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Pou is tired of his current hairdo. Give him a new one that's completely cool.
How will you stop Pou from getting wet? He's delicate, you know…
Wash with Pou? It's even more fun than it sounds!
Pou's baby is feeling a little bit grumpy. Head to the nursery and find out what's up.
Oh no! Pou is pretty banged up. Let's get her to the hospital and help treat each one of her injuries.
Help turn Pou's frown upside down as he heads to the hospital.
Pancakes are a wonderful and tasty breakfast dish that can be made pretty quickly. Pou is learning how to prepare some in his kitchen this morning and he would like you to walk him through each step in the recipe. He has gathered all of the ingredients and supplies you'll need in this delightful cooking game.
Pou's got a bit of an earache. Better get him to the clinic to have it checked out.
Can you make a tasty pizza with Pou? You don't know until you try!
Pou needs to get his chores done before he can have a fun-filled day down on the farm.
Pou is about to begin an exciting adventure in an enchanted kingdom. Can you help him rescue the princess and get her back to her castle safely in this romantic action game?
It's the last day of classes at this school and the students went totally wild. They really made their classroom dirty and now it's up to Pou (and you too) to clean up their mess. There's tons of wadded up pieces of paper and old pencils that should be placed in the trash container. Can you help Pou tidy everything up in this fun cleaning game?
Pou is stuck up on a tower. Can you get him back down again?
Pou, the crafty (and circular) character from lots of dress up and medical games, is about to begin another adventure in this exciting side-scroller. Join him as he goes on a quest through a dangerous land filled with dinosaurs that would love to turn him into their dinner. Help Pou defeat the dinos while he collects lots of coins in each one of these five levels.
Pou loves a fun bath! Draw a bath with lots of bubbles, add floating toys and then pat her dry. Brush her teeth to make her feel so good to be clean and fresh! Then choose the perfect bedtime outfit for her to snuggle in just before she floats off into dreamland.
Bath time for Pou—let's get Pou super clean!
You've heard of go-karting right but what about Pou Carting? It's quite a bit different. Tag along with Pou as he jumps in his car for an intense highway challenge. Help him avoid the bombs getting thrown at him by this monster while he collects lots of coins along the way. Can you keep Pou safe in this wild driving game?
A baby girl is about to join the Pou family! Help mom Pou pack her bags to get ready for the hospital. Mom and the new baby needs your help to take care of the cute little baby girl. Plant a loving kiss on the cute new baby face because you are such a caring good nurse. The beautiful happy family are so grateful for all your help!
This is a Pou free game! It's time for Pou to delivery delicious candy to his friends! Drive this truck and enjoy all the new items around!
Looks like Pou might need to get some glasses. Let's give him an eye exam to make sure.
It's the season to be jolly! Help Pou bake the perfect Christmas Cake for friends and family to enjoy. This easy step by step guide will get everyone in the happy mood of giving. Decorate your freshly baked cake delight with your own choice of colored icing, patterns and toppings!
Pou had a long day and now he's ready to relax with a gigantic ice cream sundae at his favorite cafe. Which type of dessert should he order though? Should Pou get one with lots of chocolate frosting or pretty sprinkles? What about some super yummy cherries or strawberries? You can place the order for him in this silly food game.
Do you want to be a dentist? Help little Pou with taking care of her teeth. Get that pretty smile bright and healthy again by helping Pou take care of her oral hygiene. Remove the nasty plaque build-up caused by too much bad candy and help repair the broken teeth. Oh Pou, just look at that sweet smile now!
Are you the best babysitter ever? Pou had a great day playing outside but now she is dirty and needs your help. Help her with a fun bath to get her cleaned up and ready for bed. Use the caring grooming products to get rid of all the dirt and let her play with some fun bath toys. Choose a comfy pajama outfit for a bedtime story. Pou just loves dressup. Oh she is just so lucky to have you around to take care of her!
Can you help Pou Girl go from being a nottie to a hottie? She could use some fashion tips.
Pou started out as a virtual pet game for smartphones around the world, and now we're bringing this loveable character for you to play any time, anywhere! And what is Pou, you ask? It's a rounded, triangular alien character whose default color is brown (remind you of anything?). Your job is to feed, clean, exercise, and put your Pou to sleep. So, what are you waiting for? This little guy is ready to be your friend in our fun-filled Pou games for kids.
What do you do if your Pou gets all banged up? Why, take him to the Pou Doctor of course! Let's get him to the hospital and help treat each one of the injuries. And now Pou has an earache! It's off to the Pour Ear Doctor then. But you also have to keep Pou looking great! Now that he's tired of his hairdo, you can give him a cool, new one in Pou: Real Haircuts.
You're also going to need to feed your Pou, and we have Pou cooking games for that! Pou Pizza Chef lets you make a tasty pizza with Pou. What toppings will he choose? And now that Pou's fed, is it time for desert? Pou Ice Cream Shop is his favorite café and lets you prepare a gigantic ice-cream sundae. Which type of dessert should he order? With so much to choose from, he's going to need your help!
Are you ready to take care of your little, brown friend? Well, Pou is ready for you so try our Pou games online!


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All I can say about that is, Thank you, God! The Holidays are so stressful. We started out with Elliott's birth, then Todd's birthday. We followed that up with Christmas, which we were planning on having at Donna's parents, but since her dad had the flu we ended up staying home. We got to see my brothers, his wife and son, and my other brother on Christmas Eve. We actually got to go to our own Church's Christmas Eve mass, which was kind of awesome. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, we had Donna's dad's Christmas Party. Her dad was better by then, and so we all went and had a good time. It turns out that Todd had the flu all that time, and so we ended up making my brother and his family, and then my family in Michigan sick with flu…. Ugh. Then I ended up getting the flu, and so we ended up staying home for New Year's and Preston's birthday… Then we had Christmas with Donna's parents the following weekend. I had a sore throat the entire time…turned out to be strep. We finally all got better. Then we had Elliott's baptism, which was nice, but Russell was a toot for family pictures earlier in the day. Turns out he was getting sick. He had strep the next day. Followed by flu later in the week. And then Preston got the flu and strep at the same time that weekend… Let me just say, this is getting old! Oh, I forgot to say.. Elliott had the flu at around the same time that I did. He actually didn't do too bad with it.
Category: Preston
Long Time, No Updates!
I've been really lazy with my updates this last year. Sorry about that! It's been a pretty interesting year, to say the least. My Father-In-Law had a liver transplant a few weeks ago. That has been a real blessing for our family. He is doing much better than he had been. I've been really excited to see how much he has progressed!
God has really been blessing our family. We were getting a little frustrated with some things at church, and as is our modus operandi, decided to try going back to the Catholic Church. Well our priest at the Orthodox Church, Father Peter, stepped in and set us straight! Instead of running from our problems, he has been helping us talk them out. I am really thankful for him.
Preston and Russell have both continued to serve at the altar at church. Preston has really taken to it! He knows how to do most of the liturgy already, and I've heard him asking to learn how to do other parts! I've been singing for the church choir, with the most important part being the Propers. It has been challenging, stressful, fun, and completely fulfilling!
Todd still doesn't like to eat much (except for candy, bread, and other junk-type food), so he's still a tiny little dude. I'm sure he'll get better, though.
I've started a new diet as of one week ago. My cholesterol has been a bit too high and my doctor keeps wanting me to take statins. I have taken them before and don't like the way they make me feel, so I think I'm going to try taking this low-cholesterol diet thing seriously this time! I've also decided to experiment with going gluten-free. This makes Russie pretty happy. He is glad to not be the only one! Let me tell you, my stomach has felt much better in the last week than it has in years! I'm not sure if it is because of the smaller portions that I've been eating, or the lack of gluten, but whatever it is, I like it… I used to have problems with heartburn almost constantly. I have only had a couple of small episodes of heartburn since I've started my new diet. Yay!!!
Lousy Past Couple of Weeks…
Well, it's Advent now. I normally look forward to Advent because I like to do a devotion as a family. The kids always enjoy it, especially the playing-with-fire part! But it has been a rough start, I'll tell you what! The furnace went out = -$400. The front tires on the van needed to be changed = -$300. And now it seems that Preston's lousy teeth are going to cost us another $200! Poor kid, he got his Mama's teeth… lol
But, despite it all, we're still getting by. And that's what counts. Right?
We Made It Through Lent. Now it's Pascha!
We made it through our first Lent as Orthodox Christians. I can't say we did the greatest job at fasting, but we tried. I think that we did okay, so that's good. I know that I can't expect perfection right at first, but as long as we're constantly improving in our relationship with God I think that we're on the right track.
The boys got to participate in the Paschal procession. Preston was the Holy Torch Bearer (at least, I think that was his title!), and Russell got to carry the Holy Water.
Chrismation Day
We were finally Chrismated in the Orthodox Church today! It is great to finally belong to a church again. I've felt homeless for a while, not being able to take Communion. I'm really excited about being a part of the One, Holy, Apostolic, Catholic, and Orthodox Church. Following the Mass, we had a potluck and all-parish meeting. It has been a great day!
Church, Again…
I know that we've been back and forth over which church to attend for a while. We've been attending (somewhat sporadically, at first) Saint Benedict Antiochian Orthodox Church since January, 2015. Saint Benedict is one of few western rite churches within the whole of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
I think that I have finally found the church that teaches what I believe is the truth in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Like the Roman Catholic Church, it is an ancient church that teaches Scripture and Tradition. But, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, it does not teach what I consider to be excesses – such as papal infallibility. It also doesn't demand scholastic answers for everything like the RCC does. This scholastic reasoning in the RCC has resulted in such teachings as the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mortal/venial sin definitions and requirements, and a host of other things that just about drove me mad during the time I was in the Roman Catholic Church.
It is also different from Confessional Lutheran Churches in significant ways. The Lutheran Church does not teach that Tradition is authoritative, which hardly makes sense since the New Testament didn't even exist in the early days of the Church! The Orthodox Church also teaches free will, unlike the Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church teaches a confusing single-predestination which is best described as follows: If you get to Heaven, it's God's fault; if you go to Hell, it's your fault. Ultimately, nearly all of Lutheran doctrine is affected by this faulty doctrine.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a sacramental church, which I think is a necessity. Like both the RCC and Lutheran Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church believes in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It is apostolic in both senses – bishops ordaining bishops throughout time, and in that it adheres to the apostolic teachings. It is biblical – almost all the liturgy and prayer is taken from scripture.
I'm really excited to be becoming a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. If all goes according to plan, we will all be Chrismated in November, before Advent.
We Made It Up To Michigan, Again!
We made it up to Michigan again this year to visit with my parents. We had a wonderful time! My mom taught Preston how to play Rummikub, and he is pretty good. He was beating all of us! We got to visit with Uncle Gary and Aunt Lorna, Cousin John, and Marissa. Melody and Chad seemed to be doing well, and Grace is a real cutie! We got to see some of the sights – Tawas and River Road, Tahquamenon Falls and Lake Superior, and we even got to see the Chicago skyline on the way up there (I'm never driving that way again…)! We bought some cheese and hiked some trails. We got to see Mama's new church building. All-in-all, it was great!
Weekend Getaway
After a fairly stressful week, I decided I wanted to get away. Years ago, when Donna and I lived in Alabama, we would pack up and drive a few hours, stay at a motel, and just explore the area in which we found ourselves. It's a little more difficult to do that around here, since you really need to drive a lot further in order to get anywhere interesting! So we haven't done that in a long time. Well, this past weekend was the one. I just had to decide where to go…. It was going to be a warm, but really windy weekend. I figured east would be the way to go, since I could get to the woods, right? But then, at the last minute, I decided to go west to Carlsbad Caverns. The wind wouldn't bother us underground!
We left on Friday after work and drove to Lubbock where we stayed the night at a nice Holiday Inn Express. The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. They had the greatest breakfast ever! Freshly made pancakes, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, eggs, bagels, sausage, cereal, yogurt, several different kinds of coffees, and juice. Yum! We left from there and drove the rest of the way to the cave.
We decided to go down through the natural entrance. The cave was absolutely stunning! The trail was very steep, winding for about 1.25 miles down 750 feet, or, as the park ranger said, the equivalent of a 75 story building! I had to carry Todd most of the way. He walked some, and Donna gave me a (very) short break. Preston and Russell were troopers, and made it down all by themselves! By the time we made it down to the bottom, where the restrooms were, my arm and legs were killing me! We didn't make the tour of the Big Room, which was a little disappointing, but I suppose that gives us an excuse to go back!
We drove all the way home that evening, hitting a skunk in the process. We all piled out of our stinky van and went to bed at 12:30 am Sunday morning. And yes, we did make it to church later that day!
Once I get my pictures off the camera, I'll add a few to this post.
Holliday First United Methodist Church
Donna and I decided to start attending church closer to home. While we weren't unhappy with Our Redeemer, we were just getting exhausted going into Wichita Falls so much. We also felt that it would be nice to begin getting to know some people in Holliday. We officially joined Holliday First United Methodist Church on October 5th. Donna and I both are in the choir, which we enjoy. The boys have Sunday School or nursery and they seem to enjoy it. It is really nice to not have to go to a restaurant afterwards on Sunday, too. It only takes a couple of minutes to get home, so we can eat there if we want to! All in all, I think it is a good move for us. We really look forward to getting to know our new church home!
The Trip to Michigan Was Amazing!
We all had an amazing time on our trip to Michigan! It was wonderful to be able to see my mom and dad again. It was also the first time I'd gotten to meet my brother-in-law Chad. He is a great guy. Melody is lucky! Little Grace is very cute, a really sweet girl. We also got to visit with Uncle Gary and Aunt Lorna, Uncle John, and Uncle Mike and Aunt Ida.
We did tons of exploring, including visiting Tawas Point and its lighthouse, River Road and Lumberman's Monument, Hartwick Pines, a little zoo (slightly more than a petting zoo!), Sleeping Bear Dunes, and another lighthouse at Point Betsie (near Frankfort). We got to do a lot, but we also got to relax a lot, so it was really nice. Plus, we saw the best Fourth of July fireworks I've ever seen! They were amazing!
We've been home for a couple of weeks now, and I do miss family. But it is great to be home, getting back into our routines!

