text:
Please try another search
By Jan Wolfe
(Reuters) -The congressional committee investigating last year's Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is looking at issuing subpoenas to Republican members of Congress to force their cooperation, the panel's chairman said on Sunday.
Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet The Press" that the committee is examining whether it can lawfully issue subpoenas to sitting members of Congress.
"I think there are some questions of whether we have the authority to do it," Thompson said. "We're looking at it. If the authorities are there, there'll be no reluctance on our part."
Thompson chairs the House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6, which is expected to hold public hearings and issue reports in the coming months.
The committee is trying to establish then-President Donald Trump's actions while thousands of his supporters attacked police, vandalized the Capitol and sent members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence running for their lives. Congress had been meeting to count the electoral votes that gave Democrat Joe Biden victory in the November 2020 presidential election.
Multiple people close to Trump, including conservative media TV hosts, urged him during the riot to make a televised speech telling his supporters to stop the attack. Trump waited hours before releasing a prerecorded message.
Representative Liz Cheney, the panel's Republican vice chair and a harsh critic of Trump, told ABC News he had committed "dereliction of duty" on Jan. 6 and the panel should consider "enhanced penalties" for that kind of action. The American people, she said, need to understand "how dangerous Donald Trump was."
The committee sent a letter on Dec. 22 to Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican and ardent Trump ally, asking for testimony about his telephone conversations with Trump on Jan. 6.
Jordan said in a recent Fox News interview that he had "real concerns" about the committee's credibility, but was reviewing its letter to him.
The request came two days after a similar letter to Republican Representative Scott Perry.
The committee requested Perry's testimony about Trump's attempts to oust Jeffrey Rosen, who was acting head of the U.S. Justice Department during the closing weeks of his presidency, and replace him with Jeffrey Clark, an official who at the time was trying to help Trump overturn his election defeat.
Perry declined to cooperate, posting on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) on Dec. 21 that the committee "is illegitimate, and not duly constituted."
An appeals court ruled earlier last month that the committee was legitimate and entitled to see White House records Trump has tried to shield from public view.
Add a Comment
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you've just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!Your report has been sent to our moderators for review


text:
A Message From Our Pastor
Transformation is at the heart of everything we do. Not content to just be better, we want to be like Jesus. He speaks to us through the Bible to guide, guard, and teach us. This book of books is not just inspiring; it is inspired.
Relationships are central to life. We want to extend the forgiveness and unmerited love He gives us with others. This is a team effort both inside our church and outside to the ends of the earth.
God the Father never promised us an easy life, but he promised to send the Person and power of the Holy Spirit to make it full.
Life was never intended to be a solo journey. Please join us. Let's walk it together!
Our Staff Members
Jo McCallie
Jo McCallie has led our music ministry since 1998 loving us and the people she works with at Arkansas Children's Hospital during the week. One thing is clear about Jo....

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Dimitri Pappas is expected to learn the other side of higher education in his new position.
An associate professor of chemistry in the Texas Tech University Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry has been selected as the university's newest President's Administrative Fellow.
Dimitri Pappas, who is chairman of the Institutional Laboratory Safety Committee and maintains an active research group, will begin his new role Sept. 1.
The President's Administrative Fellows program was developed by President M. Duane Nellis to give selected faculty members an opportunity to enhance their professional experiences by working as an administrator within an academic environment.
"My duties will be to work on one or more projects in the president's office in order to advance the university," Pappas said. "I will work within his office and across campus to reach the goals set out at the start of the fellowship."
The program engages participants with the current priorities and challenges at Texas Tech while giving them time to continue their teaching and research responsibilities. It is expected that after serving in this program, participants will be better equipped to serve in an administrative position, as a department chairperson or in other campus leadership capacities, as well as having a different perspective of higher education.
"Before coming to Texas Tech, I ran a research group at Johnson Space Center and also was in the management track there," Pappas said. "I enjoy solving problems from a birds-eye perspective, and working with people in different units to reach our goals. At Texas Tech, I have worked with a diverse group of faculty and staff to meet challenges related to lab safety, and I have maintained an interest in administrative work. This appointment will allow me to broaden my experience and also apply my skills to a new set of problems."
One person – a tenured associate or full professor who has worked at the university for at least eight years – is selected as a President's Administrative Fellow each year through an application process. The fellowship lasts nine months, beginning Sept. 1, during which time the fellow reports to the president while working on a major project and multiple mini-tasks.
Dr. Pappas is a distinguished and well-respected faculty member, which will lend favorably to his experiences as the President's Administrative Fellow," Nellis said. "He is passionate about Texas Tech University and our priorities of offering quality educational opportunities and becoming a national leader in research.
More Stories
Investigation Closed After 2010 Laboratory Explosion
Art of Science: Chemistry, Theatre Join Forces to Keep Undergrad Labs Safe


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Could you estimate how many hours of gameplay there are?
That's good to hear JH that you don't feel totally overwhelmed. Makes me feel better about taking a chance with this game. (if I can find a physical copy of it)I hated Red Dead 2 because although it was a beautiful looking game it just plain overloaded the senses with too much pointless distractions.


text:
It's been a busy week here at Nyan Thomas World Headquarters, but rest assured that our hero is having a blast being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa L. Plenty of pictures and stories to come, including plenty from his birthday extravaganza last week. For now, a quick video of the young man and his birthday cake.
Today's Video: Birthday Boy
02 Aug


text:
- Description
DetailsThis water slide decal set printed by Cartograf, saves the modeler valuable time by replacing the need for painting the landing gear door edges. This set contains enough decals to complete 2 sets of F-4 landing gear doors, and is size to work with the Academy series of F-4 Kits.
- Additional Information
Additional Information
SKU FUR048-015 Scale 1/48
- Reviews


text:
Can two restless hearts make beautiful music together?
Leigh McGill knows her chance to make it big in Nashville is built on a lie. Recently arrived in the city with her some-time boyfriend and manager, she's been dropping the name of country star Tate McGill to get gigs. That isn't so bad, is it? Until her boyfriend convinces her to break into Tate McGill's Nashville estate while he's away on tour, live in his mansion, charge up his credit cards, and borrow his priceless classic car. After all, Tate will forgive her—once he learns she's the half sister he never knew he had.
Rafe Kendrick, part of the security team for the billionaire Blake family, has been trying to find out who's been squatting in Tate McGill's house and making fraudulent charges on his credit cards. Tate might not be a Blake by name, but he's a member of the family in every way that matters. And if there's one thing the Blakes do, it's take care of their own. So when Rafe corners the pretty country singer onstage at a Nashville club, he thinks his work here is done. But when Tate orders him to bring the woman to the Blakes's Texas ranch, Rafe finds his problems are only beginning. The sexy, spunky singer is a real spitfire, and she has no desire to spend days on the road handcuffed to Rafe, or nights in cramped hotel rooms, where the energy they generate becomes a firestorm they can't deny. But Rafe knows a thing or two about the McGills. And he isn't sure he'll be able to protect her when family secrets come a'callin'.
Love at Last
is available at the following retailers:
Amazon (Kindle) – US – United States
Amazon (Kindle) – UK – United Kingdom
Amazon (Kindle) – CA – Canada
Amazon (Kindle) – AU – Australia
Amazon (Kindle) – FR – France
Amazon (Kindle) – DE – Germany
Amazon (Kindle) – IN – India
Amazon (Kindle) – IT – Italy
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Etopia Press
Google Play
*I will update the buy links as they become available.
Next up Covert Affairs, book 5 in the All or Nothing series! Trevor Reed goes home for a visit and gets involved in his most intriguing assignment yet! Coming November 2017!
For more upcoming stories, check out the 2017-2018 Series News page!


text:
A question every travel blogger gets asked is 'where is your favourite place?'
And I'm sure every one of them replies 'it's too hard to choose.'
Because, seriously, who can choose between the crumbling, pastel-coloured buildings of Cuba or the chaotic, incense-scented streets of India? Pick between the celestial waterfalls of Iceland or the mystical cliffs of Vietnam? Beaches of Thailand versus bays in The Grenadines? Curry in Goa or baguettes in France? The modernity of Singapore or the medina of Marrakech?
I think you get my point!
Let me introduce you to some of my favourite destinations instead. Click the pictures for more information.
Click here to discover all my tips and stories from travelling around Australia.


text:
Hackensack Council re-introduces Continental Plaza redevelopment plan
HACKENSACK — A plan to redevelop the Continental Plaza office park would allow developers to build restaurants, retail shops or a gym to make the mostly vacant office park more attractive to future tenants and visitors.
"It's a redevelopment plan which basically sets the zoning requirements for the property," said city planner Fran Reiner, of DMR Architects. "It's more of a zoning document that says these are the permitted uses and this is where we think the permitted uses are going to be."
The proposed redevelopment designation for the 650,000-square-foot complex was approved by the City Council on Tuesday in the first of three votes required to pass the plan.
Although no developer has been set, it is presumed that one of the owners, JD Companies, of Hackensack, may want to take on the task of refitting the complex. Last October, JD Companies said it planned to spend $10 million for renovations such as updates to the elevator lobbies and adding a fitness center and dining and retail to the underground concourse.
Calls to JD Companies were not returned.
The office park sits across from The Shops at Riverside and overlooks Route 4. The complex consists of three buildings, all of which are mostly vacant. As of last October, the office park was 28 percent vacant, higher than the county average for office buildings. The complex had gone into foreclosure. If fully leased, the complex can hold 2,000 workers.
Last August, partners JD Companies and Capstone Realty Group of Englewood purchased the property for $68 million. One of the new owners is James R. D'Agostino, son of the man who built Continental Plaza in the early 1970s, before selling it in 1981.
A public hearing for the redevelopment plan is scheduled for the Oct. 11 planning board meeting. If the board approves the redevelopment designation, the City Council will then consider the plan for adoption at its Oct. 24 meeting.
Email: email@example.com


text:
Speedlancer's top curated designers will design the custom illustration of your liking to suit whatever inspiration.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Upload your job spec or task brief and Speedlancer will get it done.
Teams or Tasks
Some outcomes need to be done involving multiple people to do it right, versus a task which is done by one person.


