text:
" Brand: Nestlé / Type: Instant Coffee "
* Prices may differ from that shown
Nescafe I have to say isn't my first choice when it comes to coffee, but if late at night and watching a bit of a coffee fix unless doing a night shift I will have a decaff.
Nescafe Original - Decaff
'The Arabica coffee bean contains about half of the caffeine content of the Robusta bean and is thus more suitable for making high quality decaf coffee. There are rare types of Arabica that naturally have very low caffeine levels as well'
- www.nescafe.co.uk
My Findings:
Like I said Nescafe isn't a first choice but to a seasonal coffee drinker on the hold it isn't a bad coffee. It is weaker to a lot of coffees but still you have a nice mild coffee taste. It is freeze dried instant granules, so no messing around just pour on hot water and jobs done.
For coffee I do like to add two sweeteners and if it's my first cup on the morning I have it with two cheeky sugars! This is by no means a morning coffee as it will do nothing for you it is on the hold somewhat a dull cup of coffee.
The sticks contain one cup all measured ready for you, they are very handy for popping in your bag and taking to work. You just rip the top open which is very easy done, pour into the cup and then however you like your coffee.
Some coffee have a somewhat bitter aftertaste, this doesn't have none. Just a mild hint of coffee and for a strong coffee drink this would really be like water for them. If you are making chocolate cake for children adding coffee with intensify the flavour so this is good to use.
Price and Availability:
You can get these in a box of 200 for around £18.00 so 200 cups of coffee for £18.00 that isn't all that bad! Or if you want to purchase in a jar will cost around £4.00 for the 200g jar.
Personally I can not see these high on anyone's shopping list, far better decaf's out there and well if you want coffee you want the caffeine! So I don't recommend them on the hold, but if that is what you like go ahead.
Two out of five stars from me.
Thank you for reading.
(c) Copyright VampirePrincess
This review is on the packet of sticks which is just the same.
A while back I used to go to a place called Covance. This is a medical research place, and I used to get paid quite well to do studies. But the only thing was, I was not allowed to drink coffee, something about the amount of caffeine in it. So on one visit, with it been a longer study than I am used to, and I do drink a lot of coffee. I started to suffer headaches from my lack of coffee's.
After speaking to the nurses at the centre they decided that we could have some decaffeinated coffee. So as they do not hold coffee there, with it not been allowed, I rang home and asked my other half to buy me some Nescafe Decaffeinated I have always like Nescafe so it had to be that brand. When I arrived home, for a couple of days before I went back. I found 8 sachets in the cupboard. There was in no box, so as I did not buy them I am not sure if he bought these in the box, or loose, which my old corner shop used to do with sachets. I have since tried to look for them but it does appear that you can only get them in bulk buy. From Amazon for £17 for 200 sticks.
Now to be honest I love my coffee so would not have bought this many Decaffeinated sachets, so I was glad I only had a few sticks. The Decaffeinated coffee goes through processes that strips it of 97% of its caffeine, so you will still get a small caffeine hit, which is what I really needed.
When I took the sachet out, it was just seemed enough for one cup. So I opened the sachet which is a thick sort of paper like sachet, I found this really easy to open, you just tear the top of the sachet up, and pour it into a cup. I would use a regular sized cup, as this did seem to be just the right taste. A smaller cup you would only need half a sachet.
I added the milk and sugar that was to my liking for my normal coffee, and then left it to cool down for a while. However I was in a real rush to get a taste for coffee as I had none for days. My first sip of this coffee tasted like heaven. But I could really tell the difference from normal coffee. But to me I was just really glad to have a little bit of caffeine in my system. The coffee even though I had put the same measures in as my normal coffee did not seem to be as strong.
You can not really tell that the caffeine is missing it the coffee, but I do find it had lost some of it's taste, as you may know Nescafe is quite a strong coffee. But this lacked in strongness. Unless you wanted to be caffeine free I would not really recommend this. As the Decaffeinated is quite a bit weaker than the normal coffee. I found the taste to be still good on this though. So I would actually recommend this if you want to be caffeine free, as it only takes a small bit of the taste away, and it was like heaven after I had not had a coffee for a while. This was a great substitute to have.
So This is one of a huge range by Nescafe. Im writing about the Decaf option on the regular original coffee. Now when they say decaf it can never really be 100% But by standards to be able to call it decaf it must be 97% free. For this coffee they use just ARABICA beans as it holds less caffine than the normal robusta bean.
Decaf coffee dates back to 1903, when benzene was used as a solvent to strip caffeine from the bean. Dont worry its no longer done like this! Today they soak the green beans in water to extract the caffine. However in 2004 they did find a caffine free bean tree, they are now working towards breeding and growing them instead as it would be better and less expensive.
The packaging is the same as the normal jar, exact same lables and jar. The main difference here is the lid. Its red (not blue like shown in this pic) Its avalible in all supermarkets and costs around £4 for a 200g jar.
So I only have this product as my other half accidently picked it up (duh!) but we thought we would keep it and try it anyway, as I like drinking coffee at night but can never get to sleep. To start of the packaging is the same and the directions of making it are the same, however big difference from the moment you open it. The granuals are the same in colour and texture but the smell is very very different. Its very faint and hardly smells of coffee at all. The first time I made this I followed the instructions on the back, use 1 level teaspoon and add water, sugar and milk as desired. Now I have 2 sugars(naughty I know!) and very little milk,so I made it as normal and i tasted the coffee..... sorry coffee? this is just sugar water isnt it? did I forget to put the coffee in? So I went back and put another spoonful in, and this time it started to taste like coffee, so I put one more teaspoon in and found it tasted faintly like coffee but very bitter and not like its caffinated friend. I have since had it a couple of times, I put 2 and a half teaspoons of coffee in and lots of sugar and no milk and it actually tastes ok.
I was very let down by this brand, iv had de-caf before and not been able to tell the difference, but this one is watery and doesnt have any taste to it really. It also doesnt have a very nice aromor. It might look like the real thing but its nothing like it! I'm never going to be buying this again, and I think for the price its a complete rip off. Stay clear if your a coffee lover.
Thanks for reading and rating.
Also on Ciao
I love my coffee and when I say love I mean LOVE. You could even say I'm a teeny bit addicted to coffee but to me there is nothing on Earth like it. I adore the smell, taste and satisfied feeling you get from a good cup of coffee. So you can imagine my complete devastation when I found out that I would have to give up coffee. My world was ending, what was I going to do? I had to find a replacement! So began my quest to find the perfect decaf coffee.
Now I am by no means a coffee snob, I tend to treat each brand on merit rather than price though most of the time those two factors are intertwined. So my search started at the cheapest end of the scale. Let me tell you stagnant dish water would probably taste better. It confirmed my worst suspicion; that I was doomed to live without my vice, there was no such thing as a decent decaf coffee.
Then one day as I was buying my husbands Nescafe Classic with much disgruntlement a flash of red caught my eye. Investigating further I discovered it to be Nescafe Original Decaffeinated, could this be the solution? It looked just like any other instant coffee with lovely granules instead of that awful fine powder which is a trait of a lot of Decaf coffees. Eagerly paying for my purchase I rushed home to find out more.
Opening the jar the first thing that hit me was the smell, oh that lovely dark aroma which I had so missed was present. The richness of it tantalized my senses making my mouth water in anticipation. That first sip was a revelation it tasted just like real coffee, I had a second to ensure that I wasn't being deceived but no I wasn't in fact it tasted even better. By the end of my cup I was glowing, that satisfied feeling had returned, praise Nescafe.
The best bit was it wasn't exorbitantly expensive, in fact the price was middle of the range. I could resume my little problem without a second thought.
Nescafe's website www.nescafe.com advertises Nescafe Classic Decaff as "All the qualities of the coffee you love, without the caffeine. We safely remove the caffeine while retaining the full flavor and wonderfully refreshing taste that are unique to NESCAFE."
I can assure you that Nescafe definitely live up to that promise, in fact I'd like to offer them a round of applause for successfully recreating a perfect imitation of the real thing. I really can't recommend Nescafe Original Decaffeinated enough.
Thank you Nescafe, you've given this former coffee addict hope.
Nescafe Original Decaffinated instant coffee is probably the most popular instant coffee though others are catching up. It's the coffee we have at work and it's the coffee we drink at home, and it's been that way for as long as I can remember - we've certainly been Nescafe drinkers for a good 15 or more years.
In that time it hasn't really changed, and the flavour is just as good now for an instant coffee as it always was. I buy my Nescafe in Home Bargains - a 200g glass jar of Original blend Decaff (with the blue label) is only £2 in there, a great saving on the £3.75 my local supermarket is currently charging. In fact it sells out quick at Home Bargains so I stock up!
As it's a freeze dried instant coffee it stores well in my canister and it never loses taste or smell. The colour of the granules are a very rich dark brown and the smell a strong bold coffee aroma.
It's easy to make, obviously, just add boiling water and milk and sugar to taste. Certainly when I get up in the morning it's easier to make than tea, though I prefer decaff because too much caffiene can make me feel ill. My husband has high blood pressure too so I like to avoid things like caffiene and salt in our every day diet.
