text:
Optimum Tribal Senior Rugby Boots
by Optimum
Optimum Tribal Senior Rugby Boots
- Pro performance PU upper
- 8 stud configuration
- Water resistant
The all new Optimum ® Tribal Rugby Boots are manufactured from a lightweight synthetic PU upper, providing a soft, comfortable and well supported fit across the whole foot. Wrap around stitch detailing and tribal accents finish off the boot.
- Synthetic pro performance PU upper.
- Offers a soft, flexible and comfortable fit.
- Complete with ergonomic stud configuration.
- Extra stability across the heel and forefoot.
- Lace up fastening.
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Most Dangerous Cities In Asia
This is a ranking of the ten cities in Asia that are considered the most dangerous, as ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit report.
The Safe Cities Index is an initiative sponsored by the Economist magazine, and uses four categories to determine the perceived safety of a given city. The categories are:
- Digital security which measures how likely one is to be a victim of privacy violations or identity theft through the internet. Availability of technology and its level is also measured.
- Health security which measures ease of access to care for residents, as well as its quality. Air and water quality is also taken into consideration, as is life expectancy.
- Infrastructure safety which measures the resilience and safety of urban infrastructure, particularly against potential disasters. Frequency of accidents is measured along with the standards with which infrastructure is held to.
- Personal safety measures the incurrence of violent and petty crime, drug use, theft, and violence. How safe residents generally feel in their city is also taken into consideration.
Data was sourced from cities on overall liveability, as well as data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Kaspersky Lab, and other sources. The higher the score is to 100, the safer the city's ranking is considered. Below is an overview of where major Asian cities fall with this ranking.
10. Kuwait City, Kuwait (63.5/100)
Kuwait City is the largest city in Kuwait with a population of 2.5 million. Kuwait City scored 64.2/100 in terms of digital security, 56.2/100 for health security, 73.4/100 for infrastructure safety, and 59.5/100 for personal safety. This brings the overall safety of Kuwait City to 63.5/100, granting it the tenth place in this list. Although crime rates in Kuwait City are reportedly low, relatively low rankings in terms of health security and the resident's perceived low level of personal security contribute to Kuwait City's place on the list of most dangerous cities in Asia. There is also concern that crime is being underreported or even unreported, which could be contributing to misleading data.
9. Beijing, China (63.3/100)
Beijing, China's capital city has a population of almost 25 million within its metropolitan area. It scored 56.9 on digital security, 63.3 on health security, 76.5 on infrastructure, and 55.5 in terms of personal safety. Despite its ranking on this list, Beijing has a low rate of violent crime for a major urban center of its size. Growing income disparity in China has been blamed for the increase in petty crime. A pattern of an increase in violent crimes, particularly violent crimes within the workplace, has also been noted.
8. Guangzhou, China (62.8/100)
Guangzhou is a city in southern China, within the province of Guangdong. Its population sits at just over 13 million. Guangzhou's scores were 55.1 in digital security, 60.07 in health security, 76.6 in infrastructure security, and 59.37 in personal security. Like Beijing, income disparity has also been cited as a possible cause for an increase in petty crime rates within Guangzhou. These examples of petty crime can include pickpocketing and the theft of personal electronics. Like many major cities, the highest instances of violent crime within Guangzhou is said to occur during the early morning hours surrounding bars and nightclubs.
7. Bangkok, Thailand (62.7/100)
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand with a population of nearly 15 million in its metropolitan area, falls in 7th place on this list. Its scores were 52.9 in digital security, 60.5 in health security, 66.4 in infrastructure safety, 70.9 in personal safety. Drug abuse, organized gangs, and corruption have all been cited as possible causes of crime in Bangkok. In recent years, the homicide of tourists and expatriates in Thailand have made the news, spreading the reputation of Bangkok as a dangerous city to visit.
6. Delhi, India (61.9/100)
The city of Delhi, in India, has a population of over 16 million in its metropolitan area. Delhi scored 63.3 in digital security, 53.8 in health security, 57.7 in infrastructure security, and 72.7 in personal security. Crimes against women, cyber crime, and corruption and police misconduct are all types of serious crime that is of grave concern in Delhi. Additionally, petty crime such as pickpocketing and theft of belongings is of concern to tourists, as well as possible scams and tricks. Organized crime is also a concern throughout India, including Delhi.
5. Mumbai, India (60.7/100)
Mumbai is the most populous city in all of India, with an metropolitan population of over 20 million residents. Its scores were 68.07 in digital security, 45.31 in health security, 55.89 in infrastructure security, and 73.61 in personal security. Part of Mumbai's reputation of lacking safety has been blamed on a massive network of underground organized crime. Drug trafficking has also been cited, as well as money laundering. Residential theft is also a concern in Mumbai.
4. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (57.9/100)
Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia, as well as the most populous with an urban population of over four million. Riyadh scored 53.2 in digital security, 53.3 in health security, 61.5 in infrastructure security, and 60.2 in personal security. Although the crime rate of Saudi Arabia has historically been seen as low, it has been noted that the crime rate appears to be drastically increasing. Petty crime is particularly cited as an area of concern, as is the risk of terrorism. However, the murder rate overall remains low.
3. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (54.9/100)
Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's largest city with a population of over eight million. It was previously known as Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City scored 53.3 in digital security, 48.4 in health security, 52.4 in infrastructure security, and 65.6 in personal security. Like many of the entries on this list, petty crime and pickpocketing are of highest concern in Ho Chi Minh City, as violent crime such as murder remains relatively rare.
2. Tehran, Iran (53.8/100)
Tehran is the largest city as well as the capital of Iran, with a population of 9 million within the city and 16 million in the wide metropolitan area. Tehran scored 46.58 in digital security, 48.22 in health security, 63.9 in infrastructure security, and 56.35 in personal security. Drug trafficking and selling, alcohol smuggling, oil smuggling, tax evasion, kidnapping, theft, fraud, money laundering and even murder occur in Tehran. Although crime rates in Tehran have been statistically low on average, the rates do seem to be increasing.
1. Jakarta, Indonesia (53.7/100)
Jakarta is Indonesia's largest city with a population of nearly ten million. Its scores were 48.5 in digital security, 53.11 in health security, 54.0 in infrastructure security, and 59.2 in personal security. Although petty crime is the most common type of criminal activity reported in Jakarta, more violent crimes are not completely uncommon. A high rate of organized crime has also been cited in Jakarta. Internet fraud is also suspected to be on the rise, which could explain the low ranking in digital security. Block M in South Jakarta has been suggested as a hotbed for crime within Indonesia, as well as the Ancol Port in north Jakarta.
On WorldAtlas.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
LIRR left passengers stranded and confused
Hopes rose, no doubt higher than the early morning temperatures, on the Long Island Rail Road platform Monday when a voice from loudspeakers above said that trains to move passengers from Huntington Station to Penn Station, Hunters Point and Atlantic Terminal were on the way.
More specifically, at 5:28, 6:28, 6:50 and 7:19 a.m.
Not too much later, a voice — from LIRR offices in Jamaica Queens, a spokeswoman said yesterday — swatted such hopes away. "We apologize for the announcements," the squawk boxes said. "Please do not listen to those."
Say what, now?
The dialogue reads like a variation on a scene from "The Wizard of Oz," when the Wizard says ignore what you see and be wowed by an illusion instead.
The announcements spared commuters the illusion that trains they'd been told to expect would be arriving anywhere close to earlier announced times. But the announcements also fed frustration about an already-trying commute.
Meredith Daniels, an LIRR spokeswoman, said the announcement was the LIRR attempting to give commuters up-to-date information — which, she said, changed repeatedly because of changing conditions and challenges in getting and keeping the LIRR running after Saturday's monster snowstorm.
Daniels said that the LIRR constantly had notified commuters via texts, social media and other methods of delays, changes and branch shutdowns in the railroad's morning rush-hour schedule.
OK. But what were commuters at the Huntington Station to make of an announcement they'd heard a few minutes earlier Monday morning?
First came word that a train would be going to Atlantic Terminal at 7:19.
Then came a voice from the speaker saying, "I do not have any train service."
Commuters on the platforms, according to Newsday reporter Victor Ramos, shook their heads.
Was that because the remark about train service sounded like truth? A confession? A joke?
The Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council, a rider advocacy group, wasn't laughing.
"The LIRRCC appreciates the considerable efforts of LIRR workers in restoring [post-Saturday-blizzard] service and the changing conditions that they face," the council said in a statement Monday. "In many cases, however, service announcements and alerts issued by the LIRR have not accurately reflected the service that is actually being provided."
Well, except, perhaps for what commuters in Huntington Station heard Monday.


