text:
From the same company that brought you Beyblade, comes Battle B-Daman! The story takes place in the B-DaWorld, which is a world where spherical objects have special powers. Ever since ancient times, people in the B-DaWorld have been using B-Daman marble-shooters in sport and to resolve conflicts. The storyline revolves around the young boy, Yamato Delgado, who has been bestowed the most powerful B-Daman, Cobalt Blade. Yamato, who was raised by cats until he was five, has only dreamt of playing the official sport of the B-DaWorld, B-Daman. Little does he know that all of that is about to change. Because Yamato was chosen to receive the legendary B-Daman, Cobalt Blade, only he has the skills needed to harness its power. Join Yamato and his friends on their journey as they learn the sport of B-Daman, the value of friendship, and have lots of fun along the way. And perhaps even be able to save the B-DaWorld from the e
April 2005 - July 2005
January 2005 - December 2005
TheTVDB is an open database, meaning that if information or images are missing, you're welcome to log in and add the information yourself.


text:
KDE 2.0 is Out!
It's official! KDE 2.0 has been released! Run, don't walk, to your nearest mirror or go directly to the source.
New KDE Release Is a Major Advance for Linux®
Next Generation of Leading Desktop for Linux®
October 23, 2000 (The INTERNET). The KDE
"With the experience gained from developing KDE 1, we
"KDE 2.0 is an important release," stated Ransom Love, president and
"SuSE Linux views KDE 2 as one of
"As Linux-Mandrake focuses on making Linux easy to use, we are very
"Corel has had a long, successful relationship with the KDE project, and
Kopernicus includes the core KDE libraries,
All of KDE 2.0 is available for free under an Open Source license.
More information about KDE 2 is available in a
KDE 2: The K Desktop Environment.
KDE 2 also ships with the highly anticipated initial release of
In addition, KIO's network transparency offers
KDE 2 introduces a new multimedia architecture based on aRts, the Analog Realtime Synthesizer. ARts enables
KDE's customizability touches every
Besides the exceptional compliance with Internet and file-sharing standards
KDE 2: The K Development Environment.
DCOP is a client-to-client communications
KIO implements application I/O in a separate
KParts, KDE 2's component object model, allows
The XML GUI employs XML to create and position
KHTML is an HTML 4.0 compliant rendering
Downloading and Compiling Kopernicus
The source packages for Kopernicus are available for free download at
For further instructions on compiling and installing Kopernicus, please consult
Installing Binary Packages
Some distributors choose to provide binary packages of KDE for certain
Kopernicus requires qt-2.2.1, the free version of which is available
At the time of this release, pre-compiled packages are available for:
Please check the servers periodically for pre-compiled packages for other
About KDE
KDE is an independent, collaborative project by hundreds of developers
For more information about KDE, please visit KDE's
Press Contacts:
United States:
Kurt Granroth
Europe (French and English):
David Faure
Europe (English and German):
Martin Konold
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
I have opted to go with compiling the KDE 2 sources for some time for two reasons. One is that I wanted a pristeen KDE 2 without the debian menus and two is that I think installing KDE 2 in /usr is not rational. During the beta I have had to wipe and re-install which is easy unless you have used /usr for your $KDEDIR. I also have a fully functional KDE 1 should I need it.
Find my Mandrake upgrade instructions for prepping Mandrake and compiiling KDE 2
By Eric Laffoon at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Why not compile from source? This is really easy,
and you can keep your KDE1 in parallel
(OK, you have to tweak the login procedure a bit, but that´s not a great hassle ...)
By Oliver Bausinger at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
By Unleaded at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Congratulations from Sweden! It's not easy to decide when to release a big beast like this, there's always something to improve. But kudos to the development team, you have been professional working with a freeze for a long time, in order to get at stable version out. Boring I know, but necessary. Now comes the reward! Millions of users will start using KDE 2.0 in the coming months.
By matt at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
And one more thing: A very well written press release! Thanks to whoever worked on it.
By matt at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Agreed. Thanks goes mostly to Andreas Pour who did the initial write up and then slaved hours over it till everyone was happy. :)
Not an easy job considering how much has gone into KDE2.
By Navindra Umanee at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Mandrake RPMs and exception handling
Does anybody know if the Mandrake RPMs (or any others for that matter) have been compiled with exceptions turned off (specifically for Qt)?
It makes an immense difference in performance and memory footprint.
So far, I've had to get the source tarballs for RC2 and compile with no-exception myself.
By Gordon Tyler at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Congratulations from Spain to the KDE team!!!
Thanks for the big effort, for your patience and for making *freely* available this new release of the *best* graphic environment for Linux/UNIX...
...Helixcode, take note of this!!!!!...
By Djinn at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Additional mirrors?
Are there any other (temporarily) unofficial anonymous mirrors out there? Please post the location! The official mirrors are either too loaded, or not yet updated.
By King Egypt at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: Additional mirrors?
I don't know 'unofficial' sites, but I downloaded the 2.0 release from the following site, located in Germany: ftp.de.kde.org/stable/2.0/distribution/deb/Debian/dists/potato/binary-i386/
I downloaded the entire distribution at 5K/sec with a 56K modem (this site is less overloaded than the official server).
By Djinn at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Additional mirrors?
Are there any other unofficial anonymous mirrors out there? Please post the location, as the official mirrors are either too loaded, or not yet updated.
If youve got the server space and are able to handle the hits, help spreading these goodies... ;-)
By King Egypt at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Solaris binaries?
Will there be any Solaris binaries available?
By Mats Eriksson at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: Solaris binaries?
Where can I find lates solaris binries for KDE ?
By Fred at Wed, 2000/11/01 - 6:00am
Re: Solaris binaries?
They've ported KDE in the past to Solaris, and
They haven't released any KDE binaries yet though.
By bobblehed at Mon, 2000/11/06 - 6:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Thank you, the KDE team, for the great work !!!
Take you biggest piece of cake ! ;^)
Best regards from Lithuania,
By Arturas B. at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
"Install KDE 2 Binaries" is out of date
Please take down http://www.kde.org/install-binaries.html or update it.
The "Finding and Downloading Binaries" section is wrong. The "Installing Binaries" section is incomplete. It does not refer to the README files for the different distributions and it does not say how to start KDE 2.0. It does not say what to do to kdm to allow logins using kde2.
If you don't believe me, check for yourself.
Please also examine http://www.kde.org/kde1-and-kde2.html
For more details, see my bug report 10102
By Paul Leopardi at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Now KDE 2.0 is out, let's update and correct the F
Yes, I know it is too early and there aren't enough questions, but the FAQ already contains a section called "KDE 2.0 installation instructions".
This section does not refer to /opt/kde2 as the directory where some or all distrbutions which use RPMs will install KDE 2.0. For example, SuSE RPMs have installed into /opt/kde2 all the way up to RC2 and I expect KDE 2.0 to also install into /opt/kde2, leaving the old KDE and QT alone.
Am I wrong and do the RPMS now install KDE 2.0
By Paul Leopardi at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
The Kool Desktop Environment !!!
I thank you all for the fabulous job done.
The more I know about the KDE people and the KDE project, the greater is my respect and admiration. After the last "unpleasant" events, news, articles that surrounded the project, once again, the KDE team kept the right attitude. I've got a sentence that shows this perfectly:
"The one who knows, is humble by nature".
KDE is more than a wonderful project, it's an extraordinary human adventure. Thanks again.
By Philozen at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Kool, Klean, Klever, Kute, full of Killer-apps, KDE is promised to earn a Kolossal share on workstation. Kongratulations to all who've help this project. Definetly the best thing happened to Linux (after having the kernel GPL according to Linus).
By GeZ at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
By Manuel Román at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Now that KDE 2.0 is out.. What next? Will KDE 2.0 vs Gnome be a legitimate fight? How many permutations of desktop enviroments does there need to be? Linux needs some focus -- luckily it seems liek KDE and Gnome are becoming more standard and those other desktop environments are becoming less popular... Now if there were less releases of Linux distributions...
By Michael at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0
We *do* need more than *one* desktop environment and more than *one* distro. What's needed is standards. There's a lot of work going on to standardize various aspects of KDE and GNOME so they can interoperate. As for distros, they should strive to follow the file system standard (www.linuxbase.org) and other standards that lessen the fundamental differences between distros.
By Haakon Nilsen at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Debian Potato Packages
Dear Folks,
thanks for your great Work!
I read that Ivan Moore (?!) has taken the KDE Linux Packaging Project down, because he was offended by some Debian users. Well, this is a pity.
But as long as these unstable packages are there in the stable tree people like me might think that they ARE indeed the stable version and download the entire 80 megs, only to be very disappointed. I would suggest that you rather remove all the files and replace them by a README that explains why they are not there.
Maybe then someone else will take up the job and package KDE 2 for potato...
(Not me. I've got no clue how to build Debian packages.)
By Johannes Rohr at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: Debian Potato Packages
Anybody know more about these potato packages?
I had heared that they are the full final version
Anybody baked a correct set of potato packages yet?
By steve at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Re: Debian Potato Packages
It would also be nice if they would put a Packages.gz file in the appropriate Debian directories so that we could just apt-get the packages.
By mcking at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Re: Debian Potato Packages
Just wanted to comment that I got the potato
Just add
deb http://kde.tdyc.com potato kde2
to your /etc/apt/sources.list and run dselect.
Ivan recommends getting them this way, apparently
Good work Ivan.
