Hong Kong sees surge of democratic fervor after 'patriotic education' showdown

Hong Kong had the highest turnout in memory for elections yesterday, underscoring its commitment to the 'two systems government' that Beijing agreed to in the 1997 handover.

By Robert Marquand,?Staff writer / September 10, 2012

Residents walk in front of campaign banners from various candidates for the Legislative Council election campaign in Hong Kong Sept. 9. Hong Kong residents voted for a new legislature on Sunday, a day after the territory's Beijing-backed leader backed down on a plan to introduce a compulsory Chinese school curriculum after tens of thousands of people took to the streets.

Bobby Yip/Reuters

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Hong Kong?s highest election turnout in years yesterday showed a thriving democratic sentiment in a nation that otherwise doesn?t go to the polls.

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The heavy turnout hinged on tumult surrounding a ?patriotic? education plan for Hong Kong schools ? seen as a proxy for Beijing propaganda ? and voter desire to weigh in on the future of the pilot program, which was rejected by all but two of hundreds of schools on the island.

Yesterday?s vote showed political sophistication, analysts say, aided largely by youth, in a vote where bread-and-butter issues like housing and pay figured prominently as well.

Young Hong Kongers spurred a political protest ?movement bigger than anything I?ve seen in a long time,? says Michael DeGolyer, who has long studied city politics at Hong Kong Baptist University. ?You had 16-year-olds bringing their parents into politics, not the other way around.?

The patriotic education course was aimed at elementary-level students and got heavy criticism for teaching little or nothing about cataclysmic events like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, or the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Critics branded it ?brainwashing.??

Hong Kong has long harbored a distrust of mainland Beijing?s heavy-handed efforts to ?make? Hong Kong a ?Chinese? city, even as Hong Kong?s history, civil service, education, and business acumen make it a financial services hub with international characteristics.

After the crippling SARS outbreak in 2003 and efforts by Beijing to institute a ?subversion? law that would throttle free expression, Hong Kong?s civic base has steadily mobilized, despite handicaps in the city governing structure, which favors Beijing.

For weeks ahead of the vote Sunday, ordinary people thronged the eastern business district.

In a rare move, pro-Chinese forces in Hong Kong backed down from plans to make the national education mandatory by 2015. At the 11th?hour on Saturday word came the plan would be voluntary, though many Hong Kongers were suspicious it could reappear later, an old tactic.

In the scale of problems faced by China this fall, though, Hong Kong may not be at the top of the list.

Beijing?s Politburo undergoes a once-in-a-decade leadership change this fall amid recriminations and turmoil over incidents like the disappearance of Bo Xilai. Its stellar growth rate is in some decline. China is also in the middle of tension-building territory disputes in the South China Sea.

Then there is the sense of disquiet and spiritual hunger among the rank and file, according to Gerard Lemos, who has studied ordinary Chinese people in the heartland since 2007. Any kind of unrest, including that in Hong Kong, tends to trouble China?s leaders, who have long said ?stability? is the chief virtue of statecraft.

The patriotic education issue appeared to push voter turnout high enough to give fractious pro-democracy forces enough seats in the legislature (27) to block pro-China forces in coming sessions.

Much credit goes to Hong Kong youth: ?I could not believe the organization, the discipline shown by these kids,? Mr. DeGolyer said by phone. ?They picked up after themselves, articulated what they wanted, and when they didn?t get everything, they didn?t escalate, which has been the problem in the past, but organized a different way forward. It was astonishing.?

He adds: ?If Hong Kong can handle its youth unrest well, then the unrest of youth in China, which we know is growing, may bring the PRC [People's Republic of China] to come here and ask, ?how are you doing this?? ?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/Zia3v1Tp4dE/Hong-Kong-sees-surge-of-democratic-fervor-after-patriotic-education-showdown

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Video: Afghanistan: A land of change

>>> this is the start of a week long assignment for me in afghanistan as this war is about to enter it's 12th year, we'll be closely examining what's being established, what can be sustained and what price in american lives. and tomorrow on "today" i'll sit down with the man in charge of the war effort , general john allen . but first we want to share with you something we shot here tonight, to remind you this is nis -- this is a pair of teenaged sisters, trying their hand at bowling, even trying some pizza between frames. we have to note that to enter that bowling ally, we had to go through steel and sandbag re-enforced doors and be frisked by guards with automatic weapons. not all change here has come quickly. that's nbc nightly

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49141699/

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Drought 2012: Moldy Corn and Crop Insurance | Integrated Pest and ...

Damon L. Smith, Plant Pathology (UW-Madison/Extension), Paul D. Mitchell (Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW-Madison/Extension)

To download this article as a PDF file click here.

