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DOK.FEST München preview

In May the waiting will be over. The Munich International Documentary Film Festival will be celebrating its 25th anniversary! From 5th - 12th May 2010, the festival's new Directors, Christian Pfeil and Daniel Sponsel, invite you to view the most significant of contemporary documentaries and meet and celebrate with filmmakers from all over the world. SECTIONS At the heart of DOK.fest is, as always, the International Competition, from which an esteemed Jury will select the best film. For

the first time this year there will also be a German-speaking Competition. In total, DOK.fest will be screening around 70 films in various sections, including many German and world premieres. You will find an overview of the sections here. PROGRAMME The entire programme and information on the films being screened at the 25th DOK.fest will be available from the middle of April here. A few advance highlights: DOK.fest's Guest of Honour, Volker[...]

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Monday January 4, 2010

January 4, 2010 Replacement for UW-ACE is on the way UW architects represent Canada in Venice 'Snow at sunrise' captured just before the holiday break by the digital camera of drama and speech communication student Reemah Khalid. Back to top Replacement for UW-ACE is on the way by Andrea Chappell of information systems and technology Sometime over the next couple of years UW will be required to replace Angel, the software that forms the basis of UW-ACE. Angel Learning Inc. was sold to Blackboard Inc., the purveyor of the Blackboard learning management system, in early summer 2009, and we have learned that Angel will disappear as a product, with some of its features being merged into Blackboard’s LMS. This LMS is sufficiently different from Angel that a move will be a significant change for UW-ACE users. A project to select a new LMS is underway. We are well positioned for the move, and attractive options exist. A group of people representing Information Systems and Technologies, the Centre for Extended Learning (distance education), the Centre for Teaching Excellence, the library, and the faculty had already been reviewing UW-ACE. In April, before Blackboard’s acquisition of Angel, this team concluded that UW should continue to use Angel. It was also recommended that UW augment UW-ACE with other tools for live interaction, and with better math tools. In particular, the project recommended that UW investigate a web conferencing and collaboration application, server storage, delivery of audio and video, integration of the library’s e-reserves called Atlas Ares into Angel, and integration with Maplesoft’s Maple TA. The integration of Atlas Ares is complete; the other add-ons are in various stages of review. The LMS Selection Project team has identified important scenarios for the next LMS to support. The team also has a known list of candidates that includes two commercial products, Blackboard and Desire2Learn (a Kitchener-based company), and two open source products, Moodle and Sakai. A Request for Proposals may reveal other candidates. In the 2010 winter term the project team will provide updates on the LMS Selection Project. The first phase of the project will conclude with a recommendation to the University Committee on Information Systems & Technology to pilot a very short list of learning management systems in order to finalize a selection. While Blackboard has promised support of Angel until 2014, we are aware that as other institutions move away from Angel, its support may degrade. A critical element in any selection is the migration to the next LMS — how efficiently UW will be able to move courses from UW-ACE to the next LMS. While the replacement process is underway, we continue to support and evolve our courses on UW-ACE. Use of Angel has grown from 200 courses in fall 2004 to about 1,250 this past fall. Taking into consideration combined sections and “held with” courses, upwards of 70% of courses are in UW-ACE. Instructors use UW-ACE in a variety of ways: to augment in-class sessions, to blend on-campus teaching with online components, or to teach fully online. UW-ACE has an operations team comprised of staff from IST, Extended Learning, CTE, and the Library. UW-ACE Ops meets once a month to discuss directions, determine significant system settings, work on policies, and decide what communications should go to the user community. Other current developments: • An Angel upgrade (from V7.3 to V7.4) is planned for April 2010. This upgrade keeps us in an appropriate support window. There are few big changes, the most important of which is a requirement to move from what are called Quizzes to Assessments. All of the fully online courses have made this switch. We will provide support for other courses in the change by setting up training sessions next term. • Angel officially supports two browsers, Internet Explorer 7 or 8, and Firefox 2 or 3. Others work for many functions; however a few activities, such as file uploads, do not work in non-supported browsers. We now have in place an upload blocker for non-supported browsers to prevent confusion and problems for drop-box uploads. • A system check, performed as a person goes to the UW-ACE login page, makes sure that settings on the client system are appropriate for functions on UW-ACE. A message indicates what areas pass or fail, and points to a page to get any needed help. • New this fall, the Library’s Atlas Ares e-reserves integration allows the instructor to embed a link to course e-reserves into the course, and allows the student to access them without another login required. • Turnitin (plagiarism detection) and Wimba (voice recordings) can be used in UW-ACE without additional login. Marks are automatically loaded from Turnitin. The iClicker results can also be integrated into UW-ACE for marks purposes. Here’s what happens with ACE as a new term starts: • Class rosters are activated on the first day of classes, and student access to previous term classes is disabled. • To use course materials in a new term offering, materials are copied into a new course instance created for that term. (Course materials refer to the course content that the instructor puts on the course site, but not the student results.) • All course data, including student uploads and results, are retained in UW-ACE for 3 terms after the end of the course (the year in which a student can register a course appeal; also, the year in which most courses are re-offered). • All course materials, including student data, are removed from UW-ACE three terms (one year) after the course has ended. Course materials (that is, the course content that the instructor puts on the course site, but not the student results) are archived outside of UW-ACE at the end of the course term of offer, and kept for three additional