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HCG Diet – Excellent Idea Or Not necessarily?
- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by lucy520.
October 20, 2011 at 2:54 am #15441DarbyParticipant
There isn't any good physiological reason why a HCG diet would work.
October 30, 2011 at 2:52 am #107438daniel.kurzParticipant
The HCG diet is not a diet. By definition diet is a pattern of eating that may be influenced by culture, accessibility, or otherwise personal choice. Diet has become a misnomer wording to mean when people are trying to lose weight, but it really means when anyone makes a selective choice about what they consume.
The HCG treatment involves the injection of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin. The idea of injecting this hormone came from the birth control where women are given an artificial does of human hormones to mimic a natural physiological response. Birth control pills work by many ways but that is not the point of this topic. The compound HCG is normally made by a developing embryo and soon after the placenta. The word chorionic comes from the chorion membrane that surrounds the baby and separates it from its mother. The chemical is made during the pregnancy to go out into the mother's blood where it will act upon the pituitary, ovaries, and other glands in the body leading to a huge number of interactions. The one that you are looking at is increased lipolysis (increased breakdown of fat) which is presumably a good thing because it leads to lots of free fatty acids in the blood stream that will go to the developing embryo/fetus. Those fatty acids will be used in a multitude of ways to construct cell membranes, cell signals, etc.
The idea works and HCG does work as an activator of lipolysis in the human body (very well actually). However, this chemical is normally made during pregnancy. It plays with the levels of many other hormones that are affected by birth control. The hormones affected may cause you to grow unpleasant amounts of hair, lose the ability to reproduce, or a multitude of other bad effects not yet studied. The point is we don't have a clear understanding of how HCG affects the human female body in the long term and if it won't cause very detrimental effects. There are better ways to lose fat that a registered dietician or NCSA/ACSM certified personal trainer can help you with.
October 30, 2011 at 2:58 am #107440canalonParticipant
Moved to a more appropriate forum.
January 18, 2012 at 3:27 am #109072LouisaParticipant
Much better if we take nutritious food and exercise daily than to take HCG Diet. DIET, means Nutrition in relation to our food.
February 29, 2012 at 8:22 am #109926lucy520Participant
Every food sometimes can't provide human daily all the necessary nutrition elements, then a variety of vitamins can for even the most careful patrons to fill gaps in nutrition. Please choose a card-carrying member of the vitamins.
If every day you eat red meat, such as red meat, fish or several times a week to try chicken can improve your cholesterol level. Also, you can also change from cream to Gan pulls oil.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Recommended reading order for the 1632 series
(aka the Ring of Fire series)
By Eric Flint
Updated from January 21, 2016
Whenever someone asks me "what's the right order?" for reading the 1632 series, I'm always tempted to respond: "I have no idea. What's the right order for studying the Thirty Years War? If you find it, apply that same method to the 1632 series."
However, that would be a bit churlish—and when it comes down to it, authors depend upon the goodwill of their readers. So, as best I can, here goes. The first book in the series, obviously, is 1632. That is the foundation novel for the entire series and the only one whose place in the sequence is definitely fixed.
Thereafter, you should read either the anthology titled Ring of Fire or the novel 1633, which I co-authored with David Weber. It really doesn't matter that much which of these two volumes you read first, so long as you read them both before proceeding onward. That said, if I'm pinned against the wall and threatened with bodily harm, I'd recommend that you read Ring of Fire before you read 1633.
That's because 1633 has a sequel which is so closely tied to it that the two volumes almost constitute one single huge novel. So, I suppose you'd do well to read them back to back.
That sequel is 1634: The Baltic War, which I also co-authored with David Weber. 1632, 1633, 1634: The Baltic War, 1635: The Eastern Front and this novel constitutes what can be considered the "main line" or even the spinal cord of the entire series. Why? First, because it's in these five novels that I depict the major political and military developments which have a tremendous impact on the entire complex of stories. Secondly, because these "main line" volumes focus on certain key characters in the series—Mike Stearns and Rebecca Abrabanel, first and foremost, as well as Gretchen Richter and Jeff Higgins. Once you've read 1632, Ring of Fire, 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War, you will have a firm grasp of the basic framework of the series. From there, you can go in one of two directions: either read 1634: The Ram Rebellion or 1634: The Galileo Affair.
There are advantages and disadvantages either way. 1634: The Ram Rebellion is an oddball volume, which has some of the characteristics of an anthology and some of the characteristics of a novel. It's perhaps a more challenging book to read than the Galileo volume, but it also has the virtue of being more closely tied to the main line books. Ram Rebellion is the first of several volumes which basically run parallel with the main line volumes but on what you might call a lower level of narrative. A more positive way of putting that is that these volumes depict the changes produced by the major developments in the main line novels, as those changes are seen by people who are much closer to the ground than the statesmen and generals who figure so prominently in books like 1632, 1633, and 1634: The Baltic War. Of course, the distinction is only approximate. There are plenty of characters in the main line novels—Thorsten Engler and Eric Krenz spring immediately to mind—who are every bit as "close to the ground" as any of the characters in 1634: The Ram Rebellion.
Whichever book you read first, I do recommend that you read both of them before you move on to 1634: The Bavarian Crisis. In a way, that's too bad, because Bavarian Crisis is something of a direct sequel to 1634: The Baltic War. The problem with going immediately from Baltic War to Bavarian Crisis, however, is that there is a major political development portrayed at length and in great detail in 1634: The Galileo Affair which antedates the events portrayed in the Bavarian story.
Still, you could read any one of those three volumes—to remind you, these are 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1634: The Galileo Affair and 1634: The Bavarian Crisis—in any order you choose. Just keep in mind that if you read the Bavarian book before the other two you will be getting at least one major development out of chronological sequence.
After those three books are read, you should read 1635: A Parcel of Rogues, which I co-authored with Andrew Dennis. That's one of the two sequels to 1634: The Baltic War, the other one being 1635: The Eastern Front. The reason you should read Parcel of Rogues at this point is that most of it takes place in the year 1634.
Thereafter, again, it's something of a toss-up between three more volumes: the second Ring of Fire anthology and the two novels, 1635: The Cannon Law and 1635: The Dreeson Incident. On balance, though, I'd recommend reading them in this order because you'll get more in the way of a chronological sequence:
Ring of Fire II
1635: The Cannon Law
1635: The Dreeson Incident
