text:
Book your room at Holiday Inn Express Crystal River
Get an overview of this hotelHotel in Crystal River with free breakfast and outdoor pool
Located in the heart of Crystal River, this hotel is 1.4 mi (2.3 km) from Hunter Spring Park and 2.4 mi (3.9 km) from Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Crystal River Watersports Marina and Crystal River Archaeological State Park are also within 6 mi (10 km).
Hotel Features
An outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a 24-hour business center are available at this hotel. Free buffet breakfast, free WiFi in public areas, and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include a meeting room, concierge services, and dry cleaning.
Room Amenities
All 75 rooms offer conveniences like refrigerators and microwaves, along with free WiFi, free wired Internet, and cable TV. Guests will also find coffee makers, free newspapers, and free local calls.Would you like to give us feedback? Share it! Opens in a new window
Holiday Inn Express Crystal River1203 Ne 5th St Crystal River FL 34429
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
Holiday Inn Express Crystal River features an outdoor pool and a fitness center. Public areas are equipped with complimentary high-speed wired and wireless Internet access. This hotel offers access to a 24-hour business center and a meeting room. A complimentary breakfast is offered. This Crystal River hotel also offers concierge services, complimentary newspapers in the lobby, and laundry facilities. Complimentary self parking is available on site.
- Free WiFi
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- 24-hour business center
- Free breakfast
- Total number of rooms - 75
- Number of floors - 4
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Fitness facilities
- Laundry facilities
- One meeting room
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Concierge services
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Free self parking
- Outdoor pool
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Laundry facilities
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi , Free wired high-speed Internet
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi , Free wired high-speed Internet
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Free WiFi
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Air conditioning
- Free newspaper
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board
- Cable TV service
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- In-room safe
Where to Eat
Guests are offered a complimentary buffet breakfast.
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an outdoor pool and a fitness center.
To make requests for specific accessibility needs, complete the "Special or Accessibility Requests" section of "Trip Preferences" when you book your hotel.
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Minimum check-in age is 21
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
Optional extras
- Rollaway bed fee: USD 10 per night
Hotel Name
- Crystal River Holiday Inn Express
- Holiday Inn Express Crystal River
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel Crystal River
- Holiday Inn Express Crystal River Hotel Crystal River
We should mention
The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation.


text:
About the Author
Linda Jones is the acclaimed USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including Untouchable, 22 Nights, and Bride by Command. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Los Angeles, California She was losing her mind. There was no other explanation. She hadn't slept more than thirty minutes at a stretch for the past three days. How could she, when the dreams were so vivid and came so quickly, one after the other, startling her awake every time her name was called? Some of the details were murky, but two things she always remembered very clearly: the man, and the way he called to her.
It wasn't fair. She was twenty-three years old, healthy, unattached—at the moment—and living in the bustling and exciting city of Los Angeles, far from the family she'd left behind in Missouri. She should be having the time of her life, the way she had been just a few days ago, and not dragging herself around in a stupor of fatigue. Normally she wouldn't complain about vivid dreams of a very large and muscular, mostly naked, dark-haired hunk who felt so real there were moments she actually forgot he was the product of a dream, but she needed her sleep.
Now it was getting worse; he was invading her waking hours, too, though, to be fair, for the past three nights it seemed as if most of her hours had been spent awake. She'd started hearing him at different times, and the way he called her name was getting more and more urgent. Hearing him! Really, truly hearing him. It might be a whisper of her name as she walked down the hall, or a very faint yearning call as she stepped into the shower. She wasn't imagining the voice. It was real. Only it couldn't be real. She didn't do drugs, so that meant she was losing her mind. It was the only explanation. Fine. The mind could go, so long as she could get some sleep.
She'd been sitting slumped at the table, picking at an ordered-in meal, but she was too tired to eat and finally she gave up on the effort. Dragging herself to her feet, she cleaned off the table and tossed what was left of her supper into the garbage can. As soon as she lifted the lid, the strong, sour odor of several uneaten meals hit her right in the nose. Shit, she should've taken the garbage out before it got dark. Not that she was afraid of the dark, and the Dumpster for the apartment complex was in a well-lit area just a few yards from the end of the stairwell, but she'd already changed into her at-home grubbies, she was barefoot, and if she dared leave the apartment looking like this the odds were she'd bump into some really hot guy who'd take one look at her and decide she was about as attractive as her garbage. That was the way life worked. On the other hand, did meeting at the complex Dumpster qualify as "meeting cute"?
She could wait until tomorrow to take out the trash, but that would mean waking up to that smell. And that was assuming she actually got some sleep tonight. She was so tired, she didn't think anything could keep her awake, not even a naked dark-haired hunk.
She tugged the plastic trash bag out of the can and tied the top, tested the knot to be certain it would hold, then trudged out the door, down the flight of stairs just outside her apartment door, and around the corner. "Johanna!"
Her hair stood on end as her name echoed both in her head and from somewhere around her. It was spooky, the way the sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. It made her want to run home like a scared little kid, to hide her face in her mother's lap. And that was the last thing she wanted to do, considering how dead set her mother had been against her moving away. Things hadn't changed since then, either. Her mother was always warning her to be careful. L.A. was a big city. She hated the idea of her daughter being in such a heavily populated place. So many people! The lecture was delivered on a regular basis: Lock your doors, don't go out alone at night, watch out for strangers. Yeah, right. That last one was a hoot. She was a hair stylist, so she met new people every day. Moreover, she was fairly new to the area, which meant almost everyone she met was a stranger. Why bother to live in L.A. if she was going to close herself off in her apartment every night? She was here to make her reputation as the hair stylist to go to if you had a special event, someone who could make you look both elegant and edgy. One of these days she'd be stylist to the stars. The strange sound came again. There was an urgency in this latest call of her name, as if it were a warning. "Leave me alone," she whispered, focusing on the Dumpster straight ahead. The faint sound of her own voice made her sharply aware that there was no one in the parking lot of the small apartment complex at this time of night. People who had to be at work early were already asleep, probably having perfectly ordinary dreams. Those who worked at night weren't home yet. All she saw were a few cars, including her own, a lamppost, and the winding sidewalk that led to the pool. It was all comfortingly familiar. This was her home now; there was nothing to be afraid of, except the possibility that she was going nuts.
She tossed the bag of garbage into the Dumpster, turned, and stifled a shriek as she lurched backward, almost bumping into the trash container. A tall man with long blond hair stood right behind her, reflective sunglasses making his eyes look like giant insect eyes, with the lights reflecting in the lenses. "Shit!" she exclaimed, then put her hand over her heart as if she could physically calm its frantic pace. "I almost jumped out of my skin!" He paused, his head tilting to the side. "Interesting," he said. "I didn't know humans could do that."
She would have laughed if she hadn't been so preoccupied with catching her breath. Where had he come from? She hadn't heard a sound, though he had to have been following almost in her footprints. Surely she should have heard him leave his apartment, heard his door open and close.
She'd been right about something like this happening, she thought in disgust. Her hair was a mess, she didn't have a trace of makeup on, and she was dressed like a bag lady, so of course a trip to the Dumpster would bring her face-to-face . . . well, face-to-chest . . . with a hunk. He was dressed all in black; he had a serious Johnny Cash vibe going on. Still, she should have seen him, heard him, but she supposed she could only blame her foggy state of mind.
She tipped her head back to look at him. What was with those pretentious sunglasses? It was night. Not that there wasn't a more than fair share of pretentiousness in L.A., where everyone was a star or about to become one. This guy was no star. She would've remembered this face if she'd seen it before. Wowza, she thought dazedly. He could give her dream stalker a run for his money in the looks department.
Like she was in any kind of shape to admire handsome strangers.
The voice was the one in her dreams, and for a moment she was stunned that he'd said anything other than her name. Then the urgency in the faraway voice seeped into her weary mind and uneasiness chilled her spine.
"Excuse me," she said, stepping to the side to allow him access to the Dumpster. He moved, too, his action mirroring hers, and like a slap in the face she realized he wasn't carrying any trash. The taste of copper filled her mouth. Every cell in her body seemed to tense as a rush of alertness seized her, but before her brain could quite send the message to scream he lifted his hand and used one finger to pull his sunglasses down so she could see his blue eyes . . . his glowing blue eyes.
The scream never came. She felt herself sinking into that gaze, and the odd thing was, she didn't want to tear herself free. The growing fear of a moment ago vanished as if it had never existed; instead, she was filled with a sense of warmth and pleasure. He was beautiful. She wanted to please him, to do whatever he wanted.
"Oh," she said in a voice of wonder, reaching out as if to touch his face.
He caught her hand instead, lifting it to his mouth in an elegant and old-fashioned salute. The touch of his lips was warm on her fingers. "Good-bye," he said, and slid eight inches of a knife blade between her ribs and into her heart.
That hurts, she thought, but without any urgency. "I don't want to leave," she said, faintly bewildered. "I want to stay with you." Why was it so hard to talk? Why did she feel as if she couldn't draw a breath? She blinked at him, trying to formulate an argument, but thoughts kept slipping away from her and time faded away. She became aware, on some distant level, that somehow she wasn't standing in front of him any longer but was lying on the ground in front of the Dumpster. That wasn't right. She would never . . . too many germs . . . she should get up.
And there he was again, the man in her dreams, as vivid as he had ever been. He said her name once more ...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I needed help
With her retirement threatened, Ina Brennan reached out and Dan Pico answered
When her retirement investments took a hit after the market crash, Ina faced a frightening scenario: a savings shortfall that threatened to derail her retirement.
"I had always been very cautious about money," says Ina. "When IRAs were first introduced, I set one up for myself. I saved steadily year after year."
An executive assistant for most of her career, Ina was single and made her financial decisions based on her own research and advice from friends. She lived life on her own terms: learning to scuba dive; traveling to France, Italy, and Egypt; and having lots of hobbies, such as maintaining community gardens and taking in all of the arts that her hometown, New York City, had to offer. She didn't want life in retirement to be any different.
"By the time I retired, I had saved a nice nest egg and was ready to travel and make the most of it," she says. But an illness set her back, and by the time she was healthy and ready to do more, the crash had eaten away a significant portion of her hardearned savings. Bills began to mount.
"I don't think I was facing reality. I suddenly realized the seriousness of my financial situation. I needed help and advice. I was scared," she said.
Ina's accountant saw that she had a cash flow problem—she was dipping into her IRAs faster than she had anticipated. He suggested that she get in touch with New York Life Agent Dan Pico of the Riverview General Office in Brooklyn to find some solutions to her problems.
Dan reviewed her accounts and realized that not only were her savings diminished, but also her investments were far too aggressive for someone living in retirement.
"Ina's investments were more appropriate for someone younger, with more time to weather market downturns. More than half of her portfolio was in growth funds and higher risk investments," he said. "She needed more income."
Dan worked with Ina to help identify expense savings, and he eventually suggested she purchase a New York Life Guaranteed Lifetime Income Annuity, which would provide her with a secure monthly income for life. The amount, plus Social Security, was enough to cover her monthly expenses.
"The hemorrhage to her savings needed to stop," said Dan.
Although Ina saw the advantages to Dan's suggestions, she was still nervous about taking a portion out of her nest egg to buy the annuity.
"That money was my cushion. The thought of locking it into an annuity was unsettling. It's difficult when you're on your own. You don't have anyone to fall back on for help. But the idea of having steady income coming in gave me peace of mind and made budgeting easier," says Ina.
Dan understood her initial fears. "It was emotional for Ina to think about breaking into that nest egg. But the reality was that she was chipping away at it each time she went over her budget, or when the market did not perform. She realized that the annuity would turn her savings into income she could count on," he said.
Today, Dan is continuing to help Ina reduce the risk in her portfolio and make sure she has what she needs to live the life she's created—the life she loves—on her own terms.
Guaranteed Lifetime Income products are issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer. See contract for complete terms and conditions.


