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Finding and keeping good help on crop farms could get tougher this year. As the economy heats up, more employees will be drawn away from the farm to fill positions opening in industry, according to Steve Rice, director of agricultural placement at Agri-Tech Personnel.
"The economic recession of the last two years allowed farmers to use local help that would normally have found business in a hotter economy," Rice says. "But last fall that changed. Co-ops were calling us wanting help for their grain harvest and spring agronomy season. And the farm-background candidates who were available a year or two ago are now being grabbed up by farm supply dealers."
Gary Little, president of Agra-Placements, says the number-one quality employers want today is a good work ethic. And employees who possess it will be in high demand and vulnerable to recruitment. "It is kind of like cash renting ground today," Little says. "You may be renting ground at a certain amount of money and tomorrow you may be notified you no longer have it because someone offered ten dollars more. It can happen the same way with candidates working in these positions."
The intense labor situation comes at a time when labor on farms is already stretched thin due to the growth in farm sizes. Owner-operators are trying to farm more acres with the same or smaller staff to minimize costs in an age of low crop prices.
As a result, qualified help will be at a premium this year. And it is an input cost you will need to manage closely to keep your farm operation running smoothly. We asked the industry's top agricultural recruiters for their best advice on how you can find and keep qualified help on your farm.
How to hire
According to Agra-Placements' Little, hiring the wrong person can cost you in five ways: training time, wages, benefits, correcting the person's mistakes and emotional duress. Therefore it makes sense that you should spend time making the right decision when hiring. Little says these four common mistakes get in the way of doing that:
Hire based on whether you like the person. "Most farmers hire people like themselves," Little says. "And that can cause them problems."
Hire from the interview only. During an interview, you need to remember that the person there wants the job. It is in his or her best interest to tell you what you want to hear and omit details that could be damaging.
Hire from references only. Checking references is better than hiring from just the interview, Little says. But most references have been hand-selected by the candidate and may be biased in their evaluation.
Hire the best of the worst. This last mistake happens when farmers get in too much of a hurry to fill the position. "You haven't found exactly the person you want, but you go ahead and make someone an offer because you are tired of interviewing," Little says. "Big mistake."
You can get past these mistakes by removing the emotional part of hiring and making it a "position-focused" decision, Little says. "Erase the thought of what you liked or disliked about the [previous] person in the position and what the position was in the past," he explains. "And only think about what you want from the position."
Focus on the position
Little says most employers hire someone and change the position. "That is where the profitability goes down," he says. Instead, ask yourself, "What do I want from the position?" And then, "How will this person meet the objectives of the position?"
The best time to change position responsibilities is when the job is open, Little says. So before hiring, you should review and clarify job requirements. Stipulate which of those requirements are "absolutes," which ones you would "like to have but are not necessary," and which ones are "superficial."
Little says that everyone has faults or things they do not do as well. The important thing is to identify whether the person fits the position despite those faults.
He also offers a few don'ts. "Don't ever hire a person based on the statement, 'I think the person can do it,'" Little says. "It sends doubt and you are picking the best of the worst. On the other hand, when you say, 'I know this person can do it and do it well,' then you've got an immediate hire probability."
Also, don't ever say, "I like this person," Little adds. "Whether you like them or not, ask yourself whether they will get the results you want from the position."
Finally, once you identify the candidate that best fits the needs of the position, check references and talk with other people where the person worked before and ask them position-related questions. "Ask questions like, 'Tell me about how this person got his jobs done, how he organized his work, or how this person grew,'" Little says. Asking position-related questions is legal and important, he says, because past performance is the best predictor of future performance.
A company solution
NC+ Hybrids is a company that focuses on the position when hiring. This closed cooperative owned by 15 farm families looks for people whose technical skills match the needs of a company in the business of seed research, production and sales.
Specifically, the co-op uses what it calls a "depth chart" to define what it is looking for in a position. The chart lists the scope of the business and area for which the person will be responsible, required experience, goals for the position, and critical personal dimensions. "We define what we are looking for and then set out to find that person," says Gene Kronberg, director of sales and marketing at NC+ Hybrids.
For sales manager positions, they look for five qualities: integrity, vision, initiative, leadership and adaptability/flexibility. They interview candidates based on whether they have those dimensions by asking open-ended questions. Here are some examples:
Integrity: "Tell me one thing you are exceptionally proud of. On the other hand, what do you wish you could do over again?"
Long-range vision: "Where do you see this business five years from now? What will change about how we operate the farm? What is important today in this business that may not be important tomorrow?"
Initiative: "Describe a typical workweek. When does it start and end? What time do you usually make your first sales call? How many calls do you make a day?"
Leadership: "Give me an example of a leadership role you have held, whether in high school, college or later."
Adaptability/flexibility: "How would you handle a situation in which you sold 5,000 bags of a hybrid and realized you would only get 3,000? What would you do?"
Kronberg says defining dimensions up front is key to finding the right person for the position. The strategy has resulted in minimal mismatches. The co-op's retention rate has stayed around 92% for a staff of 117 employees.
Keeping employees
Agri-Tech Personnel's Rice says employees are less loyal and more mobile than they were a generation ago. The attitude is a carryover from the dot.com generation of the '90s, when jobs were more available and employees would switch jobs frequently, he says.
Downsizing in agriculture's middle management in the last two years further eroded that loyalty. "As a result, it is getting tougher to keep a job candidate in any of our industries who is loyal to his employer and staying long term," Rice says.
But companies are figuring out how to reverse that trend. For example, Gary Maas, president of AgriCareers, conducts studies on why employees leave jobs. "A quarter of the people who leave we can't do anything about," Maas says. "But we can do something to keep the other three quarters."
Companies voted the 100 Best Places to Work by Fortune magazine have three elements in common. One is fairness, which Maas defines as "looking out for each other." Within that category of fairness is empathy. "It is asking, 'If I were in that person's shoes, what would I want to have happen? How would I want to be treated?'" he says.
The second element is pride, which comes from knowing you did a good job. "It's a can-do spirit or that feeling of knowing we fought our way out of the valley," Maas says. Pride can be instilled by providing employees with feedback on their performance or by sharing production records.
The third element present in top-rated companies is camaraderie, which means having fun working together. This comes from recognizing and rewarding employees within an organization with birthday celebrations, awards for anniversaries or benchmarks in service, and praise in meetings.
Maas says all three elements are important to keeping employees long term. And farm employers who are successful practice what these top-ranked companies are doing for their people.
View them as important
A case in point is Kim Drackett, owner-operator of Fairholme Farms. Drackett, who was educated at Dartmouth and whose great-grandfather invented Drano, instills these characteristics on his 1,500-acre crop and livestock farm in east-central Indiana.
He views his 12 employees as the operation's most important asset. "They are certainly more important than a tractor or planter," he says. "And we do different things to show they are valued and part of the organization."
For example, he shares production records with his employees to let them see the impact of their efforts. "Gary Maas says it best," Drackett says. "If you don't share your production information with your employees, it is like being in a bowling alley and not able to see the pins. So we are very open with our records."
And he makes sure employees are "talked up" in meetings when they do a good job.
Once a year Drackett hosts an employee appreciation night. Typical outings include going to the theater or a concert or eating at a Japanese restaurant to learn how to eat sushi. "We always try to find something unique that has broad appeal and is a lot of fun," he says. Employees also get a holiday bonus and a special gift engraved with the farm name and year.
He says caring about people and recognizing their value is the attitude that drives the operation. And he makes sure management promotes the same philosophy by holding weekly management meetings off site.
During the meetings they discuss employee challenges and brainstorm solutions. "If an employee has a problem, they try to understand why," he says. For example, the employee may have misunderstood a process, is upset about an unrelated issue or has a substance-abuse problem. "Everybody wants to do a good job," he says. "So rather than dealing with it by disciplining them or cutting their pay, we try to understand why and then work with them to deal with the underlying issue."
Drackett says wages are the least important aspect of what makes employees satisfied. But he makes sure wages are competitive within the industry and provides good benefits. "Health insurance is key," he says. He also sends his staff to seminars and involves them in on-farm research so they can gain knowledge and skills.
Empathy is essential
Brent Sandidge of Marshall, MO, is another example of a successful manager. Sandidge, who is owner of a 2,000-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation and 4,000-acre row-crop farm, shows a high degree of empathy, which Maas says is key to employee retention. Sandidge has been able to retain a staff of 20 in an industry that has been unstable over the past five years. Three of his employees have been with him for more than 20 years.
Sandidge and assistant manager Glenn Fry have three management principles that drive the operation. One is to lead by example. "Dad always told me, 'Don't ask anyone to do anything you are not willing to do yourself.' For example, if it is a dangerous job or dirty and if they see me doing it, it means something to them," Sandidge says.
The second is, know your people and be able to talk with them. For example, Sandidge and Fry meet with the staff every morning, have dinners with them at the farm, and visit with them whenever possible about performance or personal problems. When there is a problem like divorce that can affect an employee's performance, Sandidge makes himself available for talking and may shift the amount of responsibility the person has until he or she is able to handle it.
Their third management principle is to treat people the way they would want to be treated. That includes complimenting people when they do a good job and providing them with responsibility, training and opportunity for growth. But, at the same time, Sandidge says, one of the worst things you can do is to promote employees beyond their capabilities and have them struggle and feel like they are failing. "So you have to recognize where a person wants to be," he says.
Sandidge also believes in letting employees make decisions. For example, his sow complex manager decides what kind of artificial insemination equipment to use. "He knows what is working and what isn't and is going to make a much better decision than I am on that issue as long as he is able to quantify the results," he says.
Sandidge thinks a lot of personnel management is common sense. "It is just bringing it up to a conscious level so that you pay attention to it and be reminded of what is important," he says.
Hire a "bench person."
For those situations where an employee does leave, Maas recommends that employers with eight or more employees have a "bench person" on staff. This is someone who rotates through a lot of different positions until there is a full-time opening.
Having a bench person ensures the work gets done in the event an employee leaves unexpectedly. It also gives you the luxury of selecting someone you really want rather than hiring someone fast just to fill the position.
"The biggest issue when an employee leaves is that the employer has no one to draw from and they are forced into hiring to fill the bill," Maas says. "A bench person lets you avoid that."
Need help?
Ag recruiters can help you find and keep qualified help.
As Midwest farms continue to get bigger and more complex in their operations, more farmers are turning to employment recruiters to help them find qualified help.
"I used to work with co-ops less than $10 million," says Steve Rice, director of agricultural placement at Agri-Tech Personnel. "Now a lot of farmers are that big. The sheer size of the business is causing some to need us."
Recruitment firms can preselect and prescreen candidates according to your requirements from a database of qualified people. They also can test for commitment and provide contractual agreements to guarantee employment for a certain length of time.
Once candidates are hired, recruitment firms can help with performance evaluations to measure satisfaction. Cost is usually based on a percent of the new hire's first-year salary. Here are just a few of the firms that can help you in your search:
Agra Placements Ltd.
(one of five Midwest offices)
2200 N. Kickapoo
Suite 2
Lincoln, IL
AgriCareers Inc.
(one of two offices in Iowa)
Highway 92 West
Massena, IA 50853
Agri-Tech Personnel Inc.
4444 N. Belleview
Suite 209
Kansas City, MO 64116
Hansen Agri-Placement
2608 Old Fair Rd.
Box 1172
Grand Island, NE 68802