In terms of flavour it can't be beaten for me and I am a huge coffee lover. It's not the coffee I serve to guests I'll admit because I see it as a day to day coffee but for your every day coffee it's spot on and nothing really compares for me, being a long term drinker of Nescafe. The taste to me is a nice creamy one, not bitter, which I don't mind in an after dinner coffee or a coffee to go, but at home I prefer a milder more mellow drink.
I find that the coffee lasts me well because I only add two teaspoons per mug, so a 200g jar will easily last a month. My dad who is a huge coffee drinker goes through maybe 400g a month but again he buys it from Home Bargains too so we save a bit of money there!
I really can't complain about Nescafe, it's my go-to coffee in the morning and whilst I do use other brands it's my staple coffee brand I always return to. It's well priced and easy to use, the smell and taste are just right for me and whilst it might not be a 'posh' coffee it's a lovely mellow coffee perfect for every day coffee lovers. Overall I highly recommend it and I do think you can taste the difference versus supermarket own brands which can taste a bit thin. I'll give this five stars out of five as I have no gripes with it and I think when you've been loyal to a brand as long as I have you have to be pretty happy with it!
My only tiny suggestion is that it would be great to have a loyalty scheme with Nescafe as they do with Andrex, to save up for mugs and so on - maybe I'll suggest that to them - after 15+ years I could get a porsche ;)
I've always had problems with poor sleep and drink far too much Nescafe coffee so can't imagine that was helping. I decided as part of my health and fitness and to improve my sleep I was going to cut out caffeine for one month. Well that was easily said then done because after a few days of not drinking coffee I started to go crazy. When I saw this product I realised I might not have to give up coffee altogether.
Now before I tucked into my first cup of decaf coffee I already prepared myself for it to taste a poor second to normal coffee but I was pleasantly surprised. I won't lie to you and say it doesn't taste a little different (weaker)but honestly the difference in taste is acceptable when you consider the benefits. It smells like coffee and it taste like coffee so I actually believe I'm still getting the morning kick you get from caffeine but obviously I'm not. It seems to be tricking my brain into thinking I'm still getting my coffee buzz.
What are the advantages?
Made from 100% pure natural coffee.
A serving (1.8g and 200 mil of water) gives 0.4g antitoxins as part of a healthy balance diet.
What are the disadvantages?
Obviously no caffeine buzz
Taste weaker than normal coffee
This product can be purchased from most of the large supermarkets and the average price is approximately £3.00 for a 200g jar with blue labeling.
***Nescafe Original Decaffeinated Coffee***
After recently having a bit of a health scare - it led me to research my diet completely and one of the things I found was just what an effect caffeine has on certain cancers, in particular breast cancer. So I vowed to cut down and went with this well known brand.
***What's it like***
This coffee comes in glass jars and has blue labelling (so don't look for one like the picture above). It smells like coffee - you get the same rich aroma and of course it is made in exactly the same way, just by pouring hot water on it.
At first it took some getting used to. The best way that I can describe it is that it tastes weakened compared to regular coffee; as if you might have put too much milk in. It had a nice aroma and still satisfied the need to have a coffee fix mid morning. I made it using semi-skimmed milk.
Taste wise the taste is obviously no where near as strong as filter coffee or other regular coffee's, but as a brand I do like it. There must be something about the combination of coffee beans that they use, but it works for me in comparison to Maxwell House, which I detest.
I have never felt like I *needed* the coffee fix to keep me awake or keep me going, so I have to say that I had no caffeine withdrawal effects. At week-end I do treat myself to the real stuff, but as a caffeine free subsitute then this is perfectly acceptable.
As there is such a small difference in taste, I would urge you to give it a try. The experts keep differing in their opinions as to how much of a difference caffeine make to breast cancers etc, but while that debate is going on I prefer to play on the safe side and so I will be sticking with this product.
It seems a small sacrifice to make, when I consider how anxious I was and gives me a bit more peace of mind.
This review isn't a big one, but I did want to point out the health issues for people who may not be aware of them.
It is available from all the big supermarkets and currently costs £3.00 for 200g, which is a reduction from the normal price of £4.44 - this offer is only until the 6/10/09.
Nescafe also operate a rewards system where you collect beans off the packaging to redeem against discounts/ goods. This scheme isn't the best, but I thought it was worth a mention, as I redeemed mine for a little photobook from PhotoBox.
I discovered a couple of months ago that I am becoming more and more sensitive to caffeine, especially in coffee. Coffee happens to be one of my favourite drinks and I tend to drink gallons of the stuff. Therefore I was understandably distressed at the thought of not being able to drink regular coffee. I was never really convinced by the thought of Decaf coffee and was resentful that now I would have no choice but to drink it.
Instead of spending a fortune on expensive decaf I thought I better attempt a less expensive version in case I didnt like it. So I chose the Nescafe Original Decaff.
Unlike the picture the product actually comes in a royal blue packaging in the UK. It stands out a lot better on the shelf as it contrasts to the brown granules inside the glass. Nescafe is made by Nestle and the Nestle logo appears on the top of the plastic lid. The packaging is recyclable.
The granules look the same as the original caffeinated granules. Small and brown and earthy. The smell of the granules isnt as strong as other coffees and it is quite nutty.
As usual with instant coffee. You put a teaspoon or so of the granules in the bottom of a cup and then fill with boiling water. Then add milk, cream or sugar to taste. Stir well until the granules dissolve. As long as the water is boiling then the granules will dissolve completely in seconds.
The smell of the coffee when dissolved is again not as strong as regular coffee and slightly nuttier and I find the taste is very similar but I need less milk otherwise it tastes too creamy. I was extremely pleased and relieved that I really couldnt find much different with the Decaff Coffee from regular coffee.
Whats great is that in the 100g of coffee there are 23g of Antioxidants! Which means whenever you drink a cup of coffee one fifth of it will be antioxidants. These are naturally found in coffee and so are not additives. The coffee has a long shelf life of two years but I have managed to get through around 3 jars in a couple of months.
The process of decaffeination can occur in several different ways and the method used by nescafe is water decaffeination according to their website. This is a 100% chemical free way to remove caffeine from the coffee beans. This means you can fully enjoy your cup of coffee knowing it has no harmful caffeine or chemicals in it.
The original Nescafé without coffeine


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Gluten-Free Coconut Layer Cake
IngredientsFor fluffy white-chocolate whipped cream frosting
- 3 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 9 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons coconut or golden rum
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
For coconut layer cake
- 1 3/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 10 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 1 tablespoon coconut or golden rum
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
To assemble
- 2 cups (3 ounces) unsweetened coconut flakes, for coating
Special equipment:
- Special equipment: 3 (9-inch) round cake pans
PreparationMake frosting
Chill bowl of stand mixer and whisk attachment or large metal bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes.
In small saucepan over moderate heat, bring 1 cup cream to simmer. Transfer white chocolate to medium heatproof bowl, pour hot cream over, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in rum and salt. Let cool at room temperature until thickened slightly, about 1 hour.
In chilled bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 2 cups cream at moderately high speed until whisk leaves marks but cream does not quite hold soft peaks, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn mixer off, then add white chocolate mixture and beat just until stiff peaks begin to form, about 5 minutes. (Do not overbeat, or cream will curdle.) Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Frosting can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 8 hours.)
While frosting is chilling, make cake
Preheat oven to 350F. Line bottoms of cake pans with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together almond and coconut flours.
In bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks at high speed until pale yellow and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to moderately low and beat in rum and all but 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar. Scrape down bowl, then increase speed to high and beat until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and gradually add almond and coconut flour mixture, scraping down bowl and folding in last of flour by hand. Set aside.
In clean dry bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites on moderate speed until very foamy, about 1 minute. Beat in cream of tartar, salt, and remaining 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar. Increase speed to moderately high and beat until whites hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Fold 1 cup beaten egg whites into yolk mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whites. Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops, and bake until layers are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Invert pans onto wire racks and cool completely, at least 1 hour. Run knife around cake layers to loosen, invert onto rack, and peel off the parchment.
Assemble cake
Layer cake, using 1 cup frosting between each layer, then frost top and sides with remaining frosting. Press coconut flakes onto the frosting. Refrigerate until frosting is firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Chef's notes: To keep the plate clean while frosting the cake, tuck 4 (3-inch-wide) strips of parchment paper under the edge of the cake. Pull the parchment off just before serving.
Epicurious.com © Condé Nast Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


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Title: Night Games
Author: Nina Bangs
Genre: TimeSwept/Contemporary
Published in May 2002 by Leisure/Lovespell
Brian Byrne is tired. He has played hard and his team has won. He won MVP! His manager Jupe is ecstatic, and has so very many plans for Brian: promotions, a bit of rest, then back into training! But Brian? Even with the praises of his teammates and the Universe singing in his ears, Brian has had enough. He needs to get away. In a future where sex is a team sport, a nice no-sex vacation is what he deserves -- after all, he was MVP and that should earn him something...right? Not according to Jupe. Cereal box pictures, appearances, and other things he would rather avoid have been scheduled, and on this point Jupe is adamant. No isn't a word he wants to hear, but Brian says it anyway, and now he is off for a vacation.