Corn harvest is beginning throughout Wisconsin and should proceed quickly with the projected dry weather.? Though the USDA estimates that the state average yield will be 130 bu/ac, yields have been varying greatly from one location to the next.? Some growers will find themselves with decent yields and good test weights, and so they may feel no need to contact their crop insurance agent.? However, due to the moisture and heat stress with the drought of 2012, Wisconsin farmers should be especially aware of moldy corn this year, for the health of their livestock and food safety.? Buyers will also be looking for moldy corn; we have already heard reports of loads of corn being rejected due to mold and mycotoxin contamination.

Quality losses due to moldy corn are insurable losses for those with crop insurance, even if the total harvested yield will not trigger an insurance indemnity.? Appropriate grain samples have to be collected and tested before harvest.? Farmers suspecting losses due to moldy grain should contact their crop insurance agents before they harvest, otherwise they may forfeit crop insurance indemnities for quality loses.

Corn Molds and Mycotoxins

Aspergillus species and Fusarium species are fungi that cause molds and produce mycotoxin problems in corn.? Both are very common in nature.? Aspergillus species tend to grow best between 80 and 100 degrees F, with 85% relative humidity and grain moisture of 18%-20% also favoring fungal growth and aflatoxin production.? Fungal infections are also more common in corn under stress, such as from drought, heat, insects, nutrient deficiency, etc.? As a result, Aspergillus ear rot in corn is typically more common in southern states, but conditions in Wisconsin during 2012 where favorable for increased risk of Aspergillus ear rot.

Fungal growth and visible mold on corn can lead to grain contamination with mycotoxins ? toxins produced by these fungi. ?Aspergillus ear rot on corn can produce aflatoxins ? highly toxic compounds officially listed as potential carcinogens.? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established aflatoxin maximum acceptable limits of 20 parts per billion (ppb) for corn used as feed for dairy animals and 0.5 ppb in milk.? These extremely low levels reflect the highly toxic nature of these compounds and the importance of examining corn at harvest and testing for aflatoxin.

Other mycotoxins can also cause problems.? More common in the upper Midwest are Fusarium species that can infect corn kernels and produce fumonisins and vomitoxin.? The FDA has established maximum allowable levels of fumonisins in corn and corn products for human consumption ranging from 2-4 parts per million (ppm).? For animal feed, maximum allowable fumonisin levels range from 5 ppm for horses to 100 ppm for poultry.? Vomitoxin limits are 5 ppm for cattle and chickens and 1 ppm for human consumption.

Reducing Mycotoxin Risks

Before harvest, farmers should check their fields to see if moldy corn is present.? Similarly, during harvest they should carefully monitor the grain for mold.? If substantial portions of fields appear to be contaminated with mold, it does not mean that mycotoxins are present and vice versa.? Appropriate grain samples should be collected and tested by a reputable lab.? Work with your corn agronomist or local UW Extension agent to ensure proper samples are collected and to identify a reputable lab.? If tests show high levels of aflatoxin in grain, that grain SHOULD NOT BE BLENDED with uncontaminated corn.? The FDA has established a ?do not blend? policy for aflatoxin due to its extreme toxicity.

If you observe mold in certain areas of the field during harvest, consider harvesting and storing that corn separately, as it can contaminate loads and the fungi causing the moldy appearance can grow on good corn during storage.? Harvest corn in a timely manner, as letting corn stand late into fall promotes Fusarium ear mold.? Avoid kernel damage during harvest, as cracks in kernels can promote fungal growth.? Also, dry corn properly (12% or less), as grain moisture less than 12% typically inhibits fungal growth.? Finally, keep storage facilities clean.

Crop Insurance Rules

Quality losses due to moldy corn are insurable losses for those with crop insurance, but to claim indemnities, growers must follow crop insurance rules.? If you suspect aflatoxin or other mold issues, contact your crop insurance agent before harvesting, storing or selling the corn.? Farmers will likely lose indemnities for grain quality losses if grain is harvested.? If aflatoxin tests indicate contamination above safety limits (e.g., 20 ppb for aflatoxin), insured growers following proper procedures will be compensated for the reduction in value of the grain.? The key is to communicate with your crop insurance agent before harvesting contaminated grain.? Your crop insurance agent will tell you how to proceed: how to collect grain samples and how many samples to collect.? Also, growers may be asked to leave un-harvested rows for crop loss adjustors to use to determine indemnities.? Expect delays in crop loss adjustment, as the system is overwhelmed with insurance claims this year, but your crop insurance agent will be able to tell you how to proceed to confirm suspected aflatoxin contamination in order to receive indemnities if they are due.

For More Information

Contact your local UW Extension agent or the authors with questions or for more detailed information and your crop insurance agent with specific questions regarding your crop insurance coverage.? Also, the USDA Risk Management Agency also has two fact sheets:

Source: http://ipcm.wisc.edu/blog/2012/09/drought-2012-moldy-corn-and-crop-insurance/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=drought-2012-moldy-corn-and-crop-insurance

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Barely A Blog ? Who Will Be Our 'Massa'? The Mormon Or The ...

