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2016 Chrysler 300 Review
Pros & Cons
- Provides an exceptionally supple and quiet ride over bumps and rough pavement
- available V8 engine is well suited to the car's personality
- upscale look and feel of the cabin
- touchscreen technology interface is easy to use
- choice of available premium sound systems
- available all-wheel drive.
- Hard to see out the back because of the small rear window and thick roof pillars
- rear seat has less room for adults than competitors./p>
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Edmunds' Expert Review
If you're looking for a big, comfortable sedan that doesn't look or feel like anything else on the road, the 2016 Chrysler 300 should be at the top of your list. It combines classic American style and a wide range of engines with the latest safety and entertainment technology. Sound like your kind of luxury sedan?
Vehicle overview
There are a number of large sedans on the market, but the 2016 Chrysler 300's combination of luxury and attitude helps separate it from the pack. Indeed, when the original 300 made its debut back in 2005, it was about as brash as a car could get without actually standing up and slapping you in the face. The 2016 300 is a bit more subtle, with a stronger emphasis on refinement and upscale appointments, including numerous upgrades introduced last year. But there's still something vaguely imposing about this distinctly American sedan.
The 2016 Chrysler 300's assertive styling is familiar, yet fresh.
Part of the 300's appeal also comes from its rear-drive platform (all-wheel drive is optional) and choice of V6 or V8 power. The V6 delivers adequate acceleration and good fuel economy, while the V8 provides 300 owners with the sound and fury of a good old-fashioned muscle car, albeit suitably tamed for premium-sedan duty. No matter the engine, the 300 boasts an impressively quiet and smooth ride quality. The 300S model comes with a sport-tuned suspension that can be optionally upgraded with beefier components for 2016, and although nothing can disguise the 300's bulk, we're impressed by how this big sedan stays planted to the road. Like a heavyweight boxer, the 300S can stick and move when it needs to.
The 300's character may be unique, but you'll find comparable size and comfort in front-drive competitors like the Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Avalon. The Avalon boasts smooth V6 power and an available hybrid powertrain, while the current Impala is a vastly improved American rival. Often overlooked, the LaCrosse continues to impress with its quiet, supple ride. The Hyundai Azera and Kia Cadenza, near-twins from South Korea, also compete well, while the rear-drive Hyundai Genesis may cost more but delivers a convincingly uptown experience. All are appealing picks for a large sedan, but if it's luxury with attitude that you're after, none can match the 2016 Chrysler 300.
2016 Chrysler 300 models
The 2016 Chrysler 300 is a full-size sedan available in four different trim levels: 300 Limited, 300S, 300C and 300C Platinum.
Standard equipment on the base 300 Limited includes 17-inch alloy wheels (19-inch with all-wheel drive), heated mirrors, automatic headlights, LED daytime running lights and taillights, a rearview camera, keyless entry and ignition, cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather upholstery, heated eight-way power front seats (with four-way power lumbar adjustment), a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and 60/40-split folding rear seatbacks. Technology features include an 8.4-inch touchscreen interface, Siri Eyes Free, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, voice controls, WiFi hotspot access and a six-speaker sound system with an auxiliary audio jack, a USB port and satellite radio.
Standard on every 2016 Chrysler 300 is an 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system with user-friendly controls.
The 300S comes with the Limited's equipment plus an additional 8 horsepower and 4 pound-feet of torque for the standard V6 engine, 20-inch "hyper black" alloy wheels with performance tires (19s with AWD), a sport-tuned suspension (RWD only) and steering calibration, a dual sport exhaust, remote start, unique black-out styling elements, LED foglights, sport front bucket seats and a 10-speaker Beats Audio sound system. An optional performance suspension exclusive to the 300S features stiffer springs, performance-tuned steering and bushings, larger sway bars (V8 only) and upgraded tires.
Opting for the luxury-themed 300C adds the following to the 300 Limited's standard equipment list: 18-inch alloy wheels (19s with AWD), a comfort-tuned suspension, remote start, LED foglights, additional chrome exterior accents, an auto-dimming driver-side and rearview mirror, a dual-pane sunroof, LED cabin lighting, a heated power-adjustable steering wheel with wood and leather trim, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, driver memory settings, a power rear window sunshade, a navigation system, HD radio and a six-speaker Alpine audio system.
Building on the 300C is the 300C Platinum, which adds 20-inch wheels (rear-drive only; AWD models stick with 19-inch wheels), unique exterior trim, a touring-tuned suspension (same as the Limited), adaptive xenon headlights, power-adjustable pedals, heated and cooled front cupholders, upgraded leather upholstery, an upgraded steering wheel and a 19-speaker Harman Kardon stereo (which deletes the power rear window sunshade).
Many of the upper trims' features are available on the lower trims as stand-alone options or via various packages. Notable extras include the base Limited's 90th Anniversary package, which adds unique badging and trim (including a special splash screen for the infotainment display), remote start, the dual-pane sunroof and the navigation system. Available on all but the Limited trim is the SafetyTec Plus package, which includes puddle lamps, front and rear parking sensors, automatic high-beams, automatic wipers, lane-departure warning and prevention, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic detection and a forward collision mitigation system with automatic emergency braking (it also adds an auto-dimming driver-side mirror to the 300S).
Should you be considering a stint in the taxi business, the Livery package (Limited only) contributes such items as chrome mirror housings and door handles and a four-year/150,000-mile extended warranty.
2016 Highlights
Performance & mpg
All 2016 Chrysler 300 trims start out with a 3.6-liter V6. It produces 292 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque except in the 300S, where it squeezes out 300 hp and 264 lb-ft of torque. An eight-speed automatic is standard, as is rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is optional.
The eight-speed automatic transmission is operated via this unusual rotary knob.
In Edmunds performance testing, a rear-drive 300C V6 went from zero to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, which is about average for a V6-powered full-size sedan. An all-wheel-drive 300C V6 needed 7.1 seconds.
EPA-estimated fuel economy for the V6 is a respectable 23 mpg combined (19 city/31 highway) with rear-wheel drive and 21 mpg combined (18/27) with all-wheel drive.
Optional on all but the base 300 Limited is a 5.7-liter V8 good for 363 hp and 394 lb-ft of torque. An eight-speed automatic and rear-wheel drive are standard. Fuel economy drops to 19 mpg combined (16/25).
Standard safety equipment on the 2016 Chrysler 300 includes antilock brakes, traction and stability control, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, a driver knee airbag, a rearview camera and active front head restraints. The standard Uconnect Access system includes automatic crash notification, on-demand roadside assistance, remote door unlocking and stolen vehicle assistance, while the optional SafetyTec Plus package (offered on all but the 300 Limited) adds forward collision warning and mitigation with automatic braking, lane-departure warning and prevention and a blind spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the 300 its top rating of "Good" in the moderate-overlap frontal-offset, side-impact and roof-strength crash tests. Its head restraint and seat design also earned the IIHS's top rating of "Good" for whiplash protection in rear impacts.
During Edmunds testing, a rear-wheel-drive 300C V6 took 122 feet to stop from 60 mph in a simulated panic stop. That distance is about average for the class of vehicle, though we noted significant brake fade after repeated hard stops. A heavier all-wheel-drive 300C with less grippy tires took 133 feet to stop from 60 mph, one of the longest distances in the segment for this test.
The 2016 Chrysler 300 glides down the road with the smooth, substantial feel of a big Mercedes-Benz sedan. That's not entirely coincidental, as some aspects of the 300's suspension design can be traced to the previous-generation Mercedes E-Class (back from when Mercedes owned Chrysler). The 300 remains unruffled even on heavily rutted pavement, though the ride becomes firmer with the 300S's sport suspensions or any of the numerous 19- and 20-inch wheel designs. Depending on your local driving conditions, you may want to go with smaller wheels. Aside from the 300's compromised rear visibility, which is an inevitable consequence of the car's high beltline, small windows and thick rear pillars, it's hard to find fault with how it drives.
Although the 300's base V6 engine is adequate, we love the muscular thrust of the optional V8.
While we think the big V8 best fits the 300's persona, the standard V6 is a decent performer in its own right, and it's also pretty fuel-efficient with rear-wheel drive. Either way, the eight-speed automatic is smooth and responsive. Around turns, the Chrysler 300's bulk is inescapable, but this sedan nonetheless feels planted and secure. That's especially true of the sportier 300S, which is firmer and more disciplined in spirited driving. You won't notice a handling difference between the rear- and all-wheel-drive models, so the choice there comes down to whether you want AWD for winter driving.
Although the inside of a Chrysler 300 may not feel as upscale and plush as a European luxury sedan, it has quality furnishings for a sedan in this price range and it's definitely a good place to spend some time. The cabin is full of rich finishes and extensive soft-touch materials, and the various trim levels add visual flair with upgraded leather and two-tone color schemes.
On the technology front, the standard 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen interface is one of our favorites, pairing large buttons and crisp graphics with a logical menu structure. New features for 2016 include drag-and-drop functionality, Siri Eyes Free and a do-not-disturb function. We also appreciate the 300's diverse array of audio options, including an Alpine system, a Harman Kardon system, and of course the thumping Beats Audio setup.
The 2016 Chrysler 300's interior is generously equipped and trimmed with generally high-quality materials.
Given the Chrysler's ample proportions, it should come as no surprise that there's plenty of room inside for occupants of all sizes. The adjustability of the driver seat and tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel is particularly generous, while the rear seats are both spacious and supportive. Compared with other large sedans, though, the middle rear seat isn't as comfortable or useful due to the rear-drive 300's transmission tunnel hump.
Luggage capacity is average for a large sedan, checking in at 16.3 cubic feet, but the rear wheelwells intrude on trunk space a bit and may limit loading depth for larger items.
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Indiegogo campaign launched
The biggest news is that we have launched a follow-up crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. There is an ongoing interest from new supporters to join our community. So we decided to launch a continuous campaign without a specific goal to enable more fans of innovative RPGs to discover Sacred Fire and to help to make it even better. We'll use the funds for more polish, voiceover and improvements to the core gameplay.
So join in and don't miss backer exclusive rewards that were so popular on Kickstarter.
Let your friends know that there still is a chance to support this project and get great rewards. Sacred Fire is now on Indiegogo In-Demand.
First Kickstarter rewards delivered
First rewards have been successfully delivered. We have worked with Doug Cockle to record the personalized voicemail messages and they have been sent out to the backers, who selected them. Based on the feedback we received, you seemed to be as excited as us.
In the coming weeks everyone in the Firestarter tier and higher ($36/$40+) will receive a set of Sacred Fire themed tones narrated by Doug Cockle:
- Ringtone: "The world needs you. The choice is yours. Will you answer the call?"
- Text message tone: "A new mission brief is in."
- Alarm tone: "You may be done with the world, but the world is not done with you. Time to gear up and dive once more into the fray."
We're working with our composer Sean Beeson to make the tones monstrously great. I'm already testing them on my phone and we're almost there. My wife has already got used to the alarm tone. :)
If you're not in the Firestarter tier or above and would love to have the tones on your phone, you can upgrade your pledge on our website using PayPal. You'll also receive a second copy of Sacred Fire, a special appearance trait in-game and a private early access if you upgrade to the Firestarter tier.
Work on the script
Andrej is fine tuning the script for Sacred Fire. I've read the first couple of chapters and it's fascinating to see all the characters from our Kickstarter page coming alive in a fast-flowing story. The choices and decisions you make are deep and intriguing. I really love how everything you do develops your character and builds or harms relationships with others, just like in real life.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kirsty's background is in communications within an education and international development setting. In 2007 she volunteered in Costa Rica at local charities to gain experience in this field, and since then has put her expertise to use in various UK-based organisations. Kirsty has been the Communications Manager at Prospect Burma since 2016, where she supports the team by telling the story of the charity.
When not in the office Kirsty is a folk musician.