Something happened around the year 2002 that ruined an old Irish Keep that was the seat of his ancestors. A perfect place for a vacation -- maybe raise the walls again, really relax and enjoy some real peace. To step back 500 years to an isolated, ruined keep holds the promise of anonymity, restful seclusion spiced with a bit of the manual labor he enjoys. No fans, no reporters, no manager, no stress! Yep, that's the ticket, just what he needs...peace and quiet. He doesn't count on anyone tagging along; he also doesn't count on meeting his greatest challenge. He has his hands full now!
Ally O'Neil doesn't need this...traipsing all over Ireland. It might not be so very bad, but Great Aunt Katy got a hold of the most horrendous, made by seemingly crazed gypsies, caravan wagon and a horse that is so laid back that he looks forever asleep. Katy wants to find pookas, ghosts, faeries, and whatever other mystical creatures she can find for a book she is writing. Now she's running around in the rain like a 70 year-old Buffy the Vampire slayer looking for a vampire. Said vampire, Black Liam, is reputed to haunt the castle where this stupid wagon is parked. When Aunt Katy proposed this adventure, Ally thought it was a good idea. She has a book to write too, a deadline to meet, and a bad marriage to get over.
The marriage over thing really wasn't good, not after her "Perfect Wife" series. Now a book about "Coping With The Single Life" sounds so much more appropriate. She is not looking for sex, love, or a companion of any sort. She is definitely not looking for Brian Byrne, and his odd contingent of followers. She just wants to write her book and get on with her life as a single woman. Now her editor has thrown her a curve...passion? Her? One night stand? She has to be kidding!
Nina has once again thrown a curve into the 'best laid plans" and provided us with a story of humor and intrigue. From a superstar in the sex-games of the future, we get someone who is plagued by an uncertain past, and who is ready for love but doesn't know or acknowledge it. He only knows that there is something missing in his life, and he thinks it is a real vacation. From the present-day author, we get a woman whose ideas are not all bad, but may be a bit controlling. She just had the unfortunate experience of picking a man who did not appreciate her efforts, and who wasn't strong enough to handle her.
Putting these two together could be like mixing oil and water, but the result is a jumble of intrigue and humor that leads to a wonderful romp through the mind of Nina Bangs. The twists and turns that she gives her stories add to the puzzlement of her characters, and with Aunt Katy, sexy senior citizen extraordinaire, acting as match maker and a contingent from Brian's time, boss, manager, and trainer trying to keep them apart...not to mention the fact that someone seems to be trying to kill Ally...well, I strongly suggest that you put Night Games on your list. I think it is one of the best books to come out among the May releases. Enjoy! It is a winner.
Yours in good reading,
Nina Bangs Bio Review Buy Nina Bangs Books


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|Click for Sensitive Skin Care Products
- Acne
- Rosacea
- Stinging and burning skin
- Allergies (dermatitis)
|Cleure Gentle Cleanser
Step 1
The best skin care routine should start with cleansing to clean the skin of debris and dirt gently without drying the skin of natural essential oils. No matter which category of sensitive skin you are in, stay away from cleansers or soaps with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). This harsh detergent is irritating and can cause allergies. It's added to soaps, shampoos and toothpaste for foaming. Clean your skin two times a day with a gentle non-SLS cleanser or facial bar.
Step 2To remove dead cells and allow new healthy cells to surface, use a facial exfoliating scrub about once or twice a week. Once you find a gentle non-irritating scrub, continue to use it, and discontinue any that cause irritation.
Step 3
A facial mask with kaolin clay and dead sea mud is a wonderful product to add vital nutrients to sensitive skin.
Step 4
Always moisturize your skin, even if you have oily acne skin. However, it's important to use a non-clogging and non-irritating moisturizer for your skin type. For example, acne skin would do better with a oil-free facial lotion. According to the National Eczema Association, it's important to moisturize within three minutes of cleansing. Moisturizing is important because it helps protect and to keep water from evaporating from your skin. Keeping your skin hydrated is vital to healthy skin. Even for oily skin, before applying makeup, always moisturize.
|Cleure Natural Sunscreen
Natural sunscreen with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the safest and most effective broad spectrum sun protection. Always apply sunscreen when exposed to the sun, during summer and winter. The times when your skin is most apt to damage from ultraviolet rays is between 10 AM to 3 PM.
Cleure has a complete line of non-irritating sensitive skin, personal care and cosmetics products. All products are made in the USA and are fragrance, gluten and paraben free, and ecologically responsible.


text:
What causes night time urination and urinary incontinence? 5 possible conditions
See a list of possible causes in order from the most common to the least.
Benign enlargement of the prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a common condition where the prostate gland swells beyond normal size. It is a normal condition of male aging but can interfere with urination.
Urge incontinence is a type of urinary incontinence. It occurs when you have a sudden urge to urinate. In urge incontinence, the bladder contracts when it should not, and may cause urine to leak past the sphincte...
Bedwetting is the loss of bladder control during the night caused by psychological and physical conditions such as constipation, stress, and prostate gland enlargement.
Learn prostate cancer information, causes, symptoms and treatments.
Autonomic dysreflexia is a condition in which the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system overreacts to a stimulus, causing a spike in blood pressure, racing heart, and changes in other autonomic functions.
Please consult a healthcare professional if you have health concerns.
Click to add a symptom to your list
- Top Symptoms
Copyright © 2005 - 2015 Healthline Networks, Inc. All rights reserved for Healthline. Healthline is for informational purposes and should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment recommendations. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy


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The following self-assessment is provided to help you determine if you possess the technical skills needed to succeed in an online course.
Evaluating Your Score
Click the Calculate Score button above to see how many of the above questions you responded to with a "Yes." Use the following scale to assess how technically prepared you are to complete a COD online course:
27 - 22: Excellent
21 - 17: Fair
16 or less: Need improvement
Smarter Measure is a comprehensive self-assessment of student readiness for online learning. We encourage you to take this self-test before enrolling in an online class.
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Bahamas Karma Yoga: Ashram Maintenance & Peace Activism
The Yoga of Action at the Bahamas Sivananda Ashram
Coming from a place where we are selling our Zen center campus, I am impressed by what is essentially a small yet vibrant and gorgeous Caribbean village dedicated to rigorous spiritual training. Teacher trainees with yellow shirts and white pants sit huddled around picnic tables cramming for their final exam. Trainees rise at 5am to do the day's first round of meditation and chanting before their first asana and pranayama class. Worldwide, the Sivananda centers have graduated over 27,000 teachers.
Because I came to the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas assisting Zen Master Bernie Glassman, who was invited to teach on social service as a spiritual practice last week, we talked a lot about Karma Yoga, the yoga of action that is the topic of the Bhagavad Gita. Karma Yoga was an important focus of the teachers who established this lineage of yoga. The Sivananda Yoga Ashram was founded by Swami Vishnu Devananda, who was sent by Swami Sivananda from India to spread yoga through the West. Of Swami Vishnu, the current director of the ashram, Swami Swaroopananda writes in their latest catalog:
"Whenever a student came to him, describing some profound spiritual experience he had, Swamiji's immediate response was to assign to that student a big karma yoga project. Swamiji believed that a true spiritual experience must result in a desire to serve others. His own life was a perfect demonstration of this principle. The intense yogic practice he did in the Himalayas during his early years resulted in profound spiritual attainments and a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. These were utilized entirely for the service of humanity."
The primary usage of the term Karma Yoga at the ashram refers to work-exchange students who have committed three months of "selfless service" in exchange for the opportunity to participate in ashram activities. Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda also understood the term to mean service to humanity at large. In Practice of Karma Yoga, Swami Sivanda says:
"Why do you serve the poor and the needy and the suffering of humanity at large?…By doing service, you purify your heart… the sense of separateness will be annihilated. Selfishness will be eradicated. You will get a broad and liberal outlook on life. You will begin to feel oneness and unity. Eventually you will obtain knowledge of the Self. You will realize 'all in one' and 'one in all.' What is society after all? It is nothing but a collection of units or individuals. The world is nothing but a manifestation of God. Service of humanity and country is, in fact, nothing short of service of God. Service is worship." (33)
This resonates a lot with Bernie's message: that if we are dedicated to realizing and actualizing the oneness and interconnectedness of life, then we must do that within our relationships and society. Swami Sivananda was also known as "Givenanda," because he gave so much to the poor and Swami Vishnu was a peace activist. For example, he famously flew his plane over the Berlin wall dropping flowers.
Bernie will be returning to the Asrham in May for the Yoga for Peace Symposium: Changing the World from the Inside Out. This Symposium overlaps with their Yoga Peace Ambassadors Certification Course and f0llows the Yogis Without Borders training in April. These trainings team up with a UN director who is dedicated to applying Yogic practice to humanitarian efforts.
The Yoga Industry
Having experienced financial uncertainty, I have to be impressed with the yoga industry for being just that- an industry. They have a business model- a structure that works for sustaining their contribution to reducing suffering. People complain about how unspiritual it is to pay for Buddhist teachings, but they are surprised when the Zendo can't make rent. I think the commodification of yoga has good results. By expecting to pay for a yoga class, people implicitly acknowledge that it takes time, work, training, overhead and marketing for that class to serve them.
