text: On July 16, US President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Finnish capital Helsinki [Reuters] The Kremlin prefers the Republicans over the Democrats. Or at least that is what a Russian political insider told me back in 2008, as we stood on the rooftop terrace of a hotel overlooking the Red Square on the eve of the US presidential elections. I found it a rather surprising statement considering the times. Republican US President George W Bush had been at loggerheads with the Kremlin over several issues: The US decision to deploy a controversial missile defence system in Eastern Europe, Russia's invasion of Georgia, and the latter's prospective membership in NATO. With all that, the Russians were still rooting for a Republican foreign policy hawk like John McCain? In the end, the advent of Barack Obama and his insistence on a "reset" in relations with Moscow paved the way for a number of agreements with then-President Dmitry Medvedev, including a nuclear deal, and resulted in the opposite impression: That a Democrat president can, in fact, be far more agreeable for Russia than a Republican one. But "agreeableness" was never the main criteria by which Vladimir Putin, who was lurking in the premiership office at the time, judged the relationship between his country and the United States. In the ring, Putin, the former KGB agent, prefers to be feared rather than liked. He abhors Democrats who provide hypocritical lectures about democracy, human rights, or international law. This is why, in 2008, Putin preferred the Republicans. He liked where he stood with them - a recognised superpower, a respected nemesis. In Obama, he found an opponent who didn't seem to think he was worth the fight. With the elections of a more confident and more popular Putin for a third term in 2012, relations began to deteriorate. They cooled when the US-led Libya campaign overstretched its mandate and overthrew former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi. They went into deep freeze a couple of years later when Putin ordered limited intervention into Eastern Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. A year after that, he sent Russia's military to support the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and refused to accommodate Washington's view over his future. The state of Russian-US relations at the end of the combined tenures of Obama and Bush invoked an eerie resemblance to a past era, and there was much talk in both liberal and conservative circles of a Cold War redux. The Kremlin's dream US president Enter the Kremlin's dream Republican presidential candidate, Donald J Trump. If he hadn't existed already, the Kremlin would've invented him. And perhaps it did. The Kremlin never hid its preferences in 2016 - neither its utter dislike for Hillary and Bill Clinton, nor its admiration of Trump, and certainly not its support for him during the elections. {articleGUID} Since then, the US Congress has denounced and sanctioned Russia for its interference and the Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. President Trump, of course, denies any such collusion at every possible occasion and tweet. Meanwhile, his administration claims to be tougher on Russia than Obama's ever was, imposing sanctions, arming Ukraine, expelling Russian diplomats, and publicly accusing the Kremlin of hacking into US energy infrastructure. But while the administration was pressured by Congress to take certain measures against Russia, Trump's own instincts and his White House initiatives have been accommodating. The president reportedly called to congratulate Putin on his landslide election victory in March this year, breaking a taboo among western leaders in appearing to endorse the Russian leader's re-election. He also called for Russia to be readmitted to the Group of 7, and even appeared to support the Kremlin's claim on Crimea, before being forced to make a U-turn. Trump's reset At the risk of sounding irrational in a predominantly polarised ideological arena, let me say that Trump's Russia policy is not that different from Obama's in his first term. And the political reactions to their policies did not differ that much either. Democrats are questioning Trump's capacity, readiness or willingness to stand up to Putin the way the Republicans questioned Obama's foreign policy experience and ability to confront Russia. NATO summit: Has Trump shifted US alliances in Europe? Trump may be less eloquent and more personal in his style than Obama, but like him, he's pursuing relations with US nemeses on the basis of "mutual interest and mutual respect". And like Obama, he thinks that more problems could be resolved with Russia and China on board than without them. He's just going about it in his own way. But, unlike Obama, Trump seems to be delusional about his deal-making ability and the importance of his camaraderie with the Russian leader - so much that he reckons he could persuade Putin to "withdraw from Syria and stop preying on Ukraine" if he had dinner with him (He also had similar illusions about convincing the North Koreans to denuclearise and the Mexicans to pay for the border wall). And, unlike Obama, who shunned Israeli and Saudi pressures in favour of a nuclear deal with Iran, Trump welcomed the Israeli-Saudi charm offensive, ripped up the nuclear deal, and made Tehran the target of his venom and US sanctions, paving the way for greater escalation in the future. Iran for Ukraine When they meet next week in Helsinki, Trump may try to convince Putin to cooperate with the US on Iran in the Middle East and beyond. After all, the Russian president has succeeded in carving an orbit of influence that has pulled in many of those who feel shunned by Washington, including Iran and Turkey. His latest stunt, inviting Israeli and Palestinian leaders to watch the World Cup final with him in Moscow, is a sign that a super-confident Putin 4.0 has started to enjoy playing with his trump cards. And so it seems does his new friend, Donald Trump. {articleGUID} During the early days of his administration, Trump reportedly considered trading Syria for Ukraine - the US would accept Russia's influence in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea in return for Putin's cooperation in Syria. But Bashar al-Assad is no longer the high card. "Iran is the strategic issue," US National Security Adviser John Bolton recently said. Following the US military's rout of the Islamic State from Syria and Iraq and Russia's defeat of the Syrian rebels, Trump is focusing on Iran and could seek Russian support for his hardline policies in return for concessions on Ukraine. Trump can't promise an official lifting of the sanctions or a blessing on Crimea's annexation because of recent Congressional restrictions, but may well try to give Putin verbal assurances. This won't suffice. There's no strategic rationale for Russia to accept being co-opted by the US. The opposite is also no more plausible. It makes little sense for Putin to side with Iran against Trump. There's a third scenario. They could agree to a division of labour over their respective zones of influence, where Russia restrains its clients and allies like Syria and Iran, and the US holds back or contains Israel and Saudi Arabia. This is what Trump refers to as "getting along". Such cooperation may be seen as duplicitous in places like Tehran and Ankara (and in Washington itself) and regional powers may reject superpower patronage publicly, but considering the chaos and conflicts of the Middle East, they'll be forced to manage accordingly. The elephants in the room American-Russian relations always remind me of that old proverb, "when elephants fight it is the grass that suffers," and when the elephants play, the grass gets crushed. In other words, the main concern is not whether Trump and Putin will get along or not, but on what basis? Of course, it's often better when world powers get along, but the Middle East and Europe have suffered from superpower complicity as well as conflict. In Syria for example, their earlier confrontation over al-Assad led to much suffering, just as their later complicity over the rebels led to more of the same. The US and Russia are the two foremost nuclear powers, with over 13,000 warheads between them, or over 90 percent of the world's total. There's no moral or legal argument for them to continue expanding their nuclear arsenals, but they have long been doing just that in contravention of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), while simultaneously demanding that Iran and North Korea abide by it. It's also wrong for them to swap control over other nations as if they were pieces in their brutal superpower chess game. Both Syria and Ukraine deserve to be free. And so do Palestine and Georgia. Whether they play or fight or a combination of both, these two elephants have the power to crush a lot of grass. Agreements between them have to be not only in their own self-interest but also in the world's best interest. Once upon a Cold War, Moscow and Washington stood for more than just power and military alliances. They stood, rightly or wrongly, for universal visions and missions - communism vs capitalism or equality vs freedom. Today they seem to stand for little more than hyper-nationalism, state interest, and greed. That's why nations around the world large and small need not rush to get in line with their policies and demand. Rather they should hold both the US and Russia accountable for the damage caused by their agreements and disagreements in the past and future. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marwan BisharaMarwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. @ MarwanBishara Donald Trump Vladimir Putin Russia United States Politics