text:
FREE Express 2-3 Days Delivery to USA, EUROPE and CANADA on orders over €159
SIZE: label says L. MATERIAL: 100% cashmere. COLOR: cream white. FEATURES: this luxurious cashmere cardigan from Allude features softly notched shawl collar with deep V neck and 3 crystal button fastening, 2 pockets and subtle ruffle trimming at cuffs, pockets and collar. It is slightly tailored at waist, hits the hips and with all the features combined slightly resembles the classic blazer. Style it with a body-hugging pencil skirt or tailored pants for a day in the office, wear with jeans to dress down the look yet still keep the chic style. Made in Italy. CONDITION: has two minimal and hardly noticeable fixes at the lower back and near side seam in back (see pictures). Despite that - near new condition. Please check the measurements on item laid flat to make sure it is your size: Chest (armpit to armpit) - 18 1/2" (47 cm) . Total length (top to bottom in back) - 27" (69 cm) . Sleeve length (from shoulder seam to cuff) -25 1/4" (64 cm) . Shoulders (seam to seam) - 17 1/4" (44 cm) .


text:
Diagnostic Considerations
Always consider the possibility of infections in pediatric patients presenting with generalized tonic-clonic status epilepticus (GTCSE). Sources of infection often, but not always, are obvious (eg, otitis media, pneumonia). Treat these infections appropriately because they contribute to lowering the seizure threshold in predisposed patients.
Infections can be the precipitating factor for both GTCSE and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE). Patients with CNS infections and mental status changes should not be assumed to have infection-related neurologic dysfunction before EEG findings rule out NCSE.
Catscratch disease
Consider catscratch disease, particularly in a school-aged child with a cat or kitten at home who presents with a history of unexplained mental status changes, status epilepticus (SE) of unknown etiology, prolonged seizures, or persistent fatigue. Catscratch fever is an infection acquired from cats (often from kittens) infected with Bartonella henselae via the cat flea. Although the disease may be transmitted by any close contact with a cat, scratches or bites cause 75% of cases.
Psychogenic seizures
Occasionally, nonepileptic seizures can be confused with GTCSE. They may occur in patients with a previous diagnosis of epilepsy. [14]
Patients with nonepileptic seizures can reproduce an outward clinical seizure pattern as a manifestation of an unresolved psychological conflict (psychogenic seizure), or the seizure may be a manifestation of malingering, providing the patient with a clear secondary gain. Pediatric patients rarely fake a seizure, however. Symptoms of true psychogenic seizures resemble conversion symptoms.
In many cases, details of the presentation can help differentiate nonepileptic seizures from GTCSE. Features suggesting nonepileptic seizures include the following:
No loss of consciousness in the presence of bilateral movements
Asynchronous, side-to-side, and out-of-phase movements
Pelvic thrusting
Inconsistency of movement patterns and waxing and waning patterns
Persistent eye closure
Crying during the seizure
On the other hand, no loss of consciousness in the presence of bilateral movements, pelvic thrusting, and asynchronous and thrashing movements can also be part of frontal lobe seizures, which may lead to SE in some cases. Only careful observation of the patient (eg, video) with simultaneous EEG (ie, EEG video monitoring) allows the physician to differentiate between sustained nonepileptic seizures and GTCSE.
Differential Diagnoses
Pediatric Meningitis and Encephalitis
What would you like to print?
- Overview
- Presentation
- DDx
- Workup
- Treatment
- Medication
- Tables
- References


text:
Australian comedian and musician who often pairs up with Hamish Blake to form comedy shows of 'Hamish and Andy.' In 2003 he released the educational times table CD, The Sing Along Times Table CD Book.
He went to Camberwell Grammer School, where he was involved in cadets, hockey, and music before studying commerce at University of Melbourne. It was while studying at Melbourne that he met comedic partner Hamish Blake in 2001.
He co-hosted a radio show with Hamish Blake that received high ratings.
He dated model Megan Gale from November 2006 until October 2010. His sister, Alex Lee, writes pantomimes and stars in the comedy show Porky Pies.
He was born in the same place as Chris Hemsworth: Melbourne, Australia.


text:
Dads, brothers, and friends deserve some V-Day love too, right?
Stay up to date on what healthy means now.
Men are notoriously hard to shop for, but that doesn't mean you should give up and hope being extra nice to your significant other this Valentine's Day counts as a present. You could opt for something generic, like a sweater or scarf, but I recently found a great gift for beer lovers that will show you're thoughtful and can think outside the conventional presents box.
Fizzics, a company you may have seen on Shark Tank, is on a mission to enhance the at-home beer drinking experience with its compact and sleek appliances. The latest version of its DraftPour beer dispenser harnesses the power of Fizzics' Micro-Foam technology to transform any bottled or canned beer into creamy, nitro-style drafts. The new device can turn up to 750 milliliters of beer (at a time) into a perfectly carbonated beverage with the ideal type of foam that'll enhance the taste of any beer, and it pours from a tap and handle just like the kegs at bars.
To buy: From $125; amazon.com.
If your man is particularly into beer, he likely enjoys his brews most when they come straight from the tap, and the Fizzics DraftPour beer dispenser is a fun and social way to recreate that experience at home (or wherever he may need a fresh pour). Because the lightweight appliance is charged by either USB or battery, he can take it on the go to friends' houses for Sunday football or outside when the weather is nice and barbecues are his preferred mode of get-together.
When the DraftPour isn't in use, it will look cool sitting out on the kitchen counter in any of the four attractive colorways: carbon, pub, copper, and (my personal favorite) ice. Carbon is particularly easy to match with other appliances you may have, like Keurigs or Nespresso machines, while the glossy gold and copper designs will add a pop of sheen to any countertop. The ice color just looks flat out cool, and not because of the unintended pun.
Shop the Fizzics DraftPour beer dispenser on Amazon starting at $125, and your guy, imbued with the confidence of good beer, will be singing your gift-giving praises to all who will listen.
Source: Read Full Article