But there is a difference between a profit-driven business and a mission-driven organization operating on sound business principles. Swami Vishnudevananda set up this ashram to train people to reduce suffering and spread peace and not as training for a job. As I complete a yoga teacher training of my own, I am interested in exploring the following questions:
- How can I offer yoga in a way that contributes to my livelihood?
- How can we make yoga accessible to everyone?
- How can I integrate my yoga practice on the mat with Karma Yoga off the mat?
What do you think!?
Incorrect source, offensive, or found a typo? Email us (please put title in subject bar of email so we'll be able to fix). Or do you want to write for Elephant?
{Waylon H. Lewis C Enterprises 2015: Use Rights in perpetuity. Ownership remains with author.}
5 Responses to "Bahamas Karma Yoga: Ashram Maintenance & Peace Activism"
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by theyogatrap, Bernie Glassman. Bernie Glassman said: Blog: Bahamas Karma Yoga: Ashram Maintenance & Peace Activism http://ow.ly/3TeCg […]
Thanks for this. Compelling topics, brain-moving questions.
Thank you for this necessary piece that resonates with me at so many levels. Firstly, I am one of the 27,000 trained Sivananda yoga teachers and secondly, I've spent close to 20 years of service with the UN. In every fiber of my being, I know and feel that yoga is the only way toward the attainment of world peace. Having said this, I do however have grave reservations about the increasingly growing commercialization of yoga in the West. While I try not to judge this largely welcoming trend, I can't help but wonder, how many of these people are getting on the mat are compelled to service, the very essence of what karma yoga is all about? I did my TTC in India at the end of 2008. Interestingly enough, I've been thinking about returning to the Sivananda ashram, this time, the one in the Bahamas and have in fact looked at the very courses that you've mentioned. The real yoga truly begins when we're able to take it off the mat, into our hearts and out into the world. I'm with you! Om Namah Sivaya, Nadine!
[…] Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois all said that they taught their own ways of doing yoga—Kriya Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Iyengar Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga respectively—we took what they said at face […]


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The Magazine
"Forty Acres and a Lexus"
California governor Gray Davis weighs in on behalf of slave reparations.
May 27, 2002, Vol. 7, No. 36 • By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
And yet, far from being a matter in the private sector, the injustice of slavery is an issue of the profoundest national importance. And the deep understanding of most Americans is that reparations were paid in the years 1861-1865, although there remained plenty to atone for thereafter. Today's political leaders may want to dodge the topic, but they could do worse than to cite Abraham Lincoln, who eloquently confronted the issue of reparations in his Second Inaugural address: "Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away," Lincoln said. "Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
Today the Bush and Simon teams clearly do not understand what average voters feel in their bones and what Davis aides themselves know all too well: Reparations is the ultimate wedge issue. Reparations cut to the very core of what is just and unjust. If the state sanctions suits designed to, as Earl Ofari Hutchinson said, "finger all whites"; if it doesn't matter that working people and their immigrant parents had to scrape and sacrifice for everything they have; if it doesn't matter that over 100,000 Union soldiers died in battle and millions of other Americans sacrificed and suffered to end slavery; if California can punish individuals for what their long-dead ancestors did somewhere else; and if a group of lawyers and demagogues can win government-sanctioned retribution for crimes committed a century or more ago--then Sacramento might as well be Palestine and California might as well be Bosnia.
If California agencies or California courts punish companies for distant crimes, they will be penalizing hard-working shareholders, consumers, and workers for sins they abhor, never committed, and never had an opportunity to stop. To punish innocent people in the name of justice would be a travesty.
Debra J. Saunders is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.


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The Clearinghouse on International
Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies
Protection of the family and marriage, care for large families,
responsibility for children and youth, care for widows and orphans
of war, are all part of the early Greek constitution established
in the 1920s. The post-civil war constitution established in 1975
added to the above governmental responsibilities: maternity protection,
child protection, protection of the aged, the handicapped, the poor
-- and health care for all. A new family law was enacted in 1983
that stressed the equality of the sexes, the protection of children
and the family, as well as the secularization of marriage. Population
policy has been --and continues to be --a major component of family
policy and in recent years the reconciliation of work and family
life plays a more important role than it has in the past but Greece
continues to lag behind other industrialized countries in this area.
The increase in immigration flows is an extremely important socio-economic
factor in Greece. According to preliminary results of the 2001 General
Census, international geographical mobility was the main demographic
component of the total population change in Greece during the 1990s.
Between 1991 and 2001, the number of foreigners multiplied by five.
The large majority of these immigrants are third-country nationals.
Migration also is an important issue when it comes to education.
In 2002, 100,000 foreign and repatriate children were getting an
education in Greece. Around 55,000 are in primary schools, i.e.
11% of the total number of pupils. Over the past five years, the
total population in primary schools has fallen by 5%, while at the
same time the number of foreign pupils has risen by 400%. The integration
of migrant children is quite a difficult task, particularly because
of their own as well as of their parents inadequate knowledge
of the Greek language. (Bagavos, 2003)
Over time, Greek family policy has come to include measures that
provide economic aid to families with children (allowances, subsidies,
tax exemptions, and services). However, the main characteristics
of Greek family policy are its fragmentary and categorical nature
and its stress on selective policies, on targeting policies on the
poor and disadvantaged. A combination of far more extensive higher
education for women, significantly higher rates of labor force participation
by women, the growing vulnerability of single-earner families (with
only a slight increase in single-parent families since out-of -wedlock
births and divorce rates are still very low) and urbanization, have
been correlated with much lower fertility rates (1.3 in 2000) --
and together have led to some growth in family policy responses.
Greece is moving towards more gender equality, particularly as
a result of the increase in the level of educated females and the
overall rise in the number of women active on the labour market.
The education gap between men and women has almost disappeared,
due to the fact that the number of years devoted to their education
has increased much more for women than for men.
Greek social and family policy scholars stress that "familism"
has always been a core component of Greek family policy, as it has
been in the other Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal).
As one expert states: "Greek social policy has always relied
on the family for welfare services to its members."(Aliprani,
forthcoming). Traditional family roles and structure continues to
dominate in Greece and both nuclear family and kin network are key
elements in the society. But changes are occurring both within the
family and in the welfare state.
Return to Top
Click here to view or print country highlights
in pdf format.
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The Ministry of Social Assistance is the government agency with
primary responsibility for the most vulnerable: orphans, handicapped,
and war refugees. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has primary
responsibility for health services. The Ministries of Welfare and
Interior share responsibility at the national level for early childhood
care and the Ministry of Education has responsibility for early
childhood education. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security has
primary responsibility for social insurance benefits and for family
allowances while the Ministry of Finance handles the tax benefits.
The Social Insurance Institute administers benefits through local
offices. Local authorities have responsibility for preschools, child
care services, and social services for the elderly.
Greece has a population of 10.5 million people (2001), of which
17.0 percent are elderly (aged 65 and above), just about the EU
average, and 15.5 percent are children under age 15, below the EU
average and far below the OECD average of 20.2 percent. By comparison
to other European countries, Greece continues to be dominated by
traditional family roles and households structures, yet internally,
Greece is experiencing many socio-demographic changes. A couple
with children is the most prevalent household type, followed by
childless couple households, but the proportion of married couple
with children households has decreased. Greece has the lowest rate
of children born outside of marriage (4.1 percent) among the OECD
countries, yet by Greek standards the increase is unprecedented.
The divorce rate is one of the lowest among the EU countries and
only one percent of couples in Greece lives in a consensual union,
but from the perspective of Greece, there is concern that these
increases are a threat to traditional family roles and structures.
Only three percent of parents are lone-parents in Greece. One of
the issues motivating changes in social policy is the steadily declining
fertility rate in Greece. It is now among the lowest in Europe,
at 1.3.
Greece, like other industrialized countries, has experienced an
increase in the number of households due in part to delayed marriage
and childbirth and changing household structures. Although the elderly
in Greece are among the more likely to live with adult children,
the likelihood of the elderly living in a separate household in
Greece has increased (Bagavos, 2002). Relatively high proportions
of 25-45 year-olds still live in a parental home but less than in
the past. Education attainment has risen in Greece and the education
gap between men and women is diminishing.
Its unemployment rate is significantly above the EU average. Female
labor force participation (49.2 percent in 2002) is lower than the
EU average (60.8 percent). The percentage of employed women who
work part-time was 10%, far less than the EU average of 30 percent,
and 24.7 percent for OECD countries. A significant part of women's
paid employment goes on in the underground economy, at low wages,
with no social benefits. Despite some changes, women still follow
largely traditional roles. In part this may be due to the limited
opportunities for part-time work in Greece. On average, 16.3 percent
of all workers were part-time workers in the European Union in 2000,
only 5.4 percent of total employment is part-time in Greece. The
opportunities for flexibility at the workplace, and women's ability
to reconcile work and family life are accordingly limited. This
is aggravated by gender differentials in pay, promotion and the
scarce availability of child care options for mothers who work.
