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In the future the whole world will come & bow before those who have worked on the qualities of goodness, purity, integrity & nobility | |
Ryan Goble User ID: 73671881 Australia 08/08/2017 09:49 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 75347637 Switzerland 08/08/2017 09:55 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: In the future the whole world will come & bow before those who have worked on the qualities of goodness, purity, integrity & nobility In the future the whole world will come & bow before, he who can crush them like a twig Quoting: Ryan Goble Message to materialists « I am very happy, my dear brothers and sisters, to be able to say a few words to you today in this beautiful region of France, with its sky always blue, its perfumed air, and the sun always radiant. What profound silence and what peace in this wonderful place! I am sure that you already feel that a new day is rising in the world. The history of the earth and of humanity has its periods which replace one another. Each period adds something new in the life of living beings. Astrological science of ancient times was capable of foreseeing the unrolling of events in the life of human beings, in connection with the movement of the stars and planets. Without entering into the details of the periods through which the earth has already passed, and with it the whole of humanity (which would lead us very far), I shall say to you only that an old age, like a long, painful and dark night, is going away. It is disappearing away, into the past of time to give way to a new age, a culture of the sun! One already hears the children of the sun and of light singing hymns of joy and of gratitude to the inexhaustible goodness of the Creator. One sees the sun opening halfway and the angels, unflagging servants of God, coming down to put order and harmony into sensitive and affectionate souls. A new earth and a new heaven have been in preparation and formation for a long time in God's great studios, workshops. The children of the new life know a wonderful way: the path which leads towards the sun! They have tasted delicious fruits, ripened by the rays of this sun, fruits of joy, of hope and of divine love. They ask now this question to their brothers, a little dulled, numb in matter, deprived of faith and hope: - "Do you believe that intelligent beings still exist on earth?" - "Naturally!", answer these nice brothers, who based everything on matter, having, moreover, never well known what it really represents. "Naturally, we believe it! And these intelligent beings, we are they!" - "Oh, how magnificent it is!", respond the children of the new life, "to be classed among intelligent and reasonable beings." - "Do you believe that there are just and noble beings on the earth?" - "By all means!", answer these brothers made heavy and dulled by matter. "Of course, we believe that! It is we who are these just and noble beings! All the others are in error and total ignorance!" - "Oh how wonderful!", exclaim the children of the new life. "It is marvelous to be just and noble in this life that is so sad and colourless for the majority of human beings." "Do you believe in the existence of good, beautiful and powerful beings?" continue to ask the children of the new life. - "Come on! Honestly! There is no doubt!", answer the brothers a little laggard and rebellious; some of them recognizing that they were beaten or desacrated by some in the struggle for existence, and the others enchanted, enticed or seduced by the charms and beauty of creatures specialized for that." "In such cases, how can one not believe in the existence of powerful and beautiful beings?" After that, the children of hope and of the new life affirm solemnly this: - "Oh, you have supplied us with the means to prove to you and to convince you that beauty, intelligence, force, justice, gentleness, charity, love, patience and all other sublime virtues are qualities and attributes, or grains come from an unique Source, transmitted to us by intermediate centers. This Holy Source nourrishes all the worlds and their creatures in infinite space. If all these qualities and virtues came from yourselves, who are matter and nothing else according in your opinion, why then can you not become at will all powerful, omniscient or beautiful as you wish it yourselves? These qualities which human beings possess come logically, therefore, from a Source which is outside of us, or of our current possibilities. Reunite now by your imagination all these qualities and virtues, amplify them to infinity in one single being. It is that being precisely whom we call the Divinity, from whom come to us all talents and all possibilities, unique Being, unquestiontable, more real than reality itself. To doubt His existence, is to doubt your intelligence, your goodness, your force and the glorious future that you can have. It is the greatest error which slipped itself into the intellect of our brothers, slaves of the material world, who bear pretentious names of atheists, materialists, realists, of rationalists, anarchists and of "abracadabrists". Can we increase our qualities and virtues? Yes. by uniting ourselves: - by correct and luminous thoughts of true intelligence, - by the warm and vivifying feelings or sentiments of selfless love, - by straightforward, upright and noble deeds of an ordered and harmonized activity. By uniting ourselves with this inexhaustible Source of goodness, joy and bless which represents the spiritual Sun, we are walking towards perfection. All true thinkers, all non nebulous true mystics of all ages, the prophets, masters or initiates, acknowledged this great and sublime Truth, beyong all truths. They bowed down with love, humility and adoration before The Supreme Being, who is the true distributor of all good, all interior and exterior riches. All drew force from Him for their inspiration, their revelations, and the actions which ensued them. Do you not feel that there is something changed in life, in human nature and in the surrounding countryside? that even the sun and the most faraway stars are sending us the most moving messages? Do you not feel that underground or subterranean forces, in the oceans, in the air and in cosmic ether, all are in feverish activity? Do you not feel that entities, in countless number, descend from heavenly regions with the plan to awaken us to spiritual truths? And that these beings direct myriad other beings, who work on stones, plants, animals and humans beings? Are you waiting to begin to work with these workers of the new time until the greatest disasters and the largest cataclysms burst out on humanity? That subterranean forces begin to shake the earth's fragile crust? That the oceans flow out onto the continents? That storms and hurricanes show their strength and power in sweeping out everything in front of them? And that the most devastating wars are launched between several nations and tear down the earth? It is said in the Holy Scriptures, that "the sun will be obscured", that "the moon will no longer give light", that "the stars will fall from heaven", and that "the powers of heaven will be set in motion. And then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven." All this is purely symbolic. According to the ancient science of symbols, which revealed and summarized all esoteric science, "the sun will be obscured" signifies that the human intellect, their point of view, will not give any more clarity. The works of numerous scholars, writers and philosophers will present only aberrations, deviations and obscureness. Their point of view, based on an egocentric philosophy will crumble. Here is a striking example: the conclusion drawn by certain researchers sincere, honest, and nevertheless misled; that the law of life is battle, war, and merciless, pitiless fight among creatures for their existence. This conclusion has been drawn thanks to their observation of the inferior regions of life: in the oceans, where everything are eating and devouring each other; in forests, jungles, where animals and wild beasts are devouring each another, in swamps, in families and societies, where, everywhere they report egotism, ferocious fight, slaughter. They believed they were right to draw a conclusion which did not contain the whole truth, but only fifty percent. All that is true if one sees only the lower regions. All that is true if one sees the egoistical, selfish and personal child, who only asks to take without thinking of anybody else. It is selfishness, egotism which absorbs, cries, claims, subjects and enslaves the others. But one forgets to see that beside the child exist the mother and the father, or the grandparents,... this mother who is all love and abnegation, who exerts herself to bring up the child. She is the incarnation of devotion and sacrifice. Can we not conclude that another law exists in life, the law of Love and Sacrifice? Let us take the example of the earth, which is still an egotistical child, and of the mother, the visible sun, because the Father, He, is hidden: it is the invisible Sun. Both of them bend over this child continually, warning him, enlightening him. The earth never stops taking forces and energies from the sun. And the sun gives itself continually with love and patience until the maturation of the earth. The earth will become a sun one day in its turn, contrary to that the astronomers and scholars expect according to their calculations and scientific forecasts, which are based on their point of view purely mechanical, that is, on the dead side of nature. If scholars pay attention only toward the earth and toward what happens in the inferior regions, seeing only purely selfish and destructive phenomenas, it is that they have not raised their eyes towards the regions of spirit and love, where reign other laws, those of kindness, love, charity, sacrifice, patience and impersonality. Due to maturing under the sun beams of goodness and love, a tough, bitter and acid fruit, becomes sweet, delicious and fragrant. It is so with the earth, and with human beings. One day, all of humanity will evolve, will progress, and people will leave the planet, leaving the earth to their small brothers, the animals, those who have also become more evolved and intelligent in their turn. Nothing will be able to resist the all powerful influence of divine heat and divine light. It is a question of time. Still, what is the most extraordinary and astonishing, incredible for the moment, is that unbelieving and atheistic scholars, like bitter, acid and tough fruits, will become sugar and honey, speaking only of love. This example shows us that there exists another point of view, known by the Initiates, which makes us see things correctly. It has been said that "the moon will no longer give any more light". That means that the human heart is filled with religious prejudices and with continually changing and unstable sentiments; and that these prejudices and sentiments will be reduced to nothing. "Stars will fall from heaven", that means that many scientific, political, economic, as well as military authorities, because of a turnover of things in the life, will no longer be able to remedy by their old methods various conditions, circumstances and factors which shall start, so that they shall fall from their base. "Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heavens." That means that a new light will appear, that new ideas will come to prepare the new culture which is coming. Scholars will no longer any more search for purely destructive means. Philosophers will no longer invent any more purely human philosophies and which are far from the truth, but they will accept the unique and only Philosophy which exists since the Creation of the world, which the greatest Masters of humanity knew and professed. Neither Hermes, nor Zoroastre, nor Ram, nor Buddha, nor Krishna, nor Orpheus, nor Moses, nor Mohammed, nor Plato, nor Pythagoras, nor Fo-Hi, nor Lao-Tseu have ever invented and fabricated