Canada needs to regulate non-medical use of genetic information - The Globe and Mail

<div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">While predictive genetic testing holds the promise of advancing the understanding of disease, there is also great potential for the information to be misused. Currently, Canada is the only G-8 country without a policy or legislation on the use and collection of genetic information for non-research or health purposes. This is dangerous and could undermine people's willingness to take part in Canada's ambitious Personal Genome Project, which aims to make public the genome of 100,000 people, alongside personal profiles that put the DNA sequencing into context, so scientists can study them for the greater good.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">This legislative black hole raises troubling issues around privacy rights, as well as the possibility that people could be discriminated against because of genetic markers that predict the onset of disease, including Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes and cystic fibrosis.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">The interplay between genes and environment is so complex that it becomes impossible to say with certainty whether genetic predisposition actually results in the development of a particular disease. There are legitimate fears that genetic data could be over-interpreted.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">"Knowledge about the implications of genetic test information is presently incomplete, even in the science and medical community, let alone amongst third parties in the commercial sector that may have an interest in accessing the genetic information of individuals," says the Council for Responsible Genetics, a U.S. non-governmental group.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">The U.S.'s Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act bans health insurers and employers from using a person's genetic information. In contrast, insurance companies in Canada, and even in theory employers, can ask people if they have undergone genetic testing, request the results and then refuse to insure or hire them. Such prejudice already exists, according to Bev Heim-Myers, chair of the Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness, particularly among those with a family history of Huntington's disease.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; font: normal normal normal 12px/1.5 Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;">People's genetic information must receive a minimum level of privacy and security. Otherwise the considerable promise in genome research for the future treatment and prevention of disease – something of benefit to all Canadians – will never be realized.</span></font></p><div><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/canada-needs-to-regulate-non-medical-use-of-genetic-information/article6393754/?">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/canada-needs-to-regulate-non-medical-use-of-genetic-information/article6393754/?</a></div>

Canada needs to regulate non-medical use of genetic information - The Globe and Mail

While predictive genetic testing holds the promise of advancing the understanding of disease, there is also great potential for the informat...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/17/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://blog.visual.ly/20-great-infographics-of-2012/">20 Great Infographics of 2012 | Visual.ly Blog</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">While I don't endorse blindly sharing infographics because they look good, (A pig in a prom dress is still a pig, as I tweeted about infographics last week), this list from visual.ly of 20 great infographics of 2012 is worth a look. If your class designs infographics, these would be fascinating to dissect and share, both from a graphic design perspective and a data analysis approach. Very cool.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/infographic">infographic</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/evernote">evernote</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://hastac.org/blogs/jluthy/2012/12/16/collaborative-writing-and-technology-my-experience-monmouth-colleges-sofia-p">Collaborative Writing and Technology: My Experience with Monmouth College's SOfIA Program | HASTAC</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">I love this post over on HASTAC about a student's experience writing a grammar and writing website for his/her college before starting school there. While you might think that having an "expert" write such a guide is the best idea, think again. Learning happens as you collaborate and write with others. This is a great example and I'm using it in my collaborative writing book. "As I wrote the guides, I began to realize that I had been making mistakes in my own writing for years. I learned that plagiarism can be borrowing ideas, not just exact words, without citation. I also fixed several grammar mistakes, such as my overuse of semicolons and my tendency to end sentences with prepositions. All my problems were rather basic and easy to fix, but I feel as if my writing has greatly improved.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/collaborative writing">collaborative writing</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/blogging">blogging</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5968886/anonymous-attacks-westboro-baptist-church-over-sandy-hook-funeral-protest">Anonymous Attacks Westboro Baptist Church Over Sandy Hook Funeral Protest</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">While I don't condone what Anonymous does, neither do I condone Westboro Baptist Church and their actions. As a Christian and a Baptist, I want to make it clear that this is a fringe hate group and in no way represents the views of the majority of Christians - but I can only speak for myself. When they came to Valdosta, many of us Baptists in the area openly condemned them. Andy Stanley, a pastor in Atlanta preached a sermon series "The Separation of Church and Hate" that is worth searching and viewing. It is worth saying.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/the-newtown-school-shootings-a-place-to-post-your-thoughts/?partner=rss&emc=rss">Student Opinion | The Newtown School Shootings: A Place to Post Your Thoughts - NYTimes.com</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">For those of you who are searching for some places where students can respond and some lesson plans, the New York Times' Learning Network has an open place for students to respond and share their thoughts along with some lesson plans for teachers.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/newtown">newtown</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/lessonplans">lessonplans</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/17/2012

