створювати ідейний вплив протягом багатьох десятиліть.

Хронологічна таблиця
14.02.1864 — у графстві Люцерн, штат Пенсільванія народився Роберт Парк. Перші вісімнадцять років провів у провінційному містечку Ред-Уінг на березі Міссісіпі, штат Міннесота.

1882 — закінчив середню школу, але не мав грошей, щоб поступити в університет.

1887 — після закінчення Мічиганського університету, в котрому навчався за власно зароблені кошти, Парк став газетним репортером.

1892 — Парк вирішує покинути репортерство і зайнятися бакалійним бізнесом свого батька, але по дорозі до нього в Уотертаун повернув в Енн Ербор до Дж. Дьюі, який познайомив Парка з новою ідеєю стосовно ролі преси в розвитку сучасного суспільства і з Ф. Фордом.

1897 − 1898 — Парк провів у Гарварді, вивчаючи філософію при так званому «Золотому дворі», одночасно займаючись психологією в лабораторії Мюнстерберга.

1899—1903 — були присвячені філософії і пройшли в Німеччині: спочатку в університеті Фрідріха Вільгельма в Берліні, де Парк прослухав свій перший і єдиний систематичний курс соціології в Г. Зіммеля, потім в Страсбурзі, де найбільше враження на нього справив В.Віндельбанд, що консультував Парка по темі його дисертації.
Г. ЗіммеляГ. Зіммеля
1902 — слідом за Віндельбандом він переїхав у Гейдельберзький університет і захистив там дисертацію «Натовп і публіка: методологічне й соціологічне дослідження».

1904 — Роберт Парк не погодився на пропозицію Смолла викладати соціологію в Чиказькому університеті. Хоча до цього він вже мав 2 роки викладацького досвіду у Гарварді.

1905 — приїжджає до Таскіджі (Алабама) в Інститут Букера Вашингтона, негритянського громадського діяча.

1910 — Парк і Вашингтон відвідали Європу, прагнучи познайомитися зі становищем найбідніших соціальних класів.

1914 — на прохання У. Томаса Парк все-таки погоджується на викладання на соціологічному факультеті Чиказького університету.

1916 — Парк уже вів у Чикаго чотири курси з соціології.

1921 — Парк у співавторстві з Е. Бьорджессом видає «Вступ у науку соціології», задуманий як підручник для студентів-соціологів.

1923 — Парк взяв участь в дослідженні відносин на тихоокеанському узбережжі. Тут він провів 9 місяців, вивчаючи проблеми азіатських іммігрантів, зокрема, японців.

1929−1933 — Парк здійснює подорожі по Азії, на Гаваї й у Південну Африку. Вони поповнили його теоретичні висновки новим соціологічним матеріалом.

1934—1944 — Роберт Парк викладав в університетах Чикаго, Мічигану, Фідс-університеті, у Гарвардській недільній школі, у молодіжному центрі Чикаго, не зв'язуючи себе постійним курсом лекцій з жодним з університетів.

7.02.1944 — в місті Нешвілл, куди Парк в 1936 переїхав із Чикаго, перестало битися його серце.

Становлення Парка як науковця
Все життя Парка складалось так, що будь-які серйозні зміни складалися під впливом певних обставин. Якщо не люди чи події, то якісь внутрішні рушії змушували його робити той чи інший вибір, йти до певної мети.

Закінчивши середню школу десятим учнем в класі (з тринадцяти), він не отримав від батька коштів на подальшу освіту в коледжі. Тоді Роберт заробив їх на залізниці і вступив в університет Міннесоти на природничий факультет. Однак через рік змінив університет Міннесоти на Мічиганський і природничий факультет — на філологічний, де став вивчати класичні мови, а також німецьку, французьку і англійську. Тут же Парк відвідував лекції з логіки Дж. Дьюі, який виявив значний вплив на його соціально-філософські погляди.

Згодом діяльність Роберта Парка набуває не наукового характеру і він займається літературою. Але згодом вирішує що це не його і хоче зайнятись бакалійним бізнесом. Але тут у його житті з'являються люди, що різко змінюють його наміри. Їдучи до батька, Парк вирішує відвідати Дж. Дьюі, що викладав у нього логіку. Там він знайомиться з Ф. Фордом, що впливає на його подальшу журналістську діяльність.
Серед усіх факторів, що сприяли становленню Роберта Парка таким, яким він був, найважливіше виділити людей, з якими він співпрацював, чи у яких навчався.