text:
Wait a Money Making Guide?!?!
Most if any of you won't know this but previously before I came here I did other RuneScape Private Servers. An I loved making the content, but then I switched over to Minecraft / Moddd. I loved playing the game but I hated recording it so it made it feel like a task. Well I a here to say I am back with to my roots of RSPS! I can only wait to see the community support! I hope to have you all as my back bone in making the dream of entertaining others a dream come true! If you anything to say about my channel please leave it down in the comments I am always on and replying! I just love to see what I can improve on! Also shout out to Skiller G1rl for getting me that 20$ Scroll for cheaper then I could from anyone else!!
The link above is my YouTube channel!
Gains4Dayz?! [Simplicity Money Making Guide]
The link above will take you to my most recent video!
If you need to contact me check out my about page for my email or you can message me IG. My IGN is PvP2Max. I also am looking for co labs! So if you have a mic and do YouTube message me and we will work something out!
P.S Everyone make sure to check the description! Important information in there! I can't wait to here your feed back these first couple episodes will be update videos with little bits of Pking and a lot of bossing! Also keep an eye out for non announced prizes and other viewer interactive stuff!
Spoiler: There might just be a hidden text in the video at some random point if you can be the first to tell me what it says and when exactly it is you might just get a prize! Remember not every day will there be a prize some days might just be to keep you on your toes so make sure become apart of my Notification squad to be the first!


text:
Community Tire
ReScore Reviews™ (1)
100% Would Recommend
Latest Review about 12 hours ago
Review for Community Tire
ROSIE P. on 12/30/2012
"Best customer service"
My cars have always had the best jobs on them. Never any complaints and the techs are great to tell and show you other things that you might need to have done. They have been more than fair with their prices. Always enjoy Crystal and Doug.
Vehicle: Honda CR-V
Service Date: 12/28/2012
Review Created: 12/30/2012 12:44 PM


text:
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Bhagavad Gita
Bhaja Govindam
Doctrine And Way Of Living
WHILE the Pandavas were dwelling in the forest, Duryodhana celebrated a
great sacrifice with much pomp and splendour.
He wanted to perform the Rajasuya sacrifice, but the brahmanas told him
that he could not do that while Yudhishthira and Dhritarashtra were alive and advised him
to perform the sacrifice known as the Vaishnava instead.
He accepted this advice and celebrated the Vaishnava with great
splendour. But when the ceremony was over, the citizens began to talk among themselves
that Duryodhana's sacrifice had not come up to even a sixteenth part of Yudhishthira's
Rajasuya in magnificence.
The friends of Duryodhana, on the other hand, praised him and the
sacrifice he had celebrated and likened it to those performed by Yayati, Mandhata, Bharata
and others.
Court sycophants were not sparing with their incense. Karna told
Duryodhana that his Rajasuya had been only postponed till the Pandavas should be defeated
and slain in battle and repeated that his part would be the slaying of Arjuna.
[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]


text:
Josh Sowards
Worship Leader
Josh loves Jesus, his wife Desiree, their two daughters (Aslyn and Lila), and a good cup of coffee!
A 2011 graduate of Dallas Seminary, God has blessed Josh with the giftedness to lead our congregation in worship. If you ever need a smile, Josh is your man.
Click here to find Josh on Facebook.
Click here to send Josh a message.


text:
Band / Ties
Elly Clarke (UK), Caitlin Griffiths (UK),
Bjorn Karlsson (SW) and Hanna Ljungh (SW)
Curated by Charlie Levine and Suvi Lehtinen
12th December 2012
Open by appointment
until 20th December
Email email@example.com
Årsta Skolgränd 14 BD - 117 43
23rd January 2013
Open Monday - Friday 10 -5 until 20th February
Email email@example.com
Margaret Street
Cross-overs, connections, ties and links can expose themselves at random moments. Relationships can be born out of incidental meetings. The curators of the exhibition Band / Ties, Charlie Levine (Birmingham, UK) and Suvi Lehtinen (Stockholm, Sweden) met over a dinner during the summer in Berlin, through a mutual friend and curatorial partner Elly Clarke. It was during this chance meeting that the idea of the exhibition was developed.
Charlie and Suvi decided to bring together two Birmingham based artists and two Stockholm based artists for an exhibition that focuses on relationships, with people, places, families, and communities. The artists involved explore where it is they belong (or don't), looking at where they're from (or how this notion of origin is complicated), or the communities they're involved in. The exhibition aims to forge links between cities and between the artistic communities of these places.
Natural overlaps and connections are made within all the works, and new opportunities develop.
This exhibition is taking place in both Stockholm (December 2012) and Birmingham (January 2013). The artists are: Elly Clarke (UK) and Caitlin Griffiths (UK), Bjorn Karlsson (SW) and Hanna Ljungh (SW)


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Black Sabbath Top Billboard 200 for the First Time Ever
After reaching the peak of the UK albums chart this Monday the iconic metallers conquer new territories.
Black Sabbath's "13" reached No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 155,000 copies sold in the United States during its first week out, Loudwire reports.
The album marks Black Sabbath's first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard chart and remarkably it's only the band's second Top 10 entry (1971's "Master of Reality" hit No. 8). Earlier in the week, "13" also topped the UK chart, making it the band's first album to hit No. 1 on that tally since 1970's "Paranoid."
The first-week sales total in the U.S. for "13" more than triples the next entry on the chart. Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" remains at No. 2 this week with 48,000 copies sold. Meanwhile, Queens of the Stone Age's "...Like Clockwork," which debuted at No. 1 last week, slips down to No. 15 this week with 24,000 units moved.
"The news is absolutely amazing - we couldn't have imagined this would happen," says guitarist Tony Iommi in a statement. "We have the greatest fans."
Meanwhile, Ozzy Osbourne adds, "There have been so many amazing highlights in our long career. To finally have our first No. 1 album in the U.S. is another incredible milestone for Black Sabbath. Thank you to all of our fans for their support and loyalty."
Finally, bassist Geezer Butler comments, "I'm absolutely stunned. Thank you all world wide for being the best, and most patient, fans ever."
Black Sabbath will embark on a full North American tour beginning July 25 in Houston and finishing up in Los Angeles on Sept. 3.


