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Though today Rwanda capital looks impressive to some visitors, but inside that capital, goes and moves out a bleeding people-the Rwanda citizens.
The Rwandan people [90%] hearts are bleeding with pain as the so called development is a big sham and insult to them. To even make matters worse, their tormentors-Rwanda Patriotic Front extremists have the most powerful godfathers on this planet; from the Illuminati, to the American street pick-pockets.
I've studied oppressive entities but this one in Rwanda is beyond….
Its only in Rwanda were the state can come and vandalise (cut-down your food) your garden that has fed an entire generation because they can do it, and are doing it even now. That's why the autocracy has shamelessly decided to rename Rwanda Republic to Rwanda Inc. Thus, Rwanda is officially a Private company of Kagame and no longer a country for the people-by the people.
In kinyarwanda culture, home-steads have always planted several food crops as a form of food security and hunger management. In order to manage land scarcity, families woul plant a couple of Banana trees, while at the same-time, that small piece of land could be used to grow beans,potatoes, peas,etc.thus, every season a poor family was assured of a meal on the plate.
But today, the autocratic regime of RPF has violently forced the population from growing food crops but coffee for Starbucks, Tea for Jannet Kagame, Vanilla for Tony Blair,etc.
Okay, you might think that this is ridiculous and its not happening. Very wrong, because its happening and it has led to a large-scale food insecurity.
Maybe, the idea of growing a single crop would have been viable, if the small-holding farmers had the capacity to sell their product at a reasonable price. However, this's not the case-what we have in place are politically run-semi cooperatives that use Cambodia Khmer Rouge's type of extortion method. Thus, a gang of political party officials go around home-steads intimidating people to grow a particular crop and are given a particular date for harvesting. Those families that didn't meet the harvest time, are accused of spending time in Congo with FDLR and their homes razed to the ground.
Those that met the deadline,surrendered their products to RPF party official that payed them peanuts, then took their products to a forth official, who then took the products to the main cooperative point as his products.
This has led thousands of families into despair-remember that employment opportunities are not available to all Rwandans especially those that are classified as Hutu and Twa.
In fact not all Tutsi have access to employment opportunities-regardless of their education background. As one has to have a Ugandan connection, royal to the RPF autocracy and has also undergone RPF ideological indoctrination.
Everyday 2-5 families are leaving Rwanda for Uganda and Congo as they can't handle it anymore-in fact, 2 cases were reported in Byumba were families resorted to eating dogs, which is a taboo in Kinyarwanda culture. Not only that, but last month, a youth that plucked a single corn from a plantation that belongs to Jannet Kagame, was arrested and hacked to pieces by security operatives as a deterrent method.
I could go on and on….they're so many horrible things that are happening to ordinary Banyarwanda. For instance, brewing traditional beer has also been stopped, Having a grass thatched house is also a crime, and this would lead to your house being razed and then expelled from your village. Horrible… horrible!!
Just like a Rwandan political commentator said a few days ago, "The problem with Kagame and his autocracy, is the failure to come out of the bush ways , when everything was done in the interest of armed rebels at the time, they have failed to realise that they now serve Banyarwanda and not a small clique of armed rebels"
This is a crisis that needs to be addressed, otherwise we could see an eruption of violence very soon.
The things that always shows you what one's culture is all about, are normally; The Leadership (social and political), History,Food & Drinks, Architecture/Design, Beliefs, Dance & Music,etc.
However, most of these traits are at the brink of extinction in present day Rwanda.
The cultural leadership(Mwami) is still languishing in Exile. The cultural food and drinks is being aggresively destroyed in favor of foreign imports that are traded by the Kagame clique.
Its a criminal offence to brew Rwandan traditional beer(Urwagwa)-an offence that has not been put in statutes, but an RPF bush law that could easily lead to being killed-After 19 years, Rwanda Patriotic Front still has a bush mentality, and that's why Rwandans haven't stopped bleeding with pain to this day.
The Kihutu (kinyarwanda) dress code has become more of a ceremonial attire-in fact, Tyrant Kagame is ashamed to wear it, and has rarely worn it in public. Due to his inferiority complex, he prefers to dress in Italian designer suits. This inferiority complex could be attributed to lack of cultural leadership in the Country and in his upbringing-though monarchs are never democratic per say, but they do encourage and inspire its subjects to love their heritage.Thus, the Mwami is the custodian of all Banyarwanda heritage.
The half-baked policies of RPF autocracy are not the only one to blame, but western imperialism that has mentored Criminal Paul Kagame-Yankee culture is the biggest crap that is being imported to Rwanda. In fact, there's more inward investment to Rwanda, for the youth to learn how to rap like gangsters(abusing their mothers and sisters), break dance like fools, Vandalism art, aka graffiti, basket ball, etc. than run inanga workshops.
The Nanga has been relegated to a decorative object, that can been found miserably hanged on a wall. Thus, our culture has been sentenced to death by hanging. The Inanga was frequently used to accompany storytelling or epic historical recounts, the inanga regularly supported important governmental functions and non-governmental celebrations. At one time the inanga was played in the royal court to sooth the mwami.
Rwandans are thought to have been primarily a vocal dynasty, that used praise songs [urugero], wrestling songs [amusare], hunting songs [amahigi], war songs [indirimbo z'ingabo], pastoral songs [amahambo], and choral songs [ibihozo] comprised the majority of these inherited traditional songs.
It was also played to incite war in years past. Despite its specific cultural and ethnic-based roots, the inanga remains a rich symbol of Rwandan cultural unity. Its no longer everyday sounds-cape of Rwanda, as the omnipresence of the sounds of electric guitars and keyboards(computerised) and the popular hits of artists such as Meddy, Diplomat, Miss Jojo, etc. have taken over.
The acoustic, plucked through-strung the strings- inanga functions as a musical badge of identity for members of all Rwandan ethnic groups (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa). The musical instrument accompanies the strong, historically situated lyrics of players trained in a centuries-old tradition, while also introducing newer lyrics addressing important issues such as unity and reconciliation. The arrogant autocracy of RPF has overlooked the importance of this cultural tool, as they only believe in forced unity using the gun.
However, the RPF autocracy believes in Mchaka-Mchaka Marxists type of boot-camps to formulate the Unity and reconciliation of Banyarwanda. Now, this is what I call real bush mentality-"you can get the man out of the bush, but you can't remove the bush out of him" said a tomato seller.
Before the Europeans arrived, Rwanda was there for several centuries with a socio-political unity, lined by natural borders, with a common language (Kihutu) and with common religious and philosophical principles.
For centuries there had been different tribes: Hutu (mainly farmers), Tutsi (mainly herdsmen) and Twa"s (pygmies, hunters). The name "Tutsi" originally means ´he who owns cattle´ but gradually became an indication for "ruler", the leading elite.
The name ´Hutu´ originally means ´subordinate´ or ´client of a mighty person´ and finally became an indication for ´ordinary people´.
Tutsi started to differ due to marrying among themselves and different food especially diary products. These farmers and herdsmen lived in a relative peace, spoke the same language and had the same religion.
The majority married within the group in which they were raised, but marriages between the two groups were there as well.
It was also possible for a Hutu to become a Tutsi if he acquired more cattle or climbed the social ladder
The German Ruanda-Urundi and Belgian colonial mandate
Europeans wanted to avoid carrying the war into their colonies … but that was not the case in Rwanda Urundi. August 15, 1914, German troops based in Rwanda Urundi cut the telegraph line along Lake Tanganyika and bombed villages around Lake Tanganyika. On August 22, a German ship opened fire on Lukuga port. Following the attack, the Minister of Belgian Colonies, Renkin sent a telegram to the governors of the Congo and Vice-Governor of Katanga ordering military action to defend the territory …
On 18 April 1916, the Belgian offensive was triggered on the order of General Tombeur. The attacking forces included two groups: those of colonels Molitor (north), and Olsen (south). The first day, the brigade occupied Olsen Island Gumbo (southern Lake Kivu). The next day,Shangugu (Cyangugu) fell. Brigade Molitor made U turn from Uganda(Kabale) to Kigali on May 6 1916.Les German forces from Burundi commanded by Captain Von Languenn opposed a vigorous resistance, but could not stand before the Belgian numerical superiority. May 19, 1916, Major Muller occupied Nyanza. June 6, Usumbura fell under Belgian forces commanded by Colonel Thomas.
Kitega was taken on June 17 Rwanda and Burundi got occupied.
Following the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost its colonies in favor of the victorious countries. The League would award a mandate to the Belgians on Rwanda Urundi. Can you imagine???
The Belgians in Rwanda
The Germans had left the local governing structure (consisted of the king (mwami) and his chiefs) intact; although the mwami was subject to the authority of a white man with a white army to maintain this authority. The rebellions in German East-Africa were suppressed harshly and several hundred thousands were killed.
As of 1900, monks (Patres Albi) and some protestant missionaries resided in Rwanda. Out of practical (political-church) motives the religious workers cooperated with the German and later Belgian colonial governors. All types of tasks (food-supply, road maintenance, transport for the ruler) were organised by them. Refusal to work was punished in a military way(the exact things RPF is doing to Rwandans) and this did not contribute to the spreading of the "good news", but forced religious indoctrination.
These Patres Albi were painfully unpopular, also because of forced Catholicism.
The mass and teaching were in Latin-In 1931 king Musinga was deposed because he didn't cooperate enough with the ruler and was replaced with his son, Mutara III. He was later baptized in 1946 and dedicated Rwanda to Christ. Rwanda was seen as of then as a role model of a catholic state.
In the 1920's the Belgian colonialists changed the Rwandan state because of a more efficient administration and the delicate native balance of power. The people were forced to grow coffee, up to 50% of their working hours, often whipped if they were not willing and severe taxes were imposed.
Belgian soldiers were active from 1917 to 1958, contributed to the maintenance of a colonial system in Rwanda. Thus, they run an indirect management, based on the support and protection of a Tutsi monarchy, at the expense of the vast majority Hutu population.
At first the Belgians followed the same rule of indirect rule, but later started to interfere more and more in the existing structures.
The 'Tutsification' of Rwanda
Both Church and state organised the governing system so that only Tutsis could occupy senior functions.
Thus, Hutus were discharged from powerful positions and refused higher education. The Tutsis gratefully accepted this role. To empower the new situation and legitimise it, the Church (especially Mgr Léon Classe) brought up the myth of ethnic superiority. Tutsis were claimed to be of the Chamitic race (of Cham, Noah"s son) and were closer to the white race which would explain their superiority (a version of "social Darwinism", a theory of "evolution" of the people that was practiced in that era).
In short, the Tutsi became brainwashed into believing that they're born leaders, and should be the reigning class. To explain this racial difference they performed all kinds of "scientific" tests of skulls, noses and sexual organs (similar to how the Nazi"s wanted to prove the superiority of the Arian race in Europe). Using the educational system many generations in Rwanda were fooled by this race-hypothesis.
The Tutsis too, believed in the Nazi race superiority hypothesis,and imposed forced hard-labour on the hutus. Those who did not obey, were violently ill-treated by the Tutsi bosses.
Since identification based on external features seemed difficult the Belgians started a compulsory registration as of
birth in the thirties. Each person had to declare to which group he belonged (Twa, Hutu or Tutsi) and this was recorded on his ID-card. Everyone with more than 10 cows was automatically labelled as Tutsi. This written registration destroyed the self-image of the people of Rwanda towards their own identity. Thus, the foundations for the later post-colonial ethnic tensions and political instability had been laid.
The government Force was composed of:
– Only Belgian officers
– Junior-officers were mainly Belgians and Congolese natives.
– Soldiers who were recruited among Congolese.
Congo got its independence and this was an opportunity to exclude Belgians from the national Force. Patrick Lumumba, the then Prime Minister gave instructions to Congolese soldiers in Rwanda to leave and return to their own country. For this reason, the Territorial Guard of Rwanda – Burundi was created on the 13th June 1960, before elections took place. Few days later a school for junior-officers for both Rwanda and Burundi was created in Usumbura. This type of command for both countries helped to initiate a local military training for whose command was extended to those two countries.
The Rwandese territorial guard command was given to Major François Vanderstraeten. Many Belgian deputy officers from different ranks were sent to Rwanda to support their staff.
The colonial military used the " piglet system" to eliminate some individuals just like what the RPF is doing today. No wonder, they used to tell Congolese before Killing Hutus that when you hear any wailing sounds, just know its pigs being slaughtered and you shouldn't worry.
It was a system that scrutinised people basing on physical tests. Although Tutsi were allowed to join the military, it was very hard for them to be admitted. Military officers would do whatever they could to make them fail.
The Rwandese section of the school for junior officers was transferred from Usumbura to Astrida (Butare) in November 1960. Some divisions, and the likes of platoons, were created in provinces. On November 10, 1960 the school for officers was opened and seven students registered.
Some of the students were; Juvenal Habyarimana, Aloys Nsekalije, Bonaventure Ubalijoro and six of them were promoted to the rank of 2nd lieutenant on December 23, 1961.
During the period between December 1962 and July 1967, Rwanda encountered different incursions of "Inyenzi" Tutsi resistance fighters, consequently, new units were created and established on the boarder. In December 1973, the National Guard was called Rwandese Army.
In 1978, the National Army was merged by the National Police Force (Gendarmerie) and later became the Rwandese Army Force6 (F.A.R).
The Hutu-revolution
In 1946 Rwanda became a Trust-ship of the United Nations, which meant that the Belgians would prepare the area for independence (which happened on July 1, 1962). In the years after WWII everywhere in Africa movements for independence started to mushroom.
In addition a post-war generation of Belgian rulers was more aware of the problems of the suppressed people, the Hutus. The Hutus were appointed now in junior governmental positions and were allowed to receive education in seminaries. A new reversed myth was born: the Hutu was no longer the dumb, dirty farmer, but a people that had suffered under a Tutsi tyranny for ages. Tutsis were no longer the sophisticated, related to white aristocrats, chosen to reign, but were now portrait as an underhand for colonialists and bloodthirsty warriors who had shed a trail of blood from Ethiopia all the way to Rwanda.
In 1957 the ´Bahutu-manifesto was published-that expressed the will for emancipation of the Hutus. The church with Mgr Perraudin as spokesman supported this document fully.
In 1959 the violence against Tutsis started and ten thousands fled over the border to Congo, Tanzania and Uganda (between 1959 and 1973 approximately 700.000; later they did not receive permission to return). In the colonial army all Tutsi chiefs were replaced by Hutus.
In the same year the moderate king Mutara III Rudahigwa died under strange circumstance (he died shortly after a vaccination by a Belgian doctor; many people in Rwanda consider it a murder). His half brother Kigeli V succeeded him, but after a trip to the UN in New York, access to Rwanda was denied by the Belgian governor Harry. Rwanda was made a republic with a Belgian stamp.
What do we all learn from this??
The fact of being a Mututsi, Muhutu or Mutwa never depends on the origin as portrayed by the western imperialists because none of the Rwandan people knew or thought that they came from different places on different times. These issues of origin and migration were colonial concepts.
In terms of social formation, some people who acquired a given status whether lower or higher could join easily another category or class of people. In this case, a Muhutu who acquired a good number of cows gained the status of a Mututsi and this was commonly known as 'kwihutura', likewise, when a Mututsi was impoverished and began to cultivate, he could be categorized easily as a Muhutu.
The fact is that, imperialists found these 'classes' in Rwanda, under the monarchy. Typical of any monarchy, Rwandan monarchy too practiced some kind of oppression based on these classes. However, they did not go far like the coloniolists or even the RPF today.Thus, they were a bit tolerant.
The Reason Why Banyarwanda are suffering, is how adults continue to brainwash generations of Banyarwanda with nonsense:
Version 1
Gihanga had three sons equally courageous. He did not know seasons for any growing.By then people cultivated anytime. As a result, crops were sometimes good and others bad.
One day, Gihanga sent his sons Gahutu & Gatutsi to Kibariro (the cultivator) to have appropriate information on cultivation.
Before Gahutu and Gatutsi arrived, they came to the place where people were slaughtering a cow. Gahutu told them "let me show you how to do it" he cut up the cow and he was given some meat for the work done. Gahutu put the meat on Gatutsi's head and continued. They arrived to Kibariro who had organized a collective work in his
Those who were cultivating gave Gahutu and Gatutsi some beer. Gatutsi did not want to drink, but Gahutu did so. When Kibariro saw that Gatutsi refused to drink, he called him and gave it to him in a secret place alone.
Gahutu told Kibariro that they had a message addressed to him by their father Gihanga. Kibariro responded that he would receive it at night. They went to sleep. At night Gahutu started vomiting and because of that, Gatutsi went to sleep in the same room as Kibariro. When Kibariro woke up he asked his wife why Gihanga's sons did not come to
deliver to him the message sent by father. He added: "if they come late, I will tell them
nothing or I will lie to them."
Kibariro began to tell his wife about different seasons of cultivation. "The first month is September and when it appears people saw beans. Fields are prepared for sorghum in October and November. It is cut and harvested in July and then cows come to graze at these places; August is the end of the year. Thus Gatutsi who was in the same room heard all these and returned to his guesthouse.
The following morning, when Gahutu got up, he went to Kibariro but Kabiriro lied to him.
Every time Gahutu asked for more explanations, Kibariro would tell him that he could not talk to deaf people.
They went back home and when Gihanga saw them; he felt happy and demanded for a report. Gahutu said that Kibariro talked too so much that he could understand nothing.
Gihanga got angry, because his eldest son could not provide the required information. Gatutsi took his father aside and told him all about the seasons and the bad behavior of Gahutu during their trip. Gihanga ordered Gatutsi to kill Gahutu, but he refused.
Gihanga told Gahutu; "You will not be a chief as planned, but Gatutsi will be your master; he will scorn Gatwa." Since then and thereafter Gahutu did not sleep and Gihanga told him that he would be Gatutsi's watchman and his client. Moreover, he would receive milk from Gatutsi and would have no cows. Gatwa would be the carrier for Gatutsi.
I'm sure you've been told other versions
•Version 2
Imana created Hutu, Tutsi and Twa and the girl. One day, Imana called them and poured some milk in four pots and gave one to each one. Imana asked them to keep the milk without sleeping until he would come back. They waited but got tired.
The foam of Gahutu's milk got out the pot and fell on his hands. He licked it. The Tutsi milk also did the same a bit. The girl's milk foam poured on her breasts. Gatwa waited for a long time, got annoyed and drank the whole milk and slept.
When Imana came back, he asked questions to everybody to know what happened. Then Imana fixed the destiny of
everybody accordingly.
To Hutu whose milk poured on his hands said to him; "work in fields for Tutsi and make baskets and carpets for him".
For the girl, Imana said, "your milk is in your breasts. Let Hutu marry you and give you milk". For Tutsi who kept some of his milk, Imana said, "if you get ten cows, five will die and you will stay with five. If you have twenty cows, ten will die and you will remain with ten".
For Twa, Imana said, "go and be a porter, damned for Tutsi so that he gives something, damned for the king so
that he gives you something".
Version 3
Gahutu and Gatutsi were walking together and met Imana. He called Gahutu and ordered him to beat the earth; Gahutu had planed to travel and die, he refused and said, "No, my father, I cannot beat the earth with my stick".
Imana ordered the same thing to Gatutsi who obeyed and suddenly a flock of cows got out the earth.
Then Imana told Gahutu, "You are Hutu, you think much about your life. Gatutsi must be your boss".
Gahutu regretted what he had done and thus Hutu were dominated by Tutsi because they were not intelligent.
I wonder if they're phones for Hutu or Tutsi-because Twa can't even afford one.
Next-time I'll look at Why 1st, 2nd and 3rd Republics, have been characterised by ethnic and regional discrimination in almost all areas.
Joram jojo