years. (While we retain the course material archive, because the software changes over that time, pulling this material back into UW-ACE cannot be guaranteed for the full three years.) Back to top UW architects represent Canada in Venice The Canada Council for the Arts made it official just before the holidays with an announcement that that “Hylozoic Ground,” a project developed “in collaboration with” the UW School of Architecture, has been selected to represent Canada at the 2010 Venice Biennale in Architecture. The Biennale, which is the world’s most prestigious architectural exhibition, will take place in Venice from September through November 2010. Three UW people are behind the project: architecture professor Philip Beesley; Andrew Hunter; curator of Render, the UW gallery; and Rob Gorbet, faculty member in electrical and computer engineering. The lead agency is PBAI, Beesley’s private architectural practice. Says Gorbet: “Hylozoic Ground is an experimental responsive architectural environment which explores the changing relationship between buildings and their occupants, with a view towards creating a more empathic experience. Relying on a network of dozens of distributed embedded controllers, sensors, and hundreds of specialized, silent shape-memory alloy based actuators distributed among a crystalline meshwork manufactured from laser-cut acrylic, it creates an experience for occupants of the space which is variously described as everything from ‘gentle and soothing’ to ‘aggressive, creepy and anxiety-making’. “In fact, one of the current directions of this work is to research coding languages for the investigation of emotion-correlated motion so that we can consider the design of the environment and its responses to the occupant, in order to intentionally modulate or induce specific emotional responses.” He notes that a previous work in the series, Hylozoic Soil, was first exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2007 and later at Siggraph 2009, and won first prize at the international VIDA 11.0 competition in Madrid earlier this year. The related work Hylozoic Grove is permanently installed in the Ars Electronica Museum of the Future in Linz, Austria, and variations leading up to the Venice project are planned for Québec City and Mexico City. “A related project by Philip, Sargasso Field, is currently on display at the Copenhagen Climate Summit,” Gorbet said. As described by the Canada Council in a news release, “Hylozoic Ground” is “a uniquely Canadian experimental architecture that explores qualities of contemporary wilderness. The project will transform the Canadian Pavilion in Venice with an immersive environment composed of a network of interactive mechanical fronds, filters and whiskers that senses and responds to its human occupants. Arrays of touch sensors and actuators create a breathing motion, intended to draw visitors into the shimmering depths of a forest of light. The project builds upon the interdisciplinary work of PBAI and collaborators, combining innovative research within architecture, engineering and sculpture. The exhibition is intended to tour a number of Canadian galleries following the installation in Venice.” “Hylozoic Ground” was selected in consultation with an independent assessment committee which commented that “the project proposes to be a unique response to the Biennale, treating it as a speculative laboratory for architectural experimentation.” The Canada Council for the Arts and Royal Architecture Institute of Canada are working together to provide financial support and assist with project oversight for Canada’s architectural representation in Venice. CAR Back to top As the winter term begins It's back to the office and back to the classroom today . . . Residence move-in Class schedule Important academic dates Pick up OSAP funding Library hours Recreation facilities Bookstore hours Parking permits Food services hours Influenza update Link of the day World Hypnotism Day When and where Feds Used Books, Student Life Centre, open Monday-Friday 8:30 to 5:30 this week, Saturday 9 to 5. Music auditions today: Chapel choir 3:00 to 6:00, Conrad Grebel UC chapel. Stage band 6:00 to 9:00, Grebel great hall. Instrumental chamber ensembles 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., Grebel room 1302. Details. UW senate executive committee 3:30, Needles Hall room 3004. Engineering exchange students, welcome for new arrivals, Tuesday 11:30, Carl Pollock Hall room 3602. University Choir first rehearsal Tuesday 7:00, Conrad Grebel UC great hall. No formal audition required. Details. International student orientation Wednesday 12:00 to 3:00, Needles Hall room 1116. Details. Weight Watchers at Work winter series begins Wednesday 12 noon, Humanities room 373; call ext. 32218 to register. New student orientation Wednesday 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., Student Life Centre lower atrium. Return-to-campus interviews for co-op students January 6-8, Tatham Centre. Auditions for FASS 2010 January 6, 7, 8, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Hagey Hall room 119. Details. Baden-Württemberg and Rhône-Alpes exchange programs information session Thursday 3:00, Needles Hall room 1116. School of Pharmacy White Coat Ceremony welcoming new students, Thursday 5:00, Humanities Theatre. Math business and accounting programs information session about the CFA, PRM and CFP designations, Thursday 5:30 p.m., Math and Computer room 4020. Comedian Jon LaJoie at Humanities Theatre, Friday 7:30 p.m. One click away • International students mark Christmas far from home • Pioneering approach to knowledge transfer (UW prof interviewed) • Commentary in Hill Times • 'What debaters do best: argue' (Imprint) • Knifepoint robbery December 29 near University Avenue plazas • Physics prof's latest finding on causes of climate change • ERS professor writes in Globe about women on the career ladder • Changes to GO bus schedule, extra trips to UW • Actuarial science program has partner in Malaysia • Waterloo Region's Barnraiser award for 2009 • Prof hopes UW will save railroad shops in Stratford • More publicity for St. Jerome's prof explaining Irish coffee-houses • Chakma lays out his 22-point program for Western • WLU executive goes to Windsor as VP (academic) • Open access: 'the ramifications for journals' • Profs describe Lakehead U shutdown as 'lockout' • New financing for two more Accelerator Centre firms • New owner for TLC laser clinic in Optometry building • 'Truth as a Value and a Practice: A Perpetual Issue in Post-Secondary Education' • Socrates in the Boardroom: Why Research Universities Should Be Led by Top Scholars December 23 Daily Bulletin Communications and Public Affairs University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 +1 519 888 4567 Contact us | http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca | © 2010 University of Waterloo