20 Great Infographics of 2012 | Visual.ly Blog While I don't endorse blindly sharing infographic...

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I Have No Answers

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Hola y’all! Well here are, another Sunday night and it’s my turn to blog and I got nothing. What else is new, right? Okay, maybe I’ll turn off the TV and try to focus for just a couple of minutes. It’s worth a try, right?<br /><br />This weekend was pretty interesting. There was a big swing of emotions from the sadness of the massacre in Newton, CT to the news that Schmoop doesn’t have cancer and her surgery went well then back to the sadness mixed with anger over the shooting again. All this helped along by all the stupidity being spewed on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Everyone wants action but all they have to offer are platitudes, bumper sticker slogans, political propaganda and personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with them in the slightest. So that was fun.<br /><br />My favorites were the people who just posted the text of the Second Amendment. Yeah, and??? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? That it’s absolute? Are you saying that there can be no legal interpretations of the Second Amendment that result in any regulating of firearms? How come those same people never post the text of the Fourth or Fifth Amendments while the govt is monitoring private conversations, reading our emails, keeping track of our reading materials we get from the library and holding American citizens indefinitely without charges or fair and impartial trials? Not to mention the creation of “free speech zones” and other bullshit like that. And don't even get me started on that <a href="http://now.msn.com/morgan-freeman-newtown-statement-is-a-hoax" target="_blank">Fake Morgan Freeman "statement"</a> and that sad but ridiculous "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html" target="_blank">I Am Adam Lanza's Mother</a>" post.<br /><br />I never get into the gun control debates because I know how the game is played. I know that anything short of super strict regulation and extensive banning of many different kinds of guns (or all guns) is unacceptable to the gun control crowd. And any opinion expressed that fall short of it results in being shouted down.<br /><br />By the same token if the slightest hint of any kind of gun registration, or the registering of people who put on gun shows and sell guns or even talk about holding people personally responsible for their guns means getting shouted down by the other side. That’s how we do things now. Anything other than the extremes means nothing but personal attacks and angry responses.<br /><br />I’ve never been a gun control guy, but I will say this much, if your argument against gun control is that we just have to accept that things like the Newtown shooting are going to happen then fuck you. That’s bullshit. Accepting that things like this are “going to happen” means accepting that children are going to get slaughtered by some asshole wearing body armor and carrying several semi-automatic weapons to guarantee our “freedoms?” Nope. Not gonna accept that.<br /><br />But you know the worst part of all this is the misinformation. All the bullshit that gets reported and then gets passed along on social media that turns out not to be true. It’s bad enough that the media gets stuff wrong, but then people take those bits and pieces of bad info that fits their agendas and they use it and refuse to acknowledge being wrong. They just can’t give up the narrative. And again, what are you gonna do? Tell them they’re wrong about some piece of news that wasn’t true? If you do you’re either a “gun nut” or you want to “take everyone’s guns away.” I think I unfollowed more people on Twitter and Tumblr on Saturday than I have in my social media life combined. And there’s a couple of Facebook that just about to get the boot too.<br /><br />Yeah, I know, I haven’t offered any answers or solutions either. That’s because I don’t have any. I haven’t a clue what to do. Not about guns or mental health issues or any of it. But hey, at least I admit it and don’t try to act like an expert or a sociologist or a lawyer or specially trained FBI criminal behavior analysts or some shit like so many of you do.<br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS</a><br /><br /><br /><br />In happier news, on Saturday's episode of <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2012/12/16/the-bachelor-life">I'm With Stupid</a> we celebrated the great news about Schmoop and then talked about the awesomeness of being single! You know, the lonely nights, drinking alone, eating alone and general lack of companionship. So. Much. Fun!<br /><br /></div><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D4144527&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D4144527&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">Im With Stupid</a> on Blog Talk Radio</div><br /><br /><br /></div>

I Have No Answers

Hola y’all! Well here are, another Sunday night and it’s my turn to blog and I got nothing. What else is new, right? Okay, maybe I’ll turn o...

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Book Briefs #13: A Bunch More Journals