We all live on the ?plantation?; we are all ?moocher-hiddeen,? says Barely A Blog contributor, Myron Pauli.

Who Will Be Our ?Massa?? The Mormon Or The Mulatto?
By Myron Pauli

Unless you are hiding in the Unabomber?s Montana shack and consuming rabbits and berries, we all give to and take from the government. However, some give more than they take and some take more than they give.

Just how large is the sector that depends upon government?

Children and the elderly have become virtual wards of the state ? so that 50% already falls into the ?moocher-hiddeen? (to use an Islamic term!). That leaves the ?working age population? of roughly 25 to 65 supporting the rest. Of course, if ?Joe the Plumber? has kids or elderly parents, then the government acts as a conduit from him to his extended family. Even addressing just those working age people with neither children nor parents ? are they the ones who pay more than they receive? Maybe.

Remove government employees and the government contractors from that. Then you have the governmental corporations such as Fannie Mae and academia who are funded via government largesse. And what to make of GM, Chrysler, the bailed-out-financial sector, etc., kept afloat by government? Public utilities are governmentally regulated monopolies. Automobile Dealers function only thanks to governmentally legislated monopoly. Pharmaceutical firms, publishers, and the entertainment industry function on patents and copyright for their financial status. Sectors in agribusiness, health care, insurance, energy, and transportation (Amtrak!) are so heavily regulated that those employees are de-facto governmental workers even if there is a semblance of profit. The less said about lawyers and lobbyists, the better!

Truly private workers such as waiters, plumbers, and preachers are quite independent of government; but in locations like metropolitan Washington DC, nearly all their customers come out of the ?oink sectors.? Even worse is that when Americans invest their money, the Roth?s, IRA?s, 401k?s, 529?s, HSA?s, ?cafeteria plans? are so controlled by governmental rules that one wonders who owns the money ? you or the government ? or is that even a distinction?

The sad and pathetic truth is that we are all living on a large plantation with a quadrennial democratically elected ?Massa? and a bureaucracy of overseers. It is to the credit of racial and religious tolerance that we can have a Mormon vs. mulatto fighting for the job of ?Massa?.

The fact is that government has entangled itself from cradle to grave like a metastasizing cancer. Rhetorical flourishes aside, the only government programs downsized in the last 40 years was transportation deregulation under Carter and welfare reform under Clinton (nothing eliminated under Republican presidents), and the budget was in near-balance (ignoring raids on the ?Social Security Trust Fund!?) by Clinton. I mean, this not as an endorsement of the unabashed big government Obama but merely to point out that the odds of Romney downsizing the Federal Government is smaller than the odds that the Chinese politburo will make Yom Kippur a Chinese holiday!

So when ?Tea Party Conservatives? start bitching about Obama endangering their Medicare, it is because the addiction to government is nearly universal. Some of us on the plantation may be more productive than others, but we all live under the rules and, regrettably, most inhabitants (or inmates) generally support the system.

A few libertarian ?nutcases? like Paul or Johnson may point the other way, but even most billionaires are as happy to have the Warfare-Welfare state as the poor. Who do you think pays for the TV commercials and the spin doctors and the political ?think tanks? ? Christian coalminers and Hispanic gardeners, or guys named Koch, Adelson, Soros, and Spielberg?

Nothing short of a major non-violent libertarian revolution? (Constitutional restoration) is needed ? but until then, we can all stick our hand out for our share of the public gruel.

******
Barely a Blog (BAB) contributor Myron Pauli grew up in Sunnyside Queens, went off to college in Cleveland and then spent time in a mental institution in Cambridge MA (MIT) with Benjamin Netanyahu (did not know him), and others until he was released with the ?hostages? and Jimmy Carter on January 20, 1981, having defended his dissertation in nuclear physics. Most of the time since, he has worked on infrared sensors, mainly at Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC. He was NOT named after Ron Paul but is distantly related to physicist Wolftgang Pauli; unfortunately, only the ?good looks? were handed down and not the brains. He writes assorted song lyrics and essays reflecting his cynicism and classical liberalism. Click on the ?BAB?s A List? category to access the Pauli archive.

Source: http://barelyablog.com/who-will-be-our-massa-the-mormon-or-the-mulatto/

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A 19yearold former McPherson (Kansas) College football player was arrested for the beating of a 26yearold Tabor College foot...

SbB LIVE FROM LA (Sep 22, 2012 @ 9:18pm ET)

8:00 PM: Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez after winning his 20th game of the season: " This is like a dream, and I feel like I'm still sleeping in it."