anything by themselves as philosophy as such. But they all studied the one and only true Philosophy, which has been well guarded and passed on to our time. Writers will no longer write any more works which destroy faith, joy and hope, and so introducing in this way anarchy and chaos into human souls, without having the least idea of their moral responsibility toward their readers. Poets will not write poetry where sadness, laziness and desolation, as well as a crepuscular and morbid sentimentality weaken human beings. Painters will no longer paint any more paintings which are the reflection of their continual nightmares, lived in their swampy subconscious, or in subterranians, undergrounds or caves full of mildew. Authors of theater pieces will not present plays where one sees exclusively unchained human passions, where human beings are in prey to conflicts with no way out, and walk on inextricable paths, with neither solution, nor salvation. Musicians will no longer compose any songs or music which unchain hell slumbering in each human nature to manifest itself in madness, folies. New musicians will create a new music, which will correspond to the highest and most divine aspirations of the soul, its desire to live again the life which it lived before it left Paradise. This new music will nourish all that is pure and divine in the soul. This new music will save the world. It will possess the magic power to call the sacred Fire down from Heaven and with it a whole hierarchy of beings of order, of harmony and of beauty as well. Dance, sculpture, architecture, everything will change and will improve thanks to the intelligent and luminous beings who know the structure and formation of human being, and of all his subtle bodies. "This present generation", say the great Masters, "is darkened, materialized, chaotic, unruly, disorderly, and crystallized in inoperative and null forms. This generation cannot vibrate in harmony with the powerful and irresistible impulses of this spouting out Source, the visible sun, representative of the invisible Sun which is the Christ. A new generation is coming with new hearts and new minds, carriers of new seeds. New life approaches like the spiritual Spring, of which all the true poets dreamed, which the true clairvoyants contemplated, which the true prophets predicted." Everything must be renewed, needs to vibrate and shine new plentiful, intense life, which will cleanse everything, purify all, armed with Love, with Hope, with ardent, immovable and powerful Faith in the existence of the Being of all beings, the Ancient of ancients, the Mysterious of mysterious, gentle Father of the Heavens, clement, merciful and misericordious Father. May His name be louded and sanctified for eternity! Oh, may this blessed day come as soon as possible, Lord, in order that the whole world quivers with joy and with gratitude, to be in order to sense Your presence, inexpressible through human words, but who is the resurrection and the eternal life, in joy, in Love, and in Peace. So be it! » Le Bonfin, 23 august 1953 |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 86284382 United States 12/03/2023 10:42 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Re: In the future the whole world will come & bow before those who have worked on the qualities of goodness, purity, integrity & nobility I have oftened wondered why, on this forum, there are so many who engage in this very style of writing. Is it to degrade the human spirit, for surely it is written for the human reader, animals cannot make it out, and for what purpose? After reading this beautiful work, written 70 years ago, I am encouraged for I see the very heart of this forecast taking place in the younger generation, who believe a better world is possible, and are actively engaged in bringing it about. And in reading this piece, I begin to understand the magnitude of what has been lost to me personally. and it's consequences to those around me. I begin my walk to recover, and then hold more sacred, the purity of heart that I lost. Thank you for posting |


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Communiqué, Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
Communiqué, Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
Moscow, 15-16 February 2013
- We, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, met to discuss the global economic challenges of today and to bring forward the policy agenda agreed by our Leaders.
Global Economy and G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth - Thanks to the important policy actions in Europe, the US, Japan, and the resilience of the Chinese economy, tail risks to the global economy have receded and financial market conditions have improved. However, we recognize that important risks remain and global growth is still too weak, with unemployment remaining unacceptably high in many countries. We agree that the weak global performance derives from policy uncertainty, private deleveraging, fiscal drag, and impaired credit intermediation, as well as incomplete rebalancing of global demand. Under these circumstances, a sustained effort is required to continue building a stronger economic and monetary union in the euro area and to resolve uncertainties related to the fiscal situation in the United States and Japan, as well as to boost domestic sources of growth in surplus economies, taking into account special circumstances of large commodity producers.
- To address the weakness of the global economy, ambitious reforms and coordinated policies are key to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth and restoring confidence. We will continue to implement our previous commitments, including on the financial reform agenda to build a more resilient financial system and on ambitious structural reforms to lift growth. We are committed to ensuring sustainable public finances. Advanced economies will develop credible medium-term fiscal strategies in line with the commitments made by our Leaders in Los Cabos by the St Petersburg Summit. Credible medium-term fiscal consolidation plans will be put in place, and implemented taking into account near-term economic conditions and fiscal space where available. We support action to improve the flow of credit to the economy, where necessary. Monetary policy should be directed toward domestic price stability and continuing to support economic recovery according to the respective mandates. We commit to monitor and minimize the negative spillovers on other countries of policies implemented for domestic purposes. We look forward to the results of the ongoing work on spillovers in the Framework Working Group.
- We have adopted an assessment process on the implementation of our structural reform commitments, which will inform the direction of our future structural policies.
- We reaffirm our commitment to cooperate for achieving a lasting reduction in global imbalances, and pursue structural reforms affecting domestic savings and improving productivity. We reiterate our commitments to move more rapidly toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals, and avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments and in this regard, work more closely with one another so we can grow together. We reiterate that excess volatility of financial flows and disorderly movements in exchange rates have adverse implications for economic and financial stability. We will refrain from competitive devaluation. We will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes, will resist all forms of protectionism and keep our markets open.
Long-term Financing for Investment - We recognize that long-term financing for investment, including infrastructure, is a key contributor to economic growth and job creation in all countries. We welcome the diagnostic report provided upon our request by international organizations (IOs), which assesses factors affecting long-term financing, including its availability, and which will provide a sound basis for the future G20 work. The report finds that the availability and composition of long-term investment financing have been affected by a combination of factors, with differing repercussions across borrowers and sectors. It also finds that there is scope for some sources of long-term financing, including local currency bond markets, domestic capital markets, and institutional investors to play a larger role for investment. At the same time, country-specific factors affect access to long-term financing and there is therefore much that countries can do to attract long-term financing.
- Recognizing the essential role that the long-term financing plays in supporting our goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth, we agreed to establish a new Study Group on Financing for Investment, which will work closely with the World Bank, OECD, IMF, FSB, UN, UNCTAD and other relevant IOs to further consider issues raised in the diagnostic report and determine a work plan for the G-20, considering the role of the private sector and official sources of long-term financing.
- In support of this work, we encourage the OECD, together with other relevant IOs, to provide analysis of different government and market-based instruments and incentives used for stimulating the financing of long-term investment, as well as a survey report on pension funds' long-term investments. We look forward to the OECD report on the "High Level Principles of Long-Term Investment Financing by Institutional Investors" by the Leaders` Summit in St Petersburg. The FSB will continue to monitor the possible effects of regulatory reforms on the supply of long-term financing. We have asked the MDBs to consider modalities to optimize their lending capacity and to enhance the catalytic role they play in mobilizing long-term financing from other sources, including through PPPs. We encourage the World Bank and other relevant IOs to intensify their efforts in addressing weaknesses in infrastructure project preparation and design and, drawing on existing G-20 work, where relevant, come up with the recommendations on how to address this challenge. We also ask the MDBs to analyze the existing modalities of interaction with the National Development Banks (NDBs).
- Deep and stable local capital markets continue to play an essential role as a reliable source of long-term financing. We welcome the ongoing work of the World Bank and other IOs on implementing the G20 Action Plan to support the development of local currency bond markets (LCBMs). We look forward to full implementation of the Action Plan and a progress report by July 2013. We ask IOs to explore how LCBMs might play a bigger role in financial deepening, taking into account individual country experiences and regional initiatives.
Government Borrowing and Public Debt Sustainability - In pursuit of our goal of strengthening the public sector balance sheet, work is needed to better assess risks to public debt sustainability. This includes, inter alia, taking into account country-specific circumstances, looking at transparency and comparability of public sector reporting, and monitoring the impact of financial sector vulnerabilities on public debt. We look forward to an update from the IMF and the World Bank on these issues according to their respective mandates.
- The existing practices of public debt management also deserve attention. We therefore ask the IMF and the World Bank to take stock of the existing guidelines on effective management of public debt, namely the "Guidelines for Public Debt Management," with a view to ensuring that they remain relevant and topical. We also note the ongoing work of the OECD to review leading practices for raising, managing and retiring public debt.
International Financial Architecture - We welcome progress made since the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Tokyo on the G20 Leaders' commitments in Los Cabos to provide the IMF with resources via bilateral arrangements, and call on the IMF and lending countries to finalize the remaining agreements.