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Uncovering Paracrine Strategies for Coordinating Population Responses Through Single-Cell Analysis
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Yale University
Uncovering Paracrine Strategies for Coordinating Population Responses Through Single-Cell Analysis
Cell responses are mediated by intermediate signals that are secreted and sensed by the same cells and are subject to significant cell-to-cell heterogeneity. The propagation of these intermediate signals by extracellular signaling impacts the collective cell-population response, but the contribution of autocrine versus paracrine signaling is difficult to analyze. To address this, we have combined multiplexed, microwell single-cell secretion measurements with cell-population data to uncover the role of paracrine signaling in shaping the inflammatory response in human macrophages following toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We demonstrate that loss of paracrine signaling upon single-cell isolation in microwells significantly alters secretion of many LPS-stimulated cytokines. Graphical models of these single-cell "perturbation" data sets specifically uncover dependencies between cytokines in the LPS-stimulated network. Interestingly, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF), the most highly connected cytokine in the network, exhibits highly heterogeneous secretion, such that a small fraction of cells appear to drive total TNF output in the cell population. Using a computational model fit to our single-cell data, we demonstrate that this small fraction of high secretors can amplify the population response for IL-6 in small cell groups. Overall, our results reveal a novel role for paracrine cell-to-cell communication in coordinating a rapid and reliable innate immune response in spite of underlying cell-to-cell heterogeneity.
Kathryn Miller-Jensen is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University. Her lab uses experimental and computational approaches to study signaling and transcriptional regulation in response to pathogens, with a focus on activation of latent HIV, as well as innate immune signaling. Her lab is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Kathryn was an NIH NSRA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley and she holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and A.B. and B.E. degrees in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College. She is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society and a former Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies in Washington, DC.

