Maze Cartoon of Roman Colosseum dark as night as the lights are turned off in solidarity with Gilad Shalit, prisoner in Gaza. By Yonatan Frimer

Maze Cartoon of Roman Colosseum dark as night as the lights are turned off in solidarity with Gilad Shalit, prisoner in Gaza.

Cartoon maze of The Roman Colosseum dark as night as the lights are shut off at midnight in solidarity with Gilad Shalit. One of the characters remarks, "They should shut off the lights in Gaza at midnight for solidarity. Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Rome to switch off lights of Colosseum at midnight for Gilad

On Thursday evening the lights of the Colosseum in Rome will be turned off in solidarity with kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit. Noam Schalit, Gilad's father, will be in attendance along with the Roman citizens and the representatives of local and national Italian institutions.

According to organizers, the gathering is meant to send a message to the world: "Free Gilad now". Speeches will be given by Noam Schalit and the mayor of Rome, and pictures of Gilad will be screened. At 11 pm (midnight in Israel) the lights of the Colosseum will be turned off.

"We immediately launched the campaign for Shalit because we feel the burden of anxiety”, the President of the Jewish Community of Rome, Riccardo Pacifici, says.

Last summer Rome's Mayor Gianni Alemanno bestowed honorary citizenship on Gilad. The City of Rome has strongly supported the initiative in the Colosseum. Other cities in Italy have joined, and some of the municipalities will turn off the lights at some of their monuments.

"We want to sensitize public opinion and strongly assert our values, which belong to civil society as a whole, first of all the value of freedom. This event is first and foremost an expression of our strong support of the State of Israel,” Pacifici said.

Click to read the full article at the source

Kids 'Discover' fun at science camp

Kids 'Discover' fun at science camp

By ANNA GOODWIN MCCARTHY

Correspondent

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Squeals erupt from the children as the black and white rat scurries through a maze of brightly colored foam puzzle pieces and cardboard boxes, searching for the elusive cheese.

Unable to locate the cheese, the rat is at a standstill, prompting Michelle McPherson, director of school programs at Port Discover, to encourage the Port Discover Sensational Science camp-goers to modify the layout of the maze.

Quickly the group of eight to 12-year-olds moves into action in an ultimate display of teamwork using their recently acquired knowledge of positive reinforcement and learned animal behaviors to construct a new maze.

The best way to learn is through hands-on activities, said McPherson, an Elizabeth City State University graduate and former high school biology teacher.

Port Discover is Elizabeth City’s hands-on science museum for children. This summer marks the first series of summer camps since the center moved into its expanded space on Main Street. Port Discover director LuAnne Pendergraft says the larger space is allowing the center to offer expanded activities for the children, such as this week’s science camp aimed at teaching kids a variety of scientific techniques.

Moses McDaniel, Port Discover educator and ECSU research associate, demonstrated “laboratory techniques” on Monday helping campers create their own bacteria slides.

“It is absolutely great to see

them excited about science,” said McDaniel.

Sensational Science Camp attendees were introduced to the themes of microbiology, animal science, space exploration, technology/design and water quality this week. Camper Chaz McDaniel, 11, was excited to design and launch a water bottle rocket during Wednesday’s space exploration day.

McPherson said the space exploration theme was a result of requests for space themed projects on surveys at the end of last year’s summer science camp at Port Discover. The surveys at the end of each camp provide valuable feedback for planning future events.

The success of Port Discover’s programs has been maintained since its creation five years ago through the collaborative efforts of the staff, local government, community sponsors and Elizabeth City State University, according to Pendergraft.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing without the guidance of the university,” said Pendergraft.

The university’s “expertise of faculty,” “shared resources,” and presence of faculty on the 2010 Port Discover Board of Directors has led to “true community collaboration.”

Pendergraft said Port Discover has also been able to thrive through the recently purchased property that previously contained the Pasquotank Arts Council.

After moving into the larger space in March, the program was able to increase the number of participants in programs, decrease off-site travel and provide children with a “freer space to learn in,” said Pendergraft.