text:
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The Hunted Chapter 4 snippet (100% new writing)
Published by captain kate in the blog captain kate's blog. Views: 78
new writing and comments are welcome...
The silence on the other end of her neural link was deafening and it made Kate smile. It wasn't everyday that she was able to get Reyes at his own game and savoring it would be something she would enjoy. However, in her defense, there was nothing she said that wasn't true; a leak in Intelligence could be what it took for Kate to join Adams on the list of dead operatives.
Especially when operatives don't normally live to be old women anyway, she reminded herself.
Kate rounded a corner, hoping for a quiet mission, and she found the internal security. With her enhanced vision, she could see the laser's crossing the corridors at knee height. More memories from training filled her mind. When faced with security that seems impenetrable, take the time to analyze the situation closely because there was always a weakness. One you found it, her instructors said, exploit it to penetrate the system.
She knelt down and looked at the lasers intently. They were an infrared variety, which meant that they were a combination of motion and heat sensing. Kate found the fact that they chose to combine the two made them particularly nasty, but easy to work around at the same time. Why where they using the two combined instead of separately? Most people when they installed a system similar to this one kept those two functions separate but these people hadn't, why?
Something is wrong here, she thought, licking her lips.
"Sir," she thought. "Something isn't right here."
"It's definitely overkill on the security system," Reyes agreed.
The longer she looked at the security system, the more her stomach tightened into a knot. From the very beginning of this mission, something had been wrong and Kate couldn't finger it. What was wrong with this situation and how did it affect her?
Maybe the best thing to do is to leave, she thought.
"I'm calling this off, sir," she said. "I think they've made us."
"It's your call," Reyes said. "I'll stand by it."
Kate was about to stand up when she heard a pistol click. A chill ran down her spine when the sound registered. Someone had just taken the safety off his or her firearm and it was pointing at her.
How could they see me with my suit on? She wondered. The only people who can see us are fellow Intelligence…
"Ah ****," she whispered.
"Hello, Kate," Rachel Adams said behind her with a chuckle.
Claudio Reyes couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rachel Adams was dead! He had seen her bullet-riddled corpse with his own two eyes! How in the name of God was she standing there with a weapon on Almir?
The turn of events had his mind racing in multiple directions. Who had been behind her obviously faked death and why? What was the purpose of her penetrating his organization? Who was Adams working for? All of those questions ran riot in his head while he kept the link between Almir and himself open.
"Don't do anything," he thought. "Just do what she says."
"Of course I won't," Almir fired back. "Do you think I have stupid written on my forehead?"
No you don't, he thought, but I sure as hell might!
Reyes said down heavily in his desk chair and waited for the situation to play itself out. There was nothing he could do to help Almir from here other then send in the back-up agents he had. However, something told him that if that course of action were carried out, Adams would kill Almir.
Damn, he thought in disgust.
Kate reached up slowly and killed her camouflage suit. There wasn't any point in keeping it active when Adams was able to see through its screen. If she was standing behind her right now, then who's body was it they had found when Adams was 'killed?'
"Don't reach for you weapon, Kate," Adams warned.
"I wouldn't think of it," Kate answered.
"Good," Adams said. "Now stand up and turn around."
With a sigh, Kate followed Adams' instructions. She felt like a fool for having been lead by the nose this far. There was no way Andrews could've known who she was without Adam's help and it was obvious who was behind the information Intelligence had gotten too. The question she had in her mind was: what did Adams want with her? Why didn't she just kill her and get it over with?
"You're looking well," Kate said. "For a dead woman."
"Well you know," Adams said. "It's hard looking as good as me."
"You always were a arrogant bitch," Kate sighed. "So what's this all about?"
"Oh I was wanting you to come here," Adams said. "So we could talk."
"'So we could talk,'" Kate parroted. "I'm listening so get on with it."
"I came to offer you something that doesn't come to very many people," Adams said. "A opportunity of a lifetime."
"And just what is that?"
"Have you ever heard of the Syndicate?" Adams smiled.
"Yes!" Reyes screamed in Kate's head. "You-"
The admiral's voice cut off in Kate's head with a suddenness, which made her wince. Adams reached into a pocket and brought out a portable jamming device. Kate pursed her lips as she realized that no one would now see, or hear, the conversation between the two of them.
"That's enough of that," Adams said cheerfully. "No we won't have any interruptions."
"Okay," Kate sighed. "I haven't heard of this Syndicate…should I have?"
"In our line of work," Adams said. "You should have."
"Well I haven't,"
"No matter," Adams said. "They know of you and they want you to work for them."
Kate snorted in contempt and she rolled her eyes at the other woman's comment. Someone else wanted her to work for him or her? Jesus, she wanted out of Intelligence so why would she want to work for someone else? If the job was exactly the same as hers was now, then she didn't want it. No thank you, it was nothing personal just a soul-weary exhaustion with killing and death.
"You should hear me out," Adams said. "Rejecting their offer could have serious consequences."
"Like what?"
"I'm not at liberty to say,"
"So I'm just supposed to take your word for it and work for these people," Kate snorted. "Who the hell are they anyway?"
"A league of highly skilled assassins," Adams said. "Along with bounty hunters and big game hunters."
"Jesus, Rachel," Kate said, running a hand down her face. "Don't you know how goddamned tired I am of killing?"
"But you're better at it then anyone they have seen in three centuries!"
"The answer is no," Kate said firmly.
"Do you understand my superiors, and associates," Adams said. "Won't be happy with you telling them 'no?'"
"Do I look like I give a ****?" Kate said, looking at the ground. "I want out of this killing game…not to go work for someone else doing the same damn thing."
"Ok," Adams sighed. "I told them that would be your answer but they insisted on me asking anyway."
"It's nice to know you understand how I think," Kate said derisively.
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Adams said. "My superiors are going to try to get you to change you mind."
"And you can tell them to screw themselves," Kate said. "I want out of this game and the answer remains 'no.'"
"Okay then," Adams sighed. "I won't stop you from leaving…you're free. The security outside were actors…everything was a ruse to get you here to meet me."
"I'm honored," Kate said, backing away from Adams, not turning her back on the former agent.
"I'm not going to shoot you in the back, Kate," Adams said.
"Well," Kate answered. "You lied about your death, so how do I know you're not now?"
Kate disappeared into the night.
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text:
The Royal Road Trailer (2015)
23 January 2015 Factual 65 mins
A fascinating and unlikely reinvention story, The Royal Road simultaneously explores cinematic spiritual channeling, the conquest and colonization of Mexico and the American Southwest, fading historical Californian urban landscapes, and the passions found in butch identity to achieve an achingly beautiful and poetic defense of remembering. Probing roads from El Camino Real, to the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, to the road right outside the front door, Olson crafts a deeply intelligent and transcending observation of the human condition that reaches for redemption in the embrace of history, nostalgia, mindfulness, and sheer beauty. If you give yourself over to it, it will crack you wide open.
Watch the official The Royal Road 2015 trailer in HD below or find more The Royal Road videos on Vidimovie.


text:
All library locations will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th, for Thanksgiving.
Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros - Children's Day / Book Day
Celebrate children and books with Juan Sanchez.
Come ready to sing, dance, and delight in songs and stories from around the world.
Refreshments will be served, and each child will leave with a new book.


text:
Category: After Effects Project
VideoHive Episode 2346494
After Effects Project \ Video Displays \ Abstract
Project \ Included \ Videos \ Photos \ Question \ Duration \ Plugin \ Prerender
After Effects Project - Episode 2346494 by musicant @ VideoHive
After Effects Project \ Video Displays \ Abstract
Let me present to you a my new project of "EPISODE".
In this project, you can add 24 videos files.
Included full video-manual, that even the beginner will easy understand how to tune a this project. I hope my project will be useful for you. It can be used for advertising, and home photos.
Videos used in the video preview in the Zip folder are not included!
Full track can be purchased separately.
* CS4 – CS5 Project
* Hd(1280×720) Res.
* No plugin (prerender Optical Flares)
* Easy to Customize ( You can change photos/video,text)
* Music included
* Video tutorial included
* Duration of the slide show: 1:18
* For any question or customization just send me an e-mail
HD RENDERS IN ABOUT 21 min, 22 sec. on Intel I7-2600, 16gb ram, Windows 7, 64 bit
Similar project .
Requires Plugins: No; After Effects Version: CS4, CS5; Resolution: 1280x720; File Size: 97.923mb.
Particles logo 4; Particles logo 3; Water splash pack 02; Clean Lower Third; Digital Items; Reload Pack; Illustration.
Keywords: black and white, business, cinematic, corporate, family, grunge, music video, photo, photo gallery, photographers, portfolio, slideshow, stylish, trailer.
Create VideoHive Episode 2346494 style with After Effect, Cinema 4D, 3DS Max, Apple Motion or PhotoShop. VideoHive Episode 2346494 from creative professional designers. Full details of VideoHive Episode 2346494 for digital design and education. VideoHive Episode 2346494 desigen style information or anything related.


text: Today I lost an account to a scrub. I've had this customer for several years, only to lose it to his nephew. On a positive note he gave me a months notice. His nephew's a pencil pusher who apparently just can't "take it" anymore. So now he's decided to get out from the A.C and mow. I politely explained that his nephew should take a part-time position on my crew to make sure he's got what it takes," but he knows how to landscape" - of course he does, that explains why all the Hawthornes he planted along the side of the house have died. I hate scrubs, they suck, and they give the rest of us a bad name. Death to scrubs.


text: Hi. I am getting a little worried that I am not allowing myself enough time to have the Stich breakfast at the Poly and then get to the pirate cruise at the GF by 9:30 a.m. My breakfast reservation is 7:30 a.m. Do you think it should take more than 1 hour to eat, since we are one of the 1st reservations. I don't know how long it takes to get by monorail from the Poly to GF. Thanks, Heather


text:
Christmas is the right time for fantastic decorations, and to give vent your activity, creativity and artistic capabilities that frees or expresses creative energy or emotion and encourage Children's creative imagination to do something constructive when they make things that they can enjoy too. So make your child's bedroom door more inviting by creating a festive door hanger. Christmas Door Hangers are the perfect addition on Christmas that spreads holiday cheer.
Santa's sure to come knocking on your child's bedroom door when one of these Christmas door hangers are hanging. Christmas Door Hangers for decorating are a popular activity during the holiday season, they are simple to make and serve as interior final touch décor as well.
Lots of options exists when creating Homemade Christmas door hangers, each option doesn't cost much. Christmas Door Hangers can be made in several shapes and sizes which reflect the feeling of the season. Christmas Door Hangers should be simple in design and just effective that can adapt to every shape. Here we presented a wide range of Homemade Christmas Door Hanger Decoration Ideas and designs based on Christmas theme to help you create your door hanger.
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text:
my s/o and I ate dinner last night at a fantastic American/French restaurant. We had nine courses which were all fabulous, but very very rich in fat - including foie gras and butter sauces, etc. We also had 3 or 4 glasses of wine and a cocktail (but over four hours). For the past couple of months we've been dieting by limiting our caloric intake and cutting down our portion sizes and trying to stay away from dessert and fatty foods. We haven't been drinking much alcohol either.
We didn't sleep well at all last night and had stomach problems - S/o felt sick to his stomach all night and even now, 12 hours later, I still feel kind of sick and it doesn't feel anything like a drinking hangover.
So here's the question (yes, finally): could it be we ate something that was bad - like a bad clam or are our bodies just freaking out over last night's meal??