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subset: commoncrawl


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One of these days, Janet Yellen will step up and say something so alarming (like the premature death of the money printers) that the market will crumble like the house of cards many purport it to be. But if Monday's equity giddyap was any indication, that day isn't likely today.
Stocks adore her, like only the inanimate play-toys of the wealthy can. That won't change, unless her hawkish side surfaces. For now, it's pretty clear that Yellen doesn't want to be the one to cause the record to scratch when she enters the party.
Not yet, anyway. This is still her honeymoon period.
And make no mistake, it's still a lampshade-on-the-head , YOLO bull party. The Investors Intelligence poll is leaning dangerously into over confident territory these days, with more than 60% of the 100 or so newsletters showing a bull reading. In fact, it's reached those levels in five of the past six weeks.
Before this stretch, the last time we saw these levels was late last year -- and then you'd have to go back to 2007, right before the financial crisis.
"Like most polls, this has a contrarian nature to it." says Ryan Detrick in a post on the See It Market blog. "Meaning once everyone goes too far in one direction, that could be a signal a major change in trend is near."
The number of bears in the recent week fell to 15.2%. Going back to 1970, that number has dropped below the 16% level 144 other times, Detrick wrote. The average return is in the red, and the market has only managed a positive showing 37% of the time, in the year following that reading. Bears might be an increasingly rare breed, but that ones that are still around are just as vocal as ever.
"'Buy now, buy more, or miss out' seems to be the only theme for stock-market investors," says Profit Confidential's Michael Lombardi, who pointed out that 88 companies were listed on the stock market in the second quarter, a 42% pop from a year ago and the highest level since 2000. "Investors are paying top dollars for the new issues … sometimes regardless of their ability to be profitable. Sound familiar?"
It does. As does this burst of gloom from reliable Marc Faber.
And finally, this bearish refrain from David Stockman.
"Financial markets have now become dangerous casinos in which speculative bubbles are guaranteed to build to dangerous extremes as the central bank driven financial inflation gathers force," he said. "That's where we are now. Again."
No signs of a bubble-pop yet. Again.
Key market gauges: After dipping earlier, stocks look like they'll build on yesterday's strong showing, with futures on the Dow and the S&P rising after some cheering bank earnings. Gold is perking up ever so slightly after the prior session's beatdown. Asia kept the green theme alive with broad gains, while Europe is dancing in the red after downbeat ZEW data.
The quote of the day: "The major lesson I learned is that pioneers catch the arrows in the back." -- Ron Bernstein, co-founder of Intrade, in a chat with MoneyBeat.
The economy: A pretty meaty day of data is upon us. The biggie is the testimony from Janet Yellen at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, but before that, we'll get retail sales for June and the NY Fed Empire manufacturing survey for July.
Earnings: After Citigroup got things started for the banking sector Monday, investors are now chewing over J.P. Morgan Chase . Better-than-expected earnings are sending shares higher in premarket. Goldman Sachs shares were also up after earnings beat.
Intel is also on deck with its update later this afternoon. Here's what to expect from the chipmaker's results. Yahoo reports, as well, and it needs to show some proof that it has really turned the corner.
The buzz: After much chatter, this one is finally confirmed, but Lorillard investors don't seem thrilled by news that Reynolds will buy its fellow cigarette maker in a $27.4 billion deal including debt.
More M&A, this time it's chemical. Abermarle is buying Rockwood Holdings in a $6.2 billion cash-and-stock deal. Not much reaction so far.
Apollo shares are going to get hit hard this morning after the company disclosed that the U.S. Education Dept. plans a review of federal financial aid programs at the company's University of Phoenix.
The big airplane boondoggle is underway this week outside of London, and you can expect to hear a steady flow of news, like this $1.1 billion deal inked between aluminum giant Alcoa and United Technology yesterday.
Morgan Stanley is bullish on the iWatch. And Apple shares are still benefiting from the love, if just a little bit. As if Google Glass isn't bad enough. Who would really want to wear one of these things?
Microsoft is reportedly planning its biggest round of job cuts in five years. Part of the Nokia integration. The software maker is also working on some kind of virtual guide dog, but that's less likely to move the stock.
The chart of the day: A few years ago, a Princeton prof and a renowned psychologist found that income of $75,000 a year is the threshold for daily happiness. Below that, the average American is less happy, while more money doesn't increase one's emotional well-being. Doug Short ran with the idea with this chart using the cost of living in each state to determine what the happiness threshold is. For what it's worth, I could be happy in Hawaii on a lot less than $122,175 a year.
The call of the day: The Fly is still probably angry at us for running a story about a convict stockpicker. He didn't mince words when he double-barrel tweeted his disapproval.This one was a bit more PG-rated than the other:
But we won't let that stop us from using him for our call du jour. "Whole Foods is probably my no-brainer trade of the year, heading into Turkey day," he wrote. "This is a premier brand tarnished and dragged through the mud as if they were selling cocaine on the side." The Fly added that, among many other things, the company is a prime target for activist shareholders and private equity guys.
Random reads: Laura and George make the cover of Architectural Digest.
The beauty of the World Cup exits, and the ugliness of FIFA returns.
You're doing it wrong. Here's how to properly rehabilitate the swastika.
These dreamy, sorta NSFW images are actually oil paintings.
Dick Vitale LOVES Lionel Richie, baby!
Think this market is risky? Check out this crazy video montage:
Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your e-mail box. Be sure to check the Need to Know item. The e-mailed version will be sent out at about 8:45 a.m. Eastern.


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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- The charred and mutilated body of a man found on the bank of a lagoon in the northern city of San Pedro Sula is that of a missing journalist, Honduran authorities confirmed Wednesday.
Investigators identified Anibal Barrow's body through dental records and other forensic tests, Honduras' top prosecutor Roberto Ramirez said.
Ramirez said he wouldn't discuss possible motives in the slaying to avoid harming the investigation.
The 62-year-old journalist had a popular daily morning news show called "Anibal and Nothing More" on Globo television in San Pedro Sula.
The body was found Tuesday in a shallow pit on the bank of the Siboney lagoon, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of San Pedro Sula. Buried nearby was a bank book and a credit card with Barrow's name, along with clothing and a belt that resembled what he was wearing the day he was kidnapped.
National police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla said Barrow's body had been beheaded and the arms legs cut off before it was set ablaze.
Bonilla said four people have been detained in the killing and that there were 10 suspects in the case altogether, including a minor.
"All of them directly participated in Barrow's killing," Bonilla said.
Local media reported that one suspect was being treated as a witness after leading police to the body, but Bonilla wouldn't comment on that.
Heavily armed men kidnapped Barrow on June 24 while he was driving in his truck. Three of his family members were also taken, but were quickly released unharmed.
Authorities discovered a bullet hole and traces of blood in his truck when it was found days later.
Barrow's slaying has highlighted the unsafe conditions Honduran journalists work in and the impunity that reigns in the Central American country.
Manuel Antonio Alcantara, a television reporter in the capital of Tegucigalpa, said his son often begs him to switch professions. Alcantara said he tries to keep a low profile and rarely leaves the house when he's not working.
"There is fear," he said. "What happened to Anibal and his family today could happen to one of us tomorrow."
Alcantara said his colleagues often discuss the risks of their work, but still continue to share information.
Hedy Quintero, a television reporter for 10 years, said he takes a different route to work each day to throw off potential attackers.
The killing of a sports intern at his TV station last year in one of many unsolved crimes make journalists feel they are unsafe no matter what kind of stories they cover, Quintero said. "There is fear, but you know you have to overcome it," he said.
Honduras' Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio Lopez said the violence against reporters represents a threat to everyone living and working in Honduras, one of the world's most dangerous countries. But he said the murders haven't stopped reporters from doing their jobs.
"There is freedom of the press here," Custodio Lopez said.
Associated Press writer Cristina Silva in Tegucigalpa contributed to this report.


