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Eastern Caribbean on the Solstice: Celebrity Solstice Cruise Review by vnfinelli
Overall Member Rating
Eastern Caribbean on the Solstice
Destination: Eastern Caribbean
Embarkation: Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Last spring we booked a transatlantic cruise on the Solstice, but due to health problems we did not make it. The Solstice is now 14 months old, her naming ceremony was Nov. 14, 2008; her Godmother is Prof. Sharon L. Smith a renown marine and atmospheric scientist from the University of Miami: very a propos! The Solstice's name conjures up thoughts of our sun star and heavenly worlds beyond Earth. Her Godmother grounds those ideas and brings to our life on Earth more meaning.
The softness of the many delicate draperies on board evokes feelings of clouds. The highly polished aluminum columns in the Grand Epernay Dining Rooms and the Champagne bubble like lights on the ceiling, combined with the beauty of the dEcor presents an ethereal aura. Even the night club on Deck 4 is named Quasar and calls up space images. Suffice it to say, the Solstice is unique --- and so is her More Captain Dimitrios Kafetzis. He is a fine Master with a welcoming sense of humor: "He is Greek!" with all the connotations and beautiful manners of a Greek ship's host.
EMBARKATION On a Sunday morning I-95 traffic is light and from Boca Raton to Ft. Lauderdale takes only 25 minutes. We had curbside assistance with our baggage, wheelchair, and scooter. A crew member helped us through check-in and we were in our stateroom in twenty minutes. Excellent! Guests were greeted with Mimosa drinks, very refreshing.
SHIP OVERVIEW The Solstice weighs 122,000 gross tons; she is 1,033 feet long and has a beam of 121 feet. Her draft is 27 feet and she has a cruising speed of 24 knots. She carries 2,850 guests and has 16 passenger decks. What follows is a deck by deck description of her layout.
Deck 1 is for crew only.
Deck 2 holds the Medical Facility (which we did not visit)!
Deck 3 aft has the Grand Epernay Restaurant, a glorious combination of spaciousness and modern design with crystal and chrome fitting in beautifully, with the three deck tall white draperies. There is an old saying that drinking Champagne in Epernay (the heart of French Champagne country) is like listening to Mozart in Salzburg..." (Eperzine Web magazine). So also are diners in this stunning dining room treated to bubbles in the ceiling lighting. On Deck 3 are the Guest Relations Desk, the Shore Excursions Desk and the Passport Bar.
Deck 4 has Celebrity Central entertainment locale, Cellars Masters (wine, whiskey, or bourbon tastings, etc.). Then, there is the Fortunes Casino (the Slots are loose, and the give out is published daily.) Next is the Quasar Nightclub with its polished metal dance floor, suspended capsule chairs and twinkling lights, there is lots of atmosphere. Midship are the shops on board and forward the Solstice Theatre with excellent acoustics, but there are a few poles obstructing the view of the stage, so choose seats carefully. The red velvet stage curtain is flanked by two 3 deck tall draperies composed of tucked white and off white fabrics making a collage of billows. Very unique.
Deck 5 has the "Bistro on Five" which specializes in crepes, both sweet and savory. This is a great place for brunch or late night dessert ($5) the "Cafe` al Bacio" serves exquisite coffee and desserts. There is also a Gelato ice cream shop, and the Captain's Club for repeat cruisers. Since Celebrity is part of RCI and we are Diamond Plus members in the Crown & Anchor Society, we have been given elite status with great perks. There are the boutique shops and Michael's Club where cocktail parties and high teas are held. Aft on Deck 5 are the specialty restaurants: Murano (excellent French cuisine) Silk Harvest (Asian) and the Tuscan Grille (Italian), cover charges apply.
Deck 6 through 11 are all staterooms in addition to the Online@Celebrity (the internet room) on Deck 6, the Library on Deck 10 (open stacks and reading areas, no need to sign in or out --- the honor policy is in operation) and the Relaxation Lounge on Deck 11.
Deck 12 has the Health & Fitness center, the Aqua Spa, the Beauty Salon, the Solarium, Swimming Pools and Whirlpools. Vincent uses the sauna and the whirlpool daily and he had wonderful advice and help from Natasha.
Deck 14 has the jogging track, the Mast Bar & Grill (hot dogs, hamburgers and fries), the Ocean Bar & Cafe` and the Sky Observation Lounge. There are sky lectures with an on board astronomer at night.
Deck 15 has basket ball courts, a hot blown glass show (Corning) and the Lawn Club with extensive grass lawn where Bocce Tournaments between passengers and crew are played.
Deck 16 is the Sun Deck.
Throughout the ship is a huge eclectic art collection, some of it commissioned for the Solstice and others works are from both famous cubists like Picasso and Matisse or from photographers like Martin Liebscher where repeated photographs of himself in different poses make up a crowd. Very Interesting. The "Full Moon Briars" by Susan Derges is certainly in keeping with the Solstice theme. Different staircases have been given themes like "Stair of Light" and "Stair of Water."
CABIN Stateroom #6141 is a wheelchair accessible cabin with a large automatic door. When entering on the left there is a full length mirror and a double armoire in maple wood; a vanity/desk with lighted mirror, seven drawers, a private safe, and refrigerator. There is a marble counter top and one chair. When entering, on the right is a huge tiled bathroom with a tilt mirror flanked by two large medicine cabinets with glass doors. There are safety rails all around and a huge shower with a fold away seat. There is a king size bed with very nice linens of gold white and maroon. The two reading lamps are close enough to turn on and off from the bed. The final pieces of furniture are a love seat and a small coffee table.
The balcony is large and deep: it contains two recliners and a teak table and chair. The carpet is in Burberry colors: gold, beige and maroon and the draperies are beige with bands of rose patterns. The stateroom attendant, Mahmodi is excellent. The cabin is large and comfortable.
SERVICE & FOOD Hotel Director Damien O'Connor displays the perfect temperament to control the Solstice. He is kind, affable and likes to hear just how the passengers are getting along. He doesn't just ask questions for conversation's sake, rather he is truly interested in the passengers' satisfaction. He has a well trained crew, who make the passengers comfortable and provide for their every need. We always say that the mood on board filters down from above--- with such friendly leaders as Captain Dimitrios, H.D. Damien and Restaurant Manager FabioScaglione, it's only natural that the crew are also friendly and sincere.
Food & Beverage Manager Robert Flack has the daunting task of overseeing 600 crew members who produce and serve more than 12,000 meals daily, yet everything goes off beautifully. Exec. Chef Mickael Tochetto combines the best of culinary traditions: born of Italian parents, raised in France! The food on board is excellent, based on menus by world renown Chef Jacques Van Staden and implemented perfectly by Chef Mickael. The menu is one of the most diverse at sea and most ample. No one could possibly go away unsatisfied.
We enjoyed every meal on board, especially the one at Captain Dimitrios' table on formal night. The Escargot was perfect, Vincent's Caesar salad and filet Mignon were just the way he liked them. The Captain was jovial and complimentary; at the end of the meal he gave each lady at the table a beautiful long stem American Beauty rose. Our waiter at table #110 in Epernay was Jose` Altamirano, both he and his assistant Yvonne Williams were very pleasant and served at a nice pace. Celebrity is probably the only line still providing a finely trained Sommelier: Ferhat Ebret was cordial and Vincent was appreciative of his service and knowledge. Bravo.
Some samples from the appetizer menu are as follows: Tropical Fruit Medley with Lychee nuts; San Francisco Crab Louis; Goat cheese tart served with red roasted peppers and Balsamic syrup. Soups included Wild Mushroom Cappuccino with Porcini mushroom dust, and chilled Gazpacho. Salads were fresh and varied: Belgium Endive and arugala with red delicious apple and candied pecans. Some of their homemade dressings included Roquefort, Citrus, Pinot Noir Vinaigrette, Champagne and lite raspberry.
Entrees include pastas like Spaghetti Carbonara, fish such as Herb crusted Merluzzo (white fish) and fowl like Grandmother's Coq Au Vin and Veal Cordon Bleu. Chef Mickael's Ossobuco (excellent) Mary felt it was a triumph! The aged Prime Rib of Beef was mouth watering. Vegetarians had a large assortment of dishes including grilled Kebabs. For dessert there was always a selection of imported cheeses, fruits and traditional desserts like Crème Brulee`, NY cheesecake, Profiteroles, apple pie, fresh sorbets and homemade ice creams.
There are several Speciality Restaurants. We highly recommend Murano, and its contemporary French Cuisine: try the sweet breads and the fois gras and the wonderful Cheese Cart. We are happy to report the food on board is excellent.
ENTERTAINMENT The Solstice has three very nice shows: Adam Trent a young magician, singer Karen Grainger, and Celebrity Show time presented Solstice: the Show, which was very nice with aerial acrobatics. A very interesting offering was Astronomer Vic Stryker, who lead nightly sky watching. This ship has many things for cruisers including Casino games, Bingo, Fitness, Bocce, etc.
PORTS OF CALL Sunday: Ft. Lauderdale, FL Depart: 4:30pm
Monday: At Sea
Tuesday: San Juan, Puerto Rico Arrive: 2:00pm Depart: 8:00pm
Wednesday: Philipsburg, St. Maarten Arrive: 8:00am Depart: 7:00pm
Thursday: Tortola, B.V.I. Arrive:7:00am Depart: 1:00pm
Friday: Labadee, Haiti Arrive: 10:00am Depart: 6:30pm
Saturday: At Sea
Sunday: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Arrive: 7:00am
CONCLUSION This was another great cruise! We have not had a bad cruise in a long time, since we have learned what to expect from the various cruise lines and direct our attention to the things they do best. We are addicted to cruising, because we know how to get the best out of every cruise in regard to food, service, itinerary, ship's environment, repeater's benefits and personal attention. Some readers of our reviews have accused us of being too soft with our criticism. We disagree with them since we always include in the reviews any points which are not perfect and may need improvement. It is hard to write a negative review when we have enjoyed the overall aspect of a cruise, which up to now we have always done. We'll be cruising in search of the perfect cruise or an unpleasant one; neither of which we have yet experienced.
Our next cruise is in February on the Liberty of the Seas together with our son Marcello, his wife Paige and their eight year old son Marcellino. We have also booked a relocation cruise on the Star Princess, on March 16th, from Rio De Janeiro to Ft. Lauderdale. Happy Cruising! Less
Published 02/07/10
Cabin review: 2B6141 Deluxe Veranda
One of the best wheelchair accessible cabin with automatic door opening and a spacious balcony.Read All Deluxe Veranda (2B) Reviews >>
Read Cruise Critic's Celebrity Solstice Review >>
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For those of you mulling over the election remember this brouhaha is over the president. You are only voting in the face of America, and the person that will blindly sign whatever to make bills become laws. Your vote is only *half* of the necessary work. Many idiots in Congre$$ are due to be replaced as well. Vote out those career politicians, and lets bring in some fresh idiot blood. Changing the face of the Presidency, but keeping the same source for bills and expecting a different outcome is insanity.
For those coming over to "follow me" from Facebook... I will be hanging out here so I don't have to deal with Facebook. why? Oh let me count the ways.
1. Less of a mangled mess.
2. Facebook's scripting makes it very heavy and cumbersome to use, especially on a mobile device.
3. Got more control over my own information.
4. No nagging. I hate few things worse than a program or place that feels its need to nag me.
5. I can pretty much say what I want here, if you don't like it, then go pound sand. Complaining to an admin will not solve anything. I AM the admin.
6. Spam is not tolerated here. I gave up reporting blatant violations to Facebook only to get told "nothing is wrong".
7. Porn is not tolerated here. See #6.
8. No sudden random changes here that breaks things.
9. I can actually upload stuff here. 100% of the time, compared to some of the time on Facebook.
Do I plan on replacing Facebook? For my use, yes. For you, its not planned. This current site does not have any registration system at this time. However, I am still working on a huge update to the system that will allow you all to register so you can like/dislike & comment on my posts as well as other people's posts. That update will come soon enough I hope. Other than that, Welcome to my place. Its been here awhile.
I had originally posted this on my other site, but now this one is getting it bad now too.
Lately I've been seeing a lot of people trying to load /etc/passwd using this CMS. Sorry my friends, the $_GET[page] request URI doesn't work like this. index.php?page=../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../../etc/passwd
This CMS code does NOT work like this:
Here is how this CMS loads pages in a step by step...
First off, $_GET & $_POST are NOT used directly.
1. Bans are checked against the list. If your IP is found in the block list, all you get is a banned page and the script exits.
2. Rogue Admin rules (which are set by admins) are checked. I have "../" as a rule that triggers a ban. As well as "http://" or even "ftp://". If Rogue Admin finds these - anywhere, it carries out the action that is configured for that rule and ALL site variables are set to false. Since remote requests are not utilized, I have bans setup for them. This CMS cannot load remote resources anyhow- By design.
3. "api.sanitation" Removes all non-text characters for $_GET['page'] (quotes, slashes, dots, punctuation, etc)
Note: "api.sanitation" is the only place where $_GET and $_POST are used. All variables get a first sanitation pass and creates a new global. This global is used exclusively in the CMS. If nothing is left after sanitation, the variables are unset entirely. The result is this will show you the home page.
4. After sanitation, "header.php" fetches the current list of all pages (The menus stem from this output). If you are requesting a specific page and the page exists in the list AND is enabled, AND you have permission to see it, the "header.php" will tell "index.php" what page to load from the database. If the page doesnt exist in the page list, you will get a 404 error page. If you are not allowed to see the page you get a 403 error.
Your URI actually NEVER sees the database, or is ever used in a database query. It is compared to a current list of pages, and the script will build its query from its own results, never yours. Even if I deleted the http & ftp rules, there is an include restriction built into modules system where it will once again only load a local file if it is present in its own list AND in a specific location. Else all you get is a 404, and I get am includes error report.
Hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes. Remember, reading is your friend. You don't want to look like a dingus because you didn't read the documents its bad for your image.
Oh, this is also NOT Joomla, PHPNuke (or any clone), or Wordpress so those administration or rpc pages do NOT exist. Period
After some thought, all my sites will now share a ban list. I will periodically merge the bans from all my sites and apply them to each site.
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Welcome to The Mystic Sea! Welcome to the realm of Mara Gimel. Mara Gimel means Camel Of The Mystic Sea. It is my role to lead you through this world of the occult, the unseen and the unexplained. Enter this realm with an open mind, it's time to remember what you have forgotten.
Monday, 15 July 2013
Living a Life of Grace
Daily OM: Grace exists inside of all of us and around us. It is our inner beauty that radiates outward, touching everyone we meet. It is that unseen hand that comes from the divine, raising us up when we most need it. To be able to live in a state of grace is not based on worthiness, nor is it earned through good deeds, ritual, or sacrifice. Rather it is an unearned favor, freely bestowed and available to all, that is inherent to our birthright. All we must do is open our eyes to its presence and we will find and experience grace everywhere. Grace is in the rain bringing relief to drought-ridden farms, and the unexpected lead for the perfect job opportunity that comes from a stranger. Grace is what happens to someone when they miraculously escape injury; it is even the simple events that happen to us that we call "good luck," like when we don't get a parking ticket after are meter has expired. Grace resides in the love between two people, the gift or check that comes unexpectedly in the mail, the cozy comforts that make up a home, and in the acts of forgiveness we bestow upon others. It is grace that moves us to go out of our way to help a stranger. In music, a grace note is the pause between notes that is so important to the pacing of a song. Grace is the state we are in when we are doing nothing but just being who we are...read more>>>...