text:
"I was thoroughly pleased with these cards. It is certainly a fun little splurge and I look forward to showing them off to my fellow moms. We so often meet moms out and about and talk about play dates. The paper quality is sturdy enough to hold up in my wallet or purse so they are always at the ready!"
"The cards were as cute and perfect as the picture I saw. It was easy to complete my order an fast. The quality of the paper and the color was really amazing!!"
"The card turned out beautiful! I'm using them as General thank you cards and notes to my son teachers. The card is very elegant with a nicer green pattern."
"I used the same line for my baby shower invitations and my daughter's birth announcements. It seemed fitting to use the playdate cards as well. They are perfect."
"I gave the print/photo quality 4 stars because the colors are a bit dull. They are not as bright/vibrant as shown in the sample."


text:
Diljit Dosanjh Latest HD Wallpapers 2012 and Biography
To get a desktop background (wallpaper) right-click the image, and then click Set as background
Diljit Dosanjh Biography:
Diljit Dosanjh is Punjabi Singer and actor.Diljit is Born on 6th of January 2012.Birth Place of Diljit Dosanjh is Dosanjh Kallan Near Phagwara.father's Name of Diljit Dosanjh is S.Balbir Singh Dosanjh.Diljit Dosanjh Started Their Hardwork in Punjabi Music Industries in 2005 and Still Working and Now You Can See Diljit Dosanjh in Many Punjabi Movies and Also Diljit Dosanjh Sung a Song oin Hindi Movie "tere Naal Love Ho geya"of Ritesh Deshmukh and genelia.
Check the List of All Movie Of Diljit Singh Dosanjh:
|Rajveer Dhillon
|Mel Krade Rabba
|Avtar singh
|The Lion of Punjab
|Gurnoor Ranjdhawa
|Jihne Mera Dil Luteya
|Fateh Singh
|Jatt and Juliet
We Will Give You a details of upcoming Movies of Diljit Dosanjh very Soon..
Take a Look To Dashing Wallpapers of Diljit Singh Dosanjh:
You Can Use This Wallpapers/Pictures For Facebook profile and Desktop Wallpaper.
Click on Wallpaper for Full Screen
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa
|Diljit Dosanjh and Sari Mercer
|Diljit Dosanjh "jatt and Juliet poster
|Diljit Dosanjh Dashing
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh Sadi Love Story
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh
|Diljit Dosanjh
How to Download : Download Diljit Dosanjh Latest HD Wallpapers 2012 and Biography HD Widescreen Wallpaper from the above resolutions. If you don't find the exact resolution you are looking for, then go for Original or higher resolution which may fits perfect to your desktop.
HD Resolution             : 1024x640       1280x720       1366x768       1600x900       Original
WD Resolution            : 1280x800       1440x900       1680x1050
WD Resolution            : 1280x800       1440x900       1680x1050


text:
Skip links
Skip to primary navigation
Skip to content
Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel
Legislative Issues
Contact your Legislator
Bills we are watching
Voluntary Benefit Defense Fund
Health Insurance
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Blue Care Network
Priority Health
Health Alliance Plan
Optum Rx (formerly Catamaran Rx)
Delta Dental
BlueVision VSP
Executive Director's Blog
Local Chapter Directory
MARSP Local Chapter Dues Schedule
NRTA Educator's Community
MARSP Leadership Center
MARSP Executive Director Chapter Visit Request
Chapter Leader Position Descriptions
MARSP Forms for Leaders
Chapter Roster Request Form
Chapter officer directory update form
MARSP 2015 Area Conference Video
MARSP Training Videos
MARSP Training Manuals
Media News Room
Local Chapters in the News
Vanguard Newsletter
MARSP Foundation Scholarship Fund Golf Outings
U.P. North Golf Outing
Moeggenborg Memorial Golf Outing
Retirement Planning
MRPS Pension Seminar
MARSP Retirement Planning Services
The Road to Retirement
"The Whole Retirement Story"
Member Center
Member Center
Our Foundation
About Us
For more than
60 years
, MARSP has been the only organization totally dedicated to promoting and supporting the rights and needs of retired public school personnel and serving as their legislative voice.
MPSERS Member Education Seminars Scheduled for Fall
Governor Snyder to appeal MPSERS ruling without help from AG
Court of Appeals orders healthcare funds to be refunded to school employees
Already a member?
Renew your membership ›