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A transcript of Raiders coach Dennis Allen with the media following practice Monday:
Allen: Tracy Porter, another one of those nagging camp injuries wasn't able to finish practice today. We'll see where he's at once we get a chance to evaluate him. Woodson had the day off. We were able to get a couple of guys back, Sio Moore and D.J. Hayden back out at practice today. It's the grind of camp. These guys are trying to push through and to battle through. We have to continue to work on our consistency. We're not where we need to be yet but at least the guys are out here working.
Q: What is the plan for Hayden?
A: He won't play this week. He should be cleared for contact on really Friday is actually when he should be cleared for contact. We'll re-evaluate with the doctors after that. The plan going forward I would anticipate is he would be up and going with the Chicago game.
Q: With all the injuries on the defensive front, is it a nice luxury to have Woodson and Branch on the back end?
Allen: Obviously we've had some injuries up front but I feel overall I feel pretty good about where we're at defensively. I think we're much improved in the secondary and I think that's going to allow us to do some different things defensively where we can be a little bit more multiple.
Q: Christo and McGee?
Allen: They still have a lot of improvement to do. But it was good for those guys to get in, get a lot of reps. My anticipation is they will get a lot reps again this week against New Orleans. I think that the more work that they get the better they are going to be.
Q: Thoughts on the development of defensive end Jack Crawford?
Allen: He's in the same boat with those guys. Second-year player that really didn't get an opportunity to play much in the preseason last year, didn't get an opportunity to play much during the regular season. These preseason games are valuable to a lot of guys like that.
Q: Do you anticipate Sims and Walker as guys who play every most of the time or do you plan to rotate?
Allen: Obviously we haven't had a lot of time with them so it's been kind of hard to evaluate them. My anticipation is they would be the starters and that they would see significant action. But I think always with the defensive line the key is to be able to roll through guys and keep them all fresh.
Q: What have you seen from Crawford from development standpoint?
Allen: I think he's improving and right now we're trying to figure out exactly what that role will be for him as a first and second down end, can he give us something inside as far as pass rush is concerned. That's something that we're trying to evaluate as we go through this preseason.
Q: Your thoughts on the Saints?
Allen: Obviously it will be a great challenge for us. I think getting a chance to play a team like that, that is the explosive offense that they are will be a great challenge for us defensively to go up against them and try to get a little bit of a benchmark of where we're at.
Q: Only got one punt from King against Dallas, what have you seen from him in terms of improving his consistency?
Allen: I've improvement. I've seen his consistency get better. I think that's a good battle. I think that's a good competition between him and Kluwe. Marquette is a guy who's working extremely hard. He's gotten better. The consistency with him as far as the punts, as far as the get off times, the little details are the things we're still hoping to see him continue to improve. I think the last week or so I've seen a lot of improvement out of him. I think it's a nice competition we have.
Q: Jeron Mastrud getting work with first in some packages, what are his strengths?
Allen: I think he brings us a pretty good presence as an in-line blocker. That's one of the things we want to look at with him. I've been pleased overall with the tight end position. We have a lot of talented guys. We're going to keep mixing those guys in and out and let them continue to work and let that thing shake out as the preseason goes on.
Q: What are the strengths of safety Usama Young?
Allen: Number one you can never have enough depth. I've been with Usama so I know exactly what I'm getting out of him. I think he's actually he's improved from the time that I had him there in New Orleans. I'm glad we have him and he'll have a role for us this year.
Q: Do you expect Woodson's leadership to rub off on Tyvon Branch?
Allen: Yeah absolutely. Number one let's make no mistake about it Charles is here to play football and make plays for us first. He's shown that he still has the ability to do that. Obviously it's an added bonus to have a guy like that who has that veteran leadership. I think he's been a good presence for our defense, he's been a good presence for our room, for our entire team. I'm looking forward to seeing him out there on Sunday and making some plays.
Q: Do you have concerns about the pass rush?
Allen: We have to continue to improve. It's not where it needs to be yet. That's why we're in training camp. These guys will have a chance to continue to improve and continue to show what they can do as we go through the rest of these preseason games. We still have three preseason games left to play so there's still a long time before we have to open up for the opening game against Indianapolis.


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After three years of restoration and repair, Hotel Santa Teresa , formerly the Guimaraes Fazenda, reopens its doors, in the heart of the historical and cultural Rio de Janeiro.
Hotel Santa Teresa has now been included in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler Hot List Hotels 2009. A very refined " tropical design", inspired by Brazil colonial, african and indigenian roots, arts and cultures. Natural materials, tropical woods like Canela, Imbuia, Peroba, Ypês, burnt ciments on the floors, line painted walls, golden and dark natural slates, coconut, banana or bacaba fibers, have been used in the design project to offer a unique travel into the brazilian soul from a contemporary sight. On each individual or social space of the hotel Santa Teresa, furniture and art have been created for the hotel by Brazilian artists and designers such as Sérgio Rodriguez, Rock Lane, Carassas, Oficina de Agosto, or even Zemog. Hotel Santa Teresa has 40 personalized spacious rooms and suites, between 30 and 120 square meters, most with balconies and panoramic views over the Rio de Janeiro Bay, the Teresopolis Mountains and the Christ Redeemer.
On the patios and gardens, palm trees and century old Mangos, in the middle of scented jasmines, are visited daily by toucans, parrots and monkeys. Sun bathed all day long, the green slate swimming pool of Hotel Santa Teresa, just beside the Jacuzzi, is an ideal spot to enjoy the great views of the Rio de Janeiro Bay. In a sophisticated natural and zen environment, decorated with natural fibers, woods and fabrics, Le Spa by Natura was specially created for the relaxation of its customers, offering treatments from amazonian seeds, flowers and roots to balance the body, soul and mind.
The Térèze Restaurant is the newest gastronomic venue of the city of Rio de Janeiro. A restaurant offering flavors from a "cuisine du monde", headed by the Executive Chef Damien Montecer, responsible for the most renowned restaurants in Rio de Janeiro and a vast worldwide experience. The Lounge Bar dos Descasados is an ideal place for drinks with friends, for romantic couples and for all that toast to life.
In a sophisticated environment, decorated with natural materials such as coconut fibers and reforestation woods, LE SPA, was specially created for the relaxation of its customers offering treatments to balance the body, soul and energy. The organic architecture and design pieces from Studio Vitty offers to its visitors a mix o peace and harmony. LE SPA, in partnership with the eco-Amazonian brand NATURA, has developed an exclusive line of natural treatments and therapeutic massages. With four massage rooms, a steam sauna with two ambient and a large area of relaxation.
Category: Avantgarde Luxury - Learn more
Hotel Santa Teresa is located in Santa Teresa, one of the most picturesque quarters of Rio de Janeiro, with many old mansions from the 19th and 20th century, art and history museums, art and painting shops. A privileged view over the Guanabara Bay, has as its center the Guimaraes Square. With a simple access to all of Rio de Janeiro's attractions, such as the statue of Cristo Redentor Corcovado – Christ The Redeemer - (5 km), the Pan de Azucar – the Sugar Loaf - (9 km), Copacabana and Ipanema Beach (20 min drive).
Address: Rua Almirante Alexandrino, 660, 2024126 Santa Teresa, Brazil - Rio de Janeiro - Hotel Santa Teresa Rio de Janeiro Map
Description: Averaging 290sqft, the Superior room offers king or twin size beds, air conditioning, mini bar, LCD TV and wireless internet connection. Design furniture by Rock Lane and Carassas. Tropical Ypé wood floors, dark and green bathroom. City and Garden views.
Occupancy: 2 Adults
Description: Averaging 375 sqft, the Deluxe apartments offer king size or two twin beds, air conditioning, mini bar, LCD TV, wireless internet connection. Design furniture by Rock Lane and Brazilian designer Sergio Rodrigues armchairs. Burnt cement bathtubs. Some with vast outdoors verandas.
Occupancy: 2 Adults
Description: Averaging of 430 sqft and beautiful views over the mountains the Junior Suite offers a living room, king size or two twin Canopy beds, air conditioning, mini bar, LCD TV, DVD player and wireless internet connection. Separate sitting area. Best furniture by Rock Lane, Sergio Rodrigues, Carassas, arts by Zemog and Oficina de Agosto.
Occupancy: 2 Adults
Description: Averaging 640 sqft and magnificent views over the mountains, the Master Suite offers a living room, king size beds, Corian bath tub designed by Studio Vitty, air conditioning, mini bar, LCD TV, DVD player and wireless internet. Floors with rare tropical Imbuia and Canela woods. Separate sitting area. Best furniture by Rock Lane, Sergio Rodrigues, Carassas, arts by Zemog and Oficina de Agosto.
Occupancy: 2 Adults
Description: The Térèze, today recognized as one of the best restaurants in the city, offers a sofisticated and relaxing environment. Executive Chef Damien Montecer created Brazilian Contemporary Cuisine with French touch, using only local and fresh ingredients. Decorated with pieces from Rock Lane, using demolition material, a comfortable and embracing light and an amazing view over the rooftops of Santa Teresa, the Térèze offers a vast selection of wines "du monde" and the opportunity of enjoying pleasant and memorable moments surrounded by nature.
Description: The LOUNGE, Bar dos Descasados, opened under the arches of the restored slave quarters and with art pieces specially designed by ZEMOG, is an ideal place for drinks amongst friends. For the romantic couples and for all that toast to life, the most remarkable moment is the sunset view from its balcony, where one is able to drink a special caipirinha served with the best "cachaças" and a selection of wine from our cellar. Opened everyday from 12:00 till 00:00 the LOUNGE Bar dos Descsados offers light lunch options, drinks, "cachaça" tasting, appetizers and exotic snacks always in close complicity with the cult of friendship and romance!
Meeting Room Facilities: Audio/Visual Equipment, Catering, Internet Connectivity WI FI.
Type: Square
Capacity: 25 people maximum
Type: Square
Capacity: 50 people maximum


