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In August 1966 Mao's Red Guards rampaged across China leaving in their wake a trail of destruction and despair. Weili Fan was a 10-year-old schoolgirl then, but even she was not immune from the effects of their activities during the Cultural Revolution. Here she reflects on impact those events continue to have on her life.
"The red August, 1966. It was the August my birthday was honoured, my 10th birthday. It was a loud August. Vans and trucks mounted with loudspeakers bigger than my arms could encircle roamed the neighbourhood, blaring, "This is a Great, Unprecedented, Proletarian Cultural Revolution"; or "Revolution is no crime, rebellion is justified!" Red Guards fully clad in imitation army uniforms—green jacket, green army cap and brown leather belt cinched over the jacket—went about destroying the "Four Olds": old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits, because the Great Leader called them into action.
On 18th August a million or so Red Guards, many having trekked from other parts of the country, gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to receive Chairman Mao's inspection. Dressed in the olive green uniform of the People's Liberation Army, with a bright red star on his cap and two red insignias on his collar, the Great Leader stood on the rostrum of the Tiananmen Tower and beheld a sea of bobbing heads and outstretched hands flourishing his Little Red Books.
He waved. The square shook with the surging mass. This scene would later appear everywhere, in newspapers, posters and documentaries. And on that day, even though I hadn't seen his history-making gesture, even though I hadn't been among the sea of bobbing heads and the waves of Little Red Books, I'd already gathered the great significance he bestowed on that day. Through the loudspeakers on the street, I heard the Great Leader in his heavily accented Hunan dialect: "Little generals of the Red Guards, I salute you!"
The crowds roared.
18th August 1966 will go down in history, the loudspeakers blasted.
It is my birthday, I suddenly realized, my tenth birthday!
18th August had always come and gone unnoticed, unmarked. But this one would go down in history! In the years to come, I fancied, 18th August would be marked with much fanfare and festivities, and along with it my own birthday would be celebrated. I couldn't explain why Chairman Mao chose this day to make his historical inspection, but one thing I knew for sure—I was special.
From then on I took a particular interest in the Red Guards' activities, which, fueled by Mao's personal inspections, raged like wildfire across the country, burning down all the "Four Olds" along the way. And I, like a moth attracted to light, followed the crowds to watch the Red Guards in action: chopping off women's high heels; smashing inscribed store front plaques bearing names such as Happy & Auspicious, Peace & Harmony, and changing them into Anti-Imperialism, or Safeguard Mao. The height of it all was watching the Red Guards as they raided the gigantic Catholic church next to my school.
The twin spires of the church dominated the skyline of Qingdao; and my school, Dexianlu Elementary, stood in its shadow. Playing at recess, I'd never failed to look up and see the crimson-coloured steeples, each topped with a huge cross, soaring into the sky. The church windows were either skinny and tall, or perfectly round, in mosaics of colored glass. I had never seen its doors open, nor heard any sound coming from it. It had always remained in a shroud of mystery and silence. All of a sudden, that mystery and silence were broken, in August 1966.
Through the gaping portal, Red Guards in olive green army uniforms carried armfuls of black books, feeding them into the flames licking the pavement in front of the church. I had never seen a black book, not to mention so many of them. The books we were reading, Chairman Mao's teachings, all had a bright red cover. I felt there was something evil in the blackness of the books; maybe that was why they were being burned. How brave of the Red Guards to storm into this tomb-like colossal building, how smart of them to find those evil books!
Then, loud chimes and banging wafted out from inside the church, floating with the black ashes. "They are smashing a huge piano!" a boy shouted, and onlookers started to swarm into the church. "It's too heavy to move," the same boy announced, his sweat-streaked face smug with this first-hand knowledge. Afraid of being squashed by the throng rushing in, I remained outside, with much regret. The chimes became more scattered and muffled, then died out like a deep moan amidst more banging. I had been quite taken by its exquisite sound, and felt sad when it was gone. But when a group of women, covered in black from head to toe, filed out of a small two-story building next to the church, my little sadness disappeared. Again I was struck by the blackness, as if those pallid-faced, black-shrouded women had evil hidden under their black garments. Watched over by a few Red Guards, they were marched away in a single file, with heads bowed, eyes on their toes.
This is revolution, I gathered, Red against Black.
The fire kept burning in the middle of the street, now rolls of rugs, bursting with gold, blue, and deep red, were thrown into the flames, sending waves of heat into the hot summer air, and waves of heat into my awe-inspired heart. I longed to be part of the action.
September came but school did not start. The New Year came and school was still out. When spring came, the great leader called students all over the country to resume classes while continuing the revolution. So we started going to school again, but school was not what it had been.
Most of the windowpanes were smashed, jagged glass turning the windows into gaping mouths with long fangs, unbroken panes smudged with black ink or white paint. Doors were so warped that they couldn't close. The unbreakable, solid mass of gray cement staircases and floors, which alone survived the force of the revolution, assumed a more austere look. Walls throughout the hallways were covered with angular characters such as "Down with so-and-so"; "Deep-fry so-and-so"; or slogans like "Rebellion is justified, revolution is no crime!" The only thing that remained intact was Chairman Mao's portrait hanging above the blackboard, his benevolent faint smile seeming to approve everything that had been going on.
I replaced my old mauve tapestry school satchel with a new army-green canvas bag, five red characters in Mao's calligraphy style Wei-ren-min-fu-wu—Serve the People, adorned its flap. I had embroidered the five characters myself, with a syringe needle and red silky thread, a skill I'd learned over the no-school days. Such a bag was the hottest fad, and I slung it over my shoulder with great pride.
We went to school to study Mao's Little Red Book, day in, day out. We read it, we copied it into our notebooks, we memorized it, we recited it aloud.
Often, upon entering the classroom in the morning, we would find trash scattered across the room or scraps of sharp metal or shards of glass planted in someone's seat. I wondered whether the Great Leader was aware of such acts under his nose, and whether he would intervene. After all, we dutifully came to school every day to study his teachings, despite the battered conditions of our classroom.
One morning, as I slid my proud, Serve-the-People bag off my shoulder and put it in my desk drawer, an awful stench assaulted my nostrils. Phew, I cried. Phew, everyone else yelled. What's that? I pulled my bag out, so choked by the stink I had to hold my breath. Everyone's hand went up to cover her nose and mouth. I dropped the bag onto the floor, its bottom covered in shit. Grieving over my soiled bag—my proud army-green canvas bag with Mao's "Serve the People" embroidered in red—I burst into tears, forgetting the stench. Others fussed over it, cleaning my drawer with old newspapers or scraps of cardboard.
After the commotion was over, we huddled together in the front of the classroom, brainstorming on revenge. If we catch this rascal, my friend Jiang Ying suggested, we can get him in B-I-G trouble. Following her index finger, our gaze rested upon the flaming red characters on the flap of my green canvas bag, now empty and slumped on the floor under my desk. We all looked at one another knowingly: this rascal, whoever he might be, had committed a terrible crime—he had soiled Chairman Mao's Serve-the-People.
Just then our substitute teacher, a lanky boy of 14 or 15, walked in. The real teachers were all engaged fulltime in the revolution—study sessions, denunciation assemblies, criticism and self-criticism meetings. So we were taught by "big brother" or "big sister," who should have graduated and moved on to high school but, following the summer of 1966, there were no upper schools for them to move on to. Upon learning what had happened, he shook his head. "Sheer boredom," he said to no-one in particular, an impenetrable sadness dimming his face.
I changed back to my old mauve tapestry bag. We became wise after this stinky lesson. Now we always sniffed around upon entering the classroom, which we dubbed "detecting land mines." Once in a while, we'd find a "mine," and armed with old newspapers and scraps of cardboard, breath held or nose pinched, we'd gingerly remove it before more damage was done.
Enemies kept being uncovered among the ordinary people: historical counter-revolutionaries, active counter-revolutionaries, spies for Kuomintang or US Imperialism, Capitalist Roaders (an authoritative figure who takes the capitalist road)…
A teacher at our school was uncovered as a spy for the Kuomintang. I had known her only as Teacher Lu who taught upper class science, and now everyone called her Lu the Loony. A mass denunciation meeting was organized in the school auditorium, and I was chosen to represent the fourth-grade students to speak at the meeting.
Lu was small-built, with a mop of dark curls—her hair had to be naturally curly, otherwise, it would have become another crime of hers. She wore amber-rimmed glasses, with lenses as thick as beer-bottle bottoms. Standing on the stage, head bowed, hands behind her back, she had a placard much wider than her body hanging from her neck. Her crime, being a spy for the Kuomintang, was listed in black ink on the placard with her name crossed in red.
The auditorium was packed, with students sitting on the cement floor in the front, and grownups—teachers and revolutionary masses from outside the school—on long wooden benches behind the students. I had never spoken in front of so many people. Sitting in the front row, I felt as if a rabbit was trapped in my chest, and my palms sweated. If only someone else had been chosen, I wished. This thought, though it only flashed through my mind, made me feel ashamed. My cheeks burned; I looked around to see whether anyone noticed it, luckily, all eyes were fixed on the stage.
Then I began to hear Lu's crimes: she had exchanged letters with someone in Taiwan, coded letters giving secret information to the enemy. Lu's conspiracy to collaborate with the forces in Taiwan to overthrow the Communist government was laid bare before us. Anger boiled in the auditorium, shouting broke out again and again from the audience: Down with Lu the Looney! Leniency to those who confess! Severity to those who resist!
Every now and then, a punch or a kick or gob of spit landed on Lu.
When my turn came, Lu was on her knees, her glasses dangling from one ear, and her eyes bulging, looking so different without the thick lenses. Pink foam dribbled from her mouth—she was forced to hold the placard with her teeth. Clutching the speech in my hand, I walked stiffly onto the stage, the eyes of the audience felt like a spotlight shining on me, heavy with expectation. The moment filled me with a tremendous sense of self-importance—it was a great honor to be part of the revolution.
I read the speech prepared for me by a teacher the best I could, enunciating each word, with rightful indignation and clear cadence. "Strike relentlessly at the class enemies!" As soon as I finished, slogan shouting broke out from the audience. "Death to the enemy if she doesn't surrender!" The heat of the moment, like a rising tide, bore me up, blood rushing to my head, anger expanding my chest, amid the deafening shouting I kicked Lu the Loony. The audience cheered. "Salute our Little Red Guard!" someone shouted, and the rest joined in. Lu fell at my kick, the bottom of the placard touched the floor first, her face caught by the placard momentarily before she crashed flat on the floor. When she struggled to her knees again, her glasses were gone and fresh blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. Serves you right, I thought to myself.
I marched off the stage with my head held high, aware of the approving gaze of the audience. My chest swelled with hatred for the enemy, and my ego puffed up with the excitement of being part of this great revolution.
However, my young mind, filled with pride for my role in the revolution, was soon clouded over with confusion, when my own father became an enemy overnight.
My father was the head of a newly founded agronomic school located outside the city. It took two hours by train ride to get to work, so he stayed in a dorm on campus and came home only on Sundays. Little did I know that, while I was engaged in the denunciation of Teacher Lu, or watching other "enemies" paraded on the streets with dunce caps and large placards hanging from their necks, my own father was undergoing the same treatment.
He was labeled a Capitalist Roader—as was almost everyone in an authoritative position in those days. We were spared the knowledge and humiliation of my father's public denunciation and street parade only because of his school's remote location.
I had watched other condemned enemies being paraded, almost daily. Sometimes, in addition to dunce caps and placards, the Red Guards introduced new tricks such as giving one a gong to beat and making him chant his crimes at each beat; or giving one a Yin-Yang haircut, with one side of the head shaved and the other side untouched. Such parades always drew a big crowd, like a circus going through town.
The Red Guards of his school decided that parading my father locally was too lenient. They made plans to come to the city, to our own neighborhood. A sympathiser passed the word to my family, which I learned only later.
Early in the morning on the day of the parade, my Nainai (paternal grandma) took us children—my elder brother, my two younger sisters and me—to the bus terminal to catch the No.1 bus that would take us to my uncle's place. My uncle was a firefighter at the big seaport of the city. To visit him was always a treat.
The entrance to the seaport was guarded. The sentry would make a call to the fire department; before long, my uncle, tall and sinewy, in his faded olive green uniform, would come in big strides to fetch us. Just passing through the guarded entrance was enough to make me feel special. Then we got to see all the big ships berthed in the port, many of them with tiny flags in a riot of colors, fluttering in the wind like a warm welcome. We could also play in the fire truck, climbing up and down the ladders. Such a visit didn't happen often and was always arranged on some national holiday. We had no idea why we were taken to visit him that day, too thrilled to care about why.
We had our longest visit and did not return until after dark. Without realizing it, we had missed seeing my father being paraded, missed the Red Guards ransacking our home for evidence against him. But we were not spared the fear and confusion of finding our own father being branded an enemy. There were three Red Guards waiting for us at home.
"Did you see your parents hiding anything?" one of them in a faded green army cap asked, his face awfully familiar. My heart started thrashing like a caught fish; I remembered my parents burning things in the big stove with bellows in the kitchen. The calligraphy scroll by Shu Tong, which my father treasured and his friends admired, had disappeared from the wall. Should I tell? Caught between love for my father and loyalty to the revolution, I became paralyzed. My throat felt parched and smoky, and something warm, moving like a long slithering worm, went down my leg. Familiar-face glanced at his two comrades, and then left us alone. The other two took down the framed portrait of Chairman Mao hanging in the wall above our dining table; Familiar-face opened the backing and looked inside. Finding nothing, he stood the portrait on the table against the wall and they all left.
Then it dawned on me that Familiar-face had once been a guest at our home, a student leader my father had highly praised. My head was in a muddle. I didn't know what crimes my father had committed. I had always known him to be a loyal Party member, a good cadre. When he gave up his good job in the municipal government and volunteered to head the new agronomic school in a backward area, the Party had praised him; his colleagues admired his courage and selflessness. They said he was the embodiment of Mao's teaching: "Be the first to bear hardships and the last to enjoy comforts."
How could he become an enemy? How could there be so many enemies?
My mother stayed longer and longer at work, often deep into the night, attending meetings. Her hair turned grey. She had poured her goldfish—kept in a glass bowl made from a kelp-farming float—down the toilet; uprooted her potted plants—lush green succulent, pink crab-claw dangling lotus—and dumped them in the trash; as they were evidence of her petit-bourgeois life style. My father seldom came home. The only adult around was our Nainai, illiterate and with small bound feet.
When my father did come home, occasionally, he came back with bruises and a grim long face. My Nainai would prepare some small dishes such as salted peanuts or preserved tofu, together with a few shots of liquor. He always drank and slept, hardly speaking to anyone. We all kept quiet, afraid of making the slightest noise. One night I was awakened by a strange, harrowing sound. I bolted up, a cold tingle running down my spine. "Maaah…ya, maaah…ya ya!" it sounded like a child in desperate flight. It was my father, screaming in his sleep.
My fear loomed larger when death happened right beside us.
We lived on the fifth floor of Soviet-style apartment building at the east end; Uncle Teng's family occupied the west-end unit, and he was my father's friend. As the head of the municipal goods and materials supply centre, he also became a Capitalist Roader and was thrown into the "cowshed"—a newly coined term meaning detention by the Red Guards.
One morning we woke up to find the building covered with big-character posters—characters in black ink on large sheets of white paper, stating that Teng chose to alienate himself from the people and the Party, even death would not expiate all his crimes. Such words always meant that the named person had committed suicide. Later, we learned that the Red Guards had taken him home the previous night to search for evidence; he'd flipped open a window and plunged to his death. We could still see dried blood on the cement trash collector in the yard below their apartment. Rumors also went that he had been beaten to death; as a cover-up, the Red Guards had taken his body to his home and dropped it from the corridor window next to his apartment to fake suicide.
I remembered seeing Uncle Teng the last time, when he'd visited my father one Sunday. He was wearing a forest green sweater, while most people—men, women, old or young—were wearing dull colors of gray, dark blue, or the revolutionary army green. My father joked that he still managed to look youthful despite the circumstances. "Green is the color of hope," Uncle Teng said, patting his chest. "People like us have got to keep hope alive."
I don't remember which version of Uncle Teng's death I believed, but I do remember the growing fear. Although the grownups never told us any real goings-on, from my father's battered body, grim face, and ill temper, I could sense things must have been bad for him. Only years later, after he was exonerated and restored to his former position, he and his friends who had suffered the same fate would get together, sharing their experiences over food and drink, with humour and mimicry.
Such get-togethers were always preceded by my father working in our four-square-metre kitchen—the cleaver hitting the chop board with a rhythmic beat; metal spatulas and iron wok clanking, with an occasional "kang kang…chee kang'" from my father's mouth, imitating the Peking Opera cymbal and gong. Sizzling peanut oil and quick-fried scallion sent greasy smoke and nose-tickling aromas into our whole apartment. My father had become an excellent cook by working in the kitchen of the school cafeteria—he was sent to work as a kitchen hand after his status was upgraded from detention and menial labor, but before he was fully exonerated. I would usually sulk through such gatherings, for the bustle and boisterousness meant there would be no quiet for me in our two-room apartment, and I would also be called now and then to empty their ashtrays or fill up their teapot.
But sometimes I'd find myself eavesdropping, involuntarily drawn into their stories. The most common treatment at the hands of the Red Guards, I learned, had been the "airplane ride": my father was made to stand upon a chair, head bowed, arms raised backward, listening to the Red Guards' denunciations. Someone would, at random intervals, deliver a hard kick at the chair and my father would fall. Then they stood the chair up and my father was to climb on it again, waiting for another takeoff and crash. My father and his friends, whom I called uncles, would compare notes to see who'd had the highest airplane ride: was it one chair, or a chair on top of a table, or two, three chairs?
Perhaps nobody had had a rocket takeoff, my father said to his drinking buddies. After being released from the cowshed, he was sent to work cleaning out public lavatories—the kind with no plumbing, merely a long ditch with brick steps. His job was to empty the human waste into two wooden buckets, carrying them on a shoulder pole to the manure pit in the field. Once, taking a break, he sat at the end of a conveyor belt attached to an idle water pump. The conveyor belt was smooth, raised a foot or so above the ground, and felt like a good comfy seat to him. Someone saw him sitting on the belt and, by stealth, turned on the water pump. The conveyor belt shot my father out in the air, landing him just a foot or two short of the manure pit.
That was why he had come home unexpectedly on a weekday, with a bad limp, I suddenly realized. His legs and arms had been skinned and bruised, his face scraped. We had only been told he was ill, and he rested at home for a few days.
Nobody had this special drink, Uncle Yu, the principal of the prestigious No.2 High School, proudly claimed. During his detention by the Red Guards, he was locked up in a dark room, writing self-criticism again and again, but it always failed to meet the Red Guards' standard. One day a furious Red Guard brought in a washbasin of water, washed his feet—his hyperactive, sweaty feet—right in front of Uncle Yu, then ordered him to drink it. Uncle Yu refused. Sneering, the Red Guard locked him up with nothing but the soiled water. On day four, he drank from the washbasin. "Heavens, I so wanted to live!" Uncle Yu thus concluded his story.
I eavesdropped on so many stories my father and his drinking buddies shared with one another: stories that shocked me, stories that pained me, stories that confused me. How could people be so cruel? How could there be so many evils in everyone's life? Accompanying such thoughts, Teacher Lu's face, with her thick glasses dangling on one ear, her mouth bleeding, always surfaced in my mind. How could writing letters to relatives in Taiwan make her an enemy of the nation? How could such an ordinary act warrant the mob action against her? Where did the ability to reason and the capacity for compassion go among all the people? Now I would think of her not as an enemy but as someone's mother, and I'd remember how I had kicked her.
The 18th August still comes and goes, often marked by some token of celebration by my two daughters. I continue to think of Teacher Lu. Does she have daughters? I would wonder. I hope she had survived the "ten years' turmoil" (an official term for the Cultural Revolution). I wish to know that she is doing well, reunited with her family members in Taiwan, and I wish…
"The struggle of man against power," says Milan Kundera, "is the struggle of memory against forgetting."
In Prague, at the foot of Petrin Hill, there is a series of statues—a man gradually diminishing one part at a time—commonly known as the Disappearing Man, and officially named the memorial to the victims of communism. There is a bronze plaque that reads:
"The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all victims, not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism."
Standing in front of the Disappearing Man in the summer of 2006, I shed silent tears, while some young tourists romped around and posed by the statues with a mischievous grin. My mind, of course, went back 40 years, to the summer of 1966, to Teacher Lu, to Uncle Teng, to Ba Jin's still unfulfilled wish for establishing a Cultural Revolution Museum, to the fact that the Cultural Revolution was disappearing from history and fading out of memory.
I wish the day when the CCP can openly acknowledge its own mistakes, the day when a memorial like the Disappearing Man in Prague can also be erected in China, will come, sooner rather than later.
Until that day, until China as a nation can face her history squarely, the only hope for us to keep a national calamity like the Cultural Revolution from happening again lies in personal narratives and individual memories.
Writing of my own experience is my personal struggle against a national amnesia.
This past summer, I was encouraged by a series of open apologies from former Red Guards—apologies long overdue, yet nevertheless necessary, as the most famous apologizer among them, Chen Xiaolu (son of Chen Yi) says: "Though my formal apology came way too late, still I have to do it. For the purification of the soul, for the sake of social progress, for the future of our nation, apologize we must. Without self-examination, how could we move forward?"
This past summer, I was also discouraged by the new leadership's call for reinforcing the party's role in the ideological sphere and, for invigorating the Party's propaganda campaign. Invoking Marxism and Mao Zedong Thought, editorials from various Party press denounced the Western "constitutionalism," "civil society," "universal values" etc., and cautioned the public against the "Western forces hostile to China"… It was exactly the enforcement of unified ideology and vigorous propaganda, which had deprived or disabled people's critical faculty, that paved the way for the Cultural Revolution.
The recent clampdown on bloggers, and the intimidation by highly publicised arrests, may chill some of the internet activists, for some time. But, the genie is already out; the "universal values" have already made their imprints on people's minds. The orthodox ideology can no longer wield the same power as before.
In 1983, amid the inchoate flourishing of art, thought and ideas upon the wasteland of the Cultural Revolution, a cleansing spiritual pollution campaign was launched. It lasted 27 days, thanks to the interference from the General Party Secretary Hu Yaobang.
In 1987, another political campaign against bourgeois liberalization was launched, with the removal of Hu Yaobang as the General Secretary of the Party.
In 1989, following the untimely death of Hu Yaobang, the unstoppable "bourgeois liberalization" evolved into the large scale pro-democracy movement which ended in the bloody crackdown that shocked the whole world.
In 2013, 30 years after the cleansing spiritual pollution campaign—the first left-turning ideological campaign after the Cultural Revolution, the same fight is still going on, though in different forms and by different ways and means.
Another left-leaning campaign may hinder the freedom of expression, but not the freedom of thought.
The genie is already out of the bottle."