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Strategic Plan & Managing for Results Fact Sheet
What is strategic planning?
Chester County's strategic plan makes clear what the County does, how well it does it, what it costs, and the value Chester County citizens receive. It helps the Commissioners, and all County departments, to prioritize their efforts, maximizing the services provided, at the most efficient cost.
What are the overall goals?
A strategic plan helps an organization to focus its energy, to ensure employees are working towards the same goals and enables an organization to effectively manage its resources. A strategic plan ensures a consistent focus for decision-making and performance (of individuals and departments).
Why is strategic planning important?
Strategic planning offers the opportunity to:
- Review and realign the focus and direction of an organization;
- Identify how resources should be allocated;
- Provide a road map for achieving that direction.
- It also provides the opportunity to engage and energize all members of the organization. For Chester County, this relates to the Commissioners, department heads, all employees, and Chester County citizens.
Why did the County go through a strategic planning process?
Chester County has undergone major growth and rapid change over the last decade. This growth led to a decision by the Commissioners to review the government's priorities for the future. It also contributes to the Commissioners' goals to increase accountability, transparency, and performance in Chester County government.
What is Managing for Results (MFR)?
Managing for Results is a comprehensive and integrated management system that focuses on achieving results for the customer which makes it possible for departments to demonstrate accountability to the taxpayers.
Why did the Commissioners spend money developing something like this?
Chester County had grown and changed rapidly over the prior ten years. The Board of Commissioners decided that a new set of priorities and goals should be established through a strategic plan that would meet the needs of citizens today and for the future.
Chester County's strategic plan makes clear what the County does, how well it does it, what it costs, and the value Chester County citizens receive. It helps the Commissioners, and all County departments, to prioritize their efforts, maximizing the services provided, at the most efficient cost.
What was the initial strategic planning process timeline?
From start to finish, the initial strategic planning process took two years.
- In March 2008, the Commissioners committed to developing a strategic plan.
- In October, 2008, Weidner, Inc. was appointed to help pull the plan together.
- In December 2008, six priority areas were established by the Commissioners that would guide all County departments in determining their own strategy and goals.
- In January 2009, County departments began meeting to determine their individual strategy and goals.
- In February 2009, the results of the "quality of life" survey of County citizens were published and used as part of the basis for establishing overall County goals.
- In April 2009, the County Commissioners published a list of overall goals.
- By August 2010, all participating County departments had met and developed their individual strategy and performance goals.
- By December 2010, all participating County departments began to implement individual strategic business plans.
- In February 2011, all participating County departments began entering results data into the Managing for Results system.
What kind of results are we going to see from the strategic planning initiative? What's the benefit to citizens?
Managing for Results is the underlying message of Chester County's strategic plan. That means that department business plans are written – and subsequently implemented – to achieve measurable results.
As a result of the strategic planning effort and use of Managing for Results, the County is able to offer more accountability and address three critical issues:
- What we are doing today contributes to our strategic direction;
- We know what we have done has been effective;
- We know how much it costs to deliver our programs and services effectively and efficiently.
What are the overall goals?
The goals adopted by the County Commissioners are currently divided into seven priority areas.
How did the commissioners come up with these goals?
The current goals adopted by the Commissioners were developed based on responses from the two county-wide citizen surveys conducted in 2009 and 2013, consultation with County department heads, key staff, and subject matter experts, and suggestions offered by over 150 community leaders who participated in facilitated discussion groups held throughout 2013.
Some of the goals are out of the hands of the Commissioners. How can the Commissioners be sure they'll achieve them?
Some goals will be met with direct input from County departments, while others will be met through indirect initiatives by the County.
For instance, one of the goals is that by 2019, 30 percent of the acreage in Chester County will be preserved for open space, consistent with the goals of the county's Landscapes 2 planning guide. To attain that goal, the Department of Open Space Preservation will work to distribute the funds the County has budgeted for open space preservation. Chester County's Planning Commission staff will work with individual municipalities to help them achieve open space efforts.
Another one of the Commissioners' goals – that of keeping the crime rate low – will be achieved through indirect initiatives. In this instance, the County provides support, training, and forensic services to our local law enforcement partners.