text: Enjoy your visit to Tainan with a stay at Guanling lin Kuei Yuan Spring Resort. Guests can grab a bite to eat at the restaurant, and the spa tub makes for a relaxing end to the day. Rooms offer up nice touches like spring water baths and bathrobes, along with living rooms and free WiFi.


text:
Sneha Gopalan
Conaway Lab
Synthesis of RNA transcripts by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is the first step towards protein synthesis and a major point of regulation of gene expression.
Mediator, a multi subunit protein acts as a coregulatory complex for RNA Pol II. A role for Mediator has also emerged in the regulation of transcript elongation as it helps in recruiting the elongation factors to the genes and controlling the phosphorylation state of the C-terminal domain of the largest Pol II subunit. In metazoa, the MED26 subunit of Mediator acts as a docking site for elongation factors and super elongation complexes (SEC). ELL/EAF family members, positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) and other coregulators like AFF4, AFF1, ENL and AF9 form part of the SEC complex.
ELL and EAF have been implicated in control of promoter proximal pausing and transcription elongation. ELL and EAF orthologs were not identified in fungi until recently. Previous data from our lab identified genes in S. pombe (Sp) similar to ELL and EAF, which are not present in S. cerevisiae. SpELL and SpEAF also interact with each other to form a heterodimer and can positively regulate transcription by RNA pol II.We are interested to understand ELL1/EAF1 (SpELL/SpEAF) function in S. pombe and to determine whether SpELL and SpEAF function with additional proteins. We also are trying to define the Mediator complex of S. pombe and to explore the connection between the Mediator complex and SpELL and SpEAF.


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|06 Sep 2011
How to make my un allocated drive visible
|My System Specs
|06 Sep 2011
Windows 10 Education 64 bit
Unallocated means its not formated and unformatted drives don't get a drive letter. Format it and windows will assign it a drive letter.
|My System Specs
|06 Sep 2011
Amazing how you can do all that but yet not know how to format the unallocated space to make another partition.
As mentioned format it.
It may not let you as you already have 4 primary partitions.
Interesting reading here.
|My System Specs
|06 Sep 2011
|My System Specs
|06 Sep 2011
Amazing how you can do all that but yet not know how to format the unallocated space to make another partition.
As mentioned format it.
It may not let you as you already have 4 primary partitions.
Interesting reading here.
Is there any other option how to merge this unallocated space to C drive without data loss.
|My System Specs
|06 Sep 2011
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
It reports all the other partitions have 100% free space. Nothing on them, yet?
If not, delete them. Expand the C partiton 150GB. then, recrete the other partitions.
You can only extend a partiton if Unallocated is next to it, so if nothing is on the other partitons now is the time to delete and re-size.
|My System Specs
|07 Sep 2011
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
From the posted image, it looks like the first two partitions are for win 7, next three partitions are for Linux (Ubuntu and Fedora and Swap) and the unallocated space is the free space.
A hard disk allows only 4 primary partitions and as you have already used them up, you can creat an extended partition and one or more logical drives on the free space using Disk management tool of Windows 7.
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I must say I am enjoying this show, immensely. I have not been so glued to a show in years. I disagree with the reviews that seem to paint the plots as predictable or dull.
This episode was no exception. The twists and turns in the never ending saga of the barbs, slings and arrows between Mac and Templeton are interesting to watch.
As usual, Templeton cannot be trusted. I am glad, though, that the writers do not, even for a second, allow Mac to be manipulated or weak. I am glad she stands her ground. I believe it is an accurate portrayal of the cunning, yet, fair-mindedness that a woman could bring to the highest position in the free world. It is refreshing to see a show willing to go this far.
I really loved the fact that Mac beat Templeton and the FL governor within the creative confines of existing laws. I like the way she is earning the respect of other officials who are more than glad to help her thwart the various obstacles (usually originating with Templeton) being placed in her way. It gives us all a chance to rally to the support of our heroine.
The portrayal of the first family is, probably, pretty accurate, as well. I can only imagine the experience the "first man" is going to encounter. I find the portrayal of the three kids - two teenagers, to be believable, as well, but care should be taken because it is a bit too predictable which brings me to underscore this aspect of the shows so far. That the oldest daughter is, constantly, in trouble is a bit too predictable. This show continues the tendency. I would like something a bit more original in this area. The slip in judgment of the secret service person, the hounding of the daughter to the point of danger, etc., then the replacement of the agent, even the regret of the daughter were all very predictable. We have seen this before – many times in other movies, shows, etc.
The intrigue of the first man having the enticement of the commissioner of baseball job offer is an interesting twist. It should offer some great possibilities in future episodes.
Finally, my highest praise for the most enjoyable part of this episode – I can't help myself – has to be the scene where Mac is reading the book to kids at the hurricane shelter. When whispered the disastrous news in her ear of the damaged tanker, rather than wasting even a second – no pensive, darting glances, either; no pondering how a president should be conducting him or herself; no hesitation, whatsoever; Mac, immediately, smiling, all the while, recruits one of the kids to take over the reading, as she is jumping up to handle our nation's crisis. I LOVE IT!!!!
My mouth dropped open. My kudos to the guts of the writers. May you all avoid the IRS audits in your futures. I await your next efforts to right the snafus of the all too real "actors" in our current administration – if only for an hour every week.


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Written on: 19/09/2010
its very good,i liked it
it is very light weighted and very easy to handle with
" Featherlight " Read More
" Definitely worth-trying rackets for beginners. I regularly play bad... " Read More
Written by ruedandelion
" Strong but Light " Read More
" This is the best racket i have come across. It has good power and c... " Read More


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Mary J. Blige assured fans that she's "hanging in there" after calling it quits with husband and manager Kendu Isaacs.
The GRAMMY winner sat down with "Good Morning America"'s Robin Roberts on Wednesday, and was quite candid about her ongoing divorce battle and reports that her estranged husband is asking for $130,000 a month in spousal support. Blige even offered up advice to women in similar situations.
"My message to those women that are going through the same thing is you cannot rely on people to handle your business," she shared. "You have to handle your business. You have to take responsibility and stay on top of it, because things like this will happen if you don't."
WATCH: Jennifer Aniston Talks Being 'Shamed' For Her Divorce From Brad Pitt
The "Not Gon' Cry" singer also revealed what led to her filing for divorce after 13 years of marriage. "The breaking point was when I kept asking over and over and over again for respect and to be respected," Blige explained. "If I can't get respect in the relationship, then I have to move on to save myself."
"No one wants to go through this. This is hard. I'm hanging in there," she said. "I have to stay strong and I have to be the strength for myself. I had to save myself and I'm saving myself now."
WATCH: Brad Pitt Makes First Appearance Since Angelina Jolie Divorce Filing At Private Screening
Blige does have a lot of support in this difficult time. "What is getting me through is God, is prayer, is my family, my fans," she continued. "Just getting that self awareness and putting myself in a place that I can see clearly."
In July, Blige's rep told ET in a statement that the 45-year-old singer was "saddened" about filing for divorce, but added that "there is a divine plan and a reason for everything."
EXCLUSIVE: 'Cosby Show' Star Keshia Knight Pulliam Breaks Down Amid Divorce Drama, Shoots Down Cheating Rumors
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Nitty-Gritties of Document Legalization
Global Mobility Specialist Program, Module 3 27 Sept. 2017Chicago, IL, USA
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You have the capacity to develop a fulfilling life through your own actions and beliefs. Washington University Wellness Connection wants to provide a little motivation to help you thrive!
Focus on Your Wellbeing and Earn Yay! Points
Even taking small steps toward a larger personal goal is worth celebrating. Each time you make the healthy choice we say 'yay'! Did you walk a little further today? Yay! Did you get your flu shot? Yay! Are you talking with your doctor about your health? Yay! Yay! Yay!
When you engage in certain Wellness Connection events and resources, you can earn points toward a $50 gift card for you or someone you care about. Log in to your WashU WebMD Portal and click on the 'Rewards' tab at the top of your home page to keep track of your points. You will find a variety of rewardable actions that suit your lifestyle and goals.
Hallmark Business Solutions Gift Card – National Merchants List
Examples of Rewardable Activities – See full list on your WashU WebMD Portal
- Complete your routine wellness screening = 25 points
- Talk to a WebMD Health Coach = 15 points (can repeat 3 times for credit)
- Participate in a Health Happening = 5 points
- Complete a routine dental exam = 10 points
- Participate in a monthly wellness workshop or webinar = 5 points/month
PLEASE NOTE: You MUST complete your WebMD Health Assessment to be eligible for any gift cards.
Tips for Earning Points
- Read through all of the rewardable wellness activities on the 'Rewards' page of your WashU WebMD Portal to see which you find valuable for your personal goals. Some activities are time-sensitive, so start early so that you can earn as many points throughout the year as possible!
- Some points will be automatically awarded once you complete the activity. For example, you will see your points for completion of your wellness screening once your lab values have been uploaded to your Portal. This usually takes about 2 weeks once the results have been received.
- Some activities are self-reported and you must enter the pertinent information on the WebMD Portal Rewards page to earn points. For example, you will need to report whether you received your annual flu shot beginning in September 2017 if you wish to earn points for this activity.
- Participation in this rewards program is voluntary. If you earn 50 points, you will automatically earn a $50 gift card and this amount is taxable income. You can earn up to 100 points and two (2) $50 gift cards before 12/31/2017.
How do I receive my $50 gift card?
To choose and redeem your gift card, please follow these steps:
- Log in to your WashU WebMD Portal.
- Once you're on your Portal Home page (not the Rewards page), look for the 'Notices' section in the lower right corner of the page.
- Click on 'Secure Messages'.
- Click on the email with the subject heading 'Washington University has sent you a gift card.'
- Follow the instructions for choosing and redeeming your gift card.
If you're having difficulty accessing your Portal or have questions about your gift card, please contact WebMD customer service at 888-383-8742.
Please note that this is taxable income. The value of your reward(s) will appear on your next paycheck as "Wellness."