subset: commoncrawl


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VI's Financial Services under threat again
The matter was raised recently when VI's Financial Investigation Agency's (FIA), Interim Acting Director Mr Alcedo D. Fahie, examined the 2018 allocations for the entity with the House of Assembly's Standing Finance Committee.
Mr Fahie told the Committee Members of an imminent mutual evaluation of the Territory in 2019, by the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce (CFATF) to evaluate its regime under its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT).
The VI's FIA is expected to be the lead agency in for the Territory for the evaluation but according to Fahie, "It is his belief, that FIA will not be able to meet their entire obligation that were planned, if they are not able to receive the entire Budget that was requested."
The Interim Acting Director stated that he had a standing issue with the allocation for FIA—FIA's original budget submitted was for $2.4 million. The Agency, under the Deputy Governor's Office, has instead received an approved $1.6 million grant in the 2018 budget estimates.
Critical Role
The Agency is expected to, ahead of the evaluation; reach out to all non-financial business and business professional, all financial industry practitioners including all persons in the Territory.
The VI, as a CFATF member undergoes a series of rounds of mutual evaluation, with the Territory's AML/CFT's laws and the effectiveness under review
As such, the FIA plays a critical role in the evaluation process since it is the key agency that receives and evaluates suspicious reports in addition to serving as the regulator for the designated non-financial businesses and professions, as well as nonprofit organisations.
Other entities that would be involved in the mutual evaluation include the Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Office, the International Tax Authority, and Financial Services Commission as the Financial Services regulator and other law enforcement agencies such as the Courts, Police, Customs, and Immigration.
A failure on the part of the VI to successfully meet with the CFATF requirements could see the country being 'blacklisted' and could find itself facing additional economic pressures and obligations.
5 Responses to "VI's Financial Services under threat again"
Dim Sum (26/06/2018, 12:23) Like (13) Dislike (3) ReplyJust goes to show the level of true commitment that these guys have towards accountability!! Cut the budget by $800k and fully we'll know that a critical assessment is on the radar - BS! What does the Premier LS have to say about this? Oh snap she is traveling 1st class on BVi taxpayers dime to sip champagne and further enrich herself on our collective backs! How come the new NDP leader didn't see this as an issue and made his usual noise? Priorities priorities priorities - NDP have zero, zilch, nada - apart from self-praises and personal enrichment!
123 (26/06/2018, 12:58) Like (3) Dislike (5) Replythought we had no money laundering yall
The TRUTH (26/06/2018, 19:37) Like (1) Dislike (2) ReplyYou guys live in denial and don't have the mental capacity to handle what is coming down on us. You are about to pay the price of the Kool Aid you have been drinking. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Me (26/06/2018, 20:01) Like (0) Dislike (1) Replythe 'money laundering' label is just used to bully and invade peoples' privacy and target people deemed
'undesirable' - it is a vague term to simply cause someone or something or some territory, problems. this was
done to me after i moved to the BVI by a famous bank claiming they were looking for laundered money in my
pissant checking account here. If this was caused by some overbearing Caribbean organization as well as the
bank here itself and the filthy lieing BVI government itself, then maybe something very military will be done in
retaliation. Bullying some foreigner who merely moved to this region and merely opened a checking account at
a bank with branches throughout the Caribbean - is really asking for it. I'm sure the US President and others
concerned with the well being of Americans abroad also share the concern. Cut the crap and let people live.
Don't mess with this one.
BRAD BOYNES (27/06/2018, 10:57) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply"Other entities that would be involved in the mutual evaluation include the Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Office, the International Tax Authority, and Financial Services Commission as the Financial Services regulator and other law enforcement agencies such as the Courts, Police, Customs, and IMMIGRATION."
HMM. There's is only one immigration officer who was trained to partake in this coming up agender in 2019. Guess who.???? Shame.


text: Just wrote a simple sliding box script to make a message box appear sliding from left to the middle of web page. The box appears once a day. The first appearance is logged into a browser cookie, so if user opens the same website and if cookie was expired it appears again. Continue reading


