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Despite the skepticism portrayed of alternative medicine in popular media, there is a surprising amount of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture.
Even though acupuncture works with invisible energy within our body that is not directly observable, many studies have attempted to observe the effects of acupuncture on healing the human body, and many have done so successfully.
A quick search of the US science archives shows more than 25,000 scientific papers involving acupuncture in some way. I have taken the time to read through many of them and list some interesting ones below.
Acupuncture for back pain: a meta-analysis found that acupuncture, and some other forms of alternative medicine, are effectively at relieving lower back pain.
Acupuncture for chronic pain and depression: a meta-analysis found that acupuncture is effective at treating chronic pain of various types as well as depression.
Acupuncture for smoking: a study of cigarette smokers who tried acupuncture found that acupuncture treatments helped patients smoke fewer cigarettes and increased their chances of total smoking cessation.
Acupuncture for fibromyalgia: a study of fibromyalgia sufferers found that acupuncture plus moxibustion treatments were more effective at relieving fibromyalgia-caused pain than two different painkiller drugs.
Acupuncture for infertility: a study of women seeking to have children found that those who received acupuncture became pregnant more quickly than those who did not.
Acupuncture for stress and anxiety during pregnancy: a study of pregnant women found that acupuncture, and several other alternative therapies, were effective at reducing stress and anxiety in pregnant women.
Acupuncture for female reproductive health: a study found that acupuncture was effective at increasing rates of pregnancy in women who suffered from polycystic ovarian syndrome and decreasing rates of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
Acupuncture for nutritional absorption: a study of obese patients with iron deficiency found that acupuncture increased the rate of intestinal iron absorption.
Acupuncture for weight loss: a meta-analysis of previous studies found that acupuncture is effective in helping patients lose weight and keep it off.
Acupuncture for PTSD: a meta-analysis found that acupuncture is effective at relieving symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.
Acupuncture for skin health: a meta-analysis of studies found that acupuncture was effective at treating a wide range of skin conditions.
Acupuncture for competitive anxiety: a study on student athletes found that acupuncture was effective at reducing anxiety before a sports competition.
Acupuncture for migraines: a study of migraine sufferers who received acupuncture treatment found that acupuncture reduced the recurrence rate of migraines.
Acupuncture for tinnitus: a study of tinnitus sufferers found that acupuncture provided short term relief from tinnitus.
Acupuncture for stress reduction: a study of middle aged women who received acupuncture treatments found that various biological indicators of stress, including cortisol levels, were reduced.
Acupuncture for academic success: a study of students who received acupuncture treatments for various health conditions found that their grades in school improved.
Acupuncture for nausea and vomiting: a study found that acupuncture was effective at reducing nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.
Acupuncture for asthma: a meta-analysis of studies found that acupuncture is effective at treating some symptoms of asthma.
Acupuncture for gout: a meta-analysis of studies found that acupuncture is effective at reducing some symptoms of gouty arthritis.
Acupuncture for high blood pressure: a study of patients who were already taking medication for high blood pressure found that the addition of acupuncture treatments produced significant results in helping reduce high blood pressure.
Acupuncture for menstrual cramps: a study found that acupuncture was effective in reducing pain associated with the menstrual cycle.
Acupuncture for sinusitis: a study found that acupuncture was more effective at providing long lasting relief from sinus infection than antibiotics.
In the interest of being fair and honest, during my time researching acupuncture studies, I also found some that did not conclude that acupuncture was effective compared to placebo.
However, I did not find any study indicating that acupuncture had a detrimental effect on any health condition, just some studies in which no beneficial effect was observed.
Acupuncture for major depression: a meta-analysis of studies found that acupuncture is not very effective at treating major depression.
Acupuncture for joint pain: a review of studies found that there is a lack of evidence for acupuncture's effectiveness at reducing joint pain in the knee.
This is despite the fact that many clinicians prescribe acupuncture for joint pain.
Acupuncture for menopause: a review of studies found that there is insufficient evidence that acupuncture is effective at treating menopause.
Acupuncture for insomnia: a review of studies found that acupuncture may be helpful at relieving insomnia, but the evidence is insufficient to make a definitive conclusion.
Another review of studies found the same: that acupuncture may be helpful for insomnia but results are inconclusive.
Acupuncture for autism: a meta-analysis of studies found that acupuncture showed promising results for treatment of autism symptoms, but also found that more definitive studies are necessary to prove acupuncture's effectiveness in this area.
Acupuncture for uterine fibroids: a meta-analysis of studies found that there is a lack of evidence of acupuncture's effectiveness at treating uterine fibroids.
However, one case study is available in which a female patient who received electro acupuncture experienced reduced symptoms of uterine fibroids.
Acupuncture for rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis of studies found that the results of using acupuncture to relieve arthritis pain are mixed. The study calls for more analysis to produce a definitive conclusion on acupuncture's effectiveness in treating arthritis.
Acupuncture for seasonal allergies: a review of studies found that the effectiveness of acupuncture for relieving allergy symptoms is mixed. Acupuncture may be effective at treating allergies, but more study is required.
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I am not sure if it is the time of year where everyone is ready for a break or if seniors are starting to come to the realization that life will not be a normal high school life in several months when they graduate. Either way, we felt it was a great time for a Quickfire! There has been some noticeable stress and anxiety lately with students looking for help or assurance, so why not do a little something to help them out and point them in a forward direction?
After completing the personality survey, they had to record their results (we saved them so we can revisit them when third trimester starts) and then read about their personality type. Some of the students were so in to what it had to say about them and their preferences, while others (I think) were overwhelmed about the entire process (which is totally ok at this point!). The point of this Quickfire was to start thinking about the future and possibilities for career choices.
After reading about their personality type and exploring some of the career paths for their personality type, we asked the students to create a representation of a career of interest using pipe cleaners. With this part, the students not only had to isolate one career option, but also translate how that career could be visually represented. This part was difficult for many because the provided career options were ones they weren't familiar with, difficult to represent an aspect of that career, or weren't sure how they fit into that particular career. I think it was a great activity for them to explore and start thinking about possible careers before the third trimester arrives.
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We talk metaphorically of secrets as great weights that must be carried through life like a heavy burden. Consistent with the ever-growing literature on embodied cognition, a new study shows how secrets affect perception and action, as if their keepers are encumbered, literally.
A first study used participants recruited online via Amazon's Mechanical Turk website. Those asked to write a recollection about a big secret rated a hill, depicted head-on, as being steeper than participants who wrote about a trivial secret. This matches previous research (pdf) showing that people who are physically encumbered tend to rate hills as steeper. By contrast, the big secret vs. small secret groups didn't differ on other measures, such as their rating of the sturdiness of a table.
Next, 36 undergrads threw a small beanbag at a target located just over two and a half meters away. Those who'd been asked to recall a meaningful secret threw their beanbag further, on average, than those asked to recall a trivial secret. It's as if they perceived the target to be further away, consistent with prior research showing that people who are physically encumbered tend to overestimate spatial distances.
In a penultimate study, forty participants who'd recently been unfaithful to their partners were recruited via Amazon. Those who said the secret of their infidelity was a burden (it bothered them, affected them and they thought about it a lot) tended to rate physical tasks, such as carrying shopping upstairs, as requiring more physical effort and energy than those who were unburdened by their infidelity. Ratings of non-physical tasks, by contrast, did not vary between the groups.
Finally, keeping a significant secret (in this case not revealing one's homosexuality whilst being video-interviewed) led gay male participants to be less likely to agree to help the researchers move some books; keeping a trivial secret (concealing one's extraversion) had no such effect.
Michael Slepian and his colleagues said their findings showed how carrying a secret leads to the experience of being weighed down. They don't think the findings can be explained by the mental effort of keeping a secret - for example, past research has shown that cognitive load prompts people to underestimate, not overestimate, physical distances. The researchers warned about the health implications of their findings. "We suggest that concealment ... leads to greater physical burden and perhaps eventually physical overexertion, exhaustion, and stress," they said.
I think the title should say: "Thinking about our secrects leave us...". In all those studied people were required to think about their secrets. If you hide a secret deep in your mind and never think about it should not bother you.
I agree with the comment by Anonymous (Apr 26, 2012 03:29 PM).
On reading the section about the beanbag being thrown further when recalling a meaningful secret, instead of associating it with research showing that people who are physically encumbered overestimate spatial distances, i considered the idea that the meaningful secret was a heavy burden, weighing on the individual, so a sense of weight and heaviness transferred to the beanbag so the individual felt the need to throw the (heavier) object further to reach its target.
I am not sure a secret can be hidden, at least not from oneself. A secret is to be 'kept', as if an individual guards it. Trivial secrets may be forgotten in time but I think this research is trying to uncover the effects of more significant secrets, for example hiding one's identity like the study with gay men.
I could see how mental effort would not be an adequate explaination for the physical effects, as it seems more plausible that they would be linked to stress and anxiety perhaps due to lying to people close to them.
I'll believe this when I see a direct replication coming from another lab.
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Okay, so maybe being open isn't the 'only' way to find happiness, but it certainly helps.
It's often said that mindset has a big impact on the things that happen to us, and after a couple of years of working on adopting a more positive outlook, I really believe this to be true.
Once we get into a negative mindset, it can be really easy to grab onto it and settle there. It feels like we have to try really hard to stay positive and optimistic, which often leads us to rest in the arms of our negativity and close ourselves off, which perpetuates our unhappiness by leaving us feeling isolated, miserable, and dissatisfied with our lives. More often than not we don't even realise that we've succumbed in this way, and instead it just feels like things are going wrong for no apparent reason, and we often place the blame on luck or karma. However, we can break out of this cycle through awareness. By becoming aware of how things are and how we feel, perhaps noticing that we've started to default to negative rather than positive thinking, or that we're closing ourselves off to the people and opportunities around us, we can start to tackle those issues and open ourselves back up. We can start trying to replace those negative thoughts with more positive, constructive ones, and we can start to work towards opening ourselves up to the universe and to others. All it takes is an open mind and an open heart – an acceptance of our circumstances, an acceptance of who others are, and an openness and honesty with our own thoughts and feelings.
By being open and honest, we attract others and encourage them to feel more comfortable with being open themselves, which in turn creates more trust, honesty and communication, leading to healthier, happier relationships. Being open to what is happening around us also allows for so many more opportunities. When we're in a negative state, our inclination is to close ourselves off, and we become blind to what is being offered to us, but when we become open the world suddenly seems full of opportunities, and life becomes much more eventful and exciting, particularly as one opportunity leads to another, leading us to new places, new things and new people.
This open mentality literally opens us up like a door, allowing love and light and positivity to pass both in and out of that door, which ultimately leads to better relationships, more opportunities and greater happiness.
Be open, and allow happiness to come to you.
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It's not that Harper's likely to lose Alberta. Other than in Edmonton the Alberta NDP picked up seats in ridings that had heavy right-wing vote splitting. So apart from a couple of seats in Edmonton, Harper is still set to take pretty much the rest of the province. The same can be said for both Saskatchewan and Manitoba where outside of the cities Harper has things pretty much in the bag.
This leaves the rest of Canada. Harper's Conservatives are pretty much a wash east of Ontario. He'll be lucky to hold the seats he has there. This leave Ontario and BC where things are shaping up to be a tight three way race between the Harper Conservatives, the Liberals, and the NDP. It is because of these battlegrounds that Harper wants to avoid a national debate where he a) has no control over the format and b) lots of people are likely to be watching.
The reason for this is what has spooked him. Alberta was a tight three way race until the leaders' debate. This debate basically sidelined the Liberals and the Wildrose and ended up a debate between the Progressive Conservative's Jim Prentice and the NDP's Rachel Notley who are both generally charismatic people who were able to sideline the rather wooden performance of Wildrose's Brian Jean and the reservedness of the Liberal's David Swan.
Herein lines Harper's problem with a national debate. Compared to both Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulclair, Stephen Harper has all the charisma of a 2x4. Harper is likely worried that he's going to be coming across as Jim Prentice against Muclair and Trudeau's Notley. What Harper should really be worried about is being sidelined by two people with much more stage presence than he does and being turned in to Brian Jean.
At the end of the day a nationally televised debate that is not under Harper's control isn't in his best interest. It's telling that one of the "debates" that he has agreed to is being organized by Macleans Magazine, the editor of which if not having deep ties to the Conservative party is very sympathetic to it (witness the hard right shift in the magazine's editorial policy after the current editor took over). At the least Harper is hoping for an easy ride at the hands of the very sympathetic Macleans staff at at best hoping for them to make Harper look good vis-a-vis his opponents. In short, Harper wants to have the debate on his terms and ground and not a neutral debate where Canadians can all see him and the others in an equal light.