text:
- Report: #936639
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: Tidewater Workshop
Tidewater Workshop1515 Grant Street, Egg Harbor City, New Jersey United States of America
Tidewater Workshop No Shipment Egg Harbor City, New Jersey
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: Issue resolved in 2012
Ripoff Report
About you?
Ripoff Report
A business' first
line of defense
on the Internet.
If your business is
willing to make a
commitment to
customer satisfaction
Click here now..
Does your business have a bad reputation?
Fix it the right way.
Corporate Advocacy Program™
Still not receiveing a response, I left messages on the 28th, and 29th of August and then on August 30th, I left a message to cancel. Each time I left a voicemail I sent an email to email@example.com.
I have yet to hear any word from this company, but on Sept. 5, 2012 i will file a non-delivery complaint with my Credit Card company.
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/04/2012 10:47 AM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Tidewater-Workshop/Egg-Harbor-City-New-Jersey-08215/Tidewater-Workshop-No-Shipment-Egg-Harbor-City-New-Jersey-936639. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report.
Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on Tidewater Workshop
If you would like to see more Rip-off Reports on this company/individual, search here:Search Tips
In order to assure the best results in your search:
- Keep the name short & simple, and try different variations of the name.
- Do not include ".com", "S", "Inc.", "Corp", or "LLC" at the end of the Company name.
- Use only the first/main part of a name to get best results.
- Only search one name at a time if Company has many AKA's.
#1 REBUTTAL Owner of company
Issue resolved in 2012
AUTHOR: Tidewater Workshop - ()
SUBMITTED: Thursday, March 27, 2014POSTED: Thursday, March 27, 2014
Mr. Goldenberg's issue was resolved in 2012 with a full credit to his American Express card.
Readers should be aware that the original author gives up all rights to whatever he or she has written once it has been posted it to this website. Reports can never be deleted or changed, even if the writer changes his or her mind or realizes that an error has been made. Additionally, this website remains legally protected (although the website owns what has been written) because the owner of this website does not edit or write the content himself.
As this website warns you if you read the fine print:
The report should be relating an honest, factual, and impartial story. Make your statement as objective as possible...Reporting a false statement can get you sued.
What if I am the original author of a report and I want to remove it or make changes? The simple answer is NO. As indicated throughout our website, the record created by an original author is a permanent record.
Are you an owner, employee or ex-employee with either negative or positive information about the company or individual, or can you provide "insider information" on this company?
Advertisers above have met our
strict standards for business conduct.


text:
Search property listings. Start by entering a search criteria. You can search by City, Zip Code, Area, or MLS Number.
If you want a professional environment of supportive, full-time Realtors who are passionate about their profession, their company and their desire to meet the highest professional standards, my door is open for a confidential interview. You don't need million dollar clients to join Alain Pinel, just the commitment to provide million dollar service.
As an Alain Pinel Realtor, you gain the APR Advantage:
- Principled, committed management at every level
- Non-producing Managing Broker dedicated to your success
- Certified Buffini Mentor
- Leading edge technologies with training and on-site support
- Ongoing training in contracts, negotiation, legal aspects of real estate, sales and marketing, client care, and more.
High quality marketing materials, marketing support and signage in an integrated program designed to improve your listing and sales success
Dedicated new Agent training
Agent Testimonials
(I invite you to call any agent in my office. Office Roster)
(I invite you to call any agent in my office. Office Roster)
Heidi Slocomb
"I made the difficult decision to leave Coldwell Banker after a nearly 30 year association at the end of 2008 and join Alain Pinel Realtors' Walnut Creek office. The rave reviews of the other agent friends who had joined the office earlier in 2008, the enthusiasm of Managing Broker Joe Cutrufelli and his descriptions of what Alain Pinel had to offer convinced me that this would be a positive move.
I had always admired the image of quality and dynamism of the company. I have to say that even after the short time I have been with Alain Pinel, the reality of what this office and company offers has gone light years beyond my expectations. I am now in awe of the fantastic substance behind the quality image of Alain Pinel. Joe Cutrufelli is an inspiring, knowledgeable, informative and caring leader. The staff and other agents are supportive beyond belief.
While not being an accomplished "geek" by any means, I have however embraced the technological tools which can continually improve my efficiency as an agent, grow my business and provide more venues to better market properties in today's market. The promise of outstanding technological tools available at Alain Pinel was the other magnet that drew me to this company. Now that I have been made aware of the breadth of technology available, I am really astounded, grateful and impressed by the advanced and superior tools offered which are truly state-of-the-art. The tools are very user friendly and the technology support staff is hands-on and nearly 24/7, if needed, by phone.
Joe Cutrufelli has also demonstrated his commitment to maintaining a postive, local presence in the Walnut Creek and central county markets through various media advertising in this more difficult real estate climate while other companies are doing the opposite. I have told Joe on several occasions how happy I am to have joined the Walnut Creek office and be associated with such an outstanding company and group of individuals."
Frank Salmen
"I worked for Pacific Union Real Estate for most of my real estate career. With very little notice, they closed the Walnut Creek office. I knew I wanted to stay working close to home and I wanted to continue working for an upscale brokerage. My preference was a locally owned company with a good management team. I interviewed both Alain Pinel Realtors and Empire Realty. It was a very difficult decision. In hindsight, Alain Pinel Realtors was hands down the place to go. The technology, market knowledge and support were incredible but I chose the smaller company. I knew I was going to have to do a lot more on my own. The smaller company did not have the systems or the support that I had grown accustomed to at Pacific Union Real Estate. Somehow I thought the smaller company would care more about me and that would make up for it. I was wrong. After 10 months of giving it 200%, I became more frustrated than I had ever been in my entire career. I came back and talked with Joe and the rest is history. I will stay at Alain Pinel until the day I quit the business. Alain Pinel Realtors is a phenomenal company. There are more tools here than I will ever use. Alain Pinel Realtors has exactly what I was looking for in the smaller company with all the advantages of a large company without the corporate bureaucracy. The management team is incredible. Joe is very knowledgeable and eager to help with anything. He will go to bat for you and will go head to head with anyone. Best of all, this is a fun place to work and that's what it's all about."
"I am so thrilled to be affiliated with Alain Pinel Realtors. I joined the Walnut Creek office in May of 2008 after working with a large, national company for over 20 years. This office is truly astounding! Joe Cutrufelli, our manager, is extremely knowledgeable, informative, responsive, supportive and accessible. The office environment is positive, morale is high, and the Agents are true real estate professionals. They support each other and are willing to share creative and innovative ideas and strategies with one another. The office staff is enthusiastic and committed to the success of all the Agents. The technological, marketing and training resources are first class.
I often feel like Cinderella with the glass slipper - it's a perfect fit! This company, and especially the Walnut Creek office, is truly a "WOW". I am delighted to be part of the Alain Pinel family!"
"If you are a professional real estate agent and considering different broker relationships, I strongly recommend that you consider Alain Pinel Realtors and especially the Walnut Creek office headed by Joe Cutrufelli. Alain Pinel Realtors was founded and continues to be owned and operated by Paul Hulme. I have seen Mr. Hulme operate with grace and wisdom in extremely difficult times. Ours was the first company to really embrace the technology that Realtors now depend on and has made that state-of-the-art technology available to the agents at no, or very little, cost. As a manager, Joe is experienced, willing to help in any situation and dedicated to the success of his agents. Our office staff is excellent. I have been in the business and an owner and agent for 20 years. There is no better company or opportunity."
Kathy England, Escrow Administrator
"I entered "the world of real estate" in 1984. When I joined Alain Pinel Realtors six years ago, I transitioned from being an agent to an independent transaction coordinator. Since August of 2007, I have been in the position of Escrow Administrator. Having worked in three other companies, two of which closed their doors, I can honestly say that Alain Pinel Realtors Walnut Creek office is the best! And, under the direction of Paul Hulme, the owner, we are here to stay. We have a superior level of professional agents, technology that is unmatched, and a broker who brings energy and enthusiasm to the office every day! What more could you want? Our broker, Joe Cutrufelli, truly inspires all of us to succeed, whether agent or staff. Because of his background in mortgage, he is extremely knowledgeable in helping with creative financing. Joe is also the best negotiator I know! In addition, he is a Certified Buffini Mentor and is consistently taking our agents to a higher level in their business. I truly believe that no other company or office in Contra Costa county can compare. I certainly made the right choice!"
"Joining Alain Pinel Realtors in Walnut Creek six years ago has to be one of the best real estate decisions I have made for myself in the 22 years I have been in business. Working with a company that has my best interests at heart is rare! The technology is unsurpassed and is continually changing to meet the needs of "today". We are provided with 7 day a week technical support with live training as well as extremely informative internet courses. Our support staff is awesome, my fellow agents are a remarkable group (and a lot of fun also!) and I cannot say enough for our Managing Broker. Joe Cutrufelli is definitely a hands-on, supportive and extremely knowledgeable guy! I am proud to be associated with Alain Pinel Realtors and proud to be working with what I consider to be the "top agents" in the business."