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Monday, June 15, 2015
Race relations: Are we more "enlightened" these days?
The Left are culturally triumphant in America today. They worked tirelessly for their dominance and they have won it. Anger is a great motivator, it seems. Conservative values have few champions outside the more evangelical churches. The media, bureaucracy, schools and colleges are a Leftist monoculture. And the Left are convinced that their ideas have made America much more enlightened than it was. If it weren't for those goddam conservatives, America would be a wonderland of right-thinking with no dissent allowed.
Is there any truth in that? I can't see it. With the vast anti-white hostility whipped up among blacks by the Left, it seems to me that race war is restrained only by the impossibility of it succeeding.
So how does that compare with the past? In the Jim Crow era, blacks walked very gingerly through life. Not only being aggressive but even being "uppity" could earn a black the rope on some occasions. So an enforced racial peace prevailed, with levels of black crime much lower than today -- particularly black-on-white crime.
But nobody these days would advocate a return to Jim Crow. So is there a better model of modern-day multiculturalism than what prevails today? Is there a better model in the past? There is. I was there. I grew up in an exceptionally multicultural society that was also as peaceful as any. It was an unwitting and unintended natural experiment that does, I think, tell us a lot. It's something that took place in Australia but the similarities between Australia and the USA are great -- great enough to permit generally safe generalizations from one to the other.
I grew up in the '40s and '50s in Innisfail (which is actually a romantic term for Ireland -- and a lot of us did have some Irish blood. I do). And for reasons that need not detain us, the small population there (c. 7000) had quite amazing racial diversity. About 50% of the population were Anglo-Celtic and another 30% were Italian but the rest almost covered the racial spectrum: Indians, Chinese, Maltese, Spaniards, Greeks, Russians, Danes, Aborigines etc. But there were no Muslims or Africans.
So what were race-relations like? Generally civil. We Anglos were shocked to see Italian men wearing pointy shoes but I doubt that anyone ever mentioned it to them. And we got gelato long before anybody else in Australia did. There was grumbling among the Anglos about "wops" and "dagoes" and in her youth my mother was threatened by her father that he would disown her if she married an Italian.
But within-group grumbles were just about it. There was no real aggression from either side. The Italians and Spanish grew rich farming sugarcane and the Greeks opened the only cafe in town (the "Bluebird"). And very popular it was. And a Dane sold us milk straight from the cow (quite illegally). It was not paradise. Drunken deeds happened there. My own father was something of a king-hitter if someone disrespected him when he had been drinking. But people mainly mixed socially in their own ethnic groups. The men floored by my father were Anglo-Celtic men much like him.
So it was a normal Australian country town much like any other despite it phenomenal ethnic mix. There was real behavioural tolerance there even if the language among friends left something to be desired. A man who decried "dagoes" in private would be just as polite in any dealings he had with Italians as he would be with anyone else. The speech did not matter. The current Leftist hysteria about "incorrect" speech was unknown and unimagined.
So it is perfectly possible for a heavily multicultural society to be perfectly civil and free of inter-group aggression. No society will ever be perfectly peaceful or just but stress-free multiculturalism is possible.
So the Left have wrought a great evil by their constant preaching that black failure is due to white prejudice. Who can blame blacks for taking that as read and becoming angered by it? The whole Leftist agenda of "affirmative action" screams that blacks are being unfairly treated and that government has to step in to right a wrong. But affirmative action is just racism hiding behind an anodyne name and its fruit -- hate -- is the typical fruit of racism.
The only message coming from government about race should be that blacks are better than whites at some things and whites are better than blacks at some other things. Any other message destroys social peace.
So from my perspective the present is not enlightened at all. It is endarkened, if I may coin a word.
Uncritical praise of a recently deceased British Liberal party leader
Being a liberal is an asset even when you are dead. This is reminiscent of the praise poured out when the disgusting Ted Kennedy died
Occasionally, something happens in public life that leaves you stroking your head. How can you be the only one not to share in the general emotion? The death of Charles Kennedy, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has had that reaction on me. I wonder, if I died, would people crawl out of the woodwork to praise me, people who did not have a good word for me in my lifetime? Is it wrong to "defame" the dead? Or is it wrong to engage in this horrible mawkish pretence that anyone who dies was an asset to the country?
Parliament–clearly a body that has spare time on its hands–has paused to hold tributes to Kennedy. One Lib Dem MP besmirched the dignity of Parliament by declaiming in the House that Kennedy's 10-year-old son, Donald, should be "really proud of [his] Daddy". But this man was no stateman. He was neither Churchill nor Thatcher. If he had worthwhile achievements to his name, I am not aware of them.
Having becoming leader of the Lib Dems, he was forced to resign in 2006 as a drunkard. His marriage failed as a result of the drink, and so the son, who seems to have been reinvented as a political prop, did not have a functional family, being brought up by his mother in the family home while Kennedy lived elsewhere. Should young Donald be proud of such a father?
As a Liberal Democrat, Charles Kennedy supported rule by an international bureaucracy based in Belgium. He backed detailed regulation of the economy by Westminster bureaucrats. He supported mass immigration, and controls on free speech, freedom of association and so on that flow from the creation of a multicultural society. He backed high taxation and high state spending.
In short, Kennedy was a not a liberal in the 19th-century meaning of the term, and was yet another tired supporter of state power and the long arm of the unaccountable civil service. For this, he was about to be "ennobled" and thus appointed to the House of Lords–quite an inappropriate reaction to a failed politician's defeat at the polls.
Kennedy was not all bad–nobody is–and did oppose the Iraq War in a rare display of good political judgement. However, he was not a man who deserved Parliamentary plaudits and not a husband, son or father of whom anyone could be proud. Do we have to take part in the pretence that he was one of our greatest politicians ever?
Even Hitler and Mussolini did not try to control what you eat and drink
San Francisco supervisors have approved three proposals that take aim at sodas and other sugary drinks.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in favor Tuesday of three measures dealing with soda consumption - just seven months after voters rejected a proposed tax on sweetened beverages.
According to KRON-TV, the "Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Warning Ordinance" would require health warnings on advertising within city limits — on billboards, walls and the sides of buses.
The label would read: "WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco."
Another proposal prohibits soda ads on city-owned property, much like San Francisco does with tobacco and alcohol.
The third measure approved prohibits city funds from being used to buy soda or other sugar-sweetened drinks.
"This is a very important step forward in terms of setting strong public policy around the need to reduce consumption of sugary drinks; they are making people sick, they're helping fuel the explosion of Type 2 diabetes and other health problems in adults and in children," said Supervisor Scott Wiener, according to KRON.
Roger Salazar, a spokesman for CalBev, the state's beverage association, said, "It's unfortunate the Board of Supervisors is choosing the politically expedient route of scapegoating instead of finding a genuine and comprehensive solution to the complex issues of obesity and diabetes."
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee hasn't taken a public position on the proposals. They are set to come up for another vote before becoming law
Freeman by name; ignorant, illiberal prick by nature
A British libertarian scarifies some conventional wisdom
George Freeman MP—who is, apparently, some kind of minister for the life sciences in this exciting new Tory government—has been spouting some ignorant bullshit at the Hay Festival.
Mr Freeman told an audience at the Hay Festival that it was clear that sugary drinks and snacks were behind the worsening obesity epidemic in Britain. "I don't think heavy-handed legislation is the way to go," he said.
Well, that's very kind of you, Mr Freeman. It's a great pity that the "obesity epidemic" is, by and large, a load of old bollocks—with researchers predicting some kind of lard-arse armageddon that has, consistently, failed to materialise (a bit like climate change, really).
But George thinks that it is a crisis and—perhaps whilst he was obtaining his degree in Geography—it looks like he once heard someone explain Pigou taxes.
"But I think that where there is a commercial product which confers costs on all of us as a society, as in sugar, and where we can clearly show that the use of that leads to huge pressures on social costs, then we could be looking at recouping some of that through taxation.
"Companies should know that if you insist on selling those products, we will tax them."
George's trouble is, of course, that we can NOT "clearly show that the use of [sugar] leads to huge pressures on social costs".
What we can show, in fact, is that calorie consumption has fallen rapidly throughout the century—to the point that the average adult's intake is now below the recommended intake during war-time rationing.
The human body, as an energy machine is pretty simple: if you burn more calories through activity than you consume, then you will lose weight—and vice versa. And given what we know about these two factors (neatly summarised in this excellent IEA monograph by Chris Snowdon), there really can only be one conclusion:
* All the evidence indicates that per capita consumption of sugar, salt, fat and calories has been falling in Britain for decades. Per capita sugar consumption has fallen by 16 per cent since 1992 and per capita calorie consumption has fallen by 21 per cent since 1974.
* Since 2002, the average body weight of English adults has increased by two kilograms. This has coincided with a decline in calorie consumption of 4.1 per cent and a decline in sugar consumption of 7.4 per cent.
The rise in obesity has been primarily caused by a decline in physical activity at home and in the workplace, not an increase in sugar, fat or calorie consumption.
So, once more we are forced to wheel out the Polly conundrum: is George Freeman MP ignorant or lying?
When was the Best Time to be Alive?
Richard Blake
As an historical novelist, I am often asked when was the best time to be alive. My readers expect me to say 7th century Byzantium or 17th century London, or some other time I write about. My answer, though, without a moment's hesitation, is now. The present has its ugly side, no doubt. But no one in his right mind, who is not already dying, should ever want to live two weeks before now, let alone two centuries.
Let us take the ancient world. I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about it. I would like to see it. But would I want to live there? Certainly not. My readers who fantasise about living there always imagine they will be in the higher classes. Well, the higher classes were never more than half of one per cent of ancient populations. Those living in the cities were never more than five per cent. The other 95 per cent lived and worked on the land. They were usually slaves or serfs, or otherwise unfree. They hardly ever cooked or bathed. Their work was backbreaking. Even without banditry and famines and plagues to carry them off, their life expectancy at birth was about thirty.
Look now at the cities. Perhaps one in twenty of those living there were in easy circumstances. The rest were effectively beggars. Their life expectancy was lower than in the country. Or look at the higher classes. They had baths and slaves and pretty clothes. But they had no tea or coffee or proper dentistry, nor any effective pain relief. They had no spectacles. When the black rats turned up with their fleas carrying the Pasteurella pestis bacillus, the rich died just as horribly as the poor.
Let me now look at my own experience. I have reached the age of 55 in apparently good health and with most of my teeth. But I had a bicycle accident when I was 18. This was nothing serious at the time, and the bruising soon cleared up. In my middle twenties, though, I noticed I had increasing difficulty with passing water. I ignored this, until the difficulty became alarming. I then went to my doctor, who referred me to the local hospital. There, I was anaesthetised and carried into a clean operating theatre. Ten minutes with a surgical pipe cleaner, and I was carried back to my bed. I was in hospital for three days. I came out with the problem sorted, and it has never re-turned.
Carry me back to a time as recent as the 19th century. What then? Well, the constriction was unlikely to have killed me outright. But it would have led to repeated bladder infections. One of these would have reached my kidneys, and I would probably have died in my early thirties. I would have died in pain, and been put into my coffin already a shrivelled skeleton.
Or I look at my own family. My wife would have died in childbirth, my daughter with her. If she had survived all her other problems, my mother would certainly have died last February. As it is, she is back home and moving about. My mother-in-law would have died five years ago of a blocked intestine. Or my best friend would have died in 1983 of a bad appendix.
Rather than tell ourselves how much better things were in the past, let us recognise how lucky we are to live in the present. The only better time to be alive than the present is surely the future – and many of us have an excellent chance of seeing that.
For more blog postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, and Paralipomena (Occasionally updated) and Coral reef compendium. (Updated as news items come in). GUN WATCH is now mainly put together by Dean Weingarten. I also put up occasional updates on my Personal blog and each day I gather together my most substantial current writings on A WESTERN HEART.
List of backup or "mirror" sites here or here -- for when blogspot is "down" or failing to update. Email me here (Hotmail address). My Home Pages are here (Academic) or here (Pictorial) or here (Personal)
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David Allen's productivity system, GTD (standing for Getting Things Done), continues to be more and more popular. If you are all at interested in being more productive, than likely you've heard of this already. I follow it myself, using emacs and org-mode. Well, actually, when I say I follow it, I currently only follow part of it, because part of it is just not useful.
There are a few key concepts in GTD, but the most often applied are next actions, contexts, and weekly reviews. I think that next actions are an important concept. The general idea is that in your todo list you break down tasks to a level that each are simple and directly actionable with no planning or meta-level thinking required. One of these is your next action, which is the very next thing you have to do to move your project forward. This is a cool thing, because it forces your tasks to be of the correct granularity. Also, most GTD software will show you all your next actions, so that you can see what you have to work on. Once you complete one next action, the next todo item will become a next action. For example, if your project is to fix a bug, then the next action here is to attempt to reproduce the problem locally.
Actually, this concept is slightly simplistic. Sometimes your project can have several next actions. If your project is to launch a new feature, then you might have several next actions, one to write the introduction and high level overview of a design document, the other is to send out a mail to your manager asking who could possibly be allocated to work on this feature. A good GTD system should let you mark items as next actions arbitrarily. org-mode does this, which is one of the reasons I like it.
Another key concept of GTD is the weekly review, which means that you update your tasks and take time to plan new ones. Good advice. I have nothing to add to it.
Finally, GTD has the notion of contexts, which are the bread-and-butter of most GTD apps. Contexts represent some state in which your actions are performed. One obvious place for contexts is for direct communication with someone. You might have several projects that have an action that requires you to talk to your project manager. You can associate those tasks with a context, and now you have a context that you look at to before you go speak to the project manager, to see all the appropriate tasks. Then when you go talk with them, you have a list of things to ask them.
Sounds vaguely useful. And that's the problem. For software engineers and other types of knowledge workers, we just don't have a lot of context. We are pretty well connected. Usually things that can be done at work in front of our workstation can also be done at home, through VPN. I find that most of my actions are to be done in front of my workstation, so the vast majority of my tasks have the context of the workstation. What I find useful is to not use contexts for these tasks, since they all have a default obvious context. I use it only for person-related contexts (such as the context for my project manager in my example). And even then it's only somewhat useful. It's possible that I could start doing work on my subway ride, in which case that is a useful context. The problem would be that things done on the subway is a subset of things I can do at work. Here again the concept of rigid contexts doesn't work. So when I'm at my workstation, every task if fair game. If I'm somewhere specialized, a specific context may come in handy. But, ultimately, for most modern "knowledge-workers", contexts are not something we should be spending a lot of time thinking about.
With contexts, org-mode again comes in handy. It's not a real GTD app, so it doesn't insist on contexts. It just lets you tag items, and those tags are your contexts. So you can put things in multiple contexts, or none. The tags inherit. I think it's really perfect flexible solution for the modern GTD user. Next post I'll detail exactly how I use it and give some customizations.