subset: commoncrawl


text: I'm deeply sconsidering purchasing this bass guitar in the near future. I have played on its "sister" bass (the four string version) and was blown away at the tone the bass produced through the mahogony body, and the neck was flowing with some kind of warmth with the addition of a neck-through body. I absolutely love this bass so far, and so far, am getting it unless someone can give me a good reason not to. Can any of you give me any insight on this bass? Thanks, all feedback appreciated, Ryan.


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One week people. The first game is in one week. This year, that's hard to wrap your brain around because there has been little build up to the season. It's been: camp open, free agentpalooza, and now game.
Are you prepared for the season? The Texans are starting this year out on primetime next Monday against the Jets, and I'm not sure the fanbase is prepared. During the preseason, often fans/parking personnel don't know what they are doing as much, and sometimes there's delays, misunderstandings. Problems can be magnified when game time is right after rush hour.
Here's some parking/tailgate tips, changes from previous years.
Want to park on site? Need a parking pass. There is no cash parking at Reliant Stadium during Texans games. You need a parking pass if you want to park on their property. You can get one as a part of a season ticket package or the resale market. Ticketmaster through the Houston Texans offers resales of both tickets and parking passes. There are still limited single game tickets available as well.
One space per parking pass. You get one space per pass. They will check that. They sell a lot of these passes, and if you try to use more than one space, there's not enough room for everyone.
No off-site parking at old Astroworld location. Last year, the old Astroworld land turned into a thrown together tailgate lot. I was told that this year, the owner of the land is not going to let the property be used for game parking. So don't count on it.
Limited off-site parking. There are a few off-site locations that allow for cash parking in the vicinity of the stadium. I've never done it personally, but I know folks have. I suggest that if you are relying on this that you show up early. Do not park in business parking lots unless you like coming back to your car after a game and finding not there. Also, it is uncool to park in the neighborhoods around Reliant. The residents don't like it, and it is specifically restricted in some areas, so don't do it.
Do the METRORail Thing. The METRORail drops you off and picks you up on the east side of the Reliant parking lots.
Tailgaters need a ticket or tailgate pass. It used to be that anyone who wanted to show up to party at the Reliant parking lots could do that. A lot of people who don't go into the games, just stay outside watching their tailgate setups. However last year, the numbers of non-ticket holders just showing up and roaming the tailgates got out of hand. Made traffic bad, made it hard to get to the stadium on some crowded days.
This resulted in the Texans making an in-season change to the policy, and left tailgaters scrambling.
This year they tweaked the policy some but made some allowances season ticket holders. Season ticket holders can get 10 tailgate passes per game at $10 per pass or $80 for a whole season of passes. Here's the link for season ticket holders to use to get passes.
The Texans will do spot-checks in the tailgates during games and at the gates for in-coming cars. They also will check at the METRORail entrance and at pedestrian gates. Kids with their families will not need tailgate passes.
Get to the game early. You can't just drive right up to Reliant Stadium right before kickoff and expect to walk right in. Monday night football makes that even tougher due to rush hour. So you can either go early and tailgate, or get stuck in traffic. I know my preference. There are also events around the stadium, particularly in the Budweiser Plaza area to the South of the stadium for non-tailgaters. For MNF, here's when you are allowed to get into the Reliant Park parking lots:
- Platinum parking gates open at 2:30pm
- All other parking gates open at 3:30pm
- Pedestrian Gates will open at 4:00pm
Also note that it may take longer than you think to get from your parking spot to your seat. Even if you park close and walk fast, it can take about 30 minutes to get from your parking space to your seat. It takes some time to get through security and then go up the ramps.
Platinum lot person? Do NOT show up last minute. This is a terrific lot to tailgate in but the only issue is late arrivals trying to get into parking places up at the front of the lot after it is already very crowded. If you have a platinum pass and tend to show up late, contact the Texans to see if you can get a pass in a different place that won't create parking issues for you or headaches for others.
New parking changes? If you are a season ticket holder, you likely got an email message from Texans president Jamey Rootes about the upcoming season, including:
We have evaluated our traffic and parking process and worked hard to optimize it for 2011. We have new staff, new training and a new approach designed to provide you with a better arrival and departing experience. We have also added a QR code (barcode) to the back of every parking pass. We encourage you to use the QR code to receive real time traffic conditions each gameday to help you find the quickest route to the stadium.
Usually changes to the parking process are met with skepticism by fans. That the "improvements" sometimes make things worse. I was told that the main changes that fans will see is better training for the people directing traffic, to focus on customer service, helpfulness. The first game is always getting the bugs out, so if you have any comments about your experience, please email the Texans and let them know.
Can't go to game? Transfer your ticket to someone else. I know sometimes folks can't go to a game and don't want to bother trying to resell a ticket or driving somewhere to arrange to give it to someone else. You can now transfer your tickets for free on line.
Weekend Tailgate Reports.
As I noted, I will not be able to attend training camp stuff this week due to fun family obligations. Fortunately, there are a number of open practices, and I think Lance Zierlein has off this week from his morning radio stuff on 1560 The Game and will be watching camp.
Over the weekend, Houston Texans Examiner Alan Burge gave his camp observations here:
Training camp Day 6: Texans fans pack training facility
Texans training camp notes: Sunday, August 7
What I like about Alan's training camp observations is 1. He's a close observer of the Texans, so he knows what to look for and at; 2. he shares his observations but doesn't try to draw any conclusions that really can't truly be drawn from training camp.
I've seen a couple of training camp reports I will not link to and heard some radio reports that describe the same practices I saw and come to conclusions I don't think can be supported by what was going on. I don't think there are things to be overly concerned from based on week 1 camp performance other than just things you would be concerned about even if you didn't attend camp….worrying about injuries, players that struggled last year playing better this year, defensive depth, transitions to new positions.
In any event, if you have any questions about game day stuff or training camp, please leave them in the comments.
[Photos courtesy of Ed Machette from 8/7/11 practice www.edmatchettephotography.com]


