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When you move abroad, at least semi-permanently, you become known as an expat. You also become non-resident for tax purposes in your old home nation – it's at this point in time that the expat advantage exists for you to embrace.
In simple terms, once you're non-resident for tax in your old home country a whole new world of financial opportunity opens up for you – but to use it successfully you need qualified expat financial advice.
Planned well, your moving abroad can be your opportunity to get ahead in money management terms.
As an expatriate you may well gain a financial advantage that is of benefit to you in the form of legitimate tax savings and/or more interesting and diverse savings and investment opportunities.
We call this the expat advantage – it is all about making the most of your money when you're living abroad and have direct access to the offshore and international financial marketplace.
How Do I Make the Most of My Expat Advantage?
The key to making the very most of your expat advantage is to understand the international opportunities open to you for the management and investment of your wealth.
You will need to take in to consideration the nation you've left behind and their tax rules. For example, if you're from the UK originally then when you become non-resident in Britain for tax purposes you're fairly free of the system, compared to an American living abroad for example.
You then need to understand the tax rules in your new country, and also think about whether it makes any sense to remit money to your new or even back to your old nation – in most cases it's usually safer to retain money outside of either jurisdiction.
Choices and decisions will all be based on your own personal position, as well as your personal objectives, risk profile, wealth status, age etc. However, they will also be influenced by the new world of opportunity open to you abroad.
In order to embrace your personal expat advantage it might literally pay to take the advice of an expert financial adviser. Through their knowledge you can advance your own understanding of the solutions and opportunities that are out there, and find the investment path, offshore jurisdiction and secure wealth management plan to suit you.
In so doing you will be taking and making the most of your expat advantage.
Do I Need Specialist Expat Financial Advice?
In terms of where to seek advice perfectly structured for your unique expatriate financial status, it can be very difficult to know where to start looking and how to choose the right adviser to be sure that they have the correct knowledge to assist you.
For example, your previous UK based financial adviser may not be able to introduce you to the potentially tax saving and financially enhancing opportunities available offshore anymore. What's more, they may not be regulated to advise you once you become non-resident in Britain.
A local adviser in your new nation is unlikely to understand your unique expatriate status, how that relates to any tax saving potential in the nation in which you're residing, and how you need to structure your affairs appropriately in case you should ever want to repatriate or relocate elsewhere.
A local adviser may be able to advise you on the money that you receive in your new country of residence. However, they may not be able to provide you with the best advice for any pension or assets you have outside the country already.
This can mean that you need to choose a specialist international financial advisor to help you with your financial planning decisions.
Should I Get Financial Advice Before I Retire Abroad?
If you're hoping or planning to retire abroad, one of the most important factors to get right in advance of your money is your financial position.
Factors to consider include whether or not you can actually afford to move and live abroad in the country of your choosing, and at the standard you want!
Assuming you've taken the basic steps to ensuring you can afford your move, there are plenty of other considerations to cover and it may well be to your advantage to speak to a financial adviser before you move.
If you do speak to an adviser in the UK to correctly structure your financial position before you relocate, make sure they are clear about the fact you're about to become non-resident in Britain for tax purposes.
Conveniently for soon-to-be expats there are some British and international firms that work in parallel to help soundly structure someone's wealth ahead, and then following, their move.
Why is an International Financial Adviser Worth Considering?
Although you may speak the language in your new country of residence, seeking advice from an independent, international adviser may be far more beneficial when reviewing your finances on an international and not just a local level.
An international adviser will be able to understand your expat status and how that relates to your tax position. Furthermore they will be able to take into account any pensions, investments and savings plans you already have in place – whether back home or onshore in your new nation of residence.
Ultimately an international financial adviser will have as international an outlook as you, now that you're an expat.
Finally, another reason to consider an international financial adviser when you need financial planning assistance is because they may be more used to working via email or telephone, so that wherever you move to next in the world they can remain your point of contact, maintaining continuity for your money.
What Do I Need to Look for in a Financial Adviser?
1) You need an independent adviser who has as international a perspective as you. There's no point using a local adviser if you may move to another country or even go back to the UK at some point in the future.
This is even more apparent if the local adviser only specialises in advising clients where you are currently based. Planned correctly, a move to another country, repatriation to the UK, (or even death), can have future tax advantages for your wealth and estate – a local adviser may not know about this.
2) You need to ensure that your adviser provides the best advice for your international outlook.
3) You need an adviser who understands how your previous financial affairs were managed, how your current status can benefit you, and how future requirements may lead you to or from certain courses of action.
4) You need an adviser who understands expatriates and the offshore/international world of tax and financial planning.
They should not be tied to any financial institution as independence of advice is essential.
5) The adviser needs to be qualified, experienced, professional and ideally backed by a brokerage large enough to have influence with the major financial institutions.
6) Your adviser needs to be correctly regulated to give you advice.
Should I Choose a Commission or Fee Based Adviser?
Unlike in the UK, most international independent financial advisers, i.e., those who are not tied to giving advice based on one bank's products only, currently charge a fee for the advice they give, or they receive commission after they have placed your business with the best bank or financial institution that meets your personal requirements.
Occasionally some advisers charge a fee and receive commission.
Since 2012 the UK has changed the rules about how financial advisors in Britain receive payment, and all advisors in the UK will only be able to charge fees for advice giving.
This is to bring greater transparency to financial advice giving in Britain.
As an expat, rather than being forced to speak to an IFA in the UK who may misunderstand your new tax status or who may only be able to recommend you use often unsuitable savings and investment products onshore in the UK, (such as ISAs you're no longer eligible for when you become non-resident, and pensions on which you cannot receive tax relief), you can call on the services of an offshore or international financial adviser.
Offshore financial advisers may refer to themselves as international wealth managers, expat financial advisors or just independent financial advisers.
Currently, such advisers based in Europe, (not UK), are still free to charge a fee for advice giving, or to take commission.
There is no 'right' way for your adviser to be paid.
Some of the better advisories that ensure they maintain an ongoing client relationship, by offering a regular review of your financial arrangements to make sure they are still suitable, receive an ongoing management fee rather than a one off commission from an institution they have placed a client's business with.
Such companies may instead make it clear to you, their client, that there is an ongoing fee due for payment for their ongoing commitment to the correct management of your money.
Ultimately, when you choose an adviser, you must ask them how they will be paid for giving you advice. Most advisers will offer this information up front anyway. And where a fee is chargeable this must be agreed with you in advance. Where commission is paid, this must be detailed to you transparently.
Fee based IFAs claim their method is best because it means they are not 'encouraged' to place your money with the bank that pays them the highest commissions.
A commission based IFA will claim that their method is best because they are fully incentivised to continue working with you, their client, forever. What's more, they always point out that once a client has paid a fee for advice and invested their money, they are always reluctant to have to pay another fee every few months just to have the adviser check that they are still correctly invested.
Apparently this can mean an expat doesn't keep on top of their financial portfolio as often as they should if they choose a fee-based adviser.
A commission-based IFA will offer this financial review service for free on an ongoing basis, thus ensuring an investor's portfolio is very regularly checked to make sure it still matches the client's circumstances.
The type of adviser you choose will obviously depend in part on whether you prefer to pay a regular fee every time you need to ask a question or change an investment approach, or whether you're comfortable for your adviser to receive commission or a management fee from a bank/finance house when they do a good job for you.
Either way, you are paying for the advice, just as you would pay a plumber for advice (and help) if you had a burst pipe, or in the same way you would pay a doctor for advice about a medical complaint. Even when you choose a commission based advice service, the commission paid is factored in to the fees and charges you pay to the bank or finance house for the investment of your money.
How Are Offshore Financial Advisers Regulated?
In the EU there is a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive which: "provides harmonised regulation for investment services" throughout the EEA. Under this directive the concept of 'passporting' exists.
Passporting is a term that is relevant to how an offshore financial adviser, based in Europe, is regulated to give you advice.
An offshore IFA based in the EU should be regulated somewhere within Europe; common countries for regulation include Belgium, Ireland and Germany because other member states deem them to have the best regulation procedures in place.
Once regulated therein an advisory can give advice. They can also have a branch office elsewhere in Europe for example, from which they may advise expats too, and because of passporting they can advise expats in other EU member states.
So, assuming you're resident in Europe you need to ensure the company your IFA works for is regulated and therefore licensed to give financial advice. You need to ensure that they are regulated in a jurisdiction within the EEA where you are afforded good protection. What's more, you need to find out about their indemnity insurances in case things go wrong, and discuss how their compliance and complaints processes work too.
There is strong regulation within the financial advice arena in Europe. Regulated advisories must abide by the terms of their licensing in the jurisdiction in which they are regulated.
What Qualifications Should a Financial Adviser Have?
Just as no one would put their health at risk by knowingly taking medical advice from an unqualified practitioner, so no one should put their fiscal health at risk by knowingly taking financial advice from an unqualified financial adviser.
Despite the fact that the UK rules relating to financial advice giving no longer apply and cover you when you're an expat, living abroad and taking financial advice from an offshore financial adviser, the UK's qualifications for financial advisers are still among the best in the world.
What's more, for Britons living abroad and considering investing their money offshore, most are likely to favour a British adviser to give best advice.
This is because there are many technical elements to understand – from what constitutes a good investment fund to where is the safest offshore jurisdiction for your money for example. And to understand this most Britons probably prefer to speak with someone who is a native English speaker.
So, whilst this is not a hard and fast rule – you can perhaps be more reassured that your financial adviser knows what they're talking about if they have the likes of the CFP* certification for example.
*CFP (Certified Financial Planner) certification is from the Institute of Financial Planning, and here's what they say about the qualification: "CFP certification is an advanced qualification which tests a candidate's ability to apply their detailed knowledge and skills in order to produce an effective financial plan…Becoming a CFP professional is not easy. It's a real challenge and that is why CFP certification is highly respected as an international standard."
Alternative qualifications to look out for include the International Certificate in Financial Advice from the Securities and Investment Institute and the FPC qualifications from the Chartered Insurance Institute.
What Can I Do If I Receive Bad Financial Advice?
From the outset a good financial adviser will have informed you about where their company is regulated and licensed and how their compliance and complaints processes work.
The license they have in place should give you peace of mind that they are a professional financial brokerage in the business of giving best advice.
Defining the compliance procedure should make it clear to you that they carefully check that advice given is right, based on elements such as your risk profile and country of tax residence for example.
What's more, it is in a professional advisory's best interest to ensure you get best advice, as their best business referrals come from satisfied clients.
Having said all of this, there are occasions when expats could have cause to complain.
You can ask your adviser for their complaints procedure before you even consider trusting their advice. Or, if you need to make a complaint later on, approach the advisory first to see if they can put right whatever element you need to complain about.
If the adviser or brokerage cannot or will not help (remember it really is in their best interests to do so and you can remind them of this), your right to complain should go back to the regulatory authorities in the country in which the company is regulated and licensed.
Always ensure any adviser you work with is correctly regulated, qualified, licensed and experienced – and you need an independent adviser who can open up the whole offshore and international financial marketplace for you if you're an expatriate living abroad.
Do your own careful due diligence on anyone you consider trusting to give you expat financial advice, and always read any documentation before you sign it and commit to a given investment approach.