This goes to show Harper's fundamental cowardice. If there's any chance he won't be seen as our Grand and Glorious Leader, he wants no part of it. The Alberta results have spooked him and he wants to avoid a repeat at the federal level in Ontario and BC, both of which he has to win to stay in power. Harper has, rightfully so, no confidence in himself at winning a fair and open debate that anyone can see. So he sets up some debates that few will see and that are likely to be set up in a way to guarantee a Harper victory. That way Harper can give a Brian Jean like performance and hopefully no one will notice.
Of course Steve is spooked.
Tom Mulcair has shown his skills in Question Period and will wipe the floor with Steve unless the latter is allowed to lie and get away with it. Justin Trudeau has been underrated. He was a debater in university and will likely hold his own too unless Steve is allowed to lie his head off. Just as Romney had done in the first Presidential debate and Obama stupidly failed to call out his lies.
Hence Steve must be very afraid that debating in a fair venue is going to show him out. Harper has very little integrity as the last nine years has shown us. In a Cons friendly environment, the moderator can disallow any attempts by the other debators to call out his lies. If Mulcair and Trudeau are both not cognizant of this, then they deserve to lose.
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What are U-Values, Lambda Values and R-Values and K-Values?
An R–Value rating is given to insulation in order to measure its thermal resistance with the standard measurement given in square metre kelvin per watt. It measures the temperature variation over insulation and also the amount of heat transferred through the insulating material. The higher the calculated number value the more effective the insulating material will be at preventing heat transfer. The R-values primary measure is the insulation materials ability to prevent or reduce heat flow.
Insulation can also be ranked using a U-value which calculates a materials insulating effectiveness in watts. A lower U value generally indicates that the material is a more effective insulator. U values are useful for calculating a building elements overall insulating effectiveness rather than just measuring the effectiveness of a specific material.
U-Values are calculated as the reciprocal of the sum of R values, i.e.
Lambda value λ(w/mK) is a measure of the rate at which heat passes through a material. The units are watts per unit thickness per degree temperature difference across that unit thickness. Examples include Glass mineral wool Loft roll at 0.044w/mk, and Celotex GA4000 PIR board at 0.022w/mk.
The lower the value, the better the insulating capacity of the product (for a given thickness).
Another measure of the effectiveness of insulation is the K-value which is used to measure the ability of the insulation material to conduct heat. Specifically, it is the measure of the amount of heat, in BTUs per hour that will be transmitted through one square foot of material that is one inch thick to cause a temperature change of one degree Fahrenheit from one side of the material to the other. A lower K value would indicate that the material is a good insulator. Because the numbers will vary between different products the EU has a 90/90 rule which means that 90% of the insulating product will conform to the K value with a confidence level of 90%.
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One of the main advantages of soapstone countertops is that they are easy to clean and maintain. It is a common misconception that since soapstone has a soft surface, it can easily absorb liquids. Soapstone is actually highly waterproof and heatproof, making it very resistant to stains and damage. Spills and stains can easily be cleared with a quick wipe, using water and mild detergent. Here are some cleaning and maintenance tips for soapstone countertops.
Soapstone countertops are very easy to clean, but you can stay on the safe side by following the cleaning instructions given by your manufacturer. Most manufacturers recommend the use of mild detergents to remove stains on the surface of a soapstone countertop. Avoid using acidic cleansers, such as lemon and vinegar, because acid can easily corrode the countertop and cause permanent disfiguration. Also, do not try to scrub stains away with abrasives like steel wool or scouring pads. Clean off stains using a low grade sandpaper, preferably 80 grit. Make sure the sandpaper has small grains and is only slightly abrasive.
Soapstone countertops require a moderate degree of maintenance, which most people consider its biggest disadvantage. Regular applications of mineral oil are recommended every four to eight weeks, which can serve both an aesthetic and functional purpose.
There are two types of mineral oils for soapstone countertops. One is used to give the soapstone a darker, richer color, as well as a shiny finish. The other type protects the colors from staining by adding an extra waterproof layer on top of the stone. Mineral oil can also be rubbed over an area that has been sanded to remove a stain. This will cure the abrasion left by the sandpaper and restore the countertop's original texture. Some people also apply thick coats of mineral oil to increase the countertop's heat absorption, making it more resistant to burns and cracks.
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How did the end of the Cretaceous period rank among Earth’s extinctions?
The mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period was the second largest in geologic history; around 76 percent of all species disappeared. The largest mass extinction was at the end of the Permian period, about 250 million years ago, in which about 90 to 97 percent of all species disappeared.
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In some schools and universities, girls tend to choose art subjects (e.g. literature), and boys tend to choose science subjects (e.g. physics). Why do you think this is so? Should this tendency be changed?
It is often argued that girls prefer to study art subjects like literature, home science, and history whereas boys tend to take up science-related subjects like physics, chemistry, and mathematics at the secondary and tertiary level of education. This essay will try to analyze the reasons for their preferential choice of subjects between the two sexes and whether this trend needs to be altered.
Undoubtedly, the difference in subject choice between sexes does exist in all parts of the globe. One of the primary reasons for this selective trend is the basic difference in the working of the human brain between the two genders. To specify, it has been proved that several types of research that there are subtle differences in the mental makeup and working capacity of the male and female brain. Girls have been consistently performing better in subjects like arts because of their increased capacity to memorize facts and data, and their tenacity. On the other hand, the male brain usually has more analytical power than their female counterpart.
Additionally, societal norms and pressures often tend to create this bias between boys and girls. It is expected by the society that girls will do better in arts-related subjects whereas boys will excel in science. In a recent survey conducted in the world famous prestigious universities of the United Kingdom, it was seen that over 60% of female students took up literature whereas only 20% of male students studied home science.
Cohether this, selective tendency needs to be changed or not is a controversial topic. In my opinion, it can be changed only partially because we can only change societal outlook towards a particular stream or profession. We cannot change the anatomy or physiology of the human brain. To illustrate, over the last 30 years, the number of female students entering the Indian Institutes of Technology has risen by 35%! This clearly indicates a paradigm shift in the Indian mentality towards the education of women.
To conclude, it is true that there is a definite selection bias in subjects between girls and boys which is partly due to biological differences and partly to societal beliefs. Societal mindset can definitely be changed over time to decrease this selection bias.
IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer: In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel abroad for a year between finishing high school and studies. Advantages and disadvantages?
IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer: Some universities offer online courses for students. Positive or negative?IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer: 100 years ago, people thought that the human race was steadily making progress in all areas of life.
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(A) "Additional" shall mean any additional public swimming pool, spa or special use pool(s) located at the same address as the primary public swimming pool, spa or special use pool.
(B) "Health Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of health of the City of Cincinnati, or any of the commissioner's authorized representatives.
(C) "Person" shall mean the state, any political subdivision, special district, public or private corporation, individual, firm, partnership, association, or other entity.
(D) "Primary" shall mean the initial or sole public swimming pool, spa or special use pool at a given address.
(E) "Public swimming pool" shall mean any indoor or outdoor structure, chamber, or tank containing a body of water for swimming, diving, or bathing that is intended to be used collectively for swimming, diving, or bathing and is operated by any person whether as the owner, lessee, operator, licensee, or concessionaire, regardless of whether or not a fee is charged for use but does not mean any public bathing area or private bathing area or private residential swimming pool.
(F) "Private residential swimming pool" shall mean any indoor or outdoor structure, chamber, or tank containing a body of water for swimming, diving, or bathing located at a dwelling housing no more than three families and used exclusively by the residents and their nonpaying guests. For purposes of this paragraph, "dwelling" includes an individual room or individual suite of rooms at a hotel, motel, or other establishment providing temporary lodging.
(G) "Public spa" shall mean any public swimming pool that is typically operated as a smaller, higher temperature pool for recreational or non-medical uses.
(1) "Smaller" means less than 5,000 gallons in volume.
(2) "Higher temperature" means greater than 90° F.
(H) "Public bathing area" shall mean an impounding reservoir, basin, lake, pond, creek, river, or other similar natural body of water.
(I) "Special use pool" shall mean a public swimming pool containing flume slides, wave generating equipment, or other special features that necessitate different design and safety requirement.
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Go big or go home. I typically use 2 tablespoons per cup. Weak coffee is more likely to be bitter.
Is there some truth here? Why would weak coffee be more bitter?
It's not so much that weak coffee is bitter, as that over-extracted coffee is bitter. If you want it strong but don't use enough ground coffee, you can get more flavour by leaving the water on the grounds for longer. But then the bitter flavours come out. The opposite is espresso; a decent espresso is of course strong but not at all bitter and extraction is quick.
Water temperature also plays a role in which components of the flavour are extracted, but I assume that's fixed.
Is weak in the sense that your dosage is weak, too little coffee grounds + lots of water = over extracted bitterness.
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This article is about the archipelago. For the area of high pressure, see Azores High.
The Azores (/əˈzɔːrz/ ə-ZORZ or /ˈeɪzɔːrz/ AY-zorz; Portuguese: Açores, [ɐˈsoɾɨʃ]), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Região Autónoma dos Açores), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira (Região Autónoma da Madeira)). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean about 1,360 km (850 mi) west of continental Portugal, about 1,643 km (1,021 mi) west of Lisbon, in continental Portugal, about 1,507 km (936 mi) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,925 km (1,196 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage of the population directly or indirectly in the service and tertiary sectors. The main capital of the Azores is Ponta Delgada.
There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico, and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the Formigas Reef to the east. They extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest-southeast direction.
All the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no recorded activity since the islands were settled. Mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). If measured from their base at the bottom of the ocean to their peaks, which thrust high above the surface of the Atlantic, the Azores are actually some of the tallest mountains on the planet.
The climate of the Azores is very mild for such a northerly location, being influenced by its distance from the continents and by the passing Gulf Stream. Due to the marine influence, temperatures remain mild year-round. Daytime temperatures normally fluctuate between 16 °C (61 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) depending on season. Temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) or below 3 °C (37 °F) are unknown in the major population centres. It is also generally wet and cloudy.
The culture, dialect, cuisine, and traditions of the Azorean islands vary considerably, because these once-uninhabited and remote islands were settled sporadically over a span of two centuries.
A small number of alleged hypogea, earthen structures carved into rocks that were used for burials, have been identified on the islands of Corvo, Santa Maria and Terceira by Portuguese archaeologist Nuno Ribeiro, who speculated that they might date back 2000 years, implying a human presence on the island before the Portuguese. These kinds of structures have been used in the Azores to store cereals, however, and suggestions by Ribeiro that they might be burial sites are unconfirmed. Detailed examination and dating to authenticate the validity of these speculations is lacking. It is unclear whether these structures are natural or man-made and whether they predate the 15th-century Portuguese colonization of the Azores. Therefore, clear confirmation of a pre-Portuguese human presence in the archipelago has not yet been published.
1584 map of the Azores.
The islands were known in the fourteenth century, and parts of them appear in the Catalan Atlas. In 1427, a captain sailing for Prince Henry the Navigator, possibly Gonçalo Velho, may have rediscovered the Azores, but this is not certain. In Thomas Ashe's 1813 work, A History of the Azores, the author identified a Fleming, Joshua Vander Berg of Bruges, who made landfall in the archipelago during a storm on his way to Lisbon. He stated that the Portuguese explored the area and claimed it for Portugal. Other stories note the discovery of the first islands (São Miguel Island, Santa Maria Island and Terceira Island) by sailors in the service of Henry the Navigator, although there are few documents to support the claims.
Although it is commonly said that the archipelago received its name from the goshawk (açor in Portuguese), a common bird at the time of discovery, it is unlikely that the bird nested or hunted in the islands.
There were no large animals on Santa Maria, so after its discovery and before settlement began, sheep were let loose on the island to supply future settlers with food. Settlement did not take place right away, however. There was not much interest among the Portuguese people to live in an isolated archipelago so far from civilization. Gonçalo Velho Cabral patiently gathered resources and settlers for the next three years (1433–1436), however, and sailed to establish colonies first on Santa Maria and then on São Miguel.
Settlers cleared bush and rocks to plant crops—grain, grape vines, sugar cane, and other plants suitable for local use and of commercial value. They brought domesticated animals, such as chickens, rabbits, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs and built houses and established villages.
The archipelago was largely settled from mainland Portugal. Portuguese settlers came from the provinces of Algarve, Minho, Alentejo and Ribatejo as well as Madeira. São Miguel was first settled in 1449, the settlers – mainly from the Estremadura, Alto Alentejo and Algarve areas of mainland Portugal, under the command of Gonçalo Velho Cabral – landed at the site of modern-day Povoação. Many early settlers were Portuguese Sephardic Jews who fled the pressures of inquisition in mainland Portugal. In 1522, Vila Franca do Campo, then the capital of the island, was devastated by an earthquake and landslide that killed about 5,000 people, and the capital was moved to Ponta Delgada. The town of Vila Franca do Campo was rebuilt on the original site and today is a thriving fishing and yachting port. Ponta Delgada received its city status in 1546. From the first settlement, the pioneers applied themselves to agriculture and by the 15th century Graciosa exported wheat, barley, wine and brandy. The goods were sent to Terceira largely because of the proximity of the island.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Graciosa was host to many prominent figures, including Chateaubriand, the French writer who passed through upon his escape to America during the French revolution; Almeida Garrett, the Portuguese poet who visited an uncle and wrote some poetry while there; and Prince Albert of Monaco, the 19th century oceanographer who led several expeditions in the waters of the Azores. He arrived on his yacht Hirondelle, and visited the furna da caldeira, the noted hot springs grotto. In 1869, the author Mark Twain published The Innocents Abroad, a travel book, where he described his time in the Azores.