Безсумнівно, колосальний вплив на Роберта Парка справляли його викладачі, а зокрема У. Джеймс, Дж. Рейс та Дж. Сантаяна. Також Зіммель, в котрого він слухав лекції з соціології та Віндельбанд, що консультував його по дисертації.

«Прагнення безпосередньо пізнавати людську природу вшир і вглиб» привело Парка до Букера Вашингтона. Саме роки праці з Букером Вашингтоном визначили подальший науковий інтерес Парка — расові відносини та взаємодії різних культур.

Надалі його погляди стають самобутніми та самостійними і формують бачення уже його учнів. Серед яких варто виділити Ернста Бьорджесса, з яким вони видали «Вступ у науку соціології».

Парк провів багато часу у подорожах, і всі вони ставали визначальними для його подальших поглядів і діяльності. Серед його мандрувань: з Вашингтоном об'їздив Європу та 7 штатів Америки, в рамках дослідження відвідав тихоокеанське узбережжя, а в 1929—1933 здійснив велику подорож в Азію та Південну Африку.

Періоди діяльності
Першим періодом діяльності Роберта Парка варто виділити його журналістську діяльність, котра складалась з двох етапів. Перший етап почався після закінчення університету. Парк став газетним репортером (спочатку в Міннеаполісі, потім в Детройті, Денвері, Нью-Йорку) і, навіть написав роман («Острів чарівності») і п'єсу («Право на брехню»).

Потім Дж. Дьюі, знайомить Парка з новою ідеєю стосовно ролі преси в розвитку сучасного суспільства і з Ф. Фордом, котрий уже заразився ідеєю принципово нової газети. Ф. Форд і Р. Парк намагались створити свого роду просвітницькцу газету, яка б подавала поточні події не як фотознімки з реальності, але й розглядала би їх в більш широкому (історичному, філософському, науковому) контексті. Вони прагнули об'єднати можливості преси впливати на суспільну свідомість з академічним потенціалом університетської науки. Але цей задум їм так і не вдалося здійснити.

Другим етапом доцільно вважати подальший науковий розвиток Роберта Парка та захист дисертації. Він провів декілька років у Гарварді, вивчаючи філософію в У. Джеймса, Дж. Рейса й Дж. Сантаяни, займався психологією в лабораторії Мюнстерберга. Наступні чотири роки, присвячені філософії, пройшли в Німеччині: спочатку в університеті Фрідріха Вільгельма в Берліні, де Парк прослухав свій перший і єдиний систематичний курс соціології в Г. Зіммеля, потім в Страсбурзі, де найбільше враження на нього справив В.Віндельбанд, що консультував Парка по темі його дисертації. Потім Парк переїжджає у Гейдельберзький університет де захистив дисертацію «Натовп і публіка: методологічне й соціологічне дослідження». Повернувшись з Німеччини, Парк два роки викладав на філософському факультеті в Гарварді, одночасно займаючись редакторською роботою в Асоціації по Конголезькій реформі й у недільному випуску Бостонскої газети. Однак усе це його не задовольняло. «В академічній атмосфері, − пояснював Парк, — я почував себе хворим і втомленим». Він відмовився від викладання в Гарварді, а також, від пропозиції А. Смолла викладати соціологію в Чиказькому університеті.

Потім настає етап співпраці з Букером Вашингтоном. Разом з Вашингтоном Парк об'їздив сім південних штатів, записав сотні біографій і дійшов висновку, що «вивчення негрів в Америці виявляє всілякі їхні типи й дає можливість досліджувати розвиток сучасного американського суспільства в цілому. Негри в американському середовищі − це соціальна лабораторія». Також Парк і Вашингтон відвідують Європу, прагнучи познайомитися зі становищем найбідніших соціальних класів. У центрі їх уваги були аграрні й національні питання. За шість тижнів подорожі вони побували в Англії, Данії, у Римі, Неаполі, на Сицилії, у Празі, Відні, Будапешті, Берліні, Кракові й зупинились біля російського кордону, перетнути який їм не дозволили. Підсумком цього етапу можна вважати міжнародну конференцію присвячену негритянським проблемам, організацією якої зайнявся Парк.