Immigration to Greece accounts for at least 96 percent of the population
increase during the 1990s (Bagavos, 2002). This influx has reduced
the homogeneity of the Greek population and culture, and has affected
economic and social patterns.
Greece, like the other southern European countries, in particular
Italy, Portugal, and Spain, is similar to several other "Bismarckian"
western European countries such as Germany and Austria in that it
has a contributory social insurance, social protection system. However,
unlike these latter continental countries and more like the other
Mediterranean countries, the system is weighted towards old age
pensions, disability (invalidity) benefits and health care - although
in recent years, expenditures on family benefits have grown. "The
scope of protection of the Greek social protection system is not
universalistic, but categorical, and work focused. The bulk of income
transfers is traditionally absorbed by old age pensions."(Katrougolos,
1996). Unlike most other EU countries, family allowances are contingent
on employment and linked to income and to the ordinal position of
the child. The Greek welfare system also lacks any kind of universal
minimum income support scheme for non-contributory benefits. Only
recently has it established a means-tested minimum old age pension.
Along with Spain and Portugal, for decades Greece was known as
a laggard in social protection development and spending. This pattern
changed in the 1990s. In most European countries, social protection
expenditures rose during the first half of the 1990s and thereafter
fell below 1991 levels by the year 2000. Greece and Portugal were
notable exceptions to this pattern. Greece's social expenditures
rose from 21.6 percent of GDP in 1991 to 26.4 percent in 2000, exceeding
the European Union average of 22.9 percent. Greece's per capita
social expenditure in 2000 was 3,073 Euros, still below the EU average.
Expenditures on old age and survivor pensions continues to dominate
social spending (64 percent), though spending on family and children
benefits has increased to 3.7 percent of all social expenditures,
it is well below the EU average of 8.5 percent in this category.
Greece has a discretionary and local social assistance program.
The National Health Service and Family Allowances are financed by
the state.
Poverty is a general issue in Greece, one affecting not only families.
In recent years, issues of income inequality and poverty have become
particularly important themes in the media as well as in the political
debate. Factors that tend to affect poverty are a low educational
level, unemployment of the head of household and residence in an
agricultural area. The poverty rate is relatively high, and the
most vulnerable groups are the elderly, lone mothers, large families,
and those living in rural areas. According to a UNICEF report, child
poverty rates in Greece in the late 1990s were 12.6 percent, using
the standard comparative measure of poverty-income less than 50
percent of the national median (UNICEF, 2000).
Maternity benefits include a birth grant and a maternity allowance
(European Observatory, 2002). The birth grant is a flat-rate, lump-sum
paid on the birth of a child to a parent who has worked at least
50 days in the last calendar year which ended three months before
birth. The sum paid is 626 Euros, 30 times the daily wage of an
unskilled worker, and is intended to cover birth costs.
Maternity leave is a mandatory, 17-week, paid leave for employed
mothers of which 56 days must be taken prior to and 63 days following
birth. It was first enacted in 1981 and has been expanded several
times since then. While on leave, working mothers who have worked
for at least 200 days in the last two years prior to birth, receive
a cash benefit (maternity allowance) from the social security agency,
that replaces 50 percent of their wages. Women may be eligible for
a supplement if the amount they receive is less than normal wages.
The additional payment is paid by the Employment and Labor Organization.
Women who do not qualify for the maternity allowance (because they
have worked a shorter period) may qualify for a means-tested maternity
assistance cash benefit. This benefit now equals about 440 Euros
and half is paid prior to and the remaining half is paid post-birth.
For one year following birth, a woman's job is protected. Pregnant
women and those recently given birth are prohibited from working
a night shift for up to one-year following birth.
Breast-feeding mothers can reduce their work hours by an hour a
day during the first year of the child's life.
There is a one-day paid paternity leave for men working in the
private sector.
Parental leave, the result of an EU directive, is an unpaid leave
for either parent of 3.5 months for each at the time of birth or
adoption (and double that for a single parent). The leave can be
used until the child reaches age three and a half years and can
be used to pursue further training or education. The leave is job-protected
but unpaid.
An additional paid parental leave (or a family leave) is provided
for a working parent to care for an ill child under age 16, at home.
A parent is entitled to 6 days a year of fully paid leave if there
is one child in the family, 8 days for two children, and 10 days
for 3 or more children.
Still another fully-paid family leave exists, for up to 4 days
a year, for a working parent to visit a child's school.
Childcare remains one of the main concerns for Greek families.
Recent results indicate that only 3% of children under three years
of age are cared for at a nursery school; while for children aged
36, this percentage is 70%. Grandparents remain the main childcare
providers, particularly for working parents.
Given the rising labor force participation rates among women and
other changes in households, the need for age-appropriate and safe
child care has been at the forefront of public debates on social
welfare. Discussions regarding child care are linked to broader
discussions of falling fertility rates, the reconciliation of work
and family life, and to a lesser degree are part of policy discussions
on gender equality (Bagavos, 2002).
Compulsory school begins at age 6. There are two systems of publicly-funded
early childhood education and care systems for children under age
6-social welfare and education-and they overlap for children aged
3 1/2 to 6 years (Moss, 1996).
The Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Interior share
administrative responsibility for the care services at the national
level. Since 1995, the local authorities have primary responsibility
for operating centers, and charge income-related fees. There are
nearly 180 child care centers operated by local governments and
almost 2,100 municipal centers administered by the Ministry of Health
and Welfare. Within this system are the full day, year-round programs
for children under age 2 1/2 as well as those aged 2 1/2 to 6. There
is relatively little information on usage and coverage is considered
inadequate. Informal, mainly kinship care, is most prevalent, often
provided by low-paid immigrant workers in the child's home (Bagavos,
Within the education system, there are about 1,000 free and voluntary
preschool programs serving 17,000 children aged 3 1/2 to 6, covering
the school day and year.
In 2002, recently initiated extended-day programs in about 2,000
schools served approximately 60,000 school-age children. The availability
of all-day kindergarten classes is increasing as well.
Greece has a complicated system of categorical family allowances,
cash benefits, targeted on different family needs. Family allowances
are linked to the presence and ordinal position of children in the
family and are contingent on parents' employment status. They vary
substantially depending on whether parents are employed in the public
or the private sector. Family benefits include marriage allowances
and family allowances, both payable to either a husband or wife.
Payment levels are determined by collective agreements, arbitration
awards and works rules. As of 1999, the basic benefit is no longer
income-tested and the benefit level has been significantly raised.
The Distributive Fund for Employee Family Allowances (DLOEM) administers
family allowances to employees not in receipt of such an allowance
from their employer. It is intended as the means of providing an
essential supplementary payment for employees with family commitments.
This regulation expresses the social dimension of pay (social wage).
The DLOEM is financed by equal contributions from employees and
employers (each contributes 1 percent of total pay). The allowances
are paid in a lump sum annually and increase by number of children.
For one child, a family receives 5.9 Euros per month, for two children
it is 17.6 Euros/month, 40 Euros for three children, and 48 Euros
for four children. Allowances are increased by 3.7 Euros per month
for a handicapped child or for a child of a lone-parent. Recent
changes allow both parents to collect a family allowance on behalf
of their children if both parents work (European Foundation for
the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2001).
There is an additional allowance for a third and fourth child administered
by the Agricultural Insurance Organization. Mothers legally and
permanently residing in Greece and of EU nationality receive 131
Euros per month for a third child until the child reaches age six
if the family income is below 23,477 Euros. For lone-mothers with
a fourth child, there is an additional allowance of 67.5 per month
provided until there is no longer a single child up to the age of
23 years living in the house.
The individual is the filing unit for income taxes. Like the family
benefit system, the ways in which income taxes take account of child
and family obligations are complicated. There are tax exemptions
for the individual filer, for his/her spouse, dependent child, for
health care, for a portion of housing costs, and 10 percent of the
cost of child care for children under age 6. Tuition fees for private
school and a portion of rent, are also tax deductible. Tax reductions
favor large families. A family with one child receives a tax reduction
of 88 Euros, two children-205.4 Euros, three children-616.3 Euros,
and families with four children receive a tax reduction of 939 Euros
Given the very low rates of divorce and unwed parenting, child
support is not a significant issue. Nonetheless, a means-tested,
"half-orphan" allowance and a means-tested single-parent
allowance described above are provided.
Old Age Pensioners and the disabled are entitled to pension supplements
for children (20 percent for first child, 15 percent for second,
and 10 percent for third). Children are entitled to Survivor's Benefits
under Old Age Insurance. A child, if a full orphan under age 18,
or under 24 if a student, or at any age if disabled) is entitled
to 60 percent of the full pension, or 20 percent if a half-orphan.
Medical benefits are the same for dependents as for the insured
worker. A child of a worker receiving worker's compensation is entitled
to a benefit equal to a minimum wage.
Greece has a national health service. In addition, since 1952 there
has been a system of "Mother-Infant Centers", under the
auspices of local government, that provide pre- and post-natal care,
well-baby care, adoption and foster care services.
