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Some reflections on the present situation of drug abuse among young people
Compulsory versus voluntary treatment
Death rate among young drug-dependent persons
The young drug-dependent woman and her child
Final remarks
Author: K. BERNTSEN
Pages: 15 to 22
Creation Date: 1981/01/01
Some reflections on the present situation of drug abuse among young peopleK. BERNTSEN Ungdomskliniken Copenhagen Denmark
Interest in drug abuse has recently increased in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, in particular with regard to certain aspects of the problem. This paper reviews the questions of voluntary versus compulsory treatment, the high death rate among young drug-dependent persons and the problems of the young drug-dependent woman and her child. Although it is difficult to predict future developments in drug abuse, the paper concludes that ways and means must be found to provide children and young people with a more meaningful life. This will mean tackling the social, economic and psychological situation of those at risk of becoming drug-dependent.
This article deals mainly with the situation in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Although the situation with regard to drug use in these countries differs in some ways, it has many points of similarity.
It is now more than a decade since the Scandinavian and most of the other European countries started to become seriously concerned about drug abuse among young people and tried to do something about it. At that time, at least in Denmark, the mass media showed a great interest in drug-related problems.
There followed years when the subject was nearly forgotten. Other problems came into focus: the world situation in general and the problem of refugees, increasing unemployment, inflation etc.
However, interest in drug abuse has recently increased. In the Scandinavian countries for example, the question of voluntary versus compulsory treatment has been taken, while the high death rate among young drugs-dependent persons has also been of serious concern.
Special attention has also been paid to the problems of children born to drug-dependent women.
These are some of the problems which are addressed in this paper.
Compulsory versus voluntary treatment
In Denmark the official policy has been and still does favour voluntary treatment. At the end of the 1960s there was much public discussion among professionals and politicians regarding compulsory or voluntary treatment. The subject was later dropped, and the treatment programmes which were established, first in Copenhagen, and later in the larger towns, were all based on the principle of voluntarism.
During the past year, however, not only in Denmark but also in other Scandinavian countries, the discussion about compulsory treatment has been revived.
As far as I can see, the main reasons for this are partly the reports on a Swedish experiment called "Hassela", which is based on compulsion, and partly inadequate knowledge of the results of existing treatment programmes [1, 2]. The Hassela Collective is an institution which belongs to the municipality of Stockholm. Each year it takes in 12 young drug-dependent persons, 6 of each sex, from a hospital department, the Maria Polyclinic.
Child-care law in Sweden is applicable until the child is 20 years of age. Young people must not be more than 20 years of age at admission. They are chosen from among heroin abusers who are involved in crimes, some of whom join the programme voluntarily. Others are sent, and if they abscond they can be brought back by the police; it is this point, the compulsory placing, on which the debate has focused.
The book Hassela, Frangen til Frihed (Compulsion for freedom) states that Hassela wants to "release youth from the compulsion which lies in drug-dependence, drinking, prostitution etc."
The Hassela teaching does not build on therapy in the traditional sense but on education, training, rehabilitation, and building up a consciousness of responsibility and independence. It is a programme which is intended for children from the class of unskilled labour.
It is important to emphasize that Hassela is not an isolated institution with locked doors. It has an open-door policy with a warm milieu and is set in the countryside. There is work to be done, physical training during the day, and in the evenings debates, political education, dancing lessons and various other cultural activities. The programme starts with a week's mountain climbing under hard physical conditions. After one year the group moves to another collective connected to a folk high-school.
The success rate of this rehabilitation programme is said to be over 75 per cent, but it is difficult to discover what this figure is based upon.
The Hassela experiment has inspired a similar kind of institution in Norway, the Tyrili Collective. This has, however, met with opposition from a large group of professionals who are in favour of voluntary treatment, and it has recently resulted in the establishment of a Hassela Collective based on voluntarism [ 3] .
There is now a proposal in Sweden to create a new law [ 4] , based on the Hassela experiences, under which it would also be possible to use compulsory treatment for drug-dependent adults. In some cases compulsory treatment will last for two months, in other cases the treatment may be prolonged by a further two months.
At present there is serious debate in the Scandinavian countries on this proposal in particular, and on compulsory treatment in general. Some professional groups are in favour whereas others are against the idea.
It is dangerous to make generalizations about the model of compulsory treatment. The Hassela has been used for quite young people under the law of child care. But how will the older generation of drug-dependent persons react? The Hassela programme is designed for a three-year period of education and training. The proposed Swedish law talks about two, perhaps four months of compulsory treatment.
The Hassela programme was established and is run by an experienced, charismatic personality. The founder, his family and staff share the same ideas. Is it possible to find many other such persons, for whom the compulsory part is only a small ingredient of the whole programme? And if not, compulsion will become the main ingredient, and if four months prove to be insufficient, what will be done then?
The other reason for the discussion about compulsory measures is perhaps a lack of knowledge about the results of voluntary drug-free programmes. At the beginning of the 1970s there were some follow-up studies in Denmark, which covered the period 1968 - 1973 [5 - 8]. They showed that one third of drug-dependent persons were drug-free after a three-year observation period.
Recently, the first part of a follow-up study was published, entitled Unge Narkomane 7 år Efter (Young drug-dependent persons seven years after) by Soren Haastrup and others [ 9] .
The study covers 300 youngsters, 200 of whom were registered in 1973 in the drug-free programme of the Municipality of Copenhagen, and 100 in a special treatment programme in a psychiatric hospital (Nordvang) in one of Copenhagen's suburbs. At the time of admission they were all dependent on opiates, the average age was 21 years, and they had started using drugs when they were approximately 17 years of age. Two thirds of them were men, the other one third were women.
The follow-up study took place in 1980 and consisted of personal·interviews and information from various official sources.
The results were as follows:
It is not easy to evaluate the results as so much depends on the persons who make the evaluation. The total of 38 per cent (classes I and II) is only slightly more than one third better, one third the same, and one third in a worse condition, the normal situation which has been found in many follow-up studies concerning treatment results [ 10] .
One interesting point is that, on one hand, the majority of those in this category have moved away from the city and have settled in the country. On the other hand, those in a worse situation have moved from the suburbs to the centre of Copenhagen.
It is, nevertheless, important to collect follow-up results in order to prove that it is possible to help young persons out of their drug-dependence by voluntary treatment methods.
Death rate among young drug-dependent persons
The high death rate among young drug-dependent persons is a problem of great concern.
In all follow-up studies the number of deaths reported is extremely high, and in the Danish study it was found that 47 persons (16 per cent) had died during the seven-year period. In a normal population of the same age group one would expect to find that two or three persons had died. The preliminary report mentions no cause of death, but from other research it is known that an overdose of unknown or mixed drugs is often the cause [11, 12].
When persons who have become drug-free during their stay in hospital, prison or in a drug-free treatment programme return to the city they run an increased risk of death if they take a dose of drugs similar to their previous levels. It is important to provide information on this risk.
There are a certain number of suicides, proved by farewell letters, but there are also cases where it is difficult to ascertain if the death was accidental or suicidal.
More deaths are noted in periods when there is a scarcity of morphine and heroin on the black market, because drug-dependent persons take whatever they can get without knowing what it is. Another problem is that drug-dependent persons who have been on drugs for years become self-destructive; they are apathetic, they do not care if they are alive or not because their lives are not worth anything to them; they do not consciously commit suicide, it just happens. When one has been working with drug-dependent persons for many years, one often wonders why some, who are still alive, have not died long ago, and conversely, why some persons die, when you thought they were getting on rather well.
It would be interesting to conduct research into the particular characteristics of those who die. This research might help to identify suicidal tendencies and also help to prevent or reduce the high death rate among young drug-dependent people.
The young drug-dependent woman and her child
In countries where the drug problem has existed for 10 years ormore, a new aspect has been highlighted during the last four to five years. That is the risk of pregnancy and the birth of children to drug-dependent mothers [ 13] . Previously it was taken for granted that drug-dependent women seldom became pregnant, but more and more of these women recently have had children.
The first problem is that drug-dependent women are frequently unable or disinterested in regularly using contraceptive methods.
The second problem is that when pregnancy occurs it is often only discovered in the fourth or fifth month, too late for a legal abortion. This is due to irregular menstruation and sometimes to shorter menstruation periods.
A third problem occurs even if the pregnancy is proved earlier and a legal abortion is possible. The woman may refuse an abortion because she believes that the birth of a child will bring about a change in her situation and cause her to cease drug abuse. It is, of course, possible that this might happen in some cases, but generally speaking it is unrealistic.
It is very difficult to persuade the pregnant drug-dependent woman to undergo regular obstetric treatment. She is often living in bad housing conditions, her partner is also drug-dependent, she does not get the right food, she earns her money by prostitution, and she injects whatever drugs she can get.
The birth is often premature, the child is underweight and is born with abstinence symptoms which must be treated immediately.
The result is that in most cases the child is taken to be cared for away from the mother, for weeks perhaps, and because the two are separated the natural tie between the mother and the newborn child is not established.
The vicious circle really starts here. The mother is released from the clinic without her child; in most cases she will return to the situation she was in before. The doctors and nurses expect her to behave responsibly, to visit the clinic regularly, and to care for the child. She is scared, she feels guilty perhaps about the newborn child and the state in which the child was born. She takes up drugs again, and she fails to live up to the expectations of the clinic.
Sometimes some other persons, social workers etc., help her to obtain a new flat and clothes, furniture, money, and at last she takes the baby home. But what happens now? These children are often more difficult than normal children, they cry more, they sleep less, they are irritable, they have stomach troubles. All this is hard to cope with, especially for a woman with personal and social problems and without a stable partner to support her.
Follow-up studies of these children show that they are often shunted around, from hospital to institution, from grandparents to mother, and back again. Our experience shows that these children are very restless, they seek a lot of superficial contacts, they reject deeper relationships, and they show signs of a strong deprivation syndrome.
What can be done? The best course would be to prevent pregnancy before the drug-dependent woman is drug-free and is able to live a stable life. This does not seem possible at the moment. One must therefore change the strategy for handling the problem and try a different approach.
In most places, one thing ought to be done, that is to co-ordinate the work of all the people involved during the pregnancy, at birth, during the neonatal period, with child-care, with the socio-economic situation, with the housing problem etc.
It is suggested that an experiment should be conducted where the pregnant woman is offered a place to live for at least four months before the birth and perhaps one to two years after the child is born. The place would accommodate five or six other pregnant women or young mothers; it should have sufficient, but not too many staff, and have one person especially responsible for each mother and child. An effort should be made to avoid the long separation between mother and child after birth; this disturbs the possibility of emotional contact between them.
Many programmes are quite strict in their rules about drug usage or the non-appearance of the mother for a few days. It would, of course, be disastrous if the child was left alone. But if the child were cared for by the same staff person during the stay, one could afford to be more lenient with the mother and to give her time to adjust and to learn her responsibilities.
Experiments of this kind have been carried out in the United States with good results [ 14] .
Final remarks
It is hard to forecast what the future holds; the social and economic situation has changed in so many ways during the last decade. In many Western countries the drug problem began to develop during the years when there was little unemployment and no economic crisis, so it must be due to other psychological causes.
This situation has now changed completely, and if we want to do something to stop the growth of the problem of drugs and alcohol, we must find ways and means of giving our children and young people a more meaningful life and hope for the future.
It is harder and harder to get a job, and to understand the need for training and education. More and more young people give up thinking that society needs them. There always will be a group of children who, because of their social background and their abilities, will struggle to get good marks, will compete and will get good jobs. But the danger is that the other group, those who live under harder conditions, who are not stimulated enough either at home or at school, will increase. For many of them the easiest way out, perhaps, will be to start on a drug or an alcoholic career.
Therefore, it is not enough to establish treatment centres etc., to spend time discussing compulsory versus voluntary treatment. As has often been said before, if we don't tackle the social, economic and psychological situation of those at risk in our society, we will not be able to cope with the drug problem.
Hassela-kollektivet and Guy Englund, Hassela, Tvangen til Frihed, Social-og Sundhedspolitisk Gruppe (Copenhagen, 1980).002
Anna Theander, Hassela-Kollektivet. En Rapport om Vårdinnehål och Vårdideologi på et hem för Unge Narkomaner (Stockholm, Prisma, 1979).003
Tore Hoel, "Nytt Hassela-kollektiv baseret på frivillighet", Stoffmisbruk, Informasjon fra Sentralrådet for Narkotikaproblemer , No. 5, 1981, pp. 10-11.004
Tore Hoel, "Svensk lov om tvangsbehandling", Stoffmisbruk, Informasjon fra Sentralrådet for Narkotikaproblemer , No. 3, 1981.005
A. Groth, Forlφbet af Stofmisbrug Blandt Statshospitalsindlagte Unge. Kontaktudvalget Vedrφrende Alkohol-og Narkotikaspφrgsmål (Copenhagen, 1978).006
B. E. Holstein and T. Jersild, 932 kriminelle stofmisbrugere - 5 år senere , Forskningsrapport No. 2 (Copenhagen, Justitsministeriet, kriminalpolitisk forskningsgruppe, 1976).007
Sφren Haastrup, Young Drug Abusers. 350 Patients Interviewed at Admission and Followed-Up Three Years Later (Copenhagen, 1973).008
Eggert Petersen, Efterundersφgelse af klientellet. I: Stofmisbrugere - Frivillig Behandling (Copenhagen, Mentalhygiejnisk Forlag, 1974).009
Sφren Haastrup and others, Unge Narkomane 7 år Efter (Copenhagen, Social-og Sundhedsforvaltningen i Kφbenhavn, 1981).010
Soren Haastrup and Peter W. Jensen, "A survey of Scandinavian follow-up studies of young drug abusers", Journal of Drug Issues , vol. X, 1980, pp. 477-489.011
J. Voigt and others, "Fatalities among drug users in Denmark in the period 1968-72", Medicine, Science and the Law , vol. XV, 1975, pp. 265-269.022
Bulletin on Narcotics, Vol. XXXIII. No. 4-1981012
Birgitte Kringsholm and others, "Death among drug addicts in Denmark in 1978 and 1979: medico-legal investigations", Ugeskrift for Laeger , vol. 143, 1981, pp. 1231-1235.013
Peter Ege, "Den gravide stofmisbruger", English summary: Pregnant drug abusers, Ugeskrift for Laeger , vol. 142, 1980, pp. 1241-1245.014
L.P. Finnegan, "Pathophysiological and behavioural effects of the transplacental transfer of narcotic drugs to the foetuses and neonates of narcotic-dependent mothers", Bulletin on Narcotics , vol. 31, Nos. 3 and 4 (1979), pp. 1-58.