У Чикаго для Парка почався період інтенсивної дослідницької й викладацької діяльності, головним підсумком якої, крім численних наукових публікацій, стала поява Чиказької школи соціології. Основними темами, які притягали учнів Парка, були расові відносини й місто як соціальне середовище. І те, і інше Парк сприймав як «лабораторію» для вивчення колективної поведінки в його різних проявах. У Чикаго Парк прославився не стільки своїми лекціями з соціології, скільки манерою спілкування зі студентами, здатністю інтенсивно працювати з випускниками, що готують дисертації, не шкодуючи часу й сил. Йому вдавалося, за свідченням Г. Блумера, «піднімати їх на такий рівень досягнень, який, як це не парадоксально, перевершував усі очікування самого студента щодо своїх можливостей». Для обговорення найрізноманітніших тем, які потім нерідко ставали дисертаційними, Парк організував Товариство соціальних досліджень (1920), яке, за його задумом, повинно було «стимулювати широкий інтерес та інтелектуальне співробітництво між факультетом і студентами» у єдиній дослідницькій програмі. Це Товариство забезпечувало студентам контакти і з громадськістю міста (муніципальна влада, громадські організації та інші запрошувалися для виступів у Товаристві), даючи можливість розширити контекст їх досліджень, установити міждисциплінарні зв'язки (між факультетами).

У 1921 р. Парк у співавторстві з Е. Бьорджессом видає «Вступ у науку соціології». До цього в Чикаго вже був підручник соціології (перший у світі), написаний А. Смоллом і Дж. Вінсентом у 1894 р. Але підручник Смолла — брошура, що представляє в основному погляди самого Смолла на соціологічну теорію, — ніяк не може зрівнятися з вагомим томом (на 1000 сторінок) Парка — Бьорджесса, у який було включено 1951 уривок з робіт різних авторів (Г. Зіммеля, Ч. Кулі, У. Томаса, Г. Спенсера, Ч. Дарвіна, Е. Дюркгейма, Г. Тарда, Г. Лобана, самого Р. Парка та ін.), згрупованих за чотирнадцятьма основними розділами. У цьому підручнику Парк представив свою концепцію соціальної еволюції (культурного процесу) як продукту взаємодії природи індивіда з його навколишнім соціальним і природним середовищем.

Початі Парком в 1929−1933 рр. подорожі по Японії, Китаю, Філіппінах, Індонезії, Індії, на Гаваї й у Південну Африку поповнили його теоретичні висновки новим соціологічним матеріалом, та відкрили новий період його діяльності. Особливо Парк виділяв тут загальний процес виходу рас і народів з різного роду ізоляції − географічної, економічної й культурної. Результатом цього глобального етносоціального процесу на індивідуальному рівні є формування нового типу особистості, характерного для сучасного розвитку цивілізації, − маргінальної особистості (це нове для соціології поняття одержало своє перше теоретичне обґрунтування в статтях Парка). Маргінальна особистість, за Парком, − продукт природного культурного процесу взаємодії, що розширюється, культур: «Маргінальна людина − це тип особистості, який з'являється в той час і в тому місці, де з конфлікту рас і культур починають з'являтися нові співтовариства, народи, культури. Доля прирікає цих людей на існування у двох світах одночасно: змушує їх прийняти стосовно обох світів роль космополіта-чужинця. Така людина неминуче стає (порівняно з безпосередньо оточуючим його культурним середовищем) індивідом з більш широким горизонтом, витонченішим інтелектом, більш незалежними й раціональними поглядами. Маргінальна людина − завжди більш цивілізована істота».

Останній період діяльності Парка припав на останні роки його життя, які він присвятив систематизації своїх теоретичних розробок (зокрема, нової редакції підручника) і визначенню свого методологічного принципу в соціології − соціальної екології. Він планував написати монографію по соціальній екології спільно зі своїм учнем Р. Маккензі, до роботи над якою вони приступили у 1936 р. Парк надавав величезного значення цій роботі, вважаючи, що вона покладе початок новій науці. Однак книга так і не була написана через особисті непорозуміння співавторів.