text:
Before I get to the meat of the matter, I want to tell you about one of my favourite authors, George Orwell. Or Eric Arthur Blair as he was known to people around his home. Eric's biggest talent other than creating stories that were equally frustrating and compelling to read was writing about the cause-effect between how people behave and what they are taught to believe about themselves. His masterful way of writing is reflected in the fact that this relationship I have spoken of is indeed equally demonstrable no matter what order you write it in.
Blair's best-known work is equally misunderstood and debated. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, he delves into the construction of a language and the role that plays in enslaving a population. This is not a thought process without precedent. In the English language, we have no word that means "a woman who embraces her sexuality and has sex, and is good particularly because she embraces her sexuality and has sex". Instead, we have a very nasty-sounding word, slut (and variants thereof), that means "a woman who embraces her sexuality and has sex, and is bad particularly because she embraces her sexuality and has sex".
In cultures prior to the arrival of the Christian disease, we probably did have words that meant "a woman who embraces her sexuality and has sex, and is good particularly because she embraces her sexuality and has sex". But then the Jews rejected polytheism and the more Pagan-like things the more ancient part of their history documents, and became a monotheistic, Abrahamic, and sex-phobic people. Hence, words other than slut to refer to women who do not retain the mentality of a child concerning the most personal parts of their person do not exist.
This, friends and neighbours, is one of the biggest problems with artificially limiting peoples' linguistic choices. Not only is it patently unnatural and has immediate consequences ranging from hostility to unintentionally harming the credibility of your cause. It can have unintended consequences two thousand or more years after the fact. Would you want your daughters to be phobic of and despised for embracing the natural function of the most personal parts of their form? No? Then why engage in the activity upon which the lion's share of the blame for this situation being in place today can be place?
You might think I am exaggerating. But you need not even look at aspects of sexuality or femininity to see this behaviour going on today. Conservatives have gone to a special effort to try and turn "liberal" into a dirty word, in spite of the fact that today's Prime Ministers and Presidents grew up in an age where liberal economic policy allowed them to enjoy a standard of living that is higher than that of the eighteen to thirty year olds that they are now governing.
Some people might complain that they do not like to be compared to a social minority that is defined by the fact that their neurological development is insufficient for them to maintain even the most basic care for themselves. Well, as so many have put it, when the shoe fits, you wear it.
The number of times that Autism Speaks For Normie Retard Assholes have been told in no uncertain terms that their actions are not wanted, needed, or desired by autistic adults anywhere in the world is incalculable. Many of today's generation of autistic adults wonder what will happen when the autistic children grow up and tell them their behaviour is unwanted to the point of being despised. Likely, they will indulge in the same rhetorics and anti-choice propaganda that they do now.
But here is the thing, politically correct moron language-mashers: they will do this no matter how many "umm mama! oo sed a bad wurd!"s you spew out.
So let us review, from my point of view, what you can really accomplish by crying and moaning every time I call people like my asshole idiot male parent a retard:
- Hostility
When you attempt to tell me what words I can use or cannot use in order to not upset your delicate little sensibilities, I immediately become hostile to you. If you want a 200+ pound Powell type to be hostile to you, then you must really think of yourself quite highly.
- Dissension
Apes alone: weak. Apes together: strong. It is the whole principle by which Rome governed itself.
When you try to tell a Child Of The '80s that he cannot use "baaaaad words" in his speech, it creates dissension. That is, instead of thinking he wants to help/save all autistic individuals, he starts feeling that perhaps some should be left to rot or suffer at the hands of Mengle-wannabes.
If I need to waste my breath explaining to you why this is a bad thing, perhaps you ought to be refraining from speaking for us. Yes, us. Including me. Not just you and whomever you want to include.
- Distraction
I am going to be blunt about this. I have been autistic for my entire life-span. The margin between that and the time I have had diabetes is a few months short of ten years. That is, I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was slightly more than nine and a half years old.
Now, when I go to a doctor and complain that I am suffering from:
- Unusual both in severity and length spells of dizziness, even when my blood glucose is right where it should be
- Stomach cramps and severe pain whilst excreting
- Psychological discomfort as a result of living amongst people I perceive as hostile
- Difficulties with sleep pattern
- Variably severe difficulties with breathing or consuming nutrients due to constant flow of mucus from nose to throat
- More besides
and the doctor zeroes in on my diabetes, what do you think I think of him? Do I think, "okay, my diabetes, because I have not had that focused on 4,000 times in the past two days"? Or do I think "hey, focus on this problem that is making my life difficult right here and now, you little fukking cunt"?
If you guessed anything other than the latter, you are a retard. End of story. You deserve to be called one, and you deserve to be seen as one. Because the number of times I have tried to get a medical professional to look somewhere other than my destroyed islet cells after twenty-five years can rightly be seen as a thing of legend. That, in a nutshell, is what I mean when I spew angry bile about distraction.
When a person is saying that all normie retard assholes who presume to put words in our mouths should be killed without mercy, there are again two possibilities as to what the individual is thinking. The politically correct asshole who misses the point might believe they are thinking that the intellectually retarded should all be done away with.
I have explained elsewhere that there is an actual layer of meaning to the word "retard", one that derives from the Latin "tardare". It means delayed, slow, or diminished. One very ironic joke you can make is that school teachers no longer issue "tardy slips" to students like in Back To The Future because today's high schoolers are too intellectually or linguistically retarded to understand what "tardy" means.
In fact, I would like to pose a question to the politically correct imbeciles of this world. Have you ever actually seen the inside of a residential care facility for the severely intellectually retarded?
I have. I did a couple of times a year or so after I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was bused to a "special school" because PhD.s were too retarded (see how much fun this word is with some irony, gang?) to work out that a boy using the exact same words over and over to talk about how much shit he wants to punch out of his principal might not be merely disobedient but autistic.
The Marsden residential care facility tucked away behind multiple tuck-aways on the Westmead Hospital grounds is literally like a village of the damned. These people cannot even keep their noses clean (literally).
So read back to what I said about the PhD.s who did not guess that a boy who can repeat the same words in expression of hate of teaching staff he feels discriminated against by, right down to the syllable, might be autistic. These assholes are so full of idnignant and unearned pride that they have been told they are the intellectual elite of society. Yet, as I said, if I walked into their office with "I AM AUTISTIC" tattooed into my head, they would go into as many trend-diagnoses as they could.
If you have a problem with me calling these gentlemen by what their decisions and the consequences to me make them out to be, that is, retards, then given what you are doing to possible future mes, maybe you are also someone that our world could do without.
Dislike it? Tell someone who does not have to live with the present and future results of your behaviour.


text:
mask is worn to hide
true feelings guarded closely
who is the real me?
The beautiful mask on the left was created by artist, Carrie Bourdeau. Aptly named "Bullet", the mask is covered in bullet casings and was just one of 30 masks she created for her "Rusty Gimp" art show several months ago. Her gentle and kind spirit is an unexpected but lovely juxtaposition against her often dark subject matter.
The amazing, multifaceted mask on the right was created by a talented art collaborative known as 3 Baaad Sheep. The title of the piece is "You, Me, Us, We" and this photo doesn't even begin to capture the layers of detail the artists assembled on this piece. My talented friends, Alexander P. Huerta, Eddie Canumay & Alexander "Sky" Carranza, individual artists in their own right, make up the 3 Baaad Sheep collaborative. I'm a proud collector of many of their works.
Today's post is my final entry in the WordPress writing challenge: 5 Haikus in 5 days. Click here to learn more. For the first entry, click here. My second Haiku is here. My third is here. And the fourth is here.
As always, get moving!
xoxo nancy


text:
Rabbi accused of voyeurism fired by synagogue
Board: Freundel's alleged actions constitute 'gross violation' of law, privacy, trust
A rabbi who's been charged with secretly videotaping women in a ritual bath has been fired by his Georgetown synagogue.
The board of directors at Kesher Israel announced Monday that it has terminated Barry Freundel's contract. Freundel had been suspended without pay since his arrest in October. He faces six counts of voyeurism after police found a clock radio with a hidden camera in the shower area of a ritual bath, known as a mikvah.
The board says Freundel's alleged actions constituted "a gross violation" of law, privacy and trust with far-reaching consequences.
Freundel is due in court for a hearing next month. He will be required to leave the rabbinic residence at the Orthodox synagogue by Jan. 1.
Full statement from Kesher Israel:
Last week, the Kesher Israel Board of Directors terminated the contract of Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel. Since the day of his arrest, Rabbi Freundel had been suspended from Kesher Israel without pay. Based on last week's action by the Board of Directors, his relationship with Kesher Israel has permanently ended. As he is required to do under his contract, Rabbi Freundel has been asked to vacate the rabbinic residence by January 1, 2015.
The decision by the Board of Directors was made under extraordinarily difficult and unfortunate circumstances. The alleged acts leading to this step were a gross violation of law, privacy, halakha, and trust. They breached the high moral and ethical standards we set for ourselves and for our leadership. Our collective heart breaks for the consequences, both seen and unseen, of these alleged acts to all the potential victims and our entire community.
This step is an important moment for our community. As we move beyond the events of last month, our community continues to come together and heal. This incident has demonstrated that the Kesher Israel community remains larger than any single individual, and we have emerged stronger than we were before. We are an engaged and hopeful community -- united by common faith, beliefs, and communal bond. We will remain strong and resilient.
We take great pride that our shul has continued to operate without interruption since the arrest, including through the chagim, during recent smachot, and through family losses. We are deeply grateful for the volunteers and community members who have stepped-up during this challenging time and have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Kesher community. We are also thankful to Rabbi Kenneth Brander and Nechama Price for their continued short-term halakhic support. We are committed to finding more long term solutions to our religious needs very soon.
As Kesher continues to move forward, the Board of Directors is committed to listening to the needs of the entire congregation. We encourage members of our community to reach out to the shul's leadership to voice any concerns, provide input, or even just to talk. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts.
We look forward to continuing to build a vibrant future for Kesher Israel, and to ensuring our community remains a warm, welcoming, and safe place to gather, worship, and learn.