text: The Toronto Blue Jays start their second-half quest to regain ground in the American League East as they open a three game series with the Texas Rangers tonight at Rogers Centre. Toronto went into the break two games above .500 at 49-47. It could have been so much better, though, as the Blue Jays were 14 games above .500 on June 6 and held a six-game advantage atop the American League East. But thanks to losses in 23 of 34 games Toronto finds itself four games back of Baltimore in the American League East. The Blue Jays also limped into the break, dropping seven of their last nine games. "Were in second place," outfielder Jose Bautista said. "Were obviously not playing the baseball that we started off playing and that were capable of playing. Weve had a lot of injuries to deal with. "Bottom line is, weve got to figure out how to win some of these games that weve been losing, especially close ones. Hopefully we can manage to keep winning enough games to stay in one of the top two positions in our division, and when we get all our big bats back, kind of get back in the thick of things." Still, the Blue Jays have at least 49 wins at the break for the first time since 2006 On Friday, Toronto will hand the ball to righty R.A. Dickey, who has lost five of his last six starts. Dickey lost to Tampa Bay on Sunday, but pitched well, giving up just two runs in six innings, but still fell to 7-9 on the year to go along with a 3.82 ERA. Dickey, who started his career with Texas back in 2001, is 2-1 against his former team with a 2.91 ERA in six games (3 starts). Toronto took two of three from the Rangers earlier this season. No team needed the break more than Texas, which has lost eight straight and 22 of its last 25 games. The Rangers have also lost 11 of their last 12 on the road and now occupy last place in the American League West, 21 games back of first-place Oakland. "Commitment is doing what the game asks you to do and not looking for a reward for what youre doing," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Im in the process of getting this new bunch to understand what it means. Dont worry about stats or numbers. Its about the team. Some people need to check their attitude and check what commitment is." The Rangers havent dropped nine in a row since May 30-June 8, 2003. "It has been tough," Washington said. "Through it all, they have handled it very well. In reality, wed liked to have handled it better and get more wins. It didnt happen, but I didnt see any letdown." Getting the call for the Rangers on Friday will be All-Star Yu Darvish, who was one of the few bright spots on the team, going 8-5 with a 2.97 ERA. Darvish, though, is just 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA over his last five starts. "Just a little erratic. He usually finds himself on the course of the ballgame," Washington said. "There have been a couple of games there where hes been having trouble just trying to find the pitches he wanted to use as a combination." Darvish is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA in six career starts against Toronto. Authentic Ron Parker Jersey .The Williams siblings, with 25 Grand Slam titles between them, will have a couple of Madisons joining them, too.Madison Keys had a 6-4, 7-5 upset win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday night, and Madison Brengle beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-2 in an all-U. Authentic Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5. http://www.cheapchiefsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-damien-williams-jersey . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Authentic Anthony Sherman Jersey . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points. Authentic Breeland Speaks Jersey . Felix Pie had an RBI double earlier in the inning, as Baltimore rallied for three runs to overcome a 3-2 deficit. J.J. Hardy had two hits and Matt Wieters chipped in with an RBI double for the Orioles, who pushed their winning streak to three games.No Jose Bautista, no problem. At least thats the hope for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night when they host the Chicago White Sox for the second of a four-game series. Bautista has missed four games thanks to a hamstring injury, but the Blue Jays have won three times while scoring 25 runs and compiling a .324 batting average without him. The teams 1-2-3 hitters -- Jose Reyes, Adam Lind and Melky Cabrera -- put together eight hits, four runs batted in and four runs scored in the series opener on Thursday. Bautista could be back for the weekend portion of the series. On the contrary, the Chicago pitching rotation has posted a 5.83 earned run average during an 11-game road stretch in which the White Sox have won just once. R.A. Dickey gets the starting call for the Blue Jays with a chance to end a two-start skid in which hes allowed just five runs in 14 1/3 innings, but had only four runs of offensive support. "I think all but one of my earned runs over my last four or five starts have come on home runs," Dickey said.dddddddddddd "Thats tough to overcome." Hes unbeaten in his last seven starts at home, but the White Sox pasted him for seven runs in five innings of a 10-6 Chicago victory when they last met last season. Lefty John Danks goes for the White Sox and faces the Blue Jays for the seventh time. However, hes not met them since May 2011, when he lasted just four innings and gave up nine runs in a 13-4 loss. Danks was a 6-5 loser on Sunday at Minnesota while allowing six runs on 10 hits in five innings. On Thursday, J.A. Happ tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings as the Blue Jays blanked the White Sox, 7-0. Happ (7-4) struck out eight and scattered four hits while walking two for Toronto. Lind posted three hits and three RBI in the triumph, while Reyes had four hits, two runs scored and an RBI. Scott Carroll (2-4) yielded five runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings for the White Sox. ' ' '

subset: commoncrawl


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Team building is essential in any organisation, but it is especially important in organisations that aren't confined to a single office where staff work from 9am to 5pm each day. In the hospitality industry, this is certainly never the case.
As a hospitality training organisation, we have trainers who are constantly out and about training our many students. This is not to mention that we have offices across several states, meaning there is almost never a time where everyone is in the same place at the same time. In order to ensure that this happens, dedicated time needs to be allocated to bringing the team together as a whole.
For a recent company day, we thought what better way to come together than to take a walk in the shoes of the people who are the essentially the backbone of our company – our trainers. Our commercial cookery trainers gave us a taste of what it's like to be one of their students by putting our cooking skills to the test in what was aptly dubbed 'Disaster Chef'.
We all ventured down to Loganlea State High to their Trade Training Centre, a fully equipped commercial kitchen, where our trainers hold practical training sessions for their commercial cookery students. But this time, instead of skilled apprentice chefs, it was a collection of adults with extremely varied abilities in the kitchen.
The company was split into three teams who battled it out to cook the best dish for morning tea, lunch and dessert. Of course this was done under the watchful and knowledgeable eyes of our chef trainers who shared their tips and know-how throughout the day. In true MasterChef style, our three chefs were the judges. (We'll let you decide who was George, Gary and Matt).
At the end of the day, the chefs confessed that the amount of recipes they gave us was only half the amount they would usually give their apprentices. The day was absolutely exhausting as it was, so the trainers' hard work and dedication, as well as that of their apprentices, was obvious. Albeit exhausting, it's safe to say that everyone had an amazing time and let's just say – no one went home hungry!
Our chefs actually had so much fun that we are considering holding Disaster Chef team building days for other organisations. If you are interested, do not hesitate to make an enquiry with us and we will let you know what we can do for you – we highly recommend it!


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- Jan. 2019 – May 2019
I'd worked with the Student Press Law Center when I was the editor of The Vermont Cynic, the student newspaper at the University of Vermont. The resources and advice they gave us as we were embarking on some serious investigative stories stuck with me, which is a big reason why I wanted to work with them.
The center is the only legal defense organization solely focused on defending the First Amendment rights of student media.
I was probably the only journalist in the country who had a beat that covers threats to student media freedom nationwide. My sources were student editors, advisers, First Amendment lawyers, college administrators, student government officials and so many more.
Below are some of my favorite stories from my work at the SPLC.
In the midst of a student body presidential campaign, police are investigating trashed student newspapers
April 12, 2019 By Cory Dawson
COLORADO — About 1,000 copies of the Rocky Mountain Collegian went missing April 9, and fingers are being pointed at a team running for student leadership who were the subject of a critical article published the day before the thefts.
The Collegian ran a story in its Monday edition that examined campaign spending discrepancies by Ben Amundson and running mate Alexandra Farias, who are running for president and vice president of the student body at Colorado State University, Fort Collins. By Tuesday morning, many papers had gone missing, and word quickly reached the Collegian newsroom.
"We decided we were going to take action. So we submitted a police report," said Haley Candelario, editor-in-chief of the Collegian.
'Go take pictures of birds': Firefighter tells student reporters to beat it, refuses to give identification
April 5, 2019 By Cory Dawson
CALIFORNIA — A Los Angeles county firefighter threatened student reporters with arrest and repeatedly rebuffed them while they were trying to gather information on emergency crews on campus, according to the journalists.
Emergency crews, including police and an ambulance, appeared to be responding to a medical incident at the college's student health center. A man was seen being taken into an ambulance on a gurney, said Kevin Caparoso, Roseana Martinez and Rosemary Montalvo. All three work on The Union student newspaper at El Camino College, a community college in Torrance, just south of Los Angeles.
The firefighter who was standing nearby the scene refused to provide reporters with any identification or any information, the reporters said.
They took to Twitter shortly after the incident to explain what happened to them.
PODCAST: New Voices advocates talk struggles and successes
March 14, 2019 By Cory Dawson
Since 1988, student reporters have lived under a Supreme Court ruling that gives school administrators vast control over what goes into their school's newspapers.
Since then, students, advocates and media advisers have worked to put press freedoms for student journalists into law by passing New Voices laws in 14 states. These laws protect student journalists from things like censorship, prior review or retaliation against their media advisers.
Now, in 2019, lawmakers have introduced New Voices bills in 10 states — a new record by our count. And although bills in two states — Hawaii and Virginia — have already been killed, bills in Arkansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Indiana and New Jersey are moving through state legislatures, and a bill in Pennsylvania will be introduced soon.
Listen to the SPLC podcast on the successes and struggles of New Voices advocates across the country.


text:
Stacey Solomon confesses her sexual fantasies as she opens up about her relationship with boyfriend Joe Swash
The former X Factor star only has eyes for her former EastEnders star boyfriend
STACEY Solomon has laid herself bare after discussing her sexual fantasies – and her concerns for what fantasies her boyfriend might have too.
The 27-year-old Loose Women panellist made her confessions on Monday describing herself as a 'prude' and saying she hopes lover Joe Swash doesn't have kinky obsessions.
Opening up about her bedroom activities, the mum-of-two said: "I could only ever really get naked if I knew the person."
Turning to fantasies, the former X Factor star started off slightly hesitant: "I couldn't talk about fantasies, because I don't..."
Related articles
Opening up, she continued: "My fantasy is to be with the person I'm with. You know? It really is. I'm so a prude. It took me a really long time to get to that stage of my relationship."
Stacey explained that she and her former EastEnders star boyfriend gladly discuss their sexual fantasies – but hopes Joe doesn't have strange dressing up requests.
"For me, I don't mind discussing through what we like, but I wouldn't be like 'Oh! Can you just dress up?' I mean, each to their own," the singer said.
Earlier in the show, Stace discussed the growing trend of throwing period parties when women start their menstrual cycle.
"I was ten when I started. I remember feeling excluded because none of the other girls had started, and I also felt out of place," she shared.
"I had massive boobs, well I had boobs, and kids used to point and laugh," she continued.
She added: "I thought it was horrendous. My mum was so liberal and everything about it but that made it worse. She would have thrown me a period party if she could."
Last week, Stacey took to social media to explain how happy she was in her relationship with Joe as he celebrated his 34th birthday.
"Happy birthday to the man who makes me very very happy. I'm so glad I found u!" the former X Factor star wrote on Instagram.
Praising her man, Stacey shared a collage of snaps of them together from over the years – with multiple shots of them kissing and embracing each other.
With their weekend of celebrations continuing to Sunday, the star shared a photo of Joe enjoying a Nutella birthday cake along with the caption: "More birthday celebrations. Home with the family and lots of cake!"
Got a story? email email@example.com or call us direct on 02077824220


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There is a lot of information for parents and carers about what abuse and neglect means, e.g.:
If you are concerned that a child or young person is being abused or neglected or is in any other sort of danger, please follow the advice on this page: Referring a safeguarding concern to Children's Social Care
Help is also available from local Multi Agency Support Team (MAST). It will help to have the postcode where the child or young person normally lives to hand so you can speak to the correct area team. If you cannot provide this information you should still call and any team will respond to your enquiry in the first instance.
Useful Leaflets:
If you are concerned about a child or young person, follow this link: Referring a safeguarding concern to Children's Social Care
Useful Information:
Keeping Children Safe: Information for Parents and Carers
Child Protection Information Leaflet for Families
Substance Misuse Service Leaflets