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A piece for The Hollywood Reporter on whether Los Angeles-set movies like 'La La Land' have a hometown advantage come Oscar Season.
AD: Kelsey Stefanson
Several pieces to accompany the '2016 Gift Guide' for The Village Voice.
AD: Ashley Smestad-Velez
A piece to accompany the '2016 Charity Guide' for The Village Voice.
AD: Ashley Smestad-Velez
A map for a fun travel piece profiling the vibrancy and history you can experience while exploring Vienna for Selamta Magazine.
AD: Seth Nickerson
A piece for The Boston Globe Magazine about a woman who wishes her grown children would turn to her for advice instead of the internet.
AD: Michelle Lee
A project for The Corporate Knights '30 Under 30 In Sustainability' issue where each of the profiled winners were illustrated for the interior feature and additionally displayed on the cover.
AD: Jack Dylan
A limited edition screen printed poster commissioned by The Polaris Music Prize 2016 for the very talented Basia Bulat.
AD: The Office of Gilbert Li/The Polaris Music Prize
A private commission for the nursery of a pretty special baby with an American dad and a Canadian mom.
A piece for Quill & Quire to accompany an article discussing the problems with reissuing historical Canadian literary works when they often contain very outdated and racist language and ideas.
AD: Erin McPhee
A piece for U of T magazine discussing the culture of gaining celebrity through social media and profiling 6 different creators who have attained popularity through their diverse feeds.
AD: Alina Skyson/The Office of Gilbert Li
A half page and a spot for The Hollywood Reporter to accompany an article about the popularity of trying to achieve "resting rich face" through cosmetic procedures.
AD: Fah Sakharet
A piece for the New York Times Book Review to accompany a review of Eileen Pollack's novel 'A Perfect Life'.
AD: Matt Dorfman
A cover and some interior spots for the Valentine's Day issue of Chicago Reader to the theme of Love: It's Complicated.
AD: Paul Higgins
A series of illustrations for the annual 'The 10 Issue' of mental_floss magazine, including 10 quirky families that still rule the world, 10 times connecting the dots went awry, 10 ways the bicycle moved us forward and a series of spots.
AD: Lucy Quintanilla
A recent self-portrait detailing some of my favourite things - except for the garbage, that's just unavoidable.
A personal piece exploring the future of merging biology with technology.
A motivational wallpaper background on the theme of work.
A portrait of one of my favourite and most notable fashion icons Iris Apfel.
A visual ode to that pink meat in a can and its many possible uses, most likely coming to a restaurant-of-the-moment near you.
A piece for Corporate Knights to accompany an article calling for more female representation at the executive level in the corporate world and a couple of extra iterations I took to final.
AD: Jack Dylan
An ongoing series of illustrated life goals aimed at people looking for more realistic expectations of themselves.
A piece for Corporate Knights to accompany an article profiling BMW for garnering the top spot on their annual Global 100 index of the most sustainable companies.
AD: Jack Dylan
The Big Bang is commonly and falsely believed to be the beginning of all existence. Scientists continue to look for answers about what existed previously to this universe forming event.
A young, modern, highly instagrammable hippie couple on their first family road trip, crystals and all.


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Every couple of years supporters of candidates who are not from the ruling duopoly are inundated with claims that their vote is "wasted." The vast majority of people who perpetuate the so-called "wasted vote theory" believe that a vote for someone who finishes second in the race was not wasted, but a vote for any candidate outside of the top two is somehow a wasted vote.
I'm a big advocate of voting for the candidate with whom you most agree, and not allowing yourself to be caught up in the urge to vote for the lesser evil out of a fear of "wasting your vote." However, let's take another look at the facts and figure out if your vote actually matters.
A quick glance at the 2012 Presidential election shows Barack Obama with almost 5 million more votes nationally than Mitt Romney. Since those votes were more than the margin of victory, it could be argued that those votes for Obama were "wasted" as they did not directly help elect a candidate. However, since the President is not elected by direct popular vote, one needs to take a closer look at the votes to determine how many votes were "wasted" based on this broader definition. Since the Electors are determined on a state-by-state basis, one needs to look at those results to determine how many votes cast for the winning candidate in that state (or in the case of Maine & Nebraska, in the Congressional District) did not directly help a candidate win an Electoral Vote. Barack Obama easily won the popular vote in California, among other states, with over 3 million "extra" votes in California alone, and almost 2 million such votes in New York. Mitt Romney had a 1.2 million vote margin of victory in Texas. All-in-all 18.5 million votes cast for either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney were not needed to secure an Electoral Vote.
In terms of raw votes, New Hampshire had the closest margin of victory at 39,643 votes, with fewer than 12,000 voters casting a ballot for someone other than a duopoly candidate. And Florida was the only state in 2012 in which more voters cast a vote for a minor party or independent candidate than the margin of victory; those 90,000 Florida voters no more wasted their vote than the 74,000 Obama voters who put Obama over the margin of victory. In terms of percentage of voters, 14.38% of those who voted for either Obama or Romney, essentially wasted their vote – something they oft accuse supporters of minor party and independent candidates of doing. None of this number-crunching takes into consideration the number of votes in Congressional or statewide races that did not help elect a candidate, or help a party obtain/retain ballot access.
None of this should be interpreted to mean your vote doesn't count, obviously the votes are counted. This number-crunching means there is a pretty good chance that your vote will not be the vote that decides an election. With this in mind, if/when you walk into the voting booth on Tuesday I ask you to ask yourself this question: Are you casting a ballot for the candidates who best represent you, or are you voting for the lesser evil?


