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Debates of Sept. 29th, 2011
House of Commons Hansard #23 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was economy.
- Question Period
- Copyright Modernization Act
- Safeguarding Canadians' Personal Information Act
- Canada Pension Plan
- Canada Consumer Product Safety Act
- National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act
- Criminal Code
- Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act
- Open Government Act
- Louis Riel Act
- Food and Drugs Act
- Petitions
- Questions Passed as Orders for Returns
- Business of Supply
- Brantford Veterans Memorial
- Public Transit
- Sand Plains Development Fund
- Users' Rights Week
- Royal Regiment of Canada
- Otterburn Boating Club
- Jasper Dark Sky Festival
- Republic of Moldova
- War Resisters
- World Heart Day
- Correctional Service Canada
- Public Safety
- Quebec Cultural Association of the Deaf
- Public Safety
- Canadian Forces
- Justice
- The Economy
- Government Ministers
- Aboriginal Affairs
- The Economy
- Champlain Bridge
- Minister of National Defence
- G8 Summit
- Committees of the House
- The Environment
- Seniors
- Health
- Status of Women
- G8 Summit
- Sri Lanka
- Public Safety
- Copyright
- Veterans Affairs
- Taxation
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Foreign Affairs
- Copyright
- Business of the House
- Points of Order
- Business of Supply
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:35 p.m.
Mike Wallace Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, obviously, it would be devastating to our economy and to the approach that we have been taking.
We think we have been doing the right thing with our economic action plan. We have made strategic investments that create jobs, not jobs just for today but long-term jobs, and we are creating infrastructure that will support the economic growth of our communities in the long term, not just in the short term.
I will make one last point. The member made a great point when he said that Ontario went through a very terrible time when the NDP were in place. In fact, the NDP leader in Ontario listed all the NDP leaders in the provinces and left out the NDP government in Ontario. That is how bad it is. Its own people do not even like what it did.
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:35 p.m.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague, the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.
I am pleased to join with my colleagues today in the House in support of the motion.
The government does a very good job of blowing smoke in mirrors. It totes around this notion that Canada's economy is not suffering and that we are not still experiencing the effects of the economic downturn, meanwhile ignoring the reality facing many Canadians and their families.
Many families in my constituency with whom I am speaking are still having trouble making ends meet. Not only that, but in order to make ends meet, many Canadians are forced to take on two, three or four part-time jobs. Why is this, one might ask? It is because far too many household supporting jobs have been lost and have disappeared. Canadians are being forced to turn to any form of employment that they can secure. These are usually more precarious forms of employment. I know that many of the constituents of Scarborough—Rouge River are burning the candle at both ends.
The current Canadian job market remains weaker than it was before the crisis in October 2008. Unemployment has risen to 7.3%. The proportion of part-time workers and involuntary part-time workers has also risen rapidly. Full-time, permanent, family supporting jobs remain very difficult to find in many areas across the country. The real unemployment rate, which, of course, includes labour force dropouts and involuntary part-time workers, was at 11.1% in July of this year, up from 9.4% in July 2008.
How the government can sit on that side of the House and argue that our economy is recovering fine and that Canadians are doing well is absolutely beyond me.
What is more is that this bleak job market and lack of real opportunity is even worse for Canada's youth. An article that was published in the Globe and Mail earlier this week outlined details from a recent study on Canada's problem with unemployed and under-employed university graduates. These are our best and brightest and yet, this week, when I asked a question in the House about this exact topic, the members opposite did not stand and talk about what they were doing to actually create more jobs and give more opportunity to the most educated in our country. Instead, they stood and spoke about tax credits.
What good is a tax credit if people cannot make enough money to pay any income taxes? This, unfortunately, is the bleak situation facing many of our youth today. They do not have jobs that pay enough for them to pay income taxes. What kind of life is that?
In my riding of Scarborough—Rouge River, the number one issue that I hear at the doorstep of my constituents is jobs, jobs for our youth, jobs for our elderly, jobs. The riding of Scarborough—Rouge River does not have very much to offer in the way of jobs. Unfortunately, the reality for many of my constituents is that they must travel into the downtown core of Toronto for work. From our area, that is a minimum of about a two hour commute each way, which is a four hour commute in a day for many of my constituents. I used to do that myself. This means that people are spending four hours a day on public transport, which means four hours away from their families, an extra four hours a day that their kids must spend in day care or with other support, and four hours where we could be working at our second jobs to earn more income that we are not getting at our first job.
What is worse is that many of my constituents do not work the regular 9 to 5. Many work shifts, overnight or into the wee hours of the morning, and then they must make that two hour trip back home on public transit which, at night time, can be even longer. This becomes an issue of public safety. When members of our families are waiting for buses on our street corners at all hours of the night, this is a huge concern, especially with the continuation of the proposed cuts to these services, especially transit in the greater Toronto area.
Many of the parents with whom I speak are very worried. They are worried about the welfare and the safety of their children. What messages are we sending to our youth when the only jobs available to them are part-time or shift work? What messages are we sending to our university graduates when, after spending years and thousands of dollars on earning a degree, they are forced into jobs that are greatly below their education standard. We know that our university grads are getting jobs at the low end of the income scale. What hope for tomorrow do we give these people?
This is another question I am often asked at the doorsteps of my constituency, unfortunately. My riding is one of the poorest in the GTA and yet many of the families who live in my area are spending their life savings or incurring extra and extreme amounts of debt to send their children to school to get that university degree or college diploma, only to have their children graduate and not be able to find jobs or only find severely underpaid jobs.
What financial risks now face those parents? What hope do they have for retirement? What is the quality of life for them in retirement when they spend all of their life savings on their children's education?
I am also asked about the children and people who forego post-secondary education and enter directly into the workforce to help their families put food on the table. These youths are forced into part-time work, shift work and many times unsafe work, but there is no other option for them. They do this to put food on their families' table.
Many youth in my constituency cannot find work at all, which is very challenging for a community that has the largest youth to population ratio in the entire greater Toronto area. This is a huge problem for me and for the constituents of Scarborough—Rouge River.
What are we saying to these youths who are already marginalized because of their age, their ethnicity, their status in the country and their household income? What are we telling them? Are we telling them that they are not worth planning for? Many of the families in my riding with children and youth in this situation are very worried. I hear this on a weekly basis when I knock the doors.
The government likes to talk about being tough on crime. Why does it not deal with the real root causes of crime? Why not provide our youth with a sense of importance and value? Why not provide them with opportunities like jobs and access to post-secondary education? Why not give them hope and real opportunities?
On this side of the House, we believe that our youth are the future of our great country and that, because of this, we need to provide for our youth. We need to inspire them to be involved. We need to give them the opportunities to be successful, not just set them up to fail, which is, unfortunately, what I am seeing from the other side of the House.
Our youth, our university graduates and our college graduates need jobs. They need real jobs that will help them make ends meet, that will help them support their families and that will help them and their children lead better lives. That is what we, on this side of the House, are fighting for today.
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:45 p.m.
Kirsty Duncan Etobicoke North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of representing the riding where I was born and raised, beautiful Etobicoke North, and, like the member, our greatest challenge is jobs. We used to rank second in the country for manufacturing but it is disappearing.
In my constituency office, we review covering letters and resumés. We teach job interviewing skills. We help with appropriate work attire. We find people jobs. I was also able to get a new jobs program for the community but it is not enough.
One young valedictorian youth, Dylan Thomas, said, "If you come from the wrong community, rage, rage". This is not the speech of someone embarking on a new future.
My community wants jobs. What specifically would the member recommend to the government to help our college and university students who have graduated and cannot find work?
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:45 p.m.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is a very poignant question. Our university and college graduates are not getting good jobs and the government is showing absolutely no leadership in investing in post-secondary education, as well as the follow-through with graduates. That is, unfortunately, that big piece is missing. Just as we invest in the settlement of new immigrants, we need to invest in the method by which graduates will travel through the labour force. That type of investment is not being seen.
In speaking with university and college administrators, they would love that support from the government in order to invest in career and job development for their graduates. Unfortunately, the universities and colleges do not have that type of investment from the government.
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:45 p.m.
Jinny Sims Newton—North Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for a very graphic description of what it is like in communities across Canada. I come from Newton—North Delta and residents in my area face many problems similar to the ones that she articulated so eloquently.
Looking at the government's economic proposals and in listening to members talk about what is happening in their communities, it is very clear to me that there is a need to redress the priorities. Instead of big tax breaks to banks and oil companies, which are making bigger profits than ever, it is time for us to invest in small businesses. How would investments in small businesses help drive the economy in Canada and keep jobs here?
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:45 p.m.
Rathika Sitsabaiesan Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. Our small businesses are the engine behind our economy, especially behind the economic development of our communities. The government wants to give billions of dollars to large corporations that seem to be sending jobs away. It is giving money to corporations that are putting the money in their pockets but not hiring Canadians. They are mostly jobs that our university and college graduates would be able to do. It is the small and medium-sized businesses that are actually investing in and creating jobs in our local communities.
The government is going in the wrong direction. It should not be giving away billions of dollars to companies that are taking jobs and money out of our country. It should be investing in small and medium-sized businesses that are creating jobs in our communities in Canada.
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
1:50 p.m.
Robert Chisholm Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and speak to this important motion from the opposition, which calls on the government to start taking some action, to pay attention to what is going on in the country and to begin taking some specific action as it relates to the unemployed, to businesses that are struggling and to innovation.
I will take a few minutes to talk about trade because it is extraordinarily important. It is important that the government enter into discussions around trade with its eyes open. My concern is that the government has set itself a quota of trade deals that it has to get. It is going after these trade deals and negotiating them simply to get through them so it can say that it has another trade deal and another notch on its belt. There are some problems with that I am going to get there.