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From the moment you walk through the doors of Thai Square Spa you are indulged by the luxurious and tranquil surroundings.
After my complimentary herbal tea and traditional floral foot soak, I opted for the Thai Square Signature wrap which claims to improve skin clarity whilst firming and toning. Carried out by a trained Thai therapist, after an hour of being massaged, scrubbed and moisturised with beautifully scented products I couldn't have felt any more relaxed. To the extent that I totally fell asleep- who would have thought it was so easy to doze off whilst wearing the oh so sexy paper knickers and covered in mud.
Awarded the highest accolade of 5 bubbles from the Good Spa Guide, Thai Square, which is one of the only spas to bring the traditional Thai experience to the UK, is sure to leave you feeling incredibly pampered and relaxed.
After my treatment, my skin felt beyond silky smooth and I walked out of the Thai Square Spa, into the winter night, with a delicious "I've just been pampered to death" glow.
Thai Square spar has: 14 treatment rooms, 5 Thai Massage rooms as well as other facilities. Herbs, flowers and roots are used to create a range of products that are dedicated to the wellbeing of the mind, body and soul. www.thaisquarespa.com
Thai Square is pleased to announce the opening of 'Thai Square Spa City' in January 2013 which will be situated under The Indigo Hotel in Tower Hill, offering four treatment rooms as well as manicure & pedicure services.


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DStv is under attack! The rise of Video on Demand services such as Netflix has been changing the way people consume their content. Luckily for DStv, in Africa VoD hasn't taken off as much as it has in other regions of the world so they still have a majority of consumers pockets (in the regions they operate in of course).
The only market they should be worried about in the short term is South Africa because of the cheap internet and how consumers can easily make payments for services like Netflix.
Over the last financial year, DStv lost over 100 000 premium subscribers because of competition from services like Netflix. Judging from a statement made by Multichoice SA's Chief Executive, Calvo Mawela, it seems they are not worried about Netflix and won't be changing strategy any time soon:
We aren't open to doing that (allowing subcribers to pick channels) at all. It's the model we've chosen to adopt as a company, and this is how we've chosen to do business.
The reason why it actually doesn't make sense to pay for what you watch…
Calvo also thinks taking the Netflix route actually makes no sense:
These proposals that people make are based on not knowing what's happening. We package channels, and when you package channels, you try to capture a wider audience in terms of your packaging. In that way, you're able to attract a number of wider viewers, so that viewership cost comes down because we are targeting a higher audience. Once you start giving subscribers the option to choose certain channels, the cost increases. If we only have 1000 people choosing to watch the PSL, we have to divide the cost among the 1000 subscribers, so it works out at much more.
The logic behind selection makes sense and considering how much the EPL rights cost, it is obvious DStv would actually not be able to afford those rights if people who watch soccer are the only ones paying for soccer channels.
Others have tried and failed
Mr Mawela also gave an example of Canada Pay TV and their failed attempt to offer a package where consumers only pay for what they want to watch:
They introduced the a la carte option where subscribers were given the choice of choosing specific channels. After realising they were paying more for the a la carte option the subscribers cancelled that option and went back to the traditional packages.
The fact that subscribers ended up paying more speaks to the fact that since people are now paying for specific content service providers have to add a markup in order to acquire rights for that content.
Though these explanations make sense, consumers don't necessarily want sense. Consumers just want a product that makes them happy and for most people, they only stick to DStv because of the aforementioned EPL rights or because they have not been exposed to the convenience of streaming. Other than that DStv customers are constantly complaining about a lack of variety and also too many repeats.
Multichoice knows that VoD is the future
Though Multichoice underplays the threat of streaming services the fact that they have their own Video on Demand service (Showmax) is a clear acknowledgement of the simple reality that is; streaming services offer convenience that is hard to match and sooner or later they are going to take over. Yes, Netflix and other VoD services are yet to nail down how they can approach live sporting content but that has not stopped them from becoming dominant in other regions of the world.
How long do you think it's going to take before VoD takes over and Multichoice is prioritising Showmax over DStv? I think by 2021 VoD will be the king of video consumption in the home.
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text:
"Nutrimexx" - a German quality brand for innovative
food supplements captures the world. The Nutrimexx brand can be purchased
exclusively at leading mail order pharmacies or through our online shop.
The brand "Nutrimexx" is the private label of HCP GmbH, based in Hannover, Germany.
Wulf-Dieter Freude, a German pharmacist and current co-owner of HCP GmbH was unsatisfied for many years with the supplements available on the market. He desired for his customers and himself dietary supplements which were of the highest quality AND tasted great as well.
Since he found no adequate product on the market, he developed - by using his huge pharmaceutical knowledge - his own recipes and sold the products first on a scale in his Heide-pharmacy in Hanover-Langenhagen. As demand grew, he decided to produce his formulas in large quantities and offer them everybody to improve their well-being: That was the birth of the brand "Nutrimexx"!
Today, "Nutrimexx" offers a wide range of high quality dietary supplements! Check it out by yourself - boost your wellbeing.


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La WWE ha annunciato ufficialmente che Daniel Bryan è stato dichiarato pronto per tornare a combattere. Contrariamente a quanto fatto nei mesi pregressi, la Federazione ha diramato un comunicato ufficiale in cui afferma che l'ex Campione WWE ed attuale GM di Smackdown può tornare a combattere.
Si tratta ovviamente di una svolta per la carriera di Bryan, più volte vociferato in procinto di lasciare la WWE proprio per poter tornare sul ring.
Ecco il testo completo del comunicato:
STAMFORD, Conn., March 20, 2018 Following more than two years of extensive evaluations, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan has been medically cleared to return to in-ring competition by leading neurosurgeons, neurologists and concussion experts, including Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Javier Cárdenas and Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher.
Bryan underwent a full review of his medical history and received comprehensive neurological and physical evaluations independent of WWE. He was cleared by each doctor as well as WWE's Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Maroon.
(Dopo due anni di valutazioni intensive, la Supertar della WWE Daniel Bryan è stato dichiarato clinicamente pronto al ritorno alla competizione su ring da un gruppo di rinomati neurochirurghi, neurologi ed esperti in commozioni, che include i dottori Robert Cantu, Javier Cárdenas e Jeffrey Kutcher.
Bryan è stato sottoposto ad una completa analisi del suo passato clinico, nonché una serie di estesi test fisici e neurologici da parte della WWE. E' stato dichiarato pronto da ogni dottore, così come dal Direttore Medico della WWE, il Dottor Joseph Maroon.)
About Dr. Robert Cantu
Currently Dr. Cantu's professional responsibilities include those of Clinical Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Co-Founder of the CTE Center at the Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA; Senior Advisor to the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee; Founding member, Co-Founder, Medical Director, and Chairman Medical Advisory Board Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA; Adjunct Professor Exercise and Sport Science and Medical Director National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC; Co-Director, Neurologic Sports Injury Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston; Medical Director and Director of Clinical Research at the Cantu Concussion Center at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts; and Neurosurgical Consultant Boston Eagles football team.
Dr. Cantu consults with numerous NFL, NHL and NBA teams, and served as Neurosurgical Consultant to the Boston Cannons professional soccer team from 2003-2010. Dr. Cantu also serves on the Mackey White TBI advisory committee to the NFLPA, and on the International Rugby Board's independent advisory group on concussion.
About Dr. Javier Cárdenas
Javier Cárdenas, MD, is a neurologist and the director of the Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center. He is board certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Cárdenas' expertise involves concussion, post-concussion syndrome, spinal trauma, and traumatic brain injury. He is a member of the American Academy of Neurology; the National Football League Head, Neck and Spine Committee; and the Arizona Governor's Advisory Council on Spinal and Head Injuries.
Dr. Cárdenas received his medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He completed a residency in pediatrics at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and trained in child neurology at Barrow Neurological Institute. Dr. Cárdenas created the Barrow Concussion and Brain Injury Center, which is the nation's most comprehensive concussion prevention, treatment, and education program. He also created Barrow Brainbook, which Arizona high school students must complete to participate in school sports. It is the first mandated online concussion education and testing tool for student athletes in the country.
About Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher
Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher is a board-certified neurologist, specializing in sports neurology, including concussion, post-concussion syndrome, and the long-term effects of sports on athlete brain health. He serves as the National Director of The Sports Neurology Clinic. Dr. Kutcher is currently the Team Neurologist for the United States Ski and Snowboard Association and served as the Team Neurologist for the United States Olympic Team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
He is the Director of the National Basketball Association's concussion program and works as an advisor to the Players' Associations of both the National Football League and the National Hockey League. He has also helped develop the concussion policies of the NCAA, several collegiate athletic programs and conferences, as well as local and national youth sport organizations.
About Dr. Joseph Maroon
Joseph C. Maroon, MD, is the Medical Director for WWE. Dr. Maroon is a board-certified clinical professor of neurological surgery and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is also the Heindl Scholar in Neuroscience. He is Team Neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a member of the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee for concussion.
Working with neuropsychologist, Mark Lovell, PhD, he co-developed Impact (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). ImPACT is the first FDA approved computerized system to determine concussion severity and the timing for return to contact sports. It is now the standard of care for concussion management in the NFL, NHL, major league baseball, NASCAR and is used in over 12,000 colleges and high schools in the United States. For over 20 years he has served as the neurosurgical consultant to professional and college athletes in football, baseball, golf, hockey and soccer, including the Pittsburgh Steelers.


