Sunday, May 9, 2010

“Outrage over university philosophy cuts - Daily Telegraph” plus 3 more

“Outrage over university philosophy cuts - Daily Telegraph” plus 3 more

Outrage over university philosophy cuts - Daily Telegraph

Posted: 09 May 2010 06:53 AM PDT

By Graeme Paton, Education Editor
Published: 2:53PM BST 09 May 2010

Professors claimed that a decision to phase out teaching of the subject at Middlesex University would seriously undermine future research into the humanities.

The move has already led to a 12,000-strong petition and a "sit in" protest by students at the university's north London campus.

The decision comes amid widespread cuts announced at higher education institutions across the UK after it was revealed university budgets would be slashed by almost £500 million next year.

The University and College Union estimate that more than 15,000 jobs – the majority academic posts – could disappear in the next few years.

Cutbacks are being made at institutions including King's College London, Westminster, Leeds, Sheffield Hallam, Hull, Cumbria, Wolverhampton and the University of the West of England.

Middlesex has decided to close its philosophy teaching programme, insisting that the number of BA students has hit "unsustainably low" numbers, at 12 a year.

But some of the world's leading philosophers have said that the move is of "national and international concern".

In a letter to Times Higher Education magazine, it was claimed that the decision would threaten subjects such as critical theory, aesthetics, Marxism and psychoanalysis.

The letter – signed by more than 20 academics – said: "Middlesex is widely recognised as one of the most important centres for the study of modern European philosophy anywhere in the English-speaking world."

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Green philosophy drives Erdenheim consignment shop - Montgomery News

Posted: 09 May 2010 03:11 AM PDT


Angela Sipe is the owner of Phantastic Phinds consignment shop, Erdenheim. Staff photo by BOB RAINES

View and purchase photos

By Amanda Glensky
Staff Writer

Angela Sipe has everything from original wine stems, desks and chairs to a horse saddle and a King Tut statue at her consignment shop Phantastic Phinds, 631 Bethlehem Pike, Erdenheim, where she set up shop a little more than three months ago.

"This is such a great area for it," Sipe said. "We get all kinds of people here."

And those customers have been keeping her busy, she added.

From its full online catalogue to its environmentally friendly point of view, Phantastic Phinds isn't your average consignment store.

"Save the planet and your wallet, buy secondhand," is written on a portion of the wall in the store.

And sending her customers away with their purchases in recycled plastic shopping bags is just one piece of the pie.

The green aspect of consignment is a big draw for Sipe. When she sees furniture set out for the trash, going to waste, she often knows the pieces still have some life left in them.

"Her whole idea is just recycling and reusing things that truly would have gone in the trash," said Lisa Wright of Erdenheim, a former customer who now also works for Sipe two days a week.

Through magazines and other sources, the two find design ideas that might work with the items on display. They encourage customers to look at the items creatively and to think outside of the box, such as reupholstering a chair in a particular way or adding a shelf to a telephone table, Wright said.

"That's a huge hit in the store," Sipe said.

Even just adding a sign to a piece of furniture that says "paint me, don't be afraid," has made customers more likely to buy, Sipe said.

Sipe was inspired to get into the got consignment business six years ago when she learned through her husband, Tim, a real estate developer, about furniture that gets left behind when people sell their houses. She began taking the furniture home, fixing it up, and selling it online.

Previously, she consigned at her home and online, but she always wanted a store.

She inspects items by appointment only, so she can give people fair play, she said. Currently, she is booked until June 20. She puts the items on a three month consignment and splits the end cost 50/50.

"We try to keep our prices fair because we have a lot of people coming in to consign," she said. "You get better quality than thrift but better prices than antique."

The most expensive lamp on her website was $168. The most inexpensive, a lamp that needs rewiring, with shade, was $5.

Sipe is also a certified trading assistant on eBay. If someone comes in with an item she feels would sell better online, such as antique World War II binoculars, she puts it up for online auction instead, she said.

"I just love the concept — I think she's done such a wonderful job of incorporating the community and getting them involved," Wright said. "People are just so excited that it's there. We have so many regular customers come in everyday to see what's new."

Phantastic Phinds is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information contact the store at 215-233-3325 or visit Sipe's revamped website, which launched May 1, at www.phantasticphinds.com.

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of MontgomeryNews.com.

Sarah Kerns wrote on May 7, 2010 7:03 PM:


Karen wrote on May 8, 2010 10:01 AM:


Maria Dombliongo wrote on May 8, 2010 10:08 AM:


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Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

No, I'm not Paul Weller, I'm Brad Wiggins, get it right - BikeRadar.com

Posted: 09 May 2010 09:59 AM PDT

OK -- fair enough. But that is a little different position than the following:

Bradley Wiggins of Cofidis is ashamed of his sport. "After last year's Tour de France I didn't feel proud to be a professional cyclist," he told the Daily Mirror. "And I feel the same now. Doping problems affect everyone in the peloton," noted the 26 year-old. "I've got children, a wife and a house and I could lose my livelihood because someone who tests positive finishes ahead of me. It's about time someone had some balls and told it how it was. There are enough of us who think the way I do."

"They say it's only one or two but I'm sure more people are doing these things. So it's my role as a role-model to expose it and not pretend it isn't happening," he continued. "I don't think it's right I should come up in front of everyone and put up a smokescreen and say everybody is OK and there are only one or two people doing this. My big motivation this year is to prove that you can win clean."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-landis-took-us-riders-for-fools

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

A mission to live without regrets - KWWL

Posted: 09 May 2010 01:41 PM PDT

WATERLOO (IOWA)--Living life with no regrets... it's a philosophy that a pilot wanted to share with the city of Waterloo Saturday.

Michael and Michele Combs flew into Waterloo Saturday morning in a sports aircraft.

Waterloo was one of the 135 stops on a journey called "The Flight of The Human Spirit".

The Combs are eleven days and 5600 miles through their journey, but they have many miles to go.

Their journey will go to every state and will set several world records if completed.

" One is that this is the longest distance that an unmodified light sports aircraft has ever traveled," Michael Combs said.

But just taking to the skies has been an achievement for Combs.

"The flight of the human spirit started actually when I was a little kid. I would always look at the clouds, look up at the airplanes and wish that I was there and I always knew that sometime in my life I would be flying." Combs said.  "Unfortunately.... I always wanted to follow this passion of mine, but I never did anything about it."

Combs started to regret this when he had heart problems in 2003.  He was on bed rests for more than a year.

"When he was so sick he would lay there and just dream of flying and that would be how he would get through the pain," his wife, Michele, said.

"It was then that I decided that when –not 'if'-- but 'when' I get better I will live my life with no regret," Comb said.

Now Combs is feeling healthier than ever, and he is making it his mission to tell 20 million people that it's never too late to follow your dreams.

Online Producer: Jackie Manternach

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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