text:
On deck: Dodgers at Diamondback, Thursday, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Chase Field
TV: Prime Ticket
Did you know: Only three current players in the National League have played in more big league games than Hanley Ramirez (1,089) without reaching the playoffs – Pittsburgh outfielder Marlon Byrd (1,240), Atlanta outfielder Reed Johnson (1,183) and Miami outfielder Austin Kearns (1,125).
Numbers game: 18 – Times since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles they qualified for postseason play, including this season.
Nolasco had a 10-start unbeaten streak snapped with a disastrous start against San Francisco on Saturday. He allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in just 11/3 innings. He retired just 3 of 15 batters. Even with that, Nolasco is 8-2 with a 2.63 ERA since being acquired by the Dodgers from the Miami Marlins on July 6. His ERA ranks 10th in the National League during that time.
vs. Diamondbacks: 8-2, 3.48 ERA
at Chase Field: 4-1, 4.54 ERA
Loves to face: Gerardo Parra, 1 for 16 (.063), 4 SO
Hates to face: Didi Gregorius, 7 for 11 (.636), 2 doubles
Miley is only the second left-handed pitcher in Diamondbacks history to reach double-digits in victories in consecutive seasons. The other is Randy Johnson. Miley, 26, has established a career high with 30 starts and needs nine more strikeouts and 10 innings pitched to set career highs in those categories as well. Miley has allowed two runs or less in eight of his past 11 starts.
vs. Dodgers: 3-1, 3.38 ERA
at Chase Field: 16-10, 3.77 ERA
Loves to face: Michael Young, 0 for 6, 1 SO
Hates to face: Mark Ellis, 10 for 20 (.500), 1 double, 4 HR
Most Popular
User Agreement
Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our Privacy Policy Policy & Terms of Use
Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to republish your name and comment in additional Register publications without any notification or payment.


text:
Precision-9 Compass
Lowrance Software Update Brings New Functionality to HDS Gen3 and HDS Gen2 Touch Multifunction Displays
Lowrance® Totalscan – The All-In-One Fish And Structure-Finding Transducer
Cold slowing down your electronics? Lowrance's fast Ice Machine fishfinder and combo systems helps you find the fish in any temperature. Whether chasing a trophy or spending time with family or friends, rely on Lowrance for your electronics needs.
Available at our accessory store:


text:
Tucker Ellis Takes St. Louis With Wilson Elser Crew
Cleveland-based Tucker Ellis, a firm formed from the ashes of a busted Am Law 200 shop, has announced the opening of its second new Midwestern outpost this year.
Top News
- After Hulk Hogan Win, LA Litigator Stands Up for Melania Trump
- Lawyer in Same-Sex Marriage Case Launches Solo Practice
- Litigation Funder's Suit Calls SEC Process Unconstitutional
- Bad Boies: Boies/Schiller Film Group to Fund 'COPS' Movie
- Ex-McDermott Lawyer Who Tangled With Theranos Joins Vinson
- After Banner Year, Outgoing Baker & McKenzie Chair Reflects on Tenure
Editor's Picks
Columnists and Blogs
Chevron in Ecuador: Is the End in Sight?
This fall it will be 23 years since the Dickensian Chevron case, considered the Jarndyce v. Jarndyce of global litigation, began. That's longer than one of the English chancery cases that inspired Charles Dickens to create Jarndyce, the absurd court case in Bleak House that has become a metaphor for endless litigation.
Trump's Ties to Wachtell and Other Weirdness
From where I sit (New York), Donald Trump is not getting much Big Law support. I've only met one partner who's leaning toward Trump (not to worry, I won't out you). But maybe Trump's luck will change with the appointment of Kellyanne Conway as his campaign manager. The Republican strategist is married to a top litigator.
The Magazine
Irell at a Crossroads: The IP powerhouse that tops our A-List has its challenges, including defections and an aging rainmaker. What's next?
Learn How to Overcome The Most Common Challenges In Real Estate Case Research


