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Following its 2-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee announced that it lowered the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to the target range of 2% - 2.25% in a widely expected decision. Jerome Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, is scheduled to deliver his comments on the monetary policy in a press conference at 18:30 GMT.
With the initial reaction, the US Dollar Index gained traction and rose to its highest level since May 23 at 98.32.
"In light of the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation pressures, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate to 2 to 2-1/4 percent."
"As the Committee contemplates the future path of the target range for the federal funds rate, it will continue to monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion, with a strong labor market and inflation near its symmetric 2 percent objective."
"In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its maximum employment objective and its symmetric 2 percent inflation objective."
Source : FXstreet


text: 7 Cleaver English Lesson Plan, 7 Year Old Images - That is a program of the u.S. Department of nation, administered via the college of oregon. Mooc shaping the manner we educate english. Copyright 2015 college of oregon. All rights reserved. Phase 1 lesson plan template page 1. Strategies / timing: use the table below. Department of kingdom. How can you provide possibilities for college students to talk to each other. . Processes / timing: list step by step what you may do in magnificence. Try and divide the steps logically. 10 minutes encourage the students to copy the new vocabulary board stage (supply the written form) listen and repeat. Students do/say . 2 minutes. Brainstorm ideas and set up their personal choices of their mother tongue. Mirrored image. Copyright 2015 university of oregon.E. 5 mins that is an/a… apples are inexperienced bananas are yellow cherries are pink grapes are pink oranges are orange this is a program of the u. Mooc shaping the manner we teach english. Your lesson have to be approximately forty-60 minutes lengthy. Consider to do segment f. As an example with organization or pair paintings? Ensure which you include the use of actual materials/realia and pair/group work correctly. Place actual end result on a desk in front of the scholars.S. . Display a video 1 (apples are yummy) to introduce the topic. . Watch and concentrate repeat as the instructor names the fruits and colorations. 2 minute. In which the trainer actions to a one of a kind interest. At the lowest of the page. 2 mins. . Approximate time needed play the hangman recreation to introduce a hidden phrase (end result) bring together in a circle and begin calling out letters of the alphabet to find out what the hidden word is. Make sure the time this is allotted is appropriate. Trainer does/says . And what you anticipate the students to do. The reader needs with the intention to visualize how the lesson will proceed. Section 1 lesson plan template web page 2 . Administered by means of the university of oregon. Pay attention and watch the video. All rights reserved. 3 minutes invite some students to return come to the front. Every new motion by way of the instructor may be a separate row in the table when you have sufficient rows. Begin quick dialogue about fruit preferences.

subset: commoncrawl


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Source: Deep Learning on Medium
Every decision made by neurons, and networks — as a whole — , is stored in MongoDB. Decisions are timestamped pairs of inputs and outputs of neurons and networks. One could pick a previous decision made by a network, correct it, and use the new input and expected value pair to retrain the network. This effectively allows one to train neural networks retroactively.


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OCEAN Team History
During the post-war period, another experienced captain, Mr. Luigi Cattaruzza, once terminated his work onboard, decided to found the navigation company Ocean S.r.l., which started operating cabotage services between ports of the Adriatic Sea. The activity developed up to establishing a traffic line between the Mediterranean Sea and West Africa. At present, Ocean operates in Mediterranean Sea both through its branch maritime agencies and by directly manning navigation units for harbour services (towage,ships bunkering, barge chartering).
By founding the OSA (50% Ocean and 50% Offshore Supply Association from Bremen), Ocean S.r.l. succeeded in transferring to the Mediterranean Sea the know-how the German partner had acquired during its long-year experience in the management of over 1000 AHT and AHTS in the seas worldwide, including the waters of Newfoundland, Greenland, the Magellan's Straits, Arctic and Antarctic Sea.
In the same period, Ocean established a joint-service with the Hapag Lloyd from Hamburg for the transportation of offshore units by means of flat top barges and the management of the heavy-lift service with its ships "Storm", "Storman Asia" and "Storm 3".
At present, the core business of the group is represented by the towage service in the Ports of Trieste, Monfalcone, Porto Nogaro and Koper (Slovenia) and Bar (Montenegro) carried out by its fleet of tugboats, equipped to face any kind of requirement.


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Focus My Friends!
|Posted on May 1, 2016 at 8:00 AM
It's a new day and I'm so excited to be a part of it! How about you? Thank God for new Mercies and his Grace that is with me on this day.
I just want to encourage you today to stay focused on YOUR goals and dreams. We are living in a time when so much is going on and there are so many distractions that you can easily get off track. It takes dedication, prayer and perseverance to accomplish your goals. You also need to be mindful of your association. Study people and find out their purpose in your life. Some are around you just to pull from you and will never be able to pour back into you. You will need to ask your self, is this someone who God has assigned to me or is this person on assignment from the enemy to distract me from reaching my destiny and operating in purpose?
If you haven't, write down your vision, your goals or what you desire to do in life. Make a vision board and gradually mark things off your list as you accomplish them. Most importantly be prayerful, consistent and alert. Don't get distracted to where you lose your goals and dreams messing with people that has nothing to do with your purpose. Life is too short so please focus my friends!!
Be Blessed!
Rita J. Taylor
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text: Italy - The new Ferrari 488 Pista was put through its paces by a very special test-driver - Valentino Rossi. The Moto GP champion, who finished third in the 2018 Qatar GP, dropped by Maranello to test drive the twin-turbo V8 488 Pista at the Fiorano track.Most powerful Ferrari V8Ferrari said: "The Ferrari 488 Pista is powered by the most powerful V8 engine in the Maranello marque's history and is the company's special series sports car with the highest level yet of technological transfer from racing. In fact the name, meaning 'track' in Italian, was chosen specifically to testify to Ferrari's unparalleled heritage in motor sports."Valentino Rossi drives the Ferrari 488 Pista:Check out the Ferrari 488 Pista in action:


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He looks GREAT in that harness and they are both doing well in the video!
We have been hotter than normal down here this time over year except for two days recently but that's over already. Usually the cool blast comes a week at a time.
Tayamni watched your video and is thinking about it. She gave her lip licking yawn reaction - which means she's debating. She's a thinker.
I wonder if she was thinking "Does that look like fun?" or "where is the white stuff?"


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6401 NE 10th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97211
To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas. - Dogen Zenji
During the deep stillness and quiet of winter, as the Earth lays dark and fallow, residential training at Great Vow adopts a lighter, more spacious schedule. The Winter Practice Period allows for residents to tune into their own natural rhythms in practice, giving space to explore zazen, creative process, and body practice, and to study on one's own.
Residents will be asked to choose a creative medium to work in through the Winter Practice Period. Classes, Dharma Readings and teachings will help support and encourage a deep and thorough-going investigation of the theme. The term will culminate with a community sharing of our art.
This is also the time of year where the schedule is more flexible and open - a great opportunity to intensify or explore personal 24-hour-a-day practice, in the context of the monastic schedule.
A rough outline of the schedule Wednesday - Saturday can be found below.
5:20 Wake-up
6:00 Zazen
6:50 Service
7:30 Temple Cleaning
8:00 Breakfast (Oryoki)
9:30 Work Period
12:30 Service
12:45 Lunch (Informal)
2:30 Work Period
4:00 Creative Process
5:20 Service
5:30 Dinner (Informal)
8:00 Zazen
9:20 Closing Chant
10:00 Closing Rounds
For more information about residential training and to obtain an application, contact the Director of Training email@example.com
The initial cost for residential training is $500 per month. The training fee covers room, meals, monthly sesshin, and most other retreats and workshops. Scholarships are sometimes available; please inquire.


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A hardware firewall (image: Flickr user jackthegag)
IT for Donuts is our regular Friday feature where we explain a tech term or answer a question about business IT.
This week: if you've ever looked into securing your business IT, you'll probably have been told that you need a firewall. But what is a firewall?
What is a firewall?
You can think of a firewall as a security guard for your computer.
It contantly monitors your computer's network connection, checking all the information entering or leaving your computer. A firewall is designed to spot any data or connections that could indicate problems. For instance:
- A hacker on the internet trying to break into your computer
- A dodgy website trying to install malicious software onto your computer
- A piece of malware on your computer attempting to send data over the internet
When a firewall discovers a potential problem, it will usually block the dangerous connection.
Depending on how your firewall is set up, it might also pop up a message on your computer to let you know.
Hardware firewalls
There are two main types of firewall:
- A software firewall is a program that runs on your computer at all times. It monitors your computer's network connection in the background, while you get on with work.
- A hardware firewall is a physical device (see photo) that does the same job. Usually, a hardware firewall sits between your business network and the internet.
It's a good idea for most businesses to have a software firewall running on each computer, plus a single hardware firewall between the company network and the outside world:
How to get a firewall
Most computer operating systems — including Microsoft Windows and Mac OS — come with a built-in firewall. These provide good basic protection to individual computers in your business.
More advanced software firewalls are available as part of security suites. Companies like McAfee, Kaspersky and Panda all offer firewalls with extra flexibility. These can be useful if your business uses specialist applications that tend to get blocked by built-in firewalls.
Once you've sorted your software firewalls, it's a good idea to have a hardware firewall too.
If you connect to the internet via a broadband router that was supplied by your internet service provider, you may find this has a hardware firewall built in.
Alternatively, you can purchase a new router that includes a firewall, or buy a standalone hardware firewall. Either way, get one that offers 'stateful protection', because this provides stronger protection to your network.
More information about IT security:
- Introduction to security and anti-virus software
- How to choose security and anti-virus software
- Most small businesses have had a security breach. Have you?


text: Article directories grant another space where a subscriber might obtain a back-link, gratis publicity and possibly some free traffic. Several such directories have espouse returns sharing, which signifies that content giver acquire a slice of the proceeds. Choosing an agency begins with the development of quality selection criteria. Although some elements are common to both SEO and SEM, PPC advertising is much easier to implement and can achieve immediate results, usually in the form of getting visitors to see your website in a matter of minutes. User experience factors that improve mobile sites are related to better SEO rankings; external links continue to decline in importance