<i>"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books that make their way into my library. These briefs are not full-blown reviews, but they are a way to share more books worthy of attention than can find their way into reviews on my <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/search/label/book-review">daily</a> or <a href="http://www.archidose.org/books/books.html">weekly</a> pages. See my recent installment with "<a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2012/10/book-brief-11-bunch-of-journals.html">a bunch of journals.</a>"</i><br /><br /><img alt="BB13-1.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/BB13-1.jpg" title="Covers" /><br /><br /><b>1: <a href="http://www.evolo.us/architecture/evolo-04/"><span style="font-style: italic;">eVolo #04: Re-imagining the Contemporary Museum, Exhibition and Performance Space</span></a> | eVolo Magazine | Summer 2012 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981665853/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0981665853&link_code=as3&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />A quick glance at the cover of eVolo's fourth issue may tip readers that something is different; namely, where is the tall building? With eVolo's annual Skyscraper Competition (again, the results of which make up a good chunk of the issue) and all things tall, it's a bit odd that the cover image is a mushroom-like building that hugs the ground rather than rising vertically from it. Yet the issue's focus on "re-imagining the contemporary museum, exhibition and performance space" gives the project (MVRDV's China Comic and Animation Museum) a context that maintains eVolo's coverage of the cutting edge, even if cultural buildings rarely rise above a few stories. The issue is basically split into thirds: the <a href="http://www.evolo.us/architecture/winners-2011-skyscraper-competition/">2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition</a> (on which I was a juror), some opinion pieces, and the cultural projects; my favorite is this last one, which makes up about half of the issue. One reason is that the thorough drawings and photos or renderings for the built and in-progress projects are often accompanied by critical text, giving writers the chance to discuss striking architecture while exploring it in a larger context.<br /><br /><b>2: <a href="http://laep.ced.berkeley.edu/groundupjournal/groundupwp/current-issue/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ground Up 01: Landscapes of Uncertainty</span></a> | Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at University of California at Berkeley | 2012 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615619894?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=0615619894&linkCode=xm2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />"Landscapes of Uncertainty" is the first issue of the "student-initiated and curated" journal of the <a href="http://laep.ced.berkeley.edu/">Department of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning</a> at the University of California at Berkeley. The issue was assembled against the backdrop of last year's global uprisings, so the uncertainty addresses the "tension between these societal shifts and the physical landscape that we both inherit and construct." Essays and projects are split into three sections: Unclaimed Territories, Temporal Environments, and Pop Up; I'm guessing that the theme of subsequent issues will find relevant threads to group contributions. Issue 01 is a solid collection that gives a good snapshot of how landscape architects and students are addressing important issues today. <b>The next topic is "Grit," and for those interested the <a href="http://laep.ced.berkeley.edu/groundupjournal/groundupwp/call-for-submissions/">call for submissions</a> deadline is January 4, 2013.</b><br /><br /><b>3: <a href="http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/projects/new-geographies-03-urbanisms-of-color.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">New Geographies 3: Urbanisms of Color</span></a> | Harvard GSD | 2011 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934510262?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1934510262&linkCode=xm2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />The theme for the fourth issue of Harvard GSD's <a href="http://internal.gsd.harvard.edu/academic/upd/agakhan/newgeographies/"><i>New Geographies</i></a> (there was a Zero issue) is a simple one—color in cities. Yet the many responses indicate it is a complex issue that hasn't really been addressed that much. As editor Gareth Doherty mentions in his introductory essay, the theme is not about race, color perception, optics, or other areas of color, but "the interrelationships, spatiality, and geographies of color in the built environment"—the physical nature of color. Often I describe how collections in journals and books benefit from varied responses to a theme (a description that might be trite enough to retire), but I think in the case of New Geographies 3 that variety is at the extreme end of the scale—in terms of geography, subject matter and form the diversity is stunning. What is praiseworthy is how the diversity of the contributions becomes the key to issue's success. Each essay (be it an interview with Petra Blaisse or Alan Hess's analysis of color in 1950s suburbia, to choose two examples) is a self-contained response to color in the city, creating a gradient across the issue, a gradient that is reinforced by the two-way, honeysuckle-to-turquoise color shift on the page edges (coincidentally, I think, is the location of Doherty's photo spread of Irish houses in the middle of the book, where the gray page edges let the red and green facades stand out even more). This gradient is echoed on the book's cover, where the table of contents resides, sans page numbers; pagination happens inside, but it's basically unnecessary, as this is a book to be browsed and savored, just like the presence of color in the city it wakes us up to.<br /><br /><img alt="BB13-2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/BB13-2.jpg" title="Covers" /><br /><br /><b>4: <a href="http://www.boundaries.it/global/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=174&Itemid=182&lang=en"><span style="font-style: italic;">Boundaries n.4: The Other City</span></a> | Boundaries · International Architectural Magazine | April - June 2012 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008PWZLQ8/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B008PWZLQ8&link_code=as3&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />The theme for the fourth issue of Boundaries refers to the informal settlements of the poor in cities around the world. The cover illustration depicts a vertical city rising from a flat base that is mirrored by the slums silhouetted against the steep terrain they occupy; the image hints at the proximity, inequality, and interrelationship of this "other city." The projects and research in the issue are targeted at Bangkok, São Paulo, Caracas, Manila, Dehli, Buenos Aires, and other places where informal settlements predominate. While many of the images inside echo the cover's illustration, the varied responses to the enormous difficulties of informal housing seem to share one important trait: They strive to improve the infrastructure and well-being of the places and people while embracing their positive aspects and incorporating residents into the process; eviction and clearance is not the preferred solution. There are no easy answers to such a large, multi-faceted issue, but it's a testament to the vision of Boundaries that they tackle it head on, reminding us once again of problems that need to be addressed.<br /><br /><b>5: <a href="http://www.frameweb.com/magazines/mark/mark-40"><span style="font-style: italic;">Mark #40</span></a> | Frame Publishers | Oct/Nov 2012 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9077174788?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=9077174788&linkCode=xm2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />Most issues of Mark magazine jump around through various strands of contemporary architecture, highlighting a number of new buildings that vie for the reader's attention. Issue #40, on the other hand, has seven Japanese houses at its core. This is not to say this it is just limited to residential architecture on the island nation, just that the usual variety of buildings swirls around the houses designed by ON Design, Suppose Design Office, and others. We can thank Cathelijne Nuijsink (whose book <a href="http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/3454179"><i>How to Make a Japanese House</i></a> is one of <a href="http://www.designersandbooks.com/designer/booklist/john-hill/notable-books-2012">my favorites of 2012</a>) for this theme and many of the interviews for the seven houses. It's been seven issues since <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2011/09/four-magazines.html">my last Mark review</a>, and I'm glad to see the "bookmarks" feature is still going strong, even as it discusses the unfortunate demise of 010.<br /><br /><b>6: <a href="http://www.clog-online.com/issues/clog-rendering/"><span style="font-style: italic;">CLOG: Rendering</span></a> | CLOG | 2012 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983820430/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=0983820430&link_code=as3&tag=aweeklydoseof-20">Amazon</a></b><br />Like previous issues, the various short contributions to CLOG cover a wide area around the theme, be it theoretical slants, technical talk, or the blurring of reality in renderings. (Disclaimer: An essay I wrote on Allied Works' MAD project in NYC is included in this issue.) I especially like the editors' contributions, which stand out on yellow paper and take the form of semi-objective explorations of renderings in terms of labor, money, lingo, types, and the composition of elements in images, some of them from elsewhere in the issue. A long interview by the editors with <a href="http://www.luxigon.fr/">Luxigon</a> and <a href="http://www.mir.no/">MIR</a> points to a loosening of CLOG's format of short essays and visuals.

Book Briefs #13: A Bunch More Journals

"Book Briefs" are an ongoing series of posts with two- or three-sentence first-hand descriptions of some of the numerous books ...