text:
Eli Young Band gets up to speed for Kenny Chesney opener
Opening up stadiums for Kenny Chesney's No Shoes Nation tour was a bit of an adjustment, said James Young, guitarist for the Texas-based Eli Young Band.
"It would have been nice if we could have actually warmed up with an arena or amphitheater," Young said of playing the tour kick-off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., in March. »Read Full Article
Mary Nohl House to be dismantled, moved to Sheboygan
After more than a decade of sometimes acrimonious debates about its fate, the Mary Nohl House — the Fox Point cottage sometimes called "the witch's house" — will be dismantled and moved piece by piece from its affluent neighborhood to a site in Sheboygan County, where the public can have ready access to it, the house's owners said Thursday.
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center, which owns the art-infused property, came to the "heartbreaking decision" when it became clear that residents of Fox Point would not support the zoning changes needed for limited public access, perhaps a few thousand visitors per year, said Michael P. Cisler, president of the arts center's board. »Read Full Article(162)
10 Summerfest headliners we're excited to see
When you're suddenly presented with 76 options for summer entertainment, it can be pretty overwhelming. Wednesday morning, Summerfest officials revealed this year's ground stage headliners lineup, prompting a daylong, 'round-the-clock barrage of Facebook and Twitter posts from people weighing in on the Big Gig's gets. »Read Full Article(2)
Kickstarter campaign ending for Smart Studios documentary
Smart Studios, the unassuming recording studio run by Butch Vig and fellow Garbage bandmate Steve Marker, closed down in 2010 after 28 years--and after major bands like Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins,Death Cab for Cutie,Against Me! and Fall Out Boy recorded there.
But the Smart Studios story can live on, with your help. »Read Full Article
Ensemble Musical Offering concert adds to big Handel weekend
If catching one of the Florentine Opera's performances of "Julius Caesar"this weekend makes you yearn for even more Handel, Ensemble Musical Offering is happy to keep your Baroque party going.
Early-music group EMO will present an all-Handel concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 818 E. Juneau Ave. That's the night between the Florentine's two performances of "Julius Caesar" on Friday and Sunday at the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water St. »Read Full Article
Do you have memories of the 'witch's house'? Share your stories with us
Many people know artist Mary Nohl and her house — sometimes called the "witch's house," through urban legend and late night visits as teenagers.
How were you introduced to Mary Nohl and her house? What's the urban lore you've heard? With Thursday's news that the owners of the house plan to dismantle it and move it to Sheboygan, what's your experience of this unique site on Lake Michigan in Fox Point? »Read Full Article(8)
CMT premiering Hugh Bob & the Hustle's 'Blame Me' video
After Milwaukee country band Hugh Bob & the Hustle performed a showcase for CMT executives in January, Leslie Fram, senior vice president of music strategy for the network, tweeted to the band, "Ready to get your music on TV!"
Fram was good to her word. The music video for "Blame Me," off of the band's self-titled 2012 debut album, is premiering on CMT Pure at 6 p.m. CT Thursday. Shot by local photographer and filmmaker CJ Foeckler, the video features the band playing a gig at Yield Bar surrounded by friends and fans. »Read Full Article
A guide to Miller Park opening day for young pups and others
Dear Hank:
So, welcome home. »Read Full Article(13)
Milwaukee-area movie events focus on Rwanda, global issues
A pair of globally minded movie events — thought-provoking and free to attend — come to the Milwaukee area next week.
■Five documentaries exploring the human condition from a global perspective are showing Wednesday as part of the United Nations Association Traveling Film Festival, stopping at Carroll University's Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave., Waukesha. The films start at 4 p.m., with "Soldiers of Conscience," followed by: "Faces," 5:35 p.m.; "The Education of Shelby Knox," 7:10 p.m.; "American Outrage," 8:35 p.m.; and "Happy," 9:40 p.m. »Read Full Article
Milwaukee movies off the grid: March 28-April 3
A look at alternative-venue movie options around Milwaukee:
UWM Union Theatre
"Norte, The End of History": An epic reframing of Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment," in Filipino with English subtitles. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 p.m. Sunday. $6; $5 for UWM faculty, staff and alumni, and non-UWM students and seniors; $4 for UWM students. »Read Full Article
New DVD releases April 1: 'Anchorman 2,' '47 Ronin'
ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES (Paramount) Sequel to the 2004 cult favorite, with Will Ferrell as a clueless TV news anchor, has a kernel of a great idea: that Ron Burgundy, trying to resurrect his career by taking a job with a fledgling 24-hour news channel, triggered the avalanche of infotainment we suffer through today, thanks in part to his Breaking News coverage of a car chase in Milwaukee. But instead of exploiting the TV newsroom culture — definitely ripe for satire — the film focuses lazily on the personal journey of Burgundy's village idiot and his band of lunatics, including old news-team buddies Steve Carell, David Koechner and Paul Rudd. With Christina Applegate, Meagan Good, James Marsden, Harrison Ford, Kristen Wiig. (PG-13 originally; crude content, drug use language — but also available in R-rated version) ★★ »Read Full Article
'Bad Words' spells dark debut for actor-director Jason Bateman
When is a movie about an eighth-grade spelling bee not appropriate for children? When it's the raunchy comedy "Bad Words," which is the "Bad Santa" of the genre. Or tries to be.
Curiously, eighth-grade boys might be the ones most interested in such calculatingly transgressive material, including nudity and multisyllable profanity from the mouths of babes. »Read Full Article
Brewers' ballpark pup gets bobblehead game Sept. 13
Bark loud enough and you get what you want: Fans wanted a bobblehead of Hank the Brewers dog.
The Milwaukee Brewers announced that giveaway on Thursday. They're calling it Bobblehank. The ninth bobblehead on the Brewers roster will be available Sept. 13, which has been named Wisconsin Humane Society Day at Miller Park. The Hank bobblehead is expected to show him sitting. »Read Full Article(29)
Singles Scorecard: Hear new songs from Prince, 50 Cent and the Black Keys
Rapper 50 Cent goes on autopilot on his new single "Pilot." Associated Press photo by Brandon Wade. »Read Full Blog Post
On Tap Today: The Goonies; Taste the Ward
Hey, '80s kids, you'll want to head to the Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St., tonight to watch "The Goonies" with a little MST3K flavor. Comedians will debut Stand-Up Cinema, adding live comic commentary and their own sound effects to the screening, along with re-enacting actual and "deleted" scenes from the film.
It starts at 10 p.m., and if you hapen to miss it, they'll be at it again on April 4. Admission is $10. »Read Full Blog Post
Kraft Music donates 100 guitars to Guitars for Vets
Franklin-based retailer Kraft Music has given local nonprofit Guitars for Vets 100 Yamaha guitars.
"This is our way to give something back to the heroes who have defended our nation and our freedom," Kraft Music owner Ben Kraft said in a statement. "We're happy to have the opportunity to show our gratitude." »Read Full Article


text:
History was made by the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday afternoon in New Orleans.
Dr. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected president of the SBC, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.
Under usual circumstances when someone is running unopposed for office, SBC members even take a vote.
That was not the case Tuesday. Attendees wanted to make sure that their vote was on the record for Luter.
There was a large contingent of people from east Mississippi and west Alabama in New Orleans for the vote.
Luter takes office Wednesday; he will serve one year, and then holding with tradition, will be elected to a second 1-year term.


text:
Now Playing
The Upside To Plunging Off The Fiscal Cliff
Post-election Washington is buzzing with talk of compromise and cooperation. Republicans and Democrats want to avoid a looming budget and economic disaster, and their leaders say they're ready to get to work. But some budget experts say it may be necessary to go over the fiscal cliff to reach an agreement.


text:
The next Australian bowling attack? Everage, Bouncer and Greer.
Australia's desperation to try and turn things around after an appalling start to the Ashes series has seen them select a player who has never played a game of first-class cricket.
That's right: Ashton Turner's first ever proper game of cricket is for Australia. If you thought Ashton Agar was an unknown before his first Test debut, then this is a level further along still.
The off-spinner took to the field on Friday to play for his country in the tour match against Sussex at the stadium in Hove, which is Australia's last chance to get some decent match time in before the third Test starts next Thursday.
Turner's selection seems simply beyond belief. Cow Corner looked up his stats from his homeland and was initally impressed to see that he had an impressive average of 51 with the bat, and a wicket for every 32 runs given away with the ball.
Then we double-checked, and discovered that both these numbers came from a single one-day match between Western Australia and Perth in which he happened to score 51 runs and take a single wicket in his six overs while giving up 32 runs.
Why on earth have they picked him? It hasn't done much to dispel the air of desperation in the Aussie camp - they have now picked 13 spinners in Test cricket since Shane Warne's retirement. England at Lord's, meanwhile, demonstrated that a half-decent spin bowler is as indispensable to a cricket team as a bat is indispensable to batsman.
Turner also had the advantage of geography on his side: he was in England anyway, having won a spot on a scholarship programme with Cricket Australia which has seen him put up in Sussex and playing local club cricket for Chichester.
We checked his stats from that stint in the Sussex Premier League and discovered that he's averaged over 50 with the bat (he's even scored a century), but that he has laboured with the ball, conceding 40 runs for every wicket to his name.
Considering that it's his bowling that is needed, those numbers don't really seem reason to ask him to make the short trip down the A27 to Hove for the three-day match this weekend.
It's got us wondering, though. If things getting desperate enough to consider a player for a Test match who has never played a single unlimited-overs match at the top level, perhaps they should go the whole hog and REALLY cast the net wide. Here's a few of our suggestions for late call-ups to the team:
- - -
Shane Warne: We think he finally retired from all cricket last week, although the various formats and the multiple retirements these days make it hard to be absolutely certain. Thanks to his efforts to keep Liz Hurley the retired Baggy Caps legend is fitter than he ever was in his playing days, so we'd expect him still to be able to perform. The major worry would be that he'd hold back from bowling his best deliveries for fear of tearing open his plastic face.
Germaine Greer: Perhaps the most famous feminist in recent history would be ideally placed to try and play on the England team's ingrained gentlemanly reticence to bowl quickly at a woman, while simultaneously making them feel terrible for failing to subject her to the same treatment as their team-mates.
Bouncer from Neighbours: Not much of a batsman, but with a name like that he's bound to have a bit of talent in fast bowling. And he'd be the ultimate lightning fast fielder.
Dame Edna: The Aussie comic is just seven months away from entering 'her' 80s so might not contribute much in terms of athleticism, but still has that famous savage wit which could be turned into some of the great sledging of all time. Stand her at first slip, where Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin can't decide which of them will be catching the ball anyway.
- Sports & Recreation
- Cricket
- Australia
- Ashton Turner
- Shane Warne


text:
Responses to the Downturn: A Survey of Colleges
The Chronicle of Higher Education and Moody's Investors Service surveyed more than 200 colleges and universities about how they have been affected by the recession and what steps they were taking or considering to deal with it.
We sent a Web-based...
This content is available exclusively to Chronicle subscribers
Already a subscriber?
Log in now
Not a subscriber yet?
Subscribe now for instant access to this article and thousands of others, data tables, and interactive charts — all available exclusively for Chronicle subscribers. Plus your subscription includes weekly print or digital delivery of The Chronicle and The Review and the Chronicle iPad® Edition.Subscribe Today