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Queens Park Rangers's first top-flight game at Loftus Road since 1996 ended with a disappointing defeat by Bolton Wanderers - and what appeared to be a serious injury for Kieron Dyer.
Last season's npower Championship winners had started brightly, summer signing DJ Campbell seeing an effort ruled out for offside, before Dyer, signed on a free transfer from West Ham, fell awkwardly and had to be carried off with a reported broken metatarsal.
Bolton took the lead on the stroke of half-time with a fine curling effort from centre-back Gary Cahill.
An own goal from Danny Gabbidon, making his debut, and Kevin Davies' deflected strike effectively had settled matters ahead of a fourth for Fabrice Muamba following a swift counter-attack with 11 minutes left.
QPR defender Clint Hill was shown a red card in stoppage time.
Some of the 15,000 home support headed for an early exit, venting their frustrations at shareholder Flavio Briatore, who could soon sell up to Lotus Formula One boss Tony Fernandes, watching from the director's box.
Things could have been so different had Campbell, who impressed for Blackpool last season, not seen his early close-range effort disallowed.
Then, on five minutes, Dyer, who has completed 90 minutes only once in his last 29 Premier League matches, stretched for a 50/50 challenge and landed awkwardly, leading to extensive treatment before the former England midfielder had to be carried off on a stretcher, his foot already in a protective boot.
Bolton, who faded badly after their FA Cup semi-final defeat last season, soon settled, with new arrivals Nigel Reo-Coker and Chris Eagles both playing well in midfield.
On the stroke of half-time, they were ahead when Eagles fed Cahill, who had stayed up from a corner.
The centre-back, a target for Arsenal, took one touch before curling a sublime effort into the top left corner.
After 56 minutes, QPR captain Adel Taarabt, who has been linked with a big-money move away during the summer, finally found some space on the edge of the Bolton area, but his shot flew wide.
Bolton, though, were 2-0 up after 68 minutes.
Davies won a free-kick when bundled over by Alejandro Faurlin just outside the area on the left.
Eagles low delivery was deflected off the wall and across the six-yard box towards the far post, where Gabbidon put the ball into his own net.
Before QPR could mount a recovery, Ivan Klasnic made it 3-0 when he drilled home via a deflected effort off Bradley Orr after a knockdown from Davies.
Warnock made a double change on 72 minutes, replacing Tommy Smith and the disappointing Taarabt with Heidar Helguson and Akos Buzsaky.
Cahill was booked for tripping Shaun Derry on the edge of the Bolton penalty area, but Buzsaky hit the free-kick into the wall, which just about summed up Rangers' afternoon.
Fabrice Muamba swept in number four after a flowing counter-attack and QPR's miserable day was compounded when Hill was shown a straight red card for pushing his head into Petrov's chest as the pair tussled on the near touchline during stoppage time.


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Federal Agency Charged Pension System Was Unfair to Employees Aged 55 and Older; Court Official Will Process and Resolve Claims
SAN JUAN, P.R. – The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) has agreed to settle a class age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the UPR discriminated against public employees age 55 and older by not allowing them to obtain pension credit because of their age.
The EEOC's suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Juan (Civil Action No. 06-1660), alleged that prior to 2001 UPR did not allow older employees to become members of pension systems. In 2001 the UPR changed its rules to allow older employees to become members, but required that employees age 55 and older pay, in addition to the employee's contribution to the retirement system, the employer's contribution as well.
"In this era of economic uncertainty, retirement security is more critical than ever" said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. "When that retirement security is undermined by practices that violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the EEOC will fight back to protect the rights of older workers, as we did in this case."
This lawsuit is related to the EEOC's lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where the EEOC alleged that the Commonwealth did not allow older employees to become members of retirement systems. The UPR agreement provides that the district court will appoint the same special master (an officer of the court) to process and resolve discrimination claims, which the EEOC estimates will be more than $200,000. Employees who make the employee contributions to their retirement systems will be eligible for a pension; if they are retired, they will receive lost benefits. Retired U.S. District Judge Hector Laffitte will be the special master.
"Not allowing older employees to participate in essential retirement plans is discriminatory," said EEOC Senior Trial Attorney Michael O'Brien. "The EEOC will vigorously enforce the law and we hope this lawsuit reminds other employers of their obligations under federal law."
Spencer H. Lewis, director of the EEOC's New York District Office, said, "Employers need to be aware of their responsibilities under the age discrimination laws and treat older employees equally."
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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Threads Versus Processes
When UNIX first came out, it only supported processes. Each copy of a program running had its own address space. Hence, it didn't share any global data. If multiple running processes wanted to communicate, they had to pass data amonst themselves. UNIX domain sockets, TCP/IP, pipes, files, and databases are all ways for processes to communicate. It may seem strange to include databases in this list, but modern Web applications still use databases as a way of sharing data between processes running on separate machines. When using TCP/IP and the like, you still have to decide what sort of protocol to use to communicate. You can either take a low-level, simple approach to passing data, or you can take a high-level approach using a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) system.
Unlike processes, multiple threads within a single process do share the same address space. Hence, they can access the same global variables. Technically speaking, threads have shared heaps, but separate stacks.
Returning to the Python Web server, which makes the most sense? Apache 1 didn't use threads. Rather, it had pools of worker processes. Apache 2, on the other hand, lets you mix-and-match processes and threads. For instance, you can configure Apache 2 to use M processes each containing N threads.
Processes are heavy. Each new Python process requires a relatively large amount of memory that can't be shared among the multiple running copies of Python. If the goal is to support 10,000 concurrent requests, clearly processes are not a good solution. (By the way, there's a great paper on the "quest" to support 10,000 simultaneous Web requests called The C10K Problem.)
As an aside, it's interesting to note that when you fork in Linux (but not in Windows), Linux works hard to use copy-on-write for the individual memory pages. Hence, forking a large process doesn't need to consume a large amount of RAM. However, due to the way Python reference counts objects, this works out a lot better in C than in Python. In Python, the two forked processes soon diverge, sharing less and less memory.
Threads aren't cheap either. On most operating systems, each thread requires its own pre-allocated, contiguous stack. The words "pre-allocated" and "contiguous" compound each other to cause a real problem if you want to support 100,000 threads. Fortunately, Stackless Python doesn't require this for its lightweight threads. In fact, Erlang supports lightweight processes that require a smaller memory allocation than most kernel thread libraries.
In thinking about threads versus processes, remember that you only need locking when you are sharing mutable data. Immutable data doesn't need locking. That's great for functional languages like Erlang that generally don't permit mutable data. It's also great for separate processes since they don't have a shared address space.
On the flip side, if you don't share anything, then you don't need locks. The need for locking will be greatly reduced if each request uses a thread that doesn't share any data with any other thread.
Native Threads Versus Green Threads
Not all threads are created equal. There are two main ways of implementing threads. Native threads are implemented by the kernel. Green threads are implemented at the interpreter or virtual machine level. Native threads are heavier because context switching at the kernel level is comparatively expensive. However, green threads can't take advantage of multiple CPUs. That is because from the kernel's perspective, the whole VM is running as a single native thread.
For a while, Sun's JVM supported both types of threads via a compiler option. For subtle reasons involving blocking I/O libraries, this was a real problem if you didn't know which you were getting. These days, the JVM always uses native threads.
Python was earlier than many of the other interpreters at the time to support native threads. However, there's a catch -- the global interpreter lock (the "GIL"). Supporting native threads in a thread-safe way is hard. This problem is compounded by the need to interface with non-thread-safe C extensions. The GIL is a lock that is used to protect all the critical sections in Python. Hence, even if you have multiple CPUs, only one thread may be doing "pythony" things at a time.
This sounds worse than it actually is. Many computationally intensive C extensions know to release the GIL before diving into heavy computation. Furthermore, all the I/O libraries know how to release the GIL before doing blocking I/O calls. Hence, it's possible to use multiple Python threads that are each doing blocking I/O. Hence, Python threads are a viable alternative for a Python Web server.
However, Python threads are terrible for multi-CPU concurrency if you are CPU-bound on Python code. If you have four CPUs, and you're trying to do some heavy data crunching using Python code, Python threads won't help. Three of the four CPUs will spend most of their time blocked, waiting to acquire the GIL. In this situation, pools of Python processes are a better approach. To learn more about the GIL, see Threading the Global Interpreter Lock.