By steve at Fri, 2000/10/27 - 5:00am
Re: Debian Potato Packages
Hm, after writing the above message I have found out that my problem is actually a different one:
The debs on ftp.kde.org are indeed the stable version, but apt refused to install them because they depend on a libqt version which is not availabe. They want libqt >= .2.2.1-5 but the packaged version on ftp.kde.org is 2.2.1-4-potato-2.
By Johannes Rohr at Sat, 2000/10/28 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
What a fantastic job that you guys did!!! I really love the new version.
By Jochen Weiss at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Now I hope they completly redesign the kde.org homepage.
By Iuri Fiedoruk at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
KDE.com needs a new look. It loks and feels terrible (subjectively)
By Ezz at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
They are working on a new version of the website. I don't know when they will upload it to their official server, but for now you can see it here:
By jliechty at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Yes, but is this KDE.org or KDE.com?
KDE.com needs redesign to my mind.
By Ezz at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
By Gunnar Johannesmeyer at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
It is really great to see KDE2 finally available for public consumption. This is a milestone achievement.
I see that the RPMs are only available for RH7.0 is anyone building them for RH6.2, or will I have to compile the source myself?
By Antonie Fourie at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Bero told me he's doing the rpms, but seems
By Iuri Fiedoruk at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Hello out there...
The mirrors are behind schedule. Not to be a major whiner here, but HEY... this is a MAJOR release
By Jeff Dooley at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
thanks, thanks and thanks once more! that's by far the BEST news of the year! finally... good bye, bash =)
By Divine at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Lets all rejoice, and say thanks to the KDE contributors.!!! KDE 1 was great, I cant wait to go home and download KDE2 with my measly connection.
By Mike Masseo at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
i have corel linux 1.0 and red hat 6.1,
By an at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
RH7 qt-x11-2.2.1 package lost
Where is the qt package for the redhat 7?
By Unai Uribarri at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: RH7 qt-x11-2.2.1 package lost
The only qt.... packages I can find for RH are for Rawhide, not RH7. Don't go loading the 2.2.1 sources and expect them to compile right -- they won't. RH7 uses a bogus developement gcc, as pointed out by Trolltech. The solution, if you want to build it yourself is to use the "kgcc" included with RH7. Set CC in your environment to kgcc and CXX to "kgcc -x c++" Feh. Took me a day to figure this out. The configure line looks like this:
./configure -gif -thread -system-jpeg -platform redhat-kgcc
By Marcie at Fri, 2000/10/27 - 5:00am
Re: RH7 qt-x11-2.2.1 package lost
Whups! Forgot the platform file. /usr/local/qt/configs/redhat-kgcc-shared (or whatever) should look just like linux-g++-shared, with the first few lines reading:
# Compiling
By Marcie at Fri, 2000/10/27 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
KDE 2 is great, but how does it must be installed from the RPM's on Red Hat 7.0 to avoid dependencies problems.
By Eduardo Gonzalez at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
By Martin at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Re: KDE 2.0 is Out!
Great job guys, I guess there are a few bugs with kcontrol and kdm, but it shouldn't be a problem for you guys to fix them. KDE 2 is GREAT !!!.
By Jesús Antonio at Tue, 2000/10/24 - 5:00am
Well, sorry but it does not work that well over ..
here. Checked autoconf, egcs and automake versions.
By Jarek Luberek at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Re: Well, sorry but it does not work that well over ..
There seems to be something very broken in your installation. I've used 2.0 for a day now, and it works fine. I'm currently reading news with KNode without any problems at all.
By jannek at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
This is the most exciting things to me..and will well expressed among my friends to which I am introducing linux/KDE.
Congrats again from Weihai, China.
By Coupon at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
extra Mandrake RPMs
It'd be nice if there was an ftp directory with all the extra RPMs Mandrake 7.1 needs to install kde 2, like Qt. Anyone know of one? Without it, everyone has to go do the search..
By Mark at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am
Can't start KDE from linux shell in Redhat 6.1
Hi all,
Not mean to ruin the party but I don't know why I can't start KDE2 from linux shell. I think I have done all the instructions for compiling and installing the from the sources.
By jamal at Wed, 2000/10/25 - 5:00am

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Monte Carlo Masters to set up a potential semifinal match with eight-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Wawrinka made short work of second-seeded Andy Murray on Thursday and looked well on the way to another win as he held at love to win the first set, clinching it with an ace on the second serve.
But Tsonga took a 4-1 lead in the second set, and the Frenchman tied the match on serve after saving two break points.
Tsonga got the crucial break in the third with a forehand pass down line and held for 5-3.
Wawrinka saved three match points in his next service game, before Tsonga sealed victory with an ace.
Later, Nadal will play Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.


text:
A new TEEB -The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity- initiative for Water and Wetlands will be launched at the UN's Summit on Sustainable Development on 15 June in Rio, Brazil.
The new TEEB for Water and Wetlands aims to utilise the TEEB approach to generate a better understanding of the value of ecosystem services provided by water and wetlands, such as freshwater supply, food, building materials, risk reduction and flood control, groundwater recharge, biodiversity, climate change adaptation and more. IUCN's Water and Nature Initiative (WANI) contributed content and funding for the new study
"Following up on the great interest in natural infrastructure after the 6th World Water Forum, WANI is supporting the TEEB study on the importance of nature as infrastructure. It will pull together the evidence base needed for building strategies for investment in nature as water infrastructure, that can be accessible and used by policy-makers", said Mark Smith, Director IUCN Global Water Programme.
The initiative forms part of the major TEEB study - an international initiative to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity, to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw together expertise from the fields of science, economics and policy to enable practical actions moving forward.
Placing an economic value on ecosystem services provided by water and wetlands raises awareness and recognition about the valuable and indispensible services that nature provides. The work was initiated by the Ramsar Convention and its Scientific and Technical Review Panel, and supported by the Norwegian, Swiss and Finnish governments, and IUCN.
The Ramsar Secretariat is organizing a special event for the launch at the Rio+20 Summit which will take place in RioCentro, Brazil on 15 June. The event will mark the official launch of the TEEB Water and Wetlands initiative and seek input and engagement into the process.
More information:
- IUCN Briefing: Investing in Ecosystems as Water Infrastructure [PDF]
- Visit the Rio+20 website
- Ramsar TEEB Side Event [PDF]
- Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Pakistan Friday lauded President Obama's stance on the use of drones inside the country, saying its troops had "borne the brunt" of fighting terrorism.
The government said it appreciated Obama's "acknowledgement and recognition of the sacrifices made by Pakistan" during the president's speech on counterterrorism, CNN reported.
"Pakistani troops have borne the brunt and given the ultimate sacrifice" in the fight against terror groups, the government said.
Outlining U.S. counterterrorism policy Thursday, Obama said "force alone cannot make us safer" in the battle against terrorism.
That battle has involved extensive use of U.S. drones to strike at terrorists and their camps inside Pakistan. Many civilians are reported to have been killed in the attacks.
Drones are a necessary part of the fight against terrorism, Obama said, but their use must be tempered as the United States works to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan after the U.S. raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed.
The Pakistani government said it welcomes "the resolve expressed by President Obama to continue efforts to rebuild the important bilateral relationship with Pakistan, which we believe should be based on the mutual respect and mutually of benefit."


text:
Brenner Children's pediatric emergency department has moved back to its original location. Learn more
In order to help protect patients, family members and health care workers from the spread of COVID-19, no visitors are allowed at any of Wake Forest Baptist Health's outpatient or inpatient facilities, except in certain situations.Learn moreMore COVID-19 Updates
New parents eagerly look forward to bringing their baby home, so it can be frightening if your newborn needs to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). At first it may seem like a foreign place, but understanding the NICU and what goes on there can help ease your fears and let you better help your baby.
If your baby is sent to the NICU, your first question probably will be: What is this place? With equipment designed for infants and medical staff specially trained in newborn care, the NICU is an intensive care unit created for sick newborns who need specialized treatment.
Sometimes the NICU is also called:
Babies who need to go to the unit are often admitted within the first 24 hours after birth. Babies may be sent to the NICU if:
Only very young babies (or babies with a condition linked to being born prematurely) are treated in the NICU — they're usually infants who haven't gone home from the hospital yet after being born. How long they'll stay in the unit depends on the severity of their condition.
Although many people help care for babies in the NICU, those most responsible for day-to-day care are nurses. You might come to know them very well and rely on them for information and reassurances about your baby.
The nurses you might interact with include a:
Other people who may help care for your baby include:
To better help you help your baby during a stay in intensive care, it's wise to get as much information as possible about what to expect. If you have questions, talk to the neonatologist or the nurses.
The nurses see your baby every day, so they can give you frequent updates on your little one. The plan of care for your infant is discussed on "rounds" every day. Nurses can help you to understand the diagnosis and treatment plan, but it's also helpful to discuss these issues with other members of the medical team, including:
All of these health professionals are involved in deciding the best plan of care for your baby.
You might want to ask the neonatologist and other doctors and/or the nurses:
You also may want to talk to the nurses in more detail about your baby's daily care and what to expect when you spend time with your little one. Also, ask about the visiting schedule and any rules of the NICU so you'll know which family members can see the baby and when.
You might want to ask the social worker:
Walking into the NICU can feel like stepping onto another planet — the environment is probably unlike anything you've experienced. The unit is often busy, with lots of activity, people moving around, and beeping monitors.