I want to talk about what we are hearing from the government benches. The government members stand and say what a great job they have done with the economic action plan. I was not here in the fall of 2008, but I watched from afar. The Minister of Finance came out after the election with an economic statement that said that everything was great, that we were gliding along perfectly, that people should not pay attention to all the economic turmoil beyond our borders, that everything was fine, that we would sail off into the next couple of years and that we did not need to do anything different. He said that there would not be any spending.
It took a near-death experience for the government. The opposition members came together and said that Canadians recognized that the economy in our country and around the world was in terrible trouble. It was only until they decided they would join forces to bring the government down that the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister suddenly woke up and said that maybe something was wrong, that maybe they had better do something quickly. They even went to the extraordinary length of proroguing the House in order to avoid the decision of Parliament and also to give time for the Minister of Finance to find himself and recognize that there was some trouble in the U.S. economy and throughout Europe with the economy and maybe he should do something about it.
The Conservatives came up with the economic action plan, and they have been taking credit for that. However, we all know that it was only when members of the opposition threatened to bring the government down, did it recognize it needed to invest in infrastructure spending. Yes, countries around the world have recognized that Canada has done a good job in that respect. However, every time the Minister of Finance stands, he almost breaks his arm as he tries to pat himself on the back and members opposite likewise applaud themselves. I cannot get over the level of hypocrisy coming from those member.
Given what happened three short years ago, it is incumbent upon the opposition to again try to jolt the Minister of Finance and his colleagues to recognize, as Canadians do, that there are serious problems out there. Members on this side talk about unemployment among youth. University graduates are building up greater student debt because of the lack of support from the federal government as is the case with the lack of support for provinces and universities. When they go out to try to prepare themselves for the work world and for the global economy, they find there are no jobs. There are no supports for innovation. There are no specific actions on behalf of the government to support our young people who are taking the time and incurring the debt to prepare themselves by increasing their training.
We have heard members on this side talk about innovation, about how the government needs to recognize the fact that it needs to support activities, ideas and those clusters of innovation that are developing in various parts of the country, to ensure those industries are in a position to not only create jobs, products and services that are innovative and world-class, but so they can then trade with the world. They need support so they can trade and exchange and build the economy of our country.
However, there is nothing. All we hear is the government saying that we may not have as many jobs as we had back in 2008, but we should not worry as Canada is doing better than the United States, Greece or Italy, so it is doing a great job.
The people of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour do not think that is good enough. The people who come to my office, the people who just got out of university and are looking for work, are asking me what the government doing. Seniors who cannot find care and support in homes are wondering why the government has turned its back on them.
I had a meeting just the other day with a 72-year-old senior. He lives in Cole Harbour in subsidized housing in a seniors' complex. He lives on $14,000 a year. The members might remember the debate we had in June about the difficulties of seniors living on such low pensions and the fact that the government was failing those seniors. Here is a guy who has taken it upon himself to try to find a part-time job working as a crossing guard three hours a day, three days a week, protecting children as they cross the street in Cole Harbour. Every dollar he makes is being clawed back. We have a senior who cannot make ends meet because of the paltry pensions that are paid by the government. He is trying to make ends meet but the measures the government brings hold him down.
The reason why we have brought this resolution forward is to take the opportunity to remind the government that the action plan was not its idea. The government was forced into it. It was kicking and screaming at the reality of the fact that it needed to take action. I and members of the opposition are here to once again to say to the government that Canadians need it to act. Canadians need it to start making investments in its communities. Canadians need it not to turn its back on them, not to make phony polls or any of the rest of it on the government's website. They need the government to pay attention to the pain and struggles that people are experiencing in their communities. It needs to deal with the problems of infrastructure of the Champlain Bridge in Montreal.
Those are the realities. Those are the things the government needs to take action on to make a difference, so when the economy does turn around, Canada will be in a better position to move us forward and create the jobs that our young people need.
Opposition Motion—Canadian Economy
Business of Supply
Government Orders
2 p.m.
The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin
The period of questions and comments for the hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour will take place after question period when the House returns to this matter.
Brantford Veterans Memorial
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Phil McColeman Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, Poland's modern history has been dominated by a burning sense of freedom among its people and to this the world bore witness as hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers fought bravely alongside Canadians to free Europe from fascism and tyranny during World War II.
The Polish were instrumental to many of the greatest Allied triumphs, including the heroic Battle of Monte Cassino, which paved the way for the Allied to push to Rome. Brantford's Paul Lojko was there, and it was his vision to commemorate his fellow soldiers and Canadian comrades to ensure that their memory lives on.
On September 18 I participated in the culmination of that vision as the Brantford Polish combatants unveiled a new memorial to honour those soldiers and all those who endured hardships. A huge crowd gathered to attend the wonderful unveiling ceremony, making the dedication a very moving and lasting tribute.
It is our duty to never forget the sacrifices of our veterans. We will remember them.
Public Transit
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Olivia Chow Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, this morning cities all across Canada had the same problem: too many people watched buses go by or sat for hours in traffic. They were late for work. They were late for school. They wasted hours getting to their jobs while worrying about getting their kids to daycare.
It is happening in all of our cities. It is happening to people with high incomes and to people earning minimum wage. We are falling behind in public transit.
We are the only G8 country without a national public transit strategy, and it is hurting the economy and the environment. We need fast, accessible and affordable public transit in cities large and small across the country.
One could go downtown and ask people on the street if they would rather see a bigger prison or a better transit system. We need to focus on moving people forward, not locking them up.
Let us work together like other countries in the G8. Let us move Canada forward.
Sand Plains Development Fund
Statements By Members
September 29th, 2011 / 2 p.m.
Dave MacKenzie Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to highlight the great successes of the Sand Plains development fund in my riding of Oxford and across southwestern Ontario. The Sand Plains development fund was created by Canada's current government in August 2008, with a commitment of $15 million to the region. Since its formation, there have been 202 full-time jobs created, 54 part-time jobs created, 119 seasonal jobs and 256 jobs sustained in the southwestern Ontario area.
More specifically, I would like to talk about the biomass project of Canadian Biofuel in my riding of Oxford. It was partially funded through the Sand Plains development fund. The project, located on a former Cargill grain elevator and feed mill facility, will now produce roughly 1,500 tonnes of biomass per month. Low in greenhouse gas emissions, it can be used to heat homes and even supplement coal in generating electricity.
Initially waste wood would be used to make the biomass fuel. However, the company plans to establish a local supply chain of raw materials by encouraging local farmers to grow miscanthus grass.
Users' Rights Week
Statements By Members
2 p.m.
Justin Trudeau Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, this is the first Quebec health and social services network users' rights week, organized by the Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers. This promotional tool serves to inform users of their rights and to showcase the work being done within health and social services institutions.
Users' rights week gives all those who care about the quality of services in Quebec an opportunity to promote the rights of users and recognize the important work carried out by user and in-patient committees.
The health and social services network is not used only by sick people. It is also used by the worker who is out of a job, the pregnant woman, the young person at a drop-in centre, the person who wants to quit smoking, the person with a disability, the senior citizen living at home with the assistance of outside services. In short, you and I, all Quebeckers, are users.
Royal Regiment of Canada
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Ted Opitz Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Royal Regiment of Canada, a regiment I am proud to have served in for the majority of my time in the military, will commemorate this storied regiment's participation in the Dieppe raid this evening.
On August 19, 1942, the Royals went ashore on Blue Beach, located at Puys. Unfortunately, nothing with that raid went right, and out of the 554 members of the regiment who landed, there were 227 casualties, 136 wounded and 264 POWs. Only 65 returned to England. Many were rescued by Polish naval captain Romuald Nalecz-Tyminski, who later became an admiral.
The plaque to the regiment at Puys reads:
You who are alive on this beach, remember that these men died far from home so that others, here and elsewhere, might freely enjoy life in God's mercy.
I ask all members to rise with me and applaud both the heroism of those brave soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Canada who landed at Dieppe and their regiment's commitment and service to Canada in the past, present and future.
Ready, aye, ready, Mr. Speaker.
Otterburn Boating Club
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Matthew Dubé Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the outstanding performance of the members of the Otterburn Boating Club who won a number of medals and set a new record at the Canadian championships, which were held this summer in Welland, Ontario.
I would like to congratulate Sarah-Jane Caumartin, who won no fewer than seven medals—three gold, three silver and one bronze. I would also like congratulate Marianne Lévêque Brissette on her excellent performance. She won four medals—three gold and one silver.
Sarah-Jane and Marianne set a new record in the junior 1,000 C2 event, beating the old world junior record by 12 seconds. I would also like to congratulate Tasia Gelencser-Smith and Virginie Adam, who both won silver medals.
Their commodore, Daniel Caumartin, their coach, Daniel Bertrand, and all the residents of Chambly—Borduas, including myself, are very proud of these athletes from my riding.
It is therefore an honour for me to recognize the outstanding performance of these young athletes from the Otterburn Boating Club.
Jasper Dark Sky Festival
Statements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Rob Merrifield Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, in the beautiful riding of Yellowhead, something exceptional is going to happen in the month of October. This exceptional thing is the first annual dark sky festival.
In March, Jasper National Park became the world's largest dark sky preserve.
One might ask: what is a dark sky preserve? A dark sky preserve is an area established by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada to promote the visibility of night skies.
The federal government has invested a significant amount of money in our parks, which has created a significant number of jobs as well as an increase in tourism. A record number of Canadians and international tourists enjoyed beautiful Jasper this summer. This is significant to our economy, because tourism adds more to our GDP than agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting all combined. Jasper is an exceptionally beautiful place during the day, but in the evening the skies are breathtakingly beautiful.
Every Canadian should come out to Jasper. All Canadians should experience the beauty for themselves as we celebrate the very first dark sky festival.