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
My anecdote for the week comes from a newsletter, Thomas White's Mercurius Heraclitus, or, The weeping philosopher, sadly bemoaning the distractions of the times 28th June 1652, pp. 4-5. I do not think it has come to the notice of the social historians, but is a salient example of an early modern marriage quickly going sour, and the misery of the 'cuckold' husband in that society. White is of course engaged in deploring the state of things, in a tattling kind of way.
We are in that insalubrious London suburb of 'Pickt-Hatch':
"at the signe of the Blue-Bottle a Pastry-Cooks, where James Jeanes, a Wine-Cooper, whose wife drew the Beer, desperately hang'd himself in the Cellar; the reason of it being the evil of his wife, who lov'd a Souldier that would upbraid him to his face, That he had as much use of his wife as he himself, which thing being known and reported abroad, made some scoffers to jear and point at him, which infamy he could not well bear, therefore he took upon him a deep melancholy, which for want of a true fear of God, brought him to desperation: The day before he did this ungodly deed, he walkt out all day, but could not find opportunity to do it (as being asham'd the light should behold so black a deed) till at night coming home late, he deferred his going to bed, and in the morning early was found hanging in the Cellar not then cold; his wife being called, and told that her husband had hanged himself, made answer, That he should hang long enough there before she would come to cut him downe, and lay still, but which was most observable; she passed by [ ] he hung in the Cellar all the day long to draw Beer without any the least sign of sorrow.
Not above seven or eight weeks before, she buried her husband, one Thomas Lee; he coming home one day sick, she would needs turn Doctor, and made him such a Potion as sent him the next day to his grave, and within a short time after she married this Jeanes which hath since hang'd himself for the reasons before mentioned."
That's a pretty high turnover of husbands – one more or less accidentally poisoned, and his successor treated with contempt after the suicide she has caused, and all within a couple of months.
Pickt Hatch is mentioned everywhere in early modern texts as a locale where brothels were situated. In Robert Davenport's A new tricke to cheat the Divell, 1639, Slightall, a lecherous young man given to reciting chunks of Ovid lists the usual places to find a prostitute:
Slightall. Roger?
Roger. Sir.
Sightall. Provide me a good lusty Lasse to night,
I purpose to be merry.
Roger. Sir, not I.
Slightall. I care not of what humour, face, or feature,
So thou canst find one impudent enough;
Search all the Allyes, Spittle, or Pickt-hatch,
Turnball, the Banke side, or the Minories,
White Fryers, St. Peters Street, and Mutton Lane,
So thou canst find one to disgrace her sexe,
She best shall please my Pallat.
Returning to the callous Mistress Jeanes, my maternal grandmother, Jenny Mather, had relatives who lived at Spring Bank Row, Unstone, near Sheffield. The husband drank, and came to the point when he said that he was going to hang himself in the barn. His wife stood outside the barn with a shotgun, to prevent anyone interfering with this admirable endeavour on his part. But when she finally allowed entry, thinking the deed must have been done, he was merely dead drunk on the floor.
My image is a view of London rather unfamiliar to me, from Giles Godet, The city of London, as it