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This is from the Facebook page of Richard Lloyd Parry's - The Times' Asia editor.
NHK, Japan's rough equivalent of the BBC, is often accused of being insufficiently independent, and of pusillanity in the face of pressure from the government.The following document, passed to me by a source who wishes to remain anonymous, seems to confirm this. In the past, the NHK style police have outlawed the use of the English expression "sex slaves" for the euphemistic "comfort women", and insist on referring to "the incident known as the Nanking Massacre". Now employees on NHK's English language programs have received the following memo from their boss:
(To all translators)
We forwarded to you the other day a message asking you to refrain from using the expression "disputed islands" in news scripts related to the Senkaku Islands.
The World News department has further decided not to use the word "dispute", to avoid giving the mistaken impression that NHK acknowledges the existence of such a dispute.
We are in the process of determining what expression to use instead of "dispute."
Until then, we ask you to refrain from using this word when writing news scripts.
I expect this from China, but from supposedly democratic Japan.
Political developments in Japan are extremely troubling.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Helping with homework.
I think it exciting to fish.
I think it easy to ride a bike.
To know is quite different from to teach.
He is hungry to eat all the food.
What do these sentences have in common?
Being example sentences in Hiro's niece's government approved textbook...(publisher Sanseido)
The kids of Japan deserve much better
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
I think it easy to ride a bike.
To know is quite different from to teach.
He is hungry to eat all the food.
What do these sentences have in common?
Being example sentences in Hiro's niece's government approved textbook...(publisher Sanseido)
The kids of Japan deserve much better
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Posted by Cecilia at Saturday, November 23, 2013 6 comments: Links to this post
Sunday, 17 November 2013
A new Tokyo transport map - well done JR East
I came across this for the first time this evening. It's a new integrated map of the Tokyo rail network. it's seriously impressive. Not all stations are marked, but as far as I can tell, all lines are. (At least if the Toden Arakawa tram line and the Nippori Toneri liner are on it, I think all lines should be.)
It really gives a sense of the extent of the rail network.
This is the link to the JR East page.
Posted by Cecilia at Sunday, November 17, 2013 2 comments:
Monday, 11 November 2013
Two tales of one city (2)
Today we were in the Ueno Okachimachi area. I wanted to go to Ueno to buy some chili and other spices that are more easily available from the underground wet market than they are locally. It's about 5-6 km from Marunouchi / Ginza where we were yesterday, but it couldn't be more different.
For starters there wasn't a shred of evidence of Christmas (not a bad thing in early November)... and then the rest...
For starters there wasn't a shred of evidence of Christmas (not a bad thing in early November)... and then the rest...
|I don't think this would make the cut for a Marunouchi Naka dori
sculpture series.
|An Indian / Nepalese "Namaste" Oedo restaurant...
I'm still bemused by the incongruity of Nepalese and Oedo
|Hotel New Tohoku. Hiro was relieved it wasn't a love hotel...
The trains from Tohoku used to terminate at Ueno and there
is a lot of cheap accommodation near station.
|Houses build out of corrugated iron. The proximity of the car park suggests that
there is someone waiting to buy out the residents to construct an apartment building on the site.
|The heart and soul of the shitamachi resides in these kind of houses.
If the locals are forced out by gentrification, the Tokyo matsuris
will find it increasingly difficult to continue.
|A beat up radio - it's a symbol of a certain generation of Japanese men -
walking around listening the baseball or sumo or whatever... it wasn't on.
Posted by Cecilia at Monday, November 11, 2013 4 comments:
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Two tales of one city (1)
|Yesterday after the mornings meanderings we wound up in Ginza. The main drag is beginning to be adorned with Christmas decorations.
|Anything to do with the year of the snake ?
|Louis Vuitton was also looking festive.
We mosied through the International Forum to Mitsubishi Ichi go Kan. The whole area of Marunouchi is owned by or linked to the various branches of the theoretically defunct zaibatsu Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi seems to have a hook up with Disney, since decorations seemed to be overwhelmingly Disney connected.... crass...
|Winnie the Pooh and Tigger infront of a honey inspired Christmas tree?
The artwork along Marunouchi naka dori is often impressive. Yesterday was no exception.
Posted by Cecilia at Sunday, November 10, 2013 2 comments:
The new local drugstore
Has an alcohol section at the back - like beer and chuu-hai and whiskey...
Something just doesn't seem quite right.
Posted by Cecilia at Sunday, November 10, 2013 2 comments: Links to this post
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Tokyo fashion
Posted by Cecilia at Saturday, October 19, 2013 4 comments: Links to this post
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Resisting temptation
Posted by Cecilia at Thursday, October 03, 2013 5 comments: Links to this post
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
And another Miyazaki... summer has ended... From Up on Poppy Hill
Very sentimentally Japanese. The summer has definitely gone....
The Wind Also Rises - Kaze Tachinu
I haven't been to see this yet; I should go and do so next Wednesday - "Ladies Day" in Tokyo cinemas. It's Hayao Miyazaki's last film; he announced the other day that he is retiring from movie making - a great loss to the movie viewing public. I'm teaching Japanese history to Japanese students for the first time this semester... it's very daunting.
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Japanese education - Racism: the white man's burden
|It's easier to sanitize one's own past than
reflect on it...
Happy Manchus, Chinese and Japanese
co-operating during Japanese occupation
It's a great case study of civil rights and leadership; I've actually taught it myself.
But... it highlights a mindset that dominates the ministry's attitude to history: wrong is done by other people. There is no self-reflection, let alone reflection, in the ministry's approach to history. The point of looking at Gandhi or Martin Luther King is supposedy to globalize the kids and provide moral education that discrimination (outside Japan) is bad. It's a great opportunity to combine English with history and civics e.g. questioning laws that are wrong, having a sense of what constitutes unacceptable treatment of other people, having courage to act when there are problems that are ethically wrong, effective means of protest; assessing and encouraging principled leadership. But I can guarantee with 100% certainty that there will be nothing that has anything to do with encouraging active citizenship.
The text books serve to confirm perceptions of white racism and Asian / coloured victims. Which no doubt has been and remains a problem. Racial theories popularized in Europe were well received in Japan and were used to legitimize poor treatment of racial "inferiors" School education here completely avoids local unpleasantries like the treatment of Okinawans, Ainu and Zainichi Koreans. Unpleasantries, controversies, and empowering students to be active citizens are not suitable for ministry sanctioned classroom discussion.
Incidentally, last year I looked at the same case study of Gandhi and I did try to make it socially relevant. I asked students to discuss whether they thought Gandhi was doing the right thing. All agreed. I asked them if they had been there, would they have joined in. They had to weigh up pros and cons - with little hesitation most said no on account of it being dangerous. I asked if there was anything that they felt would be worth protesting about (keeping in mind there is a major nuclear problem happening). Most students said no. Those who could think of something worth protesting about tended to say something along the lines of a hypothetical situation where their families were attacked and they wanted revenge, not a broad social principle.
All that said though, perhaps it's generational....the generation that's only known recession...
This semester I'm teaching Japanese history... I am sure it will be as much of an eye opening experience for me as it is for the students...
Fukushima - what the government should be doing.
Getting the nuclear plant stable so it is not emitting or dumping nuclear waste is obviously an imperative. The New Scientist's assurances that it is less radioactive than Pacific nuclear tests such at Bikini Atoll, (which incidentally included the irradiation of the Japanese fishing boat the (un)Lucky Dragon) are not consoling. Poison in the Well's assessment of the evolution of nuclear waste policy in helps build historical context, but knowing that nuclear dumping has happened in other places is no consolation to the fishermen who can't sell their fish or to the farmers whose rice is growing in contaminated soil. It's not acceptable anymore to be dumping waste into the ocean, irrespective of whether it can be feasibly argued to be safe. Public outrage and distrust of information sources is too high. At the moment saying a bit of nuclear in your food is not ideal but on balance it's OK is a bit like saying be like trying to mount a case that a little bit of pedophilia is OK..
Anyway, the government doesn't seem to get the fact that they have to deal with the outrage as well as the nuclear problem, and that the two are inextricably linked.
At the moment Japan is considering taking Korea to the WTO to demand that they lift trade bans on fish caught in the waters off north eastern Japan. In a sense it makes no sense to ban fish based on location since fish can obviously swim... but the government misses the point that forcing people to buy fish which they believe is unsafe does not restore faith in the food system. If anything it stigmatises all Japanese fish...
According to Sandman there are 5 steps that need to be taken to reduce outrage. The government is not doing so well.
Anyway, the government doesn't seem to get the fact that they have to deal with the outrage as well as the nuclear problem, and that the two are inextricably linked.
At the moment Japan is considering taking Korea to the WTO to demand that they lift trade bans on fish caught in the waters off north eastern Japan. In a sense it makes no sense to ban fish based on location since fish can obviously swim... but the government misses the point that forcing people to buy fish which they believe is unsafe does not restore faith in the food system. If anything it stigmatises all Japanese fish...
According to Sandman there are 5 steps that need to be taken to reduce outrage. The government is not doing so well.
- Admit the error.
Abe's assertion that everything is under control might be good for getting an Olympics, but good at all for restoring the faith of those who are affected.
PM Abe's decision today that reactors 5 and 6 need to be decommissioned is long over due and very welcome. It's not an admission of error, perse but it comes close. The PM is planning to visit Dai-ichi this week... I hope he spends enough time with people there to be more compassionate in the way the govt. deals with them.
We deeply apologize to the people of Fukushima and broader society for the tremendous inconvenience and anxiety caused by the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
"Inconvenience and anxiety" !! Abysmal EQ.
PM Abe's decision today that reactors 5 and 6 need to be decommissioned is long over due and very welcome. It's not an admission of error, perse but it comes close. The PM is planning to visit Dai-ichi this week... I hope he spends enough time with people there to be more compassionate in the way the govt. deals with them.
- Apologize
We deeply apologize to the people of Fukushima and broader society for the tremendous inconvenience and anxiety caused by the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
"Inconvenience and anxiety" !! Abysmal EQ.
Apologies are important, but unless they reflect an understanding of the devastation that their actions have caused... it trivializes people's suffering and just makes people angry and cynical.
- Compensate and mitigate
It is a great pity for Fukushima prefecture that the area is so large and that the reactors were named after the prefecture. All Fukushima produce is tainted by association.
The government has been doing a lot of health checks to alleviate concerns, except they haven't alleviated concerns because they have been finding an abnormal number of growths in children. Medical experts are saying that it is too early for growths from the reactor to be showing up, and they are finding growths because they are testing. (The inference being that if mass testings were done anywhere, elevated results would be found). People have to wait and see.... which contributes to anxiety.
- Promise to never do it again
- Do penance
No evidence of that ...
I am sure many govt. and TEPCO workers are working as hard as they can. It doesn't help that the policy with workers in Japanese government and corporations are often deliberately kept generalist but not truly specialised in anything. Many of them are clearly, despite good intentions, way out of their depth.
I don't see the plight of the farmers being resolved any time soon, nor is there much to persuade those who are anxious about food safety that it's Ok to consume food from the north. I don't think the government has the PR skills, or the integrity to persuade people otherwise.
My outrage level is not nearly as high as my food consumption from Fukushima. A lot of the reaction is hysterical, inconsistent and uninformed, people are very risk averse when they feel the govt. is playing them for mugs. But the the lack of transparent information, lack of effective communication, lack of empathy in listening to and acting on concerns makes it almost inevitable.
All of this compounded by media that in many cases is not interested in promoting deep understanding... While most of Japan can switch off or zone out or eat food from Kyushu, for the farmers, fishermen and people of Fukushima - there is nowhere where they can avert their eyes.
Fukushima, radiation & data
This is an interesting graphic from http://xkcd.com/radiation/ It is the kind of information the government is working with - there is radiation, but it's not that dangerous. This kind of information, while extremely useful and reassuring, by itself is totally inadequate for appeasing outrage.
The plight of Fukushima farmers III
- Individually controlled vs. controlled by others
- Fair vs. unfair
The unfairness of that perspective, is something I lack words to describe.
- Morally irrelevant vs. morally relevant
- Responsive process vs. unresponsive process
The government has done some.... they've made an exclusion zone. But the farmers that are complaining here are not being listened to. The govt. and TEPCO are not being open and transparent about how decisions are being made.They are not admitting that they have and are making mistakes. TEPCO is not admitting mistakes. It was announced perhaps two weeks ago that no-one is going to be prosecuted for the mistakes made. Despite the fact that warnings were ignored, false information was given, no-one is going to be held accountable. Listening to farmers talking about their dire situation and responding with what may as well be - you are gullible for believing rumours that your food is not safe is not the kind of response that heightens anger, outrage and mistrust.
- Trustworthy sources vs. untrustworthy sources
|Anti Nuclear Protest - more undercover police than protesters
|Uniformed police waiting for a protest of about 80 anti nuclear protesters
|If the authorities put as much energy into responding to
people who live in affected areas as they spend intimidating
anti nuclear protesters... a lot more might be achieved.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
The struggle of Fukushima farmers part II
Continuing through Peter Sandman's list of factors contributing to outrage and applying it to Fukushima. 5-7
- Not dreaded vs. dreaded
- Chronic vs. catastrophic
- Knowable vs. unknowable
When you look at a tomato in Fukushima, or a rice field... it's not possible to know what level of radiation it has unless its tested. And you can't test every tomato or every spec of soil in a rice field. When you see Fukushima cucumbers in the shop, you have no idea whether it's from next to the exlusion zone or towns more than 70km away. (Pointing out that many of these people probably allow their children to ride a bike without a helmet or eat beef with hormone growth promotants is a bit of a red herring and not relevant to the farmers in question. Many people avoid Fukushima produce because they just don't know...and to a large extent it's understandable.
Posted by Cecilia at Tuesday, September 17, 2013 No comments:
Monday, 16 September 2013
The struggle of farmers in Fukushima part 1
This 12 minute video of Fukushima prefecture farmers at a meeting with Ministry officials. It's really grim watching. Farmers are bringing very reasonable concerns about contaminated land, contaminated food, the precarious existence of those who want to evacuate but can't. The Ministry officials are sincere, within their capabilities, and are troubled by the plight of the farmers, but there is a total failure in communication. The farmers believe their food and land is contaminated, the Ministry sees fears of radiation being the product of "terrible rumours".
The farmers will walk away from the meeting frustrated, angry and feeling that they have not been listened to. It's the Ministry's job to listen and respond to what they hear, not just the words but the feelings. They don't don't know this and I assume they don't know how to do this. Telling a farmer that people in the Ministry buy rice from Fukushima does nothing to make a farmer who believes he is selling contaminated rice think that the rice is now safe
Peter Sandman, a pioneer of a risk communication emphasises that where the public doesn't understand the risk, educating the public is useful. In contrast, where there is public outrage, public education of risk is not enough, the outrage itself must be dealt with.
Looking down Sandman's twelve point list of factors that contibute to outrage, it's hard to see any kind of resolution to the situation in Fukushima short of making it financially possible for anyone who wants to evacuate to do including giving people the means to re-establish livelihoods. The situation on the left hand side reduces outrage; the situation on the right exacerbates it.
- Voluntary vs. coerced
- Natural vs. industrial
- Familiar vs. not familiar
- Not memorable vs. memorable
- 5-12 to come tomorrow.
Posted by Cecilia at Monday, September 16, 2013 2 comments:
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Geidai festival
I was wandering through Ueno Park the other day & came across the Geidai (Tokyo Geijitsu University) Festival. Each University has its own festival, some much more impressive than others. This is at the highly accomplished end of the spectrum. Each faculty makes a float and happi coats to wear.
Posted by Cecilia at Sunday, September 15, 2013 2 comments: Links to this post
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text:
Founded in 1983, Advantech is an internationally-recognized manufacturer of Industrial Computing and Automation products and peripherals. Aiming to provide customers with reliable system components for a wide variety of automation applications, Advantech has automated operations in government, manufacturing, mass-transportation, and the food and beverage industries.
Advantech's wide-range of product selection includes:
- Fully Configured Standardized Industrial PCs
- Ethernet Switches
- I/O Modules
- Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI)
- Automation software
- Programmable Automation Controllers
- & Peripherals
Advantech's automation products streamline manufacturing and and data acquisition operations while providing real-time data across the entire facility.
Advantech is dedicated to their slogan of "Open eAutomation, Boundless Integration", and is committed to this direction by stretching the boundaries of technology and service with cutting-edge open automation products and solutions.