Youth unemployment remains at very high levels in Greece, among
other things due to a mismatch between education and the labour
market. In a context of high unemployment, the role of the family
for the employment perspectives of its members becomes more and
more important. Many unemployed youngsters resort to the family
network in order to obtain a job. The persistence of high youth
unemployment and the high costs of childrens education borne
by families contribute to a deterioration of their financial status.
Unemployment among those under age 25 has decreased slightly in
recent years to 25.7%. Young workers are almost three times more
likely to be unemployed than those 25 years and older. Youth unemployment
is believed to have contributed to the delay in marriage, family
formation, and the decrease in fertility rates.
There are several youth programs that civil servants and some others
in private employment receive as a fringe benefit, subsidized summer
camp (one or two weeks) for their children aged 6-16. There are
also, increasingly, summer school programs carried out by the local
Click here to view in pdf format a table on the Ages
at which children are legally entitled to carry out a series of
acts in the European Union. See Youth
Policies section for definition of terms used.
This is a growing theme in public discussions regarding employment,
social protection, and equal opportunities and has been part of
the National Action Plans for the past several years.
Reconciling work and family life responsibilities is frequently
considered in economic, health and social policy discussions.
Greece provides several types of housing subsidies including the
exemption of a portion of rent from taxable income, and subsidies
for the purchase of housing and/or for its repair (e.g. low interest,
long-term loans).
Aliprani, L. (Forthcoming). Family change and family policies
in Greece. Mannheim Series. Oxford, England: Oxford University
Bagavos, C. (2003). The situation of families in Greece in 2001.
European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography, and Family.
European Commission. (1998). Care in Europe. Brussels, Belgium:
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Greece: Family benefits for employee. Retrieved on the World
Wide Web at http://www.eurofound.ie/emire/GREECE/FAMILYBENEFITSFOREMPLOYEES-GRhtml.
European Observatory. (2002). Family benefits and family policies
in Europe-Greece. European Observatory on the Social Situation,
Demography, and Family. European Commission. Retrieved from the
World Wide Web at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/eoss/index_en.html.
Katrougolos, G. (1996). The Greek welfare state. Journal
of European Social Policy, 6(1).
Moss, P. (1996). A review of services for young children in
the European Union, 1990-1995. Brussels: European Commission.
Moussourorou, L. (1998). Family policy in Greece: Traditional and
modern patterns. In J. Ditch, H. Barnes, & J. Bradshaw (Eds.),
Developments in national family policies, 1996. European
Observatory on National Family Policies, Social Policy Research
Unit. York, England: University of York.
Moussourorou, L. (1996). Family policy in Greece: Traditional and
modern patterns. In J. Ditch, H. Barnes, & J. Bradshaw (Eds.),
Developments in national family policies, 1995. European
Observatory on National Family Policies, Social Policy Research
Unit. York, England: University of York.
UNICEF. (2000). Child poverty in rich countries. Innocenti Report
Card No. 1. Florence, Italy: Innocenti Research Center.
Washington Embassy
Ministry of Labor and Social Security


text:
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text:
Business hours:
Mailing Address:
American Express Europe Ltd trading as American Express Travel, Sussex House, Civic Way, Burgess Hill, RH15 9AW is a member of ABTA (ABTA number C4330) and ATOL (ATOL number 0151). The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. For further details click here. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. For details of the various services to the consumer provided by ABTA, click here. Please check with your travel counsellor: passport, visa, health and travel insurance requirements. Information is also available at the Passport Office site and Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) site. Prices include all taxes, security and other compulsory charges and are subject to availability.


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Interested in Creating Your Own Study Abroad Program?
From choosing a destination to writing a proposal, the UCA Office of Study Abroad wants to help you each step of the way! UCA offers a variety of short-term Faculty Led Study Abroad Opportunities each year. Typically lasting 10 days to one month, these programs include UCA courses taught by faculty traveling with the students.
Sample Proposal Paperwork for 2016 programs:
Faculty interested in proposing a program are encouraged to meet with Office of Study Abroad personnel to discuss their plans prior to the proposal deadline. Contact firstname.lastname@example.com to schedule a meeting.
The type of program varies depending on the faculty leader and subject matter and faculty choose study abroad destinations for a variety of reasons. You may have existing contacts from prior experience traveling/researching abroad or particular locations may be best suited for the a specific field of interest. A few things to consider…
Will the program be based in one city/town with side excursions, or will it involve traveling within one country or to several countries?
Does my chosen destination(s) have special entry and/or exit requirements that students should be made aware of in advance?
Has the U.S. Department of State issued any travel notices or warnings for my chosen destination(s)?Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings
Are acceptable accommodations in terms of safety and security available in each location for students and faculty?
Will the students stay in a homestay, campus dormitory, hostel or hotel?
How will ground transportation arrangements be managed?
Should I work with a study tour provider, a travel agent or a host institution abroad for logistical arrangements?
How many courses will be offered?
How long will the program be and during which session?
Will there be on-campus sessions before and/or after the study abroad component?
Will I be able to meet the contact hour requirements for each course offered?
How many faculty will be traveling/teaching?
Will the program include undergraduate and/or graduate courses?
To which group of students is this course geared, am I targeting a large enough group to ensure minimum enrollment numbers?
How will I advertise this opportunity to prospective students?
Educational Tour Providers: Customized Faculty-Led Study Tours
EF College Study Tours • www.efcollegestudytours.com
Justin Bruegenhemke • Director of University Development • email@example.com • 314-484-8621
EF Curriculum Planner – View the EF College Study Tours guide for planning study abroad courses.
Culture Quest• www.cqtours.com
Alessandra Taddeucci • Travel Program Director • firstname.lastname@example.com • 800-678-6877 ext 36
Sinogate Consulting Services, Inc. (CHINA)
John Pate • Owner • firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com • 479-968-4842, 86-13570438322
STA Travel • www.statravel.com/solutions
John Evans • Groups Logistics Coordinator • email@example.com • 480-592-0868 ext. 22421, 800-714-6503
STA Faculty Led FL STSA – View Faculty Led Study Abroad Solutions from STA Travel
Select Travel • www.selecttravel.com
Judee Kaplan • Director of Sales • firstname.lastname@example.com • 215-732-2686
Academic Studies Abroad • www.academicstudies.com
Lee Frankel • Director • email@example.com • 888-845-4272 (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Peru and Spain)
Passports Educational Travel • www.passports.com
Katie Coburn • Admissions Coordinator • firstname.lastname@example.com • 508-500-0228
Accent International Travel • http://accentintl.com/
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Things to do in Berlin
Welcome to Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It's also its largest city with a population of over 3.5 million residents. First time visitors will be pleased to learn that Berlin is more than the hustle and bustle of the city, as a third of it is composed of parks, forests, gardens, lakes and rivers. Bus trips are a common choice for tourists seeking to savor the several tourist attractions. Some buses even contain commentaries that guide the visitors and suggest the attractions they can visit.
Top on the sight seeing list should be the Brandenburg Gate, which has become synonymous with the city. It is the most photographed of all Berlin attractions. Built in the 1700s, it still stands magnificently at the center of Berlin, with a beautiful sculpture of the goddess of victory riding at the top. The 'Story of Berlin' exhibition is well worth a visit and it gives every visitor a trip down memory lane. It was commissioned over 300 years ago and has been restored over the years. It showcases details of the Berlin history from the 13th century to date. On display are some original sections of the Berlin walls among other artifacts. Potsdamer Platz is the main square with commercial and residential property. There are a variety of shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas. There is also a viewing point that stands about 100 meters above the street and offer a spectacular scenery over Berlin.
Lovers of history will be spoilt for choice by the wide variety of Berlin museums. Kathe Kollwitz museum for example is named after an artist who was recognized for her artwork that captured the pains suffered by the residents of this place. Years after her death, the museum displays her finest sculptures, drawings and etchings. The private museum is located close to some of the city's most civilized caves and is open daily. Neues is another museum that has been refurbished after being bombed out in 1945. It has been remoulded into a striking building which still preserve the original walls and surviving texture details, a perfect story of man's ability to preserve. The historical Berlin wall Memorial also hosts a museum to preserve the memory of the tragic scenes of 1961 when the city was divided. The museum island is also a must see hosting 5 world class museums and the Berlin cathedral.
Nature enthusiasts will enjoy the Tiergarten otherwise known as the green heart of Berlin. Set out on over 600 acres, it is a perfect place to sit and enjoy the leafy paths, lush lawns and beer gardens. Whether looking to take a leisure stroll, escape from the hustle of the city or reminisce quietly, the park is the place to be. Restaurants are also in plenty and offer a variety of traditional, local and international cuisine. Popular restaurants include Aigner, Grill royale and Oktagon. Top on their menu are dishes like spatzle (nodules), currywurst and black forest cherry cake. Nightlife combines night walks, bars, clubbing scenes and live music. Visit today and experience the wonders of Berlin.