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This weekend many of our ladies will be spending time together, away from their usual responsibilities and activities. For but a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things, they will 'retreat' for focused learning, fellowship, growing, eating, praying, and playing. They retreat seeking to be re-invigorated, re-calibrated, and refreshed for what they will face as they return to the day-to-day. And they do so all for God's glory and honor, as well as for their joy which in turn also brings God glory!
A few things I'd like to remind all of us to do in light of this wonderful opportunity:
Let's remember to pray for our sisters.
Let's pray for salvation for those who may not know the redemption of Christ and sanctification for those that do.
Let's pray that existing relational bonds would be strengthened, new friendships formed, and strained relationships healed and reconciled.
Let's pray for their speaker, Anna Moore from North Shore Baptist Church, as she shares wisdom and insight gleaned from a lifetime of being a God-fearing wife (a pastor's wife), mother (and now grandmother!), and a sister to many.
Let's help make their time away, and even the thought of being away, anxiety/stress-free. Sure, we're culpable for our sins of worrying and unbelief. But certainly there are outside factors that push such things out of their/our hearts. Don't be that factor.
Brothers and husbands, let's support them in this and really seek to serve them before, during, and after the retreat. Help them pack for the retreat by caring for the kiddies. Why not grab some takeout and bring it home to free them up from tonight's dinner prep? Ok...too late for that now but you get the drift, right?
Take them by the hand tonight and pray with them and remind them of your love and the Savior's love. Be a blessing to your wife and bless her as she goes to the retreat. When your wives or sisters return, ask them what they learned and what they especially enjoyed during the retreat. In doing so, you will help make the retreat more than just a momentary spiritual 'high.'
If you're tempted to think, "hey, it's only an overnight," don't. You may not realize how much work is entailed in organizing such an outing. A few of the ladies have already done much of the heavy lifting in terms of retreat preparation (great thanks to Liz, Kristina, Delimar, Diane, and others!) so let's lessen their load by helping in whatever possible way we can.
My hopes are that they would go expecting much from the God who is faithful and true. May they (and we) remember the God who vows to finish the amazing work He's begun in their lives. I have no doubt this retreat will be used for the progressive, inward sanctification of our MGFL sisters.
~Pastor Won
*If there is anyone who is on the fence about attending the retreat, please just go. Please do not risk what you may miss out on. And it certainly isn't too late to invite someone who may need to hear wonderful Gospel-centered teaching (I have read the session titles/themes and materials, and I so wish I could go!). Register here.
**If there is any circumstance or need (e.g. lack of childcare) that is preventing you from attending, please let me/us know.


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with Smiling Hara Tempeh | Jubilee Community Classroom | Asheville NC
Join me, Smiling Hara Tempeh, and Miso Master for a class on incorporating cultured foods into your diet in a way that is convenient for you. I'll be focusing on cultured vegetables, and provide an introduction to the benefits and awesome science of fermentation. I'll do a live demo of traditional sauerkraut, throw some funkier and unexpected veggies in the crock, and also dish out ideas for how fermentation can make you a better, thriftier cook.


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More online retailers are now beginning to offer more flexibility in their delivery options, such as next-day and Saturday delivery.
According to the new E-commerce Retail Delivery Report from Snow Valley, 64% of the retailers studied provide choices for customers about when the delivery
would arrive.
However, a lot of online retailers still have some way to go to offer the kind of flexibility that online shoppers would like.
Delivery options
Just 14.4% of etailers offered the choice of a specific delivery date, while only 15% provided customers with the option of a specified time slot, many of which were grocery retailers.
Offering to deliver items on a particular days can be a compelling
prospect for customers, who may be either be impatient to get hold of their
purchases, or else have work commitments that mean they cannot wait in all day for delivery.
Providing more flexibility around delivery gives etailers the chance to appeal to more potential customers, and can also be a persuasive sales tool.
Interestingly, more of the (larger) retailers on the Hitwise Hot 100 list offered flexible delivery options. 36% offered a specific time slot, while 53% provided a Saturday delivery option, though there are options for smaller multichannel retailers, such as the recently launched Shutl.
One trend spotted by the report was that, since more etailers are now offering free delivery to appeal to more cost-conscious shoppers, and subsidising this with the more expensive premium options like next day and named day delivery.
Delivery information
When reviewing e-commerce sites, one thing I often pick out is the lack of clear delivery information that is provided to customers.
The cost of delivery, as well as the different options available, is something that forms part of the customer's purchase decision, so this should be easy to access.
According to the report, all but one of the retailers studied included a link to the delivery information on the homepage, though links weren't always clearly labelled, with many retailers placing this information under a 'help' link, where customers could easily miss it.
More retailers than last year are placing delivery charges on product pages, with 34.9% placing the charge or a link to it on the product page, while 32.5% showed this information on the shopping basket summary page.
However, 30.1% wait until customers have entered the checkout process before supplying this information, though this figure dropped to 16.7% for the retailers from the Hitwise Hot 100 list.
The report sets out possible reasons for this; not wanting to deter customers early in the process, needing to know full order details before calculating charges, and waiting until the customer choose one of the delivery options.
The first approach is unwise, as people will just drop out later in the process if they feel that the charges are too steep, while with the latter two approaches, retailers are taking the risk that customers will not get as far as the checkout in the first place, especially if they have to register or fill in too many details before the charges are shown.
Far better to set out the various charges for different delivery times and product types, so the customer knows what to expect earlier in the process, and is less likely to bail before reaching the checkout.


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Founded in 1729 and named after Lord Baltimore (aka Cecilius Calvert), the city began as a thriving port and quickly grew into an industrial powerhouse. Ensuing decades brought ups and downs, but recent years have seen the Mid-Atlantic city transform into a fascinating mix of old and new. A stroll through the neighborhoods feels like a walk through time, with 18th-century taverns on cobblestone streets and Gilded Age mansions giving way to modern towers of glass and steel. Yes, gritty pockets exist, but revitalized waterfront zones, lore-rich historic sections and down-to-earth enclaves in between provide a more comprehensive picture. With photogenic waterfront paths and a plethora of parks, spring and fall are lovely times to take in all that Charm City has to offer. Summer hits the height of activity with plenty to see and do. Winter brings frigid temperatures and snow, but fewer crowds plus ice-skating at the Inner Harbor and a "miraculous" holiday light display in Hampden.
An aristocrat may have planted the seed from which "Bawlmer" grew, but Baltimore has since sprouted more down-to-earth roots. The fruit of this urban expansion? A friendly, laid-back vibe and a quirky spirit, famously captured by filmmaker and native, John Waters. The unofficial mascot could be the "hon," a retro, blue-collar gal decked out in beehive and cat's eye glasses calling everyone the term of endearment for which she's named. Thanks to author residents like Edgar Allan Poe, H.L. Mencken and Tom Clancy, Baltimoreans are a literary bunch, too. Far from bookish, however, locals like to have fun, often in unconventional ways. Travelers shouldn't be surprised if a visit coincides with streets full of wacky sculptures on wheels (Kinetic Sculpture Race) or a harbor full of "pirates" (Privateer Festival).
With more public tributes per capita than any other municipality in the United States, "monumental city" makes a worthy destination for history buffs. After all, this is the site of the first Washington Monument (whose cornerstone was laid decades before that of D.C.'s) and where Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's also a sports-obsessed town, with two top pro teams—MLB's Orioles and NFL's Ravens—inspiring die-hard devotion across the city. At the Inner Harbor, visitors delight in (and even touch!) marine life inside the National Aquarium and climb aboard historic ships. Art lovers admire what is considered to be the largest assemblage of Henri Matisse in the world at the Baltimore Museum of Art and wonder at eye-opening "outsider" art like no other at the American Visionary Art Museum. And of course, foodies savor the quintessential experience—cracking steamed crabs with local beers while overlooking harbor views.
Many visitors start their exploration at the Inner Harbor, a waterfront zone bustling with attractions, familiar restaurants and shops. To the east, lively taverns and storefronts full of local color line Thames Street in Fells Point, once home to abolitionist Frederick Douglass, while the scent of Old World cooking tempts taste buds in Little Italy. North of downtown, leafy Mount Vernon draws visitors with lovely 19th-century architecture, fine restaurants and many cultural institutions. Farther north, pink plastic lawn flamingoes signal Hampden, where indie boutiques and buzz-worthy restaurants entice hipsters and seasoned travelers alike.


