Inequities in education deprive youth around the globe of opportunities to improve their livelihoods and contribute to their communities. Limited access to quality education, for example, hinders individual growth and personal development, as well as social, economic and political advancement. Improved educational conditions provide a solid platform for advancement and innovation, significantly impacting a young person’s ability to compete with their peers globally. Of particular interest in this sector is the need to improve opportunities for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Improving access to STEM education is more than promoting STEM subjects. It provides exposure to the value and relevance of creative problem solving to address everyday issues as an alternative to the rote learning method. It also reveals the interconnectivity of learning across disciplines and helps young people, especially young girls, develop new aptitudes that transform their world view and expand their career opportunities and choices!
Today, approximately 120 million young people join the labor market each year, and more than 73 million of them are consistently documented as under or unemployed. Without access to opportunities for income, global youth populations are unable to secure basic necessities for living such as food, water, and shelter. Now more than ever, young people must devise solutions to ensure financial acumen and income opportunities for their livelihoods.
Many people around the world suffer from treatable diseases and health-related issues due to the lack of access to quality and affordable institutions, practitioners, and medicine. Global pharmaceutical companies have been critiqued for inflating the costs of life saving medicines and access to well-trained healthcare professionals is generally limited to middle and upper middle class populations, thereby leaving the economically disadvantaged with very little hope for a healthy life. Young people have a critical role to play in identifying solutions that reduce maternal and child mortality and increase life expectancy for all, irrespective of socioeconomic status. This is a fundamental human right.
Rarely do we see the consequences of unscrupulous environmental decisions take immediate effect. Deforestation and flooding, mining and water source pollution, farming practices and soil quality—all of these relationships have long-term impacts. Individuals, communities, corporations, and governments continue to make decisions that are convenient in the short-term; and yet, have had harmful and damaging effects that are unsustainable for the future. Perhaps more so with the environment than any other theme, young people have an extraordinary responsibility and opportunity to carve out space, innovate, and advocate for equitable and sustainable practices to protect their future.
Art and its “mother”, Culture, surround us all the time in what appears to be a symbiotic and somewhat seamless coexistence. They are powerful forces that have the ability to reinforce ideologies or challenge and transform them altogether. Unfortunately, like everything else, art and culture too often, mirror the social, political and economic inequities that we see in other sectors of society. For instance, the arts and cultures of non-Western, non-capitalist societies have historically been either devalued or co-opted without attribution and compensation to the originators. Despite (or maybe, more appropriately, because of) the insidious nature of this issue, we need young people to share innovative ideas on how to promote true cultural and artistic diversity and inclusion through their individual renditions, documentation of their cultural heritage and projections of their envisioned future!


Russian icon The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, XIX century
Dimensions: 31 x 26.5 cm
The Feast of the Holy Cross is dedicated to the finding of the true Holy Cross, on which the Savior was crucified. Mother of Emperor Constantine, Equal-to-the-Apostles Elena, went to Jerusalem to find the places connected with the earthly life of Jesus Christ, and it is her that is honored with the discovery of the Holy Cross. In the center of the icon composition on the podium is the Cross held by Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem. On two sides the heavy cross is supported by two clerics. The bishop’s hands are drawn in such a way that it seems that he is starting to raise the Cross or is already lowering it. This is due to the fact that after the discovery of the Cross, the Bishop shows it to all those present, by blessing them. In the background we see the Jerusalem Temple, symbolizing the Heavenly Jerusalem. To the left and to the right of the Bishop are the figures of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Elena, prayerfully holding out their hands to the Cross.