text:
"Not so bad for an animal of this country," said I, superciliously.
"You are really very kind," answered the Countess superciliously.
That is what I have never seen when I have looked on superciliously from the height of my own idleness at these drudging lives.
"You've never been to Central Russia," says Milburd, superciliously.
"I didn't know you had ordered any gowns," I said superciliously.
"I really cannot answer that question," said Ogden, superciliously.
The heavy half roar of the buffalo wolves, superciliously confident, echoed from the broken country.
"I am a gentleman, not a chapman," (a retail tradesman) said Jack, superciliously.
But this suggestion was received coldly by the ladies, who superciliously turned their backs upon it and the suggester.
"Our acquaintance was very slight," said Victor superciliously.
1520s, from Latin superciliosus "haughty, arrogant," from supercilium "haughty demeanor, pride," literally "eyebrow" (via notion of raising the eyebrow to express haughtiness), from super "above" (see super-) + second element akin to cilium "eyelid," related to celare "to cover, hide," from PIE root *kel- "to conceal" (see cell).
Since cilium is more recent than supercilium, the former can be interpreted as a back-formation to the latter .... If indeed derived from the root *kel- 'to hide', we must still assume that a noun *kilium 'eyelid' existed, since the eyelid can 'hide' the eye, whereas the eyebrow does not have such a function. Thus, supercilium may originally have meant 'what is above the cilium'. [Michiel de Vaan, "Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages," Leiden, 2008]

subset: commoncrawl


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Are you experiencing the record-breaking heat wave hitting the US? Looking for some fun that's a little more grown-up than running through the sprinklers? We've got you covered with five ways to cool down while heating things up during the smoldering days of a Summer heat wave.
Prowl at the Park: Don a bikini, grab a blanket and good book, and hit your local park to soak up the sun and scope out the eye candy. Maybe you can even join an impromptu Frisbee game if one flies your way?
Sleep Nude: Take it all off before crawling under the covers. Sleeping sans PJs will help with keeping the heat at bay but your bed buddy close.
Take a Cold Shower: But grab your honey on the way in for an intimate shower sesh that will leave you refreshed in more ways than one.
Pitch a Tent: Camp out in your backyard to enjoy a romantic night under the stars and some sleeping bag snuggling.
Skinny Dip: Keep it between you and your partner-in-crime by taking your suit-less swim in a lake at night or in your own pool. That way no one will witness your underwater antics.


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Greg Biffle continued his hot run at Auto Club Speedway by turning in the fastest lap in Saturday morning practice for Sunday's Auto Club 400.
Biffle, who changed engines in his 3M Window Film Ford on Friday before finishing second to Denny Hamlin in qualifying, ran 38.657 seconds (186.253 mph) in the first of 37 laps in the 55-minute session. AJ Allmendinger, driving the James Finch Chevrolet, was second in the session with a lap at 38.670 (186.191), also in the opening lap of the 22 trips around the two-mile superspeedway.
Hamlin was fourth quickest, trailing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in his Toyota. Busch was at 38.847, 0.014 seconds ahead of his teammate.
Defending race champion Tony Stewart was, ironically, 14th fastest, matching his car number.
It was a busy session as only 10 of the 43 drivers turned in fewer than 15 laps.