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23rd Annual Shamanic Retreat
9-Day Retreat in Shamanic Paradise
Journey to one of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet to embrace the spirit of nature through shamanic practice and transform your life. Our annual Alaska Retreat offers a unique opportunity to experience a deep sense of calm and profound unity with the natural world.
Join Brant Secunda on pilgrimages to honor ancient glaciers and hidden waterfalls. Find yourself in awe of the countless eagles, whales and breathtaking landscapes. Learn practices to unify your soul with the spirit of the land and sea. Internalize the harmony of this place of power and gain a deeper sense of direction in your life.
Registration Info
June 23 – July 2, 2017
Registration: $2275-$3475*
Includes an unforgettable retreat experience, accommodations,
3 gourmet meals each day, and transportation between Juneau Airport.
(888) 455-3337
*Family, senior, and student discounts available.
*Price includes camping. Indoor lodging options available.
*Price does NOT include airfare.


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Recently, while helping dh (dear husband) set up the shed, the would go off to smoke every so often before returning to the backyard.
Both dh (dear husband) and I have communicated our wishes to fil. I have emailed links about the dangers of smoking and smoking residue related to pregnancies and babies, and also mailed articles to ILs. Fil's response to both dh (dear husband) and me is that he will not quit smoking (which is not what we asked, we just asked for those times when we meet) and if he doesn't see our children then so be it.
I would actually prefer this situation to the current one. Duh won't stand up to fil (father-in-law) directly as when he did it, fil (father-in-law) got very angry with him and they didn't speak for a while. They now behave as if that conversation never took place. Duh says that there's nothing he can do as he can't get through to fil.
So, the situation has been left up to me. Fil had responded to my request with saying that he never wants a relationship with my children for daring to tell him what to do. He subsequently apologised for what he said in anger, but his behaviour has not changed. I no longer speak to him even when we go out for meals with the ILs. He's constantly trying to tell me how to deal with dd (dear daughter) and showing how much he thinks he knows eg. When dd (dear daughter) was 6 months he started going on about the symptoms of teething then declared that dd (dear daughter) was definitely teething. Dd just turned 1 year and still has no teeth.
Fil will not approach me, but the moment duh (dumb husband) has dd, fil (father-in-law) will head to duh (dumb husband) to take dd (dear daughter) and walk away. Eg, at dd's birthday party, dd (dear daughter) wanted to go to duh, so I let her. Prior to this I had kept her close to me and away from fil. When I look to check on dd, she was with fil (father-in-law) and duh (dumb husband) was chatting away with other people. Duh totally oblivious to where dd (dear daughter) was. When later questioned, duh (dumb husband) said that fil (father-in-law) just took dd (dear daughter) from him, so what was he to do?
I would really like duh (dumb husband) to stand up for us rather than allowing fil (father-in-law) to do whatever he likes. Fil is manipulative and is used to getting his way. He said once in passing about the older son that he would let him do whatever he likes.
What do you I should do? My FOO who meet up with my ILs at combined Christmas party don't like fil (father-in-law) or mil, so they aren't objective about this situation. I feel like I need to be more assertive and stand up for myself and my children, but I'm afraid to do so. I afraid that anything that comes out of my mouth towards fil (father-in-law) will be full of anger. But I've really had enough of fil (father-in-law) overstepping boundaries, of which this is just one.


text: By the Fireside is a pseudonym for Daniel Lea, an Alternative rock and Americana musical artist from the United Kingdom. Lea explains that he uses a pseudonym because he often works with various session musicians in his musical projects.Lea recorded two extended play releases, first Battles that Add Up to None followed by Then Came Noon. Both were released in 2007 under the name By the Fireside, and both achieved moderate success.Read more about By The Fireside on Last.fm.


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Take a break and measure crop residue
As we near the finish of the 2001 planting season, it is time to take a break and measure remaining crop residue--the stems and stalks remaining from last year's crop. Knowing how to measure existing residue as crops emerge helps to determine how well soil is protected from erosion. For most Iowa soils, high residue levels translate directly into soil conservation benefits. The consensus among experts is that the most effective conservation tillage practices leave at least 30 percent crop residue after planting.
How crop residue works
Individual raindrops strike the ground with a surprising force. For example, in normal rainfall, 6-millimeter-diameter raindrops may hit the soil's surface at 20 miles per hour. With no crop residue to cushion the impact, these raindrops dislodge soil particles, splashing them up to 3 feet away. Such soil splash also works to seal off the soil's surface, which reduces infiltration and allows rainwater to collect and move down slopes, carrying dislodged soil particles with it, and leading to gullies and severe rill erosion. On fields with bare soil, these combined effects may lead to severe soil erosion.
How to measure crop residue
There are several acceptable methods for estimating crop residue. For every method, repeat measurements at several sites within each field, and average them to ensure an estimate for the entire field.
Line-transect method
The line-transect method (the preferred method) involves counting the number of times a marked line intersects a piece of residue. Use a 100-foot tape measure (or a rope with marks spaced at 1-foot intervals). Stretch the tape between two stakes placed diagonally at a 45 degree angle from the direction of the crop rows (exclude end rows). Looking from directly above the tape, count the number of times a mark intersects with crop residue. Make your judgement consistently on only the left or right sides of the mark to avoid over-counting residue. When you are done, the result converts into the percentage of crop residue remaining in that sample area. Record a minimum of five measurements, using areas that are typical of the field being measured. Then average the estimates to obtain the most accurate overall assessment.
Meter stick method
Place the meter stick on the soil (A yardstick with metric marks can be used.) Evaluate at each centimeter mark the crop residue occurring along one edge of the meter stick and total those measurements. For example, if the total residue occurring along the meter stick was present at 35-centimeter marks, the percentage of residue remaining is 35 percent. Again, sample several areas of the field. Places for measurement can be determined randomly by throwing the meter stick into the air.
Photo-comparison method
Photos can provide an estimate by comparing fields to percentages in photos that show a known percentage of crop residue. Perspectives from angles are misleading, so look straight down when comparing photos.
Calculation method
Calculation is a good way to get a rough estimate of remaining residue without having to go to the field. Because there are many variables, however, such as weather and differences between individual operators of tillage equipment, it is less reliable (see top table, page 70).
A good cover of crop residue is one of your best allies in fighting soil erosion, and measuring after planting is the right time to find out how much residue remains.
Calculating residue losses from fall harvest to after planting (for corn).
Determine the percentage of existing residue after harvest then multiply that percentage by the percentage indicated for each of the field operations.
A planning tool: estimate your residue by field operation.
Multiply each operation by the existing percentage of residue left to find how much ground cover will be left after each tillage.
This article originally appeared on pages 70-71 of the IC-486 (9) -- May 14, 2001 issue.
Updated 05/13/2001 - 1:00pm