The Littlewood Treaty, The True English Text of the Treaty
of Waitangi, Found
Chapter: Précis 1 2 3 4 5a,5b,5c,5d,5e 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Lord Normanby's Brief
CLENDONS DESPATCH NO. 6 TO THE U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ON THE 20th OF FEBRUARY 1840
After the Treaty of Waitangi became a reality by the adherence of the chiefs who affixed their signatures to the Maori version parchment document, Clendon had a duty to inform his superiors about a British colony in progress in New Zealand. In order to make up a complete despatch he needed documents that clearly portrayed all that was happening in an official sense. The opportunity to assemble the required, relevant materials for such a despatch availed itself after the 17th of February 1840, when C.M.S. Mission printer, William Colenso, produced 200 printed copies of the official Maori text of the treaty.
We know that government officials, and probably Hobson himself, visited Clendon on the 17th of February 1840. On this day Clendon signed the Treaty of Waitangi parchment in behalf of Chief Pomaré II and then affixed his own signature beside that of the chief. The treaty parchment, also bearing 78 recent signatures from the chiefs of the Hokianga and due to be taken to Thames within the following week, was kept safe by Hobsons government. It would seem likely that it was on this occasion that Clendon was given newly printed Tiriti O Waitangi sheets, fresh off the C.M.S. Mission press that day. Had an official English text been printed also, this would have been an opportune time to acquire it.
The section on the Treaty of Waitangi where James Reddy Clendon signed in behalf of his friend, Chief Pomaré II. Clendon wrote: Feby. 17th, 1840. Pomaré signature. James R Clendon.
Clendon, probably, already had in his possession copies of two printed Proclamations, which Hobson had read at Kororareka Church on the 30th of January 1840. These spelled out the intricacies of British intent in the region and described Hobsons commission from Queen Victoria. To these documents Clendon was now able to add the official Maori text of the compact or contract that the chiefs had entered into with the Crown.
It seems to have been Clendons expectation that an official English version of the treaty would be produced for general circulation by Hobsons government. No such document was ever made and the printed Maori text remains, to this day, the only official treaty document that was ever published. In lieu of such a document in English being printed simultaneously to the Maori text, Clendon was obliged to draw upon his earlier, personal transcript or notes in order to forward a very representative English version of the treaty to the United States. Historian, Ian Wards, supported the view that Clendon was integral to the drafting incentive.
We know that Hobson was very anxious to get away to Thames in the Waitemata without delay and expected to go just as soon as the steady E.S.E. wind abated sufficiently to allow H.M.S Herald to leave the harbour. It seems likely that he was in attendance to meet with Pomaré II, but did not bring the final English draft with him, as it was not needed.
Clendon had to exercise the caution his responsible post demanded. He had been a participant at the drafting session and knew the wording of the text up until that point of development when he had last seen and transcribed it on the 4th of February 1840.
But the English treaty text was in a constant state of metamorphosis and was being reviewed for many hours beyond the time Clendon had sat in on its creation. Perhaps Reverend Henry Williams found this or that wording too cumbersome to convey in the Maori tongue and had asked for a modification of the English text? Clendon could not know this, and yet it was his responsibility to send the official English text, such that it could be placed within the files of the United States government or could be printed in official gazette notices.
We can safely state that, for one reason or another, Clendon was unable to get the final English text from Hobson on the 17th of February, but would await Hobsons return from Thames and then acquire it. Clendon was, therefore, obliged to call his personal notes from February 4th 1840 a close translation until such time as an English text, declared official, was secured from Lieutenant Governor Hobson.
Now that Clendon knew the date when a treaty was secured, he could add that to his transcript. His records from the last treaty drafting session would indicate, with considerable clarity, what the Treaty of Waitangi said and meant in both languages.
It is at this later interval, beyond February 17th 1840, that Dr. Phil Parkinson now maintains the Littlewood Treaty was created, by Busby, as a back-translation from the Maori text, at the request of Clendon.
Dr Parkinson has mildly rebuked my approach to arriving at some facts as injudicious reliance on that flawed syllogism "Potuit, docuit, ergo fuit" (It could be so, it ought to be so, therefore it is so). By the same yardstick, it will be interesting to see what facts Dr. Parkinson and his colleagues can produce, which are not based upon wishful thinking and pure supposition, to prove that the author of the Littlewood Treaty document did not intend to write that 4th of February 1840 date at the end of the text.
Dr. Parkinson and others are inferring that James Busby, the historically recognised author or acting, temporary secretary, who penned the final English draft, made a major blunder when he wrote the 4th of February 1840. Both Dr. Parkinson and his colleague, Dr. Claudia Orange, are suggesting that Busby had forgotten, less than two weeks after the momentous and memorable treaty assembly at Waitangi, involving over one thousand participants and spectators, that the signing proceedings had occurred on the 6th of February.
Somehow, according to logic proffered or embraced by our historians, Busby now, or in a momentary lapse of concentration, thought that the most spectacular and colourful two-day event ever witnessed in New Zealand had drawn to a successful conclusion on the 4th of February. More than anyone, Busby had the date of the proceedings firmly fixed in his mind, as he was the author of the original invitations sent out to the chiefs. A back-translation of his letter to Tamati Waka Néné, which was the general letter format to all of the invited chiefs, says:
Of the thirtieth day of January, 1840.
My Dear Friend,
Here again is mine to you. It is that a ship of war has now arrived with a Chief on board, who is from the Queen of England, to be a Governor for us. Now he desires that there shall be assembled together all the Chiefs of the Confederation of New Zealand on Wednesday [February 5th] of next holy week, so that they may see him. I therefore say unto you, friend, that you come here to Waitangi, to my home here, to this gathering. For you yourself are a Chief of that Confederation.
That is all, mine ends.
From me, your dear friend,
Staying utterly flexible on this point, would it even matter if the document was written by Busby on the 4th of February or by Busby, reproducing an exact copy of the final draft, on or just after the 17th of February? Busby wrote the final English draft, so knew both its content and the day it was produced.
The hypothesis that the Littlewood Treaty first originated two weeks after its recorded date, is historically unsustainable. It almost smacks of a certain desperation to destroy the innate credibility of the Littlewood Treaty document at any cost by conjuring up improbable scenarios to counter the fact that it was written on the 4th of February 1840.
We know that Clendon, on the 20th of February 1840, did not have in his possession anything that he could categorically state was the official English text. He had his own transcript (notes) of something he could reasonably guarantee was very close to the finalised draft wording, but the best he could do, at that moment in time, was to call it a translation and a reasonably accurate portrayal of what the Maori text said.
In qualifying his position, Clendon wrote the following to U.S. Secretary of State, John Forsyth:
This Translation is from the Native Document and is not a copy of the Official Document in English from which the Native One is made - and although the words may be different from what they were in the original I think the sense is much the same - but on the return of Capt. Hobson from the Southward I shall apply officially to him for a copy and translation of the Treaty for the purpose of sending it to the Government of the United States.
Heres what Clendon sent in despatch no. 6 to the U.S.A. on February 20th 1840:
BUSBYS FINAL DRAFT 4th of February 1840
Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of England in Her gracious consideration for the chiefs and people of New Zealand, and her desire to preserve to them their land and to maintain peace and order amongst them, has been pleased to appoint an officer to treat with them for the cession of the Sovreignty of their country and of the islands adjacent to the Queen. Seeing that many of Her Majestys subjects have already settled in the country and are constantly arriving; And that it is desirable for their protection as well as the protection of the natives to establish a government amongst them.
Her Majesty has accordingly been pleased to appoint me William Hobson a captain in the Royal Navy to be Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may now or hereafter be ceided to her Majesty and proposes to the chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the other chiefs to agree to the following articles.-
The chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes and the other chiefs who have not joined the confederation, cede to the Queen of England for ever the entire Sovreignty of their country.
The Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the chiefs & tribes and to all the people of New Zealand the possession of their lands, dwellings and all their property. But the chiefs of the Confederation and the other chiefs grant to the chiefs Queen, the exclusive right of purchasing such land as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to sell at such prices as shall be agreed upon between them and the persons appointed by the Queen to purchase from them.
In return for the cession of the Sovreignty to the Queen, the people of New Zealand shall be protected by the Queen of England and the rights and privileges of British subjects will be granted to them.-
Consul & Lieut. Governor.
Now we the chiefs of the Confederation of the United tribes of New Zealand being assembled at Waitangi, and we the other chiefs of New Zealand having understood the meaning of these articles, accept of them and agree to them all.
In witness whereof our names or marks are affixed. Done at Waitangi on the 4th Feb. 1840.-
CLENDONS DESPATCH... 20th of February 1840
Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of England in Her Gracious consideration for the Chiefs and the people of New Zealand, and her desire to preserve to them their Lands and to maintain peace and order amongst them, has been pleased to appoint an officer to treat with them for the cession of the Sovereignty of their Country and of the Islands adjacent, to the Queen - seeing that many of her Majestys subjects have already settled in the Country and are constantly arriving: And that it is desirable for their protection as well as the protection of the Natives, to establish a Government amongst them.
Her Majesty has accordingly been pleased to appoint me William Hobson, a Captain in the Royal Navy to be Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may now or hereafter be ceded to Her Majesty and proposes to the Chiefs of the Confederation of United Tribes of New Zealand and the other Chiefs to agree to the following Articles.
The Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes and the other Chiefs who have not joined the confederation, cede to the Queen of England for ever the entire Sovereignty of their country.
The Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the chiefs and the Tribes and to all the people of New Zealand, the possession of their Lands, dwellings and all their property. But the Chiefs of the Confederation and the other Chiefs grant to the Queen, the exclusive rights of purchasing such Lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to sell at such prices as may be agreed upon between them and the person appointed by the Queen to purchase from them.
In return for the cession of the Sovereignty to the Queen, the people of New Zealand shall be protected by the Queen of England and the rights and privileges of British subjects will be granted to them.
signed, William Hobson
Consul and Lieutenant Governor.
Now we the Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand assembled at Waitangi, and we the other tribes of New Zealand, having understood the meaning of these articles, accept of them and agree to them all. In witness whereof our Names or Marks are affixed.
Done at Waitangi on the Sixth day of February in the year of our Lord one Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty.
It can be readily seen that Clendon possessed something very close to Busbys 4th of February 1840 English draft and sent it to the United States in his despatch No. 6.
As stated, Clendons English treaty version was penned on W. Tucker 1833 paper from exactly the same stock as Busbys final English draft. Clendon had, obviously, transcribed his own copy of the developing final draft wording on February 4th, in anticipation of this despatch to the United States at a later date, should Hobsons government be successful in securing a treaty.
Clendons despatch No. 6, complete with printed material from the C.M.S. Mission press, was very representative of similarly batched materials also sent to Britain and Australia in February by Hobson, as well as to the United States by Commodore Charles Wilkes in April 1840. Letter text within the Wilkes despatch refers to the printed Proclamations and Treaty materials contained therein, some of which have survived within the U.S.S. Vincennes letter book records. Alternatively, the handwritten or printed Maori sheets and Proclamations sent in Hobsons despatches to his superiors, were repatriated to New Zealand in the 1940s and survive in pristine condition within the National Archives of New Zealand (see Vol. G - 30/1 or Vol. G - 36/1).
As stated, Clendon could not, on the 20th of February, guarantee that his English transcript version was still 100% officially precise down to the last jot and tittle, sufficient for a gazette notice in an American newspaper, so called it a translation Due to no English printed version becoming available on the 17th of February, when the Maori Tiriti O Waitangi was printed for official distribution, Clendon was obliged to write the temporary disclaimer to U.S. Secretary of State John Forsyth on the 20th of February:
This Translation is from the Native Document and is not a copy of the Official Document in English from which the Native One is made - and although the words may be different from what they were in the original I think the sense is much the same - but on the return to Capt. Hobson from the Southward I shall apply officially to him for a copy and translation of the Treaty for the purpose of sending it to the Government of the United States.
In lieu of an official printed English copy being issued, the original, finalised draft by Busby, which was in the possession of Hobson, would certainly suffice.
Clendon was as good as his word and did apply officially to the Hobson government for a copy and translation of the Treaty for the purpose of sending it to the Government of the United States. Head Archivist of the National Archives, Kathryn Patterson, wrote the following to John Littlewood in October 1992:
The registers of letters received by the Colonial Secretary (held by National Archives) show Clendon requesting (and receiving) an official copy of the Treaty in March 1840. Unfortunately, Clendons memorandum does not say who provided him with the translation. We have had a search made of the Clendon manuscripts held in the Auckland Public Library to try to assist with this point, but to no avail (see Letter to John Littlewood from Kathryn Patterson, 12th of October 1992).
After sending his transcribed treaty version to the United States on the 20th of February 1840 Clendon made the official request to Hobsons government for a copy and translation, just as he had promised the U.S. Secretary of State he would do. Sometime before the 18th of March the requested items were placed in [his] hands by the Acting Colonial Secretary, Willoughby Shortland.
Clendon was now in a position to see exactly what the final English draft had settled out to be. It had remained true to his own transcript, with no change.
Sovereignty of New Zealand was being ceded district by district and it was unknown, in early 1840, just how much of the country would, ultimately, become part of the British colony. The Americans, who had a thriving whaling industry in New Zealand waters, needed to stay abreast of what treaties were signed and districts ceded to Her Britannic Majesty.
This could decide which ports were visited for provisions and repairs, as the whalers were averse to paying port fees or customs levies to the British Government. Also, chiefs in certain districts might have entertained the alternative prospect of joining the United States, which was a possibility considered by Commodore, Charles Wilkes.
Clendons response to Willoughby Shortland, acknowledging receipt of the treaty documentation and requesting that he be kept informed regarding any further treaties entered into.
In the letter that Clendon wrote back to the Colonial Secretary he acknowledges receipt of the items hed requested, but very formally requests to be kept informed about any and all treaties entered into. His letter to Colonial Secretary Shortland states:
A document purporting to be a copy of a treaty made between the native Chiefs of New Zealand and Her Britannic Majestys Commissioner, having been placed in my hands, I have the honour to request that I may be furnished by Her Majestys Government with a copy of any existing Treaty with the said chiefs, that the same may be forwarded to the Government of the United States of America (Alexander Turnbull Library qMS-1603). Underlining added.
Clendon is, in Consular language, acknowledging here that a copy of a treaty has been placed in my hands and requests that any further treaties, extant or yet to be entered into with the district chiefs, be furnished to him for despatch to the United States.
Acquiring Busbys final draft document would have posed no problems for Clendon after Hobson returned paralysed to the Bay of Islands on March 6th. One can safely presume that it was left with the Colonial Secretary once Hobson knew Clendon needed it. Whereas Hobson had earlier rented Busbys two-room cottage at Kororareka in anticipation of the arrival of his wife and children, his recent stroke had changed his plans dramatically. The two-room cottage became the permanent office of Willoughby Shortland, who wore several hats: as Acting Colonial Secretary, Police Magistrate and, now, Acting Lieutenant-Governor.
Some samples of what Clendon received from the Hobson government as per his official request. To the left is seen part of a handwritten Maori text composed of five pages. It appears to be in the handwriting of the official translator, Reverend Henry Williams and is signed off by James Stuart Freeman, with the words True Copy above Freemans name. This five-page document still survives amongst the Clendon House Papers, Special Collections, Auckland Public Library. To the right is seen Busbys final English draft, Littlewood Treaty document, which came into Clendons possession before the 18th of March 1840 and remained with him for many years thereafter, until given to his solicitor, Henry Littlewood. With receipt of these two documents from Willoughby Shortland, Clendon had the official treaty and translation that hed requested. Hed asked for nothing less than the official Maori & English texts. Busbys handwritten, final English draft was supplied, accompanied by a handwritten Maori text, seemingly from Henry Williams, the official translator.