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Sunday, November 08, 2009
Is There a Doctor Economist in the House?
Is breast cancer (or any cancer) curable?
The reason I ask is because, sure enough as I'm going to the hardware store, there at Caribou Coffee is in great bright pink letters, "Amy's Blend NOW AVAILABLE!!!!"
Amy being an unfortunate young woman who died of breast cancer whilst under the employ of Caribou.
The reason I ask is because like Africa, like poverty, like any other noble charity, how many billions/trillions have been spent to no avail? We cure polio, malaria, etc., etc., in relatively short order once we dedicated ourselves to it, but as time goes on, I am more and more suspicious as to whether cancer CAN be cured, or whether this is just another tragedy being taken advantage of by unscrupulous people looking to avoid real work.
So if there are any medical/biological/doctor like Cappy Cap readers that can attest to whether the cure for cancer is possible or just a scam to raise money for professional crusaders and make more coffee sales for Caribou, I would certainly appreciate it.
17 comments:
There is always a chance that any cancer can come back. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago (and did the treatments - so far, so good)so I've talked to a few doctors on the matter. So I'm told, you are considered "cured" after you die from something else. Until then, there is always a risk it will come back and kill you.
Not a doctor, nor an economist, so buyer beware.
I believe the medical profession considers cancer to be "cured" after 5 years of being cancer-free. Cancer-free meaning there are no detectable cancer cells in the body.
The standard treatment options for breast cancer include surgical removal, chemotherapy and radiation, or combinations of the three.
That said, breast cancer has become a cause celibre - it's a very popular and cool thing to support, it's become heavily commercialized to the point of Major League Baseball playing games with pink bats.
Unfortunately, there are many other deserving cancers that have not captured the public awareness and corporate financial support that breast cancer has. One could argue that the popularity and commercialization of breast cancer has garnered so much attention and finances that it has deprived other cancers of funding.
Which I think is very unfortunate.
You have to remember that curing diseases is not profitable... what "they" come up with just prolongs the disease and makes it less lethal so you have to keep using the medicine... + those hippies get to have causes. It is a win-win.
The difficulty with Cancer is that the older people live the more likely it becomes that they will get cancer, and it is highly likely for someone to get cancer in the future if you cure a person of a case of cancer. What this means is that even as we get more successful at curing cancer and extending people's lives, cancer will continue to become a bigger and bigger problem because there will be more older people and cancer-survivors who will get cancer at very high rates.
Now I want to be clear that I'm not suggesting that we don't treat cancer, but I think it is important to devote a lot of resources towards preventing cancer; and to comming up with cost effective treatments for cancer. If we don't take these steps, and the average person ends up needing $1 Million worth of medical care throughout their life, healthcare will simply become out of the reach of everyone.
The short answer to both your questions is 'yes'
The longer answer is that the key to curing most breast canswer cases is early detection. If diagnosed before there is significant spread, then surgical removal coupled with radiation/chemo to 'mop up' any remaining cells can be curative.
Aggressive (fast growing) cancers or cancers with significant spread at the time of diagnosis are usually not curable.
Although increased awareness leads to increased screening and early detection/cure, when you see a pink product, think marketing.
- Ironman said...
Yes and no, as survival rates depend upon the extent and severity of the cancer being treated.
Unfortunately for businesses using similar promotions to what you've described, where a portion of the sales price of a product is donated to cancer research/treatment/administrative overhead/et cetera, there's no indication that such promotions result in improved clinical outcomes for a statistically significant number of patients.
The correct phrase to describe those kind of promotions is "all hat, no cattle." If they really cared about finding cures, the marketing people who organize such things would stop what they're doing and go to medical school or study chemistry and biology instead.
AFAIK, the definition of cancer is a non-reproductive genetic mutation that causes uncontrolled cell division. The body normally has defenses against this, but sometimes these don't work properly.
Theoretically, I'd say that a cure for all cancer is possible, but even though we understand the cause, we're not any closer to a cure. Cancer donations are primarily used for R&D for various ways to combat individual diseases. The hope is that this piecemeal approach will eventually cure all cancer. In reality, we don't have a single method or set of methods that work on all forms of cancer.
In my opinion, it's best to wait for that final funding push until we have a treatment or set of treatments that work nearly 100% of the time. Milking the public for donations only works for so long before people get tired of it.
This is going to seem a strange way to learn about cancer. A little background, Bob Guccione founder of Penthouse magazine was married to Kathy Keeton who died in 1997 following intestinal surgery. She was the founder of Longevity magazine and possibly the most health conscious person on the planet. She was told she had six weeks to live three years before her death but used a treatment that the National Cancer Institute blackballed. Penthouse magazine then did a years long investigation into the cancer industry under the title "Medical Genocide". Here is what I remember; in 1950 the success rate against cancer was 49%, in 1990 after an investment of $200 billion dollars since the 'war on cancer' was declared, the success rate was 50%. Cancer treatment is a $15 billion/year industry and has very powerful lobbyists.
The head of the National Cancer Institute is/was a chemotherapist who rejects any other form of treatment out of hand. The basic concept of chemotherapy is to inject a poison that attacks cancers cells during mitosis when the cell divides and becomes two cells. Unfortunately, the poison kills good cells like those in your vital organs, weakening you.
Cancer are caused by viruses, of which there are over 200 recognized types. There are specific poisons (sorry - chemotherapy treatments) that work best on a certain type of cancer. I lived with a cancer nurse, who had most of her thigh removed as a teenager due to cancer, for a while and she advised that if I were ever diagnosed with cancer in the mouth I should just go home and shoot myself, it would be less painful and more dignified than having my jaw amputated.
Hope this enlightens.
- Nick Rowe said...
It all depends on your definition of "cure".
Here is how the Mayo Clinic describes it.
Rather than say "cure", they refer to "survival" rates.
If a drug, procedure, or treatment results in removing recognizable signs of cancer or rendering the cancer so it is not progressing, they consider it a success.
98% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive 5 years later. If you die from some cause other than prostate cancer, then you have "survived" the cancer. Because prostate cancer develops very slowly, most men die with it rather than from it. However, dying from prostate cancer is an extremely painful way to go; the disease gets into your bones.
Here are some cancer statistics.
The number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer is almost identical to the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer but 1.5 women die from breast cancer for every man who dies from prostate cancer.
Women hold an overwhelming advantage in publicity and fundraising for their brand of cancer research. While I was in Chicago, half the city was lit up in pink for breast cancer awareness. We buy yogurt with pink lids to raise money for it. But you almost never see the blue ribbon for prostate cancer.
It's hard to tell how the money is spent. Some of it goes toward research for a cure. Some of it goes toward paying for currently available treatment.
An economics professor I worked for runs the Josh Gottheil Memorial Fund for Lymphoma Research (in honor of his son who died of the disease) which gives grants to nurses working with lymphoma patients. Apparently they were a source of great comfort to people afflicted with this painful disease and the horrific treatment regimen. Chemotherapy is essentially poison.
Before giving to any charity, you should read their prospectus on how their donations are used and what percent of donations is absorbed by administrative costs. I believe they are required by law to disclose this information.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 40, by the way. I had surgery and so far there's no sign of cancer. I hate the word "survivor" because it gives the false impression that cancer is something you can "fight". It would be more correct to say you fight to survive the treatment and the side-effects.
AIDS/HIV gets an enormous amount of public and private funding relative to the number of people the disease kills.
The bottom line is that a good PR campaign helps. Perhaps I should work more or donate more for prostate cancer research, but it seems almost selfish. I wouldn't be so disgusted by the self-serving "race for the cure" for breast cancer and AIDS if they were lobbying only for private donations, but they have a huge advantage in public funding as well.
It's unclear whether cancer is curable. While it's true that certain genes make one predisposed to it (a small change to rat DNA makes them virtual cancer factories), none of them cause cancer. This differs from traditional genetic diseases, where having the bad gene is a guarantee you'll have the disease. Predisposition for cancers seems to be specific, though, since if you have (or are likely to have) a predisposition for breast cancer that doesn't seem to make you predisposed to (for example) pancreatic cancer (which, btw, is far more deadly than breast cancer).
I believe that since error is inherent in physical processes like DNA transcription, gene therapy will be able to reduce, but not eliminate, the incidence of most cancers, and that new treatment methods will be able to put into remission most cancers in most people. Basically, cancer isn't curable because it's inherent in how DNA works, and because medicine is really a matter of statistics rather than hard and fast outcomes.
- C said...
I think this is what you're trying to get to.
cancer is both preventable and curable:
- Chris said...
I'm sure somebody will be able to pull up actual stats, but in recent years the cure rate for certain types of cancers has gone up significantly.
For those that can't be cured it can be managed much more effectively than it could before.
Whether the progress in treatments justifies the cost of research, well that's an individual question.
The longer answer is that the key to curing most breast canswer cases is early detection
If that were true, we would have seen a significant decrease in mortality from all the money we're spending on mammograms. We have not. The truth is that what matters most is how quickly the cancer grows, not when you detect it. Your death from a fast growing cancer is virtually assured from the moment it started, because there is no treatment regimen that is 100% effective at killing cancer cells. I'm not saying that treatment won't prolong your life, but in the long run your body cannot take the frequent and repeated rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery required to combat the cancer.
All I know is that when you are the one sitting on the exam room table and your doctor is looking at you saying, "We don't really like what we're seeing, it looks cancerous so we're going to send you to the U," you aren't thinking about who is trying to raise money to find a cure. You are thinking about not being scared, about how you are going to tell your family without scaring them, and how you are going to beat it.
After you've gone through the surgeries and all the other hoops that have to be gone through, and your oncologist looks at you, hands you a little 5-year pin and says, "Congratulations, you don't have to come back and see me any more," you realize you've made it. Other people are going to be in the same position you were in, they will be scared, frustrated, and overwhelmed. You know what that feels like so it really doesn't bother you to see businesses or individuals trying to raise money for a cure so other people don't have to feel those things because of cancer. I do agree you need to be cautious and make sure it is a cause that is truly giving the stated amount to cancer research.
That being said, a cure for cancer may never be found, and perhaps we do need to look at how to prevent it rather than how to cure it. But, in the meantime, I'm glad there are people out there willing to raise money to get us a little closer. Going through it sucks and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Captain, I attended a genetics conference recently, and found out about something called the "protein reaction chain". Basically it is a series of proteins within a cell that transmit the order for the cell to divide when certain conditions are met. However, in cancerous cells, the damaged DNA can create abnormal proteins that start the protein reaction chain as soon as the cell divides.
Now, there are researchers who are working to study the exact shape of those abnormal proteins, so that they can engineer compounds that can neutralize them. If administered to a person, the compounds will only affect the cancerous cells because normal cells don't have the abnormal proteins.
This sounds great, until one considers how many different ways for DNA to create abnormal proteins. There are hundreds upon hundreds of places to go wrong. There is a cure to be found, but there's mountains of research to be done in order to cure just one type of cancer. Then one can move on to the rest of the hundreds.
- Bike Bubba said...
Just lost my mom to colon cancer, and there are two lessons I'm taking away.
First of all, cancer is not generally "cured" at all. It goes into remission.
Second, there are likely a huge number of ways that the normal growth of a cell can accelerate, resulting in cancer.
So "a" cure for cancer? No more likely than finding "a" cause for it.
Many ways to bring it into remission? Yes. A cure? Absolutely not. A cure for some types? I hope.