Once settled in the unit, your baby will receive care tailored to your little one's specific needs. Most NICU babies are on special feeding schedules, depending on their level of development or any problems they have. For instance, some infants are too premature or too sick to eat on their own, so they have a feeding tube that runs through the mouth and into the stomach. Others need high-calorie diets to help them grow.
Medications are another crucial part of NICU care — your child may take antibiotics, medicine to stimulate breathing, or something to help his or her blood pressure or heart rate, for example.
To ensure that your baby's care stays on track, the doctors also will order various tests, possibly including periodic blood and urine tests, X-rays, and ultrasounds. For infants whose care is complicated and involved, the doctors or nurses will place a line into an artery or vein so they can draw blood without having to repeatedly stick the baby.
NICU staff try to make the infants' stay in the nursery as comforting as possible for the infant as well as the families. The nurses can explain what all of the monitors, tubes, tests, and machines do, which will go a long way toward demystifying the NICU.
Here's a brief look at what some of the unfamiliar equipment does and how it may help your baby, depending on your little one's condition and diagnosis:
All the machines may seem overwhelming, but don't let them keep you from interacting with your baby. Bonding with a baby in the NICU is as important as bonding with any newborn, sometimes even more so. You simply have to learn the best way to do it.
Parents can visit and spend time with their NICU babies. The number of people who can visit a baby in the NICU may be limited, but parents are usually allowed to stay most of the day (except when the medical team performs its daily examination and evaluation). Ask the NICU's social worker about what accommodations are available for parents — cots, recliners, or nearby housing such as through the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Other family members can visit only during specified hours and only a few at a time. And siblings may not be allowed in the NICU because children have a greater risk of passing on an infection. Check with the hospital staff about which family members can see your baby.
Depending on how sick your child is, you might be able to hold your little one even if he or she is on a ventilator or has an IV. If the doctors feel that would be too much for your baby, you can still hold his or her hand, stroke his or her head, and talk and sing to him or her. A gentle, consistent touch will be the most reassuring.
But for some very premature infants, touching is extremely stressful (if they were still in the womb, they would have little tactile stimulation). In these cases, doctors may suggest that you minimize physical contact but still spend as much time as possible with your baby. Check with the doctor or nurses to figure out how much and what type of contact is best.
A mother who can hold her baby might be able to breastfeed or pump milk and bottle-feed. Most NICUs have screens to allow mothers to breastfeed their babies at the bedside.
Kangaroo care (or skin-to-skin contact) is another option to help you forge a bond with your new baby. Here's how it works:
Doctors and researchers have suggested that skin-to-skin contact can improve babies' recovery time and help them leave the NICU sooner.
But the best way for parents to help their babies in the NICU is to be there for them and learn to read their behaviors. This will help you to figure out:
Although you want to interact with your infant, you also want to allow periods of undisturbed sleep. Let your baby set the pace for your time together and you'll both get more out of it.
Here are some basics to help make the NICU a little less mysterious:
Everyone who comes into the NICU must wash their hands when they enter. (There will be a sink and antibacterial soap in the room and near the entrance of the NICU.) This is a crucial part of keeping the NICU environment as clean as possible so the babies won't be exposed to infections. Some units require visitors to wear hospital gowns, particularly if a child is in isolation. You may also need to wear gloves and a mask.
Ask the nurses what you're allowed to bring into the unit — the risk of infection limits what you can leave with your baby. Some parents tape pictures to the isolette or decorate the incubator. If you want to give your child a stuffed toy, the staff may wrap it in plastic first.
When you're in the NICU, keep noise and bright lights to a minimum. Try not to bang things on the isolette or infant warmer, talk in a loud voice, or slam doors. If you're concerned about light, ask a nurse if you can drape a blanket partially over the isolette. Most important, let your baby sleep when he or she needs to.
The time when your baby is in the NICU can be stressful — you may be away from your friends and family, including any other children you may have. Your life may seem like it's been turned upside down as you wait for the day when your baby may be able to leave with you.
You may feel like you eat, sleep, and breathe the NICU 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you might feel especially confused and overwhelmed if your baby was unexpectedly born prematurely and/or if the NICU is located far away from your home and your usual support system.
As hard as it may be sometimes, it's important to pay attention to your own needs and those of the rest of the family, particularly other kids. Make plans for a weekly family activity, and sit down together and talk about how this experience makes you feel. Doing something for yourself can be as simple as taking a relaxing bath, going for a walk, or reading a favorite book for an hour.
You also can turn to other parents in the NICU for comfort. They'll likely know better than anyone what you're feeling. Also be sure to talk to the NICU's social worker about parents' support groups, where you can share your feelings, worries, and triumphs together. The hospital's chaplain also might be able to provide you with support and even a shoulder to cry on.
When you take care of yourself, you'll be more rested and better prepared to take care of your baby. But that care doesn't have to center on your infant's illness. Enjoy your new baby, spend time together, and get to know your little one.
Your baby's NICU stay can be difficult, but also rewarding as you watch your little one grow and progress day after day.
Reviewed by: Jay S. Greenspan, MD
Date reviewed: October 2014
© 2019 Brenner | Site Policies & Statements
The information on this Website is for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. If you have a medical problem or a health-related question, consult your physician or call Health On-Call at 336-716-2255 or 1-800-446-2255.


text:
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Walk like a king and be a perfect doormat
I was young when I joined the organization. I was vulnerable, full of hopes, naïve, gullible, enthusiastic, influentiable, impressionable. I had that adolescent arrogance that made me believe we could change the world. My psyque was probably not even strongly developed yet. I believed in helping others, wished for a better world and loved knowledge. I was the perfect target.
My family was all along against me being part of the organization, and worse, giving my life to it. SSRS said to me once, "Have compassion for them, pray for them", as if they were loosers who missed out the chance of being on the path. AoL adults would then remind me how lucky I was for serving a guru at such a young age (though curiously, they would not encourage their own children to follow my steps). Thus, I disregarded every warning my family gave me because they were "not in the knowledge". Instead, I listened to the guru and my fellow senior teachers/friends.
Even when I write this, I laugh at myself. I actually listened to "adults" who obviously have serious psychological problems and who, in different ways and reasons, stopped growing at some early point in life because of some dysfunctional story, or fled from "the world", relying on spirituality as an ego booster. Time passing by is not an indication one grows. I have met 40 year olds going into 14 and 65 year olds going into 17. I once looked up to those people and thought that, as my seniors, in age and spiritual experience, they knew better. The fool leading the fool.
Few years after joining the organization, I lived enough unethical situations that affected me personally and made me want to leave. I struggled with the devotion and commitment I felt for him, and the respect and conviction I had for my values. Senior teachers would then corner me with the "should and should not" script.
Basically, it was all just a sign of low prana, lack of faith we all go through, to make us strong, get rid of our egos. "The path is only for the brave ones", "the amount of doubt you have equals the amount of faith you have, so when you have doubts, realize how much faith you have". If I was angry, I should not be angry, "anger is not good for you, observe the sensation, sit for hollow and empties, bow down, surrender to the Guru, chant." If I thought SSRS did something wrong, "he is doing it for your growth, he is a satguru, he is showing you the way by creating that situation, he wants the best for you, he is taking you to the next step." If I wanted to say anything about it, "you are being vindictive, observe your violence."
One could never win nor validate oneself. The one abused was turned into the aggressor. Therefore, what was extended and deepened instead was the condition for abuse until one finally regarded it as normal, acceptable, spiritual. SSRS talked about surrender but he really wanted us to succumb.
I can almost hear my basic course teacher if she found out about this blog: "revenge is not good." Revenge is so not part of my personality and not at all the goal of this blog. And if I was once angry, so what? It is part of the process of recovery and healing. I am real: bones and flesh real. She is also a victim of abuse and has made abuse into something spiritual. Realizing the contrary would be too much to handle. Actually, recognizing and admitting one belonged to a cult is a big load that comes with shame and appears to disqualify everything one did for so long.
If I had the chance to talk with her today, I'd tell her how much she helped me, and how much she deeply screwed me. Sadly, I see that everything she did was for herself. She actually hid in the spiritual path to feel superior, to hide her feelings of insecurity, failures and inadequacy. As long as she had someone to save, she was somebody. She had the best of all intentions but could not see she was blind. Someone who had removed herself from the world for so many decades and who has difficulties surviving without belonging to a "spiritual cult", was a senior teacher who trained and led young people. All her advises only prepared us for more abuse. She taught me that if I was slapped, I should be grateful. Though I see the beauty of that knowledge I am sure it does not mean, "Walk like a king and be a perfect doormat" (as in Ravishankar's "Walk like a king and be a perfect servant").
Loving oneself, learning to respect oneself, learning to stand up for oneself and be respected are crucial in growing up strong and healthy (You see, my basic course teacher and some swami would say that was my ego speaking).
I know my teacher meant well. Today I recon she is emotionally, psychologically and spiritually crippled. She influenced many young people like me. We all looked up to her. More than one felt guilty about something after being with her because she had so many concepts, shoulds and should nots.
Being in a spiritual path does not make one better than others nor does it mean one truly works on oneself. One thing I know about AoL is noone really works on him/herself. We thought we did. The spiritual arrogance one acquires is such that AoLers believe doing kriya and kissing the guru's feet automatically puts one above everyone and everything else.
