Monday, April 30, 2012

Cardenas to Direct PEMEX


Policy
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Apply AMLO Cardenas to lead Pemex

After meeting, presented a joint program for the energy sector "with a different approach" when faced by other candidates. I send that to the PRI to read the article 27, the nation's oil is said Tabasco.
Alma Muñoz and Claudia Herrera 
Posted: 04/30/2012 10:25
Mexico City. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador presidential candidate of the Progressive Movement coalition, endorsed the proposal that oil policy presented in joint session Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, who set out to be the director of Petroleos Mexicanos in case of winning the presidency of the republic. Cardenas said he will think and denied that either input a rejection. He thanked the distinction of Lopez Obrador.
The bearer of the Left said that this meeting, held at the Hilton Alameda is historic because it "is getting together a policy for managing the energy sector as a whole including Pemex with a different approach" to the other presidential candidates raised and in particular one of them, referring to Peña Nieto, who said, all bets on privatization
Lopez Obrador insisted that what is behind the race is the interest of a small group of remaining oil.
"From here I send you that the PRI candidate to read the constitution, article 27.Oil is the nation of foreigners and remains to be seen what project is going to choose "in the elections on July 1."
About ten minutes after Lopez Obrador began his speech, as the second speaker in the meeting in the lounge Don Alberto, the hotel in the capital, Rodolfo Macias Cabrera stopped criticizing presidential candidate as supposed president of a provisional government in exile, which Cardenas had met with Carlos Salinas de Gortari in Washington in 1994 and Porfirio Munoz Ledo, sitting in the front row1-it had been confirmed. Cardenas in response to this interruption, he said later in an interview: "surely some of the candidates who do not compare our views, tried to blow up the meeting but nothing happened."
About his meeting with Salinas de Gortari, Cardenas said that everything is clear, "I think the meeting you nothing happens, or you for joining me. I do not think you change your principles to be hearing what I say or I have changed to meet with thousands and thousands of people, I say, for many years. "
Lopez Obrador in due course Cárdenas acknowledged the support of whom he defined as a person with principles and ideals, not seeking employment in the public sector, prompting laughter from the engineer. What we ask is to help us because that is what the country needs, not exaggerating, are defining times.
The proposal is endorsed by the group A built for Mexico, Cardenas headed, there is established the need to strengthen the country's energy security, to make energy one of the commanding heights of the new industrial policy responsibly manage hydrocarbon reserves, Pemex and CFE transform into autonomous public agencies, clean up financially Petroleos Mexicanos, cancel the so-called multiple service contracts and contracts encouraged to "recent investment."
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15 Serious Games Aiming to Change the World

Using games for purposes other than entertainment is nothing new. There are war games, educational games, throne games. But a new class of games has sprung up in recent years, designed to create awareness and raise support for a variety of global issues. Such serious games seek to harness the power of competition and/or novelty to attract players and get the word out for a good cause. Here are 15 games you can play and be a better person for it.