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Who gets to hang out with a FUN hardworking family, and have the freedom to go to the beach on their lunch hour? YOU DO!! Discover a unique area where stunning view of the Chesapeake Bay, the James River, and the moss-hung oaks of the Great Dismal Swamp add a relaxing rhythm to your life.
We are looking for full-time, creative and upbeat veterinarians to join 2018 & 2019's Best Animal Hospital in Virginia Beach (and quite possibly the world). Plus, we are offering pathways to ownership to the right candidate.
Abbey Animal Hospital is located in the heart of Virginia Beach, situated between the beautiful historic Williamsburg, and the pristine beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks. A recent complete hospital remodel has given us an over 6,000 square foot, state of the art facility, kick ass surgical and dental suites, a spacious lobby to accommodate the more than 14,000 patients we see annually and an expansive treatment area that gives us ample space to work with several patients at the same time.
Our busy, fact paced practice sees nearly all companion pets, including avians and exotics, in a low stress handling environment. With our spacious, state of the art hospital and highly trained support staff, the only thing missing is YOU!
Are you up for challenge? Ready to actually have a chance at ownership without going into massive debt?? Contact us via email or call us at 757-471-1003
WARNING: Your peers in the #CorporateNoRoomToGrowGrind will want this opportunity to be in a private practice with ownership shares on the table. IF you want this spot, you better reach out quickly.
390 Amwell Road
Suite 402
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Cape May, New Jersey


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Tour this state-of-the-art distillery and taste five-time award winning Stateside Urbancraft Vodka in the new Stateside Vodka Bar
Customer Reviews
What You'll Get
Choose from Three Options
- $10.50 for distillery tour for two ($20 value)
- $22 for distillery tour for four ($40 value)
- $43 for distillery tour for eight ($80 value)
The Fine Print
Promotional value expires 120 days after purchase. Amount paid never expires. Must provide 21+ ID to receive alcoholic beverages. No alcohol is discounted with this offer. Not valid on Sundays. Limit 1 per person, may buy 1 additional as gift(s). May be repurchased every 30 days. Limit 1 per visit. Valid only for option purchased. Merchant is solely responsible for all sales and delivery of alcohol. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
About Stateside Vodka Bar
When Matt and Bryan Quigley installed their first still in a forgotten corner of their parents' basement, they didn't know where it would take them. But in the few years since, the brothers have traveled the country—and the world—refining their skills until they were able to open their own, full-scale distillery. These neighborhood boys now manufacture Stateside Urbancraft vodka, the spirit of choice at Federal Distilling, a sipping room attached to their distilling operation. Read on to learn more about their uniquely American operation:
- Federal Distilling was founded in 2013
- Stateside Urbancraft Vodka is the flagship product produced by Federal Distilling
- 7x Distilled and made from GMO free Missouri corn
- Aerated and finished with a unique blend of electrolytes
- Stateside Vodka has won 5 awards in 2016 alone


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Kathua, Unnao rape case: DCW chief's indefinite hunger strike enters day 2
DCW chief Swati Maliwal went on an indefinite hunger strike on Friday to demand swift capital punishment for child rapists.
New Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal continued her hunger strike for the second day on Saturday demanding the government take concrete actions to curb sexual crimes against women.
The hunger strike by Maliwal comes in wake of the recent incidents of rape in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. She had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday regarding the same.
"Prime minister did fast for one day. We were hoping that he will speak something on the issue and will give assurance to the countrymen to ensure safety of our daughters. But the silence of the PM and the entire government is very heart-breaking," Maliwal had said before beginning the strike.
In his first comments on the gruesome incidents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Friday called them as a "shame" for the country and asserted that the guilty will not be spared and daughters will get justice.
In Kathua, an eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Bakerwal community had gone missing from near her house on January 10 and a week later, her body was found in the same area.
In the Unnao case, a 17-year-old girl has alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence on June 4, 2017.


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July 9, 2020
Previous Posts
Washington Wire: Final Tax Bill Passes Congress
Final Tax Bill Passes Congress
In a major lobbying victory for One Voice, on December 20, 2017, the House and Senate sent to the President for his signature a bill to significantly change the U.S. tax code for the first time in over 30 years. Thanks to the efforts of One Voice members, who for many years sought lower rates and stronger investment provisions, this is a major change not seen in decades.
While no stakeholders secured everything they wanted, policymakers heard our calls to create a code that incentivizes domestic manufacturing. Small and medium-sized manufacturers who invest heavily in equipment in particular stand to benefit from many of the bill's provisions. Although disappointed that State and Local Tax deductions are not treated more fairly in the final bill and many provisions are temporary, this legislation remains a landmark step for One Voice members, who have made it clear that tax reform is a top priority.
Key provisions in the bill include:
- Corporate rate of 21%, effective January 1, 2018
- Top individual rate of 37%, with 20% deduction for business earnings of pass-throughs
- No corporate alternative minimum tax
- Full 100% business expensing for five years
- Section 179 Equipment Expensing at $1 million
- Business interest deductibility up to 30% of modified income
- Maintains R&D tax credit
- Doubles Estate Tax exemption to $11 million per individual, $22m per couple
- Keeps current Section 127 employer education assistance
- Repatriation of 15% rate for cash and 8% rate for earnings reinvested in hard assets, with an 8-year window to pay the tax
While we will continue to fight and advocate for additional improvements moving forward, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is an important and historic step in the right direction.
EPA Sued Over Omitting Nonattainment Findings; Will Seek Replacement of CPP
On December 19, a judge ruled the EPA has until January 12, 2018 to determine whether each county in the country is in attainment of the lower pollution standards. In the first full week of December, fourteen attorney generals sued EPA for not disclosing its Ground Level Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQs) findings by October 1, as required by statute. The suit wants EPA to designate the areas of the United States not in compliance with the Obama-era rule. In early November, EPA published a partial report, listing the 85% of counties in the United States in compliance/attainment and leaving out the 15% remaining counties in nonattainment. At the time, the agency stated it would list the nonattainment counties "in a separate future action." As mentioned in a previous Washington Wire, "this leaves a number of counties with hundreds of One Voice members still in limbo including Cuyahoga in Ohio, Cook in Illinois, several in Pennsylvania and virtually all of California where only six of fifty-eight counties achieved attainment status."
In addition, on Monday, December 18, the EPA announced it is seeking formal public input on ways to replace the Obama Clean Power Plan (CPP). By the EPA's own admission at the time, the CPP, which the Supreme Court has put on hold, would increase the price of electricity annually by 6-20%. This comes as a relief to One Voice member companies who had been voicing concerns that, while they supported removing the CPP, they were nevertheless apprehensive of being exposed to future litigation without the shield of a replacement rule. Sources expect the agency to issue a more business friendly proposed replacement rule by the end of the coming summer.
House Committee Finishes Markups on PROSPER Act
House Committee Finishes Markups on PROSPER Act Late in the evening of December 12, the House Education and Workforce Committee finished markup of the "Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform Act" (PROSPER Act). The PROSPER Act represents the first attempt by Congress to reauthorize the Higher Education Act since 2008. The bill passed by party line vote of 23-17 and now moves to the House floor for consideration.
The main focus of the bill is on streamlining the student financial aid system by proposing one grant, one loan, and one work-study program with uniform repayment options for all students. Of interest to One Voice members, the bill intends to create an Apprenticeship Grants program concentrated on partnerships between businesses and institutions. It also offers Pell Grants for students who are pursuing short-term, certificate or vocational courses. Although it passed committee, the PROSPER Act still faces challenges with no Democratic support and it eliminates programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which benefit GOP constituents in rural districts. A related Senate bill is expected in early 2018.
NLRB Overturns Browning-Ferris; Seeks Comments on Ambush Elections Rule
On December 15, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled its 2015 Browning-Ferris decision by 3-2 vote. The Browning-Ferris decision extremely enlarged the definition of joint employer to include businesses that exercise "indirect control" over working conditions of another company's employees, even if they merely reserve the right to do so. This action also affected manufacturers using temporary workers. Having overturned Browning-Ferris, NLRB stated, "two or more entities will be deemed joint employers if there is proof that one entity has exercised control over essential employment terms of another entity's employees and has done so directly and immediately in a manner that is not limited and routine." In addition to overruling Browning-Ferris, NLRB also published a request for comments on whether it should change or outright revoke its representation election rule, also known as the Ambush Elections rule. Comments are due by February 12, 2018. One Voice has opposed the Ambush Election rule since its inception and will be submitting comments.
Commerce Secretary Self-Initiates Aluminum Sheet Duty Case Against China
On December 5, for the first time in over 25 years, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced self-initiated antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of common alloy aluminum sheet (common alloy sheet) from the People's Republic of China (China). Although rare, the Secretary has the authority to self-initiate AD/CVD investigations under the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. Once initiated, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has 45 days to make preliminary injury determinations to the domestic common alloy sheet industry. Assuming it finds injury to domestic industry, ITC will be scheduled to announce its preliminary CVD determination in February 2018 and its preliminary AD determination in April 2018. If you are an affected PMA or NTMA member and would like to discuss more please contact: email@example.com.