text:
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text:
DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. -- A majority of Dutchess Count voters who headed to the polls Tuesday approved proposed school budgets and returned incumbent school board members to their seats with few exceptions.
Here's a look at voting across the county:
Arlington: Voters approved $205.1 million budget with a pair of propositions on passenger buses, minivans and vans and $18.495 million on transportation, maintenance, and building upgrades. School-board candidates Ed McCormick, Charles McLeod and Steve Rossi, who were unopposed, retain their seats.
Dover: Voters approved Dover's proposed $31.5 million budget and Board of Education hopefuls, incumbent Walter Cropley retained his seat and newcomers Craig Tamboia and Patricia Hammond were elected unopposed.
Hyde Park: Voters approved a $91.7 million budget along with three propositions that called for spending $982,226 on nine school buses, approving a student to serve as a non-voting member of the school board and establishing a $5 million capital reserve fund. School Board members Douglas Hieter and Jeffrey Danielson, who ran unopposed, retain their seats.
Millbrook : Voters approved the proposed $28.9 million budget. Thomas Lehmkuhl, an incumbent, and Howard Shapiro secured board seats.
Pawling: Voters approved a proposed $36.7 million budget along with a proposition to create a capital reserve fund for the construction and upkeep of district buildings and grounds. School-board candidates Carol Lynn Marshall and Inga Garbarino were elected.
Pine Plains: Voters in Pine Plains approved a proposed $31.6 million budget along with two propositions that included establishing a capital reserve fund for renovations to the Stissing Mountain High auditorium and the middle school gymnasium and purchasing new buses for $410,300. School Board members James Griffin and Karen Orton, who were unopposed, retained their seats.
Poughkeepsie: Voters approved Poughkeepsie's $96.7 million proposed budget. Debra Long and Doreen Clifford were elected to fill the two available seats to a three-year term on the Board of Education.
Red Hook: Voters approved a $52.68 million budget which increased spending by 1.82 percent. Incumbent Dawn Morrison is being challenger Jennifer Munn for a school board seat.
Rhinebeck: Voters approved a $32.1 million budget that increases spending by three percent, overriding the state's tax cap with the needed 60 percent approval. Jaclyn Savolainen and Elizabeth Raum were elected to two open Board of Education seats.
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Many European national health insurance support preventive measures for spa stays in other countries, for example, a stay in the Netherlands.
So far, Cadzand and Domburg are the only Dutch cities that satisfy the quality criteria of the European Spas Association for thalassotherapy. To curing of diseases, both resorts offer a wide range of therapies and wellness. Additionally, the location on the coast of the province of Zeeland allows a full Recreational program with bodyboarding at the beach, bike rides, yoga or a visit to the sauna. These offers are perfect to enjoy the relaxation and recreation from everyday life.


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I came down with the flu, no coincidence, a day or two after getting my flu shot so the plan this week is to rest up and get back on track with blogging and that review backlog. I also have a Scrap for Charity day to look forward to on Saturday.
Hope the girls who participated in half marathons had a successful and fun weekend :)
Reviews & Posts: (click on title)


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Your shopping cart is empty!
See below our range of set corporate hampers, please remember that we can provide you bespoke corporate hampers where you can select the contents of your hamper.
If you need further information, please call us on 01786 812551 or fill out the form below and we will come back to you straight away. Below the form you will see some of our most popular set corporate hampers, which we can offer discounts for volume orders. If you cant see what you are looking for please call us.