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The Film Fest Fanatic

Before the morning coffee and after the first Film Fest hangover. The 25th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Fest kicked off last night. I didn't make it to the opening film,.Flying Lessons, (you can view red carpet photos from Edhat) but I can say that was one hell of a party over at Paseo Nuevo afterwards. I know that there are some people out there who, as Yogi Berra put it, "stay away in droves" both from the Film Festival and my coverage of it. For those of you who find yourselves in that category, I beg you to get some therapy. The Film Fest is the most fun you can have during the winter in Santa Barbara. So for the next 10 days I'll be sitting in the audience every day and trying to sneak behind the scenes whenever I can. Armed with my netbook computer and my iPhone, I plan to update my blog throughout the day. I'll even be blogging live from the red carpet. Because there are so many movies and so little time, I've recruited my daughter, a big fan of the Film Fest herself, to help me cover it all. We'll be shooting and posting video from the red carpet and standing out in the rain and cold, if it comes down to that, so you don't have to. Think of us as your Platinum Pass to the Film Fest. Can't decide which films to see? I now have a YouTube channel where you can watch preview trailers of films by Santa Barbara filmmakers that will be shown at the festival. And of course I'll have a Film Fest photo gallery that will be continually updated. CHUCK CAGARA / www.MagicalLightPhotography.com * * * So with so many films to choose from over the next 10 days, how does one know which ones are the gems and which one's you shouldn't waste your time with? Well, the research department has been hard at work and here's my recommendations for today, Friday. Learning from Light, about architect I.M. Pei and his final project. Festival programmer Candace Schermerhorn calls it, "Beautifully done." Shows at 12:30 pm at Victoria Hall. Letters to Father Jaakob. In this Finnish film, a newly pardoned convict agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor. According to Roger Durling, a lot of people thought this film should have been among the nominees for this year's best foreign film. Screens at 2 pm at the Lobero. If you're a Doors fan, you will want to see When You're Strange. 80 percent of the footage in this documetary has never been seen before. John Densmore, the former drummer of the group, is scheduled to be present at the 7 pm screening at the Lobero. Woman Without a Piano, is a movie from Spain about a musician who travels a great distance to return an instrument to his elderly teacher. According to Roger Durling, the movie has "terrific acting by the lead actress." Shows at 7 pm at the Metro 4. The Hungry Ghosts. This New York City set drama, is the feature film directing debut of Michael Imperioli, who you may know best from his acting in The Sopranos. A number of his fellow actors from The Sopranos are in the cast of this film. Screens at 7:45 pm at the Metro 4. The Wild Hunt, about a medieval reenactment game, won the award as the audience favorite at the just concluded Slamdance Festival in Park City, Utah. Screens at 9:45 pm at the Metro 4. Of course, the Sandra Bullock tribute is at 8 pm at the Arlington. Red carpet arrivals start around 7 pm. The full Film Fest schedule is available at Edhat. I'll meet you in the balcony. © 2010 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com

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Ratings trends heading into new Monday Night War

There’s no doubt that one wrestling company is going into tonight’s official launch of the new Monday Night War with momentum in the ratings, while the other company has been heading in the opposite direction as of late. The road to WrestleMania has driven ratings up for WWE’s Raw the past two weeks. After doing numbers in the 3.4 to 3.6 range for several weeks, the Feb. 22 show (the night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view) did a 3.8, and last Monday’s episode did a 3.7. Conversely, the ratings for TNA Impact have been going down since the Jan. 28 show did a 1.4, which was a company record for a Thursday episode. In the weeks following that show, Impact did a 1.2 for three straight weeks before dipping to 1.1 the past two weeks.

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Jay-Z Live with Young Jeezy ONLY TWO LEFT!! Jay z (West Bloomfield) $200

Jay-Z and Young Jeezy are coming To the Palace this Sunday the 14th. Dont miss your chance to see the legend live. These are some of the best seats in the house; your view will be amazing here. Take amazing photos and video from these seats!!! The seats are Located in Section 125 Row cc. (third row) exact seat number will be told after the purchase. Shipping is available through payments made via PayPal at an additional Charge. Time is Running out get your tickets before its too late Only two Left. Tickets are $200 OBO - each. 350 For the pair!! My email is davidov_al@yahoo.com Feel free to Call or Text if have any Questions (248)-860-1410 ask For Alan

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The sorrow and hope of Abraham: Public memory and conflict in the Holy Land