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When the Doctor Is Not Needed - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">There is already a shortage of doctors in many parts of the United States. The expansion of health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans under the Affordable Care Act will make that shortage even worse. Expanding medical schools and residency programs could help in the long run.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But a sensible solution to this crisis — particularly to address the short supply of primary care doctors — is to rely much more on nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, community members and even the patients themselves to do many of the routine tasks traditionally reserved for doctors.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">There is plenty of evidence that well-trained health workers can provide routine service that is every bit as good or even better than what patients would receive from a doctor. And because they are paid less than the doctors, they can save the patient and the health care system money.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Here are some initiatives that use non-doctors to provide medical care, with very promising results:</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>PHARMACISTS</strong> A <a title="2011 report (PDF)" href="http://www.accp.com/docs/positions/misc/Improving_Patient_and_Health_System_Outcomes.pdf" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">report by the chief pharmacist</a> of the United States Public Health Service a year ago argued persuasively that pharmacists are "remarkably underutilized" given their education, training and closeness to the community. The chief exceptions are pharmacists who work in federal agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Indian Health Service, where they deliver a lot of health care with minimal supervision. After an initial diagnosis is made by a doctor, federal pharmacists manage the care of patients when medications are the primary treatment, as is very often the case.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">They can start, stop or adjust medications, order and interpret laboratory tests, and coordinate follow-up care. But various state and federal laws make it hard for pharmacists in private practice to perform such services without a doctor's supervision, even though patients often like dealing with a pharmacist, especially for routine matters.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>NURSE PRACTITIONERS </strong>In 2012, 18 states and the District of Columbia allowed nurse practitioners, who typically have master's degrees and more advanced training than registered nurses, to diagnose illnesses and treat patients, and to prescribe medications without a doctor's involvement.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Substantial evidence shows that nurse practitioners are as capable of providing primary care as doctors and are generally more sensitive to what a patient wants and needs.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">In a report in October 2010, the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences, called for the removal of <a title="2010 report " href="http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">legal barriers that hinder nurse practitioners</a> from providing medical care for which they have been trained. It also urged that more nurses be given higher levels of training, and that better data be collected on the number of nurse practitioners and other advance practice nurses in the country and the roles they are performing. Tens of thousands will probably be needed, if not more.<strong></strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Mary Mundinger, dean emeritus of Columbia University School of Nursing, believes highly trained nurses are actually better at primary care than doctors are, and they have experience working in the community, in nursing homes, patients' homes and schools, and are better at disease prevention and helping patients follow medical regimens.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>RETAIL CLINICS</strong> Hundreds of clinics, mostly staffed by nurse practitioners, have been opened in drugstores and big retail stores around the country, putting basic care within easy reach of tens of millions of people. The CVS drugstore chain has opened 640 retail clinics, and Walgreens has more than 350. The clinics treat common conditions like ear infections, administer vaccines and perform simple laboratory tests.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">A study by the RAND Corporation of CVS retail clinics in Minnesota found that in many cases they delivered better and much cheaper care than doctor's offices, urgent care centers and emergency rooms.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong></strong><strong>TRUSTED COMMUNITY AIDES</strong> One novel approach trains local community members who have experience caring for others to deliver routine services for patients at home. Two pediatric Medicaid centers in Houston and Harrisonburg, Va., have tested this concept to see if it can reduce the cost of home care and avoid unnecessary admissions to a clinic or hospital.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The aides are trained to consult with patients over the phone by asking questions devised by experts. A supervising nurse makes the final decisions on the care a patient requires. The community aide may visit the patient, provide care in the home and send photos or videos back to the supervising nurse by cellphone.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The aides are typically paid about $25,000 a year, according to an article in <a href="http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/5.toc" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153); text-decoration: none; ">Health Affairs</a> by the pilot study's leaders. The study concluded that the program would have averted 62 percent of the visits to a Houston clinic and 74 percent of the emergency room visits in Harrisonburg.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The aides cost $17 per call or visit, compared with Medicaid payment rates of $200 for a clinic visit in Houston and $175 for an emergency room in Harrisonburg.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><strong>SELF-CARE AT HOME</strong><strong> </strong>A program run by the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and its affiliates lets patients with hypertension, diabetes and congestive heart failure decide whether they want a care coordinator to visit them at home or prefer to measure their own blood pressure, pulse or glucose levels and enter the results online, where the data can be immediately reviewed by their primary care doctor. The patient could consult by phone or e-mail with a nurse about his insulin dosage, but there would be no need for a costly visit to a doctor.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">Taking this idea a step further, a hospital in Sweden, prodded by a kidney dialysis patient who thought he could do his own hemodialysis better than the nursing staff, allowed him to do so and then teach other patients, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a nonprofit organization in Cambridge, Mass. Now most dialysis at that hospital is administered by the patients themselves. Costs have been cut in half, and complications and infections have been greatly reduced.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><strong>HEALTH REFORM LAW</strong> The Affordable Care Act contains many provisions that should help relieve the shortage of primary care providers, both doctors and other health care professionals.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">It provides money to increase the number of medical residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained in primary care, yielding more than 1,700 new primary care providers by 2015. It offers big bonuses for up to five hospitals to train advanced practice nurses and has demonstration projects to promote primary care coordination of complex illnesses, incorporating pharmacists and social workers in some cases. And it offers financial incentives for doctors to practice primary care — like family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics — as opposed to specialties.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">These are all moves in the right direction, but they will need to be followed by even bigger steps and protected from budget cuts in efforts to reduce the deficit.</p><div style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 24px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; "><em>This is part of a continuing examination of ways to cut the costs of medical care while improving quality.</em></p></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/when-the-doctor-is-not-needed.html?&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/when-the-doctor-is-not-needed.html?&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

When the Doctor Is Not Needed - NYTimes.com

There is already a shortage of doctors in many parts of the United States. The expansion of health care coverage to millions of uninsured Am...

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"I am Adam Lanza's Mother" Essay goes viral