I am today allergic to any unsolicited advise, specially in a condescending way. Often people in spiritual paths have the bad habit of thinking they know better. They think they know what advise you need, what you are really feeling that you are not aware of, what you still have not done. The obnoxious "I know for your better good." Needless to mention, often the advises go around the leitmotif "be forgiving, be compassionate, do not be angry, let go, move on, etc." Whereas there is truth in it, one cannot deny the abuse and the array of feelings that come with it. Imagine what a rape victim would feel if you tell him/her right after the attack, "forgive, be compassionate, don't be angry, it was your karma, you must have done something bad some other life time, let go." Just imagine!
I do not need to do anything but feel what I feel and be myself. That is the only thing I must do. Being angry is just as part of life as anything else. It does not make me worse. It is what it is at that moment and time takes care of it. After all, aren't opposite values complimentary? Suppressing negative emotions is the emptiest spiritual mood making I know that turns people into arrogant robots. Being in a spiritual path does not mean you don't feel negative emotions anymore. A spiritual education should teach you negative emotions are part of life and how to handle them, not that you should not feel them, or that feeling them is not OK, or that by meditating you will never have them again.
I also once oscillated from being a victim of abuse to being an abusive arrogant robot in the name of spirituality. Sadly, in AoL we thought spirituality was enrolling people to the course, creating devotion in people for SSRS and faking a smile at all times – "fake it until you make it." Meditating, breathing, having a guru, chanting mantras, doing yoga, being vegetarian, doing "seva" are not signs of spirituality. Spirituality is not about the activities you do but about how you act and where the action stems from. Spirituality is not about not feeling any negative emotions. Spirituality is not in the shoulds and should nots, it is about how real you are to yourself, in life and to the world.
I dropped the habit of telling anyone what and how they should feel and do, or thinking I know what the other feels and should do. More importantly, I also dropped the habit of telling myself what I should or should not. Where there is a "should", I learned, I lose my authenticity and my freedom.
I no longer want to be a doormat.
32 comments:
You really shouldn't be writing this sort of thing...
- January 2, 2010 at 1:39 PM
KLIM, beautifully written. Chuck II..your point? Are you afraid of the truth, Chuck II? My experience with AoL was psychologically abusive. I told ALL of my non-AoL friends about my experiences and they agreed the organization had problems. I told my AoL friends about the treatment and they said the problem was me. They problem would have been me if I stayed with that group. KLIM..I am such a fan and trust all will be well with you.
- January 2, 2010 at 5:52 PM
- John M. Knapp, LMSW said...
Thank you, Klim, for writing this. And especially for suggesting I read this.
I am so inspired by your fearlessness -- and your ability to "go there."
The sheer numbers of your readers tells me that you are touching so many lives.
If this is what anger brings, bring it! Jai Anger!
- January 2, 2010 at 7:31 PM
"I dropped the habit of telling anyone what and how they should feel and do, or thinking I know what the other feels and should do."
In AOL context or Not this is a valid statement..
- January 2, 2010 at 9:32 PM
- AoL-Free said...
"I told ALL of my non-AoL friends about my experiences and they agreed the organization had problems. I told my AoL friends about the treatment and they said the problem was me."
Anon makes a very good point here. This is such an important reference for all of us ex members and those in doubt. The problem is when you get so involved you no longer have non-AoL friends to relate to, or when you have been convinced whatever non-AoL people have to say is not out of knowledge, thus, they are wrong. I wished I had this wisdom and self-confidence back then. Yet it's never too late! :-) Bravo to you!
John, thank you. Jai to life, freedom and truth!
Anon 9:32 PM: you are so right!
Chuck II: hahaaa, got your joke. :-)
- January 3, 2010 at 11:43 AM
- CHUCK said...
I don't know this here Chuck II. I declare myself to be the one and only true Chuck! All other Chucks are hereby impostitators! I have secureed for myself the top Chuck spot and it is mighty lonely up in here! Fact is yours truly is so alone on the mountain of Chuck that even I ain't here!
Keep up yore good work, KLIM my friend!
- January 3, 2010 at 2:33 PM
Thanks Klim for this nice blog. The instinctive reaction of AOL people on any criticism is to label the critics as stressed and low prana. I was travelling with a senior AOL teacher once and showed him an article which did not talk kindly of AOLs seva and called it sham. The teacher's immediate reaction was that the author of the article is leading a pathetic life filled with sadness, his family life is screwed up and so on. I heard this same kind of thing from other AOL teachers. It was obvious thay these people have been very badly brainwashed. They are quick to judge and pounce on people with their same cliched response. The holier than thou attitude have messed these people very badly. They seriously need some theraphy. I hope this website will help AOLers to understand themselves and live life freely.
- January 4, 2010 at 1:40 AM
Your blog makes me wonder how much agitation,frustation u have deep inside..
Wrote 25 posts in a single month..
Shows how restless u r now :)
Restless to show to the world that it is a fraud org
But tell me,u urself were a hard core follower few years back..
In that state of mind,would these words affect U???
No na :)
U have nice writing skills..write something beautiful...
Watever happened with u had an intense impression on U.. that one can easily make out :)
U said that U wasted so many years working with the organisation..
then why do u want to waste anthr so many years talking about it??
Lots of love n care
:) :) n smiles too :)
U r a Guruholic n i feel u'll always be :)
- January 4, 2010 at 7:08 AM
U said that if even one person fled away from the org,ur purpose wud be served :)
But U knw,js luk deep inside..din u learn nethng wn u were wrkin there..
U learnt smthn n loved that, that is why u devoted ur life for the cause..
If it was so,trust me the purpose of the Guru is also complete n fulfilled..
U knw better :)
For u r a Guruholic n am still on my way ;)Trying to be a Guruholic :)
Guru is for our own sake not for HIM...
Love n Care :)
Nice blog waise :)
Wonder why u still call him SRI SRI n not just Ravishankar??
Still there's a lot of love n respect deep inside :) ;)
Jus a guess........... :)
- January 4, 2010 at 7:17 AM
Kept thinking about wat I read in ur blog :)
Lot of sattva (positive energy) u have got, u alng with ur thoughts kept cmin in my thoughts :)...can figure out that u did a lot of meditation :)
After reading ur blog, felt that a part of me which is lil repentful about what happened has written the blog..
U must have heard from Him so many times that everybody is a part of U..
Jus different names and forms :)
I had heard this before many-a-times, read it in the holy books.. but experienced it only after joining AOL..
If we keep Sri Sri aside, AOL courses teach us about meditation..
which is worth..
Sudarshan Kriya as I read in this blog or dont know which blog is a nicely packaged pranayama or watever..But isnt it amazing why we people cant js close our eyes (as Sri Sri did) n come up with another stronger n beautiful breathing technique??
A technique which makes people lighter, happier n chnges their perspective of looking at things as soon as they open their eyes, awakens their humanity, makes thm aware of the divinity within n around (Jus lyk sudarshan kriya or even better :) )
Devising a technique like this requires awareness of the consciousness..which I can see in Him only in our case :)
SERVICE, this also I learnt there only..Hw one can be useful for others selflessly :)
SATSANG makes u so free n makes u just let go of everything u are holding on to...
A much better n beautiful substitutes for discotheques :)
I feel if anyone js takes this much also from the course..no need of any Guru or anyone else.. :)
For there is no difference between Guru,God n Self.. Guru is just a third person taking us from second person (God) to First person(Self)..
He's not at all required if u are aware of the divinity dwelling within u..
I feel that u left AOL because of some broken expectations..
Expectations about how a Guru should be.. how he should behave or watever :)
If we keep the Guru thng aside even u wud agree that the courses are gud n bring about a gud transformation if done sincerely :)
In this world when we charge money for everything...why not for this?
A bachelor's degree which does no gud to U takes about $5000 then why not this??
Its far far better n interesting than any other professional course...
Jus because this is spiritual :)
Spiritual things shudnt involve monetary things..Right ???
U learnt a lot of things out there that I cud sense n feel while I was reading ur blog :)
It was jus the same energy but directed other ways round :)
N believe me, u have a lot of devotion.. for whom??
Dat U guess :)
came to know about ur blog through an AOL blog where u had commented to display the link... :)
N so lovingly they displayed ur comment for U belong to them, to me n to this World :)
Loved talking to U..loved reading ur blog :)
Wud like to read the next post
Felt like one part of my existence was talking to the another.. :)
Feel so connected to U..
Happy n Joyful Living :)
- January 4, 2010 at 8:28 AM
- AoL-Free said...
Anon 4/1 7:08 AM
Dear, haha! NO. The fact I posted them in the course of 2, 3 months, does not mean I wrote them all then. I've been writing for a long long time, and, if you were not so restless, you would have realized it is the contribution of a few people, not just mine. Suggestion from a guruholic? Stop reading this blog. Your guru does not like undivided attention.
- January 4, 2010 at 10:08 AM
You seem to know a lot more about my Guru than me....
Impressions are real deep :)
My Guru doesnot crib for attention :)
There are millions out there to attend him....
N thanks for calling me ha ha ha....
:) :)
Loads of love....n smiles :)
N I wouldnt stop reading for m already in love with ur blog :)
N intelligence is to continue doing watever u love...my Present n ur Ex-Guru says :)
Happy n Joyful Living KLIM :)
- January 4, 2010 at 12:02 PM
- Prairie Princess said...
Anonymous of Jan4,if you want to see restless, feverish behavior just look at the "seva" of AoL, whether for courses or for something purportedly outside the organization. People run around like they are doing meth, and for what purpose? Many of these so-called seva activities are done more thoroughly by other organizations that do not want to co-opt people into the AoL way of thinking. And, speaking of senior teachers, most of them are so psychologically unhealthy Ravi is doing the world a favor by keeping them off the streets. What a collection of egotistical losers.
