... this way, everyone is free to modify it to his own needs and develop it in any fashion he wants. Absolute majority of these programs comes free of charge, but without support from the vendors. The open-source software has recently gained popularity in governmental and commercial sector, especially in ... sides as well. First of all, it is the availability of applications - for almost any program you can find an open source alternative (or a couple of them). For example, instead of using Microsoft Office you can use Open Office, instead of CorelDraw you can use Inkscape, instead of Adobe ...

• Word Count: 578
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is obviously not going to be as high as a professionally built and installed system, it is possible to have solar power for about a tenth of the cost of a professionally installed solar system. Even one cell can reduce your electric bill considerably. If building your own solar array doesn't appeal to you, there ... foil. They are good for slow cooking, and larger ones can be used to bake bread. If you live in a place where there is sunshine most of the time, a solar cooker can save you considerable money over using even a crock pot. They are especially good for drying/dehydrating food. ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... safe and perhaps in the best interest of the nation versus what is the easiest way to accomplish the list of demands that faces almost every American on a daily basis. Sometimes the Federal Government has to step up to the plate and mandate some laws and take some action but once they ... do is there any way to turn back from them? The prices at the pump are astronomical, advertisements everywhere claim that speed kills yet most people are headed for the fast lane to make that next appointment regardless of the cost. ... larger craft and nighttime or poor weather driving or conditions (...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... has to travel before it gets on your plate is 1,500 miles. That travel could be by container ship, by truck or by train. Regardless of the mode of transport, carbon emissions are created to get that food to you. Eating locally reduces those carbon emissions. If a farmer drives 30 miles into the city ... used than if those turnips were shipped from Mexico. There are other reasons why consumers choose to eat local foods. The most important of these is the transparency of the production process. You can see the farmer that grew the tomato or see the cow that ends up in your freezer. Domesti...

• Word Count: 506
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... five-member board confirmed that Troy Davis will indeed be executed by lethal injection on September 20th. Twenty-two years ago, Davis was tried and convicted of murdering a police officer who was attempting to break up a fight in a fast food parking lot. According to witnesses, Davis shot Mark MacPhail ... an hour before the execution was scheduled, but refused to hear the case. His third execution date was cancelled when the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit requested more time to consider new testimony presented by Davis' lawyer (Severson). The case, which was tried...

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... al-Assad dismisses the "armed saboteur groups" who he believes are participating in a conspiracy against the government. Since the campaign began, thousands of citizens have been killed, although the exact number is hard to define because Syria has banned all international media. In fact, the army ... more violent in order to get their way. Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist associated with the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said al-Assad's regime "has been very frightened by Ramadan's onset." Interestingly, the government feared that the uprising would wor...

• Word Count: 795
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... who will have to decide whether or not to order an attack on Iran's nuclear weapons (Kalman). Many people are concerned that Olmert will reveal Israel's participation in a recent bombing of a nuclear reactor site in Syria. Israel has been careful not to confirm its role in the Syrian raid, although Binyamin Netanyahu recently let it slip that he "was privy to ... at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University (Kalman). This battle of the accusations has also shed light on Israel's censorship laws, which give the military censor great power in preventing the ...

• Word Count: 507
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Conrad Murray, the personal physician of the late Michael Jackson, took a turn for the worse after the 911 call was played to jurors on September 29th. Murray chose not to call for an ambulance for nearly ... know CPR?" although he was the doctor on hand. Murray then calmly told Alvarez that the singer had "a bad reaction" and needed to be taken to the hospital. However, instead of calling an ambulance right away, he collected medical vials and pill bottles and instructed Alvarez to put them in a bag. The most suspicious evidence so far is that Murray asked ... ...

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... , Maine, New Jersey and California, where couples can specifically define the most critical decisions in any married couples' life. The legal precedents and laws in these states specifically support what many consider to be the "pros" or advantages of gay marriage, and these include the legal right to have children, jointing owning property or splitting it up, inheritance and death taxes, transfer ... able to obtain healthcare from an employers' HMO or PPO organization, especially in the states mentioned in this article. Starting with one of the most sought-after advantages of a gay marr...