text:
To begin my blog post I would like to share this groovy animated Frank Zappa interview on fads.
Among the themes discussed, I would like to give a special attention to this specific idea given by Zappa, which I'll be using as my core definition of fads and how they work within society.
Interviewer: Why do you think America is so fad crazy then? Because you seem to see everything in terms of fads.
"I think that is a reasonable way to look at it. Because it doesn't have any real sort of values you know? And a fad provides you with a temporary occupation for your imagination. Really, it doesn't have any real culture. It doesn't have any real art. It doesn't have any real anything. It's just got fads and a gross national product and a lot of inflation." – Frank Zappa
There's a multitude of ways of seeing fads in relation to digital media in our present-day society. Be it on seeing social media as fads themselves, which infects the phones of every teenager for an ephemeral amount of time, and then vanish from our sight the moment they run out of innovative entertaining features. Or the subjects which are commonly considered as important inside the social media, and hence are given priority and relevance by most users until it's light is overgrown by a new issue, which is most probably just as consistent in the ongoing society as the previous unresolved and obscured one. I do not want to sound displeased and demoralize the efforts done daily by social media users, that attempt to expose and issue forth the flaws of our society. But from what I have noticed as a common behaviour in social media, individuals keep circulating on top of the same "impacting" images or texts over and over, in what seems to me at first glance, a pursuit for social confirmation and sense of "I'm making a difference".
Of course these individuals are making a difference, a minor difference, and from what I have noticed, people hardly have a relevant amount of friends in social media which are not from the same social niche, and thus like-minded. So if one publishes an image concerning global warming in their Instagram story, the public that will be reached by that image is most probably already very concerned about global warming, and likely shares a similar viewpoint to the one being exposed. If the communicator of the content, who is doubtlessly aware that his Instagram followers share a similar idea upon global warming still believes that it is of great pertinence to make a statement such as this, is this individual really making that statement to increase social awareness over a phenomenon or rather to be flatter with Direct Messages glorifying his enlightened perspective?
To enfeeble my revelation, one may argue that maybe this individual made that post to keep up with the disagreement towards that issue, and this way avoiding it from becoming irrelevant by constantly reminding his peers of what a dangerous future that complication can lead us to. But if that was purely the reason, shouldn't this individual always come up with new or different attacks to that issue instead of repeatedly sharing the same images and texts? That way broadening the spectrum of arguments instead of binding themselves to the same loop of thought?
Or even better, why not create their own authentic content upon the subject instead of sharing the most lionized texts, which by this time have become cliches and thus less impactful? To contextualize my angle, and not make it sound like sheer grumble, I would like to take this Reddit post as an example.
The post makes a great point, an astute comment on the overuse of plastic package in supermarkets. I, by all manners, thoroughly agree with the fact that the amount of plastic found in supermarkets is unbearable. But I've seen a similar image with a similar text being shared on Instagram and Facebook so many times that it has just become irrelevant and unimpressive. Independently of how valuable and of great magnitude the underlying aspiration for a better world the act of sharing envisage, the saturation on the usage of this criticism completely stultifies it's intent. Leading the criticism on this subject to turn itself into a fad, something without any sort of real values, just a mean to get involved. Something that just brings reassurance to its communicators, and provide themselves with the sense of " I want change, I'm complaining on social media, therefore, I'm making a difference". Whereupon if analysed from a distance, the complaint is not really generating anything, it's just a loud repetition of principles. As a matter of fact, on the original post on Reddit, users have actually clarified the reason for the stupendous amount of plastic in supermarkets, and although the excuses are not so justifiable, it has clearly not followed the fame the image and objection had. For of course, the criticism would be of lesser importance, and then the sense of aiming for a better world would be diminished.
As the first comment mentioned, the critic has actually become a meme, which mocks in itself the repetitive and overvalued nature of the post. And for my content, I'm not the only one quarreling over the overuse of this statement. One of the users has made a comment linking to many other posts made by different Reddit users, that say exactly the same thing as the original objection.
I know that this blog post looks rather pessimistic and cataclysmic, but I believe it is of great relevance to comment on how we sell ourselves so easily to principles which are not our own.
If it was really about changing the world, wouldn't this users use a bit of their innate creativity to change at least a bit of their attack? Therefore contributing with more arguments to their cause? There is no real concern here, just a magnification of a comment, that is used again and again to mask the uncertainties that trouble the mind of this individuals. Just by binding to oneself a fad, the pledge for social acceptance and respect is inevitable and unassailable. Until a new fad emerges to occupy the imagination of these folks, and those who do not adapt on time, are then retained as non-essential.
The idea of selling an image of yourself in social media which is not completely equal to the one in actuality is already being massively discussed. And it is utterly impossible to escape from falling into this trap, since wanting it or not, there is no way of thoroughly representing yourself in social media. And although I'm heavily criticizing this phenomenon, I myself also take part in it. This whole text is hypocritical in its own essence, it's all part of the fad of complaining about fads. In the end, the platforms that internet provides us, leave us with an everlasting discord over contrasting poles. That is because, everyone who has access to social media can publicly share their opinion, and the ease of doing so, provide us with the feeling of being inconsequential, even though the most recurrent method is written report, which ephemerality is of no comparison to spoken words. The internet, mainly social media, make activists of us all. Lazy, distasteful, confirmation seeking activists. Who blindly follow the believe that our words are of remarkable importance, and hence, should be read and heard in all corners of the universe. I'm not stating that we should not complain about the exaggerated use of plastic, just that the daily bombardment of discontent on social media, even on the most quixotic scenario, will hardly bring anything apart from a few applause.
(Just as a final remark, social media can and has brought a series of episodes where it served as a platform to bring together ideas that had an actual impact on the real world, such as the well-known Iranian Green Movement a.k.a Persian Spring. But this post is regarding the recurrence of groundless objections on socially acclaimed themes, that make a prominent daily appearance on social media.)


text:
Is your website a Betty or Veronica?
Who do you trust more?
I loved reading Archie comics when I was young, and now with the revival of the characters in the new Netflix series Riverdale, I am reminded of the differing personalities of Betty and Veronica. Veronica was the cartoon character that was rich and cared about money and popularity. Betty was the girl next door who helped out, obliged and genuinely wanted to be nice. Put in business terms: Veronica chased revenue. Betty was all about customer engagement.
Without Veronica, your business can't survive. Without Betty, your customers won't trust you and Veronica can't collect. You need both on your team but in today's sales and marketing environment, how do you get Betty and Veronica in alignment to achieve your digital sales and marketing goals?
Today, people want to self-serve. They want to self-educate before engaging with a sales person or a Veronica. They don't want to be "sold". They want someone to take the time with their website or online content and explain value. They want someone to help them out with their business challenges in a "what's in it for me" way. Not a "here's what I can sell you" type of way.
Recently, Marketing Experiments published a blog post on the importance of building trust. They surveyed 2,400 consumers who shared their thoughts about trust in the engagement process. One of the hardest things today for marketers to do is build trust online.
How do you get to know people when you can't look them in the eye?
Here were the top findings from Marketing Experiments research:
1. You only get what you give
In other words, to get you must give first. (Betty) What are you giving as part of your online strategy? Is it just free content, or is their real value in the content you offer and the work you do to create it? The most important part of building trust is the value exchange. Just asking for a like or follow via content in social media means you have to really take part and give as much as you receive.
2. Building long term relationships
Any marriage therapist will tell you that a good marriage takes time. You can't propose to someone on the first date yet that's what we do when we do things like "Buy Now" or "Get a Demo" on our home pages. People don't trust you yet and even if they have been on your mailing list for years, you need to understand what it takes for them to have enough trust to say yes. Your sales team may be looking for a quick fix but helping them understand the nature of a long term relationship and what it takes to build them, will create better alignment between sales and marketing which is what it takes to build a repeatable lead generation engine.
3. Putting yourself in the shoes of the customer
Without this, nothing much works in sales or marketing today. If you don't understand what matters to your customer and the problems they are trying to solve, your content is likely useless and not hitting the mark. When you put yourself in the shoes of the customer, it changes the way you act and respond. It moves you away from being a Veronica too soon and focuses on being a Betty until it's time to call Veronica.
Here's a little test:
• When was the last time you listened to a colleague or customer and helped them solve a business problem with no gain for you or your business?
• When was the last time you referred someone for a job or for new business?
• When was the last time you gave away something for free that helped a client or colleague do something better in their business? (Golf balls don't count!)
If you answered "never" to all three questions you are likely a Veronica. And while Veronica has a role to play in your business, leading with Veronica is likely what's hindering your lead generation results.
If you answered, "yes, but not in the last six months", you are probably a Veronica masquerading as a Betty.
If you answered "yes to all and just last week" then you are definitely a Betty. Being a Betty allows you to:
• Test out concepts with colleagues and customers in the spirit of sharing
• Buys long term goodwill
• Helps you to learn something new
Be a Betty. Betty's build trust and trust wins online.
If you want to know more about how to align sales and marketing, download our newest guide!


text:
As millions of Muslims start preparing for this year's annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi authorities ask followers to delay bookings in light of the ongoing global pandemic.
Millions of Muslims around the world join the Hajj pilgrimage each year. At the same time, those that can't celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice or Eid al Adha, evoking the Quranic account of Prophet Abraham's trial, in which he was ordered by God to sacrifice his most beloved possession, his son Ishmael.
This year's celebrations are likely to be altogether different as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down many countries.
Uncertainty looms over this year's Hajj pilgrimage with Saudi Arabian authorities asking Muslims to wait until there are further updates before they make plans to visit the holy city of Mecca.
"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is prepared to secure the safety of all Muslims and nationals," said the Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Banten told state television. "That's why we have requested from all Muslims around the world to hold on to signing any agreements until we have a clear vision."
So what is Hajj and the Feast of Sacrifice?
Abraham, whose name etymologically means the father of nations, would have slaughtered his son following God's command without question, but in the face of the Prophet's sheer determination and strength of faith, God swapped Ishmael with a ram and Abraham slaughtered it instead.
Since the Prophet Mohammed's time, Muslims have marked the incident by sacrificing animals.
After the sacrifice, Muslims share meat with the needy, who might not be able to eat meat often, and their relatives, fulfilling God's vision of brotherly relations.
They also visit each other to tighten their friendships and heal old wounds.
For Muslims around the world, completing the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, the others being: professing the oneness of Allah and the finality of the message as conveyed by the Prophet Muhammed, prayer, charity and fasting.
The Hajj pilgrimage is incumbent on all Muslims who are able to afford it and able to do it.
For those pilgrims that make the journey to Mecca, they will wear white robes and spend the night in an encampment at the hill where the Prophet Mohammad gave his last sermon.
The rituals will last for several days in which pilgrims throw rocks at stone columns symbolising the devil at another location called Jamarat.
Hajj, in addition to being a spiritual pilgrimage, is also an opportunity for Muslims to show unity irrespective of gender, colour or ethnicity.
In 2018, more than 2.3 million Muslims completed Hajj in what is widely considered one of the largest human gatherings in the world.
How is Saudi Arabia handling the coronavirus?
Saudi Arabia has confirmed more than 1,500 cases and ten deaths. In February, Saudi authorities suspended the year-round Umrah, a smaller and non-obligatory pilgrimage for foreigners and citizens alike in a bid to halt the outbreak from spreading.
The stopping of the Hajj this year would be a significant development and without precedent in recent history.
"Under the current circumstances, as we are talking about the global pandemic… the kingdom is keen to protect the health of Muslims and citizens, and so we have asked our brother Muslims in all countries to wait before doing [Hajj] contracts until the situation is clear," added the Saudi minister for Hajj and Umrah.
Many Muslims around the world will see Saudi actions within reason and public safety measures. And throughout Islamic history, the Hajj pilgrimage has been cancelled more than 40 times.
This year's cancellation may also impact Saudi businesses who are reliant on the Hajj and Umrah, putting further strain on Saudi finances.
In recent decades Saudi Arabia has drastically improved its provisions for healthcare. It has around 2.2 hospital beds per 1,000 population, similar to that of Sweden. Saudi Arabia spends only 5.7 percent of GDP on healthcare according to the World Bank, one of the lowest in the G20.
In recent years the kingdom has ramped up efforts to deal with viral outbreaks.
In 2012, Saudi Arabia saw an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) another branch of the coronavirus which likely saw a transmission between a camel and a bat.
Saudi Arabia saw the most cases with more than 1,000 infections and 452 deaths.