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- English
- français
lis-1 is required for dynein-dependent cell division processes in C. elegans embryos
We investigated the role of the evolutionarily conserved protein Lis1 in cell division processes of Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. We identified apparent null alleles of lis-1, which result in defects identical to those observed after inactivation of the dynein heavy chain dhc-1, including defects in centrosome separation and spindle assembly. We raised antibodies against LIS-1 and generated transgenic animals expressing functional GFP-LIS-1. Using indirect immunofluorescence and spinning-disk confocal microscopy, we found that LIS-1 is present throughout the cytoplasm and is enriched in discrete subcellular locations, including the cell cortex, the vicinity of microtubule asters, the nuclear periphery and kinetochores. We established that lis-1 contributes to, but is not essential for, DHC-1 enrichment at specific subcellular locations. Conversely, we found that dhc-1, as well as the dynactin components dnc-1 (p150Glued) and dnc-2 (p50/dynamitin), are essential for LIS-1 targeting to the nuclear periphery, but not to the cell cortex nor to kinetochores. These results suggest that dynein and Lis1, albeit functioning in identical processes, are targeted partially independently of one another.
- doi:10.1242/jcs.01344
- URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=15331665
Keywords: Alleles ; Animals ; Caenorhabditis elegans/cytology/metabolism ; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/*metabolism ; Dynein ATPase/*metabolism ; Embryo ; Nonmammalian/cytology/metabolism ; Kinetochores/*metabolism ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/*metabolism ; Mitotic Spindle Apparatus/*metabolism ; Research Support ; Non-U.S. Gov't
Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), Ch. des Boveresses 155, 1066 Epalinges/Lausanne, Switzerland.
0021-9533 (Print)
Journal Article
Record created on 2006-08-24, modified on 2017-05-12