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Become a member of Guide Dogs
Become a member and help us achieve our vision
Formal Membership
By becoming a Formal Member, you'll have a stake in Guide Dogs and a say in what we do. You'll be entitled to vote at our Annual General Meeting (AGM), and will receive regular information about our work and the issues that matter to blind and partially sighted people.
Your involvement will help us to reach more people through our life-changing services, and shape our policies and campaigns so they work to make life easier for all blind and partially sighted people.
How does Membership work?
Guide Dogs is registered as a charity but also as a company limited by guarantee. Unlike private companies which have shareholders, companies limited by guarantee have Members. In the event of a shortfall in the charity's funds, this means each Member will make a 'guarantee' in the form of a contribution to our assets. This amount is currently just £1. In return, you'll be able to influence the future direction of Guide Dogs, as well as speaking and voting at our AGM.
Who can apply?
Formal Membership is open to anyone who supports our mission and values. Applications may be subject to approval by Guide Dogs' Trustees. Guide Dogs employees are unable to become formal Members.
What will it cost?
There are two types of membership: Ordinary and Life. The only difference between the two is the membership fee, which is £20 per year for Ordinary Formal Membership, or a one-off payment of £500 for Life Formal Membership.
How can I apply?
For more information on becoming a Formal Member, get in touch using the details below.
- Customer feedback and complaints
- Become a member of Guide Dogs
- Press office
- Suppliers
- Local community teams
- Email updates


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Simmons Signature Memphis Dry Rub Chicken Wings (5 lb.)
Product Details
Why We Love This
Microwave = faster. Oven = crispier. However you cook them, these dry rub wings taste authentically Memphis and like they've been slow-cooked for hours.
About this item
- Restaurant-quality dry rub chicken wings
- Fully cooked and microwavable
- Pop them into the oven to achieve a greater, crispier flavor
- Richly marinated and lightly breaded to achieve an authentic Memphis flavor
- Available for a limited time only
Deliciously marinated, lightly breaded Simmons Signature Memphis Dry Rub Chicken Wings (5 lb.) are fully cooked for you to enjoy them after simply reheating. Authentic and rich flavors make these dry rub wings a delectable appetizer for any occasion.
Simmons Signature Memphis Dry Rub Chicken Wings are microwavable for a quick, conveniently delicious meal. If you'd prefer a crispier wing, heat the dry rub wings into the oven. No matter which way you choose to cook them, these Simmons Signature Chicken Wings achieve that authentic Memphis flavor that's so well loved.
Dry Rub's Included
These Simmons Signature Memphis Dry Rub Chicken Wings come with dry rub packets. This allows you to rub your wings with the seasoning to your liking. Use as much or as little of the Memphis rub. Either way, they taste delicious.
Keep Frozen
These wings require freezing, so keep the bag in the freezer until you're ready to enjoy them.
Limited Time Only
Simmons Signature Memphis Dry Rub Chicken Wings are available for a limited time only. Stock up on the delicious dry rub wings before time runs out. These wings are top rated for a reason and you're not going to want to miss out on their authentic, rich Memphis flavor.


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Industrial output prices index drops annually by 0.9% in Q1 2018
Industrial output prices index has recorded an annual drop of 0.9% in the first three months of this year, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service, on Friday, show.
According to the data the industrial output prices index for March 2018 reached 97.4 units (base 2015=100), recording a decrease of 0.2% compared to February 2018.
For the first quarter of this year the index fell by 0.9% compared to the first quarter of 2017.
In manufacturing the index in March 2018 reached 99.2 units, recording an increase of 0.3% compared to February 2018.
The Statistical Service also notes that from now on the industrial output prices index is presented with 2015 as a new base year (instead of 2010).
It explains that the change of base year every five years is usual practice that aims at better reflecting changes in the structure of the industrial sector that had taken place over the five-year period.
Source: Cyprus News Agency


text: A fond farewell but not goodbye … Admin October 30, 2013 4th Miri, Grace Methodist Church, Youth Ministry One for the album – we love you Andy and Siew Yew! by James TC Wong OCT 30, MIRI – Last Saturday's i-Youth Fellowship Night in Grace Methodist Church was indeed a special one as the youths honored their advisors Andy Chew and his wife Siew Yew with a potbless dinner, tributes and souvenir gift. Also present were Pastor-in-charge Rev. Lisa Ting, Rev. Law Hui Seng, i-Youth helpers and well-wishers from the congregation. After serving as youth advisors for almost four years, the dedicated husband-and-wife team are relocating away from Miri. In her welcoming speech, i-Youth President Teng Li-Fung expressed her heartfelt thanks to Andy and Siew Yew for their love and dedication in their ministry. She recalled an occasion when she decided to re-join the i-Youth after receiving encouragement from Andy. "Thank you Uncle Andy and Aunty Siew Yew from the bottom of my heart," said the bubbly teenager. "Without your encouragement I would be backsliding and won't be what I am today serving our Lord Jesus." "I want to thank Aunty Siew Yew for reprimanding me when I was naughty," said youth Esther Su in her tribute to the Chews. "You are like my second family and I'm going to miss you much." From West Malaysia, the Chews accepted Christ after moving to Miri ten years ago. "It is not easy to give up our personal priorities and desires," confessed Andy once when he shared his testimony in church. But the Chews' Christ-like service to the people around them has touched many lives. As parents to three teenagers, the Chews are willing to set aside personal convenience for unselfish service. "The Disciple Class my wife and I enrolled was instrumental to my spiritual foundation," said Andy. Despite his busy job schedule, Andy was willing to sacrifice and consecrate his time and talents for the ministries in the church. He served as Captain in the 4th Miri Boys' Brigade and was also a Small Group Leader while his wife was active in the Girls' Brigade and Ladies Small Group catering mostly to the Mandarin-speaking members and friends. Whether it is in the workplace or at a social gathering, both husband and wife are always trying their best to live exemplary lives, bringing people to Christ whenever an opportunity arises. "Love people like Jesus does," Andy told the youths during the Fellowship Night. Using the acronym G-O-D, he reminded them to "love God, be Obedient and be Disciplined." Rev. Lisa Ting also praised the Chews. "Their love for the youths and their willingness to sacrifice time come from their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are really blessed to have them in our church. I pray they will continue to impact the people they meet in their new environment." A fond farewell to the Chews, but certainly not goodbye as we wish them a blessed journey ahead!


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Boy Meets World's Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel) are all grown up. They are married, have two kids and a spinoff show! Disney Channel's new hit series, Girl Meets World, follows Cory and Topanga's daughter, Riley (Rowan Blanchard), as she navigates school, friends and family, just as her parents did more than 10 years ago.
August Maturo plays Auggie Matthews, Cory and Topanga's son. He is smart, funny, and a total Mommy-and-Daddy's boy. This adorable scene-stealing 7-year-old loves to perform. He is totally comfortable in front of the camera and "never gets butterflies" because he has been acting since he was 4 years old.
Auggie (his real-life nickname) says he "was born to act" but he also loves to learn. His favorite thing to do on set is school, and he has just mastered all of the states and countries. In fact, his love of learning has already made him a published author. Auggie wrote and illustrated a book about the continents, and the experience has made him "want to publish one every year."
When he's not on set or at school, Auggie loves to paint and play with his little brother, Ocean, and cousin, Jaxon. His favorite sport is baseball, and he proudly states that he has played on three little league teams since he was 3 years old.
Auggie says he wants to keep acting until he goes to college, but he might want to be a lawyer when he grows up. Until then, he "would love to be in a movie on a big screen and even do voiceover for animation." When asked if he wanted to share anything he has learned with kids who are interested in acting, Auggie says, "it takes lots of practice, and never ever give up!"
Be sure to catch August and the rest of the cast of Girl Meets World Friday nights at 8:30 on Disney Channel!


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After a solid ten minutes into a game of 'catch the invisible ball' with a group of strangers in the forest, none of whom had said more than three words to each other, I continue to boogie along to Carista's disco set. There's a woman clad head to toe in white faux fur on my left, and a guy on my right who looks like he might be re-enacting the entirety of N*SYNC's 'Bye Bye Bye' dance sequence. Classic festival antics, if you ask me.
If Shambala and Love Supreme had a baby, I imagine it would look something like Cambridgeshire's brand-new We Out Here festival. With all the promise of a wide-ranging line-up suitable for both your great-gran and your scatty best mate, We Out Here managed to successfully pull off their debut festival drawing in a whopping 10,000 people.
Running for four consecutive days in a muddy field just a 30-minute drive from Cambridge, We Out Here attempted something almost unheard of in these foreign lands where jazz music is an unknown and alien concept. The combination of electronic and jazz coincided, however, and definitely should be taken in to account at more UK festivals. I'm picturing Boomtown being headlined by Coltrane, Creamfields by Ray Charles.
The festival itself felt like a remnant of something that once was: glamming up the skeleton of Secret Garden Party's previous years inhabiting the grounds (before shutting down some three years ago). All that remains now of its ancestor festival are the shells of each SGP stage, and a few 10-year-old NOS canisters lying about in the woods.
At the beginning of the four-day weekender, the heavens opened in true British festival fashion. Flocks of people herded under any roofed stage they could find, mimicking the sheep that were likely in this very field just two weeks earlier.
Mala & The Outlook Orchestra took to the main stage on Friday night in an enormously monumental show. Pouring rain, strobe lighting, and a dubstep orchestra playing Digital Mystikz 'Anti War Dub' could not have made for a better combination. It was the perfect melting-point between instrumental and electronic music that the weekend so desperately craved – seamlessly blending all the confused genres into something logical.
Another breakaway from your typical festival act was Charlotte Adigéry with her genre-bending set. I was mesmerised by the strangeness of it all – un-categorical music complete with brain-tingling synths and a voice that could cut a man down with the raise of an octave. She paced through a hybrid of ethereal sounds, playing her tracks 'Cursed And Cussed', and the ridiculously catchy 'Paténipat' which I could not, and I repeat could not get out of my head for the rest of the weekend.
As a dedicated Secret Garden Party veteran, I was excited to see how they would cater a little less to the ecstasy-fuelled, man-bag wearing teens that once walked these grounds, and more to the jazz-happy families with wide-eyed kids now taking over the site. We Out Here managed to find the perfect in-between. One minute, I found myself dancing with middle-aged Cambridge hippies in The Big Top (typically a jazz stage), before doing a bit of low-stepping with bucket hat-wearing teenagers at Congi's dub show.
After the first few days of *slightly* torrential rain, we were finally blessed with a bit of 20-degree sunshine meaning (if you grew up in England, at least) that it was vital to take your t-shirt off and retreat to the nearest source of water. Luckily for us, this festival had just what we needed. Several lakes were sprinkled amongst the rolling hills of the site, one of which teasing sweaty, muddy festival-goers with a very jump-off-able 10-foot pier. It would be rude not to.
As the sun came out on Saturday, so did the ridiculously awful costumes (which, if I remember rightly, used to be a Secret Garden Party tradition). Colourful feather boas, Kermit the Frog onesies, and enormous headdresses all began to make an appearance, parading the last two days in to complete weirdness. I was unsure if I'd missed the memo when spotting group after group wearing gold-themed outfits – chains on necks and metallic hammer pants around their knees. 'On Saturday's, we wear gold' doesn't have quite the same ring to it, though.
Gilles Peterson was the mastermind behind all of this magic, a man who can simultaneously play three DJ sets over four days, whilst also holding up an entire festival. As founding father of We Out Here, Peterson started the festival with his only intentions of bringing good music together. During one of his many sets across the weekend, he echoed several songs which I'd already heard from previous days and previous artists, suddenly making the festival feel a hell of a lot smaller.
Wandering in to the forest, which situated itself at the very back of the festival, two separate stages hosted completely different line-ups. The Forest, a larger and slightly more surreal area lit by neon colours and towering trees, saw huge names like Mr Scruff and Theo Parrish, both of which delivered soulful house sets late into the night. Neighbouring this was The Woodland stage, a more secluded area where rooftop treehouse bars overlooked a pop-up pub named 'The Prize Cock'. Nice one, Gilles.
On the opposite side of the festival site, smaller stages included the Brownswood tent: Peterson's very own record label, if we couldn't already get away from him, and the tiniest of them all – the Lemon Lounge: a 15-by-15-foot stage which fit no more than 40 people and a few bottles of wine. A film tent also popped up next to the peculiarly placed Ferris wheel (which ironically played some of the hardest tunes of the weekend), where a range of jazz-centred movies were screened, as well as a couple of children's films which let parents drop their kids off in exchange for a cheeky pint.
It's quite difficult to find a festival which is so completely disparate to any other at this point in time, but I think that We Out Here truly does hold its own. There aren't many other places you can watch a man holding his shoes in the air while reciting Missy Elliott lyrics, or walk 30 seconds from a chill blues set into the inescapable wrath of 160-bpm breaks. Give this festival a few years, and it might just be the next big thing. Watch this space – and watch your back Love Supreme. Gilles is coming for you.
- - -
Words: Gemma Ross