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Mandy Moore's plan this fall is to tour along the way with her band to promote new album "Wild Hope".
Mandy Moore is infused with her music persona this year through the release of "Wild Hope". She is willing to take a break from film to get on the road for a long enjoyable tour.
"I really just want to go on tour this fall," Mandy said. "I'd love to do a film, but it has to be something that makes sense and that I'm really passionate about to take me off the road, 'cause that's really what I want to do right now."
Mandy's June 19 release album is her first record to contain part of her writing and collaboration with Chantal Kreviazuk. She insists that this piece is not suitable for arena kind of show but rather on those smaller-scale and intimate gigs. "Just something fun and low-key," she said.
Having small showcases doesn't mean no big cities hitting. She continued, "We're already doing some fun, acoustic shows. I think as the record comes out we're going to do some showcases in bigger cities across the country."
Three songs from the new album have been left open to the public. "Extraordinary" which video is completed premiered on in January while another song "Nothing That You Are" was also posted on her MySpace. The latest post is the track "All Good Things" that plays whenever fans enter Mandy's official website.


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Got $US250,000? Got an interest in the latest Shane Warne "text sex" saga? Then you've got yourself a story.
Helen Cohen Alon, the 45-year-old South African who accuses the spin bowler of harassment, offered last night to give the Herald, or any media outlet, "the whole truth" exclusively for $A382,400. When the Herald declined, she gave this interview anyway.
"Why would I want to blackmail Shane Warne when he was a friend of mine?" she said from Johannesburg.
But she added: "Why doesn't he just come out with the truth that he did harass me. Why doesn't he do that, and that we were friends in the beginning? And I really liked him, and I still do. He's a fantastic guy. There's nothing wrong with him.
"It's just that you cannot get away with things that you try and do to a woman all the time."
The divorced mother of three has alleged Warne pestered her for more than a year with salacious telephone messages.
Warne was still saying nothing yesterday. On Sunday his company said it was private matter between him and his wife, Simone, and suggested he was being set up for someone's "personal gain".
"I'm not the only woman he has harassed," Ms Cohen Alon said. "There's quite a few women and there's a few women in South Africa - in my own country - that he's done that to. And I'm the one that's sitting with the truth. The truth will come out."
Before Ms Cohen Alon's revelations, her New York-based lawyer, Donald Levine, had said she "doesn't want to give the story away unless she is walking out of it with something in her hand . . . unless she gets . . . $US250,000, or we can negotiate on that".
Ms Cohen Alon later said she felt her life was under threat. "I'm going to go to the police because I've been receiving calls when nobody speaks on the other side, and it comes through on an anonymous number. So what is that? It's harassment. It's somebody that's trying to scare me."
Meanwhile, Craig Dodson, of Sponsorship Solutions, said Warne's sponsorship fee - about $70,000 to $80,000 for one year - would probably be unaffected.
The celebrity agent Max Markson said the public and sponsors were used to claims of misbehaviour against Warne. "I think with whatever damage has been done to his reputation over the last few years with incidents like the smoking and bookmakers and text messages and drugs now, it's a bit like water off a duck's back."
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Carolyn Surrick is a musician who specializes in early music. She is an acclaimed viola da gamba player who tours and records with Ensemble Galilei. She and her colleagues played each week for soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Surrick wrote Between War and Here, a collection of poems and essays about her experience playing for wounded veterans. Her new book, Silently, Shadows are Sweeping, is about the final days of her father and stepmother, a deeply moving portrait of love, loss, finality and forgiveness.
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text: 10 Things You Should Not Refrigerate Facebook Pinterest Twitter Print Mail Save Left Arrow Right Arrow Photo by Yagi Studio/Getty Images Left Arrow Right Arrow 8 of 11 Grid View See All Coffee The fridge (and the freezer) create condensation, which can affect the flavor of both ground coffee and coffee beans. Coffee fares best in an airtight container in the pantry. Start


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ok, here's the pseudocode straight from the book:
input. a directed graph with positive, integer edge weights and n vertices. one of the vertices, called start, is specified as the start vertex.
output. a list of the shortest distances from the start vertex to every other vertex in the graph.
the algorithm uses an array of n integers (called distance) and a set of vertices (called allowed_vertices). the variables v, allowed_size, and sum are local integer variables. there is some special value (-1) that we can place in the distance array to indicate an infinite distane (which means there is no path).
Step 1. initialize the distance array to contain all -1, except distance[start], which is set to zero.
Step 2. initialize the set of allowed vertices to be the empty set.
Step 3. Compute the complete distance array:
Step 3a. Let next be the closest vertex to the start vertex, which is not yet in the set of allowed vertices (if several vertices are equally close, then you may choose next to be any of them).
Step 3b. Add the vertex next to the set allowed_vertices.
Step 3c. Revise the distance array so that the new vertex (next) may appear on permitted paths:
Step 4. Output the values in the distance array. (Each distance[v] is the shortest distance from the start vertex to vertex v.)


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Intex Family-Sized Metal Frame Above Ground Pool Set - 18' x 48"
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Missing person walked away from Rockport
September 2, 2014
The Summit County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's help in locating a missing person who wandered away from Rockport State Park on Sunday, Aug. 31.
The missing man, 20-year-old Halden Efren, was last seen on the side of I-80 near the Wyoming border Monday, said Sgt. Ron Bridge, public information officer for the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
On Aug. 31 at about 10 a.m., Efren got into a verbal confrontation with a woman companion while camping east of Rockport Reservoir, Bridge said. After the fight, Efren walked away from the camp and his friends were unable to locate him. They believed he had walked off to cool off, but when he did not return, they reported him as missing.
Initially, about 20 members of Summit County Search and Rescue and a Department of Public Highway helicopter were deployed to search for Efren. They have since turned the search over to the sheriff's office, Bridge said.
Efren is 5 feet 5 inches tall and 170 pounds with brown eyes and short brown hair, Bridge said. He was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, a baseball hat with the Chicago Bulls logo, sandals and a small backpack.
Efren has been in the United States for only one month and does not have his passport or any money with him, Bridge added.
Anyone who has seen Efren or picked him up is urged to contact the Summit County Sheriff's Office at 435-615-3600.
—David Burger


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New York Giants in SuperBowl 2008!
After overtime, NY Giants managed to score the winning points.
New York set another NFL mark by winning 10 road games in one season, breaking the record it shares with the 2005 Steelers. The Mannings will be on Phoenix on 3rd February, Eli reached the Super Bowl just one season after Peyton played in and won his first.


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NCSA is a committed, athletic minded team whose mission is to empower leaders through sports by sharing the passion, energy and appreciation for what sports has done for them. NCSA offers an exciting and competitive environment similar to the playing field. Working here requires an all-in attitude, all out work ethic, commitment, flexibility and teamwork. If you are passionate about sports and making a difference in a student-athlete's life, NCSA is the place for you!
Founded by Chris Krause in 2000, NCSA has seen unparalleled growth and has become the leader in its industry. We have received such accolades as Brill Street + Company's Top 50 Gen Y Employers, Crain's Fast Fifty, Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, National 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, and most recently, ranked in the Inc. 500/5000 List of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.
Overview of Internship Program
Be Curious! That is our motto for interns at NCSA Athletic Recruiting. It's our goal to give interns the opportunity to gain a professional and educational experience of what it's like to work in the sports industry. Along the way, interns will have the opportunity to make their mark by assisting with day to day operations and projects to help enhance the growth of NCSA. No worries, there will be no coffee runs! We want to make a difference in our interns' lives, and in return we want them to embrace our mission of empowering leaders through sports, Athleadership.