The time frame involved here is by no means rigidly sequential, and there are plenty of complexities involved. To name just one, my story in the second Ring of Fire anthology, the short novel "The Austro-Hungarian Connection," is simultaneously a sequel to Virginia's story in the same anthology, several stories in various issues of the Gazette—as well as my short novel in the first Ring of Fire anthology, The Wallenstein Gambit.
What can I say? It's a messy world—as is the real one. Still and all, I think the reading order recommended above is certainly as good as any and probably the best.
We come now to Virginia DeMarce's 1635: The Tangled Web. This collection of inter-related stories runs parallel to many of the episodes in 1635: The Dreeson Incident and lays some of the basis for the stories which will be appearing in the next anthology, 1635: The Wars on the Rhine. This volume is also where the character of Tata who figures in Eastern Front and Saxon Uprising is first introduced in the series.
You should then backtrack a little and read 1635: The Papal Stakes, which is the direct sequel to 1635: The Cannon Law.
You can then go back to the "main line" of the series and read 1635: The Eastern Front and 1636: The Saxon Uprising. I strongly recommend reading them back to back. These two books were originally intended to be a single novel, which I wound up breaking in half because the story got too long. They read better in tandem.
Then, read Ring of Fire III. My story in that volume is directly connected to 1636: The Saxon Uprising and will lay some of the basis for the sequel to that novel. After that, read 1636: The Kremlin Games. That novel isn't closely related to any other novel that has yet come out in the series, though, so you could read it almost any time after reading the first few volumes.
Thereafter, the series branches out even further and there are several books you should read. I'd recommend the following order, but in truth it doesn't really matter all that much which order you follow in this stretch of the series: 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies picks up on the adventures of Eddie Cantrell following the events depicted in 1634: The Baltic War. 1636: The Cardinal Virtues depicts the opening of the French civil war which was also produced by the events related in The Baltic War and which has been foreshadowed in a number of stories following that novel.
Iver Cooper's 1636: Seas of Fortune takes place in the Far East and in the New World. The portion of it titled "Stretching Out" may have some spoilers to Commander Cantrell in the West Indies and vice versa, but nothing too important 1636: The Devil's Opera takes place in Magdeburg and might have some spoilers if you haven't read Saxon Uprising. My co-author on this novel, David Carrico, also has an e-book available titled 1635: Music and Murder which contains stories published in various anthologies that provide much of the background to The Devil's Opera.
1636: The Viennese Waltz comes after Saxon Uprising in the sense that nothing in it will be spoiled by anything in Saxon Uprising but you might find out Mike's whereabouts early if you read it first. On the other hand, the e-book 1636: The Barbie Consortium (the authors of which are Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett) is a direct prequel to Viennese Waltz and should be read first to introduce you to the young ladies dancing the Viennese Waltz.
1636: The Viennese Waltz is also one of the three immediate prequels to the next main line novel in the series, which is 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught. The book is scheduled for publication in January of 2017—a year from now— and, as is true with most of the main line novels, I'm the sole author. If you're wondering, the other two immediate prequels are 1636: The Saxon Uprising and my short novel "Four Days on the Danube," which was published in Ring of Fire III.
As long as I'm foreshadowing titles that'll be published in 2016, the next volumes coming out after 1635: Parcel of Rogues are these two: Ring of Fire IV (forthcoming May, 2016). There are a number of stories in this volume written by different authors including David Brin. From the standpoint of the series' reading order, however, probably the most important is my own story "Scarface." This short novel serves simultaneously as a sequel to The Papal Stakes and The Dreeson Incident, in that the story depicts the further adventures of Harry Lefferts after Papal Stakes and Ron Stone and Missy Jenkins following The Dreeson Incident.
1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflotz, by Kerryn Offord and Rick Boatright (forthcoming August, 2016). As with The Devil's Opera, this is a story set in the middle of the United States of Europe as it evolves. In this case, relating the adventures of a seventeenth century scholar—a descendant of the great Paracelsus—who becomes wealthy by translating the fuzzy and erroneous American notions of "chemistry" into the scientific precision of alchemy. That leaves the various issues of the Gazette, which are really hard to fit into any precise sequence. The truth is, you can read them pretty much any time you choose.
It would be well-nigh impossible for me to provide any usable framework for the over seventy electronic issues of the magazine, so I will restrict myself simply to the six volumes of the Gazette which have appeared in paper editions. With the caveat that there is plenty of latitude, I'd suggest reading them as follows:
Read Gazette I after you've read 1632 and alongside Ring of Fire. Read Gazettes II and III alongside 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War, whenever you're in the mood for short fiction. Do the same for Gazette IV, alongside the next three books in the sequence, 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1634: The Galileo Affair and 1634: The Bavarian Crisis. Then read Gazette V after you've read Ring of Fire II, since my story in Gazette V is something of a direct sequel to my story in the Ring of Fire volume. You can read Gazette V alongside 1635: The Cannon Law and 1635: The Dreeson Incident whenever you're in the mood for short fiction. Gazette VI can be read thereafter, along with the next batch of novels recommended.
Finally, I'd recommend reading the most recent Gazette volume—that's Grantville Gazette VII, published in April of 2015—any time after you've read 1636: The Cardinal Virtues.
And… that's it, as of now. There are a lot more volumes coming. For those of you who dote on lists, here it is. But do keep in mind, when you examine this neatly ordered sequence, that the map is not the territory. Scroll down for the graphical version if you like flow-charts.
- 1632
- Ring of Fire
- 1633
- 1634: The Baltic War
- (Somewhere along the way, after you've finished 1632, read the stories and articles in the first three paper edition volumes of the Gazette.)
- 1634: The Ram Rebellion
- 1634: The Galileo Affair
- 1634: The Bavarian Crisis
- 1635: A Parcel of Rogues
- (Somewhere along the way, read the stories and articles in the fourth paper edition volume of the Gazette.)
- Ring of Fire II
- 1635: The Cannon Law
- 1635: The Dreeson Incident
- 1635: The Tangled Web (by Virginia DeMarce)
- (Somewhere along the way, read the stories in Gazette V.)
- 1635: The Papal Stakes
- 1635: The Eastern Front
- 1636: The Saxon Uprising
- Ring of Fire III
- 1636: The Kremlin Games
- (Somewhere along the way, read the stories in Gazette VI.)
- 1636: Commander Cantrell in the West Indies
- 1636: The Cardinal Virtues
- 1635: Music and Murder (by David Carrico—this is an e-book edition only)
- 1636: The Devil's Opera
- 1636: Seas of Fortune (by Iver Cooper)
- 1636: The Barbie Consortium (by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett—this is an ebook edition only)
- 1636: The Viennese Waltz
- (Somewhere along the way, read the stories in Gazette VII.)
- Ring of Fire IV
- 1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflotz
- 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught
Eric Flint