• Word Count: 914
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• Grade Level: High School

Geothermal energy is the way of the future. It is clean. It is always available. In addition, it is already being used successfully. One only has to see its theoretical uses, its ... buildings may cost a little more than the usual heating and air conditioning systems initially but end up paying for themselves. The reduced cost of running and maintaining a geothermal pump, as opposed to traditional means of heating and cooling, saves money in the long run and are better for the environment. They provide clean running energy. By observing the ... to implement changes that will allow for easier...

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... campaign, presidential candidate Herman Cain suddenly recalled the financial settlement he was a part of years before. In the late 1990's, as the head of the National Restaurant Association, Cain battled two sexual harassment claims involving two different women, although he later remembered the first accusation and denies remembering the second accusation altogether (Oliphant). "My ... that he did not recall such an instance, but when pressed later by radio host, Laura Ingraham, Cain suddenly remembered the instance. "The word settlement suggested to me some sort of legal settlement,"...

• Word Count: 530
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... wound to his head. That was it. They didn't say anything about anything else," his mother recalls (FOX23news.com). She also reported, "We were told he was shot by one of those very long rifles and there's no way he could have done it himself. There's no way this was suicide" (Grondahl). Also pointing to the fact that Jones' death could ... be more than a suicide is the cryptic message he left for his girlfriend. "I love you," he told her. "By the time you get this, I will be gone" (Bailey). The Department of Defense has yet to confirm his death because of a policy of a 72-hour waiting p...

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... the area. One thing that was a little different was a visit by Brig. General Peter J. Talleri to Camp Taji. Talleri is the commander of the Defense Distribution Center and is stationed in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. While in the area, he also visited the Iraqi Army's General Truck Regiment ... . He met with Iraqi Colonel Muhammad and was given updates of their progress and discussed future improvements. "We are working together, in a partnership, to build a bridge with our experts to grow the capability the ... Coalition forces killed two enemy fighters during an operation near Mosul. ...

• Word Count: 444
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... in Iraq on December 15th - nine years after US forces stepped foot on the foreign ground. US troops initially staged a war to rid Iraq of the weapons of mass destruction that they were thought to possess, but after almost a decade in the hostile country, no such weapons were found. Instead, the nine ... and provided Muslims with a solid foundation for their hatred towards Americans. With American troops absent from the country, Iraq has a long and arduous road ahead of rebuilding (Shanker). "Let me be clear: Iraq will be tested in the days ahead - by terrorism, and by those who seek to ...

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... recession, President Obama promised to make government an ally. "We can, and we must, work together," he told the US Chamber of Commerce. "Whatever differences we may have, I know that all of us share a deep, abiding belief in this country, a belief in our people, a belief in the principles that have made ... America's economy the envy of the world." He then continued on to promise that his administration will "help lay the foundation for you to grow and innovate" ... the regulatory system" (Dennis). In an attempt to reconcile the differences between his administration and the US Chamber...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... affected are those hired by banks to change the locks and take over homes that have been foreclosed. There have been an increasing number of cases where these companies have actually shown up before the foreclosure process is even finished. Nancy Jacobini, an Orlando resident, locked herself in ... man hired by Jacobini's bank, JPMorgan Cahase. The bank has since admitted its mistake. Jacobini's attorney, Matt Weidner, claims that these instances are examples of financial institutions "running amuck." "What we have right now is lawlessness across the country. Banks and institutions are c...

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... and mortgage lender meltdowns, two-paycheck families are busting the budget on necessities. Even conservative spenders are growing weary. During a recent small group discussion, a mother of three held back tears as she described the effects of the dollar's weakening buying power. She and her husband both work and have been steadily employed for the last twenty years. Three years ago, they felt ... low crop yields in the fall harvest will raise commodity prices. Gavin acknowledged that paying for a fill-up remains a shock, but said that rising food costs could eventually have more of an ...