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American History
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My introduction to History ahs been mostly through David McCullough and Stephan Ambrose. I plan on reading several books by Joseph Ellis. My question is have these three authors raised the qulity of writing in history books and therefore set higher expectations for History writers or have history authors always been at a high level and these three are merely joining a level that has already been set? Or I guess I could aks if these are more popular authors and not at the level of many more seious hostory writers.
I would say that they are more popular because their style is more narrative and less analytical. It doesn't make them better or worse, only more readable.
Right now I'm going through The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. While the style is somewhat narrative, it's not an easy read due to the numerous parties and people to keep straight. But it is a very informative, eye opening book, well worth the trouble it takes to read.
Be careful about Joseph Ellis. Agree he is a gifted popular writer. But he has trouble telling the truth. As I recall, he fabricated a Vietnam War record.
Ellis was accused of fabricating his own record. Has he ever been accused of fabricating his work?
To me, truth-telling is hard to compartmentalize. It's a credibility thing. Plus I have a violent reaction about people who fabricate war records. It's an insult to our friends and neighbors who served and sacrificed.
Joe Ellis didn't just tell stories, he taught a very popular history class based entirely on his "experiences" in Vietnam--I know, I took it. Here's a NYT story on him... It's hard for me to trust him as a historian now. But that said, his books on Early America really are great.
I don't think that McCullough and Ellis are better writers than previous history writers. I have been reading a lot of civil war recently and Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton were excellent writers. If you look at the Pulitzer prize winners in history you will find some very good writers.
From what I know Joseph Ellis ego ran away with him when he started talking about Vietnam. I have never found anything he has written that appeared fabricated. His writing also went through an editing process which would help eliminate those types of errors.
The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln still is a very interesting book to read, an unusual viewpoint on that period of American politics.
I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to develop an entire list of excellent authors we wouldn't want to let our children date/loan money to/trust with our pets.
OK, well, in addition to David McCullough, Stephen Ambrose, Joseph Ellis, Shelby Foote, and Bruce Catton, who else do you recommend?
I have recently become a fan of Joseph Wheelan. Who else is in your favorite historians?
Love, love, love Carl Ekberg, James Axtell, and my man John Gregory Burke. Butcha know me. I read non-standard stuff.
To me, Ambrose's "alleged" plagiarism is a worse transgression then Ellis'. However, both cause me concern when reading their books.
If you're interested in the Revolutionary War period, try David Hackett Fischer. His Paul Revere's Ride and Washington's Crossing are both great reads.
>14 Billhere:
I was about to suggest the same author, and point to the same two books. Both are highly readable, but the dry, bare-facts stuff is still there in the appendices.
I would also add the name of Alan Taylor, an excellent and very readable historian specializing in early American history. He writes reviews for The New Republic and has won the Bancroft and Pulitzer prizes for William Cooper's Town. Other books include American Colonies and The Divided Ground.
Ah, I'm really glad David Hackett Fischer was mentioned. I loved Washington's Crossing, and recently found Paul Revere's Ride in a used book store on MD's eastern shore. Am looking forward to getting that. The other one that I've heard recommended and have on my (Bookmooch) wishlist by him is Albion's Seed.
I've read one book by Jill Lepore - The Name of War - it was excellent - really really fascinating look at King Phillip's War and argued that it wasn't just about land but also identity - on both the colonists and the Native American's side - a really interesting read and well argued.
I haven't heard of the other authors eromsted mentioned, and also think Alan Taylor sounds interesting.
If interested in Andrew Jackson, I'd suggest Robert V Remini, he has written a number of books on him and appears to be considered a respected Jacksonian Scholar.
Richard Hofstadter I found to be very difficult, especially his American Political Tradition but a number of others on LT have praised him for his insights.
Also, does anyone have opinions about John Ferling or Jon Meacham?
I liked Lincoln's Melancholy by the former, but thought Franklin and Winston (by the latter) was alright, but assumed a level of familiarity with the two.
Here's Jon Meacham's promo of The American Lion on The Daily Show.
BFertig, me good buddy, thanks for the kind words. I am a positively a pimp for Axtell and Ekberg.
Axtell has articles that are just wonderful. Do you have access to JSTOR? If not dm me.
As for Ekberg, he writes about French settled Colonial Ste. Genevieve in the Mississippi valley. Their experience there is totally un-British-like. Changed by opinion on what American settlement could have been.
Don't miss Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. As good as McCullough in my opinion.
Ranging across all periods, here are some more academic authors who have written excellent and very accessible works:
Fred Anderson, especially his outstanding history of the Seven Years' War (and its relationship to the movement toward independence), Crucible of War: The Seven Year's War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, and his and Andrew Cayton's The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, a penetrating look at just how important military conflict has been in shaping the United States.
John Mack Faragher, in particular his biography, Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer, and his account of the expulsion of the French Acadians from what is now Nova Scotia, A Great and Noble Scheme.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich; her prize-winning book, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard Based on Her Diary is widely and justifably praised.
Elliot West (The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado), Donald Worster (A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell and his new biography of John Muir, A Passion for Nature), and Aaron Sachs (The Humboldt Current), who all write on the European exploration and penetration of the West with a strong environmental focus.
John Milton Cooper, Jr. focuses on the early 20th century; his Pivotal Decades is a good survey of 1900-1920, and his dual biography of TR and Wilson, The Warrior and the Priest, is outstanding.
Finally, a political scientist who doesn't write like one: James A. Morone, whose Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History is a lively survey of the ways in which religion and moral fervor have influenced American history since the beginning.
>21 sergerca: good point, and better than McCullough in my opinion. And a good counterpoint to Chernow (he is a big hagiographic) is Thomas Fleming, who, although a journalist, has received a number of awards from the field of history. Really good books on Hamilton and Burr, Wilson, FDR, e.g.:
Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America
Washington's Secret War
Illusion of Victory (this one is primarily on Wilson)
The New Dealers' War: FDR and the War Within World War II
Edmund S. Morgan (touchstone failing here)
David Hawke
Francis Jennings
John Putnam Demos
Daniel K. Richter
Bernard Bailyn
Pauline Maier
Christopher Ward
William Cronon
Roger Wilkins
James H. Merrell
Daniel H. Usner, Jr. (touchstone failing here)
Gary B. Nash
In my opinion (and it's just an opinion), McCullough and Foote are excellent writers and merely adequate historians --or at least they allow the story to take such precendence in their work that deeper interpretation of the subject is sacrificed. This is likely what makes them so readable, the work of thinking about their points is much easier than for more academically minded authors.
Demos's The Unredeemed Captive is a great blending of readable story with excellent interpretive work.
Just perused the touchstone list on the right....
Hard to believe that Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr (bloody touchstone!) is not mentioned.
>24 JFCooper:, 25
Thanks for adding more excellent academic historians to the list, including Schlesinger (like a lot of other folks, I'm in the midst of rereading his three volumes on FDR). I also agree with your comment about popular authors who are "excellent writers but merely adequate historians."
I enjoy reading writers like McCullough and Foote, but any more I approach their work as I do good novels -- for entertainment and perhaps some interesting details or insights into the subjects they're writing about. But I find I always go elsewhere when I really want to understand a particular historical person or subject.
Of course, academics too often fall into the trap of writing for a narrow audience familiar with their jargon and sympathetic to their pet theories. But the best of them (which, I believe, includes your list as well as the historians I mentioned above) write clearly and intelligently, and provide challenging, valid interpretations that allow readers to see the past in new and different ways.
I happen to live with a biologist, who likes to recall advice she received about studying biochemistry: don't try to memorize all the equations for chemical reactions; focus instead on how molecules interact with one another and the reactions will always be comprehensible. I think that's true for history as well. For me, at least, it's understanding something of the social, cultural, economic, and political context that makes a particular narrative story line interesting and memorable, and makes it possible to see the linkages with other narratives across communities, cultures, and time.
There is, by the way, an outstanding series of books that joins academic rigor with good writing and a strong narrative approach: The Oxford History of the United States. Any one of the seven volumes now in print (the touchstone won't pick them all up as a group) is worth the time and effort. And they're all nice, long reads, just like McCullough!
I have found Douglas L. Wilson's books to be highly engaging, especially Honor's Voice. Shelby Foote has always been a favorite as well as Douglas Southall Freeman, along with others mentioned above, McCullough, D. Donald, Howe, etc.
>26 walbat:
Thanks Phil.
I forgot to mention Harold Holzer, there's no better source for Lincoln. Though multiple sources, by dint of their differing points of view and biases are always better than a single source.
Is writing for a narrow audience a trap if that is the audience you intended to write for? Academics write academic stuff because they are operating at an extremely high level, and recognize that writing for each other is a better course of action if the goal is to challenge their thinking or add to the academic discussion. For example, Pauline Maier's From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765-1776 is nearly incomprehensible without a basic knowledge of the political history of the Continental Congress (and maybe a handy timeline to which the reader can refer when necessary). But it adds extremely valuable insight to the reader's understanding of how the His Majesty's American Colonies became 13 independent States operating collectively as a confederation.
Folks like McCullough and Foote are "popular historians". They write for a general audience, which is not to say that what they do is less important or less valid than what Maier does.
I guess I forget the distinction between the two, and truth be told the line is getting less and less distinct. Demos, Schama, Robisheaux, are excellent historians with much to add to the discussion, and they write very accessible stories as they do it.
Ruminating still...
Daniel, you raise a good point about the line blurring between academic and popular histories. In my field of ecology (and science in general) that is also happening to some extent with the proliferation of science journalism, and it necessitates a two way communication between the professionals and 'the general public' (whoever that is).
One of the things I find cool about LT is that it gets both experienced (perhaps academic, perhaps just really interested and well-read) and inexperienced (perhaps passing fancy, perhaps novice) people talking together, or at least sharing some bits of information and what they find interesting, worth reading, etc. Personally, I think it's on the whole a good thing for a person in the 'general public' to be able to brush shoulders with people more tuned to the academic side of things because it gets both to think about things from another perspective.
To bring it back to the thread topic, I'm glad both popular and academic authors are brought up here, and encourage more of both. I think they both have a place, since I assume that of the people following this thread there is a spectrum of experience and interest.
Yes, I think walbat >26 walbat: makes the best point here:
"I happen to live with a biologist, who likes to recall advice she received about studying biochemistry: don't try to memorize all the equations for chemical reactions; focus instead on how molecules interact with one another and the reactions will always be comprehensible. I think that's true for history as well. For me, at least, it's understanding something of the social, cultural, economic, and political context that makes a particular narrative story line interesting and memorable, and makes it possible to see the linkages with other narratives across communities, cultures, and time."
Relatedly, I think is important to promulgate the idea that no one history tells you the complete story, and I think these discussions help do that.
Several of you probably alluded to this point, that the reading of the more "popular historians' may well peak and develop a more intense interest in a subject which would then lead to a reading of the more academic writers.
Although the A History of US books by Joy Hakim are written for middle school kids, I find that adults are just as taken in with these books when they pick one up. I believe there are 10 in the series, and they are excellent.
I count myself in the class of 'general public' or certainly a novice historian. I agree with Mr. Cooper that Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr was a writer that made history interesting. I would add the formal historians Dumas Malone, Harold Holzer, C. Vann Woodward and Garry Wills to the list. I would include Taylor Branch and Emory Thomas. I would put at the top of my list Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
>28 JFCooper:
I'm still ruminating, too. But I do owe you an explanation of my "trap" comment (#26). You're obviously right, it's not a trap if scholars are intentionally adopting a narrow focus to probe deeper or shed new light on a particular period or subject. Even Hofstadter, my pet archetype crossover historian, assumed his readers already had a solid grounding in the basics of American history.
I was indulging my bias against the postmodernist crowd with my catty little comment about jargon and pet theories. There are fields of academic history dominated by folks more interested in advancing a theoretical agenda than in elucidating the past in a clear, understandable manner, but I think (and hope) their numbers are declining (see AHR President Gabrielle Spiegel's address, "The Task of the Historian," in the Feb 2009 American Historical Review).
Anyway, as you say, there do seem to be increasing numbers of good academic historians who are gaining a popular audience. Perhaps they're consciously writing in a more accessible style, to appeal to more readers. But I would like to think that there's also a growing appreciation among readers of history that moves away from the relatively simple story lines and unexamined assumptions of many popular historians and instead presents the past in all of its messy, contradictory, and fascinating glory.
>34 walbat:
You don't owe me a thing. We're all just sharing thoughts. But I think your point is well taken, nonetheless. ;-)
Group: American History
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Sewing Circle
NOUN. A group of people, especially women, who meet regularly for the purpose of sewing, often for charitable causes. definition source
Since one person does not create a community or in this case a circle, I have invited some amazingly talented designers to join The Sewing Loft team. You will find them here regularly sharing their stitching speciality within our sewing community. My hope is that you get to know them and enjoy their style as much as I do. Their work is beautifully crafted and skillfully stitched.
Each contributor will help us explore other areas of stitching including embroidery, paper piecing, quilting, pattern making and even maintenance. That's right, maintenance the dirty little chore that no one wants to think about.
Starting on Tuesday you will find Becky here sharing all things quilting. You might remember her as a guest from the National Sewing Month 2012 series, she brought us that Little Wooden Stick. (Who knew that such a small piece of wood could have so much use in our sewing rooms?)
Her fun and quirky sense of style create a refreshing approach when tackling everyday stitching projects. I'm excited to see what she has in store for us. Personally, I know my quilting skills need improvement and will be stitching along!
Stay tuned, more faces will be revealed in our growing sewing circle. I'm predicting a few late nights, stitching up a storm in the studio are coming my way. Bring on 2013!