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Actors, Audience Respond to 'Laramie Project'
Now that "The Laramie Project" is wrapped up, The Willistonian asked cast and audience members for their impressions on the controversial, exciting, challening play.
According to one of the cast members, Jenna Perry, a sophomore at Williston, the cast bonded through their determination to spread the message of tolerance and portraying the events in the harsh light of reality.
"After 'The Laramie Project' ended, it was just beautiful because it really brought the cast together," Jenna said. "I feel like it taught people history, an important piece of history of the LGBTQ+ community, because it's not really taught in school; [it's] an example of suffering that the LGBTQ+ community has to go through."
"The Laramie Project" is about a 1998 murder of a gay student named Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming. The play, which first hit stages in February, 2000, was among the first pieces of theater to shine a light on hate crimes.
Jenna went in depth to explain the significance of the play and how it resonated with the Williston community and the world at large.
"Of course with Matthew Shepard, the way he died, that's the extreme version," Jenna said. "Even today kids are still bullied, they are still beaten up. I think it's less prevalent now but they used to commit suicide because they were openly gay and their community didn't accept that. But by doing 'The Laramie Project,' I believe that we brought home the history and why it's important to be accepting, and why it's important to be an ally."
One of the many students who went to watch was Anaya Akpalu 21′. She was impressed by the skill of the student actors with such challenging restrictions imposed on them by the sparse nature of the script.
"In general I thought it was really good acting; there was only so much you can do with it because it was just a play of monologues, speeches, and interviews," Anaya said. "But they were able to convey the emotion behind the play, and I thought it was just a really good work of art."
"I think it just brought forth an awareness in general about just how hate is not a new concept," she continued. "It's important to recognize that hate so that we can figure out how to go about rectifying it and fixing it. So I think it brought that, and also just more sensitivity towards the LGBTQ+ community and people in general who are different, who are disenfranchised, just bringing awareness to those groups."
Anne-Valerie Clitus, a sophomore at Williston, felt similarly to Anaya.
"It was eye-opening, just the fact that hate crimes against people who just aren't straight, they're happening today and they also happened many years ago," Anne-Valerie stated. "They're different names, but it's still the same kind of crime and hate against people. So I think it was really eye-opening for a lot of people, including me."
Despite the challenging, often ugly topics brought up by the play, CC Gray 21′ was very proud to see her friends step up to take on their roles.
"I think that they brought a really, really good emotional aspect, because seeing people I knew personally act out the story was just like heartbreaking," CC said with pride. "They kind of brought it to life."


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Not for the faint of heart, Ombak Tujuh is one of West Java's most notable big wave spots and is literally translated as Seven Wave. Known for its steep and shifting take off, Ombak Tujuh magnifies the swell by opening up with a giant slabby barrel section that pitches on a rock shelf and then turns into a long reeling wall. Know your limitations and if in doubt, don't paddle out, this spot is purely for surfers that have experience in big waves. Hold downs can be long and arduous, even for big wave experts. Read on to make sure your next session here doesn't end with a big injury, near death experience or worse.
Capable of holding legitimate 20-foot waves, the surf breaks over a protruding deep-water rock and coral shelf. This wave, unlike other world class spots in Indonesia, rises suddenly making for near airdrop take-offs. Located on the Western corner of the Ujung Genteng region, Ombak Tujuh is more than a bit of a swell magnet and can vary in shape and size depending on swell direction. Ideal conditions are 6-15 feet, swells from the Southwest with South Easterly winds. A ways off the beaten path, the surf can be accessed by a long unpaved road and paddle out through a washing machine of whitewater. Keeping this in mind, boat access is your best bet. Not recommended for surfers inexperienced in big wave spots.
Rock shelf reef break
Experienced – Hellman Kamikaze
Rock an coral reef
Not necessary
No crowds (which is the least of your worries, it is uncrowded for a reason)
Big waves, heavy waves, strong currents, hold downs, being dragged long distances underwater, rock and reef. You're a long way from any hospitals.
Mid to high tide
Dead high tide
April – October
Lonesome – go hard or go home
Seven Wave
The best way to access Ombak Tujuh is by boat and paddling in from the outside. This is partially due to the fact that the break is so remote. There is a channel, but depending on wave size and swell direction, the channel might be washed out.
Seven Wave Beach is a long stretch of white sand framed by tropical forest, tidepools, rock shelves, and a nearby waterfall. Because this area is objectively tough to access by land, you can expect there to be few crowds on the beach. A great place to explore when you're not in the line-up.
Your best bet is staying at in the neighbouring area of Ujung Genteng at surf accommodations near Turtles surf break.
The neighbouring beach village of Pengumbahan is well known for sea turtle nesting. In the 80's and 90's, an Indonesian company harvested the eggs for consumption. Today, this is a common area for viewing turtle nests at night or volunteering for conservation.
Located on the western rim of a large stretch of rainforest, Ombak Tujuh is nearly due north of Ujung Genteng on a peninsula southwest of Sukabumi. Secluded from the rest of West Java's more populated corners.
There is no official access to Ombak Tujuh by road, although you can access Seven Wave beach through the jungle by scooter. However, it is best to get there by boat.


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Superpower or superpower function is superfunction for the power function $T(z)=z^a$ where $a$ is parameter; often it is assumed, that $a\!>\!1$.
The two real-holomorphic superpower functions are considered here:
For $a\!=\!2$, the explicit plots of these two functions are shown in figure 1 at right.
Transfer equation
Functions SuPow and SdPow are solutions of the transfer equations for the superfunction $F$ with function $T$ as transfer function,
Finctions $F\!=\!\mathrm{SuPow}_a$ and $F\!=\!\mathrm{SdPow}_a$ and the modifications with displaced argument seems to be the only real-holomorphic solutions of the transfer equation with power function $T$ as transfer function.
Complex map of function SuPow for the same value $a\!=\!2$ is shown in Figure 2.
Functions $\mathrm{SuPow}_a$ and $\mathrm{SdPow}_a$ are periodic; the period is
$P= \mathrm i 2 \pi/\ln(a )$
For positive $a$, the period is pure imaginary. At $a\!=\!2$, for the case shown in figure 2, the period
$P=2\pi / \ln(2) \approx 9.06472028365$
The map in Fig.2 is reproduced at the translations for, roughly, $~\pm 9.06472028365 ~$ along the Imaginary axis. The range of FIg.2 covers a little bit more that one period of the function.
Functions $\mathrm{SuPow}_a$ and $\mathrm{SdPow}_a$ can be expressed through each other,
$\mathrm{SdPow}_a(z)=\mathrm{SuPow}_a\big(z\!+\mathrm i \pi/\ln(a) \big)$
In particular, map of function $\mathrm{SdPow}_2$ shown in Fig.3, appears as displacement of map of $\mathrm{SdPow}_2$, shown in Fig.2, for $P/2$, id est, as translation for, roughly, 4.53236014183 along the imaginary axis.
There is another relation between these two superfunctions:
Inverse functions
Here, the inverse functions for superpower functions are denoted with AuPow and AdPow:
These functions are Abel functions of the power function and they satisfy the Abel equation.
Solution $G$ of this equation for $~T(z)\!=\!z^a~$ can be referred as Abelpower function
For $a\!=\!2$, complex map of function $\mathrm{AuPow}_a$ is shown in figure at right.
These functions differ for a constant,
$\mathrm{AdPow}_a=\mathrm{AdPow}_a \pm P/2$
where $P$ is period of the superpower function defined above. Sign in this formula changes at the cut lines of functions $\mathrm{AuPow}_a$ and $\mathrm{AdPow}_a$; the sets of cut lines are different for these two functions.
Application of Superpower
Superpower function is important example to illustrate properties of superfunctions.
Other superfunctions mentioned in Table of superfunctions show properties, similar to those of functions SuPow and SdPow. This applies also to superfunctions, that cannot be expressed through the elementary functions.
Funcitons SuPow and SdPow, as they are elementary functions, are good to see, what can be expected from superfuncitons of other transfer function, more complicated than just a quadratic function.
It should be interesting to construct a proof, that for the power function, the SuPow and SdPow are the only non–trivial superfunctions with simple asymptotic behaviour, and other periodic superfunctions appear at the displacement of the argument for a constant.
Other meanings of term superpower
Terms power and superpower can be used also in a non-mathematical meaning. In this case, it does not denote a class of special (elementary) functions.
In Physics, term power denotes transfer of energy, refers to energy per time and can be measured in Watt$=$Joule/second$=\mathrm{ Kg\, m^2/sec^2}$. In this sense, power is main parameter of an engine, of an electric plant, of an electric cable, of a source of waves (highball, laser, acoustic emitter, wave machine, etc.).
Terms power and superpower may refer to big, enormous ability of some creature, subject, man or even countries.
In some context, words "power" and superpower are difficult to interpret in any of meanings mentioned above. [1]
For this reason, in TORI, the only meaning mentioned in the previous sections is supposed to used.
- ↑
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice. 7/7/2007. 2-3 Poor Jerusalem:
Neither you Simon, nor the fifty thousand
Nor the Romans, nor the Jews,
Nor Judas, nor the Twelve, nor the Priests, nor the Scribes,
Nor doomed Jerusalem itself
Understand what power is ..
Abelpower, Power function, Superfunction, Superfunctions, SdPow, SuPow, Table of superfunctions