text:
Pope Francis: Seeing What He Wants To See
1 Comment · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in Church & State
Pope Francis on Good Friday:
Pope Francis decried what he called Europe's "indifferent and anaesthetised conscience" over refugees, during Good Friday prayers in Rome during which he also criticised pedophile priests, arms dealers and fundamentalists.
Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful gathered for the service at the city's Colosseum, where thousands of Christians are believed to have been killed in Roman times.
"O Cross of Christ, today we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anaesthetised conscience," the 79-year old pontiff said, referring to the thousands who set off in unseaworthy boats to reach Greece and the rest of Europe."
Francis has been hectoring Europeans about migrants (many of whom are not refugees) since, at least, his disgusting, dishonest and demagogic pronouncements in Lampedusa some years back. Yet he seems unwilling to acknowledge quite how many refugees Europe has been taking in of late. It would, I suppose, get in the way of his 'narrative'.
The Pope also seems unwilling to acknowledge that comments such as his have helped create a climate which have tempted many migrants to take the dangerous route to Europe – with the tragic consequences with which we have become all too familiar.
What was it again that the prewar British prime minister Stanley Baldwin had to say about power without responsibility?
Two "Brothers": Pope Francis and the Chekist
Cross-posted on the Corner.
The Pope's decision to meet his "brother", Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in, delightfully, Havana (you can find some details here of the way that the persecution of Christians has spiked since last year's Francis-brokered deal between the Cuban dictatorship and the US) says quite a bit about Francis' equivocal (I'll be kind) attitude to individual liberty.
As for Kirill, well, here's David Satter writing in Forbes back in 2009:
The installation of Kirill I as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church last month will not end the subordination of the church to the Putin regime. On the contrary, the church is likely to emerge as an even stronger supporter of dictatorship and anti-Western ideology. Kirill, who was the Metropolitan of Smolensk, succeeds Alexei II who died in December after 18 years as head of the Russian Church. According to material from the Soviet archives, Kirill was a KGB agent (as was Alexei). This means he was more than just an informer, of whom there were millions in the Soviet Union. He was an active officer of the organization. Neither Kirill nor Alexei ever acknowledged or apologized for their ties with the security agencies…
On the day after his accession to the Patriarchy, Kirill elaborated on his ideas for "harmoniously" combining the demands of the state and human rights. He said that he wanted to base church-state relations on the Byzantine concept of "symphonia," in which a distinction is drawn between the imperial authority and the priesthood, with the former concerned with human affairs and the latter with matters divine. The two are regarded as closely interdependent, and neither is subordinated to the other. Church scholars have pointed out that there is no example of symphonia successfully defining church-state relations in our times, and the recent history of the Russian Orthodox church indicates that, faced with the power of the Kremlin, it has no interest in becoming a moral force.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the church received official privileges including the right to import duty-free alcohol and tobacco. In 1995, the Nikolo-Ugreshky Monastery, which is directly subordinated to the patriarchate, earned $350 million from the sale of alcohol. The patriarchate's department of foreign church relations, which Kirill ran, earned $75 million from the sale of tobacco. But the patriarchate reported an annual budget in 1995-1996 of only $2 million. Kirill's personal wealth was estimated by the Moscow News in 2006 to be $4 billion.
Thus the affair of the disappearing watch. Disappearing watch? The BBC explains:
The Russian Orthodox Church has apologised for showing a photo of its leader Patriarch Kirill that was doctored to airbrush out a luxury watch he was wearing. The gold Breguet watch is estimated to be worth more than $30,000 (£19,000) and was spotted by Russian bloggers.
The watch's reflection could be seen in the 2009 photo on the church's website.
Clearly—to borrow Francis' term—a 'church of the poor'.
Meanwhile, writing in The Catholic Herald last year, Geraldine Fagan explains how the Kirill's (superficially spiritual) vision of a "Russian World" (Russkiy Mir, a term also used by Putin) that spreads beyond Russia's current orders has given support to the Kremlin's adventures in the 'near abroad', adventures that have not been good news for religious minorities:
Although ostensibly upholding religious freedom, the Donetsk People's Republic [a 'state' in occupied Ukraine] retains the right to "protect the population from the activity of religious sects". These "sects" are not defined by the territory's constitution – but you only have to watch Russian state television to work out who they are. A popular talk show broadcast on the day of Crimea's annexation focused on "false religions that have destroyed the Ukrainian nation and soul", including Baptists, charismatic Protestants and Eastern Rite Catholics. Catholics and Protestants are already reporting difficulties in the pro-Moscow areas.
Protestant communities are particularly strong in south-east Ukraine, following a 19th-century spiritual revival among German settlers originally invited there by Catherine the Great. In the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, Protestants report confiscations of their churches as well as the Donetsk Christian University, previously among the largest Protestant institutions of higher education in the former USSR.
In one particularly grave incident in June 2014, four Pentecostal men known for their active mission work were kidnapped by separatists in Slavyansk and later found shot dead, their bodies showing signs of severe beatings. A small Catholic convent founded 18 years ago in the Crimean city of Simferopol was forced to close in late 2014, according to Forum 18 News Service. The convent's three Franciscan nuns – citizens of Poland and Ukraine – were denied extensions to their residency permits. Six of the peninsula's 12 Roman Catholic priests had similarly been forced out by the end of last year. Forum 18 also reports that only one of Crimea's five Eastern Rite Catholic parishes currently has a priest. Being citizens of Ukraine, their seven priests may spend only 90 days at a time on Russian territory before leaving the country for a further 90 days.
Doubtless they will have been delighted by the spectacle in Havana.
Cuba · Patriarch Kirill · Pope Francis · Russia · Russian Orthodoxy · Ukraine · Vatican · Vladimir Putin
Pope Francis, (Partly) Explained
2 Comments · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in politics, Religion
But the near-universal acceptance of a belief does not prove that it is valid or even meaningful any more than the general belief in witches or ghosts proved the validity of these concepts. What we have to deal with in the case of "social justice" is simply a quasi-religious superstition of the kind which we should respectfully leave in peace so long as it merely makes those happy who hold it, but which we must fight when it becomes the pretext of coercing other men. And the prevailing belief in "social justice" is at present probably the gravest threat to most other values of a free civilization.
Friedrich Hayek, The Mirage of Social Justice (1976)
"Three Parent" Babies? No, More Like 2.001 (If That)…
Comments off · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in law, Science & Faith
Bioethicists are, for the most part, a pretty presumptuous bunch: who on earth do they think they are?
In this case, however, highlighted by the Washington Post, they have got things right:
An elite panel of scientists and bioethicists offered guarded approval Wednesday of a novel form of genetic engineering that could prevent congenital diseases but would result in babies with genetic material from three parents.
The committee, which was convened last year at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, concluded that it is ethically permissible to "go forward, but with caution" with mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT), said chairman Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethicist at Johns Hopkins University.
No, I'm not sure why it is up to them to decide what is or is not "ethically permissible", but still…
But the advisory panel's conclusions have slammed into a congressional ban: The omnibus fiscal year 2016 budget bill passed by Congress late last year contained language prohibiting the government from using any funds to handle applications for experiments that genetically alter human embryos.
Thus the green light from the scientists and ethicists won't translate anytime soon into clinical applications that could potentially help families that want healthy babies, said Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a pioneer of the new technique at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore.
"It seems like the FDA is disabled in this case by Congress," Mitalipov said. "At this point we're still not clear how to proceed."
Congress should get out of the way.
The FDA released a statement Wednesday saying it will carefully review the report from the advisory committee, but added that the congressional ban prohibits the agency from reviewing applications "in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification. As such, human subject research utilizing genetic modification of embryos for the prevention of transmission of mitochondrial disease cannot be performed in the United States in FY 2016."
The new clinical procedures should be used rarely, with extreme care and with abundant government oversight, and they initially should be applied only to male embryos, the advisory panel said. The group delivered its report at a morning news conference at the National Academy of Sciences headquarters in Washington.