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Customer Review #1
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All-American Rejects frontman ties the knot on New Year's Eve
Listen to The All-American Rejects on iHeartRadio
All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter is starting the new year a married man.
"People" magazine says the rocker tied the knot with "Magic City" actress Elena Satine on New Year's Eve. The nuptials took place in Seaside, Florida in front of 50 friends and family members.
The couple said in a statement that they feel very fortunate to have started the new year with an "abundance of love and happiness."
Whole-lee-shee-it! pic.twitter.com/C6mSIYKhcm
— Tyson Ritter (@tysonritter) December 27, 2013
Ritter and Satine began dating back in 2012, and confirmed their engagement this past April.
Congrats to the newlyweds!
Photo Credit Getty Images


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text: As a pilot, I have had a vacuum pump failure, luckily it was in VFR conditions. However, the timing of this questionnaire is worrisome. Last fall you may recall the death of Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, a campaign aide, and his son. The preliminary NTSB report cites a vacuum pump failure as a present condition. Lawsuits on behalf of the Carnahan family have been filed seeking damages from the aircraft manufacturer, engine manufacturer, and the company that made the vacuum pump. I have been told by various pilot friends that attorneys seeking to expand the suits are circulating requests such as these without disclosing the purpose of the requests. I do not want to see the return of Cleveland vs. Piper kind of lawsuits which destroyed general aviation throughout the 1980s and 90s and I will not provide this data to anyone but the FAA and the vacuum pump manufacturer. I do not encourage anyone else to participate either. Robert A. Grierson, A.A.E. Chico Airport Manager (530) 879-3910 >>> weilt@xxxxxxxx 02/07 6:18 AM >>> A helping hand is needed for a good friend of our airport. Tom Weil, Manager California City Municipal ----- Original Message ----- From: "Biviano, Joseph" <joseph.biviano@xxxxxxxx> To: <weilt@xxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, February 06, 2001 7:13 PM Subject: HELP > Hi Tom, > > I need help researching my Master's degree. I need real world pilot data on > vacuum pump or gyro failures. > > Is it possible you could mail the message below with the attachment to your > Cal City global email list? > > Please let me know if there is a problem. > > Thanks > > Joe + Zanya (the brown Cherokee) > > > Fellow Pilots; > > I am completing my Master's degree at Embry Riddle Aero University. My > research is on accidents due to vacuum pump or gyro failures. I need real > world pilot information related to these failures. My intent is to design > an inexpensive redundant system which would eliminate partial panel flying. > > I would appreciate it if you could take the time and complete the attached > questionnaire and return it via email using the address on the last page of > the questionnaire. > > Thank you for your time. > > Joe > <<Questionnaire.dot>> > *****************************************


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Sarkisian bows out on sad note
Australian weightlifter Yourik Sarkisian's long, illustrious career came to a sad end at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne today.
The 44-year-old retired from the sport in disappointment immediately after failing to win a medal in the 62kg division.
After failing in his final attempt of the competition, he removed his shoes and held them up to his hometown crowd, the traditional weightlifting gesture of retirement.
However, he later suggested the retirement might not be permanent.
"Today I am stopped, next year I don't know," Sarkisian said.
Sri Lankan Chinthana Vidanage won the gold medal, with a total weight of 271kg.
India's Arun Murugesan, the pre-event favourite, lifted the same weight, but Vidanage won because of his lighter bodyweight.
Malaysia's Roswadi Bin Abdul Rashid took the bronze medal with a 261kg total.
Sarkisian finished in eighth position with 255kg.
He said he felt he had been capable of winning gold, but had faltered under pressure before his home crowd.
"Too much pressure, I never feel this pressure before," he said.
"I feel nervous, that never happened before too."
It could have been worse, he failed in his first two attempts at the snatch, with 113kg on the bar, before making the lift with his third attempt.
That put him in equal fifth place after the snatch, 8kg behind leader Murugesan.
It meant he had to do something special in the clean and jerk to win a medal.
After lifting 142kg with his first attempt, he moved up to 149kg, which would have been enough for the bronze medal.
However, on both of his attempts at that weight, he could not even complete the "clean" part of the lift.
After his final failure, he thumped the back wall with his hand, raised his palms upwards with a look of resignation, before removing his shoes and holding them to the cheering crowd.
Sarkisian, a native of Armenia who migrated to Australia in 1994, won five world championship gold medals during his long career, broke 23 world records and won an Olympic silver medal for the Soviet Union in 1980.
He also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals, in Manchester in 2002, and three silvers, in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Australian Weightlifting Federation president Sam Coffa said it was a shame Sarkisian's career did not end with a medal, after his amazing contribution to the sport.
"He's been a great competitor throughout the world, he's possibly one of the most decorated athletes our sport has ever seen," he said.
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Australia's biggest oil refiner
The gross profit Caltex made on converting a barrel of crude oil into a barrel of refined product was $US7.90 per barrel in June, up on the $US7.28 a barrel in June 2010 but down on $US11.30 per barrel in May, the company said yesterday.
The unrest in Libya is continuing to hit Caltex's refiner margin because of the high rates it has to pay to ship crude oil from West Africa to its refineries in Australia, while the high price of crude is also eroding profit.
"Reliance on light sweet crude for refinery feedstock has meant the company has been exposed to the blowout in the light-heavy spreads eventuating from the Libyan war," Credit Suisse noted this week.
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The stronger Australian dollar is adding further pressure to Caltex's refining margins in local currency terms, with Credit Suisse forecasting the margin will average about $7.15 per barrel in the first half, the lowest in more than five years.
Caltex's refining margin is based on the Singapore prices and Singapore petrol margins came under pressure in June from low US consumption, while margins on the manufacture of diesel and jet-fuel were supported by "continuing strong demand", Caltex said.
Caltex last month warned that its replacement cost operating profit for the June half, excluding one-off items, would fall to between $100 million and $115 million, down from $163 million in the same half a year ago.
The guidance was well below the $160 million market consensus for the first half at the time and resulted in a raft of earnings downgrades.
Sales from Caltex's own production slipped to 766 million litres in June, down 3 per cent from 790 million litres in May, when production suffered from production hiccups at both of the company's refineries, in Sydney and Brisbane.
Lower production typically forces Caltex into the spot market to buy imported supplies at higher prices to cover demand.
Caltex has already cut its guidance for output of petrol, diesel and jet fuel in the six months ended June to 4.6 billion litres, down from a May estimate of as much as 5 billion litres.
Sales from the company's own production in June were still about 10 per cent higher than in the same month last year.
The Australian Financial Review


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Product Information
PetRageous Designs' designer plastic dog bowls add fashion and style (they look like stoneware!) to the practicality of plastic. Each plastic dog bowl is lightweight, and features non-skid rubber feet on the bottom to keep the dog bowl in-place during feeding. As with all PetRageous Designs' products, unique designs and colors are available in our line of designer plastic dog bowls!
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These bowls are so cute and really well made but smaller than I thought they would be. So, they are going to go to the kitty instead of the dog.