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As a result of our $30 million renovation Grand Sierra Resort and Casino is Reno newest and hippest hotel casino. It's Reno with a Vegas vibe! Located 1 mile from the airport in the heart of Reno/Tahoe. With the Reno area's newest rooms...almost 2000 of them and 845 are luxurious suites. Grand Sierra is northern Nevada's largest resort destination offering a wide variety of activities for everyone from the every day business traveler to the complete family vacation with amenities that include 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, 10 distinct restaurants, 11 bars and lounges, brand new $2.5 million health club and spa, headliner entertainment, a 2 theater Cineplex, 50-lane championship bowling center, outdoor thrill rides, and aqua golf driving range Featuring a level of luxury and sophistication unprecedented in Reno, The Summit's 845, newly renovated suites are perched on the top eleven floors of the Grand Sierra Resort and include VIP check-in and a private elevator bank. As part of the Grand Sierra's $30 million renovation, each suite now features brand new furniture, vibrant colors, pillow top beds, upgraded linens, spa-inspired bathrooms, signature products and a butler pantry with stainless steel appliances. Guests have access to over 40 championship golf courses, 18 legendary ski resorts, hiking, biking and equestrian trails, fishing, boating and guided tours to Tahoe, Carson City and Virginia City.Grand Sierra Resort & Casino Featuring The Summit Tower
24 hour front desk
Free airport shuttle
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Non-smoking rooms available
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Designated smoking area
Smoking rooms available
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Free valet parking
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Free Wi-Fi
Get Rates
Get Flight + Hotel


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Trying to Conceive: After Loss Community
Making the decision to try again after a lost pregnancy can be hard. Get ... more
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(((HUGS))) to you Pray. I'm sorry AF found you and with such cruddy timing. How good of you to play with the little kids on Christmas, though. I know how hard that is to do when you want one so badly for yourself.
I do hope you'll move forward with the IUI. It is terribly overwhelming to think about it all at once. But like you said, taking it one small step at a time and just focusing on what's going on now is a huge help. Worrying about what comes next and all the "what if's" just make it more stressful. You CAN do it! I know you can!!
I'm praying for you girl!!View Thread
Pray, I'm so glad you O'd on your own! But I'm sorry that the timing doesn't look so great. I'll be praying you'll get a Christmas miracle. But if not, I hope you'll be able to start treatments again soon. Sending you lots of hugs and good thoughts!View Thread
YAY! That's a good number. My RE liked to see at least a 60% increase and you're well within that range!
Sorry the timing's lining up with last year, though. That can't be helping your nerves any. But like Heather said, hopefully nothing but good memories this year. I'm excited for you!
KUP View Thread
Glad everything's looking good! It was strange for me at first too, when I was released from my RE. I went from having appts and u/s practically every week, to being treated just like everyone else at my OB. I missed the all the extra attention my RE gave me! But it really is a good sign if they don't want to see you for another two weeks. If they were at all concerned about your pregnancy, I'm sure they'd have you come back sooner.
Hang in there. Time seems to drag by in the first tri, but your next appt will be here before you know it!View Thread
I'm beyond thrilled for you Cody!!! Have you told your DH? Can't wait to hear what your beta is tomorrow!! View Thread
Oh wow, that's so awesome!!! I really hope the lines keep getting darker and darker!!! Yay! I'm so excited and praying this is it for you! Please KUP View Thread
See Related Trying to Conceive Communities
- Pregnancy After Infertility Community
- Trying to Conceive: 12 Months, Still Trying Community
- Trying to Conceive: 6 Months, Still Trying Community
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text: SHARENET - Your Key To Investing on The JSE Securities Exchange - South Africa X What is QuickShare?To get a quick overview of a company and its recent pricing information, type in that company's share code, name or first few letters of the name. HOME SUBSCRIBERS TRADE WORKSHOPS PRODUCTS & SERVICES NEWS STOCKPICKS Contact Sharenet X - Sharenet contact details - Customer support - Customer/visitor feedback - Advertise on Sharenet - Careers @Sharenet - Other Financial Websites - More about Sharenet QuickShare Charts Basic Technical Data QuickShare LiveShare Share Performance Intraday History Warrants on CRD Download CSV CRD CSV Plus CRD Dividends News SENS Company News Analysis Quick Fundamentals Fundamentals Funds that hold CRD Broker Consensus Rank this share View Ranking Actions Trade this share Stop Loss Set Alerts Share Window Add to portfolio Enter any share name or code: General Share Information Short Name Cenrand (CRD) Long Name Central Rand Gold Ltd JSE Sector Gold Mining (1777) Delayed Prices (09/10 13:54) Sale 283 Buy 101 Sell 283 Move 0 % Move 0.00% Volume 0 Deals 0 Today's High 0 Today's Low 0 Closing Prices (08/10/2015) Close 283 High 283 Low 283 Volume 5400 P/E Ratio -1.72 Trade Cenrandnow at 0.3% Quick Fundamentals - Central Rand Gold Ltd BusinessCentral Rand Gold is engaged in a gold mining and exploration project that aims to bring profitable and sustainable gold mining back to the City of Johannesburg, bringing many benefits to the City, the communities surrounding its mining operations, its staff, its shareholders and other stakeholders. The company plans to extract all profitable gold from its resource base using appropriate mining, processing and environmentally friendly technologies. Once the mineralised areas are worked out, stabilised and rehabilitated, the land will become available for urban development.Results December 2015 Final estimated to be released on Thursday , 30 June 2016AGM Next AGM date: Friday , 05 August 2016 More Quick Fundamentals » JSE SENS News - Central Rand Gold Ltd15/09/2015CENTRAL RAND GOLD LIMITED - 2015 Interim Report 11/09/2015CENTRAL RAND GOLD LIMITED - Change of Transfer Secretary07/09/2015CENTRAL RAND GOLD LIMITED - Update on Potential Transaction Between Central Rand Gold and Asian Investors07/08/2015CENTRAL RAND GOLD LIMITED - Results of Annual General Meeting21/07/2015CENTRAL RAND GOLD LIMITED - Appointment of AdviserList all news for Cenrand » (Subs required for items older than 7 days) Share History - Central Rand Gold Ltd DateCloseHighLowVolume 08/10/2015 2832832835,40007/10/2015 259259259006/10/2015 259259259005/10/2015 259259259002/10/2015 259259259001/10/2015 259259259030/09/2015 2592592593,40029/09/2015 260260260028/09/2015 260260260025/09/2015 2602602600 More Share History » Sponsored Links Last 10 Trades of the day DatePDTPriceVolume eMail this page to me every day (Sent on all trading days at 6pm) Subject to the Sharenet Privacy Policy Quick link to this share:Sharenet JSE information, graphs quotes and prices for Central Rand Gold Ltd Welcome Contact Details Why Sharenet? Customer Support Customer/Visitor Feedback Advertise on Sharenet? Other Financial Websites More About Sharenet Trading Shares CFDs Unit Trusts Tools & Research Start a Free Portfolio View Free Portfolio Live Prices Delayed Prices Company Fundamentals Charting Java Charts CycleTrends Amibroker Market Tracker Education Stock Exchange Course Sharenet Roadshows Mobile Services Sharenet.mobi SMS Corporate Products IR & Data Feeds Premium Service Information The Sharenet Daily Heatmap Warrant Summary Sharenet Library SA Bonds/Gilts Unit Trusts IT Zone Financial Zone Resources Zone JSE text listing ShareChat Forex Currency Converter Other Services CapeFun VOIP Linux VPS Hosting Sharenet Search plugin Access Quickshare from the search box in your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser. Get it here... Facebook & Twitter Sharenet Mobile Apps RSS FeedsNewsJSE SENSSouth AfricaAfricaEuropeUSAsiaAustralasiaForexMarketsWorldSharenet BlogMarketviewsSharechatWhat is RSS? » Send e-mail to us for any enquiries or see Contact Details for phone numbers Home Terms & conditions PAIA Privacy Policy Security Notice Contact Details Market Statistics are calculated by Sharenet and are therefore not the official JSE Market Statistics. The calculation/derivation may include underlying JSE data. © 2015 SHARENET (PTY) Ltd, Cape Town, South Africa


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Gun owners need to be responsibleFebruary 09,2013
Gun owners need to be responsible
My nephew was a young fellow in grade school when he and his little cousin were coming through the summer kitchen of the old farmhouse where they lived. There were a bunch of rifles stacked in the corner. He grabbed a shotgun out of the stack and pointed it at his cousin and pulled the trigger.
No one thought there was a loaded gun in that stack but there was and one little boy lost his life. Really, two little boys lost their lives because the ongoing nightmare that the survivor lived was truly tragic.
Yes, people have the right to bear arms, but it seems to me that the gun owner must carry his share of that burden of responsibility. If you own a gun and you do not properly secure it, or even if you do properly secure it, I believe that when it has been available to a child under any circumstance, then the gun owner should receive an automatic jail sentence, and that sentence should be substantial where death is resulting.
I would not presume to write that law in this short letter, but I know that my nephew carried a very heavy burden throughout his life and the gun owner got away with only a guilty conscience. This situation has never produced justice, but a law could be written that would make the gun owner responsible, and I believe there should be a minimum sentence that would be automatic and would include anyone of whatever age or means.