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Templaza Start – Download StartUP WordPress Theme
Templaza Start is a clean, simple and modern Modern WordPress Theme for StartUP Team. It is a WordPress Responsive Theme which can automatically fit with all screens and devices in the intelligent way.
Especially, this theme making strong impression for users is one-page associated with parallax script helping your images follow the scrolling of users. (more…)


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SOUTHDOWN B&B, FOLLY ROAD, ROUNDWAY VILLAGE, DEVIZES, WILTSHIRE, SN10 2HY TEL: 01380 726830 / 07810 898846 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Day 3: Askett to Watlington - 14.2 miles
We probably ate too much breakfast because the first few miles felt tough - lots of hills, not enough flat! But we were rewarded with spectacular views, especially across to Princes Risborough. At one point, as we entered a wood, Martyn saw a deer - but all I could manage was a grey squirrel! Later we were chased by cows - uphill too. We had lunch at the Crown in Chinnor after 8 miles, really needing a good rest.
The rest of the walk was comparatively easy as it was flat, but the ground was very dry and hard which isn't so good for the feet.
We had some fairly heavy rain as well as plenty of sunshine, but that was during a fairly boring stretch of the walk. We arrived in Watlington at 5pm having walked just over 14 miles, more than we'd ever walked in one day before. Our B&B was several miles away in Chalgrove (Cornerstones) but we were collected by our hostess and were brought back to the Ridgeway the following morning. We walked to the local gourmet pub, the Red Lion, to find they weren't doing food - just bar snacks. Well, the bar snacks were better than many restaurant meals so not a problem.
Day 4: Watlington to Goring on Thames - 14 miles
The weather was beautiful although it cooled down later on. There were a lot of hills, both up and down, for the first third of the walk, but it was very pretty with great views (Didcot Power Station excepted). The only convenient place to stop for a pub lunch was in Nuffield, at the Crown, a little earlier into our walk than we'd have liked and we arrived at 11-40 but the wait was worth it. There was a lovely 11th Century church, St Botolph's, just before Nuffield, and the villages of North and South Stoke were very pretty, as was much of the stretch known as Grimm's Ditch.
The final stretch of the walk took us alongside the Thames into Goring. We prefer to walk more than half the walk before lunch and that may be why we suffered more on this day than the others. The last few miles were very tough. The ground was so hard and my feet were extremely sore (partly caused by blisters, I found out later). But we made it, arriving at Melrose at 5.15. We had arranged an evening meal, for which we were very grateful as we hadn't the energy to go out looking for a pub. Mrs Howarth fed us on roast pork with all the trimmings and apple pie and custard. Superb value at just £5 each, and we enjoyed it immensely. But it wasn't a good night - my feet were so sore and Martyn's knee, on which he'd had surgery a couple of years ago, was swollen and painful. Would we be OK next morning?
Copyright © All rights reserved. Made by Sue Melvin
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text:
Twill Ribbon
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SunChips - French Onion Flavor
Biodegradable bags holding chips of deliciousness? Yes please
Yet another reason to love SunChips: the packaging can be thrown in with your compost pile, rather than your trash. More nutritious yum, less landfill.Tags: fitness, health, nutrition, politics, snacks, cheddar, healthy snacks, green living, salsaAdded 7 Years Ago from Sunchips


text:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represent Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir in this case. Jonsdottir has appealed an earlier ruling with fellow Twitter users Jacob Appelbaum and Rop Gonggrijp.
"With this decision, the court is telling all users of online tools hosted in the U.S. that the U.S. government will have secret access to their data," said Jonsdottir. "People around the world will take note, and since they can easily move their data to companies who host it in locations that better protect their privacy than the U.S. does, I expect that many will do so. I am very disappointed in today's ruling because it is a huge backward step for the United States' legacy of freedom of expression and the right to privacy."


text:
Outstanding service by Fastrack Toners & cartridges services, always provided on time and have ready to use ink cartridges which I required. Reasonably priced, I won't look for anyone else. I would Forcefully stress the need to use Fastrack Toners and cartridges.
The team at Mix Creative have been really great to work with and made the process seamless. We were able to give them a vision of what we wanted and they took it and exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them to everyone as they are professional, organized, and are amaz..
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text: We would draw a whole lot of over-the back fould against their bigs if we decided to box-out on all defensive rebounds. With their front-court rotation, it blows my mind that this hasnt been hammered home. On that same note, attacking the paint will get them in foul trouble as well. Our game plan should focus on getting Anthony and Turiaf in foul trouble. Thats why I cringe at every outside shot this game.


text:
Skull ID Charm
That is one ruff dog tag! This bad to the bone sterling silver tag protects your pet in style.
Help your pet reduce their carbon paw print with this eco-friendly collar made from cork with a bamboo fabric design.Tags: organic, pets, Dog, go green!, collars, pet products, Eco, dog collars, Organic Dog ProductsAdded 9 Years Ago from Thehautehound
Love these vintage inspired collars! They are crafted from woven jute and overlaid with a vintage-inspired fabric. ribbon. The collar snaps closed with a durable plastic fastener.Tags: vintage, pets, Dog, Collars, pet products, dog collars, dog lead, vintage inspired, dogharenessAdded 9 Years Ago from Moderntails
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text:
|Hardcopy (shipping and handling)
Historical Version(s) - view previous versions of standard
This specification covers AcuZinc5, zinc-copper-aluminum alloy die castings. The metal used in the manufacture of die castings shall be zinc alloy of a specified chemical composition conforming to the specified requirements. Tensile, yield strength, elongation, and hardness properties shall be determined by tension and hardness tests. The die castings shall be of uniform quality, free of injurious discontinuities that will adversely affect their serviceability.
This abstract is a brief summary of the referenced standard. It is informational only and not an official part of the standard; the full text of the standard itself must be referred to for its use and application. ASTM does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents of this abstract are accurate, complete or up to date.
1. Scope
1.1 This specification covers ACuZinc5, zinc-copper-aluminum alloy die castings. (UNS Z46541).3
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to become familiar with all hazards including those identified in the appropriate Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for this product/material as provided by the manufacturer, to establish appropriate safety and health practices, and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.
ASTM Standards
B892 Specification for ACuZinc5
B899 Terminology Relating to Non-ferrous Metals and Alloys
B949 Specification for General Requirements for Zinc and Zinc Alloy Products
E10 Test Method for Brinell Hardness of Metallic Materials
E29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to Determine Conformance with Specifications
E527 Practice for Numbering Metals and Alloys in the Unified Numbering System (UNS)
E536 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Zinc and Zinc Alloys
ISO StandardsISO 3815-1 Zinc and zinc alloys -- Part 1: Analysis of solid samples by optical emission spectrometry ISO 3815-2 Zinc and zinc alloys -- Part 2: Analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry
NADCA StandardNADCA Product Specification Standards for Die Castings
Federal StandardsFed. Std. No. 123 Marking for Shipment (Civil Agencies)
Military StandardMIL-P-116 Methods of Preservation MIL-STD-129 Marking for Shipment and Storage
ICS Code
ICS Number Code 77.150.60 (Lead, zinc and tin products)
|Link Here
|Link to Active (This link will always route to the current Active version of the standard.)
Citation Format
ASTM B894-10(2015), Standard Specification for ACuZinc5, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2015, www.astm.orgBack to Top


text:
A MILLIONAIRE British entrepreneur will stand trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on Bondi Beach after meeting her at a fashionable bar, The Bucket List.
Gregory Charles Cox is the founder and chief executive of Quintessential Finance Group, a British company with 100 employees and a turnover of tens of millions of dollars, the Downing Centre Local Court heard on Wednesday.
Mr Cox is accused of sexually assaulting the young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between 11.10pm and 11.30pm on January 21, 2012.
Mr Cox does not deny the sexual encounter took place but says it was consensual.
On Wednesday, Mr Cox's lawyers asked the court to allow the complainant to be cross-examined in his upcoming committal hearing.
In a committal hearing, a magistrate decides if there is enough evidence for the matter to proceed to trial. Alleged sexual assault victims are usually excused from giving evidence so they do not have to be subjected to cross-examination twice.
Mr Cox's barrister, Graham Turnbull, SC, said there were ''inconsistencies'' in versions of the event the complainant, then aged 21, had given to police and if she was cross-examined, there was a reasonable chance the charge against Mr Cox would be dismissed. But Magistrate Greg Walsh ruled the ''Crown case is not without strength'' and Mr Cox's chance of a fair trial would not be prejudiced.
After the ruling, Mr Cox waived his right to a committal hearing. He will be arraigned next month in the District Court, where he will plead not guilty.
In September, Mr Turnbull asked the court to suppress Mr Cox's name because his privileged background and high profile in the British business community meant he would be subject to ''undue embarrassment''. That was refused.
On Wednesday, Mr Turnbull said his client had been working in the ''small hours'' to keep up with his business obligations. He requested bail be varied to allow a return to Britain.
However, Mr Walsh said it would be for the District Court to decide if Mr Cox should be allowed to return home before the trial, unlikely before May.


text:
Web development is a very broad field, it ranges from static text to ecommerce websites and from client scripting to network security. Millions of operations come under Web development hence web development demands intellect along with innovation so that one's product can differ from the million others. Web development is all about how distinguished and optimized one's product is from others.READ
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text:
You should come tonight. I've been preparing a demo to show and talk about before aestetix shows up.