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Guttering Repairs in Marple
Searching for guttering repairs in Marple, look no further! GutteringRepairs.com can find the right tradesman for your guttering problem fast. Whether you're searching for residential guttering repairs, concrete gutter repair or commercial gutter cleaning services in Marple we can help. Please phone one of our friendly team members or send us a message through the contact form below for a fast and sufficient free service designed around all your local guttering needs.


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As the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination nears, in 2013, two out of three Americans still believe Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in murdering the president. Judyth Vary Baker, a onetime Florida housewife and mother of five now living "in exile" in the Netherlands, has her own version of the story, starting from her torrid love affair with Oswald in the summer of 1963.
Conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination range from the mysterious (shots from the grassy knoll) to the disturbing (LBJ fornicating with JFK's neck wound). Baker goes them all one better in Me & Lee: How I Came to Know, Love and Lose Lee Harvey Oswald (Eugene-based publisher TrineDay, 624 pages, $24.95). She says she shagged the Dealey Plaza gunman while the pair was in New Orleans secretly developing a cancer-causing bioweapon to assassinate Fidel Castro.
Skeptical minds will dismiss Baker, as author Vincent Bugliosi did in his exhaustive 2007 book, Reclaiming History. But readers who appreciate a good hoax will find her story a doozy—a fabulist concoction that falls somewhere in the shadow between the vaguely plausible and the remotely provable.
She takes it slow at first, recounting her years as a high-school whiz kid whose cancer research with lab mice wins science fairs and an internship. Soon the plucky Florida teenager is crashing a national cancer conference, rubbing elbows with top cancer scientists and being offered college scholarships.
Baker's achievements may sound embellished, but they're at least partly corroborated by local newspaper clippings, yearbook photos and letters, which are reprinted in the book. Then, her tone subtly shifts. As a newly engaged college student, she meets Oswald by chance in a New Orleans post office, and Baker begins recalling detailed conversations she had with a total stranger almost 50 years ago as the two embark on a summer of love and weird science.
The newspaper clippings give way to generic photos of Oswald (who she says was framed) and alleged co-conspirators like Carlos Marcello, Jack Ruby and David Ferrie. But, tellingly, none of the photos depicts Baker with any of these men or her new lover, Oswald.
This, ultimately, is the wrecking ball that demolishes Baker's fantasy world: Me & Lee produces no photos, no love letters, no credible proof whatever that Baker, as her book claims, ever knew, loved or lost Lee Harvey Oswald. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just a patsy.
GO: Judyth Vary Baker speaks in Room C120 of the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., on Monday, Nov. 12. 7:30 pm. Free.


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When Robin Applewhite and Samantha Rivard were arrested for trafficking a woman for prostitution in a Jacksonville hotel this past Sunday, the women of Pearl Ministry in New Bern were not surprised.
When Robin Applewhite and Samantha Rivard were arrested for trafficking a woman for prostitution in a Jacksonville hotel this past Sunday, the women of Pearl Ministry in New Bern were not surprised.
�North Carolina is number 10 in sex trafficking in the United States,� said Heather French, director of intervention and prayer, citing the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking (NCCAHT). �Some sources put us at number eight.�
Pearl Ministry is a new ministry in New Bern � founded by its executive director, Sarah Tellis, in May 2012, but it is growing, its influence reaching into such states as Georgia, Colorado and South Carolina, and speaking engagements for director Tellis have her turning up in Europe � she has visited London and is currently in Greece.
�I would say (that trafficking in the New Bern area) is a very strong possibility,� Kathy Clark, director of operations, said.
The real numbers for just how large the problem is in Eastern North Carolina are not known, French noted, because the crime is notoriously under-reported. But there is circumstantial evidence that the problem exists locally, and cases where it has occurred.
French noted an intervention in Havelock earlier this year in which a woman was nearly lured into such a situation before intervention from churches and Pearl stopped it. Clark added that one website was found with a local phone number offering sex for sale. �You could go on the site and order any girl you wanted,� she said.
In Fayetteville, in 2009, Antoinette Davis was arrested after she sold her five-year-old daughter as a sex slave. The child was murdered.
Trafficking often takes the form of prostitution, but it can also turn up in the form of slave labor. Among the businesses where it can be found, Clark said, are nail salons, house servants and agriculture. Trafficking takes place in rural as well as urban areas, because of the ease of hiding crimes.
�When you live in the country with no neighbors,� French pointed out, �who�s going to know what�s going on?�
Eastern North Carolina is an ideal location for the crime to thrive, French said. She noted the easy access for trafficking via interstate highways 95 and 40, as well as Morehead City�s port. The existence of so many military bases, she says, provides both a market and further opportunities for exploitation. The presence in this area of refugees also presents opportunities to traffickers, who prey heavily upon them.
Traffickers, French said, prey on the vulnerable. �You�re talking about meeting the needs of people who are seeking a job, trying to help their families � girls who are looking for adventure or who are runaways or rebelling against their parents.�
Others include women who are seeking new adventures or access into the country, and who are thus enticed in.
Statistically, French said, 70 percent of women caught up in sex trafficking come from foster care; upwards of 95 percent went through sexual abuse as children. Those in foster programs are left to their own devices when they turn 18, she said, and are not as likely to be missed if they disappear.
Ninety-five percent of women in trafficking suffered sexual abuse as children, French said, and the average age of girls sent into the sex trade is 12 to 14 years old.
French said, �In China, children are actually groomed for trafficking in orphanages.� When they �age out� � that is, are sent out of the orphanages � they are just 14. Pearl has set up adoptions of these girls in America. �We consider that an intervention,� French said, �because we know what would happen to them on the streets.�
Other than this and financial donations to other organizations, Pearl is not currently organized to do direct counseling or intervention.
�The foundation of this ministry is prayer,� Clark said. �Praying for the abolishment of sex trafficking. Also in raising awareness.�
French said the ministry is trying to slowly grow in a direction where it can offer direct intervention, but that it will take help and cooperation city-wide, from police and medical to attorneys and government to achieve.


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ITS Lunch & Learn - LiveWhale: February 1, 2013
January 22, 2013
Have lunch and learn about LiveWhale 1.44, the latest version of LiveWhale CMS. It's being launched in February and is geared toward web providers as well as anyone interested in learning how the CMS works. Lunch will be served and water will be provided as a healthy start to the new year! Please bring your own cup or alternate drink.
Open to all faculty and staff
Friday, February 1, 2013
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Gittis 214


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This contemporary pendant chandelier features a designer glass font in our exclusive Vanilla Metallic color.More Details >
Add personality and a punch of designer color to your home decor with this stunning contemporary pendant chandelier from the Color + Plus™ lighting collection. The design features an exclusive Vanilla Metallic designer color font with small metal flakes that sparkle luxuriously - like a new car in the sunlight! Brushed nickel finish accents enliven the white drum shade above. The fixture is equipped with an acrylic diffuser inside the shade to help eliminate glare and help provide an even light output. Includes extra cable and cord for a versatile hanging height.