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I am looking for wiring diagram for 1995 Aerostar, drivers door. The left window switch has no power. Thank You in advance
A lot of these problems are due to broken wires in the door jamb where they get flexed a lot. Ebay is a good source for service manuals. You should be able to go to your local library and get some info also.


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It's hard to even know who they are and they're persecuted too.
Rape is not insignificant nor a misdemeanor, it's an unacceptable and unforgivable crime; and the numbers are higher than reported. Many parents and families sell their children or branches/specific lines of their children into all kinds of things. Ultimately its prostitution/abuse but there's all kinds whether it be a rent-a-bride (buying a girl for a night, calling her a wife so that makes it 'ok' and bringing her back the next day), a rent-a-boy (marrying another male isn't acceptable, just raping them is), obvious prostitution, ritual abuse, supernatural/cult abuse, invocation to be a host/attaché which is a lifelong attachment and can pass down to the next set of children, trauma inducing, bestiality, experimentation, near-death and death. Hey at least if something eats you [quickly] all it can do is kill you, better than torturing you for life, the 'afterlife' and your descendants. Then of course there's the issue of migrants/immigrants and prisoners (though many think of them as interchangeable) I can think of one prominent world 'country' (that thinks itself the if not a world centre) that it allows its prison guards/soldiers a number of rapes per foreign/other religion female prisoner per guard. Don't think that it's certain countries and religions that do this, people are people no matter where they are, what they look like, how rich/poor they are. It's not more or less in dependent on how wealthy or 'educated' the country is nor the colour of the people or the dominant belief systems. Also people who've been raped as children are often still abused well into adulthood – once they're in it's almost impossible to get out and predators can spot/sport them at a distance.
However some places are just like 'open season' e.g. war torn places, disaster ridden places, places with 'peacekeepers'. Africa as a continent (not even specific areas) has long been a hell-hole when it comes to mass exploitation from within and without, wars, resource grabbing, pharmaceutical testing and dumping, corruption (well obviously), and basically not giving a crap about each other either.
Failed by courts, children bear brunt of rape in Ivory Coast: activists
By Kieran Guilbert
DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Children in Ivory Coast bear the brunt of sexual violence in a culture where rape is widely considered "insignificant" and perpetrators usually go unpunished, activists say.
Two in three rape victims in the West African nation are young girls, according to a recent U.N. report, which recorded some 1,130 cases of rape between 2012 and 2015.
Yet the number of rape cases is likely to be far higher, the U.N.'s Ivory Coast mission (UNOCI) said, as many victims do not come forward due to the fear of retaliation and stigma within their communities and a lack of confidence in the legal system.
While Ivory Coast has recovered from two civil wars, in 2002 and 2011, to boast one of Africa's fastest growing economies, years of conflict have fueled a culture of violence, where rape is rife, according to the UNOCI.
"Rape is considered banal by a lot of people, they claim sex is an obligatory rite of passage for every woman," said Jean Claude Kobena of the Abidjan-based group SOS Violences Sexuelles.
"They think no one should be imprisoned for an act they see as so insignificant," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Children are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence because so many roam the streets, out of school and forced to work because of widespread poverty, child rights experts say.
Almost half of the 20 million population of Ivory Coast live in poverty, and six out of every 10 children of secondary school age are not in education, according to data from the World Bank.
"Millions of kids are out of school and on the streets, relying on odd jobs to survive, which exposes them to abuse and rape," said Save the Children's country director Famari Barro.
Rape victims and their families are often not aware of how to report the crime, or cannot afford to do so, activists say.
Victims may have to travel far to a court, and they must first obtain a medical certificate – which can cost up to 50,000 CFA francs ($85) – to prove they have been raped before pressing charges, said the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF).
Most rape cases in Ivory Coast are therefore settled out of court, usually without the victim's consent, with the intention of avoiding stigma and preserving peace within communities, and sparing the suspected rapist from jail, the UNOCI's report said.
"For victims to seek justice, the culture of settlements must end, allowing them to speak up and be referred to support services," said UNICEF deputy representative Christina de Bruin.
While investigations were opened in 90 percent of rape cases documented by the UNOCI, less than a fifth led to a conviction.
In all 203 cases that ended in conviction, the perpetrators were found guilty of a lesser offense than rape – often indecent assault – which is a common legal practice, the report said.
"Although seen as a way for victims to access justice and facilitate a prompt judgment, this practice minimizes the gravity of rape," the UNOCI said.
Ivory Coast should revise its criminal code, which punishes rape without defining it, provide victims with free legal aid and hold special court sessions for rape cases, the UNOCI said.
The justice ministry this week in a confidential document seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation issued a notice telling the authorities not to recategorize rapes as 'misdemeanors'.
Issued a week after the UNOCI report, it also says sexual offences must be fully investigated and prosecuted, even if out-of-court settlements are reached or complaints are withdrawn.
The Ivorian government spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
"Children have the right to be protected from these criminal acts which can cause lifelong incurable wounds," said de Bruin.
($1 = 596.8100 CFA francs)
(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
El Nino driving child marriage and labor across southern Africa: agencies
By Katy Migiro
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Tens of thousands of children across southern Africa are being pushed out of school and into early marriage or child labor because of drought and hunger caused by the El Nino weather pattern, charities said on Wednesday.
Southern Africa has been hard hit over the past year by an El Nino-inspired drought that has wilted crops, slowed economic growth and driven food prices higher.
Increased numbers of children are trading sex and doing domestic work to survive across nine countries, a report by World Vision, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Plan International said.
"El Nino's impacts are worsening the lives of children in a number of areas with many facing sexual exploitation, violence, child labor and psychosocial distress," World Vision UK's child rights expert Tracy Shields said in a statement.
Children have become separated from their families as they leave home to find work or food, the report said.
More than 60 million people, two thirds of them in east and southern Africa, are facing food shortages because of droughts linked to El Nino, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, according to the United Nations.
The arrival of La Nina, a weather pattern which usually bringing floods to southern Africa, could worsen the situation, the U.N. has said.
Meteorologists predict a 50 to 75 percent chance of La Nina developing in the second half of this year.
Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe have declared national drought emergencies.
South Africa has declared a drought emergency in eight of the country's nine provinces, while Mozambique has declared an alert for some southern and central areas.
Southern Africa has a three-month window of opportunity before the 2016/2017 planting season, to take urgent measures to prevent millions of rural families becoming dependent on humanitarian assistance in 2018, the U.N. has said.
(Reporting by Katy Migiro; Editing by Alex Whiting; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)
Child rape: U.N. pot calls the kettle black in Ivory Coast
By Tom Murphy on 15 July 2016
The headline from a new U.N. report says that the rate of rape remains high and that the perpetrators are eluding justice. Ironically, it is not about U.N. peacekeepers and foreign forces, but about the west African country Ivory Coast.
According to the United Nations Operation inCôte d'Ivoire report, in the five years since the country returned to peace, rape remains a prevalent problem, with children representing more than half of the 1,129 cases recorded between 2012 and 2015.
"Côte d'Ivoire in recent years has recorded significant progress in terms of human rights, but the persistence of rape and impunity towards their perpetrators remain of serious concern and requires urgent action," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. high commissioner for human rights in a media statement marking the report's release.
The statement has a familiar ring to it. The U.N. made similar statements in March after yet another round of revelations that peacekeepers sexually abused the people they were meant to protect in the Central African Republic. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked to the core" by the news.
"Our focus must be on the victims and their families. We are talking about women and young children who have been traumatized in the worst imaginable way," said Ban in a statement at the time. "These crimes only fester in silence. That is why the United Nations is shining a spotlight on these despicable, depraved and deeply disturbing allegations. I will continue to be unrelenting in confronting this scourge and raising it proactively at every opportunity."
The common thread is a lack of accountability. According to this new report, authorities investigated more than 90 percent of the cases, but the conviction rate was lower than 20 percent. Cases that did go to trial and yielded convictions were for lesser offenses, reportedly to speed up justice, "[minimizing]the gravity of rape."
The U.N. body said its prime concern is protecting children, and recommended taking "all necessary measures to bring to justice and punish all perpetrators of rape, particularly against children."
The strongly worded statements to the Ivory Coast included advice the U.N. itself should heed. France announced Thursday that it would end its three-year military operations in the Central African Republic. Its controversial tenure was marked by accusations of rape and sexual abuse by French soldiers, who are unlikely to face criminal charges any time soon and might not be punished at all.
If soldiers from a country with strong judicial institutions are unlikely to be held accountable for their crimes, what chance is there that peacekeepers from developing countries will be brought to justice? The very same problems that influence impunity in the Ivory Coast are at play with peacekeepers.
Many people think of UN peacekeeper violations as isolated events and like many soldiers in general i.e. tools of mass destruction they don't care and get away with it, it's part of the job. Being potentially raped by their own is part of the job too. Who do you trust? They're just people and under stress they do terrible things, others don't need stress just half an opportunity/temptation regardless of potential consequences, especially if there aren't any.
If you had a price, what do you think you'd be 'worth'? If you were selling yours or someone else's kid or anybody of any age – what would you do it for, an end to poverty, an end to a situation in your family, big time success, just because you don't like the person, because they're a cute little thing, because you want to groom them into something else, a rite of passage, bragging rights, to show loyalty to a group/clan, to please a spirit/other being/god? There's lots of reasons and not everybody needs the push the become a shove.