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Wind Star Cabins
- Pro: Unique four-masted small ship with high crew-to-passenger ratio
- Con: Not wheelchair accessible for people who have mobility difficulties
- Bottom Line: Perfect for active travelers who want an intimate shipboard life and picturesque ports
Wind Star Cabins
- See all outside cabins
- See all suite cabins
Selecting a stateroom is a no-brainer. All 73 cabins, located on Decks 1 and 2, are identical at 188 square feet, with an ocean view through two small portholes, over which sheer and thick fabric drapes can be pulled at bedtime. In addition, there is one Owner's Suite measuring 220 feet, but there are no balcony cabins nor wheelchair-accessible rooms.
Oceanview: Wind Star's standard rooms are cozy quarters compared with what many modern ships now offer, but they are roomy enough to be comfortable, especially once you discover the many storage nooks and space extenders that might not be evident at a first glance. Look carefully, and hideaways aplenty appear: cubbies on the wall over the bed, drawers under the built-in seating area with booth-like chairs, a recessed shelf under the portholes and a table that folds out. Suitcases readily fit under the beds.
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The cream-tone leather headboard is flanked by upright lamps on two nightstands and two tiny flexible-arm reading lights.
The bed faces a wall-mounted flat-screen TV, which can tune into CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, Fox News and Sky Sport News, as well as a shore-excursion channel and one showing views from the camera mounted on the front of the ship. Every day, different films loop on three movie channels.
Rooms also come with a refrigerator/minibar, complimentary water and soda, glassware and an ice bucket. You'll also find an alarm clock, CD/DVD player and Bose SoundDock, which has speakers through which you can play the music stored on your iPhone or iPod.
In the two-door mirrored closet are two hanging areas, a safe large enough to fit a laptop computer, a metal wire shoe rack that pulls out, bungee cord crisscross netting for stashing hats and bags, and shelves to stack folded clothes.
Against another wall is a five-drawer bureau in which you'll find the 1,675-watt hair dryer. There are both U.S. 110v and European 220v electrical outlets in the room, so if you bring a converter and plug adapter, you'll double the number of outlets available.
Bathrooms, refurbished in 2012 and immaculately clean with granite countertops, are efficient and smartly designed. Two circular spaces -- one for the shower, the other for the toilet -- sandwich a middle rectangular-shape space that houses the sink. This center area has deluxe wood flooring. The sink stand has ample storage (more than you likely can use), with shelving around the mirror, as well as shelves beneath. There is a two-sided pull-out lighted makeup mirror with magnification. L'Occitane toiletries -- shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body cream -- as well as a shower cap, container of cotton balls and ear swabs, thick white towels and washcloths are neatly stacked. Cotton weave bathrobes and slippers are available; their use is complimentary, but you do need to request them from your stateroom steward. The shower (with both a fabric curtain and plastic lining) has an adjustable massage showerhead, as well as a handheld sprayer with strong water pressure and a hot-and-cold dial that's easy to adjust.
Fresh fruit is restocked daily; tell your stateroom steward which produce -- grapes, apples, bananas, kiwi -- you prefer. The minibar is restocked daily, as well. Your room also has a small vase of fresh flowers.
Nightly, there is turn-down service, when the bathroom is also cleaned. A small plate of chef-made chocolates is left for your sweet dreams.
Suite: The sole Owner's Suite is 220 square feet. The only difference in its slightly larger format is an expanded dining/sitting area with a sofa and two chairs.
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Drug courts serve certain people who have been charged with a felony or misdemeanor offense that is either drug-related or committed to support a drug habit. Participants in drug courts may avoid criminal prosecution or imprisonment in exchange for completing an intensive regimen of treatment and supervisory services.
Clients must participate in needed treatment sessions and submit urine samples that are tested for drugs on a random weekly basis. Clients also appear frequently in court before the judge on a regular basis to review their progress in treatment. The judge may administer positive rewards for doing well or negative sanctions for doing poorly. Examples of rewards may include praise, small gifts and certificates of recognition. Examples of sanctions may include a verbal scolding, written homework assignments, fines, community service or even a few days in jail. Successful graduation leads to the ultimate reward: either the criminal charges are dropped or the sentence is considerably reduced in length or harshness.
Research indicates that clients in drug courts receive more treatment services, closer monitoring and more certain and immediate consequences for their behaviors than individuals in most other types of criminal justice programs. They also engage in less drug use during treatment and have lower re-arrest rates for up to three years after their arrest. Largely because of this success, there are now more than 2,100 drug courts in every state and territory in the United States. There are also more than 1,000 other types of "problem-solving courts" that are similar to drug courts, but focus on other issues such as driving while impaired (DWI), mental illness, juvenile delinquency or domestic violence. Unfortunately, despite their impressive growth, drug courts still serve less than 5-10% of the people who need them, according to estimates. Nearly two-thirds of local counties do not have a drug court and many that do can handle only a relatively small capacity.
If you are considering drug court or DWI court for a loved one, there are several questions to ask:


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There seemed to be more senior Aussie bankers in China than back in Australia this week.
Visitors included
Financial Services Minister
That sort of representation can only be good for the Australian finance sector's relationship with China.
With few exceptions, personal and business links have been low key – to put it politely – for far too long.
But it doesn't mean a sudden surge of deals and investments and a vast new market opening up for Australian financial services in China.
As Nicholas Moore says wryly, financial deregulation in China is a "long-term proposition''.
The announcements made during
The currency exchange deal, for example, will allow ANZ and Westpac to be the first two Australian banks to directly trade the Chinese yuan and the Aussie dollar.
Over time, direct conversion will make it less complicated and slightly cheaper for Australian and Chinese companies to do business in each other's countries.
The big trade between Australia and China – commodities – is priced in the US currency.
Neither Mike Smith nor Gail Kelly wants to promote the notion that the currency deal will immediately lead to dramatic changes.
Instead, it's seen as part of the slow and gradual steps in China's market liberalisation.
Kelly says that this sort of shift was happening quite rapidly in China pre-2008.
"But the global financial crisis meant there was an opportunity and a reason to pause from the Chinese point of view and to say that global banks are in crisis and in a significant state of turmoil,'' she says.
"Further liberalisation of the Chinese financial sector will happen in a staged and phased fashion as the years go on. It will happen at a modest pace no doubt, but it is absolutely happening.''
Not that the Chinese government is about to cede control of the currency to the market, especially given its connection with interest rates and growth rates.
The development of the capital markets in China will take place over many years at best.
In response, Westpac is focused on assisting Australian customers – and hopefully the Chinese customers of Australian businesses – do business in either country. Westpac refers to its approach in Asia as a join-the-dots strategy.
Right now the bank gets about $50 million in revenue from Asia, with the expectation it will grow to $80 million or $90 million this year.
The bank has what Kelly calls an "aspirational'' target of $700 million to $750 million by 2017.
About half of that growth is expected to come from China.
"It's about following our customers,'' Kelly says.
"From a financial point of view, it (Asia) is still really quite small in the overall context of the group. But it is important and it is growing.''
The result is that Westpac has about 60 people in China and a branch in Beijing and Shanghai.
According to Kelly, the number of branches is far less important than making sure Westpac has the licences and infrastructure to support customers. The contrast with ANZ is obvious, if unstated.
Mike Smith has been more aggressively ambitious in announcing ANZ's approach and he is sticking to the target of earning at least 25 per cent of the bank's profit from Asia by 2017.
ANZ now has eight branches or sub-branches in China, plus a rural bank and an operations hub also servicing Hong Kong and Taiwan – with a workforce of around 700, up from 100 in 2007.
Even so, Smith got a laugh in Shanghai when he referred to ANZ as Australia's biggest bank in Asia.
It's clearly a minnow in a sea of whales.
Its strategy of taking minority stakes in Asian banks has become more expensive under the new Basel rules.
These now mandate higher capital requirements for minority stakes, diluting returns.
It means any useful connections and cross-pollination come at a higher than expected cost.
ANZ didn't take up its right to participate in a capital raising for the Bank of Tianjin, in which it has an 18 per cent stake.
It also has a 20 per cent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.
Kelly also doesn't comment directly on ANZ's approach of taking minority stakes.
"That was something done by a number of banks around the world some years ago and it has definitely become more expensive from a capital management point of view and it has had a mixed record for different banks in terms of its effectiveness,'' she says diplomatically.
What Kelly doesn't accept is any suggestion that the Chinese banking system is undermined by excessive debt and that Chinese economic growth is not sustainable.
"I remain sanguine about the Chinese development profile and the way they are managing their economy,'' she says.
"The top four to five banks are key to that and they have developed the skills and risk management and operational systems to do what is required.''
All Australian bankers should drink to that.
The Australian Financial Review