text:
Highlighting the Work of Community Action!
We've just added a large batch of 2015 annual reports. There are now more than 280 reports featured from 46 states plus the District of Columbia.
Learn about the efforts of CAAs across the United States and get some ideas on how your agency might design its next annual report.


text:
This document includes the steps required to create Extra Jobs to the 'Configuration' of the hotel.
An Extra Job is a job that is NOT done on a daily basis as part of a normal room clean but something that is done periodically (i.e., taking down and washing curtains, cleaning the refrigerator).
To Create Extra Jobs
- Click 'Configuration' on the left hand menu
- Go to the 'Jobs' tab, 'Extra' tab on the 'Configuration' page
- Scroll down the page - locate 'EXTRA JOBS LIST' under 'JOB DETAILS' on the left hand column of the page
- To create a new Extra Job - start by entering the name of the new Job in 'Job Name' text box
- If desired add more information by clicking on [ADD DESCRIPTION] - more text and even photos can be added. When complete - click [OK] to save the information
- Below [ADD DESCRIPTION] set the following:
'Sequence' - select a number with the arrows to show where this task should be done in order for each Category
- Under FREQUENCY OF JOB DESCRIPTION set the following:
· 'Duration (Min.)' - time task is estimated to take, use either the arrows or type in the number.
· 'Credit' (if applicable) - credit for the task, use either the arrows or type in the number.
Under the 'Every...' section, select the frequency of which the Extra Job will occur:
· 'Days' = the number of days between scheduling the Extra Job, use either the arrows or type in the number
· 'Days after check in' = the number of days the Extra Job is scheduled after a guest checks in to the room, use either the arrows or type in the number..
8. Set the 'CATEGORIES' of the room(s) in which the Extra Job is to be performed
9. If category is not listed select [CREATE NEW CATEGORY] and enter in the Category name and click [SAVE CHANGES].
NOTE: Ensure the spelling is correct before saving changes as this can not be changed once saved.
10. Set the Task Type(s) for the Extra Job, this can be set for a single cleaning type or both if required by clicking the box in the header next to TASK TYPES.
11. Select the Room Types to which the Extra Job will be assigned, this can be set for one specific type or if all are required, simply click the box in the header next to ROOM TYPES
13. Click [SAVE] to save all of the entries for this Extra Job - repeat process for any other desired Extra Job.
12. Once the Extra Job have been saved and entered into the system, the Extra Jobs are listed on the left side of the page under 'EXTRA JOBS LIST' and sorted by the Categories to which they are assigned.
NOTE: If any Extra Jobs need to be made inactive, please contact the Optii Helpdesk for assistance.
This document contains proprietary and confidential information of OPTii Solutions, and is not to be used, copied, or disclosed without written permission. All rights reserved.


text:
New Updates To The DAOventures Strategies — Citadel, Stonks & More
DAOventures believes in the adoption of changes happening in the world of DeFi. Our product developers make sure that we incorporate the latest updates in our investment products to provide our users with MORE profit.
This article will outline some new implementations that apply to all our crypto ETF & DAO (Layer 2) strategies, including Metaverse Farmer "MVF", Citadel V2, Stonks V2(Tech Stonks), and Golden Cross(to be announced).
- Lower gas fees for deposit & withdrawal
- No withdrawal fees
- Watermark for fair fee collection
- MEV "sandwich attack"protection upon withdrawal
- 2-layer strategies
Now, if you want to know more, let's dive in!
Lower gas fees for deposit & withdrawal
In other protocols, users share is distributed by getting the total value of the strategy, getting the total supply of the LP token and minting the LP token. Citadel invests in 4 farms, so if the user wants to deposit/withdraw, the gas is costly.
In this new implementation on our smart contract, it is the admin who pays the gas fees one time for getting the total value of the strategy. Plus, the percentage of stablecoins keep in the contract increase to 3%, and it is possible to swap insufficient stablecoins from other available stablecoins. So users don't have to experience high gas fee due to low funds in strategies.
A win-win solution.
Important Points to Note:
- The total value is the sum of all farms that invest by strategy. More farms mean more gas to get the values. Since our strategies are ETF-based, it is normal that our strategies invest into more than 1 farm.
- Stonks invest in 7 Mirror Protocol farms. It will be costly to get the value from 7 farms. In the new implementation, workload from points 1 to 4 is delegated to the admin of the contract.
- The user only pays gas fees for transferring stablecoins into the contract plus some records. Around 50–60% gas fees cheaper than Citadel V1 & Stonks.
No withdrawal fees
In Citadel V1 & FAANG, there would be a deducted 20% if the user gets profit upon withdrawal. This new implementation will remove withdrawal fees and instead replace them with profit-sharing fees that are based on Strategy's watermark.
"The high-water mark ensures the manager does not get paid large sums for poor performance. If the manager loses money over a period, he must get the fund above the high-water mark before receiving a performance bonus from the assets under management (AUM)."
Watermark is a method used in traditional hedge funds trading, we bring it into decentralized finance. In our words, watermark = total value locked(TVL) at the moment.
Through this new updates, strategy only collects fees when the current TVL is greater than the last recorded watermark.
MEV protection upon withdrawal
"Maximal (formerly "miner") extractable value (MEV) refers to the maximum value that can be extracted from block production in excess of the standard block reward and gas fees by including, excluding, and changing the order of transactions in a block."
Miner extractable value "MEV" is a technique that can make our token loss when do swapping on-chain with decentralized exchange "DeX". In a nutshell, it makes users receive tokens way less than expected after the swap.
In order to tackle this, we include slippage tolerance for each swap in withdrawal, similar to set slippage on the Uniswap swap page, to make sure that the token received is as expected.
2-layer strategies
These implementations on our strategies, aka "Layer 2 Strategies" include Metaverse Farmer(MVF), Citadel V2, Tech Stonks, and Golden Cross(to be announced).
These strategies will invest back in layer 1 strategies, which are basically auto-compounders for LP tokens. One of the advantages of these layer 1 strategies is to collect yield farming fees so that our treasury has the ability to buy back more DVD token to support our community.
About DAOventures
DAOventures is a multi-chain DeFi investing platform for fund managers and crypto investors. Its mission is to make DeFi simpler, more accessible, and inclusive. DAOventures is a team of engineers, researchers, crypto-investors, DeFi & NFT adopters, and problem solvers who want to build and accelerate the future of money, together.


text:
I was just listening to the woes of a friend whose son has recently hit puberty and is now pounding life with an attitude hammer. She is pulling her hair out as we all do when we can't figure out who abducted our children and left a look alike disrespectful little alien in their place.
I always thought that things like respect, manners, selflessness and so on could be passed on pretty much just by example, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I know I've struggled trying to figure out why my children went the directions they did and make the really stupid choices they make, so I came up with a plan for her. It's kind of sad, but the best I could do and it goes something like this.
She has one of those you and me, parent/child sit down serious talk things. When they sit down she lays a syringe full of fluid on the table and starts, "Son, I think we both understand that puberty has struck and taken control of your emotions and your attitude. At this point it is obvious that you and I are going to have to find some compromise, some way to change the direction things are going before you or I do something rash and we are forced to use your life insurance policy." At this point she picks up the syringe and squirts a few drops out the way they do in the movies.
"So, as hard as this is going to be, you have two choices. You either get a grip and turn back into the loving, respectful young man you were just a few months ago……..or this (the fluid) goes in your arm and turns you into a girl. You see, I understand girls and how to deal with their stuff because I am one. Once this goes in, the game's over. You have 5 minutes to explain to me how the rest of your life is going to go, and no, you can't use the phone."
Bottom line. I'll be glad to pass on any other techniques or suggestions to my friend.


text:
Following the snow that has fallen over night (and with the forecast for more over the rest of this week), could parents/carers please ensure that their child/children come to school with sufficiently warm clothing and boots – thank you.
We will of course make every effort to keep the school open throughout the winter but in severe circumstances it may be necessary to close the school to ensure the health and safety of children and staff – bearing in mind several members of staff need to travel long distances to reach school.
In the event of a very heavy snow fall or hazards which may lead to a school closure, we will of course try and let parents know as soon as possible. Please listen out for information on Radio York and a post will be put on the website giving details. Hopefully this will not be necessary!
Unfortunately, Tag Rugby Club will not take place tonight. We will make a decision about Football Club later in the week.