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Sneak attack on your health: Coke tries to say it's a "healthy snack"
There's 44 grams of sugar in a can of regular Coca-Cola.
Click here to see how 44 grams of sugar looks like.
That's a lot of sugar, right?
Now understand the world's largest beverage maker is getting so-called health columnists to promote the pop – yeah that's how some of us say it – as a "health snack."
AP Health Writer Candace Choi gets kudos for her story this weekend crying shenanigans on that claim.
With declining soda consumption in the U.S., Coke is working with fitness and nutrition experts who suggest it's cola is a healthy treat. Several wrote online pieces last month for American Heart Month, with each including a mini-can of Coke or small soda as a snack idea.
The AP says this effort shows how mega corporations work behind the scenes with third parties who are seen as trusted authorities.
And Coke isn't the only one doing it, of course. Other companies, such as Kellogg. PepsiCo Inc. and General Mills, try to tell you that chemical-ladened food your are shoveling in your mouths is actually good for you.
Now grant it, Coke's health gurus are focusing on the smaller cans. But make no mistake sugary drinks have been said to contribute to obesity rates.
Like many Americans, this reporter uses a diet cola to fulfill his caffeine quota for the day. But I know it's not healthy and am trying to break the habit of soda all together. I remember something my doctor told me once: You don't wash a car in soda. You need to drink water and lots of it.
Want a healthy snack? Try an apple rather than a mini can of Coke.

subset: commoncrawl


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DCI Announces Duelfer to Succeed Kay as Special Advisor
January 23, 2004
Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet announced today that Dr. David Kay will be stepping down as his Special Advisor for Strategy regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Programs. The DCI also announced that Dr. Kay will be succeeded by Charles A. Duelfer, who served as Deputy Executive Chairman of the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) from 1993 until its termination in 2000 and is currently a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Duelfer, 51, will be working closely with Major General Keith W. Dayton, who commands the Iraq Survey Group (ISG).
In making the announcement, Tenet praised Dr. Kay for his "extraordinary service under dangerous and difficult circumstances."
"David is a model private citizen who willingly lent his unique expertise to his government in a time of need," Tenet said. "At a time when our WMD hunt efforts were just beginning, David provided a critical strategic framework that enabled the ISG to focus the hunt for information on Saddam's WMD programs."
Dr. Kay will be returning to the private sector.
In accepting Dr. Kay's resignation and announcing Duelfer's appointment, Tenet said, "Building on the framework that David has put in place, I am very confident that Charlie and the ISG will continue to make progress in the months ahead in determining the status of the former Iraqi regime's WMD programs."
"Given his knowledge of Iraqi weapons programs and his understanding of the nature and extent of Iraqi efforts to conceal these programs, I can think of no one better suited to carry on this very important work than Charlie Duelfer," the DCI said.
In accepting the position, Duelfer said, "I'm honored that Director Tenet has asked me to tackle this challenging assignment. I'm approaching it with an open mind and am absolutely committed to following the evidence wherever it takes us."
In submitting his resignation, Dr Kay said: "It has been my honor and privilege to work with a tremendous group of men and women in Iraq, Qatar, and Washington. Despite arduous working conditions and an inhospitable and often threatening environment, the ISG, led by General Dayton, has performed its important mission with great skill and the utmost integrity. While there are many unresolved issues, I am confident that the ISG will do everything possible to answer remaining questions about the former Iraqi regime's WMD efforts."
Duelfer, like his predecessor, will be based in Iraq and will be in charge of directing the overall approach for the search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. ISG will continue to provide direct support to the Special Advisor.
Before joining UNSCOM in 1993, Duelfer was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for arms control and multilateral defense matters. From 1990 to 1992, he was in charge of defense trade matters as the Director of the Center for Defense Trade and deputy to the Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs. In this capacity, he had responsibility for arms transfers, munitions licensing, and conventional arms control. Duelfer has a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a M.Sc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


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Paul E. Northcutt
1925 - 2011
Practice Areas: Probate Law, Tax Law, Real Estate Law
Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
AV Peer Review Rated
Born in Lexington, Oklahoma on May 19, 1925, Paul E. Northcutt was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar in 1950.
Education: University of Oklahoma (LL.B., 1950)
Mr. Northcutt served our country as a Tech. Sgt. in the U.S. Air Force, Pacific Theatre,
World War II.
Members of the Firm
C. D. Northcutt
1916 - 2016
Paul E. Northcutt
1925 - 2011
Guy Clark
John J. Gardner
William L. Oldfield
Jennifer A. Layton
John W. Hron
1947 - 2017
c Northcutt Law Firm
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Excerpt taken from www.MuayThaiAuthority.com
Simon Marcus and Dmitry Valent fought last night in China at C3 King of Fighters. Marcus was riding at 32 fight win streak entering the bout and when he left the streak was at 33. Valent is one of the top fighters from Belarus and gave the "Bad Bwoy" a stiff test. In the end, however, Marcus once again proved why he is considered the best striker in North America and the best light heavyweight in the world. Valent was a game opponent from the start and the two went at it from the opening bell. Despite being known for his clinch work with elbows, Marcus was not that active with one of his primary weapons, none the less the Canadian powerhouse was able to out point Valent on two of the three judges score cards, and in the end Marcus walked away with a split decision victory. With the win Marcus is now the WBC Muay Thai world light heavyweight champion.
Marcus is now expected to face Kaoklai Kaennorsing at the Muaythai Superfight event on June 14th. Marcus and Kaoklai fought in early 2012, a bout which Marcus won by unanimous decision. In the last year Marcus has established himself as the best light heavyweight in the world, and as of right now it doesn't seem like there are many to challenge him aside from the obvious bout with Steven Wakeling from the UK. Other possible match ups that would be interesting would include Demian Bujan of Argentina, and Dmitry Shakuta from Belarus.
Simon Marcus def. Dmitry Valent via Split Decision
Wang Kehan def. Ekatrina Vandarieva via KO in Rd. 2
Wang Kehan def. Ekatrina Vandarieva via KO in Rd. 2
Deng Zeqi def. Phaophuri via KO in Rd. 2
Li Baoming ded. Wei Han via Majority Decision


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New Albany City Council on April 17 rejected a fact-finder's decision on negotiations with the local police union.
New Albany City Council on April 17 rejected a fact-finder's decision on negotiations with the local police union.
The city has been negotiating for eight months with the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 on behalf of the 12 New Albany police officers, said City Attorney Paul Bittner of Ice Miller. The union negotiations began after the 2010 census determined New Albany's population exceeded 5,000, allowing the village to become a city in 2011. According to the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, a public employer, which can negotiate with unions, includes "any political subdivision of the state located entirely within the state, including, without limitation, any municipal corporation with a population of at least 5,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census."
Bittner said the two sides agreed on most everything except for wages. Because the two could not agree, the issue was sent to a fact-finder through the relations board. The board governs municipal negotiations for collective-bargaining agreements, per Ohio Revised Code.
The union requested a 5 percent increase in 2012, a 3.5 percent increase in 2013 and a 3.5 percent increase in 2014. Jason Pappas, executive vice president of Capital City Lodge No. 9, said one other city in Franklin County – Pickerington, most of which is in Fairfield County – pays its police officers less than New Albany.
According to the fact-finder's report, the annual base pay for an officer at New Albany's top step level is $67,639.10. Pickerington officers earn $67,350.40 annually. In comparison, Dublin officers earn $79,836.55 and Grandview Heights officers earn $71,257.55.
The police union said New Albany can afford the increase and it provides "a market adjustment that reflects the transition from village status to city status" last year.
The city proposed a 2.5 percent increase this year, a 2.5 percent increase in 2013 and a 3 percent increase in 2014, with future increases tied to the wage increase the city provides other employees.
City officials said the police salaries should be compared with other central Ohio cities, citing Grandview, Heath, Powell, Bexley, Worthington, Pataskala, Whitehall and Pickerington. They said the police officers are about 16.4 percent of the city's workforce and they receive 20.67 percent of the city's wages.
The fact-finder determined the union's increase is "excessive" and New Albany's is "insufficient." The fact-finder proposed to increase salaries by 3.5 percent this year, by 3 percent in 2013 and by 3.5 percent in 2014. That included reducing a starting police officer's salary to $46,000, which was not in dispute.
Union members accepted the fact-finder's recommendation about two weeks ago, Pappas said. Since council rejected it, the relations board will post the decision. Per Ohio law on binding arbitration and the conciliation process, the board has eight days to schedule a hearing for a third-party conciliator.
City manager Joseph Stefanov said both sides will present their best offers to the conciliator, and the conciliator will choose one.
The conciliator's decision is binding, Pappas said, and will become part of the contract between the union and the city.