The report comes at a time of dazzling advances in genetic engineering and a commensurate struggle to understand the ethics of "playing God," a phrase uttered twice Wednesday by committee member R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin.
Then again, as it's most unlikely that God played God…
The FDA last year asked the Institute of Medicine, now part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, to review the ethical implications of MRT since this other method of genetic engineering would result in what has been loosely referred to as "three-parent babies." British officials have already approved investigatory experiments involving the technique.
Certain serious congenital diseases can be passed from a mother to child via the tiny amount of genetic material contained in the mitochondria, which are small organs within a cell that are often described as the cell's energy factories or power plants. New experimental techniques involving in vitro fertilization make it possible to replace mutated and potentially disease-associated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with non-pathogenic mtDNA donated from another woman.
Mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes and is distinct from nuclear DNA (nDNA), which in humans has upwards of 20,000 genes. The mitochondrial DNA is not found in sperm, only in eggs, and thus is passed only from mother to child. That's why the panel recommended limiting the experimental procedures at first to male embryos.
The males-only guideline is intended to prevent the introduction of unwanted, irreversible genetic changes to the human species. Any genetic changes associated with this kind of engineering will meet a dead end in males.
"If there are adverse events, they would not be reverberating down the generations," Charo said.
The procedure should be extended to female embryos only after the long-term effects of such novel genetic engineering are better understood, the committee concluded.
Nuclear DNA is by far the more significant form of genetic material for determining most human characteristics. As the committee put it, "[W]hile mtDNA plays a central role in genetic ancestry, traits that are carried in nDNA are those that in the public understanding constitute the core of genetic relatedness in terms of physical and behavioral characteristics as well as most forms of disease."
As a result, the modification of mitochondrial DNA "is meaningfully different."
But panel members said that they took the philosophical issues seriously, noting that someone with genetic material from two different maternal bloodlines would potentially have to wrestle with questions about identity, kinship and ancestry.
Not really. The babies who benefit from this technology will have about 0.1 percent of their DNA attributable to a third party. It's a (very) crude way of looking this, but think how many great, great-grandparents away it would take to account for 0.1% of someone's ancestry….
To describe the donor as a third "parent" is, to put it mildly, a stretch.
And, as a reminder of what this is about:
The donor provides only their mitochondria. Often called the "power plants" of the cell, the mitochondria converts energy from food into energy that can power a cell. When someone's mitochondria don't function properly, it's bad news indeed…
As one 'ethicist' notes:
It is not part of what makes us genetically who we are.It doesn't affect height, eye color, intelligence, musicality. It simply allows the batteries to work properly…
And as to what's at stake;
Mitochondrial diseases can cause a whole host of life threatening problems, and it's estimated that as many as 4,000 children are born with such conditions in the United States each year.
Again, politicians should get out of the way.
Mosquito as "Enforcer" of Social Solidarity
Comments off · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in politics, Religion, Science & Faith
America Magazine is, in its own way, an entertaining corner of the religious left published by Jesuits. It's a reliable source of by-the-numbers leftism supplemented by pious distortions, holy evasions, extra helpings of sanctimony and regular hosannas for the Dear Leader, the (more or less) Peronist Jesuit now presiding over the Vatican.
So I suppose it wasn't altogether surprising to read this there:
Like the Ebola panic of 2014, Zika reminds the complacent of the affluent world of a kind of enforced solidarity with folks in poorer regions, an impoverished and sometimes cruel imposter of the true solidarity we are called to embrace.
And for added points:
Zika joins an unhappy collection of diseases making the jump from tropical regions, where some of the world's poorest people reside, to temperate zones of affluence. Global warming may be making previously hostile geography more amenable to the major vector for these illnesses, the humble mosquito.
Ah yes, global warming. Of course.
Evolving with Gods
Here's John Gray in The New Statesman, reviewing God Is Watching You: How the Fear of God Makes Us Human by Dominic Johnson:
An evolutionary biologist trained at Oxford who also holds a doctorate in political science, Johnson believes that the need to find a more-than-natural meaning in natural events is universal – "a ubiquitous phenomenon of human nature" – and performs a vital role in maintaining order in society. Extending far beyond cultures shaped by monotheism, it "spans cultures across the globe and every historical period, from indigenous tribal societies . . . to modern world religions – and includes atheists, too".
Reward and punishment may not emanate from a single omnipotent deity, as imagined in Western societies. Justice may be dispensed by a vast unseen army of gods, angels, demons and ghosts, or else by an impersonal cosmic process that rewards good deeds and punishes wrongdoing, as in the Hindu and Buddhist conception of karma. But some kind of moral order beyond any human agency seems to be demanded by the human mind, and this sense that our actions are overseen and judged from beyond the natural world serves a definite evolutionary role. Belief in supernatural reward and punishment promotes social co-operation in a way nothing else can match. The belief that we live under some kind of supernatural guidance is not a relic of superstition that might some day be left behind but an evolutionary adaptation that goes with being human.
That's not true for everyone, of course (as it happens, the idea of a meaningless, indifferent universe suits me just fine) but as a general principle it is convincing. And that means that religion is not going away any time soon, or ever.
In the course of an article for Politix on godless conservatives written a couple of years back, I noted this:
Godless conservatives however are rarely anti-religious. They often appreciate religion as a force for social cohesion and as a link to a nation's past. They may push back hard against religious extremism, but, unlike today's "new atheists" they are most unlikely to be found railing against "sky fairies." Mankind has evolved in a way that makes it strongly disposed towards religious belief, and conservatism is based on recognizing human nature for what it is.
New Atheists (and plenty of old ones too) not so much…
[The] "new atheists" are simple souls. In their view, which derives from rationalist philosophy and not from evolutionary theory, the human mind is a faculty that seeks an accurate representation of the world. This leaves them with something of a problem. Why are most human beings, everywhere and at all times, so wedded to some version of religion? It can only be that their minds have been deformed by malignant priests and devilish power elites. Atheists have always been drawn to demonology of this kind; otherwise, they cannot account for the persistence of the beliefs they denounce as poisonously irrational. The inveterate human inclination to religion is, in effect, the atheist problem of evil.
But what if belief in the supernatural is natural for human beings? For anyone who takes the idea of evolution seriously, religions are not intellectual errors, but adaptations to the experience of living in an uncertain and hazardous world. What is needed – and still largely lacking – is a perspective in which religion is understood as an inexhaustibly complex variety of beliefs and practices that have evolved to meet enduring human needs.
If the religious instinct is always likely to be with us, then, rather than railing against religion as a whole, it is much more useful to weigh different forms of religious expression against each other. All religions are not the same. Some faiths will be more benign than others. Equally there are different ways of following a faith. What a holy book says is one thing, how its followers behave can be quite another. Religions develop over time: what was, so to speak, writ in stone thousands of years ago, may now be read by many of the faithful as nothing more than folklore.
And man, of course, can shape the course of that development. If I had to design a religion, it would be kindly, gently patriotic, theologically broad-minded, a quiet conservator of tradition and order with room (for those who want it) for a spot of the supernatural, but little time for superstition, the navel-gazing nonsense of mysticism or an over-insistence on dogma. In fact, it would look a lot like an idealized version of the Church of England of seventy or eighty years ago, a happy accident of history that is far from likely to be repeated.
But back to Gray:
Practically without exception, the atheist movements of the past few centuries testify to a demand for meaning that has led them to replicate many of the patterns of thinking distinctive of monotheism, and more particularly of Christianity.
For Christians, human history isn't an endless succession of cycles – as it was for the ancient Greek and Romans, for example – but a story, and one of a distinctive kind. Unlike practitioners of polytheism, who seek and find meaning in other ways, Christians have found sense in life through a mythical narrative in which humankind is struggling towards redemption. It is a myth that infuses the imagination of countless people who imagine they have left religion behind. The secular style of modern thinking is deceptive. Marxist and liberal ideas of "alienation" and "revolution", "the march of humanity" and "the progress of civilisation" are redemptive myths in disguise.