text:
Casey's Blog:
I have been drinking "Brugal Especial Extra Dry Rum" all winter, and without a doubt! it by far makes the best rum & coke ever. it really seems to bring out all the spices in the cola.
Even thou it is clear it's been aged 3 years in oak barrel's. That oak ageing really seems to smooth out the taste of this very dry rum. It's also very good enjoyed by itself or on the rocks.
Get a bottle of this if you see it. Soooo goood.😋


text:
There is overwhelming evidence corroborating the notion that Kenya Is a good country to invest in; despite all the corruption crowding our judgement about the country.For the purpose of this discussion, I will focus on a systematic way to gauge an investment and the tools that made me arrive at the best investment I think someone might make in Kenya. On the contrary, this should not close the topic for further discussion as there might be better investments.
To comprehend the current stand-point of Kenya investment, it is important that we understand the global business environment. What makes Kenya stand out amon other countries in Africa.
Kenya is an emerging economy with a population close to 53 millions. It is located in Africa,a continent with a lot of trade barriers across country to country. The country is a heavy importer of finished products from China and the United states. The currency is not so strong as compared to other currencies like South Africa.
Now, I hold the view that for a country to be competitive in the global business, it must be making something for the global consumption. An example is Taiwan a SMALL country that plays a significant role in the global business. All Iphones are made in Taiwan. Most of the microprocessors are made in Taiwan. The country is able to satisfy its demand and sell outside. Business that focus on the bigger picture are the most profitable.
Now, back to Kenya. The countries main products with the world include Tea, Coffee and Cut flowers. These are the main products that Kenya exports to the outside world. Among the three, Cut flowers are the easiest that an individual can invest.
The Kenya flower industry is one of the biggest foreign exchange earner, and the industry has an international market share of 38% .
Statistics show that the industry employs 90,000 people directly and about 500,000 indirectly data from the Kenya Flower Council. It also rakes in more than Sh45.6 billion every year.
Kenya is the largest supplier of cut flowers to the European Union.
Most of the flowers grown in Kenya are sold through the Dutch Auctions and some exported directly to supermarkets in the United Kingdom.
Roses are the most profitable flowers grown in the country. The country is best known for growing scented roses which are liked in the international markets. 98% of the roses grown in the country are for export. The industry has prospects for growth as the demand for quality cut flowers in the European union keep rising. For these reason, I can conclude and say, Flori-culture is the best investment to do in Kenya.


text:
Don't buy your Bitcoin from a place that could disappear overnight
If you are just starting out in cryptocurrency trading, you need to watch your step and stay sharp. In theory, that's not all that different from a stock exchange. The reality can sometimes be quite different.
The last thing which you will want is to lose all your hard earned money at the hands of a fraud trader. Bitcoin trading is similar to that of a stock exchange. However, the only difference is that there are no middlemen involved. You will have to sign up with a trader and give your information like your bank account number or your credit card details. There is a high chance that the service provider vanishes the next day leaving no trace at all and there is nothing you will be able to do about it.
Find the right exchange for your location
Because of the rise in the popularity of Bitcoin, a new Bitcoin exchange site is cropping up every day. As of now, there are around 190 exchange sites and most of them do not follow any rules and regulations. The value of Bitcoin is also highly fluctuating. The current value of Bitcoin is less than half of what it was during December. Besides, IRS has classified Bitcoins as property, therefore, you will have to pay Capital Gain Tax on each transaction, so be aware.
Location plays a huge role in the selection of an exchange service. For example, if you are living in the US, you should always choose a US-based website. If there is no address mentioned, then there is a high chance that it is a scam. If you don't know the location, then you won't be able to sue the service provider in the case of a hack because you won't know the particular jurisdiction under which it falls.
You should learn about the various policies
There are many exchanges which don't accept cash. Many sites also don't take US Dollar because of regulatory issues. Recently, SEC has made it compulsory for some sites to register with them. However, even after that, they don't guarantee the legitimacy of the site.
In that case, it will always be better to do a quick Google search before deciding on any site. You will get thousands of reviews for each, so don't hesitate to double check. There are also several online forums where you will find people discussing exchange sites, such as bitcointalk and bitcoinforum.
Confirm that there's enough security
The core thing is, that if a particular platform follows some procedures like KYC regulations, then there is a high chance that the site is genuine. If it is very easy to open an account, then it also means that it will be equally difficult to get the money back if things went wrong.
In order to solve the issue regarding where to register, you can have a look on the following crypto-investors communities such as CoinMarketCap, Stepium or the TradingView. All of them are coming up with a portfolio manager brokers where you will be able to access all the popular cryptocurrencies in one single platform. It will be a great place to start for newbies with no technical skill.
"Do your thing and get off quick"
Needless to say, that reliable sites also usually charge higher transaction rates. For example, Coinbase charges a transaction fee of around 4% for all transaction. You will also find sites charging a transaction fee of just 0.2% that, honestly, a far too low, isn't it? So keep your eyes open instead of keeping your coins online too long. Remember, that you have such a nice invention like a flash drive, so don't neglect to use it time on time.