text:
Paul Lewis
The Guardian
March 12, 2014
The whistleblower Edward Snowden accused the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee of double standards on Tuesday, pointing out that her outrage at evidence her staff were spied on by the CIA was not matched by concern about widespread surveillance of ordinary citizens.
Snowden, the former contractor whose disclosures to journalists revealed widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency, was responding to an explosive statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein about the CIA's attempts to undermine a congressional investigation into interrogation and detention.
In a surprisingly combative statement on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Feinstein, who has been widely criticised by privacy experts for failing to hold the NSA to account, accused the CIA of conducting potentially unconstitutional and criminal searches on computers used by her staff.
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text:
I have an SQL query that returns all machines name in a Kaseya Group. Someone helped me with this here: http://community.kaseya.com/xsp/f/28/t/22094.aspx
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<queryList> <queryDef label="AgentsInVariableByGroup" sql="SELECT Stuff((SELECT N', ' + DisplayName FROM vAgentName WHERE GroupName in (Select GroupName From vAgentName where agentGuid = #vMachine.agentGuid#) FOR XML PATH(''),TYPE).value('text()[1]','nvarchar(max)'),1,2,N'')" /></queryList>
It's super-useful for some of our automation.
If I query this group: contoso-com.london
.,.it returns all machine names. Perfect!
However, I now need to query the top-level group: contoso-com
I need the machines names from contoso-com.london, contoso-com.nyc, AND contoso-com.milan.
I don't have a clue how to do this. Can anyone help?
Hello Lothario,
I am assuming we are still talking about Organizations here and that your issue is to be able to select all children after a selected "root".
The script becomes a bit more complicated (it could theoretically be simplified by creating a view inside kaseya and/or a function for the CTE) but for now I will just write an SQL that does what you need:
The below will give
FROM kasadmin.org m
WHERE m.parentOrgFK IS NULL AND orgName = 'MyRootOrganizationName'
FROM CTE t
JOIN kasadmin.org b ON b.parentOrgFK = t.id
SELECT aSOrgs.OrganizationName, vA.Machine_GroupID
FROM vComputedDenormalizedOrgToMach aMachOrgs, vSystemOrganizations aSOrgs, vAgentLabel vA, CTE c
where aMachOrgs.OrgId = aSOrgs.id and aMachOrgs.AgentGuid = vA.agentGuid
and aSorgs.id = c.id
You just need to replace:
orgName = 'MyRootOrganizationName'
with the root name of your organization where you want to start "navigating" and it will take all of the children
for you.
Hope it helps.
Best Regards
if I'm reading correctly your original query basically could be run using an agent procedure against a single machine and it ends up returning a comma separated list of all agents that are in the same exact machine group. Now you would like to go back up to the root group.
If all of that is correct then you can modify the existing query with a couple of minor changes.
FIrst change the "in" part of the first WHERE statement to like, and then replace the section where you are getting the group name of the machine with this:
(Select LEFT(GroupName,CHARINDEX('.', GroupName) -1) + '%' From vAgentName where agentGuid = #vMachine.agentGuid#)
so your final xml file would end up looking something like this:
<queryList><queryDef label="AgentsInVariableByRootGroup" sql="SELECT Stuff((SELECT N', ' + DisplayName FROM vAgentName WHERE GroupName like (Select LEFT(GroupName,CharIndex('.',GroupName) -1) + '%' From vAgentName where agentGuid = #vMachine.agentGuid#) FOR XML PATH(''),TYPE).value('text()[1]','nvarchar(max)'),1,2,N'')" /></queryList>
Guys, thanks a lot! I am going to use this query in a machine naming Agent Procedure - it will ensure that we don't allocate a duplicate name.
I hope it's useful to someone else too.
I think Jonathan query is what you are looking for. when I read the forum link you referenced there were 2 issues in there (organization finder and the group selector)...
I gave you an answer based on "organization finder" problem but probably you wanted to expand on group selector.
Anyway, you got both :-)


text:
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Saudi Arabia is considering delaying the international portion of the giant initial public offering of its state oil company until at least 2019, according to people familiar with the situation, who said a domestic share sale in Riyadh could still happen next year.
A two-stage Saudi Aramco IPO is one of several options being considered, the people said, asking not to be identified because discussions are private. Another plan would include listing in Riyadh next year and privately selling a stake in Aramco to one or several cornerstone investors, one of the people said, Bloomberg reported.
The IPO is the centerpiece of a broad-ranging economic reform program proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the dominant political force in the kingdom. Any delay would be a setback to his plans as well as the plethora of international investment banks and international exchanges eying millions in fees and commissions.
Saudi Arabia has been making contingency plans for a possible delay of the IPO, expected to be the largest in history, Bloomberg News reported last month.
While the government has insisted the original timetable remains on track, several important decisions have yet to be taken, including a location for the international listing, stretching the ability of the company to sell shares overseas before the end of next year.
There is a precedent for bringing in cornerstone investors before a groundbreaking commodities IPO. Glencore Plc sold in 2009 a stake through a convertible bond ahead of its 2011 IPO, still the largest ever in London where the company raised nearly $10 billion.
Despite the work on alternative plans, Saudi Arabia said earlier this month that schedule for the blockbuster initial public offering was not "slipping" and the country still planned a sale by the end of 2018.
The government is "moving right ahead" for an IPO of Saudi Aramco in the second half of next year, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said in Moscow. "There is nothing to indicate that schedule is slipping in any way."
The Financial Times on Friday reported that Saudi Arabia could shelve the international portion of the IPO, instead opting for a local listing in 2018 combined with a stake sale to a Chinese investor.
The government has said the sale of 5% of the shares could value the company at as much as $2 trillion, though analysts have tended to give lower estimates. If Saudi Arabia achieves its valuation, the 5% stake it plans to sell would raise about $100 billion.