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By Aisha Iqbal Khan
It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you want to create a cheap, sensationalist headline, you just stick the word 'Muslim' in it.
Heck, we're guilty of it ourselves in this very article. So we shouldn't be too surprised that Channel 4's recent documentary 'What British Muslims Really Think' has caused the stir that it has.
Some of the claims in it were astounding, and I'm not going to go over them all again. But it was unsurprising that the bits grabbing the most attention were the findings on claims of intolerant British Muslim attitudes to homosexuality, women's equality and other seeming clashes with mainstream UK thinking.
It's not a version of everyday lived Islam that I recognise but it would seem – as far as Trevor Phillips is concerned anyway – that it's time to vanquish the bogeyman in our midst. I know he didn't quite say that, but he might as well have.
Within minutes of the programme starting, former race relations chief (oh the irony!) Mr Phillips had talked about the extreme adherents of Islam who have "created a major fault line" in the country and who are part of a "looming threat to our way of life". The opening gambit was pictures of a blown up bus in London. The stall was set early and you could see where this was going.
It was a repeat of the dangerous and irresponsible headline-hunting that has proved so divisive and counterproductive in recent years. But what did it actually achieve? After watching the documentary, I was certainly left pondering a few questions of my own.
Top of the list was: 'Why are Muslims a problem that society feels it has to solve?' Because the tone was uncompromisingly bleak, to say the least. I wasn't particularly surprised by the findings, even those that might on the surface have seemed more than a little shocking to the mainstream eye. It all depends, ultimately, on which lens you choose to view them through.
As another commentator pointed out, many of the survey answers from Muslims were to be expected from any conservative religious grouping. But no one bothered to ask other religious and non-religious groups – or indeed to ask the non-Muslim participants in the survey what they thought of Muslims. So, a 'them' and 'us' clash was set up from the outset. Surely, if we are to start using yardsticks in our anthropological endeavours, then those yardsticks must be applied equally?
Muslims and Islam are not the 'other', the 'ignoble' savage dwelling among 'us' – but you wouldn't know it from this programme. I certainly didn't recognise the picture of the average 'Muslim' that was being painted. But rather, I saw many different elements of many different Muslims who are able to hold a diversity of views and who don't agree with each other on many things.
Most of the Muslims I know don't identify in any way with the 'nation within a nation' wilful outsider being presented. But that kind of pluralistic outlook wouldn't serve the agenda and the dominant narrative. There was, disturbingly, a darkly divisive undertone to the whole hour-long broadcast.
I also kept seeing the word 'integration' popping up in the documentary – but at no point was it suggested that that integration is a two way street, or that changing demographics and new waves of immigration affect how quickly that happens – and indeed can be seen to set us back.
"The prospects for integration do not look good!" Trevor told us, another in a string of glib assertions, as if the last 60 years of post-war migration, settlement and multi-generational assimilation hadn't happened, and that the Muslims had only descended on these shores post 9/11.
The programme focused solely on a seeming growing 21st century schism in our society between Muslims and the mainstream but failed completely to try and understand or explain the root causes of it. As if the wording wasn't dramatic enough, they drew an actual physical chasm to show how truly bad things are. But no mention of the fact that integration cuts both ways, of all-white communities where the price of a house is considered to go down if a Muslim family moves in; or of parents fighting tooth and nail to NOT send their children to a state inner city school because it has a 97 percent non-white and predominantly Muslim pupil population. Or, indeed, of socio-economic conditions often allowing prejudice and bigotry to fester and grow in all parts of society. Yes, these things do happen and they are out there. No-one should know that better than a race relations expert.
The picture being painted was of an otherwise perfect, liberal, society in which these Muslim interlopers are creating schisms. As if intolerance and separatism are solely Muslim domains. I am not condoning intolerance in our Asian communities, I am well aware that there are pockets of bigotry and cultural backwardness holding us back. However I also know great strides are being made within those communities to change those attitudes.
But all this talk of the need to reassert 'our' liberal values seems to me to be based on flawed assumptions that Muslims are the ones segregating themselves off and therefore increasing the problem. That Iraq, 9/11 and global geopolitics, the war on terror, the increasing demonisation of Muslims, and the rampant rise of identity and dog whistle politics are not factors in increasingly alienating large swathes of (especially young) British Muslims.
There was also no acknowledgement that hard-line Government policy like welfare change could be feeding a wider restlessness and disillusionment – and ultimately leading to a fraught search for scapegoats. In previous decades they were brown and black. Now they have Muslim-sounding names.
There is a whole generation of UK Muslims who have had their private and public identities shaped by a post 9/11, Iraq and 7/7 world. Society seems desperate to put labels on them and then, when they react to those labels, they are re-labelled as wilful outsiders. At the same time, we have irresponsible rhetoric feeding the 'bogeyman' myth mongering.
In this context, programmes like the Channel 4 documentary sail dangerously close to propaganda, not necessarily by design but certainly by default. What is it they are actually afraid of, I found myself wondering.
Is it a fear of a cultural takeover? A fear that a growing Muslim presence – in terms of social and political influence – is filling a spiritual vacuum in wider, secular society and challenging the universal liberal agenda? That it's not Islam per se challenging the status quo, but any form of organised religion at all?
Talking of challenges, I'd like to challenge the makers of this programme to commission similar programmes focusing on what other religious (and atheist) groups, as well as people from different social classes and gender/sexuality groups, 'really think'. Because I'm pretty sure they would reveal some surprising answers too.
That's the price of a society where there is universal freedom of speech, people can hold varying views, some of them unsavoury, and we have to live with it.
And here's the key thing as far as I am concerned. What wasn't really focused on proportionately was the damning (to the programme makers) statistics that proved it is those very universal freedoms that British Muslims love most about their country.
The truth is that the vast majority of British Muslims are not trying to fix a society they think is broken – they are just trying to live their lives. They are not trying to impose halal or Sharia – they are just making the most of their universal rights. They love their country and they are not trying to change this green and pleasant land into to something unrecognisable.
But programmes like the Channel 4 documentary will inevitably feed the paranoia – and the natural human need to give our fears a face. I was reading another story a few days after the programme where a Butlin's holiday camp apologised after a (non Muslim) customer complained about the caricatured 'Muslim baddie' presented in a wrestling match, who the family crowd was encouraged to boo. On the other side of the Atlantic we have Donald Trump, much of whose success lies in that very same rhetoric and caricaturing. At the same time, crusading anti-Muslim websites are mushrooming and anti-Muslim hate speech is allowed to fester and grow on newspaper comment sections. Every time I see another keyboard warrior refer to the 'paedophile prophet' or to the 'savage' Muslims in our midst, my heart breaks a little more for our country.
Social media, meanwhile, has heightened the sense of paranoia on all sides even more, because it leaves no room at all for proportionality or nuance in our reactions. Perhaps this is where TV programme makers, newspaper publishers and politicians should focus some of their energies.
Aisha Iqbal Khan is also a staff writer with the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post.


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Almost forgot! Just to give all of you Grand Duchy of Stollen visitors a good laugh. . . Here's a photograph of yours truly and the Grand Duchess Sonja just before starting the first day of the annual Hilly Hundred over in
A few hills were quite steep and over three miles in length by the time we reached the top. The Grand Duchess was amazing and charged up each hill with reckless abandon. Unfortunately, by the end, my tired old legs gave out, and I had to walk the bike up the last few "gentle rises". As Hans and Franz might say, "Vat a little girly man!"
Still, it was great fun with lovely, cool fall weather. I also had the chance to tour the university campus where Sonja did her undergraduate degree.


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(08/13/2011, 10:32 AM)sheldonison Wrote: Henryk, Do you have a reference for showing that the base change function is infinitely differentiable? Perhaps Walker's paper?
There are two papers I know of:
Viana da Silva, M. (1988). The differentiability of the hairs of exp(Z). Proc. Am. Math. Soc., 103(4), 1179–1184.
Walker, P. L. (1991). Infinitely differentiable generalized logarithmic and exponential functions. Math. Comput., 57(196), 723–733.
I send them via e-mail to you.