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Officials mar game
HARRIS – On paper and as far as any record will show, the Munising Mustangs beat the Bark River-Harris Broncos 49-43 Tuesday night.
Unfortunately, there is more to it than that.
In my three years of covering sports with the Escanaba Daily Press I have never said the following, but for the sake of the integrity of the game of basketball, it needs to be said.
The officials marred this game.
I have heard rumblings after games on numerous occasions. It's what fanbases do. Particularly in a close game, the losing side will often feel slighted and take shots at the officials from the stands and on the way out the door. It is the nature of being a fan.
I am not a fan, except of the sport in general. I am an impartial writer. I record what happens in the game and bring it to the readers.
I'll say it again. The officials marred this game.
They stole victory right out of the hands of the Bark River-Harris Broncos, who played the most inspired basketball I've seen them play in my three years here.
I watched as Munising players stepped out of bounds right in front of my eyes. I looked over and the official was standing right next to me. No call was made.
I saw blatant traveling. Three steps and a shot was made. Again, I looked over. It happened directly in front of the officials eyes. No call was made.
I saw Bark River-Harris players fouled on the way to the basket on the fast break, with the Munising defender giving chase and giving a hack on his way to the basket. No call was made. I saw the same thing happen to Munising and the kid lined up for free throws.
I witnessed Munising kids being awarded shooting fouls when there was no shot taken. This didn't occur late in the game with the bonus in effect. This was early in the first half.
This was a razor close game, and it was a very good game. Among the best I've seen. What a travesty that it came to this.
What a shame, that the Munising kids that worked hard for victory, now have it tainted.
What a shame for the Bark River-Harris kids who worked hard and played near impeccable defense, all for naught.
Don't just take my word for it. Those who were present at the game may feel inclined to agree but all one really needs to do is look at the statistics.
Munising lined up and took 27 free throws. The Broncos took four.
"Because they were shooting free throws, we lost it," said Broncos coach Matt Richer. "The reffing was terrible, not solely for us, but they got the favor mostly in the second half.
"I told my assistant coach, 'do they know we're not supposed to win, making these calls?"
Munising made 18 of those free throws. That's 18 points in a game they won by five.
Absolutely terrible.
"We were 1-4 and they were (18-27). It was six straight points (from the line) to start the third quarter in a minute and a half. I'm begging for calls and I shouldn't have to do that," said Richer.
"Munising is the physical team. They're the ones grabbing and pushing and pulling. We're playing a zone where we wouldn't get fouls. It's ridiculous."
I will not call out the officiating crew by name. However, they were from Marquette County.
I would implore them, if they are reading this column to take a good look in the mirror. These are high school athletes who play simply for the love of the game.
Bark River-Harris came into this game at 4-7 and they had a victory in their grasp that would have defined a season. The Mustangs were ranked No. 5 in Class D and carried a 7-2 record with a signature win over Carney-Nadeau on the Wolves' home court.
"For my guys, it's big. We've struggled and now we're 4-8," said Richer. "We've struggled against the good teams and other than Crystal Falls, this is the best team we've played good against.
"We just need to shoot better and take care of the ball. No team, I don't think, is going to want to face us in tournaments."
I will be writing a letter to the MHSAA concerning this officiating crew. I would encourage all who were in attendance who share my sentiment to do the same, so that these officials cannot do further damage and destroy another game for the athletes who work so hard.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Topic: simple text replacement question (solved)
I have a textfield where users enter URLs at http://harilo.com/shop. Unfortunately we're getting a lot of submissions that are like http://http://example.com instead of http://example.com
I'm not very good with regexp - is there an easy way to fix these URLs? basically a function that does this:
fixurl("http://http://example.com") => "http://example.com"
fixurl("htp://example.com") => "http://example.com"
Last edited by sthapit (2010-11-02 22:48:48)