The larger facility contains a computer area with two computers loaded with science software, science board games and an Interactive Gallery that is open to the public. Enticing games like the cell require users “to match organelles with their functions,” by pressing buttons as a large model of a cell lights up with each selection. Another game asks users to pull a lever as they watch two balloon like lungs fill with air in a torso.

Glass habitats provide the onlooker with a glimpse into the activities of fish, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, toads, frogs, tadpoles and snakes. There is also a toddler area with “very basic” activities that provide an introduction to science, said Pendergraft.

Wendy Pierce, Port Discover director of community programs and ECSU graduate, said one of the best aspects of working with the program is the “ability to be creative in an informal learning environment.”

Pierce said the scientific method and North Carolina Standard Course of Study are used in the implementation of lessons and programs.

It is vital that we “spark a continued interest” in the areas of science, math and technology, said Pierce.

Port Discover will provide a Discovery Days camp for five to seven-year-olds June 28 to June 30.

Pendergraft said the Port Discover camps provide “quality fun” in a scientific environment.

Maze of Monkey Illusion - 2009
Optical illusion maze caused by conflicting horizontal and vertical lines.

Maze Illusion - Artwork by Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon Maze of Iranian & Turkish hands milk the flotilla ordeal by Yonatan Frimer

Milking the flotilla ordeal for all it's worth;
Maze Cartoon by Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon maze of a cow being milked. The utters are labeled "Flotilla Ordeal" , the arms that squeeze the milk out are labeled "Iran" and "Turkey" and the pail that has the milk says on it "Got PR?" Created by Yonatan Frimer

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Joel HillikerColumnist

A Good Excuse to End a Bad Relationship

Israel could see what was coming. Before the convoy set sail, Israeli leaders pleaded with Turkish officials to stop it; they offered to allow the supplies to be delivered through an Israeli checkpoint. But Erdoğan’s government let it go anyway. Thus, Israel had no choice but to intervene directly. And those on the boat made sure it turned violent.

Now, Turkey is milking the event for all it’s worth. It accused Israel of state-sponsored terrorism. It compared the psychological impact of the incident on Turks to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Americans. Turkish President Abdullah Gül called the Israeli raid a crime against humanity and said Israeli-Turkish relations will never be the same. Erdoğan labeled it a massacre. Turkish armed forces announced several cutbacks in cooperation with Israeli forces. The government also offered to supply Turkish naval protection for the next “aid” convoy to Gaza; “This would be, in effect, an act of war,” wrote Mark Steyn, “—more to the point, an act of war by a nato member against the State of Israel.”

(Read the full article on The Trumpet)



What do the Swedish Gaza activists hope to achieve?

.....Who actually profited from what happened? Well, most analysts agree that the biggest beneficiaries are the radical Islamists of the Middle East, notably Hamas, the terrorist organization which currently rules Gaza. Hamas won a major PR victory and gained valuable international legitimacy at the expense of moderate Palestinians and the Fatah leadership of the West Bank. Politically this is a boost for those Palestinians who object to peace negotiations with Israel, and prefer the more violent path of jihad, the so-called holy war against Israel and the non-Muslim world.

In Turkey, Islamist extremists are milking the incident to win easy points against secular and modernising forces. Iran is delighted that the world’s attention is being diverted away from its nuclear programme and arms deals with Hezbollah and Syria. As so often before in the Middle-East, the rhetoric of peace and freedom becomes a tool to strengthen despotic, terror-sponsoring regimes which scoff at both. This happened largely because, as Israeli author David Grossman put it, Israel acted like a puppet on strings pulled by a small fanatical Turkish organization......

Read the full article on The Local, a Swedish paper in English

Maze Of Monkeys jumping off a building in 3-D maze goodness

Mushroom Maze

Maze-a-delic by Yonatan Frimer

Maze proves that bigger bonus equals worse performance

BUSINESS BOOKS-Bigger bonus, worse performance

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* Author says bonus pressure leads to poorer performances
* Bankers still convinced their skills deserve big pay

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Around the turn of every year, bankers can think of only one thing: the size of their bonuses.