Wilmington First “American World War II City” Designee
February 27, 2013
Washington, D.C. â€“ U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre has again introduced legislation in the U.S. House to designate at least one city in the United States each year as an â€œAmerican World War II Cityâ€, with the first being Wilmington because of the cityâ€™s remarkable contributions to the U.S. war efforts during World War II.
McIntyre has been working with the World War II Wilmington Home Front Heritage Coalition for the last couple of years to bring this national recognition to Wilmington.
Congressman McIntyre stated, â€œWilmingtonâ€™s long and distinguished contributions to the World War II effort should be honored and celebrated. This bill will ensure that and will also set in place a procedure for other cities to receive this rightful designation. As a nation, we should never forget the tireless efforts of those who supported our brave men and women in uniform, and Wilmington stands at the top in support of community contributions and effort. I look forward to doing all I can to ensure passage of this important measure.â€
Under the legislation, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs would designate at least one city in the United States each year as an â€œAmerican World War II Cityâ€ based on a set of criteria that includes: contributions to the war effort, efforts to preserve the history of the cityâ€™s contributions, and the presence of military facilities within the city.
Among the City of Wilmingtonâ€™s contributions include:
- During World War II, Wilmington was the countryâ€™s unique wartime boomtown, aptly and officially named â€œThe Defense Capital of the State.â€
- Wilmington based and trained all five military servicesâ€”the Air Force at the Wilmington Airport, the Army at Camp Davis and Fort Fisher, the Navy at Fort Caswell, the Coast Guard at Wrightsville Beach, and the Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune.
- The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington, the stateâ€™s largest employer at that time, constructed 243 cargo vessels with which to provide goods and equipment to our soldiers.
- Wilmington provided the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad headquarters, three housing camps for German prisoners of war, a major training base for P-47 fighters, defense industries producing goods and equipment, a British patrol base, and a shipping point for Lend Lease supplies to the Allies.
- Wilmingtonâ€™s dispatched thousands of its sons and daughters to fight the enemy on land, sea, and air as Navy frogmen, P-51 fighter aces, Tuskegee Airmen, submarine skippers, bomber pilots, Marine riflemen, Army artillerymen, physicians and nurses, and volunteers of all sorts.
- Wilmington tragically lost 248 men as a result of their courageous efforts to defend America and two New Hanover High School graduates received the Congressional Medal of Honor and numerous others received high decorations for valor, including Navy Crosses, Distinguished Service Crosses, and Distinguished Flying Crosses.
- Wilmingtonâ€™s strategic position made it vulnerable to enemy attack by German U-boats, which marauded shipping off our beaches. In July 1943 a U-boat fired at the Ethel-Dow chemical plant in Wilmington, perhaps the only German attack on America. Wilmington endured this attack, as well as constant civilian defense restrictions and air raid drills, including black-outs and dim-outs. The cityâ€™s population more than doubled with the influx of military personnel, forcing locals to cope with strain on housing and schools, transportation, medical and social services, law enforcement, and food supply.


Dan Brown has already referenced Dante and his Inferno.
“Although I studied Dante’s Inferno in high school, it wasn’t until recently, while researching in Florence, that I came to appreciate the enduring influence of Dante’s work on the modern world. With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm… a landscape of codes, symbols, and more than a few secret passageways.”
Scholars have spent lifetimes on this writer and the old card catalog of the Italian National Library contains two draws of references to works by and about him. What is the casual reader to do, especially one who has access to Dante only in translation, not in the original Italian?
Dante’s image also appears in one the Facebook page, and it will adorn the dustcover of the US version of the original publication.
In the digital age one might begin with either The Digital Dante Project, or the World of Dante, a multimedia project for interested readers and scholars alike. Dan Brown actually mentions the two sites above along with the Princeton Dante Project in his acknowledgements. Or one might read a book, such as R.W.B. Lewis’ Dante. One of my goals is to have done the research and made the connections between Brown’s fiction and the facts. Until the novel appears all is pure speculation. But a few basics to keep in mind are likely essential.
Durante degli Alighieri, Dante (c. 1265–1321), known as il Sommo Poeta (“the Supreme Poet”) is the author of The Divine Comedy, originally called Commedia.
Born in Florence, this poet and politician, was exiled from his beloved birthplace in 1301. Eventually he made his way to Ravenna where he died and was buried in 1321. Best known for his Commedia (only in the classical sense that there was a happy ending), Dante also gave life in his work to his unrequited youthful love for Beatrice Portinari in “The New Life.” While Dante is buried in Ravenna, there is an empty tomb for him in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.
As complex as Dante, the poet and man is, so too is his seminal work that successively takes the reader along with the poet and his guide, the poet Virgil, to the underworld of the Inferno, then Purgatory and finally Paradise, where the guide is now his long lost love, Beatrice. The work can be read on many levels, but perhaps the most extraordinary one is the mellifluous sound of Dante’s Italian, (listen here) that can be imitated but not replicated in another language such as English. (Although T.S. Eliot may have tried in his own Cantos.) Hell or Inferno is the first of the three parts of the 100 Canto Commedia. Each section contains thirty three cantos (if Canto I is considered an introduction). Brown has at least preliminarily highlighted only this first of the three books.
Relegated to translations the English reader will have choices, some where there is an attempt to render the poetry and rhyme, others that seek the more literal meaning.
The following quotes on Facebook accompanied one of the images depicting Dante’s Inferno on 2/25/13.
From the old bridge we looked down at the ranks
of those approaching from the other side;
they too were driven onward by the lash.
Del vecchio ponte guardavam la traccia
che venìa verso noi da l’altra banda,
e che la ferza similmente scaccia.
This is from Canto 18: 81-83 in the translation by Allen Mandelbaum. While there are several translations and annotated editions in English, the one by Mandelbaum should be a starting point, for it presumably is the one used by Brown or his webpage editors.
As complex as Dante, the poet and man is, so too is his seminal work that successively takes the reader along with the poet and his guide, the poet Virgil, to the underworld of the Inferno, then Purgatory and finally Paradise, where the guide is now his long lost love, Beatrice. The work can be read on many levels, but perhaps the most extraordinary one is the mellifluous sound of Dante’s Italian, (listen here) that can be imitated but not replicated in another language such as English. (Although T.S. Eliot may have tried in his own Cantos.)
Brown is not the first English language writer to be fascinated by Dante and the Divine Comedy. The Harvard professor and poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, did a still quoted translation of The Divine Comedy. A plaque in his honor can be seen in Florence.
Another Harvard connection is T.S. Eliot who graduated from Harvard and went on to teach and write as did Brown. His fascination with Dante is well documented. Robert Penn Warren, professor, poet, novelist and critic also pays homage to Dante in his novel, A Place to Come To.
As the hints began again, Brown’s Facebook page offered this page from The Divine Comedy.
As the publication date approached this quote and picture from Canto 34 appeared:
“If he was once as handsome as he now is ugly and, despite that, raised his brows against his Maker, one can understand how every sorrow has its source in him! I marveled when I saw that, on his head, he had three faces: one-in front-bloodred”
Dante is not buried in Florence, but rather in Ravenna where he died. Claire Jensen put together this look. There is, however, an empty crypt for Dante in the Florence Basilica of Santa Croce.