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This devotional saints bracelet was specifically designed for kids to wear. Includes full-color art, pastel colored panels and is strung on stretch cord for ease in placing on wrist. Perfectly priced for youth events, retreats and school give-aways.
Pieces/Pkg: 12


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National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 Call for start-ups
Posted by Vivek Nama on August 10th 2017
The National Entrepreneurship Awards have been instituted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship across the country. These premier awards seek to recognise and honour entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship ecosystem builders for their outstanding efforts.
The National Entrepreneurship Awards seek to recognise the efforts and achievements of exceptional entrepreneurs and those individuals and organisations who are working in the field of entrepreneurship development. The Awards also seek to highlight models of excellence for others to emulate and improve upon.
Number of awards at National Entrepreneurship Awards, 2017
Goods Category 6
Services Category 5
Social Enterprises 1
Women Entrepreneurs 1
Entrepreneur/s from SC/ ST Category 1
Entrepreneur/s from Persons with Disability Category 1
Difficult Areas – North East/ J & K/ Islands/ Backward area rural enterprises 1
Barefoot Enterprises 1
Total Awards in Award Track 17
Institutes providing entrepreneurship courses (Government & Private) 2
Business Incubators (Government & Private) 2
Mentors (Government & Private) 2
Total Awards in Recognition Track 6
->Prize money of Rs 5 Lakh and Rs 10 Lakh in the Awards category and Recognition category respectively.
->Applications for the year 2017 will be accepted from July 28th 2017 to September 15th 2017.
-> The winners will be announced around October 20th, 2017.
For further details click on http://neas.gov.in/


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Royal College of Music Junior Department
90th Anniversary Gala Concert
- Arnold
- Homage to the Queen
- Schoenberg
- Verklärte Nacht
- Stravinsky
- The Rite of Spring
- Royal College of Music Junior Department Chamber & Symphony Orchestras
- Peter Stark & Chris Hirons, conductors
For 90 years the RCM Junior Department has offered advanced training at the highest level to young musicians aged 8-18, nurturing its students with individually-tailored programmes of one-to-one instrument/voice/composition lessons, supported by chamber music, orchestra, choral and musicianship classes and many former RCMJD students are now leading and influential figures in the music industry.
Hear the talent for yourself at this 90th Anniversary Gala Concert! Opening with Malcolm Arnold's coronation homage to Queen Elizabeth II, the concert will conclude with Stravinsky's fiery and unforgettable The Rite of Spring.


text: The Difference Between Stocks And Bonds Kristin Wong Feb 25, 2017, 4:00am 0 Investing isn't as hard as most people think, but there's a lot of jargon to learn. Stocks and bonds are two common terms that come to mind when you think about investing. Many people don't know the difference, so we're going to break it down.


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8 things to know about IRS notices:
Posted By: Jennifer O'Neill // Oct 31, 2015
- Don't panic. Many of these letters can be dealt with.
- There are a number of reasons why the IRS might send you a notice. Notices may request payment of taxes, notify you of changes to your account, or request additional information. The notice you receive normally covers a very specific issue about your account or tax return.
- Each letter and notice offers specific instructions on what you are asked to do to satisfy the inquiry.
- If you receive a correction notice, you should have someone who is approved by the IRS review the notice. This can be an EA, CPA, or attorney.
- Never just throw out an IRS notice. Always respond.
- It is important that you respond as requested. You should send a written explanation of why you disagree and include any documents and information you want the IRS to consider, along with the bottom tear-off portion of the notice. Mail the information to the IRS address shown in the upper left-hand corner of the notice. Allow at least 30 days for a response.
- Most correspondence can be handled without calling or visiting an IRS office. However, if you have questions, call the telephone number in the upper right-hand corner of the notice. Have a copy of your tax return and the correspondence available when you call to help us respond to your inquiry.
- It's important that you keep copies of any correspondence with your records.


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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
sleepy & dopey
If she chooses skinny jeans over race car my head might explode.
Anyway, back to real life with it's real problems and such. A few weeks ago I sort of noticed pug having a hard time seeing things. He's 7 and the thought of him loosing his sight is just so heartbreaking. He'd jump on Landry not seeing him and bark at stuff in the dark if he was confused. I was thinking cataracts so I called the vet to set up an appointment for this Monday to see what we could do.
Monday rolls around and our sweet vet is trying to get a good look and wants to do some kind of tear test and of course pug is having none of this. Big shock there. The vet asks if we'd mind coming back tomorrow and giving him some sedation before we come back and try it again.
This should be interesting.
It said it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the sedation to kick in, well we found out it takes like 2 minutes when we gave it to pug and he tried to jump on the ottoman and missed. So we headed to the vet. They were able to do the test and thankfully it's not cataracts, just some scarring. Apparently, this is pretty common with this breed and age. Unfortunately, we can't undo the damage, but some drops everyday will help keep it from getting worse.
Pug was having a hard time just embracing the happy place he was in. He kept trying to walk around which made for a very entertaining vet's office as he wobbled around and bumped into stuff. Bless his heart. The lady in reception asked the nurse if that was the same pug they were talking about that had to be held down to look in his eyes on Monday.
Yep, the one and only.
So, we loaded our sweet pug up and headed home where we spent the rest of the evening trying to keep him from rolling off the sofa, carrying him around to his water bowl and even holding his leg up while he tt'd.
That's some true pug love there.
If you've dealt with eye issues on your pug or dog, and have some tips I'd totally appreciate it. Thanks!
5 comments:
- Christi Lynn said...
oh poor puppy! he is so adorable by the way.
- July 11, 2012 at 7:00 PM
- Aubs said...
No eye advice for pug here but had to comment on the bachelorette!! SO wanted the spoilers to be wrong ~ what a sweetheart Sean is!! Totally cracking up at your nicknames for them....its hard to see her with either of them long term but skinny jeans just doesn't seem ready for the whole husband/daddy combo. Looking forward to seeing how it all goes down! :)
- July 11, 2012 at 7:09 PM
- Payton's mom said...
Pugs aren't that graceful to begin with so I bet that miss on the ottomin was pretty funny. Glad that his eye sight won't get worse with the drops. Payton was a lot more barky as her eye sight declined, but even when she was almost blind she had no real problems getting around. I think Pug will get used to his changes in vision soon.
- July 11, 2012 at 7:53 PM
- Kitty+Coco said...
Yes, I definitely have advice for eye issues. My Boston T. has glaucoma and some other long word dry eye issue that requires twice daily drops and ointment. My advice? Don't panic. As Payton's Mom said, Pablo will adjust. Kitty did pretty quickly. The best thing to do is to establish a phrase to signal eye drop time and reward with a treat (at least in our experience). Kitty now lines up on her own for the drop and plays like a mad woman with no real issue from the vision loss other than a milky looking eye. Admittedly, it is not easy to see their eyesight deline, but you are on top of the situation. Let us know how he does!
- July 12, 2012 at 2:08 PM
- Southern Fried Pugs said...
My foster Quincy was seriously vision impaired before he came into rescue but did just great in learning how to get around. Isabelle is losing her vision but still can see some. If you are offered cyclosporine, ask about Optimmune instead. It's a gel and works so much better than cyclosporine drops. More expensive, but better.
A friend's pug went blind very suddenly and has not adapted well at all. One tip I gave her was to use different scents to give a signal. Such as green apple for the tops of stairs or other places of potential danger, lavender for furniture if he bumps into it, etc. That can be a challenge when you are trying to sell your house, but remember that a dog's sense of smell is stronger than ours. So it may fade for human noses, but not dogs. For my friend, I also recommended acupuncture for anxiety. Sierra is having a terrible time with being blind (as well as other issues) and is very anxious. If your Pug is not as anxious, you might try a DAP plug in or collar to help his stress level.
Good luck.
- July 27, 2012 at 9:48 PM