The first reference to the island of São Jorge was made in 1439 but the actual date of discovery is unknown. In 1443 the island was already inhabited but active settlement only began with the arrival of the noble Flemish native Wilhelm Van der Haegen. Arriving at Topo, where he lived and died, he became known as Guilherme da Silveira to the islanders. João Vaz Corte-Real received the captaincy of the island in 1483. Velas became a town before the end of the 15th century. By 1490, there were 2,000 Flemings living in the islands of Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge and Flores. Because there was such a large Flemish settlement, the Azores became known as the Flemish Islands or the Isles of Flanders. Prince Henry the Navigator was responsible for this settlement. His sister, Isabel, was married to Duke Philip of Burgundy of which Flanders was a part. There was a revolt against Philip's rule and disease and hunger became rampant. Isabel appealed to Henry to allow some of the unruly Flemings to settle in the Azores. He granted this and supplied them with the necessary transportation and goods.
The settlement of the then-unoccupied islands started in 1439 with people mainly from the continental provinces of Algarve and Alentejo. In 1583, Philip II of Spain, as king of Portugal, sent his fleet to clear the Azores of a combined multinational force of adventurers, mercenaries, volunteers and soldiers who were attempting to establish the Azores as a staging post for a rival pretender to the Portuguese throne. Following the success of his fleet at the Battle of Ponta Delgada captured enemies were hanged from yardarms, as they were considered pirates by Philip II. Opponents receiving the news variously portrayed Philip II as a despot or "Black Legend"; the sort of insult widely made against contemporary monarchs engaged in aggressive empire building and the European Wars of Religion. An English raid of the Azores in 1589 successfully plundered some harbouring ships and islands; a repeat eight years later, the Islands Voyage, failed. Spain held the Azores under the "Babylonian captivity" of 1580–1642. In the late 16th century, the Azores and Madeira began to face problems of overpopulation. Spawning from that particular economic problem, some of the people began to emigrate to Brazil.
Following the death of Henry, the Cardinal-King of Portugal the nation fell into a dynastic crisis with various pretenders to the Crown of Portugal. Following his proclamation in Santarém, António, Prior of Crato was acclaimed in the Azores in 1580 (through his envoy António da Costa), but was expelled from the continent following the Battle of Alcântara. Yet, through the administration of Cipriano de Figueiredo, governor of Terceira (who continued to govern Terceira in the name of ill-fated, former-king Sebastian of Portugal), the Azoreans resisted attempts to conquer the islands (including specifically at the Battle of Salga). It was Figueiredo and Violante do Canto who helped organize a resistance on Terceira that influenced some of the response of the other islands, even as internal politics and support for Philip's faction increased on the other islands (including specifically on São Miguel, where the Gonçalvez da Câmara family supported the Spanish pretender).
The Azores were the last part of the Portuguese Empire to resist Philip's reign over Portugal (Macau resisted any official recognition) and were returned to Portuguese control with the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, not by the professional military, who were used in the Restoration War in the mainland, but by local people attacking a fortified Castilian garrison.
The Portuguese Civil War (1828–1834) had strong repercussions in the Azores. In 1829, in Praia da Vitória, the Liberals won over the absolutists, making Terceira Island the main headquarters of the new Portuguese regime and also where the Council of Regency (Conselho de Regência) of Maria II of Portugal was established.
Beginning in 1868, Portugal issued its stamps overprinted with "AÇORES" for use in the islands. Between 1892 and 1906, it also issued separate stamps for the three administrative districts of the time.
From 1836 to 1976, the archipelago was divided into three districts, equivalent (except in area) to those in the Portuguese mainland. The division was arbitrary, and did not follow the natural island groups, rather reflecting the location of each district capital on the three main cities (none of which were on the western group).
Angra do Heroísmo consisted of Terceira, São Jorge, and Graciosa, with the capital at Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira.
Horta consisted of Pico, Faial, Flores, and Corvo, with the capital at Horta on Faial.
Ponta Delgada consisted of São Miguel and Santa Maria, with the capital at Ponta Delgada on São Miguel.
In 1931 the Azores (together with Madeira and Portuguese Guinea) revolted against the Ditadura Nacional and were held briefly by military rebels.
In 1943, during World War II, the Portuguese ruler António de Oliveira Salazar leased air and naval bases in the Azores to Great Britain. The occupation of these facilities in October 1943 was codenamed Operation Alacrity by the British.
This was a key turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic, enabling the Royal Air Force, the U.S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy to provide aerial coverage in the Mid-Atlantic gap. This helped them to protect convoys and to hunt hostile German U-boats.
In 1944, the U.S. constructed a small and short-lived air base on the island of Santa Maria. In 1945, a new base was constructed on the island of Terceira, and it is named Lajes Field. This air base is in an area called Lajes, a broad, flat sea terrace that had been a large farm. Lajes Field is a plateau rising out of the sea on the northeast corner of the island. This air base is a joint American and Portuguese venture. Lajes Field continues to support the American and Portuguese Armed Forces. During the Cold War, U.S. Navy P-3 Orion antisubmarine warfare squadrons patrolled the North Atlantic Ocean for Soviet Navy submarines and surface warships. Since its opening, Lajes Field has been used for refuelling American cargo planes bound for Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The U.S. Navy keeps a small squadron of its ships at the harbor of Praia da Vitória, three kilometres (1.9 miles) southeast of Lajes Field.
The airfield also has a small commercial terminal handling scheduled and chartered passenger flights from the other islands in the Azores, Europe, Africa, and North America.
In 1976, the Azores became the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Região Autónoma dos Açores), one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, and the subdistricts of the Azores were eliminated.
In 2003, the Azores saw international attention when United States President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso held a summit there days before the commencement of the Iraq War.
The archipelago of the Azores is located in the middle of the northern hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean and extends along a west-northwest to east-southeast orientation (between 36.5°–40° North latitudes and 24.5°–31.5° West longitudes) in an area approximately 600 kilometres (373 miles) wide. The islands of the Azores emerged from what is called the Azores Plateau, a 5.8 million km2 region that is morphologically accented by a depth of 2,000 metres (6,600 feet).
From a geostructural perspective the Azores is located above an active triple junction between three of the world's large tectonic plates (the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate), a condition that has translated into the existence of many faults and fractures in this region of the Atlantic. The westernmost islands of the archipelago (Corvo and Flores) are located in the North American Plate, while the remaining islands are located within the boundary that divides the Eurasian and African Plates.
The principal tectonic structures that exist in the region of the Azores are the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Terceira Rift, the Azores Fracture Zone and the Glória Fault. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the main frontier between the American Plate and the African-Eurasian Plates that crosses the Azores Plateau between the islands of Flores and Faial from north to south then to the southwest; it is an extensive form crossed by many transform faults running perpendicular to its north-south orientation, that is seismically active and susceptible to volcanism. The Terceira Rift is a system of fractures that extends from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the Glória Fault that represents the main frontier between the Eurasian and African Plates. It is defined by a line of submarine volcanoes and island mounts that extend northwest to southeast for about 550 kilometres (342 miles), from the area west of Graciosa until the islets of the Formigas, that includes the islands of Graciosa, Terceira and São Miguel. Its northwest limit connects to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, while the southeast section intersects the Gloria Fault southeast of the island of Santa Maria. The Azores Fracture Zone extends from the Glória Fault and encompasses a relatively inactive area to the south of the islands of the Central and Eastern groups north to the Terceira Rift, along a 45° angle. The Glória Fault, for its part, extends 800 kilometres (497 miles) along a linear line from the Azores to the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault.
The island's volcanism is associated with the rifting along the Azores Triple Junction; the spread of the crust along the existing faults and fractures has produced many of the active volcanic and seismic events, while supported by buoyant upwelling in the deeper mantle, some associate with an Azores hotspot. Most of the volcanic activity has centered, primarily, along the Terceira Rift. From the beginning of the island's settlement, around the 15th century, there have been 28 registered volcanic eruptions (15 terrestrial and 13 submarine). The last significant volcanic eruption, the Capelinhos volcano (Vulcão dos Capelinhos), occurred off the coast of the island of Faial in 1957; the most recent volcanic activity occurred in the seamounts and submarine volcanoes off the coast of Serreta and in the Pico-São Jorge Channel. The islands have many examples of volcano-built geomorphology including many of the caves and subterranean lava tubes (such as the Gruta das Torres, Algar do Carvão, Gruta do Natal, Gruta das Cinco Ribeiras), the coastal lava fields (like the coast of Feteiras, Faial, the Mistério of Prainha or São João on Pico Island) in addition to the currently inactive cones in central São Miguel Island, the aforementioned Capelinhos on Faial, the volcanic complexes of Terceira or Plinian caldeira of Corvo Island.
Perspective of Mount Pico, the highest mountain/summit in the Azores and Portugal, as seen from the island of São Jorge.
The islands of the archipelago were formed through volcanic and seismic activity during the Neogene Period; the first embryonic surfaces started to appear in the waters of Santa Maria during the Miocene epoch (from circa 8 million years ago). The sequence of the island formation has been generally characterized as: Santa Maria (8.12 Ma), São Miguel (4.1 Ma), Terceira (3.52 Ma), Graciosa (2.5 Ma), Flores (2.16 Ma), Faial (0.7 Ma), São Jorge (0.55 Ma), Corvo (0.7 Ma) and the youngest, Pico (0.27 Ma). Although all islands have experienced volcanism during their geological history, within recorded "human settlement" history the islands of Santa Maria, Graciosa, Flores, and Corvo have not experienced any volcanic eruptions; in addition to active fumaroles and hot-springs, the remaining islands have had sporadic eruptions since the 14th century. Apart from the Capelinhos volcano in 1957–58, the last recorded instance of "island formation" occurred off the coast of São Miguel, when the island of Sabrina was briefly formed.
Owing to its geodynamic environment, the region has been center of intense seismic activity, particularly along its tectonic boundaries on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Terceira Rift. Seismic events although frequent, usually tectonic or vulco-tectonic in nature, but in general low to medium intensities, occasionally punctuated by events of level 5 or greater on the Richter magnitude scale. The most severe earthquake was registered in 1757, near Calheta on the island of São Jorge, which exceeded 7 on the Richter magnitude scale. In comparison, the 1522 earthquake that was mentioned by historian Gaspar Frutuoso measured 6.8, but its effects were judged to be X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, and was responsible for the destruction of Vila Franca do Campo and landslides that may have killed more than 5,000 of the inhabitants.
The nine islands that compose the archipelago occupy a surface area of 2,346 km2 (906 sq mi), that includes both the main islands and many islets located in their vicinities. Each of the islands has its own distinct geomorphological characteristics that make them unique: Corvo (the smallest island) is a crater of a major Plinian eruption; Flores (its neighbor on the North American Plate) is a rugged island carved by many valleys and escarpments; Faial characterized for its shield volcano and caldera (Cabeço Gordo); Pico, is the highest point, at 2,351 meters (7,713 ft), in the Azores and continental Portugal; Graciosa is known for its active Furnas do Enxofre and mixture of volcanic cones and plains; São Jorge is a long slender island, formed from fissural eruptions over thousands of years; Terceira, almost circular, is the location of one of the largest craters in the region; São Miguel is the largest island, and is pitted with many large craters and fields of spatter cones; and Santa Maria, the oldest island, is heavily eroded, being one of the few places to encounter brown sandy beaches in the archipelago. They range in surface area from the largest, São Miguel, at 759 km2 (293 sq mi) to the smallest, Corvo, at approximately 17 km2 (7 sq mi).
The Western Group (Grupo Ocidental) of Flores and Corvo.
In addition, several sub-surface reefs (particularly the Dollabarat on the fringe of the Formigas), banks (specifically the Princess Alice Bank and D. João de Castro Bank, as well as many hydrothermal vents and sea-mounts are monitored by the regional authorities, owing to the complex geotectonic and socioeconomic significance within the economic exclusion zone of the archipelago.
The grand cliffs of the island of São Jorge, formed by fissural volcanism.