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Budding beauty queens are set to help boost the £50,000 charity legacy of an inspirational teenager who died from cancer.
Contestants taking part in the Miss British Empire South Yorkshire pageant later this year will be raising funds in memory of 17-year-old Hannah Brown, of Hatfield.
Following Hannah's death the Free Press launched a campaign to make sure the £50,000 - which will help others suffering from the disease - is achieved.
And now organiser Danielle Hanson, of Skellow, says she hopes girls will come forward in their droves to help the campaign.
The 24-year-old, who was crowned Miss British Empire Doncaster last autumn, said: "Unfortunately Hannah was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour and passed away.
"I know Hannah's brother Matthew and thought this would be a good way to help add to the total. I want us to try and raise as much as possible to try and reach her target."
The contest will take place at Skellow Social Club on May 16 with three separate age groups - four to nine-year-olds, 15 to 17-year-olds and the overall Miss British Empire South Yorkshire crown which will be open to 18-30-year-olds.
The winners will progress to the UK final later this year.
Hannah, a pupil at Ash Hill Academy, died last October from an incurable brain tumour. In the last few months of her life she embarked on a fundraising campaign to raise the money for the Parents' Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia - a support group for families whose children have cancer.
Her dad David said: "We are going to keep going when we hit the target. Its great that so many people want to contribute. We
are planning more fundraising events for the summer."
Entry fees and ticket sales from the contest and fundraising activity on the night will go towards achieving the target, which is around the £47,000 mark.
For details on the pageant, email firstname.lastname@example.com or call Danielle on 07880 340 105.
To donate or for more on Hannah's fund visit Hannah Bandana Just
Giving page or text a donation to PACT
using text code HANB97, amount, and send to 70070.


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Hi, Janina, Thank you for your comments [1] regarding VoiceXML 2.1. In order for the VBWG to discuss and address these comments, however, we are in need of further clarification from you on the following: First, please expand on how the security mechanism specified in Appendix E of VoiceXML 2.1 would negatively impact accessibility. Second, please elaborate on the architecture in which a third-party trust broker would effectively provide authenticated access to data. Examples and scenarios are greatly appreciated. Matt Oshry Chief Editor, VoiceXML 2.1 [1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-voice/2004JulSep/0058.htmlReceived on Thursday, 21 October 2004 04:04:06 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:07:37 UTC


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Near Harbor Springs and Petoskey, a cherished landmark.
Windjammer Marina, near Harbor Springs and Petoskey, is a cherished landmark. Windjammer is the the oldest marina along our state's pristine Inland Waterway. Our marina facility offers a ship's store, full boat and watercraft service, and all the accoutrements a boater might need. We still maintain the professional service our customers have come to expect over the past century. Stop in off the water, or start your adventure here, either way we will be here to serve you! Kurt & Patricia Hoffman, owners.
We are a full-service Yamaha Waverunner and Cypress Cay Pontoon Boat dealer, and we service all makes and models of boats and watercraft.
We have a complete line of rental boats from Pontoons and Ski Boats to a Party Cat with a built in slide and porta-potty so you can enjoy the waterway for a day or a week!
- Consignment Sales
- Boat Launch
- Fuel
- Winterize/Spring Commission
- Shrinkwrap
- Indoor or Outdoor Storage
- Propeller Repair
- Boat Slips
- Pump Out
- Full Engine Service
- Inboard, Outboard
- Stern-drives


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This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families. (Isaiah 58:6-7, The Message)
For this coming Lent – think about what you can take on as well as what you will give up(fasting). For example – giving up Facebook – take on more prayer time/scripture reading when you would be on Facebook. Add more volunteer time to the local soup kitchens, homeless shelters, reading books to children at schools, visits to assisted living and nursing homes…
Giving up is great but if we go back to that habit unchanged, what's the point? If we do not have a transforming of our lives because we giving up a bad habit, why did we give it up? If our relationship with God is not strengthen then we have wasted a lot of out time not eating that wonderful chocolate we had left over from the Valentine Day's sale or keeping up with friends sharing their witty musings they found and shared with us.
So as you "contemplate" in these last hours before Ash Wednesday what you are giving up, make sure you add in some relationship building with God and your neighbor. Or make an appearance in worship, Bible Study or even start your own Bible Study, struggle with the hard questions with others – they probably have the same questions.
Whatever you do, make this a time of reflection, most of us don't do it enough, including me.
"BUT what are you giving up?" As of this writing, I don't know. I still have today to figure it out.


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This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
Here's the top 10 gift ideas for boys 7-9. This is a fun age for boys, they're constantly on the go and it's important to find toys for them that keep them active and holds their attention.
Top Gifts for Boys Age 7-9:
X-Shot Bunch O Balloons Single Launcher
Retails: $7.99
Fill over one hundred water balloons in just seconds with this ready to go bunch of self-tying water balloons and blast the competition out of the water. Simply follow three easy steps to forget the mess and stress. Bunch O Balloons is the ultimate way to make water balloons!
Retails: $19.00
This set of self-sealing balloons and pump gun will bring fun to your boy by immersing them in a good old water fight. The balloons are also biodegradable made of recyclable material.
Retails: $10.99
This is a fun one for any boys who love Tonka. It's always fun for them to open them and be surprised with what truck they end up with.
Star Wars the Black Series Rogue One Sergeant Jyn Erso
Retails: $15.50
You boy can relive the timeless adventures and from Star Wars: Rogue One with this premium 6-inch replica figure of Sergeant Jyn Erso from Star Wars The Black Series.
Air Warriors Ultra-Tek Night TEK
Retails: $8.89
A fun toy gun for your little guy. Pull the trigger half way to activate the light and then pull trigger all the way back to blast your target up to 72 feet away! It also includes a pop-up night vision scope along with 6 long distance suction darts.
Retails starting at: $14.48
Boys love sports and this toy let them build their favorite basketball player! Set contains 50pcs and one articulated figure.
Retails: $12.98
With the Spider-Man Rhino Rampage play set, your kid can imagine setting up Spider-Man to swing into action and take down Rhino. What little boy wouldn't love playing with this?
Retails: $4.99
This is a great way to Monopoly in just 15 minutes! It's like regular Monopoly but turned into a card game! What a great way to bring the family together for a fun and quick game.
Retails: $39.93
This is the lightweight version of the original RipStik Ripster. Its unique, articulated design allows your little guy to accelerate and turn without pushing–unlike a traditional skateboard. It's like a skateboard/snowboard hybrid on wheels.
Retails: $14.64
This is the ultimate foam bow and arrow combo. Your boy will love shooting arrows that can soar over 125′. This is good for right or left handed kids.
The Giveaway:
One (1) Southern Savers reader is going to win all of the following:
Buncho Balloons (3+) Single Launcher
Buncho Balloons Dual Launcher
C3 NBA Game On Series
Tonka Tinys Mystery Trucks
Star Wars 3.75 inch figure
Air Warriors Ultra Tek + Night Tek
Spider-Man Rhino Rampage Set
To Enter:
Fill out the widget below to be entered to win.
2016 Gift Guide Giveaway: Boys 7-9
This giveaway is sponsored by Zuru, Hasbro and ALEX Toys, but all opinions are 100% my own.


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Buy a t-shirt, come to an event, sign a petition, or take action: There's several ways you can help the struggle against tar sands expansion and Enbridge's Line 9.
1. Show up to our events and for court support.
We will be holding rallies for supporters as our case goes to trial, and continuing to organize protests highlighting the damage Line 9 and the petro-chemical industry is doing to our communities. The best way to keep up-to-date about these actions is to follow Aamjiwnaang and Sarnia Against Pipelines on Facebook.
2. Sign the petition & solidarity statement.
Sign the petition and share it among your social networks.
3. Buy a T-Shirt.
T-shirts are screen-printed on front and back, available in sizes XS to XL for $30 plus shipping. Proceeds go to cover the court costs of Line 9 defendants. Check out our T-shirts here.
4. Take Action.
There's no more effective way to protect the Earth from tar sands expansion than to organize your own direct action. Read more here.
5. Donate.
Donations large and small are welcome to help cover court costs following the Line 9 shutdown. Share this website in your social networks, and donate now via Paypal.


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Authors & Friends
On this page I listed people and authors to whom I have a relation. Either they were co-authors of one of the books presented on this side or we were in contact for other reasons, mainly about "desert related" subjects.
Please check out the books and publications of these authors and friends of mine.
Michele has just published a very comprehensive article about the "Missione Marchesi" in the magazine L'Universo, issue 140 of the IGM (Istituto Geografico Militare. To be correct: It is a special issue of the L'Universe with the title Speciale Missione Marchesi. It is probably the first time somebody has collected and published so much information about the surveying works the Italians in this remote part of the desert – definitely a must read for all those people interested in the exploration of the desert!
The author on top of Cima Marchesi in 2010, applying a memorial plate
After its preview presentation during the Salone Internazionale del Libro in Turin on 18 May 2013 by the Istituto Geografico Militare at the Ministry of Defence stand, the 160-page 4/2012 special issue of L'Universo, the geographical/historical publication of the Institute since 1920, is now available, wholly dedicated to the story of the 1933 Marchesi mission to Libya.
The exciting historical reconstruction by Michele Soffiantini ranges from the practical issues of the geotopographical expedition led by Capt. Oreste Marchesi to an in-depth analysis of the reasons behind the execution of the expedition to the southernmost end of Cyrenaica beyond the Kufra oasis, to the cartographical aspects of the survey and to the interesting study of the topographical instrumentation employed during the mission, carried out by the topmost experts on the subject, Prof. Borchi and Prof. Macii.
The last part contains the narration of the recent story of the ascent to the mountain, named after the IGM topographer, Cima Marchesi, clearly pointed out in the original map drawn to 1:100,000 scale by the topographical team during the 1933 expeditionary survey to the Uweinat massif in the southeastern corner of Libya, where a plaque in his memory was placed during the exploration which took place within the Emeri Project in November 2010.
To the success of this publication have contributed Alessandro Menardi Noguera, Paolo Carmignoto and the Hungarian Andras Zboray, who took part in the expedition to the Libyan Desert arranged by the Italian team.
Through a careful examination of the published material the reader will be able to breathe the exciting atmosphere of one of the last great Saharan explorations that, at the beginning of the last century, saw among its participants the IGM topographers Oreste Marchesi, Pietro Veratti, Giuseppe Tschon e Federico Giova.
For further information please contact:
Istituto Geografico Militare – Punto Vendite I.G.M. – Viale Strozzi, 10 – 50129 Firenze
Telefono 055/2732768 – telefax 055/489867
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
internet: http:// www.igmi.org