text:
There is actually a great deal of information available about the anthrax attacks. We have several of the letters and envelopes. We have the text of the letters and can study the handwriting. We have the two different "powders" of different refinements containing anthrax spores. We have scientific details about the type of anthrax used - including the DNA. We know where the letters were mailed. We even know which mailbox was most likely used for the second mailing. We have a good idea of what kind of scientific expertise it takes to produce the anthrax powder found in the second group of letters. And beyond that there are undoubtedly many details which have not been released to the public, but which are hinted at by FBI officials. Its really a great deal of information.
However, its the interpretation of the information that causes virtually every individual in the world to have a totally different opinion of what actually happened.
But if Occams Razor is used, and the simplest explanation of all the facts is laid out, its all really fairly straightforward:
Within an hour after that second airliner plowed into the World Trade Center, police and federal investigators were on the job trying to learn everything that could be learned about the individuals behind the attack.
In just a few days, TV, radio and the print media were filled with reports that part of the group had been based in Florida, and the group was probably led by Mohamed Atta who had taken flight training lessons at an airfield in Lantana, Florida. Newspapers all over the world told how Atta paid cash to rent a plane for flying lessons at Lantana, taking at least three flight lessons there. Other workers at that Lantana airport remembered Atta. The terrorists connections to Florida were all over the news, and so was Lantana. There were countless interviews on TV, replayed over and over and over.
And the news was also filled with reports speculating on what the next terrorist attack might be like. With air travel at a virtual standstill, it wasnt likely to be another attack like that upon the World Trade Center. Would it be a biological attack? That was what knowledgeable experts feared the most. And many were on TV talking about it.
While this was happening, a scientist - probably a microbiologist living and working somewhere in Central New Jersey - was apparently working himself into a state where he would take matters into his own hands in a dangerous attempt to alert America to the dangers of bioterrorism. The WTC attack had occurred within an easy drive of where he lived. A bioweapons attack could kill him and everyone around him.
And Central New Jersey was home to many Muslim mosques and Muslim communities. No doubt that also played a role in his thinking as he decided what to do. The "enemy" could be all around him - ready to attack with bioweapons - and the American public didnt seem to care.
The scientist apparently already had a supply of anthrax for some reason. Possibly, hed been planning some different kind of demonstration. The Bush administration had trashed the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention a month before. The next convention would not be until November. He may have been planning some kind of harmless demonstration for that convention. But the situation was now too urgent to wait until November.
He needed to do something immediately. If his anthrax supply was frozen germs or in spore form, he would have needed to grow more and force sporulation. Most likely, because of the short time he had, he already had a supply of unrefined anthrax - i.e., a supply of material consisting of the end product of sporulation, roughly 90 percent dead germs, dead mother cells and dried nutrients, and roughly 10 percent spores, mostly still within the dead mother cells.
The culprit most likely purchased a pack of 5 stamped, small-size envelopes somewhere - probably at a post office.
He wrote or had someone write a letter that would look like what he thought a Muslim terrorist letter would look like. But he didnt want to kill anyone. He was only seeking to alert people. So he included in the letter the medical advice to "Take Penacilin Now". Then he made at least four Xerox-type copies of it, giving him the five letters he needed for the envelopes. Heres the letter:
Note that the writer of the letter traced over several of the Ts and at least two of the As.
Is it just a coincidence that Atta is a name that can be spelled with just As and Ts? People who believe al Qaeda was behind he mailing sometimes point that out. The fact that most of the A's and T's were traced over cannot be denied. Anyone can see it. But what does it mean? Atta had been dead for a week by the time of the first mailing. But he was in the news every day and on the minds of everyone following the unfolding details of his journey to the World Trade Center. It was probably on the mind of the scientist preparing the letters - and, if he used someone else to actually write the letters, on the mind of that person, too.
Whoever traced over those As and Ts doesnt appear to have done it consciously. If he had, he wouldnt have traced over more than two of the Ts. Two would have been enough. And the tracing would have been more deliberate, not as casual and careless as it appears. The tracing over letters appears to be simple doodling.
It seems very odd that a man about to commit a crime would doodle on such a letter. That's one of the many reasons I believe that someone else did the actual writing. The doodling by tracing over letters can be easily explained if someone had just copied the letter from some other format and was waiting for the letter to be examined by the culprit. More details are on the Handwriting Page. There undoubtedly could be many other reasons for the retracing of those two particular letters of the alphabet. I just can't think of any.
With the letters prepared, it was then a matter of determining who the targets would be. It was time to address the five envelopes.
The first three addressees were easy enough: Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather and Peter Jennings, the three news anchors who most adult Americans watch on their TVs every night.
Then the culprit apparently chose a personal target: the relatively conservative New York Post. He most likely wanted the Posts infamous full page banner headlines to be seen all over New York and New Jersey: GERM WARFARE! ANTHRAX ATTACK! The Post would do a much better job of scaring the hell out of people than some subdued headline in the New York Times.
But where should he send the fifth letter? The text of the letters consisted of Muslim threats and the heading 09-11-01. He clearly wanted to connect the anthrax-laden letters to the 9-11 Muslim terrorists. How could he indicate such a connection. The terrorists had been in Florida. Theyd take flight lessons in Lantana. Even though all the terrorists who had been in Florida were dead, a letter to a newspaper in Lantana would still be seen as a sure-fire connection between the 9-11 terrorists and the anthrax mailing. He probably searched the Internet for a newspaper in Lantana and The National Enquirer turned up. The Enquirer was ideal for his purposes! It was not only located where the terrorists had trained, it was also a newspaper infamous for bold headlines on supermarket newsstands all over America. It was perfect!
(He probably got the address from the Internet. He certainly didnt buy a copy of the tabloid to check the address, for if he had hed have found that The National Enquirer had moved out of Lantana a year before. So, without realizing it, he used an obsolete address. And he also used an address that anyone living in that area with a gripe would probably have known was obsolete.)
So he addressed or had someone address the five envelopes. He or the other person then cropped edges off of the five letters so that the sheets of paper would fold more easily into the small envelopes. He knew that folding a 9-1/2 by 11 sheet of paper with the pharmaceutical fold would create a packet that wouldnt easily fit in a small envelope.
He then probably took the letters and envelopes to his lab on Monday night, where he used a glove box to protect himself while he spooned unrefined anthrax onto the letters, folded them, placed them into the five envelopes, sealed the flaps with a wet sponge or rag, and then placed the completed letters into a Baggie where they would be safe while the interior of the glove box was decontaminated.
After removing the Baggie filled with letters from the glove box, he then drove somewhere within easy driving distance, but far enough away from his lab - possibly but not necessarily in Princeton - and emptied the Baggie of letters into a mailbox.
The first anthrax attack was underway.
This is nearly all speculation, but its speculation that fits all the known facts and its certainly the simplest explanation of all the known facts.
The letter went through New Jersey sorting facilities and was trucked to Atlanta and then on to the West Palm Beach Postal facility. There it was determined that the National Enquirer address was obsolete, so the letter was forwarded to AMI headquarters in Boca Raton. It left a trail of spores and anthrax material as it and the letters that had been contaminated by it moved through the various post offices - Blue Acres, Green Acres, Lake Worth - until the letter arrived at Boca Raton - probably on Friday September 21 or Saturday the 22nd.
That batch of mail was probably picked up at the Boca Raton post office by Ernesto Blanco on that Friday or the following Monday, September 24. He apparently inhaled some of the anthrax when he dumped the bag of mail onto a sorting table.
Because it had been addressed to the Enquirer, it would have been opened by a clerk named Stephanie Dailey, who had been on vacation for the prior two weeks. According to her testimony, she opened a suspicious letter containing a powder on Tuesday, September 25. Since it looked like a typical hoax commonly received by AMI, she simply tossed it into the trash. But apparently the fine powder inside had been scattered around the area during the process of opening the letter.
The probable use of a vacuum cleaner comes into play here. Sometime between the time the anthrax was spilled and the time the AMI building was evacuated three weeks later, someone from the cleaning staff almost certainly vacuumed the rugs. A vacuum cleaner will retain the large particles of 5 microns or larger in its bag and release things that are smaller. The anthrax spores would be blown out through the bag and into the room! Ironically, the most lethal material is released, and the less lethal material is retaining in the vacuum cleaner bag!
(The anthrax letters sent to ABC, CBS and NBC were also viewed as typical hoax junk and tossed out. At the Post, because the letter wasnt addressed to a specific editor, it was tossed unopened into a junk mail bin to be opened when someone had the time. NONE of the letters was taken seriously.)
Bob Stevens, a photo editor for the Sun, one of AMI's publications was the first person in Florida to be affected by the anthrax. According to the book "The Killer Strain" by Marilyn W. Thompson, Stevens worked late on the evening of Sept. 26, because he was going to drive up to North Carolina the next day. If he was in the area while the cleaning crew was vacuuming the carpet and blowing anthrax spores into the air, that would explain how he inhaled the spores.
According to the very detailed account of Bob Stevens ordeal in the March 2003 issue of Esquire magazine, the effects of the disease hit Stevens on Sunday, September 30, at around 12:30 in the afternoon. They were driving to Durham (NC) "when Bob started shivering, shaking, his face flushed." The next day, Monday, October 1, Stevens and his wife drove back to his home in Lantana, Florida. He wore a sweater all the way. That evening the symptoms got worse, and he was taken by his wife to the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, at just after 2 a.m. in the morning of October 2.
Within hours it was determined that Stevens had anthrax. The CDC was summoned. As doctors worked to save Stevens, his health rapidly deteriorated. His movements for the past few days were traced to try to determine where he could have gotten the anthrax. Although extremely rare, the official assumption was that he had gotten anthrax from natural causes. He had gone fishing while in North Carolina, and it was there that he became ill. He could have contracted the disease there. At the time, there was no true reason to believe it wasnt from natural causes, and thats what the media was told.
Privately, however, the doctor who made the initial anthrax diagnosis assumed that - since al Qaeda members involved with 9-11 had lived nearby - al Qaeda was somehow responsible for the anthrax. The local director of public health for the county made the same assumption. And when they contacted the CDC, the CDC, too, assumed that al Qaeda was somehow behind it. To the outside world, however, they could only say they assumed it was from natural causes - until proven otherwise. The biggest evidence for "natural causes" was that Stevens appeared to be the only case. Any terrorist attack would almost certainly have infected many many more people.
At 4 p.m. on Friday, October 5, Bob Stevens died - the first known death from inhalation anthrax in the U.S. since 1976.
A few hours later, there was a report about another AMI employee, 73 year old Ernesto Blanco, who was at a hospital in Miami with a stubborn case of what looked like pneumonia.
By October 8th, the scientist in New Jersey had apparently become frustrated by weeks of waiting without anything at all in the newspapers about his letters to the media. If hed dreamed of sensational headlines in the New York Post, they hadnt happened. Brokaw, Rather and Jennings were clearly oblivious to what he had done. Hed expected to start a panic, but, instead, everything was normal. And the one case of anthrax that he could reasonably assume he had caused was being diagnosed as being from natural causes. He undoubtedly knew he was responsible for Bob Stevens death. But his intent had been to save millions of American lives. So, Stevens death didnt deter him.
While hed been waiting, he must have been refining a much more lethal form of anthrax for a second mailing, if one proved necessary. It proved necessary. Most likely on the evening of October 8, when it appeared that his first mailing was a total failure, he put two letters filled with highly refined anthrax and addressed to Senators Daschle and Leahy in the mailbox across the street from Princeton University.
Meanwhile, Ernesto Blancos pneumonia had been diagnosed as anthrax. It wasn't something Stevens had encountered on vacation. It was something at AMI.
On Oct. 8, AMIs 700 employees and recent visitors lined up at the white annex building of the county Health Department in Delray Beach to have nasal swabs taken.
By October 10, Stephanie Dailey at AMI had had her nasal passages swabbed and tested for anthrax. She tested positive. With three people at AMI showing exposure to anthrax, there was no longer any doubt that it wasnt from natural causes. The AMI building was shut down. Panic ensued. Thousands were tested, antibiotics were distributed. But that was it. There were no more anthrax cases in Florida.
On the 14th the news media was reporting in full force that there had been an anthrax attack in Florida, and because Blanco and Dailey were mail room employees, it had probably come through the mails.
On the 15th, the letter from the second mailing to Senator Tom Daschle is opened. It later tests positive for anthrax. There was no longer any doubt. Someone was sending anthrax through the mails!
By the time the news broke that someone had sent anthrax through the mails, people connected with NBC, CBS, ABC and the New York Post were already suffering from lesions that were thought to be from insect bites or ordinary infections. The first symptoms in New York had been felt weeks earlier. Joanna Huden at the Post noticed a lesion on her finger on September 22. New tests were performed, and it was determined that New Yorkers at ABC, CBS and NBC, in addition to the Post, had contracted anthrax - but of the less serious cutaneous form. And two post office employees in New Jersey were also found to have contracted cutaneous anthrax.
There was panic. There was anger. There was confusion. And there were a more cases of anthrax in New York after people went through contaminated trash looking for the letters that had been tossed out weeks earlier. However, those three later cases in New York happened amid the rash of new cases in New Jersey and Washington that resulted from the second anthrax mailing. Apparently no one attempted to separate the anthrax cases by which letters had caused them.
The facts clearly indicate that someone with significant scientific abilities mailed five letters containing unrefined anthrax from Central New Jersey, and those letters were postmarked September 18, exactly one week after the WTC tragedy.
Beginning around September 13, every TV news program and every newspaper was reporting on how some of the 9-11 terrorists had lived for awhile in Florida and had taken flight training at the Lantana airport. This seems to explain why one of the letters was sent to The National Enquirer in Lantana.
Because hoax letters had become very common to news organizations during the prior two years, four of the five letters were simply tossed out. The letter to the New York Post was tossed unopened into a junk mail bin and was recovered intact. The letter to Tom Brokaw was dug out of the trash when it was learned weeks later that someone was sending actual anthrax through the mails. The ABC, CBS and National Enquirer letters were never recovered. But we know they existed because people at those organizations got anthrax.
We also know a lot more because three weeks after the first mailing there was a second mailing of refined anthrax from the same area and by the same person.
But its the first mailing that generates the most debate - and specifically the AMI letter. Although we now know that Bob Stevens case of anthrax wasnt really the first (the first was in New York), it was the first one reported and it seemed "different". It was the one that seemed to have a connection to al Qaeda because the letter was sent to Florida and the al Qaeda terrorists had been in Florida.
Although all of the anthrax-laden letters from the culprits first mailing had been tossed away or aside and totally ignored, one part of his plan did actually succeed very well. The culprits attempt to link the anthrax mailing to the 9-11 hijackers in Florida worked exactly as it was intended to work.
One can speculate about what would have happened if a New York case had been discovered first by the media. But thats not what happened. The Bob Stevens case in Florida was the first to make headlines. Theories were being generated by the score before anyone knew there were any cases in New York. And all those theories involved al Qaeda and the 9-11 terrorists. And it didnt make any difference that the 9-11 terrorists had all been dead a week at the time the Florida letter was being postmarked. A flood of theories and "facts" filled news reports:
There were stories that Osama bin Laden had ordered the attack because The National Enquirer had made fun of his manhood on their front pages.
The FBI learned that Gloria Irish, the wife of Sun editor Michael Irish, had rented an apartment to two of the 9-11 hijackers, Hamza Alghamdi and Marwan al-Shehhi. That was enough for the St. Petersburg Times to report that it was confirmation of "a clear link between the terrorists targeting America and the South Florida company hit by anthrax cases (AMI)". And Michael Irish also flew a small plane out of the same Lantana airport where Mohamed Atta had trained. But in reality, theres no reason to believe that the terrorists knew where Gloria Irishs husband worked. And to suggest that the AMI anthrax attack was the result of some landlord dispute is beyond ridiculous - particularly since Hamza Alghamdi and Marwan al-Shehhi were both dead at the time of the mailing.
Six months after the anthrax mailing, someone learned that one of the hijackers, Al Haznawi, had been treated by a Dr. Tsonas at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale in June of 2001 for a lesion on his leg. Dr. Tsonas hadnt diagnosed the lesion as anthrax. And the pharmacist who originally sent Al Haznawi to Dr. Tsonas described the problem area as a "gash". It didnt make any difference that Al Haznawi had been dead for a week at the time of the second mailing. It didnt make any difference that Al Haznawi's infection - described as a one-inch black lesion with raised red edges - could have been anything from an encrusted boil to a common scrape that received improper medical attention. It didnt make any difference that it would be extremely unusual for someone to get cutaneous anthrax on their leg, a normally covered area of the body which wouldnt likely come in direct contact with anthrax spores. It didnt make any difference that cutaneous anthrax is most common on hands and areas of the lower arm, or on the face. It didnt make any difference that Al Haznawi said the "gash" resulted from bumping into something, and it was in a location very consistent with bumping into something. People were looking for evidence that al Qaeda was behind the anthrax attack, and this was the best evidence they could find. And some of them convinced Dr. Tsonas to speculate that the lesion could have been anthrax. Who could prove that it wasnt?
Back in October of 2001, US News & World Report had printed an article saying that in August of 2001 Mohamed Atta had discussed a medical problem with a pharmacist at Huber Healthmart Drugs in Delray Beach, Florida. Atta was suffering from painful "red hands". The assumption by al Qaeda theorists was that Atta had put his hands in bleach or some other disinfectant after working with anthrax. Hed gone into that drug store with another 9-11 terrorist, Marwan al-Shehhi, who had a "hacking cough" and bought a bottle of Robitussin to treat it. Another indication that they were working with anthrax? No trace of anthrax was ever found anywhere they had ever been, making it highly unlikely that they had ever been in contact with anthrax, but that didnt matter. Nor did the fact that they were both dead at the time of the first mailing.
In the two years prior to 9-11, postal inspectors investigated about 80 anthrax hoaxes per year. David Lee Wilson, the head of the FBI's Hazardous Materials Response Unit, says that the number of credible bioterror threats or incidents rose dramatically between 1997 and 2000, up to roughly 200 per year, or one biological threat every couple of days. "Most of them were anthrax hoaxes." As soon as Bob Stevens anthrax case was mentioned in Florida newspapers, someone in St. Petersburg sent a stack of anthrax hoax letters to various news organizations - including The St. Petersburg Times. Other anthrax hoax letters had been mailed shortly after 9-11. Heres one comment about the situation at AMI: "Im not sure the FBI is ready for the amount of weird mail we get, says Grant Balfour, a Sun writer. When you write about alien abductions, celebrity brawls and the size of Osama bin Ladens private parts, youre not surprised when letters arrive with dirty underwear, human feces, claims to being a Romanov heir and other rants." According to the South Florida Business Journal, the company had a history of threats.
People see all sorts
of connections between these hoaxes, al Qaeda and the actual anthrax mailings.
But one of the most persistent is the J-Lo letter. It wasnt really
a letter, it was a package. And it didnt even mention anthrax.
It had nothing to do with anthrax. The powder in the package was
repeatedly identified as "soap powder". It was some kind of screwball
package sent to Jennifer Lopez c/o the Sun at the AMI address in Boca Raton.
Along with an "oddly worded" letter, the package reportedly contained a
cheap Star of David charm or pendant, a cigar in a metal tube and a small
vending-machine-size box of soap powder. That made it very memorable
and it was examined by several people - including Bob Stevens. It
was reportedly received
around September 4th. [CORRECTION
made July 20, 2008: According to The
National Enquirer, the J-Lo package was received on September 19.]
The J-Lo letter may have seemed pertinent before it was learned
that the anthrax letters were postmarked on September 18, but, regardless
of what has been learned since that time, and as incredible as it may seem,
many many people are still convinced that that was the anthrax letter.
Or it was one of TWO anthrax letters received
at AMI.
The idea that there were two anthrax letters delivered to AMI is still accepted today. In the March 2003 issue of Esquire magazine, the author (Sean Flynn) of a lengthy article titled "Whatever Happened to Anthrax?" subscribed to the two letter theory. And he gives good reason: The CDC reported that there were two letters.
Heres the CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol8no10/02-0354.htm
It includes this first paragraph in the Discussion Section: "This report describes the investigation of the first bioterrorism-related anthrax case identified in the United States. We detected two inhalational anthrax cases (including the index case) among workers of a Florida media company. Anthrax transmission and widespread environmental contamination throughout the workplace and in six local postal facilities most likely resulted from two letters containing B. anthracis spores delivered to the workplace."
Two letters? What two letters? There's no real indication that there were two letters.
Apparently the CDC
was referring to a letter, said to have contained powder, that was opened
by Bob Stevens on
September 19th [CORRECTION
made on July 20, 2008: According to The
National Enquirer, the letter was actually opened by a recently hired
news assistant named Bobby Bender], and the actual anthrax letter,
the receipt of which is described in the CDC report this way: "The other
co-worker, a 36-year-old woman, sorted mail and opened mail addressed to
a periodical different from the one to which the index patient contributed.
She recalled opening an envelope that released powder in her office on
or about September 25. Afterwards, she discarded it in the trash without
reading it. The letter most likely had arrived during the previous 2 weeks
while she was on vacation. No other workplace mail likely to contain B.
anthracis was suggested through further interviews."
According to that same CDC report, the person who opened the anthrax letter on September 25 is the same person - Stephanie Dailey - who tested positive for anthrax spores in her nasal passages on Oct. 10. Besides Bob Stevens and Ernesto Blanco, she was the only other person to test positive for exposure to anthrax.
But there are clear conflicts in the data. The CDC's report is dated October 2002. But in September of 2002, the FBI had gone into the AMI building without the CDC to determine exactly how the anthrax was spread. Although the FBI didnt officially quash the idea that there were two letters, the FBI's findings indicated that the anthrax was spread by the handling and movement of copy machine paper throughout the building. It all came from one source - the mailroom - where the copy machine paper is stored and where the anthrax letter was opened by Stephanie Dailey.
The CDC's report contains a floor plan from the AMI building from the first testing done in the building a year earlier. That floor plan showing anthrax distribution patterns is HERE.
It seems to agree with the FBI findings and totally disagree with the CDC findings. Here is the floor plan for the first floor, where the mail room was located:
The heavy concentration of positive tests in the area of the mail room confirms that the anthrax distribution came from there.
Here are the second floor test results. No one who worked on the 2nd floor tested positive for anthrax, yet 10 of the roughly 79 tests on that floor showed positive results. This can be easily explained if the cleaning crew went to the second floor after cleaning the first floor, and the vacuum cleaner sprayed spores around.
That AMI floor plan for the third floor shows just a few spores around Bob Stevens' work area, and a few others here and there. Of approximately 98 tests performed, only 8 showed positive results. This doesn't make much sense if the anthrax was distributed by handling copy paper for the copy machines, but it makes perfect sense if the cleaning crew cleaned the third floor last. There would be fewer spores and more material in the vacuum cleaner bag, which would cause fewer spores to be blown out into the area.
If Stevens had opened the letter of Sept. 19 in the vicinity of his computer, certainly the entire area should have been contaminated. It should have been as thoroughly contaminated with spores as the mailroom area on the first floor. (If the anthrax letter was identical to the other media letters, the printing was in large block letters, and there would have been no reason for Stevens to have to bring it close to his face to read it, as he did with the letter opened Sept. 19.)
While there might have been reason early in the investigation to think there could have been two letters, the second examination of the AMI building appears to have removed that reason.
Yet, the CDC did not participate in that second examination, and there's no evidence that they have change their findings. Officially, they still conclude that there were two letters!
Here is another official CDC chart, this one showing the most likely trail of the anthrax letters from where they were mailed to the victims affected by them:
Note that this chart shows no indication of a second anthrax letter to AMI.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that there was more than one anthrax letter received at AMI, although there may have been more than one letter with some kind of powder in it.
One of the odd things about the anthrax attacks was the fact that 7 of the 8 New York cases had been cutaneous (the exception being Kathy Nguyen), and both Florida anthrax cases had been inhalation. There were no cutaneous anthrax cases in Florida.
How could one mailing have caused such different results? That question has generated at least one bizarre theory that says the culprit must have brewed up three batches of anthrax which were somehow engineered to cause only specific types of anthrax - just cutaneous or just inhalation anthrax. According to this theorist, the first mailing to New York City could only cause cutaneous anthrax. (He believes the Kathy Nguyens case must have been caused by the second mailing, regardless of the astronomical odds against that happening.) And a different batch of anthrax was sent to Florida, a batch that could only cause inhalation anthrax, which is a virtual medical impossibility.
The letters sent to the two Senators, according to this theorist, also contained anthrax which could only cause inhalation anthrax. It doesnt bother him that two workers at Hamilton actually got cutaneous anthrax from the second mailing. Hes able to rationalize how that would be possible if they came in contact with spores left over from the first mailing.
Since the AMI letter couldnt be from the second mailing because Bob Stevens was dead before those letters were mailed, and because they couldnt be from the first mailing because in his mind that mailing could only cause cutaneous anthrax, the theorist conjures up a "third mailing" that only went to Florida and which could only cause inhalation anthrax.
The fact that there were only inhalation anthrax cases in Florida is definitely a medical oddity. But there seem to be three factors that help explain it:
(1) The anthrax in the first five letters sent to the media was "unrefined". It consisted of approximately 90 percent harmless debris and about 10 percent spores. And most of the spores would be still inside the dead mother germs. That would make it more difficult - but far from impossible - for a person to contract inhalation anthrax from such a mixture, because particles larger than 5 microns cannot generally be absorbed through the lungs.
(2) The ages of the two Florida victims (63 and 73) clearly played a role. An examination of the ages of all 12 victims of the first mailing shows that there was a 22 year age difference between the youngest inhalation victim (Kathy Nguyen, who was 61) and the oldest cutaneous victim (Richard Morgano, who was 39). There is also a clear age difference in the cutaneous and inhalation victims of the second mailing, although it is not as pronounced. The implication is that older people are like "canaries in a coal mine", i.e., they will be the first to die when there is something unhealthy in the air.
(3) The environment - particularly the humidity - could have played a role. Cutaneous anthrax occurs when anthrax spores enter the skin through breaks in the skin or through open cuts. The humidity in September in Florida is vastly different from the humidity in New York City at that time of year and may have kept people in Florida from contracting cutaneous anthrax. Fewer problems with spores entering through cracks in dry skin? More rinsing with chlorinated water to get rid of sweat? Whatever the reason, there were no cutanous anthrax cases in Florida. But the least likely reason for that seems to be that the anthrax was engineered to cause only the inhalation form of anthrax.
The anthrax mailer sent out five anthrax-laden letters that were postmarked on September 18. Four went to addresses in New York and one went to an address in Florida. The evidence thoroughly supports that conclusion. People contracted anthrax in both locations - and at the postal facility in New Jersey where the letters were first handled. And there seems to be good reason why the culprit addressed his letters to the various media organizations.
There is nothing
complicated in that. Yet, people will cling to misconceptions developed
in the confusing days where the crisis first hit the headlines, and they'll
leap upon irrelevant details and typical inconsistencies to develop wild
theories that defy logic and accomplish nothing but to confuse all those
who do not examine the evidence in detail. Its not malicious.
Its just human nature. But it certainly can be frustrating at times.
Ed Lake
First draft: Feb. 23, 2003
Second draft: Feb. 24, 2003
Revised (slightly): Feb. 28, 2003
Revised (slightly): Mar. 1, 2003
Revised: Mar. 5, 2003
Revised: Mar. 10, 2003
Revised: (slightly) Mar. 11, 2003
Revised: July 20, 2008 (Bobby Bender opened the J-Lo letter, not Bob Stevens)
© 2003-2008
by Ed Lake
All Rights Reserved