Even beyond bonus season, they run different scenarios and assumptions, trying to calculate their number.

This distracts them so much that the bigger the bonus at stake, the worse the performance, according to behavioral economist Dan Ariely, who lays out his theory in his new book "The Upside of Irrationality" (HarperCollins, $27.99).

"For a long time we trained bankers to think they are the masters of the universe, have unique skills and deserve to be paid these amounts," said Ariely, who also wrote the New York Times bestseller "Predictably Irrational."

"It is going to be hard to convince them that they don't really have unique skills and that the amount they've been paid for the past years is too much."

Ariely's findings come as regulators try to rein in Wall Street's bonus culture after the 2008 financial collapse. The financial industry argues it needs to pay large bonuses to attract and motivate its top employees.

In an experiment in India, Ariely measured the impact of different bonuses on how participants did in a number of tasks that required creativity, concentration and problem-solving.

One of the tasks was Labyrinth, where the participants had to move a small steel ball through a maze avoiding holes. Ariely describes a man he identified as Anoopum, who stood to win the biggest bonus, staring at the steel ball as if it were prey.

"This is very, very important," Anoopum mumbled to himself. "I must succeed." But under the gun, Anoopum's hands trembled uncontrollably, and he failed time after time.

A large bonus was equal to five months of their regular pay, a medium-sized bonus was equivalent to about two weeks pay and a small bonus was a day's pay.

There was little difference in the performance of those receiving the small and medium-sized bonuses, while recipients of large bonuses performed worst.

SHOCK TREATMENT

More than a century ago, an experiment with rats in a maze rigged with electric shocks came to a similar conclusion. Every day, the rats had to learn how to navigate a new maze safely.

When the electric shocks were low, the rats had little incentive to avoid them. At medium intensity they learned their environment more quickly.

But when the shock intensity was very high, it seemed the rats could not focus on anything other than the fear of the shock.

This may provide lessons for regulators who want to change Wall Street's bonus culture, Ariely said. Paying no bonus or smaller bonuses could help fix skewed incentives without loss of talent.

"The reality is, a lot of places are able to attract great quality people without paying them what bankers are paid," Ariely said. "Do you think bankers are inherently smarter than other people? I don't." (Reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Daniel Trotta)

Maze Cartoon about the Gaza smuggling tunnels By Yonatan Frimer

Maze Cartoon about the Gaza smuggling tunnels By Yonatan Frimer

Very psychedelic maze cartoon of two smugglers in the Gaza-Egypt tunnels, carrying a case of weapons and rockets. One says to the other, "If they open up the borders, then we might be out of a job." Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Pressure to End Blockade May Stop Tunnel Smuggling

Sarah A. Topol Contributor

Smugglers in Egypt and Gaza worry their trade will be adversely affected by returning Palestinians lugging goods bought for cheaper prices in Egypt. They know a total termination of the blockade will spell the end of their industry.

"If the border opened, there won't be any tunnels," Abu Al-Amir, a tunnel worker in Gaza, said in a telephone interview with AOL News. "If the tunnels end, no one will work."

Al-Amir said nervous conversations about what will happen if the border stays open have rippled through the smuggling community in Gaza. Although his work has not been affected, Al-Amir said, "There are people who are afraid."

Right now, it's business as usual for many of Gaza's tunnels that ferry construction materials, something neither of the borders is allowing through.

Click here to read the full article, by Sarah Topol, on AOL News.


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Rodent of the Week: How habits are formed

June 11, 2010

When I was in high school, I had to drive a long distance on a freeway to get to school. After arriving, I often wondered how I got there. I didn't remember the drive or even thinking about driving.

This feeling is a common (and, yes, somewhat scary) experience that a group of neuroscientists think they can better explain. In an experiment with rats, researchers at MIT identified two distinct neural circuits in the brain that show distinct changes when the rats were learning to navigate a maze and, later, after they mastered the task.

The rats were placed in a maze that had chocolate sprinkles at the end. The activity in specific parts of their brains was analyzed as they learned the maze, which included a T-juncture where they had to stop and choose to turn right or left. The rats performed the maze repeatedly until they had learned it.