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'God, give me more time!'
Inson Reasoner Chong's life could easily be a segment on CBS TV's "60 Minutes."
Born in South Korea into a Christian family, she married a U.S. soldier who was a distant cousin of Harry Reasoner, the famous "60 Minutes" broadcaster.
However, Chong's life in the United States was one of hard work, betrayal, and heartbreak—until one day, she found herself in a Salvation Army shelter in East Stroudsburg, Pa.
Chong, a quiet and unassuming 67–year–old, made the most of her time in the shelter by encouraging others.
"When I help people, I feel better," she said.
One of the residents Chong met in the women's shelter often cried, drawing Chong's sympathy. People who know Chong say that's part of her character.
A gentle soul
"I wanted to pray for her and give her a hug to make her happy," Chong said. "I don't know her or what she needs, but God does."
Cari Friend, the executive secretary at the East Stroudsburg Corps, called Chong "very compassionate."
"Inson doesn't care what you've done or where you've been. She feels like everyone deserves help and a chance," Friend said. "That's been a great lesson for me to learn.
"If you're lying in the street drunk, she will stop and pray for you or help you."
For example, a man who lived in his van refused to go to the corps shelter. As a diabetic, his restrictive diet prevented him from eating in the Salvation Army soup kitchen.
Giving spirit
Chong gave the man some money. She also walked with him to a nearby grocery store to buy him food he could eat.
During another trip to the store, a young woman asked Chong for a dollar to buy something to eat. The woman touched Chong's heart because she reminded her of her daughter, Rachel, but she could tell from the woman's eyes that she was "high."
"Young lady, you can't buy anything to eat for a dollar," Chong said.
Suspecting the woman would buy drugs or alcohol with the money, Chong took her into the store and bought a complete meal.
Chong's compassion comes from the lessons she learned from her mother and from the hungry people in Seoul.
A Christian home
"My mother volunteered all the time," Chong says. "She taught me that, if you are spiritual and a Christian, you have to do for others, no matter what."
Chong never knew her father, but her mother instilled in her Christian values. Inson accepted Christ at age 17 while attending high school. She remembers sitting on a rock in the mountains during a Bible study.
Then a dance instructor, Chong met David Reasoner, a U.S. soldier, while dancing in a social club. He pursued her during 1974 and 1975.
The couple married in 1976. After coming to the United States separately in 1977, they settled in Kansas.
Trials ahead
David had convinced Chong he was a Christian and a family man. But his alcohol and drug use eventually marred their marriage. Nonetheless, Chong stayed in the relationship.
"I think I was good wife," she said.
Chong worked two and sometimes three jobs—even while pregnant with Rachel—to support the family when her husband had trouble holding a job because of his drinking.
Chong left Kansas for California. She also lived in Virginia, New York City, and New Jersey. Five years ago, she moved to East Stroudsburg, Pa., before her husband died of cancer.
Finding a home
"She's had a rough life," says Friend. "She's always told me that it was Jesus who got her through. At night when she prayed, He was always there."
Chong initially lived with Rachel in Pennsylvania, but a chaotic atmosphere forced Chong to seek housing elsewhere.
When she came to the East Stroudsburg Corps for help, she saw a picture of Jesus on the wall. It let her know that she was in a church and a place of refuge. Even today, Chong admires the picture.
"Every time she sees it, she says, 'That's Jesus. That's my man.'" Friend said.
Chong lived in the women's shelter for four months. The residents called her "Momma" because of her tendency to be compassionate and nurturing.
A listening ear
"She would pull out her Bible and say to women who are homeless and often coming out of battered lives, 'Come pray with me; come read the Bible with me,'" Friend said.
"Inson was able to minister to these women in such a loving and compassionate and Bible–based way. This is a woman who believes in the Bible. She lives by the Bible."
A year ago, Chong found permanent housing at a nearby apartment complex. She reaches out to her neighbors with a small Bible study.
Chong walks almost 5 miles to the corps on Sunday mornings and on Tuesdays for Bible study and women's ministry.
"If she lived closer, she'd be here all the time," Friend said. "She loves the corps.
"She tells me all the time that she is the richest person in the world because she has peace and quiet for the first time in 50 years."
More work ahead
A licensed massage therapist, Chong continues to look for ways to help. She hopes to cut hair and offer manicures, pedicures, and facials for the corps seniors.
She is also looking forward to standing kettles again. Last year, Chong rang the bell 12 hours a day, six days a week.
"Bell ringing is not hard work," she said. "I see so much happiness. Even a little child puts a penny in the kettle. Why should I not?"
Chong said Christ is behind her compassionate spirit.
"He makes me love," she says. "I'm not like Him, but I try for the rest of my life. Someday I want to sit next to Jesus in heaven."
Until then, she has work to do.
"I pray 'God, give me more time,'" she said.
by Robert Mitchell


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Egyptian shoppers filled major shopping malls in Cairo on Friday, as shops and e-commerce websites announced major "Black Friday" sales this year. Shoppers at Cairo Festival City, Mall of Arabia and City Stars reported that malls were packed by midday but complained that the sales were disappointing.
Black Friday is the day that follows Thanksgiving in the United States, and usually marks the start of the Christmas season sale there. Shops open very early, sometimes overnight, and offer large discounts. In Egypt, Black Friday sales (or White Friday, as online shops call it) is a very recent phenomenon.
#بلاك_فرايداي (Black Friday in Arabic) became a trending hashtag, with thousands of social media users inquiring about sales, while others gave tips on how and where to buy online.
Media outlets reported on the long queues in malls.
Mada Masr spoke to several shoppers following the sales inside malls or online, and all of them agreed that although Black Friday sales have existed in Egypt for at least the past two years, this year it is much more popular.
The shoppers attributed a rising consumer interest in Black Friday to Egypt's economic crisis, which intensified this month following the complete flotation of the Egyptian pound and the partial lifting of energy subsidies. These economic measures were taken by the Egyptian government as a requirement to receive a US$12 billion IMF loan to deal with a severe budget deficit, low foreign direct investments and a severe currency problem.
Most shoppers expressed concern that Black Friday sales could be their last chance to buy goods at reduced prices, as they anticipate that prices will rise even higher due to the flotation. But despite the huge turnout on and offline, many shoppers complained that the sales did not meet their expectations.
"Many of the shops did not offer sales in the first place. Many of the outlets fooled the customers," said Raghda Kamal, who spoke to Mada Masr while shopping at City Stars. "A customer will choose a certain product with a certain price, only to discover when paying that the real price registered in the system is much higher. I saw many people leaving goods they intended to buy at the counter because they were fooled in this way."
Some other shops had another trick. "You see the ticket on the product claiming that the price has been reduced from LE1000 to LE600, for example. When you remove the sale ticket, you discover that the product's original price was already LE600," Kamal claimed. "It's a fake sale."
Kamal said she had heard about Black Friday sales in Egypt before, but this was the first time for her to shop them, simply because "Prices are really high, and everyone wants to have the chance during a good sale."
Ahmed Saeed bought a pair of shoes and tablet online. He told Mada Masr that he followed Black Friday sales last year, but only started to buy this year. "The economic conditions are very difficult," he explained. "People are desperate for sales."
Saeed reckons that last year's discounts reached 90 percent, while this year's discounts are 50 percent at most.
"Companies are not willing to offer good sales. The economic situation is difficult for everyone," he said, agreeing with Kamal that there were a lot of fake sales. "Before the sale, a Tefal pan was LE1850 in a major retail store. I decided to wait until Black Friday, only to find that the price online was LE2400, apparently down from LE2800."
Nirvana Atef used to buy online from the US during Black Friday sales, but due to the limits recently placed on online credit card use and the dollar crisis, she bought a phone from an Egyptian online store this year.
"Everyone is searching for a deal and thinking that this is the last chance to buy discounted stuff before inflation gets more crazy," she explained. After finishing her online shopping, Atef headed to a mall to buy a gift for her sister, only to find that the store was also "fooling" its customers. "They doubled all the prices, so I bought my sister a gift and knew I was buying it at the original price."
Marketing expert Hatem Seoudi told Mada Masr that this year witnessed a surge of online shopping in Egypt, with more brands selling their goods online. "Many brands in Egypt had no presence whatsoever on Egyptian e-commerce websites, they were only selling in stores or via other retailers," he said. "Now they've moved directly online."
With the economic crisis, the same products are being sold at wildly different prices at different places. As a result, Seoudi said, Egyptian consumers have become more aware of the need to buy at a fair price.
"People know that their purchasing power has decreased tremendously. The prices are very high and it's hitting everyone," he said, adding that he believed online stores are pushing prices down and enabling consumers to find fairer prices.
Hend Mahfouz bought an iPhone from a store near her home. The store did not announce a Black Friday sale, but Mahfouz showed the seller the price of the phone in an online Black Friday sale to negotiate a better price, and she succeeded.
"I bought an iPhone for LE13,400. It was only LE7,000 three months ago. It's all due to the flotation of the pound and the dollar crisis," she said. "It was cheaper online, but can get as high as LE15,000 in shops. So I showed the price of the phone today to the seller, and pushed him to give it to me with a fairer price."
For Mahfouz, online shops are now a parallel market offering tough rivalry to normal stores, and that can't be a bad thing.


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ABBOTTABAD: Dengue fever claimed the life of an 11-year-old girl at Kokal Barseen union council of Havelian on Thursday.
People of the union council have demanded cogent measures by the K-P government against the spread of deadly virus. The deceased child was the niece of Kokal Barseen II Nazim Tariq Awan. The representatives of the local community were perturbed over the lack of fumigation and incapacity of the authorities.
Babu Javed, a member of the local government said that when he contacted the health department for fumigation against the dengue virus in Kokal Barseen he was told: "we have no fuel for the fumigation spray vehicles."
Death toll from dengue fever has reached seven in Hazara division, Awan said. Health department has not taken any satisfactory measures to control the outbreak of deadly disease, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2017.