With this letter I challenge our Legislature to write this law and pass it. Let Vermont be the first state to address the gun problem in a practical way. Should you do so, I would consider it an honor to the two boys involved if you would name that law The Patrick Law. Thank you.
Arnold Martin
BarreMORE IN Letters
In a recent commentary by Jeff Danziger, the shortcomings of his many Volkswagen Beetles were... Full Story
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Wicken Fen ghost walk
Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XPRoute details and mapDownload as a print friendly PDF
Route overview
Explore a fragment of the wilderness that once covered East Anglia on an eerie ghost walk across the fenland. As a nature reserve, there's lots of wildlife to look out for too. Our spooky ghost stories are taken from 'Ghosts: Mysterious tales from the National Trust' by Siân Evans.
Route details
See this step-by-step route marked on a map
- Directions
- Route
- Bus stop
- Parking
- Toilet
- Viewpoint
Start: Wicken Fen National Trust Visitor Centre, grid ref: TL563705
Take a look in the Visitor Centre to find out more about the wildlife and history of Wicken Fen. As you exit, Wicken Lode is on your right. Follow the path, keeping the water to your right. You'll pass some ash trees and Wickens Poor Fen on your left. This is common land. Traditionally local villagers had the right to collect sedge and peat from here.
Cross Monks Lode at Normans Bridge. Look out for plants like arrowhead and water lilies. Turn left after the bridge.
Show/HideLantern Men
With its dark skies, away from the intrusive lights of towns, the fens offer a truly spooky setting for your ghost walk. Eerie tales of the Lantern Men have persisted for centuries. If you wander across the fens at night you might be greeted with inexplicable lights which flit over the surface of the marshes and meres. Another more probable explanation, however, is that these lights are created by marsh gas.
Walk along Monks Lode, then turn right through the lower set of gates.
Show/HideMonk's Lode
Monk's Lode starts as a chalk spring at Landwade Hall, Newmarket. Many of the Lodes in the area were thought to be constructed by the Romans and used for transport. It is believed that Monk's Lode is so-called because it was used by the monks of Spinney Abbey, to the west of Wicken, for fishing and transport.
Note the two hides on your right. Look out for birds like wigeon, teal and shoveler in winter and lapwing and redshank in summer on the flooded fields. Bearded tit, heron and marsh harrier live here year round. You may also see woodpecker nesting in birch trees and barn owls hunting over the fen.
Show/HidePhantom Black Dog
As with other wild and remote places, such as Dartmoor, it is widely believed that a huge black dog stalks through the fens. Some even say that if you look into its eyes they turn orangey red and are as big as bike lights.
Turn right along the next path and on your right is the site of Normans Mill, originally used to drain the turf (peat) pits. The windpump is now restored on Sedge Fen. On your left, roe deer can often be spotted. This land was cultivated in the Second World War Dig for Victory campaign, but is now being restored.
Show/HideRoman legions
The area is thought to be the haunt of a long-dead Roman legion that have made brief appearances to passers-by before vanishing into thin air. Their presence here could be related to a canal route from Lincolnshire through the fens, established centuries ago by the Romans.
Note the reedbeds on your left and the many birds and insects inhabiting them. Turn right again to walk alongside Wicken Lode. There is a squeeze gap and path on the right leading to West Mere Hide, used to overlook the meres west end and the island.
Continue on to a hide which has views across the whole mere.
Cross back over Normans Bridge and return towards the Visitor Centre.
End: Wicken Fen National Trust Visitor Centre, grid ref: TL563705
In partnership with
- Trail: Walking
- Grade: Easy
- Distance: 2.75 miles (4.4km)
- Time: 1 hour
- OS Map: Landranger 154; Explorer 226
- Terrain:
Adventurers Trail: a well-signed route along wide grassy paths (can be muddy). There are many other routes at Wicken Fen, including a Boardwalk Trail, accessible for wheelchairs, all year round. See leaflet in visitor centre. Take care near waterways and ponds.
- How to get here:
By foot: 3 miles (4.8km) on footpaths to Wicken from Soham High Street
By bike: National Cycle Network route 11 passes reserve boundary
By bus: Stagecoach 12 from Cambridge, Ely and Newmarket, alight Soham High St, then walk; X9, 9 Cambridge to Ely, alight Stretham, 6 miles (9.6km)
By train: Ely station 9 miles (14.4km)
By car: 17 miles (27.4km) north-east of Cambridge via A10; 3 miles (4.8km) west of Soham, and south of Wicken just off A1123; 9 miles (14.4km) south of Ely. Parking on Lode Lane (free for National Trust members)
Contact us
- Telephone: 01353 720274
- Email: email@example.com
- Website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wicken-fen/


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Happy Good Friday! We will have a chance for a few showers and storms around later Friday afternoon and night, but they will be hit-n-miss at best. Otherwise, it will be a mostly cloudy and mild day Friday with highs in the lower 70s. The wind will shift from the northwest to the southeast and blow around 5 to 15 mph.
[Amarillo, TX]- The Amarillo Sox Baseball Club announced that an agreement has been signed with ex-big leaguer Jason Johnson.
Johnson made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 27, 1997. Johnson during his career has pitched for 8 different major league teams. Johnson's career stats are 56 wins, 100 losses, a 4.99 career era with 810 strikeouts.
Sox manager Bobby Brown says "Jason will give us a solid #1 starting pitcher and also an excellent teammate in the clubhouse".
Frank Phillips College will be hosting a health fair and blood drive on Friday April 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be held at the Center for Access and Innovation Building Room 102 at 901 Opal Street.
Eligible donors present will receive a free t-shirt and CMBC water bottle. They will also be entered to win 2 tickets (valued at $200 each) to the Jason Aldean concert on May 4 in Lubbock along with a $100 Visa gift card for travel expenses! Tickets are provided by www.myhighplains.com and Coffee Memorial Blood Center.


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Drop Down Menu
Mirage Idrocompresso
Download pdf brochure
General observations
We are offering the lever group equipped version of our Mirage , called Idrocompresso, for several years now.
Many a time we observed a certain fear for these lever machines. People often think a lever machine must be very difficult to operate, only very experienced baristas (preferably from Italian origin) can pull a decent shot, pulling those levers must be very tiring, they overheat quickly, etc. etc. All these pre-conceptions will be dealt with and thrown out of the window in the accompanying explanatory text. We`ll try to explain why and how our Mirage is surprisingly easy in use and brews a magnificent espresso with voluptuous crema time after time.
Interestingly, the levers are currently enjoying a renewed interest from baristas all over the world. So much so in fact, several manufacturers actually declare they strive to copy the technical specifics of the lever group with their pump machine.
They however focus on just one of these specific levers aspects, the pressure profile, conveniently forgetting all other, quite probably even more important, aspects.
Please do read on, we`ll explain all these aspects.
Considerations of the Idrocompresso in today`s world
The lever group is a very old system, developed end of the 1940`s, to achieve the essential of espresso: forcing hot water with high pressure through the ground coffee. Despite it being old, despite the development of pumps to raise the necessary pressure, despite the development of flat line temperature machines, the lever is still widely recognized to deliver the creamiest crema, best buttery mouthfeel, highest amount of solids, oils and fats in the cup. What`s more, these desirable benefits are easy to achieve, the lever group is simple to operate and very forgiving.
It is no wonder these machines can still be found in many tasting rooms, at roasters all over the world. In Naples, the centre of coffee in the original country of espresso,
90% of all espresso machines is equipped with levers.
The reasons for the superior extraction qualities of the lever are easy to explain.
Although it has nothing to do with the extraction process itself, there is another very strong attraction to the lever group machine. This probably even is the strongest appeal for many: the theatrical effect of these levers going up and down. A barista at full swing behind a Idrocompresso is a very exciting sight indeed.
Pure espresso drama in fact. Even to people who have never actually seen a lever machine, it almost unconsciously represents the one and only true espresso machine, the godfather of espresso preparation. Its strong artisanal character translates into the ultimate in espresso quality in people`s minds.
Combining the above with the pure simplicity of the system, the straightforward operation, ease of maintenance, it is easy to see the Idrocompresso is a vital force for today's knowledgeable barista`s and espresso connoisseurs.
Construction of the Mirage Idrocompresso lever group
In short
The levergroup consists of a large cylinder. Inside this cylinder sits a piston. When not brewing the piston sits at the bottom of the cylinder. The piston is connected by a vertical shaft to the cantilever turning mechanism on top of the cylinder. On top of the piston, around the vertical shaft, a very strong spring is installed. When the large lever is pulled downwards the piston inside the cylinder is pulled upwards and the spring gets compressed. With the piston at its highest point four holes in the cylinder wall are cleared. Water from the thermo-syphon heating system runs into the cylinder and fills up the space between coffee and underside of piston.
By releasing the lever from its lower locking position, the spring starts to push the piston down, the piston in turn forces the water through the coffee. Simultaneously the lever slowly returns to its upward resting position. When the piston has arrived at its lower resting position the extraction has stopped automatically and the lever has returned to its original starting position.
In detail
The Mirage Idrocompresso group consists of a lower cylinder part, attached to the frame of the machine and a removable upper moving part.