text:
Imagine going to the store and finding nothing to buy but one head of dead lettuce and a can of beans. Or maybe it was a good store and you could pay for what you need, but the selection of items was left lacking. That pretty much has been the case for people in most Continue Reading
Sold! Everyone would like to see that sold sign in front of their home (if they are working to sell it!). In spite of the rumor and news briefs, we have a vibrant market here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Sure it is hot up here this summer, but it is HOT Continue Reading
Who cares that we don't have inventory?
Oh boy! Housing inventory has been low for years. What does that mean to people out there? Well, imagine going to the store for bread and having a choice of the last three loaves of bread. Inventory is LOW! One loaf is hard as a rock, one is not quite baked, and one is Continue Reading
Seller's Market? Buyer's Market? Inventory drives the market place
The best article written in months was offered recently in our local paper The Union! Thanks to many for their contributions. My comments are that right now it is very difficult to gauge the market by an overall picture. Price range can determine if it is indeed Continue Reading
Local statistics that you all have been waiting to hear!
Are you wondering what your home can sell for right now? Are you thinking that you live in a "hot" area? Check out this great article written by the sales manager of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty Cary Sanders. Last month, I reported in this Continue Reading
So my tech people tell me it is not socially acceptable to write in CAPS when writing in social media, blogs, and such. I'm assured that regular font is just fine and that people will understand I am excited and happy and full of enthusiasm just by making the right Continue Reading
Happy New Year! The Evolution of the Home Market in California
For those of you who are not yet familiar with my blog, this will be my mini disclaimer. I don't often get technical, and try not to write about boring subject matter. I am not an economist, but I am a social scientist and after years and years of watching our Continue Reading
What is a Seller's Market, anyway? Seller's point of view.
Seller's market, what does THAT mean to you if YOU are the seller? The first thing you need to know in a seller's market is what it is NOT! It is not a time to try to sell your home "as is". It is NOT a time to ignore the advice of your local real estate professional (Deb Continue Reading