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The Guardian for this meeting was Bruce Mowbray, who also gave a wonderful special presentation on mantra (further below).
Eliza posted this session. :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bruce :) I still have lots of people crammed into tiny apartment...
Bruce Mowbray: Oh my!
Eliza Madrigal: but it is winding down. Son's birthday also, along with Thanksgiving
Bruce Mowbray: Are they all Pabbers?
Eliza Madrigal: hah... not.
Eliza Madrigal: we've been watching a dog show all day....
Eliza Madrigal: coordinated dog dancing
Eliza Madrigal: hilarious
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Raffi :)
Bruce Mowbray: ahh!
Eliza Madrigal: I'll be back as soon as possible... but I've got the log, for now
Bruce Mowbray: kk, np.
Raffila Millgrove: Hi
Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Raffi.
Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Tura.
Tura Brezoianu: hi all
Bruce Mowbray: I'm sort of waiting for Mick... and others.
Raffila Millgrove: Hello Tura. Hi all
Bruce Mowbray: @ Raffi -- I like to sit off the pillows, so I can move around a bit more.
Bruce Mowbray: You too?
Raffila Millgrove: yeah well i should have noticed i had no underwear Before I showed everyone the bare butt.. which luckily no one seem to notice.
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Zen.
Zen Arado: Hi everybody
Bruce Mowbray: np, raffi.
Zen Arado: with an alpha layer we show people our emptiness :)
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhh!
Raffila Millgrove: I have already broken the kitchen faucet and set fire to the turkey (for real.. flames.. ) so mooning Pab seems par for the course of today.
Bruce Mowbray: Pardon me, but your emptiness is showing.....ma'am.
Bruce Mowbray: Too much liquer on the turkey, Raffi?
Raffila Millgrove: no... problems with the paper bag.
Bruce Mowbray: ha ha!
Tura Brezoianu: say it isn't a fire, it's flambé
Bruce Mowbray: I'm waiting for Mick because he waid he'd be here... but perhaps we should get started.
Raffila Millgrove: that's how i broke the faucet trying to spray off all the charred paper from the turkey
Bruce Mowbray: Yikes!
Bruce Mowbray: Ahhhhh. The paper bag caught fire!
Raffila Millgrove: yep a first in 50 yrs of doing this.
Bruce Mowbray: WOw. This is TOO good.... sounds like a movie plot.
Raffila Millgrove: didn't know you really could set it afire. but i accomplished it.
Bruce Mowbray: Mick!!!
Bruce Mowbray: Now we can get started.
Mickorod Renard: hiyaaaaa...soz late
Zen Arado: Hi Mick
Bruce Mowbray: Heya, Mick and AGGERS!!!!
Mickorod Renard: yay guys
Agatha Macbeth: Whapp'n dudes
Zen Arado: Hi Aggers
Mickorod Renard: wahhhhhh..agers
Raffila Millgrove: Hi agatha. Hi mick.
Agatha Macbeth: You still ain't grown any hair Mick! :p
Bruce Mowbray: [my typist's bowl of pretzels just fell on the floor.]
Mickorod Renard: I keep rubbing it but it doesnt work
Agatha Macbeth: The squirrels will love em
Bruce Mowbray: Sooooo.....
Zen Arado: I shave my head in RL now
Zen Arado: shoul be bald in here too I guess
Raffila Millgrove: oh gosh no. you look great here.
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Bruce Mowbray: Did you wish to begin this session, Mick?
Zen Arado: proper Zen Buddhist look
Mickorod Renard: me?
Raffila Millgrove: Zen. he's an sl hottie.
Bruce Mowbray: Well, I thought this was your session...
Mickorod Renard: I have to admit I havnt done anything..i thought you were doing it Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, I am ready to begin....
Mickorod Renard: wasnt it the mantra?
Mickorod Renard: great,,take it away Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: I've just installed Firestorm and have not yet got my setting right,
Bruce Mowbray: but...
Agatha Macbeth: Oh my
Bruce Mowbray: Here I go....
Bruce Mowbray: I will describe the mantra meditation technique that I'm currently using.
Mickorod Renard: no panic Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Bruce Mowbray: I'm sure that any of you who have tried different meditation techniques will find both similarities and differences - maybe even some radical differences - between your experience and mine.
Bruce Mowbray: That is great. I'm only sharing my experience; I am not an instructor nor am I making any judgment about which meditation technique might be superior to any other.
Bruce Mowbray: I begin by settling down in a comfortable space, and by bringing my attention to my intention. I intend for the next 20 minutes to practice mantra meditation in this space.
Bruce Mowbray: Once I am centered in intention and comfortably seated, I take three, slow, abdominal breaths; then I begin the mantra – Ah-Hum.
Bruce Mowbray: If I were saying the mantra outloud, which I am not, it might sound like ahhh-HOOM, with a slight accent on the second syllable.
Bruce Mowbray: Transcendental Meditation (which I no longer use) instructors assign a one or two-syllable meaningless sound to be used as mantras.
Bruce Mowbray: You may prefer a simple word or phrase, or perhaps one of the commonly used mantras from any number of spiritual traditions.
Bruce Mowbray: With eyes closed and arms and hands relaxed however they are most comfortable, I begin repeating the mantra sub-vocally.
Bruce Mowbray: The mantra seems to find its own central position in my mind and stays there throughout the entire meditation without any effort or willing on my part.
Bruce Mowbray: "No effort" is probably the most important aspect of mantra meditation: no intensity of concentration on the mantra - just allowing it to quietly pulse, at its own rate or perhaps in rhythm with your breathing, which ever happens, without effort.
Bruce Mowbray: Often the mantra itself changes form - so that there is sometimes a visual item along with the sub-vocal mantra, decreasing in intensity and repeatedly pulsing at its own pace. If the visual appears, I let it take its own form, color, size, transparency, etc..
Bruce Mowbray: My experience is that the mantra is sometimes accompanied by a translucent sphere about the size of a large marble. Your experience, of course, could be entirely different.
Bruce Mowbray: I simply repeat the quietly pulsing mantra as things (thoughts, feelings, sensations) come and go.
Bruce Mowbray: My mantra meditations intentionally create a 20-minute welcoming space that simply allows whatever "wants" to come and go to do so in whatever forms of thought or sensibility they may take.
Bruce Mowbray: At some point in every meditation I become aware that my mind is wandering. I understand this as an indicator that stress is being released and that the meditation is going perfectly.
Bruce Mowbray: When the mind wanders off the mantra, I very gently bring my intention/attention back to the sub-vocal, quietly pulsing, "ah-Hum."
Bruce Mowbray: Because I've been using 1 Giant Mind's cell phone app [ http://www.1giantmind.org/ ] as a 20-minute meditation timer, I can choose either of two recorded audio tracks that are each conducive to relaxation and focus, or simply meditate in silence, which is generally my preference (unless I'm unusually jittery).
Bruce Mowbray: The cell phone app begins and ends each meditation period with a light tap of a bell.
Bruce Mowbray: Over and over I recall the importance of "no effort." Recalling the Zen concept of "Don't know mind" is often useful when my mind wanders into habitual problem-solving mode. Again, no effort.
Bruce Mowbray: From time to time, I may become aware of muscle tension (stress) or actual physical pain. If so, I allow that area to relax (or quietly change my posture to relieve the pain) as the mantra pulses, breathing continues at its own pace, and thoughts of all sorts arrive and leave on their own. No effort. No resistance.
Agatha Macbeth: Hola Xira :)
Zen Arado: Hi Xiri :)
Bruce Mowbray: Hi, Xir.
Mickorod Renard: hi Xir
Bruce Mowbray: I'm almost finished...
Bruce Mowbray: I will give you an IM of what I've said...
Agatha Macbeth: me listens
Bruce Mowbray: For me, mantra meditation is a sort of container whose structure consists of a comfortable, upright, seated posture, the mantra, whatever thoughts and visual forms may (or may not) come, and passive breathing through the nose.
Bruce Mowbray: Each meditation is unique. So: no expectations, no controlling, no effort.
Xirana Oximoxi: hello everyone...sorry if I disturb...I am in my laptop and not easy to move :)
Bruce Mowbray: [done]
Mickorod Renard: very nice BRUCE..THANKYOU
Agatha Macbeth claps
Zen Arado: thanks Bruce
Tura Brezoianu: thank you
Mickorod Renard: I would love to ask a question or two
Zen Arado: you don;t have to focus on saying the mantra then?
Bruce Mowbray: The less concentration on the mantra, or on anything, the better.
Mickorod Renard: I always thought the mantra's were assosiated with a particular thing ..but it appears it can be the opening for all meditation?
Zen Arado: I probably still fall asleep :(
Bruce Mowbray: I would say so, Mick.
Zen Arado: would
Mickorod Renard: but, should you want to focus on any particular thing you can chose a specific mantra?
Bruce Mowbray: You can choose and mantra you like.
Bruce Mowbray: The important thing is that you let it pulse, with ever less intensity...
Bruce Mowbray: That's why some traditions use a one-word mantra...
Tura Brezoianu: is the marble something you see in front of you, or in your mind's eye?
Bruce Mowbray: You're only using the mantra as a vehicle,
Zen Arado: I suppose that you wouldn't need to think about it after a while///would become automatic
Bruce Mowbray: unless, of course, you're praying with it, or singing...
Bruce Mowbray: etc.
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, it becomes automatic after a while.
Bruce Mowbray: I also use a mantra with Tonglen practice...
Mickorod Renard: do you tend to look down the length of your nose..in posture? for vision focal point?....btw..Tura asked about the marble
Bruce Mowbray: but I'm not sure whether that's recommended.
Agatha Macbeth: Is tonglen the same as tongren?
Bruce Mowbray: My only concerns with posture are that I sit upright (less tendency to fall asleep that way) and that I am comfortable.
Mickorod Renard: ty, the only formal technique I have tried is that of the golden flower
Bruce Mowbray: No, aggers, dear. Tonglen is breathing in and out - also called taking and sending. It is a sort of prayer, actually.
Agatha Macbeth: Ah Ty
Bruce Mowbray: Pema Chodren has some excellent videos on Tonglen, if you'd care to Google that.
Bruce Mowbray: yw.
Agatha Macbeth: Righto
Bruce Mowbray: So, anyone else care to share their meditation experience with us during this "casual" session?
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Xirana Oximoxi: I will explore 'Tonglen' too..later :)
Bruce Mowbray: Please do that Xir.
Xirana Oximoxi: :)
Bruce Mowbray: It is a life-safer for me.
Agatha Macbeth: Glad it works then!
Xirana Oximoxi: last summer I stated a Mindfulness course.... and breathing slowly and being aware was also a good help for me
Bruce Mowbray: It is the core of lo jong practice.
Bruce Mowbray: gong?
Bruce Mowbray: Help me, Zen!
Mickorod Renard: I tend to do no practice,,especially meditation or mantra..but i feel I ought to
Zen Arado: lojong I think
Bruce Mowbray: lojong.. TY!
Zen Arado: mind training in Tibetan Buddhism
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Bruce Mowbray: It does require a bit of elf-discipline...
Zen Arado: some good practices there
Bruce Mowbray: so easy to let the days go by without meditating.
Mickorod Renard: yes, I am a naughty elf
Bruce Mowbray: I have a timer set up on my computer that reminds me of meditation in SL every morning at 7 a.m. slt.
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Bruce Mowbray: I think that once you begin to feel the effects of meditation, you want to do it more and more.
Bruce Mowbray: Even go to meditation retreats.
Mickorod Renard: I tried to do a quick 2 minute meditation between class changes when I was at work
Bruce Mowbray: spend wole days meditating.
Bruce Mowbray listens to Mick.
Zen Arado: still go to that place in SL Bruce?it was the middle of the afternoon for me - not a good time
Eliza Madrigal: Hi all, here, listening :)
Bruce Mowbray: WB Eliza,
Mickorod Renard: well, its just that i need some sort of set point during the day to remind me of it
Zen Arado: wb Eliza
Xirana Oximoxi: hi Eliza :)
Eliza Madrigal: waves happily
Mickorod Renard: helloooo
SL Meditations
Bruce Mowbray: There are many meditation sessions in SL if that would help you, Mick.
Agatha Macbeth waves happily back
Zen Arado: good to have a set time
Eliza Madrigal: ^^
Zen Arado: and seems easier and better to meditate with others
Eliza Madrigal: I used to like and facilitate an evening one at zen retreat... not sure if they still do that, but it helped me so much
Bruce Mowbray: Cherry Blossom Zendo, Eliza?
Mickorod Renard: when i smoked it was useful to stand outside somewhere and contemplate..but i dont smoke now
Eliza Madrigal nods Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: ahhh!
Zen Arado: I didn't like all the helloing at the start and end
Agatha Macbeth: 'Live in peace with your pipe'
Zen Arado: in Zen it is all sient
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, all silent in Zen meditation.
Zen Arado: just silent bows
Bruce Mowbray: I'd be happy to share the location of our morning meditation - 7 a.m. at the Inner Peace Garden, if anyone requests that.
Bruce Mowbray: a fine way to begin the day
Mickorod Renard: I wonder what time that is in the uk
Bruce Mowbray: five hours later.
Zen Arado: 3pm Mick
Xirana Oximoxi: 1pm
Mickorod Renard: ty
Zen Arado: oh yes
Xirana Oximoxi: lol :) not sure now :)
Zen Arado: it must have changed
Eliza Madrigal: there are a few things going on at the same time, also some chanting and some days, PaB
Bruce Mowbray: no - 8 hurs later.
Xirana Oximoxi: no Zen...I think you are right
Zen Arado: no 8 hours later
Mickorod Renard: 1pm is 9pm here
Agatha Macbeth: Berti stopped his :(
Zen Arado: we are 8 hours behind slt
Bruce Mowbray: [difficult to translate between SLT and then also add for Europe time... sigh]
Agatha Macbeth: 8 hours in front Zenny :p
Zen Arado: so 3pm
Zen Arado: I used to go to that meeting with Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: Yes, dear aggers. and I add just 3 hours.
Agatha Macbeth nods
Mickorod Renard: erk,,my brain has fused
Bruce Mowbray also nods.
Agatha Macbeth: With?
Xirana Oximoxi: 9 hours for CET I think (Central European Time)
Bruce Mowbray: What's the problem, Mick.
Bruce Mowbray listens.
Agatha Macbeth: You need to get yer pipe out again Mick
Mickorod Renard: dont worry Bruce,,I will be ok
Zen Arado: usually about 5 people there when I went
Bruce Mowbray: We have a fine group every morning.
Bruce Mowbray: Does anyone know how to share an LM?
Agatha Macbeth: In FS, just r-click on it and share
Xirana Oximoxi: just send it into the IM window
Mickorod Renard: I might try and find it Bruce,,a good time for me as I usually take a lunch break aroud then
LM for morning meditation
Bruce Mowbray: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlif...mond/160/18/26
Zen Arado: you are still at the mercy of the phone though
Bruce Mowbray: There it is!
Zen Arado: best to get away somewhere
Agatha Macbeth looks on the map
Mickorod Renard: thank you
Bruce Mowbray: We meet every morning at 7 slt.
Bruce Mowbray: and you all would be most welcome.
Bruce Mowbray: It is NOT a guided meditation.
Mickorod Renard: Zen,,u mean away from home?
Zen Arado: yes
Agatha Macbeth: Oh that's up on the north isles
Zen Arado: no distractions then
Agatha Macbeth: Garden of peace
Mickorod Renard: mmm,,during the day I am usually alone
Bruce Mowbray: My typist is a hermit and is always sort of "away" -- if you get my meaning.
Agatha Macbeth: You have the squirrels Brucie
Bruce Mowbray: Oh yes, those.
Agatha Macbeth: And their cute tails
Bruce Mowbray: Eliza, would you care to share your meditation experience? Or anyone else?
Eliza Madrigal: re disciplines?
Agatha Macbeth: Yeh, go Liz
Bruce Mowbray: sure, anything you like.
Eliza Madrigal: It changes continually... streaming along, but lately I've been doing something I really like...
Mickorod Renard: thinks of eliza and disciplining
Agatha Macbeth listens
Eliza Madrigal: which started off as a "10 day actors challenge" [link posted in comments below]
Eliza Madrigal: what I like about it, is that you have an expectation of doing a meditation, a writing afterward, something that is 'giving' and something that is 'artistic expression'
Eliza Madrigal: after doing it 10 days, I have kept going with it in my own way
Agatha Macbeth: You have time for all that?
Eliza Madrigal: well, I think all those things are often in the day anyway
Mickorod Renard: could it be like writing a poem?
Agatha Macbeth: Hm
Bruce Mowbray listens for more.
Eliza Madrigal: but and the writing might be 5 minutes or what have you...
Agatha Macbeth: A précis?
Eliza Madrigal: could be anything, and I don't always do each one, but it has helped me to develop a discipline again, when I'd sort of gotten sloppy
Agatha Macbeth ponders a sloppy Liz
Bruce Mowbray: ( 1-Giant-Mind app also gives an opportunity for journaling after each meditation session...)
Mickorod Renard: me too Ags
Eliza Madrigal: I like the 'action' part especially... easily translates into political expression if one likes, etc
Zen Arado: I stop and start journalling
Bruce Mowbray listens for more.
Eliza Madrigal: journaling is powerful
Agatha Macbeth: When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
Eliza Madrigal: similar to unpacking dreams... unpacking what may have come up in meditation especially
Agatha Macbeth: And the white knight's talking backwards
Bruce Mowbray nods, wonderful.
Eliza Madrigal: can be surprising
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Zen Arado: i use voice recog but they say wrting longhand is best
Eliza Madrigal: but over the years I've done things I miss, like wall-gazing meditation
Eliza Madrigal: and tibetan rituals etc
Bruce Mowbray: You say that every session is unique, Eliza?
Zen Arado: I miss the retreats
Eliza Madrigal: yes, too unique. I'm forever wanting to conform but can't seem to
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: miss retreats too Zen
Bruce Mowbray feels exactly the same.
Agatha Macbeth: Oh never do that, it's so boring
Mickorod Renard: disciplined non conforming
Zen Arado: the silence is powerful
Eliza Madrigal: I'm amazed when I'm able to stick with something consistently... feels soo good... like a long drive
Eliza Madrigal: but I usually take some side road out of restlessness
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Funny that it isn't boring...
Zen Arado: funny that it isn't boring
Bruce Mowbray wishes his typist were closer to some Zen monastery, or something, where he could have retreats.
Zen Arado: logically it should be
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: nothing nearby Bruce?
Agatha Macbeth: You could start your own Brucie
Bruce Mowbray: Meditation is anything BUT boring for me.
Eliza Madrigal: do Quakers have retreats?
Bruce Mowbray: I think they do, yes.
Agatha Macbeth: And oats
Bruce Mowbray: But I'm not affiliated with them anymore.
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Eliza Madrigal: ah, I see
Bruce Mowbray: :)
Bruce Mowbray: They have LOTS and LOTS of oats, though
Eliza Madrigal: I like prayer too, along with meditation
Eliza Madrigal: fuzzy lines there
Bruce Mowbray: Prayer is wonderful.
Agatha Macbeth: Fuzzy logic
Eliza Madrigal: and doing things with intention of meditation/prayer... suppose that is mindfulness?
Bruce Mowbray: I use Tonglen as a form of prayer.
Mickorod Renard: there is a buddhist centre near here but I looked in one day and they seemed an angry bunch so I didnt feel welcome
Eliza Madrigal: when I came in Xiri said something about tonglen?
Bruce Mowbray: It is very important to be comfortable, Mick.
Agatha Macbeth: Angry Buddhists?
Mickorod Renard: yes
Agatha Macbeth: Oh my
Bruce Mowbray: (I have felt the same way about some meditation groups.)
Xirana Oximoxi: I've said I will google it :)
Agatha Macbeth: Seems somewhat self defeating
Eliza Madrigal: oh :)
Eliza Madrigal: may want to look into types of buddhist gathering Mick
Bruce Mowbray: My typist counts it as a good sign whenever he gets kicked out of a meditation group.
Agatha Macbeth: HA!
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Agatha Macbeth: Love it
Bruce Mowbray dies from laughing....
Eliza Madrigal: I was intimidated by the 'rules' i read about a zen center once...
Agatha Macbeth dies from laughing....
Bruce Mowbray: Oh yes, Eliza!
Eliza Madrigal: so I didn't go... but I think now I'd be a little more assertive
Bruce Mowbray: same here.
Agatha Macbeth: Kick ass Liz!
Eliza Madrigal: even though I still wouldn't know the rules
Zen Arado: yes Zenies are very fussy about their rituals
Eliza Madrigal nods... to, even on a website, insist on ways you must walk...
Eliza Madrigal rolls eyes
Zen Arado: one thing I didn't like about Zen
Bruce Mowbray: Best to meditate where you can be completely relaxed and not so worried about formalities.
Zen Arado: bowing as you enter the zendo
Eliza Madrigal: then again, everything is going to be intimidating at first
Zen Arado: bowing to your cushion, to the room
Xirana Oximoxi: that sound good Bruce
Bruce Mowbray: No effort, No resistance.
Bruce Mowbray nods.
Eliza Madrigal: to even walk into some of the Tibetan gatherings is awfully strange at first...
Zen Arado: but I got to like the chanting
Eliza Madrigal: but I've found them mostly quite welcoming
Agatha Macbeth: I loved Eden's chanting
Zen Arado: Tibetan seemed more laid back to me
Eliza Madrigal: yes!
Meditation in SL
Bruce Mowbray: That's one of the reasons I like to meditate on-line, in SL....
Mickorod Renard: that one near me does Bhavana Dhamma Retreats
Eliza Madrigal: Eden has an altogether different kind of group she plays with
Agatha Macbeth: No doubt it's a colourful one
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bruce Mowbray: :))
Zen Arado: Tibetan temple in Scotland is really colourful
Raffila Millgrove: I must say bye as all my guests are starting to arrive. was delightful to share this time with you all.xo
Zen Arado: all green gold red
Agatha Macbeth: TC Raff
Zen Arado: yee Raffi
Zen Arado: byee
Bruce Mowbray would love to return to Scotland, alas, and do a retreat there.
Eliza Madrigal: I don't think I would have been confident to go to the Tibetan center if I hadn't gone to SL meditation groups ... I had sort of rehearsed in private
Agatha Macbeth: Ah, rastafarian then :p
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, ntsy Raffi
Bruce Mowbray: bye, Raffi!
Mickorod Renard: bye raffi
Zen Arado: and long melodic chanting
Xirana Oximoxi: bye Raffi :)
Agatha Macbeth: Praise the Lion of Judah
Bruce Mowbray: I also need to be going.
Zen Arado: bye everybody
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: bye Zen, Bruce
Agatha Macbeth: TC guys
Bruce Mowbray: Hoping to see you all next week at this time.
Xirana Oximoxi: bye all :)
Mickorod Renard: bye bruce,,thankyou very much
Eliza Madrigal: look forward to reading the beginning of session
Agatha Macbeth: Scrape well Brucie
Bruce Mowbray: I shall, dear aggers.
Bruce Mowbray: !
Eliza Madrigal: thanks Bruce
Agatha Macbeth: onigokko
Eliza Madrigal: bye Xiri
Eliza Madrigal laughs.... sigh, again caught oniless
Bruce Mowbray: HA HA HA HA !
Agatha Macbeth: Takes oni to know oni!
Mickorod Renard: ok,,I must go too...yayyyyyyyyy
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Agatha Macbeth: Aww bye Mick
Eliza Madrigal: me too... time for post thanksgiving nap
Eliza Madrigal: puppy waiting :)
Mickorod Renard: oh yes,,happy thanksgiving everyone
Agatha Macbeth: Hug him for moi
Agatha Macbeth: stop
Eliza Madrigal: I will, good to see you Agatha!!
Eliza Madrigal: and everyone ((( ))))
Mickorod Renard: nice to see ya again Ags
Agatha Macbeth: Wonder if Wol's connection is back yet?
Eliza Madrigal: doesn't seem so
Eliza Madrigal: partly fixed only
Agatha Macbeth: Awww
Mickorod Renard: wasnt last I heard
Agatha Macbeth: Vorsprung ohne technik
Eliza Madrigal: hopefully she'll make nice use of the time
Agatha Macbeth: Probably sleeping :p
Eliza Madrigal: she needs that!
Agatha Macbeth: Indeed
Eliza Madrigal: :))
Eliza Madrigal: bfn friends, happy weekend <3
Agatha Macbeth: Happy turkeys
Tura Brezoianu: goodnight all!
Agatha Macbeth: Bye Tura
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Latin American leaders call into question US Drug War Policy
By Allen Hines CISPES intern in Portland OR The debate about drug policy has been heating up in Central America since in January 2012, when recently-elected Guatemalan president, Gen. Otto Pérez Molina called on his counterparts to consider drug decriminalization as a solution to the high levels of violence in Central America. He joins several current and former Latin American leaders in calling for alternatives to the War on Drugs, which has been heavily funded and promoted by the US government, especially following the launch of Plan Colombia in 2000. Pérez-Molina's proposal – and its favorable reception from several other Central American presidents – sent the United States reeling. A wave of officials, from Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano to Vice-President Biden, traveled to the region to express firm opposition to any form of legalization. While in Honduras, William Brownfield, head of the State Department's lead counterdrug agency, declared, "In America we have analyzed this concept and agree that it's no good, that it does not work, not for moral, psychological, health and crime reasons." The swift response by the US seems to have temporarily closed the door on this discussion in Central America. For example, El Salvador's President Funes initially supported Perez Molina's proposal to discuss the possibility of decriminalization at an upcoming regional summit. But following Brownfield's February visit, Funes joined President Lobo of Honduras and Ortega of Nicaragua in issuing a joint statement against legalization. However, the urgency to find real solutions to the security situation - Honduras and El Salvador now have the highest homicide rates in the world- carried the debate all the way to the Summit of the Americas held April 14-15 in Cartagena de las Indias, Colombia. This is not the first time that Latin American leaders have suggested that that pulling the profit out of drug market could address problems like high levels of violence and political corruption. In June 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a high-profile group of world leaders, including former presidents from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, issued a report calling on the Obama administration and other leaders to end the criminalization of drug use. At the press conference to release the report, former Colombian president César Gaviria said, "We can no longer ignore the extent to which drug-related violence, crime and corruption in Latin America are the results of failed drug war policies … Now is the time to break the taboo on discussion of all drug policy options, including alternatives to drug prohibition." However, President Obama held firm that "legalization is not the answer." Thus, the 2012 Summit became another forum for the United States to reject several initiatives backed by the vast majority of the hemisphere. In addition to the drug war, the Summit showcased deep divides regarding British control over the Malvinas islands off the coast of Argentina and the continued exclusion of Cuba from the Summit; on both issues, only the United States and Canada dissented. Thirty-one countries refused to sign a joint declaration at the end of the summit, in protest of Cuba's exclusion. As Reuters reported on April 25, "This rare show of unity highlights the steady decline of Washington's influence in a region that has become less dependent on U.S. trade and investment, thanks to economic growth rates that are the envy of the developed world and new opportunities with China." This was the first Summit which was unable to issue a joint declaration, due to the United States' imposition what Salvadoran newspaper Diario CoLatino has called its "imperial veto." As Guatemalan president Pérez Molina concluded, "I feel that the agenda of the United States and the agenda of Latin America countries, instead of moving in parallel to each other, or converging, are taking paths that separate them, that distance them." The obstacles posed by the US and Canada raise questions as to whether Latin American and Caribbean countries will continue to participate in any future Summits of the Americas, which was created by President Clinton in 1994 to promote passage of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. The development of alternative economic and political decision-making bodies led by South American countries, including Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), have the potential to displace structures like the Summit and the Organization of American States (OAS) through which the US continues its attempts to maintain dominance in the hemisphere.