7:45 PM: After defeating Missouri 31-10 on Saturday, South Carolina QB Connor Shaw said that those who picked the Tigers to win were "disrespectful": "We wanted to prove what the SEC was all about."

7:30 PM: Miami began Saturday with a 19-0 run against Georgia Tech, then the Yellow Jackets went on a 36-0, but the Hurricanes finished with a 23-0 run to win 42-36 over GT in OT.

7:15 PM: The full transcript of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse trial was released Friday, revealing that Sandusky did not testify after his son Matt told prosecutors that he had abused him. Sandusky's defense attorneys had also asked for a mistrial & to be withdrawn from the case.

7:00 PM: ESPN baseball reporter Buster Olney tweets: "Saw Jackie Robinson movie trailer, and they have JR doing Dante Bichette bat-flip after a HR. Please, for the love of history, take it out."

6:45 PM: Matt Jones of NWA Media notes that in tonight's game against Rutgers, it will be the first time Arkansas has worn white helmets since 1951.

6:30 PM: A five-year-old Florida boy who fell off the side of a 10-foot high diving board at Lake Brantley High School has died from his injuries.

6:15 PM: The parents of former NHL player Derek Boogaard have reportedly filed a $9.8 million lawsuit against the NHLPA over the death of their son.

6:00 PM: The Baltimore Orioles won their 16th straight extra-innings game by defeating the Boston Red Sox 9-6 in 12 innings Saturday.

5:45 PM: Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson & Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams were each fined $10,000 for their on-field scuffle during last Sunday's game. Three other players from the game were each fined $7,875 for late hits.

5:30 PM: After a long feud with Al Davis, former Oakland Raiders RB Marcus Allen will light the ceremonial torch in honor of the former team over before Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

5:15 PM: During Saturday's game against Miami, Georgia Tech kick returner Orwin Smith committed a safety by reaching out to the 1-yard line but kneeling in the end zone.

5:00 PM: Florida defeated Kentucky 38-0 Saturday for the Gators' 26th straight win over the Wildcats. It was also Florida's first shutout of an SEC foe since defeating Mississippi State 52-0 in 2001.

4:45 PM: Old Dominion QB Taylor Heinicke threw for 730 yards & 5 TDs in the Monarchs' 64-61 win over New Hampshire Saturday. Heinicke finished six yards short of the NCAA all-time single-game passing record set by Sam Durley of Eureka College earlier this month.

4:30 PM: The Washington Nationals' Gio Gonzalez became the first MLB pitcher to win 20 games this season in Saturday's 10-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Source: http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/sbblive?eid=42453

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South Korea suspends bidding for US rice imports

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Learning The Secrets About Beverages ? ArticleJetmix / Dofollow ...

How Can Small Kitchen Appliances Help in Cooking

If you are fond of eating and cooking at home, it is no longer questionable for you to stay inside the kitchen frequently. It makes sense somehow for your kitchen to have ingredients of several delicacies and appliances as well. Having a lot of kitchen appliances out there, you will notice that each of them has its own function to serve you when preparing foods and drinks. Home cooking is even supported by many health and medical professionals because they believe that it is indeed a hygienic and healthy activity.

When it comes to food preparation, a lot of people out there are telling that it is indeed a time consuming process for it really takes time to work. Women long time ago had to spend the whole day just to cook and serve palatable foods. Human beings are now grateful to the inventors of machines for they can already easily finish cooking in the least possible time. The women are already relieved with the assistance that kitchen appliances bring on them. Now, take note that every household has plenty of kitchen appliances out there so you can already be assisted well in the cooking process and preparation of foods.

It is a mere fact that small kitchen appliances can provide ease when cooking in the kitchen. As the time you spent in cooking can be reduced, you can also be assisted in various activities like grilling, baking, blending, steaming, squeezing, chopping, and grinding at the same time. As the world is getting busier, cooking without the aid of those kitchen appliances would really be so hard to anyone. What is good about those appliances is that they come in portable means so it would really be very easy for you to keep them after the process of preparing foods and cooking. If you want to get cheap and affordable once, there are a lot of them in the kitchen appliance center. It would then be necessary to choose the durable items out there so that you can enjoy cooking for many years.

When talking about small kitchen appliances, you can easily conduct the process of cooking having those materials. Now, if you want to enjoy coffee, you can drink the finest coffee out there after brewing the coffee beans. If you do not want to experiences squeezing the fruits in a manual basis, then, juicers are very important tools.

You have to remember that small kitchen appliances are really great when providing delicious drinks and fine foods out there. It is fine to really know about it.
More About The Author: Iris is long time industry writer and passionate blogger. He enjoys exercising his creativity, writing about Breville Australia, and spending time with his dog. You can find more articles on the author?s profile page.

Source: http://www.articlejetmix.com/learning-the-secrets-about-beverages/

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