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkupPOiNzj6pCGIE5rGU7W8gFjyd4c68mGwC1WR74RMsktmJiztt2WxaReUNucMmhObtaicjof9lKkDqYxrLNtCjZ0jVrh4aXsMha8A-FAQET4GV5NH0mI7QwVckXTGxuRIB-yfCAkbXFG/s1024/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525205%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=" "><img alt="Anarchist Soccer Mom Blog - Her post has gone viral" class="aligncenter" height="375" id="blogsy-1355698196186.6309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkupPOiNzj6pCGIE5rGU7W8gFjyd4c68mGwC1WR74RMsktmJiztt2WxaReUNucMmhObtaicjof9lKkDqYxrLNtCjZ0jVrh4aXsMha8A-FAQET4GV5NH0mI7QwVckXTGxuRIB-yfCAkbXFG/s500/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525205%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" width="500"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Anarchist Soccer Mom's post has gone viral. If you teach college psychology or in any profession dealing with public policy or mental health in the US, this is a post to share and discuss with your students.</td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In a <a href="http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html" target="_self" title="">viral blog</a>, a Mom of a mentally ill 13 year old stirs up conversations about mental health and how hard it is to get help for a child with anger problems. </span><br/><br/><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">While I applaud the article, it saddens me - she changed her child's name, but still, I don't think it will be hard for those who follow her to figure out who she is -- or more importantly - her child. Her child will be labeled and that is sad. </span><br/><br/><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Even worse is this comment:</span><br/><br/><blockquote><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. (http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/05/us-number-mentally-ill-prisons-quadrupled)"</span></p></blockquote> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You shouldn't have to put a child in jail to get them help for a mental illness -- the circumstances that make that happen are what is criminal. </span><br/><br/><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We want to blame the gun but if we're not helping scared Mom's with their children who are mentally ill, we're ignoring the real problem.</span><br/><br/> <em>If you are a college professor of psychology or any profession dealing with mental health and public policy in the United States, I think this is a vitally important read.</em><br/><br/> <br/><br/><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad" height="20" src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" />Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad</a></div>

"I am Adam Lanza's Mother" Essay goes viral

The Anarchist Soccer Mom's post has gone viral. If you teach college psychology or in any profession dealing with public policy or menta...

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Remember the noble fallen, teacher: 4 ways to take action in their honor #newtown