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The Durutti Column's 'Without Mercy' Gets the Expansive Reissue Treatment
A forgotten classic or a pretentious misstep? Durutti Column's Vini Reilly doesn't like Without Mercy, but he just might be wrong.
Without Mercy
The Durutti Column
Factory Benelux
7 September 2018
Durutti Column's Vini Reilly is not a fan of Without Mercy. He refers to as "a joke" and full of "daft tunes". As the auteur of the work, I guess he's allowed his opinion, but I feel he's a little harsh. When it was originally released in 1984, he was touted as a kind of British Philip Glass, with a dash of Brian Eno on the side and that probably didn't sit very well with him. Steered by a most insistent label boss into creating an album that he may have thought pretentious, is probably what rankles Reilly the most and casts a shadow over the entire project in his eyes. Now that's a shame, as Without Mercy is pretty beautiful.
It took Reilly six years to shift from playing snarly punk guitar with Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds to the nouveau-classique, Keats inspired suite, Without Mercy. The musical landscape of 1984 was littered with huge production values, big hair and airbrushed pop. This record owes more to the mid-'80s, burgeoning new age movement than it does to anything even close to the mainstream and in 2018, it sounds pure, clear and refreshing.
The back-story for this record is begging for the "Behind the Music" treatment. Factory boss, Tony Wilson - a man who took being called pretentious as a compliment – was a keen supporter of Reilly, but was frustrated that he didn't make more of his talent. Typically, a Durutti Column album would take just three days to make – Reilly had a punk rock attitude to modern chamber music it seems. This seemingly slapdash approach annoyed the Factory supremo, who convinced Reilly that Wilson himself should produce the fourth Durutti Column album and he just happened to have the concept for it up his beautifully tailored sleeve. Wilson used the narrative of English romantic poet, John Keats' 1819 work "La Belle Dame sans Merci" as the catalyst for the recording. Reilly rolled his eyes, rolled up his sleeves and knocked out Without Mercy in five days. Wilson, who envisaging being in the studio for a Sgt Peppers length of time, was not amused.
The "lost classic" shtick is getting pretty old now, and there are many, many records on that pile, which, in reality, should have stayed lost. Without Mercy isn't a classic, but it's certainly ripe for reappraisal. Factory Benelux has given everyone the chance to immerse themselves in it with a typically beautifully presented four-CD/two-LP reissue. The album is bundled with live recordings and some sympathetic work recorded around the time of the "main" album. Without Mercy has been given a digital spitshine and is cut into "stanzas" so those of you who still have CD players, can navigate easily to your favorite bit. That could be the limpid piano etude of "Without Mercy Stanza VIII", the rippling guitars of "IV-VII" or the odd drum machine dominated "Without Mercy 2".
Although the first five pieces which constitute side one of the album are where the real interest lies, there is still much to enjoy in the remainder. Reilly chose his cohorts well, and along with his longest-serving musical associate Bruce Mitchell on percussion, the contributions of Blaine L. Reininger and John Metcalfe (violas), Caroline Lavelle (cello), Tim Kellett (trumpet) and Maunagh Fleming (cor anglais) are exceptional. "All That Love and Maths Can Do" is a haunting ensemble piece. The soundtrack for a mournful ballet.
Moving beyond the main event is also a treat. The remaining discs combine rare live recordings with pieces originally released as a companion EP. "Goodbye", "The Room", and "A Little Mercy" are less reflective and are a little closer to the pre Without Mercy sound of the band. Despite his ambivalence towards the work, "Mercy Theme" appears a number of times over the course of this set and sounds beautiful every time.
Reilly is the dictionary definition of low-key, popping his head over the parapet into the limelight just once, as the guitarist on Viva Hate – Morrissey's solo debut album. Throughout his career, it's obvious that he makes the albums he wants to make and nothing else and the fact that his label boss cajoled him into a making a "pseudo-classical" record may have colored his opinion of the project way more than the quality of the music itself. Whether Without Mercy needed such an expansive re-issue is a moot point. The live recordings and extras are probably only of much interest to the Durutti Column superfans – nice to have, but almost superfluous in this context. I'd still suggest to Reilly that he should reappraise the record, now that 34 years have passed. It's sad to think that the creator of such elegant and moving music, considers it to be a blot on his copybook. It isn't. It really isn't.


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Isabelle´s interest for nature-based and adventure tourism and her secret longing to the winter wonderland of Lapland brought her to study Northern Tourism at the University of Lapland. There is enough snow here for her taste.
Ajda fell to the lure of Lapland during her exchange, felt compelled to return for a few internships and now that she is back to do her master studies in tourism research, she has the living tourism lab to explore. Ajda is very much at home here, combining sauna evenings, studying and work.
Erson´s interest towards extra-curricular activities and constant self-development have also led him to the position of a Ulapland Ambassador. This sun loving Mediterranean and a first year master student is ready to fall in love with winter and manage his time and personal study plan efficiently.
The participatory style of learning and international environment make Doris´ studies in her Master´s Degree Programme in Media Education very dynamic. Living the changing seasons in Lapland have taken her experience to another level and also taught her something about life.
After living in Istanbul and roaming the world, Hazal found happiness in Rovaniemi and direction for her future career from the University of Lapland. Now that she is studying in the Arctic Art and Design Master´s Degree Programme, she wants to solve wicked problems and make the world a better place.
For Denisa, exchange studies at the University of Lapland offered an advantage when looking for work after graduation. Now she is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Faculty of Law who loves the nature in Lapland and likes to spend time with friends by the fire.
Marcelo found freedom, peace and a wife during his exchange at the University of Lapland and decided to come back to continue his studies in Arctic Art and Design Master´s degree programme. Now he creates amazing visuals with camera and video.
Stevie has enjoyed having an education with a different set of eyes. Weather conditions similar to back home haven´t required much adjusting, so she has had time to concentrate on comparing European and American views the world and running the English speaking group in Café Lingua.
Haha enjoys the contrasts Lapland has to offer because she feels she is also full of controversy as a person. She jumped off from her safe career plan and decided to follow her educational dreams to the University of Lapland – and this newly appointed International Student Ambassador has never regretted it.
Dominika didn´t choose Lapland, she chose her study programme TourCIM, but now she can whole-heartedly recommend Lapland as a study destination to anyone craving for good education and amazing adventure. She might not be the most skillful winter cyclist yet, but she has definitely been building her professional network.
Alumni couple Katja and Mark fell in love in University of Lapland and are now living together in Germany. Since graduating from ULapand they have both made an incredible career in Europe. Their advice for all the students is not to let fear or common sense stop you.
When Belgium girl Gigi heard about the place with the Northern Lights and husky safaris, she had no doubts on leaving her home and study there. She never regret it and today she calls it "home away from home".
Read about Nhất's crazy ice swimming experience, his special nickname Cookie, and how escaping from a big city to Lapland brought peace to his life.
You have a chance to have a good education while you are living a very nice experience - Beatrice Lima from Brazil, talks about her studies in Lapland, about being out of her comfort zone and finding the snow to be magical.
Thao Trinh Phuong from Vietnam, a degree student of International and Comparative Law, learned how to ski, how to get lost and how to find her way again in Lapland. Read more on how the Arctic light felt right for our dear Thao.
Shari Noss came to Finland as a stranger and visited the North Cape with another one. In a jumble of people from all around the world she encountered challenges, reindeer wandering the hills and learned that it's no joke that Finns, they sure love karaoke.
Heidi Heikkonen arrived in Dublin in spring. Studying social work at the University of Lapland, she decided to pack her bags and see the world on a whim. She reminisces on seeing the tide for the first time, meeting sheep in the mountains, and stirring up a hornet's nest at an Irish party.
Activities around the theme "Internationalization at the home university" have drawn law student Angela, 24, into working for UArctic as an intern, steering a Soviet tank, and guiding a group of Yakut schoolchildren through Room Escape Rovaniemi. Where would you end up in?
In the winter skies of Lapland something was moving, shining and exploding. Let Yingke Yu, management and administration student from Beijing, China, tell you how he met a luminous celebrity in the twilight of Lapland.
How did Dutch city girl Tess van den Brink, a Master's degree student in the Tourism, Culture and International Management programme, end up moving to Lapland? She may still be wearing clogs, but next year she'll have some big boots to fill as an international tutor.