text:
In part I of this series I reviewed the paper "Immune aging, dysmetabolism, and inflammation in neurological diseases" by Deleidi et al (1) in which it was stated that the key cell in the CNS that appears to be most responsible for much of the damage seen in the CNS as the result of chronic inflammation is the main innate immune cell of the brain, microglia. As noted by the authors, chronic inflammation can upregulate activity of microglia leading to increased CNS inflammation and a whole host of mood, behavioral, and neurodegenerative disorders. In part II of this series I would like to discuss microglia in more detail by reviewing the paper "The role of inflammation and microglial activation in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders" by Reus et al (2).
Reus et al (2) begin their paper with a review of the relationship discussed in part I of this series between inflammation and mood and behavioral disorders:
"A growing body of evidence suggests that many psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia, and autism are associated with distinct inflammatory mechanisms in the periphery and in the central nervous system."
What is the source of this inflammation? The quote below suggests it is the typical inflammatory disorders presented by our patients every day:
"Risk factors for MDD and BD include medical conditions associated with chronic
inflammatory and immunological alterations, such as rheumatoid arthritis, obesity and diabetes."
The authors then go on to point out that neurologic inflammation is typically associated with what was mentioned in part I of this series, microglial activation:
"Inflammation in the context of the nervous system, termed 'neuroinflammation', has been reported in patients with psychiatric disorders and is typically associated with microglial activation."
The next quote discusses some basic facts about microglia:
"Microglia are CNS-resident cells that are usually the first to be activated in response to tissue damage or brain infections. These small cells have several functions described, including (but not limited to): pathogen recognition, phagocytosis, antigen presentation, and synapse remodeling. Non-activated microglia termed 'quiescent' or 'resting' microglia are constantly surveilling the surrounding environment in non-pathological conditions. In response to changes in the environment, microglial cells can be activated by changing their morphology and function."
As I hope you can see, in many ways microglia act just the same as most other immune cells in the body. What happens when microglia are activated? This was discussed briefly in part I. The next quote provides much more detail:
"Microglial activation can be divided into two distinct types: a classical M1 and an alternative M2 activation. In the M1 activation, microglial cells may become hyperramified or ameboid/phagocytic, and may synthesize proinflammatory molecules (interleukin 1β – (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6, among others), superoxide radicals, glutamate, nitric oxide (NO) and ultimately clear infections and repair tissues."
Thus, M1 activation represents a process that is typical for the immune system outside of the CNS in that it, when activated, generates inflammatory and other compounds designed to cope with environmental stressors, especially infections. M2 activation of microglia demonstrates properties typical of the aspects of the immune system that are designed to reduce inflammatory activity and tissue damage plus stimulate repair:
"Alternatively, M2 activation, which can be triggered by cytokines such as IL-4, IL-13, or IL-25, has been associated with a release of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10, insulin-growth factor-1 (IGF-1), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and neurotropic factors, which facilitate healing and limit neuronal injury. The nature and magnitude of the injury, along with several other factors, can influence the development of these distinct microglial phenotypes."
Next, Reus et al (2) make the very important point that, because microglial activation can take two very different forms, it is not enough just to know that microglia have been activated. We must also know the type of activation:
"Most importantly, identifying activated microglia in a pathological condition, although being a marker of inflammation, does not allow for an understanding of the inflammatory process. Thus, only by determining the phenotype of microglia can one identify its role in cytotoxicity and/or neuroprotection."
Please note again that, contrary to what has generally been stated about microglia in the past, not all activated microglia act in a proinflammatory, destructive manner. Some are actually vital for tissue building and repair.
Next, the authors again point out the important relationship between alteration of microglia and psychiatric disorders:
"Several studies in the past year speculated that alterations in the number and/or morphology of microglial cells are involved in cognitive and behavioral changes observed in psychiatry disorders."
However, the authors also emphasize what often is not considered in relationship to microglia and psychiatric disorders – that microglia activation can take on two very different forms:
"…given that microglia can be activated in either a cytotoxic or a neuroprotective way, characteristics of the microglial activation assessed in a specific condition need to be taken into account. This review article aims to summarize evidence of inflammation and in major psychiatric disorders, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism, including the role it plays in their progression and therapeutics."
This section begins with some basic information on MDD:
"MDD is considered a critical public health problem, and it is estimated that approximately 350 million individuals are affected worldwide. In addition, almost 1 million lives are lost yearly due to suicide, which translates to 3000 suicide deaths every day."
Of course, in the past it was generally accepted, as we all know, that depression is mainly an issue of aberrant neurotransmitter activity:
"Until recently, the monoaminergic hypothesis appeared to be the most widely accepted theory for depression."
However, as I have been discussing, more recent research suggests that neurotransmitters do not tell the whole depression story:
"…a series of new studies have shown that other pathways involved with neuroplasticity or intracellular signaling cascades would be directly or indirectly responsible for the mood dysregulation, as well as to the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs."
The next paragraph goes into detail about the relationship between inflammation and depression, ending with an intriguing statement that suggests that antidepressant drugs may be effective due to anti-inflammatory activity:
"Since patients with autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, such as diabetes and fibromyalgia, present with depressive symptoms, it has been proposed that depression may be linked to inflammation. In fact, patients with depression have been shown to present an increase in serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and TNF-α. In addition, elevated plasma levels of IL-1β, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and IFN-gamma have been reported in patients during ongoing depression. Of note, cytokines were reduced to normal levels after 12 weeks of treatment with antidepressants."
Is the clinical effect of antidepressants actually due to anti-inflammatory properties?
As we all know, antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac and others) often deliver inconsistent results with depression. However, when they do show efficacy, could the reason be reduction of inflammation as opposed to the generally accepted mechanism of serotonin optimization? This question has recently been explored in other papers which I will review in detail in the next installment. However, Reus et al (2) have some compelling comments on this controversy. First consider the following:
"…acupuncture and fluoxetine treatments reduced IL-1β levels in responders, whereas acupuncture was also able to restore the balance between Th1 and Th2 systems by attenuating TNF-α concentration and INF-gamma/IL-4 ratio toward the control level."
In addition, antidepressant drugs appear to have an impact on microglial regulation:
"Antidepressant drugs used to treat depression also act in microglial regulation. In fact, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) potently inhibit microglial TNF-α and nitric oxide production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)…"
"Fluoxetine, an SSRI, also reduced the microglial activation in dopaminergic neurons induced by an animal model of Parkinson, and also prevented LPS-induced degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons by inhibiting microglia-mediated oxidative stress."
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are endotoxins (metabolic waste products) produced primarily by gut microflora that can be highly proinflammatory when absorbed in scenarios such as leaky gut.
With the above data in mind, Reus et al (2) conclude:
"…the antidepressant effects of classic and new modulators could be mediated, at least in part, by its effects on regulating the immune system."
Unfortunately, the studies on the subject of the relationship between antidepressants and neurologic inflammation all make it clear that, just because antidepressants reduce inflammation does not mean that this is the reason they are clinically effective with some cases of depression. In other words, it could be just an association and not a true cause and effect phenomenon.
As I mentioned, I will explore this controversy in more detail in the next installment of this series.
The next few quotes point out that, similar to cortisol, microglia will activate in scenarios that are considered stressful:
"These findings support the theory that microglia plays a pivotal role in modulating the impact of stress."
"…morphological activation of residential microglia was induced by exposures to acute stress."
"…studies which showed microglial activation in response to stress could be related to an acute response to stress. In addition, these changes could be related not only to the development of depression, but also anxiety."
However, are microglia activated only by psychological stress, i.e. worry? No. For, microglia can also be activated from input from the peripheral nervous system:
"Microglia exerts an inflammatory role against danger signals from both the central and peripheral nervous system."
Is there a link between microglial activation and suicide?
Reus et al (2) state:
"Microglial activation was also greater in the ventral prefrontal white matter in individuals who committed suicide."
In addition:
"…Steiner et al. did not find any evidence of microglial activation in the same brain areas from patients who were suffering from depression, but did find in patients who had committed suicide, suggesting that microglial activation might be a consequence of presuicidal stress."
Can sleep deprivation affect microglial activation?
Reus et al (2) point out the following concerning microglial activation and sleep:
"Maternal sleep deprivation, an animal model of depression, inhibited neurogenesis through inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) released from activated microglia in young offspring rats; these effects were associated with memory impairment and anhedonic behavior."
Cortisol and microglial activation
As you might expect, cortisol elevations have an intimate relationship with microglial activation. However, this relationship appears to be dose dependent:
"…it is possible that cortisol signaling in microglia may play an important role in the inflammatory process related to depression; these effects were dependent on the corticosterone dose, though. In fact, corticosterone administration in low dose was able to reverse microglial activation induced by stress and adrenalectomy."
Therefore, as you can see, both low and high amounts of cortisol are related to microglial activation. Since, in my experience, low cortisol readings seen with salivary cortisol testing are as frequent as high levels, it should be kept in mind that it is highly likely that, when these suboptimal cortisol levels are seen, mood changes related to microglia-induced CNS inflammation are a distinct possibility.
Glutamate and microglial activation
Based on information about monosodium glutamate (MSG) that we have seen in the nutritional literature over the years, it is recognized that glutamate in high levels, whether ingested or produced endogenously, can have a potentially proinflammatory, excitatory, and destructive impact on the CNS. Are these adverse impacts of glutamate related to microglial activity? Consider the following statements from Reus et al (2):
"Studies have shown that glutamate, an important neurotransmitter in the CNS that plays a key role in the pathophysiology of depression, is also involved in microglial toxicity. Inflammatory cytokines are able to decrease the expression of the glutamate transporter and increase glutamate release from astrocytes. Activation of microglia by inflammatory cytokines, in turn, can induce a release of glutamate that contributes to neuronal damage during neuroinflammation."
Of course, the negative impact of microglia-induced glutamate release does not stop there:
"Moreover, glutamate accumulation causes an increase of intracellular Ca2+, which in turn may lead to the production of reactive species (ROS) due to mitochondrial dysfunction and reduction of antioxidant capacity. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress contribute to glutamate excitotoxicity and consequently increased proinflammatory genes. Glutamate and their receptors play an important role in the pathophysiology of depression. Indeed, patients with depression presented a significant increase in serum glutamate levels when compared with healthy controls."
As I hope you can see, our longstanding belief that mood disorders such as depression are nothing more than an issue of neurotransmitter imbalance must now be relegated to the dusty corner of history now occupied by the typewriter and the horse and buggy. All three, while still useful, are woefully limited in their applicability by today's standards and body of knowledge. While I am not stating that we now discard all efforts to optimize neurotransmitter status with depressed patients, we must now recognize, as evidenced by the many patients who did not respond as well clinically as we would hope, focusing on neurotransmitters is no longer enough. To gain predictable positive responses in a cross section of patients we must now treat mood disorders just like we have treated so many somatic issues from a functional medicine standpoint. These are multifaceted metabolic issues that also require optimization of inflammatory mediators, insulin metabolism, free radical production, mitochondrial function and all the environmental stressors involved in their creation that include but are not limited to poor nutritional intake.
Of course, bipolar disorder (BD) is nothing more than depression interspersed with periods of mania. Reus et al (2) state:
"BD is a severe mood disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of mania followed by depression. Although the clinical characteristic for the diagnosis of BD is the presence of manic symptoms, depression represents the predominant mood state in patients with BD type I and BD type II."
As you might expect, conventional thinking for many years has suggested that BD is simply an issue of aberrant neurotransmitter activity. The authors point out that, as with depression, this is not the case:
"The pathophysiology of BD has been attributed to deficits in monoamine neurotransmitters, such as dopamine. However, the neurobiology of BD, as well as the mechanism of action of mood stabilizers used to treat BD, is not fully elucidated. Thus, it is possible that other pathways besides the monoaminergic system could be involved. Recently, mood disorders are increasingly being recognized as inflamed moods. One theory suggests that in the BD the immune system is chronically activated by microglia, which in turn produces cytokines that render the brain to a vulnerable and unstable state, precipitating mood disturbances."
Evidence of this comes from several studies:
"…higher levels of IL-1β were associated with dysfunction and increased suicide risk in patients with BD. Changes in sleep pattern were also observed in patients with BD, with an increase of IL-6 in peripheral monocytes. Furthermore, Barbosa et al demonstrated an increase in proinflammatory cytokine levels in BD."
Then, of course, there is, as I have discussed repeatedly, the inflammation-induced disturbances in tryptophan metabolism as seen with alteration of kynurenine metabolites. Reus et al (2) point out:
"In euthymic patients with BD, an increase in blood kynurenine concentrations and in the kynurenine to tryptophan ratio was also observed. The kynurenine pathway plays an important role in psychiatric diseases; this pathway is an alternate route of tryptophan metabolism that decreases serotonin neurotransmission."
In the next quote the authors provide a concise overview of the kynurenine pathway that I have discussed before:
"Moreover, stimulated microglia may promote expression of cytokines, such as IFN-gamma, a potent activator of the kynurenine pathway (KP). IFN-gamma increases the activity of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), consequently increasing quinolinic acid (QUIN), which causes excitotoxicity mediated by the NMDA receptor. In the CNS, activated microglia and infiltrating macrophages are considered the main producers of QUIN."
Could drugs commonly used with BD have anti-inflammatory properties?
As with depression, could the drugs commonly used with BD that were always thought to function purely by optimizing neurotransmitter activity also have an impact on microglial activation and inflammation? Reus et al (2) comment on two commonly used drugs with BD, valproate and lithium. First, concerning valproate:
"Valproate (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), seems to play an important role in managing activated microglial cells. Cells pretreated with VPA showed decreased levels of proinflammatory factors, which were concentration- and time-dependent. The anti-inflammatory effects of VPA appear to be based on its ability to induce apoptosis in activated microglia."
Concerning lithium:
"Lithium, a mood stabilizer, was also able to significantly inhibit LPS-induced microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in vitro."
With the above in mind, the authors conclude:
"Altogether, these results point to an interesting relationship between the mechanism of action of these classic mood stabilizers (Lithium and VPA) and microglial cells."
Certainly one of the most challenging mood disorders faced by clinicians over the years is schizophrenia. Reus et al provide a brief clinical overview:
"Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating disorder that affects 0.5-1% of the world population. Patients with this disorder present positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are characterized by extra feelings or behaviors, such as hallucinations and delusions. On the other hand, negative symptoms are associated with lack of behaviors, for example, apathy and loss of interest in everyday activities."
Of course, as you might expect, conventional thinking suggests that schizophrenia is purely a disorder of neurotransmitter metabolism. The authors state:
"Evidence suggests that the dopamine dysfunction hypothesis, which involves hyperstimulation of dopaminergic D2 receptors in certain parts of the brain, may lead to positive symptoms. The glutamatergic hypofunction hypothesis of schizophrenia could be responsible for the negative symptoms."
Could neuroinflammation also be a causative factor? Reus et al (2) comment:
"Additionally, neuroinflammation has been linked to schizophrenia, as well. One theory suggests that maternal immune activation during pregnancy is a risk factor for the progeny to develop schizophrenia in adulthood."
What would cause the maternal immune activation? According to the authors, it could be infection:
"…studies showed an association between Toxoplasma gondii and early-onset schizophrenia, and maternal genital/reproductive infections during periconception increased the risk of schizophrenia in offspring."
Does microglial activation also play a role? As you might expect, research suggests this:
"Microglial activation and an increase in microglial cells in the brain of schizophrenic patients have been reported in post-mortem studies. An increase in microglial cells was also demonstrated in schizophrenic patients who had committed suicide. A positron emission tomography (PET) study showed microglial activation in recent-onset schizophrenics within the first 5 years of disease."
What cytokines might be involved with microglial activation in schizophrenics? Reus et al (2) point out:
"Schizophrenia is known to be associated with alterations in the immune system, such as increased cytokine levels. In a meta-analysis, IL-1β, IL-6, and TGF-β (which also has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects in the CNS) were augmented during an acute relapse in patients and in the first episodes of psychosis."
Reus et al (2) conclude the section on schizophrenia by theorizing that efforts to reduce inflammation and/or enhance anti-inflammatory activities in the body may be a viable approach:
"In conclusion, inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines or enhancement of anti-inflammatory mediators in schizophrenic patients may be a beneficial strategy to prevent the devastating consequences of this illness with respect to neuronal damage and function."
Of all the behavioral and degenerative neurologic diseases that tend to come our way in everyday clinical practice are there any that are more discussed and controversial than autism? For, it seems like every day we hear new and sometimes conflicting theories as to causation. As will be demonstrated below, could the fact that so many autistic patients present findings consistent with microglial activation bring some much needed simplicity and clarity? Consider the following:
"Recent studies have demonstrated a relationship between autism and inflammation dysregulation/alteration. Microglial activation has also been reported in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For instance, Tetreault et al. reported an increase of microglial cells in cortical areas (fronto-insular (FI) and visual cortex (VC)) from individuals diagnosed with autism. Moreover, in a postmortem study microglia was found to be augmented in individuals with autism when compared with healthy controls, and a PET revealed that young adults with ASC had increased markers of microglial activation in a wide range of brain areas, including the cerebellum, brainstem, frontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, corpus callosum, temporal cortex, and parietal cortex. Dendritic cells, which are important in modulating immune responses, were found to be increased in the amygdala of individuals with ASD in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study."
What happens when LPS (lipopolysaccharides, also known as endotoxins, that are produced by gut microflora) is introduced into mice? As you might imagine, this question is highly clinically significant given all the controversy as to whether gut disturbances can play a role in ASD. The authors point out:
"…LeBelle et al. revealed that pregnant mice exposed to LPS had offspring with increased forebrain microglia and autistic behavior. In addition, LPS exacerbated glial activation in the hippocampus and the cerebellum, as well as behavioral changes in the gestational period. Thus, it is possible that prenatal inflammation might be involved, at least in part, to microglial activation in ASD."
What about glutamate dysfunction? As was mentioned above, one reason why microglial activation is so disruptive to neurologic function is its adverse impact on glutamate activity. Reus et al (2) state the following:
"Glutamate dysfunction has been reported also in ASD. A study showed that autistic patients exhibited higher glutamate concentration…"
In addition, disturbances were found with GABA and the GABA/glutamate ratio. These findings led the authors to conclude:
"Altogether, these results suggest that an imbalance in GABA and glutamate neurotransmission might be related to neuroinflammation in ASD. Thus, glutamatergic modulators could be promising to treat ASD spectrum to ultimately reduce glutamatergic excitotoxicity and consequently microglial activation."
As compelling as their data is relating many clinically significant neurologic disorders to inflammation and upregulation in microglial activity, Reus et al (2) conclude their paper with some somewhat sobering but important observations. First and foremost, the vast majority of the findings are observational, pointing out associations without actual proof of cause and effect. Therefore, it appears that neuroinflammation is only part, albeit a very important part, of the story and it is premature to eliminate clinical interventions used in the past in favor of just focusing on reducing inflammation and optimizing microglial activity. The authors point out:
"Microglial activation and neuroinflammation are evident in psychiatric conditions and have been reported by preclinical and clinical studies. However, the pathological mechanisms involved in the microglial dysfunction are still not fully elucidated. Of note, it remains unclear whether microglia activation can lead to the onset of psychiatric disorders and consequently to a neuroinflammatory process. More specifically, even though microglial activation can present two opposite phenotypes, the majority of the studies do not take these phenotypes into account when assessing microglial activation in different disorders. In other words, we can only infer whether a particular disorder is associated with the M1 or M2 phenotype based on the reported inflammatory markers that these patients present. In addition, many studies show peripheral inflammation in psychiatric disorders; however, increased inflammatory markers in the periphery are not synonyms of microglial activation in the CNS."
Please keep in mind that it is not my intention that the caveat in the above quote discourages you from aggressively searching for indicators of chronic inflammation in your patients with mood and neurodegenerative disorders and addressing them whenever possible. For, as I hope I have demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate in this series, the evidence is overwhelming that inflammation plays a key role in neurologic disorders. Unfortunately, what the research presented in this series cannot optimally address is the role of inflammation in the neurologic disorder in your unique and individual patient. Therefore, what I am presenting should not discourage you in any way from using other, more conventional approaches that are intended to optimize neurotransmitters. Rather, it is designed to give you another viable clinical option for those many patients who do not respond well to either pharmaceutical or alternative modalities geared towards neurotransmitter optimization.
In part III of this series I will begin by exploring in more detail the intriguing hypothesis that pharmaceuticals used for mood and behavior disorders, when effective, are effective because of their anti-inflammatory properties rather than their impact on neurotransmitter metabolism. Also, I will review still more papers that support that idea that mood/behavior and neurodegenerative disorders have a significant inflammatory basis.
Moss Nutrition Report #267 – 02/01/2016 – PDF Version
- Deleidi M et al. Immune aging, dysmetabolism, and inflammation in neurological diseases. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2015;9.
- Reus GZ et al. The role of inflammation and microglial activation in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Neuroscience. 2015;300:141-54.