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"A groovy, gorgeous gulp of a book. You'll never use an album cover as a coaster again."―Tim Federle, author of Tequila Mockingbird, on Booze & Vinyl
"Everything you need to know about throwing a successful cocktail party is in this book" -- Los Angeles Times, on The New Cocktail Hour


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|Richard Stallman
|Re: argument names for define-obsolete-*-alias
|Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:38:45 -0400
On a related note, I find the arguments for defvaralias and defalias more confusing than those for define-obsolete-*-alias. defalias seems clear to me, but defvaralias is unclear. For defvaralias, I suggest the names NEW-ALIAS and BASE-VARIABLE. If using similar names in defalias would make it clearer to some people, we could change that too--it costs little to change this.
|[Prev in Thread]
|Current Thread
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Are you good at cooking ?
Of course you ARE, thanks to this kind of video, impossible to miss your dishes cooked at home (and if you're still unable to do so, it's only bad faith from you, god damn it) !
Ingredients :
– 3 cups freshly grated cheddar
For the filling of beef taco:
– 500g minced beef
– 1 small onion, chopped
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
– 1 taco seasoning packet
– 1/3 cup water
Follow this valuable information, apprentice cook :
Preheat the oven at 350˚F / 175C.
Start by forming small mounds of cheese on an ungreased baking sheet and cook it in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the piles of melted cheese form discs. Make sure the cheese is not too brown. Once everything has melted, let it refresh for two minutes on the plate, then place them on paper towels to remove excess fat.
To give shape to the disc, put them on a utensil.
Now it's time to cook your beef, the best ! Browned the minced beef at high heat. Then add accompaniments: onion, garlic, and chili with meat. That's smell already really great didn't it ?


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Dr. Scott M. Rocklage is the managing partner of Menlo Park, California bas 5AM Ventures. A very successful entrepreneur and experienced business executive, Dr. Rocklage spent more than 20 years working in leadership positions in the healthcare industry before joining the company in 2003. He also played a major role in getting Food and Drug Administration approval for three new drugs, Cubicin®, Teslascan® and Omniscan™. Dr. Rocklage has also worked to get six drug candidates entered into clinical trials.
Prior to working with 5AM Ventures, Dr. Scott Rocklage was Cubist Pharmaceuticals' chairman and CEO. He was also CEO and president of Nycomed Salutar and served as Nycomed Interventional's chairman, president and CEO. Dr. Scott Rocklage also worked in research and development with Salutar and Catalytica. In addition to his role with 5AM Ventures, Dr. Rocklage is currently Achaogen, Relypsa and Semprus' board chairman and on the WaveRx, Pulmatrix and Variation board of directors and the Whitehead Institute board of associates. He has also been executive chairman of Miikana and Ilypsa.
As an undergraduate, Scott Rocklage attended the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. He then went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he did a Ph.D. in Chemistry. While at MIT, Dr. Rocklage did research in 2005 Noble Prize winner Richard R. Schrock's laboratory. Scott Rocklage has more than 30 U.S. patents where he is listed as either the inventor or co-inventor. A prolific writer, he has had his work appear in over 100 peer-reviewed publications.
5AM Ventures is venture capital firm that invests in early stage life science-based companies. From his office in Waltham, Massachusetts Dr. Rocklage studies new life science ideas and helps business-executives, physicians and scientists turn their ideas into medicines to treat pressing medical issues. He also works with the company's portfolio management team.
One of the areas in which Dr. Rocklage is very interested in is biomedical developments. Those advances help to create unique medical techniques and technologies designed to target specific genotypes and mutations and discover new and better ways to treat cancer and save lives.
Connect with Dr. Scott Rocklage on LinkedIn for more information.


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So, it's safe to suffice that a pamper-me-day is required. So, pull out your shower caps, run a hot bath and put together this quick and easy organic blueberry facial mask to soak away your rough, dry winter skin.
Organic Blueberry Facial Mask
1/4 cup organic blueberries
1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil (you can use organic if you'd rather)
1 TBSP raw organic honey
1 TSP sugar
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until fully mixed. (About 4 minutes). Spread mask into cleansed face avoiding the eye and lip area. After five minutes or so, rinse off with warm water.
Why this works?: Blueberries are like nature's super food. They are rich in antioxidants which help combat free radical damage from environment stressors, pollution AND UV exposure. Blueberries also assist in removing dead, unwanted skin and promoting natural skin radiance.
This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever used and it smells divine. One tip though, don't leave it on more than 5 minutes. I find that blueberries can sometimes irritate the skin if left on for too long.
Happy masking and have a great weekend ladies!


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2016 National PTA Reflections and Awards Celebration
September 28th, 2016 (06:50 pm)
I just found this snazzy slide show of highlights from the National PTA Convention's Reflections Awards Program at the Disney Dolphin Resort in July, and posted it on my new Alexandria Reflections website.
You'll catch a glimpse of my son, who won a national award for Music Composition, about 35 seconds in. Here is the link:
(Click on the link for the video. The photo on this page is just a still photo.)


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applause and cheering of a crowd recorded in Audacity
Really enthusiastic. I will use it, thanks buddy!
Most of your uploads are terribly distorted - why?
2 comments
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Watch monthly live webcast - Like us on Facebook - Subscribe on YouTube
Prophecies prove the accuracy of the Bible (Talk.Origins)
Claim CH110:
- The Bible contains many prophecies which have accurately been fulfilled, proving it is a divine source.
- Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. 1985. Life--How Did It Get Here? Brooklyn, NY, pp. 216-223.
CreationWiki response:
First, the Bible has a number of remarkable prophecies. [1]
Second, it needs be noted that there has been much recent fulfillment of Biblical prophecies particularly about Israel.
- The reestablishing of the Nation of Israel in 1948. Name one other nation removed from their land for nearly 2000 years who retain their national identity, and were restored to that same land.
- The retaking of Jerusalem in 1967.
- Many others fulfilled in detail. These were not vague prophecies, or inevitable events, nor has there been any rewriting of these prophecies since 1967.
Reference: 100 fulfilled Bible prophecies
(Talk.Origins quotes in blue)
1. There are several mundane ways in which a prediction of the future can be fulfilled.
It is also possible for someone to rationalize away real fulfillment of even the clearest of prophecies.
- a. Retrodiction. The "prophecy" can be written or modified after the events fulfilling it have already occurred.
Without any evidence that this is the case, such a claim is nothing but a rationalization.
- b. Vagueness. The prophecy can be worded in such a way that people can interpret any outcome as a fulfillment. Nostradomus's prophecies are all of this type. Vagueness works particularly well when people are religiously motivated to believe the prophecies.
However, Biblical prophecy lacks this vagueness.
- c. Inevitability. The prophecy can predict something that is almost sure to happen, such as the collapse of a city. Since nothing lasts forever, the city is sure to fall someday. If it hasn't, just say that, according to prophecy, it will.
This is true only if no details are given about the collapse of the city. It is one thing to foretell that a city will fall, it is another thing to foretell how and when. The Bible often accurately predicts one or both.
- d. Denial. One can claim that the fulfilling events occurred even if they haven't. Or, more commonly, one can forget that the prophecy was ever made.
This naturally provides an excuse for dismissing any rebuttal to any claim that may be made of unfulfilled prophecy.
There are no prophecies in the Bible that cannot easily fit into one or more of those categories.
Without giving examples this is a baseless claim. Besides it can be shown to be false. Talk.Origins states above that there are no Biblical prophecies that cannot fit easily into at least one of their four categories. That means all that is needed prove them wrong is to show that at least one does not fit.
An extremely obvious example where this is false is Daniel 9:25-27, which prophesied centuries earlier the exact year that the Messiah, Jesus, would be born. The Scofield Reference Bible has made note of this for nearly a century.[2] The prophecy declared 7 weeks of years, 483 years (the Jewish year was 360 days, so 476.3836 years) from the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall was when the Messiah would come. And the date of the wall's rebuilding was given according to the Persian calendar in Nehemiah 2 as "in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the King" which archaeology has verified to be 444/445 B.C.[3] Therefore, the Messiah was to come 31 A.D. What makes the prophecy especially difficult for critics to deny is that thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have copies of the Book of Daniel older than the prophecy's fulfillment, dating to 100-200 B.C., so we know the prophecy existed before it was fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." - Daniel 9:25-27 (KJV)
It also turns out that there is a clear Biblical prophecy, being currently fulfilled and that Talk.Origins itself is helping to fulfill! Not that they intend to, but that does not change the fact that they are helping to fulfill it.
II Peter 3:3-6 not only predicts that one day men will scoff at the Bible, but it also predicts their basic reasoning.
The key phrase is "all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." This is a perfectly good first-century Greek description of uniformitarianism. So II Peter 3:3-6 is predicting uniformitarianism. Furthermore, verse 5 says that because of this concept men will be willingly ignorant of both creation and the Flood. The Greek word "λανΘανει" which is translated as ignorant in verse 5 literally means: "to escape the knowledge or observation of a person." This makes it clear that this is a reference to uniformitarianism. Because of uniformitarianism both creation and the Flood escape the knowledge and observation of many people including those at Talk.Origins.
So does II Peter 3:3-6 fall into any of Talk.Origins' four categories.
- Retrodiction. This prophecy was written by the apostle Peter in the first century A.D. and the cited English translation is from the King James Version, which was translated in 1611, more than 100 years before the invention of uniformitarianism.
- Vagueness. There is nothing vague about this prophecy, as it gives a clear statement of the uniformitarian philosophy, and states that because of it, both creation and the Flood escape the knowledge and observation of people.
- Inevitability. There is nothing inevitable about this prophecy. Predicting that men would one day scoff at the Bible and would not believe in creation and the Flood, by itself might be considered inevitable, but predicting uniformitarianism as the reason can not be considered inevitable.
- Denial. The ones in denial about this prophecy are those that do not want to believe that they are actually fulfilling Biblical prophecy. There is no doubt about its fulfillment, since it did not happen in the distant past, but is currently being fulfilled.
So here is a Biblical prophecy that does not fit any of Talk.Origins four categories. Therefore their claim that there are no Biblical prophecies that cannot fit into at least one of their four categories is proven false.
2. In Biblical times, prophecies were not simply predictions. They were warnings of what could or would happen if things didn't change. They were meant to influence people's behavior. If the people heeded the prophecy, the events would not come to pass; [,Jonah 3] gives an example. A fulfilled prophecy was a failed prophecy, because it meant people didn't heed the warning.
In such cases in the Bible there is a clear warning given. In the case of Jonah, God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn them, so this was clearly a conditional prophecy. There are also examples of Biblical prophecies which came true because they were unheeded. The death of Ahab is a good example. In 1 Kings 22:14-17 the prophet Micaiah predicts Ahab's death if he went into a particular battle. Ahab went into the battle and was killed as described in 1 Kings 34-37.
3. The Bible also contains failed prophecies, in the sense that things God said would happen did not.For example:
Josh. 3:10 does not say that all of the people of these tribes would be driven out. These tribes were defeated and nearly all of the people were killed, or driven out of the land, but because of Israel's incomplete obedience God did not remove all of the people of these tribes for a time. For the most part God did drive out these tribes during Joshua's lifetime and even more after his death. Furthermore, God did eventually remove even those that were left after the conquest.
In no place in Isaiah 17:1-3 does it say that Damascus would be deserted forever. It says that it would be destroyed, but says nothing about it eventually being rebuilt. The Damascus of that time was destroyed and uninhabited for a time but like many ancient cities it was rebuilt.
Reference: Is this a false prophecy?
Actually, this claim is based on an error in Egyptian chronology. When the error is corrected for there is evidence of both events. So these prophecies were fulfilled. It needs to be noted that the Hebrew does not necessarily mean that Egypt would be totally uninhabited. It does however indicate that exile and devastation would last 40 years.
Reference: Displaced Dynasties
4. Other religions claim many fulfilled prophecies, too.
A detailed comparison of such prophecies to those in the Bible would be required for a proper analysis, but these cases do not rise to the standard in the Bible in terms of clarity, specifics, and number.
5. Divinity is not shown by miracles. The Bible itself says true prophecies may come elsewhere than from God [Deut. 13:1-3], as may other miracles [Ex. 7:22, Matt. 4:8].
While this is true, all it shows is that by itself fulfillment of Biblical prophecies is not proof that it is from God; it is but one data point out of many that shows the Bibles has a Divine source.
Some people say that to focus on proofs is to miss the whole point of faith [John 20:29].
That is not what John 20:29 is saying. Jesus is simply saying that there is a greater blessing for those who believe without proof. There is nothing wrong with supporting faith with evidence.