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Stop by and say hi to us at Design Visionaries in Detriot, at the Regional Users Group that's being held by Siemens PLM.
Siemens has an agenda full of presentations from industry professionals. They will start the day with an exciting keynote from Penske Racing. This will be followed by a presentation from Siemens PLM to set the stage for the rest of our day. It will then break up into sessions that follow several different connections that will help you connect the latest functionalities in the Siemens PLM software suite to your daily job.
Siemens PLM will be holding several NX CAD training classes aimed at teaching you the latest functionalities available in NX 12. These training sessions will be FREE with your conference admission. Make sure to arrive early and sign up as space is limited!
For more information check it out here http://www.plmworld.org/detroitrugevent


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From the sweet wafting of vanilla on Main Street, USA to the slow burning of wood in Spaceship Earth and the barrage of ocean breeze and orange groves in the various iterations of Soarin, Disney's smell machines rely on some relatively simple technology to enhance the sensory experience of their park and make your memories that much stronger.
How do Disney's scent machines work?
Put simply, Disney's smellitizers involve positioning a scented substance (whether this is actual popcorn or an artificial scent) between a source of strong airflow (fan or pressurized air) and the audience, then turning the airflow on and off so it blows across the substance and toward the audience. This process works because of how chemicals become airborne and how we smell, explained below.
From the patent for the Soarin' smellitizer system seen in the image above, a nozzle 62 may be located in proximity to the fan 55. The nozzle in FIG. 4 is connected to a reservoir 70 located upstream of the nozzle. Compressed air is supplied through a compressed air inlet 65. The flowing air draws a scent material 67 from the scent reservoir 70 and delivers it through the nozzle 62 to the region of the fan. The scented air then moves through the air plenum 58, which directs it out of the canopy and downward over the passenger.
The science behind the magic
Smells are caused by substances that are sufficiently volatile. Volatility doesn't mean that the substances are evil or mean like Scar or Maleficent but rather, a volatile substance has a tendency to vaporize, or turn into a gaseous form. We are only able to smell things when the molecules that make them up are in gaseous form because only gases can reach the space in our skull where we detect smells. But how do substances that are not gases to begin with transform into gases?
Typically, substances transition from liquid into gas form, like when we boil liquid water and it turns into water vapor. Similarly, scented candles distribute scent by heating solid wax first into a liquid and then into a gas. But liquids are difficult to control in machinery, thus smellitizers are not likely to always use substances in liquid form. (Yes the image from the patent may look like liquid, but this has not been confirmed. Furthermore, having a different liquid container for each scent on Soarin' may be inefficient compared to the methods described below)
Because we are still able to smell the scents of things like candles, soaps, and solid air fresheners even when they are in seemingly solid form, is there another way that smellitizers could achieve their desired effect? Yes! They could either rely on containers of chemicals already in gaseous form or on a process of transforming a solid into a gas called sublimation.
Sublimation requires very special conditions depending on the material in order for the molecules in a solid to have enough energy to become a gas. Heating a solid air freshener is one way to cause sublimation and distribute scent but I think it is unlikely that Disney uses nearly constant heat in all of its smellitizers if it can be avoided because of the high cost of supplying enough energy for such a process. Furthermore, regular life experience seems to indicate that solid air fresheners work pretty effectively even when not in a heated location. Thus, alternative materials or conditions need to be used to make a solid substance in a smellitizer smell.
The most likely explanation is that blowing cool air over the scented substance (typically composed of volatile organic compounds) with a powerful fan or compressed air tank lowers the air pressure above the scented substance by blowing away the molecules that were present before. The same process is at work when wind blowing over a puddle causes the puddle to evaporate more quickly. With fewer molecules present above the scented substance or puddle, more molecules can escape into the air. More molecules turning into gas form results in a higher likelihood that we will detect a smell.
How do we smell?
Chemicals from smell-producing objects travel through the air, into our nostrils (or through our mouth and to the back our throat), through our nasal cavity until they reach a section of the nasal cavity called the olfactory epithelium.
The olfactory epithelium is a membrane covered in mucus that traps the chemicals for smell and is littered with 40 million olfactory neurons. Each of these neurons has special proteins in their membranes which function like locks that are only opened by the proper smell molecule key.
After the molecule unlocks all the receptors that it can, the neurons with those receptors activate and send a signal to a different part of the sensory nervous system called the olfactory bulb, which is just a bundle of neurons.
In addition to sending the signal from the olfactory bulb straight to the olfactory cortex (where higher-order processing occurs), the signal is sent to both the amygdala, which is responsible for emotions, and the hippocampus, which is necessary for memory formation.
Why is smell so powerful for triggering memories and emotions?
The several neurons activated by a smell's molecules are usually arranged in a particular spatial pattern in the olfactory bulb that is gradually (through repetition) associated with the object that caused the smell. This recognition is how a memory for a smell is formed, just like the activation patterns associated with an image of Mickey Mouse's face in the visual cortex or Mickey's voice in the auditory cortex are paired together over time.
Because we have more unique types of receptors for smells (at least 350!) than we do for sight, our memories for smells can be much more specific and also require less complicated integration of sensory information. This specificity may be one of the reasons why we can recall a more specific set of memories from a smell than from just an image (such as a photo of a perfume bottle or the word "rose" instead of the smell associated with each).
Additionally, there are fewer steps involved in the pattern recognition of smells (through the olfactory bulb then to the cortex) than the pattern recognition of sights or sounds (which must first go through a traffic control center called the thalamus). The sensory pathways for smell are much more integrated with the amygdala and hippocampus than other sensory pathways, which likely served our ancestors well in their survival: having a better memory for smells of predators and dangerous foods would prevent death.
Furthermore, smell memories are some of the best-preserved over time. If the first time a memory for a scent is formed occurs during childhood, positive emotions associated with nostalgia can make that memory even more powerful. This may explain why the faintest smell of a churro can bring me back to walking along the Rivers of America in New Orleans Square and why I burst into tears when the Disneyland 60th Anniversary fireworks were accompanied by gingerbread scented "snow" that reminded me of baking gingersnaps with my grandmother.
The importance of precision
What's so special about Disney's smellitizers is that the smells are timed precisely, released relatively discreetly and directly, dissipate quickly and can be used repeatedly for around 80 to 100 showings a day per theater. Imagine not smelling the dirt from Mt. Kilimanjaro until the Paris scene of Soarin' – doesn't really make you feel like you are transported to either locale, does it?
These kind of problems plagued a 1950s-era technology called Smell-O-Vision. Originally used in movie theaters, Smell-O-Vision quickly declined in popularity because the mechanism detracted from, rather than added to, the movie-watching experience. The fans used to dissipate the scents were loud, covering up the music and dialogue, and the scents took too long to reach audience noses so that the smells were not synced properly with the film.
Combining knowledge from chemistry, engineering, and neuroscience, Disney's smellitizers make riding their attractions much more magical and realistic. From classics like the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, to Soarin' and Flight of Passage, the manufactured smells are powerful for helping families remember their vacation for years to come.
What scent (Disney or non-Disney) is the most powerful for you? For me, it's the smell of oranges from Soarin' Over California and the smell of fresh-cut grass from home.
Patent for Soarin' Ride System
Patent for Soarin' Smellitizer
Illustrated Video of Smell by Ted-ED and Rose Eveleth
History of scent-emitting technology
Linda Buck's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech Transcript for Smell Receptors
Arshamian A, Iannilli E, Gerber JC, Willander J, Persson J, Seo H-S, Hummel T, & Larsson M. The functional neuroanatomy of odor evoked autobiographical memories cued by odors and words. Neuropsychologia 51 (2013), 123-131.


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Just how I'm feeling – too many balls in the air
A good post from Lisa Haneberg on management craft and oh so relevant – hoping that the New Year gets easier!
Balls, balls, so many balls in the air.
One moment they are all up and I feel free.
Then they all head down and I panic.
Can I catch all the balls and how long will they stay in play?
Some are large, some tiny; but even the tiny ones weigh heavy in my mind.
I need a rhythm, a way to keep it all going.
There's a basket over there, maybe some of the balls can go there.
Basket when done. Basket when deferred.
Balls, balls, where did all these balls come from?


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The Top Idaho Breweries In McCall
Trying local beers is a great way to explore a new vacation destination. Many brewers only sell their beers within their home state or region, and some even use area-specific hops and malt that give them distinctive flavors. So, if you don't try local pints while you're there, you might not get another chance until you revisit the area.


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Nano Workshop on Entaglement on Solid State Systems
The aim of the workshop is to bring together experts in different fields to compare experiences, approaches and strategies to control entanglement in different solid quantum systems.
More specifically topics involved are:
- solid state systems: nuclear & electronic spins, Q- dots & wires, SC, impurities in solids, polaritons etc. entanglement in hybrid systems.
-control (generation, robustness & transfer ) of entanglement in solid state systems.
-measurement of entanglement.
Participants to FET projects on related subjects are very welcome and encouraged to contribute.


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Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two
Since entering into motherhood, it's become clear to me that one topic of conversation you can never avoid, and almost come to relish, is how exhausted you are. Trading the horrors of what hour your little ones woke up in the morning, or how many times you were up in the middle of the night are common occurrences. The tension between productivity and taking a nap at your baby's nap time is real.
I, for one, remember rocking my oldest to sleep and wondering just how many hours I've passed rocking, or swinging, or shushing our babies down the hallway. Well, I need look no further!
If you, like me, were ever curious about how much sleep you've actually lost over the course of your child rearing years, Hillarys, a British interior design company, created a sleep loss calculator for just that. I'm not even kidding.
To find out exactly how exhausted you truly are, you simply plug in the ages of your children in the calculator and BAM. You're hit with the cold, hard truth. Mine looked a little like this…
Right below this, you find out, on average, how many diapers you've changed in that time as well as the number of nighttime stories you've read. The calculator hilariously goes on to share that 1 in 4 parents has actually put their phones in the refrigerator (or, in my case, put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the pantry!), 1 in 2 parents have put their clothes on inside out, and 1 in 3 have worn mismatched shoes before. Wow.
I'm not sure exactly what we ought to do with this information, but it sure is validating. Us parents sacrifice not only our bodies, our resources, and our time for our kids, we sacrifice a lot of days, too. When we feel like we're quite literally losing our minds and unable to think straight, we can trace it all back to this. Thank you, Hillarys!
Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She's a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.
View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.