  1. Catalysts for Change: On April 3, 2012, Catalysts for Change went live online for 48 hours. The goal of the game is to inspire people from all over the globe to come together and share ideas about easing the poverty that over 1 billion people live in. The game involves playing cards with words like "momentum" or "adaptation" on them to spark possible poverty solution ideas. When players build on your card (idea), you earn points.
  2. Spent: Designed by Urban Ministries of Durham, a faith-based provider of food and shelter for North Carolinians in need, Spent asks players to consider what life would be like as a homeless person. The game puts you in the shoes of someone who has lost their life savings, and has you choose one of three low-paying jobs to see for yourself how quickly your money runs out.
  3. World Without Oil: If you’ve ever wondered what life would look like without crude oil, this game was for you. With the tagline "play it before you live it," WWO simulated the first eight months of a world oil crisis. The game ended on June 1, 2007, after 1,500 players had sent in fictional "personal accounts" of their life during the crisis, which were viewed by 110,000 people. Players also worked together to develop solutions that still provide insight into potential real-life answers for the future.
  4. 3rd World Farmer: This game was originally created by students at the IT-University in Copenhagen in 2005. The player is put in control of an African farm and must struggle to keep family, crops, and livestock alive while conflict and a lack of resources work against them. The designers’ hope is that people will play and realize how precarious survival is for many in Africa, and then do what they can to improve the lives of poor people there.
  5. Free Rice: The United Nations World Food Program operates this game, which seeks to educate the public while addressing the problem of world hunger by offering rice to hungry people free of charge. Players simply go to the website, pick a subject like world capitals or English grammar, and then start answering questions. For each correct answer, the program donates 10 grains of rice to someone in need.
  6. September 12th: A Toy World: The rules are simple: you can choose to shoot rockets at terrorists, or not. But be warned, missing civilians is virtually impossible. The purpose of this newsgame is to visually prove that the U.S. War on Terror is destined to failure, as every civilian killed results in dozens of terrorists created. It has been shown all over the world as a teaching tool against violence.
  7. Citizen Science: Back to the Future meets the EPA in this game, where players travel back in time to investigate what led to the local lake’s pollution and what they can do to prevent it in the future. Developed by the National Science Foundation in partnership with the University of Wisconsin, the game is meant to illustrate the social factors that contribute to environmental harm.
  8. Garbage Dreams: Cairo’s Zaballeen people may have the answer to the world’s trash problem. They recycle 80% of their trash (Zaballeen means "garbage people" in Arabic). Now you can test your mettle and see if you too can be as enterprising as they are. You have one goat, one factory, and 8 months to build a recycling system for the city. Can you make it happen?
  9. WeTopia: Such big names as Mattel, Clorox, and DeGeneres have lent their support to this game that’s like Farmville for a cause. Players build communities and accumulate "Joy" as a form of currency, which they can then donate in-game to real-life causes. When those causes reach 100% joy, the game’s developer donates real cash to the organization that was earned through player purchases and advertising revenue.
  10. Sweatshop: Sweatshop takes things one step further by incorporating humor, albeit black, into its message. The game begins by showing you a factory floor filled with crying or injured children who make high-end sneakers. Then it guides you through a series of choices you must make as the factory manager. As you decide whether to give your workers a safe working environment or focus on your bottom line, hopefully you will begin to wonder what kind of conditions the clothes you’re wearing came from.

  1. A Closed World: Game designers in Singapore created this game because of the shortage of content concerning LGBT issues. Here you lead a gay character through a forest filled with "demons" who try to stop you and force their beliefs on you. You must use your words and logic to navigate your way to find your beloved.
  2. On the Ground Reporter: Darfur: The first in the "On the Ground Reporter" series, this game brings players face to face with the shocking footage of hostilities in Darfur. The in-game objective is to find the truth and the story, but the overall goal is to expose people to the harsh realities of conflicts like that that just ended in Darfur.
  3. Fate of the World: The whole world is in your hands. This award-winning game forces you to deal with crises like natural disasters and a growing global population. By playing through the different scenarios, players get a sense of the real challenges the world could face in the next few generations. It is based on the research of an Oxford professor and was made with the help of a veteran game producer.
  4. Elude: The team behind "A Closed World" also produced this game that wants to change some of the public’s views about depression. The highs and lows of the illness are illustrated as your "mood" rises to the sky and falls to the depths of the earth. The game is only won when the player uses passion to reach happiness at the tree tops.
  5. Karma Tycoon: JPMorgan Chase Foundation was the unlikely backer of this game, where players try to move their "karmameter" to 100%. They do this by helping people through homeless shelters, youth centers, and other community help centers. A grant from Chase Bank starts the game off, but players must budget their money and earn more grants to help more people and solve more problems as the game progresses. So kids learn social and fiscal responsibility while playing.
Taken From Online Universities
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8 Reasons Final Exams Might Be All Wrong

Pretty much anything involving tests will rile up controversy in the education sector, particularly those of the standardized variety. But finals dredge up their own share of criticisms, and for reasons other than “not wanting to take them." While they remain fully ingrained in the fabric of high schools and colleges, many have noted a trend away from the traditional setup thanks to these valid complaints. What this ultimately means for students and teachers alike is up to time, of course, although the likely scenario will see more of a shift in its structure rather than complete elimination.

  1. Final papers seem to be far more popular anyways

    So popular, in fact, that Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences consider finals the exceptions rather than the rules these days. In fact, any professor wanting to hold one has to submit a form asking for permission! Most just find the final paper a sufficient rubric for measuring students’ knowledge retention. Adding an exam on top of that just exhausts everyone involved with needless redundancy.