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How much of a difference does it make for Trials Evolution to have tracks set in the great outdoors? A whole bunch. As great as the tracks in Trials HD were, Evolution's levels open up a whole new plateau of vertigo and surprise. Here, you'll see two of my favorites, Roller Coaster and Sewage Plant.
On the first, I manage to notch my best time yet and on the second, I struggle a bit more. With each track, you'll see the finicky demanding physics of the game at work. Controlling your weight and momentum in Evolution is maddening but deliver some thrilling moments when you least expect it. You should really play it.


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There are many superstitions associated with cats, partly because the cat has lived alongside humans for many millennia. The cat was worshipped in Egypt and to kill one was considered a capital crime. When an Egyptian family's cat died, the cat was mummified and the family went into mourning. Romans, also, considered the cat sacred and introduced it into Europe. By the 17th Century, however, the cat began to be associated with witchcraft and it's luck turned from good to bad in many areas. A practice that became popular for a time was to burn cats and other animals on Shrove Tuesday (before the start of Lent), in order to protect one's home from fire and other calamities.
Superstitions centering around the black cat are some of the most well-known and popular superstitions today. It is interesting, though, because the good or bad luck they possess is dependent on where you live in the world. In Britain and Japan, having a black cat cross your path, is considered good luck, whereas if you live in the USA or several European countries, it is bad luck to have a black cat walk by.
Good luck associated with black cats include:
- Possessing a black cat.
- Having a black cat greet you at a door.
- Having a black cat enter your home.
- Meeting three black cats in succession.
- Touching a black cat.
Bad luck associated with black cats include:
- Meeting a black cat early in the morning.
- Having a black cat turn its back on you.
- Scaring or driving away a black cat from your property.
- Walking under a ladder after a black cat has walked underneath it.


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Laura Mercier Zen Face Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Going Zen with Laura Mercier for Spring
Laura Mercier Zen Face Palette ($60.00) is a new-for-spring (into summer!) palette that includes one blush, four eyeshadows, and four lip glazes housed in a metal-rimmed palette with a cushy, dusty blue cover.
I was surprised at how much I liked the palette packaging, but I thought it was cute without being cheesy. It's definitely apropos for spring! The palette also feels sturdy, weighty, but it doesn't feel bulky, so I like the slimness and overall shape of it. I also LOVED! that they included a little plastic sheet with the names printed on top so you knew what product was what. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out in a palette!
- Willow is a soft, pastel green with yellow undertones and a silvery shimmer. It has a bit of a frostier finish. It almost seemed un-Laura Mercier-like to me, just because it was such a nice pop of color, though it is a light pop of color!
- Haze is a powder blue with silver shimmer. It's more of a satin finish, less frost, in comparison to Willow.
- Wisteria is a browned plum with a frosty sheen. It's quite pigmented and smooth.
- Midnight Jade is a darkened, grayed teal with a pearly sheen and just a light dusting of shimmer. I found this shade to be the least pigmented out of the four, but it still had decent pigmentation.
- Plum is a very rosy plum shade. It's less purple plum as it is red-plum. It has a low-level pearly sheen that's very, very subtle. There's no obvious shimmer here!
Lip Glazes
- Black Currant is a brownish red that goes on very sheerly and has a glossy sheen.
- Lotus Bloom is a sheer tinge of pinky-red with flecks of red shimmer.
- Stone Beige is a creamier, semi-sheer nude beige with subtle gold shimmer.
- Peach Blossom is an orange-y peach cream with a high gloss finish.
The good: It's a fun palette with a good range of eye colors to give you a few new looks for spring. The pigmentation is pretty good (Midnight Jade needs to be layered for better pigmentation, though), and the texture is smooth, soft, and applies evenly. I like that there's a good variety of colors in the lip glazes as well, because it gives you a lot of ways you can mix and match. I also think the packaging is fun, travel-friendly, and classy.
The bad: Palettes that mix powders and creams (or glazes, in this particular case) are not my favorite, because sometimes the powder finds its way into the creams, which is kind of gross. For most, it's probably not a deal-breaker, but it's something I thought I should mention. I don't think the Plum blush is the most suitable for the palette–it almost seems too dark for this palette. I think it could work, but I'm not totally sold on it being the best match here.
There's one thing I noticed right at end: there are no brushes! It's almost curious and yet I'm not displeased that they didn't include them. I know some think for the price that they should have, but I never find myself using those brushes that are included in palettes. I always find them so inferior to my normal brushes and much prefer to take my brushes with me when I travel (even if it's just a few), so it's more of a neutral to me. It just depends on your preference!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you like Laura Mercier's eyeshadows and have always wanted a little more color, you might enjoy the way she's played with color in this spring palette. I think cooler skin tones will find this especially flattering, as most of the shades tend to be on the cooler end of the spectrum.
Availability: Nordstrom
Willow, Haze, Plum, Wisteria, Midnight Jade
Black Currant, Lotus Bloom
Stone Beige, Peach Blossom


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CHARLESTON, S.C. — It's not exactly the way you want to close out the preseason just days from the start of an ambitious campaign.
But thanks to a blinder from Charleston Battery goalkeeper Odishel Cooper, the MLS Cup runners-up Houston Dynamo were foiled 2-1 by the USL Pro side in the final match of the Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium.
And the road only gets tougher for Houston. A challenging start to the competitive season awaits the Dynamo with the MLS season opener on March 2 against D.C. United (7 pm CT, NBC Sports Network) and then a critical home leg in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series against Santos Laguna the following Tuesday (7 pm CT, Fox Soccer).
READ: Charleston edge Dynamo 2-1 in CCC finale
"We got a busy next 10 days with the home opener and then we get the first game of the CONCACAF," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com after the match. "Preseason has gone pretty well. I'm not really thrilled about losing this game here. But you just have to brush it aside and get ready for D.C."
D.C. United staff will have noticed how the Battery frustrated the Dynamo by putting numbers behind the ball on Saturday. Houston scored early through Giles Barnes but they were unable to break through again. In fairness, Houston ran the show and created a handful of good looks at goal, including a penalty kick, but Cooper and the Battery defense held strong.
"The goalie had a great game," Kinnear said. "We created some good chances. In the first half, [Cooper] made four really, really good saves. I thought some of the play we had was good. But it is what it is. A team sits back, sometimes you have to be patient. I was trying to tell the guys push the tempo so you get as much out of the game as possible. … You want to try to probe and poke and I thought we did some good things."
Among the positives for the Dynamo was the reappearance of central midfielder Ricardo Clark, who returned after experiencing swelling in his left knee following a collision in the first game of the tournament. Although it's still "a little bit sore" and "a little bit puffy" due to swelling, Kinnear expects Clark to be available for selection against D.C. and Santos.
TICKETS: Secure your seats for the season opener for DC United
Kinnear also got another 45 minutes from his left back Corey Ashe, who was making only his second preseason appearance and came out of the match after the first half with some tired legs. The manager says Ashe will also be ready to start next weekend with the help of another week of training.
How exactly will Kinnear manage his personnel, missing the likes of the injured Calen Carr and Omar Cummings, with two matches in four days on the horizon?
"We'll see," the Dynamo manager said. "It really is a game-by-game thing. After D.C., you get with Theron [Enns, head athletic trainer] and see how the guys are feeling and then you take it from there. It's good we have that [league] bye [March 9-10] so we can prepare for the second leg [vs. Santos]. We know the first game is important, but you want to make sure you put a healthy team on the field."