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Fan Page Content Strategy – Creating Targeted Facebook Content
For brands, one of the most frustrating aspects of running a Facebook Page is determining exactly what content to syndicate. The answer can be just as frustrating … it depends. The trick is to publish great custom content alongside automatic updates with the following goals in mind:
Increasing Website Traffic:
When you want an increase in website traffic consider publishing questions about your content or products. Ask for opinions on your content, or recommend a specific product – and make sure every update has a link back to your site. Not only does this bring traffic to your website, but it also heightens the feeling of community on the Page.
Starting a Conversation:
When you want to start a discussion, the best option is to use Facebook's Questions feature. Start publishing polls and asking for your community's opinions. Comments are extremely important for the growth of your Page because when a user posts a comment it also shows up in their News Feed to be seen by all their friends. This can impact EdgeRank and expose a larger group to your message.
Build Community Loyalty:
When looking to build loyalty simply interact with fans in the comments. Thank your fans for their support, run promotions or specials and give fan-only gifts and bonuses.
Increasing Sales:
When an increase in sales is the primary goal, post teaser updates about new products, share images of upcoming products in development, progressively share news about new products, and give fans discount coupons.
Capturing New Clients:
If you are in the business of increasing new clients, post examples of newly completed work, share testimonials from existing clients, post information about your services and talk about some of the cool things you might be currently working on.
What tips do you have for creating and building a community on your Facebook Page?


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Morgan recently wrote a book, �Salt Lantern: Traces of an American Family,� in which he relates his connection to Paynesville. He also coauthored �Light from the Hearth: Central Minnesota Pioneers and Early Architecture.�
By studying the architecture and the artifacts of his family, Morgan, a Pipestone native, tells the stories of his ancestor�s lives.
In the segment entitled �My Father�s Story,� Morgan tells of his parent�s marriage at his grandparents� home in the summer of 1910. Following the wedding ceremony, the couple took the midnight train from Pipestone, arriving at dawn in Paynesville. The newlyweds spent the following month honey-mooning at Lake Koronis.
The book features a photograph of the Paynesville depot near Lake Koronis, which has become a family icon. Morgan writes: �Will and Mabel spent their honeymoon at a resort on Lake Koronis, an event recorded in a photograph album that sat on our coffee table when I was a child. The little wooden depot in Paynesville, where the dusty travelers stepped off the train, is a familiar icon from this album.
�Many of the family stories that I grew up hearing revolved around early automobiles and fishing trips. During the 1920s the family made annual fishing trips to either Lake Koronis or Leech Lake.�
The Minneapolis and Pacific (M&P) Railway came to Paynesville across the old diamond at Crystal on to Hamel and Rockford and over the Crow River.
Eighty-two miles west from Minneapolis is Paynesville, a lake country town. Platted in 1887, the M&P arrived in 1886 and built the 24 by 64-foot single story depot which was expanded in 1902, 1908, and 1911 to a final dimension of 24 by 127 feet.
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Watch MTV Big F Episode 12 27th December 2015 Written Details |Gautam Gulati : Every week the TV artist Gautam Gulati wants to show the hidden truth of our society with his sensual theme based erotic TV show "Mtv Big F". Indeed the youth based TV show is getting more and more popularity. Let's have some glimpses of the tonight episode of "MTV Big F". The 27th December episode is all about focusing a sensitive quite young girl who is secretly having a secret desire to be being free spirit girl.
Big F Episode 12
But some unavoidable circumstances' creates hindrances in her path to being free and compel her to live a regular life. Suddenly, the girl get chance to meet with a young man who is free spirit man and he is lively man with joy.
Firstly the young boy falls in love with her and the boy also notice that the girl is gifted with great skill of cooking. He wants to propose his love to the girl but he can't as the girl is quite as well conservative. Twist is that the girl also feels the same for the boy but she is unable to believe so.
Forbidden fantasy drives both of them for each other. So tonight episode of "Gautam Gulati Big F" will be speaks about that.