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpfV1zSnI4WRlr_7Nf736xk6rf64J_T08sKfVHAMJaP8eb2oLtXRRELydG4IPiKEcyLL5MubbIyq7TiWJwzoZ9iUWG-6uG50-Ety8uBh6x0NVR2EH6iNFZs2cZveZZzgc9_God5v1HYDn/s1024/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525207%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="375" id="blogsy-1355676591642.8264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpfV1zSnI4WRlr_7Nf736xk6rf64J_T08sKfVHAMJaP8eb2oLtXRRELydG4IPiKEcyLL5MubbIyq7TiWJwzoZ9iUWG-6uG50-Ety8uBh6x0NVR2EH6iNFZs2cZveZZzgc9_God5v1HYDn/s500/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525207%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>Angela Maiers is right, <a href="http://www.angelamaiers.com/2012/12/there-is-no-lesson-plan-for-tragedy-teachers-you-know-what-to-do.html" target="_self" title="there is no lesson plan for this.">there is no lesson plan for this.</a> There are children who will not open presents under the tree for them this year because of the senseless tragedy of <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/14/school-shooting-connecticut/1769367/" target="_self" title="">the lone gunman</a> in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary school. This earth is neither heaven nor hell - but sometimes the face of both show up here. Friday, hell showed his face.<br /><br /><h1 style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-size: 27px; line-height: 40px;">Remember the noble fallen, teachers.</h1>You are a teacher. You are noble.<br /><br />Why does it take a dumb tragedy for people to realize how dedicated most of you are to your students? You make sacrifices every day and I know that many of you out there would do the same thing for your babies in your classroom.<br /><br />But you aren't called to die for your kids. You're called to live for them and show them how to live.<br /><br />We grieved as a nation when 9/11 happened, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and we grieve again now - whipped into even more of a frenzy by politicians and a media that are pulling on our heartstrings so that many can do little but cry and hold our babies.<br /><br />But it is time to loosen our purse strings and make the phone ring to save children alive today who need us. We are teachers, practical people who act. Let's honor our fallen by SERVING and SAVING kids in their honor.<br /><br /><strong>Teachers stand in the gap.</strong><br /><br />But we also must remember that there are warm bodied children who will be tucked into their beds tonight because the last task ever done by 6 noble teachers and a principal was to stand in the gap and protect them. These educators gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect the children in their care, like the Great Teacher who did this for us.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3AqIE1yGEuy9NApfvAANG6s9Zk2snVLzbEzzD5fN4U-FUFoOkjKMFhvaAbS_1cZhSlQvrSGGxIml1o7x9fSTHVCf5pyCU7JAmw43hBrvUO3bmAs4qEWZ6CC61kJVrPHa_AqaygiS2Pnp/s1024/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525207%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="375" id="blogsy-1355676591643.6248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3AqIE1yGEuy9NApfvAANG6s9Zk2snVLzbEzzD5fN4U-FUFoOkjKMFhvaAbS_1cZhSlQvrSGGxIml1o7x9fSTHVCf5pyCU7JAmw43hBrvUO3bmAs4qEWZ6CC61kJVrPHa_AqaygiS2Pnp/s500/Photo%252520Dec%25252016%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525207%25253A49%252520AM.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>We can be shocked and certainly, we can talk about this with others. But if talk is all we do, we're wasting our breath. There is nothing we can do to bring back these 20 children and 6 teachers. I want to add some perspective here about what we can and should do in honor of these children and educators.<br /><br /><h1>Act to save children now</h1>The death of children is always tragic. All of those hopes and dreams - gone. It is especially tragic if it is senseless and preventable. The <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001915.htm" target="_self" title="">leading cause of death</a> of children according to the United States National Insitute of Health is accidents. In 2009, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html" target="_self" title="">there were 1,314 children</a> killed in automobile accidents (almost 4 a day). One study showed that <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html" target="_self" title="">72% of cars</a> have their booster seats installed incorrectly. If we look at the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/injury/facts.htm" target="_self" title="">CDC stats</a> on the things most likely to kill young children, it remains automobile accidents. It isn't a crazy gunman we should worry about most, but parents and caregivers who don't buckle their kids in properly.<br /><br />Let's also point out that <a href="http://www.childinfo.org/mortality.html" target="_self" title="">6.9 million children</a> die every year, largely due to malnutrition and another report cited by USA today says that <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-17-un-hunger_x.htm" target="_self" title="">18,000 children die every day</a> of hunger. Even worse, if there could be such a thing, there are an <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/6458377.stm" target="_self" title="">estimated 9 million children</a> in slavery today. (See <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2011/12/calling-all-bloggers-lets-free-slaves.html" target="_self" title="">Free Slaves this Christmas</a>.) <a href="http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_darfuroverview.html" target="_self" title="">Tens of thousands of children</a> have been killed by gunmen in Darfur since the beginning of that genocide in 2004.<br /><br />But, Vicki, are you marginalizing what happened in Connecticut?<br /><br />No! Please follow me here. Let's make these lost lives count to save others.<br /><br /><h1> Teachers stand in the gap</h1>Let's grieve by giving in honor of our fallen heroes. On Monday, you're not going to be asked to die for your students, but to live for your students. Let's channel this grief in the honor of those who are fallen to SAVE lives of children. It is what we should do as teachers.<br /><br />These teachers used their bodies to protect the children in their care. Let's use ours to protect the children in ours.<br /><br /><h2>What can we do to honor these fallen teachers?</h2><strong>1- Talk to your students.</strong><br /><br />Yes, of course, you can talk to and love your students. They will have questions, be there for them. But use this opportunity to talk about something that is a greater threat to them than a gunman -- wearing their seatbelt and getting adults to wear them too. We will save more children that way than putting bullet proof glass in the front office. (Larry Ferlazzo has compiled a great list of <a href="http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/12/15/more-resources-on-dealing-with-tragedies/" target="_self" title="">resources for dealing with tragedy.</a>)<br /><br /><strong>2 - Give donations to organizations that protect children in the name of the fallen teachers.</strong><br /><br />Donate to <a href="http://www.destinyrescue.com/" target="_self" title="">Destiny Rescue</a>, a slavery rescue organization, or any worthwhile organization that feeds and helps children. Raise money to help children who need you. Spent your grief honoring these fallen teachers and students by helping children! Write a check and put these six names above on the "in honor of" list.<br /><br />What greater tribute can be given to a teacher who gave her life sacrificially for her students than to sacrificially give to save another child's life? Couldn't we trend the names of these six women on donor lists for worthy organizations around the world?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwjnwTF1fupjxr8bAW8NTYh6uXsRwt2R_8ER-Ax7vBBuhYkvdGpV8nm5n7ER2GggU1WAdJ6F7rsFiHJfGWUAoowbWdjAaP3TxNDMf-vJxiCNc977nYY0M-ZNRbfOWbuPC7lHeYC3TArg2/s480/Photo%252520Dec%25252015%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525209%25253A10%252520PM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="300" id="blogsy-1355676591639.8723" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwjnwTF1fupjxr8bAW8NTYh6uXsRwt2R_8ER-Ax7vBBuhYkvdGpV8nm5n7ER2GggU1WAdJ6F7rsFiHJfGWUAoowbWdjAaP3TxNDMf-vJxiCNc977nYY0M-ZNRbfOWbuPC7lHeYC3TArg2/s480/Photo%252520Dec%25252015%25252C%2525202012%25252C%2525209%25253A10%252520PM.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><strong>3 - Schedule a car seat check at your school.</strong><br /><br />If you want to save the lives of children - work to make sure parents and children are properly secured in their vehicles. Use the empathy of parents in a positive direction for them to realize that senseless accidents are the number one killer of children in the US and how to prevent those. Don't let this grief be wasted - SAVE LIVES.<br /><br /><strong>4 - Rededicate yourself to your students.</strong><br /><br />When things like this happen, we see how much these kids really mean to us. Their lives are in our care. This is an incredible responsibility and opportunity. Never settle for even one child to be lost.<br /><br /><h1><strong>Let's take steps to end the death of children wherever it is happening.</strong></h1>Things went right back to "normal" after 9/11 and in a few weeks, many will move on from this too. But if we can adopt a hungry child - every month we can remember. If we can donate and raise money for causes that help children live healthy lives and do this every year -- we can remember. <br /><br />And more than remembering - we can honor.<br /><br /><br />So, in honor of these educators, I'm going to go to my classes on Monday and ask them what they want to do in the 3 days we have left to support an organization that helps save the lives of children and we're going to do it in honor of those who lost their lives at Sandy Hook. I'm going to make a donation in honor of these women to Rescue Atlanta, a nonprofit in Atlanta taking steps to end the child sex trade right here on my door.<br /><br />Talking, crying, melancholy - throw those tissues away and get busy with your grief - turn your grief into giving and do it in honor of the great ones among us who gave their ultimate gift to their students - their lives.<br /><br />Remember your noble calling, teacher.<br /><br />Remember the noble fallen teachers. May we never forget.<br /><br /><br />My husband said some of you will be mad at me for this post as I read it to him in the car - I hope before you comment, you'll read the whole thing and know that I<br /><div id="blogsy_footer" style="clear: both; font-size: small; text-align: right;"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad" height="20" src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" style="margin-right: 5px; vertical-align: middle;" width="20" />Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad</a></div>

Teaching Remember the noble fallen, teacher: 4 ways to take action in their honor #newtown

Angela Maiers is right, there is no lesson plan for this. There are children who will not open presents under the tree for them this year ...