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The Arroyo elder is the leader of Arroyo in 2241. She is the daughter of the Vault Dweller and the mother of the Chosen One. She is only referred to with her title, and her real name is unknown. She has tattoos on her neck and appears to have a severe cataract in her right eye.
Early yearsEdit
In the early years of Arroyo, the Vault Dweller, and his wife Pat, led the village and the tribe. The tribe grew, and grew strong with their help. In 2188, their daughter, who later became the Elder, was born. Eventually, she and their other children became the leaders of the community.
On January 16, 2208, several years after Pat's death, the Vault Dweller wrote his memoirs. Soon after that, he vanished from Arroyo and was presumed dead. Some say the Vault Dweller was taken by the sky spirits, others say that the Vault Dweller felt it was time to move on and leave the Elders to guide Arroyo to its destiny. After the One-Moon (Month) Cycle of mourning for the Vault Dweller ended, activity in Arroyo began returning to normal.
Ascension to leadershipEdit
The final training of the Vault Dweller's daughter for the role of village elder began on February 2. She underwent a great deal of physical training and tutoring in various sciences, mathematics, and, of course, weapon skills. Two years later, she took her mystic test, a key ingredient of which is several pots worth of hallucinogenic plants from Hakunin's garden. She ran the gauntlet in the Temple of Trials, using her charm to pass most of the tests after her handgun jammed (and was ruined) on the first level. She offered numerous criticisms of the test, resulting in many revisions. Two days later, she ascended to role of Village Elder. She ruled with a steady hand, and her wisdom was greatly respected.
Chosen OneEdit
The elder's child, later called the "Chosen One", was born on March 23, 2221. Their father is not recorded in the tribal records. The reason for this is unknown, but the elder may have simply been embarrassed.
In 2241, the worst dry season in many years causes a drought in the Northern California area, hurting crops and brahmin in Arroyo. The elder, having read a GECK advertisement in her father's old holodisks, decides that her child must be sent to find it, as it is the village's only hope. After descending and finishing the Temple of Trials, she gave him $152 and a water flask, and the Chosen One left the village in search for the ancient device.
The EnclaveEdit
While the Chosen One was on their quest, on July 20, 2242, Arroyo was attacked by Enclave soldiers in Vertibirds, wearing power armor, armed with energy weapons, and the villagers, including the Elder, were enslaved and brought to the Oil Rig. Some of them tried to resist the attackers and were killed, and Hakunin was seriously wounded.
The Enclave needed the tribals for their FEV experiments. They needed two test groups: one of clean, pure humans and another composed of the 'mutants' that lived all over the mainland, suffering radiation and FEV exposure for decades that, to the Enclave, made them unclean. The unclean sample was easily obtained by kidnapping the entire population of Arroyo. The clean group were the dwellers of Vault 13, who were reunited with their long lost Arroyo brethren in Enclave prison cells.
In Fall 2242, the Chosen One managed to enter the Enclave Oil Rig using a damaged tanker and destroyed the Poseidon Oil platform, killing the President of the United States and ending the Enclave's plans for world domination. The surviving people of Arroyo and Vault 13 were freed, the Elder among them, and were brought back to the mainland in the oil tanker the Chosen One had used to reach the rig.
Arroyo reconstructionEdit
The Arroyo elder lived for many years after the destruction of the Enclave. She seemed pleased that the ancient separation between Vault 13 and the Vault Dweller had been reconciled, and many times she told the Chosen One that she wished the Vault Dweller were alive to have seen the reconciliation take place. Certain that the safety of the new village had been secured and the new community was flourishing, the Elder passed away a few months later in her sleep.
Many of the older Arroyo residents believe that she now lives in the vault of the sky, telling the Vault Dweller of the Chosen One's brave deeds.
|Vault Dweller
|Village elder
|Unknown man
|Unknown man
|Chosen One
|Leslie Anne Bishop OR Angela Bishop
|Chosen One's sibling
|Unknown spouse
|Mr Bishop
|Unknown woman
|Mr. Bishop's daughter
Interactions with the player characterEdit
Interactions overviewEdit
|This character starts quests.
|This character is involved in quests.
|This character has a talking head.
|This character is allied with the following faction(s).
- Finish Temple of Trials: The Elder thinks you are ready to get past the Temple of Trials. You will soon find out if she is right.
- Find Vic the Trader: After passing the Temple of Trials, the Elder will ask you to seek out a trader who had a Vault 13 water flask. She wants you to inquire about it.
- Retrieve the GECK for Arroyo: Arroyo is experiencing the worst dry season they've had in a long time; so bad in fact, that they need a G.E.C.K. to help them.
|Other items
|Brown robes
- If the Chosen One wears any advanced power armor in the Enclave Oil Rig, she will insult him, seeing him as another Enclave soldier.
The Arroyo elder appears only in Fallout 2. She is voiced by Florence Di Re.