text:
As far as stereotypes go, a step child is hated simply for not being someone's biological child. No matter how well they do or how good they are, the step parent is never pleased with the efforts and accomplishments of the step child. In fact, hate-filled parents find it normal to punish the step child more for doing something better than their biological child.
Government's approach to the differences between Zesco and the Copperbelt Energy Corporation, and the subsequent effects on Konkola Copper Mines, reminds us of that ill-conceived bitterness from a hateful parent to an ambitious step child. It seems to us that government is backing every reason that Zesco has for failing to provide energy to its customers, but they are not willing to listen and accept any challenges that CEC may have in continuing to provide power to Konkola Copper Mines specifically. When Zesco demands more money from electricity consumers, the parent acts swiftly to ensure that is done, but when CEC, the step child, claims its debt from one particular customer, the hateful parent prefers to protect the consumer. This approach can be a source of concern, not only for CEC, but for other investors as well.
Before we get any further into our argument, let's establish a few facts. CEC trades as a private entity, listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange and the majority of the shares are in private hands but it is owned nearly 25% by the Zambian Government through ZCCM-IH. In fact, from publicly available documents, one would argue that adding the number of public or government associated or owned organisations that have shares in CEC, the government has quite a substantial stake. The government also owns ZESCO and the majority of ZCCM-IH and 20% of KCM through the Industrial Development Corporation. Since May 2019, government has been fully in charge of KCM operations through the provisional liquidator, Mr Milingo Lungu.
Last week, CEC claimed that KCM has not been paying its electricity bill which has accumulated to about US$132 million. In pursuing this debt, CEC threatened to stop providing the full power requirement to the mining company until the bill is cleared. But KCM sought an order of interim relief from the Kitwe High Court to restrain CEC from effecting the power restriction. That is the summary of facts.
What we find interesting is that the consumer is not disputing that electricity worth US$132 million has been used at the mine, but government doesn't seem to care about this debt or how the supplier has been surviving. Even when KCM has not been paying for all the good and bad reasons that the Provisional Liquidator may have, Zesco wants what CEC is owing for the power uptake to be paid, and government sees nothing awkward about that arrangement.
The mining company, though under liquidation, is in desperate need of money to keep its operations going, that's understood. But isn't CEC just as desperate to keep itself afloat financially through power consumption payments from its biggest client? Why is government not interested in the plight of CEC? To us, this looks like government doesn't mind if CEC, the step child, collapses since that scenario would automatically benefit the biological child, Zesco.
KCM failing to pay for power and other services is not new. We recall that in 2014 when KCM was under the control of Vedanta Resources, CEC again restricted power supply to the mine over the same debt problem. At that time, government seemed to understand the logical claim from CEC, and yet the amount then was a fraction of the current debt. But now that they are in charge of the mine, they want KCM to use free electricity. This is not good for private investment.
We are not saying CEC is a blameless company; it definitely has its own challenges, and those with grievances against the power utility are free to seek legal redress. But what we are saying is that there is need to protect the private sector. Government must support efforts that private citizens are putting in place to run big corporations like CEC. This will, in turn, build investor confidence and in the long run, a strong private sector will immensely grow the economy.
CEC is a local company, so why doesn't it receive the same support from our government which it claims to give to local businesses? We recall that at the beginning of March this year, PF Secretary General Davies Mwila announced that the ruling party had appointed a task-force to ensure that the negotiations for the Bulk Supply Agreement between Zesco and CEC are concluded before March 31 in order to protect the 400 jobs at CEC.
But what is happening is the opposite. The said negotiations, which we were told would have been led by madam Margaret Mwanakatwe, have yielded nothing. And now it appears the PF and its government are not really interested in protecting jobs at CEC. Rather, it seems they want to take it over, and if that fails, Zesco, which they can control, should take over all the business from CEC. That's what we see happening here.