text:
Tailored guided tours
You can of course visit the permanent exhibition with a qualified and experienced guide. Though we make the exhibitions very accessible, a guide is still the best way to get the most out of the museum. To ensure the consistently high standard of these tours, we accept a maximum of 25 people per group. This way the guide can gear the tour to your needs and answer any questions.
A guided visit is recommended for social-cultural associations but also for groups of relatives, friends and co-workers.
Tip: Do you want to visit the gladiators at night? No problem. Please contact us for more information on our nocturnal events.
Visit without a guide
Our guides are specially trained to add an extra dimension to your visit. However, you can visit the museum also as a group without a guide. Or perhaps you would like to provide your own guided tour? This is perfectly possible and you are most welcome to do so, though we do ask that you advise us in advance of your arrival if there are 10 people or more in the group. That way we can take your visit into account when planning other group visits. We always try to ensure that everyone's visit runs smoothly and avoiding overcrowded rooms is part of this.
The entrance fee for groups (€ 5 p.p.) is possible from 25 persons.
1.5 hours
Max. per group:
25 people
€60 for the guide + admission charge
If you cancel your tour at the latest 7 days before the date of your visit, you will not be asked to pay any cancellation costs. Otherwise you will be charged for the guide but not for the entry.
Assembly point:
Gallo-Roman Museum reception
Kielenstraat 15
3700 Tongeren
At the reception desk,
before the start of the activity.
Payment options:
Guide: cash
Admission charge: cash or electronic
(Bancontact + Maestro)
Information and booking:
Huberte Renaers:
+ 32 (0)12 67 03 40
Oreane Vandenreyt:
+ 32 (0)12 67 03 41
Monday to Friday:
9h00 - 12h00 and 13h30 - 17h00


text:
13 July 2010
It looks as though they've got the name www.spinprofiles.org back...
OF COURSE journalist should always ask, in the words of Jeremy Paxman on interviewing politicians, "why is this bastard lying to me?" And the first step to answering that question has to be "who is this bastard working for?".
To assist, the Spinwatch inititative, founded by David Miller and colleagues at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, set up a database of spin doctors (and, to use the term some prefer, "reputation management consultants") at www.spinprofiles.org.
If you'd had a briefing from the "American Council on Science and Health", say, you could just go there and look it up...
Or, you could. The project has been forced to move, in an unusual and worrying fashion. Usually, those who object to what's said about them online issue a legal threat to the "hosting company" - the outfit that owns the hard drive where the website's information sits, waiting for you to call it up. Distressingly frequently, the hosting company rolls over and deletes the site, rather than enter the ruinous maelstrom which is British libel law.
A think-tank researcher called Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens issued his threat instead against the "name registrar" - the outfit that owns the computer that tells your computer where to go on the internet to find the content of the site you want. It rolled over: so though the contents of the site still existed, no-one could get to them.
Spinwatch is still trying to clarify what Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens is complaining about. In the meantime, the database is available at www.powerbase.info.
So bookmark this source source.now!