- We underscore the importance of enhancing the credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of the Fund. We reaffirm the urgent need to ratify the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform. We note the IMF Executive Board's decision to integrate the process of reaching a final agreement on a new quota formula with the 15th General Review of Quotas. We commit to achieve, together with the whole IMF membership, an agreement on the quota formula and complete the General Quota Review by January 2014 as agreed at the Seoul Summit. We attach high importance to securing continued progress in meeting these objectives, including on key elements at the September St Petersburg Summit and subsequently at the October 2013 G20 Ministerial and IMFC meetings. We reaffirm our previous commitment that the distribution of quotas based on the formula should better reflect the relative weights of IMF members in the world economy, which have changed substantially in view of strong GDP growth in dynamic emerging market and developing countries. We reaffirm the need to protect the voice and representation of the IMF poorest members as part of this General Review of Quotas.
- In line with the Leaders' Declaration at the Cannes Summit, we note the ongoing work at the IMF and BIS on global liquidity indicators and will take stock of this work at our next meetings. We call for dissemination of the BIS research and call on the IMF to explore the possibility of incorporating global liquidity issues into its surveillance.
- In Seoul, Cannes and Los Cabos our Leaders recognized the importance of effective financial safety nets. Given an important role played by Regional Financial Arrangements (RFAs), we will assess scope for a more effective dialogue between RFAs, as well as enhancing cooperation and increasing complementarities between the IMF and RFAs, building on the principles for cooperation we agreed on in 2011. We take note of the ongoing work at the IMF on this issue and look forward to an update on it at our next meeting in order to assess possible options for further policy recommendations by the time of the Leaders' Summit in St Petersburg.
Financial Regulation - We welcome the establishment of the FSB as a legal entity with greater financial autonomy and enhanced capacity to coordinate the development and implementation of financial regulatory policies, while maintaining strong links with the BIS. The FSB intends to review the structure of its representation, which is envisaged to be completed by the end of 2014.
- We remain committed to the full, timely and consistent implementation of the internationally agreed financial sector reforms. We urge all jurisdictions to adopt the agreed Basel III reforms as expeditiously as possible. We look forward to progress reports on implementing the Basel III framework, the FSB Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes and the reforms of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivative markets at our April meeting, as well as a comprehensive report on progress in implementing all reforms at the St Petersburg Summit in September. We welcome the Basel Committee's increased focus on comparability of risk-weighted assets and look forward to an update by our July meeting. We reiterate our commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that all global systemically important financial institutions are resolvable, and to promptly address all impediments to the effective home-host cooperation of the resolution authorities for internationally active banks. Operational resolution plans for all global systemically important banks should be developed by end-June 2013. We ask the FSB to deliver by the time of the St Petersburg Summit an assessment of progress towards ending the problem of "too-big-to-fail".
- We stress that all jurisdictions should promptly complete the necessary changes to their legislative and regulatory frameworks to put the agreed OTC derivative reforms into practice. We welcome the FSB's plan to report to the Summit on all members' committed actions to complete these reforms. The FSB will continue to coordinate the monitoring of implementation of OTC derivative reforms. We strongly encourage all jurisdictions to continue working together to ensure national regulatory frameworks avoid cross-border conflicts, inconsistencies, gaps and duplicative requirements. We take note of the December 2012 statement by some regulatory authorities on the regulation of the OTC derivatives markets, in particular their agreement on approaches towards cross-border regulatory issues to be considered. We also look forward to the results of the macroeconomic impact assessment of the OTC derivatives regulatory reforms. The Regulatory Oversight Committee of the global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system was established last month and we look forward to the establishment of the LEI foundation in order to launch the global system in March 2013.
- We reiterate our willingness to strengthen the oversight and regulation of the shadow banking sector. We also look forward to policy recommendations for the oversight and regulation of the shadow banking sector by the Leaders' Summit. We note with concern the delays in the convergence of accounting standards to date and ask the IASB and the FASB to finalize by the end of 2013 their work on key outstanding projects for achieving a single set of high-quality standards. We welcome the FSB's forthcoming peer review to assist authorities in implementing the FSB roadmap to reduce reliance on external credit ratings and we also call on Standard Setting Bodies to do further work in this area. We look forward to IOSCO's report on enhancing transparency and competition issues of the credit rating agencies and to further work on these issues. We also expect more progress on measures to improve the oversight and governance frameworks for financial benchmarks coordinated under the current FSB agenda this year, including the promotion of widespread adoption of principles and good practices and ask for reporting to our Leaders at the St Petersburg Summit. We welcome the FSB's intention to monitor material unintended consequences of financial regulatory reforms for EMDEs as appropriate without prejudice to our commitment to implement the agreed reforms.
- In the tax area, we welcome the OECD report on addressing base erosion and profit shifting and acknowledge that an important part of fiscal sustainability is securing our revenue bases. We are determined to develop measures to address base erosion and profit shifting, take necessary collective actions and look forward to the comprehensive action plan the OECD will present to us in July. We strongly encourage all jurisdictions to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance. We encourage the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information to continue to make rapid progress in assessing and monitoring on a continuous basis the implementation of the international standard on information exchange and look forward to the progress report by April 2013. We reiterate our commitment to extending the practice of automatic exchange of information, as appropriate, and commend the progress made recently in this area. We support the OECD analysis for multilateral implementation in that domain.
- We reiterate our commitments and encourage the FATF to continue to pursue all its objectives, and notably to continue identifying and monitoring high-risk jurisdictions with strategic Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) deficiencies. We look forward to the completion in 2013 of the revision of the FATF assessment process and support ongoing FATF work, including on identification of beneficial owners of corporate vehicles.
- In the prudential area we call for further progress within the FSB to encourage increased adherence to international regulatory and supervisory cooperation and information exchange standards.
Financial Inclusion - We welcome the progress achieved by the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in implementing the Financial Inclusion Action Plan and look forward to the progress report at our July meeting. We reaffirm our commitment to support the implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Peer Learning Program through the GPFI together with its implementing partners and take note of the initiative of the World Bank and development agencies to establish a comprehensive Financial Inclusion Support Framework (FISF). We expect the GPFI to expand the G20 Basic Set of Financial Inclusion Indicators to cover innovative approaches, quality of products, financial literacy and consumer protection with support from the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, CGAP, IFC, OECD and the World Bank by our meeting in July 2013. We expect the progress report on barriers for women and youth to gain access to financial services and financial education, including policy recommendations to be delivered by the GPFI, OECD/INFE and the World Bank by the St Petersburg Summit.
- We welcome the work that the OECD/INFE and the World Bank are undertaking on the development of practical tools for financial literacy measurement and the evaluation of financial education programs and look forward to the progress report on the National Strategies for Financial Education by our July meeting. We look forward to an update report on the work undertaken by the G20/OECD Task Force to support the implementation of the G20 High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection by the St Petersburg Summit. We wait for the FinCoNet Status report on consumer protection supervisory tools and best practices to support supervisory bodies, based on work undertaken by FinCoNet members and on the World Bank Global Survey on Financial Consumer Protection.
Energy, Commodities, Climate Finance - We will produce a report to our Leaders on progress on the G20's contribution to enhance transparency and facilitate better functioning of international commodity and energy markets. We look forward to the report by the IEA, IEF and OPEC on practical steps G20 countries could take to increase transparency in international gas and coal markets, as well as the IOSCO report on progress on the implementation of the principles for the PRAs and the assessment by IOSCO in cooperation with the IEA, IEF and OPEC of the impact of these principles on physical markets. We will continue working to improve the timeliness, completeness and reliability of JODI-Oil and look forward to a progress report this year. We welcome progress on the JODI-Gas database and look forward to its launch in 2013.
- We will voluntarily self-report this year on our efforts to incorporate green growth and sustainable development policies into our structural reform agendas. We will report back to our Leaders on the progress made to rationalize and phase-out over the medium-term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted support for the poorest. We will develop methodological recommendations for and undertake a voluntary peer review process for such fossil fuel subsidies with the view to encourage broad participation and report on the outcomes to our Leaders in St Petersburg. We will continue working towards building a better understanding among G20 members of the underlying issues in the area of climate finance through voluntary knowledge and experience sharing, taking into account the objectives, provisions and principles of the UNFCCC, and report back to our Leaders in 2013.
source: G20
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subset: commoncrawl


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Certain key recommendations from an eminent jurist that call for stricter limitations on Taser use are based on "outdated and inaccurate medical information," according to the Force Science Research Center. Incorporated into departmental policies and practices, these proposals are likely to needlessly increase severe injuries and deaths to subjects and officers alike, recognized use-of-force authorities have told Force Science News.
The recommendations were issued recently as part of a 546-page report on a year-long inquiry into the efficacy and safety of conducted energy weapons, spearheaded by the Honorable Thomas Braidwood, a retired justice with the appellate courts of British Columbia and the Yukon Territories in Canada.
Last Friday [8/14/09], Taser International petitioned the British Columbia Supreme Court to overturn Braidwood's conclusions, claiming that his recommendations will place law enforcement and the public at greater risk. "The [Braidwood] commission did not consider or refer to a substantial body of scientific and medical literature concerning the safety of the device that Taser itself provided to the commission," said an attorney for the manufacturer.
(To read more details of Taser's complaint, click here.)