JERUSALEM - The flare-up over the Israeli government’s decision to put Rachel’s Tomb along with what Jews call the Cave of the Patriarchs and Muslims call the Ibrahimi Mosque on a list of Israeli heritage sites again puts history and memory at the centre of this conflict. Again we are reminded that those who want a better future must do a better job at dealing with the past. A series of recent encounters has placed the question of how the past is represented in the present to the forefront of my mind. While in Cairo visiting friends early this year, I joined a tour of Egyptian high school students at the “Panorama”, a museum that the Egyptian government built to commemorate the 1973 War between Egypt and Israel. The tour culminated with a rotating view of a battlefield diorama depicting what Egyptians consider to be their great victory over “the enemy”. The clear impression: “we” fought bravely and liberated our land. There is nothing about negotiations between Sadat and Begin. There is no mention of Egypt’s recognition of Israel, which is what made the return of the Sinai possible. Egypt’s decision to exchange peace for land turned it temporarily into a pariah in the Arab world; it also set the stage for subsequent peacemaking. On all of this, the Panorama is silent—even though it is in walking distance from where Sadat was assassinated. More recently, I sat in Jerusalem across the table from a Jewish couple in their sixties from the American Midwest. The man told a story about a friend of his who visited Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank. The visit, arranged at an official level, was part of an initiative to encourage economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians in adjacent areas of the north. The delegation stopped outside the city where the Haddad Tourist Village emerges from the lush rural landscape. In addition to a garden cafe, where families sit and eat together, an amphitheatre, a hotel and amusement park, there is a new museum of Palestinian culture and history. The Palestinians led the visiting delegation into the museum. The Jewish visitors became upset: at least some, including the friend of the man sitting across the table, walked out. This past week I asked the Haddad’s manager, the son of the owner, about the visiting delegation. He nodded his head sadly. “Yes”, he said, “they came here”. He did not understand why the visitors walked out. I toured the museum, which is in the last stages of completion. It’s beautifully done. Mostly, the dioramas focus on folkways, on Palestinian culture. The museum, which also depicts Palestinian dislocation and suffering, includes something on Baruch Goldstein, the Jewish Israeli who massacred Palestinians at the Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque. Perhaps the visitors reacted to the implication that Goldstein represents them, for the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Jews worldwide reject such violence. Whatever the reasons, those who walked out missed a precious opportunity to engage with an authentic Palestinian perspective. After telling the story about the Haddad museum, the man across the table spoke about a visit that he and his wife took to where her parents lived in Europe before narrowly escaping the Nazis. He told this story with such empathy, such tenderness towards the plight of his wife’s family and his people. There were no Arabs at the table to listen, or to see the expression on this man’s face, just as he has never seen the sorrow on the face of the Haddad manager—so proud of the museum his family has built—when the Jewish visitors walked out. With the experience and the humanity of the “other” blocked from view, people too often limit empathy and understanding to their own side. In such a context, initiatives such as Project Aladdin, which provides Holocaust education in the Arab world, or PRIME, which presents the Palestinian and Israeli narratives side by side—are critical for the future. Unlike the Panorama museum in Cairo which represents a blatant manipulation, Project Aladdin, PRIME, and the Haddad museum outside of Jenin are serious efforts to represent public memory and history. They are opportunities to tell one’s own story, to engage with the story of the “other”, and to share memories in ways that enlarge the scope of empathy and understanding. We need to introduce such initiatives on a larger scale. A recent USIP (United States Institute of Peace) report proposes a formal education track to ensure that the Israeli and Palestinian governments and societies engage with one another on this critical subject. Let’s extend this track to reach the public memory beyond school buildings. Along with the other patriarchs and matriarchs, Abraham is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims who are his spiritual children. The Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque—a site of intense primordial memory that somehow must be shared—could be a good place to start. ### * Daniel Noah Moses, Ph.D., formerly a lecturer on social studies at Harvard University, is currently Director of the Delegation Leaders Program at Seeds of Peace. He recently published his first book, The Promise of Progress: The Life and Work of Lewis Henry Morgan. He lives in Jerusalem. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 11 March 2010, www.commongroundnews.org Copyright permission is granted for publication.

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Omni Daily Crush: Discussing "Citizens of London" with Author Lynne Olson

I'll show some restraint and avoid a Best of 2010 discussion less than 90 days into the year, but Lynne Olson's Citizens of London still has me buzzing weeks after finishing it. Admittedly, the subject matter is right in my wheelhouse (I'm a big fan of World War II histories), but Olson's exploration of the toil and sacrifice faced by those who refused to capitulate to the Nazis will appeal to a wide range of readers outside the WWII genre (which is why I made it my Best of February pick). I was fortunate to catch up with Lynne recently to discuss the origins of Citizens of London, as well as the politicians and leaders who acted as beacons during England's darkest days. Amazon.com: Your last three books (Citizens of London, Troublesome Young Men, and A Question of Honor) have focused on England during the late 1930's/early 1940's. As a historian, what draws you to this period? Olson: I’ve been fascinated with the place and the period ever since my husband, Stan Cloud, and I wrote our first book, The Murrow Boys, about Edward R. Murrow and the correspondents he hired to create CBS News before and during World War II. Several scenes in the book take place in London during the Battle of Britain and the 1940-41 Blitz. In doing research for The Murrow Boys, I got caught up in the story of Britain’s struggle for survival in those early years of the war – and the extraordinary leadership of Winston Churchill and courage of ordinary Britons in waging that fight. I discovered that there were still a number of stories about the period that remained largely unknown and untold, so I decided to tell them myself. Amazon.com: Had Pearl Harbor not forced America's hand, how much longer could England have lasted against Germany? Olson: That’s an excellent “what if” question. Churchill, for one, was desperately worried that Britain would be defeated by Germany in 1942 if the United States didn’t enter the war. In the days immediately before Pearl Harbor, he knew that the Japanese were also on the move, and he was afraid they were going to strike at British territory in Asia. If that had happened, his country would have been forced into a two-front war, with no lifeline from the United States – which almost assuredly would have meant the end for Britain. So it’s no wonder than when he heard the news of Pearl Harbor on the night of Dec. 7, 1941, he was euphoric. It meant, as he later wrote, that no matter how many military setbacks lay ahead, “England would live.” Amazon.com: In contrast to Winant and Murrow, Harriman was a bit of a bourgeois playboy. What made you include him in this book? Olson: There’s no question that Harriman’s social life was considerably more hectic in London than that of Winant and Murrow. At the same time, however, he was a dogged, extremely hard-working administrator of Lend Lease aid for Britain, who did what he could to speed up the flow of American help to the British and who pressed the Roosevelt administration hard for more vigorous action and more direct involvement in the war. He also carved out for himself quite an influential role as conduit and buffer between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. I also wanted to include Harriman for another reason – to point up the contrast between his tough-minded pragmatism and the idealism of Winant and Murrow. These three men, I think, reflected the complexity of America and its attitude to the rest of the world at that time. Winant and Murrow, who championed economic and social reform as well as international cooperation, reflected America’s idealistic side. Harriman, who was intent on broadening his own power and influence, as well as that of his country, became an exemplar of U.S. exceptionalism. In the postwar era, it was his world view that, for the most part, dominated American foreign policy. Amazon.com: You note an almost apathetic Churchill response to American dalliances within his family. Was this a diplomatic necessity or was he simply too focused on the larger picture? Olson: I’m not sure I would call him “apathetic.” I think that “pragmatic” would be a better word. I should also point out that it’s not an absolute certainty he knew about the affair that occurred between Averell Harriman and Pamela Churchill, the wife of his son, Randolph, which began in 1941. When Randolph later accused his father of condoning adultery under his own roof, Churchill denied any knowledge of what was going on. That being said, I do believe, as did Pamela, that he was aware of what she and Harriman were up to. Churchill loved Randolph, and while I’m sure he was not thrilled about the Pamela/Harriman affair, he knew how important Harriman and the other Americans were to the survival of Britain, and he had no intention of letting personal matters interfere with the national interest. Besides, Pamela proved to be a useful conduit for him and Harriman, passing on to each man information and insights she had found out from the other. When Pamela took up with Edward R. Murrow later in the war, she was already separated from Randolph, and I doubt that Churchill cared one way or the other. As for the affair between his daughter, Sarah, and John Gilbert Winant, the couple kept their involvement exceptionally discreet. Sarah believed her father knew about it, but he never said anything, and I don’t think he would have minded. Amazon.com: Talk about the lower-profile "Citizens of London" -- the brave Americans who violated their own country's laws to volunteer for the RAF. Olson: In the late 1930s, as part of its desperate effort to keep the United States out of war, the American government did, as you note, make it illegal for any U.S. citizen to join the military service of a warring power. But, after Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, thousands of young Americans disregarded that law and traveled to England to join the British or Canadian armed forces. Unlike the hordes of Yanks who descended on Britain just prior to D-Day, the early U.S. volunteers became an integral part of Britain’s military and society. The best-known volunteers were those who joined the Royal Air Force. Seven U.S. citizens were counted among “The Few” – the celebrated band of RAF pilots who, in their Hurricanes and Spitfires, successfully beat back the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in the summer and fall of 1940. Over the next several months, an additional 300-plus Americans enlisted in the RAF -- so many that they were soon given their own units, called the Eagle Squadrons. Churchill, who instantly saw what a powerful propaganda tool the American squadrons could be, enthusiastically endorsed the idea. When the U.S. finally entered the conflict, virtually all the Americans serving in the RAF transferred to the U.S Army Air Forces. Of the 244 pilots who flew in the Eagle Squadrons, more than 40 per cent did not survive the war.