text:
Find out why a Claflin education is more than a means to a degree.
Records and Registration
The best way to get a feel for Claflin is to visit us.
Claflin students work with the best leaders in their fields.
You'll find endless opportunities here to get involved.
There is always something happening at Claflin!
Claflin is #1 in alumni giving among all HBCUs, thanks to you.
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text: InunoTaishou 191 Posted April 22, 2015 After a lot of googling I found a UDF for checking gmail new messages. Beautiful! Does exactly what I need. Now I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to mark a message as read or even delete it. Wanting to do it in the background and not have to open gmail and click anything. Tried doing some googling but was unable to pull up anything. Went through some help pages by gmail for smtp but I couldn't find it. I know the _CheckGmail function pulls information from the page using /feed/atom (like RSS) but I don't even know if what I'm asking is possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Ms. Kimberly D. Richardson of Rome and Mr. Gary J. Richardson of Smyrna announce the engagement of their daughter, Lauren Whitney Richardson of Smyrna to Devin Weafueh McClain of Smyrna. Devin is the son of Rev. & Mrs. John Weseh McClain of Kennesaw.
Miss Richardson is a 2004 graduate of Rome High School and a 2009 Graduate of the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. Devin is a 2004 graduate of Kennesaw Mountain High School. He also attended the University of West Georgia where he majored in Art.
A wedding ceremony is planned for Nov. 12, 2017 at 3 p.m., at Primrose Cottage in Roswell. Invitations will be sent.