Braidwood, 50 years a judge and lawyer, was appointed by the BC provincial government to launch the investigation after a disruptive Polish construction worker, Robert Dziekanski, was subjected to multiple Taser applications during a confrontation with Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables about 2 years ago in the Vancouver International Airport and died almost immediately afterward. His was said to be the 16th death following the police use of Tasers in Canada since 2003.
Officially, Braidwood's recommendations—19 in all—are directed only toward law enforcement agencies in British Columbia. But a potential ripple effect is anticipated in some other Canadian provinces, and departments in the U.S. may soon feel pressure to conform as well.
"Some elements of the Braidwood report are well-reasoned, pertinent, and needed," says Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the FSRC. "But some critical ones are not. Unfortunately, I think the flawed components of the report will have a widespread effect and will be cited in any controversy or investigation of Taser use in the United States and throughout the world, to the detriment of officers on the street and the resistant subjects they are attempting to control."
FSRC has no financial relationship with Taser International or any other manufacturer of conducted energy weapons.
The Braidwood Inquiry is designed as a 2-stage effort. The new report on Phase 1, pertaining to CEWs in general and Tasers in particular, can now be viewed and downloaded in full without charge by clicking here. (At the Braidwood website, you can also read transcripts of all the testimony given before Braidwood's commission.) Phase 2, a detailed exploration of Dziekanski's death, was begun earlier this year but is currently in recess, scheduled to resume in September. A release date for that report has not been announced.
Before penning his initial findings and recommendations, Braidwood listened to more than 60 public hearing presentations on CEWs from "a wide range" of commercial, engineering, medical, mental health, law enforcement, civilian oversight, and political interests, his report says, and his staff "explored a variety" of medical, scientific, legal, and policy resources.
Some of Braidwood's conclusions are commendable, Lewinski says. For example, to name just a few positives from the report:
- The jurist states that "there is no doubt that in the great majority of deployments, [the Taser] is effective" and that "on balance" he believes that "our society is better off with [CEWs] in use than without them" (although, as we'll see, he insists some "significant changes" must be made);
- He rejects the idea of declaring a moratorium on Taser use until more research is conducted, as Amnesty International and other activist civil liberties organizations have strenuously advocated.
- He stresses the need for expanded, mandatory, centralized reporting of all incidents in which Tasers are deployed, including when "deployment is limited to display-mode only," to better inform "the development of policy and training."
- He recommends uniform standards, curriculum, and qualifications for CEW training and retraining.
- He exhibits an admirable respect for human life and a concern that police use of force be conservative and responsible, reflecting the cultural values of the populace he serves.
Nonetheless, there are shortcomings in Braidwood's report, say Lewinski and other knowledgeable observers, that should not pass unchallenged.
In his findings, Braidwood devotes considerable attention to the potential risk that Tasering supposedly poses to a subject's heart. "I concluded," he writes, "that even in the case of people with healthy hearts, an external electrical current [from a CEW] can overtake the human body's internal electrical system, resulting in ventricular capture, which may lead to ventricular tachycardia and, in some cases, ventricular fibrillation."
He mentions also the risks of "muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis), which can lead to cardiac arrest or acute renal (kidney) failure" and of spasms "in the muscles of respiration (diaphragm and intercostal muscles), interfering with the subject's ability to breathe."
Bottom line: "I am satisfied from the evidence before me that conducted energy weapons…have the capacity to cause the subject's death."
The problem, Lewinski asserts, is that the medical findings Braidwood relied on came from studies that "in large part were old or poorly done." Given more recent, competent research, "some of that early information appears not to be accurate, and it seems that Judge Braidwood did not get the latest medical information available, or rejected it, which could have led to significantly different conclusions," Lewinski says.
"Some of his conclusions would not be considered plausible or reasonable by contemporary experts in the medical field. They are old, outdated, and biased and not founded on good science."
Current research suggests that among various measures used to control resistant subjects, Tasers are scarcely more stress-inducing than a blast of pepper spray. By far the most taxing to a subject's physical system is struggling with the police [See FSN transmission #127, sent 7/20/09].
Dr. Christine Hall, one of the foremost researchers of in-custody deaths and a medical faculty member at 2 Canadian universities, also takes issue with Braidwood's medical conclusions. Despite his recitation of "theoretical risks," she says, "research done in the field on real subjects in real interactions demonstrates an extremely low complication rate."
Suspects aren't hooked up to a heart monitor when they get Tasered, she points out, and "after death it's impossible to prove what a subject's heart rhythm was at the time of death," and thus impossible to say that ventricular fibrillation has occurred much less that Tasering caused it.
"Those of us who spend a lot of time looking at the medical literature don't find that link, especially when we consider all subjects who die in custody," Hall told FSN.
"No responsible person would ever say that any given control modality could never cause death. There is no 'never' in medicine.
"But if you only focus on blaming CEWs, what's happening with all the other people who die in custody under overwhelmingly similar circumstances except that no CEW was used? We shouldn't be disregarding the large group of in-custody deaths as a whole in favor of pursuing one small sub-set."
Hall testified to that effect before the Braidwood commission, but in his report the judge does not address the larger issue.
(Click here to read an extremely insightful, thorough and impressive elaboration on Hall's position that she prepared specifically for FSN. This is highly recommended reading.)
For whatever reason, Braidwood persisted in accepting the potential for the Taser to inflict severe injury and death, and that concern cascades through a number of his key recommendations.
For instance, departments policing British Columbia generally have regarded the Taser to be an intermediate control weapon, appropriate for dealing, at the lowest threshold, with "actively resistant" subjects. Braidwood wants to raise the bar. He recommends that officers "be prohibited from deploying a [CEW] unless…the subject is causing bodily harm"—in other words, actively assaulting—or the officer has "reasonable grounds" to believe that the subject will do so "imminently."
He elaborates: "[I]t is not enough that the…subject 'has caused' bodily harm, even moments ago. There must be a continuing risk." Moreover, what's "reasonable" can't be left up to the officer's subjective judgment alone. "[A] disinterested third person who is aware of all the circumstances and is acting reasonably [should] also [be able to] reach the same conclusion…[f]or the officer's actions to be justified."
Even if that standard is met, Taser use should still be prohibited, Braidwood recommends, "unless the officer is satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that no lesser force option has been, or will be effective, in eliminating the risk of bodily harm" and that "de-escalation and/or crisis intervention techniques have not been or will not be effective." He believes that police are obligated to "use the least force necessary to manage the risk."
Braidwood especially stresses the importance of mandating a crisis-intervention approach "when dealing with emotionally disturbed people," unless an officer decides, "on reasonable grounds," that such techniques "will not be effective in eliminating the risk of bodily harm." In his view, "the worst possible response is to aggravate or escalate the crisis, such as by deploying a [CEW] and/or using force to physically restrain the subject." Only in "rare," "extreme circumstances," he claims, will crisis intervention techniques "not be effective."
Other of his core recommendations regarding Taser deployment include:
- prohibit Taser use against a suicidal subject unless the subject is actively causing bodily harm to himself or the officer reasonably believes he will do so imminently;
- prohibit a Taser discharge longer than 5 seconds, unless that doesn't work and the officer "is satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that…a further discharge will be effective…";
- require a call for "paramedic assistance…in every medically high-risk situation, preferably before deployment…or, if that is not feasible, then as soon as practicable thereafter." High-risk, in Braidwood's view, involves firing probes across a subject's chest, discharging electrical current for more than 5 seconds, and deploying a device against an EDP, an elderly person, a pregnant woman, or anyone "the officer has reason to believe has a medical condition that may be worsened because of the deployment (e.g., heart disease, implanted pacemaker or defibrillator, etc.)";
- see that officers assigned a CEW also have "an automated external defibrillator readily available for use";
- "prohibit a trainer's or trainee's exposure to the electrical current of a [CEW]," even if voluntary, as part of any instructional curriculum.
Among the use-of-force authorities we consulted in preparing this article was Greg Meyer, former head of the LAPD Police Academy and a technical advisor to FSRC, who is frequently called to testify as an expert on less-lethal devices and their use. Like Lewinski, he believes that some of Braidwood's recommendations for improving training and data collection are highly desirable.
But when it comes to issues of field deployment, "he just doesn't get it, like so many bureaucrats who sit in judgment behind a desk," Meyer says. "Some of the recommendations just won't work at the front-line level on the street.
"A lot of people officers have to deal with are so drunk, so drugged, so mentally ill, so resistant to authority that they are not receptive to verbal efforts to de-escalate the situation. They need to be subdued and they need to be subdued quickly." In these situations, as Hall puts it, "The cards are stacked against 'talk therapy.' "
Meyer continues: "The active-resistance level, where Braidwood says Tasering should now be prohibited, is very often a precursor to a higher-level threat. In a fast-breaking situation, a confrontation can move from active resistance to assault very quickly. If an officer is able to use a Taser at the lower level, he may be able to prevent that escalation. Otherwise, he may suddenly be thrust into the fight of his life. Most times, the officer will win. But there will be times when he he'll lose."