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Humility has a very special place in Saint Augustine's Confessions.[1] Though he writes rather extensively on virtues, be they kindness, love, charity, and so forth, it must be stated that humility is particularly set apart. What is so significant about humility for Augustine? What does this reveal about his personal life? How does humility inform how we think of Holy Scripture and how it is appropriated? What does Augustine's concentration on the virtue of humility mean in light of his conversion to the catholic faith? What bearing does it have upon his conception of God? Any of these questions deserve a great deal of attention and can hardly be exhausted. I will however, provide a brief meditation on Augustine's thinking on humility and its implications for Christology and Christian living.
In the narrative of Augustine's conversion, the primal sin of pride is set in direct opposition to humility. It is precisely pride, the desire to be something other than what man authentically is in Christ, which wages war against Augustine in his desire to fully belong to God, and thereby enter into the catholic faith. Augustine roots pride in the first sin and the consequent fall, "My stiff neck took me further and further away from you. I love my own ways, not yours. The liberty I loved was merely that of a runaway."[2] Pride, like evil itself, is irrational like the wandering of the prodigal Son. Augustine reflecting upon stealing the pears recalls, "I loved the self-destruction, I loved my fall, not the object for which I had fallen but my fall itself."[3]
Prior to Augustine's conversion he is primarily seeking one thing, "I longed for the immortality of wisdom with an incredible ardour in my heart."[4] This questing apart from God's divine condescension and humility of Christ will of course be a disastrous course and a dangerous one. Nevertheless, God is guiding and governing all things. Therefore, this pilgrimage for wisdom is not an inherently evil or ungodly thing. Movement and pilgrimage is good, for praise is the innermost and most powerful desire of man. As Augustine opens his confessions, "our heart is restless until it rests in you."[5] For in seeking him they find him, and in finding they will praise him.
That main obstacle that clings to Augustine, which for so long delays his conversion and baptism is pride. This willful pride which directs the orientation away from God is not simply some vice or personal shortfall for Augustine. Pride is that which places one in direct opposition toward God as He is. Augustine often links pride with a willful wandering "but I traveled away from you into a far country to dissipate my substance on meretricious lusts."[6] Pride moves one toward a dissolution and fragmentation of the self. Though pride and the pleasures of lusts come with certain promises, be they wisdom or enjoyment, honor or prestige, the result is the exact opposite. Augustine in book XIII reflects upon the corrosive nature of pride and its consequence:
The haughtiness of pride, the pleasure of lust, and the poison of curiosity (1 Jn. 2:16) are the passions of a dead soul. The soul's death does not end all movement. It's 'death' comes about as it departs from the fount of life, so that it is absorbed by the transitory world and conformed to it.[7]
The haughtiness of pride therefore brings with it death. A life filled with willful pride moves one to be cut off from the very source of life, and is therefore conformed to the transitory world bringing about what amounts to self-extinction – to be something other than what man truly is – in fact to be nothing at all. All of Augustine's wanderings and intellectual achievements in the public arena as rhetor, professor, intellectual, follower of Mani, and neo-Platonist, ultimately does not result in continence and rest in God. As Augustine begins to make certain discoveries in his pilgrimage, it is precisely the on-going battle with intellectual pride that stands in his way.
As humility begins to be revealed to Augustine, it is not humility as such that is found, certainly not as a particular virtue or ethical principle. At this point Augustine is able to confess, "The Word was made flesh, so that our infant condition might come to suck milk from your wisdom by which you created all things. To posses my God, the humble Jesus, I was not yet humble enough. I did not know what his weakness was meant to teach."[8] Augustine here reveals that humility is not a mere virtue among others, but has to do with the very existence and being of God Himself, and furthermore informs and shapes how Christ is appropriated to the sinner still bent on his own pride. Though disillusioned with Manichaeism, the wisdom of the Platonists is not yet able to instruct him in what the "humble Jesus" is meant to teach. Augustine writes: "Those pages do not contain the face of this devotion, tears of confession, your sacrifice, a troubled spirit, a contrite and humble spirit…In the Platonic books no one sings: 'Surely my soul will be submissive to God…They disdain to learn from him, for he is meek and humble of heart."[9]
When it comes to Augustine's conversion and the way of humility, the haughtiness of pride most importantly leads astray from a more complete Christology. The way Augustine sets up the contradistinction between pride and humility it seems to point toward a misrepresentation of God. Over and above all else, it is intellectual pride that cannot grasp the coming of God into the flesh, born in the form of a servant. He writes, "You wanted to show me how you resist the proud and give grace to the humble,' and with what mercy you have shown humanity the way of humility in that your Word was made flesh and dwelt among men"[10] The way Augustine speaks of humility is that it is indeed the very portal for knowing God and knowing one's very self. Humility is "the way," for Augustine, and descriptive of who God is in his nature. Through Augustine's own narrative, he seems to make it clear that pride in one's self distorts one's conception of who God is and who He can be. Apart from the exercise of humility, how could God become man and why would he be willing to do so? What sense would there be in God humbling Himself in the form of a servant. Augustine writes what he considers to be his "principle error:"
In particular I had no hope that truth could be found in your Church, Lord of heaven and earth (Gen. 24:3), maker of all things visible and invisible. The Manichees had turned me away from that. I thought it shameful to believe you to have the shape of the human figure, and to be limited by the bodily lines of our limbs...That was the principle and almost sole cause of my inevitable error.[11]
Augustine's feverish quest for knowledge and understanding in a sense undermines the search for continence that he is truly seeking, insofar as he seeks mere knowledge and noetic understanding apart from the wisdom of the Incarnation. Eventually, his intellectual pursuits lead him to despair and disillusionment, "I had no confidence, and had lost hope that truth could be found…I had lost all hope of discovering the truth."[12] Only very slowly does Augustine come to see that God is not to be sought above but rather below. His own life bears witness to this movement. Augustine writes of what must eventually take place, "They are no longer to place confidence in themselves, but rather to become weak. They see at their feet divinity become weak by sharing in our coat of skin."[13] Therefore, Christian faith cannot be understood without seeing the humility of God Himself. Only when we ourselves come down from our lofty places of pride can we see where God has come down to us. There is two movements, God's divine condescension to man to be among us in our scarred humanity, and man's descent from his pride and vain spiritual imagination. God works both descending movement. Regarding Augustine's own humbling he writes, "My memory calls me back to that period, and it becomes sweet for me, Lord, to confess to you by what inward goads you tamed me; how you level me by bringing down mountains and hills of my thoughts and made straight my crooked ways and smoothed my roughness."[14]
Humility, in addition to being a Christological reality, is also the hermeneutical key to reading and appropriating the Holy Scriptures. Reflecting on his days in Milan and approaching the Scriptures for the first time he writes, "The Bible offered itself to all in very accessible words and the most humble style of diction."[15] In Augustine's attempt to know and master, the simple humble texts of the Scriptures simply did not match the lofty prose of a Cicero, Seneca, or Virgil. Several years ago Benedict the XVI reflecting on Pope Gregory the Great spoke of humility, particularly in regards to approaching the Scriptures. Benedict says Gregory:
"energetically underlines this function of [sacred Scripture]: To approach Scripture simply to satisfy one's desire to know, means to give in to the temptation of pride and thus expose oneself to the risk of falling into heresy. Intellectual humility is the main rule for one who seeks to penetrate supernatural realities flowing from the sacred book…He was profoundly impressed by the humility of God, who in Christ made himself our slave; he washed and washes our dirty feet.[16]
Benedict went on to reflect on the ministry of the Gospel itself, saying that a bishop "must imitate this humility of God and, for love of God, be able to make himself the servant of all in a time full of tribulations and sufferings, to make himself the 'servant of the servants." Augustine and Benedict are of one mind here: humility is central to the Christian faith and life in the church. Humility is descriptive of who God is and what man is in Christ for the neighbor.