  2. Students who barely show up to class can still pass

    Not all classrooms allow for this unfortunate phenomenon, of course, but the ones that do understandably frustrate students who show up every day and wind up receiving the exact same scores. Final exams who pull their content almost exclusively from textbooks pose the highest risk of rewarding the veritable Punxsutawney Phils on campus, so it isn’t their existence so much as their particular structure which causes problems in this instance. The easiest solution for professors hoping to reward pupils involves adding attendance to part of their grade, and throwing in final questions only covered in lectures and activities.

  3. They aren’t the best gauge of skills

    Probably the biggest complaint launched against final exams involves how they just don’t accurately capture how well students understand the material. Comprehensive tests in particular earn this criticism because topics covered earlier in the semester have already begun fading. A trend at Northern Arizona University saw professors edging more towards testing more throughout the course rather than placing much of the weight on midterms and finals. Practitioners claim this practice serves as a far better tool for truly understanding where students’ unique strengths and weaknesses sit.

  4. Exhaustion

    Both educators and their students find the final examination process – whether studying for or grading – mentally and physically taxing. This especially holds a negative influence over those actually taking the tests themselves, as the exhaustion may very well compromise their scores. Even the most competent, intelligent student flubs a few questions when his and/or her brain focuses more on its desire to rest. Hence the popularity of easing the weight off stressful midterms and finals and spreading the grades out a little thinner across the semester.

  1. Awesome alternatives to tests exist

    Berkeley does a fine job of listing creative projects its professors have used in lieu of offering final exams. When designed right, they still challenge students to cobble together the knowledge gleaned over the entire course of a semester with the same – if not more – accuracy than the typical test. Not every topic necessarily lends itself to a written analysis, so replacing the traditional format has its advantages in labs, public speaking and drama courses, and plenty more.

  2. Teaching vs. Teaching to the exam

    It’s the very same criticism often levied onto standardized tests – teachers (especially those who recycle their finals from semester to semester) often feel tethered to the material. A more organic education experience would hinge more on the syllabus than the analyses, though it makes perfect sense why educators roll with such a time-cutting measure. However, critics of the concept think this strategy curtails classroom discussions that veer off into different, but educationally viable, ideas.

  3. Good students are already going to do well; Bad students are already going to do poorly

    Some schools in Canada have already dismantled their final exam and midterm policies because they see these tests as extraneous. As teacher Cherra-Lynne Olthof points out, by the end of the semester students already possess a pretty clear idea where their grades are headed. To some extent, this might also prove indicative of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students who already know they’re headed for crummy grades might intentionally perform terribly on their finals, even if they have a chance to redeem themselves through them.

  4. Many consider the content rather “arbitrary”

    “Why do we have to memorize this? We’ll never use it in the real world…” plagues ever so many (if not all) educators at some point in their career. Sometimes, though, the complaints regarding rote learning do come supported by genuinely good points and not just plain whining. Conducting final exams on subjects with little to no bearing on future careers seems pointless to many education professionals, who feel as if stress should lay more with valuable life and job skills, which DO need testing.

Taken From Bachelors Degree Online
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10 Reasons the Government Should Not Regulate the Internet

In the light of recent controversies regarding bills like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act), Americans are having more discussions about the implications of a government-controlled internet. A reality in many parts of the world, regulated and heavily censored internet activity seems to be more of a possibility than ever for the United States as well. Here are ten of the reasons why governments should not regulate the internet.

  1. To Protect the First Amendment – One of the most cherished rights granted to Americans, the right to free speech and freedom of the press, is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Regulating and censoring online content would be in direct opposition of the Amendment.
  2. Encouraging Entrepreneurial Activity – An open internet also encourages another beloved aspect of the American Dream: the ability to create our own fortunes. The web allows entrepreneurs to fill any one of an endless array of niches, which stimulates economic activity.
  3. Facilitating Innovation – The internet as Americans know it today provides a variety of platforms for exploring emerging technology and even improving upon it, keeping the nation in the race of innovation and development of new areas.
  4. Complications of Regulating Legitimate Sites Under Sweeping Legislation – Broadly worded legislation could make it difficult to regulate legitimate sites, causing them to become lost in the shuffle of “objectionable” sites and depriving users of their potentially valuable information.
  5. Maintaining Citizens’ Right to Privacy – In our post-9/11 world, the concept of a citizen’s right to privacy has changed significantly. The Patriot Act and other similar bills have already increased the amount of surveillance the public endures; regulating the internet would be another step on a very slippery slope.
  6. “Offensive” is Arbitrary – The freedom of religion and the ability to make our own choices are key parts of the American cultural identity; what one person considers offensive may not be questionable in the least to another. In the event of a regulated internet, who would make the final call on web content and its level of offensiveness?
  7. Protecting Educational Value of the Web – While there are certainly dangers lurking in the darker corners of the internet, the vast stores of knowledge that can be accessed outweigh them greatly. Changing the functionality of the web could quite possibly make it more difficult to access educational material in an attempt to censor more controversial content.
  8. Preventing the Increase of Government Spending – The creation of a regulated internet would require an enormous amount of manpower in surveillance alone. Paired with the amount of money that would have to be spent on creating filters and sifting through the almost infinite amount of information available would be staggering.
  9. It Could Fan the Flames of Civil Unrest – The outrage of Egyptian people at their government’s disabling of the internet during a period of political upheaval should serve as a very strong example of why the government should not interfere with the web. An already-disillusioned populace can very quickly become mutinous when their ability to interact with the outside world is taken away.
  10. Savvy Hackers Will Defeat the System Anyway – If groups like Anonymous have proved anything, it’s that a keen mind and a determination to access information will inevitably lead to a back-door solution. Hackers would still be able to override the system to see the same content they do now; however, an already miserably overpopulated prison system would be immensely burdened by the influx of “criminals.”