text:
- Editorial
- Open Access
Overview of PacELF—the Pacific Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis
- Kazuyo Ichimori1Email author and
- Patricia M. Graves2
© The Author(s) 2017
- Received: 11 August 2017
- Accepted: 25 October 2017
- Published: 1 November 2017
This special issue of Tropical Medicine and Health has been produced by the PacELF Endgame project to record and celebrate the successes of PacELF—the Pacific Programme for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis.
Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a nematode worm-caused infection transmitted by mosquitoes. Male and female adult worms develop in humans from larvae injected by mosquitoes of several genera. The worms lodge in the lymph vessels and nodes, where they mate and live for several years, producing microfilariae that circulate in the peripheral blood and can be ingested by mosquitoes to continue the cycle. Worms in the lymphatic system contribute to acute attacks of dermatolymphangitis caused by secondary bacterial infection or lymphangitis arising from death of worms. Resulting chronic morbidity can be severe, irreversible, and lifelong, including enlarged limbs (lymphoedema and elephantiasis) and hydrocoele (swollen scrotum in men). Filariasis can be treated with deworming drugs, which are effective at resolving the infection at an early stage, but chronic disabling consequences are harder to address. Hydrocoele can be resolved by surgery. Interrupting transmission requires widespread repeated treatment of mostly asymptomatic people (who may have microfilariae in their blood) coupled with vector control.
Lymphatic filariasis has long been a highly endemic scourge in the Pacific, with infection rates amongst the highest in the world. In this area, all LF is caused by the species Wuchereria bancrofti, with different ecologies based on the local mosquito vectors (Anopheles, Culex, or Aedes) and the periodicity (time when microfilariae are at highest density in the blood).
Both Japan and Australia had succeeded in interrupting transmission of LF by the 1970s. Several Pacific countries had been working more or less independently on LF control. In Fiji, the late Dr. Mataika and his staff made substantial progress in mapping and instigating programs in areas of that country, while in Samoa, the Ministry of Health supported by WHO conducted annual mass drug administration with different drug regimens. Mass drug administration was also conducted to a limited extent in other countries, including American Samoa and Vanuatu. In French Polynesia, the Ministry of Health and Institut Malardé, as a pioneer institute of Pacific filariasis, had also been very active in LF control and studies.
Despite these excellent efforts, there had really been no coordinated global or regional plans to control LF. Then, in 1993, the International Task Force for Disease Eradication identified lymphatic filariasis as one of only six eradicable or potentially eradicable diseases. This conclusion was based on newly available, safe, and cost-effective control methods, including improved diagnostic tools, improved drugs and drug combinations, mosquito control, and effective strategies for dealing with end-stage disease. In the 1990s, a number of events and activities brought LF to a higher profile. The scene was set for a global effort.
In May 1997, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution urging Member States "to strengthen activities toward eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem, and requesting the Director-General to mobilize support for global and national elimination activities." (WHA Resolution 50.29). These events served to increase the awareness of the disease as a public health problem and alerted Pacific Island countries and territories of the need to control or eliminate filariasis. In the Pacific region, support had already been building through two international meetings on lymphatic filariasis elimination convened by WHO and James Cook University (JCU): one in Bali, Indonesia, in 1996 and one in Townsville, Australia, in July 1997 coinciding with the official opening of the JCU WHO Collaborating Centre on Control of Lymphatic Filariasis.
In March 1999, a meeting of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) was held in Palau in coordination with the WHO Pacific Ministers of Health meeting. The SPC Heads of Health Services Consultative Meeting took up this call to action and reported in their resulting statement on Healthy Islands: "In keeping with the WHA resolution to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, the meeting encouraged the Secretariat to continue discussions with WHO, and other relevant donor agencies to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in all 22 island countries and territories." At this time, both WHO and SPC were well positioned to work together on LF control. WHO had vector-borne disease and communicable diseases experts in Manila, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The SPC was implementing the Pacific Regional Vector Borne Diseases Project and had staff based at SPC HQ in Noumea, New Caledonia, and project offices in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Fiji.
Dr. Kazuyo Ichimori from WHO and Dr. Tony Stewart from SPC subsequently met in Port Vila, Vanuatu, to discuss how best to enact the resolutions of the WHA in the region and the regional program initiatives discussed in Palau in March 1999. Funding was secured from WHO and through SPC's vector-borne diseases project to hold a meeting of Pacific countries in Brisbane on the 28th and 29th June 1999. Participants were public health leaders from those Pacific countries with recent or current transmission of lymphatic filariasis, together with staff from SPC, WHO, and other institutions working in the field of elimination of filariasis. This meeting provided a forum for the country representatives from American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna to discuss current and planned activities globally and within the Pacific region. Representatives from University of Queensland, James Cook University, SmithKline Beecham, and AMRAD ICT also participated. The 14 countries attending the meeting refined and endorsed a regional plan of action, and appointed four country representatives to form the interim coordinating body, in order to facilitate implementation between meetings. Thus, the world's first regional LF control program—PacELF—was born.
Pacific countries and territories represent a subset of countries in the WHO WPRO region. PacELF was designed as a regional program driven by the countries and constituted a network of the 22 island countries and territories in the Pacific for the sole purpose of eliminating filariasis in the Pacific. The strategy for achieving this goal was annual mass drug administration (MDA) using diethylcarbamazine (DEC) with albendazole to stop transmission, together with clinical management of infections to minimize progression of pathology in individuals already infected. Since 1999, PacELF has been supported by many partners including WHO, WPRO, Government of Japan, JICA, AusAID (now DFAT), UK VSO, USAID, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, the NTD support center at the Task Force for Global Health, James Cook University, Nagasaki University, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and GlaxoSmithKline.
PacELF leadership at WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support, Suva, Fiji, showing major strategies and achievements, 1999 to 2017
1999 to 2005: Dr. Kazuyo Ichimori
• Baseline surveys conducted using ICT
• Established a coordinating body and PacELF office and warehouse
• Established logistics systems for drugs, diagnostics and data reporting
• Regular program managers' meetings
• Development of M&E plan using A (baseline), B (sentinel), C (stop MDA), and D (transmission) surveys; C survey was in all ages and D survey in children
• First countries stopped MDA in 2004
• Initiated morbidity surveys
• Published PacELF book
2006 to 2008: Dr. Corinne Capuano
• M&E guideline revision—maintained stop MDA (C) surveys in all ages and transmission surveys in children, with mop up around positive cases
• Introduced test and treat strategies in three countries
• Improvements to behavior change communication
• Morbidity surveys and hydrocoele surgery programs in Fiji
• Maintained MDA and post-MDA surveillance
2009 to 2011: Dr. Sunghye Kim
• Preparation of elimination dossiers
• Maintained MDA and post-MDA surveillance
2012 to 2017: Dr. Padmasiri Aratchige
• Maintained MDA as needed and oversaw transmission assessment surveys
• Validation of elimination dossiers approved for Vanuatu, Republic of Marshall Islands, Niue, Cook Is, and Tonga
Those countries that reduced prevalence low enough to stop MDA then entered several years of post-MDA surveillance during which they conducted further surveys to validate elimination. These surveys followed a series of guidelines produced by PacELF and the GPELF that evolved over the years. The initial PacELF monitoring and evaluation strategy was developed in 2003, modified in 2008 to include innovative test and treat and contact tracing strategies, and was coordinated with the global strategy using "Transmission Assessment Surveys" by 2011 (http://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/44580).
For validation, it is required that each country produce a "dossier" to present the evidence to WHO that LF has been eliminated as a public health problem. The following countries have received validation of their dossiers by 2017: Vanuatu, Niue, Cook Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Tonga. Several others are close to submitting dossiers. Problems and challenges for the other countries include the need to rapidly and completely scale-up interventions, the possibility of resurgence from remaining LF hotspots of transmission, and the difficulty of ensuring that those with residual chronic morbidity are provided with quality services.
To celebrate PacELF and the countries' achievements in LF elimination, this special issue reports on the progress towards LF elimination in selected countries. We present here maps showing the status of the countries in the region at three time points: (1) those that were ever endemic, (2) endemicity at the start of the global program (2000), and (3) the status in 2016. The countries described in this issue include one with highly successful and rapid progression to validation of LF elimination as a public health problem (Vanuatu) as well as those with lingering challenges (Federated States of Micronesia and American Samoa). Papers from other countries will be included as elimination is achieved and their dossiers become available. We take the opportunity also to provide a comprehensive bibliography of published papers on LF in the Pacific (including Australia and Japan) for future reference (see Additional file 1).
We hope that these success stories will be both a source of inspiration to the other regions of the world also engaged in such effort and a source of justifiable pride to all the countries and territories in the Pacific.
This special issue could not have been produced without the support from James Cook University and Nagasaki University to the PacELF Endgame project. The Bibliography was produced as part of the PacELF Endgame project by Kazuyo Ichimori, Yukiko Baba, Peter Wood, and Patricia Graves, with assistance from JCU library. Peter Wood prepared the maps. We would also like to thank Eric Ottesen, Pat Lammie, Mariana Stephens, Peter Wood, Yukiko Baba, Masahiro Hashizume, Kimberly Won, Corinne Capuano, Sunghye Kim, Padmasiri Aratchige, Jonathan King, Aya Yajima, Wayne Melrose, and the authors and reviewers of all the included papers for their contributions.
We are also grateful to the countries, program managers, and people of the Pacific Island countries and territories who participated in and supported this work.
This publication was supported by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through NTD SC, a program of the Task Force for Global Health, Inc. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the supporting institutions.
Authors' contributions
KI conceived of the special issue with bibliography and wrote the first draft of the editorial, which was later completed by PG and KI. KI and PG prepared and checked the biliography. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.


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Metal Heart on Wood Base
Metal Heart on Wood Base
Add a touch of character to your home with this incredible, original sculpture. The hammered metal heart is anchored to a rustic piece of reclaimed wood. We love how this intriguing piece juxtaposes the soft sentiment of a heart with the tough materials with which it's crafted. Display this custom piece on a coffee table or credenza.
Engraved in French "Happily Ever After" – "Heureux Pour Toujours".
Size: 11" x 14"
This item is custom made especially for you upon order; please allow 4-5 weeks for delivery
sold out


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Bee rustlers add to misery of struggling hive owners
Bees have been battling bad weather, loss of habitat and possible pesticide effects but now keepers are facing a new threat - bee-rustling.
Cardiff beekeeper Elaine Spence found one her hives stripped of its honey bee colony in March.
She said she knows of 10 other hives being stolen in the past year by people who need expert knowledge to do it.
BBC Wales' Eye on Wales programme has found a number of hive theft cases although no officials figures are kept.
Ms Spence estimates a colony of bees could sell for more than £200.
She tells the the current affairs programme of her devastation to discover the theft of one of her colonies.
She said: "I looked at my hive and there was no roof on it. I was lost for words.
"I lifted what remained of the hive to have a look and it was just empty inside.
"All bee-keepers strive to ensure that their bees last through the winter: you care for them, they're a bit like part of your family, really.
"And to come and find that they have just been taken from you - it was really distressing."
Ms Spence, who keeps her hives on industrial land at a secret location in Cardiff, had already lost one of her three colonies to the poor weather.
'Poetic justice'
She says she knows of around 10 other hives being stolen this year alone and said she believes the perpetrators knew what they were doing.
"We have small carrying boxes for bees which will take about six frames - I can only presume that they came equipped with one of those boxes.
"They lifted the six frames out of the hive complete with the colony on it, put them in the box, shut the box up, Bob's your uncle, away they go, and probably as quickly as that.
"To steal a colony of bees, you need to know what you're doing. A person walking the street would not know how to come in and effectively remove a colony of bees.
"The bees that were taken were a fairly angry lot - they even managed to put me in accident and emergency last year through stinging me, so maybe there might be some poetic justice."
The programme also explores the two-year ban just imposed by the European Commission on a group of pesticides known as neonicitoinoids.
James Byrne of the Wildlife Trust says he fears the pesticides could be eroding bees' navigation system.
Invasive mite
But Pembrokeshire arable farmer Perkin Evans, who is also the National Farmers' Union representative for Wales' arable farmers, tells the programme he fears the ban could see crop yields reduced by up to 20%.
Eye on Wales also follows regional bee inspector Francis Gellatly as he inspects for the invasive varroa mite and meets Newport bee-keeper Dave Crewe, who lost two of his finest colonies to the poor weather.
Eye on Wales was broadcast on BBC Radio Wales at 13:30 BST on Sunday 26 May and will be available on the BBC iPlayer.