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Omni Daily Crush: Discussing "Citizens of London" with Lynne Olson

How the Jobless Era is Driving the Irritable Male Syndrome and Destroying Families: 5 Things You Must Do Now to Save Yourself

Jed Diamond, Ph.D. has been a marriage and family counselor for the last 45 years. He is the author of 8 books, including Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places, Male Menopause, The Irritable Male Syndrome, and Mr. Mean: Saving Your Relationship from the Irritable Male Syndrome (May, 2010). He offers counseling to men, women, and couples in his office in California or by phone with people throughout the U.S. and around the world. To receive a Free E-book on Men’s Health and a free subscription to Jed’s e-newsletter go to www.MenAlive.com. If you are looking for an expert counselor to help with relationship issues, write Jed@MenAlive.com. We are told that we are finally moving toward economic recovery, that a “Great Depression” has been avoided. Yet, unemployment remains a fact of life and job security is a thing of the past. According to Don Peck, writing in March issue of The Atlantic, “The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.” I had read the statistics on job loss, but I had no idea how devastating it could actually be until I lost my job. It was a part-time job and one I had grown tired of having. I joked that it would be great if I were fired so that I could get out and move on. But when I was told on a Thursday afternoon, a day I still remember vividly 5 years later, that they no longer needed me, I couldn’t believe it. I did everything I could to change their mind, including hiring a lawyer to fight the termination. Once I was gone, I fell into an agitated depression. I was angry one minute, depressed the next. I didn’t want to eat and when I did I stuffed myself with food. My wife, Carlin, tried to be understanding, but she grew tired of my moody silences and angry outbursts and gradually withdrew. I finally overcame my resistance to seeing a therapist and went back to a woman I had seen years before. Even though I was a therapist and told clients that there was no stigma in reaching out for help when needed, I didn’t fully believe it myself. Deep down I still had the old beliefs about being a man: A man is not a man if he doesn’t have a job. A man always, always, finds a way to support his family--no matter what. Even after seeing a therapist, which was a life-saving decision, there were days that I was suicidal. I became obsessed at the injustice of losing my job and could understand those men who went “postal” and shot up their job site before killing themselves. I gradually developed my private therapy practice to fill in the hours I had lost. Fortunately I was highly skilled, with years of experience, and I could heal the wounds from my job loss. But I wondered how others, less fortunate would deal with this kind of crisis. As a therapist specializing in men’s health issues I’ve had ample opportunity to learn as our broken economy continues to disgorge its victims. Unemployment is a Reality for Millions The unemployment rate hit 10 percent in October, 2009 and there are good reasons to believe that by 2011, 2012, even 2014, it will have declined only a little. But as Peck points out in his article, “All of these figures understate the magnitude of the jobs crisis. The broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment (which includes people who want to work but have stopped actively searching for a job, along with those who want full-time jobs but can find only part-time work) reached 17.4 percent in October, which appears to be the highest figure since the 1930s.” There’s lots of talk about recovery and “green jobs,” but that could be more wishful thinking than reality. The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who fears a lost decade, said in a lecture at the London School of Economics last summer that he has “no idea” how the economy could quickly return to strong, sustainable growth. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, told the Associated Press last fall, “I think the unemployment rate will be permanently higher, or at least higher for the foreseeable future. The collective psyche has changed as a result of what we’ve been through. And we’re going to be different as a result.” Although the economic collapse hits everyone, it is often the men who are impacted the most directly and the women who become collateral damage as the men “act out” their frustration and rage. One recent survey showed that 44 percent of families had experienced a job loss, a reduction in hours, or a pay cut in the past year. “There is unemployment, a brief and relatively routine transitional state that results from the rise and fall of companies in any economy, and there is unemployment—chronic, all-consuming,” says Peck. “The former is a necessary lubricant in any engine of economic growth. The latter is a pestilence that slowly eats away at people, families, and, if it spreads widely enough, the fabric of society. Indeed, history suggests that it is perhaps society’s most noxious ill.” The worst effects of pervasive joblessness can take years, even decades, to incubate. They can erode our confidence, shake our stability, and cause millions of men to become chronically irritable, angry, and depressed. If it persists much longer, this era of high joblessness will likely change the life course and character of us all. “It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar white men—and on white culture,” suggests Peck. “It could change the nature of modern marriage, and also cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a kind of despair and dysfunction not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years.” Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS): The Dis-ease of Our Times In my 2004 book, The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression, I offered the following definition of IMS: A state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males and is associated with biochemical changes, hormonal imbalances, stress, and loss of male identity. For most men, our identity is inexorably tied in with our jobs. Without a job we have increasing difficulty feeling like real men. If we don’t feel real as a man, we live in a state of chronic tension and dis-ease. In her excellent book, Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, social scientist Susan Faludi described the impact of job loss on men. One of the men Faludi interviewed for the book, Don Motta, could be speaking for millions of men in this country today who have been laid off, downsized, or part of a company that has gone under. “There is no way you can feel like a man. You can’t,” says Motta. “It’s the fact that I’m not capable of supporting my family…When you’ve been very successful buying a house, a car, and could pay for your daughter to go to college, though she didn’t want to, you have a sense of success and people see