For some, atheism may be no more than a fundamental lack of interest in the concepts and practices of religion. But as an organised movement, atheism has always been a surrogate faith. Evangelical atheism is the faith that mass conversion to godlessness can transform the world. This is a fantasy. If the history of the past few centuries is any guide, a godless world would be as prone to savage conflicts as the world has always been. Still, the belief that without religion human life would be vastly improved sustains and consoles many a needy unbeliever – which confirms the essentially religious character of atheism as a movement.
Atheism need not be an evangelical cult. Here and there one finds thinkers who have truly left redemptive myths behind. The American journalist and iconoclast H L Mencken was a rambunctious atheist who delighted in lambasting religious believers; but he did so in a spirit of mockery, not out of any interest in converting them into unbelievers. Wisely, he did not care what others believed. Rather than lamenting the fact of incurable human irrationality, he preferred to laugh at the spectacle it presents. If monotheism was, for Mencken, an amusing exhibition of human folly, one suspects he would have found the new atheism just as entertaining.
Rightly so.
Read the whole thing.
The Vatican and Brexit
Comments off · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in Church & State, politics, Religion
The Roman Catholic Church has always been somewhat suspicious of the nation-state, an institution it regards as an obstacle to its own claims of universal authority, so this story from the Daily Telegraph comes as no surprise:
The Vatican wants Britain to stay in the European Union, the Pope's foreign secretary has declared.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See, suggested "Brexit" could weaken Europe.
In an interview with ITV, the English cleric who has a weekly meeting with Pope Francis, gave a clear signal of Rome's view of the best outcome of the forthcoming in/out referendum on continued EU membership.
"The Holy See respects the ultimate decision of the British people – that's for the British electorate to decide," he said.
"But I think we would see it as being something that is not going to make a stronger Europe."
No, Brexit would not weaken 'Europe', and, if it dealt a blow to the EU (which is something very different), it might well even strengthen it. The EU, based on post-democracy and an ideology imposed from the top, may appeal to the Vatican, but it has evolved into a catastrophe for the peoples of Europe. Under the circumstances, anything that might 'weaken' it (and, regrettably, Brexit could easily have the opposite effect) is only to be welcomed.
As to the Vatican and specific question of Brexit (the UK's departure from the EU), perhaps it's appropriate to revisit yet again what the British politician Enoch Powell had to say back in 1972 about Henry VIII's assertion of English independence from Rome:
The relevant fact about the history of the British Isles and above all of England is its separateness in a political sense from the history of continental Europe…When Henry VIII declared that 'this realm of England is an empire (imperium) of itself', he was making not a new claim but a very old one; but he was making it at a very significant point of time. He meant—as Edward I had meant, when he said the same over two hundred years before—that there is an imperium on the continent, but that England is another imperium outside its orbit and is endowed with the plenitude of its own sovereignty. The moment at which Henry VIII repeated this assertion was that of what is misleadingly called 'the reformation'—misleadingly, because it was, and is, essentially a political and not a religious event.
The whole subsequent history of Britain and the political character of the British people have taken their colour and trace their unique quality from that moment and that assertion. It was the final decision that no authority, no law, no court outside the realm would be recognized within the realm. When Cardinal Wolsey fell, the last attempt had failed to bring or keep the English nation within the ambit of any external jurisdiction or political power: since then no law has been for England outside England, and no taxation has been levied in England by or for an authority outside England—or not at least until the proposition that Britain should accede to the Common Market [the future EU].
Britain did, of course, go on to join that 'Common Market', not least because most Britons did not understand that 'ever closer Europe' meant what it said.
It's time to reverse that now.
Brexit · Henry VIII · Roman Catholicism · UK · Vatican
Multiculturalism as Sacred Idea
2 Comments · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in politics
An intriguing suggestion from Ed West in The Spectator:
I'd go as far as to say it that immigration has become a sacred idea, and that many believe multiculturalism to be a moral good in itself, whatever the end result. This is why, uniquely among any subject discussed in the news, its downsides come with a caveat that 'this subject will be used by right-wing extremists'. The outrageous behaviour of bankers, for example, is never reported alongside fears that the news will be 'exploited by left-wing extremists'….
Perhaps the most telling comments came from Ralf Jaeger, interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, who said: 'What happens on right-wing platforms & chat rooms is at least as awful as the acts of those assaulting the women. This is poisoning the climate of our society.' One might suggest that importing 1.2m or so people from vastly different cultures – rather than the reaction – was more likely to affect the climate of the society. One might add that internet chatter, however extreme or poisonous, was not comparable to actual sexual assault, and that such a comparison was morally bankrupt.
But the point of sacred ideas is that they drive us towards irrational positions that we might otherwise find absurd. They also push people into making poor choices: if your obsession with the right-wing causes you to downplay or ignore major social problems that result from multiculturalism, then surely you are more likely to cause nationalist extremism to flourish? As I have said before, Europe is like Oedipus – by trying to avoid a disastrous future, it is doing everything to make it happen.
… The problem with taboos is that they can be broken by big events….
…The mass sexual assaults of New Year's Eve are an example of a big taboo-breaker, and once the taboo about mentioning them is out, they tend to become enormous, and dangerous, subjects. It has almost not been noticed this week, because 69-year-olds keep dying, but in both Germany and the Netherlands, the radical right-wing parties have unprecedented levels of support. Meanwhile foreign-owned shops in Leipzig have been smashed up and Jews have been attacked both by asylum seekers and by right-wing extremists – who mistook them for Arabs. History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme, as Mark Twain probably didn't say. It's just not a very good rhyme in this case.
Isaiah Berlin: Half Right
1 Comment · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in Uncategorized
As for the meaning of life, I do not believe that it has any: I do not at all ask what it is, for I suspect it has none, and this is a source of great comfort to me — we make of it what we can, and that is all there is about it. Those who seek for some deep, cosmic, all-embracing, teleologically arguable libretto or god are, believe me pathetically deluded.
So far as I'm concerned, Berlin is right about that meaning of life thing. It's nothing but a relief to me that there is none, and for the reasons he gives. On the other hand, to describe those who have found some sort of god as 'pathetically deluded' is too smug and so far as that 'pathetically' is concerned, often inaccurate. As a species we seem to be hardwired for faith. Upbringing and culture will generally dictate the form that the faith takes, sometimes disastrously so, frequently not.
"Another Emergency"
Comments off · Posted by Andrew Stuttaford in Science & Faith
The Economist, at it again:
THE political masters of the world are gathering in a Paris traumatised by terror to consider another sort of emergency, climate change.
Trivialize much? Exaggerate much?
The magazine's 'Erasmus' goes on to note:
The unusual thing about this gathering is that mankind's religious guardians have also been preparing for it; their voices have been rising in a crescendo of moral concern.
Unusual? Not really: "mankind's religious guardians" (a phrase so sycophantic and so syrupy that it beggars, well, belief) were pretty noisy before the failed Copenhagen climate conference too.
But we shouldn't be surprised by those expressions of "moral concern". The science of climate change is one thing (I'm probably a 'lukewarmer' myself), but the way it is understood is another, and the usual 'narrative' of climate change, with its implicit attack on materialism and warnings of an apocalypse to come, fits very neatly into the teachings of any number of faiths. No wonder "mankind's religious guardians" want to get involved.
Back to Erasmus:
When the French president toured typhoon-stricken areas of the Philippines in February, he brought along Patriarch Bartholomew, the "first among equals" in the Orthodox Christian world and a veteran campaigner for the planet. Then in July, Mr Hollande hosted an eye-catching "summit of conscience" that involved faith leaders of many stripes; they ranged from the Orthodox Patriarch to Sufi Muslim sages; from Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana (speaking for the pope) to indigenous people from fragile parts of Latin America. The co-organisers included R20, an environmental and green-energy movement started by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, and Alliance of Religions and Conservation, a British-based NGO launched by Prince Philip.
With the exception of Hollande (and, once upon a time, Schwarzenegger) these people are, of course, unelected, a reminder that much of the climate change 'process' is a post-democratic exercise.
And talking loftily about faith, morality and 'the planet' will not change that most inconvenient truth.