• Word Count: 398
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... season in the major leagues, Ramos only raked in the league-minimum $414,500, although this amount allegedly provoked the kidnappers to target Ramos (Matuszewski). Unfortunately, the set of events surrounding Ramos' kidnapping is not all that unlikely in Venezuela, particularly for major-leaguers and their families. Yorvit Torrealba's 11-year-old son was kidnapped in 2009 ... Zambrano's mother was also kidnapped that year. In 2008, kidnappers in Caracas murdered Henry Blanco's brother (Matuszewski). Officials in both Venezuela and the U.S. have warned visitors and citizens of the country...

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... . Additionally, the bank faces multibillion-dollar lawsuits and financial losses from its questionable mortgage practices during the housing boom (Halzack). Bank of America's decision stems from Senator Richard Durbin's bill that overhauled the banking system by capping the amount of money that banks can charge stores for debit card uses. After announcing its plan to lay off nearly 30,000 employees, Bank ... of America sought other sources to cut the losses from the new government regulations, and immediately turned to consumers to gain back their profits (Dennis). Basically, Durbin's am...

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... took to the streets demanding social justice. These protestors called for government price controls, equal standards in the outskirts of the country as those in the center, free education from birth, free university tuition, quality healthcare for all citizens, and better salaries ... . We aren't here to whine, we aren't here to complain. This is not the cry of spoiled people, this is not the cry of people who want the country to solve their problems, this is the cry of people who want to be more involved in the way their taxes are spent" (Hartman). Because ... consumer, but the nation a...

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... -Marine, abused the bodies after the women had died, and then stashed their bodies around his house, prompting neighbors to complain of a foul stench, which they believed was coming from a neighborhood sausage shop. On July 22nd, he was convicted of 11 counts of aggravated murder and more than 70 other charges, including abusing corpses and kidnapping. The defense attorneys are pressing for a life ... dead bodies bruised and battered and then dumped around the house and yard in trash bags. Mary Myers, a psychologist, retired police captain, and teacher at the University of Akron, believe...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Lagarde was backed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and most European powers, as well as some Asian and African nations. The United States Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner joined the group of supporters right before Lagarde was voted in (Rooney) "Minister Lagarde's exceptional talent and broad experience will provide invaluable leadership for this indispensable institution at a critical time for the global ... have received. I would also like to express my respect and esteem for my colleague and friend, Agustin Carstens," she said (Rooney). The global financial institution desperately ne...

• Word Count: 519
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Association. After reporting on every president since Eisenhower, Thomas made a name for herself by being aggressive in her interviews. In her lifetime, Thomas has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, as well as receiving over thirty honorary degrees. The Helen Thomas award was given out each year by Wayne State's Journalism Institute for Media Diversity to students whose ... previous, spontaneous remarks into a camera, these words were carefully thought out and conscious. It shows a prejudice that is deep-seated and obsessive" (May). The executive director of the Je...

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... that now receive signal via antennae rather than from satellite or cable will turn on their sets on the day of the switch to see snow, the fact is that those folks represent about 2% of the American populous, and tend to be people who don't consider television to be a priority or who may ... find greater productivity as the result of the death of their television signal. While some might argue that the switchover unfairly affects the poor, people who cannot afford neither new televisions, nor ... , that those people will not have enough voice to raise a stink. Their sets will merely beco...

• Word Count: 337
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... are out. Fashion has gone cliquey rather than global, and more than ever before people, at least in western society use fashion to communicate the sort of person that they want you to believe they are. In fact, there seem to be "Uniforms" that tell people who you hang with. For example, ... if one were to say "Name part of the lesbian uniform", most in today's culture would say things like "Birkenstocks, flannel shirt, Khaki shorts, and short hair". (Feminists are assumed to wear the same ... programmers wear jeans and t-shirts, The Barbie uniform is the double layered camisole, skinny...

• Word Count: 394
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• Grade Level: High School