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By Sarah Jean of The Mom TruthBomb
York, PA — A local mom is in the hospital tonight after she opened an upper cabinet door in her kitchen.
It all started after her kids came home from another birthday party where one of the favors was a plastic sports water bottle. Her children got very upset when they found their precious water bottles the next day in the recycling bin, in the garage, hidden underneath several milk and juice cartons.
"Please don't throw them out, Mom! We love them and want to keep them forever!" the children cried.
She reluctantly obliged, but it would turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes of her life. She opened the door to the cabinet that housed all of the other plastic bottles and cups they had received as favors at various parties, and when she tried to fit the new bottles in, they all shifted, triggering an avalanche of plastic that cascaded down on her, knocking her to the floor.
Her family, upon hearing the commotion, continued doing whatever they were doing for several hours. But when dinner time rolled around and food didn't magically appear on the dining room table, they became curious.
They walked into the kitchen to find a pile of plastic cups and water bottles, but no wife and mother. While the children excitedly grabbed all the cups and bottles about which they had forgotten, they uncovered their mother's face. Upon seeing her, they promptly asked her what was for dinner, but she did not respond.
They could see that she was still breathing, but they couldn't get her to wake up to make them food. They immediately rushed her to the hospital where she remains unconscious, but in stable condition.
UPDATE: As it turns out, the mother was NOT in a coma after all, but was merely faking it so she could get some peace and quiet, and perhaps a solid 8 hours of sleep.
About the Author
Sarah Jean lives in New England with her husband and two wonderful children whom she loves dearly, in small increments throughout the day, in between their whining, crying, screaming, and fighting. She writes about it to make herself laugh. Read more at The Mom TruthBomb and follow Sarah on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.