it. I haven’t been able to support my daughter. I haven’t been able to support my wife. “I’ll be very frank with you,” he said slowly, placing every word down as if each were an increasingly heavy weight. “I…feel…I’ve…been…castrated.” Motta is clear about the connection between manhood, work, and sexuality. “A man who can’t work and support his family is a man without balls—not really a man at all.” The Jobless Era May Last for Generations One of the tenets of our modern industrial society has been that the economy is cyclic. There may be a few down years, but they will always be followed by an upswing. People may lose their jobs, but there will always be newer, better, more interesting jobs we can be trained to occupy. Although the growth of the economy may go through stagnant periods, it will always rebound. But what if the rules have changed? What if we are living in a period where the trend is downwards not upwards? What if employment as we know it were a thing of the past? I believe that Richard Heinberg is one of the most consistently perceptive and optimistic social scientists in the world. I’ve followed his work for the last 25 years and he knows his stuff. In a March 3, 2010 article, Life After Growth: What If the Economy Doesn’t Recover, he makes the following observations: “In late 2009 and early 2010, the economy showed some signs of renewed vigor. Understandably, everyone wants it to get "back to normal." But here's a disturbing thought: What if that is not possible? What if the goalposts have been moved, the rules rewritten, the game changed? What if the decades-long era of economic growth based on ever-increasing rates of resource extraction, manufacturing, and consumption is over, finished, and done? What if the economic conditions that all of us grew up expecting to continue practically forever were merely a blip on history's timeline? “It's an uncomfortable idea, but one that cannot be ignored: The "normal" late-20th century economy of seemingly endless growth actually emerged from an aberrant set of conditions that cannot be perpetuated. “That ‘normal’ is gone. One way or another, a ‘new normal’ will emerge to replace it. Can we build a different, more sustainable economy to replace the one now in tatters? “Let's be clear: I believe we are in for some very hard times. The transitional period on our way toward a post-growth, equilibrium economy will prove to be the most challenging time any of us has ever lived through. Nevertheless, I am convinced that we can survive this collective journey, and that if we make sound choices as families and communities, life can actually be better for us in the decades ahead than it was during the heady days of seemingly endless economic expansion.” Will Men Survive the Transition? I’ve been a psychotherapist focused on men’s health since 1965. One of my colleagues, Dr. Herb Goldberg, author of the 1976 best-seller, The Hazards of Being Male said, “The American man, an endangered species? Absolutely! The male has paid a heavy price for his masculine ‘privilege’ and power. He is out of touch with his emotions and his body. He is playing by the rules of the male game plan and with lemming-like purpose he is destroying himself—emotionally, psychologically, and physically.” When I first starting talking about male vulnerability, most people didn’t take me seriously. In 1965 or even 1976, the idea of men as an endangered species seemed a long way from our consciousness. But times have changed and our awareness has been awakened. Recently, the prestigious British Journal of Medicine published an editorial written by Siegfried Meryn, M.D. titled “The future of men and their health: Are men in danger of extinction?” “Although there is still a long way to go in most societies around the world, it is clear that women can perform (and on most occasions outperform) pretty much all the tasks traditionally reserved for men,” says Dr. Meryn in his editorial. “In most of the developed world women are starting to outnumber men in medical schools and making rapid gains in terms of equality in compensation and opportunities in the workforce. With the advent of sperm banks, in vitro fertilization, sex sorting techniques, sperm independent fertilization of eggs with somatic cells, human cloning, and same sex marriages, it is also reasonable to wonder about the future role of men in society.” Men and the Family in a Jobless Age In The Unemployed Man and His Family, Mirra Komarovsky vividly describes how joblessness strained—and in many cases fundamentally altered—family relationships in the 1930s. During 1935 and 1936, Komarovsky and her research team interviewed the members of 59 white middle-class families in which the husband and father had been out of work for at least a year. Her research revealed deep psychological wounds. “It is awful to be old and discarded at 40,” said one father. “A man is not a man without work.” Another said plainly, “During the depression I lost something. Maybe you call it self-respect, but in losing it I also lost the respect of my children, and I am afraid I am losing my wife.” Noted one woman of her husband, “I still love him, but he doesn’t seem as ‘big’ a man.” Children described their father as “mean,” “nasty,” or “bossy,” and didn’t want to bring friends around, for fear of what he might say. “There was less physical violence towards the wife than towards the child,” Komarovsky wrote. In my own work with men and their families, I’ve found that men become increasingly irritable, angry, and withdrawn. Some turn to alcohol or drugs. Other’s spend endless hours on their computers. The impact of joblessness can wreck families. Andrew Oswald, an economist at the University of Warwick, in the U.K., and a pioneer in the field of happiness studies, says no other circumstance produces a larger decline in mental health and well-being than being involuntarily out of work for six months or more. It is the worst thing that can happen, he says, equivalent to the death of a spouse, and “a kind of bereavement” in its own right. Only a small fraction of the decline can be tied directly to losing a paycheck, Oswald says; most of it appears to be the result of a tarnished identity and a loss of self-worth. Unemployment leaves psychological scars that remain even after work is found again, and, because the happiness of husbands and the happiness of wives are usually closely related, the misery spreads throughout the home. I’ve found that middle-aged men are often the most hard it. They have long been accustomed to the routine and support of the office or factory. When they lose their jobs, they not only lose their support systems, but they lose faith in themselves. This loss was perhaps captured best by American playwright Eugene O’Neil in his play Long Day's Journey into Night. The play was autobiographical and although it was completed in 1940, it wasn’t produced until 1956, three years after his death. The play itself captured the desperation felt by many men caught in the depression. The following