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This content has been marked as final. Show 6 replies
1. Re: Refresh document title on changeuser404 Dec 12, 2012 10:32 AM (in response to markoj)Did you try to add partial triggers?
2. Re: Refresh document title on changemarkoj Dec 12, 2012 10:38 AM (in response to user404)No. How should I set it? And another question. Won't partial trigger refresh whole document? Don't know if I really want that. Just need the title to refresh.
3. Re: Refresh document title on changeuser404 Dec 12, 2012 10:56 AM (in response to markoj)First, stand in your document tag and go to Partial Trigger in the property inspector, click edit and select the items (in your case your tabs I suppose).1 person found this helpful
Then, whenever you select one of your tabs, the trigger of af:document will be triggered and should be refreshed.
4. Re: Refresh document title on change960568 Dec 12, 2012 10:59 AM (in response to markoj)When do you want to have partial trigger.it will not change the whole page.1 person found this helpful
suppose u button click u want to refresh title.add the id of button in partial trigger of outputtext .change partialsubmit of button to true,
5. Re: Refresh document title on changemarkoj Dec 12, 2012 1:20 PM (in response to 960568)OK, almost got it to work. If I put a button on a page and set partialTrigger to the button, title gets refreshed on button click.
But I have to set partialTrigger to component that is located in another jsff. Do you have any useful suggestions?
Thank you for all your help ;)
6. Re: Refresh document title on change960568 Dec 12, 2012 1:49 PM (in response to markoj)well if you want to refresh on some other jsff .then do it programmaticly.
AdfFacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(this.popuptable); popuptable is the component on which you want to create partial trigger


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Picture Posting. If you are 18 years of age or older, you may provide a link to a picture hosting site. Pictures which are posting within the body of your writing often are too large to fit the page and they distort the finished product and make it difficult to read. By using a hosting site, you help us to do a better job of helping you to solve your problem. A suggested site is www.imgur.com.
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pubmed papers justification for clobetasone butyrate use
April 16 2012 at 12:18 PM
Response to
Back to basics.
I'd "substituted" clobetasone butyrate (eumovate) to avoid arm wrestling my doctor on the basis of what I read. A quick lok now found:
which nicely refers to several studies with different agents, whilst the following seems to answer the explicit question I was posing: efficacy of my clobetasone butyrate vs. the "traditional" steroid, from a 2005 paper.
Whilst the method and stats look somewhat dubious [I'm afraid that seems to be the way of 80% of medical papers/ research -- but then I would say that I'm a mathematician-- although i would also quote that in fact the BMJ agreed with me a few years back...] nontheless they do at least allow one to get a little beyond "gut feel"... for lay people like me, but I'm happy to be corrected by a proper professional!
Anyway, from pubmed:
The abstract copy and pasted:
Highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids are effective in treating phimosis: a prospective randomized study.
Yang SS, Tsai YC, Wu CC, Liu SP, Wang CC.
Department of Urology, En Chu Kong Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
We report a prospective randomized study comparing the effects of highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids in treating pediatric phimosis.
A total of 70 boys 1 to 12 years old with phimosis were randomly assigned to receive topical application of either betamethasone valerate 0.06% (a highly potent steroid) or clobetasone butyrate 0.05% (a moderately potent steroid). Parents of the boys were instructed to retract the foreskin gently without causing pain, and to apply the topical steroids over the stenotic opening of the prepuce twice daily for 4 weeks, then for another 4 weeks if no improvement was achieved. Retractibility of the prepuce was graded from 0 to 5. Response to treatment was arbitrarily defined as improvement in the retractibility score of more than 2 points.
Mean treatment and followup periods were 4.3 and 19.1 weeks, respectively. The response rates in boys treated with betamethasone valerate and clobetasone butyrate were 81.3% and 77.4%, respectively (p = 0.63). Mean retractibility score decreased from 3.9 +/- 1.0 to 1.7 +/- 1.1, and 4.2 +/- 1.0 to 1.9 +/- 1.0 in the betamethasone and clobetasone groups, respectively. Both steroids were effective in all age groups. Pretreatment retractibility score did not affect treatment outcomes. No adverse effect was encountered.
Highly potent and moderately potent topical steroids are of comparable effectiveness in treating phimosis. A less potent steroid may be considered first to decrease the risk of the potential adverse effects.
Your thoughts I'd be very interested in, and happy to do some more digging...
Response Title
Well you have convinced us!
Paul B.
Apr 16, 2012, 3:49 PM
ty !
Apr 16, 2012, 4:25 PM
Do not confuse
Paul B.
Apr 17, 2012, 5:43 AM
Re: Do not confuse
Apr 17, 2012, 4:40 PM
Well now.
Paul B.
Apr 17, 2012, 11:14 PM
well now
Apr 18, 2012, 4:26 PM
you "Respond", and because this forum is moderated, you will not then
your submission until the moderator has a chance to confirm it.


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Dr. Abdul Majeed Siddiqi is the Head of Mission of our projects in Afghanistan. HealthNet TPO is one of the leading organizations in the health sector in Afghanistan. Ensuring smooth running of all projects while raising money and managing 2250 staff members is a challenging job; especially within a fragile country like Afghanistan, where ongoing conflict and security issues are daily business.
Dr. Majeed started working for HealthNet TPO in July 2005, initially as a Head of Mission for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The job description is an extensive one: raising funds, finding new projects, managing more than 2250 staff members (plus 2000 volunteers), dealing with daily security issues and having the responsibility for the overall Afghan project portfolio. The project portfolio in Afghanistan is the largest of HealthNet TPO's. We are currently implementing more than 26 projects – nearly all over the country – with a turnover around 20 million per year. This is mainly managed by the country head office in Kabul, where 84 staff members work to ensure smooth running of projects. In the provinces 2189 colleagues are working on the actual implementation of the projects, supported by another 2000 volunteers.
Dr. Majeed indicates that our presence in Afghanistan is well-known. "We take part in important forums and events of the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, donors and other stakeholders and are a member of the Technical Advisory Group[1]. In addition we are member of the Country Coordination Mechanism[2] Afghanistan and we chair the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Health Organization, which has members from nearly all national and international NGO's working in Afghanistan. Finally we are a member and chair of the GAVI Alliance CSO Steering Committee with around 18 members from all over the world."
The aim of the projects in Afghanistan follows the overall aim of the organization. "We enhance the ability of communities in Afghanistan to better manage their own health. We build complete health systems in cooperation with communities that are marginalized from the available health care system, by combining our international public health expertise with local skills, traditions and the context." That context in Afghanistan is sometimes hard. Dr. Majeed explains: "The security situation still has a direct impact on the performance of our staff and the implementation of activities in the country. This hampers the progress of projects because next to a high staff turnover, there is poor access and limited supervision of health services in the remote and insecure areas."
Despite the ongoing violence and other challenges the health system faces the health of the Afghan population is improving. "The health status is showing remarkable and impressive improvements, mainly due to rapid expansion of services all over the country, and the ability of NGOs to reach most of the population though comprehensive primary health care services." This is supported by the facts: maternal mortality has reduced from 1600 per 100,000 live births in 2002, to 327 per 100,000 live births in 2010. Also infant mortality under the age of one has decreased from 187 per live birth in 2002 to 77 per live birth in 2010. The mortality under the age of five has decreased from 265 in 2002 to 97 in 2010 per live birth. HealthNet TPO is proud to have contributed to these promising results. As Dr. Majeed emphasizes, "the community midwifery programme is one of the programmes that started as a pilot and now has helped to develop national policies and guidelines all over the country, we can be proud of that".
When asking Dr. Majeed how people can help, he refers to both the Afghan people and other people worldwide. "At country level the public can provide support in terms of helping with the safety and housing of our staff and whenever needed supporting the health facilities in the various forums. Globally we need to ensure sustainability of projects and keep working with and through the targeted communities."
Like to know more?
Read more about our Afghanistan portfolio on or read more about the various thematic programmes: Health Care Support Programme, Malaria Control Programme, Mental health, Psychosocial Support and Community System Strengthening Programme, Dutch Consortium Uruzgan (DCU). Or click here to support the Afghan health system.
[1] This Technical Advisory Group is the highest technical decision making body within the Ministry of Public Health
[2] A coordination group for all projects financed by the Global Fund addressing aids, tuberculosis and malaria.