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The greatest economic scholar of the first-half of the 20th century, Professor Irving Fisher, was born in 1867 and served as a professor of economics at Yale University during the years 1900 to 1935. He was the first celebrity economist who was venerated and often quoted by the media of his time. Unfortunately, his credibility and celebrity status came to a thunderous end around the stock market meltdown of 1929. Just before the crash, Irving Fisher announced to the media and world at large that "stock prices are at a permanently high plateau" and that he was quite bullish.
Alas, it was not just his intellectual reputation that took a hit; so did his personal finances. He actually put his money where his mouth was, and lost $10 million — which in today's inflation-adjusted values would be close to $140 million. Now, you may wonder why anyone might take retirement planning advice from someone who blew up so spectacularly. But his contributions to retirement economics deserve serious consideration.
Irving Fisher was likely the first economist to actually create an inflation index, by averaging the prices of thousands of goods and services and tracking them over time. He debated many different ways and methodologies for creating these indices and was well aware of the fact that if a particular index was biased towards the spending habits of the population as a group, it might not necessarily reflect the experiences of a subgroup, for example retirees. In many ways the elderly spend differently and their inflation might be higher.
It was thus Irving Fisher who first brought attention to the difference between a real interest rate and a nominal interest rate. In fact, he actually wrote down an equation that relates the two, which is called Fisher's inflation equation.
Fisher's Optimal Retirement Plan
If you haven't heard of the infamous 4% rule of retirement income planning, it's probably for the better. Most economists do not take kindly to this rule and the source of their discomfort can be traced directly to Irving Fisher's ideas about lifecycle consumption smoothing. Fisher's philosophy was that there was no universal spending or consumption rate and that everyone should pick a number that would best smooth their consumption. It does not have to be fixed or flat over time, and really depends on your personal preferences and especially your attitude towards risk.
The chart (left) displays some actual data on retirement expenditure rates for retirees at various ages, in the years 1990, 2000 and 2010. Notice how the overall expenditure rates start to decline around the age of 50. By the age of 65 they are spending between 50% and 70% of what they did at age 50. And, by the age of 80 it has dropped to under 60%.
So, here is Fisher's insight: There is roughly a 10% chance you will live to the age of 95 and spend 30 years in retirement. This also means that 90% of retirees will never live to enjoy and appreciate that age. I personally am not willing to starve myself for the next 30 years — on a reduced standard of living — on the off chance that I make it to 95. Others might worry about living to age 95, and are not willing to reduce their standard of living if that happens. So, they must spend less today in order to build up enough of a reserve.
Here is a detailed example of how to apply Fisher's equation with some actual numbers. Start by assuming that you are nearing retirement with a nest egg worth approximately $500,000 and are entitled to a pension annuity that pays $25,000 per year, adjusted for inflation.
The question that Fisher's equation helps you address is how you should spend down the nest egg as you age. To keep things simple, let's further assume that your subjective discount rate (think patience) is equal to the prevailing market interest rate, which I take to be exactly 3%.
The table above puts this all together and essentially tells you how to consume in retirement, depending on how much of a chance you are willing to take that you will live longer than you expected. For example, if your longevity risk aversion is high, then you should start off by consuming $51,697 at the age of 65. Note that $25,000 of this will be your pension income, and the remaining $26,697 should be withdrawn from your nest egg of $500,000.
Now contrast these numbers (high longevity risk aversion) with the values for optimal consumption when longevity risk aversion is low. Why is the latter entitled to enjoy a much higher standard of living early-on in retirement? The answer is that those with low levels of longevity risk aversion are willing to take a chance that they have to reduce their standard of living quite dramatically later on, if they happen to still be alive.
Are you willing to take this chance? Irving Fisher taught the economics profession that there is nothing wrong, evil or misguided about spending more early in retirement and less later in retirement. It is a matter of preference and you have to decide which one suits you and your preference for risk. Personally, I suggest that if you are worried about living to 100 with no money, wandering the streets panhandling and in search of soup kitchens, get yourself a pension annuity!
Irving Fisher's Rise, Fall and Rise Again
In addition to his writing on optimal consumption, and the evils of inflation illusion — two important topics for retirement planning — he also wrote about best practices in the banking industry. In particular, he argued that banks should be required to hold 100% reserves against all checking and savings accounts, which can be withdrawn at any time. Usually they hold only a fraction of the money, under the assumption that it is highly unlikely that everyone will want their nest egg (i.e. money) back, on the same day. Forcing banks to hold 100% Money (as Fisher called it) would avoid them going out and speculating (gambling) with the money, and placing the entire financial system at risk. This sort of staunch proposal might resonate after the 2008 financial crisis, despite its impracticality. Strands of Irving Fisher's thinking on banking — as well as consumption smoothing — have recently been taken up by another well known American economist, Laurence Kotlikoff.
Irving Fisher is (most) widely known for his terribly misguided optimism about the stock market and the economy before and during the Great Depression. He gave a speech to a group of bankers on Wednesday October 23rd, using phrases like "new economic era" (sound familiar?) and "new high plateau". On October 24th, 1929 (a.k.a. Black Thursday) the stock market crashed, erasing years of spectacular growth.
Professor Irving Fisher was ruined. He never quite came to grips with what happened, both intellectually and financially. It is quite remarkable how Irving Fisher, who contributed so much to our understanding and language of rational economic tradeoffs, consumption smoothing, balance sheet risk management, inflation awareness and general planning for the long run, failed so miserably in his own financial planning. Indeed, he left a monumental economic legacy — which is still being appreciated a century later — but not much of a financial one.
Reprinted by permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., from The 7 Most Important Equations for Your Retirement, by Moshe A. Milevsky. Copyright © 2012 by Moshe A. Milevsky


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2019 Better Us Campaign
At the Trotter Family YMCA, we impact thousands of lives every year through the programs devoted to eliminating drowning, improving academic performance, eliminating chronic disease and childhood obesity and creating opportunities for social equity. We strive to offer to members of our community an environment that fosters personal growth, leadership skills and healthy relationships.
Your support to our cause makes a true impact, allowing us to help those who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to participate in Y programs. Together we are able to build a solid foundation for every life we touch, making a positive, lifelong impact in our community.
Please join us in supporting the Y by making a gift and/or fundraising today.


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The official site for Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has now gone live, confirming one of the worst-kept secrets of 2012 so far.
The release date of November 13 has also been officially cemented for the first time. Meanwhile a pair of leaked images, posted below as you can see with your eyes, show that the game is indeed set in the near future, as rumoured.
The first trailer, due to be shown this evening, is also visible on the site - although there doesn't appear to be any way to watch it, as the clip is currently set to private.
It's not clear exactly what's happened here, but somehow it's hard to believe this is all in accordance with Activision's plans.


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The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
—Isaiah 57:1-2 (NIV)
I was reading this scripture on January 19th, 1994, the day Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr mysteriously disappeared en route to the airport in the capital of Iran. He had spoken out courageously against the persecution of Iranian Christians and the closure of the Iranian Bible Society as well as the closing of a number of churches across Iran. He had campaigned vigorously for the release of Rev. Mehdi Dibaj from prison and had acted as a substitute father for Mehdi's four children during his imprisonment in addition to his own four children. Days later his dead body with multiple stab wounds was identified.
Iranian Christians reported that the bishop was a brave and humble man who was much loved and respected by the church community in Iran. They added that in his last few weeks of life, he would often speak about his possible martyrdom for which he was prepared. At his memorial service, one of his taped sermons was played which spoke about giving your life for the sake of Jesus. One of his statements regarding the possibility of losing his life was made to Brother Andrew just weeks before he died, "I will not die a silent death!"
Today's verses from the Bible gave me great encouragement as to the purpose of God in allowing martyrdom among His people. They rest in peace. But what about their families?
This day and event changed the life of Haik's son, Andre, forever. He says, "As a pastor's son growing up in Iran, I got used to the fact that sometimes my dad would be gone for a day or two for interrogation. But then on that dreadful day in January '94, my father left the house and never came back."
Looking back, Andre testifies that God used the love and support of the body of Christ to bring the Hovsepian family courage during the dark days following his father's murder. "It meant a lot to me that someone I didn't know from another country was praying for me and was caring for me."
Andre and his mother, Takoosh, now live in the United States where they use their freedom to continue ministry to Iran via satellite. They produce programs, movies, teaching materials and music to air in all the Farsi-speaking nations like Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Andre and his family really value your prayers as, following in the footsteps of Haik himself, they work to advance the kingdom in those countries where still today faith costs the most.
He concludes, "I learned we are one big family in Christ—and I think that was the number one thing which gave us the courage and helped us heal."
RESPONSE: Today I will accept the purposes of God in the martyrdom of His saints and pray for courage and healing among the members of the families left behind.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the way you are using the Hovsepian family in ministry back to their original homeland and region. May their efforts greatly expand Your kingdom.
Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.


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The TissueGEN project focuses on the production of an in vitro human disease tissue platform technology to enable and accelerate the development of regenerative medicine therapies for a diverse range of diseases. The concept will be realized by the in vitro generation of 3D human tissues cultured from human induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells. A bioreactor will be constructed using a range of innovative microfluidic techniques to produce systems compatible with analysis systems commonly used in laboratories worldwide (e.g. well plate format). The development of a platform technology producing 3D human tissue disease cultures will enable the generation of fully differentiated cell types and thus allow diseases to be effectively modeled at a population relevant scale in 3D human tissues in vitro.
The research receives funding from the FP7-Health Program (grant agreement no. 278955).