what is a nuclear stress test?
The anatomic cardiovascular what is a nuclear stress test makes use of a percentage of the contaminated element to determine the wellness of the heart and bloodstream flow to the heart.
The examination intends to figure out whether any areas of the soul muscular tissue are not receiving adequate bloodstream flow during workout. It is similar to the workout stress test or even medicinal, or even chemical, stress test.
It is also understood at the thallium stress test, a myocardial perfusion check, or even a radionuclide examination.
The exam can be carried out while the individual is resting or even doing the workout. The radioactive element that is actually infused right into the individual is referred to as a radionuclide.
The exam takes about 3 to 4 hrs.
The patient is actually left open to a small quantity of radiation, the exam is actually looked at secure.
The nuclear stress test can easily help to diagnose a heart condition by offering important details.
This data consists of:
- the size of the heart chambers
- exactly how properly the cardiovascular system is actually pumping bloodstream
- whether there is any damage to the cardiovascular system
- if there is actually any type of obstruction or even thinning of the coronary canals that provide bloodstream to
- the cardiovascular system
- the efficiency of any existing procedure.
- The examination may additionally assist establish whether the individual agrees with a cardiac recovery
- the program, and also if thus, exactly how challenging they should exercise
Nuclear stress test with exercise.
In the atomic cardiovascular test along with physical exercise, a radionuclide, including thallium or even technetium, is infused into a capillary in the palm or arm.
When the radionuclide has actually distributed through the blood flow, a gamma cam takes images of the heart while the person is actually lying down. This is referred to as the “remainder check” of the heart.
The individual then relocates onto a treadmill. The treadmill starts little by little and also gradually picks up speed and also slope, to imitate walking or operating uphill.
At peak exercise, more radionuclide is actually administered to the individual. When the radionuclide has actually traveled through the bloodstream, the gamma cam takes a lot more images of the heart. This is actually known as the “anxiety check” of the heart.
The radionuclide helps to identify blocked out or partly blocked canals on the scans since obstructed arteries do not soak up the radionuclide into the heart. They are known as “cool areas.”
People along with severe arthritis may be actually not able to carry out the exercise required in an exam with physical exercise. These people might carry out the chemical atomic stress test
In a chemical substance stress test, the individual obtains treatments that either quicken the heart price or expand the canals. The body answers in a similar technique it would certainly exercise.
A radionuclide is actually infused into the individual’s upper arm or even hand while relaxing. When it has spread with the bloodstream, a gamma electronic camera takes photos of the center, while the individual is actually resting motionless. As in the examination with physical exercise, this is also referred to as the “rest browse” of the heart.
The doctor at that point provides a drug to either hasten the soul price or expand the canals. When the peak center price is actually hit, the patient is administered again with a radionuclide.
When it has spread throughout the bloodstream, the gamma video camera takes much more images. This period of the method is referred to as the “anxiety browse” of the center.
As in the cardiovascular test with physical exercise, blocked or mostly blocked out canals will certainly show up as “cold locations.”
The end results might be actually superimposed with those of CT or MRI scans, to give a much more total picture.
Why it’s carried out
You may need a nuclear stress test if a regular cardiovascular test really did not figure out the source of indicators including chest ache or even lack of breath. A nuclear cardiovascular test may also be utilized to help your therapy if you have actually been actually diagnosed with heart disease. Your physician might recommend a nuclear cardiovascular test to:
- Diagnose coronary artery condition. Your coronary veins are actually the primary blood vessels that offer your cardiovascular system with bloodstream, oxygen as well as nutrients. Coronary vein health condition cultivates when these arteries end up being ruined or unhealthy– commonly because of an accumulation of deposits having cholesterol levels as well as other substances (plaques).
- If you possess signs including chest discomfort or even shortness of sigh, an atomic cardiovascular test may aid figure out if you have coronary canal disease and exactly how serious the problem is actually.
- Quick guide treatment of center conditions. If you have actually been identified along with coronary artery ailment, a nuclear stress test can assist your physician find out how effective therapy is functioning. It might also be actually utilized to aid create the ideal therapy prepare for you through figuring out just how much physical exercise your center may manage.
The anatomic cardiovascular test is generally secure, and also complications are actually unusual. Just like any kind of clinical treatment, there is a danger of issues, consisting of:
- Allergic reaction. Though unusual, you could be allergic to the radioactive color that’s infused in the course of a nuclear stress test.
- Abnormal soul rhythms (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias brought on throughout a stress test generally go away soon after you cease working out or even the medication disappears. Severe arrhythmias are uncommon.
- Cardiac arrest (coronary infarction). Although very unusual, it is actually feasible that a nuclear cardiovascular test might cause a cardiac arrest.
- Wooziness or even upper body discomfort. These symptoms can take place in the course of a stress test.
- Various other achievable symptoms and signs feature nausea or vomiting, shakiness, problem, flushing, lack of sigh, and also anxiousness. These symptoms and signs are actually usually mild as well as quick, yet inform your physician if they develop.
- Low high blood pressure. High blood pressure may go down throughout or even promptly after physical exercise, potentially causing you to feel dizzy or even faint. The problem must disappear after you cease working out.
You may require atomic stress and anxiety examination if a routine tension test didn’t identify the cause of signs such as upper body pain or even shortness of respiration. An anatomic stress exam may additionally be utilized to lead your procedure if you’ve been actually identified with a soul ailment. Your doctor may advise an atomic worry test to:
If you’ve been actually diagnosed along with coronary artery disease, a nuclear worry examination may aid your physician to discover out how effectively the procedure is actually working. Arrhythmias took on in the course of an anxiety test usually go away soon after you cease exercising or even the medicine puts on-off.
More resource: Just how is a tightening contraction stress test executed?


The DGGS Character Values are the qualities which, we believe, underpin good citizenship and are the qualities which we wish to celebrate within school. Voted for by staff and students alike, the values represent what we as a community value in each other and are central to our ethos and practice.
Our five Character Values are recognised throughout the school in the curriculum, in enrichment activities and through our termly Character Awards which recognise where students have gone above and beyond in their endeavours.
This value centres on a desire to treat everyone in the school community with respect, politeness and care, valuing the opinions of others.
Working together, understanding that it takes a range of personalities to create a working and effective community.
This value is demonstrated through a hunger to learn and a desire to share knowledge with others.
It celebrates those who want to find out more about the world, and are willing to go out of their way to search for knowledge.
- Consideration of Others
As a community we must care for each other and value every member of our team. This means looking after those who are more vulnerable as well as inspiring those who look up to us and lending a helping hand when needed.
Taking risks, standing up for what is right, volunteering for new roles, trying new things when we are nervous of the outcomes are all central to courage.
Upholding and living by rules which support our community. Protecting those who need protection and encouraging a sense of what is right/wrong in others. When living in a community there must be some guidance on procedure. Formal rules have been kept to a minimum, but students are expected to behave courteously and to show consideration for others at all times.