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Federal appeals courts split on health care subsidies
[JURIST] Two separate federal appeals court reached opposite conclusions Tuesday on subsidies for individuals who sign up for health insurance through the federal government's marketplace. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] that such subsidies are only available through state-run exchanges, currently operating in only 14 states and the District of Columbia. That ruling reversed a lower court decision [JURIST report] from January. In contrast, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] deferred [opinion, PDF] to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official website], ruling that the subsidies are "a permissible exercise of the agency's discretion." The Obama administration has pledged to seek en banc review [WP report] of the DC Circuit's ruling.
Tuesday's rulings are the latest in a series of legal challenges to the the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [text]. Last month the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that closely held for-profit corporations can deny coverage of contraception costs because of their religious beliefs. In January Chief Justice John Roberts refused [JURIST report] to grant a temporary injunction blocking the Obama administration from enforcing the PPACA, denying physician groups' plea arguing the entire law is unconstitutional due to the method of its passing. Earlier that month US Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) [official website] filed a lawsuit against the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) [official website] in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin [official website] attempting to block the federal government from paying a portion of the PPACA health care coverage for members of Congress and their staffs. That suit was dismissed [Reuters report] earlier this week.


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SAS President Kruger Remembrance Wall
Feel free to post your comments and tributes here.
94 Responses to Remembrance Wall
We will remember them
From then Sub-Lieutenant Frank Charles van Rooyen, one of PKR's OOW. We will remember them, those that perished on the 18th of February 1982, and the best ship's company ever!
Granville will always be with us.
Great crew, great ship.
P.O.Robin Bulterman…we will always remember you…
In memory of those personnel lost at sea on the 18th February 1982. RIP
May they rest in peace, they will forever be remembered.
The expression "Lest we forget", so poignant and yet so simple. I am so thankful for the memories I have of times spent on board her, the friends and loved ones we lost on that cold night so many years ago will never be far from our thoughts.
We salute you, we honour you and we will never forget you. I pray that Almighty God will give you all peace
Our thoughts will be with you all on the 18th.
We will remember our shipmates and the gracefull sealady. They will always stay in hearts.
February comes with sad regret, it brings a day we wont forget. Our hearts still ache the tears still flow.God bless you dad we love you so. Love Karen and all the family.
How can we ever forget them? I had shared some of the best times of my life with them. A finer ship has yet to be built.
Robin, you have never been out of our hearts.
To our beloved brother and shipmates you will always be in our hearts and never be forgotten RIP
Time moves on but we still have fond memories of the friends who are no longer with us.
Graham Brind dedicated husband,father and friend…gone but never forgotten!
To all those dear brave men, many of whom we grew up with. Lots of love to the Whiteley family in the UK – we will never forget your wonderful husband and father, Mike.
PO MICHAEL BRUCE RICHARD WHITELEY. 30 Years gone by but not a day goes by without thinking of you. In our hearts you will always stay. Love Allison and all the Family.x
A day never to be forgotten.RIP to the 16 souls lost.
To those that still stand watch in the icy grips of the ocean's depths. "..for he who today sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother. From this day, to the ending of the world, we in it shall be remembered,we lucky few….we band of brothers…" Henry V
I Salute you my colleagues and friends may your souls RIP
To all those men who rest below the icy seas, RIP!!!
My thoughts go to those who perished on PK on 18 Febeuary 1982, you will always be remembered. RIP
Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
Today 30 years ago this S A Naval Warship sunk after a tragic accident at sea, taking the lives of 16 loyal naval sailors.We think about you today and our thoughts and prayers are with all the families of these members. We also thank the Lord for sparing the lives of so many survivors and think about the trauma you and your families had to go through during and after this tragedy. God be with you all. We salute you.
Rest in Peace. You served your nation well and will never be forgotten
May they rest in peace. My thoughts are with the families and friends who lost a loved one on the 18 Feb 1982
Gone but not forgotten R.I.P
To all my crew mates you will always be remember
The sailors lost at sea are respected, loved and will be forever remembered. RIP.
My father was part of the commissioning crew and she was the first ship I served on so she holds a special place in my heart as do those brave men who perished on that fateful night. We will remember them.
I will always cherish the time that I spent on the PK …..My fellow Sailor's which went down with the ship that night will alway's be remembered.
The Navy and its family will always miss you.RIP
May God be with those who sacrificed their lives. I could only watch from the PP whilst PK is sinking knowing that some of my mates has gone down with her. will always be remembered
A very sad and confusing moment in time. We will always remember those who lost their lives that fateful morning. May they forever rest in peace. God bless their families. Being crew on F150 is a very special part of my life.Respects KC
My respects to his family and the families of those lost at sea
Robin Bulterman had the cabin accross from me on the SAS Transvaal.All around no nonsense great guy.RIP my friend
Our thoughts are with those that were lost , survived as well as their families.
Our thoughts are with the families and survivors.
We will remember them
Sad to hear at this late stage of Brian's passing. he was a good friend, may his dearest soul rest in peace. Kalli
We shall remember them – RIP
Hi All pse take note of my new email address. It is with sadness that I have to announce the passing of WO! Chris Van Der Vent, a legend in the MCM Flot. Chris passed away on Friday afternoon after a prolonged battle with cancer. May his dearest soul rest in peace.
I will never forget the moment when I was about to leave the boiler room after completing my shift and I was knocked of the ladder when the Tavies hit us.
Seldom have I come across a cause as noble as what Kruger and the Boer comandos had stood for. I am proud of the Africaans brothers keeping it all alive for us and our children. Thank you.
Dit is 12 dae voor die 32ste herdenking van die tragiese oggend. Die onder offisiere van bak 12 leef voort in ons gedagte.
On 16 February 2014 I am going to do the Peninsula Marathon in honor of the 16 men lost at sea on 18 February 1982 and thereafter, like I used to do many years ago, leave a flower at the wall of remembrance. But this time I would also like to celebrate the lives of those brave men who survived on that fateful day. God bless you all!
As ex crew, I will cherish fond memories forever of perished and rescued crew members. Lest we forget.
For years I tried to forget, put it behind me, but I could not. I will always remember – from PO Skeats asking me how I wanted my steak done to Benji, PO Wium, the whole lot. Fragments of memories flood me right now.
I honour them for being ordinary men engaged in an extraordinary job and doing it well until they crossed the bar.
32 years ago and still my tears roll for those that did not make it home, may they Rest in Peace – we will always remember them!
Dink vandag aan my pa, Lt. FH Visser, wat ongelukkig nie meer by ons is nie en die res van die betrokkenes.
Salute Roy McMaster
It would have been Roy's Birthday on the 20th Feb
Lost at sea in South Africa on the President Kruger 18th February 1982.
Loving thoughts of you each day. In our hearts you shall always stay. Remembered always by your family and friends. x
February always a difficult time as we come together to remember you and your collegues who perished along with the President Kruger.
I was 17 and joined the PP a year later, only hearing of the story, but walking on the ship that was there. It was so scary, I was so young.
I served on the PK in1972-73. It was a magnificent ship of which Iwas very proud to have served on. I still to this day have very fond memories of life on board this ship.It was a tragic day when this ship was lost and the crew who lost their lives and the ship will always be remembered
A sad loss of men in a tragedy that should not have happened. We will Remember. fair winds and a safe voyage for your journey.
Im Sea Fish…survivor….salute to our lost ship mates.
I was on duty at SAS IMMORTELLE this fateful day 33 years ago. I will never, ever forget this day till my dying days. RIP gents. Gone but never forgotten.
Special thoughts are with all the crew members today as well as remembering those who never returned with loving memories. RIP.
They sail forth in our hearts and memories.
Never to be forgotten. RIP.
My thoughts are with my ship mates today. You are not forgotten.
Rest peacefully there, Coenraad where you were at your happiest…
As each year goes by, I remember the 18th Feb 1982 and the tragic loss of life. I was on duty that night in the wireless office with Shawn Cuff and had just gone to wake our relief when I decided to go and get some toast in the mess. Then, it happened. One of the only PO's I remember was PO Whiteley, who was one of the PO's in charge of us sparkies. He was a good man. May he and all those who lost their lives in the sinking, rest in peace.
They are forever in my thoughts, still saddened – ex Emily Hobhouse(submariner) Was there that fateful morning. May they rest in peace.
rRIP All who lost their lives on The SAS President kruger. My Dear Uncle Pete Day was a survivor and could never talk about that fateful night. I am just remembering with fondness my lovely Uncle who has since passed on. God Bless You Uncle Pete x
a sad day and painful to those that lost loved ones and friends may we never forget. I salute you.
Forever in our hearts…till we meet again.
Rest in peace, never forgotten.
R.I.P. Guys – I served on JVR, PK, PS & Strike Craft. My Naval career was the highlight of my life.
As a survivor, thinking of the 16 perished sailor friends and 173 survivors with gratitude. Lest we forget. I agree with Frank van Rooyen – best ship & crew ever.
You will always be remembered – on behalf of Zos van Greunen who is unable to write
Attended 34th memorial service, Irene, Sun 6th. 4 survivors present. RIP
What a great ships company .good memories
forever in my heart miss you every waking day
Ex survivor , sorry to those who lost life's . Would like to be there on 18th but live in Australia . Maybe one day.
35 jaar en ons sal dit nooit vergeet nie.Mess 11 se mense.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
In 4 hours time 35 years ago we lost 16 friends, may they sleep well. For the 173 survivors we are gratefull for the grace of Almighty. I have tears in my eyes & heart. We salute all,and the ship, lest we forget.
Lofty e-mail me.
What a tragedy to lose shipmates and friends. What a fantastic crew. Rip
35 yrs … seems like the other day
when on TFB I took 8mm cine doing RASwith PK and PS, tried to get on PK
Was at school with Robyn Myers. A nicer guy you couldn't meet. I think he took a lot of the flack for this tragic incident at the time. Events clearer now from this report. We will indeed remember those who lost their lives in the early hours of that morning.