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Friday, April 1, 2011
Heli-Expo Photo, Video Archives Now Online
A team of Rotor & Wing staff and contributors—including Senior Editor Andrew Parker, Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens, Military Editor Andrew Drwiega, Keith Cianfrani and Dale Smith—snapped hundreds of photos, wrote numerous in-depth reports and took several video clips at Heli-Expo 2011 in Orlando, Fla. A new web-only Photo Gallery features more than 50 of our top picks. We'll continue adding to the just-launched Video Archive in coming weeks, and our Heli-Expo News Page serves as a central point for stories from the show. There's also Heli-Expo coverage in the April 2011 edition, which comes out this week. Have photos, videos or tales of your own from Heli-Expo? Share them with the helicopter community at Facebook.


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Have fun.
I don't care if you are learning to fly for pleasure or business, this is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be exciting to go to the airport and get in an airplane. Even if you are one of those students who is learning to fly because you are afraid of it, have fun.
Why the need to post something so obvious as this? Because it's easy to forget. We're a serious industry. Safety is serious. Airplanes are complex machines. We have regulations. And ramp checks (although seemingly not anymore). And nasty weather. But on those beautiful days when the sun is shining and the air is smooth, it simply doesn't get better.
So, yes, training is hard sometimes. But there is an end. A wonderful, fulfilling end. Don't forget that during stall practice number 851. After a couple of more mundane flights recently I got to fly a restored Super Cub on a beautiful day over fall foliage on a photo shoot for our January cover story. The fun doesn't end.
Happy Friday.
–Ian J. Twombly


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Christian Tortu
Forets Candle
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Sugar Shock
Before you chug down another sports drink, learn the not-so-sweet truth about sugar
Are you high? If you're like most U.S. citizens the answer is likely yes. According to conservative USDA estimates, ...
Photo by Duane Raleigh
Are you high? If you're like most U.S. citizens the answer is likely yes. According to conservative USDA estimates, on average, Americans consume 22 teaspoons of "added sugars" each day, or 355 additional calories, more than double what is recommended by the American Heart Association. Sweetener consumption has jumped by 19 percent since 1970 to a hefty 140 pounds a year for every man, women and child. And the gel-sports-drink-energy-bar-loving trail runner is far from exempt in the sugar onslaught.
Sugar and Exercise
Research shows that wolfing down sugar-laden foods or drinks with a high glycemic index (GI), like white bread, ice cream or high-sugar energy-bars about an hour before a run may cause you to tire more quickly. A rapid spike in blood sugar before exercise can force your pancreas to pump out large amounts of insulin, which results in a sudden, performance-zapping drop in blood sugar during exercise.
Case in point: Researchers in a recent issue of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport found that cyclists rode significantly faster 45 minutes after eating a low GI pre-race meal than a high GI one. The low GI meal led to an increase in the availability of carbohydrates and a greater carbohydrate oxidation throughout the time trial, which likely helped sustain increased energy production.
However, a raft of research papers shows that sugar-spiked foods can help you train harder and longer on the trail. Why? One word: Glycogen. Glycogen is sugar in storage form. It is your body's most important and efficient source of energy during high-intensity exercise.
"Once muscle glycogen levels sink too low, fatigue sets in and you start to feel like you're running through Jello-O," says Tara Gidus, RD, owner of Tara Gidus Nutrition Consulting in Orlando, Florida. "During long bouts of exercise, eating rapidly-digested sugars such as those found in gels or sports drinks can help preserve stored muscle glycogen and keep you working harder for longer."
If running for more than 60 minutes, Gidus suggests consuming 30 to 60 grams of simple carbohydrates for each hour of activity. If exercising for an hour or less, water is all you need.