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Sunday, 4 November 2007
I just made this set for my flatmate, her birthday was last Friday. But as I was very busy on that day, I couldn't get around to celebrate her birthday. So, I just use a bit of my time to make this today. As I have one report to hand in and a Japanese test tomorrow, I didn't spend too much times in this. The earrings were simple to make as I mentioned before, the clover pendant wasn't complicated as well.
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|Own your ow legal marijuana business
Your guide to making money in the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry
|Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy
|Marihuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding - Table of Contents
The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse
Marihuana - A Signal of Misunderstanding.
Chapter II
marihuana use and its effects
Patterns of Use
The drug effect of marihuana can be realistically discussed only within the context of
who the user is, how long he has used marihuana, how much and how frequently he uses it,
and the, social setting of his use.
In general, for virtually any drug, the heavier the pattern of use, the greater the risk of either direct or indirect damage. For purposes of this discussion, the patterns of use developed in the first section of this chapter will be utilized. Because frequency of use is presently the, primary determinant of use patterns in this country, we employ similar designations:
(1) The experimenter who uses marihuana, at most a few times over a short term and then generally ceases to use it, or uses once a month or less;
(2) The intermittent user who uses marihuana, infrequently, that is more than once monthly but less than several times a week;
(3) The moderate user who uses it from several times a week to once daily, generally over a long term;
(4) The heavy user who uses it several times a day over a long term and;
(5) The very heavy user who is constantly intoxicated with high tetrahydrocannabinol content preparations, usually hashish, over a very long term.
Again, these classifications are not intended to be rigid but are designed to
facilitate a discussion of the many usage patterns.
|Library Highlights
Major Studies:
Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
Major Studies of Drug and Drug Policy
Marihuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding - The Report of the US National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse
Licit and Illicit Drugs
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Congressional Transcripts of the Hearings for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
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LSD, Mescaline, and Psychedelics
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American Society for Action on Pain
Let Us Pay Taxes
Marijuana Business News
Reefer Madness Collection
Medical Marijuana Throughout History
Drug Legalization Debate
Legal History of American Marijuana Prohibition
Marijuana, the First 12,000 Years
DEA Ruling on Medical Marijuana
Legal References on Drugs
GAO Documents on Drugs
Response to the Drug Enforcement Agency
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"We created people who were truly experts in that profession," said Mason Ameri, a Ph.D. candidate with the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers, who was another one of the researchers. "We thought the employer would want to at least speak to this person...."
Instead, this study "may help explain why just 34 percent of working-age people with disabilities were employed as of 2013, versus 74 percent of those without disabilities."
It is not that the disabled don't want to work, but that no one wants to hire the disabled. I had no trouble getting interviews based on my qualifications, but when I got to the interview and the symptoms became apparent, they were no longer interested.
I am fortunate that I have transferable skills and could start my own business, where clients don't know I'm disabled unless I tell them. My ex-fiancé does online tutoring from his home. But what of the assembly line worker who can't start his own business doing the same work from home?


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Giving and Going to Haiti
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 was the day a devastating earthquake measuring 7.0 in magnitude rocked Port-Au-Prince, Haiti to its core. Including the 59 aftershocks, over 300,000 people died, 1.5 million were left homeless, and suddenly a country that already had 380,000 orphans became the home of over 750,000 orphans.
Coffee Creek Church first got involved with Haiti in January 2010 when we began partnering with relief organizations in the aftermath of widespread destruction in Haiti. By April we were collecting and sending "Buckets of Hope" through missions affiliates here in OKC. That December we received a Christmas Offering directed at helping to rebuild Haitian infrastructure.
In late 2013 we partnered with Kids Against Hunger Global to package food for international and local hunger relief. They fit our strategy to always to find incredible partners who know the people and their needs - and who will be there for the long-term. To date Coffee Creek has packaged nearly 75,000 meals for hunger relief.
Two years later, in late 2015, we joined C3 Global, an international network of churches which supports orphanages in Haiti, making a life-changing difference for these children & their staff.
Your partnership with us helps feed, provide clean drinking water, and open up opportunities for self-sufficiency through local orphanages.
We are now making plans for our next step of engagement with Haiti missions. In late 2017/early 2018 to send out our first discipleship teams of Creekers to Haiti. Coffee Creek's Discipleship Trips to Haiti will represent a powerful way for individuals or groups to make an impact and be impacted, and these trips will create a first international discipleship experience for many of our members. Training for our trips generally involves 5-6 meetings across a 2-month period.


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Broward High Schools
Rising Falcons feel 'no pressure' against traditional power Bucks
Typically, teams aren't used to seeing Flanagan football still playing at this time of year. They are usually found on the hardwood, prepping for basketball season.
Don't tell that to coach Devin Bush.
"It's so strange that I walk around the locker room and it's not enough to be 9-1 to them. They aren't settled with being 9-1; they don't even talk about it," Bush said.
This is the first time in school history that Flanagan has qualified for the playoffs in football.
However, the challenge gets tougher for the Falcons (9-1, 4-1 District 12-8A) as they head to Deerfield Beach on Friday night to take on the Bucks (10-0, 5-0 District 11-8A), who feature University of Miami commit Brandon Powell.
Powell has rushed for 1,280 yards (averaging 10.5 yards per carry) and 20 touchdowns so far this season, second best in Broward County to Piper's Travis Liburd.
Deerfield coach Allen Jackson doesn't think the workload will be a problem for him.
"Brandon is one of those special kids. He's unstoppable. Even when he's tired, he wants to keep going," Jackson said.
Bush believes this is the perfect test for his defense going into the playoffs.
"It's going to test us; [Powell's] the perfect type of athlete. I want to see if we can step up to the plate," Bush said. "Here's a chance to go against that top level competition if you want to get to that level."
Behind Powell's strong play, the Bucks outscored opponents 419-114, including a 22-7 win over St. Thomas Aquinas last week to cap off a perfect regular season.
But Jackson knows that there is a lot of work left to do.
"I woke up the next morning and thought 'Did this really happen?' It's like a dream come true," Jackson said. "We enjoyed that day and night and that Saturday, we came back in and got to work. We have to forget 10-0; now we're back to 0-0 like everyone else."
Flanagan's offense isn't anything to brush off. Junior quarterback Ryan Stanley threw for 1,450 yards and 18 touchdowns with just four interceptions. His favorite target throughout the season was junior Emonee Spence, who caught 25 passes for 392 yards and seven touchdowns.
"[Stanley] doesn't get rattled or excited." Bush said jokingly. "It's like, I just want to get something out of him besides 'OK, alright, yeah, will do.' Even though he does go out and do the things we ask him to do."
Jackson knows that they will have to show Stanley different looks.
"They like to spread it around and mix things up," Jackson said. "We're going to have to put pressure on him to make decisions."
The Falcons' defense was also stingy, surrendering just 121 points this season, just over 12 per game.
Bush is trying to keep his team loose throughout this first week of playoff experience and plans to hold nothing back.
"We've got no pressure and nothing to lose," Bush said. "Deerfield is a big name and they're supposed to be here. We just have to go out and perform. We don't expect to lose, you play Flanagan, you're in for a fight."


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Rise Art: Interview with David Smith
Rise Art is an online gallery that rides on online community and social engagement to help people discover art at affordable prices. People need to sign up as members to get exclusive deals and access to private deals plus a blog where members can contribute articles. I haven't signed up yet but thought that it's about time to have something like Rise Art to touch on getting affordable art to this Facebook generation. After all, if social media dictates and reflects what the public wants, then why not include art as the last piece of the puzzle? I've browsed through some of the artwork featured are really of high-calibre.
Luckily, I interviewed David Smith from Rise Art. They have just launched their first official partnership with Bloomsbury Art Fair from 4 to 8 July. I sent him a few questions to know more about this collaboration.
1. Tell me more about Rise Art and how did end up with this venture ?
We started Rise Art as a way to help people discover great art they love. Collecting art shouldn't be limited to the wealthy and well connected. Rise Art is a trusted guide for anyone interested in owning great art. Simply come to Rise Art and take our free art style quiz. Our art world insiders will put together a collection of work based on your unique taste in art, and when you find something you love, you can buy art online or rent it in your home taking advantage of our risk free approach to owning art.
2. What type of artists do you feature in Rise art – how do you choose your artists?
We feature all types of artists, from rising independent artists, to established artists that are in the news. Our community as well as art insiders help us select the artists that we feature on the site. We also work with Galleries and Museums to list works from their collection to our members. Any artist can submit their work to rise art for consideration, and build a channel and community on the platform to showcase their work completely free of charge.
3. Do you think artists are sticking it out here or London or fleeing somewhere else to do their art.
I think there is a mixture of both. Some artists really benefit from the collaborative opportunities and the density of art related organizations that are based in the capital. I think the capital is a really great place for those artists at the earlier stages of their careers to be based. For more established artists, I think there is a drift from London, and you can see that now in where most of the YBAs in the 90s are now based.
4. How did your collaboration with Bloomsbury art fair come about?
The Bloomsbury Art Fair is a different type of fair. It is fun, accessible, and brings together a very diverse selection of galleries and artists.We wanted to support it, because as a non-profit, they are supporting some great causes as well, including Motivation and the Southern Spinal Injuries Trust. We wanted to support their cause, and make the work sold at the fair available to a wider audience online
5. What can we expect from Rise Art in the future?
We have some great collaborations coming up with Museums, Galleries and Top Artists around the world. We are working with organizations to release original works by artists from Peter Blake to Banksy online, while making them accessible. With our new risk-free art rentals model, you'll be able to rent a Takashi Murakami for under £100 a month, and try it in your home before you buy it.
About Rise Art:
Rise Art is the creative new way discover and own original art from the top galleries, museums and artists worldwide. Let Rise Art be your guide to discovering great art. Simply take our free art personality quiz (www.riseart.com/quiz), and receive a personalized collection of art picks from our art insiders (www.riseart.com/curator) based on your unique taste in art. When you find something you love, purchase it or rent through rise art and take advantage of our risk-free approach to owning art. Learn more by visiting: www.riseart.com/how-it-works
About Bloomsbury Art Fair:
Now in it's second year, The Bloomsbury Art Fair is London's pre-eminent summer art fair. Taking place in the leafy neighbourhood of London's trendy Lamb's Conduit Street, the fair features top galleries and artists alongside art auctions, talks, music and other activities in an al-fresco environment. The Fair runs July 4-8.