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For VIM users on LINUX
Two cheap scripts to play the song you are editing in VIM
Hi all
I hesitated to send the following scripts because limited number of
potential users and existing software.
But I found a case where others softwares are useless : when the songs
are embedded in a text file as examples.
EX: http://www.campin.me.uk/Music/Modes/Modes-bagpipes.abc
In this case, you need to read the text and be able to play the examples.
The scripts in the archive do the job.
See the README for installation and usage.
As music synth users, you perhaps be interested by a _speech_ synthesizer
In this case, see at http://espeak.sourceforge.net/
You can ask for the computer to read a part of text selected in VIM
editor in the same manner you play abc files.
The VimMap file contains the command to play the selected text; in this
case, it is ,em (<comma>em).


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Dell's Inspiron range is made up of the company's entry-level consumer laptops.
In the past the series has played second-fiddle to its more illustrious brothers, the Dell Studio and Studio XPS ranges, which have tended to feature snazzier designs and meatier specifications for those after the next level of not only style and sophistication, but also power, usability and performance.
The new Inspiron 15R
But all that has now changed as the refreshed Inspiron 15R comes out fighting.
Not only has a brand new chassis design been implemented, but a whole raft of powerful components – including an Intel Core i5 processor – makes this a very powerful laptop whether you're simply after everyday use, or looking to run more resource intensive multimedia programs such as Adobe Photoshop.


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I just downloaded DJGPP Friday, because I was getting frustrated with Dev-C++. Now I just noticed...IOSTREAM ISN"T IN DJGPP! I tried to copy Dev-C++'s iostream over into DJGPP's include directory. I kept coming up with some file is missing. I copy that file over. Then another is missing. Finally I copied Dev-C++ whole include directory over to DJGPP's. Still didn't work. I was tempted to hit my monitor.
The reason I need IOSTREAM is for cin. If you have an cin equivelent, plz tell me!
PS: If you are totally retarded and don't know what cin is, look at the tutorials.


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Where: Lakeville
Enrollment: Intense Hockey Training program serves about 200 kids.
Club/team affiliations: Fushion AAA
Training facility highlights: Ice rink, speed ramp, hockey treadmill, shot radar gun, shooting accuracy goal, stick work simulator, weight room.
Cost: Examples taken from Intense Hockey Training program registration form: $3,250 -- high school boys; $3,000 -- high school girls; $2,500 -- bantam/pewee. IHT is a seven-month program that includes on- and off-ice training four times a week.
Notable clients: NHL players Zach Parise, Drew Stafford, Kyle Okposo, Derek Stepan.
Where: Hopkins
Enrollment: "Hundreds of members training year-round."
Training facility highlights: Three basketball/volleyball courts, weight room and classrooms.
Club/team affiliations: 43 Hoops Basketball, Club 43 Volleyball
Cost: Basketball -- membership training package, 12-month unlimited -- $300 month ($3,600 annual); one-on-one session -- $60; team-training session -- $150. Volleyball -- club fees (six months, for top team in 15-17 age group) -- $3,400; one-on-one session -- $25-$60.
Notable alumni: Kris Humphries (NBA, Brooklyn Nets); former Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor.
Note: All academy owners said that families that can't afford to pay these fees can work out some sort of payment plan.
Tag(s): Home


text: Weekly equivalent for illustration purposes only, monthly payments apply. 36-month Agility agreement. 20,000 miles per annum. 10% Customer deposit plus an amount equivalent to the VAT of the vehicle sale. Mileage and damage charges apply. Offer ends 31/12/2020. The dealer for this listing is a credit broker, not a lender. They work with a select panel of lenders.


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Glossary of insurance terms
Here is a list of some of the frequently used insurance terms found throughout the pages of this web site. If you can't find a term you would like defined in the alphabetical list below, feel free to email us anytime at firstname.lastname@example.com. We would be happy to help you with any insurance questions you may have.
All definitions provided are examples. Consult your policy for the terms that apply to your coverage.
For a definition, click on the letter that the insurance term begins with:
Age Depending on the policy of insurance, either your actual age or your age as of a specified date (i.e., the policy anniversary date) may be used when determining your eligibility for coverage, your premiums or your termination date.
Application A signed document of personal and health-related information supplied by a person applying for insurance. An insurer uses the information on the application (and sometimes additional information the insurer requests) to decide whether or not to provide coverage to that person.
Benefits The amounts paid to a claimant or beneficiary under the coverage of a policy of insurance.
Cancellation The termination of coverage when, at the request of the insured or by the right of the insurer, the insurance coverage is made void before its normal expiration date.
Certificate A document issued to a group member insured under a group insurance policy.
Claim A request for benefit payment under the terms of an insurance policy or certificate of insurance.
Claimant The person(s) making a request for payment of benefits under the terms of an insurance policy or certificate of insurance.
Coverage Another term for the protection offered under an insurance policy. Coverage is used interchangeably with the terms insurance or protection.
Effective date The date when insurance coverage begins.
Exclusions Circumstances and health-related conditions or any other losses for which an insurance policy does not provide benefits.
Extended Health and Dental Insurance Health and dental benefits provided under an insurance policy. Benefits may include payment for prescription drugs, vision care and optional dental care and treatment.
Grace period A period of time which acts as a cushion to ensure coverage is not cancelled if a payment of premium is missed. If a payment is not received within this period of time (or grace period) from the date a payment is due, the insurance policy is cancelled.
Insured A person and/or other parties covered under the terms of an insurance policy or certificate of insurance.
Insurer The company providing the insurance coverage (e.g., Manulife).
Policy The legal document issued by an insurance company to a policyholder, which outlines the conditions and terms of the insurance.
Policyholder or Policyowner The person, group or association who owns the insurance policy.
Premium The cost of insurance coverage. A premium can be paid monthly or annually.
Protection The insurance provided under the terms of an insurance policy. Also referred to as coverage.
Underwriter The person or company which decides the risk level of a potential insured applying for insurance protection. Also, the person or company that ensures money is available to pay for claims under the insurance policy. Manulife is the underwriter of the insurance plans described on this site.
Underwriting requirements The requirements used to assess whether an insured is eligible for insurance coverage. A person's age, the amount of coverage requested, medical records and physical examinations are generally used to decide if an insured will pass the underwriting requirements necessary for the insurance coverage and amount they have applied for.
Have we missed an insurance term that you would like defined? Contact us to let us know at firstname.lastname@example.com any time.