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Antigua Men's Chicago White Sox Black Traverse Fleece Jacket
Product Information:
Beat the cold with the Antigua® Men's Chicago White Sox Black Traverse Fleece Jacket. Featuring an embroidered team logo on the left chest, this jacket combines style with comfort. The polyester bonded interlock face and fleece back ensure that you won't have to worry about chilly temperatures while you cheer on the White Sox in the stands or on the street. Support the team in any weather with the Antigua® Traverse Fleece Jacket.
- Team-colored, full-zip jacket
- Embroidered team logo on left chest
- Antigua® branding at back neck
- Bonded interlock face and fleece back
- Adjustable hook-and-loop closure cuff
- Hidden fleece storm cuff detail inside
- Chest and side zip pockets
- Stand-up collar
- Officially licensed by the MLB®
- Fabric: 100% polyester
- Style: 100388E83037
- Antigua
Country of Origin: VietnamWeb ID: 19331046


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This is the true story of a 24-hour period on Everest, when members of three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.From the Publisher:
"A hypnotic, rattling, firsthand account ... A brilliantly told story, and one that won't go begging when the year's literary honors are doled out."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating and troubling account of the climb ... by a thoughtful man and a fine writer."
-- Time
-- Newsweek
"A gripping real-life horror story."
-- Vanity Fair
"The intensity of the tragedy is haunting, and Krakauer's graphic writing drives it home ... A superb adventure tale."
-- Publishers Weekly
"A compelling and harrowing account ... A raw, emotionally intense book."
-- Library Journal
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Book Description Book Condition: New. Bookseller Inventory # 9780330353977
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Book Description Pan Books, 1998. Paperback. Book Condition: New. book. Bookseller Inventory # 0330353977
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Book Description Pan Books, 1998. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Bookseller Inventory # P110330353977
More Information About This Seller | Ask Bookseller a Question


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Developing a Training Plan Part IV: Lifestyle
The key elements of a successful training plan are just like the corner pieces of a jigsaw puzzle—find them and it's easier to fill in the rest.
Photo by Kevin Winzeler
The key elements of a successful training plan are just like the corner pieces of a jigsaw puzzle—find them and it's easier to fill in the rest.
Through my experiences as a running coach and elite runner, I've identified four training "corner pieces" that will help you to develop reliable and predictable performances: simulation, effort, consistency and lifestyle. Last column, I discussed consistency (you can read that post here); this month's segment is lifestyle.
As I have said before, the corner pieces are not groundbreaking findings; they are simply tried-and-true training techniques that, when interlocked, will help you achieve running success.
The Fourth Corner Piece: Lifestyle
An elite runner's daily life often revolves around a routine schedule: eat, sleep, run and repeat. Incorporating a structured approach like this into your own training will not only provide more purposed training, but will also lead to enhanced performance.
As repetitive—and potentially boring—as this elite-runner lifestyle might sound, eating, sleeping and running are arguably the most important elements of training and the commitment extended to those areas often dictates progression and therefore success. Realistically, though, not everyone has the same amount of time, energy and money for training, so it's important to balance what is important to you independent of running with your training.
Like anything else, if you want to do well at something, like running, you must be committed to working hard and making decisions that reflect your goals. For example, my client Tanya is not a morning person. However, she lives in Arizona where temperatures this time of year average well over 100 degrees. The coolest time of day is between 4 and 5 a.m. She's training for a marathon and wants to run a PR (personal record) this fall and knows that there is no way she can efficiently complete her workouts in the heat of the day. So she forces herself to get up at 4 a.m. because she's committed to seeing the clock at the finish line read well under 3:50.
Simply setting an alarm for 4:30 a.m. won't always get you out the door. Recruiting friends to consistently run with is a great way to remain accountable to yourself, your training and your running partners. Creating an environment that is conducive to and supportive of your training greatly increases the likelihood that you'll follow through with your daily training plan. Additionally, surround yourself with like-minded people who have accomplished similar goals. Consider joining a running club, or hiring a running coach for both support and training advice.


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Topic: Rake test vs autotest -rails
Lately I've been runing into some very odd problems, either "rake test" or "autotest -rails" can be made to finish my tests without errors, but not both.
I'm trying to isolate a simple example to see if that helps me (or someone else) understand what the heck is going on. However, so far I haven't been able to get a simple self-contained example and I was wondering if anyone else had encountered this...
Last edited by NielsenE (2006-09-01 11:14:47)


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According to Yahoo Sports' Jason Cole, the scouting report among ex-Packers executives is that Matt Flynn's "lack of arm strength will eventually be exposed by opposing teams."
Bills hired Rick Dennison as offensive coordinator.
Davante Adams (ankle) won't guarantee his status for the NFC Championship Game.
Jordy Nelson (ribs) participated without pads in Thursday's practice.
Ladarius Green (concussion, illness) was downgraded to "DNP" on Thursday.
Speaking Thursday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said injured receivers Davante Adams (ankle), Jordy Nelson (ribs) and Geronimo Allison (hamstring) probably wouldn't play Sunday if it were the regular season.
Jets owner Woody Johnson is expected to be named the United States' new ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Julio Jones (toe) remained sidelined Thursday, but insisted he'll be ready for Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports the Seahawks could be docked a second-round pick for failing to disclose Richard Sherman's MCL injury.
Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf removed his name from consideration for the 49ers' vacant general manager position.
Adrian Peterson said he is interested in playing for the Texans, Bucs, and Giants.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports Andrew Luck (shoulder surgery) should be ready for "a full return" in six months.


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Topic: STI & Polymorphic association & user_id
Could really do with some help here as I've got myself confused :S
I've posted a new question on SO, which has all my code: Stack Overflow
What I need to do is add a user_id to every asset that gets uploaded from a user, which could be via product or article. I have an asset model which is inherited by images and files. A product has many images as assetable, this polymorphic association works great but how do I add the user_id to the assets table? I'm sure it has something do to with my relations but I've been trying so much that I've ran out of ideas.
Once this is working I'd ideally like to do @user.images which would display all the images that the user has uploaded and even @user.files