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Just 5 days earlier on a Sunday evening she passed away peacefully in her own bed.
She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren.
What a perfect time & way to go. It was a beautiful evening out.
Her 3 daughters each held on to her as she went.
She was ready to go...
{The night before she passed away, we brought over Ryler so she could meet him before she left...Although miserable & tired, she still showed her usual excitement as Tim held Ry up to see her.}
*Her parents, some siblings, grandson Russ & husband Hal all awaited her Heavenly arrival.
We said Good-Bye just as they were greeting her.
|Grandma & Jaxson on his Blessing Day~2009
Grandma Porter was known to most for 2 things.
Even in her 90's:
1) she always had on an outfit that you'd never seen before, complete with matching accessories & shoes. Her make up was of course always done too..complete with lipstick & a SMILE.
2) she had her house decorated to the max- there wasn't an inch that was ignored. From floral arrangements, to photos, to porcelain dolls or teddy bears. (the great-grandkids recently counted 350 teddy bears!) You'd have to see it to believe it.
And she loved it that way. Especially her dolls.
*I found out a secret the day she passed away that I never knew. Tim's Mom told me that the night that Tim proposed to me, that her & Grandma Porter spied on us. Tim had a candlelight dinner set up for me on her back patio that overlooked the lake. The two of them lay on their stomachs & watched through the bottom of the blinds. {Picture this tiny 81 year old woman on her belly trying to catch a glimpse of the moment.} This brought a smile to our faces as we remembered the night & imagined her doing this.*
|Grandma Porter in that very spot 2010
~Her funeral was the day after her 93rd Birthday, Saturday June 4th.~
It was a beautiful service filled with memories, testimony & song.
|Kaylea holding her program.
(Kaylea inherited her nails from her Great Grandma.)
Some of the Great-Grandkids sang: "Families Can Be Together Forever" at the Gravesite.
Here are Grandma's 4 Children surrounding her.
|{Debbie, Carolyn, Lanny, Kathy}
Till We Meet Again...


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17A. *Stable storage enclosure: TACK ROOM
61A. *Benjamin Button portrayer: BRAD PITT. What's your favorite Brad Pitt movie? I liked "Troy".
10D. *Wacko: SCREWBALL
34D. *Game that goes down to the wire: NAIL-BITER.
And one more fastener U-BOLT (29A. Letter-shaped hardware).
Simple theme, just as Scott Arkinson mentioned in his interview. The defining FASTEN, without which the theme would still be apparent, further clears up & unifies the four theme entries. Plenty of long & lively fill, esp the Down entries.
Quite a few names in this puzzle. But most of them are easily recognizable. I noticed that on Wednesdays, besides providing the film name hint, Rich Norris tends to give either the surname or the given name of the movie stars to further ease up the clues. EMMA (37A. Mrs. Peel of "The Avengers") is a good example.
1. Mesmerized: RAPT
5. Medicinal amt.: TSP. 14 Ts in this puzzle.
8. Fenway Park city: BOSTON. Home to the Red Sox.
16. Concert bonus: ENCORE
19. They save the day: HEROES. Nice clue.
20. Affliction: DISEASE
21. Be scared to: DARE NOT. Not Dennis. He dares everything.
22. Bank acct. entry: INT (Interest). And T-NOTE (32D. Conservative IRA asset). Matures in 2-10 years. T-Bill matures in one year or less.
23. Symbol on several keys: ARROW. Computer keys.
24. No __: menu notice: MSG. Chinese dumpling tastes so much better with MSG.
27. Company featuring cavemen in its ads: GEICO. So easy even a caveman can fill the blanks.
33. Chinese currency: YUAN. Chinese dollar. We call US dollar as Mei Yuan. Mei = American. Another currency is DINAR (50D. Iraqi money).
35. Play thing: PROP. Stage play.
36. It's a wrap: SARAN. Have seen this clue a few times. Still love it.
38. Arias, e.g.: SOLOS
40. Plastic surgeon's offering, for short: LIPO (Liposuction). Lipo is just prefix for "fat".
41. "Ghostbusters" co-writer Harold: RAMIS. Wikipedia says he also co-wrote "Caddyshack".
43. Laugh from a Stooge: NYUK. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, Curly's laugh. Unknown to me.
44. In unfamiliar territory, maybe: LOST
45. Dandruff site: SCALP
46. Commonly cluttered room: ATTIC. Any old baseball cards there?
48. Maiden name lead-in: NEE
49. Reward for merit: BADGE
51. Egg carton no.: DOZ. I wonder who first thought of putting a dozen instead of ten eggs in a carton.
53. Great Plains terrain: PRAIRIE
56. Mötley Crüe's two: UMLAUTS. The diacritic marks above the vowels in Mötley & Crüe.
62. Fellini's realm: CINEMA
63. Site of the smallest bone in the body: EAR. Good to know.
64. Lowly worker: PEON
65. Sleep apnea sufferer, often: SNORER
66. The Hartford logo: ELK. No idea. See this sign. Why are so many insurance companies based in Hartford?
67. Egyptian snakes: ASPS
1. Former gen.'s status: RETD (Retired)
3. Cam's output: PICS
4. Sulu portrayer on "Star Trek": TAKEI (George). Surname in the clue, surname in the answer.
5. Lively "Texas" dances: TWO- STEPS. Texas Two-Step. I obtained the answer from crosses.
6. Cobbler's concern: SHOE
7. Spitz-type dog, for short: POM (Pomeranian)
8. Joy of "The View": BEHAR. She's quite bubbly.
9. Burdensome: ONEROUS
11. Ren or Stimpy, e.g.: TOON
12. Its creme may be eaten first: OREO. I don't like the creme at all. Also dislike icing on the cake.
13. Hornet's home: NEST. Was worried that Hornets might refer to a sport team.
18. Tolled: RANG
21. Fail to finish school: DROP OUT
23. Altar boy: ACOLYTE. Seldom see this word in a crossword.
24. Clinton press secretary Dee Dee: MYERS. She sure knows how to spin.
25. "Poison" shrub: SUMAC
26. Beta follower: GAMMA
28. Early metalworking period: IRON AGE. When people started to use coins.
30. Belted constellation: ORION. Why is it "Belted"?
31. Forgetful moment: LAPSE
39. Sudden-braking result: SKID MARK. Two Ks.
42. "I don't want to hear the rest": SPARE ME
52. Rock artist Frank: ZAPPA. Father of Moon Unit.
53. Cpls.' underlings: PFCS. PFC = Private First Class.
54. Picnic spoiler: RAIN. For once it's not ANT.
55. "It will come __ surprise": AS NO
56. River through southern Russia: URAL
57. One-eighties: U-IES
58. Corvette roof option: T-TOP. Three Ts in this corner.
59. Train sched. list: STNS
61. Blossom visitor: BEE. Hey, Melissa!
Answer grid.


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Africa, Caribbean, Pacific Brussels, 20 October 2017
High-level Roundtable - Putting Partnership into Practice: Making the best of the toolbox to promote investment in ACP countries, to connect to value chains and industrialise - 20 October 2017
On Friday 20 October 2017 EU Trade Commissioner Trade Cecilia Malmström will host a High Level Roundtable in Brussels on the interlinkages between EU instruments and policies on trade, investment and development.
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in a 'hands on' debate on:
- how current policy instruments are performing,
- lessons learnt so far,
- what more might be needed to facilitate trade, investment and industrialisation.
The event will take place following the ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee (JMTC).
Lead Participants
- Ms Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade. Read her speech (published after the meeting)
- Mr Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development
- Ms Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica
- Mr Chabani Nourdine, Minister of Trade and Consumption of Madagascar
- Mr Pim van Ballekom, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank
Practical information
- Date: Friday 20 October 2017, 14.30 - 17.15 (CET). Doors will open at 14.00.
- Venue: Albert Borschette Congress Centre (CCAB), Room 0A, Rue Froissart 36, 1040 Brussels.
- Languages: English (interpretation to and from French, Portuguese and Spanish will be available).
- Registration for the Roundtable is now closed.
For queries, please write to TRADE-D2-EVENTS.
Participate via Twitter using the hashtag #EUtrade
More information
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
EU External Investment Plan
Policy Coherence for Development
Read the Privacy Policy Statement.


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Burnet 18
31 Featherton Rise Estate, Wallan, Victoria, 3756 (Featherton Rise Estate)
Block Size: 419.00m2
Burnet 18
At a glance
- 3
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House area: 172.57m2
House width: 11.03m
House depth: 17.89m
Make it your own
You can personalise your new home with a range of options to suit your lifestyle. Please ask your sales consultant for more information.
Burnet displays
Burnet belongs to the Xpress by Simonds range
Xpress by Simonds allows you to tailor your dream home from the comfort of your armchair, then lock-in the price for your peace of mind.
Enquire about this package
Submit your details using the form below


text:
2019 Favorite Things Giveaway - giving lucky readers my favorite things in 2019 + an easy gift guide for your holiday shopping needs!
I've teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers to bring you a giveaway I'm really excited about - and it's all for YOU!
We're giving away 11 gift baskets to our readers, giving you 11 chances to spoil yourself with some really fun gifts this Holiday season!
I'm giving away a gift basket full of face masks, my favorite creams and lip tint, a dreamy candle, and more fun surprises for a lovely night in - the top gift I want to give myself this year!
I'm so excited to bring this giveaway to you!
But first, visit the ten other bloggers who are also giving away their favorite things!
The giveaways are shown in the collage above.
Take a few minutes and click on each giveaway below and enter in their giveaways today!
You can enter in my giveaway at the bottom of this post.
Now time to enter to win my favorite picks!a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Swimming pools play a paramount role in both residential and commercial buildings in this contemporary lifestyle. Since swimming pools are the long-term investment you must improve its lifetime with proper maintenance.
You must clean the pools at periodic intervals to ensure hygiene, provide comfort to the users and protect the accessories used in it. With the help of certain pool cleaners and little knowledge, you can clean your pool efficiently. The regular maintenance of the pool helps you to save money on severe damages. Go through this article to know the best tips clean your swimming pool.
Water is a crucial part of the swimming pool which must be cleaned often to avoid many problems. It is better to spend some time cleaning the leaves or debris found on the surface of the water by using a vacuum. Then, you have to scrub or skim the sides of the pools to avoid the algae formation.
Filtration systems are like your kidney to the swimming pools as it removes the impurities in the water. Also, it eliminates waste materials like dirt, leaves, small objects that are found in the pool water. It is advisable to turn off the filter, remove the cap and lift the basket to clean it. You can clean the filtration pipe once in a month and fix it. In order to avoid the mechanical repair of the filtration system, you can set the timer.
Once the swimmers get into the pool the oil or lotion used on their body get accumulated in the water. You can clean the water with the help of a tennis ball to absorb the oils. The fibres used in the ball tend to absorb the oil from water and provide a fresh appearance to the pool.
Chemicals are one of the important aspects that you should maintain well to protect both you and your pool. The improper chemical level in the water causes skin and eye irritation as well as leads to bacteria growth. Get the experts' advice to maintain the level of chemicals such as chlorine, alkalinity, and calcium hardness and so on.
Thus, these are the best tips to maintain your swimming pool regularly. If you don't find time to maintain your pool often you can hire the swimming pool maintenance service. The pool technicians will take care of your swimming pool and leave it fresh to enjoy.