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^ Choose a city or town above to find local alternative fuel stations.
^ Electric, biodiesel, hydrogen, liquified natural gas, ethanol, propane & more.
^ Select a city/town in the list above to see a full list of alternative fuel stations.
Tax incentives and/or other rebates, credits, incentives or related initiaves for drivers of alternative fuel vehicles or for other uses of alternative fuel in Michigan.
Dedicated AFVs powered by compressed natural gas, propane, electricity, or any other source as defined by the Michigan Department of Transportation are exempt from emissions inspection requirements. (Reference Michigan Compiled Laws 324.6311 and 324.6512)
DTE Energy offers two rate options to qualified residential customers for charging PEVs. The PEV time-of-use rate is available to customers using Level 2 electric vehicle supply equipment and requires a separate meter, which DTE provides. The flat rate option is $46.28 per month for each PEV. For rate information, including how to qualify, see the DTE Energy PEV Rates website.
Consumers Energy offers a special time-of-use rate option for PEV owners. For more information, see the Consumers Energy PEV Rate Options website.
Indiana Michigan Power offers a special time-of-use rate option to residential customers who own a qualified PEV.Indiana Michigan Power also provides rebates of up to $2,500 to residential customers who purchase or lease a new PEV and install a Level 2 EVSE with a separate meter. Customers must also sign up for the Indiana Michigan Power PEV time-of-use rate. The rebate is available to the first 250 qualified customers who submit a completed application.For more information, see the Indiana Michigan Power Rates, Programs & Incentives website.
The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) offers a pilot PEV time-of-use charging rate to single- or multi-family dwellings of four units or less with separately metered Level 2 electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Additional terms and conditions apply.BWL also offers a reimbursement of up to $1,000 for the purchase and installation of EVSE for customers that have enrolled in the PEV charging rate. The program is limited to the first 10 qualified residential customers.For more information, see the BWL PEVs website.
Alternative fuels are taxed equal to the motor fuel tax on a gallon equivalent basis. Alternative fuels include natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and hythane. A gallon equivalent is defined as 5.660 pounds (lbs.) of compressed natural gas, 6.06 lbs. of liquefied natural gas, 480.11 standard cubic feet of hydrogen, and 162.44 standard cubic feet of hydrogen compressed natural gas. A gallon of propane is measured as 4 quarts or 3.785 liters. (Reference Michigan Compiled Laws 207.1003, 207.1151, and 207.1152)
In addition to standard registration fees, PEVs, including all-electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with a minimum battery capacity of 4 kilowatt-hours, are subject to an annual fee. The specific fees are as follows:
|Vehicle Type
|Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
|8,000 pounds (lbs.) or less
|> 8,000 lbs.
|8,000 lbs. or less
|> 8,000 lbs.
PHEV fees will increase by $2.50 per $0.01 that the state motor fuel tax exceeds $0.19 and EV fees will increase by $5.00 per $0.01 that the state motor fuel tax exceeds $0.19.
(Reference Michigan Compiled Laws 257.801)
A vehicle primarily powered by natural gas may exceed the state's axle and weight loading limits by a weight equal to the difference between the weight of the vehicle with the natural gas tank and fueling system and the weight of a comparable vehicle with a diesel tank and fueling system. The NGV maximum gross weight may not exceed 82,000 pounds. (Reference Michigan Compiled Laws Section 257.722)
DTE Energy offers a $500 rebate for the installation of a Level 2 EVSE for qualified residential customers that purchase or lease a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and enroll in the PEV Charging Rates. For more information, including eligibility, see the DTE Energy Charging Forward website.
Vehicles converted to run on propane that are model year 2015 or newer are eligible for a $4,000 rebate through December 31, 2019. For more information, including vehicle restrictions and requirements, see the Michigan Propane Gas Association Grant Opportunities website.


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Bob Dylan – Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Published by Charlie Hasler
My name is Charlie Hasler, I live in North Wales with my fiancé. I work at Law firm based in Chester and write in my spare time. My writing started a few years ago but was something I always put down more than I picked up. After a tough couple of years I felt I had some things I needed to say so I have found myself writing again. My writing mainly focuses around poetry. I have self published two poetry books, which are both available on Amazon, Words From An Unlikely Poet, and, Words From An Unlikely Poet: Volume 2: Further Thoughts. Aside from writing I also enjoy walking, reading, gardening and boxing, though I am more a spectator now days. View all posts by Charlie Hasler