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©1985 by Martin Blumenson; (P)1990 by Blackstone Audiobooks
"A gem of a biography...No previous work on Patton can match it." (Stephen E. Ambrose)
"Blumenson makes [clear]... the contradictory elements in his character that caused him at times to be outrageously impossible but made him a winning commander." (Forrest Pogue)
"Patton the man"
I liked this book because it gives a picture of the whole personality of the man as well as his family history, etc. It's a fascinating book. It "listens well" and my husband and I could hardly wait to get to the next disk.
"Good insight into Patton (but poor audio)"
Good listen if you want to know more about Patton the man.
As others have noted, the audio quality is bad (it is old and my guess is that is comes from a cassete-tape).
"a non-flattering performance on a dry book"
Yes, I enjoyed hearing about the life of Patton, but it's not my favorite audio book. Like every great person and leader there are aspects of their life that might not be "to form" but there is a lot to be learned in this book both about Patton and about how to be a "blood and guts" field commander. The book itself appears to be very dry, a never ending string of excerpted quotes from letters, glossing over interesting parts of Patton's life and going into great detail on things like Patton's self-depreciating letter style and his head injuries. The book doesn't take you into the brain and life of patton as good biographies do, it simply recounts his letters and historical facts like a history book.. dry and uninspiring stuff for one of the most dynamic field commanders in the 20th century.
not there yet
It's like they hired Barack Obamma to read G.H.W. Bush's autobiography. Patton was a Type-A field general with many great qualities, a very "conservatively" minded individual with strong ideals and grand motivations. The narrator has an inflection while reading the book that seemingly betrays negative personal feelings towards Patton. It is like he doesn't like Patton or the book but he is hired to read it. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on Patton's character faults, but not much enthusiasm in his accomplishments. Granted the book is not exceptionally flattering, so that may be a large contributor. Like many audible books, it would be much better if the author was reading it.
The movie Patton is better written and a more entertaining view of Patton, his life, his motivations, and his personality.
A general good rule to follow in Audible is that books read by the author themselves are best. In this style you have a biography written by a person with somewhat of an axe to grind and read by another person with seemingly similar convictions. It fails to capture what I believe is the true essense of Patton the person. I was hoping to be more inspired by the experience
"Good listen"
Really enjoyed this. Good insight into the man, dispelled some myths and verified others. If you like WWII history, or the history of individuals who made a difference in his/her time, you'll like this
World Explorer
"Good but Killing Patton is Better"
Enjoyed this book but having listened to Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly I was a bit disappointed. If you have listened to Killing Patton, you won't learn anything new here.
"Interesting perspectives on a war legend"
First of all - you can skip the first 4 chapters, which were rather long and boring and dealt with his family history, his time as a youth, etc. Chapter 5 is where it really all begins and discusses his WWI exploits and the post-war years leading up to WWII.
This book really brought to bare some of the idiosyncrasies and events which defined Patton's character. Repeated head trauma from polo injuries, for example, may have been the cause for his often violent temper later in life. Also, despite what anyone might think, Patton was often plagued with self-doubt that he was never doing enough, or being all he could be. In his mid-50's before the start of WWII he had a major mid-life crisis where he thought the Army would feel he was too old, and miss the next war - thus denying him of what he believed was his destiny. Destiny, was something that Patton believed in - that he was born to lead men into combat. Even throughout WWII as various decisions were made by Eisenhower and other commanders, Patton often wondered if he would ever realize his true destiny, and would often become depressed - whenever he was not leading men, or in combat.
Right after WWII there several very close calls Patton had - nearly freak accidents - which made him think that someone was trying to kill him. He even said to his children, upon returning home from the war briefly before going back to keep peace in Europe, that they would never see him alive again. He was right. Somehow, he knew he was going to die - but, as many friends and family believe - it was better than having him living the rest of his life in a world without a war. Patton said himself that, "Now that there is no war, I have lost all my value to this world". Nevertheless, it makes me wonder if there really was a plot to kill him from various political beliefs he held, including wanting to go to war with Russia, and showing public sympathy for some Nazi business leaders in Europe.
Overall - an interesting book - but as I stated - the first four chapters were not really relevant.
"great book, poor audio"
Excellent book about General Patton! The only downside was the audio quality was very poor, sounds like a recycled recording from an old book on tape and there are several breaks throughout the book with missing portions.
German by birth - cosmopolitan by conviction. A CFO enjoying dynamic and multicultural Asia. Classic car and history buff and scuba diver.
"What a man - book needs to be four times as long !"
Having read many books about World War II and the highly recommendable book "Brothers, Rivals, Victors" about Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower, I knew quite a bit of Patton's war exploits but wanted to learn more about the evolution of this man. Here this book is truly outstanding and provides deep insight into how this splendid officer, gentleman and human being was shaped and what drove him. The World War II phase of his life, so full of triumphs and set backs, falls a little short of expectations but this time is extensively covered in other books. Patton was one of the few man I truly admire for all his facettes. He was a non-conformist who conformed because he had such an incredibly high standard of professionalism, duty and was a true patriot. I can recommend the book for anybody who wants to see the character behind the war hero and wants to understand how such an extraordinary personality is formed. Some historic flaws such as praising the 3rd U.S. army as the military force capturing the highest number of enemies ever (the war started before Germany declared war on the U.S.A. and bigger encirclements happend in the early months of the Russia campaign of the Wehrmacht) are not dimming the excellence of the content. Need a special teaser to listen ? Here is a Patton quote: "Troop leadership is like moving spaghetti - pushing from behind buckles the pasta - pulling from the front makes it moving". Just marvellous right ?
"Great story - Fair audio"
Patton's biography is a great listen, however, the audio quality is disappointing. The narrator is decent, but again, the quality made this review less than what it should be.
It's great listening to the history of the end of WWII and the inner workings and political. intrique between him, Ike, and Bradley.
"Enjoyed learning about an American hero"
I have long admired Patton but knew little about the mans life. This book provided great details about his leadership and desire to achieve. It also gives his moral flaws as well, reminding us Patton was a real person like any of us. We all have the ability to achieve great things.
Report Inappropriate Content
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M.Martin Vincente/Flickr Creative Commons." /> Im a vegetable gardener. Or at least, I always have been until very recently. I love growing my own food and Ive dedicated a lot of time and energy into learning the craft of small-scale food farming.
However, a recent move and certain circumstances have kept me from my veggie-growing ways this year. See full article.


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Traveling while Sikh? There's an updated app for airport profiling complaints
(RNS) The coalition created the FlyRights app in April 2012 because of concerns that Transportation Security Administration officers profiled travelers for their appearance — and Sikhs in particular because of their turbans. The TSA insists it doesn't profile traveler.


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|By PR Newswire
Article Rating:
|January 16, 2014 12:01 AM EST
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO)
Profile America — Thursday, January 16th. There have been 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution over the past 223 years, but that total comes with an asterisk. Uniquely, the 21st Amendment repeals the 18th, which began its short career this day in 1919. That amendment launched the Prohibition Era, a well-intentioned act (of social hygiene) seeking to ban the availability of alcoholic beverages. The unintended consequences, though, were perhaps worse — vast flouting of the law by the public and a boost to organized crime. Prohibition was repealed in December 1933. In the no-longer-dry U.S., there are over 30,000 beer, wine and liquor stores, with annual sales over $75 billion. You can find current data on the country's economy by downloading the America's Economy mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/wholesale_retail_trade.html t. 1048
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1062.xls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
In their general session at 16th Cloud Expo, Michael Piccininni, Global Account Manager - Cloud SP at EMC Corporation, and Mike Dietze, Regional Director at Windstream Hosted Solutions, reviewed next generation cloud services, including the Windstream-EMC Tier Storage solutions, and discussed how to increase efficiencies, improve service delivery and enhance corporate cloud solution development. Michael Piccininni is Global Account Manager – Cloud SP at EMC Corporation. He has been engaged in t...
Jan. 18, 2017 08:15 PM EST Reads: 4,815
You have great SaaS business app ideas. You want to turn your idea quickly into a functional and engaging proof of concept. You need to be able to modify it to meet customers' needs, and you need to deliver a complete and secure SaaS application. How could you achieve all the above and yet avoid unforeseen IT requirements that add unnecessary cost and complexity? You also want your app to be responsive in any device at any time. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Mark Allen, General Manager of...
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WebRTC is bringing significant change to the communications landscape that will bridge the worlds of web and telephony, making the Internet the new standard for communications. Cloud9 took the road less traveled and used WebRTC to create a downloadable enterprise-grade communications platform that is changing the communication dynamic in the financial sector. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Leo Papadopoulos, CTO of Cloud9, discussed the importance of WebRTC and how it enables companies to focus o...
Jan. 18, 2017 06:15 PM EST Reads: 4,186
Big Data engines are powering a lot of service businesses right now. Data is collected from users from wearable technologies, web behaviors, purchase behavior as well as several arbitrary data points we'd never think of. The demand for faster and bigger engines to crunch and serve up the data to services is growing exponentially. You see a LOT of correlation between "Cloud" and "Big Data" but on Big Data and "Hybrid," where hybrid hosting is the sanest approach to the Big Data Infrastructure pro...
Jan. 18, 2017 05:30 PM EST Reads: 4,869
All organizations that did not originate this moment have a pre-existing culture as well as legacy technology and processes that can be more or less amenable to DevOps implementation. That organizational culture is influenced by the personalities and management styles of Executive Management, the wider culture in which the organization is situated, and the personalities of key team members at all levels of the organization. This culture and entrenched interests usually throw a wrench in the work...
Jan. 18, 2017 05:00 PM EST Reads: 1,161
Hardware virtualization and cloud computing allowed us to increase resource utilization and increase our flexibility to respond to business demand. Docker Containers are the next quantum leap - Are they?! Databases always represented an additional set of challenges unique to running workloads requiring a maximum of I/O, network, CPU resources combined with data locality.
Jan. 18, 2017 05:00 PM EST Reads: 268
In his General Session at DevOps Summit, Asaf Yigal, Co-Founder & VP of Product at Logz.io, will explore the value of Kibana 4 for log analysis and will give a real live, hands-on tutorial on how to set up Kibana 4 and get the most out of Apache log files. He will examine three use cases: IT operations, business intelligence, and security and compliance. This is a hands-on session that will require participants to bring their own laptops, and we will provide the rest.
Jan. 18, 2017 04:45 PM EST Reads: 4,882
"We're bringing out a new application monitoring system to the DevOps space. It manages large enterprise applications that are distributed throughout a node in many enterprises and we manage them as one collective," explained Kevin Barnes, President of eCube Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at DevOps at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Jan. 18, 2017 04:45 PM EST Reads: 5,369
In his General Session at 16th Cloud Expo, David Shacochis, host of The Hybrid IT Files podcast and Vice President at CenturyLink, investigated three key trends of the "gigabit economy" though the story of a Fortune 500 communications company in transformation. Narrating how multi-modal hybrid IT, service automation, and agile delivery all intersect, he will cover the role of storytelling and empathy in achieving strategic alignment between the enterprise and its information technology.
Jan. 18, 2017 04:45 PM EST Reads: 4,579
Buzzword alert: Microservices and IoT at a DevOps conference? What could possibly go wrong? In this Power Panel at DevOps Summit, moderated by Jason Bloomberg, the leading expert on architecting agility for the enterprise and president of Intellyx, panelists peeled away the buzz and discuss the important architectural principles behind implementing IoT solutions for the enterprise. As remote IoT devices and sensors become increasingly intelligent, they become part of our distributed cloud enviro...
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With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo 2016 in New York. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be! Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, is co-located with 20th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry p...
Jan. 18, 2017 03:30 PM EST Reads: 3,682
@DevOpsSummit at Cloud taking place June 6-8, 2017, at Javits Center, New York City, is co-located with the 20th International Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. The widespread success of cloud computing is driving the DevOps revolution in enterprise IT. Now as never before, development teams must communicate and collaborate in a dynamic, 24/7/365 environment. There is no time to wait for long developm...
Jan. 18, 2017 03:30 PM EST Reads: 3,405
"LinearHub provides smart video conferencing, which is the Roundee service, and we archive all the video conferences and we also provide the transcript," stated Sunghyuk Kim, CEO of LinearHub, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Jan. 18, 2017 02:45 PM EST Reads: 1,592
A look across the tech landscape at the disruptive technologies that are increasing in prominence and speculate as to which will be most impactful for communications – namely, AI and Cloud Computing. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Curtis Peterson, VP of Operations at RingCentral, will highlight the current challenges of these transformative technologies and share strategies for preparing your organization for these changes. This "view from the top" will outline the latest trends and developm...
Jan. 18, 2017 02:15 PM EST Reads: 985
When you focus on a journey from up-close, you look at your own technical and cultural history and how you changed it for the benefit of the customer. This was our starting point: too many integration issues, 13 SWP days and very long cycles. It was evident that in this fast-paced industry we could no longer afford this reality. We needed something that would take us beyond reducing the development lifecycles, CI and Agile methodologies. We made a fundamental difference, even changed our culture...
Jan. 18, 2017 02:00 PM EST Reads: 936