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This is Still my favorite FGFS movie!
music/editing/tricks- best
This is Still my favorite FGFS movie!
music/editing/tricks- best
Aidan Curry aka "ACslayer" and a super clean GOAT build
Aidan came to visit NYC this weekend, we rode local brooklyn spots and chilled out.
Here is a link to his blog THE RATPACK! Stay updated with whats going down in Richmond Virginia!
Thanks for the dope RATPACK stickers, hopefully the NYC crew visits Virginia this summer.
Aidan will have a clip in the NYC weby coming soon.
frame: the Grime G.O.A.T. medium 2011
fork: Sadio Booster 420mm
bars: Sadio 420
stem: FBM Crown Royal top load
headset: FBM
front wheel: Velocity P35 laced to Sadio hub
rear wheel: Velocity P35 laced to 14mm Sadio hub
cog: Sadio 12t
cranks: Sadio Swoop 175mm
pedals: Animal Hamilton PC
foot retention: Burro Chronic
sprocket: Sadio Molar 30t
bottom bracket: Sadio
chain: Shadow Conspiracy ½ Link
seat & post: Sadio Fatboy
grips: FBM Double Fister
front tire: Resist Nomad
rear tire: Specialized Hempisphere
front peg: Sadio Riot
rear peg: Animal Lite
^^^thats a super solid build^^^
Specs from The Grime
"Ed Wonka Signature 2 piece bars are here. Made to take a beating but not ruin your wrists!
Fully Heat Treated Cr-Mo Tubing
4.9″ Rise
28.5″ Wide
"wrist saver" Sweep
Low Profile Corssbar Shape
22.2 knurled clamp area
Patented Crossbar shape
Black Gloss Powder Finish"
Pick up Your New Bars HERE at The Grime's Webstore
Cant wait to get my hands on a set!
One of the videos i normally watch to get juiced for a session. This online video is about 2 years old now and i just read that a part 2 is in the works, so why not post it?
also, a lot of these spots are in NYC! shout out to THE GRIME for this gem.
Original link
Enjoy, keep riding!
First things first, these bars are awesome!
They aren't heavy and feel great!
They don't feel cheap at all, you can tell they are high quality bars from the get.
The only thing i personally don't like is the width, they seem to wide for my liking but that can be fixed with a little trimming.(some may find this as a positive)
I've only ridden them twice and so far Im in love with them, i will post a product review follow up once i really start riding these babies!
Great job Sadio!


text: Chemists are scientists who specialize in the field of chemistry. Having said that, the job of a chemist does not limit to a chemistry laboratory alone! Today, with rapid industrialization, almost every industry employs chemists in their industrial set-ups be it pharmaceuticals or plastics, medicine or paints, chemical industry or detergent industry and so on. Chemists generally investigate the chemical nature of substances and observe how they behave under different conditions to search for new knowledge. They examine both organic and inorganic compounds to determine their chemical and physical properties, composition, structure, and reactivity. Chemists try to decode the details of the chemical molecules and their component atoms. It is this knowledge that comes in assistance to comprehend the composition and properties of unknown substances. Over the years, there have been innumerable chemists from every century who have greatly contributed to the society's chemical future. However, the largest influx in the subject was seen in the 20th century as more and more individuals dedicated themselves to this field of study. 20th century was home to some of most famous and renowned chemists of the era including Dan Shechtman, Derek Barton, Charles J Pederson and Albert Hofmann. Given below is an extensive list of famous chemists of the 20th century.


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by Didi Devapriya Deshaies
In October, the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) organized a conference for early childhood professionals with the theme "Early Childhood in Times of Rapid Change" that took place this October in Vilnius, Lithuania. The conference explored four main strands – Meaningful Learning for Children, Meaningful Preparation for the Workforce, Meaningful Support for Families, Meaningful Use of Technology. The conference sought to address the experience of rapid changes facing societies around the world, bringing together experts, researchers, practioners, policy makers and NGOs to discuss these themes in a variety of interactive sessions. There was a particular emphasis on the refugee crisis and several presentations shared strategies on addressing the needs of children and families affected by displacement and the traumas of war, natural disasters or economic crisis.
I was invited to present two Neohumanist Education projects: The "Pathways to Education" project for Syrian refugee children run by AMURT Lebanon, and the "We all have a Story" project promoting inclusivity in early childhood education that took place in Romania. I was able to participate, thanks to support from the Zonnelicht school. It was an excellent opportunity for Neohumanist Education approaches to gain visibility amongst leaders in the field, as well as to learn about innovative new developments in ECE and create new networking connections with like-minded organizations and people. A Dutch organization was particularly interested in exploring collaborations in working with refugees. Connections were also made for developing further projects in the integration of severely marginalized Roma communities.
A new term that was repeatedly used in the conference was "Generation Touch" referring to the impact of touch screen technology on children who are growing up in a world where they expect every object to perform like a screen, responding instantaneously to touch. This phenomenon was explored in several of the presentations I attended. Generally, there was a consensus that technology should scaffold and support, rather than replace other types of educational interventions, and that its use should be very limited in the earliest years of a child's life, as it can affect neurological development. In her keynote speech, Professor Liz Goodman who teaches "Inclusive Design" in Dublin, also described innovations in the use of technology to support the inclusion of special needs children, such as an innovation that allows paralyzed people to move a mouse with their eye movements. She talked about how technology can assist in personalization of services as "one size fits one".
I particularly enjoyed a lively peer debate on the appropriate use of technology in early childhood education. I was expecting to listen to a panel of experts debating the pros and cons of technology, so I was quite taken aback when I walked in through the door and the moderator asked me whether I was for or against the use of technology in Early Childhood education – I answered "It depends…" but we had to all choose a stand and then go through a formal debate process. I ended up on the anti-tech side and argued that the most important piece of technology we must teach children to master is our own body, heart and mind. However, in reality – I recognized that technology is very difficult to avoid, and it is simply a fact that we must learn to deal with in appropriate ways. Another conclusion that was also mentioned several times in the course of the conference, is that the increase in screen time, needs to be balanced by increased conscientious attention on developing empathy and relationships.
Another keynote presentation, by Nicholas Burnett, introduced the Lancet Series, which Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale. The journal is a prestigious medical and scientific journal, which has gathered evidence to quantify the impact of early childhood education. The study shows that "children who are not nurtured properly in the early years may forfeit a quarter of their earning capacity as adults. The Series provides a roadmap to successful interventions in early childhood, along with evidence that such interventions contribute directly to ending extreme poverty, boosting shared prosperity, promoting healthy lives and learning, reducing inequalities, and maintaining peaceful societies." The findings from the Lancet series emphasize "'nurturing care', especially for children below three years of age: multi-sectoral interventions starting with health – which can make a profound impact on families and young children through health and nutrition." Dr. Burnett made a comparison with climate change – that a change in our individual behavior will not to seem to have any impact in the short term, but unless we take actions now, we will all be in much worse problems in the future.
Indeed, the Lancet series evidence has already proven useful in convincing policy makers to include investments in Early Childhood Education as part of the UN Millenium Development Goals and on more local levels. The conference concluded with the screening of a new documentary video "The Beginning of Life" which similarly can be very useful in supporting efforts to convince parents, policy makers etc about the importance of investing in early childhood education.
Asociatia Educatia Neoumanista (AEN) is a partner in the Erasmus+ project "Children in Permaculture".
Children in Permaculture is a 3-year project funded through Erasmus+ Key Action 2: School Education. The partnership is across 5 countries: UK, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Italy.
CiP is an innovative project of international cooperation bringing together key educators (from different schools, nurseries, practices and countries) in order to cross-fertilise, share and synthesise ideas, which will strengthen the capacities of all involved.
This international exchange will develop, test, adapt and implement practices in permaculture education with children. It will:
Eric Jacobsen is the founder and director of a model Neohumanist Education school in Long Island, New York. Over the course of 15 years, he has been interviewing students who graduated from the Progressive School of Long Island to discover the impact of the Neohumanist "character-based education" on their long term development.
Their responses have been compiled, revealing a clear pattern. There are 13 character qualities that these young people, now in high-school, college and beyond, consistently report observing both in themselves, and in their peers from Progressive School. Although these qualities may exist in others too, they are seen with amazing frequency and to a high degree in those who benefited from the Neohumanist educational foundation. Eric calls these qualities "intangible gains" because they are not easily quantified. Yet they are the engine that drives academic and personal growth.