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|Get these at Prairie Dec Arts!
I just had to grab this cool listing to share with you from Etsy seller Steve of shop Prairie Dec Arts! It's for Russel Wright's Arabesque pattern in translucent Flair by Northern Melamine. This design is fairly rare and hard to find, but is one of my favorites. Here you have gold and blue swirls on translucent "eggshell" dishes, and oh so lovely
|Snatch these at Prairie Dec Arts!
There are actually three more variations which, in my opinion, are not as lovely.
- Brown and gold designs on translucent eggshell.
- Blue and gold designs on solid white dishes.
- Brown and gold designs on solid white dishes.
You may also enjoy these cool little shakers Steve has in his shop, go there now to grab 'em!


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Posted 8/21/13 (Wed)
Jerry Bratsberg, a long time resident of Alexander, N.D., passed away Aug. 16, 2013, under the care of Trinity Hospital, Minot N.D., surrounded by special friends.
His funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Alexander. Pastor Kevin Beard will officiate. Cremation will follow the service and inurnment will be held at a later date at the North Dakota Veteran's Cemetery in Mandan, N.D.
Jerry Donald Bratsberg was born May 16, 1940, to Henry Bratsberg and Anita (Daleiden) Bratsberg at Portal, N.D., and was later baptized into the Trinity Lutheran Church, Alexander. He attended school in Alexander, N.D., from 1946-1949 and graduated with a High School Diploma from Riverdale, N.D., in 1958. In years following Jerry enlisted in the army in April 1964 and was honorably discharged in May 1968, with a ranking of PVT E-1. While in the Army, he received decoration awards of Expert in Rifle and Carbine.
Jerry worked for Frederick and his sister Marilyn James at their farm/ranch where he learned to work with horses and cattle. Jerry also worked for Cenex as a truck driver and in the warehouse, even after retiring from Cenex he continued to keep himself busy. He drove for Green Trucking, ran the local café "Jerry's Place" for a few years, and spent some time running the Ragged Butte Inn Motel. Jerry was a contract mail carrier for the USPS in Alexander and drove the school bus and activity bus for several years for the Alexander Public School which he enjoyed immensely.
During and after retiring Jerry had many hobbies that he enjoyed. Jerry loved woodworking; taking it upon himself to make benches for the many children that were born in Alexander and for his nieces and nephews. He gave each a special touch by personalizing each bench with their names.
For a short time he dabbled in raising Shar Pei Dogs. Jerry also loved raising and showing miniature horses. He often traveled to many different places winning awards with his most prized horse Comanche War Dance. Jerry was very proud of all his horses that he had shown and would donate a miniature horse for the Lil' Wrangler Rodeo each year.
Jerry enjoyed his many trips spending time with nieces and nephews, going to Miniature Horse shows, exotic and auction sales where he would catch up with the many friends he made along the way. He helped out on occasion by hauling silage corn for Kit James and looked forward to cutting hay and baling with Kurt Fixen each spring. Jerry truly enjoyed spending time at the lake with friends, fishing, visiting and reading western novels. He loved to attend the sporting activities, rodeos and events of nieces, nephews and friends. He traveled to watch the National Finals Rodeo for the last few years. Jerry started his mornings by drinking coffee and enjoying conversation with the locals at the round table. He had an infectious laugh and great smile. It was the simple things in life that Jerry enjoyed most.
Jerry is survived by his children, Garnet Bratsberg and Troy Bratsberg both of Sidney, Mont., and Dusty Bratsberg of Alexander, N.D.; sister, Marilyn James and brother, Kenneth Bratsberg both of Williston, N.D.; nieces and nephew, Kathy (Jess) James, Kit (Tammy) James, Bonnie (Dennis) Guenther, Sherri (Ray) Tracy and their families; and by his special friends, Jim and Rae Fixen, Doug Fixen, Kurt (Barbara) Fixen, Kent (Carrie) Fixen and their families.
Jerry was preceded in death by his father, Henry Bratsberg; mother, Anita Allenstein; step-father, Walter Allenstein; brothers, Gordon and Jack Bratsberg; niece, Mary Lou Lund; and numerous aunts, uncles and in-laws.
Friends may call at the Fulkerson Funeral Home in Williston at the church on Wednesday one hour prior to the service.
Friends may share memories and condolences with the family at www.fulkersons.com.


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16 tracks from various diverse and unique artists including Mariza, Blind Boys of Alabama, Nigel Kennedy, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Afro Celts, Damon Albarn and Sheila Chandra. This sampling will whet your appetite for the eclectic sounds of world music.
next post: Putumayo World Music Sampler
Visit my other blogs and pages here:


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- Details
- Published: 18 November 2016
Energy Pharma & Hospital Conference: An important event that brought together Energy Managers, maintenance and production professionals, and gave the opportunity to compare current energy saving and management strategies, tools and models, as required from Italian standards (D.Lgs 102/2014).
The conference comprised of two parallel sessions over one day to deepen energy efficiency trends in both hospitals and pharmaceutical industry sectors. The main aspects of the conference include:
•Discretionary criteria for Energy Efficiency titles acquisition
•How to obtain energy improvement
•Co-generation and Tri-generation advantages and comparison
•Use of LED lighting to reduce global energy demand
•Revamping Commercial solutions
•Energy monitoring systems
•Building automation systems
•Industry 4.0
Our EOG partners presented the INDICATE project under the following title: Il progetto europeo INDICATE: il software a supporto della progettazione di ospedali verdi e città intelligenti (INDICATE European project: the tool that supports smart cities and green hospitals) INDICATE tool is presented, with particular focus on the two demonstrations sites and some of the results obtained from Galliera site application of the tool (benchmark data and simulations).


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Put The Spotlight On Your Business Card: How To Make It Stand Out From The Rest
When you choose to create business cards, it is important to keep some basics in mind. First of all, you will be handing out your business cards to people. You need to keep your business card simple, yet convey the information that people need about your company.
Business Card Tip #1: Don't print your own business cards, keep them professional. You won't pay much money for professionally designed business cards, and they look so much better than home printed cards.
Business Card Tip#2: Provide important basic information and do not clutter up your business card. Your card should have the company name, your name (if you want to give it out) a logo, your web page address, an email address, a physical address (if there is one), your phone number and a fax number if you have one.
Business Card Tip #3: Keep the back of the card blank. When you hand out a card, you can write a personal note on the back for the person you give it to.
Business Card Tip #4: Don't always go with the lowest cost card producer. The cost of a reasonable amount of business cards is not that expensive and the cards will last you for quite some time unless you hand them out often.
Business Card Tip #5: Add a tag line to your business card. The tag line can be in bold type should be located in the middle of the card – centred for clarity. The tag line describes what your business does in a short and clever manner.
Business Card Tip #6: Add a logo to your card. Never use cheap clip art, it makes your card seem a lot less professional. You can have a simple logo designed for around $25.00.
Business Card Tip #7: Always choose a standard sized business card. Odd sized cards will not fit properly into people's wallets and probably won't be kept. There is no point in spending extra money on a card that will only end up in the garbage.
Business Card Tip #8: Ensure that you include your website address in your card. If you do not have a website, create one. Depending upon what line of business you are in, people equate websites to instant credibility. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Business Card Tip #9: Make sure your business card is easy to read. Use a light background with a dark type so that the information is clear and a person can easily see all of the information contained on the card.
Business Card Tip #10: Always check the proof of your business card before the final cards are printed. Check for typographical errors and misprints – wrong phone number, wrong website address, etc. If you receive cards that have errors on them, you cannot use them, so it will be a huge waste of your time and money.
You only get about ten seconds to make a good impression, so it is important to get it right with a professional looking business card.
Source: Entrepreneur


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Contact Information
We want to remind you that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. If your information is very sensitive, or includes personal or confidential information -- such as your bank account, charge card, or social security number -- you may want to call us at 410-778-3500. You can also mail your question to the addresses listed under the Locations & Hours tab of our website, or log on to our Online Banking and send your question via secured email. For your safety and privacy, specific account questions will not be answered that are initiated via this unsecured form.


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Arai Corsair-X Nakano Helmet
Sorry, this item is out of stock
PB SNC2 Shell:
The Corsair X helmet shell is constructed from Super Fiber and other special synthetic fibers developed for F-1 helmet visor panels, assembled and bonded by Arai experts. A specially-developed resin creates stronger bonds between shell materials with less weight.
Diffuser Type 12:
The Corsair X Type 12 air diffusers are longer than the Corsair V and are straightened for improved aerodynamics, working together with the AirWing to improve stability, and creating a 19% gain in efficiency. The air intake vents are extremely adjustable and have three positions (closed, half open and fully open) and create a tight seal to decrease wind noise and water intrusion.
Eco Pure Liner:
The fully removable interior liner system is made from Eco Pure material, which helps maintain neutral acidity levels close to human skin and antibacterial consumption, as well as a softer liner material and adjustable temple padding to allow for a customized fit.
Additional Features:
- VAS (Variable Axis System) shield and side pods are exclusive to the Corsair X
- Dual function lever releases both the side pod and the face shield for quick and simple face shield removal
- VAS shield latch system captures and holds the face shield closed and provides a de-mist position to slightly crack the shield open
- VAS MAX Vision face shield provides excellent visibility in all seasons thanks to the included Pinlock insert
- Neckroll is removable and has additional exhaust channels to remove interior heat
- Cheek pads have the Emergency Release Tab feature
- IC Duct5 forehead vent provides 11% more airflow than the Corsair V, features 3 positions and is overall large and easy to operate with gloves
- PB SNC2 Shell has superb tensile strength due to a variety of carefully-positioned materials and light weight resin
- Arai's R75 shell shape creates a rounder, smoother helmet to enhance energy and impact dispersion
- Includes clear Pinlock insert
- Snell 2015 and DOT approved