KLIM, bless you. You are telling the unvarnished truth and helping people heal from a sick. sick cult.
Anon Jan4, when you grow out of illusion and wish to heal, this group will be here for you. In the meantime, good luck with that.
- January 4, 2010 at 12:46 PM
AOL and Yes+ is yet another large group awareness training program/self help organization. It does have cultish tendencies, with commonly used phrases like "i belong to you," or "Yes+ is your family."
I've had experience with the yes+ basic course, and in my unbiased opinion, it was alot of fun, taught some useful tools such as mindful meditation, breathing and yoga practices.
However, a number of pseudo-scientific claims are made. KLIM, was your experience in India, and does the AOL course experience very from country to country. I would not suggest this course to others.
- January 4, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Do read... :)
Lots of love..
Ha ha ha :)
1. Loving oneself, learning to respect oneself, learning to stand up for oneself and be respected are crucial in growing up strong and healthy (You see, my basic course teacher and some swami would say that was my ego speaking).
This is what I learnt here..This is what they teach... :)
2. Sadly, I see that everything she (His Basic course Teacher) did was for herself.She is also a victim of abuse and has made abuse into something spiritual. She actually hid in the spiritual path to feel superior, to hide her feelings of insecurity, failures and inadequacy. As long as she had someone to save, she was somebody.
Which is again not true...I ve met so many teachers till date n everybody without exception has joined the org to do something for the world n for their Guru and not to feel superior or supreme..
U already strt feeling that....way befre becmin a teacher...Becmin a teacher r js after-effects of that feeling :)
3. I know my teacher meant well. Today I recon she is emotionally, psychologically and spiritually crippled. She influenced many young people like me. We all looked up to her. More than one felt guilty about something after being with her because she had so many concepts, shoulds and should nots.
Here the stress is on young people being influenced..Crippled people cant bring transformations..N u start realising that there is some prob with the teacher only after u start finding prob in the Guru, in the org, in everybdy else...
May be the Guru can be wrng bt ppl like this fellow are only attached with the purpose..Writing this simply means that there is some prob in the whole org right frm volunteers,teachers to the Guru himself :)
4. Being in a spiritual path does not make one better than others nor does it mean one truly works on oneself. One thing I know about AoL is noone really works on him/herself. We thought we did. The spiritual arrogance one acquires is such that AoLers believe doing kriya and kissing the guru's feet automatically puts one above everyone and everything else.
They never teach u to be better than others..being on a spiritual path means everybdy is equal,neither more nor less...
N u dont need to work on urself,u r nt a machine... :)
They jus tell u to go back to the source...that Love which u r :)
N I dont knw he is talkin about whch AOLites..People kiss Guru's feet out of gratefulness n again not to be superior..
Kriya they do bcz its make them feel gd..
I ve many friends who dont believe in Guruji but who love to be regular in Kriya js bcz they feel so calm n relaxed afterwards..
5. Often people in spiritual paths have the bad habit of thinking they know better. They think they know what advise you need, what you are really feeling that you are not aware of, what you still have not done. The obnoxious "I know for your better good." Needless to mention, often the advises go around the leitmotif "be forgiving, be compassionate, do not be angry, let go, move on, etc." Whereas there is truth in it, one cannot deny the abuse and the array of feelings that come with it. Imagine what a rape victim would feel if you tell him/her right after the attack, "forgive, be compassionate, don't be angry, it was your karma, you must have done something bad some other life time, let go."
These lines made me realise that U for sure never worked with AOL... :)
In AOL,everybody is there to share even if he thnks he knws mre :)They nvr gve u sch advises as mentioned...They nvr tell u to hide ur feelings,ur anger...They tell u to be 100% in watever u do for opposite values are complimentary :)
The example of the rape victim given here is so senseless..It just looks like that he has put some words used by Sri sri at the wrng plce :)
- January 5, 2010 at 12:20 AM
6. I do not need to do anything but feel what I feel and be myself. That is the only thing I must do. Being angry is just as part of life as anything else. It does not make me worse. It is what it is at that moment and time takes care of it. After all, aren't opposite values complimentary? Suppressing negative emotions is the emptiest spiritual mood making I know that turns people into arrogant robots. Being in a spiritual path does not mean you don't feel negative emotions anymore. A spiritual education should teach you negative emotions are part of life and how to handle them, not that you should not feel them, or that feeling them is not OK, or that by meditating you will never have them again.
This is absolutely wrong...Meditating brings u back to the moment n there is no worries,nothing in the moment.. So u can do nothing except for being happy n blissful :)
They never tell u to supress ur negative emotions..They say 'The more u resist it persists..So dont resist anything' :)
Being on the spiritual path doesnot mean that u'll not feel any negative emotions or u shudnt feel negativity..I jus about being aware of what is goin inside n outside n being 100% with urself :)
7.Spirituality is not about the activities you do but about how you act and where the action stems from. Spirituality is not about not feeling any negative emotions. Spirituality is not in the shoulds and should nots, it is about how real you are to yourself, in life and to the world.
Dear this is what they teach there...make u aware of (if netime u managed to keep urself awake for I feel that ur mind ws cmpletely sleeping when u were there,making ur own concepts..making ur own FREE Art of Living js lyk the name of ur blog :) )
8. I dropped the habit of telling anyone what and how they should feel and do, or thinking I know what the other feels and should do. More importantly, I also dropped the habit of telling myself what I should or should not. Where there is a "should", I learned, I lose my authenticity and my freedom.
Nobody can tell u hw u shud feel...wat u shud do :)
In the courses they tell u about the general tendencies of a mind and ways to handle them if ur mind is creating a nuisance :)
N nt hw u shud feel....
M havin a lot of doubt whether u did the crse also???
After reading ur blog...for a moment,my faith shivered but ultimately Truth is something which u can never hide:)
Thanks for making my devotion grow exponentially...
Thanks for rejecting the previous comment for nw I knw what the Truth is.... :)
Another GURUHOLIC :)
Happy n Joyful Living :)
- January 5, 2010 at 12:21 AM
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- January 5, 2010 at 12:58 AM
Anonymous on Jan 4th
My experience in AOL has been that they are very poor teachers and practioners of meditation. Their lack of maturity, proper psychological insights, herd behaviour and feverishness is proof of it. There are several great meditation teachers who are far more clear, succint, unconditioned and provides amazing insights and results in meditation teaching. I can even quote instances where your teachers including your great guru have openly plagiarized even personal instances from many of these meditation teachers. Nothing quite original and too Coffee bookish stuff.AOL is just too artificial for my taste.
The AOL organization tries to mystify simple practices and attaches a price on it. They make false claims of social work and hedge funds into personal enterprises. Your Guru is addicted to publicity and spends a great deal of his and his chelas energies for the sake of it. If you are not able to notice it, I am sorry for your poor comprehension and awareness. AOL teaching and business model is also copied from the same business model of Maharishi's TM mantra japa, yogic flying which is bumping off cushions and Landmark Forum. Your words are quite similar to people who attend these courses especially Landmark Forum. Wernhard Erhard's blueprint is running in your head. I see less of meditative people in AOL and more programmed Robots and You are a wonderful example.
- January 5, 2010 at 3:11 AM
Hey Klim,
Have you read Javad Aktar's speech, the one he made in front of Ravi Shankar:
also some interesting comments here:
- January 5, 2010 at 10:54 PM
- Unknown said...
Actually, Klim, you don't really state in specific terms what bad things they DID to you. I am not an AoL member, but in you post, you just keep complaining about the fact that an organization YOU YOURSELF decided to join told you what to do, based on their own values. You had the right, and the free will choice, to leave at any time. Correct?
Telling you what's right and what's wrong is what would have happened (and what happens on an immense scale) with all religious organizations - Christian, Muslim, etc.
The fact that you decide which comments to approve and which not to include says a lot - ie. you wish everyone to think that all the readers support your opinion. How is this better than what AoL teachers do? I challenge you to post my comment on your blog!
- January 6, 2010 at 7:55 PM
- AoL-Free said...
Feliciano, it's funny people like you, who claim not to know what this is about, will take the time to read it and then judge it in a very self-righteous tone. Anyway, I publish ALL comments (except in 3 occasions: 1. a burlesque sexual comment that did not add nor substract and I know its author would not be offended if I did not publish it; 2. protecting the commentator; 3. one that said, "this is great!"), btw, and if you are seeing a deleted piece, it is bc it did not belong to this article and it was extremely long, I did not want to overwhelm the readers following this particular threat. I decided to forward it to its author instead. If you would have carefully read all comments of all previous articles and all previous articles, 1. you would have a clear understanding of things; 2. I am not using this blog to be against anything, but rather, as a means for healing, so if you don't get it, it is also OK, many others who have been subject of abuse in this organization have found relief.
- January 7, 2010 at 8:45 AM
Feliciano your are the primeexample of a facist prick!
You attack the victim of abuse, and tries to question his character. And what is your contribution to this debate, absolutely nothing!!! Your only argument is that, it is Klims own fault that he was abused by the cult of Art of Living, and the only purpose of your comment is to shut his voice down. You are a mindless drone, an enabler of sadist cult leaders like Ravi Shankar, in fact you for sure must be one of his henchmen. Keep giving him head looser!!!
- January 8, 2010 at 6:05 AM
- Unknown said...
Firstly, KLIM, thanks for posting my comment.