The study showed that one specific neural circuit became stronger with practice. A second neural circuit showed high activity occurring at times when the rats had to make a decision in the maze. But as they learned the maze, activity in this circuit declined. The task had become habitual.

So, arriving at school in one piece wasn't just a matter of luck. "It is good to know that we can train our brains to develop good habits and avoid bad ones," the lead author of the study, Ann Graybiel, said in a news release.

Understanding how specific regions of the brain change through learning could help in developing new treatments for brain-based diseases. The study was published Thursday in the journal Neuron.

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Advanced Cell Technology Inc.

Some cool mazes, maze art and maze cartoons

Mushroom maze

Maze of Mushrooms by Yonatan Frimer 2006

Maze Portrait of Albert Einstein.

"Genius Maze" - By Y. Frimer

Maze Cartoon of Erdogans comparison of Flotilla raid to September 11th.

Maze cartoon of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan comparing the Flotilla raid to September 11th. Someone from the crowd asks how it would "stack up against the Armenian Genocide." Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Maze Cartoon UN Bombing Iran with Sanctions By Yonatan Frimer

Maze Cartoon UN Bombing Iran with Sanctions By Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon maze of a UN fighter jet dropping bombed marked "Sanctions" on Iran, while he has other with the name of known targets and the pilot says, "If these don't work, then we drop the real ones!" Created by Yonatan Frimer
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U.N. imposes another round of sanctions on Iran

UNITED NATIONS -- After several months of grueling diplomacy, the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran's military establishment -- a move that the United States and other major powers said should prompt the Islamic Republic to restart stalled political talks over the future of its nuclear program.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the foreign ministers of allied nations asked the European Union's chief diplomat to pursue talks with Iran at the "earliest possible opportunity," and President Obama asserted that "these sanctions do not close the door on diplomacy."

"We think that the sanctions send a kind of message to the entire Iranian leadership, which.... (Read Source Article)

Cartoon Maze Chemtrails Vs. Kassam Rockets By Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon Maze Chemtrails Vs. Kassam Rockets By Yonatan Frimer

Maze cartoon of two monkeys talking about the skies in the USA and in Israel. In the USA there are "Chemtrails from who knows what" and in Israel their are Qassams that "We know are from Gaza" Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Cartoon Maze: Not the size of the boat, It's the motion of the ocean... By Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon Maze: Not the size of the boat... By Yonatan Frimer

Maze cartoon of Bibi Netanyahu and PM Erdogan in the mens room, sizing each other up. Erdogan has a scronful look on his face and defends, "It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean" Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Turkey's Erdogan bears responsibility in flotilla fiasco

WESTERN GOVERNMENTS have been right to be concerned about Israel's poor judgment and botched execution in the raid against the Free Gaza flotilla. But they ought to be at least as worried about the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which since Monday has shown a sympathy toward Islamic militants and a penchant for grotesque demagoguery toward Israel that ought to be unacceptable for a member of NATO.

On the opposite page today, Turkey's ambassador to the United States makes the argument that Israel had no cause to clash with the "European lawmakers, journalists, business leaders and an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor" who were aboard the flotilla. But there...(read full article)

Cartoon Maze: Who you calling chicken? By Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon Maze: Who you calling chicken? By Yonatan Frimer
Maze cartoon of a bunch of chickens, labeled with the name of terrorist groups around a Turkey, labeled AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, and the Turkey exclaims, "Who you calling chicken!" Created by Yonatan Frimer
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Erdogan: Hamas not terror group

"Hamas's resistance fighters were meant to defend their land. They won an election. I've told American officials before that I do not consider Hamas a terror organization, and I still don't. They are defending their land," he was quoted by Turkish media as saying.

- Click here to read the full article -

Left in the wake of the Gaza flotilla, by Yonatan Frimer

Cartoon Maze of the Gaza Flotilla and what it left in its wake.

Maze cartoon of the Gaza Flotilla. The boat leaves in its wake violence, diplomatic crisis, sympathy for terrorist, lies, and of course an Israeli PR overhaul. Created by Yonatan Frimer
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