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A new study has identified the recent emergence of a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella that has a high level resistance to ciprofloxacin, a common treatment for severe Salmonella infections. The study, led by François-Xavier Weill, MD, and Simon Le Hello, PharmD, at the Pasteur Institute in France, is published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases and is now available online.
Salmonella infection represents a major public health problem worldwide. An estimated 1.7 million such infections occur in North America each year. More than 1.6 million cases were reported between 1999 and 2008 in 27 European countries. Although most Salmonella infections produce only mild gastroenteritis, elderly and immunocompromised patients are especially at risk for life-threatening infections. These cases are typically treated with antimicrobials called fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin.
Dr. Weill and colleagues studied information from national surveillance systems in France, England and Wales, Denmark, and the United States. The data showed that a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, known as S. Kentucky, infected 489 patients in France, England and Wales, and Denmark between 2000 and 2008. In addition, researchers reported that the first infections were acquired mainly in Egypt between 2002 and 2005, while since 2006 the infections have also been acquired in various parts of Africa and the Middle East. The absence of reported international travel in approximately10 percent of the patients suggests that infections may have also occurred in Europe through consumption of contaminated imported foods or through secondary contaminations.
In this study, multidrug-resistant S. Kentucky was isolated from chickens and turkeys from Ethiopia, Morocco, and Nigeria, suggesting that poultry is an important agent for infection. The common use of fluoroquinolones in chicken and turkey production in Nigeria and Morocco may have contributed to this rapid spread.
This study highlights the importance of public health surveillance in a global food system. According to Dr. Le Hello, "We hope that this publication might stir awareness among national and international health, food, and agricultural authorities so that they take the necessary measures to control and stop the dissemination of this strain before it spreads globally, as did another multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, Typhimurium DT104, starting in the 1990s." The investigators from the Pasteur Institute and its international network, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S., the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom, and the Statens Serum Institute and Technical University of Denmark reported that they will continue to monitor this multidrug-resistant strain as well as help strengthen the capacities of national and regional laboratories in the surveillance of Salmonella and other major foodborne pathogens through the World Health Organization Global Foodborne Infections Network.
Craig Hedberg, PhD, from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, noted in an accompanying editorial that the ability to integrate public health surveillance is limited by differences in national surveillance systems. The study by Dr. Le Hello and colleagues reported that the percentage of Salmonella isolates submitted from clinical laboratories to national health reference laboratories ranged from 65 percent in France to 99 percent in Denmark. "Given the medical costs and public health impact associated with the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms," Dr. Hedberg noted, "the potential benefits of such a system should far outweigh its costs."
Fast facts:
- This study found that a multidrug-resistant strain of Salmonella, known as S. Kentucky, infected 489 patients in France, England and Wales, and Denmark between 2000 and 2008.
- Poultry appears to be a major vehicle for spreading these infections.
- International public health surveillance systems are needed to limit the spread of such multidrug-resistant organisms.
International Spread of an Epidemic Population of Salmonella enterica Serotype Kentucky ST198 Resistant to Ciprofloxacin
Challenges and Opportunities to Identifying and Controlling the International Spread of Salmonella
Founded in 1904, The Journal of Infectious Diseases is the premier publication in the Western Hemisphere for original research on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases; on the microbes that cause them; and on disorders of host immune mechanisms. Articles in JID include research results from microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, and related disciplines. It is published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Based in Arlington, Va., IDSA is a professional society representing more than 9,000 physicians and scientists who specialize in infectious diseases.


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Intestinal Malrotation and Volvulus in Children
What is intestinal malrotation in children?
Intestinal malrotation is a birth defect. It happens when your baby's intestinal tract doesn't form as it should during pregnancy. Malrotation happens when your baby's intestine doesn't turn like it should.
This can cause a problem called a volvulus after you baby is born. In this condition, your baby's intestine gets twisted. This can cause an intestinal blockage. It also cuts of blood flow to the intestine. This can damage your baby's intestine.
Most children with this condition have symptoms within the first year of life. Some people who have malrotation go their whole life without having any symptoms and are never diagnosed. Other people may not have symptoms until adolescence or adulthood.
What causes a malrotation or volvulus in a child?
Malrotation happens in the early stages of pregnancy when your baby's intestines don't form the right away. Healthcare providers don't know why this happens.
A volvulus is caused by the malrotation. It causes the small intestine to twist around the superior mesenteric artery. Not everyone who is born with a malrotation will develop a volvulus.
Which children are at risk for a malrotation?
Malrotation happens equally in boys and girls. But more boys have symptoms by the first month of life than girls.
Babies with other health issues have a greater risk of having a malrotation. These problems include diaphragmatic hernia, omphalocele, and duodenal atresia.
What are the symptoms of malrotation and volvulus in a child?
Symptoms can happen a bit differently in each child. They can include:
- Vomiting green digestive fluid (bile)
- Drawing up the legs
- Stomach pain
- Swollen belly
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Rectal bleeding
- Failure to thrive
- Fast heart rate
- Fast breathing
- Bloody stools
The symptoms of malrotation may look like other health problems. Your child's healthcare provider must diagnose him or her with this condition.
How are a malrotation and volvulus diagnosed in a child?
Your child's healthcare provider will ask about your child's health history. He or she will also give your child an exam.
Your child may also need tests that show pictures of the inside of his or her body (imaging studies). These tests will show the position of your child's intestine, and whether it's twisted or blocked.
Blood tests
Your child may have blood tests to check electrolytes.
Stool guaiac
Your child may have a test to look for blood in stool samples.
CT scan
A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body. This test will show your child's bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more detailed than general X-rays.
Abdominal X-ray
This test can show if your child has intestinal blockages.
Barium swallow/ upper GI test
This test looks at the organs in the upper part of your child's digestive system. For this test, your child will swallow barium. This is a metallic liquid that coats the inside of his or her organs. This helps them show up on an X-ray better. Then your child's healthcare provider will take an X-ray of these organs. It can show an abnormal location for the small intestine, blockages, and other problems.
Barium enema
This test looks at the large intestine. The healthcare provider will put barium into your child's rectum as an enema. The provider will take X-rays of the belly. This can show that your child's large intestine isn't where it should be.
Flexible sigmoidoscopy
This test is done to check for volvulus. It looks at the lower part of your child's gastrointestinal (GI) tract, rectum, and colon.
How are a malrotation and volvulus treated in a child?
Treatment will depend on your child's symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.
A volvulus is a life-threatening problem. This is because the intestine can die when it's twisted and doesn't have enough blood supply.
Your child may need IV (intravenous) fluids to prevent dehydration. He or she may also need antibiotic medicine to prevent an infection. Your child may also need an NG (nasogastric) tube. This tube may be guided from your child's nose, through the throat and esophagus, to the stomach. This can keep gas from building up.
A child with a volvulus needs surgery as soon as possible. Your child's surgeon will untwist the intestine. He or she will also check it for damage. Your child's intestine will turn pink after it's unwound and circulation comes back.
If your child's intestine is healthy, it will be put back into your child's belly. This will move the location of your child's appendix. This can make it hard for healthcare providers to diagnose appendix problems in the future. Because of this risk, your child's appendix will also likely be taken out at this time.
If your child's healthcare provider isn't sure about the blood supply to the intestine, your child's intestine may be untwisted and put back into your child's belly. Your child will have another surgery 24 to 48 hours later. If the intestine has been damaged, the injured section will be removed.
If the injured section of intestine is large, a big part of the intestine may be taken out. In this case, your child will need a colostomy for his or her digestive system to work as it should.
In a colostomy, the two healthy ends of intestine are brought through openings in the belly. Stool will pass through the opening (stoma) and then into a collection bag. The colostomy may be temporary or permanent. This depends on the amount of intestine that was removed.
What are the possible complications of a malrotation or volvulus in a child?
Volvulus can cause a blockage in your child's intestine. This can keep food from being digested well. This can also cause blood supply to the twisted part of the intestine to be cut off. This can lead to the death of that part of the intestine.
Malrotation can also cause Ladd's bands. These form between the cecum and the intestinal wall. This can also form a blockage and keep food from being digested.
A child can become dehydrated quickly when an intestinal blockage happens.
How can I help my child live with a malrotation?
Most children who have a volvulus fixed with surgery often have no long-term problems if there wasn't any intestinal damage.
Children with intestinal injury who had the damaged part removed may have long-term problems. Taking out a large part of the intestine can affect digestion. This can keep your child from getting enough foods and liquids. You should offer your child food and liquids often to make sure he or she is getting enough nutrients.
Key points about malrotation and volvulus in children
- Malrotation happens when the intestine doesn't turn like it should. A volvulus happens when the intestine becomes twisted. This causes an intestinal blockage.
- The most common symptoms are vomiting bile, stomach pain, diarrhea or constipation, and bloody stools.
- A volvulus is considered a life-threatening problem. This is because the intestine can die when it's twisted and doesn't have enough blood supply.
- If your child has a volvulus, he or she will likely have surgery as soon as possible to prevent damage.
- Most children who have a volvulus fixed with surgery often have no long-term problems if there wasn't any intestinal damage.
Next steps
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your child's healthcare provider:
- Know the reason for the visit and what you want to happen.
- Before your visit, write down questions you want answered.
- At the visit, write down the name of a new diagnosis, and any new medicines, treatments, or tests. Also write down any new instructions your provider gives you for your child.
- Know why a new medicine or treatment is prescribed and how it will help your child. Also know what the side effects are.
- Ask if your child's condition can be treated in other ways.
- Know why a test or procedure is recommended and what the results could mean.
- Know what to expect if your child does not take the medicine or have the test or procedure.
- If your child has a follow-up appointment, write down the date, time, and purpose for that visit.
- Know how you can contact your child's provider after office hours. This is important if your child becomes ill and you have questions or need advice.
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274Baby shower food ideas for girl


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argus is a network flow monitor that is used to establish network activity audits, that are then used to supplement traditional IDS based network security. These sites use contemporary IDS technology like snort and/or Bro to generate events and alarms, and then use the Argus network audit data to provide context for those alarms to decide if the alarms are real problems. In many DIY efforts, snort, Bro and argus run on the same high performance device. The audit data that Argus generates is great for network forensics, non-repudiation, network asset and service inventory, behavioral baselining of server and client relationships, detecting very slow scans, and supporting Zero day events. The network transaction audit data that Argus generates has also been used for a wide range of other tasks including Network Billing and Accounting, Operations Management and Performance Analysis.
Argus uses libpcap and it has been ported to virtually every Unix platform, OpenWRT and on Win32 using Cygwin.