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Chapter 29, Part 1 Preview: (A Sequel to: The Origin of Heresy) A controversy has raged for nearly two thousand years: "How can Yeshua (Jesus) be God? Many theories have been proposed over the centuries concerning the "nature" of Yeshua. These ideas are at extreme variance with the Bible concerning His identity and they are quite dangerous. Bible prophecy says that heresy (literally: sectarianism) would be an unbridled problem. It is not just the cults that are a problem tho they do provide very convenient "whipping boys" for more traditional deceivers. This four part sequel to The Origin of Heresy explains the "Nature of God" directly from the Bible in a way that harmonizes passages that have baffled heretics for nearly two millennia.
Proverbs 30:4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has gathered the water in His clothing? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and WHAT IS HIS SON'S NAME? do you know? —The Gabriel Version
The universe is filled with many stars, sort of an immense cosmological "family", but it is still ONE universe. The very nature of Elohim is actually "revealed from heaven", He is "clearly seen". He is actually "perceived through the things that are made".
Romans 1:18-20 Yehovah's anger is revealed from Heaven against all the unrighteousness and depravity of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 An awareness of Yehovah has been revealed to them, because Yehovah has revealed it to them. 20 The invisible attributes of Aloha [God] have been visible to the intellect since the creation of the cosmos [Gr. kosmos], because the physical creation reveals His eternal power as a Supreme Being, leaving them no excuse.
In time we mortals—those of us who overcome sin, will literally be made a part of that celestial Family and "will shine... like the stars forever and ever".
Daniel 12:3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who turn many to morality like the stars forever and ever.
We are told straight out concerning "Your heavens, the work of Your fingers" that "You make him ruler over the works of Your hands".
Psalm 8:3-6 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, that you set in place— 4 what is the human race, that you should notice us, 'human beings' [Lit: the son of man] that you should care for them? 5 You've made us slightly lower than Elohim, and crowned us with splendor and honor, and You've given us control of Your handiwork, 6 by putting everything under 'our' control" [Lit: feet].
One of Yehovah's [God's] many mysteries is that the life and teachings of Yeshua the Messiah (Messiah is not His last name) include the central truths that will enable the kadishea (saints) to become literal sons of Yehovah. The kadishea were made to be "ruler" of the universe! We will literally become resurrected members of Yehovah's own family, a family that has always been to this point only made up of two members.LINK below
Ruth knew that 'God' was more than one 'Person': Ruth 1:21 I left here full, but Yehovah has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Yehovah has witnessed against me, and El Shaddai has afflicted me?"
Messiah means "Anointed", with the understanding that He was anointed to the office of the Messiah. The true kadishea understand that the Messiah (Yeshua) was a man but that He was also the Son of Yehovah. Questions should come to mind, such as why would Yehovah have a Son? When did that relationship begin? And if Yehovah had a Son, wouldn't there be two Yehovahs?
Our knowledge of Yehovah is almost entirely dependent upon revelation. We can acknowledge a Creator by seeing His creation, but knowledge of His identity is only discerned by His written word. We need to know not only that there is an Elohim but who He is and what He has in mind for us!
Men have been devising scenarios to separate Messiah from the Father for nearly two millennia. From the early chapters of Genesis it is clear that Yehovah made us in the very form that He Himself had. Later we see Yehovah walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden. There are several places in the Bible where Yehovah is even thought to be a Man by those present.
"Supernatural" evidence proves that the Bible is Yehovah's word. Fulfilled prophecies are a primary proof of Yehovah's identity. The prophets of ancient Israel received very specific inspiration and recorded the written word in the Bible. They essentially took dictation. The things that these men witnessed inspired most of them to die for the messages that they announced to the public.
Prophets such as the Envoy (Apostle) John and the Messiah Himself recorded considerable information that will ultimately change the course of history as people begin to respond to those prophecies—when they begin to unfold. Ultimately, the people who really come to know Yehovah are the people "who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled."
Yehovah responds to sincere peoples' desire for eternal knowledge by "calling" those individuals. That simply means that He tweaks their minds with a far keener awareness of spiritually discerned things, allowing them to learn about Him. They to varying degrees become, as a famous man calls it, a "truth detector". Such people crave to study Yehovah's word. With persistence, these individuals slowly begin to get a clearer picture of Yehovah and His reason for creating us as the years pass by. Unfortunately, careless assumptions about Yehovah passed on by others often greatly slows our learning. If you can learn to never assume anything, by questioning everything, you will advance spiritually much more effectively.
Most of the Bible is about the people of Israel—past, present and future, but this chapter focuses on what Yehovah says about Himself. So lets jump in and look at the verses that explain who Yehovah is. Typically, people read right over the statements that Messiah said about Himself, shrug their shoulders and then ask a familiar "professional" what they should believe. The actual Bible verses seem so strange to us that we unconsciously reject them without even realizing what we are doing. The real solution tho is to believe those things that the Father and the Son actually say about themselves. Anything else is creating a false Elohim in our own imagination.
What if Yeshua was serious! Can we simply believe Yeshua's own explanation?
John 14:9-11 Yeshua replied, "Philip, have I been with you all this time, and you still don't know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father, so why would you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in My Father, and that My Father is in Me? The words that I'm telling you aren't of My own initiative. My Father who lives in Me is doing the work! 11 Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. But if not, at least believe because of the works themselves.
What are the ramifications of believing that to see Yeshua is to see the Father? And what exactly did Yeshua mean when He said that He was "in the Father"?
What did He mean by, "I and My Father are One"?
Truly there is but one Elohim, as the "One Godders" who deny Yeshua's role insist, but the one Elohim consists of two "persons"! (There are many good articles on the web that thoroly discredit the Trinity, I would recommend checking these out if you have never looked into it, however they will usually come with baggage).
People who believe in the Biblical Satan have no trouble believing that his evil spirit permeates and influences billions of human "bodies". However, some of those same people have trouble believing that Yehovah can "operate" from two bodies. That is the reason why the literal statement has been rejected almost from the moment that the words left His mouth. So is there a simple way to make this concept understandable? Absolutely! There is a physical counterpart to two being one. The principle was stated in the Garden of Eden:
Genesis 2:24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother, and unites with his wife and they become one flesh.
Yeshua restated the thought:
Matthew 19:4-6 He replied, "Haven't you read that the One who originally created them made them male and female?" 5 He said, "That's why a man leaves his father and mother and is 'glued' to his wife, and the two will be one 'entity'. 6 So they are no longer two, but one entity. So no one should separate what Yehovah has yoked together.""
We have now seen two of several examples of where two are one, in the favorable context of a marriage. Marriage is, or at least can be, a foretaste of a Heavenly condition! It is very analogous to the family relationship between the Father and the Son. There could be no better way to explain the "nature of Messiah"!
The Oneness of Yehovah refers to the One mind of Yehovah; it's not a "body count"!
With a little bit of thought and meditation on these passages we can even envision that the Messiah and the Father want to have a family! Why wouldn't the Father and the Son want to share the wonders of eternity with more of their own Kind? You can be a part of it!
Matthew 5:9 Those who work for peace are blessed, because they'll be called the Sons of Aloha!
Romans 8:14 Those who are led by Yehovah's spirit are Yehovah's children.
Romans 8:19 The entire creation is hoping and waiting for the revelation [appearance] of Yehovah's children.
Galatians 3:26 You are all the children of Yehovah by faith in Yeshua Messiah.
Luke 20:34-36 Yeshua responded, "The men of this world take wives, and wives are given to husbands. 35 But those who are worthy of the next world, who are in the resurrection from the dead won't take wives, nor will wives be given to husbands. 36 They can't die anymore and are similar to the spirit messengers, and are Yehovah's children, because they are children of the resurrection.
Why are there no daughters of Yehovah mentioned? Some translations use "children of Elohim" instead of "sons of Elohim", which is right in principle but wrong technically. Those who are accounted worthy to be in Yehovah's family will apparently not be sexual beings; but rather similar to the angels. Gender terms are merely a convenience. Being compared to angels is somewhat of a loose comparison because even the Angels are not necessarily immortal. They could conceivably suffer destruction as the demons will ultimately suffer, if they choose to become evil:
Luke 4:33-34 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out loudly, 34 "Let us alone. What do you want with us, Yeshua the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Kadosh One of Yehovah."
However, we can attain immortality, as our Father has, and actually become one with Him:
1 Timothy 6:12-16 Fight in the good battle for your faith and take hold of eternal Life. This is why you were called by name, and have declared your honorable testimony before many witnesses. 13 In the presence of Yehovah, who gives life to all, and before Yeshua Messiah who declared His honorable testimony before Pontius Pilate, I insist that 14 you obey this command spotlessly and blamelessly until the appearance of our Master Yeshua Messiah. 15 At the right time, Yehovah will reveal who the blessed and only Sovereign is, the King of kings and the Master of masters 16 who alone has 'immortality', living in unapproachable light, who no one has ever seen or even can see. To Him be honor and dominion forever and ever. Aw-main.
Notice, hidden within the following dreadful but related analogy, that our destiny as kadishea is to also be joined to the One Spirit:
1 Corinthians 6:15-17 Don't you know that your bodies are members [parts] of the Messiah? Will someone take away a member of the Messiah and then make it a member of a prostitute's body? Absolutely not! 16 Don't you know that whoever unites with a prostitute is one body with her? As it is said, "The two will be one body." 17 Anyone who unites themself with Yehovah is one spirit!
True, a sexual relationship forms something akin to a marriage in Yehovah's eyes, and there are consequences. But kadishea can literally become "one spirit" within the family of Yehovah, once in the spirit realm, and have an existence on par with Yehovah! Just as when the Messiah said: "I and My Father are one", in like manner we can be a part of this same eternal family.
The following words, among Yeshua's very last words, are some of the most profound words ever to be spoken! We can share the same destiny as Yeshua and the Father. We can also be a part of the same "One".
John 17:20-24 "I'm not asking just for them, but also for those who will believe in Me thru their teaching, 21 so that they can all be one just as You Father, are in Me, and I in You. And may they be one with Us, so that the world will believe that You sent Me. 22 The magnificence that You gave Me, I have given to them, so that they can be one, just as We are One. 23 I am in them and You are in Me. May they be perfected into one so that the world will know that You sent Me and that You loved them just as You loved Me. 24 "Father, I want those You've given Me to be with Me where I am, so that they can see the splendor that You've given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Did Yeshua really expect that "they may be one in Us"? Was He rambling under the pressure of impending death, or was He more focused than He had ever been? If Yeshua was merely hoping for unity among His physical followers, then His dying wish never even came close to being reality.
Did Yeshua really mean, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father"? The Two of Them may be entirely identical. Perhaps They planned it that way. I can relate to that. I have even daydreamed about how nice it would be to have a "clone" to help me with my work. Also notice in passing that the Father is "invisible", while of course the One who spoke to the Patriarchs often spoke to them "face to face"!
Colossians 1:12-14 joyfully thanking the Father who has qualified you to share in the kadishea's inheritance in Light. 13 Yehovah has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and brought us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. 14 He has paid our ransom and released us from the bondage of sin.
While the frequently used term translated as "image" does not necessarily mean an exact duplicate; there is a Greek word, unique to Hebrews 1:3—"Charakter"—that is defined as "the exact expression (the image) of any person or thing, marked likeness, precise reproduction in every respect, i.e. facsimile".
Hebrews 1:3 He brightly reflects His Fathers' splendor and is essentially identical in His Being. He sustains the universe by the power of His Word. And He personally provided the purification to cover our sins, and sat down at the right hand side of His Majesty in the high places.
Here is another reference to the destiny of the kadishea:
2 Corinthians 3:18 All of us with unveiled faces, reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Master, are undergoing a metamorphosis [Gr. metamorphoo] into His likeness, from our brightness to His brightness, just like the Master's spirit.
The Father and the Son even share the same names!
Yeshua is an "Everlasting Father", yet He spoke of "His Father":
Isaiah 9:6 A child will be born for us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty Elohim, Eternal Father, Peaceful Leader.
Matthew 16:27 The Human Son will return in the splendor of His Father with all His kadosh messengers, and then He'll COMPENSATE EVERYONE BASED ON WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.
Who is "the Master"; the Father or the Son? The quotation about Yeshua being David's Master is mentioned four times by Yeshua and the Apostles! Perhaps we were meant to notice it. The point is that they are both Master!
Matthew 22:41-46 While the Pharisees were gathered around, Yeshua asked them a question: 42 "What do you have to say about the Messiah? Whose Son is He? They replied, "The Son of David". 43 He replied, "So then why does David, inspired by the spirit, call Him Yehovah? Because he said, 44 "Yehovah said to His Word [Targum of Jonathan (Aramaic) Psalm 110:1—Gill's Commentary], 'Sit at at My right hand side until I put Your enemies under Your feet.'" 45 So if David calls Him Master, how could he be His son? 46 No one was able to answer Him. And from that day on no one even dared to question Him.
The following passage positively identifies Yeshua as being the "other Lord" that David spoke of!
Acts 2:29-35 Men and Friends, allow me to speak freely to you about the patriarch David. He died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this very day. 30 He was a prophet, and he knew that Yehovah had solemnly sworn to him, "Of the fruit of your body, I'll seat a descendant on your throne." 31 He foresaw, and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He wasn't to be left in the grave, nor would His body undergo decay. 32 This Yeshua, Yehovah raised from the dead, and we're all His witnesses. 33 He's the One who was elevated to the right hand of Yehovah, and has received from the Father the kadosh spirit as promised, and has poured out what you're seeing and hearing. 34 David didn't ascend into the heavens, because he said himself, "Yehovah said to His Word [Targum of Jonathan (Aramaic) Psalm 110:1 —Gill's Commentary], 'Seat Yourself on My right hand side 35 until I make your enemies a footstool under Your feet."
Here is an example of many ways to demonstrate that sometimes Elohim the Father is our Savior, while at other times Yeshua is referred to as our Savior, and Titus said that they both are:
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an envoy of Yeshua Messiah, by the command of Yehovah our Life Giver and of the Messiah, Yeshua our hope,
Titus 1:3-4 At the right time, He revealed His message by the announcement of heralds, the mandate that I was entrusted with, from Yehovah our Life Giver, 4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith. May good will and peace be yours from Yehovah our Father, and from our Master Yeshua Messiah our Life Giver..
Perhaps Obadiah intended to clue us in on the fact that there are two Saviors!
Obadiah 1:21 Saviors [rescuers] will ascend Mount Zion to rule over Esau's mountains. And Yehovah Himself will be king!"
Hebrew has no capitol letters. Translators determine when to use capitol letters by the context; so don't let the lack of a capital "S", in some versions, throw you off. My question is: which Saviors could come to Mount Zion—Yehovah's own special place? How about two of Them!
Who is our Redeemer? Isaiah said that "our Father" is our Redeemer; He also said that the "First" and the "Last"—the Messiah, is our Redeemer!
Isaiah 63:16 You are our Father, even tho Abraham doesn't know us, and Israel doesn't recognize us. You, Yehovah, have been called our Father and our Redeemer from ancient times.
Isaiah 44:6 This is what Yehovah, the King of Israel, AND His Redeemer, Yehovah the Commander, says: I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no other Elohim.
Eventually, even "doubting" Thomas figured out who his Elohim was!
John 20:26-28 After eight days [2] the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Yeshua came in, even tho the doors were locked, and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then He told Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at My hands, and reach out your hand and put it into My side, don't be an unbeliever, be a believer!" 28 Thomas replied, "My Master and my Aloha!