[Translation by Human Rights in China]
In the 1970s, an article in Undergrad—a periodical published by the Student Council of the University of Hong Kong (HKU)—resonated with many people with its description of Hong Kong as a “free yet undemocratic” city. Although people argued over whether Hong Kong was truly democratic, no one had ever disputed that there was freedom in the then-British colony. Thus, the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, reached through negotiation between the governments of Britain and China concerning the future of Hong Kong, states that Hong Kong’s way of life would remain unchanged, providing a detailed list of freedoms to be “protected in accordance with the law.” After Britain returned Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China, these freedoms are protected under Chapter Three of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, known commonly as the “mini-constitution.”
In the initial five or six years following Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997, the Chinese government did not appear to have infringed upon the freedoms of Hong Kongers, who in turn registered their satisfaction in the periodic public opinion polls administrated by the HKU Public Opinion Program. With 10 being the highest, the ratings for the various freedoms identified in the polls always ranged between 6.78 and 7.65, mostly above 7, a fairly acceptable range. Among them, freedom of religious belief received the highest satisfaction rating, normally at 8 or above since the handover. That the practice of Falun Gong, branded as a cult by the Chinese government, is allowed in Hong Kong can attest to the valid basis of this perception.
The next highest satisfaction ratings were for the freedom of entry and exit and the freedom to engage in academic research, followed by those for freedom to engage in artistic and literary creation, freedom of procession and demonstration, freedom of publication, freedom of association, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. These freedoms scored between 6.5 and 7.9. The lowest satisfaction scores went to freedom to strike, which hovered between 6.03 and 7.39, barely making it to 7 most of the time. The reason was that protection of labor rights in Hong Kong is far from adequate. How can salaried men negotiate wages with their employers if collective bargaining is unavailable? How can the right to strike not be reduced to a mere afterthought?
Courtesy of the Public Opinion Programme,
The University of Hong Kong.
(Click to view full chart.)
The gap between reality and perception
Frankly speaking, perceived satisfaction may not correspond to reality. The discrepancy between perception and reality becomes even clearer where appraisals of freedom require professional expertise. Take the freedom to engage in academic research for example. Without scholars exposing academic repression, how many people in the general public would have known that many research topics were abandoned because they were politically unacceptable? It is only after such exposés by the professionals involved would the ordinary citizens realize that those freedoms have been infringed upon. For instance, in July 2000, then Director of the Public Opinion Program Robert Chung revealed in an article that Tung Chee-hwa, then Hong Kong Chief Executive and HKU Chancellor, had pressured him—via the president and vice president of the university—to discontinue all public opinion polls regarding the Chief Executive and the Hong Kong government. That revelation was a wakeup call to the general republic, and led to a drop of the satisfaction rate for the freedom to engage in academic research to a historical low of 7.28 that year.
The same is true with freedom of the press. If the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) had not brought to light the severity of self-censorship over the years, how would the general public have learned that behind the enormous volume of publications out there, 30-40% of journalists have quietly deleted news items or trashed their colleagues’ reports out of concern of sensitivity and that several scholars who are perceived to be liberals have been blacklisted for interviews by some media outlets?
The question one should be asking is: when the fourth estate of a society—outside of the executive, legislative, and judicial realms—curbs itself and fails to fulfill its responsibility to expose injustice, would it leave the general public unaware of the infringements of freedoms that they should be concerned about? Would it desensitize them to the point where they don’t even know that their freedoms are being eroded?
The HKJA’s 2013 annual report on freedom of expression already pointed out that the Chinese authorities had decided in late 2003, in reaction to the Hong Kong legislature’s shelving that year of the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill—for the implementation of Article 23 of Hong Kong Basic Law—to intensify their interference of Hong Kong affairs, establish a second power center, and reel in the media outlets they suspected of having fanned anti-Article 23 sentiments in order to gain control over public opinion. It can be felt in the press circle that, with the intensified actions by Chinese officials stationed in Hong Kong since 2004 combined with the absorption of more than half of the media owners and senior executives to the Chinese side, self-censorship among journalists has been worsening. There has been an evident decrease in coverage of topics deemed taboo by the Chinese authorities. Besides long existing sensitive issues such as pro-independence movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan, the media have also been quiet on the meddling in or public criticism of Hong Kong affairs by Chinese officials.
Examples of this trend abound. In 2007, the central government in Beijing, which runs a planned economy, incorporated Hong Kong’s capitalist economy into its Eleventh Five-Year Plan and barely stirred in-depth discussion in the Hong Kong media. If a matter like this—which involves a fundamental change in the defining characteristic of society—was mostly left untouched, no wonder the media only uttered cursory commentaries on how Hong Kong might be affected by the recent planning of Qianhai Economic Zone and establishment of the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Furthermore, at the end of 2011, then publicity director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong Hao Tiechuan—claiming to be writing “in a scholarly capacity”— hurled a string of criticism at Robert Chung’s public opinion survey, which showed that the number of people identifying themselves as citizens of Hong Kong had reached a ten-year high, while only 16.6 percent of those polled considered themselves as Chinese. Only two or three media outlets reported on the story; there were even fewer commentaries. Unsurprisingly, the incident made hardly any waves in Hong Kong.
Finally, the HKU poll showed a 7.7 rating for the freedom to engage in academic research in February 2012, a slight 0.2% drop from six months earlier. Does the result indicate a weakened public perception of Hong Kong’s academic freedom, or a lack of understanding thereof due to the media’s inattentiveness? This is a question worth pondering.
Mid-2013: a watershed in the shrinking of freedom
Another example is freedom of entry and exit, traditionally a point of pride for Hong Kongers. But in fact, overseas democracy activists are frequently denied entry before anniversaries of the June 4 crackdown on the 1989 Democracy Movement in China; key members of Falun Gong from overseas are mostly banned from entering Hong Kong; some pan-democratic camp representatives who are politically incompatible with the Chinese government are not allowed to return to the Mainland due to confiscated or invalidated Home Return Permits. What’s more worrisome is the escalation of the situation: in 2014, Taiwan scholar Tseng Chien-yuan was denied entry to Hong Kong in late May, and Taiwan student movement leader Chen Wei-ting’s visa application was turned down in the second half of June.
In fact, in addition to the freedom of entry and exit, other freedoms—freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of demonstration and assembly, and freedom to strike—are also deteriorating. More alarming, the ratings of the ten freedoms in the HKU poll took a collective nosedive in the second half of 2013, a reflection of the fact that the curtailing of these freedoms has reached a degree of general awareness. Among them, satisfaction ratings for freedom of the press, freedom of publication, and freedom to engage in artistic and literary creation hit all-time lows since the handover, at 6.61, 7.04, and 7.26, respectively.
As for the first Hong Kong Press Freedom Index produced by HKJA, issued in April 2014, the score was low to start with. With 100 being the highest, the rating by the general public was 49.9, while that by journalists was 42—both clearly failing scores. Self-censorship was identified as the most serious problem among journalists.
Why do Hong Kongers feel that the freedoms they previously enjoyed started to shrink across the board in the second half of 2013? Unable to provide a scientific explanation, the author observes the following: Beijing’s Hong Kong policy has shifted from laissez faire to “playing the fullest role”; the central government has established a second power center with its Hong Kong-based officials; the Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is weak [on defending Hong Kong’s autonomy]; official accountability tilts toward Beijing rather than Hong Kong citizens. One only needs to look at Hong Kong officials’ frequent summons to Beijing for policy consultation or the flaws in the simplified-to-traditional Chinese text transferring software issued by the Hong Kong Education Bureau to sense these developments. When a “free” Hong Kong takes the lead from a Beijing that prioritizes control and stability maintenance, how can Hong Kong prevent its freedom from being curtailed? Now the situation has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored. The white paper recently issued by the Chinese authorities, The Practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is but a declaration of the official abandonment of the “one country, two systems” policy that has already changed beyond recognition.
Building a buttress with eggs
In face of such great adversity, safeguarding freedom is not an easy undertaking, nor can it be achieved overnight. One must tailor actions to the objectives and retrieve our freedom bit by bit.
With regard to the system, it’s always an option for civil society to demand that a government provide structural safeguards for its citizens’ rights and freedoms as protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance by, for instance, establishing a human rights committee as a monitoring body. But given the current shape of the Hong Kong government, isn’t doing that like asking the tiger for its skin? Nevertheless, difficulty cannot be an excuse for giving up. If the Hong Kong government does not heed the demands of its people, then Hong Kongers should turn to the international community for assistance, including urging United Nations mechanisms to apply pressure on the governments of Hong Kong and China. And to make international pressure more effective requires urging China to ratify as soon as possible the ICCPR, which it has already signed.
On an individual level, everyone is a guardian of his or her own personal freedoms. The government cannot easily snatch away the freedoms to which we are entitled if we are persistent in claiming them. Foremost among them, freedom of the press should be protected. First, unlike the freedom of entry and exit or the freedom of demonstration, government officials do not have complete control over freedom of the press. Second, freedom of the press is fundamental to the protection of other human rights and freedoms. Only when news and information can be freely searched for, received, and delivered, can violations of other freedoms be exposed and remedied; even the freedoms that we do enjoy now can be further elevated through unobstructed discussions.
The biggest threats to freedom of the press right now are the government’s restriction on information flow and journalists’ self-censorship. As for the former, Hong Kong citizens should support the press in its fight for a law on freedom of information, to decelerate the government’s growing tendency toward secrecy and opacity, and safeguard citizens’ right to information. As for the latter, besides calling for journalists to firmly uphold their professional ethics by recognizing facts from fiction, citizens can also assist individuals with journalistic conscience and professionalism in establishing independent online media outlets, which can complement and function as a check and balance on the work of other journalists.
All said and done, if one wonders whether it’s feasible to be “free yet undemocratic,” the situation in Hong Kong can provide some clues. Thus, ultimately, establishing a democratic system that entails the selection of a Chief Executive by genuine universal suffrage and the formation of a Legislative Council by direct and fair election in Hong Kong is fundamental.
This, in fact, is something that the Communist Party of China understands. During its earlier struggle for power with the Kuomintang, the CPC stated in an editorial by its mouthpiece, “Freedom of the press is the signature of democracy. . . . Conversely, democratic freedom is the foundation of freedom of the press. Without political democracy, true freedom of the press is unattainable.” If the CPC upholds this ideal as a genuine aspiration rather than just means to capture people’s hearts and minds, then it should allow the citizens of Hong Kong—and the people of China—to truly enjoy democracy so that their freedoms are not eroded.
 Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law states: “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies.”
The National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill introduced by the Hong Kong legislature in 2002 to implement the article was met with strong opposition from the people of Hong Kong who feared that if put into practice, Article 23 would effectively import China’s police-state methods into the former British colony. On July 1, 2003, more than 500,000 people marched in a massive protest in Hong Kong against the bill. On September 5 that year, the Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced that he had withdrawn the bill, stating that the government was “not going ahead with the legislative process until there is sufficient consultation.”
 Officially called the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and located in Qianhai, Shenzhen, the new economic zone is aimed at facilitating the development of Mainland China’s financial and other service industries that will operate in accordance with international practices and rules. The target completion date is 2020.
© All Rights Reserved. For permission to reprint articles, please send requests to: firstname.lastname@example.org.
Mak Yin-ting (麦燕庭) is a veteran journalist and former Chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.


- Dictionary of Literary Biography Biographical and critical essays on the lives and works of major German literary figures.
- Encyclopedia of German literature
- The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel (print or online)
- The Cambridge Companion to Modern German Culture (print or online)
- A New History of German Literature
- The Feminist Encyclopedia of German Literature
- A companion to 20th Century German Literature
- The Oxford Companion to German Literature
- Modern Germany : an encyclopedia of history, people, and culture, 1871-1990
- Kresge Library Catalog
You can use the library catalog to find books, scholarly & popular journals, government documents, dvds & videos, reference materials, sheet music, and more.
A statewide catalog of many of Michigan's libraries. It allows you to request books at another library be sent to Kresge Library for you.
A catalog of materials owned by libraries worldwide. How to export to RefWorks Use it to find items at other libraries that you can request through inter-library loan.
To find books about a particular author, enter the author’s name (last name first) and select "subject" from the dropdown menu.
Example:Brecht , Bertolt
To find books by a particular author, enter the author's name as above and select "author" from the dropdown menu.
To find books of criticism about the author’s works enter the author's name as above and add "criticism and interpretation".
Example: Brecht, Bertolt, 1898-1956 Criticism and interpretation
A subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. It is produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), an organization dedicated to the study and teaching of language and literature. The electronic version of the Bibliography dates back to 1925 and contains over 2 million citations from more than 4,400 periodicals (including peer-reviewed e-journals) and 1,000 book publishers.
Both JSTOR and Project Muse include full text articles of journals in German studies, history, and literary criticism.
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, the history of education, and more. Provides indexing of more than 1700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages since 1955. How to export to RefWorks
You may request materials we don't have and we'll borrow them from another library for you.
Refworks allows you to create a personal database of references and automatically generate formatted bibliographies for your projects.
Humanities Librarian for History and Modern Languages


Man versus fate is one of the five basic types of narrative conflicts. In this conflict, the character battles what seems to be an insurmountable problem. When said problem is caused by a strange or unbelievable coincidence, the cause of the conflict is attributed to fate.Continue Reading
In addition to the conflict of man versus fate, there are four other main types of narrative conflicts. These are: man versus man, man versus society, man versus himself and man versus nature.
In the man versus man conflict, one character in the story has some type of problem with another character. This conflict is fairly straightforward and easy to pick out.
A story with a conflict of man versus society revolves around a character having trouble with something in society, such as the law or corporate policy.
Man versus himself is a conflict that may not be as obvious as the others. This is when the character has difficulty deciding what to do in a certain situation. The reason it is a bit more obscure is that sometimes it seems to overlap with other conflicts, such as man versus society or man versus man.
The final conflict is man versus nature. In this conflict scenario, the problem lies with something in nature. Quite often, it is a type of natural disaster such as a snowstorm, hurricane or tornado.Learn more about Literary Writing