The archipelago lies in the Palearctic ecozone, forming a unique biome that includes the macaronesian subtropical laurissilva, with many endemic species of plants and animals. In total, there are at least 6112 terrestrial species, of which about 411 are endemic. The majority (75%) of these endemics are animals, mostly arthropods and mollusks. New species are found regularly in the Azores (e.g., 30 different new species of land snails were discovered circa 2013).
Typical roadside hedgerow of hydrangeas on Terceira, the Azores.
Even though the Azores look very green and sometimes wild, the vegetation has been extremely altered. A great part of it has been wiped out in the past 600 years for its valuable wood (for tools, buildings, boats, fire wood, and so on) and to clear land for agriculture. As a result, it is estimated that more than half of insects on the Graciosa island have disappeared or will become extinct. Many cultivated places (which are traditionally dedicated to pasture or to growing colocasia, potatoes, maize and other crops) have now been abandoned, especially as a result of emigration. Consequently, some invasive plants have filled these deserted and disturbed lands. Hydrangeas are another potential pest, but their threat is less serious. Notwithstanding the fact that hydrangeas were introduced from America or Asia, some locals consider them a symbol of the archipelago and propagate them along roadsides, helping the plants to escape into the wild. Cryptomeria, the Japanese cedar, is a conifer extensively grown for its timber. The two most common of these alien species are Pittosporum undulatum and Acacia melanoxylon. They are usually restricted to ancient agricultural land and only rarely penetrate into undisturbed native vegetation.
Reforestation efforts with native laurissilva vegetation have been done successfully in many parts of the Azores.
The Azores has at least two endemic bird species. The Azores bullfinch, or Priolo, is restricted to remnant laurisilva forest in the mountains at the eastern end of São Miguel and is classified by BirdLife International as endangered. Monteiro's storm-petrel, described to science as recently as 2008, is known to breed in just two locations in the islands, but may occur more widely. An extinct species of owl, the São Miguel scops owl, has also recently been described, which probably became extinct after human settlement due to habitat destruction and the introduction of alien species. The Azores also has an endemic bat, the Azores noctule, which is unusual in regularly feeding during the day.
The islets of the Formigas (the Portuguese word for "ants"), including the area known as the Dollabarat Reef, have a rich environment of maritime species, such as black coral and manta rays, different species of sharks, whales, and sea turtles. On São Miguel there are notable micro-habitats formed by hot springs that host extremophile microorganisms.
The northern coast of the island of São Miguel around Capelas and São Vicente (between Ribeira Grande and Ponta Delgada).
The archipelago is spread out in the area between 37° N and the parallels of latitude that pass through the Lisbon area (38° 43' / 38° 55' N), giving it a generally tepid, oceanic, subtropical climate, with mild annual oscillations. Daily maximum temperatures usually range between 15 and 25 °C (59 and 77 °F). The average annual rainfall increases from east to west, ranging from 700 to 1600 millimetres (27.6–63 in) in the east, and reaching 6,300 millimetres (250 in) on Mount Pico, the highest Portuguese mountain at 2,351 m (7,713 ft). The Azores High, an area of high atmospheric pressure, is named after the islands. Under the Köppen climate classification, there are different local climates, one of it is "dry-summer subtropical", often referred to as "Mediterranean". Rivas Martinez data, presents several different bioclimatic zones for the Azores Seasonal lag is extreme in the low-sun half of the year, with December being milder than April in terms of mean temperatures. Azores have the warmest winters in Europe (still within the European continental plate). During summer the lag is somewhat lower, with August being the warmest month. There has never been a frost, snowfall or freeze ever recorded at sea level on any of the islands. The coldest weather in winter usually comes from northwesterly air masses originating from Labrador in Canada. But because those air masses are modified as they pass across the warmer Atlantic Ocean, temperatures by day even then exceed 10 °C (50 °F).
The Azores are known for small hurricanes. A total of 14 tropical or subtropical cyclones have affected the region in history. Most of them were either extratropical or tropical storms when they affected the region, although several Category 1 hurricanes have reached the Azores. Only one major hurricane has ever impacted the Azores; Hurricane Ophelia in 2017, at Category 3 intensity. The following storms have impacted the region while at Category 1 strength: Hurricane Fran in 1973, Hurricane Emmy in 1976, Hurricane Gordon in 2006, Hurricane Gordon in 2012 and Hurricane Alex in 2016. Several tropical storms have hit the region, including Tropical Storm Irma in 1978, Hurricane Bonnie in 1992, Hurricane Charley in 1992, Hurricane Erika in 1997, and Hurricane Gaston in 2016. Storms that were extratropical when they impacted the region include Hurricane Tanya in 1995, Tropical Storm Ana in 2003 and Tropical Storm Grace in 2009. In addition, the 2005 Azores subtropical storm affected the region in October 2005.
There are six cities (Portuguese: cidades) in the Azores: Ponta Delgada, Lagoa and Ribeira Grande on the island of São Miguel; Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória on the island of Terceira, and Horta on Faial. Three of these, Ponta Delgada, Angra and Horta are considered capital/administrative cities to the regional government: homes to the President (Ponta Delgada), the Judiciary (Angra) and the Regional Assembly (Horta). Angra also serves as the ecclesiastical centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Angra, the episcopal see of the Azores.
According to the 2011 Census, population in the Azores was 246,746 at a density of 106 inhabitants per square kilometre (270/sq mi).
The Azores were uninhabited when Portuguese navigators arrived in the early 15th century; settlement began in 1439 with migrants from several regions of mainland Portugal and from Madeira. The islands were populated mainly by Portuguese immigrants from the Algarve, Alentejo, and Minho; in an effort to escape the dangers of the Portuguese inquisition on mainland Portugal, however, many Portuguese Sephardic Jews settled on the islands in large numbers. Azorean Jews had surnames such as: Rodrigues, Pacheco, Oliveira, Pereira, Pimentel, Nunes, Mendes, Pinto, Álvares, Henriques, Cardozo, Teixeira, Vasconcelos etc. The islands were also settled by Moorish prisoners, and African slaves from Guinea, Cape Verde and São Tomé; Flemish, French and Galicians also contributed to the initial settlement. Thus the Azorean population received a significant contribution from people with genetic backgrounds other than Portuguese.
The nature of the economy dictated that African slavery never became common in the Azores because they were sent to Brazil and the Caribbean. Only a few remained in the Azores to help with domestic chores, although the islands sometimes served as a waypoint for ships carrying African slaves.
Africans, Moors, Jews, Scots, Germans, Italians, French, Spanish, Flemish and Portuguese all migrated to the Azores.
A main street in Angra do Heroísmo (a UNESCO heritage site) and main city of the island of Terceira.
As in continental Portugal, the most frequent mtDNA haplogroup in the Azores is H (45.2%), followed by U (16.7%), T (10.1%), K (6.5%), pre-HV clades (5.6%) and a smaller African L haplogroups frequency (3.4%) than in Madeira.
Inhabitants of the various islands have DNA of various origins. A minority on the islands has non European ancestry.
Since the 17th century, many Azoreans have emigrated, mainly to Brazil, Uruguay, the United States and Canada. Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, especially the cities of New Bedford, Bristol, Barrington, Pawtucket, Central Falls, West Warwick, Hudson, Marlborough, East Providence, River Point, Somerset, Taunton and Fall River have been, and remain, the primary destination for Azorean emigrants. Emigrants from the East coast returned to their homeland and taught the American dory fishing technique to the Portuguese who began catching cod again on the Grand Bank in the 19th century.
Northern California was the final destination for many of the Massachusetts immigrants who then moved on to the San Joaquin Valley, especially the city of Turlock, just south of Modesto. In the late 1800s many Azoreans emigrated to the Hawaiian islands. The tuna fishing industry drew a significant number of Azoreans to the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, in Southern California. From 1921 to 1977, about 250,000 Azoreans immigrated to Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Many Azoreans also moved to Bermuda and Hawaii (Portuguese immigration to Hawaii). Florianópolis and Porto Alegre in the Southern Region of Brazil were founded by Azoreans, who accounted for over half of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina's population in the late 18th century. As late as 1960 mass immigration currents were registered to Brazil, and many were from the Azores.
Horta was a waypoint in trans-Atlantic yachts and shipping; today it is the home of the Azorean regional parliament and capital of the island of Faial.
Since 1976, the Azores is an autonomous region integrated within the framework of the Portuguese Republic. It has its own government and autonomous legislature within its own political-administrative statute and organic law. Its governmental organs include: the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament composed of 52 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for day-to-day operations. It is represented in the Council of Ministers by a representative appointed by the President of the Republic, which was created during the revision of the constitution of 2004 (which, among other things, removed the older Portuguese representative that was appointed by the President of the Republic, beholden to the Council of State and coincident with the President).
Since becoming a Portuguese autonomous region, the executive branch of the regional authority has been located in Ponta Delgada, the legislative branch in Horta, and the judicial branch in Angra do Heroísmo.
The islands of the archipelago do not have independent status in law, except in electoral law and are governed by 19 municipalities that subdivide the islands. In addition, until the administrative reform of the 19th century, the following civil parishes had municipal standing: Topo (today integrated into the municipality of Calheta, São Jorge); Praia (today integrated into municipality of Santa Cruz da Graciosa); São Sebastião (today an integral part of the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo); Capelas (now part of the municipality of Ponta Delgada); and Água de Pau (now a civil parish in the municipality of Lagoa). These civil parishes still retain their titles of "vila" in name only; the populations of Capelas and neighbouring parish still protest the change and promote the restoration of their status. The municipalities are further subdivided into several civil parishes, with the exception of Corvo (the only municipality by law without a civil parish, owing to its size).
Azorean politics is dominated by the two largest Portuguese political parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Socialist Party (PS), the latter holding a majority in the Regional Legislative Assembly. The Democratic and Social Center / People's Party (CDS/PP), the Left Bloc (BE), the Unitarian Democratic Coalition (CDU) and the People's Monarchist Party (PPM) are also represented in the local parliament. Currently, as of the 2008 Regional Elections[update], the Socialist Party (PS) and its leader, Carlos César have a plurality of the seats in the Assembly, and operate the Regional Government. Although the PS dominates the regional politics, the PSD is traditionally popular in city and town council elections.
As part of Portugal, the Azores are in the European Union and Schengen Area. They are also in the European Union Customs Union and VAT area, but levy a lower rate of VAT than applies on the mainland. The Azores, like Madeira and the Canary Islands, are among member state territories with special status, as one of the designated "Outermost Regions".
Each of the nine islands has an airport, although the majority are airfields rather than airports. The commercial terminals in Ponta Delgada, Horta, Vila do Porto and Santa Cruz das Flores are operated by ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, a public entity that oversees the operations of airports across Portugal. The remaining, except for Lajes Field, are operated by the Regional Government. Lajes is a military airbase, as well as a commercial airport, and is operated by the Portuguese Armed Forces in conjunction with the United States.
The Azores has had a long history of water transport to overcome distances and establish inter-community contacts and trade. Consequently, the shipbuilding industry developed in many islands, from small fishing boats, to whaling sloops to larger passenger services. Passenger traffic to the main islands (São Miguel, Santa Maria, Terceira and Faial) began in the 17th century, and between the 18th–19th century, the Pico Yacht controlled the lucrative summer traffic season.
After 1871, the Insulana Shipping Company was the only entity responsible for regular traffic between the islands (except Corvo), Madeira and the United States. Yet, cargo and passenger transportation ceased in the 1970s, and the ships were sold or converted into tuna fishing boats. For the next 20 years, commercial maritime service between the islands ceased (except between Faial-Pico and Lajes das Flores-Vila do Corvo).
Transmaçor (Transportes Marítimos Açorianos, Lda.) was founded on 22 December 1987, resulting from the fusion of Empresa das Lanchas do Pico, Ld, owners of the ships Espalamaca and Calheta (ships that had travelled the canal between Faial and Pico for several years); Empresa Açoreana de Transportes Marítimos, Lda, which operated the ship Terra Alta; and Transcanal (Transportes Marítimos do Canal, Lda.) operator the traditional boats Picaroto and Manuel José. In the Central Group, the shipping company operates four to six time daily connections between Horta and Madalena throughout the year, using its small fleet of ships (Cruzeiro das Ilhas, Cruzeiro do Canal, Expresso das Ilhas and Expresso do Triângulo), in addition to inter-island connections between Faial, Pico, São Jorge and Terceira during the summer months.
Meanwhile, new initiatives began in the late 1990s: the catamaran Iapetos began services, followed by Lady of Mann and Golfinho Azul (chartered by Açorline).