The Gradinita Rasarit kindergarten was started in 1995 – so it has had its 20th anniversary in 2015!
The program is the first one in Romania to be inspired by Neohumanist Education philosophy and we are working on creating a new educational alternative based on this experience. Here is a photo album of some of the activities from the past year!
During the past two years, AEN's president, Denise Deshaies has been travelling to Lebanon to lead trainings in Neohumanist Education for the staff of a project serving the Syrian refugee children there. In less than a year, the AMURT Lebanon Child Friendly Space (CFS) project has progressed considerably. Though it started out in a space that used to be a warehouse that was renovated above the original headquarters of AMURT, it has since shifted to Al-Mahaba School a large school building owned by the Catholic church in KfrNabrakh, with a spacious and well equipped sports field.
There has also been turnover in both teachers and children. Since the program began in April 2014, 310 children have benefitted from the CFS program. Currently, there are 50 new children integrating into the program. There are now 10 CFS facilitators, as well as an educational consultant and two psychologists involved in the psycho-social support program. Besides the CFS program, AMURT Lebanon also runs a Back to School support program which has given financial support to a total of 650 Syrian and Lebanese vulnerable students to cover school fees, transportation and educational materials. In February, AMURT Lebanon organized a Neohumanist Education training led by AMURTEL Romania's president, Didi A. Devapriya to offer holistic education tools to the new staff.
The training focused mostly on understanding how traumatic stress effects children and their behavior, as well as practical methods for assisting the children in integrating into the child friendly space. The CFS is conceived of as a temporary, intermediate step to help children that have either never been in, or have been excluded from the mainstream educational system because of their refugee status. It helps children "normalize" after so many experiences of disruption, stress and instability. It also gives them a safe space to learn how to express themselves, to receive emotional support and coaching, as well as to gain practical skills for school readiness. One of the most important elements of the CFS, however, is to have fun and play!
It was chilling to see the drawings on the walls of the therapy room made by some of the children. There were so many vivid drawings of soldiers with guns, bullets, blood and dead bodies. These children have seen unspeakable things. And yet, they are still children and need the same opportunities all children need to grow and develop and heal.
Didi introduced yoga for children as a way to ground and learn to trigger relaxation responses to turn off the hyper vigilant stress system that traumatic situations leave constantly on alert. She also introduced story-massage, therapeutic story telling, persona dolls and lots of games. The group was particularly creative and invented many songs in Arabic, based on classic Neohumanist songs to use during quiet time, transitions, etc.
Since the training, the facilitators have introduced a morning "Circle of Love", and use the songs that they created for the activities. They use story telling extensively and have already created several arabic persona dolls, which they plan to use to address sensitive issues around bullying and discrimination.
Here is a therapeutic story that Didi wrote for the training and reflects, through metaphor, the experience of these children:
A tiny tomato seed was planted in the warm, dark earth inside of a safe greenhouse. Soon, a tiny green shoot had sprouted through the earth, and began reaching up towards the sunlight. It grew, and grew…And then one day, a shovel came, and roughly dug into the earth next to her and in one sudden lurching movement, the tomato seedling was dizzily free of its familiar bed of earth. A small chunk of earth clung to her tiny hair like roots. Several of the roots stung as they had been severed when the seedling had been torn from the ground.
The seedling was crowded into a tray with many other little plants. They could barely breathe. And then a motor hummed, and suddenly the earth was moving underneath then and rumbling and jostling. They fell over onto one another, some of their fragile leaves snapped off.
A long time passed, and the little seedling just waited, huddled together. Most mornings they received a brief shower of water from above. But a long time days passed without water…they were so thirsty. The little plants couldn't keep growing towards the sun. They began to wilt..some of the leaves were turning yellow. They cried out for water – they wanted to grow again.
At last their cries were heard. A concerned voice "Oh – these plants need to get into the ground!!! Who left them here?"
The little seedling again found herself flying through the air, and then she was settled into a carefully prepared hole, already soaked with water. The half covered roots were then snugly covered up with earth. The little seedling was happy – but so exhausted that she just slumped over onto the earth. She didn't even have the strength to stand up straight – especially with the rays of sun beating down as the sun rose high into the sky.
There were other tomato plants nearby – strong and tall. They seemed to be laughing at the sadly wilted newcomers. Already they had yellow flowers brightly decorating their branches -that would turn into red tomatoes in a few more weeks.
That night when the hot sun set behind the stony mountains, a cool moon rose in the sky and gently shone its healing light on the little tomato seedling . The moon told the seedling – you are safe now and can let your roots stretch into the ground again. I will send morning dew for you to drink and grow strong, and soon you will catch up with the other plants and you too will have beautiful yellow flowers and lovely juicy tomatoes!"
The next morning, it wasn't easy and the little seedling had to struggle, but already she was standing up a bit straighter. The farmer came and planted a strong pole next to her and gently tied bits of string to her stems to support her to grow nice and tall. Though she was smaller than the others and had to work hard to grow, day by day the little plant was climbing higher and higher thanks to the pole. The farmer took extra care to give her steady showers of rain and a little bit of extra fertile black manure so she could catch up. Soon the tomato plant was doing what tomato plants do – stretching her leaves up to the sun and growing, growing, growing.
Before long – yellow buds unfurled on its branches. In a few more weeks, when the flowers had dried up, they left behind small, round, green knobs that began to swell every day. The green tomatoes warmed in the summer sunshine, and began blushing into red. The little tomato seedling had grown into a tall, strong tomato plant just like the other plants, and offered its juicy, sweet, red tomatoes to the farmer.
The following resources are helpful for early-childhood education teacher training. They can be used to stimulate discussion and critical thinking and some contain practical examples for classroom use:
by Louise Derman Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards
This is a fundamental "textbook" in diversity awareness for early childhood education. It can be purchased from the NAEYC website, and you can also download the first chapter for free at this link.
by Trisha Whitney
This book introduces the "persona doll method" – an excellent tool for stimulating discussion in the classroom about issues such as stereotyping, exclusion, diversity etc. The teacher creates a realistic biography for a special handmade doll that is not used as a typical toy – but rather is introduced into the classroom as a friend and brought into special circle discussions by the teacher on a regular basis. Care is taken to include different aspects of diversity relevant to the children in the group when formulating the biography. The book gives hundreds of practical examples, directly from the classroom, of facilitating children to identify emotions, solve problems and increase empathy. The book can be bought online at Amazon. You can also learn more about this method, and order dolls from the Persona Dolls Training website. They also have a rich resource section, with many useful books and DVDs. In particular, the DVD "Storytelling to make a Difference" shows many examples of utilizing the persona doll method in the classroom, with feedback from the teachers as well.
by Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow
The Index for Inclusion by Tony Booth and Mel Ainsow is concerned with promoting values-led development for schools, kindergarten and other educational settings. It sees inclusion broadly as concerned with putting inclusive values into action and through its 70 indicators and 2,000 questions relates its values framework to the fine detail of settings and the activities within them. The most recent edition has been written by Tony Booth and can be obtained by writing to him at email@example.com. More information is available from the Index for Inclusion Network at indexforinclusion.org
This comprehensive resource offers an important tool for critical reflection to school communities that are seeking to improve their inclusiveness. It offers guidance in developing an inclusive school development plan, and offers a list of indicators that help to paint a clear picture of what an optimally inclusive environment would look like. It is designed to stimulate discussion between stakeholders rather than as a checklist.
Recent movements, such as "Gross National Happiness", or the "Happy Planet Index" have shown the importance of "measuring what matters." The process of doing so, helps us to define more clearly the future we are seeking to create. Clear goals and clear vision lead to better outcomes.
Nik Marks
This Ted Talk, by Nic Marks further elaborates on the importance of having positive visions of change – with very interesting implications for the ecological movement as well. He begins his talk by saying that Martin Luther King, when inspiring the civil rights movement, did not start out his famous speech with "I have a nightmare" but rather with "I have a dream."
More and more people are becoming aware of the need to emphasize well-being in early childhood education, rather than only looking at standard cognitive developmental benchmarks. This organization "Learning for Well-Being" shares many Neohumanist values.
Jane Elliot
The following video, "A Class Divided" is a documentary about a controversial experiment that a 2nd grade teacher, Jane Elliot, did in 1968, immediately after the shooting of Martin Luther King, in order to sensitize her students to racism by creating an experience of discrimination. The students were interviewed many years later as adults, and all of them felt it was an important life-changing experience that they wish more children could have so that they could learn to empathize with people that experience discrimination.
The Swiss organization, Proinfirmis, has produced several touching videos designed to help shift the way people view those with disabilities:
The following article is based on a talk given by Didi Devapriya Deshaies (president of AEN) during the panel discussion: "How can we transform our educational system to help construct a compassionate and more livable future?" July 11th, AB Tech Campus, Asheville, NC:
Since last year, I have been part of a project in Bucharest to train 100 kindergarten teachers in the "We all Have a Story Project", which was designed to awaken positive attitudes towards diversity in both teachers and kindergarten children. The project is financed by the EEA Grants in the "NGO Fund" program and is is a partnership between the Centre for Partnership and Equality (CPE), AMURTEL Romania and Romano Butiq.
During one of the training sessions, we led a simple exercise. The teachers gathered in a circle, and while their eyes were closed, we placed colored post-it notes on their heads. Most received yellow post-it notes while just a few of them received green ones. When they opened their eyes, they could see the post-it notes on the heads of the others, but they could not see their own. At first they just walked through the room, greeting each other and giggling at the oddness of having something stuck to their head. However, we then told them to avoid those wearing green postit notes as they were not their friends. The change in the atmosphere of the room was palpable and a certain tension began rising. As everyone began to ignore and exclude those with green, the giggling took on a nervous quality, as nobody was really sure what color they themselves had. Eye contact became insecure, and the question "are the others excluding me?" was hanging in the air. Read More
by Didi A.Devapriya
Virginia Blackburn was a powerful and beautiful black African American woman working as a social worker at a women's centre in a poor inner-city neighbourhood in the Midwest. She was a close friend and wise mentor for me in my early twenties. She invited me to different workshops on themes such as overcoming racism, classism, sexism and other types of isms. I was shocked to discover how these barriers had limited my ability to feel close and connected to others. I considered myself a liberal, open minded person. I had grown up in a multi-ethnic highschool and most of my best friends were non-whites – Korean, Chinese, Indian. I had even gone to a formal dance with a black friend as my date, and had to cringingly endure the loud and embarrassing comments of my somewhat deaf French-Canadian grandfather like " Oh he is good looking for a black guy!" I was a good person and I was dedicated to principles of equality for all. I certainly didn't see myself as a racist and would never consciously participate in hurting anyone because of their identity. And yet, in the workshops I discovered the extent to which I had still internalised racism and other isms.