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Painter Lost Job Due to Complaints About Racism, Federal Agency Charged
DETROIT – Atsalis Brothers Painting Company, a Warren, Mich.-based painting company which does business in several states, will pay $65,000 to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that Atsalis unlawfully retaliated against an employee for objecting to race discrimination.
In its lawsuit filed in 2011, the EEOC said that Atsalis retaliated against Rodney Trice, a journeyman painter, who complained about the use of the "N-word" by his foreman, by not bringing him back to work for the 2008 work season. (EEOC v. Atsalis Bros. Painting Co., Civil Action No. 11-cv-11296).
Race discrimination and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The approval of the consent decree by Judge Victoria A. Roberts brings a formal end to the litigation between the EEOC and Atsalis. In addition to paying $65,000 to Trice, the decree requires the company to provide ongoing anti-discrimination training to all of the company's officers, managers, supervisors and human resources personnel; create a new anti-discrimination policy; institute new procedures for handling discrimination complaints; and file reports with the EEOC regarding compliance with the decree's requirements.
"The right of an employee to object to discriminatory conduct without fear of being punished by his employer is fundamental to ensuring equal employment opportunity," said EEOC Trial Attorney Dale Price. "Employers should encourage such objection, not penalize it."
In addition to Price, EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Kenneth Bird and Regional Attorney Laurie Young led the government's litigation.
The EEOC's Detroit Field Office is responsible for processing charges, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Michigan and part of Northwestern Ohio. The
EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.


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Last week, as the markets were overflowing with cherries, I committed one of my habitual acts. I purchased way too many cherries, more than two people could possible consume in a reasonable amount of time. I committed another one of my other habitual acts as well, [click to continue…]
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Another major long-term sports deal just got inked, and television's grim reapers — the tech platforms — failed to deal a death blow to the TV ecosystem.
Fox said Thursday it has a new deal to extend its two-decade-long relationship with Major League Baseball by another seven years. Variety reports suggest Fox is paying $5.1 billion, which translates to a 30 percent rise over the previous deal.
Facebook acquired streaming rights for 25 weekday MLB games and Amazon acquired non-exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football, but tech players have not yet stepped up to write the big checks for exclusive rights.
Fox will win some additional streaming and social media rights in addition to its current TV license, but it appears that Amazon and any other tech platforms failed to swoop in and take MLB away from broadcast TV.
Patrick Crakes, a former senior vice president of programming at Fox Sports who is now a sports consultant, said: "If MLB thought a digital partner was viable/worth the risk they would not have agreed to the extensions. Truth is there's a lot of risk for leagues, teams and conferences in partnering with platforms."
MLB, which also has deals with ESPN and Turner, did however create something of a new digital window. Moments after the news of the new Fox deal broke, John Skipper's new venture, DAZN, shared news that it's creating a new live show hosting coverage of highlights of ongoing games. It's being described as akin to NFL's "Red Zone" offering, which breaks into important moments in live games. Skipper, a former president of ESPN, is looking to grow DAZN into a new subscription sports venture, financed by billionaire Len Blavatnik.
Meanwhile Fox's tab for sports is ballooning.
* MLB $5.1 billion from 2021-2028
* NFL Thursday Night Football $3 billion from 2018-2022
* WWE $1 billion from 2019-2023
What could be next? Disney's RSNs and perhaps Nascar?
Today, we announced the launch of our new partnership between @DAZN_USA and @MLB. Starting April 2019, we'll produce a daily live look-in show where we bring fans every key play, every weeknight, from all 30 teams. Excited to get started! pic.twitter.com/0MUIYnEaXI— John Skipper (@JohnSkipper) November 15, 2018


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The service is aimed at those websites which are indexed by search engines but for which you would like to improve the text which the search engines publish like the title or the description.
You will be given some captivating meta tags created by professional web copywriters capable of creating titles and descriptions which include also the reference keywords: this way you will obtain texts which are easy to read, capable of attracting attention and improving the visibility of a website in the search result.
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Header Panel at 1A Auto
What is a header panel and where is it located?
The header panel, also known as the headlight mounting panel, is a frame at the front of your vehicle, above the bumper, that the headlights and grille mount to. This large frame, usually made of sheet metal, fiberglass, or plastic, holds your lights and grille in place. Since it's hidden behind your grille, you probably don't think much of it, and frankly you probably won't have to unless you get into a front end collision.
How do I know if my header panel needs to be replaced?
A fender bender is the primary reason you would want to consider a replacement header panel. Any collision that damages your front end might damage your header panel assembly. That can put your lights and grille out of alignment. You'll probably want to get your headlights pointing the right direction before you start driving again. So, you'll have to get a new header panel.
Can I replace a header panel myself?
Header panel replacement can be time consuming, but it is not complicated. There are several steps that go into replacing a header panel, but none is especially difficult. With a bit of time and effort you should be able to pull off the job.
You'll have to remove the grille and any lights that are mounted to the header panel. Depending on your model, you may need to remove the bumper, the battery, the windshield fluid reservoir, or other nearby parts before you can take out the header panel. To remove the header panel itself, remove the series of bolts that hold it in and pull the panel off. Then you can put the new mounting panel in place and bolt it on. Be sure to reinstall the lights, grille, and any other parts you removed. Check that your lights are aligned correctly to make sure the panel was installed correctly.
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Christine Brennan highlights all the big stories and names to know before the Olympics.
BOSTON — Mirai Nagasu's eyes were already puffy and red when she took the ice. As fans began to applaud, the crowd gradually rising to its feet, the tears started falling again.
There is no makeup artist good enough, no costume pretty enough, that can disguise a broken heart.
Skating has been the focus of Nagasu's entire young life, she and her family making financial and personal sacrifices too many to count. To come close and not make a second Olympic team would be devastation enough.
To do everything right, to skate well and be passed over for someone who did not, that's a wound that won't easily — if ever — heal.
BRENNAN: Wagner faces the music of expectations
EDMUNDS: 15-year-old follows path of idol Lipinski
"I'm disappointed in the decision," Nagasu said in a statement through U.S. Figure Skating. "Though I may not agree with it, I have to respect the decision the federation made."
In the hours after U.S. Figure Skating's decision was announced Sunday, there were rumors Nagasu might appeal, lent credence when it was revealed that she'd consulted with the USFS athlete rep about the selection process for the Olympic team.
Never mind that an appeal would have been a fruitless effort, the selection procedures both specific and vague enough that Nagasu never would have had a case. Yes, she'd finished ahead of Ashley Wagner at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. And yes, she was the only top American with Olympic experience, finishing fourth at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
But sport has no room for nostalgia, no matter how sympathetic the figure may be.
MEN: Abbott and Brown finish 1-2 to claim Olympic spots
INTERVIEW: One-on-one with U.S. legend Michelle Kwan
In reality, Nagasu's chances of making it to Sochi ended a season or two ago. There's no question she's a spectacular talent, one of the rare skaters able to blend art and athletics without the seams showing. But she is equally inconsistent, as likely to finish in the middle of the pack as she is to win a gold medal.
Her only argument for making the team ahead of Wagner was her surprise finish at nationals. Impressive as that might be, it's no comparison to the international résumé Wagner has put together over the last few years. Back-to-back medals at the Grand Prix final and top-five finishes at the last two world championships, the most recent of which helped get the Americans the Olympic spot in question.
But that doesn't lessen the hurt any.
As the day wore on and Nagasu refused to respond to messages from longtime friends, some wondered if she'd even show up for Sunday night's gala. Yet when it came her time to perform, there she was, baring her soul and sorrow for all to see.
Maybe she felt she owed it to the fans who have always adored her, saying in her statement she was "grateful to everyone who has supported me." Maybe she felt she didn't have a choice.
Or maybe she simply did it for herself. As the years pass and the pain fades, she'll remember she stood tall when she had every reason to break.
Follow Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.


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Robert, Earl of Grantham and Cora, Countess of Grantham
Played by: Hugh Bonneville (pictured) and Elizabeth McGovern Where we left off: Bummed he's not allowed to fight in World War I, Robert busies himself with fretting about loved ones fighting on the front and, um, lusting over a new housemaid. Cora balks at turning Downton into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, but eventually yields. Later, she almost dies from the flu. Yeah, Season 2 was rough. What to expect: Money troubles immediately plague Robert, who turns to Matthew for help but isn't exactly welcoming to changes in financial handling. Meanwhile, Cora's opinionated mom (guest star Shirley MacLaine) visits to attend Matthew and Mary's wedding/trade bon mots with the Dowager Countess.
Carnival Film & Television Limited for Masterpiece
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text: The last decade has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of tests of variations of fundamental couplings and mass scales in space and time. Currently, a large number of the astrophysical, cosmological, space-based and laboratory-based tests are being conducted. Should any of such tests give a non-zero result, they would also suggest a dynamical nature for the dark energy in the Universe, which makes them highly relevant for the on-going effort in cosmology to measure the dynamical properties of dark energy. The workshop aims to bring together atomic and nuclear physics experimentalists and theorists working on the implementation of such tests, and theoretical particle physicists and cosmologists working on creating consistent models that can account for changing couplings.