In 2005, Atlânticoline was established, providing services with the ships Ilha Azul and Express Santorini, later adding the Viking in 2009. In 2009, Atlanticoline was involved in a controversial rejection of a 750-passenger, 150-vehicle ship ordered from the Estaleiros de Viana do Castelo (Viana do Castelo Shipyards). The Atlantida, a 50 million Euro cruiser (as part of a two-ship deal with the other named Anticiclone) was rejected in 2009 by Atlanticoline for the under-performance of the power-plant. Although it would only result in a five-minute delay between islands, the public company rejected the ship, and the contract was broken over the builder's inability to deliver the required ship on time. While, the ship was being shopped to other interested parties (Hugo Chávez once considered purchasing the ferryboat in 2010), no interested buyers appeared, and ENVC decided to cede the Atlantida to Atlânticoline as part of the latter's open international competition to charter two ships in 2012.
On 20 June 2011, the Regional Government announced that it would purchase 60% of Transmaçor, equivalent to 500,000 Euro of the company's capital. With this transaction the Autonomous government of the Azores ceded control, of which it once had 88% of the capital. The signed memorandum of understanding concluded negotiations between the various parties involved, under which the liability of Transmaçor (worth a total of 8 million Euro) was divided equally between the Region and businessman José Almeida, who is now the holder of a majority stake in the company.
Similarly, the Regional Government approved the consolidation of the three individual port authorities (Administração dos Portos do Triângulo e Grupo Ocidental, Administração dos Portos da Terceira e Graciosa and the Administração dos Portos das Ilhas de São Miguel e Santa Maria) and regional Portos dos Açores into one entity that resulted in a 2.2 million Euro cost savings, in addition to a reduction from 11 to three administrators.
The Festival of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles, in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island.
Azoreans have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits, from a combination of continental Portuguese customs brought by various waves of immigration and local political and environmental factors.
Religious festivals, patron saints and traditional holidays mark the Azorean calendar. The most important religious events are tied with the festivals associated with the cult of the Holy Spirit, commonly referred to as the festivals of the Holy Spirit (or Espírito Santo), rooted in millenarian dogma and held on all islands from May to September. These festivals are very important to the Azorean people, who are primarily Roman Catholic, and combine religious rituals with processions celebrating the benevolence and egalitarianism of neighbours. These events are centred around treatros or impérios, small buildings that host the meals, adoration and charity of the participants, and used to store the artefacts associated with the events. On Terceira, for example, these impérios have grown into ornate buildings painted and cared for by the local brotherhoods in their respective parishes. The events focus on the members of local parishes, not tourists, but all are welcome, as sharing is one of the main principles of the festivals. Some limited events focus on tourists, including a public event that the city government of Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel holds, which attracts visitors and locals.
The solemn procession of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles.
Another event, the Festival of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles (or Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres) in Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel, is the largest individual religious event in the Azores, and takes place on Rogation Sunday. Pilgrims from within the Portuguese diaspora normally travel to Ponta Delgada to participate in an afternoon procession behind the image of Christ along the flower-decorated streets of the city. Although the solemn procession is only held on one day, the events of the Festival of Senhor Santo Cristo occur over a period of a week and involve a ritual of moving the image between the main church and convent nightly, ultimately culminating in the procession, which is televised within the Azores and to the Portuguese diaspora. The Sanjoaninas Festivities in Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira are held in June honoring Saint Anthony, Saint Peter and Saint John the Baptist, in a large religious celebration.
The illuminated Convent and Shrine of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles.
The festival of Our Lady of Lourdes (or Nossa Senhora de Lourdes), patron saint of whalers, begins in Lajes on Pico Island on the last Sunday of August and runs through the week—Whalers Week. It is marked by social and cultural events connected to the tradition of whale hunting. The Wine Harvest Festival (or Festa das Vindimas), takes place during the first week of September and is a century-old custom of the people of Pico.
On Corvo the people celebrate their patron saint Nossa Senhora dos Milagres (Our Lady of Miracles) on 15 August every year in addition to the festivals of the Divine Holy Spirit. The Festival da Maré de Agosto (August Sea Festival), takes place every year beginning on 15 August in Praia Formosa on Santa Maria. Also, the Semana do Mar (Sea Week), dedicated almost exclusively to water sports, takes place in August in the city of Horta, on Faial.
Carnaval is also celebrated in the Azores. Parades and pageants are the heart of the Carnaval festivities. There is lively music, colorful costumes, hand-made masks, and floats. The traditional bullfights in the bullring are ongoing as is the running of bulls in the streets.
^ "What is Azores dialing code?". happyzebra.com. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
^ "Ponta Delgada Climate Normals 1981–2010". IPMA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
^ "Angra do Heroísmo Climate Normals 1981–2010". IPMA. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
^ a b c Ashe, Thomas (1813). History of the Azores, or Western Islands. Oxford University.
^ Scammell, G.V (1989). The First Imperial Age. Unwin Hyman.
^ Payne, Stanley (1972). "A History of Spain and Portugal – Ch27". Madison WI: University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
^ "The Role of Portugal -co-opting Nazi Gold, Jonathan Petropoulos, "Dimensions", Vol 11, No 1, 1997". Adl.org. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
^ M B Barrass (2001–2008). "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation: Air Vice-Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet". Royal Air Force Organization (RAFWeb.org). Retrieved 15 September 2011.
^ "CNN.com - Bush: Monday is 'a moment of truth' on Iraq - Mar. 17, 2003". www.cnn.com.
^ "Actividade Sísmica" [Seismic Activity] (in Portuguese). CVARG. 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
^ a b Triantis, K. A.; Borges, P. A. V.; Ladle, R. J.; Hortal, J.; Cardoso, P.; Gaspar, C.; Dinis, F.; Mendonça, E.; Silveira, L. M. A.; Gabriel, R.; Melo, C.; Santos, A. M. C.; Amorim, I. R.; Ribeiro, S. R. P.; Serrano, A. R. M.; Quartau, J. A.; Whittaker, R. J. (2010). "Extinction debt on oceanic islands" (PDF). Ecography. 33: 285–294. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.730.8154. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06203.x. hdl:10400.3/1712.
^ "Investigador dos Açores descobriu 30 novas espécies de moluscos nas ilhas".
^ "APGHE da Tronqueira e Planalto dos Graminhais". www.azores.gov.pt.
^ Laurel, Project Life Sustainable (2011). "Laurissilva Sustentável: Plantação de endémicas dos Açores".
^ "LIFE Laurissilva Sustentável". life-laurissilva.spea.pt.
^ "Azores temperate mixed forests". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
^ Rando, Juan Carlos; Alcover, Josep Antoni; Olson, Storrs L. & Pieper, Harald. (2013). "A new species of extinct scops owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae: Otus) from São Miguel Island (Azores Archipelago), North Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3647 (2): 343–357. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3647.2.6. hdl:10261/85708.
^ Hogan, C. Michael (10 December 2010). "Extremophile". In Monosson, Emily; Cleveland, Cutler J. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Earth. Washington D.C.: National Council for Science and the Environment. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
^ "Aumento do Parque Marinho dos Açores".
^ "Climate of the Azores islands". Azores Weather. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
^ "Mapas bioclimáticos y biogeográficos". www.globalbioclimatics.org.
^ "Normais Climatológicas (1981–2010)" (in Portuguese). Instituto de Meteorologia. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ "Ponta Delgada Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ "Maximum wind speed recorded during Hurricane Tanya (1995)". Institute of Meteorology, IP Portugal. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
^ Melvin Eugene Page & Penny M. Sonnenburg (2003). Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia. ISBN 978-1-57607-335-3.
^ Pacheco, Paula R; Branco, Claudia C; Gomes, Cidália T; Cabral, Rita; Mota-Vieira, Luisa (12 May 2010). "HLA Class I and II profiles in São Miguel Island (Azores): genetic diversity and linkage disequilibrium". BMC Research Notes. 3 (134): 134. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-3-134. PMC 2883542. PMID 20462405.
^ Silva, Francisca; Pereira, Rui; Gusmão, Leonor; Santos, Cristina; Amorim, António; Prata, Maria João; Bettencourt, Conceição; Lourenço, Paula; Lima, Manuela (10 July 2009). "Genetic profiling of the Azores Islands (Portugal): Data from 10 X-chromosome STRs". American Journal of Human Biology. 22 (2): 221–223. doi:10.1002/ajhb.20971. PMID 19593741.
^ John M. Butler (2014). Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Interpretation. Academic Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0124058545.
^ Brehm, António; Pereira, Luísa; Kivisild, Toomas; Amorim, António (1 December 2003). "Mitochondrial portraits of the Madeira and Açores archipelagos witness different genetic pools of its settlers". Human Genetics. 114 (1): 77–86. doi:10.1007/s00439-003-1024-3. PMID 14513360.
^ "Azores Islands". Library.csustan.edu. 17 January 1997. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
^ Orbach, Michael K. (1977). Hunters, Seamen, and Entrepreneurs: The Tuna Seinermen of San Diego. University of California Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-520-03348-1.
^ "Azorean Immigration into the United States" Archived 3 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Library.csustan.edu.
^ "Flughäfen in Portugal (PT)". Flugplaetze.org. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
^ a b c d e f "atlanticoline.pt: History" (in Portuguese). Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal: Atlânticoline. 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
^ a b Transmaçor, ed. (2010). "Transmaçor – Transportes Marítimos Açorianos, Ldª" (in Portuguese). Horta (Azores), Portugal: Transportes Marítimos Açorianos, Lda. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
^ The societies and companies comprise 80% of the capital, with the remaining shares owned by the Azores Regional Government.
^ a b c d Agência Lusa/AO online/Hoje (28 August 2012). ""Atlântida" está há um ano ancorado em Lisboa e ainda sem destino" (in Portuguese). Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
^ a b c Lusa (20 June 2011). AO Online (ed.). "Concluídas negociações para compra da Transmaçor" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 June 2011.
^ Pinheiro, Maria (8 June 2011). "Portos dos Açores – Fusão administrativa aprovada na Assembleia Regional" (in Portuguese). Horta, Portugal: Tribuna das Ilhas. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
Costa, Antonieta (2007). Pelo sinal do Espírito Santo By the sign of the Holy Spirit. Angra do Heroísmo: Presidência do Governo Reginal dos Açores. Direcção Regional da Cultural. pp. 120p.
Twain, Mark (1869). The Innocents Abroad, or the New Pilgrims Progress. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Co. OCLC 1047562.
Dervenn, Claude (1956). The Azores : with 104 photographs in photogravure and a map. Translated by Bryans, Robin. London: George G. Harrap and Co.
Lourenço, N.; Miranda, J.M.; Luis, J.F.; Ribeiros, A.; Mendes Victor, L.A.; Madeira, J.; H. Needham (1998). Morpho-tectonic analysis of the Azores Volcanic Plateau from a new bathymetric compilation of the area. 20. Marine Geophysical Researches. pp. 141–156.
Luís, J.F.; Miranda, J.M; Galdeano, A.; Patriat, P.; Rossignol, J.C. and L.A. Mendes Victor (1994). The Azores triple junction evolution since 10 Ma from an aeromagnetic survey of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. 125. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. pp. 439–459.
Madeira, J. (1998). Estudos de neotectónica nas ilhas do Faial, Pico e S. Jorge: uma contribuição para o conhecimento geodinâmico da junção tripla dos Açores [Neotectonic studies on the islands of Faial, Pico and S. Jorge: a contribution to the geodynamic knowledge in the triple junction of the Açores] (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa.
Upper mantle structure beneath the Azores hotspot from finite-frequency seismic tomography. 260. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 2006. pp. 11–26.
Needham, H; J. Francheteau (1974). Some characteristics of the rift valley in the Atlantic Ocean near 36o48' north. 22. Earth Planetary Science Letters. pp. 29–43.
Ferreira, António de Brum (2005). "Geodinâmica e perigosidade natural nas ilhas dos Açores" [Geodynamics and Natural Risks on the Islands of the Azores]. Finisterra (in Portuguese). XL (79): 013–120.
Carine, Mark; Schaefer, Hanno (2010). "The Azores diversity enigma: why are there so few Azorean endemic flowering plants and why are they so widespread?". Journal of Biogeography. 37 (1): 77–89. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02181.x.
"Centro de Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos Geológicos: Observatório Vulcanológica e Sismológico da Universidade dos Açores". Centro de Vulcanologia e Avaliação de Riscos Geológicos (CVARG). 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
Machado, Adriane; Azevedo, José M. M.; Alemeida, Delia P.M.; Farid Chemale Jr. (2008). "Geochemistry of Volcanic Rocks from Faial Island (Azores)" (PDF). 5, 1. Lisbon: e-Terra, GEOTIC – Sociedade Geológica de Portugal: 1–14.
R.C. Mitchell-Thomé (1980). "Some geomorphological aspects of the Azores Archipelago" (PDF). Finistrerra: Revista Portuguesa de Geografia. XV (30): 201–219.
Scammell, G. V. (1989). The First Imperial Age. London: Unwin Hyman. pp. 51–70.
This page is based on the Wikipedia article Azores; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA.
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Slavery happens in Australia and in every region of the world.