He offers a scenario where an officer is in a standoff with a suspect who's armed with a knife. "Why wait to see what he's going to do with that knife? You should be able to tell him a couple of times to drop it, then use your Taser so he doesn't have an opportunity to put you in a situation where you have to shoot him."
Lewinski adds: "Of course I am in favor of crisis negotiation as a primary option. But using a Taser early in some conflicts—the exact opposite of what Braidwood recommends—can be in the best interests of the suspect. The latest medical science suggests that the longer people struggle with police, the greater the risk of their dying. It's fighting, not Tasering, that's most dangerous."
Also, Meyer expressed concern about the "reasonable grounds" qualifier that Braidwood weaves into several of his recommendations but does not define. "What constitutes a 'reasonable' belief?" Meyer asks. "According to whom? What does that really mean to the brass, to the officer, to his supervisor, to a board of inquiry?"
Under Braidwood's recommendations, he conceives that Taser use could become so restricted and policies so ambiguous "that officers are afraid to use CEWs because of the administrative response and the potential for criminal charges being launched against them." Lewinski says flatly that in light of Braidwood's report, "It is inevitable that the Taser will be used less than it has been."
Indeed, one prominent trainer told us, "If I was on the street I wouldn't take a Taser out at all. If I was ordered to carry one, I would put it on my belt and never use it. I would not trust the way I would be evaluated. No one seems to be interested anymore in what's right, what's lawful, what makes any sense. People have lost their objectivity on this subject."
Meyer claims, "There is no doubt in my mind that because of high-profile incidents like the Vancouver Airport confrontation, a number of officers have stopped carrying and using Tasers and have gone back to conventional control tactics—boots, nightsticks, et cetera."
If Taser use wanes significantly, he predicts, we will see a "tremendous upsurge in subjects who get broken bones and severe internal injuries from conventional tactics, officers who get broken bones and severe injuries while attempting to use these tactics, subjects who are shot to death when an officer is being overpowered, and officers who are shot to death with their own gun when they are overpowered.
"All of these things happened quite routinely before we got Tasers 30 years ago, and such things still happen when officers are not equipped with Tasers or don't think to use them quickly to prevent such tragedies."
Braidwood, incidentally, writes in his report that he considered whether CEWs make interactions safer for officers and suspects alike…and concluded that the evidence was "inconclusive."
In British Columbia, the provincial solicitor-general has said that he expects all police forces operating in the province to comply with all of Braidwood's proposals. In a public statement acknowledging compliance, the RCMP, which polices roughly 70% of the province's population, said it believes the recommendations "will support greater accountability" by officers. The chief of the province's Transit Police Service described the guidelines as "excellent."
Braidwood himself states: "If my recommendations…are implemented, then I am confident that the public will be well served by including [CEWs] in the arsenal of our law enforcement agencies. If they are not, then I cannot support their use."


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Igport Limos
It's All About You
We provide luxury vehicles for weddings as well as corporate transportation, airport transportation, proms, and more. We offer Trolley Buses as well as Escalade Exotic Limos. Hummer Limos are also available. Contact us today for all of your limo service needs.
Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. The city had a population of 394,266 in 2020, making it the second-largest city in the county after Fort Worth and the third-largest city in the metropolitan area, after Dallas and Fort Worth. Arlington is the 50th-most populous city in the United States, the seventh-most populous city in the state of Texas, and the largest city in the state that is not a county seat. Arlington is home to the University of Texas at Arlington, a major urban research university, the Arlington Assembly plant used by General Motors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV, Texas Health Resources, Mensa International, and D. R. Horton.
Arlington Heights, Central Arlington, East Arlington, Hampden Woods, Neighborhood Grill, North Arlington, Southeast Arlington, Southwest Arlington, Stone Creek Addition, Viridian, Watsonville, West Arlington


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N.Y. Cracking Down on Inmates Receiving State Benefits
ALBANY, N.Y. — While the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits nationwide has been on the rise in recent years, it has come to a screeching stop at county jails throughout New York, where officials say an audit found more than 100 inmates receiving nearly $500,000 in fraudulent benefits.
At a joint news conference, the New York State Department of Labor and the New York State Sheriff's Association said that they planned on "slamming the door shut" on inmates receiving ill-gotten benefits. It is illegal in New York for incarcerated persons to receive unemployment insurance benefits.
As of October 2010, the sheriffs association began supplying inmate data from its 57 correctional facilities to the labor department, where investigators will cross-reference names to make certain that inmates do not receive benefits, officials said.
"With a record number of New Yorkers relying on unemployment benefits and a record deficit in our UI Trust Fund, we knew we needed to get tougher and smarter on UI fraud," said State Labor Commissioner Colleen C. Gardner. "These inmates were not thinking about rehabilitation; they were thinking about creative ways to continue to break the law while behind bars. This ends today."
Gardner said that the DOL became aware of the scam in 2009 following an audit by the Office of the State Comptroller, which spotted numerous checks going to addresses at state prison facilities. Gardner said that the DOL immediately began working with officials at the State Department of Correctional Services to check inmate records more frequently and to stop inmates from collecting unemployment insurance while serving time. The results, she said, were immediate, with 126 inmates discovered committing unemployment insurance fraud totaling more than $465,000.
The DOL then went a step further, Gardner said, gathering data from 57 county facilities across the state. Working with the sheriff's association, officials found 84 incarcerated claimants collecting illegal UI benefits totaling $178,000; 251 prisoners receiving payments that were placed on hold pending further investigation. Since April, officials say they have stopped $750,000 in payments and have 284 cases under investigation. Four cases have been referred to District Attorney Offices for prosecution. By year's end, officials say they expect to stop an estimated $3 million in illegal payments.
"The cooperative effort between the Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Labor has worked well to curtail fraudulent activity by offenders in state prisons and we support the expansion of this initiative to county jails," says Brian Fischer, DOCS commissioner.
"This is a perfect example of how data sharing between different government agencies can result in the effective and efficient recovery of state tax dollars," said Sean M. Byrne, acting commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services. "In these difficult times, it is especially important to ensure that government benefits are not squandered and that the honest taxpayers of this state are not cheated. I commend Commissioner Gardner and the New York State Sheriffs' Association for undertaking this creative and important initiative."
Published reports indicate that inmates in New York may be receiving other types of public benefits. In an interview, Broome County Sheriff David Harder says he hadn't encountered any inmates collecting unemployment checks, but he did know of a female inmate that had been receiving disability benefits. Harder says he reported it to state officials, but that the matter was of little interest.
Programs exist in New York and other states to help pre-release inmates that qualify for federal disability benefits to apply for or restart benefits before release, according to reports.


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102nd Common Stock Monthly Dividend Increase Declared By Realty Income
SAN DIEGO, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income, NYSE: O), The Monthly Dividend Company®, today announced its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the company's common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.2265 per share from $0.226 per share. The dividend is payable on July 15, 2019 to shareholders of record as of July 1, 2019. This is the 102nd dividend increase since Realty Income's listing on the NYSE in 1994. The ex-dividend date for July's dividend is June 28, 2019. The new monthly dividend represents an annualized dividend amount of $2.718 per share as compared to the current annualized dividend amount of $2.712 per share.
"We remain committed to our company's mission of paying dependable monthly dividends to our shareholders that increase over time," said Sumit Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income. "Our Board of Directors has once again determined that we are able to increase the amount of the monthly dividend to our shareholders, marking the 102nd increase since our company's public listing in 1994. With the payment of the July dividend, we will have made 588 consecutive monthly dividend payments throughout our 50-year operating history."
About the Company
Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The company is structured as a REIT, and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 5,800 real estate properties owned under long-term lease agreements with regional and national commercial tenants. To date, the company has declared 588 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 50-year operating history and increased the dividend 102 times since Realty Income's public listing in 1994 (NYSE: O). Additional information about the company can be obtained from the corporate website at www.realtyincome.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company's actual future results to differ materially from expected results. These risks include, among others, general economic conditions, local and foreign real estate conditions, tenant financial health, the availability of capital to finance planned growth, continued volatility and uncertainty in the credit markets and broader financial markets, property acquisitions and the timing of these acquisitions, charges for property impairments, and the outcome of any legal proceedings to which the company is a party, as described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as reflections of the company's current operating plans and estimates. Actual operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in this press release. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date these statements were made.
View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/102nd-common-stock-monthly-dividend-increase-declared-by-realty-income-300865979.html
SOURCE Realty Income Corporation


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As a result of significant code changes after 1.54.00 release and lack of communication with community from my part some deprecated code was removed earlier than expected. Notable examples are: DLNAMediaSubtitle, DLNAMediaInfo, DLNAResource and PMS. Also two public methods were renamed in DLNAMediaInfo: getSubtitlesCodes -> getSubtitleTracksList and getAudioCodes -> getAudioTracksList.
Please make necessary fixes for compilation against git HEAD before next ps3ms release.
Maybe this is sign from heaven to finally read all deprecation warnings and change direct access to instance variables to corresponding getters/setters.


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The licensed professional engineer or registered architect will use their discretion to determine how many units will be inspected.