These are only a few of the reasons why the government should not attempt to censor or filter the internet; like the proverbial iceberg, the bulk of the argument lies beneath the surface of what the average citizen sees.

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The 8 Most Gruesome Video Games of All Time

Long gone are the days of nonviolent video games where the object of the game isn't to kill as many people as you can. Thanks to the advancements in video game technology and design, the games have only gotten gorier year after year. Although the connection between video games and violent tendencies in youth is an ongoing debate that may never be proven, we can't help but wonder if these eight gruesome video games should be the first to blame.

  1. Manhunt

    Manhunt may just be the scariest and most gruesome video game out there. The incredibly controversial stealth horror game follows death-row inmate, James Earl Cash, as he sneaks around committing the most sadistic crimes imaginable. From gory decapitations, bashed in skulls, and police officer beat-downs, Manhunt takes the cake for disturbing and unnecessarily violent video games.

  2. God of War

    God of War is an action-adventure video game that follows a Greek mythology character Kratos as he embarks on adventures that always involve some sort of bloody battle. One swing of Kratos' Blades of Chaos and you've got a slashed up enemy. The gruesome fights and gory cinematics are enough to give any adult nightmares.

  3. Thrill Kill

    Maybe it's the fact that you're playing a deviant from hell or maybe it's all the killings you have to commit, but Thrill Kill is definitely a game you feel bad playing. Killing is the name of the game. You even have a "kill meter" instead of a standard life bar and anything goes in Thrill Kill, including brutal dismemberments, mutilation, and weapons you've never seen before. This gruesome game was later cancelled and released online, but continues to be a popular fighting game.

  4. Gears of War

    The military science fiction video game Gears of War might be a cinematic masterpiece, but that only means blood and gore are just that much more graphic. It's perfectly normal to have blood splattered on your screen as you chainsaw someone in half or blow their limbs away with an assault rifle. This game is definitely not for the weak-stomached.

  5. Postal

    Postal and its sequel Postal 2 are incredibly violent video games that allows the player to take on the role of "The Postal Dude." This character is given several mundane tasks to accomplish and it's up to him if he wants to do it in a civil or non-civil way. Those who choose the latter can toss grenades, hit people with anthrax-infested cow heads, and dismember victims in more ways than you can imagine.

  6. The Punisher

    While The Punisher video game is not as gruesome as its movie of the same name, but by no means is it for the faint of heart. The Punisher is based on the anti-hero's adventures and run-ins with petty criminals. With his wide range of firearms, there's no telling what The Punisher won't do. In fact, the on-screen executions are so violent that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) required that they be partially censored.

  7. Mad World

    Mad World takes gore to a whole other level of nauseating. This game lets players skewer their opponents with lampposts, throw darts at their bodies, and dispose of them in a meat grinder. Mad World is a sick game and those who play it better sleep with one eye open at night.

  8. Mortal Kombat

    This popular series of fighting games is by far one of the most violent in video game history. Since its release in 1992, parents have been up in arms over the gratuitous violence and disturbing images. The more recent editions of the series, such as Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat: Deception have brought a whole new level of grossness to the game. The fights are bloodier and very painful to watch, especially when enemies are sawed up and dismembered.

Taken From Online Certificate Programs
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