There is a push this month from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get people in specific age groups in-the-know on which vaccines need to be updated and when during the month of August as it's Immunization Awareness Month.
We spoke with nurse, Marina Kistner from the Oneida County Health Department on August 1st about why it's important to keep those immunizations up-to-date.
Kistner says it's important to make the appointment now in order to get the vaccinations for your children ahead of the school year.
If your primary care doctor is not able to get you in for an appointment, you can make an appointment with the clinic. The number to call is (315) 798-5747.
According to a study by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, nationally, 23 percent of children are still not getting the CDC-recommended seven-vaccine series within the first three years of life. The study found missed well-child visits were the largest reason for under-vaccination.
The study, “Early Childhood Vaccination Trends in America,” looked at U.S. claims data for 843,610 children, born from 2010-2013, and commercially insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. This study followed their care continuously from birth to 3 years of age, focusing on completion rates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommended seven-vaccine series for children. The study found that nationwide 73.5 percent of children were up-to-date, while only 64.2 percent in New York state were up-to-date on their CDC-recommended vaccinations during the seven-year span.
- August is Immunization Awareness Month
- Infant Immunization Awareness Week
- Autism Awareness Month
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- NewsTalk: Teen Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Beating the flu with immunity boosters
- NewsTalk: Nutritionist Kim Ross talks immune health
- YWCA Mohawk Valley talks plans for Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Job Orders: August 5 - August 9, 2019
- Job Orders: August 12 - August 16, 2019


A University of Illinois scientist studying how membranes wrinkle has discovered a novel system for on-demand drug delivery.
Sahraoui Chaieb, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, has created temperature-sensitive capsules that can release drugs on demand. The capsules, which can range in size from 10 to 100 microns, can be tuned to deliver drugs at different rates. Chaieb reports his findings in the Feb. 17 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.
To make the capsules, Chaieb begins by confining a drug inside lipid bilayer membranes. Some of the lipids are then "sewn together" through a polymerization process. Cooling the capsules by 10 degrees Celsius causes the capsules to crumple and collapse like deflated beach balls, releasing the drug.
"The release rate can be controlled by the amount of wrinkling that occurs," said Chaieb, who also is a professor of bioengineering and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "And the amount of wrinkling is dependent upon the degree of membrane polymerization that took place."
One problem that remains is how to cool the capsules without harming the surrounding tissue. The solution, Chaieb said, might lie in newly discovered nanoparticles that can be chilled through magnetic cooling.
Chaieb and colleagues at Illinois are exploring ways to coat the capsules with the nanoparticles. When exposed to a magnetic field, the nanoparticles would cool down and remove heat from the capsules. The capsules would then wrinkle and release the drug.


High-rise buildings are unique construction objects, requiring special rules and regulations in their design and construction. The goal of this work is to present the main characteristics of high-rise building construction through an analysis of the literature and technical documentation. Based on the study’s findings, differences in the concept of “high-rise building” in different countries were identified, specific problems encountered in high-rise construction were described, and design features of high-rise buildings were described.
Special consideration is given to additional difficulties that arise in the construction of high-rise buildings as a result of load specificity, construction technology, high-rise building operation, and other factors.
As a result, initial planning and subsequent rescheduling are critical for the successful management of a high-rise building project. The traditional floor schedule aims to balance the resources, particularly the formwork system, to ensure a steady movement of resources while maintaining progress.
Towers Baseline Schedule Programme
- Baseline schedule for this project consists of two towers (High Rise Building)
- Resource Loaded
- Full detailed activities


The CDL test is a comprehensive and challenging assessment for men and women who wish to enter the field of commercial driving. Those who pass this exam will receive a commercial driver’s license, which is required to operate any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds. In addition, a commercial driver’s license is required to transport hazardous materials or more than 15 passengers (including the driver). Tow truck operators, bus drivers, and tractor-trailer drivers all must have a CDL.
The standards for the CDL test are established by the Federal Highway Administration. Although the contents of the examination vary by state, every version of the test includes a written and practical component. Some states administer the test themselves, while others contract with private test administrators.
The written component of the test includes questions about highway safety and truck repair. Every version of the CDL test includes at least 30 multiple-choice questions, and candidates are required to answer 80 percent of these correctly.
The driving component of the CDL test requires candidates to execute a series of basic driving maneuvers. In most cases, candidates are allowed to operate the type of vehicle they will be working with professionally.
The test is administered throughout the year at numerous sites in each state.
CDL Study Guide
Start learning how to be successful on your CDL exam. Our CDL study guide is guaranteed to help you get the results you deserve on your CDL test. Some test takers prefer to study using flashcards and so we have created the best CDL flashcards that cover everything you need to know for the CDL exam. Note that using multiple study aids will help you maximize the benefit from your study time.
CDL Practice Test
1. What is a good reason for knowing what the traffic is doing on all sides of you?
a. Stopping or changing lanes can take time and distance and you need to have room to make these moves safely.
b. It is always necessary to know when you can make a U-turn.
c. You need to eliminate all blind spots around you.
2. Should you always be looking into the distance ahead?
a. Yes, You should be prepared for all problems ahead.
b. No, you should shift your attention back and forth, near and far.
c. Yes, by concentrating on the vehicle directly ahead you will be prepared for all emergencies.
3. What is a problem that you can have when using your mirrors?
a. They never remain in the positions you have placed them.
b. They are of no help when you are changing lanes.
c. There are blind spots that your mirrors cannot show you.
4. Where do you place the three reflector triangles if you have to park on the side of a level, straight two-lane road?
a. Place one within 10 feet of the rear of the vehicle, one about 100 feet to the rear and one about 100 feet from the front of the vehicle.
b. Place one within 100 feet of the front of the vehicle, one 500 feet from the front of the vehicle and one about 100 feet from the rear of the vehicle.
c. Place one within 10 feet of the front of the vehicle, one about 100 feet to the front and one about 500 feet to the rear of the vehicle.
5. Where do you place the three reflector triangles if you have to park on the side of a level highway with one-way traffic such as a divided highway?
a. Place them to the rear of the vehicle; one within 10 feet, one within 100 feet and the other one 200 feet.
b. Place all of them in front of the vehicle up to 500 feet.
c. Place two in front of the vehicle at 10 feet and at 100 feet and place one to the rear of the vehicle.
Whether you're going it alone as an independent driver or hoping to sign on with a large carrier company, you need some tools to find the right CDL job. If you're already part of a trucking community, start by talking to fellow CDL drivers to see if they know which companies are hiring or where you might find work. People in your particular driving niche can be full of helpful information, whether you're into construction driving, furniture delivery, or something in between.
How To Find CDL Jobs
This is a great time to be looking for CDL jobs, since trucking companies have reported a shortage of qualified truckers. With a little legwork and a good history, you're bound to find the right job for your needs. Here's how to get started:
Enroll in an accredited CDL training program. Many trucking companies recruit new drivers from these training programs; trainees are hired after they successfully earn the CDL certification.
Understand your options. If you have a CDL, there are many types of driving available, including local, long-distance, specialized, hazardous material cargo (requires extra training), and independent driving. You can work for grocery stores, furniture stores, building-supply companies, or construction companies, among many others. You might even find non-driving jobs, like supervisor or dispatcher.
Use search engines. There are numerous online search engines available for CDL trucking jobs, where you can search by state, truck type, or company. Check these websites for new listings frequently, at least every few days.
Check the classifieds. Sometimes the classified advertisement sections of your local and regional newspapers have CDL jobs that online search engines don't list. Take time each week to sit down with the paper and go over the ads.
Maintain a flawless record. Don't get yourself in a position in which you can't use your last CDL job as a reference because of a poor professional or personal history with that company. A CDL driver needs to have solid references. Keep copies of your license information available, and follow up on any job leads.
CDL Jobs Resources
The web also offers a variety of informative sites about CDL jobs - be sure to bookmark the ones you like.
Job Search Engines:
US Driver Jobs (www.usdriverjobs.com/) - search carrier companies by state for CDL job openings, and submit a free online application for use by recruiters.
CDL Truckstop (www.cdltruckstop.com/) - an online search engine for CDL trucking jobs, searchable by title, state, city, and carrier.
CDL Jobs (www.cdljobs.com/) - this CDL job search engine offers a more precise driver/company matching service, as your application will be reviewed by an experienced trucker staff and matched with the best available job opportunity.
Other Helpful Sites:
CDL Digest (http://www.cdldigest.com/) - provides up-to-date CDL information and resources, including manuals and licensing agencies by state.
My Trucking Space (http://www.mytruckingspace.com/) - online social networking site especially for truckers. Participate in blogs and forums, and trade pictures of your rig.
CDL Jobs Search Tips
Your new CDL job will affect your life for quite some time, so it's not a commitment to make lightly. These extra tips will help you find the CDL job that best matches your life and family needs.
Research carrier companies. Many online search engines allow you to search by trucking company, but if you don't know anything about those companies then you won't get very far. Make an effort to learn about companies in your city and state, so that you know what kind of driving they will need.
Know your trucks. Different kinds of trucks sometimes require extra training. Hazmat trucks, for example, require special training and have stringent driver requirements. Tanks or double/triple trailers require extra testing.
Be prepared for a possible lifestyle change. If you get a CDL job with interstate driving, you may be on the road for weeks or months at a time. Make sure that your family is prepared to handle the lifestyle-related driving requirements of your new CDL job.
Make a list of what you need in a CDL job. Currently there are more CDL trucking opportunities than drivers, so you will likely get to pick from a variety of jobs. Sit down with a pencil and jot a quick list of what you need in a CDL job - pay, hours, benefits, and location. Then, when you pull up that online page of CDL jobs, you can quickly narrow it down into a more manageable group.
Truck Driver Salary
The role of a truck driver can be satisfying for those who choose to be on the road. The lifestyle of a trucker can be exciting as well as offer some disadvantages, as with any job. This is why it is important for those people considering a career as a professional truck driver to be aware of the different types of employment opportunities that exist. To begin with, truck drivers may drive long distances or locally. A long haul is what is referred to as a heavy truck that transports goods over a long distance. These trips may be accomplished in one day, over a course of days, or longer. Some drivers drive coast to coast with a team of people over the course of a few months. Driving in teams can be good for people who do not like to drive alone and who'd share the responsibility of driving with other people over the route. The job is easier if traveling with companions who share like personalities. Some people enjoy traveling long distances and meeting new people. At times, these positions do have delivery time constraints, which may add pressure to the job. On the other hand, local truck drivers may transport lighter loads, travel shorter distances, and may make frequent stops. The main thing to consider is how much time is spent on the road and what types of work a person enjoys doing. The company the driver works for determines the type of training, licensing, and insurance that is needed.
Aside from the typical type of trucks commonly seen on the highway, there are specialized vehicles that require specific skills to operate. These vehicles tend to be tank trucks, hazardous materials trucks, wet and dry bulk carriers, auto carriers, and double or triple trailers.
Responsibilities for a truck driver vary depending on the career. Of course, the more specialized the work, the higher the pay. Pulling a dry van is generally how most people start their careers. These jobs require the least amount of experience and are typically the lowest paid. A truck driver salary pulling a dry van may start at $8.00 per hour and could increase to about $15.00 per hour on average.
Another possible career in truck driving may involve hauling flatbed loads. Many times, this cargo is oversized and will not fit inside a typical trailer. Flatbeds are used to transport cars, airplanes, military equipment, or construction materials. There is more danger and risk associated with transporting this cargo; therefore, the driver should be specialized and earns additional pay. Many flatbed drivers get paid a per-mile fee of approximately $.40 per mile. Flatbed drivers sometimes do heavy lifting and dirty work. Securing materials or cargo using tarps is not easy as they can weigh up to 100 pounds each. A flatbed truck driver salary can be $10,000 more per year more than other truck drivers.
Overall, the average truck driver salary is between $35,000 and $45,000 per year. The highest salaries go to people with two to seven years of experience. Hauling hazard materials, such as gas, may pay higher wages; however, these types of jobs require a great deal of driving experience and skill. People right out of truck driving school will not get hired for these jobs as truck driving is an industry that is ruled by "paying your dues." The more experience a driver has under his or her belt, the more opportunities will open up.
According to Payscale.com, 97 percent of people in the trucking industry are men. The highest salaries go to people with bachelor's degrees; they may earn more than $24 per hour. The most popular states for employment tend to be California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Florida, and New York. Some of the larger employers are United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express Corporation, Lowes Home Improvement, and Pepsi Bottling Group.