text:
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Ever since Zsa's passed away more than a week ago, I've asked her to come visit me in my dreams. Each night before I go to sleep, I remind her. But she hasn't come yet.
Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with the word いつまで (itsu made) on my mind. It means "forever". Zsa's and I were Best Friends "Forever", but I doubted that it was a message from her . . . she didn't even speak Japanese. But . . . half asleep . . . in the middle of the night . . . I told myself to remember.
This afternoon when Wendell retrieved the mail he said, "You got something from Zsa's family." The envelope looked like it might contain a card. I wondered what it could be.
Turned out it wasn't from Zsa's family. It was from Zsa's herself. It was a long-lost thank-you card thanking me for the birthday present that I had given her back in February.
The card described our relationship perfectly. It said how we both knew that are friendship couldn't be measured by how many emails we exchanged, or phone calls we made, or amount of times we saw each other during the year, but more on the close, comfortable connection that we've shared through the years.
It was the most perfect card . . . arriving at the most perfect time . . . and signed in the most perfect way . . .
17 comments:
- Les said...
awwww that's so sweeeet!
- May 31, 2015 at 7:48 AM
- jalna said...
It was kinda shocking to see her signature, Les. It was like a reminder to me that she is still here . . . I just can't see her.
- May 31, 2015 at 8:24 AM
J: How bittersweet and poignant. Sometimes they don't come back cuz they're happy and on a new journey. N
- May 31, 2015 at 11:55 AM
- Honolulu Aunty said...
I believe: for those we love who loved us, they are always with us, reaching us from a far better place than here. It is comforting to know.
- May 31, 2015 at 12:41 PM
- Kalin's Mommy said...
aw, so awesome!
- May 31, 2015 at 1:59 PM
- jalna said...
Thanks, N.
It is very comforting, Aunty.
Thanks, Mich.
- May 31, 2015 at 6:01 PM
How wonderful to receive this acknowledgement from your dear friend...that is such a gift! I totally understand, I had something similar happen...
- May 31, 2015 at 6:15 PM
- Mark Shelby said...
Ho! Chicken skin!
- May 31, 2015 at 6:58 PM
- Kay said...
"Love you forever"... itsu made. Perfect.
Oh Jalna.. I'm so sorry. She's left you with a friendship that will last forever. The memories will always be a part of you.
- May 31, 2015 at 7:14 PM
- K and S said...
chicken skin!
- May 31, 2015 at 7:15 PM
- jalna said...
Thank you, Anon.
Mark, I gasped when I saw her writing.
Thank you, Kay.
Yah was, Kat
- June 1, 2015 at 6:45 AM
- Taryn M said...
Such an amazing story. Reading this brought tears to my eyes...
- June 1, 2015 at 7:45 AM
- jenny said...
How wonderful! Just an all around great story, thanks for sharing Jalna.
- June 1, 2015 at 8:52 AM
- Nippon Nin said...
This is beautiful! I know she watching over you from above.
- June 1, 2015 at 7:33 PM
Awww ...sooo touching ... she will ALWAYS be in your heart! Thank you for sharing such a beauuutiful story! Here's to good times and great memories!
- June 1, 2015 at 8:41 PM
- Susan said...
Read this at the end of my day and it made my rather difficult day a good day after all!
- June 1, 2015 at 11:36 PM
- jalna said...
Awww Taryn. Hope you're doing well.
My pleasure, Jenny.
Thank you so much, Akemi.
Thanks Renee!
I'm so glad, Susan!
- June 2, 2015 at 7:08 AM


text:
Prime Minister Edi Rama held a speech today presenting the online platform strike it lucky.al for hiring about one thousand excellent students in the public administration. The head of government said that this platform would not be a reality without students' protest. This protest, according to him, paved the way to the recruitment of the best, overcoming the law. After the platform presentation by Prime Minister Rama, sources suggest that the first 64 applications from the students have been received, showing a high interest in this decision. This is one of the points of the Pact for the University which according to Rama will be made public this month. What is strike it lucky.al like. This platform is an opportunity for the excellent students starting from 2017 and beyond who are looking for an experience in public administration. Young people should have completed at least the bachelor and / or professional / scientific master class with very good grades.
The goal is to gain a qualifying experience, which will help develop professional skills and familiarize them with the public administration. Once you have been informed about the new initiative and after consulting the vacancies required, you can follow the completion of the account attaching the required documents. This call is open on January 11 until the 10th of February.
/Klara Ruci/


text:
Click here and download my flyer and help raise awareness about Lymphedema, how to recognize it and what to do about it so that more patients can be diagnosed and get help. Too many Lymphedema patients are never diagnosed because this condition is simply unknown to many doctors etc.
Download it (for free, of course) print it on your own printer and send or give it to doctors or others who could benefit
from learning about Lymphedema.
It is only the very basics as I am thinking that once they have a clue
what might be up with their big-legged or big-armed patient there are
plenty of medical sites, books etc. where they can find more
You can print as many as you like, the more, the better. I placed three flyers in an A4-sheet, please cut along the dotted lines.
anyone out there is interested in the flyer in other languages, feel
free to translate the text, e-mail it to me on
email@example.com and I will place it in the layout and upload
it so that it is available for downloading and printing like this one.


text:
50 reasons to love The Last Motley
It's a sale! Yes, for the rest of this week, The Last Motley ebook is on sale for 99 cents.
Get your copy of The Last Motley!
It's already had quite a few downloads, rocketing it up to #4 in Christian Fantasy. What is especially rewarding to me, as a deep admirer of C.S. Lewis is to see my book right alongside his on the bestseller chart. Yes, sir, that is indeed his novel, Til We Have Faces just behind mine at #5!
Seriously, how incredible is that?
Reasons to love the Motley
So, if you have not read it, or if you have and you know someone who needs a little nudge, here's my attempt to get you to take a chance on this little gem of a story.
In honor of the sale, I present to you, 50 reasons why you should love The Last Motley as much as I do.
You should love The Last Motley because…
- It's a beautiful story about a father's love for an orphaned child
- It's original (this is not your typical swords and sorcery fare)
- It's got mystery
- It's unpredictable
- There is danger every step of the way
- It's funny
- The main character always tries to do the right thing
- He also says, "Oh, buttons," a lot
- It's colorful
- It's clean, i.e.—
- No profanity
- No gore
- No sensuality
- It's got a map! Yes, even in the digital version
- It's got a 4.6 star rating on Amazon
- It's got a 4.6 star rating on Goodreads
- Reviewers say it's "poginant"
- "Epic"
- "Breathtaking"
- "Heartwarming"
- "Wonderful"
- "Imaginative"
- Reminiscent of Tolkien
- And Lewis
- And George MacDonald
- And Madeleine L'Engle
- And Lloyd Alexander
- "Excellent"
- "Wry"
- "Whimsical"
- "Amazing"
- "Well-written"
- "Exciting"
- "Unique"
- "Surprisingly emotional"
- "Inventive"
- "Appropriate for all ages"
- Here are some quotes form some of the lovely reviews: "The Last Motley is a journey across a multi-landscaped world, with a colorful cast of unique and interesting characters, on a quest which is highly original, with many twists upon the way."
- "This is a family story. It's about love, and friendship, with a well rounded kaleidescope of relationships ranging from father and son, to the friendships between each character, to just a tad of romance on the side later on. There's basically four generations here which I only just realized as I wrote this, which is very different. I think people of all ages would enjoy it."
- "The world is so rich and the terrain changed seamlessly—from villages, forests, bare hills, a humongous river, and a starlit coastline, to warm inns, colorful cities, a sort of mafia gypsy camp, castle dungeons, and a nighttime rain-forest. Yup, this book's got all those things and more."
- "…it's for anyone who loves a grandly told, beautiful tale with ribbons of truth weaved though it."
- "I am so very glad that I found this book. The Inklings, the literary group that included C. S. Lewis and J. R. Tolkien among its members, would have gladly welcomed D. J. Edwardson into their group. He has continued the great legacy of Christian fantasy in a very successful way. Great read! I'm glad this is a trilogy–I'll have something to look forward to when the other two installments are released."
- "It's familiar and new all at once. It feels like a classic sort of fantasy tale, while at the same time being quite unique and not at all what you'd think!"
- "It's a wonderful journey/quest going on, and somehow manages to feel familiar but surprising at once, like the best fantasy tales. There's a lingering mystery to it all too, which was fascinating, and the conclusion is very exciting!"
- "There was a depth and strength to the story, with themes of faith and especially of family woven throughout. Roderick has a strong faith, which was wonderful to see evident throughout the book in his simple trust and prayers. LOVED those parts."
- "One of the strongest things I got out of it was the focus on family. I LOVED that. You don't get a lot of fantasy books (or, well, books in general) focusing on family this much."
- "Edwardson is an amazing storyteller. Tight, clean prose. Descriptions are well done. The setting and the characters all came alive for me."
- "The fantasy world of Arinn was fascinating, and I felt instantly at home there. I want to see more of it! It was a joy traveling through it with the characters—I felt so much a part of its hills and forests and rivers etc. It felt so colorful (appropriately so) and alive and just—I don't know! It's very homey (despite the inevitable dangers of such worlds. ;)) and I love it!"
- "The writing is another one of my favorite things about this book. It's clever and funny by turns, and the little comparisons or twists of phrase lent it an air of whimsical, wry humor, which I absolutely adored. I often enjoy the writing in books, but this one had an extra something special."
Phew! If you read all these, congratulations! You have my seal of approval (found just below). And I hope you enjoy the story!
Get your copy of The Last Motley!


text:
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text: In Nepal, Demo Finland works with the Joint Youth and Student Platform (JYSP) that brings together 20 most important Nepalese political youth and student organisations. JYSP is a platform for co-operation that was established in 2007 with the support of Demo Finland. Since the beginning the co-operation is aiming to increase the opportunities for political participation for youth, and to promote a constructive dialogue across party lines. The work takes place within a country with a recent history of civil war and relatively little experience of peaceful political co-operation. The JYSP has stabilised its position as a neutral and equal space for political co-operation and dialogue. Nepalese politics are traditionally very hierarchical and tense, and young people have had difficulties in getting their voices heard. Despite the varied backgrounds and political ideologies of its members, JYSP has helped young people raise awareness and actively make an impact together in issues important to them, with some young people even rising to the constituent assembly. Work is done both within the leadership level of the organisations in Kathmandu as well as on a local level in different areas of the country. The JYSP organises training and seminars and also puts together awareness campaigns. In the recent years some thematic focus areas have been education, tourism and agriculture. In 2013 JYSP, together with Demo Finland and UNDP, put together a successful campaign to prevent electoral violence. JYSP and Demo Finland emphasize participation of women in democratic decision-making with the goal of getting more young women to actively take part in politics, and to help them find their way to leadership roles within party organisations. JYSP and Demo Finland have been able to significantly strengthen these efforts with a three-year funding (2013–2015) from the European Union. Demo Finland ended its co-operation in Nepal in August 2015.