I've set up a fully patched Windows XP SP3 computer, with a default install of XAMPP (Apache, MySQL, PHP for Windows). I'll show you how to use XAMPP to remotely hack into the Windows box and steal files off the desktop.

Also, I'd be happy to do a Facebook or Twitter session hijacking demo.

And of course explain how everything works and answer any questions.

Will I be able to use the projector? It could be very helpful.

Micah

On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 2:39 PM, aestetix aestetix <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote:

 It's been kind of low key while we were setting things up.

However, things are going to pick up pretty quickly, and we'll be making regular announcements pretty soon.

On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 2:21 PM, Ian <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote:

is this the first meeting? i'm interested in this but havent heard
 anything about it for a while. is it going to be happening every
 thursday now?

 On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 9:50 PM, aestetix aestetix <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote:
 > Hey,
 >
 > I'll be attending the EFF event tomorrow night, so will be arriving late to
 > this workshop. Micah has generously offered to take over the first part of
 > it until I arrive.
 >
 > aestetix
 >
 > On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 3:28 PM, aestetix aestetix <email@example.com>
 > wrote:
 >>
 >> Hey,
 >>
 >> I'm going to be leading an introduction to security workshop this Thursday
 >> at 8pm. We'll be focusing on web application security, looking at common
 >> vulnerabilities, how to exploit them, and good practices to make sure you
 >> avoid them as you develop your own software.
 >>
 >> Anyone who is interested can attend. The workshop is targeted at
 >> beginners, but we can look at many levels based on your skill experience.
 >>
 >> Hope to see you there!
 >>
 >> aestetix
 >
 >

> _______________________________________________
 > Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
 > email@example.com
 > https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
 >
 >

_______________________________________________
 Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
 firstname.lastname@example.com
 https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss


text:
Ziggy TV - Fastest Video to MP3 Converter
|Share it:
|Updated at:
|18 Mar 2015
|Editor's review:
|Not yet reviewed
|Domain Manager | More...
Ziggy TV download link has been permanently removed from our site because of its illegal activity.
Ziggy tv description
Ziggy TV is a fast and easy-to-use video downloader and mp3 converter. Users can download videos and convert to MP3 hassle free. Ziggy TV converts video to multiple audio or video formats and provides easy play back on computers, cell phones or mobile devices. Ziggy TV also allows users to turn any video into a MP3 ringtone, without sound quality loss. Ziggy TV is more than a video downloader, it allows users to download HD videos and convert them to any common video format. The program is easy to use. Just specify the URL for the video desired and click the Download button. From there, Ziggy TV will download the video from specified URL, then automatically convert the video into the desired audio or video format. Ziggy TV has an easy to use tabbed interface for simple downloading, converting, and playing. It also allows users to convert downloaded videos for iPad, iPod, iPhone, Cell Phone, Windows Media, and XVid. Audio formats supported are: MP3, M4A, AAC, AIFF, FLAC, WAV, WMA. Video formats supported are: MP4, FLV, MOV, AVI, MPG, WMV, WEBM, 3GP. The program includes a build in media player to play files that users have previously downloaded or converted including HD files. Ziggy TV update improves users download speeds. The fresh upgrade has resolved the video downloading issues caused by video sites moving to MPEG DASH adaptive video formats. The optimized multi-connection download technology is now faster and more efficient at downloading HD 720p and 1080p videos.
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You can find and use free legal download links for Ziggy TV 5.1.0 on Download3000 and on the official website of the publisher.


text:
Nominations invited for Creative Communities Committee
Nominations invited for Creative Communities Committee
The Horowhenua Creative Communities Committee is seeking nominations for new members.
The committee meets at least twice each year to determine the outcomes of applications lodged under the Horowhenua Creative Communities Grant Scheme.
Members include District Councillors and community representatives from performing arts, fine arts, music and cultural arts backgrounds. At least two new members are being sought.
Committee chair Councillor Victoria Kaye-Simmons welcomes all nominations.
"It's exciting to have new members join the team. Diversity of backgrounds in all forms of the arts is something we celebrate and are looking forward to building on" Cr Kaye-Simmons said.
Committee members serve for a fixed period of up to three years and may serve for only two consecutive periods.
Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Horowhenua District Council website, www.horowhenua.govt.nz and copies are available from the Council office at 126 Oxford Street, Levin.
Nominations remain open until 5.00pm Friday 7 February.


text:
Father: Robert Hyde b: ABT 1465 in Norbury, Cheshire, England, UK
Mother: Margaret Holand b: 1469 in Denton, Lancashire, England, UK
Marriage 1 Margaret Warren b: 1495 in Poynton, Shropshire, England, UK
RootsWeb.com, Inc. is NOT responsible for the content of the GEDCOMs uploaded through the WorldConnect Program. If you have a problem with a particular entry, please contact the submitter of said entry. You have full control over your GEDCOM. You can change or remove it at any time.


text:
Case Conclusion Date: 06.11.2012
Practice Area: Elder law
Outcome: Sucessfully fought appeal to Court of Appeals, challenging propriety of restraining order and judgment issued by trial court, and won award of attorney's fees on appeal.
Description: In the trial court, I represented the petitioner in an action brought under the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults Act, Chapter 74.34 RCW, and obtained a Vulnerable Adult Protection Order restraining the respondent from having any unsupervised contact with the protected party. I also obtained a judgment against the respondent for attorney's fees incurred. The respondent appealed to the Court of Appeals, claiming both the restraining order and the judgment should be overturned. The Court of Appeals denied both claims and awarded my client her attorney's fees for the appeal.


text:
Skip navigation.
Welcome to the School of Professional Studies. The school consists of the Division of Business and the Division of Nursing.
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The Division of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) as well as an online RN to BSN track. Starting in the fall of 2017, NWOSU will begin its first doctoral degree in nursing with a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Advanced Nursing Practice (DNP). Our Nursing Division is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education Nursing (ACEN) and Approved by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing (OBN).
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Division of Business Chair:
Dr. W. David Hawkins at firstname.lastname@example.com or (580) 327-8440
Division of Nursing Chair:
Dr. Shelly Wells at email@example.com or (580) 327-8489
Student Advisement
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MISSION STATEMENT: Northwestern Oklahoma State University provides quality educational and cultural opportunities to learners with diverse needs by cultivating ethical leadership and service, critical thinking and fiscal responsibility.