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IWS Babe of the Week...Ho Ho Ho's

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I wasn't much in the Christmas mood until Friday, but since Friday?  Whoooooa-Oh,  Kaaaaaaaaatie bar the door!!  And what better way to share my Christmas spirit than to share some Christmas babes with you...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Every time I see this chick I start strokin' in a winter wonderland...</div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEI51nyHDB1WgggS4bOBsK-8f6h8qkk6-LrSZdQMTz87x5J4gxCfPBBKbvyxZqv614eJZPXu8YglDKM0UjRdwVz9xUHJOCSyjKIm-YC4VHk_i3ohyyzLWuzOukMSxs9aw8JKKCQrqw90/s1600/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEI51nyHDB1WgggS4bOBsK-8f6h8qkk6-LrSZdQMTz87x5J4gxCfPBBKbvyxZqv614eJZPXu8YglDKM0UjRdwVz9xUHJOCSyjKIm-YC4VHk_i3ohyyzLWuzOukMSxs9aw8JKKCQrqw90/s400/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Santa works hard on Christmas Eve so he deserves a little down time come Christmas Day...</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZa7JQOi5nlgTumhpezabARUyxBl8DDjE8e8DaumtpZyjbfsK5TaagkoE-YuZs8OiSQ1TDwxg1uJGyj9-sJqnM7v6rG6W9gxSjRlANl6xS3VN1ocBkRFq5QITtZZrssJTnP9wEZT9_Vo/s1600/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZa7JQOi5nlgTumhpezabARUyxBl8DDjE8e8DaumtpZyjbfsK5TaagkoE-YuZs8OiSQ1TDwxg1uJGyj9-sJqnM7v6rG6W9gxSjRlANl6xS3VN1ocBkRFq5QITtZZrssJTnP9wEZT9_Vo/s400/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jayman would appreciate celebrating a Verwy Asian Chwistmas.  Fa ra ra ra ra...ra ra ra rahhhh..</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-z34u0xmlOgfderGitPc1lPcStO8C7f70Tk96n5VpZNZp5nhAKeBtBqZZb8vgDtQ9qimik1kJoXG0bptBQ62ZXHot6rIlBZNpIFRHkS0iXs3wMEEksc2ER3OunxxUHvDH_spcFH_CJ0/s1600/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-z34u0xmlOgfderGitPc1lPcStO8C7f70Tk96n5VpZNZp5nhAKeBtBqZZb8vgDtQ9qimik1kJoXG0bptBQ62ZXHot6rIlBZNpIFRHkS0iXs3wMEEksc2ER3OunxxUHvDH_spcFH_CJ0/s400/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And the Matt-Man?  His fave Christmas Babe for four years running....Ho-Ho-Ho...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzayX7Rf0xTFFDY2XcCPW6RRgT-MtM1iOuO7LqIS0gKyuS5dvmIFv1K-qDAguIG1N5yk0CgTiWRPUfZ6UQnCmuXn-jFDkPNF_u1IONeVkgWSQzP1sr00E6bjgE4qiB-QlgKdLywXj9Tk/s1600/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzayX7Rf0xTFFDY2XcCPW6RRgT-MtM1iOuO7LqIS0gKyuS5dvmIFv1K-qDAguIG1N5yk0CgTiWRPUfZ6UQnCmuXn-jFDkPNF_u1IONeVkgWSQzP1sr00E6bjgE4qiB-QlgKdLywXj9Tk/s400/Sexy+Christmas+Woman+Nude+Hot.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><br /></div></div>

IWS Babe of the Week...Ho Ho Ho's

I wasn't much in the Christmas mood until Friday, but since Friday?  Whoooooa-Oh,  Kaaaaaaaaatie bar the door!!  And what better way to ...