Основні погляди Роберта Парка
Багато науковців протягом життя змінюють свої погляди. У випадку з Парком такі зміни можна швидше назвати зміною зацікавлень, котрі визначали подальший напрям його досліджень.

Першою проблемою, що сильно зацікавила Парка і стала об'єктом його досліджень на кілька років була проблема негрів у Американському суспільстві. Цим питанням він займався разом з Вашингтоном і результатами цієї праці стала вище згадана конференція, а також курс, що Парк читав на соціологічному факультеті, присвячений проблемам негрів в Америці (рабство й воля, міжрасові відносини, джерела напруженості та шляхи розв'язання міжрасових конфліктів). 1916 р. Парк вів у Чикаго чотири курси з соціології: «Негри в Америці», «Преса», «Натовп і публіка» і «Опитування», − кожен з них був підкріплений найбагатшим фактичним матеріалом, отриманим за роки репортерської роботи та співпраці з Вашингтоном.

Чи не найвагомішими стали дослідження Парка в галузі соціології міста. Була проведена дослідницька програма «Місто як соціальне лабораторія», основний результат якої − книга Парка, Бьорджесса й Маккензі «Місто: пропозиції з вивчення людської поведінки в міській сфері» (1925)".

Цій же темі був присвячений виступ Парка при вступі на посаду президента Американського соціологічного товариства (1925). Основна ідея дослідницької програми, (і монографії Парка − Бьорджесса − Маккензі) − організація ефективного соціального контролю над різноманітними процесами, що відбуваються в місті, який у той же час був би настільки ж «природним», як і традиційні види соціального контролю (родина, клан, плем'я, сусідська спільнота і т.ін.). Чикаго, як і будь-яке інше місто, був, на думку Парка, осередком соціальних процесів і проблем, властивих сучасним цивілізованим суспільствам. При цьому Парк постійно підкреслював «природність» (об'єктивність, еволюційність) походження й розвитку міського співтовариства, визначаючи «місто як соціальний організм». «Безсумнівно й дотепер існувала велика кількість літератури із проблем міста, але ніде дотепер місто не розглядалося як явище природне», — писав Парк.

Він наполегливо проводив у всіх написаних ним розділах даної роботи думку про те, що, для того, щоб мати можливість контролювати міські процеси, конфлікти та інше, необхідно вивчити їх як «соціальні факти», що розвиваються за власними законами, настільки ж непорушними і незалежними від конкретної людської волі і свідомості, як і природні.

Концепція міського розвитку, за Парком, ґрунтується на трьох вихідних принципах: соціальному атомізмі, просторовій мобільності і соціальній взаємодії. Парк неодноразово в цій роботі підкреслює зв'язок соціальної зміни із просторовими характеристиками процесів колективної поведінки. Місто і процес міського розвитку найкращим чином демонструють цей взаємозв'язок.
Як наслідок дослідження культурних процесів в місті, Роберта Парка починають турбувати інші суспільні проблеми, що з'являються на тлі потужної хвилі іммігрантів, що нахлинула в Америку в період Першої світової війни. Американське суспільство зіштовхнулося з фактом відособленості існування численних національних співтовариств (у Чикаго це були німці, італійці, євреї, поляки, литовці й ін.), що загострили проблему їх «американізації», прийняття ними нових культурних норм і зразків поведінки. Корпорація Карнегі організувала у зв'язку із цим проект «Дослідження з американізації», для участі в якому був запрошений і Парк. Його завданням стало вивчення іммігрантської преси на предмет її лояльності до американських цінностей, включеності у життя американського суспільства: результати пошукувань були представлені в роботі «Іммігрантська преса і її контроль» (1922).

У цій публікації Парк дійшов до висновку, що відособленість і «націоналізм» іммігрантських організацій і їх преси − не привід для тривоги, тому що вона сприяє природній адаптації іммігрантів до нового для них американського середовища: спочатку адаптація цілої групи, потім − окремого її представника. Процес групової адаптації уявляється Парку як боротьба за існування різних мов і культур: «Це боротьба культурно ізольованих народів за збереження їхньої культурної спадщини, в той же час − прагнення за допомогою найвідомішої їм (рідної) мови одержати доступ до загальноєвропейської й світової (космополітичної) культури». Преса − найважливіше знаряддя в цій боротьбі.