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Limited spots available. Exclusive, VIP Hula Bowl trip for GoHerd members only!
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text:
Memories of the old LegCo building: 'Get me a close-up of that banana!'
The former Legislative Council Building at 8 Jackson Road has seen the passing of about 1,600 bills since it began hosting the lawmakers' meetings in 1985. That's a lot of political drama and two journalists were there to witness it all.
Kirindi Chan and Nancy Ching were the producer and director of RTHK's "LegCo Review" for a decade. The channel was the only one allowed to record Legislative Council meetings live and Chan and Ching's show would comment on each week's meeting highlights.
With the near-completion of the new government headquarters at Tamar, the Legislative Council will be moving into new quarters there when the summer recess is over in September.
Lawmakers officially bid goodbye to their former chambers on Jackson Road on July 18. The century-old neo-classical building will return to its original function as the Supreme Court, now called the Court of Final Appeal.
RTHK also wrapped up its 25 years of broadcasting LegCo meetings. The Legislative Council Secretariat will begin providing recordings of meetings once the council reconvenes at the new venue.
Ching, now senior director of RTHK, said: "I will miss the old building for its colorful historical background. It exudes a sense of solemnity and it is definitely world-class."
Chan and Ching got nostalgic and shared their most unforgettable moments at 8 Jackson Road.
Hong Kong's future was set on this day
Kirindi Chan, now head of corporate communications for RTHK, said she will never forget what happened inside the old LegCo building between June 29 and 30 in 1994.
"It was an all-nighter meeting that would change Hong Kong's political landscape after the Handover," Chang said. "Hong Kong was close to passing a complete direct election bill."
The council was torn between two proposals: Chris Patten's bid to replace the usual two-party rule with nine new functional constituencies, and lawmaker Emily Lau's direct election scheme.
"There were ferocious debates both inside and outside the building and everyone was agitated -- a dramatic and significant scene to be part of," said Chan.
Chan broadcast the last leg of the marathon meeting. After 20 hours of debate, the night finally came down to a vote. In the end, Emily Lau's bill was voted down by a single vote.
"Lau and her colleagues looked totally devastated -- it was the moment of truth and everybody had shown their genuine opinions," Chan said.
"I believe both parties of the LegCo wanted to make Hong Kong a better society."
That flying banana
Legislative Council member Raymond Wong threw a banana in protest at Donald Tsang when the Chief Executive was giving a speech in LegCo in October 2008.
The scene has become a household joke in Hong Kong, but for Nancy Ching it was no laughing matter at the time.
"'Get me a close-up of that banana!' was what I shouted at the cameraman," said Ching, who was anxious to capture the unfolding drama. But security personnel inside the chamber had already covered up the offending fruit.
Ching said the incident completely ruined the solemnity of LegCo. It was an incident she didn't appreciate.
Haunted chambers
Any building more than half a century old usually comes with a string of legends and ghost stories. The LegCo Building, having been through two world wars, is no exception.
Legislative Council member Cheung Man-kwong once said he had a horrible experience working past midnight in the building. He had heard people chatting in Japanese and eventually encountered a spirit dressed in a Japanese kimono.
Ching said stories like this made night shifts in this old building hard to endure. She once invited a fellow female reporter to accompany her for a bathroom break during a late night shift. When the reporter turned her down, Ching had to beg: "Can you please just come with me? I am really scared to go by myself." The reporter burst out laughing after hearing the senior journalist's confession.
"Post-80s" grit
One of the youngest reporters for "LegCo Review," Bao Choy, witnessed the determination of "Post-80s" activists at the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link protests outside the LegCo Building as lawmakers debated the railway proposal inside the chambers.
"What started as a group of a dozen people turned into a gathering of close to 10,000 people," said Choy. "They came and surrounded the LegCo Building. No one could've seen that coming."
Choy could hear the protest chants from inside the LegCo Building. She was touched by the fervor of the "Post-80s" protesters.
"They knew that no matter how hard they protested, nothing could possibly be changed. But they refused to give up and peacefully persevered. I was very touched by their unyielding spirit."
You will be missed, 8 Jackson Road
Choy said she has many memories of the corridor just outside the pressroom, where reporters gathered.
"The corridor was usually action-packed with reporters conducting interviews and members sharing ideas," she said. "I will miss this place the most."
The reporter will also miss the feeling of being steeped in Hong Kong's political history.
"I was in charge of the broadcasting session on the last day. I saw many of the usual council members but also a lot of new faces who had come to bid farewell to the building. That's when it hit me that I still have a lot to learn about Hong Kong's political history."


text: I'm looking for colourful yet stylish belts. I have found one brand so far that are great, but if there are any other brands out there that do this then I would appreciate if you dropped their link below. Cheers Here is the link to the brand I have already found http://www.jdsolis.com/collections/belts