Hawaii Islands, is an archipelago consist of 19 islands and atolls, numbers of small islets and undersea seamounts. This group of islands take its name from the largest island in the group. Hawaii archipelago extends about 2.5 km in NW – SE direction; from the Island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Hawaiian Islands is the territory of the US.
The archipelago is formed by volcanic activity, movement of an oceanic crust over a hotspot. The Hawaii Islands are the most isolated islands on Earth.
Hawaii Islands are one of the most popular yachting area. There you can enjoy with sandy beaches, snorkelling, scuba diving, water sports, laid-back anchorages and lively night life.
North and east flanks called windward side, where this side receive most of the rainfall. Leeward side is usually drier. Most of the precipitation fall during winter, i.e. between October and April. Period from May and September is generally drier and warmer.
Air temperatures at sea level range between 29 – 32 ˚C during summer and 18 – 21 ˚C during winter months. At higher altitudes temperatures are lower. Even, top of the Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala mountains receive some snowfall.
Wind pattern around Hawaii Islands is not stable due to high mountain peaks, hills and valleys. Usually one can expect upslope winds by day and downslope winds by night. However, it should be kept in mind that local conditions can favour violent and localized winds. These winds may reach up to 160 km/h and common around Kula and Lahaina on Maui.
Kula winds are strong downslope winds occur at the west side of Haleakala. Lahaina winds are also downslope winds but with a different character. Frequency of these winds are not regular. They can occur in every 8 – 12 years and speeds may reach up to 160 km/h.
Hurricane season starts at June and ends at November.


Wheat is grown across more of the world's farmland than any other cereal, and researchers said Friday they're posting its genetic code on the Internet in the hope that farmers can use it as a tool to improve their harvests. The discovery could also prove handy to genetic engineers.
University of Liverpool scientist Neil Hall said that the code would serve as "the reference — the starting point that new technology and new science can be built upon."
He said that, for example, the information could help farmers better identify genetic variations responsible for disease resistance, drought tolerance and yield. Although the genetic sequence being published Friday remains a rough draft, and additional strains of wheat need to be analyzed for the work to be truly useful, Hall predicted it wouldn't take long for his work to make an impact in the field.
"Hopefully the benefit of this work will come through in the next five years," he said.
Among the potential benefits of tougher strains of wheat: Lower prices for bread and greater food security for the world's poor.
Wheat is a relative latecomer to the world of DNA mapping. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the date the human genome was laid bare. Other crops have had their genetic codes unscrambled within the past few years — rice in 2005, corn in 2009, and soybeans earlier this year.
The reason for the delay in analyzing wheat's genetic code, Hall said, was that the code is so massive — far larger than corn or rice and five times the length of the one carried by humans. One reason for the size is that strains such as the Chinese spring wheat analyzed by Hall's team carry six copies of the same gene (most creatures carry two.) Another is that wheat has a tangled ancestry, tracing its descent from three different species of wild grass.
But sequencing techniques have improved dramatically over the past decade, and scientists were able to draw up their draft of the code in about a year.
Although the code may yet see use by genetic engineers hoping to craft pesticide-resistant strains of wheat, Hall was at pains to stress the conventional applications of his work. Until now, breeders seeking to combine the best traits of two strains of wheat would cross pollinate the pair, grow the hybrid crop and hope for the best.
Once they know which genetic markers to look for, Hall said, new forms of wheat could be rolled out far faster.
The cracking of wheat's code comes at a time when prices have shot up in the wake of crop failures in Russia, highlighting how the vagaries of world food production can hit import-dependent countries such as Egypt.
Concerns over climate change, water shortages and population growth have loomed in the background for years. New risks include a destructive mutant form of stem rust. The reddish, wind-borne fungus — known to scientists as Ug99 — has devastated wheat crops in places such as Kenya, where up to 80 percent of the wheat in afflicted farmers' fields have been ruined.
Alexander Evans, an expert in resource scarcity issues at New York University, welcomed the announcement as something that would be "really helpful in helping farmers producing food that will meet those challenges."
But, as one British paper hailed the announcement as the most significant breakthrough in wheat farming for 10,000 years, Evans warned against putting too much faith in genetics, saying that reforming the politics and economics of food distribution was easily as important.
"We have to be very careful about saying that science will feed the world," he said.


1/72 North American XB-70A
Two XB-70As were produced by North American Aviation toward fulfilling a US Air Force requirement for a supersonic long-range bomber to replace the B-52 by 1963. As surface-to-air missiles became more of a threat to bombers (even supersonic ones), the bomber program was eventually cancelled, and the aircraft began high speed handling and sonic boom research under NASA, the Air Force, and Stanford University in support of US SST research. Air Vehicle #2 was tragically lost in a mid air collision with an F-104, and A/V #1 was retired to the US Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio in 1969.
The XB-70 was capable of over Mach 3 at 70,000 feet.
The AMT kit was used along with photoetch parts from Extratech and generic resin wheels purchased on eBay. Other improvements include:
Opening up the intakes and adding sheet styrene ducting walls, extending aft to engine compressor faces.
Replacing under-wing structural detail above the exhaust cones.
Replacing afterburner sections with F-104 parts and brass tubing.
Rebuilding the ECS exhaust area behind the nose gear bay.
Adding an inner pressurized cockpit window structure.
Detailing landing gear struts and wells.
Detaching and reinstalling the elevons in drooped position.
Adding a boundary layer probe and some antennae and pitot probes.
The finish is Tamiya Pure White spray overcoated with Testor’s semi-gloss lacquer. Markings came from the kit, some spare decal sheets, and a few were custom printed by Draw Decal. The model represents A/V #1 after it was turned over to NASA in 1967.
Every display case needs a Valkyrie!
34 additional images. Click to enlarge.