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There's something about the topic of Christian fasting that makes people defensive. I know I'm that way. When someone starts to talk about it, you can never be quite sure where they're going or what burden they may try to lay on your conscience. So let me put your mind at ease as we open a short blog series on the topic. If you don't want to fast, don't fast. I have no hidden agenda that I'm going to spring on you in the last paragraph.
I do have an agenda to clarify the biblical teaching on fasting and call attention to bad habits some men have developed when they teach on fasting. Have you ever noticed that teachers who promote fasting often have a way of telling you about their own practice of fasting (even as they make you feel guilty about your lack of fasting)? That is fundamentally wrong—unless I missed their exemption from Jesus' command to keep our fasting from the attention of men (Matthew 6:1, 16-18).
So in these posts, I don't want to badger you into fasting. It's more important that you understand why biblical saints fasted than for you to mechanically skip a few meals simply so you can say you've fasted. When you understand the principles behind fasting, you have a better idea of how to respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in your own life circumstances.
Today we'll look briefly at fasting in the Old Testament, and save other passages for later. The Old Testament had only one commanded fast, which was found in Leviticus for the Day of Atonement. All other fasts were voluntary. Since the command to fast was directed to the nation Israel, and since the Day of Atonement was fulfilled in Christ, I want to focus on the voluntary fasts of the Old Testament.
The preliminary question is: what is fasting? Answer: Fasting is the voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.
That's simple enough. But let's ask a more penetrating question. Why did the saints fast in the Old Testament? In summary, we can say that voluntary fasting in the Old Testament expressed a mournful, urgent seeking of God in distressing circumstances. Consider some illustrations from the Old Testament.
2 Samuel 12: 16-18: David fasted and wept for his dying child.
Esther 4:3, 16: The Jews fasted when threatened with extermination at the hands of Haman.
Jonah 3:6-10: Nineveh fasted when Jonah pronounced judgment on them.
2 Samuel 12: 16-18: David fasted and wept for his dying child.
Esther 4:3, 16: The Jews fasted when threatened with extermination at the hands of Haman.
Jonah 3:6-10: Nineveh fasted when Jonah pronounced judgment on them.
Notice the common thread from those examples, which could be multiplied from other Old Testament passages. Those who were fasting were faced with extreme circumstances of impending death or God's imminent judgment. Greatly distressed and conscious of their utter helplessness, they suspended their normal eating habits in an urgent, extraordinary seeking of God who alone could deliver them from their distress.
In other words, their fasting naturally flowed from profound spiritual urgency. It was not the product of routine spiritual ritual. It expressed deep dependence on God in times of uncommon anguish. In Joel 2:12-13 we read:
"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
Fasting was an outward expression of the inward reality of a shattered heart. It was an urgent response of repentance and great humility. It was the seeking of deliverance from a gracious God in profoundly desperate situations.
Old Testament fasting presupposes the spiritual realities of sin, judgment, repentance, helplessness, and dependence on God. It is a serious mistake to pursue external fasting without an earnest appreciation for the more important internal reasons that prompt it. Someone who casually pursues fasting as a religious duty without a broken heart actually mocks the reason for its existence.
What does that mean for you today? Ask yourself some serious questions. Do you turn to God in your trials or surrender to fear and grumbling? Do you repent of sin or tolerate it in your life? Are you confident in your own strength or do you see your utter need for the grace of God?
The true answers to those questions say much more about your sanctification than whether you have fasted recently. Ask the profound questions before you worry about eating food. If the internal reality is in place, external fasting will ultimately take care of itself.
We'll develop this more fully next time when we look at Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.
Don GreenManaging Director
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Thank you John for the truth that makes us free. I too have a profound love for the truth but knowing the truth has made my tolerance for error or lies very low so my family and I can not find a church in our area that preaches the Word of God so I teach them at home But we long for fellowship with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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Thank you for discussing this topic. Fasting is something I have not really understood but I will admit I have not taken the time to search out scripture and study. My confusion has to do with the fact that I believe that God hears my humble prayers. I don't want to fast out of a false notion that God will more likely respond to me if I do something for Him. I believe this is a wrong attitude but am not quite sure what the right attitude toward fasting is. Am looking forward to reading more on this.
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Great post! I look forward to this study and hope it helps people understand fasting in biblical terms. When we fast it is truly amazing how humbling it makes one feel. The pain reminds us to continue to pray and study God's Word. Matthew 6:16 And "when" you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
In Christ.
Thank you for discussing this topic! One of the most amazing aspects of fasting is that God will be with you through the entire process & help you through it by easing (not totally removing) the hunger pains, Psalm 17 : 14b "You still the hunger of those you cherish..." Niv
Thank you! I've researched fasting for years, but still had questions about it. I've went on fasts because of a broken heart, because of a call from the Pastor and because I felt like it was my duty even though I didn't feel that call from the Holy Spirit. God is always on time. I was getting ready to go on a 21 day corporate fast starting Monday. I was doing it as my duty, but now I see it from another, more clear angle. I can't wait to read what more you have to say about this. Your input is an answer to my prayers. Again, thank you.
This is a very helpful beginning, thanks much for writing on the subject. I'm looking forward to coming posts.
It's one way that we can focused more on God in prayer. A person can
live without food for days. It's the spiritual thing.
Re "In other words, their fasting naturally flowed from profound spiritual urgency."
Hi, Don. I think you did not choose a good example for your thoughts. I don't see, in the verse you referenced, something that "naturally flowed".
In a way, I see God COMMANDING, and expecting, a fast (among other things) as a mere outward work. As it were, it looks like a "only if you jump through some hoops, I'll do something" kind of deal.
Please clarify for me.
I am looking forward where this discussion is going to take. I really want to know because I used to go to a church where the fasting practice was kind of like getting something from God, mostly like a favor. For instance, the anniversary week was approaching, so the pastor in turn so things planned go well, he would ask families to take fasting turns throughout the prior week of anniversary. The pastor's request from the congregation went as if we were in an auction "who can do a half day here or there", or "who can do a whole day…"
Any thoughts on this will be greatly appreciated. Don, good thought provoking subject, God bless you.
This topic just came on time. Someone gave me a booklet with schedule of fasting with many different options what kind of fast is appropriate. I am quite surprised to see a whole denomination engage in such activity. But this provoke me to search the scripture what really fasting and asking myself what really is my position over this practice.
Thanks for bringing this up... I'll reading along.
I believe the Christian today should fast. Not for fasting sake, but for righteousness sake. There is so much injustice and wickedness on the Earth today that we have every reason to fast everyday. If people can not see that then I pray those choose to open their eyes. Yes fasting can be done wrongly In Isaiah 58 God says some fasting is not acceptable to him. I see in that context the person fasting is exalting him/her self. That person is finding pleasure(not in God), having an offensive spirit against others, even violence toward others in spirit or action. But the fast that God has chosen is for the purpose of acts of justice(wanting and doing good) for those under injustice. If we are obeying the second commandment fasting is the next step. So Yes and Amen that the heart is most important, that the first and second commandments must always prelude fasting to be acceptable to God. Yet some who ignore and care less about injustice may be doing a worse evil than selfish fasting. My purpose in writing this is not to condemn I am sorry if it's taken that way.
Very interesting topic, tackling a scary trend in some circles today. Dear friends of ours began fasting weekly which at first did not bother us. They began dropping hints at what a "blessing" it was. Then they continued to add to it here and there with more fasting (total fasts for some days/meals, or fasts from certain types of foods, then fasts of entertainments, etc.), and taking thier children through the "sanctifying process" with them. We, at one point, felt sorry for their children who did some work on a farm at the time, knowing they were not getting a square meal before the work on certain days. I in no way want to imply that fasting is wrong, but I have seen this practice used by the enemy to cause people to be puffed up in pride in their "Godly Christian performance". They sported what I would call a false humilty, and would have never admitted they felt they were superior to us, but we knew that is what they thought of themselves. Our friends soon spiraled into a deceptive group (they will not admit to that either), and sold out to it. At that time we were made to feel "less spiritual" because we did not buy into their fasting practices as they felt the Bible instructed- that all Christians WOULD fast as a matter of obedience. Thus causing them to sell their home, and pack up and move to be among people who follow similar practices. This can be a subtle "works" doctrine that is circulating with a topnote of "superior spirituality". In other words, "Oh you will not understand, you of less commitment and sacrifice, unless you fast too..." I guess they felt they needed to be among those who "understood" like them the deeper things of spiritual life through fasting. I was shocked at how quickly our friends fell into this trap. (What I would call a trap.) Yet, the Bible does mention fasting, as they were quick to point out. I am interested in your response to the New Testament mentions of fasting.
Thanks, Don. I will be looking forward to more. At Harvest New Lenox we are embarking on our theme for the year, Praying and Fasting for The Harvest. I will be forwarding this link to share your series. God's peace to you, brother. Jim Doyle
Christopher Davis "But we long for fellowship with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ"
Hi Christopher, You are not alone in this. Our family has the same issue and there are probably 30 plus churches w/in 12 miles of where I am typing. Trying to find a reformed church that preaches the whole counsel of God is near impossible. You likely feel that yearning to be around other godly people and this is natural for a child of God.
Sometimes it can get one discouraged and I keep seeking, praying and hoping that God will put us in a place that is Christ centered; ratherthan the man centered hyper-calvinist to Arminian theology, which seems to be the norm around here despite all the Southern baptist churches.
Keep praying and looking and take a break from the search when you need to and trust and wait on the Lord. Be careful about all the human advice of "there is no perfect church", which is another way of saying you need to compromise what you treasure concerning God's word (theology and soteriology) and that is not of God.
We use John's DVD's and the daily Bible and other resources to keep bathing in His word on a day by day basis.
So hang in there and I'll be praying for all of us that are in the same boat and there are many.
Father; there is a yearning and a cry of many of your children who do not want to compromise your beloved truth and I pray you will give to each of us a place we can enjoy fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ and that you can use us as vehicles to reach others with your message of love and hope because apart from Christ we are nothing and we have nothing. In Jesus Holy and precious name I ask and I pray.
We need a little disclaimer and apply some common sense for those that have medical issues in which abstaining from "food" could cause serious problems.
God has given us a brain and expects us to use it; so for those of you that have a medical condition; don't heap a pile of guilt onto yourselves if you are unable to abstain from food.
I am looking forward to hearing more on this because I was under the belief that abstaining from any desire was a form of fasting; meaning it was not restricted to just food.
Anyone who would like to educate me from the God's word; I would love to hear from you.
May God continue to bless Grace To You and all the staffers and volunteers who make it all happen and most of all to our Saviour who has provided such resources in the midst of such perversion of His character and his word.
Good point,
It's amazing that Moses didn't eat 40 days and nights on the mountain
and as well Elijah too. They were focusing on God and not worry about
Yes, Jesus made a good point that we have a choice to fast or not.
Jesus mention a saying. Don't worry about food, clothing.
Jesus made another good point. We must plan ahead and trust Jesus
regarding to our health. If one can't, pray! If one can, take one
step at a time. One question, can water be allow as one fast?? Just
a thought.
Thanks, Don for posting this.
God Bless.