In the opening prayers of Confessions[17] it is clear that the narrative as a whole will be indecipherable if one does not well note Augustine's highly developed Christology: "In seeking him they find him, and in finding they will praise him. Lord, I would seek you, calling upon you – and calling upon you is an act of believing in you. You have been preached to us. My faith, Lord, calls upon you. It is your gift to me. You breathed it into me by the humanity of your Son, by the ministry of your preacher."[18] The union of Christ's humanity and His divinity, as second Person of the Trinity is no doubt central for the Confessions. As Augustine moves away from Manichean error toward neo-Platonism, and finally conversion, it is ultimately the "door" of the Incarnate Word that must be opened to him.
Augustine writes, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and the door is opened to the one who knocks' (Matt. 7:7-8). These are your promises, and when the promise is given by the Truth, who fears to be deceived?"[19] In short, the door by which Augustine enters is the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ, found in the scriptures and sacraments. Although the Oxford printing heads this particular section with the title, "The Bible is the firmament," I am not sure that Augustine himself would use this language, although he does write, "you have stretched out the firmament of your book like a skin."[20] These scriptures however, for Augustine, are not a book as such, but rather the viva vox of a God who speaks, "marvelously speaking and marvelously creating in Your Word, Who is Your Son and Your strength and Your Wisdom and Your Truth"[21] In this way, Augustine can speak of the sacred writings as flesh and skin, for the content is Christ. This can best be seen in chapter 13 where the first few chapters of Genesis are opened up not as some ancient biblical history but as descriptive of the catholic church by way of preaching, sacraments, and worship.
Augustine would no doubt link his conversion with Holy Baptism, in which he took off his doctor's robe along with the wisdom of the world, to descend into the wisdom of Christ. Although his conversion is found here, it must not be seen as a mere punctiliar or episodic event. Augustine's conversion was long and drawn out, like many a post-modern man's pilgrimage through a treacherous and dark forest of prideful ambitions, dangerous sects, and heresies, which all threaten to damn and confound. Augustine begins his Confessions with the prayer, "You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."[22] Therefore, the door by which Augustine enters through the scriptures and through the person of Christ, though rooted in baptism is a pilgrimage, to be sure – a lifelong journey to find rest in God Himself.
Augustine's allusion to the door in light of Matthew 7:7-8 must be seen through the story of his conversion. The birthpangs of conversion in Book VIII, I believe, is a fine place to start. In many ways, the conversion of Victorinus prefigures his own conversion. Victorinus, an African professor of rhetoric himself, and translator of Neo-Platonic writing, might stand as a sort of microcosm of the entire narrative of Confessions. Here the great scholar, rhetor of Rome, confesses the catholic faith on the plank before the marveling crowd of commoners, and descends into holy baptism. Like Augustine, he had not held the catholic faith to be the embodiment of faith, and to a greater extent than Augustine had been hostile to the primitive religion: "The old Victorinus had defended these cults (pagan) for many years with a voice terrifying to opponents. Yet he was not ashamed to become the servant of your Christ, and an infant born at your font, to bow his head to the yoke of humility and to submit his forehead to the reproach of the cross."[23] We learn that his conversion was brought forth by Simplicianus, who urged Victorinus to the reading of Holy Scripture, along with the fatherly admonition, "I shall not believe that or count you among the Christians unless I see you in the Church of Christ."[24] Augustine links the conversion of Victorinus with the Prodigal Son, and therefore links the conversion to his very own. The dramatic conversion and baptism of the famous rhetor personifies the narrative of Augustine's Confessions. The primal sin of pride, to rise over and against where God's has placed one's self, is at last overcome by virtue of humility and divine life in holy baptism and Christ's cross.
During this time, Augustine felt increasing anxiety about his metaphysical speculations and philosophies independent of an external authority, "I chattered away as somebody in the know…Had I continued to be such an expert, I should have gone to my destruction."[25] What follows is a discourse on the Romans 7, as a reflection upon Augustine's sparring with lusts and the chains of sexual desire. Soon "Lady Continence" beckons Augustine toward a more chaste and pious life:
To receive and embrace me she stretched out pious hands, filled with numerous good examples to follow. There were large numbers of boys and girls, a multitude of ages, young adults and grave widows and elderly virgins. In every one of them was Continence herself, in no sense barren but 'the fruitful mother of children', the joys born of you, Lord, her husband. And she smiled on me with a smile of encouragement as if to say: 'Are you incapable of doing what these men and women have done? Do you think them capable of achieving this by their own resources and not by the Lord their God?[26]
It is hard to over-emphasize this particular passage and its significance as Augustine will soon be converted, entering in through the narrow door. It shows the condescension that man himself must make to be made a partaker in God's love and His grace. The example for a wisdom par excellence is set by children, boys and girls, grave widows and elderly virgins. The icons of wisdom are no longer Cicero or contemporary neo-Platonists. His entrance into Truth and the catholic church will not be some intellectual pursuit or worldly quest for a hidden wisdom, but is rather predicated upon a humility that allows one to be dependent upon another. Not dependent in the Schleiermacher sense of "ultimate dependence," but rather upon a piety of posture that is despairing of one's self, open to being addressed and spoken to by another – namely Christ.[27] It is this realization and shifting of orientation that plants Augustine in a state of lament under the fig tree, where he weeps in the language of the Psalter. The allusion of Adam is no doubt clear (Gen. 3:7, Jn 1:48), and one might even anticipates God's own corresponding lament, "Where are you?"
It is in this state of bitter agony and despair that Augustine hears a child, saying, "Pick up and read, pick up and read."[28] Under the fig tree, despairing of his own resources, only now is he ready to open up the Scriptures by way of humility. Concerning the Scriptures, Augustine recounted in an earlier stage of his life, "I was not in any state to be able to enter into that, or to bow my head to climb its steps…My inflated conceit shunned the Bible's restraint, and my gaze never penetrated to its inwardness…I disdained to be a little beginner. Puffed up with pride, I considered myself a mature adult."[29] Receiving the Scriptures, hearing them, and being addressed by them required a certain humility, which at earlier stages of Augustine's life was simply not possible, "the Bible did not stand out by its high authority and if it had not drawn crowds to the bosom of its holy humility."[30]
As the voice of the child beckoned him to the reading of the scriptures, we find that his countenance changed and in turn he interprets the voice as "a divine command to me to open the book and read the first chapter I might find." Upon reading from Paul, "All the shadows of doubt were dispelled. Then I inserted my finger or some other mark into the book and closed it."[31] It does not seem a stretch of the imagination to see that Augustine has Thomas in mind, who demands to see and stick his fingers right in Christ's side. It is fascinating that Augustine links Thomas's encounter with the risen Christ to his immersion in the Holy Scriptures. The significance lies in the fact that the sum and substance of the Scriptures is the Word made flesh. That is to say Christ is the content of the Scriptures. Therefore, Augustine can pray, "Who but you, O God, has made for us a solid firmament of authority over us in your divine scripture? For the 'heaven will fold up like a book' (Is. 34:4), and now 'like a skin it is stretched out' above us."[32] As Thomas was presented with the risen Christ as God and Lord, Augustine encounters God in the experience and exercise of Scripture and His Word. The Scriptures are not simply a text, but descriptive of the activity of the love between Christ and His Church mediated by the Word and sacraments.
[1] Henry Chadwick. Saint Augustine: Confessions. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2009.
[2] 38.
[3] 29.
[4] 39.
[5] 3.
[6] 70.
[7] 291.
[8] 128.
[9] 131.
[10] 121.
[11] 85.
[12] 90.
[13] 128.
[14] 159.
[15] 96.
[18] 3.
[19] 246.
[20] 282.
[21] 225.
[22] 3.
[23] 135.
[24] 136.
[25] 126.
[26] 151.
[27] I find that most adult Christian converts begin entry in the church by way of desperation, more so than any other particular factor.
[28] 152.
[29] 40.
[30] 96.
[31] 153.
[32] 282.