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What can be done in the face of horrific terrorist violence? How are we to respond to senseless brutality? When defenceless children and young people who had gathered simply to enjoy music are left dead, injured or traumatised, what is to be said?
I'm sure I'm not alone in pondering these questions. Sadly, similar questions are faced regularly by communities across the world.
But though there are no simple answers, I believe the people of Manchester have given us a powerful lesson in how to respond to tragedy, pain and anger. On hearing of the attack, many people from the city rushed to offer help, shelter, food and even their own blood. They were drawn from all the communities and religious groups that live together in Manchester. Among them were Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, atheists, and many others. Doors were thrown open across the city to offer sanctuary and comfort. The emergency services reacted with characteristic care and professionalism. Taxi drivers took people home without thought for fares. Prayers and thoughts were offered for those affected.
To me, this response reflects what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote to a community experiencing great violence 2,000 years ago. He took their suffering very seriously, and wrote to them with advice: "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." This is not advice that ignores or lessens the very real pain that is felt at such times. It is not guidance that suggests those responsible for violence should not be brought to justice. No. Rather, it describes an important truth: that repaying evil with evil simply multiplies evil, but that evil can be overcome by responding with goodness. Evil simply has no response to true goodness, just as darkness cannot overcome light.
And so as candles are lit for the victims of the Manchester attack over the coming weeks, months, and years, may they remind us – amid the pain – that the greatest response to evil is to respond with goodness together.
Bishop of Chelmsford