I am excited about this series. I personally have done very little actual studying on this principle. Our church does the annuual corporate 21 day fast. There is a sign up sheet in the lobby and people talk openly about there fast. Also what is common is people tend to "fast" from things that are not food. For instance television or social networking etc. I have actually had a few heated debates on weather or not that is even considered a fast or not because as far as I know the bible only talks about food and water. At anyrate, there are a small number of us who chose to decline signing up for the fast or to even state if we're fasting at all and have brought it to our pastor's attention what Jesus teaches about fasting. I personally have never fasted for more then 48 hours without some sort of liquid nourishment. A smoothy or protien shake or something. I am fairly certain that from a biblical standpoint that is not a fast either. But correct me if I am wrong about that. Really looking forward to this thread, thank you GTY
Can't wait to read further on this also. About ten years ago when I first became a christian I was involved in a church which was a Bible believing church but also quite legalistic and when i became pregnant which was about 6 months after I became a christian I was only a baby believer, 22 years of age so naieve and one friend of mine was very into fasting and denying herself things and we talked about fasting and I was uncertain that I should continue fasting anymore since I now had a little baby inside me, she then said that God would look after the baby's nutritional needs and I loaded with guilt was then unsure about how much food I could eat. Thankfully not long after this I met another lady who said I should eat healthily and not fast anymore while I was pregnant. This still hurts though when I think back to this time of my life, it even almost makes me cry, God's ways are not burdensome, he does not place heavy loads on us, Jesus did not save us to become legalistic, the law kills, the law places a yoke on us, the Pharisees and religious leaders loved putting heavy burdens on the people that they themselves would not even lift a finger to help them, I pray that the Lord gives Don sound wisdom and discernment in this series. Thank you Lord for this new message we are about to hear, please make it so clear to us from Your Word what we need to know from You about fasting. Amen.
Hello All,
I did a quick search on "fasting" throughout the entire Bible and I picked up on two themes. In the OT it seems to be associated as Don Green pointed out with a sense of doom and/or urgency with some type of mourning and lament. Ne 1:4, Ne 9:1, Es 4:3, Es 9:31, Ps 35:13, Ps 69:10, Ps 109:24, Da 6:18, Da 9:3, Joe 2:12
Notice that fasting is absent from the Books of the Law; I was surprised by that, but as you get into the NT; fasting became a legalistic practice of the scribes & Pharisees, which Jesus discuses in His sermon on the Mount; not to practice as the Pharisees/hypocrites, but do it in private. Also, fasting is always practiced in conjunction with prayer; almost "hand and glove".
The word itself is "nēsteuō", which means "to abstain as a religious exercise from food and drink: either entirely, if the fast lasted but a single day, or from customary and choice nourishment, if it continued several days".
The root of nēsteuō is nēstis, which means: fasting, not having eaten.
In the NT it is used in Matthew, Mark & Luke and Acts only. Remember this exchange: "he disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast ?" AND Jesus answered: "And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."
See the connection Jesus makes here with sadness and mourning as it was done in the OT and not as the Pharisees had made a "show" out of it to demonstrate their piety.
In Acts it is used twice in chapter 13 and in verses 2 & 3 and in this case the details of the reason for the fasting is unclear. It mentions that they were "ministering" to the Lord and fasting, which was likely praying and fasting, when the Holy Spirit came and said to set apart Barnabas and Sau.
So I see more of the sense of some kind of urgency as opposed to mourning and I believe it must deal with the urgency of the direction they were to take since Peters release, the persecution going on, rapid growth of the church, and now a calling of Barnabas and Saul. So it appears that this is an urgency of "what direction to take". I do not want to impose on the text something that is not here; so taking the repeated theme for the reasons for fasting is the safe & consistent way to approach these particular passages.
Fasting relates to abstaining from food and/or drink, but the root word pertains to food and it appears by the definition to be applied to a single day or for a period of days, such as Jesus in the wilderness being tempted.
I was discussing this topic some time back with one of the pastors from my local church. I made mention that modern day "new spirituality" fasting of items such as candy bars and soft drinks is superficial and foolishness since the "fast" does not follow after the biblical model for fasting. I was shocked when the pastor later stated to me that he was offended by my remarks (although he never said anything while we were discussing the topic mutually) due to the fact that he himself was fasting "chocolate"...
Here is a link to a group calling for such a 21 day fast as mentioned above...http://www.awake21.org/
Here is a link to the originator's "church"...
Note the Mission and Values of this "church"...
Re: Mark Tanner
I am very grateful to men like John MacArthur who are being used by God to teach His Eternal Truths! I am also thankful for other Reformed teachers, like John Piper and R. C. Sproul. Over the past six months I have been studying Reformed Theology as well as Arminian Theology- not to be confused with Remonstrant Theology. I grew up in Restoration Movement churches which are for the most part Arminian; however, there is a lot about Arminius' beliefs that we on the whole have sadly shunned. I am proud to call believers from other Christ-honoring traditions "Brother", and welcome the oportunity to grow and learn. The church I attend is a "progressive" congregation among the churches of Christ where a friend of mine was able to announce that he had studied Reformed Theology and Covenental Theology with his family, had concluded that salvation was totaly one sided, God, and that, as he understood the Scriptures, our "response" to Him effects nothing. Then he and his wife immersed their two believing children into the Covenantal body of Christ and the congregation did not explode in a riot.
Chris & Mark, the Body needs you to be leaeders, God has not called us to be Lone Ranger Christians. "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens another man", right? Being involved in local fellowships gives you the oportunity to sharpen others and to be sharpened. I obviously don't know your personal situations, but please, help those who don't have the revelation you do. Be salt and light for those -even in the church- who live in darkness.
God bless you both!
Attn: Adrian Lomax
Thank you for the words of encouragement and I agree with most, if not all, of your points. The problem is I have a specific outreach that hits on the key doctrines of grace using among others, Dr. MacArthur's sermons. To do this inside of the church or pass along to members would undermine the Pastor's authority and potentially cause strife among some brethern, which is an abomination before the Lord.
The best strategy for me is to hit that area with the messages by distributing the CD's to every house in the area and thus I can get the message out without causing strife. Two of my favorites to distribute is "The Doctrine of Absolute Inability" by John MacArthur and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards. Tony Capoccia's Bible Bulletin and Gospel Gems websites are terrific resources and many of John MacArthurs transcripts are found there along with Phil Johnson's link to the Spurgeon Archives. Highly recommend both sites to all.
Again I apologize for being off topic, but I did want to express my gratitude to Adrian for his insightful & encouraging comments.
God bless all of you and look forward to reading more of these blogs as the Lord allows.
Mark Tanner
Tony does have some of John MacArthur's transcripts, but here on the Grace to You website we have all the transcripts organized and easily searchable.
Attn: Gabriel Powell
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for the information. I am fully aware of the resources on GTY and utilize them regularly as I suspect everyone posting on the blog does.
However, the point I was making was that Tony's websites are valuable resources and the MacArthur transcripts he has available are actually organized by topic-alphabetically and because it is a shorter list; it is sometimes easier to sort through and there are also valuable links there that can be used for edification of any believer, which is the point I was alluding to.
The Gospel Gems site is real nice because he recreates sermons from Dabny, Wesley, Ryle, Bunyan, Whitefield, Edwards, & Spurgeon & does a great job. The CD's cost are nominal and he has one titled "When You Fast" by John Wesley, which would expound this particular topic at hand.
Also, for those that minister to Roman Catholics; Tony is a former Roman Catholic of 34 years and gives insights that others may not have in a clear and concise manner. Dr. MacArthur has great sermons and articles related to Catholics as well; not to mention the congregation is made of many former Catholics as well as many of the volunteers there.
Hope that helps to clarify and may God bless you.
Sincerely and respectfully,
There have been some insightful questions that have come up in this series. Thanks for your comments!
I talked with Don, and he told me he's planning to address your feedback in sort-of a Q&A wrap-up article. So, keep posting the questions, comments, and dilemmas. Don will tackle some of them in a final post.
Travis AllenDirector of Internet Ministry
I know my church just brought up fasting, and I'm sure the fad seekers will be fasting before you can say "hamburger." I, on the other hand don't ever know if i'll do an actual fast. First of all, I'm prone to hypoglycemia, and secondly, and I don't know if this applies, I've made free decisions to not drink alcohol, overeat, watch televison, and limit this device i'm on called the computer. This gives me more time to study the Word, pray, witness, talk to my wife, and play with my kids. I do want to learn more about it, but I think i'm glad God didn't command us to do it! Kevin
Love GTY.......thank you for so ably teaching the Word of God.
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She was born in 1948 in Dunkirk, N.Y. to the late Thomas G. and Marian (Brown) Blackmore.
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House-training pets can feel like an uphill battle, especially since pets are drawn to the scene of an old accident as a toilet spot. Effectively getting rid of urine smells from carpets and furniture can help reduce the likelihood of repeat performances.
Soak it up. If youre aware of the accident while its still wet, soak up as much of the liquid as possible right away. Use paper towels, and dab until the puddle is gone. If you can lift the carpet or open the coverings on your soft furniture, slip a thick wad of paper towels under the spill. Put another wad on top of the spill, cover with newspaper if you have any and then stand on the wet patch for a minute or two as the paper absorbs the liquid. Repeat this process if necessary until the fabric is barely damp. Aid your retraining efforts by leaving the urine-soaked paper towels where you want your pet to "go."
Rinse it out. If you have a wet vac, use it on the area with plain water. Avoid using harsh chemical cleaners as they may mask the urine smell from you, but your pet will still smell it. The Michigan Humane Society says that you should also avoid the heat of steam cleaners, as this will bind the proteins in the urine to man-made fibers, setting the stain.
Dry it. Once you have removed as much of the liquid as possible, sprinkle baking soda liberally over the area. The powder will absorb more of the liquid, and the alkali in bicarbonate of soda will neutralize uric acid in the urine. Leave the powder to absorb overnight, and then vacuum.
Neutralize it. Although the baking soda will neutralize acids, pet urine naturally loses its acidity and becomes alkaline as it dries, so finally you need to neutralize the alkali also. One of the cheapest, most environmentally friendly ways to do this is with distilled white vinegar. Do a spot test to ensure the colorfastness of the fabric first. If the fabric can take it, dab neat vinegar onto the affected area and rub it in. Leave to dry and then vacuum again. If not, mix 1 or 2 cups of vinegar in a gallon bucket, and flush the area, using a wet vac or paper towels to dry the area again.
You may need to repeat the process, alternating between baking soda and vinegar two or three times with particularly nasty odors or old, dried-in stains. Alternatively, use a commercial pet odor neutralizer available from pet stores.


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Oils are a normal part of healthy skin, but if your cat seems to be producing an excessive amount of oil, it might have a skin disorder known as seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis.
Seborrhea in cats occurs when the sebaceous glands of the skin produce an excessive amount of sebum, or oil, according to VCA Animal Hospitals. This condition usually affects skin that has a large number of sebaceous glands. On cats, this is along the back, face and flanks. This condition is usually characterized by scaly, flaky and red skin that the cat scratches frequently. You might also see some flakes of skin on your cat's favorite sleeping places, since these whitish scales tend to fall off.
In many cases, seborrhea may be a clinical sign of another disease, according to PetPlace.com. To determine the cause of the skin issues, veterinarians will usually consider the cat's health history - including when the skin symptoms began and whether there has been any other changes in the animal's behavior or health. They can also perform a physical examination, take a skin biopsy or perform other tests on the skin as needed to confirm a diagnosis of the problem.
Treatment is directed toward the underlying cause of the seborrhea, but may include fatty acid supplements, medicated shampoos, moisturizers, or antibiotics, VCA reports.