Actually, I DON'T know what it's about, since I was never a member of AoL. I have some friends who studied there or were a part of AoL and they are all very happy with what they got.
I am NOT judging you in a self-righteous tone, nor am I judging you in any tone. This is entirely your interpretation, as it was not my intention to judge you. I was only pointing out things that are facts. Show me one thing in my post that isn't a fact.
The fact that you say I'm judging you self-righteously, (even though it was never even on my mind) might give you some insight into why you thought the AoL people were judging you. Please don't take this the wrong way,but it seems this is how you interpret life. First you judged your family members for thinking you were wrong, and then you judged yourself and the AoL members.
I was myself into something similar to a cult. When I got the information & knowledge I needed from them, and saw that these guys were no good for me, I simply left. Simple as that. This is why I'm telling you, that you always had free choice to go there, and free choice to leave (proved by the fact that you left, didn't you?). But you just didn't seem to realize that back then.
Hundreds of millions of faithful Muslims, Xians, Jews, Hindus etc. get their brains washed every day through religion - and believe me, it's worse than AoL or practically any cult you can think of. And still, people can choose to ignore these teachings too if they so wish. I also was deep into religion, but it caused me lots of stress, guilt and suffering. So I left that too. It's easy when you lose the fear.
I never went about complaining how I was a 'victim' of cults, religions, etc. although I can practically assure you I suffered more than you did. This is because we are NOT victims, we own our own lives, we only have to WAKE UP to the fact that we do.
My comment on your post was simply an indication that you didn't post anything concrete in terms of abuse - they didn't hit you, or sexually abuse you, or force you into believing things through threats or violence. They were just trying to make you believe what they believed, because they knew no better themselves.
But we always have the choice as to what to believe.
So I'm sorry if my post offended you - this was not my intention by a long shot. I'm not protecting AoL, but I'm also not protecting your viewpoint.
In my experience, (and please don't take this as a criticism), complaining about 'negative' things means you keep perpetuating them, since you keep thinking about them. Sorry to be so blunt, but the fact that you get pats on the back from people on the blog is gratifying for a while, but it's not REALLY healing. Healing is when you just drop the whole story in your head, and all your emotional reactivity and trauma related to it.
One other thing that I got from the whole religion and cult experience is a new-found sense of strength, freedom, independence, and a better intuitive sense of what's right and what's wrong FOR ME. Because I, like yourself, can't judge other people's paths. Maybe being an AoL member/Jew/Muslim/whatever is actually good for someone, and maybe they would get a very positive and uplifting experience from it. Who are we to 'warn' them that it's not good for THEM, when we barely even know what's good for US? Now that's being self-righteous, isn't it?
If your intention is truly to heal, then I wish you all the best. But it will take much more than typing on a blog. A suggestion for dropping emotional trauma (if you accept suggestions) would be to try either the Sedona Method or the Release Technique (and no, they're not cults, and you can do the courses in the privacy of your own room :)
Best of luck!
- January 9, 2010 at 8:05 PM
- Unknown said...
Anonymous, it seems YOU are the one attacking me and insulting me, without even knowing me!
Where in my post did I attack the victim of abuse? And where did I question his character? I did no such thing, nor did I intend such a thing, and furthermore, I believe KLIM's story, so I'm not questioning hs character.
My purpose is NOT to shut his voice down (how could I, even if I wanted to? It's a blog, for God's sake!)
You seem to be very hateful, and you misinterpreted my post ENTIRELY. You are imagining negative things which I never said. Which says something about you.
Firstly, I was ever in AoL. And I never took their courses. This was your first mistake.
That being said, let's be fair and objective - if you look beyond the scope of this blog, and beyond personal issues, many people in many countries have received great benefits, both health and otherwise, from them. And they do lots of charity work in poor countries.
Does that mean that EVERY person's experience with AoL is good? No. Does it mean that EVERY person's experience is bad? No. Every experience is different, and we each view it through our own 'glasses' of different understanding, background, age, and life circumstances.
Now logically this blog, by its very nature, attracts people who dislike AoL, or who have had painful experiences there. But this doesn't mean that there aren't thousands of people out there with good and positive experiences.
VERY IMPORTANT - I never said it was KLIM's 'fault' for anything. I said it was his CHOICE to leave or to stay.
Was I wrong for trying to express a different opinion to the others? Or was I wrong for asking for clarification? It seems, judging by your violent anger, that YOU'RE the one trying to shut people up!
As for contributions, well, many of the posts on this blog can't exactly be called 'contributions' (including yours, which also contains a lewd sexual comment at the end.)
But I sent another post just before this one, that I hope will contribute.
Please read posts carefully next time, before you start attacking and insulting people you don't know, just because they have an opinion different to yours.
- January 9, 2010 at 8:24 PM
- AoL-Free said...
"Feliciano", thanks for such a long explanatory reply. Maybe you should read your first comment and try to understand how you got the two later responses. Whereas you don't seem to find a lot of facts, some others do. We are not trying to prove anything. We are only sharing what I can without exposing myself to more of their threats and harassments. There is a reason why many prefer to use other identities. Have some respect for people's situations. Someone would never come out to say one was abused just to create drama. But of course, you are above it all. And if you are really not even a member, then why waste your time and even demand for facts, etc.?
- January 9, 2010 at 11:18 PM
- Unknown said...
Well, KLIM, I asked for facts because I was interested. Doesn't matter if I wasn't in AoL - many groups have similar dynamics, and the way people react to them is very varied and interesting.
And I do have respect for other people's situations, precisely because I was in similar situations. That is why I was interested in details about yours.
Secondly, the reason some people didn't like my comments was becaue I write very literally, and the people misinterpreted my post because they were trying to read between the lines and guessing that I'm blaming or attacking, when in fact my wish was just to state something factual.
(My comment on your moderating the replies, however, was very subjective, unfair, and, in retrospect, out of line. I thought that the fact there was a screening function was because you screened out comments you didn't like, and kept the ones you did. I apologize about that.)
However, I never said I was 'above it all'. In fact if you read my post carefully, I said I suffered, and in fact suffered the worst years of my life due to religions, and other cult-like belief systems.
But later on, I got above it all because I just decided to. I dropped those ways of thinking. For some reason, and I don't know why, it came easily to me. Maybe God just decided that those chapters of my life were over, and that I should go on. This is difficult for me to believe even now, because religions especially have an incredibly strong grip on you due to guilt, fear, threat of punishment in the afterlife, etc.
I realise now how stupid I was, and if I could go back I'd never repeat those things again, and would live life free and happy.
I can't go back and get those years back. But there's also no use for me to complain now. Also, warning people about how bad religions and cults are doesn't help, because those who believe in such stuff won't be persuaded. Even though such beliefs now seem laughable to me, they were VERY real to me back in the day.
All religions and ideologies, however 'bad' they may seem, teach us some good things. (I can't believe I'm writing this right now.) They also help us to become freer by pushing us into a situation of EXTREME fear and dependency, so when we can't take it any more, we get out of there and search for true freedom like there's no tomorrow.
And we have much more discernment and discrimination than before. Right now, I realise fully that those belief systems caused me so much pain and suffering, not because of the cult members themselves, but because I MYSELF decided to believe them.
But we also have to drop our judgements about the religions and cults (and this, to me, is probably the hardest part.)
So please don't think I don't sympathise with your situation. But my point is, if you've been out of AoL for a long time now, and you're still suffering the trauma of it, then maybe you need a different approach to healing the issue. Just my two cents.
- January 10, 2010 at 10:59 AM
- AoL-Free said...
F, thanks for your reply. Whereas I agree with everything you wrote, I also think it is important to respect everyone's recovery process, experiences and needs. You seem to reach conclusions without knowing the person nor the situation for real. That comes out as arrogant and condescending, though I understand you don't mean it this way. The abuses and lies of every toxic group are different. We cannot blame nor complain, but we also cannot deny the abuses happened. We are responsible for sucking into it, but you see, back then, noone ever told me there was a different side of the story. In fact, I was not allowed to think there was. Thinking anything like that was a sign of negativity. One is constantly in a catch 22 in a structure like that. This blog is not here to put AoL in evidence. However, my experience and that of many others, does finally have that effect. Although it is not the intention of the blog, it may also be good that the many AoL followers also have the other vision, which is very much hidden in the organization. As to how we manage our recovery, it is a very personal choice based on history and needs. I respect yours, pl. respect ours. Thank you truly for your words and your concern. I now understand where you are coming from.
- January 10, 2010 at 11:15 AM
- Unknown said...
Thank you KLIM. Of course, I respect everyone's path, healing process, etc. I know very well it is of no use to force any ideas on another.
My post was merely a suggestion, nothing more - everyone is free to take or leave such suggestions as they please, so please don't be offended by the fact that I sent one.
Personally I've found that I needed to look at many different healing methods to heal my different problems in life - which, over time, led me to better and better methods (of which I mentioned two.) Of course, your path might be totally different, or similar in some respects, or whatever.
I know no-one asked me for my advice, and, knowing what people are like, I'm normally quiet and never suggest anything except when they ask me - but I involved myself in the thread, and, since people misunderstood me, I felt I had to explain myself.
Again, apologies for any misunderstanding. I wish you all the best on your path, and, above all, freedom.
- January 10, 2010 at 11:42 AM
- AoL-Free said...
Thank you. All the best to you too.
- January 10, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Don't be so hard on yourself. Seeing oneself as a victim only causes pain. Whether you realize it or not - all the years you spent in AOL did bring about growth.