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Israeli undercover agents arresting a Palestinian boy suspected of throwing stones at Israeli soldiers during a protest in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo by Lazar Simeonov.
At the beginning of the year 2013, the operation of undercover Israeli agents within the West Bank came to light once again. On January 1, soldiers dressed as vegetable vendors arrested Murad Bani Odeh, a member of the Islamic Jihad political party in the West Bank village of Tamoun, south of Jenin.
Ynet news reported that Muhammad Basharat, the local village council head said that the soldiers entered the village in a van bearing a Palestinian license plate, adding that the men inside it did not arouse anyone's suspicion. Israeli media reported that the soldiers were part of Israel's Mistaarvim, or 'Arabized' elite undercover unit.
Little is known about the internal operations of the Israeli undercover units. The group 'Mistaarvim' in Hebrew or "Musta'rabeen" in Arabic is an undercover unit whose members serve in various sections of the Israeli army. Translated from Hebrew it literally means 'Arab pretenders.'
The Mistaarvim are an elite branch of a supposed 'counter-terrorism' unit who impersonate Palestinians and infiltrate West Bank communities in an attempt to find information that may be of interest to the Israeli government. Members are indistinguishable amongst Palestinian communities, as they dress the same way Palestinians do, speak Arabic in the local dialect, and drive cars with Palestinian licensed number plates. According to a study by the Palestinian Human Rights Information Center (PHRIC), disguises include stage props such as crutches and fake babies, with members undergoing extensive training on cultural habits to help them blend in successfully.
Information on the Mistaarvim unit is heavily guarded. In 1988 three journalists had their press cards removed from them after writing pieces on the existence of undercover squads operating in the West Bank. The military censor office filed a police complaint against Paul Taylor, chief correspondent for Reuters, Andrew Whitley of the Financial Times. and Steve Weizman, a Reuters reporter.
According to Saleh Abdel Jawad, a professor at the Department of History and Political Science, the Mistaarvim consists of four selective units, two of which belong to the Israeli army; the Duvdevan (Hebrew for cherry) which work in the West Bank, and the second Shamshon (Samson) in the Gaza Strip. The third unit belongs to the border police and the fourth operates strictly in the Jerusalem area belonging to the Israeli police.
During demonstrations supposedly Palestinian protestors have turned out to be part of the undercover unit. In May 2011, on Nakba Day, Palestinians took part in a march to the Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah, West Bank. At some point during confrontations with Israeli soldiers, members of the Mistaarvim unit who were disguised as Palestinian protestors produced handguns and made several arrests. During a demonstration in 2010 in the Palestinian town of Umm al-Fahm in the 1948 territories, an officer from the Mistaarvim unit was wounded by a stun grenade fired by an Israeli policeman whilst impersonating a Palestinian demonstrator.
Extra-judicial assassinations
Aside from arresting Palestinians, the undercover units have been known to carry out extra-judicial assassinations. Haaretz noted that undercover units such as Mistaarvim had been dubbed as a "hit unit" by media. This term was rejected by the unit's former soldiers and commanding officers.
The Mistaarvim are an elite branch of a supposed 'counter-terrorism' unit who impersonate Palestinians and infiltrate West Bank communities in an attempt to find information that may be of interest to the Israeli government
The Mistaarvim are an elite branch of a supposed 'counter-terrorism' unit who impersonate Palestinians and infiltrate West Bank communities in an attempt to find information that may be of interest to the Israeli government
However, Shimon Somech, a commander of the Mistaarvim from 1942-1946 admitted that assassination was part of the unit's activities.
"In essence we did not engage in eliminating people. Maybe there were isolated instances where members of the unit were asked to eliminate someone," he said.
For example in 2008 soldiers disguised as Palestinians executed four Palestinians in Bethlehem, West Bank.
"These men were fighters, but they were not in a combat situation at the time. They were sitting in a car, waiting for their dinner. The Israeli special forces drove up, disguised as Palestinian civilians, and opened fire without warning," said Jared Malsin, a journalist from Ma'an news agency who had met with the men hours before their killing.
"It was the moral equivalent of a team of Palestinians, disguised as Israelis, driving an Israeli car into Tel Aviv and gunning down four off-duty Israeli soldiers," he said.
The official 'mission' of the unit to capture wanted Palestinians was altered after the outbreak of the second intifada. The changes gave the army "a broader license to liquidate Palestinian terrorists" and allowed the army "to act against known terrorists even if they are not on the verge of committing a major attack," a policy reportedly sanctioned by then Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein according to an Haaretz article. Subsequently this translated to the extra-judicial killing of many Palestinians involved in resistance activities.
The unit has conducted numerous extra-judicial assassinations; among them was the infamous annihilation of the preeminent Black Panthers (Fahad al Aswad) group during the first Intifada. Undercover agents dressed up as peasant women entered the Yasmineh quarter of the Old City in Nablus, where they executed the leaders of the group, a paramilitary wing of Fatah.
PHRIC first recorded the ambush and killing of targeted Palestinians by undercover units in Gaza in 1986 and 1987, where Islamic Jihad activists were killed. This method was supposedly secretly adopted as a policy in the first months of the first Intifada, under the authority of the then Minister of Defence Yitzhak Rabin.
During the first four years of the first intifada 75 Palestinians were killed by Israeli undercover agents or civilian disguised soldiers. Of 29 cases in 1991 none of the victims had been engaged in combat, eleven were taking part in non-violent demonstrations at the time of the shooting whilst 14 were carrying out normal daily activities.
Whilst such methods had been in practice long ago in the West Bank and Gaza, it wasn't until 2009 that Israel publically admitted the use of 'Mistaarvim' inside Israel, or the '48 territories itself. It was the first public admission that the Israeli police were using such units and had been for two years in their own country. It caused outrage demonstrating a dangerous practice of racial profiling where the Arab communities of Israel were targeted because of their ethnicity.
However Haaretz newspaper revealed in 1998 that the Israeli secret police, the Shin Bet, had operated a number of Mistaarvim inside Israel shortly after the state was created, placing them within Palestinian communities. The unit was disbanded in 1959 after several members of the unit married local Arab women in order to maintain their cover.
How their existence violates International law and Israeli law
The killing of the four Islamic Jihad members in 2008 is considered to be an act of extrajudicial assassination, illegal under Article Three of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Customary international law prohibits political or extra-judicial killings by governments; no circumstances can be invoked to justify arbitrary restrictions on the right to life. Executing someone without a trial violates the principles of due process. In the 29 cases observed by PHRIC no warning was given nor was any effort to apprehend the victim before shooting.
Referring to Israel's Law of War Booklet (1986), the Report on the Practice of Israel states: "As a basic policy, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] prohibits the resort to perfidy to kill, injure or capture an adversary." Israel's Manual on the Rules of Warfare (2006) states that it is forbidden to "adopt the disguise of a non-combatant civilian. Where no clear picture emerges from the battle front as to who is a civilian and who is a disguised combatant, civilians are liable to get hurt." The Manual on the Laws of War gave the following example of perfidy: "it is forbidden to single out a specific person on the adversary's side and request his death (whether by dispatching an assassin or by offering an award for his liquidation." Injuring or killing a person while breaching the prohibition on perfidy is also war crime under international criminal law. Clearly as well as violating internationally accepted norms, the use of units such as Mistaarvim violates Israel's own military rules.
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Finance your purchase through HPEFS
- Click on 'Get Quote' to receive a quotation that includes financing provided by HPEFS
- OR, call HPEFS at +32-2-7174008
Wouldn't you like to reduce the miles of cabling required to attach your servers to the network?
HPE Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module is one of the simplest, most converged and flexible ways to connect virtualized server blades to your data or storage network. It reduces up to 95% of network sprawl at the server edge with one device that converges all traffic inside enclosures and directly connects to LANs and SANs. Based on open standards with 40GbE uplinks and 20GbE downlinks it addresses growing bandwidth needs in private and public cloud environments in a cost effective manner.
The HPE Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module reduces up to 95% of hardware needed to connect servers to networks. Using only two of these modules to connect an enclosure of HPE server blades to both data and storage networks, you can reduce multiple switches, cards and cables.
It gives you the advantage of 4:1 consolidation of interconnect equipment. Each Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 Module can replace up to three 10GbE based switches and one 8 Gb Fiber Channel switch in an HPE BladeSystem enclosure.
Reduces networking TCO at the server edge by saving up to 65% on equipment. The FlatSAN solution allows connecting directly to HPE 3PAR StoreServ Storage and thereby reduces 86% fewer components, lowers latency by 55% and provisions 2.5x faster.
Simplifies connection management with wire-once, then add, move, and change network connections to 1000's of servers in minutes versus days from one console without affecting your LAN and SAN.
The HPE Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module provides one flexible interconnect interface to any network. One device supports most common data center networks protocols like, Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), FCoE and iSCSI.
Fine-tune the performance of each data and storage connection to meet the needs of each of your virtual machines and targeted workloads.
Optimize the hypervisor I/O requirements with Flex-10 and Flex-20 adapters. With two modules you can provide six FlexNICs and two FlexHBAs connections to each server, delivering a best practice network configuration for most hypervisors.
Connect to servers using full hardware offload of iSCSI and FCoE protocol processing minimizing the impact on host CPU performance to increase storage connection performance.
Ultra-fast 10/20GbE server-to-server performance: Perform ultra-fast communication between virtual server hosts and moved and recoveries with hardware based 10/20GbE performance.
The HPE Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module is 100% compatible with current networks: Seamless connection to existing industry standard data and storage networks avoids having to replace each piece of equipment.
One standard for all connection needs: One Virtual Connect FlexFabric-20/40 F8 Module meets any data and storage connection need with license-free, multi-protocol support for Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Accelerated iSCSI connections.
Built on proven HPE BladeSystem technology and requires no changes to the HPE BladeSystem c-Class Enclosure components.
Maintain current IT processes with direct uplink connections to LANs and SANs to maintain your current IT practices, unlike other solutions that reroute SAN traffic to the LAN.


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Arsenic (pronounced /ˈɑrsnɪk/; also /ɑrˈsɛnɪk/ when attributive) is the chemical element that has the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250. Its atomic mass is 74.92. Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid with many allotropic forms, including a yellow (molecular non-metallic) and several black and grey forms (metalloids). Three metalloidal forms of arsenic, each with a different crystal structure, are found free in nature (the minerals arsenic sensu stricto and the much rarer arsenolamprite and pararsenolamprite). However, it is more commonly found as arsenide and in arsenate compounds, several hundred of which are known. Arsenic and its compounds are used as pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and in various alloys.
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