Результат діяльності
Діяльність Роберта Парка як науковця та викладача залишила свій слід в історії соціології. Його вчення не залишились без прихильників, яких було чимало серед його учнів. Найважливішу роль у цьому зіграло організоване ним «Товариство соціальних досліджень». Товариство об'єднувало й студентів Чиказького університету, що працювали за межами Чикаго, по всій країні, що дозволяло чиказькому соціологічному товариству зберігати становище домінуючого центру американської соціології протягом 20 — 30-х рр. У роботі зі студентами Парк надавав перевагу неформальним семінарам, обговоренням і навіть «клубним» розмовам. Серед його учнів були такі відомі американські соціологи: Ф. Трешер, Е. Янг, П. Яш, Н. Андерсен, Ч. Джонсон, Дж. Россо, Р. Маккензі, Р. Редфілд; а Е. Хьюз, Г. Блумер, Л. Котрелл, Е. Рейтер, Р. Феріс, Л. Вірт і Ф. Фрезер були президентами Американського соціологічного товариства.

Більшість результатів його багаторічної праці відбилися у його науковому доробку. Основні роботи Парка (монографії, статті, передмови до дисертацій), написані в Чикаго, групуються навколо двох тем — расові відносини й міське середовище. Вони служили Парку «лабораторіями» для вивчення предмета соціології — колективної поведінки. Тому доцільно так і підрозділяти його основні роботи:
 про предмет соціології, соціологія як наука;
 расові відносини, міжкультурна взаємодія;
 соціологія міста.

Загальний методологічний принцип (підхід до вивчення всіх виділених тем, соціологічна парадигма) Парка, який намітився вже в ранніх статтях і розвивався в усіх наступних роботах, сформувався як соціально-екологічний підхід (метод) в соціології.
Підхід Парка до розуміння предмета соціології визначався розумінням соціальної системи як елемента глобальної екосистеми. Соціологія й екологія, таким чином, мають у своїй основі той самий принцип розгляду систем і екологія за своїми завданнями і методам близька до соціології. Процеси, що відбуваються в суспільстві, за Парком, залежать від умов середовища проживання й впливають на зміни в ній. Цей екологічний принцип сприяв поглибленню системного погляду на суспільство в його єдності із природою. Рівновага суспільства із середовищем досягається за допомогою еволюції форм конкуренції: тваринна змагальність заміняється соціальною. Ця ідея Парка підкріплювала висновок про однопорядковість боротьби за існування в природі й конкуренції в суспільстві. Соціальна екологія Парка і його послідовників виступає частиною екологічного знання, а також представляється структурним елементом суспільствознавства. Ця обставина знаменує собою досягнення єдності у всій системі наукового знання. Актуальність ідей Парка підтверджується оформленням різних напрямів, що розбудовують їх. Один з них існує у вигляді інвайронментальної соціології (соціології середовища), що з'явився в 1970-х рр., і який провів теоретичний аналіз реальних відносин суспільства із середовищем проживання.

Цікаві факти з життя Парка

 Закінчивши середню школу десятим учнем в класі (з тринадцяти), Р.Парк не отримав від батька коштів на подальшу освіту в коледжі. Тоді він заробив їх на залізниці і вступив в університет Міннесоти на природничий факультет.

 Після закінчення університету у 1887 р. Парк став газетним репортером і, навіть написав роман («Острів чарівності») і п'єсу («Право на брехню»).

 Парк обожнював інтелектуальні бесіди. Там де він з'являвся, одразу ж виникав семінар. Він міг говорити на будь-яку тему.

 Роберт Парк інтенсивно працював з випускниками, що готують дисертації, не шкодуючи часу й сил. Йому вдавалося піднімати їх на такий рівень досягнень, який, як це не парадоксально, перевершував усі очікування самого студента щодо своїх можливостей.

 Жодному із відомих американських соціологів до Р. Парка не вдалося створити свою соціологічну школу, яка б могла розвиватися і створювати ідейний вплив протягом багатьох десятиліть.