lines from the play speak to the internal devastation so many men faced then and still face today: “It was a great mistake my being born a man. I would have been much more successful as a sea gull or a fish. As it is, I will always be a stranger who never feels at home, who does not really want and is not really wanted, who can never belong, who must always be a little in love with death.” How Can Men Choose Life in a World Without Work? We may be going through the most difficult transition that humans have ever experienced on earth. These are strong words, I know. But the truth is that we have been living out an addictive fantasy for some time and we must change if we are going to survive. We can not continue to have a growing economy, one that takes more and more of the earth’s resources and turns them into garbage. We have to live more sustainably if we are going to live at all. Daniel Quinn, the visionary author of Ishmael said, “The problem is that man's conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world, or to repair the devastation we've already wrought." He reminds us that if humans are going to be around in 10, 20, or 100 years, we will need to change our ways. It is often the ones who are most devastated by the present who lead the way to the future. Here are 5 things that men can do now. 1. Accept that this is the end of an era. Despite what many will tell us, the economy as we know it is never going to recover. The sooner we face that fact, the better. Here’s how Heinberg puts it: “We have reached the end of economic growth as we have known it.” The "growth" we are talking about consists of the expansion of the overall size of the economy (with more people being served and more money changing hands) and of the quantities of energy and material goods flowing through it. The economic crisis that began in 2008 was both foreseeable and inevitable, and that it marks a permanent, fundamental break from past decades—a period in which economists adopted the unrealistic view that perpetual economic growth is necessary and also possible to achieve. When I work with alcoholics and drug addicts in recovery, the first step is to acknowledge powerlessness. It’s paradoxical, but we gain power the more we accept the things we cannot change. One of those things is that the world of employment we have known is over. When we accept that fact, rather than fighting it, we can move on. 2. Define “being a man” in new ways. If we continue to define our manhood based on our ability to work in the old economy, we set ourselves up for failure. It would be like holding on to the horse as a symbol of manly transportation. “Real men ride horses. Choosing any other way to get around means you’re not a man.” In the new era, manhood will be defined less on what we do than by who we are. Are we kind, compassionate, understanding, supportive? We’ll have to learn to take on qualities that have been traditionally more associated with women. For some men, they’d rather die than do that. Others will find it a relief to let go of the old macho constraints and learn to live in new ways. 3. Learn that feelings are manly. Most of us have grown up believing that real men stuff their feelings. We were told that real men don’t cry. Real men don’t complain. Real men aren’t afraid. The only feelings we grew up being allowed were anger and lust. We would spend endless hours talking about who we were pissed at and who we wanted to have sex with. But men experience a whole symphony of feelings, but have only learned to play two notes. Here’s a list of a few feelings. Which ones do you express openly and often? Which ones would you like to learn to express more fully? Understanding, playful, calm, afraid, worried, hurt, courageous, delighted, overjoyed, festive, affectionate, tender, guilty, considerate, enthusiastic, ashamed, secure, optimistic, brave, liberated, thrilled, gleeful, and ecstatic. 4. Help others. Find the path with a heart. It’s easy to sit around a feel sorry for ourselves. Yes, we were promised a better life and yes, we feel entitled to more. But, let’s face it, the party’s over. We’re not the only ones who are hurting. Believe me, there are many others out there who are suffering. No matter what your situation, there is a lot you can do to help. We have longed based our identity on material success. But the era of earning more money to buy more “stuff” is over. We don’t have to have stuff in order to be a success. Some of the best people who have ever lived shared their gifts with others and had little material wealth to show for it. Mahatma Gandhi died possessing only a pair of sandals, a robe, a staff, a spinning wheel, his spectacles, and a prayer book. Yet, he helped millions. Mozart was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. His music has touched the hearts of the world. Confucius was a failure as a bread-winner and was dependent on his small band of disciples for his sustenance. His philosophy has lasted thousands of years. Rembrandt ended his life in austerity, as did Beethoven, Bach, and Van Gogh. Jesus died leaving only a robe for which the Roman soldiers cast lots. This is a great time to be alive. The economy may be going under, but there’s still a lot that needs to be done. Find someone you can help. Find something you can do. Opportunities surround us. “Wherever a man turns he can find someone who needs him,” said Albert Schweitzer. 5. Join a men’s group. Throughout human history men have congregated in support groups. It was recognized and understood that men needed time to be with other men, just as women needed to be with women. Women still spend time with their sisters, but men have lost connection with brotherly love. I have been in a men’s group that has been meeting regularly since 1979. We came together as a way to support each other through the changes we were experiencing in life. We’ve stayed together because we’ve come to love each other and depend upon each other for mutual support. We just returned from a four day extended weekend at a ranch in Arizona. As usual, we ate well, went on long walks together, caught up on our lives, and just shared the pleasure of being men and being alive. Here’s something I wrote to the 6 other guys in the group at a time I was facing a life-threatening operation and wasn’t sure about my future: “I’m thinking of you all with love and affection, a sly smile, and a deep sense of gratitude for all you have meant to me. You are my brothers, my friends, my teachers, my playmates. I honor you and us and our group. I love you.” Ultimately it all gets back to love. As author Sam Keen says: “The radical vision of the future rests on the belief that the logic that determines either our survival or our destruction is simple: 1. The new human vocation is to heal the earth. 2. We can only heal what we love. 3. We can only love what we know. 4. We can only know what we touch. If this article has touched you, I look forward to hearing from you. I can be reached through my website at www.MenAlive.com