Show All Answers
You are required to furnish, or cause to be furnished, within ninety (90) days from the date of this Notice of Required Building Safety Inspection, the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals Building Safety Inspection Certification Form to the Hallandale Beach Building Inspections Division, prepared by a Florida registered Professional Engineer or Architect registered in the State of Florida, certifying that each such building or structure is structurally and electrically safe, or has been made structurally and electrically safe for the specified use for continued occupancy, in conformity with the minimum inspection procedural guidelines as issued by the Board of Rules and Appeals. Instructions are provided in the notification letters.
For more information please contact us by email or phone (954) 457-3065.
The Building Division is now open to the public Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm. (Excluding Holidays) City hall is closed on Fridays.
No. The entire 40-year report, finding, and corrective measures are all based on the integrity of the Architect's report. Your architect or engineer should prepare a new 40-year Safety Inspection report to be submitted to the Building Department. It is the responsibility of the building owner to pay for and obtain the architect or engineer's report.
No. It is important to note that not only do condominiums and apartments are required to have their 40 or 50-year recertifications. All residential properties larger than a duplex, and at least 3,500SF in size need to be recertified.
The purpose of the inspection is to address structural and electrical life, health, and safety issues; not aesthetic changes.
View our list of properties that have had inspections and whether or not the property passed by visiting our webpage at www.CoHB.org/SafetyInspection
While walk-ins are welcome, appointments are preferred. We strongly encourage you to make an in-person, appointment by contacting us at (954) 457-2220 by dialing OPTION 1 = Inspections or OPTION 2 = Building Permits
Yes, the building owner is responsible to pay and obtain the engineer report and pay the established fees from our building department.
If you are aware that a building, 40 years or older has not been certified, is not listed, or shows signs of severe damage, please notify us on MyHB App or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com
If a property did not meet the 180-day deadline, an extension must be requested. Extensions are granted by the Building Official depending on the situation and complexity of the required work.
If the report finds critical safety concerns, or if the property is non-compliant (no efforts to apply for permits), the Building Official can recommend the structure be deemed unsafe to the Unsafe Structures Board. The City will be arranging for a meeting of the Unsafe Structures Board in the near future.
No. The City's review is based totally on the engineer's report. Their seal certifies the integrity of the report. Repairs will be required as stated by the architect/engineer.
No. An inspection is needed to ensure the electrical and structural exterior of the entire building is in compliance with the 40 Year Building Safety Program. If the work was recently completed, the architect should be able to recertify the building on the required forms. The inspection will not be waived unless the ENTIRE building was demolished.


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Mount Camdeboo
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Fresh city tomatoes, any time
Why not produce lettuce, beans and tomatoes where most of the consumers are to be found: in the city? The flat roofs of many buildings are well-suited for growing vegetables. Rooftop greenhouses can also make use of a building's waste heat and cleaned waste water.
What could be fresher? On his way home from the office, the computer scientist harvests tomatoes from his company's rooftop greenhouse. The plants growing there thrive on the building's purified waste water and waste heat. Plantation systems such as this are still unheard-of in Germany. But they may make their debut soon: "In our inFarming project – which is short for 'integrated farming' – we are developing solutions that can be speedily implemented for the urban landscape. Our goal is to grow vegetables atop existing buildings," certified engineer Volkmar Keuter, project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen, explains. Actually, there are many varieties of plants suitable for growing on city farms. "Along with vegetables and fruit, we also want to look into growing plants that produce active ingredients for medications."
The benefits: reducing the area required for agriculture, almost no transportation costs and, as a result, lower emissions - not to mention the boost in freshness when the tomatoes grow right on the consumer's roof. Waste heat from buildings and additional solar modules would be enough to supply the greenhouses with the energy they need. Semi-transparent solar cells are ideally suited for the purpose because they do not rob the plants of the light they need to grow. Water consumption is minimal, too: in a self-contained system, water used for the plants is circulated back, cleaned and reused. Multifunctional microsieves and photocatalytic and thus self-cleaning coatings keep the water quality high. Nutrients for the plants can even be filtered out of rainwater and waste water. "Our concept relies on hydroponic systems or hydrocultures. A thin, controlled film of water is all it takes for plants to absorb needed nutrients. The advantage: the yield is ten times higher, and soil is too heavy for many building roofs. That is why we are working on systems to supply plants with nutrients," the researcher reports.
In Germany there are around 1,200 million square meters' worth of flat-roofed, non-residential buildings. Roughly a quarter of this area could provide herbs and vegetables with a place to thrive. The plants would then absorb some 28 million metric tons of 28 CO2 in Germany's cities each year. This is the equivalent of 80 percent of CO2emissions produced by industrial operations in Germany. "Our cooperation partner – BrightFarm, a US firm - has already completed several projects in New York. The company started out in 2005 with a small research institution on a raft before going on to build greenhouses atop a school for teaching purposes. This year, 1500 square meters' worth of roof space were developed in both the South Bronx and Brooklyn. Here in Germany, we are building an applications lab at the Fraunhofer-inHaus-Center in Duisburg. This is the Fraunhofer innovation workshop for intelligent room and building systems," certified geographer Simone Krause, Volkmar Keuter's colleague, points out.
The idea for urban agriculture is not new and is a hot topic of discussion at international level. Urban, vertical, sky or rooftop farming are the names by which the various approaches are known. Worldwide, futuristic, garden-bearing structures are the brainchildren of designers and architects in particular. Keuter and Krause, on the other hand, intend to make use of existing buildings. The researchers have their work cut out for them. "For instance, we have to set up logistics chains for regionally produced lettuce and herbs. Other questions include: Which products are best-suited? How widely accepted are nutrient solutions as an alternative to soil? We are relying on very high-quality vegetables, not on mass production," Simone Krause quickly adds. As of yet, there are only a handful of tomatoes growing on rooftops or in high-rises, but the idea is bearing fruit worldwide - after all, the freshness is hard to beat. For further information, visit www.infarming.de.


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The Natural Impulse: Exhilaration
The 20 Most Fun Things You Could Do Outside This Year (No. 12 Is A Must)
This article is presented by the Toyota 4Runner.
Life is too short to settle for ho‐hum adventures. That's why, from biking to skiing to cliff diving, men strive to push every limit of their body and spirit to reach a pinnacle of excitement, enjoyment, and energy. But thrill‐seekers don't have to travel across the globe to try a new adventure — right here in America, guys have access to some of the most unforgettable, exhilarating natural splendors on Earth. Better still, many of these locations combine jaw‐dropping beauty with intense physical activity. Read on for the list of the most exhilarating spots in the United States and start planning the next trip.
Ski At Corbet's Couloir
Wyoming, USA
Welcome to "America's scariest ski slope." With an elevation drop of 4,139 feet, there's no ski run in the country like it. But they don't tread lightly around this: At the top there's an ominous sign that reads, "Our mountain is like nothing you have skied before! It is huge. You could become lost. You could make a mistake and suffer personal injury or death. Give this special mountain the respect it demands!" Skiers are advised to keep their weight forward because trying to stop while going 40 mph could be disastrous. After a successful jump, however, the shape of the narrow slope opens up to a thrilling 200‐meter run of sick powder.
Raft The Colorado River
Arizona, USA
The Grand Canyon is known for its breathtaking natural wonders — so why not whitewater raft through some of the high‐speed rapids along the Colorado River that weaves through the desert rock? This visit is the ultimate destination for multi‐day rafting in the United States, with 226 miles of exhilarating water and rapids that go up to Class V. Come for the thrilling and intense rafting, but stay for the amazing side trips, hikes, and scenic beauty.
Ski At Body Bag
Crested Butte, Colorado, USA
If a ski run is called the "Body Bag," there's a good chance it's going to be very difficult. From the top, you can only see the horizon because the slope drops off with a 275‐foot vertical descent at a 55‐degree angle. Yeah, it's that serious. Then, at the end, the run greets skiers with a mandatory 10‐foot air. With such intensity, it's no wonder that it hosts the Freeskiing World Tour, featuring many of the best winter athletes in the world. If it's good enough for them, it'll be good enough for even the biggest thrill‐seeker.
Cliff Dive At South Point Cliffs
Hawaii, USA
Looking for one of the most beautiful spots to cliff dive in the 50 states? Well, with heights of over 75 feet, the South Point Cliffs on the big island of Hawaii offer an iconic jump at the birthplace of the sport. When the Hawaiian King Kahekili ruled in the 1700's, he actually tested his warriors' loyalty and bravery by having them jump off the ledge into the rough waters. For those who make the trip to the southernmost point in the United States, they'll peer at the endless ocean horizon to reenact the legendary ritual and enjoy one the most exciting cliff dives in the world.
Ski The Fingers
Olympic Valley, California, USA
With a 2,000‐foot vertical, The Fingers of Squaw Valley in Tahoe offer some of the fastest skis you'll find in America. The "Main Air" line shoots skiers on a 40‐foot air as they progress to the "Middle Knuckle" line that congratulates them with a 60‐degree pitch. Better still is the energy of the area — there's always a mass of other skiers and snowboarders waiting for their turn from the bottom, providing an unforgettable stage. Reach the bottom in one piece and riders can take home the memories (and bragging rights).