text:
A science news blog from
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Over the edge: Are dangerousness criteria failing the public?
The recent tragic
mass shooting in a Nebraskan shopping centre
and the
concerns it raised
– again – about the adequacy of mental health care in the US was still playing on my mind, when I came across a
in the journal
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
It found that people with
go untreated for on average 6 months longer in countries like the US and Australia, where psychiatrists usually need to show that a person is a danger to others before they can be treated against their will, compared to countries like the UK in which they need only show that the person needs treatment or is not competent to make decisions about treatment.
Presumably dangerousness criteria are intended to protect the public while avoiding unnecessarily violating a person's right to liberty. But for the person with schizophrenia (and often their families too) it can mean an extra 6 months of suffering. Leaving schizophrenia untreated is also associated with an increased risk of suicide, and a worse life-time prognosis. And there may also be an increased risk of serious violence against others – the very thing the laws are trying to avoid.
In the US, debate about how best to deal with potentially dangerous people with psychiatric disorders intensifies with each new mass-shooting. According to one estimate, up to 50% of the shootings have been by the mentally ill.
A question that comes up repeatedly is, how reliably can mental-health professionals judge that a person will be dangerous in the future? According to one of the review authors,
Christopher Ryan
, a psychiatrist at Sydney's Westmead Hospital, the answer is "not very".
He pointed out that well before the
Virginia Tech shootings
in April 2007, which left 33 dead, a social worker had thought Seung Hui Cho met the US state of Virginia's criteria of "imminently dangerous", but a psychologist and a psychiatrist did not. As it happens, the special justice who presided over a hearing to determine whether Cho should be committed for psychiatric treatment still ruled that Cho was dangerous, and ordered that he receive outpatient treatment. Cho failed to get that treatment, a
failure that was not followed up
In the US, the debate tends to revolve around how to make such dangerousness assessments more reliable. But Ryan told me that he thinks that is missing the point, by quite a hefty margin.
The issue, he says, should be whether a person with a serious psychiatric disorder is competent to decide whether or not to refuse treatment. He points out that if you are knocked unconscious nobody has to prove that you are dangerous before they treat you.
There's at least one group in the US that would likely agree with Ryan. The
Treatment Advocacy Centre
lobbies to change laws so that committing an act of violence does not become the only way someone with a severe mental disorders can be compelled to receive treatment.
Others are not convinced. The
New York Civil Liberties Union
has argued that laws that do not require a person to be dangerous before they are forced to receive treatment violate fundamental freedoms and can disproportionately target black people.
Rachel Nowak, Australasian Editor, New Scientist Melbourne
Posted by danp at 16:15
digg this
All comments should respect the
New Scientist House Rules
. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please
let us know,
quoting the comment in question.
Unfortunately America is also missing the universal health care framework that is required for the actions you describe.
Leaving aside what this absence indicates about American society, perhaps such a framework is utilized by citizens in other industrialized countries long before their condition worsens to the dire state requiring the non-consentual intervention you describe.
December 19, 2007 4:34 PM
The fact that there are such horrible side effects from the medications is one HUGE reason the ACLU is against forcing people to take medications against their wishes, but as someone who is married to someone with mental illness, the benefits of the medications FAR outweight the side effects. I personally think that the people without the medications should be made to live with the people from the ACLU (or Tom Cruise) so they can truly learn what it is like to suffer. My husband even tells me that he feels so much better on the medications.
December 19, 2007 6:50 PM
In a culture where they don't have a universal health care framework, they do have a system of coercion and competition for perceived illogical consumption and status ends regardless of means, there is a bigger question: Are the people who get violent really insane, or is the system which encourages their break with reality what needs to be treated? Shouldn't the world be forming a coalition to protect the Texas oil wells while eliminating the threats of the Bush administration and the Axis of Evil Corporatocracy?
I'm sure the American People will welcome such 'liberators' with open arms and empty prescription bottles.
December 20, 2007 1:59 AM
Laws are guides only. This is why they do not remove freedom of choice. At the same time, we have laws because we think they're reliable. So, if a person chooses to act against a law in society, he needs to show he has improved the law. I'm thinking here of Sam Harris' term, "conversational pressure". A mentally ill person acts against a law, and fails to show how he has improved the law. Problem is, in society today, we don't encourage accountability enough, so it becomes difficult to tell lawlessness from a profounder moral sense. What we need to do is encourage rational explanation (not just haughty self-justification) for our acts - so that people are less likely to deceive others, or be able to develop suspiciously. Our morals and values need to be openly examinable, nothing taken for granted. For this reason, dangerousness criteria should be based on anyone who fails to reason (and is unwilling to do so openly) - including those in psychiatric professions.
Kelly Jones
December 20, 2007 2:42 AM
"laws that do not require a person to be dangerous before they are forced to receive treatment violate fundamental freedoms and can disproportionately target black people."
What? How? and... Australia? When I looked at the blurb for this, I thought it'd be a debate about the human conciousness and self control, not about the inadequacies of law. As to this, people are not given treatment when they cannot care for themselves? What uncaring people (not the carers- full support to them!) they would be.
The anonymous man
December 27, 2007 6:14 PM
I think the problem is not the health care as much as the easy access to guns.
And FUY, i think there is as much danger in making it easy to put someone in clinic against his/her will. How about if your neighbours decide they don't like how you listen music too loud and frame you?! Do you honestly think it's that easy to abuse people's paranoia. It is not.
People should be forcefully healed only if they are a real danger to other people. And that should mean if they have attacked someone before.
In the meantime, you can limit the access to guns for people with menatal illness.
January 10, 2008 4:04 PM
"It found that people with schizophrenia go untreated for on average 6 months longer in countries like the US and Australia, where psychiatrists usually need to show that a person is a danger to others before they can be treated against their will"
This misses the point by focusing on "dangerousness."
Dangerousness is far down the list when one looks at issues in mental health, but it is the most entertaining, most popular public stereotype, and it attracts attention.
Of far greater interest to me is the lack of mental health services, and the number of people who as a result cannot access them.
Of a far greater interest to me is the quality of those services and the disinterest in improving it.
Of far greater interest to me is the number of people who, logically, avoid services because of their very well documented negative history.
Harold A. Maio, American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Board Member
January 14, 2008 6:25 PM
Don't mess the lack of access of all people to medical care with the too much medical care. I'm absolutely for the universal health care, but I don't think we have to simply put people in hospitals against their will. It's ones own decision whether to be cured or no, if he's not a danger to the society.
So let's have prevention and care for everyone, but don't hurt their personal free will.
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/1/2014 (1289 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Did you pledge to lose weight this year?
If you did, you're not alone; the No. 1 New Year's resolution almost every year is to lose weight. So it's little surprise that, come January, we're surrounded by human-interest stories about people who have lost weight, relentless advertising by gyms and diet companies and marathons of weight-loss based reality TV shows.
The message is clear: weight loss is the key to a happier you. A healthier you. A better you. For women in particular, this messaging is nothing new; we're constantly told our bodies aren't good enough, and we spend a great deal of time, energy and money chasing an often unattainable ideal.
It's also deeply entrenched in society that being fat equals unhealthy, being thin means healthy. To be thin is to be desired; to be fat is to be reviled. One doesn't need to look hard for proof we live in a fat-phobic society. For example, consider the images that accompany articles on obesity; larger bodies are often portrayed as the headless cautionary tales, says Dr. Charlotte Cooper, a trailblazing psychotherapist.
"The body becomes symbolic: we are there but we have no voice, not even a mouth in a head, no brain, no thoughts or opinions," she writes. "Instead we are reduced and dehumanized as symbols of cultural fear: the body, the belly, the arse, food."
What if we could change the way we thought about our own bodies?
What if we could resolve to lose hate, not weight?
Virgie Tovar is the brains behind Lose Hate, Not Weight -- a campaign that's much more than a snappy slogan. The 31-year-old San Francisco-based author and activist is one of America's leading experts and lecturers on fat discrimination and body image. She, like many other women, has chosen to riot instead of diet, and is part of the fat-acceptance movement, which is built on the belief that a person's size does not determine their health or self-worth.
Tovar's Lose Hate, Not Weight campaign is part of her vision to "debunk the current fat-phobic health model, which equates thinness with fitness and health."
"What (the movement) seeks to do is reframe life based on self-hatred to a life based on self-love," she tells the Free Press. "It challenges us to think about what health means. Our culture will promote health and fitness, but not spiritual or mental health, when the reality is, they are all connected."
Tovar says dieting and obsessive thinking about food and exercise create stress, and stress worsens your mental health as well as your physical, sexual and spiritual health.
And she would know. She's been there.
Tovar grew up in San Pablo, Calif., as part of a fat family. "As a little girl, I was fat. I was a fat baby. Very early on I learned that I was fat and being fat was bad."
It wasn't always that way. "There was a pre-fat consciousness that I had before I was five or six. I registered that I was larger, but it didn't register as a bad thing. It was important to my political and personal journey to remember that time."
Then, things shifted. "It didn't take long to reach a very developed state of self-loathing. In photos (from preschool), I saw a confident, happy child. By seven or eight, you could see the change."
Her diary was filled with sad confessionals. "I was writing about literally taking a knife to my body fat," she says. "I kept drawing myself inside of a jar, which is a reference to that popular meme that fat people have a thin person inside of them."
By the time she was 11, Tovar had put herself on a hyper-restrictive diet -- the first of many. "The summer between fifth and sixth grade, I decided to get really serious about dieting. I exercised for two to three hours a day, and I ate only toast and lettuce with barbecue sauce." She lost weight, but puberty hit.
At 17, she'd begun to explore her sexuality. Dating older guys proved to be a shot in the arm. "It instilled this sense that my body was desirable -- that my body was beautiful and fine and sexy. That turned everything I was told on its head. I was told I was worthless, that no one would want to date me or have sex with me or marry me -- and certainly no one would love me."
While she was finding joy in her body, Tovar says she was still deeply invested in cultural expectations. After returning home from a summer in Italy -- where she developed scurvy as a result of restrictive dieting -- she reached an epiphany. "I sat down and had an intense conversation with myself. When can I stop this? When can I stop hating my life? Maybe in 20 pounds? No. Maybe in two years? No. Maybe when I get a boyfriend?
"I realized it wasn't ever going to end. I'm a fat person. I'd have to live my entire life fighting the body I was endowed with. That's not living."
For Tovar, true health and happiness became the result of hard work toward body acceptance.
The fat-acceptance movement has its critics, many of whom say it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle. Tovar would argue that the opposite is true. After all, it's hard to do positive things for your body -- whether it's to eat well or sign up for that yoga class -- if you hate your body.
"I am pro-choice before I am anything else," Tovar says. "But if you hate yourself, how can you make decisions that are right for your body? I have no desire to turn everyone into a happy fat girl. But people might find they want something completely different for themselves if they didn't hate themselves."
Winnipeg feminist/activist Jodie Layne can attest to that. Finally "tired of feeling like I had to lose 10 more pounds to be pretty or accepted," the 24-year-old turned to the Internet, where she found fat, fabulous women, like Tovar, who were -- gasp! -- enjoying their lives.
"I saw all these women who had boyfriends and great lives and got (stuff) done by not fixating on their weight. I latched onto that completely. What I found in (body acceptance) was feeling like a whole person and not a pant size. I didn't feel the pressure to practise dieting or justify my choices. My relationship to food is so healthy now."
And, for the record, so is she. "My doctor says I'm healthy as a horse -- but I fall into the obese category on the BMI scale," Layne says. "But I have good cholesterol. I'm a vegan. I'm a daily yogi."
A poor diet coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can wreak havoc on anyone, which is why many holistic health and fitness professionals look beyond the number on the scale and focus on measurable health goals such as improving cardiovascular fitness, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, building lean muscle mass and fat loss -- which is not the same as weight loss.
Anna Lazowski, a Winnipeg-based holistic nutritionist, says we need to go back to paying attention to how we feel, a body awareness that comes from mindful eating.
"Part of the problem is that people are completely divorced from their bodies," she says. Lazowski notes we just accept certain ailments -- acid reflux, bloating, chronic fatigue, constipation, to name a few -- as normal because we no longer know how those conditions relate to our diets.
She also points out that nutrition isn't one-size fits-all.
"Everyone is different. There isn't one thing that will work for everyone. Going gluten-free or going Paleo doesn't solve everything. You need to figure out what works for your individual body. That's the best way to succeed. And you're going to feel better."
That's what drives local personal trainer Lindsay Hamel, who works in partnership with Lazowski. Hamel, to quote her blog, doesn't have six-pack abs and doesn't yell. She uses a tape measure, not a scale. She believes fitness should be pleasurable, not punishment. She believes that the benefits of working out go beyond physical health.
"You manage stress better, and you have a better perspective on the world when you're working out. You feel better," she says. "My focus is always to make people feel better. That's actually my goal for my business: to make people feel better. And that's a very different thing for every individual person. When I meet with clients and set goals, one of the last we'll ever set is weight loss. It's about having strength and energy for day-to-day life."
After a few weeks of training, Hamel will check back in with clients who, say, felt winded going up a flight of stairs or couldn't lift heavy grocery bags. Overwhelmingly, they will have noticed positive changes.
"That's motivation," she says. "That's success. That's a huge part of why people should be working out. If we could focus on the qualitative gains instead of the quantitative gains, people would have that motivation to carry on with it."
While food is fuel for our bodies -- and we should eat as many whole foods as we can -- everyone who contributed to this story agreed that there's room for birthday cake in all of our lives. "We're humans," Lazowski says. "Deprivation is not a realistic way to live."
For her part, Tovar believes cultural attitudes are shifting. Larger bodies are gaining more visibility in mass media, whether they are trailblazing plus-size fashion bloggers like Gabifresh and Nicolette Mason or hot-right-now actresses such as Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, Lena Dunham and Mindy Kaling.
Tovar herself edited a book called Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Love, Life and Fashion.
"I do have a lot of hope," Tovar says. "I think people want liberation. It's hard to divest. But hating yourself is not sustainable. There's no reward, no dividends when you hate yourself. I reap the benefits of self-love every day and of the work I did. And it's hard work. It's not the lazy choice."


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text: Located on the left bank of Paris in the heart of Montparnasse district close to Saint Germain des Pres and the famous quartier latin the Concorde Montparnasse is very well situated. Montparnasse boasts a rich cultural and artistic history which is reflected in the area surrounding the hotel. The shops bars and theatres of Rue de Rennes Rue dAlesia and Rue de la Gat are just steps away as is the famous Montparnasse Tower. The rooms are very comfortable and tastefully decorated well appointed with all the modern facilities such as and airconditioning complimentary high speed and WiFi Internet access minibar and hairdryer.