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I went to last night's game versus the Leaf's with my friend Pat from work (ICx Technologies). Pat's a New Hampshire boy and a hockey fan too. We had a blast from our dinner of "dollar dogs" through watching the great game as the Caps and Leafs "duked it out" through three closely played periods of hockey.
This is a late post and I'd have to say DMG, JP and CapsChick all have drawn a good bead on this one, so I'll digress a little about a couple of things in the current NHL era I like and a couple I'm not wild about.
Things I like in the current era:
- "No Red Line",
- No "Icing the Puck" Against the Boards,
- Dollar Dog Night,
- Slower Whistles When the Goalie Ices the Puck,
- Ovechkin, Datsuyk and the other Russians who Skate, Hustle, Score AND Hit/Check HARD.
Things I'm Really, Really Not Wild About
- The Mandatory Delay of Game Penalty,
- Calling Boarding Penalties When Someone Makes a Solid, Good, Hard Check,
- "The Trap",
- The Instigator Rule,
- "The Trap",
- Giving an extra two minutes to a player with a visor who fights, especially when he didn't start the fight,
- "The Trap"
- The idea that high scoring game draws more fans,
- "The Trap".
Yes after the last two night's games against the Maple Leafs, I'd like to say Thank You Bruce Boudreau for changing the style of play the Caps use and "trapping" less. The past two games really exemplified why I don't like "The Trap": 1) it's no fun to watch; 2) the team that plays the best doesn't always win (re: Wednesday Night in Toronto); 3) it doesn't necessarily make average players better/isn't necessarily more forgiving (re: the stats of the Caps' grinders since the coaching change). On the other hand, best of all you don't have to play it to win - (re: the Caps record since the coaching change). Gary Bettman if you really want to draw more fans, outlaw the trap just like you can't play zone defense in the NBA; pro hockey teams/players shouldn't play the trap.
A couple of kudos on the game. Last night's game was fun to watch, but the Caps ought to be glad most of them have a few days off, they are clearly playing tired. Last night's first star was Brent Johnson - "Johnnie" play superbly and deserved the first star. He faced 32 shots and stopped 31 of them, including some spectacular saves from all angles from super glove save grabs to break up plays to thwarting some breakaways. The first goal - Brooks Laich's goal, was a super team effort and while I never saw the tip, Laich may deserve the goal just for getting in front of an Ovechkin slapshot. The maturity and two way play Alex Ovechkin shows every game this season is stupendous. In many cases his hustle to a backcheck or his play making is as spectacular as his goals. His involvement in both of last night's scores are reflective of that great work ethic and team spirit. Ovie is now all about playing to win, not about Ovie and it's as contagious as Quintin Laing's hustle and great play and Donald Brashear's great locker room leadership. Speaking of "Brash" the Caps resigned him yesterday as well. I think that's another good move by Caps management.
My last thought - the Caps have gotten back into the playoff fray with a streak during which the Caps have played 10-3-2 in the last 15 games. To make the playoffs the Caps will have to continue to play with the steadiness of purpose, and indeed near abandon they have since Thanksgiving. It's way too early to count any of their Southeast Division rivals out of things, and it's way too early to figure that it will take less than 88-92 points to make the playoffs. That means the Caps need to continue to play the same level of hockey - 0.655 (17-8-4) they have under Coach Boudreau. Indeed to finish clearly in the playoffs (92 points) they need to play 0.640 hockey for their remaining 32 games. Each win makes it easier now and it's not an impossible thing to imagine before their recent 10-3-2 tear but it's way too early to resign yourself to not getting your money's worth from your April Country Club minimums (not that I'm the CC type at all). My point is everyone needs to just keep their head down and hope for the best. Keep rooting for the Caps, watching the attendance improve, etc. The Caps themselves need to continue enjoy playing hard and winning and everything will work out. Confidence is fine; overconfidence is always unwelcome, and not useful and at this time still entirely unjustified.
Next week - Home & Home vs the Montreal Canadeans. The Caps are 7-3-0 for the last 10 and the Habs are 7-2-1 going into the All Star Break. Next weeks games should be good ones and I can't wait till next Thursday to see the Caps work to continue to improve what could be a great overall season record. LETS GO CAPS!!!!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Last Night's 2-1 Win Over the Leafs
Posted by Mark Bonatucci at 8:12 PM
Labels: Washington Capitals
2 comments:
- DMG said...
Ovechkin, Datsuyk and the other Russians who Skate, Hustle, Score AND Hit/Check HARD.
Don't forget Malkin - that kid's a beast!
The Mandatory Delay of Game Penalty,
Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. There are no words for how I hate that rule...
The idea that high scoring game draws more fans
See here
- January 27, 2008 at 5:26 PM
- usually frustrated caps fan said...
dmg: Good post, I especially like that in the picture Bettman looks like a dweb.
- January 31, 2008 at 11:26 PM
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Water Security
Human Right to Water
The Gift of Life
The Water We Breathe
About Us
Contact Us
Water is life,
Water gives life.
Without water, life as we know it will cease to exist.
Water IS security.
More Photos
What is Water Security?
Water is an indispensable commodity for all forms of life. It is an intrinsic part of every community, from the minute phytoplankton (naked to the human eye), to the gigantic whales, elephants, eagles and mankind. Water fuels energy, it dispenses education, powers the economy, builds infrastructure, delivers healthcare, feeds agriculture, distributes culture, quenches the insatiable thirst of development, and endures its own exploitation and degradation. Water influences where people can live, as well as their quality of life.
With an estimated 783 million people worldwide with no access to potable water; tapping into natural storage facilities (groundwater) has become the only viable solution. Current global extractions of groundwater are estimated at 600-700 km³/ yr. Aquifers are being pumped up faster than they can be replenished, not only reducing the amount of water available for human consumption, but threatening the intricate surface-groundwater interaction responsible for sustaining surface waters (especially during drought periods). Thus groundwater supplies are under tremendous threat of exploitation, and degradation. Furthermore, such desperate circumstances give rise to opportunities for conflict amongst societies, communities, municipalities, and even between neighbouring states.
Water is a renewable natural resource, finite in its availability at global, regional and national territorial platforms. Water plays a vital role in food, energy, and economic growth and security, as well as in sustaining health and alleviating poverty. Thus a threat to water (its availability and quality) is a threat to life.
Water is life,
Water gives life.
Without water, life as we know it will cease to exist.
Water IS security.
Water Security seeks to answer questions related to water availability as well as the quality of what is available.
Is there enough supply and storage to sustain the system itself, as well as society?
Is the supply reliable? Is it renewable? At what rate is it renewable?
What leverage can we get from what is available?
Although almost 70% of the earth's surface is covered in water, 97% of this is the salt water found in oceans, and a further 2.2% is found in the glaciers and ice sheets, which when melted will only cause the sea levels to rise (Davies and Day, 1998). Therefore, the proportion of water that is fit for human consumption (freshwater) makes up less than one percent of the total water covering the earth, and this is made up of ground, surface, and atmospheric water (Davies and Day, 1998).
Surface water
Surface and groundwater provide freshwater supplies for domestic, industrial, and recreational use, as well as for the maintenance of ecosystem services. Though renewable through precipitation, freshwater resources must be protected and conserved in order to safeguard this essential commodity whose availability is limited both in space and time. However, due to urban development coupled with increasing population numbers, municipal and industrial uses of water are rapidly increasing worldwide, thus exhausting the already limited supply of freshwater.
With the global population estimated to increase by an additional two billion people by the year 2030 (United Nations ,1998), it is vital to find techniques to satisfy humanity's demands for water while safeguarding the life-support functions of freshwater systems (Postel 2010).
The hydrological cycle shows that the amount of water on the earth has been relatively the same throughout history. Freshwater is renewed through precipitation, and this water ends up in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and taken up through soil absorption to increase the groundwater table. A percentage of this is lost through evaporation, as well as through run off to the sea.
With less than one percent of the total water covering the earth and available for all living organisms, freshwater must be protected, conserved and used in a sustainable manner.
Written By Malebo D Matlala 12/5/2015


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Yorkshire v Somaliland: 8 goals and 2 penalties made for an exciting start to the Vikings' summer season
CONIFA World Ranking
The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands are a chain of Japanese Islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan.
Okinawa is by far the biggest island and Okinawa city is considered the capital of Ryukyu.
The Ryukyu Football Association was founded in 2014 in Okinawa City and is led by Mr. Tasuku Miyagi. The Ryukyu national team already played several friendly matches, including matches against Taiwanese youth national teams, before they found out about us. As soon as they were informed about CONIFA they wanted to get a member of CONIFA and we are proud that we can give them the global stage they deserve!


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Warehouse workers at $2 billion food startup Blue Apron complain of stressful, violent conditions, report says
The recipe and meal-kit delivery service Blue Apron has grown itself into a startup valuated at $2 billion by reinventing dinner.
It's been so successful, Amazon and Whole Foods are now chasing the same idea (as well as other startups) and Blue Apron is said to be thinking about an IPO.
But there's one set of people who seem to have some complaints about the company: workers at one Blue Apron's main warehouse fulfillment centers in Richmond, California, according to an investigative report by BuzzFeed's Caroline O'Donovan.
The BuzzFeed report alleges that the fast-growth of Blue Apron led to a less-than-stringent hiring processes and a reliance on temp workers at its Richmond warehouse facility, resulting in some pretty rough working conditions.
For instance, in the 38 months since Blue Apron opened the Richmond facility, the Richmond Police responded to two complaints of weapons, three calls for bomb threats, and seven calls alleging assault, with at least four arrests made due to threats of violence, BuzzFeed reports.
Employees say the violence has included being punched, choked, groped, pushed, not to mention the bomb scares.
Photos of Blue Apron boxes:
See Gallery
BuzzFeed reports that the scary conditions hit their peak in August, 2015, and by October that year, the general manager of the facility hired a safety manager for the facility and advocated slower hiring and the safety record has improved since then.
The company told Business Insider that it does screen all of its full-time warehouse employees for drugs and criminal backgrounds, but a different process applies for the temp workers, and that's what led to problems in the past.
Nisha Devarajan, a Blue Apron spokesperson told us (emphasis ours):
"We require temporary staffing agencies to perform proper screening and background checks on their workers as well, however, Blue Apron does not receive those results since the staffing agency is the worker's employer. In parts of 2014 and 2015, we experienced difficulty with several temporary staffing agencies in Richmond who did not meet our performance standards and sometimes provided workers who did not always abide by our policies and procedures or share our values. As a result, Blue Apron quickly ended its relationship with these agencies."
Cold and stressful
Blue Apron employs over 4,000 people, total, and over 1,000 at the Richmond facility. All told, it delivers around 8 million meals a month, CEO Matt Salzberg told Fortune. It has raised nearly $194 million in venture funding, and was valued at $2 billion in 2015.
It prides itself on sourcing fresh, seasonal ingredients from artisan farmers, chopped and packed with all the spices and condiments needed to cook up an original recipe. This at $8-$10 a serving.
Michael Seto/Ignition 2015
It also allows customers to change their orders fairly last minute.
And that means those employees are doing the slicing, dicing and measuring at wages starting at $12/hour, Buzzfeed reports (as does Glassdoor.)
As Blue Apron grows more successful, the stress on the employees to fill those boxes increased, employees told Buzzfeed.
"It was crazy. You felt like you were running all the time," one employee told BuzzFeed.
Even in the best of circumstances, this job could be tough for some people because. That's because to meet food health laws, employees are working in warehouses that are kept at a temperature below 40 degrees. They are issued a jacket, thermals, a hat, and a neck warmer.
Devarajan told Business Insider:
"As with any operation that handles perishable food, we maintain a range of temperature zones in our fulfillment centers to ensure that food is handled safely and in accordance with applicable law and industry best practice."
The California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health has been overseeing the facility and has issued some fines for violations, some of which Blue Apron has contested, appealed and had reduced, BuzzFeed reported.
Michael Seto/Ignition 2015
Richmond is known for some sketchy neighborhoods.
Devarajan told us that the company is "proud" that it brought so many jobs to the area and that "Blue Apron has proactively built a relationship with the Richmond Police Department and the local community."
She further said:
"Precisely because Blue Apron takes its employee safety so seriously and has a zero tolerance policy, our local management team will call the police to help investigate any incident big or small such as a verbal threat or physical altercation, or the loss of personal items like a cell phone. Dozens of calls may be logged related to collaboration on any given incident, and many calls could be related to no specific incident at all."
And she added:
"Blue Apron is committed to creating the best possible workplace experience for all of our employees and the safety of our employees and customers has always been our top priority. We have created thousands of jobs across the country and have always promptly addressed any issues we've encountered in any of our facilities. We are proud of the culture we've developed, and work diligently to ensure that all team members – from our corporate headquarters to our fulfillment centers – feel valued, respected and have opportunities for career growth."
NOW WATCH: We tried the Costco food court and it totally blew us away
See Also:
- We tried chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, Burger King, and McDonald's — and the winner is clear
- The New York Times just published some of Donald Trump's 1995 tax records — here's what they reveal
- 'What a nightmare': Top Republicans aren't too happy with the Trump campaign
SEE ALSO: Impoverished people are risking their lives for your smartphone batteries