As a popular music, the evolution of jazz is tied to the contemporary sociological situation. Jazz was brought from America into a very different environment in Britain and resulted in the establishment of parallel worlds of jazz by the end of the 1920s: within the realms of instituionalized culture and within the subversive underworld. The author demonstrates the importance of image and racial stereotyping in shaping perceptions of jazz, and leads to the significant conclusion that the evolution of jazz in Britain was so much more than merely an extension or reflection of that in America.
The book examines the cultural and musical antecedents of the genre, including minstrel shows and black music theatre, within the context of musical life in Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Parsonage is particularly concerned with the public perception of jazz in Britain and provides close analysis of the early European critical writing on the subject. The processes through which an evolution took place are considered by looking at the methods of introducing jazz in Britain, through imported revue shows, sheet music and visits by American musicians. Subsequent developments are analysed through the consideration of modernism and the Jazz Age as theoretical constructs and through the detailed study of dance music on the BBC and jazz in the underwordl in London. The book concludes in the 1930s by which time the availability of records enabled the spread of ‘hot’ music, affecting the live repertoire in Britain.
Dr Parsonage sheds entirely new light on the development of jazz in Britain, and provides a deep social and cultural understanding of the early history of the genre.
PART I: Historical & Theoretical Perspectives
1. The Cultural & Musical Antecedents of Jazz in Britain
2. The Evolving Image of Jazz in Britian in Sheet Music
3. The ‘Jazz Age’ in Britain
PART II: The Evolving Presence of Jazz In Britain
4. In Dahomey: A Negro Musical Comedy
5. The Music & Symbolism of the Banjo
6. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band & the Southern Syncopated Orchestra
7. Dance Music, the ‘Plantation Revues’ and the ‘Underworld of London’
8. Hot Jazz: Jack Hylton, Bert Firmin and Fred Elizalde
9. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington
Dr CATHERINE PARSONAGE is Research Lecturer at Leeds College of Music, England.


Global group to investigate genetic causes of cerebral palsy
A new international research group has been established to investigate the underlying genetic causes of cerebral palsy, spurred on by the discoveries of University of Adelaide researchers.
The news comes as the Adelaide team behind the new collaboration has been awarded a $1 million grant to continue its groundbreaking work, from The Tenix and Cerebral Palsy Foundations.
The newly established International Cerebral Palsy Genomics Consortium includes members from universities in China, Canada, USA, Sweden, Turkey, and Australia.
The new consortium has grown from the research leadership of Emeritus Professor Alastair MacLennan, AO, and Professor Jozef Gecz, based in the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute. Professors MacLennan and Gecz and their Australian Cerebral Palsy Research Group have led the field internationally in showing that cerebral palsy is often linked to a genetic susceptibility.
"For decades, it has been the belief that cerebral palsy occurs when a child experiences a lack of oxygen during pregnancy or at birth. However, the evidence shows that at least one in four cerebral palsy cases is associated with genetic mutations," Emeritus Professor MacLennan says.
The group has built up a large DNA biobank from cerebral palsy families linked to de-identified pregnancy details and cerebral palsy type. Using next-generation DNA sequencing technologies, the research group has detected many new genetic variants likely to be causing cerebral palsy.
"Our research is laying to rest the myth that cerebral palsy often is due to asphyxia or trauma at birth and is preventable by earlier delivery," Professor MacLennan says.
As several other genomics or neurodevelopmental disorder centers around the world have begun to conduct similar research, the Adelaide researchers have taken the initiative to promote collaboration rather than competition between these research groups.
To that effect, researchers representing the key, active cerebral palsy genomics groups from around the world, as well as representatives from around Australia, have agreed to form an International Cerebral Palsy Genomics Consortium, to foster collaborative research and to set up the world's first genomics database of cerebral palsy genetic mutations linked to clinical details.
This large genetic and clinical database will be housed at the University of Adelaide.
"Such a register of genetic mutations is a must for our work," says Professor Gecz, who is Head of Neurogenetics with the University's Robinson Research Institute, and member of the Healthy Mothers, Babies and Children theme at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
"Cerebral palsy is associated with a diverse and large group of either inherited or spontaneous genetic mutations, that may sometimes interact with environmental triggers during pregnancy. This aberrant genetic diversity is also seen in autism and intellectual disability.
"By pooling international data sets of genetically and clinically characterized cerebral palsy cases, this will enable our group to identify common neurodevelopmental pathways and probable environmental triggers.
"Eventually, we hope this will lead to clinical trials for better management and treatment of cerebral palsy," Professor Gecz says.
The Adelaide group is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), The Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation and The Tenix Foundation.
"We are incredibly grateful for the support of The Tenix Foundation and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation in what we believe is a critical area of research. Cerebral palsy impacts on the lives of many families the world over, and we want to do everything we can to help prevent, manage and treat this condition," Professor MacLennan says.
Emeritus Professor Alastair MacLennan
Head, Cerebral Palsy Research Group
Robinson Research Institute
The University of Adelaide
Professor Jozef Gecz
Head of Neurogenetics
Robinson Research Institute
The University of Adelaide; member of the Healthy Mothers, Babies and Children theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)


|Heraldry of the World|
|Mozambique heraldry portal|
- National Arms of Mozambique
- National Flag of Mozambique
Mozambique is divided into ten provinces and one capital city (Maputo) with provincial status. The provinces are subdivided into 129 districts. The districts are further divided in 405 "Postos Administrativos" (Administrative Posts) and then into Localidades (Localities).
As far as I know none of these uses heraldic arms, although a number of towns and villages used arms in colonial times (until 1975), these are listed below:


Return to the Soil
Energy of Nations
Return to the Soil
by David Hodges
Cover: Illustration by Michael Morgenstern www.mmorgenstern.com
No Back Issue available
David Hodges celebrates healthy agriculture as a basis for a healthy society. Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth by Judith D. Schwartz. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2013. ISBN: 9781603584326
Cows Save the Planet addresses three of the most serious problems facing humanity today: desertification, global warming, and the growing epidemic of obesity. The unifying factor in all three crises is soil.
The author, Judith D. Schwartz, interviews farmers, soil scientists and hydrologists to uncover the mystery of how to restore the health of our soils and thereby heal humanity and the planet. These visionaries are developing an agriculture that replenishes aquifers, restores biodiversity, and reverses desertification and global warming.
Conventional wisdom says that soil is formed by weathering rocks, a process that takes thousands of years to form an inch of soil. But with holistic management, farmers are able to create up to an inch of topsoil a year.
The story begins with Rhodesian park ranger Allan Savory, who discovered that the trampling of bunched herds of herbivores is essential to pasture health in dry areas. It pushes dead grass into the ground, where it can decay and return nutrients to the soil instead of locking them up and casting shade that inhibits new growth. Trampling also breaks up the soil surface, allowing rain to penetrate and seeds to germinate.
When livestock are able to spread out, they eat only their favourite foods, allowing weeds to flourish. When they are bunched together, they eat or trample everything in an area, and weeds lose their competitive advantage.
Twelve million hectares of farmland are lost to desertification each year. In North America 74% of dry land is moderately or severely desertified. Climatologists are very concerned that global warming will increase desertification, but desertification also increases global warming, in a vicious cycle. In the absence of water to keep it cool or plants to shade it, soil becomes very hot with the sun shining on it; most microbes die and the remainder rapidly oxidise the carbon in the soil, releasing it into the atmosphere.
The world’s farmland has lost 50–80% of its carbon and this has contributed twice as much as fossil-fuel burning to the increase in atmospheric CO2. Fortunately this loss of carbon is reversible. On well-managed organic farms, each time livestock eat grass the roots die off and decay into humus, a form of soil carbon that holds water and nutrients and boosts fertility. When livestock move on, the grass grows back above and below ground, and the cycle repeats.
Up to 40% of the carbon captured by plants can be sequestered in the soil, but this doesn’t happen on conventional farms. Most grasses and pasture plants have beneficial fungi called mycorrhizae attached to their roots, and these vastly extend the plant’s reach and its ability to absorb water and nutrients. Mycorrhizae are damaged by tilling and fungicides and inhibited by synthetic fertilisers. And pesticides kill earthworms, essential for recycling dead plant material, and termites, which perform the same function in drier areas.
Tree planting is a way of sequestering carbon and reducing climate change, and in many parts of the world trees play a very important role in stabilising climate, by pumping water into the atmosphere, ensuring plentiful rain. Large-scale deforestation is frequently followed by drought, as in the Amazon today. However, large areas of the world don’t receive enough rain to support trees. Trees also don’t pump carbon into the soil in the same way as periodically grazed grassland does.
After examining desertification and global warming, Schwartz turns to human health. Although there are 13 minerals essential to plants, and more to humans, conventional agriculture neglects most of them, focusing on just the three elements required in the largest amounts. As a result, levels of zinc, calcium, manganese, iron and copper in our food today are less than half what they were a century ago. The world’s most popular herbicide, glyphosate, compounds the problem. Glyphosate kills plants mainly by binding minerals so that they can’t be used. When glyphosate is used in fields, the resulting plants are severely mineral deficient, as are consequently the people and animals who eat them. This may be a significant part of the reason why we have an epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases today.
Organic farming, in contrast, focuses on supplying soils with all the nutrients needed to produce strong, healthy plants. While there have been relatively few studies on humans, numerous studies on animals have found significant improvements in health, including reduced fat, when they are fed an organic diet.
Written by a journalist, the book is very easy to read. There’s no discussion of feeding livestock a diet high in tannins, which inhibit the bacteria that convert food into methane, reducing methane emissions and boosting productivity, but otherwise the book is an excellent overview and reveals several crucial ideas that are almost entirely ignored in mainstream discussion of climate and human health.