However, I do feel that the knowledge has value only if it makes you a better person in the real world...going away from real world is not the answer. One of the biggest lessons I learnt was that surrender is all about being non-judgemental. Applied correctly it makes you free in the real world. However AOL teachers are hypocrites - they all are so self-righteous, but want you to be non-judgemental.
The teaching come from tradition - it is pure and valid..even though the teacher may be a human being. It is just time to move on in life. You don't need it anymore.
Wish you good luck...and thank you for the blog...you are doing an excellent job :)
- February 3, 2010 at 12:45 PM
Hi KLIM!
I must say extraordinary! Obviously I can't be quite sure of what you write here. Anybody can say, "such things happened to me" and "i can't reveal more because i value my life". Excellent way of avoiding the need for details.
Having said that, to write such a huge blog (still haven't read it all), with this much detail, you're either someone who has been truly hurt or someone with extraordinary info gathering and publishing skills. And I believe there is a much higher chance of you being the former (not to say, you can't have the other skills i mentioned).
I am and will be in AoL, in the sense that, the practices have helped me immensely. They've literally brought me out of being a breathless cripple. I do continue to recommend people to do the course because of this.
Honestly, I think the course is way way way more expensive in the US than here in India. And for the price here, I think it is well worth it. And for the trouble I was in, I wouldn't mind even the US price. (In my case, not for all). I do continue to spend a little time, helping out during the courses. But beyond that, when I'm forced to do anything that I find unethical, in my own experience, I simply draw the line. In fact I've argued with a few teachers, logically and forced them to submit, that they really have no idea of what they are doing. I try to analyze everything in the light of science and explain it to them. And I continue to encourage, new participants to be rational and to use their common sense, rather than blindly follow what the teachers told them to do.
I remember reading something about reforms. I believe I am a part of that. I know a lot of the aspects in AoL stink. I hope more like minded people from AoL come up, who are not afraid to question, who are aware at a very early stage of the nonsense that is happening (no offense) and those who are willing to step up in protest.
I wish you the very best in your efforts to get healed and heal and educate. My sincere prayers to you KLIM and to every individual who has ever been hurt in any way because of AOL.
I would like to finish my blah blah with a small note about the hamsa. A beautiful bird that most non-indians know as the swan. Hamsa also means (for those who don't know) "I am That". Although the bird would probably strongly react to this, the mythology goes that, a hamsa can separate a mixture of milk and water and draw just the milk, leaving the water out. Milk probably means knowledge and water probably means everything that dilutes true understanding.
My prayers again for everyone to be like the hamsa. There is always something good to be learned from even the worst situations and behaviour. It is up to us to draw out the good and leave out the garbage. Even the most pious of saints, if they do something wrong, have no choice but to pay for it.
- April 27, 2010 at 4:21 PM
- Lehmann108 said...
Klim, I'm sorry you had bad experiences, but at times I wish you would be more specific. What I can't figure out is that you describe an organization and its members that are very, very different than what I experience. Sure, there are "psychological cripples" in every spiritual organizations, I've met plenty of them. But there are also many very psychological healthy, mature individuals. I think one reason you struggle with AOL is because you did get so involved at a young age. You were vulnerable to the unconscious agendas of teachers who, apparently, had plenty of their own issues to workout! I think, in any organization, the key is balance. You have to trust your own experience and judgment, but still be open to other understanding. Whenever someone denies your experience, that's when the problems start. And at a young age, such balance is difficult.
What bothers me about your blog is the wholesale trashing of AOL and SSRS. Wasn't there anything of value for you in the AOL and your contact with SSRS? To paint an "all good" or "all bad" picture of AOL and SSRS is grossly oversimplifying the situation. Every organization, spiritual or not, will have a level of dysfunction. This doesn't mean you throwout the whole thing. I truly feel you make a huge mistake when you trash AOL and SSRS with as much enthusiasm as you once embraced it. When you do such a thing you gain no value from your experience. It seems like when you were involved in the AOL you were supressing and denying your authentic experience (i.e., your doubts, your conflicts, etc.) and now you are doing the same thing regarding any good from your AOL involvement. Did you gain anything of value from AOL? How could you not? Your black and white thinking confuses me.
- April 30, 2010 at 8:24 AM


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by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
The vote ran 39,489 to 20,432 in favor of the ban, and it sends a clear signal that the People of Jackson County, Oregon — a largely agricultural area of the country — absolutely do not want genetically engineered crops to be growing anywhere near them. (Click here to see county election results.)
This is on top of the recent victory in Vermont where lawmakers passed a mandatory GMO labeling law that requires foods to be honestly labeled with their GMO content. (The evil biotech industry and its Grocery Manufacturers of America front group plant to sue Vermont to keep consumers in the dark.)
"Destroy all genetically engineered plants"
This ordinance in Oregon requires everyone to "destroy" all genetically engineered plants except those grown under indoor laboratory conditions (i.e. those which are safely isolated from the wild). This will allow scientists to continue to study GMOs without risking the lives of everyone else in the process.
Click here to read the full text of the ordinance (PDF).


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Massouda Jalal, Jose Maria Aznar Win UN Watch Human Rights Awards
"It is not the sole responsibility of the international community or the UN to ensure our freedom. But how can it be that under their watch, we women, and many men too, have seen their freedoms eroded so substantially?" asked Dr. Jalal. "Women's rights are the key to fighting dictatorship and extremism, militarization and warlordism. Women are the key to the future."


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The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission approved a notice of intent to establish a free permit for recreational anglers who fish for yellowfin tuna. The information gathered from this permit will provide essential data about the people who fish off of Louisiana's coast for yellowfin, and how much tuna is harvested each year.
"The current system is based upon data that is often old by the time it is in use," said Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assistant secretary Randy Pausina. "To better understand our fisheries resources so that we may better enjoy them, we need to collect information about how and what our anglers are fishing for in waters off Louisiana's coast."
The free permit, according to LDWF officials, will be designed with user input to make it as easy as possible for both recreational anglers and charter fishing boats to report their trips and their catch.
"We are designing this permit to be flexible, so that anglers aren't frustrated by the process," Pausina said. "Ultimately, the information gathered could mean anglers would have more opportunities to fish for highly migratory species like yellowfin tuna."
The current management of yellowfin tuna involves not only the LDWF, but also the federal government and international treaty agreements. Still, those management decisions are based upon limited data. Only anglers who fish for bluefin tuna are required to report what they catch (the limit is currently set at one fish per vessel per year).
Current management is also set for the entire southeastern Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, rather than specific seasons and limits for each fishery.
"The Gulf of Mexico is an absolutely incredible place to go fishing," Pausina added. "We want to keep it that way by moving from a one-size-fits-all management style to one that allows us real-time data on these fish and on the efforts by recreational anglers."
Public comments on the Notice of Intent will be accepted until Thursday, February 2, 2012. Comments may be submitted to Joey Shepard, Office of Fisheries, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000, or via e-mail at [email protected].
For more information, visit www.wlf.la.gov.
Free Tuna Permits Louisiana


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Gene Hill said that "nymphing...with a bobber ("strike indicator" indeed!) has little to do with real fly fishing." Well, apparently Gene never cast for pan fish in a 30mph Kansas wind like I was trying to do last night! The water was choppy; there's no way I would ever have seen a hit; would have had to have been a strong hookup I could feel. Not the best conditions but I was determined to get out there; did manage a nice bluegill and a small bass, and had a couple of hits that I missed.
Anyway, I was using my 7wt and one of those thingamabobbers, and my question is, how the heck do you keep those things from sliding down the leader? I was trying to fish my fly at about 24" but after a couple of casts I'd be down to 12" or less.
I looked on line and there's a guy with a youtube video showing how to attach it (same as I did); he said his slips too so he sticks a tootpick in to hold it; that seems like a pain to me. I see they now make them with a little attached plug that goes in the hole. I guess I'll go back to my twist-on indicators, although the rubber seems to break on those after a while.


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Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
Usage Restrictions: None
Related news release: If a Tree Falls in the Forest, and No One Is Around to Hear It, Does Climate Change?
Image from Eureka Alert
Press Release: see Eureka Alert for one version.
Second Image from Wikipedia
I first read about this Science article at Olelog, who explains it all pretty well, I think, and provides a few more links.
According to the article - I, who live in the temperate zone, with our house at the lake in Sierra Nevada forest and our little house in the Nevada outback in upland steppe (sagebrush zone to pinon-juniper zone), should not plant trees, but rather should strip trees and bushes, possibly either to plant wheat (winter wheat? native wheatgrass?) or to plant cement or white river rock! [These are my extrapolations, not specific statements in any of the above links.]
I think not. I will go xeriscape in places like Reno. I will not, however, cut down temperate-zone trees in order to xeriscape or plant native grasses. The effect I've noticed of having a lawn with plants and trees in desert towns like Reno is the following: green grass (not native grass that turns brown by late spring) will cool your house in the summer considerably. Cement and white river rocks around your house will heat your house in the summer considerably (the winter heating effect can be desirable, but there are other ways to achieve that goal, such as windows in all the right places).
I won't do it. MOH and I have been growing spruce trees for the last several years; I'm not about to kill them now.
Just a rant or reaction, mostly. But my interpretation, although extreme, really does suggest that stripping and not replanting forests would stop, negate, or at least slow global warming. If that is the case, then global warming in and of itself could have the effect of counteracting global warming when the temperate tree line moves north, creating grasslands across the temperate zone. (Of course, in that case, we will still have to go cut down the boreal forests!)