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capsule review
At a Glance
Generic Company Place Holder HelloWallet
If you need to balance your books but you have trouble finding time to record everything you earn and spend, try Hello Wallet. This free app syncs with online accounts and lets you flag spending as "wish I hadn't," "glad I did," "had to," and so forth, so that you can identify expenditures to eliminate in the future. The site walks you through budget setup and notes how much, on average, other people in your city with your income spend in each expense category.
--Megan Geuss
At a Glance
Generic Company Place Holder HelloWallet
Shop Tech Products at Amazon


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Enjoy the depth and complexity of your favorite cognac in style with these subtly Manhattan-inspired glasses featuring a hand-cut grid pattern. They lend an outspokenly masculine air to any at home bar in fine crystal.
Made in the United States. Designed by Jan Johansson. Set of 2 cognac glasses. Crafted from Crystal.
AHAlife is committed to help you live a conscious and inspired life.
Many of the items you discover here are exclusive to AHAlife, which is what makes our community of designers and artisans so special.
If you find one of our products anywhere else for less than it's being sold on our site, we will match it.
Our dedicated Support Team is here to help. Reach out any time at:


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Today is one of those days when the reins of the number of things I get to cover with work and how my day goes belongs to anyone but me.
After concluding my first meeting – the only detail that worked as planned – the fire alarm goes off and we're immediately told to evacuate the building and stand on the other side of the road.
That took forty five whole minutes.
After I'm back in my chair, I get an email from the company we leased our office space from; saying an end of the year thingy has been planned for all their clients and organized a bus to take us to the location. My colleague – who should deal with this with me – isn't in today, so I had to go alone.
Problems are:
1. I'm clad in a mickey mouse t-shirt and brown pants, totally unfit for anything really, but I HAVE to go.
2. I stick out like a sore thumb when I'm alone in a gathering. Don't do good with mixing and stuff, because, mickey mouse-tshirt-wearing-aunty-is-shy.
So, I'm seated alone at the far corner of the round table, looking ahead and praying it all ends as fast as possible.
In all of this, there's this guy, he keeps giving me the eye and I don't know why!
Weird stuff.
When we're on the way back, he comes over and sits beside me in the bus and we start talking. He's enthusiastic and saying all the funny things and it's so cool.
Then suddenly he asks what university I finished from and what year. Then I say. And he says he went to CU as well, and he's sister was in my set.
I ask for her name. And Dom. Dom. Dom.
She's my cousin!
I'm like we're cousins! – And no, I do not mean those cousins that originate from being from the same village or being neighbours from birth. His mum and my dad are related, somehow.
He's like "huh"
Then I explain the connection – to the best of my knowledge – pointing out mutual family ties to him and he sits there between disappointment and amusement.
So we're seated there, for a long silent while – except he said wow and dammit twice each – wondering.
Very awkward moment, I say.
Note to self:
Know your cousins. And your cousin's cousins. And your father's brother's daughter's baby's pet as well.
*Cue in African mother's voice; you cannot marry her, it's an abomination! Incest! Tufiakwa!!!*
*Fade out*


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Hotels/lodging near Baytown Bark Park are provided in the list below sorted in the order of their distance (closest first). Search for cheap and discount hotel rates near Baytown Bark Park (Baytown Bark Park) for your leisure or groups trips.Baytown Bark Park is located at 4334 Crosby Cedar Bayou. We show the best lodging close to Baytown Bark Park so you can review the discounted Baytown Bark Park stay options below and find the perfect hotel. Need hotel rooms for a group? Book a Baytown Bark Park group hotel deal
How should we direct your call?


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From healthy recipes to cooking tips, Tanya O'Connor MS, shares recipes and information designed to help home child care providers (and everyone else) serve nutritious meals and live healthier lives.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Benefits of Barley
If you have been anywhere near the cereal aisle of your local store lately, you are probably aware that eating oats can help lower your cholesterol. The Quaker Oats company and Cheerios have made this a big part of their marketing campaigns ("Cheerios can reduce your cholesterol" shouts out at you from the Cheerios box. "Unleash the power of the oat" says the Quaker Oats box.) But, something you might not know, is that barley contains the same cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber that oats do (beta-glucan). Recent studies have shown that people who regularly eat barley have the same reductions in LDL ("bad") cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol that oat eaters do.
Barley is a little different than most whole grains because barley contains fiber throughout its entire kernel. (The fiber in most other whole grains is concentrated in the outer bran layer of the grain). So even the processed varieties of barley retain some of the healthy fiber found in whole barley.
Many different forms of barley can be found on your supermarket's shelves. These include whole, pearled, flakes,"quick", grits, and flour. Pearled barley is the most common type of barley. It goes through a "pearling" process in which the hull and bran parts of the grain are removed. Some of the nutrients are lost in the process, but it cooks faster. Whole barley (sometimes called "hulled" or "hull-less" barley) has had the inedible hull removed but retains many more nutrients than pearled barley. The downside is, of course, that it takes much longer to cook.
How to use it?
Barley is a great addition to soups and stews, or it can be used instead of rice in a side dish.
My favorite time saving tip is to cook a big batch of barley and freeze it. It can then be added to soups or casseroles as needed.
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text: The Colorimeter 2 MTCS-C2 color sensor board manufactured by Mazet GmbH includes the true color sensor integrated circuit, signal amplification and processing, a transimpedance amplifier and a microcontroller with a 10-bit A/D converter. A USB interface and PC software that runs under Windows XP calibrate the measuring system on the basis of color targets, control the sensor, and visualize and log measurement values. The board's optical channel is provided with a mechanical aperture to comply with 10° measuring geometry requirements.


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People's Platform Transit News – November 2016
Suburban opposition to the RTA
During a vote to adopt the Regional Master Transit Plan, the RTA's 20 year vision for regional transit, representatives from Macomb and Oakland county, that sit on the RTA Board of Directors, voted against the plan. They did this to increase decision-making power for their counties over funding DDOT/SMART and changes to the plan. They advocated for the creation of a "Financial Allocation Committee" which would pull 1 member from the Board of Directors from each county and Detroit's sole representative. This 5-member body would have say over transit funding split for DDOT and SMART and would make the final decision to changes in routes or other aspects of the Regional Master Transit Plan. The catch is that they would have to vote unanimously on any decision that is presented to this committee, and with Detroit only having 1 representative, this further shifts power to suburbanites, to make decisions that will affect the majority of bus riders that reside in Detroit.
Reasons we remained neutral on the RTA
● Detroiters, especially bus riders, did not have a sufficient voice in the planning process.
● Governance: Detroit only has one representative on the board, we don't have control over the DDOT/SMART funding split. (Very little say in governance and lack of financial control)
● Based on the changes to the Regional Master Transit Plan, the creation of the "Financial Allocation Committee" gave us enough concern about the lack of control and inadequate representation.
● Concern that the RTA wants to act as a competing service provider instead of a transit coordinating authority. Though DDOT would continue to exist as it's own entity, many Detroiters we've spoken to, expressed concern about the elimination of the department and routes that Detroiters use for their daily commute.
● Concern that Detroit's share of taxes raised through the millage would support the QLine (M1-Rail) in 2027 and after.
What are the next steps from the Transit Justice Team?
If the RTA's Regional Master Transit Plan is up for reconsideration, we will advocate that any plan must include Detroiters having a greater say. That means the RTA must offer more opportunities for Detroiters to provide input and foster participation in the planning process. Most importantly, the RTA must make an effort to include improving DDOT service as a main priority, and we seek the elimination of the financial allocation committee – which takes funding power away from Detroit and leave it to the mercy of suburbanite decision-makers.
The lack of adequate public transit in Detroit is a civil rights issue that has been ongoing for far too long. We will continue to organize bus riders around achieving transit justice, to ensure not only Detroiters have a greater say in the Regional Master Transit Plan, but that DDOT must continue to expand and improve service for ALL bus riders in the city, especially for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
We will advocate to build more bus shelters, and upgrade facilities that service bus riders, and to continue to increase frequency, reduce commute times, and to provide better customer service for passengers. With winter on the way, NO bus rider in Detroit should have to endure long waits and long commute times. Transit justice is ensuring that Detroiters can access the vital institutions and be able to move freely around the city and the region.
"All neighborhoods deserve access and quality public transit!"
Join our Movement for Transit Justice!
People's Platform Transit news – November 2016 – More: detroitpeoplesplatform.org


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From Allan Witt:
'Do you like rowing performance with safety and want to enjoy rivers, lakes and coastal waters? Witt Design has a special offer. Allan Witt has finished the design work for two light-weight car-toppable (around 20kg) variations of the well-proven Derwent Skiff. Production of the first 5 finished boats is discounted to $4,950 (Over $1,000 off the expected price). But, the offer expires this Wed 15th! If this might suit you, please contact Allan immediately on 0408 331 510 or firstname.lastname@example.com for full details. FYI, kits will be available too with the first two going to NSW. Witt Design's website is www.rowandsail.com.au'
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