Mountain Bike The Bangtail Divide Trail
Montana, USA
The Bangtail Divide Trail in Bozeman is roughly 31 miles long with smooth singletrack trails with a variety of switchbacks, rocky climbs, and gentle pine forests. Although it's not the most difficult or longest trail in the U.S. (but certainly for intermediates and above), it offers some of the most epic views in North America — scenes of fields of grass wildflowers, inspirational mountains ranges, and beautiful forests.
Trail Run The Poison Mesa Trail
Utah, USA
The Poison Spider Mesa Trail in Moab is a must‐do for the savvy trail runner. With gorgeous sandstone trails and an absolutely breathtaking scene of red‐rock desert, the exhilaration of the 13‐mile loop will blow anyone away. Runners will navigate the undulating trail and rocks with a backdrop of the Moab and the La Sal Mountains. Oh, and no, there are NO poisonous spiders on the trail (thank goodness).
Kayak The Upper Iowa River
Iowa, USA
Although Iowa is known for its flat terrain and seemingly infinite cornfields, don't let that fool you — the Upper Iowa River in northeast Iowa (just west of Decorah) gives kayakers stunning, 330‐foot limestone bluffs and spires as a backdrop, not to mention the assortment of beautiful coniferous trees. This section of the river can be paddled for 110 miles with a current that can become fast and powerful. This is the way to enjoy all the charm and beauty of the Iowa.
Hike The Horseshoe Bend
Arizona, USA
The Horseshoe Bend hike is the ultimate Grand Canyon experience: After about a 0.75‐mile distance, hikers will discover an absolutely jaw‐dropping view of a natural wonder where the clear, green Colorado River curls into a horseshoe‐shape. Stand in silence and awe as you overlook a 1000‐foot drop to the bottom and admire the beauty millions of years in the making. Better still, every experience on this trail is brand new because the colors of the rocks change throughout the day, the shadows move around the shapes, and the river changes hues.
Hike At Avalanche Lake
Montana, USA
Located in the stunning Glacier National Park, the Avalanche Lake hike is about 5 miles with a moderate difficult rating. So why is it so exhilarating? About halfway through, hikers will witness the awe‐inspiring view of Avalanche Lake that hugs the base of the Bearhat Mountain — rising about 4800 above the waters — and Little Matterhorn. Admire the view as you gaze at the waterfalls that flow into the lake and the lush surrounding forest or even bring swimming clothes and take a dip in the cold, crisp water. Make sure to bring a camera.
Hike Mount Whitney
California, USA
At 14,505 feet, Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Yet people can actually hike up to the top with a direct 10.7‐mile trail on the east side of the Sierra. The ascent of the trail? 8360 feet. For the real adventure junkies, the High Sierra Trail starts from the west side of Sequoia National Park, carves through some of the most beautiful natural wonders in the country, and takes a minimum of 6 days (or 10 days for a round trip) to complete. Hikers will definitely want to spend a few days beforehand to acclimate themselves to the high altitudes before beginning the journey. Also, note that a permit is required to hike any of the trails in the Mt. Whitney zone. It's a small price to pay for the most thrilling hike in the "lower 48."
Hike Trail Ridge Road
Colorado, USA
The Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in the United States, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet; it follows a path that the Ute and other Native American peoples used for thousands of years. With numerous trails that connect to the main road, hikers will find incredible, picturesque views of the Rocky Mountains and Front Range — even at night, visitors can enjoy the city lights that stretch from Fort Collins to Denver. The weather can change quickly, so be prepared; also, at such an elevation, even an easier hike can seem challenging.
Bungee Jump At Redwoods State Park
Humboldt, California, USA
This is as unique of a bungee jumping experience as you will find on Earth. It's not a bridge or building — it's a tree. Imagine gazing up at those giant, magnificent redwood trees of Northern California before physically climbing the tree to reach the top. Then, walk along a tight rope between two trees before performing a 150‐foot bungee jump in the dense forest. With such an unforgettable free fall, it's a thrill of a lifetime.
Cliff Dive at Red Rocks Park
Vermont, USA
This jump is NOT for beginners. With narrow inlets, varying water levels, and a roughly 80‐foot jump into the frigid waters of Lake Champlain, the challenge is very real. But for the cliff divers with experience and, well, lots of bravery, it's one of the most exhilarating places in the United States. Imagine standing atop the cliff and absorbing the gorgeous New England scenery before doing a thrilling free fall into cold, blue waters — yeah, that'll wake someone up.
Cliff Dive At Havasu Falls
Arizona, USA
The Havasu Falls, just outside of the Grand Canyon in the Havasupai Reservation of Arizona, offers a 125‐foot free fall before landing into deep, crystal blue waters. It's an insanely dangerous jump — due to the height — but there are plenty of shorter jumps nearby. Regardless of the height jumpers choose, the Havasu Falls gives visitors jaw‐dropping views from the top of the natural, desert beauty with areas down below where the rocks create a natural pool area for some laidback lounging.
Mountain Bike Trail 401
Colorado, USA
For the mountain biking enthusiast, Trail 401 in Crested Butte, Colorado features breathtaking views of some of the most beautiful natural sights North America has to offer. As you start, riders will climb over 2200 feet on a single track through dense trees; once the trees opens up, however, they'll reach an elevation of 11,339 feet on a single track with 360‐degree views of the famous Elk range. It's not the most difficult ride there is, but because it's about two miles above sea level, it'll feel just as hard.
Raft The Rogue River
Oregon, USA
The Rogue River in Southern Oregon combines gorgeous Pacific Northwest scenery with thrilling whitewater rafting that cuts through majestic canyons. With over 80 rapids for enthusiasts of every level, visitors will have a blast as they navigate the exciting drops and turns. Want some downtime after an intense day rafting at Rogue River? Feel free to do some fishing and hiking in the beautiful surrounding wilderness.
Bodyboard At Sandy Beach
Hawaii, USA
This is the center of the bodyboarding world. Known as the birthplace of the sport, Sandy Beach on South Shore of the Oahu Island offers a massive, unique shorebreak — an unparalleled thrill. Because of the natural geography, the waves will take off almost vertically, move deceptively fast and powerfully, and come from every direction; even the experienced will have to overcome these challenges to make a wave. Stay safe and bodyboarders will be rewarded with one of the most exciting rides of their lives.
Surf At North Shore
Hawaii, USA
With over seven miles of coastline, the North Shore on the island of Oahu is a legendary surf spot with awesome, glassy waves. The Banzai pipeline, for example, is known for the enormous waves that break for the perfect tube ride and the area is host to the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing — also known as the "Super Bowl of Surfing." For those that make the pilgrimage to one of surfing's most iconic spots, they'll have the chance to score the biggest wave of their lives.
Raft At Cherry Creek
Tuolumne County, California, USA
Cherry Creek in Stanislaus National Forest could be the most challenging river in the United States for rafting. Falling more than 100 vertical feet per mile, Cherry Creek offers 15 Class V rapids — that's a higher concentration than any other commercially rafted river in the Americas. In other words, those brave enough to try need to be in great physical condition and strong swimmers (in case they fall). But make it to the bottom and everyone will feel extreme exhilaration because, while the rapids toss you about, you'll pass gorgeous hills, beautiful trees, and enormous granite boulders.
Extreme sports


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Visitation (Christianity)
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The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1:39–56. It is also the name of a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West (2 July in calendars of the 1263–1969 period, and in the modern regional calendar of Germany) and 30 March among Eastern Christians.
Mary visits her relative Elizabeth; they are both pregnant. Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went "into the hill country...into a city of Judah" (Luke 1:39) to attend to her cousin Elizabeth. There are several possibilities as to exactly which city this was, including Hebron, south of Jerusalem, and Ein Karem. The journey from Nazareth to Hebron is about 130 kilometres (81 mi) in a direct line, probably up to half as far again by road, depending on the route taken. Elizabeth was in the sixth month before Mary came (Luke 1:36). Mary stayed three months, and most scholars hold she stayed for the birth of John. Given the prevailing cultural traditions and needs for security etc., it is probable that Joseph accompanied Mary to Judah then returned to Nazareth, and came again after three months to take his wife home. The apparition of the angel, mentioned in Matthew 1:19–25, may have taken place then to end the tormenting doubts of Joseph regarding Mary's maternity.[1]
In the Gospel of Luke, the author's accounts of the Annunciation and Visitation are constructed using eight points of literary parallelism to compare Mary to the Ark of the Covenant.[2][3]
In Catholicism, it is held that the purpose of this visit was to bring divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child. Even though he was still in his mother's womb, John became aware of the presence of Christ, and leapt for joy as he was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace. Elizabeth also responded and recognised the presence of Jesus, thus Mary exercised her function as mediatrix between God and man for the first time.[1]
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And she [Elizabeth] spoke out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb. And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. (Luke 1:42–45)
It is also at this point, in response to Elizabeth's remark, that Mary proclaims the Magnificat (My soul doth magnify the Lord), Luke 1:46–55, for which reason this canticle had traditionally been reserved for this feast day.