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ENERGY ADVENTURES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></i> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHaZRAKs9LpYeWfekejCgj9On_zn64_6OF2gNXCJLipcceNnyfNCeeDR2F5dp1I2qWOYJhMHbH8OIkOoI0QF4je_u5Qk6u7yZpehfK3iwnUIeArjj1TpE590SLzZETjmSb9TfP49RlG0Y/s1600/MedGasFields426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHaZRAKs9LpYeWfekejCgj9On_zn64_6OF2gNXCJLipcceNnyfNCeeDR2F5dp1I2qWOYJhMHbH8OIkOoI0QF4je_u5Qk6u7yZpehfK3iwnUIeArjj1TpE590SLzZETjmSb9TfP49RlG0Y/s320/MedGasFields426.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="font-style: normal;">IS A NEW PATTERN EMERGING WHICH WILL CHANGE THE POLITICAL BALANCES OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN?</span></b></i></span></span></div><br />By Betül Büke Karaçin<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The petroleum prospect which got under way in 2011 to the south of the island of CYPRUS was received by the GREEK CYPRIOTS as a godsend but led to the appearance in TURKEY of headlines like “EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN’S water temperature rises.” If one looks a little further back into the past of the story, it may be observed that the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN adventure of the GREEKS goes back to the beginning of the 2000’s.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/new-mediterranean-oil-and-gas-bonanza.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/new-mediterranean-oil-and-gas-bonanza.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The GREEK CYPRIOT Administration of Southern CYPRUS had long been looking for appropriate international conditions to begin prospecting for petrol and natural gas and speeded these operations up after becoming a member of the EU in 2004. It prepared the way legally by signing exclusive economic zone agreements with EGYPT, LEBANON, and ISRAEL and then waited for a propitious set of circumstances to begin drilling. Just around this time in 2010, ISRAEL announced that it had discovered about 685 billion m3 of natural gas in its Tamar and Leviathan fields. This spurred the Greek Cypriot administration into action. Taking advantage of growing international interest in the area, they divided the south of the island into prospecting zones and opened international tenders for drilling in them. It was a time of rising energy prices and anxieties caused by the Arab Spring and so international interest was aroused in the potential resources of the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. But it also raised questions about whether it would also give rise to a new equation which would change the political balance in the sea around CYPRUS.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also:  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/geo-strategic-dynamics-in-eastern.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/geo-strategic-dynamics-in-eastern.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>ECONOMIC VALUE OF THE RESOURCES</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aNXyHFLZZES6R3V-GcK6zqkWsH8nZXLfMQR02uE85ejZwpHsmUfzw6p3qsa4M6jNtI984aXYfXth83Hr0ry75xg3en_P0mBwN7nfdCIkeZGdj0nAzGfEnYtPrzX-7xpKb4kotzU4ToHT/s1600/070f3bbe7a86ed0ba8a176e478e5551d_thumb_race-for-gas-by-cyprus-rivals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6aNXyHFLZZES6R3V-GcK6zqkWsH8nZXLfMQR02uE85ejZwpHsmUfzw6p3qsa4M6jNtI984aXYfXth83Hr0ry75xg3en_P0mBwN7nfdCIkeZGdj0nAzGfEnYtPrzX-7xpKb4kotzU4ToHT/s200/070f3bbe7a86ed0ba8a176e478e5551d_thumb_race-for-gas-by-cyprus-rivals.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">Prospecting got under way at the start of 2011 and about 140 to 220 billion cubic metres of natural gas was found in the 12th zone, known as the Aphrodite field. This caused great excitement in GREEK CYPRUS. It strengthened the belief that there were several more fields waiting to be discovered in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN and so put a spotlight on the region. Prospecting activities are being carried out in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN concentrated on three main zones of the Levant, Nile Delta Basin and the Herodotus Basin. The GREEK CYPRIOTS have focused on the Levant Field which comprises ISRAEL, LEBANON, SYRIA, and the island of CYPRUS.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span> </div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/complexity-of-eastern-med-energy-games.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/04/complexity-of-eastern-med-energy-games.html</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to estimates by the American Geological Research Board, there are reserves of 3.45 trillion m3 of undiscovered natural gas, equivalent to 20 billion barrels of crude petroleum, in this field. If one compares this with the 26 billion barrels in NORTH SEA reserves, the sixth largest reserves in the world, it would appear that these deposits could make the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN into a second NORTH SEA in the future. And if one takes the estimates further, there are estimates that there could be reserves of 15 trillion m3 of gas under the sea between CYPRUS and CRETE. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GAS RESERVES UNDER THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARE TOO LARGE TO OVERLOOK</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">These figures suggest that it would not be astonishing if the </span>EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN suddenly became a centre of attraction in the energy sector. RUSSIA has large natural gas reserves of 44 m3, Iran 33 m3, and TURKMENISTAN 24 m3, so the estimates for natural gas reserves under the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN are too large to overlook. If the current prospecting activities do result in definite finds, then the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN could become a new CASPIAN or NORTH SEA in global politics.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also: </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/02/eastern-mediterranean-sea.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">But it is still too early to describe the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN as a new energy centre in global energy calculations. Until current drilling works are completed, these figures are no more than speculation. The most important aspect responsible for the global excitement, i.e. the real area of dispute, will emerge if these estimates are confirmed. If prospecting does conclude with the discovery of large scale deposits of hydrocarbons in the region, then their extraction and utilisation will be a common headache for all the actors in the region. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In other words, if these deposits are discovered, disputed waters in the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN will start getting hotter. But extracting the reserves and transporting them to their markets will require many years. On the most optimistic projections, 2018 is the earliest date at which any gas finds in the Aphrodite field could be used. Consequently there would be a significant advantage for the countries involved, if existing and potentially problems could be overcome.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>TRANSPORTING THE RESERVES</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Energy specialists often say that it is not discovering the gas which is important but actually getting it to the markets. South CYPRUS’S annual consumption of natural gas is around 1 billion m3 and that of ISRAEL about 5 million m3. But it is still not clear how the portion which is not consumed is to be transported. Currently Southern CYPRUS has no infrastructure for transporting natural gas and so various alternatives are being examined to overcome this shortcoming. The first alternative placed on the table so far is for an LNG terminal with an annual capacity of 21 billion m3 to be built at Vasiliko on the south of the island or for a floating LNG platform. But LNG is not a profitable option as the plant would cost $8-10 billion and there would be the costs of transport and liquefaction on top of that. Though the parties involved insist they are going ahead with the project, a solution has yet to be found to overcome the technical and financial difficulties involved.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also:  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/cyprus-emerging-geo-strategic-key.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/03/cyprus-emerging-geo-strategic-key.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">At this point, the idea of transporting the reserves through a pipeline comes on to the agenda. A pipeline is relatively cheap compared to a LNG terminal and one of the possible routes being considered is for it to go across Israel and join the Arab Natural Gas pipeline. Although this would be possible in theory, this option is currently not finding favour because of likely security problems and in particular uncertainty over when the clashes in SYRIA will come to an end. Another option would be to build an undersea pipeline between Southern CYPRUS and GREECE which would convey the reserves to the EUROPEAN UNION. But the distance involved is lengthy and financial and technical problems are also considerable and so this pipeline is not a frontrunner. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally one might regard TURKEY, which has considerable experience with both pipelines and energy transportation, as an important option here. A pipeline to transport the gas to EUROPE via TURKEY would be equivalent to the cost of only 10% of an LNG terminal. But the future of this pipeline scheme is deadlocked by political problems. TURKEY does not recognize GREEK CYPRUS and TURKEY has opposed its prospecting activities and so there is no possibility under existing conditions of its getting together with Southern CYPRUS on a joint venture project. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See also:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/05/cyprus-and-turkey-never-ending-story.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/05/cyprus-and-turkey-never-ending-story.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To conclude: the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN is going to have an extremely lively future. The discovery of new reserves and the question of transporting them could trigger a new political dispute involving several parties and problems. TURKEY would be involved in the inevitable disputes, so it has to use the time available to it intelligently. It needs to back up its presence in the prospecting field with diplomacy and thought-out preparations in order to prepare for a period when current strategies will be inadequate. Rather than project the image of an aggressive actor who causes problems, it needs to utilise its existing capacity to generate comprehensive strategies based on a full awareness of the seriousness of the issue.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Further Background Information: </span></b></u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-erratic-foreign-policies-all.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-erratic-foreign-policies-all.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-energy-dependency-on-countries.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/turkeys-energy-dependency-on-countries.html</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2011/09/turkeys-middle-east-chess-game.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

ENERGY ADVENTURES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

IS A NEW PATTERN EMERGING WHICH WILL CHANGE THE POLITICAL BALANCES OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN? By Betül Büke Karaçin The petroleum pros...

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