Today, there are an estimated 40 million people in the world subjected to modern slavery (International Labour Organisation, 2017). Many of the products used every day by Australians have been found to be made by enslaved and trafficked people. This includes electronics, bricks, clothing, medical equipment and seafood.
Supply chains are the systems of production that link raw materials to the finished products you buy in shops. Exploitation can occur at any stage of a supply chain. Due to the global nature of production and trade, exploitation that occurred at an earlier stage in a supply chain, e.g. in Uzbekistan, India or Cambodia, affects the goods you can buy in Australia and around the world. This is why Anti-Slavery Australia is advocating for the introduction of strong supply chain laws, to ensure that Australian consumers are confident that the products they buy and use are not made by enslaved or exploited people.
Huge steps have been taken in 2017 to introduce laws to increase the transparency of supply chains of large organisations. There have been a number of State and Commonwealth government inquiries into human trafficking and modern slavery. Additionally, the business community has shown increased interest in tackling human trafficking and slavery in supply chains.
In December, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade's Inquiry into a Modern Slavery Act in Australia released their final report Hidden in Plain Sight which recommended that Australia introduce a Modern Slavery Act and require businesses, organisations, government and other entities with revenue over $50 million report on what they are doing to combat modern slavery in their supply chains.
The Australian Government is also currently undertaking further public consultation on supply chain reporting requirements. The Modern Slavery in Supply Chains Reporting Requirement consultation paper advocates for the introduction of reporting requirements for Australian entities with revenues over $100 million. Entities will be required to report on their supply chains and operations, their risk of modern slavery, their policies and procedures, and their due diligences processes relating to modern slavery.
What is Anti-Slavery Australia doing?
Anti-Slavery Australia continues to advocate for a strong Australian legal framework that makes it compulsory for Australian companies and other large entities to report on the actions they have taken to ensure that their supply chains and operations are free from modern slavery. This will help in the fight against modern slavery in Australia and around the world as most goods pass through many countries during the manufacturing stage before reaching Australia.
A definition of modern slavery that includes slavery, human trafficking and the worst forms of child labour.
The types of entities required to report should reflect the risk factors for modern slavery in supply chains, without unduly burdening Australian businesses and organisations. Risk-factors include supply chains that extend to countries and sectors with high risks of modern slavery such as agriculture and mining. Anti-Slavery Australia has advocated for revenue a threshold of $25 million.
The entity's effectiveness in ensuring that modern slavery is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as the entity considers appropriate.
The establishment of a list of entities required to report and a central repository for the annual statements by the Australian Government. This will enable consumers, civil society and the Government to effectively monitor compliance with the reporting requirement and an entity's performance.
A robust framework of penalties for failing to publish a report or publishing false or misleading reports. However, entities should not be penalised for discovering instances of modern slavery in their supply chains or operations.
The creation the office of an independent Anti-Slavery Ombudsman or Commissioner to monitor the reporting requirement and develop best-practices approaches to eliminate modern slavery.
The inclusion of public bodies such as government departments into the list of entities required to report. The Australian Government should take this opportunity to demonstrate global leadership in ethical and responsible business practices.
To view Anti-Slavery Australia's submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade's Inquiry into a Modern Slavery Act in Australia, see Anti-Slavery Australia submission.
Many resources already exist to help you make more ethical purchases.
The Good On You App helps you check on-the-go whether fashion brands have ethical policies regarding modern slavery and child labour. You can also check the Ethical Fashion Report by Baptist World Aid, to see whether brands are protecting their workers. Stop the Traffik Australia's Chocolate Box identifies chocolate companies that have ethical policies in place to ensure that their workers and suppliers are not subjected to modern slavery.
Australian consumers can also look at the statements of the many large Australian companies who are required to report under the UK Modern Slavery Act. This includes banks, retailers and airlines. You can view many of these statements on the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre's Modern Slavery Registry.
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Where do you begin to look for a recent, authoritative article on the diagnosis or management of a particular malignancy? The few general oncology textbooks are generally out of date. Single papers in specialized journals are informative but seldom comprehensive; these are more often preliminary reports on a very limited number of patients. Certain general journals frequently publish good in-depth reviews of cancer topics, and published symposium lectures are often the best overviews available. Un- fortunately, these reviews and supplements appear sporadically, and the reader can never be sure when a topic of special interest will be covered. Cancer Treatment and Research is a series of authoritative volumes that aim to meet this need. It is an attempt to establish a critical mass of oncology literature covering virtually all oncology topics, revised frequently to keep the coverage up to date, easily available on a single library shelf or by a single personal subscription. We have approached the problem in the following fashion: first, by dividing the oncology literature into specific subdivisions such as lung can- cer, genitourinary cancer, pediatric oncology, etc.; second, by asking emi- nent authorities in each of these areas to edit a volume on the specific topic on an annual or biannual basis. Each topic and tumor type is covered in a volume appearing frequently and predictably, discussing current diagnosis, staging, markers, all forms of treatment modalities, basic biology, and more.
I. Basic Biology and Immunology.- 1. Characteristics of cultured human melanocytes from different stages of tumor progression.- 2. Gangliosides as antigens of human melanoma.- II. Molecular genetics.- 3. The cytogenetics of human malignant melanoma and premalignant lesions.- 4. The ha-ras-1 oncogene and the molecular genetics of human melanoma.- III. Epidemiology.- 5. Epidemiologic aspects of intraocular malignant melanoma.- 6. Abnormal nevi, excess total nevi, and melanoma: an epidemiologic perspective.- IV. Diagnosis and Prognosis.- 7. Fine needle aspiration biopsy of metastatic melanoma.- 8. Radioimmunoimaging of malignant melanoma with monoclonal antibodies.- 9. Flow cytometry in melanoma.- V. Therapy.- 10. Randomized trials of heated perfusion of extremity melanoma.- 11. Vaccinia virus oncolysates in the treatment of malignant melanoma.- Appendix to Chapter 6.
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0.94207 |
Jack Edward Larson (February 8, 1928 – September 20, 2015) was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer best known for his portrayal of photographer/cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on the television series Adventures of Superman.
Larson was born on February 8, 1928 in Los Angeles, the son of Anita (Calicoff), a Western Union clerk and George Larson, a milk truck driver. His father was of English and Swedish descent and his mother was from a Jewish family (from Germany and Russia). He was reared in Pasadena. He graduated from Montebello High School in 1945, aged 17 and at times claimed 1933 as his birth year.
Larson found the role of cub reporter Jimmy Olsen on The Adventures of Superman to be a handicap, because he became typecast as a naive young man. This caused him to do little acting after the show ended in 1958, and instead he focused on behind-the-scenes work, such as writing and production. Larson was always willing to sit for interviews about the Superman series and his connection to it, and in recent years had a number of cameos that paid subtle tribute to his character and the series, including a 1991 episode of the TV series Superboy, alongside Noel Neill, who played Lois Lane in Adventures of Superman, and an episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as an aged Jimmy Olsen in the episode "Brutal Youth", first broadcast on October 20, 1996.
Larson had a cameo in a late-1990s American Express card commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and an animated Superman, directed by David Kellogg. He and Neill provided commentary on several Adventures of Superman episodes for the January 2006 DVD release of the 1953 season, and in 2006, he appeared in Bryan Singer's film Superman Returns in a cameo role as "Bo the Bartender". Larson and Neill appeared together at the premiere of Superman Returns.
Larson's last television appearance was in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which aired on the NBC network on January 6, 2010. In this episode, titled "Quickie", Larson portrayed Dewey Butler, the grandfather of a young suspect who was taking revenge on women by knowingly spreading AIDS to them.
Among his other work, Larson wrote the libretto to the opera Lord Byron to music by Virgil Thomson.
Larson was the life partner of director James Bridges from 1958 until Bridges' death on June 6, 1993. Prior to that, he was the companion of actor Montgomery Clift.
Larson owned and resided in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed George Sturges House in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, California until his death.
He died on September 20, 2015 at the age of 87. His interment was at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.
^ Joe Rhodes (July 13, 2006). "The Continuing Adventures and Movie Cameos of Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
^ California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.
^ "Jack Larson: Actor who gave up his career to write for the stage". independent.co.uk. 25 September 2015.
^ "Jack Edward Larson". www.livetvcenter.com.
^ Hall, Ken (2000–2014). "Jack Larson played "Jimmy Olsen" on the hit '50s TV show The Adventures of Superman". Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine. McElreath Printing & Publishing, Inc. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
^ Mike Barnes. "Jack Larson Dead: Jimmy Olsen on 'Superman' TV Show Was 87". The Hollywood Reporter.
^ Tommasini, Anthony (August 13, 2014). "They Heard America Playing". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
^ "Overview for Montgomery Clift: Companions". TCM Turner Entertainment Networks. 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
^ "Jack Larson, a TV Jimmy Olsen Turned Playwright, Dies at 87". 21 September 2015 – via NYTimes.com.
^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 26803). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
This page was last edited on 17 April 2019, at 05:00 (UTC).
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Perform this circuit 3 times through. Complete each exercise for 20-40 seconds & then rest for 20 seconds.
After completing a full circuit, take a 60 second rest. Then start the next round.
If unable to do a push up from your toes start on your knees.
1. Start by getting on your hands and feet in a prone position.
2. Keeping your body parallel to ground drive your knees up towards your chest alternating back and forth.
3. Repeat this movement for the required number of seconds.
1. Stand beside object to be cleared.
2. Bring knees up and jump vertically but also laterally off ground and over the barrier.
3. Land on both feet and jump the other direction over barrier.
Step is not necessary when starting out.
1. Begin by resting on the stomach facing down towards the floor. Bring the arms to the side and the legs hip-width apart. Inhale and press the abdominals towards the floor as the chest, arms, legs and head lift away from the floor.
2. Rotate the thumbs up towards the sky palms facing down towards the floor. Gently squeeze the buttock muscles together continuing to lift the chest and legs higher. Keep the chin gently tucked in and the crown of the head lengthening away from the heels.
3. Softly squeeze the shoulder blades together allowing the chest to open. Hold this posture for 5 to 10 deep breaths.
4. Alternate this movement back and forth until the desired repetitions are met.
1) Sit upright on bench and place hands hip width apart with fingers pointing forward. Place feet flat on opposite bench with legs straight.
2) Start position: Slide glutes off bench with elbows slightly bent.
3) Lower body by bending at elbows until elbows are at 90 degree angle.
2. Step back with one foot and bend your knees into a lunged position. Your back knee should come close to touching the ground and your front leg should be bent to about 90 degrees at the knee.
3. Maintain your upright posture throughout the movement.
4. Return to the starting position and repeat. Once repetitions are completed then repeat with the other leg.
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Our government's history of genocide starts with indigenous people, so restitution should be delayed no longer.
Slavery was, and still is, a horrible crime against humanity everywhere, past and present. I agree that reparations are an unfulfilled post-Civil War promise that should be addressed. However, I believe we have an older debt: for the genocide of the Native American population of this continent, who once numbered an estimated 7 million to 10 million and number about 5.2 million today.
Hundreds of broken promises and treaties, massacres of men, women and children and the theft of millions of acres of land, plus outright war crimes such as biological warfare by gifting items such as blankets and food that were contaminated by lethal disease such as smallpox.
Reparations, fine, but let’s start from the beginning if the intention is truly to correct a moral crime against humanity and not just to garner votes. Our government, our citizen ancestors, once paid bounties for the body parts of dead Native American men, women and children. Setting this right is comparable to the Germans trying to square the actions of World War II with the Jewish people.
America has moral debts that need to be addressed. They have been generally pushed to the rear as far as possible generation after generation. If the potential candidates of 2020 want to discuss reparations, then let’s do it. Let’s start with the undeniable genocide of Native Americans. If politicians ignore it and pursue only the reparations that will garner African-American votes, then hypocrisy and moral debt will remain embedded in America’s core.
Let’s see if anyone has the courage to set things right, win or lose.
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Charlos Cove was settled about 1760 and named after one of the first Acadian settlers, Charles Richard. Other village pioneers were Joseph Richard, Oliver Fleming and John Evory (Avery).
Charles Richard was a descendent of Michel Richard, who first came to Acadia in 1652 from Saintonage, France and settled in Belleisle, along the Annapolis River. 100 years later, as war between France and England neared, the British authorities demanded that the Acadians renounce their faith and swear allegiance to the Crown. The Acadians, holding steadfastly true to their faith and to their heritage, refused, thus resulting in their mass exile from Nova Scotia, their first home in the New World.