[2] This assembly, counting inclusively (key words: "Scriptural method") from when they were in the upper room before (Luke 22:12-13) would have been to celebrate the Last Day of Unleavened Bread.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Friends, I want you to know that all of our ancestors were under the cloud and they all passed thru the sea, 2 and they were all immersed by Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and they all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and they all drank the same spiritual drink because they drank from the spiritual Rock that attended them, and that Rock was the Messiah.
Deuteronomy 32:3-4 I'll proclaim the name of Yehovah, and declare the greatness of our Elohim! 4 The Rock—His work is perfect. Everything He does is just and fair. A faithful Elohim who does no wrong; He is honorable and reliable.
The following five verses tell us plainly that the "Kadosh One" is—Yeshua!
Luke 1:35 The Messenger replied, "The kadosh spirit will come, and the power of the Highest [Eloia] will overshadow you. So the Kadosh One to be born will be called the Son of Yehovah.
Luke 4:33-34 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out loudly, 34 "Let us alone. What do you want with us, Yeshua the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Kadosh One of Yehovah."
Concerning Yeshua's body it says:
Acts 2:26-27 So I have peace of mind and praise in my speech. Even my body lives in hope 27 because you won't leave my body in the grave or allow your Kadosh One to 'undergo' bodily decay.
Acts 13:35 He also says in another 'Psalm', "You haven't allowed Your Kadosh One to see decay." [Psalm 16:10].
Concerning the Jew's choice of who should be shown mercy:
Acts 3:14 You disowned the Kadosh and Just One and demanded the release of a murderer.
Forty four times in the Hebrew Scriptures, Yehovah is referred to as the "Kadosh One".
Psalm 78:41 Again and again they tested Elohim, and provoked the Kadosh One of Israel.
Isaiah 5:24 So like flames devour chaff, and like dry grass sinks down in the flame, that is how their roots will rot, and their blossoms will rise like dust, because they rejected the Torah of Yehovah the Commander, and spurned the Word*, the Kadosh One of Israel.
Isaiah 17:7 When that day comes, people will look to their Creator, and they will 'see' the Kadosh One of Israel.
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots, because there are so many, and in horsemen, because they are so strong, but don't look to the Kadosh One of Israel, or seek Yehovah!
Isaiah 43:3 Because I am Yehovah your Elohim, the Kadosh One of Israel, your Deliverer. I've given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba instead of you.
Isaiah 43:15 I am Yehovah, your Kadosh One, the Creator of Israel, your King."
Isaiah 47:4 Our Redeemer, whose name is Yehovah the Commander, is the Kadosh One of Israel.
Isaiah 54:5 For your Makers are your HUSBANDS [yes, both are plural search word: makers]; Yehovah of Armies is His name; and the Kadosh One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the Elohim of the entire earth.
Who is Hosea talking about in chapter 11? It would appear only to represent the nation of Israel:
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a young man, I loved him, and I called My son out of Egypt.
However, John said that this was a prophecy about Yeshua. This is the only other reference to this idea of a son leaving Egypt in the prophets!
Matthew 2:14-15 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother that night and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod died, to fulfill what was spoken by Yehovah thru His prophet, "I called My Son out of Egypt."
Continuing in Hosea 11, we see that "My Son" who was prophesied to leave Egypt, would later declare that He was "not" any longer a mortal "man" but rather "the Kadosh One in the midst of you":
Hosea 11:9 I won't unleash My fierce anger. I won't return to destroy Ephraim, because I'm Elohim, not a man, the Kadosh One among you, and I won't come in anger.
Hosea 11 makes a sobering statement about Judah and the Kadosh One.
Hosea 11:12... But Judah is still wandering away from Elohim [Gills], and stands against the Kadosh Ones. [Yes, it's plural!]
Could this be a reference to the Jews killing Yeshua for His nation? I believe so. He died FOR Judah, which makes anti-Semitism a bit counterproductive! Furthermore He died "not for the nation only" but to gather all of the Children of Elohim "into one"! (Or should that be "One" ?)
John 11:49-52 But one of them, named Caiaphas, the high priest that year, told them, "You don't know anything. 50 You don't realize that it's better for us, for one Man to die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." 51 However He didn't say this on his own initiative, but as high priest that year, he prophesied that Yeshua was about to die for the people, 52 and not only for the people, but also to unify the sons of Aloha who were scattered abroad [Gr. diaspora].
Yehovah, "my Kadosh One", is Yeshua "the Rock" (1 Peter 2:7-8)
Habakkuk 1:12 Aren't you from eternity, Yehovah my Elohim, my Kadosh One? We won't die. Yehovah, You've appointed them to punish us. You, Rock, have found them guilty. .
Who else is "from everlasting"?
Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, tho you are small among the clans of Judah, yet One will come from you to Me, the One to be Ruler in Israel. He comes from the distant past, from the dawn of eternity.
Yeshua said that His Father is "perfect" as well. Again the two of them are "One" and share a powerful "name"!
John 17:11 From now on I won't be in the world, but they are in the world. I'm coming to You. Perfect Father, protect those You've given to Me in Your name, the name You've given to Me, so that they can become one as We are.
Psalm 96 is entirely about this time of the worldwide reign of Messiah as well. Here is an excerpt:
Psalm 96:9-13 Worship Yehovah in all of His kadosh splendor. Tremble in His presence, all the earth! 10 Say among the heathen, "Yehovah reigns". The world is established so that it won't fall. He'll judge the nations fairly. 11 The heavens will rejoice, and the earth will be glad. The sea and everything in it will roar. 12 The fields will be jubilant, and everything in them, and all the trees in the forest will sing. 13 You will rejoice before Yehovah, because He is coming. He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with morality, and the people with His truth.
There are four references to Alpha and Omega in the Bible (Aramaic: Aleph and the Tau)—all in Revelation. All four of these references also mention "the First and the Last" or "the Beginning and the End" or both. However, the Revelation 1:8 reference adds something else: "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty". The "was" indicates that this "Almighty" Alpha and Omega's eternity was interrupted—He died for us!
Revelation 1:7-8, 17-18 He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Yes, Aw-main. 8 "I am the Alaph and the Tau [Aramaic], says Yehovah Elohim [Yeshua], who is and was, and is to come, the Sovereign". ... 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as tho dead. He laid His right hand on me and said "Don't be afraid, I am the First and the Last, 18 the living One. I was dead, but look, I'm alive forevermore! Aw-main. And I have the keys of death and Sheol.
Now notice that in Revelation 21 that the Father is "the Alpha and the Omega"! In the Revelation it is indisputably always the Father who is described as He who "sits on the throne" (compare Revelation 5:13, 6:16, and 7:10). Simply following the context reveals that they both use this title as well:
Revelation 21:3-7 I heard a loud voice from the sky say, "Look, Yehovah's tabernacle [dwelling place] is among humanity [Gr. anthropos]. He will live with them and they'll be His people, and Yehovah will be with them, yes Yehovah Himself will be with them." 4 Every tear will be wiped from their eyes, and there will be no more death [3] or mourning or crying or pain, nor will the previous painful state exist anymore, because the previous evil things have gone away. 5 The One who was seated on the throne said, "Look, I'm making everything new". And He said, "Write this down, because these are the faithful and true words of Yehovah." 6 Then He said to me, "I'm the Aleph and the Tau, the Beginning and the End. I'll allow anyone who is thirsty to drink freely from the spring of living water. 7 Anyone who is victorious will inherit these things. I'll be their Aloha and they'll be My sons.
[3] The cessation of tears and death begins as soon as the Everlasting Kingdom is established! Check the entire context of Isaiah 25, particularly v.8. Yet the wicked are excluded from this blessing. 1 Corinthians 15:23-24 says, "but everyone in their order, Messiah was the firstfruit. Later, at His coming, those who are the Messiah's [will be restored to life]. 24 Then the end of these events comes, when He'll have handed over the Kingdom to Yehovah the Father, when every ruler and every government and every powerful force will have been overthrown". Many assume that there is a 1,000 year gap between verse 23 and verse 24, assuming that it will take Yeshua 1,000 years to conquer the world. Have they read any prophecies? Zechariah 14 is a detailed account of the conquest of the world, it's called the Day of Yehovah (the "Lord"). The earth will be "under His feet", beginning at the Mount of Olives. Ezekiel 38 and 39 is another specific account of the conquest. Some postpone these chapters too. Consequently they must, for example, also think that it will take 1,000 years for Him to "make My kadosh name known in the midst of My people Israel" (Ezekiel 39:7) as well.
Later in the chapter it is the Father who is the Almighty:
Revelation 21:22 I didn't see a Temple in it, because Yehovah Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 12:5 She gave birth to a Son who is to rule all nations with a scepter of iron. Her Child was quickly taken up to Yehovah and to His throne.
Romans 14:10 ... We must all stand before the judgment seat of Messiah.
One (Mind of) Yehovah/Presently Two Bodies
How could Two be as One in the spirit realm? Aside from the marriage analogy in the Bible, I would like to present another analogy that we in this electronic age can relate to. I view Yehovah as having in essence a wireless Internet connection in His mind. Both the Father and the Son remain constantly aware of what is going on with each other. They are literally of "one mind"! After all, if Yehovah can hear thousands or even millions of prayers at any given moment, why wouldn't They remain of one mind continuously? Unlike our simple computers tho, They have continuous access to far more information in Their collective mind at all times, information going back in time into eternity. The kadosh spirit is this mind (and more)! Any experience that One has is immediately in the memory of the Other, almost as if it were a personal experience.
There is nothing mentioned in Bible about Yehovah being omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time). That comes from the "nebulous blob" school of thought. However there is another modern convenience that is analogous to what They can do with Their mind. It is as tho They have built in cell phones that span the universe! Every one of us is also connected but the incoming signal is weak at best.
They would have to have a fantastic ability to process information. (Almost certainly They would have some filters in place to block irrelevant events from Their consciousness.) The other fancy term "omnipotent" (having unlimited power) is Biblically sound. What good would it be if They had all knowledge, but could not intervene when need be? So They can act on Their infinite knowledge.
Hebrews 4:12 The Word of Aloha [Yeshua here] is full of Life and active [Gr. "energes"], sharper than a two-edged sword, even severing between the consciousness [psyche, Gr: psuche] and the spirit, piercing between the joints and the marrow and the bones [Aramaic], and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our minds.
This is what the kadosh spirit accomplishes. The spirit is not a separate "being" of some sort, regardless of the fact that translators (whose jobs are and were on the line) consistently substitute "he" for "it" in reference to the kadosh spirit. And of course there are a couple of verses that were corrupted to appear to support the Trinity. (I explain the source of a key falsified "scripture" in Constantine Wrote Matthew 28:19 Into Your Bible! ) The kadosh spirit is the "power source" that the Father and Son share!
Imagine the paternity suit that the Father could present against the kadosh spirit, if "he" as a "being" claimed to be the true Father of Yeshua:
Luke 1:30-35 The Messenger told her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with Yehovah. 31 You'll conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Yeshua [Jesus]! 32 He'll be great and will be called 'the Son of the Highest', and Yehovah Aloha will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. 33 He'll rule over the descendants of Jacob forever in His Everlasting Kingdom". 34 Mary asked the Messenger, "How is this possible, since I'm a virgin?" 35 The Messenger replied, "The kadosh spirit will come, and the power of the Highest [Eloia] will overshadow you. So the Kadosh One to be born will be called the Son of Yehovah.
The key phrase to notice is that the "kadosh spirit" IS "the POWER of the Most High!"
I believe that the admonition to be of "one mind" is also an indication of our eventual state of mind. I envision the time when we will be able to tap into that "kadosh spirit Mind" and perceive everything in eternity past, as tho it were a personal memory. Certainly Yehovah would keep an extensive "high definition library".
While I was an avid Star Trekkie, I think that the Borg, with their cubic city in deep space, were inspired by "the dark side" as a kind of sarcastic or even more insidious portrayal of the cubic New Jerusalem and its inhabitants who are all of the same mind. These beings are derogatively portrayed as having a "collective" beehive mentality. The coincidence is too great to ignore. Some extremists actually view the Borg "chronicle" as a prophetic warning against "siding with" the New Jerusalem!
Revelation 21:16 The city was laid out in a square, its length was the same as its width. And he measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia, and the length, width and height were all equal.
The portrayal of the inhabitants of cubic city as mind numbed drones who were once free people but who had their minds and individuality stolen is undoubtedly a clandestine condemnation of being of one mind.
In the original Star Trek series there is a more favorable perception of being of one mind. The Vulcans were able to "lay hands" on another individual and do a "mind meld". As they were establishing this mental link they would say something like "my thoughts to your thoughts, your thoughts to mine". The complete sharing of minds was portrayed as a beautiful and enlightening experience. From the science fiction world, the original series incidence of being of one mind was, I believe, much closer to what it will be like to share the mind of Yehovah.
When we receive the kadosh spirit we are actually, to a small degree, able to know the very thoughts of Yehovah. Once we have the kadosh spirit, we are more attuned to Yehovah's mind. As we mature in the faith, Yehovah will reveal things to our minds.
The very foundation of being a "Believer" in "the Way" is repentance. Here is a thoro definition:
There is much said about obtaining the very mind of Yehovah. Here are several verses showing that.
1 Corinthians 2:16 Who understands the mind of Yehovah, so that they can instruct Him? But we have the mind of the Messiah.
Philipptians 1:27 You should live your lives as good citizens, in a manner worthy of the Good News of the Messiah, so that whether I come and see you again, or whether I am far away, I can hear about you and know that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, playing together to win [see root: athleo] by the faith that the Good News brings.
Philipptians 2:2 then make my joy complete by having the same attitude and sharing the same love, the same spirit and the same mind.
Philipptians 2:5 You should have the same sentiments as Yeshua Messiah did.
Philipptians 3:15-16 So then, all of us who are mature should consider these views, and if you have any different views, Yehovah will also clarify that for you. 16 However, so that we all arrive, let's stay on the same course, and have the same mindset.
Philipptians 4:2 I urge Euodias and Syntyche to be of one mind, thru Yehovah.
Hebrews 8:10 But this is the covenant that I'll make with the household of Israel after that time, says Yehovah, I'll put My Torah in their minds—inscribing it on their innermost being. I'll be their Aloha [God] and they'll be My people.
1 Peter 4:1 So since the Messiah suffered for you in His physical body, you should arm yourselves with the same mindset, because everyone who has died physically is finished sinning.
Again, I don't think that this is figurative. Yehovah can even "download" information into the minds of people who are not seeking any truth, when it advances or expedites His plan. Just prior to the Exodus, Yehovah altered the thinking of the Pharaoh for the purpose of bringing about the birth of the nation of Israel.
Exodus 4:21 Yehovah told Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform all the miracles before Pharaoh that I've put within your 'power', but I'll strengthen his resolve and he won't let the people go.
It is quite simple really! Thoughts can come directly "into your mind."
Daniel 2:27-29 Daniel replied to the king: "No wise man, enchanter, magician, or astrologer can reveal the king's secret. 28 but there is an Elohim in Heaven who reveals secrets, and He has revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar what will happen during the 'latter' days. This was your dream and the visions you 'saw' as you lay on your bed: 29 as for you, O king, while you were in your bed your thoughts turned to what would happen in the future, and the One who reveals secrets has revealed to you what will happen.
Yehovah actually searches everyone's mind to see who has "a willing mind", that is, wanting to know and act on any truth that Yehovah chooses to reveal. But don't expect Yehovah to do all of the work. He only installs information that is of a critical nature, and when our own serious studies fail to make the connection. Most people have an extremely difficult time separating their own biases from inspiration, so be careful what you attribute to Yehovah! Be careful what you "accept on faith".
Even an ass or two can be inspired:
Numbers 22:28-33 Yehovah gave the donkey the ability to speak, and she asked Balaam, "What have I done to you for you to have struck me three times?" 29 Then Balaam said to the donkey, "You've made me look stupid. If I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you right now." 30 The donkey said to Balaam, "I'm your own donkey, the one you've ridden all your life until today? Have I ever done anything like this before?" And he said, "No." 31 Then Yehovah opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Messenger of Yehovah standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in His hand; so Balaam bowed face down to the ground. 32 The Messenger of Yehovah asked him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because you are recklessly resisting Me.
Did you notice that if the ass hadn't been acting somewhat under her own free will, Balaam would have been struck dead!
Now for Part 2:


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CTA response deflects responsibilities of management
On Sunday, I posted the CTA response to my open letter on communication problems during CTA outages, particularly as witnessed Oct. 3 during the morning rush following a work train derailment. This is my response to their reply.
First, it's good to know that my "concern is being taken very seriously," and that "President Kruesi made direct and forceful reference to your letter and the comments on your Web site at last week's meeting of his top staff." The top brass should be listening to us.
Unfortunately, after admitting that communications problems are a big concern in his reply to me, Terry Levin never actually says what steps the CTA is taking to solve the problem. Instead, the CTA's vice president for customer service explains how hard it is to "determine if a delay will be relatively brief or not" and asks us riders to essentially rat out employees we feel aren't doing their job.
OK, fine. We can and should do that.
But in the case of the Oct. 3 derailment, I'm convinced that most employees were trying to do their job (as shown in many of the comments on that post), but they didn't have all the information necessary to serve riders.
And the question for the top brass is WHY?
After all, subscribers to our CTA wireless alerts got a total of five alerts about the situation that day from CTA headquarters.
And it was all excellent, useful information, such as: "No Brown Line trains between Southport and Fullerton. Bus shuttle between stations. Shuttle train Fullerton to Loop" at 4:40 am; and "Due to work equipment derailment, Purple Line trains end at Howard. Transfer to Red Line trains to continue southbound" at 7:10 am.
Makes me wonder: Did CTA workers get that same information communicated to them in the same succinct fashion? Maybe the CTA should equip workers with wireless devices to receive these same messages that we get.
So again I ask you President Kruesi, what steps are you taking to make sure your employees have the information they need to pass on to riders, and to make sure they are communicating that information?
I certainly will acknowledge that the CTA is investing in fiber optic technology to enhance communications systems at rail line stations.
But all the best technology in the world won't amount to a hill of beans if the communicators don't get the information to be communicated.