text:
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Lord Shore of Stepney: My Lords, before my noble friend moves away from this point, in their response to the committee the Government have said already that we should be very wary indeed about making any changes in the existing rules--including the emergency break--that presently govern flexibility. In the light of the really basic importance of this, can my noble friend be a little firmer and stronger and say that the Government will veto, if need be, changes here and will not be blackguarded into saying "If you do this you are going to hold up enlargement"?
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I can certainly reassure the noble Lord that in those areas--I shall return to them later--where we have made clear that the veto remains, it will remain. However, it is right for Her Majesty's Government to look at the issues as they arise and deal with them in the most appropriate way. I emphasise the importance, for example, about getting agreement in relation to the rules of the court: we wanted that; we got it; and it is good for us and for Europe.
I recall the siren call of those in February who predicted a far more sprawling IGC. I am sorry to have to disappoint them. We have stayed on track. With this platform we can now use the past two-and-a-half months of the conference to find lasting solutions to the key IGC issues, all of which have been touched upon by virtually every noble Lord who has spoken today.
The first of those issues rightly concentrated upon was Commission size. I believe that my noble friend Lord Grenfell, with his usual erudition and style, dealt first with this issue. He was subsequently followed by many other noble Lords. As at Amsterdam, we believe that it is in the interests of a more efficient Commission that larger member states should be prepared to give up their second commissioner when the EU enlarges, provided that a satisfactory agreement is reached on the reweighting of votes in the Council.
Some speakers today suggested that one commissioner per member state is already a fait accompli. My noble friend Lord Borrie, the noble Viscount, Lord Bledisloe, and the noble Lord, Lord Roper, were particularly exercised about this issue. With satisfactory vote reweighting, it is something that we could accept. But it is by no means settled. As other noble Lords said, we must bear in mind that it could still lead to a Commission of 27 or 28 in the future. With that in mind, we also have to look carefully at other options. We recognise the argument for every member state having a commissioner. However, we cannot rule out an eventual cap on the size of the college. We shall certainly consider the possibility of internal restructuring; for example, by varying the number of vice presidents. But I should emphasise at this stage that, as this debate illustrates, there is much to take into account before coming to a definitive view.
No one is suggesting that the voting system in the Council should become entirely proportionate to population, but we are looking at substantial reweighting in favour of the more populous member states--to ensure that they have the right degree of influence and as compensation for the loss of their second commissioner. We have not decided on the means of achieving this. The committee and a number of noble Lords called for a dual or double majority system. We do not rule out a two-pronged system of votes, plus a separate pure population element. But we should prefer a simple reweighting of votes, as with the current system, which gives more weight to population. We believe that that has the advantage of being clearer. However, as I said, it also reflects the dual nature of the Union. No one is suggesting that
As I am sure the House is aware, 80 per cent of Council legislation was adopted by qualified majority voting in 1996, even before the Amsterdam Treaty came into force. So it is not surprising that the room for further manoeuvre is limited. Since the White Paper on the IGC was produced in February, the Government have made clear that they will insist on unanimity for key issues of national concern. The examples given in February remain today: treaty change, own resources, border controls, taxation, social security and defence. I hope that my noble friend Lord Grenfell will be reassured when I say that in other areas we support the case by case approach adopted by the Portuguese presidency and now taken up by the French. This is the only sensible way to proceed if, as they should, member states are properly to weigh up the pros and cons of qualified majority voting in each instance. There has been little agreement so far and I am sure that there are a few Members of your Lordships' House who would see this as a good result. But I am confident that by Nice the conference will produce a sensible extension of QMV where it is justified in the interests of efficient Council decision making.
The Government recognise that, especially in an enlarged EU, there may be occasions when it is sensible for a group of member states to co-operate more closely than others. However, as the noble Lord, Lord Roper, and others have said, we are wary of altering too much the conditions and procedures agreed at Amsterdam. These conditions were carefully designed to allow for flexible decision making but they also protect the interests and obligations of individual member states and the coherence of key policy areas such as the single market. Such safeguards are important, especially in the context of enlargement.
At the moment it is ,in our view, up to the advocates of change to demonstrate where closer co-operation might usefully be employed and how this could not be achieved using the current provisions. As the committee pointed out in its report, and as the noble Lord, Lord Tordoff, reiterated today, no such concrete proposals have yet been put forward. As a result, we remain cautious about any major change. We have charted a prudent course. I can assure noble Lords, particularly my noble friend Lord Grenfell, that national intransigence will not prevail over common sense.
I could not but agree with the comments made in the splendid speech of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, as regards the disappointing approach adopted by members of the Tory Party in relation to these issues and with the caution that he gave us against the intemperate use of rhetoric to mislead the British people when looking at these issues. There is a gap between rhetoric and reality; it should be bridged. I reassure the House that Her Majesty's Government are bridging that gap and are doing so successfully, if I may respectfully say so.
The views of some members of the Tory Party that I have mentioned have nothing to do with the closer co-operation provisions currently in the treaty, nor with suggestions put forward by any other member state in the IGC. It is totally unrealistic to suggest that others would allow the United Kingdom or any other country to opt out of individual directives that are intended to apply across the EU. That would be non-negotiable at the IGC.
It would be equally impossible to distinguish between what is a core single market issue and what is not. Important single market barriers are indirect; for example, social legislation, consumer protection rules and environmental protection. Allowing for opt-outs would lead to the break-up of the single market. That is clearly not in Britain's interests.
I refer to a number of issues that the noble Lord, Lord Howell, mentioned. He seemed to paint a picture which would entail us derailing the IGC and the processes of reformation in order to consider the wider issues of Europe. There has been a profound debate about Europe. It has been continuing for many years. That debate will continue. However, much needs to be done to ensure that the reality of today is maintained and that the systems we have are efficient and fair. That is what we are trying to do. That is what has been achieved.
My noble friend Lord Bruce of Donington asked that governments in the EU should make a better effort to explain to our citizens what is happening. I am glad to say that in this IGC this Government have made efforts to do exactly that. In February of this year we published a White Paper called The IGC: Reforms for Enlargement. We hope that it is written in a clear and comprehensive manner. The White Paper was published by the Government and there is a price marked on it. However, I shall be glad to send my noble friend a complimentary copy if he would be assisted by it.
The possibility of the European Union or European Community acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights has been favoured by the committee for some time. Today it was referred to specifically by the noble Lord, Lord Williamson. I can still clearly recall our last debate on the Charter of Rights. Like the committee and some noble Lords, I can see some advantages in the European Community acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights. It could be a means of ensuring further consistency in approach between the two courts.
However, as I said before, it does not seem essential. The treaty already requires the respect of fundamental rights--Article 6.2 of the Treaty on European Union--which includes those in the European Convention on Human Rights. This is justiciable before the Court of Justice: Article 46(d) of the Treaty on European Union. The Court of Justice already applies the European Convention on Human Rights and its case law without accession.
There are practical obstacles. The Court of Justice has also ruled that the European Community does not have the competence to accede. Accession would require changes to both the convention and the European Union/European Community treaties. That would be a time-consuming exercise. As the committee's report highlights, we need to bear in mind the tight timetable for this IGC.
We are encouraged by the fact that the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have in recent months been informally discussing co-operation and the impact of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. That brings me on to those noble Lords who commented on the charter.
This Government welcome the Charter of Fundamental Rights as an opportunity to set out clearly and simply the rights which EU citizens already enjoy. People need to know their rights and the European institutions need to respect them. The charter will help on both those counts. I understand the fears of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, when he says that "chartermongering" can lead to confusion. In this instance we say that it will lead to clarity.
As noble Lords will be aware, the convention held its final negotiating session earlier this week. I welcome the improvements secured by my noble friend Lord Goldsmith at this meeting and look forward to seeing the final text on Monday. I believe that the charter will be a good result for the United Kingdom and that this is a good example of a positive yet tough negotiating approach paying dividends. The United Kingdom has a long and proud tradition in the protection and promotion of human rights in Europe. This country played a substantial role in the drafting of the European Convention on Human Rights and was the first to ratify it. This Government have restated that commitment through the introduction of the Human Rights Act here. We are strongly committed to the development of a culture of rights and responsibilities across Europe and we welcome a charter that meets that goal.
The legal status of the charter is for the Heads of Government, not the Charter Convention, to decide. The UK Government have been consistently clear that the charter should be declaratory, not legally binding. We were encouraged by the support for that approach at the Feira European Council in June.
The noble Lord, Lord Howell, and the noble Baroness, Lady Park, both touched on defence, as did the noble Lord, Lord Owen, who, regrettably, is no longer in his place. The Government are making good progress in securing our objectives on European defence. A few months ago at Feira, the European Council looked ahead to establishing permanent new arrangements in the EU for military crisis management shortly after Nice.
There is a lot of work to do before then. We have agreed with partners the principles establishing EU relations with NATO, and giving a role to those European members of NATO who are outside the EU. The detailed work to put those principles into practice remains, but the task is already under way.
Feira also looked at whether treaty change would be necessary for the new arrangements that we have in mind. The European Council took note of the legal advice given. The changes under consideration to give the EU access to military capabilities to allow it to carry out crisis management and peace-keeping tasks were already adequately provided for in the treaty. However, as our work goes forward we may find areas in which treaty change is desirable in order to put in place the most effective arrangements possible. That is why Feira asked for the question of treaty change for defence to be kept under review in the run-up to Nice. Should defence become part of the IGC, the Government will ensure that your Lordships are informed.
It is right that the Commission, as well as the presidency, reports to the European Parliament on the common foreign and security policy--Article 21 of the treaty on European Union--but the Commission will not be present or represented on the new military committee and will therefore be unable to report on that. The information about the military committee will come from the presidency and nowhere else.
Several noble Lords have referred to the comments made by President Chirac and Joschka Fischer and others and the wider issues that flow from them. The debate on Europe's future is alive and well. Our Prime Minister will put forward some thoughts in a speech in Warsaw one week from today. I do not have the temerity to pre-empt what he may wish to explore with his colleagues at that time. However, all that must be seen as separate from the IGC.
We fully accept that the forthcoming IGC will not be the last word on the future shape of the EU. That future shape cannot be a question only for the present member states. The new members of the club must play their part in making the club's rules. The first new members should join us around the table before decisions are taken in another IGC. Any work on that future IGC must not delay work on enlargement.
I also once again respectfully agree with the comments of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, when he mentioned the fears expressed about the emergence of a superstate. He was right to ask where those views come from. Notwithstanding his comments, it is right that I should respond as well.
Any discussion that we have on the direction that the Union should take does not amount to a continental or Franco-German plot to subsume the nation state and erase British nationality. In his speech to the Bundestag, President Chirac stated clearly:
Her Majesty's Government have taken into account the results of the Danish referendum. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Owen, suggested that the Government had said that the referendum was irrelevant. We have never said any such thing. I believe that the noble Lord confused the words of the interviewer with the response of the interviewee.
Therefore, I take this opportunity to react to the observations and to comment briefly on the results of the Danish referendum held yesterday. My comment is simple enough. The Danish referendum is a matter for the Danish people. The outcome has no bearing on the Government's policy towards the United Kingdom's membership of the single currency. I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Roper, that we intend to take his advice and not to be diverted by the Danes.
As the Chancellor made clear in his Mansion House speech in June, the Government's policy on the EMU has not changed and will not change. It remains as set out by the Chancellor in October 1997 and as restated by the Prime Minister in February 1999. The determining factor which underpins any government decision is whether the economic case for the United Kingdom to join is clear and unambiguous. If it is, there is no constitutional bar to joining. Because of the magnitude of the decision, the Government believe that, whenever a decision to enter is taken by the Government, it should be put to a referendum of the British people. We know what the Danish people have said; British people will be given the same advantage to speak and be heard.
It is clear that, so far as concerns the Inter-Governmental Conference, we have much to do in the next few months. However, I can promise the House that the Government will remain committed and engaged. Enlargement is a prize worth fighting for.
I thank the committee again for its report and promise that we shall continue to keep it up to date with progress as negotiations progress. Of course, as we approach the final Council in Nice we should welcome any further input that it has to make. I say again how much I have been warmed by the speeches in the House today and how much I thank each and every participant for their extremely valuable and well thought-out contribution.
Lord Tordoff: My Lords, I echo the last words of the Minister. It has been an excellent debate, with four-and-a-half hours of concentrated, sensible, intelligent speeches-- which doubtless will go totally unreported in the world outside, but the debate has nevertheless been worth while.
I have been flattered more than anything by the fact that the Minister confused me with the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope of Craighead. I must not get big headed about that.
We will continue to keep our eye on what is happening at the IGC until the last minute, and indeed, we will progress from looking at the Commission to having a look at the Council, because
I shall not make another long speech at this stage, but I am grateful to everybody who has participated in the debate.
On Question, Motion agreed to.
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The key players involved in a near-death beating at the KRT Transit Mall appeared in court Monday.
Brandon Douglass appeared in Kanawha County Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing. Douglass and Dana LaFond are charged with the malicious wounding of Brandon Coltey, 20, on March 4 at the KRT Transit Mall in Charleston. LaFond, who waived his preliminary hearing, is also charged with first degree robbery.
Douglass' girlfriend, Coltey, and an officer, testified in court on Monday. Douglass' girlfriend said that Coltey also engaged in the fight.
"There's no negative, long-standing dispute between these parties. This was something that happened so fast, and Mr. Douglass didn't have the time to think about the right next steps, let alone, the time to form the intent to hurt Mr. Coltey," said Douglass' defense attorney.
Coltey said he had known Douglass since he was young and he was knocked in the head during the brawl.
Witnesses said the incident started over a lighter, then Coltey was hit with a brick, kicked, and hit. LaFond is accused of stealing Coltey's wallet.
"I feel like he was attacked because he was a hard-working man and he's known to be a hard-working man," said Kendra Jones, Coltey's fiancee and the mother of their son.
Other people who frequent the transit mall said they're unsure of their safety. Lasalle Burnett said he was also nearly beaten to death in the same place where the March 4 fight ensued.
"It's the kids out here acting ignorant," Burnett said. "The parents got to get involved."
Burnett said he feels the groups of kids who hang around the area often cause trouble without reason.
"This isn't a club. This isn't a library. People come to the transit mall to take a bus to work," Burnett said.
"That could have been your child out there," said May Coltey, the victim's mother. "And it was mine. How would you feel? Stop and think about your children that's involved."
Coltey was recently released from CAMC, where he was being treated in the intensive care unit for more than a week.
Charleston Police said an officer circles the area between noon and 8 p.m.; the bike unit rides through between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.; then officers patrol the area overnight.
Surveillance cameras are also installed throughout the bus terminal.
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