On another minor issue, the Science abstract uses the following phrase: "...the low albedo of boreal forests is a positive climate forcing." Why the (fairly) recent jargony use of "forcing," which now permeates the climate change literature, or at least the online literature. One could simply say: "...the low albedo of boreal forests has a positive effect on climate." OR: "...the low albedo of boreal forests increases overall global temperatures." Forcing used to be a verb. Now it's used as a noun and an adjective. Yikes, is what I say! Oh, well. I'm not in that field. I'm not going to change that usage. But it sounds jargony to me, and it sounds non-specific, also. Is a "positive climate forcing" equal to something that raises temperature, or is it merely something that has a "definite" effect rather than a "positive" effect (the latter presumably being an increase in temperature)?
I guess my only real point here is that I'm not cutting trees in my area (or in Alaska, either, for that matter) for the sake of counteracting global warming based on this Science article. I guess Johnny Appleseed should have been shot for his efforts, although try telling that to the people of Paradise, CA (for some reason, there are persistent local legends that Johnny Appleseed made it that far west!).
They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Big Yellow Taxi (as written and sung by Joni Mitchell)
© 1966-69 Siquomb Publishing Co. BMI


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After Cooper: Rebuilding Afghanistan
POSTED ON: March 22, 2013
One year ago Koukaba Mojadidi (AR'01), a fully licensed architect running her own private practice in New York City, decided to pursue her career elsewhere. But she did not go to San Francisco or Chicago or Paris, France. She went to Kabul, Afghanistan in what felt to her like the next logical step in her career. We had an opportunity to speak with her, via Skype, from the international aid compound where she lives and works to find out more about her remarkable decision, what she does there and how The Cooper Union prepared her to work under some of the most challenging circumstances an architect could face.
Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Koukaba Mojadidi (pronounced KOW-kah-bah mo-jah-DID-ee), grew up in what she describes as a very conservative, religious Afghani household with her parents and three other sisters. Crossing her home threshold was like "entering another world," she says, where she could only speak Farsi and had to live by the strict rules set by her parents. They had settled permanently in the U.S. during the mid-1970s when the rising communist influence in Afghanistan began interfering with their medical careers. Even though the culture at home may have been traditional Afghani, this did not mean limitations on education for Ms. Mojadidi, who went to an arts high school and transferred from the University of Florida to The Cooper Union's Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. "Letting me come to New York to study was very profound for them," Ms. Mojadidi says.
After graduating, Ms. Mojadidi began working at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of a crew that managed installation construction in the famous Frank Lloyd Wright atrium. The attacks on September 11 occurred not long after her start there, beginning a chain of events that would eventually change the direction of her life. "For better and for worse September 11 put Afghanistan on the map for people in the U.S.," she says. "It was very strange at the time, living in the Bronx and having to explain to total strangers about Afghanistan while doing my laundry, for example. That ignorance was somewhat unnerving. Here I was living a normal, anonymous urban life and then all of a sudden I had to be a spokesperson." (She later submitted a design to the memorial competition.)
Ms. Mojadidi continued along the path of a professional architect in New York, working for various building and construction firms and eventually starting her own private practice in 2010. But something was missing. "Working as an architect you are so committed, working nights and weekends and for me it wasn't satisfying," she says, "Even though building in New York means you learn the most advanced technology and can procure any thing you need the people involved were always interested primarily in how much money they were going to make. I wanted to transfer my skills to building spaces that fulfilled a need. I got my license in 2011 and felt that once I had that I no longer necessarily needed to be in the U.S. and working abroad would be a good change."
She decided to explore the opportunities in Afghanistan where her father had been returning frequently to work in OBGYN clinics. (A film about him and his work aired on PBS in 2007.) After going on some "fishy" interviews in a country famous for its corruption she found a job as International Architect for the Emergency Development Infrastructure Department (EDID) of the International Organization of Migration (IOM). "The IOM works to bring displaced people back to their home countries, to reintegrate them," Ms. Mojadidi says. "Within that, the EDID is a design and building program for community stabilization. Because once you bring people back there has to be some infrastructure that encourages people to stay and develop a community." Aid groups and some international governmental agencies fund the projects.
Kabul, Afghanistan from above
The projects she works on include hospitals, midwife training centers and teacher-training centers, located around the country. At present Ms. Mojadidi is Project Manager on a multi-building campus in Kabul for the Police Staff College. "The most interesting part is building buildings that people truly need," Ms. Mojadidi says. Many of the projects focus on the needs of women. In the Faryab province local women wrote a series of letters to the Norwegian embassy asking for an assembly hall. The embassy funded the project and Ms. Mojadidi and the EDID were contracted to work on it. "We went to the province and met with the women of the surrounding areas. They came from miles around through very rough areas. We worked with them to discover what their needs were and develop a scope of work. It is an assembly hall for over 200 people that will provide the first space for women to gather to express themselves."
Security is always a concern. "Some parts of the country are better and some are worse," Ms. Mojadidi says. "Bamyan province, for example, is very peaceful. You can walk down the street and feel like things are relatively normal. But you cannot drive to Bamyan. The threat is always on the road. They are looking for international workers, including aid workers. Even our national staff that travels between projects will leave all their ID at home. If they are found with any trace of information that they are working for an international organization, they are just killed there on the spot."
But security is not the only challenge. "No matter how much you know about your profession, throw away fifty percent of it in this context," Ms. Mojadidi says. "For example here the construction industry has only been around for three years. It is a very new industry. This environment is chaotic and all about problem solving. You are trying to create an industry standard that includes all the requirements of quality and assurance in your building while also creating a capacity with your national staff and your contractors."
Her education at The Cooper Union prepared for this new life in ways she may not have appreciated at the time. "The Cooper program was a grueling, exhausting, kick-your-ass program that taught me everything I know. You really experience the depth of how far you can push yourself intellectually and physically. The demands of the curriculum year after year force you to constantly push to formulate your own ideas and represent your ideas in front of varying kinds of people, including very strong personalities. That kind of thing starts to make something out of you."
Koukaba Mojadidi has turned those skills toward making a war-ravaged country into a functioning, modern society. Her efforts have even gotten her attention from NBC news. "It's not always about how much you have but how you use what do have and who it benefits," she says. "It's what you can provide using the limited resources that you have. This was a huge unknown for me but I just wanted to be productive. Every thing I have done has led me up to this new position and work. It has been very fruitful and very exciting to make such a big change in my life."


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Celebrate the Chinese New Year
Strength, energy and great expectations to come during the Year of the Horse
DAE Advertising for AARP
Celebrated worldwide, the Lunar New Year is a time for family and friends to usher in good luck for the year ahead. On Jan. 31, we enter the Year of the Horse — a year of strength, energy and great expectations.
See also: Multigenerational living
In Chinese culture, the horse represents extraordinary strength, endurance and speed. According to Chinese folklore, nothing else in the sky compares to a dragon, and nothing else on the ground rivals a horse.
Yet unlike the mythical dragon, the horse is a real animal that embodies noble spirits and is one of the most reputable animals in the zodiac.
Countless stories about horses originated from historical tales and reflect the affinity Eastern civilization has for horses. Famous equines include the warhorses that Emperor Qin Shi Huang's army rode to unify China. In 1974, one of the most significant archaeological sites in decades was discovered when life-size terra-cotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations from the Qin Dynasty (211-206 B.C.) were unearthed in Xian, China.
It was also believed that a horse's character could be determined by its appearance. In the 3rd century B.C., horse physiognomist Bole began studying horses' bone structure and body parts to identify the fabled Chollima, a horse that races 1,000 li (about 250 miles) in one day. He identified the Chollima with unfailing accuracy and earned the reputation as a wise leader who knew how to detect talent in obscurity.
People born in the Year of the Horse — 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and 2002 — are said to be open-minded, energetic, fearless, proactive and motivated. It's a year of possibilities and therefore an excellent time to change your life. A Chinese proverb says that "an elder steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li." With sound financial planning and investment, the Year of the Horse can become a year of accomplished goals, fulfilled dreams and, most importantly, good health and happiness.
Plan an authentic Lunar New Year celebration to jump-start a year full of success. Fun traditions include disseminating red envelopes filled with money, hanging signs of the Chinese character for "luck," and eating dumplings, fish and tang yuan (stuffed sweet rice balls) for good luck and blessings.
As always, food takes the center stage of the celebration. Some festive dishes to celebrate the Lunar New Year are:
1. Veggie and Pork Potstickers With Citrus-Soy Dipping Sauce
These crispy and juicy bites are an authentic Lunar New Year classic. The refreshing citrus-soy dipping sauce is an optional modern twist and makes the dish a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
2. Firecracker Shrimp
Turn the volume up on the traditional egg roll! This crispy finger food is easy to prepare, looks elegant on the plate and is fun to eat. Serve it hot buffet style or as an appetizer.
3. Chinese-Style Steamed Bass
The Chinese words for fish and surplus are homophones. Eating fish during the holiday signifies financial abundance in the coming year. This flavorful and healthy recipe prepares whole fish by steaming, the authentic method to cook seafood.
4. Glutinous Rice Balls With Sesame Stuffing
There's no better way than to end a feast with this sweet, soft and chewy traditional dessert. Their rounded shape symbolizes family.
May you have a fulfilled, healthy and happy new year!
Diana Wang is a freelance writer based in Boston.
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