Примітки

Посилання
 http://socioline.ru/
 https://web.archive.org/web/20170911212415/http://enc-dic.com/ - Социологический словарь
 Матеріали з англійської Вікіпедії

Науковці Чиказького університету
Соціологи США
Соціологи Чиказької школи
Померли в Нашвіллі
Викладачі Гарвардського університету
Науковці Мічиганського університету

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Today we are here, tomorrow we are there, and there's just no telling how much time we allow in between to truly be with other people, the people who matter to us. Gathering together at the end of the day, ideally, ought to give each and every individual a sense of sanctuary or respite. We gather together, and eat together to feel safe, refreshed, and loved. Not everybody has that, and lately a lot of us who do may slowly and unconsciously be taking each other for granted.
1. Life is tough for everyone in some way, so coming together to "decompress" through communication is therapeutic. KC Concepcion and her family love dining and traveling together. Challenges are of a different caliber in a showbiz-slash-political family but dining is always a balm for fellowship.
KC's younger sister, Frankie Pangilinan, who is now 16, also loves to cook. On occasion, even a year or two ago, we have witnessed Frankie pull a chocolate souffle out of the oven and prepare and cook Korean beef baon for herself and friends before a field trip.
2. Gathering for meals is an act of celebrating small daily victories as well as big milestones over the years. Here we see Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo celebrating her mother's 70th birthday with a boodle fight feast! There's nothing like a good spread of food over native banana leaves to get a celebration of a good life going.
There's a saying in Scripture that goes "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn," from Romans 12:15. Whatever the reason may be that you are gathering together, the act of being there for each other is what matters.
3. Valuing and dedicating time for our elders who raised us even when we get older is a good example to set and also blessing them with what we've learned from them can also come at mealtime. Anne Curtis returns home to Australia whenever she's able to make time for her parents. Here she's also obviously learned a huge skill from her mother who is said to be the expert at making this dessert, Brazo de Mercedes, while her Dad served up his marmalade glazed ham. Anne shows off her own baking prowess here.
"She's home. And she's showing off her Brazo de Mercedes to the real expert of making em. gudjab @annecurtissmith"
4. Having perhaps even just a decent chocolate drink together frequently, not always a feast, can boost endorphins and possibly encourage younger family members to avoid destructive lifestyles and just say "no" to drugs or other vices. Constant, freeflowing communication is the fruit of meeting and gathering, whether it's a full meal or just a simple, comfort drink together. Families that stay linked through good communication and affirmation often have children who grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults.
Take for example, the Heussaff siblings, who have a high respect for their bodies and lead such healthy active lifestyles. Their closeness is evident and their obvious support for one another gets them through the daily grind (their family still makes it a point to gather on Sundays for lunch and/or dinner no matter how busy everyone's schedules get!).
5. Actual studies show that children from families who have meals together have improved mental focus, better academic performance, and boosted social skills as they develop. It is quite obvious that Hayden Kho spends whatever extra time he has with his daughter Scarlet Snow and his partner, Dra. Vicki Belo. As a parent, he is very hands on and his budding new family has melted many hearts. We found it extremely sweet when he arranged a surprise Valentine's dinner for them.
"Psychologists studied children aged six to eleven and found they concentrated more at school, acquired better social skills and got into less trouble as teens if they regularly took part in family meals . But this needs to happen at least four times a week to have a major benefit" - dailymail.co.uk"
As researchers and doctors, both parents Hayden and Vicki are obviously aware that creating frequent experiences for Scarlet together with the family is a vital key to her happiness and success when she grows older.
6. Having a meal together is a representation of peace, unity, and welcome. The world is one big family and many things can be slowly solved with tolerance and hospitality. The pope himself once said, "When we're at the table, when we are speaking to others on our telephones, it's the start of war because there is no dialogue." He was also seen having lunch together with Syrian refugees in the past to encourage, speak to, and welcome them. They are, after all, also family just from another side of the globe.
Watch this TED Talk by Karen Hickson-Smith about the importance and positive effect of gathering together for a meal whether you are family or bound as colleagues or even just friends. Karen has worked with roughly over a hundred homeless teens through her advocacy "Life & Soul UK" and even welcomed them into her own home before they transition into new homes with new families.