The migration of the French Acadians was miserable. It was through their inner strength and determination that many families survived the journey and resettled their families. During the Expulsion of the Acadians, the inhabitants of the various settlements were rounded up, loaded onto boats and shipped off through to the end of December 1755. A number of Acadians in trying to avoid deportation, ran into the woods seeking refuge throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
For many Acadians this was a waste of time and effort, since Acadian settlers continued to be deported until 1763. When they were discovered along the coasts or apprehended by English troops, they were either loaded into boats leaving for the American Colonies, England or France. Some did not leave Nova Scotia, but were kept prisoner in Halifax and forced to work on the fortifications. Charles Richard was a prisoner of the British, having had discovered that their land was now occupied by the English, forced them to settle elsewhere. The Acadians were denied the right to settle on their former lands. Faced with this situation and acting on their desire to get as far away from their enemies as possible, the Acadians chose to settle in remote areas such as Charlos Cove.
Their ultimate goals were to create a country in which their values would be preserved without interference. The British authorities had them scatter in small groups. Therefore they sought solutions to their problems within their own group although they did receive significant support from the international French community.
Their priests were generally missionaries rather than residents. They had few schools and often the teachers were itinerant school masters who dispensed their meager store of learning from people's homes. The Acadians had no newspapers, lawyers, doctors, institutions of a higher learning, or a middle class.
Charles Richard petitioned for land about 1799. Other village pioneers, Joseph Richard, Oliver Fleming and John Avery also petitioned for land. A survey dated May 20th, 1800 shows houses and buildings belonging to them on ungranted land. In 1809, a survey of land was made for Joseph Richard Sr., Oliver Fleming, Joseph Richard, Jr. and the heirs of John Avery.
The early Acadians depended on one another and the Míqmaq to survive the hardships of the winters.
The early Acadians depended on the sea for their transportation and livelihood. Charlos Cove was a fishing community, the centre of which is St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, which the families built in 1876. The families involved in building the church were…..(Henry Linden……).
The first schoolhouse was built in 1879. There was a new 2 room school built in 1920, and the old schoolhouse was completely renovated and is now used as a parish hall.
Henry Linden was the first Postmaster of the Postal way office which was established on July 1st, 1889.
Charles Richard, one of the first Acadian settlers, came to Charlos Cove about 1760. Charles Richard was a fifth generation grandson of Michel Richard, who first came to Acadia in 1652 from Sointonge, France and settled in Belleisle, along the Annapolis River. Joseph Richard, Oliver Fleming and John Avery were also early settlers in Charlos Cove.
After the expulsion of the Acadian in 1755 from Nova Scotia, many of the Acadian were deported throughout North America and Europe. When they were discovered along the coasts or apprehended by English troops, they were either loaded into boats leaving for the American colonies, England or France. Some did not leave Nova Scotia, but were kept prisoner in Halifax and forced to work on the fortifications.
Charles Richard was a prisoner of the British. In 1763 he, along with others, were allowed to return to Nova Scotia. When he realized that their land had been taken over by the English, he wanted to get as far away from the enemies as possible. So the Acadians chose to settle in remote areas such as Charlos Cove.
Their ultimate goals were to create a country in which their values would be preserved without interference. The British had them separated in small groups, so they stayed close and helped each other with their problems.
Their priests were usually missionaries rather than residents. They had few schools, so the teachers would go from community to community and teach in people's homes. The Acadians had no newspapers, lawyers, doctors, schools or a middle class.
Charles Richard, Joseph Richard, Oliver Fleming and John Avery petitioned for land in 1799. A survey dated May 20th 1800 shows houses and buildings to these men were on ungranted land. In 1809 a survey of land was made for Joseph Richard Sr., Oliver Fleming, Joseph Richard Jr., and the heirs of John Avery.
The sea was a source of transportation and livelihood for the Acadians. Charlos Cove was a fishing community, the centre of which is St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, which the families built in 1876.
The first school house was built in 1879. There was a new 2 room school built in 1920, which has now been renovated and used as a parish hall.
Surnames found in Charlos Cove were Richard, Avery, Fleming, Pellerin, Linden, Casey, George, Snider/Snyder.
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"Insider the Alt-Right/All-Russia Nexus". Tl;dr? The same lousy, incompetent, lying, Jew-controlled media, which has hidden so much from Americans, including, ironically, the state of Hillary's campaign leading to her loss, hides things which show up in Trump tweets which he receives second hand from real news sources.
"John McAfee: ‘I Can Promise You It Wasn’t Russia Who Hacked the DNC’".
"Cyber Firm at Center of Russian Hacking Charges Misread Data". With the collapse of the howitzer theory, there is literally nothing left of the CrowdStrike web of lies. It appears that the FBI still hasn't done any investigation independent of insider Democratic Party operatives.
"No one excels in the production of "fake news" more than Washington Post and New York Times--no one".
"Now, who is Max Boot and why should anyone care what he writes? Russian-born, Max entered the United States with his family through a special visa exemption under the 1975 Jackson-Vanik Amendment even though they were not notably persecuted and only had to prove that they were Jewish. Jackson-Vanik was one of the first public assertions of neoconism, having reportedly been drafted in the office of Senator Henry Jackson by no less than Richard Perle and Ben Wattenberg as a form of affirmative action for Russian Jews. As refugees instead of immigrants, the new arrivals received welfare, health insurance, job placement, English language classes, and the opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenship after only five years. Max went to college at Berkeley and received an M.A. from Yale.
Boot, a foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney in 2012, networked his way up the neocon ladder, including writing for The Weekly Standard, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He was a member of the neocon incubator Project for a New American Century and now sits on the heavily neocon Council on Foreign Relations. Boot characteristically has never served in the U.S. military but likes war a lot. In 2012 he co-authored “5 Reasons to Intervene in Syria Now.” He is a reliable Russia and Putin basher.
Max Boot’s articles are smears of Donald Trump from top to bottom. The “closing in” piece calls for establishment of a special counsel to investigate every aspect of the Trump Team/Russian relationship. Along the way, it makes its case to come to that conclusion by accepting every single worst case scenario regarding Trump as true. Yes, per Boot “Putin was intervening in the presidential election to help Trump.” And President Barack Obama could not possibly have “interfered with the lawful workings of the FBI.” As is always the case, not one shred of evidence is produced to demonstrate that anyone associated with Donald Trump somehow became a Russian useful idiot, but Boot assumes that the White House is now being run out of the Kremlin."
"Well, this isn't exactly a whodunit. AFAIK there are no Houthi attack helicopters or naval vessels"
"Reality and the U.S.-Made Famine in Yemen".
Ironic piece by Pre-President Clooney: "South Sudan’s government-made famine". "Corrupt Leaders Thrust South Sudan Into Famine and Abject Ruin". "The Right’s Stuff in Africa" (on Abrams). "Trump’s “Muslim ban”: Israeli strategic plans to “remake the Middle East” from 2001 and before targeted the same countries" (Weir). "How The American Neoconservatives Destroyed Mankind’s Hopes For Peace — Paul Craig Roberts". South Sudan, Darfur, and the ICC charges are part of the continuing attacks by World Jewry on the anti-Zionist leader of Sudan (part of an obvious series including Saddam and Gaddafi and Assad): "Omar al-Bashir: ISIS was Created to Justify Attacks against Sunnis".
There is evidence that this is happening: "US: Team Up with Kurds Not Turkey to Destroy Islamic State". Unlike Barry, Trump really does want to get rid of ISIS, and Turkey is obviously a comical ally to have in that fight!
"Israel-funded “infiltrators” behind London campus “provocation”". False flag.
"Belarus arrests "armed provocateurs," Lukashenko points finger at Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland".
"EXCLUSIVE Jared Kushner Struck Out in His First Foray Into Middle East Diplomacy". Again, some evidence that Trump lets Kushner get his way on settlements, but takes otherwise sane Middle East positions.
"The Denationalization of American Muslims". The curious break in American Zionism on the proper technique of maximizing the effectiveness of the killing of people, and the stealing of their land. The concentration camp guard and Beinart are in the 'respectable' category.
"Campaign Against Antisemitism is a campaign against Palestinians". Electronic Intifada should be more careful in who it publishes: "Priceless: Tony Greenstein Admits being a Zionist At Last!".
"Fiona Hill To Take Over President Trump’s Russia Desk". Since Trump appears to pay no mind to this class of underling, it is unclear whether this is bad or good.
"Airlines Want Protectionism - U.S. Bans Laptops, Tablets On Competition's Flights". Airlines that don't treat passengers like cattle have a competitive advantage which must be dealt with.
"Meet the Neocons’ Newest American Hero: Ben Sasse". Note how this religious freak ended up in charge of gathering/arranging blackmail against pervert American politicians. Also note the process of tuning this theologian into a law/business 'expert' so they could get him into Congress.
"Adam Schiff: Grifter, Racketeer, Warmonger". Head clown.
"A Breach in the Anti-Putin Groupthink". "Russia, Trump, and a New Détente". Note how much more you will get out of reading these with a vigorous Jew skepticism. It makes all the difference in the world. Things that the deceived and sad normies would miss just 'pop'.
"A sick human being is free because of Alex Acosta. His associates are protected from prosecution. And now President Trump wants to reward Acosta with a Cabinet seat."
"New Zealand Expels US Spy With Broken Nose And Black Eye, After "Incident"". This has been covered up very nicely.
"David Rockefeller & October Surprise Case": "we fucked Carter’s October Surprise." Does that include sabotaging Carter's attempted helicopter rescue mission?
I don't know why anyone would care (it is not like Snowden's return to the United States as a hero will turn on it!), but this is a tour de force of investigation/analysis: "Newly Obtained Documents Prove: Key Claim of Snowden’s Accusers Is a Fraud". Also: "The World of Edward Snowden" and "Edward Snowden’s Hong Kong barrister authenticates hotel records debunking mystery gap claim". Anything which produces a general queasiness about Epstein is a positive.
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Like the countryside oddities its main characters take in while on vacation, Sightseers is a fun little curiosity that's definitely not for everyone. Director Ben Wheatley's bizarre Britcom/horror hybrid works more as a fascination than as a recommendable good time at the movies, but some who seek it out will likely find a new favorite cult-film-of-the-moment.
Co-writers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram star in their own story, as Tina and Chris, a newly dating, blue-collar couple. As performers and creators, they really sell the dull-eyed boredom of people who seem to have just figured out that dream-fulfillment is no longer on their road map. They're content to be mediocre and happy with each other, embarking on a tired sightseeing trip, even as the wider world charges ahead in full-on Party Mode.
Sure, Chris has vague plans of becoming a writer, but he's blocked at every turn by an utter lack of inspiration and original thought--until one afternoon, when his mobile home backs over an obnoxious tourist. Neither Tina nor the audience is sure how "accidental" the fatal incident was, but it gives Chris a thrill that soon becomes addictive. In short order, Sightseers becomes a laid-back version of Natural Born Killers, where only one of the perps is fully on board: Tina wades into their new life of crime, at first domineered by Chris's big personality, then consumed by the power she now has over unsuspecting people's lives.
As with most movies of this kind (and there are just enough to warrant a bona fide sub-genre, complete with its own tropes), our protagonists discover that the damage they do to others infects their souls, and eventually their once-kind-of-strong relationship. At first, Chris and Tina are able to rationalize their crimes as vigilante justice against litterers, snobs, and idiots unappreciative of historical landmarks. But as their brief journey wears on, a "punishable offense" becomes as innocuous as attending a bachelorette party or insisting that Chris and Tina pick up after a dog they've kidnapped.
The murders are played for laughs here, but the filmmakers revel in the ghoulishness of these characters' actions. It's not enough to see Chris repeatedly bash a snotty tourist's head in with a rock; we must also see the mushy aftermath in all its crime-scene-photo realism. These moments are disturbing, and add a nice punctuation to the dryly offbeat road trip of two otherwise boring people. Like the TV series Doc Martin, the dialogue is authentically working-class and alternately grumpy and sweet (often very funny, too), but those who can't stand the sight of blood will likely get whiplash from looking away so sharply and so often.
There's a lot to like here, particularly in the performances. At times, Sightseers doesn't seem so much like a well-observed comedy-of-the-uncomfortable as it does a docudrama about low-rent human train-wrecks. The filmmakers ease us into their ridiculous nightmare by setting up Chris and Tina as actual, average-looking people. They don't have movie-star looks or dispositions, and my sympathy ebbed and flowed with their adventures. Sure, they're dimwitted losers, I thought, but at least they're working together on a goal--sort of. Wheatley, Lowe, and Oram present one of the trickiest anti-hero couples I've seen in a long time.
Sightseers is a strange one to recommend. There's very little about the movie that's "cinematic", but I loved the intimacy and unexpectedness of the story. If you're looking for a quirky, conventional romance (or even a safe, unconventional one), move along. But as far as homicidal-black-comedy/dysfunctional-relationship films go, this one's tough to beat.
Feeling adventurous? Sightseers is now playing at Chicago's Music Box Theatre. Get showtimes and theatre information here.
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In the General section of the Knowledge Base, you may have created entry groups. These groups are used to categorize any entries you define here. An entry is a small collection of similar phrases about a specific topic. You define those phrases and the responses your chatbot should use when it encounters these phrases.