In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Visitation is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary.
Western Christianity
The theme of the Feast of the Visitation centers on Mary responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to set out on a mission of charity.[4]
This feast is of medieval origin. It was kept by the Order of Friars Minor before 1263 when Saint Bonaventure recommended it and the Franciscan chapter adopted it, and the Franciscan Breviary spread it to many churches. In 1389 Pope Urban VI, hoping thereby to obtain an end to the Great Western Schism, inserted it in the Roman Calendar, for celebration on 2 July.[5] In the Tridentine Calendar, it was a Double. When that Missal of Pope Pius V was replaced by that of Pope Clement VIII in 1604, the Visitation became a Double of the Second Class. It remained so until Pope John XXIII reclassified it as a Second-Class Feast in 1962.[6] It continued to be assigned to 2 July, the day after the end of the octave following the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, who was still in his mother's womb at the time of the Visitation.
The 1969 revision of the calendar moved it to 31 May, "between the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (25 March) and that of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June), so that it would harmonize better with the Gospel story."[7]
The Catholic Church in Germany (together with the Lutheran) has, with the consent of the Holy See, kept the 2 July date as a national variation of the General Roman Calendar. July 2 is observed also by Traditionalist Catholics who use a pre-1970 calendar, and by Anglicans who use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (in some Anglican traditions it is merely a commemoration rather than a feast day).[8]
Eastern Christianity
The celebration of a feast day commemorating this event in the Eastern Orthodox Church is of relatively recent origin, dating only to the 19th century. The impetus to establish a feast day in the Liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church, and the composition of a service to be included in the Menaion, were the work of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin (1817–1894), head of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem.[9] The Gorneye Convent in Jerusalem, which was built on the traditional site of the Meeting of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) and St. Elizabeth, celebrates this Feast on 30 March. (Julian Calendar 30 March corresponds, until 2099, to Gregorian Calendar 12 April.) If 30 March falls between Lazarus Saturday and Pascha (Easter), the Visitation Feast is transferred to Bright Friday. Celebration of the Feast of the Visitation has not yet been accepted by all Orthodox jurisdictions.
In Syriac Christianity the feast of the Visitation is celebrated on the third Sunday in the Season of Announcements prior to Christmas.[10]
See also
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Holweck, Frederick. Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 11 Oct. 2013
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ https://stpaulcenter.com/studies/lesson/lesson-three-the-ark-of-the-new-covenant
- ↑ Samaha S.M., Br. John M. The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PDF)
- ↑ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 93
- ↑ General Roman Calendar of 1960
- ↑ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 128
- ↑ http://prayerbook.ca/resources/bcponline/calendar/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.syrianorthodoxchurch.org/library/essays/the-holy-virgin-mary-in-the-syrian-orthodox-church
External links
- The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth – Orthodox icon and synaxarion
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Visitation (Bible). |
Visitation (Christianity)
Preceded by | New Testament Events |
Succeeded by The Nativity |


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Adobe Earnings: An Early Look
Earnings season is winding down, with most companies already having reported their quarterly results. But there are still some companies left to report, and Adobe is about to release its quarterly earnings. The key to making smart investment decisions with stocks releasing their quarterly reports is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
Software giant Adobe is best known for its PDF-reader and photo-editing software, but the company has a much broader reach across the creative-design, publishing, and online analytics segments. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Adobe over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report on Tuesday.
Stats on Adobe
Analyst EPS Estimate | $0.31 |
Change From Year-Ago EPS | (46%) |
Revenue Estimate | $986 million |
Change From Year-Ago Revenue | (5.7%) |
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters | 2 |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Will Adobe paint a prettier picture this quarter?
Analysts have had some concerns about Adobe's prospects in recent months, cutting their earnings estimates for the just-ended quarter by $0.02 per share and slashing nearly a dime from full fiscal-year 2013 consensus earnings. But the stock hasn't responded badly to those fears, rising 10% since mid-December.
Among consumers, Adobe's Acrobat PDF-reader and Photoshop image software represent the company's most visible products. Yet among investors, Adobe is arguably best known for the battle it had with Apple over its Flash software, as Apple infamously said it would never include Flash in any of its mobile devices. In response, Adobe shifted to the more widely accepted HTML5, showing the influence that the iDevice maker had in the mobile space.
Adobe has had difficulty bouncing back both from that battle and the broader economic recession. Although Adobe has grown its revenue, profits still lag behind where they were in 2008. Moreover, last quarter, it gave disappointing guidance for 2013, pointing to expected revenue and profit declines for the fiscal year. Right now, analysts expect a 40% drop in earnings per share this year, with only a muted bounce in fiscal 2014.
Looking forward, the company is trying to join the trend toward cloud computing with its "Creative Cloud" initiative, whereby Adobe will offer monthly subscription packages rather than pricey software licenses. Yet as better-established cloud rivals salesforce.com and IBM build out their offerings, they're likely to come up with products, either on their own or through partnerships with smaller companies, that will compete directly with Adobe's offerings.
In its quarterly report, watch for Adobe to give a status update on its efforts to become a bigger player in the cloud-computing industry. For better or worse, Adobe appears committed to the strategy, and the short-term impact on earnings could lead to more rewarding long-term success if the company can figure out how to beat its new rivals.
Apple has had huge influence in technology for years, but what's less certain is whether Apple's stock remains a buy. The Motley Fool's senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.
Click here to add Adobe to My Watchlist, which can find all of our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.
The article Adobe Earnings: An Early Look originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Dan Caplinger owns shares of Apple. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool recommends Adobe Systems, Apple, and salesforce.com and owns shares of Apple and IBM. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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New App Watches Your Every Move
Once in a while, you might feel like you're being watched. Lately, I know I am, thanks to a smart-phone app that stealthily tracks my every move, no check-ins required, with greater accuracy than common geolocation tools.
Called Placeme, the free app takes advantage of the smart phone's sensors and its GPS and Wi-Fi capabilities to figure out where I go and for how long, and stores this data in a private log on my iPhone.
It may sound creepy or unnecessary, but as more people carry smart phones with them everywhere, demand for this kind of persistent location tracking may grow—not just from marketers, but also from individuals who want to keep an eye on their own movements or of loved ones with medical conditions such as Alzheimer's. At least, that's the hope of the startup behind Placeme, Alohar Mobile, which has also released a software development kit to help coders create apps that can log your movements accurately and efficiently—without running down the battery in your smart phone.
To use Placeme, available for the iPhone and phones running Google's Android software, you must keep both your GPS and Wi-Fi on. As you travel around, the app will silently log the places you visit. Within the app, you can view day-by-day maps of where you've been. Each destination you spent time at is marked by little pins; tap on a pin to see how long you were there and check out a Google Street View image of the location. You can also add notes about a location (a favorite dish at a restaurant, perhaps). There's also a searchable, alphabetical log of all your destinations.
The app gathers data from your phone's various sensors and GPS and Wi-Fi, encrypts that data, sends it over a secure connection to Alohar's servers, and then calculates your location. To cut down on battery drain, locations are calculated remotely, and the app only takes GPS data samples at certain times (like when the accelerometer is active).
Alohar Mobile cofounders Alvin Lau and Sam Liang imagine a future in which apps can draw useful information from all this location data: for instance, automatically alerting emergency services if you're injured in a car crash and letting paramedics know precisely where you are. An app for Alzheimer's patients and their families could show where that person has gone in the last 24 hours.
Lau and Liang have demonstrated these types of apps at recent conferences, and they're hoping developers will come up with many more applications, ranging from health and fitness to shopping, using their platform. More than 250 developers have so far signed up to use their free software development kit since it was released several weeks ago.
Key to Alohar's platform is making location detection more precise than it normally is. Liang, formerly a platform architect for Google's location server platform, says that using GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell tower triangulation, as many apps and services including Google Maps do, can result in a wide margin of error—illustrated in Google Maps by the transparent blue ring that pulses around the blue dot marking your current location to indicate a degree of uncertainty.
Alohar says that location detection that incorporates data from the other sensors on a smart phone, such as the accelerometer and compass, can calculate your location more exactly. Though they haven't yet made this feature available to developers, Lau says, Alohar's platform can also determine if you're walking or driving.
David Petersen, CEO of Sense Networks, a company that mines location data for useful information about an area, thinks there's plenty of room for improvement in location data gathering. While GPS can accurately show where you are, it sucks up so much battery life that your phone is often not using it to pinpoint you, he says, and other methods are less reliable. He notes that greater accuracy could also mean better targeted ads. "I think these guys are working on a very valuable piece of the puzzle," he says.
Alohar has a ways to go, though. In dense urban areas, it seemed to have trouble determining exactly where I was, and it didn't mark every place I went. Fortunately, it can be trained. Once I taught it that I live down the street from a Pilates studio and not inside it, the app was able to correctly mark me as home whenever I was actually there. Which, according to Placeme, is more often than I'd like to admit.
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