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Superheroes of Stoke
I get emails from readers who comment that I'm too generous with my praise for filmmakers whom the reader feels simply rehash what was done in the previous year's movie. It's a complaint that I also see from time to time on the ski chat forums. It's not a baseless complaint either, when leveled at some production companies, but is it a rational complaint? I dealt with this concept in my review for last year's Matchstick movie Attack of La Nina. At the risk of being ironic (ie repeating myself in same way that the movie companies are charged), let's take a look at it in connection with Matchstick's latest offering Superheroes of Stoke.
Every ski movie company has their signature touches – the style they're known for, where they film, or the personality of their crew. Matchstick is no different: they have their key segments – the amazing big-air shoot at Whistler, the way they film their powder sequences, the fact that they pretty well always have a segment with the best women skiers (which is important because we need something to show our daughters). Producing ski movies for twenty years, as Matchstick has now done, is definitely going to help sand off rough edges until an identifiable form begins to emerge. Compare the early works of any ski movie production company to their latest offering and I'm pretty sure you are going to see a lot of good ideas but rough execution in the early films and a lot of similar ideas with some slick rendering in their newer films. It's just to be expected.
So, someone could say, "damn that Matchstick, they keep making the same movie every year", because they believe they're seeing the same old stuff. Thing is, when you're paying close attention, you're not really seeing the same old stuff. So, SOS opens up, as Matchstick films usually open up, with a segment featuring one skier. These segments are the equivalent of a big-ass guitar solo, all fast and fluid and designed to dazzle. Think of the openers from Mark Abma (especially "Seven Sunny Days") or Sean Pettit (esp. "In Deep" and "The Way I See It") – pure rock star stuff. This year we get Richard Permin channeling his inner Hugo Harrison and Mark Abma and then coming across like Sean Pettit meets Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (yes there's a lot of name dropping there but we're talking about a huge amount of talent). Underpinned with Jane's Addiction's "The Mountain Song" (a song screaming to used in a ski movie if there ever was one), this segment is a stellar piece of sports art – a virtuoso skiing performance beautifully shot and smartly edited. Yes, that's usually what Matchstick opens up with but with such a bravura show on display, I mean, how could you complain? These movies just keep getting better and better. The fact that Permin manages to outrun not one but two avalanches is SOS makes for amazing moments on film and great repeated viewings.
And so it goes with SOS, you get ace segments with Petit and Permin in Japan, holy $*#&! POV shots with a cliff-hucking Eric Hjorleifson, a killer freestyle segment at Whistler with Gus Kenworthy and Russ Henshaw and banger shots with Cody Townsend and Mark Abma (who looks like he's healed just fine after two years of knee injuries) in Alaska.
Given that the main theme of SOS is a retrospective look on the 20th anniversary of Matchstick's first film, the look-backs-in-time compliment the new footage nicely. This juxtaposition draws out one again just how far the art of skiing and the art of sports action filmmaking have come even the past ten years, let alone the past twenty. A better understanding of what's possible with the skiers, better ski technology and better cameras (love those Sony Red and Cineflex cameras) all make for banger movies.
Weak moments? Very few. I don't think we need goofy shots of Michelle Parker making faces – It detracts from her down-to-earth granola chick persona and her massive ability on big mountains. But, whatever, right?
That all said, I believe we're on the cusp of greater things in ski movies as the use of camera-carrying flying drones becomes standard. The task now is for ski movie production companies to incorporate the vision that the drones can provide. Combined with helmet cams and heli-mounted gyro balanced cameras, the perspective added with a drone or two could provide the weird sensation of an adrenaline rush while sitting on your sofa. Failing to keep up with the technology will render any ski movie into a lackluster affair, especially when the competition is all over the new vision (see what Field Productions and Sherpas Cinema come out with in the Fall of 2013 to see what I mean). Let's see what Matchstick does next year.
When the talent stalls out and progression of the sport stops and when the camera movement is predictable and the editing looses it's ingenuity – then you've got a bad movie and the detractors can go to town all they want. But right now, Matchstick can still make great ski movies and Superheroes of Stoke is evidence that while a formula might be identifiable in the movie it does not mean the end product is stale. Far from it, actually. By Mark "The Attorney General" Quail
Watch the Trailer for Superheroes of Stoke