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text:
Yeah. I challenged Chomsky before. He didn't show up. Because I'm smarter and he somehow knows it.
You're not him. Because you don't know it. Any questions? Thought not.
Noam Chomsky 2013-01-28 12:34:00
"we'll all start seeing the light and make sure the troops never leave our shores again. Heaven according to the gospel of Noam Chomsky. "
Is this a challenge Mr. Instapunk?
If so let's have a duel like men shall duel, instead of this slap in the face you present me with and then you tarry onward. The Gospel of Noam Chomsky, please amuse me more with quotations from this particular gospel.
Bill 2013-01-27 12:37:00
I've stayed away from commenting here, but I need to speak on this one. The whole argument misses the point. It's not whether or not a woman can carry a load or shoot a rifle. It's about KILLING.
I killed my first man in combat when I was nineteen years old. Two tours in the infantry in Vietnam allowed me to kill sixteen more. I see their faces and remember each and every one almost fifty years later.
Most men who have seen combat don't talk about it, and that's why. All this bullshit about the glory and honor is just that:bullshit.
The argument is about whether or not we want our sisters and daughters to become killers too. That's a real fucking sweet legacy for some grandmother to remember down the road.
Fucking disgusting.....
Superobserver 2013-01-27 04:42:00
You know more people than I do. But I have an idea.
A TV show that is dedicated to the realization of Liberal Fantasies. Call it "Liberal Fantasies" just to be obvious.
Like a reality TV show, show women in grim and horrible situations, being raped by "friendlies" who are on a blood-lust spree as a result of blowing shit up and nearly dying, and then show the same women get raped by the enemy.
Then show them coming back to the US and being spit on BY LIBERALS. Then show them having dark-skinned children. Then fast forward to their dark skinned children having abortions at age 15 and signing up to join the Navy Seals.
It sounds a little bit like Starship Troopers, right? But it really called "Liberal Fantasies" and in all seriousness, there is a show here.
*Seriously challenge* the Liberal Fantasy by making it into a reality TV show that honestly portrays what is happening to our children.
Helk 2013-01-26 02:29:00
I must again council that the best way to approach this is not to go against it. No. It is to go FOR it. We take the initiative by saying to the Dems, "Yes, by all means, of course women in combat. And let us begin with Seals school. We not only need female warriors, we need Laura Croft!"
OK, you and I know that Hollywood has created totally unrealistic expectations for women soldiers. So let's push the idea to its absolute extreme. By affirming the move it takes all the ammo from the Dems. And by pushing it into the extreme category it will blow up in the Dems faces.
Now I know that it would appear that it would also blow up in our faces. But we have to to do one thing in secret. We have to mail a letter to ourselves, all of us, including our Representatives and Senators, where we acknowledge that we knew it would fail. But we did not want to seem unfair. So we wanted to let the experiment take place. The letter is dated in the past, to be opened in the future. It will absolve us of all responsibility AND it will make us seem like genii.
That way if the women succeed we win and if they fail we win.
Right now we are losing, and losing big. It is because they are putting us on the defensive. And in politics once you are on the defensive you have lost. Period. Do you net get that? Are you seriously not aware that the common denominator in the demonization is that we are on the defensive all the time.
Get it already. Quit fighting; stop being perpendicular to the movement. You must *grease the rails* to win. And to do that you have to determine what the Dems are going to do, and do it before they do it.
Of course, you will bring up the poison pill issue; the one thing that people have been brainwashed into fighting for or against with unthinking stubbornness: Free birth control pills.
But why stop there? Free abortions. And if you have an abortion before you are 18 then your college is paid for also. And if you don't want to go to college but would rather go to Seals school, then we can do that too. *Incentivize* the bad behavior before the Dems can and you will confuse them. You will put THEM on the defensive.
Or sit by and watch out country dissolve into tyranny. Either way, abortion is here to stay and so is birth control. And now it looks like women in combat also. And the Dems are kicking our asses because we are getting defensive about the sanctity of life and of women. Nobody cares about that. You might. I do. We don't count. No amount of crying will change that.
Let's win already. Damn it, stubborn fucking fools. you accuse me of trolling but you are the ones who keep taking the bait. Fuck.
Helk 2013-01-26 12:34:00
Please do not construe what I am saying as support for female combat. I think that the idea of mixing women with men in combat units is terrible and of course would only be advocated by people who have no practical experience in the field.
Camaraderie can evolve more easily absent sexual tension. And how many of us remember the conflicts that arose when we were competing for the pretty girls attention (in high school or maybe even through college). Well these are young men, not all of whom are equally well endowed physically. It is a fools dream to think that the issues associated with mating would not surface between men and women in co-ed units.
Just nonsense. And of course the fat stupid asshats who are suggesting that this is about equality are naive at best and manipulative at worst. I try not to hate humans but it is hard not to hate reptiles shaped as humans.
urthshu 2013-01-25 01:48:00
That excerpt reminded me of another that Paul Fussell wrote about - where the unit had dysentary so bad they ripped out the crotches of their pants. And when they had to abandon their ridgeline they skidded down the ordure-slimed hill, vomiting the while until plunging calf-deep into shit and mouldered body parts.
And, irony, the Violence Against Women Act is up for re-authorization. Maybe they'll add in a clause that'll cover the poor dears in battle conditions.
Fred D 2013-01-25 01:26:00
A couple of points.
First, WRT the IDF - women are allowed into about 92% of all the military positions, but not direct combat roles. Which is pretty much what we had in our services from the mid 90's until now. (A side note: the US allowed women to fly combat aircraft before the IAF did, and the IAF allowed that only after a woman brought a lawsuit against it.)
Second, what the Fox News article didn't report, but CNS did, is extremely troubling:
[Dempsey] added: "Importantly, though, if we do decide that a particular standard is so high that a woman couldn't make it, the burden is now on the service to come back and explain to the secretary, why is it that high? Does it really have to be that high? With the direct combat exclusion provision in place, we never had to have that conversation."
Nor is that conversation needed now. Instead though, I fear we are going to kill men and women, because we will change the standards. We've changed standards in every such instance over the past 20 years - I've seen that first hand in the Navy.
Not quite. The Israelis are fighting for survival. It's not about intimidation. Theirs is not fundamentally a PR war. They need fingers on triggers, as many as they can get. Nobody said women can't fight, shoot, and kill. They can. Bravely. The Germans made the same discovery about 12 year old boys in 1945. But it's not what they had in mind in 1939. When the varsity is dead, the Jayvees get promoted, honored, and killed in their turn.
Joe 2013-01-25 08:44:00
"Their women aren't replacing men but augmenting them"
Well, to a certain extent their women are replacing men, the especially religiously observant who "observe touch" and were exempted from duty. They are lifting a lot of those exemptions, though, and forcing those guys to fight, so we'll see how that turns out.
I don't know much about Palestinians, and since they're really the descendants of Greeks rather than Middle Easterners, I can't say how chauvanistic they are with their brand of Islam, but I do know that in Iraq Muslim men do not appreciate American women searching them or making demands of any kind.
Also, the female Israelis are in all-female units. America, being progressive rather than traditionalist, will not stop at getting women integrated into military occupational skills (MOS). It will keep going until Combat Arms units are mixed, with male and female soldiers sleeping (and possibly showering) together.
We have been primed for that by Hollywood, as well. Remember Aliens? Starship Troopers?
Helk 2013-01-25 05:39:00
OK. So what I read from what you just write is that the Israeli's are making the best of a bad situation and the women are not actually effective in the military role but are advertised as such because Israel needs to conflate reality in order to intimidate its neighbors.
Is that about right?
Israel is a tiny besieged nation. They have no alternative. Their women aren't replacing men but augmenting them. You don't know the underbelly of this story. It has to be reported as a great success because, again, they have no alternative.
Btw, please don't jam a giant web file into the Comments again. It's annoying and accomplishes nothing.
Helk 2013-01-24 11:56:00
RF, how are the Israeli's so successful at introducing women into combat units?
Joe 2013-01-24 09:52:00
The only substantive comment I have is that Stephanie Gutmann laid out the perils succinctly in her book "The Kinder, Gentler Military."
I saw the nightmare in support units, the constant paperwork, the friction, the sexual harassment and Equal Opportunity cases, the hours wasted at the JAG office, the demotions, the courts martial (yes, that is the correct plural of the term "court martial"), the rapes, the false accusations of rape, the female soldiers whose "combat readiness" was greatly diminished by pregnancy (they couldn't even work in the mechanical bay since one cannot be around hazardous material when pregnant), the destruction of espirit de corps that comes when you emasculate men and rob women of their femininity.
I didn't mention any of this earlier because it is just so disheartening, so frustrating, just more agony piled on all of the indignity we have collectively suffered over the last few months that, yes, I tried to make a joke.
Don't be coarse. You know what's at stake.
Joe 2013-01-24 07:08:00
The last time I got into a fight with a woman, she beat me up but I came, so who really won?
Guy T. 2013-01-24 04:12:00
"After 23 female troops are gang raped to death in a muslim country, we'll all start seeing the light and make sure the troops never leave our shores again."
I'd like to think an alternative is possible -- that the rules of engagement might be reformed to allow soldiers actually to fight wars. But what I'd like to think hasn't mattered much to the government heretofore so I guess it's not likely to start now.


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