text: /* * Copyright (c) 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. * * @APPLE_LICENSE_HEADER_START@ * * The contents of this file constitute Original Code as defined in and * are subject to the Apple Public Source License Version 1.1 (the * "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the * License. Please obtain a copy of the License at * http://www.apple.com/publicsource and read it before using this file. * * This Original Code and all software distributed under the License are * distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER * EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND APPLE HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, * INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. Please see the * License for the specific language governing rights and limitations * under the License. * * @APPLE_LICENSE_HEADER_END@ */ /* Sym8xxSRB.h created by russb2 on Sat 30-May-1998 */ /* * The SRB is the main per-request data structure used by the driver. * * It contains an embedded Nexus structure which is used as a per-request * communication area between the script and the driver. */ typedef struct SRB SRB; struct SRB { SRB *srbPhys; IOSCSIParallelCommand *scsiCommand; UInt32 srbCDBFlags; IOReturn srbReturnCode; SCSIAdapterStatus srbAdapterStatus; UInt8 srbSCSIStatus; UInt8 srbMsgResid; UInt8 srbMsgLength; UInt8 target; UInt8 lun; UInt8 tag; UInt8 negotiateSDTRComplete; UInt8 negotiateWDTRComplete; UInt32 directionMask; IOMemoryDescriptor *xferDesc; UInt32 xferOffset; UInt32 xferOffsetPrev; UInt32 xferCount; UInt32 xferDone; Nexus nexus; IOMemoryDescriptor * srbIOMD; };


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Holding the Line
American Protestantism split in two during the 1920s and has not been the same since. In denominational controversies, especially among Presbyterians and Baptists, and in courtroom debates over teaching evolution in public schools, the once unified front of mainline Protestantism …Read More
The Cult of Personality
Religious liberty is one aspect of American life that almost every citizen of the United States cherishes. Common is the pastoral prayer in any Protestant congregation that includes gratitude for the liberties that Christians enjoy, which permits them to worship …Read More
The Reformation of Worship
At the time of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, the worship of the Reformed churches was easily distinguished from that of its nemesis Rome, and it was distinguished from its Protestant alternatives, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. The twentieth-century Anglican …Read More
J. Gresham Machen: The Politically Incorrect Fundamentalist
One of the lesser-known aspects of J. Gresham Machen's (1881–1937) brilliant and stormy career was his nomination in 1926 to be Princeton Seminary's professor of apologetics. Since 1906, Machen had taught New Testament at Princeton and distinguished himself …Read More
D.G. Hart
D.G. Hart is director of honors programs and faculty development at the INtercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Delaware.


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25 new outtakes in celebration of Rob's 25th birthday from RPLife and Setje of pattinsonlife
More yummy outtakes after the JUMP!
More yummy outtakes after the JUMP!
This blog is in no way affiliated with Rob, Kristen, Stephenie Meyer, or their management. All photos and media are copyrighted to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended.


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Information for Navigators and Assistors
Through the Affordable Care Act, more Americans have access to health care. We know you are working tirelessly with people who may be eligible for health insurance for the first time and need help in selecting the right plan.
At United Healthcare, we're pleased to serve more than 40 million Americans. We look forward to assisting you as you help your clients make their health insurance selection.


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When Mem and Larry Halstead want to see their friends, the hop in an RV, drive 1,000 miles from Virginia to Thibodaux, don gloves and help build a house.
When Mem and Larry Halstead want to see their friends, the hop in an RV, drive 1,000 miles from Virginia to Thibodaux, don gloves and help build a house.
The Halsteads are what Habitat for Humanity have dubbed Care-A-Vanners who trek around the country helping build homes as they travel.
"We've made so many friends doing this now," Mem said.
They were in Thibodaux over the past two weeks working on a St. Charles Street home and catching up with three couples they've built with in the past.
"Its kind of like a big family that we don't get to see during the year," Mem said.
The Halsteads spend part of the year escaping the winter weather while travelling. They coordinate builds with their caravanning friends via email.
"We called them as soon as we saw this build (online)," Mem said.
On the most recent Thibodaux build, the Halsteads were accompanied by two couples from New York and another from Georgia. They've worked with them all on multiple builds in the past.
"We have been doing this for years," said Jeff Rothwell of Marietta, Ga. "Each time we get together we get a chance to catch up and talk about family and what has been happening."
This most recent build has been going on for two weeks. The team helped install the roof, fix some warped paneling, installed hurricane clips and were putting windows in on the last day.
"The satisfaction is knowing there will be a family that is way better off than before," said Larry, a retired mechanical engineer.
But it isn't all work for the travelers.
"Every afternoon we have a little happy hour where we might sip some wine or a beer and enjoy each others' company," Larry said. "It's a fellowship time for us, and we get to get out of the snow."
The crew said they enjoy eating out and the local restaurants at night. They also took in some local culture on a swamp tour and went to Houma's St. Patrick's Day parade.
It is their third build in Thibodaux.
"We love it," Mem said. "The people are so friendly, and they treat us so well."
Rothwell said the trip provides both socialization and satisfaction.
"Once you are retired you lose some of that social interaction from your job," Rothwell said. "You also want to give back, and this gives us an opportunity to help people, not just be a tourist."


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A teenage boy fatally shot two adults and three children inside a home in Albuquerque, NM, police say.
Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman Aaron Williamson said that investigators found several guns at the home, one of which was a "semi-automatic military-style rifle," according to the AP.
The boy has been booked on two charges of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death, according to authorities.
The victims were a man, a woman, two girls and a boy, and they had all suffered several gunshot wounds, police say.
Their names and ages have not been released and authorities have not yet determined a motive. It's also unclear whether the victims were related.
More to come as more information becomes available...


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The Sheraton chaise is an impeccable example of truly memorable, opulent traditional design. Your living room will be the height of dignified fashions with beautiful fabric upholstery and traditional carved details. Every line of the living room boasts old world elegance from the hand carved designs to the button-tufted upholstery. Includes accenting toss pillows.
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Model: Sheraton
UPC: 638037698640Measurements:
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Located in Trenton, NJ Meridian is one of the major importers of traditional and modern furnishings to US. They are widely know for classical designs and quality craftmanship.
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The state of the gas is defined by its temperature and by the ionic level populations. As a practical matter, we maintain the distinction between the total abundance of a given ion relative to its parent element (the ion fraction or fractional abundance) and the relative populations of the various bound levels of that ion (level populations), although such distinctions are somewhat arbitrary given the presence of transitions linking non-adjacent ion stages and excited levels of adjacent ions.
Calculation of level populations proceeds in 2 steps. First, a calculation of ion fractions is performed using total ionization and recombination rates into and out of each ion analogous to those used in XSTAR v.1 (KM82). Then we eliminate ions with abundance less than a fixed fraction relative to hydrogen from further consideration. Experimentation has shown that (as parameterized by the input parameter critf) yields gas temperatures within 1 of those calculated using a larger set of ions for most situations when the density is low. This criterion leads to ion sets which can include up to 10 stages for heavy elements such as iron and nickel. We also make sure that the selected ions are all adjacent. i.e. we force the inclusion of ions which fall below our threshold if they are bracketed by ions which satisfy the abundance crterion.
The second step consists of solving the full kinetic equation matrix linking the various levels of the ions selected in step 1. We include all processes in the database which link the bound levels of any ion in our selected set with any other level, and also including the bare nucleus as the continuum level for the hydrogenic ion, if indicated. This results in a matrix with dimensionality which may be as large as 2400. The equations may be written schematically as for each level. In place of the equation for the ground level of the most abundant ion we solve the number conservation constraint.
We include collisional and radiative bound-bound transitions (with continuum photoexcitation), collisional ionization, photoionization and recombination for all the levels of every ion for which the required atomic rate data is available. The effects of line scattering in all transitions are accounted for by taking into account the fact that line scattering reduces the net decay rate by repeated absorption and reemission of the line photon. An analogous procedure is used for free-bound (recombination) transitions.


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A VARIETY OF EVANGELICAL PEACEMAKING efforts have sprung up in recent years, from the Two Futures Project, which seeks a world without nuclear weapons, to the World Evangelical Alliance's Peace and Reconciliation Initiative, which seeks to redress the fact that "in our zeal for evangelism, we have often overlooked the biblical mandate to pursue peace."
This fall, evangelicals from a range of viewpoints gathered at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., exploring what a distinctive evangelical contribution to peacemaking might look like. The essays below, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the first Evangelicals for Peace conference, a "summit on Christian moral responsibility in the 21st century." Organizers hope to publish a book with the entire collection of talks.—The Editors
'All the Easy Jobs Have Been Done'
Standing on a rich tradition of peace and transformation
by Geoff Tunnicliffe
WHY IS PEACEMAKING an important topic for evangelicals? As a global community of 600 million Christians, our churches are confronted daily with the impact of illegal weapons. Our hospitals treat the victims of violence. Our church leaders counsel the traumatized. All forms of conflict negatively impact our development programs. Our aid agencies seek to care for and rehabilitate child soldiers. Our inner-city communities are confronted with the outcomes of gang warfare.
For all of us who say we are followers of Jesus, as we observe or experience the brokenness of our world, it should break our hearts. If we feel the pain so deeply, I can't imagine what our loving God feels. The One who is called the Prince of Peace. The One who laid down his life, so that we could be reconciled to God and each other.