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One of southern Canada's great wilderness rivers – the Spanish – is located northwest of Sudbury in Ontario.
Our exceptionally-detailed 1:60,000 scale topographic map shows you the rapids, falls, swifts, campsites, portages, access points and other features of the East and West Branches from, respectively, Duke Lake and Biscotasi Lake in the north to Agnew Lake in the south. There are numerous access points to choose from, and one of the real treats of this route is taking the train, along with your canoe and gear, from Cartier or Sudbury north to your put-in.
The Spanish makes for a great introductory whitewater holiday (except in high water when more advanced skills are required), particularly the East Branch. The full-length East Branch trip starts at Duke Lake, for which you'll need to arrange a shuttle (your own or with a local outfitter), whereas shorter trips can start further south at The Forks, which is accessible by train.
Everything you need to know is on our Adventure Map® guide – in addition to a detailed topo map and description of the route (including portage lengths and which side of the river they're on), we've also provided lots of info about the rich log drive history of the area, the plentiful animals, access options, local outfitters, safety concerns and much more. So get our guide. It has the answers to most of your questions.


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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 04:59 am
Tale telling
This weekend's coming up stories and tales. Saturday at the Old State Capitol, storytellers include Anne Shimojima of Morton, who delights youth and adult audiences of all sizes with her graceful and spirited tellings of folktales from her Asian heritage and around the world; Linda Gorham, who inspires audiences by using movement, humor and sometimes zaniness as she tells imaginative multicultural folktales updated with attitude; and three-time Emmy Award-winning host of the CBS-TV show "Gator Tales," Bobby Norfolk of St. Louis. At 6 p.m. he tells the story of Lincoln, the Civil War and the trials and triumphs of African Americans living in the shadow of slavery. The festival kicks off Friday night at the Vachel Lindsay Home, decorated for Halloween. Performers read from classic stories and poems of suspense. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served by lantern in the back garden. Suitable for middle school age and older, reservations are required for this session due to limited space. Call 524-0901. Cookies will also be served in a special children's story time at Café Moxo on Saturday from 2-3 p.m.
Once Upon a Prairie Storytelling Festival
Friday Oct. 16
Vachel Lindsay Historical Home
603 S. Fifth St.
Saturday, Oct. 17
10am-2pm, 3-4pm, 6pm
Old State Capitol
Downtown Springfield
Café Moxo


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A jury Thursday acquitted Jerel Johnson, 24, of Stroud Township, of all charges in the April 2009 fatal shooting of Mingo Lee, 51, of Jackson Township. Johnson smiled and hugged defense attorney James Swetz while his family joined hands and shed tears of relief, as the jury announced "not guilty" on charges of first- and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
It's been a stressful two years and 11 months for Valerie Rose and her son, Jerel Johnson.
As if the August 2007 murder of Rose's fiance and Johnson's stepfather-to-be wasn't enough, Johnson himself was charged in April 2009 with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a family friend in their Stroud Township home.
Life could have gotten even worse Thursday had a jury convicted Johnson, 24, of killing Mingo Lee, 51, of Jackson Township, but the jury instead acquitted Johnson on all charges.
Johnson smiled and hugged defense attorney James Swetz while his family joined hands and shed tears of relief, as the jury announced "not guilty" on charges of first- and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
On the other side of the courtroom, Lee's family and friends remained stoic, as did assistant district attorneys Donald Leeth and Jeremy Bolles and Stroud Area Regional Police Detective Richard Wolbert. All were visibly disappointed.
"I feel justice was served," a relieved Johnson said as sheriff's deputies escorted him from the courtroom after the verdict.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours on the evidence and testimony presented during the three-day trial.
The following points presented during testimony were key to the defense's victory:
The U.S. Army had trained Johnson to recognize when his life was in danger and "neutralize the threat." His time in Iraq, which included combat, gave him post-traumatic stress disorder, although Veterans' Administration records show nothing traumatic happened to him. Lee's close friend, retired New York corrections officer Barry Rose, 46, of Bushkill, had become a father figure to Johnson, who never knew his own father. Rose was engaged to marry Johnson's mother, who legally took his last name after his death.
When three young men broke into Rose's home in August 2007 and one of the three killed him during a shootout, his death deeply affected his loved ones. Unable to deal with or express his grief and the horror of his military experiences in healthy ways, Johnson kept it all bottled up.
In April 2009, after the three men involved in Rose's death had all been brought to justice, Johnson had a barbecue at his home and invited Lee and other friends. All of them were drinking.
Johnson and Lee, known for his short temper and extreme sensitivity to people saying anything negative about Rose, were both drunk when they got into a conversation about Rose's murder.
Johnson became emotional when talking about how the three young men involved in Rose's death had thrown their lives away. Lee took offense, said Johnson was acting like a sissy, and attacked him, repeatedly punching him in the face.
Unable to get Lee to stop, Johnson told another guest to call 911, got his 9mm handgun from his bedroom and told Lee to leave his house. Lee refused to leave, threatened to kill Johnson and came at him again.
Johnson fired two shots at Lee's torso, which didn't stop Lee, and then two more shots at Lee's legs, causing Lee to fall forward into a push-up position. Johnson fired 10 more times while moving around Lee to make sure Lee stayed down and then remained on scene until police and ambulances arrived. Lee was hit 13 times.
Johnson admitted telling police afterward, "I hope he dies," saying he was upset over what had happened.
"It's always difficult when someone like Mingo Lee loses their life," Swetz said after the verdict. "Jerel is not guilty because he acted in self-defense under the law."
Johnson's family and friends declined to comment.
"We respect the jury's decision," Leeth said. "It's a tough time for both families. I hope Mr. Lee's family can grow stronger, find peace and remember him for who he truly was."
Lee's friend, Darryl Sanders of Stroudsburg, called the verdict "ridiculous."
"How is shooting someone 13 times considered self-defense?," Sanders asked, shaking his head. "Yes, they were both drunk, and Mingo might have attacked Jerel or whatever, but Jerel could have just wounded him to stop him. Why shoot him 10 more times after he's down?
"I just can't believe that my friend, a hard-working father with a college education, the man who stepped in to help out Jerel and his mom after Barry's death and even helped Jerel get a job, is dead at Jerel's hands and Jerel now gets off free," he said. "Life just isn't fair sometimes."
For at least two jurors, deliberating on a murder trial was a new experience.
"For me, it was pretty emotional," said Randall Rudd of Stroudsburg. "I walked in not knowing what to expect. Though this situation is tragic for all involved, I'm at peace with our verdict. I don't feel the prosecution proved its case."
John Ferro of Middle Smithfield Township said, "It's a crazy experience. You can't talk about the case to anyone outside of the courtroom, but you can't sleep at night.
"I feel we did our duty in this tough, tragic case and made a difficult decision," Ferro said. "This young man may have used poor judgment, but in the end they didn't prove that he intended to kill this man."


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Vastu is a very old Indian science of architecture and buildings that helps in making a friendly setting or a place to live /work in a scientific way taking benefits provided by nature and its 5 elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space). Online Vastu combines all the five elements and balances them with the man as well as with materials. Vastu Shastra benefits people in living a healthy, wealthy and of course prosperous life, and gives them great cosmic energy. We have a long history of Vastu consultancy since 1860. Dr Suresh Mishra is the best Vastu consultant in India.
There are plenty of results of Vastu Consultant in daily in our life, including the followings:
Comfort: One of the greatest effects of vedic vastu in our life is that we can make themselves feel better. Loss and pain are predictable, but we should always learn how to take them in a great way and also be soothed. It can surely give us with the mental support as well as the comfort we require when we are trying to get over a few traumatic phases.Because we are giving services in the field of vastu consultancy from 1860 so Dr. Suresh Mishra called Best Vastu Consultant.
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Improves Personality: with vastu consultant Vastu Shastra can help us take benefits of our inner self and boost personality. Additionally, it boosts a person's relationship with themselves as well as with his or her inner self. Vastu helps people make their personality as well.
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Strength / Power: It is one of the huge effects of vastu, which talks regarding structures or how to ensure that they give us with exactly what we require for living a great happy and successful life. If something happens wrong, vastu comforts us too, and it is definitely all about the strength. You can earn a lot regarding vastu with the assistance of Vedic vastu consultant. There are plenty of vedic vastu consultants who are providing vastu services in India, and you just need to choose someone who is experienced.
According to the positions engaged by the gods in the Mandala, instructions are provided for construction of rooms in a house or building, a few of them are following.People who are looking for Best Astrologer in india Dr. Suresh Mishra is here with 25+ Year of Experience with Powerful Result from the people Experience.
According to the positions engaged by the gods in the Mandala, instructions are provided for construction of rooms in a house or building, a few of them are following. People who are looking for Best Astrologer in India, Dr Suresh Mishra is here with 20+ Year of Experience with Powerful Result from the people experience.