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Alec Baldwin the Politician?
If Alec Baldwin's brother Billy is to be believed, the "30 Rock" actor's political aspirations are authentic. During an appearance on Piers Morgan, according to Politico, Billy stated, "I think on one level it's very real. I think he's very committed and extremely bright and knowledgeable and I think he could do it and he could run," Billy Baldwin said. "On the other hand, I'm not quite sure if he's cut from the proper cloth because it requires a lot of tolerance and a lot of patience…" Last year, Baldwin shared on CNN that he was "very, very, interested" in entering into politics. As for the elder Baldwin's reputation of being "hot-headed", Billy said, "Let me remind you that John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are quite the same and they are very successful and highly effective politicians." Alec Baldwin did not immediately respond to requests for comment. [Politico]


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Busted Halo has done it again -- nailed down the essence of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday tomorrow -- in pop culture accessible terms.
The Catholic website has its ever-popular Show Us Your Ash feature where observant Christians send in pictures of themselves with the ashes on their forehead that mark the humble beginnings of the 40 days of prayer, fasting and giving that lead to Easter. This year there's also an incentive to submit photos -- folks could win an iPad.
And they've once more got their Advent-calendar-style Lent calendar with suggestions and sayings from a surprising range of sources. Editor Phil Fox Rose points out quotes range from the late Saturday Night Live comic Gilda Radner to Lady Gaga, Martin Luther King Jr. to Taylor Swift to Jersey Shore phenom Snooki.
Alas, you can't cheat and look ahead so I convinced them to give me a sneak peak at Saturday where Snooki says:
'Sympathetic' Word of the day ... that's a big word!
And on April 15 where Lady Gaga admits,
To this day I feel guilt about what I put my parents through when I was younger... It's as important to acknowledge your mistakes as it is to get credit for your victories. This year they've also added a zippy video explaining it all.
There are more traditional calendars as well, designed to enrich observances. AmericanCatholic.org also offers a more comprehensive FAQ on Lent. It notes. for example, the understanding behind the best known Lenten practice of fasting. It should be tied to
... concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, those who are in need for any reason.
THINK ABOUT... What comes to mind as you observe or see your neighbors observing Lent. What message do you read in the ashes?
Cathy Lynn Grossman is too fidgety to meditate. But talking about visions and values, faith and ethics lights her up. Join in at Faith & Reason. More about Cathy.
Sign up for Faith & Reason e-mail alerts


text: Hello Glen Both the legacy installation and the new installation have ³-d² described in the man pages as ³Print MOM diagnosis on the listed nodes. Not yet implemented. Use momctl instead.² Regards, John On 2/14/08 5:04 PM, "Glen Beane" <glen.beane at gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 5:58 PM, John Wang <jwang at dataseekonline.com> wrote: >> I do find it interesting that the 2.0.0p7 installation actually >> states that the behaviour would be non-cumulative in the man page > no it doesn't. It talks about marking nodes DOWN being non-cumulative. that > is different than marking nodes offline. > > If I remember right, pbsnodes -d *used* to mark nodes "down" and it behaved > exactly as you described (non-cumulative). The node would stay down until > another pbsnodes -d command was issued. pbsnodes -d apparently is now a > placeholder for an unimplemented feature. > > > _______________________________________________ > torqueusers mailing list > torqueusers at supercluster.org > http://www.supercluster.org/mailman/listinfo/torqueusers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.supercluster.org/pipermail/torqueusers/attachments/20080214/234f66d2/attachment-0001.html


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by Terry Lemerond
Every year when the official "cold and flu" season rolls around, you may think you're ready. You may have antibacterial wipes for every surface, keep a plentiful supply of tissues at work and home, and even have the latest flu vaccine on board. But the truth is you may not be ready at all. Antibacterial wipes ultimately just make bacteria stronger, and in my opinion, flu shots don't work.
Fortunately, there are some simple, even more effective things you can do to stop a cold or flu in its tracks. They are excellent natural alternatives that are safe and effective with no side effects.
Stop a cold in its tracks
The common cold is very common – some estimates put the number at about 1 billion people who suffer from colds each year. And every year, up to 1 in 5 people get the seasonal flu.
The botanicals Pelargonium sidoides and Andrographis paniculata are extremely effective against colds, upper respiratory infections, coughs, and even gastrointestinal complaints. Pelargonium, also known as Umckaloabo, was used by the Zulu in South Africa for hundreds of years to treat coughs, colds, upper respiratory tract irritations, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal complaints. It has been clinically tested and works great for children as young as six years old. It's perfect for those who have a tough time dealing with antibiotics. Andrographis is an excellent partner herb, because it stimulates immune system activity and works as an anti-inflammatory, too.
Stay clear-headed
The causes of sinusitis vary. It can be an overgrowth of normal bacteria, viral infection in the upper respiratory tract, or seasonal allergies. Whatever the cause, 37 million Americans are affected by sinusitis each year. For many people, the choices for conventional sinus relief are not attractive. Not only are the typical over-the-counter medicines non-natural, many of them leave people feeling jittery or fatigued. There are better solutions – encapsulated bio-typed oils. Two encapsulated essential oils I'd recommend to anyone dealing with congestion and sinusitis are eucalyptus oil and myrtle essential oil.
Eucalyptus oil helps decongest the sinuses, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and has been traditionally used to treat the other hallmarks of the cold and flu season, including runny nose, cough, and sore throat.
Myrtle essential oil has been well-studied and sold in Europe for more than 75 years. In fact, patients treated on the average of six days did significantly better during placebo-controlled trials.
These are two oils that I strongly value for natural treatment of sinusitis and sinus infection. Consider it a first choice as soon as you experience symptoms.
Kick viruses to the curb
The harsh cough and sore throat of respiratory infections, the body aches and runny noses of seasonal viruses, and the pain of shingles all have one thing in common: a compromised immune system. A combination of botanical, vitamin, and mineral ingredients can help. They include elderberry extract, vitamins A, C, and D, plus the added benefits of zinc, magnesium, and calcium lactate.
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is one of the most clinically studied and reliable botanicals for treating respiratory viruses, flus, and overall immune system defense.
Anthocyanins from elderberry are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties, and prevent viruses from entering cell walls and replicating. Elderberry is especially effective when combined with vitamin C and zinc, both strong immune supporters in their own right. For the vitamin A in this ideal formula, I'd recommend the retinyl acetate form, the only one that can fight viruses.
Deficiencies of vitamin D are common in northern climates (and usually mean a susceptibility to allergies, flus, and respiratory ailments), so supplemental vitamin D is especially important going into this season. Magnesium helps keep the bronchial system running smoothly as well – important for anyone suffering from acute respiratory viruses. Along with magnesium, calcium lactate supports healthy cell structure and suppresses viral growth. It also fights other virus-caused irritations, including fever blisters.
Stay well this season naturally by considering these recommendations. Selecting your treatment now can make your life this fall and winter much easier.
Terry Lemerond has over 40 years of experience in the health food industry. He is the founder and president of EuroPharma USA which markets supplements under the Terry Naturally brand name. Terry has created more than 400 formulations, hosts a local talk radio show, and writes a weekly educational column covering a variety of health topics. His mission is to introduce revolutionary natural products that will improve the health of America.


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Cold snap to end; temps near normal
December 13, 2013
After nearly a week of overnight freezing temperatures that brought havoc to roads in Nevada County and throughout Northern California, the cold snap is set to break.
Overnight lows set a record Saturday night into Sunday throughout the region, said forecaster Drew Peterson of the National Weather Service.
The Nevada County Air Park reported an overnight low of 21 degrees, and it was negative 6 just up the hill in Soda Springs. Overnight lows have inched incrementally higher since then, but the freezing temperatures at night and the thawing temperatures in the afternoons created a cycle dangerous for area motorists.
What happens is that cold temperatures cause pipes and water mains to burst, which creates widespread leakages during the day. Also, some snow thaws and melts, running out into the road, which creates slick and icy portions of the roadway at night when freezing temperatures prevail for several hours.
Tonight, the mercury will delve below freezing only briefly in Grass Valley and other lower-elevation portions of the county, meaning that the roads will improve, Peterson said.
Overnight Friday into Saturday will be the first night temperatures will stay above water's freezing point, but higher-elevation areas and shadowy pockets will continue to present potentially slick spots throughout the day.
By Sunday morning, the roads should be in much better shape as the preceding overnight low is predicted to be 37 degrees. Sunday's daytime high will reach the low 60s, Peterson said.
"We will continue to see temps closer to normal," he said.
The imminent forecast shows a dearth of precipitation with the possibility of rain for the foothills next week.
"There is a slight chance of rain for next Wednesday," Peterson said.
To contact Staff Writer Matthew Renda, email email@example.com or call 530-477-4239.
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This is a hot article every year when we tally the results: Ever wonder who was popular in 2012? Have you spent countless hours arguing with your friends or with the skate nerds at your local shop about who's really more popular than who? Well, we compiled the Top 10 skaters that you searched for on skateboarding.com. Click on through to find out who had you scouring the internet for their photos and videos.
Willow had a big year with a part in almost's 5-Incher, then he went pro with his Willow's World solo part. Plus etnies' Euro style, a cameo on Sheckler Sessions, and more.


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Following the reports of that tragic accident, I listened to several people at a holiday party talking about how surprised they were to hear that the 83-year-old driver who is responsible for the deaths of three people should be held criminally responsible.
My question is why not? Why should the advanced age of the driver limit or eliminate his accountability for the deaths of three people? Driving is a privilege, not a right, and we as a society can and do hold people responsible for their actions regardless of age. Elderly drivers and their families owe it to society to recognize when they are no longer capable of safely exercising their driving privileges and make other arrangements such as family, friends or Redi-Wheels.
Clearly no one likes to give up their independence but too often elderly drivers view their driving privilege as a right and they cling to it in an effort to preserve independence. The age at which someone should retire their automobile will vary but we should require all persons over a specific age, say 72, or those who have had strokes, onset of dementia. failing eyesight or other impairments to be tested more regularly, at least every two years. They should be required to pass a medical clearance as well as a driving test and a written test.
As our society ages we will continue to experience more of these deadly tragedies until we recognize that at some point safety concerns dictate a more rational approach.
Mark Gilles, Sharon Park Drive, Menlo Park