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Low Price Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) This is quite a good camera for the price, and the lens is GREAT value with good wide angle and zoom capabilities. One review I read before buying the camera said it was intuitive to operate. Not for me! It came set up so the LIVE VIEW feature, which shows the shot to be taken on the screen, was not defaulted, so the the QUICK START instructions were useless, and only after deep reading of the operating instructions did i work out what was going on. Also this only operates on "manual" modes, not on any of the automatic modes. So a lot steeper learning curve than I'd expected. Get more detail about Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black).

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SARDINIA Deep Wreck 2010 29 may to 5 june 2010

SARDINIA Deep Wreck 2010 Xpedition Team TEAM Villasimius 29 may to 5 june 2010 We are going back to the clear warm waters of the difficult to match, Sardinia, where we have already done several explorations! This new expedition, it will mean meeting up again with a team who have already experienced some spectacular dives. We will dive between 60 and 150 m, with a program which will vary depending on weather conditions. This year we plan to make a dive on a deep wall, full of gorgonians and coral, a dive site yet unexplored, with a depth from 60 to 150 meters The expected wrecks: LOREDAN: It is surely the most beautiful wreck of the golf of Villasimius and one of the most beautiful in the Med. A torpedo from the Safari submarine hit the bow of the Loredan, which sunk immediately at a 65m depth. She is not very big, but there is a large concentration of red and yellow gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata) some of which are one meter high. There is the possibility of entering through a hole caused by the explosion of the stern, where the new inhabitants are bright red prawns (Plesionika narval), which cover the side walls. Because of the depth, this dive will be Trimix. Minimum depth: 50m Maximum depth: 65m Dive foreseen on Trimix 18/35 with adequate decompression mixes. MARTE: Unfortunately the wreck furthest away from the port of Villasimius. Unfortunately, as this really is an extraordinary wreck. She was sunk the 29th December 1942 by the English submarine Turbulent as she was crossing from Caliari to Olbia. The explosion of the torpedo must have been very strong to have cut the ship in half, and sunk to 65m. From the surface, these two halves situated parallels to each other, give the impression of two separate wrecks. There is enough space to enter the ship, although visiting the outside is very interesting, especially the interesting canons situated at the bow and the lorries with trailers in the hold. Minimum depth : 48m Maximum depth : 65m BENGASI : A wreck with over 200 dives by our team, but which is always fascinating. Situated at around 95m, she is known as the glass wreck, due to the enormous amount of glass objects found in the hold. Characterised by exceptional visibility, the wreck is completely covered in oysters and gorgons, certainly due to its great depth, only accessible to few divers. Thus, as the Bengasi comes into view, you have the impression of entering a world where time stopped the moment she sunk. Minimum depth : 85m Maximum depth : 96m Dive foreseen on Trimix 12/55 with adequate decompression mixes. SAN MARCO: She was sunk off the Island of Serpentara the 1st June 1941 at 8.50am, by the English submarine Clyde, between Civitavecchia and Cagliari. She fought back for a short while, and then sunk taking all her men with her. The structure of the vessel could not resist the explosion, especially as the hold was full of coal, which accelerated the sinking of the ship. The object of last years expedition, this vessel is still partly unexplored. She can be found at around 105m deep, where strong currents impose competence and technical support of a high level. Minimum depth : 92m Maximum depth : 109m Dive foreseen on Trimix 11/60 with adequate decompression mixes. For these dives, we will be using the new RIB which belongs to the dive centre, a BWA 8.40m long. There will be another RIB for assistance, and Jules will guarantee efficient surface security. For the accompanying divers, there will be the possibility to dive various wrecks and wall from 10m depth. Remember, you must have your deep dive technical certificate from 40m and the Trimix 1 certificate from 50m. Requirements for the Bengasi and the San Marco : Advanced Trimix CC with at least 10 Trimix dives after the course, at minimum depth 80m. Medical certificate indicating no warning against Trimix diving (less than 12 months old). Personal insurance, specifying an extension with coverage for mixed gas diving. Requirements for the Marte and the Loredan : Trimix CC with at least 10 Trimix dives after the course and at minimum depth 50m. Medical certificate indicating no warning against Trimix diving (less than 12 months old). Personal insurance, specifying and extension with coverage for mixed gas diving. Here are the categories of participants :  Trimix diver closed circuit 1.020 euro Accompanying diver or not 499 euro   Included in the price : 7 days BB, double room, A 5 dive package* Personalised clothing Dive mix Inboard tanks rent First bailout fills Sofnolime 797 1-2,5 (maxi 15 kg for diver) La tassa di iscrizione Surface assistance There is the possibility of renting material, in which case the demand must be made in writing before hand. You can see the hotel Mariposas and the diving centre on the web sites Hotel Mariposas, Villasimius PRO DIVE

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