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Special Edition of Canadian Military History Journal – The Sicily Campaign – Summer 2013 Vol. 22 No. 3 – (English)
Canadian Military History
Summer 2013 – Volume 22, Number 3
Special Edition – The Sicily Campaign
"The Eyes of All Fixed on Sicily": Canada's Unexpected Victory, 1943
Lee Windsor
Abstract: Canada's role in the Battle for Sicily is usually overshadowed by Anglo-American tensions and German assertions that they were the real victors. The green 1st Canadian Division was supposed to play a supporting role alongside veteran British and American formations, but found themselves at the center of events. Canada's contingent destroyed elements of every major Axis formation on the island and contributed significantly to the Allied capture of Sicily which broke Fascist power in Rome.
"To bury the dead and to feed the living": Allied Military Government in Sicily, 1943
Cindy Brown
Abstract: This article examines the little-known Allied effort to provide for the needs of the Sicilian civilian population during Operation Husky. Allied Military Government (AMG) was created in January 1943 to support the strategic aim of knocking Italy out of the war by creating and maintaining a benevolent atmosphere on the island. The duty of civil affairs officers was to relieve the fighting troops from the challenge of delivering humanitarian aid or dealing with a hostile population. Despite some mishaps and missteps on the part of planners, civil affairs made a significant contribution to the success of Operation Husky.\
Sicily in Photos and Art: From the Collection of the Canadian War Museum
A Retrospective from Sicily's Battlefields: The 2012 Canadian-American Battlefield Study Tour
Robert Engen
Abstract: Every year since 2006, the Gregg Centre and its partners have offered a unique study tour option for civilian graduate students, teachers, and Canadian and American army officers. The tour focuses on the sea, air, and ground campaign waged on the island of Sicily in July and August 1943 to force Italy's surrender and defection from the Axis. Robert Engen was a participant on the 2012 tour and describes his impressions of the experience.
Husky's Price: A Window on 21 Lives Lost in Sicily
Matthew Douglass, Alexander Fitzgerald-Black and Maryanne Lewell
Abstract: The 38-day campaign in Sicily resulted in 562 Canadian deaths: an average of 15 per day. This article considers the cost of the campaign by examining a cross section of those who died while fighting to liberate the island. The sample of 21 mini-biographies represents soldiers from across Canada lost by each military unit and corps that suffered fatal casualties in Sicily. These biographies animate the names depicted on a small number of the stones found in the Agira cemetery in Sicily, Italy. Although only a sample of the men who sacrificed everything in Operation Husky, these portraits acknowledge the sacrifice made by all.
"The Historical Triumph in Sicily": The Artistic Legacy of William Ogilivie
Matt Symes
Abstract: The work of war artists allows the viewer to see and understand the extremity of war in a way that other mediums cannot. The work of Will Ogilvie is compelling in its depiction of Operation Husky. This article examines 12 of Ogilvie's works to show the depth with which he understood the battle that was his subject in July and August 1943. This selection of paintings – from soldiers on transport vessels making their way to Sicily to depictions of bombed out civilians – supports many of the new conclusions about Canada's experience in Sicily as expressed in this special issue.
In Their Words: Historical Traces of Operation Husky
Summary of "A" Squadron, 4th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards) Operations of 5 August, 1943; MEMO TO COMMANDING OFFICERS, Headquarters Royal Canadian Artillery, 1st Canadian Division, 31 July 1943; Text of President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill's message to the Italian people, Delivered 16th July 1943


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Boeing Plane Orders Flatline
Boeing today released its latest report on airplane orders received -- and canceled -- through April 8. There was no change in the past week.
To date this year, the aerospace giant has booked:
- 269 "gross" orders for various flavors of its 737 regional airliner
- four orders for the 777 airliner
- one 747 order
- one 787 order
No new orders have been booked since Boeing last updated its order book a week ago. There is also still no sign in Boeing's official tally of the 20 new 777-9X airliners, six 777-300ERs, and 14 787-9 Dreamliners that Japan's ANA Holdings announced it was ordering a few weeks ago.
On the plus side, no new order cancellations have come in since last week, either. So after subtracting the 40 orders for single-aisle 737s lost to cancellation so far this year, Boeing is left with 235 net orders booked to date -- flat against last week.
The article Boeing Plane Orders Flatline originally appeared on Fool.com.Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Have you ever imagined how it would look if there were no more gentlemen left on the face of the earth? No one to help you carry that heavy bag twice your size or offer his jacket when it's freezing outside. Maybe there's even more to it than just that.
Parisian Gentlemen, a men's style website, offers us their take on the question in a video that features a bunch of women engaging in heaps of unladylike behaviors: chewing with one's mouth open, spitting in public and causing fights with other girls. Why?
The tagline at the end of the video finally offers us an explanation: "a world without gentlemen is a world without ladies." Not to put pressure on you guys, but to all the gentlemen out there, please don't go extinct.
Scroll down to watch the entire video.


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Best Derby Bookmaker Offers
Best Derby Bookmaker Offers
It's Derby Day, and that means the bookies are making an effort to get business, by offering tempting prices and concessions to us punters.
There are some SERIOUSLY GOOD VALUE deals to be had this morning.
Here's the pick of the Derby Specials.
Bet Victor Derby Offers
Victor has excelled himself again, this time offering to refund losses of up to £50 as a free bet if Dawn Approach, the strong favourite, wins today's Epsom Derby. That's a great bookmaker offer. But it gets better. If you actually fancy Dawn Approach, they're 6/4 about that too!
Plus, new customers get a matched bet to the same stake as their first bet.
Click here to get 6/4 and money back as a free bet if he loses.
Ladbroke's Derby Offer
If Dawn Approach wins the Epsom Derby, Ladbrokes will return all stakes as a free bet up to £25. They're also currently 7/4 Dawn Approach for as long as it lasts!
Plus they'll give you £30 in free bets if you open an account, and bet £10!
Click here for more money back as a free bet goodness.
William-Hill Derby Offer
For as long as it lasts, from 8.30am this morning, William Hill will be 6/4 Dawn Approach, the top price of any bookie. It's a typically no nonsense offer from a bookmaker that prides itself on offering prices rather than gimmicks.
Plus, new customers get a free £25 bet if they use promo code F25 when registering.
Click here to get 6/4 Dawn Approach (if you're quick enough).
Betfred. Derby Offer
Back Dawn Approach at SP, and if he wins by five lengths or more, you'll get paid out at double the odds. If he wins by eight lengths or more, you'll get TREBLE his odds.
Plus, Fred will match your first bet with a free bet up to £50.
Click here for bonus multiples if Dawn Approach demolishes 'em.
Coral. Derby Offer
If your horse finishes second to a horse priced at 16/1 or higher, Coral will refund win bets as a free bet up to £50. Yesterday, when 20/1 Talent won the Oaks, they refunded fortunes on ante-post favourite, Secret Gesture, who finished second!
Plus they'll give you a free bet of up to £50, matching your first bet stake, if you're a new customer.
Click here to take out 'rag' insurance with Coral.
Ifyou want to back something else, then Victor is again the best place to go, because they'll refund your losing bets as a free bet if Dawn Approach wins. That's worth at least 40% of the market if the jolly is 6/4.
We'll likely all be betting on the Derby today, so it makes sense to get the best deal you can. These are the sweetest deals, all of which are even sweeter if you're a new customer.
Good luck!


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It is recommended to bring a lot of patience if you are going for a holiday trip. Patience is a must especially if you are flying to your destination. You also have to plan ahead in order to avoid delays and long security checkpoint lines.
These warnings are what you will hear from almost anyone who will know that you will be spending the holidays somewhere else than home. You should not ignore such things since they really can help you out in enjoying your entire vacation, from the planning, to the journey, to reaching to destination, to relaxing there and to your return trip back home.
1. Plan Ahead
The first thing that you should do is to plan ahead. Book your flight as early as you can; booking in a rush is never going to provide you with the cheapest airline tickets.
2. Be Security-ready
There is nothing more frustrating than being at the airport and having to go through your bag for your passport and plane tickets. It is highly recommended to have these documents handy at all time, especially when you are about to go through the security checkpoints. As soon as you are about to fall in line, be sure that your tickets, passport, boarding pass and picture IDs are in your hands.
3. Be ready for Inspection
Take off your jacket or coat and your bag should be ready for inspection. TSA checkpoint protocols necessitate flight passengers to take off outer clothing for X-ray before they can proceed to the metal detectors. In case you are only wearing a blazer with no inner shirt or blouse, you will not be obliged to remove that.
4. Get the Kids Ready for the Journey
If you are taking children with you, it would be best if you can talk to them before you start off, because they need to know how things go at the airport. This is very important especially if they will be flying for the first time. As much as possible, educated them on how to behave properly, especially during security checkpoints so that everything will go smoothly.
5. No Wrapping of Gifts
If you are bringing gifts for families and friends, keep them unwrapped. Wrapped items may have to be opened during security check, so you better just do the wrapping once you get to your destination.


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Teachers of the Year
Sue Bertram
Jean Holmquist
The Chapter recognizes outstanding (grades K- 12) teachers from the local Sacramento area and recognizes teachers who have continually demonstrated teaching accomplishments and instructing students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Chapter 116 selected two 2011 Teacher of the Year in March 2010 and the teachers were formally recognized in the April awards banquet. The chapter winner was also the winner of additional recognition and award money at the State of California Air force Association's Banquet in June at Vandenberg AFB.
Each school principal should select their teacher of the year that may qualify for the award, work with them now to insure they meet all the necessary requirements and assist them in submitting the application. To learn more about the chapter's Teacher of the Year program, please click on the Teacher of the Year letter and complete the Teacher of the Year application.
For additional information, contact Richard Taubinger.
2016 Teacher of the Year Application – click here
2016 Teacher of the Year nominations must be mailed by 24 March 2016 to:
AFA Chapter 116, PO Box 2326, Citrus Heights CA 95610
Below are civilian and military award winners from 2010 at Sacramento local and California State Awards Ceremonies. These awards were not only to individuals but to organizations and recognized by the California State AFA as well as the National Air Force Association at the National Convention in WaDC.