Click the Knowledge Base option on the Navigation menu and then click on Entries.
The first time you visit this page you will not have any entries defined. Click on the blue New Entry button to begin adding entries.
You can use these tips for any page within the ONE.AI system.
A) Click the blue New Entry button to create a new entry.
B) Use the Keyword field to search for a specific entry using the entry Name field. You can also filter the list displayed by selecting a value from one or more of the dropdown lists: Entry Group, Has Dialog, Can End Dialog, and Referenced are your field filter choices.
C) Click on the Name of the entry to view more details about that entry. You can edit the entry as well.
D) Click a page number to quickly navigate to a different page. Click Next to move to the next page or Prev to move back to the previous page displayed. You can also click the arrows to move back one page or forward one page.
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F) Click the trash can icon to delete a specific entry.
Entry Name: Give the collection of phrases a descriptive name. Examples might be Billing, Contracts, Support, or Pricing.
Entry Group: Select one of the entry groups you have previously defined. If you have not done this yet, go back to the Knowledge Base option on the Navigation menu and select General to define your entry groups. You will be able to filter your Entries listing by this group.
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Select Yes if you want the chatbot to respond to the new entry or No if you want the chatbot to keep the existing dialog. For less important entries this option should be OFF (Yes). For important entries, it should be ON (No).
Click the green checkmark button to save the entry details. Click the red X button to cancel the entry addition.
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Click on the Phrases tab to continue defining the entry.
Use this tab to define the various phrases a visitor might present to your chatbot and that you want your chatbot to respond to.
Click the blue + sign to the right of Phrase to begin adding new phrases.
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Dialog is used to capture special data in a structured way from visitors. Dialogs can be saved in the database apart from the “raw” chatlog. If you set the Can End Query value to false, or no, on the Details tab, you will select Do Not Persist Dialog. If you set the value to true, or yes, you should select Persist Dialog and this will enable you to define the necessary dialog parameters.
At this point, if you are done configuring the entry, be sure to click one of the green buttons, Save or Save and Exit Editor, to create your new entry.
If you selected Persist Dialog, see the additional notes below which outline how to define the parameters.
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For all of the following fields, you will click the green checkmark button that displays once you are in edit mode, to save the changes.
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Type another allowed answer and click the green checkmark to save that answer. This will group the answers together so you can associate one response to all.
Click the second + sign after the last answer displayed to designate the response the chatbot should use for these answers.
Select from Goto Next Dialog Entry or Jump to Another KB Entry.
Goto Next Dialog Entry: If selected, another field will display prompting you to choose from other Dialog entries you have created. If you have not added other entries for this record, you will need to do that before you can set this parameter.
In our example, we have added two entries so we have a choice for this parameter. Select the entry and click the green checkmark to save the change.
Jump to Another KB Entry: If selected, another field will display prompting you to choose from other Knowledge Base entries.
Note: These are the Entries you created at the beginning of this section.
Invalid Input Responses: Click the blue + sign to add a new invalid input response.
Click the green Save and Exit Editor button to create the new entry.
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Chinese Buddhism is typically described in terms of schools, a word used variously to refer to lineages of exegetical interpretation, styles of devotional or cultivational practice, or combinations of both. The earliest schools to emerge, from the fifth century onward, were exegetical lineages devoted to the interpretation of individual scriptures or groups of scriptures. Early examples include traditions based on Chinese translations of Mādhyamika or Yogācāra treatises, as well as on individual scriptures such as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. A tendency to greater conceptual inclusiveness culminated in the development of the systematic schools, often referred to as Sui-Tang schools because of the timing of their emergence during those dynasties (sixth to eighth centuries); primary examples are the Tiantai and Huayan (Flower Garland) traditions. At about the same time or slightly later there also developed identifiable modes of practice or modal traditions, so named because of the centrality of different forms of religious praxis to their identities; this refers to Pure Land devotionalism, Chan (Zen) meditation and dialogue practices, and esoteric Buddhist ritual endeavor.
The English term school evokes the philosophical traditions of ancient Greece, in which individual teachers guided small assemblies of (predominately male) students in different styles of intellectual discourse. This usage privileges individual founders and doctrinal content over social features and religious praxis, and it implies a historical model that is of limited application to the exegetical schools and individual monastic communities of Chinese Buddhism, and is at best unwieldy when used for other types of Buddhist schools.
Japanese scholarship and the Japanese denominational model have had a significant and often unrecognized influence on Western-language interpretations of Chinese Buddhism since the late nineteenth century. Japanese scholars such as Nanjō Bun'yū (1849–1927) and Takakusu Junjirō (1866–1945) worked as students and research assistants with major scholars such as Max Müller (1823–1900) and Sylvain Lévi (1863–1935), respectively, during the formative years of European Buddhist studies and religious studies. Adopting their mentors' perspective on the importance of the Buddha as founder and of doctrine as his primary contribution, these Japanese authors and their later colleagues described Chinese Buddhism in terms of the founders, doctrines, and characteristic practices of the separate denominational entities that had crystallized in Japan during the Tokugawa period (1600–1868), when the Japanese government had imposed a fixed administrative structure on the religion there. Although this was an understandable projection of early Japanese Buddhology, it is important to remember that nothing like a Japanese "school," as an integrated denominational organization with prescribed doctrines and practices and clearly defined institutional assets, priestly specialists, and lay membership, ever existed in Chinese Buddhism.
There are also profound differences between the "schools" of Chinese Buddhism and those of the parent Indian tradition, where the various nikāyas (e.g., Dharmaguptaka, Sarvāstivāda) functioned as ordination lineages and only secondarily as exponents of particular doctrinal stances. It is somewhat more appropriate to use the philosophical identifiers Mādhyamika, Yogācāra, and so on to identify pan-Asian styles of interpretation, although there were no institutional links between Indian and Chinese adherents of such philosophical "schools," and participants in these philosophical traditions in the two cultures worked from very different sets of texts.
In contrast, ordination lineage was rarely if ever used as a sectarian identifier in China. Only a few different sets of Vinaya regulations were ever in use there, and from at least the seventh century on all Chinese Buddhist monks and nuns were ordained under the same set of monastic regulations translated from those of the Indian Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage. In addition, as far as we can tell, virtually all Chinese Buddhists, even those who specialized in the study of treatises labeled Hīnayānist in the East Asian tradition (such as the widely read Abhidharmakośa of the Sautrāntika-Sarvāstivāda authority Vasubandhu, for example), identified themselves with the Mahāyāna. In addition, the number of foreign missionaries who identified strongly with the non-Mahāyāna was extremely small. Thus, using the terminology commonly applied to Indian Buddhism, all Chinese Buddhists belong to a single "school"—not a particularly helpful usage.
Finally, the rhetoric of sect, which is used in the literatures of sociology and religious studies to refer either to nonmainstream movements that challenge the status quo or to highly organized entities that prescribe totalistic programs of religious involvement for their members, is entirely inappropriate for the description of Chinese Buddhism prior to the emergence of the White Lotus Teaching and other popular movements of the fourteenth century and after.
During the first four centuries of the common era, there was a gradually increasing number of Buddhist adherents and communities in China, but nothing that achieved the continuity or impact to be recognized as a distinctive school. This is true even of the highly esteemed Huiyuan (334–416), whose community on Mount Lu represented the ideal of early monastic life but did not continue to function as a coherent group after the master's death. Thus, even though Huiyuan is famous for having led a group of 123 clergy and laypeople in meditative devotions to the Buddha Amitābha of the Pure Land, this was but one event within a broader fabric of activities. Although important as a historical precedent to the later Pure Land tradition, which dogmatically claims him as a founding "patriarch," this cannot be considered the beginning of a Chinese Pure Land "school."
Given the foundation of those first four centuries, the early fifth-century output of the great translator and exegete Kumārajīva (d. 409) provided Chinese Buddhists with the textual resources for the sophisticated understanding of their chosen tradition. In addition, Kumārajīva attracted a number of gifted monks, who studied with him and assisted with the editing and explanation of the newly translated texts. Many of his texts thus became the foci of significant exegetical activity, with his own students writing widely read interpretive essays and commentaries. Such lineages of study constitute the earliest hints of sectarian differentiation in Chinese Buddhism.
As Stanley Weinstein (1987) has observed, of the ten texts most commonly studied in south China during the fifth century, seven had been translated by Kumārajīva. Four of these were sūtras: the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma (Miaofa lianhua jing, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra ); Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Weimojie jing, Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra ); Perfection of Wisdom (in two versions: Bore jing, Prajñāpā-ramitā-sūtra ); and Ten Stages [of the Bodhisattva ] (Shizhu jing, Daśabhūmika-sūtra ). In addition, Kumārajīva produced a recension of the Vinaya known in Chinese as the Ten-Recitation Vinaya (Shisong lü ), which derived from that of his own Sarvāstivāda ordination lineage. He also translated scholastic discourses, including an exposition of Buddhist analytical philosophy called Treatise on the Perfection of Truth (Chengshi lun, Satyasiddhi-śāstra ), which later came to be viewed as anomalous because of its simplistic explanation of śūnyatā or "emptiness," and three Mādhyamika texts that came to be known collectively as San lun or Three Treatises. Kumārajīva's translation of the Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (Da zhidu lun, popularly called Da lun, *Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa ), although completed in 405, was largely ignored until the second half of the sixth century, when its study was taken up by scholars in the San lun tradition. The three other major texts studied in fifth-century south China were the Nirvāṇa Sūtra (Niepan jing ), translated by Dharmakṣema in 421 and revised slightly by southern scholars shortly thereafter; the Treatise on the Essence of the Abhidharma (Za apitan xin lun, popularly referred to as Pitan, *Saṃyuktābhidharmahṛdaya-[śāstra] ), translated by Saṃghavarman around 435; and the Sūtra of the Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā (Shengman jing, Śrīmālādevīsiṃ-hanāda-sūtra ), translated by Guṇabhadra in 436.
In the north, dynastic wars in the 420s and 430s and a persecution of Buddhism in the 440s made continued scholarly activity difficult. When lecturing on the scriptures and commentarial writing resumed in the last decades of the fifth century, monks there focused primarily on texts that had been ignored in the south or which had only recently been translated. The most prominent exception was the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, which was the subject of massive commentarial attention both in the north and at the court of Liang Emperor Wu (r. 501–549) in southern China. Texts studied in the north but largely ignored in the south include the Flower Garland Sūtra (Huayan jing, Avataṃsaka ) translated by Buddhabhadra in 420; the Sūtra on the Bodhisattva Stages (Pusadichi jing, Bodhisattvabhūmi Sūtra ), translated by Dharmakṣema in 418; and the Four-Part Disciplinary Code (Sifen lü ), the Vinaya recension deriving from the Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage and translated by Buddhayaśas and Zhu Fonian in 405 or 408. Of the texts appearing for the first time in translation in the first half of the sixth century, the one that attracted the greatest attention in north China was the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Stages (Shidi jing lun, commonly called Di lun ), translated by Bodhiruci and others in 511. Learned monks in south China in the second half of the sixth century were similarly attracted by the Compendium of the Mahāyāna (She dasheng lun, Mahāyānasaṃgraha, commonly called She lun ) and the Treasury of the Abhidharma (Apidamo jushe shi lun, Abhidharmakośa ), both translated by Paramārtha in 563.
The exegetical lineages devoted to each of these texts (or sets of texts, in the case of the San lun) constituted "schools" only in the most minimal sense. In the first place, although individual monks were known as specialists in particular scriptures, most seem to have worked on multiple texts of various types. Second, although the lineage of study of any text might be traceable from one generation to the next, even when a student's interpretation borrowed heavily from his teachers such connections were overwhelmed by the fluctuations in popularity of different scriptures over the decades. Third, monks often studied with multiple teachers, so that exegetical lineages often "cross-pollinated" each other. Fourth, far from attempting to keep scriptural traditions distinct and independent, the interpretations of individual scriptures were played against each other, with the understanding of one scripture used as a guide for the analysis of totally different texts, and the understanding of Buddhism as a whole applied to the line-by-line interpretation of specific scriptures.
Weinstein concludes that for fifth- and sixth-century China there were five principle exegetical traditions based on Indian treatise literature: Chengshi lun, Di lun, San lun (including study of the Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom ), Pitan (Abhidharma), and She lun. To this we might add the exegetical traditions based on sūtra and Vinaya literature—Lü (Vinaya), Nirvāṇa, and Huayan—the result being the set most often referred to as "schools" in modern writings.
The term sometimes used in contemporaneous Chinese writings to describe these traditions of monkish learning, zong (which in Chinese originally referred to a clan temple, or the clan's primal ancestor or ancestral deity, and by extension the clan as a whole), referred not to any kind of sectarian identity but to the "underlying theme" or "essential doctrine" of the text in question. Indeed, at the very end of the sixth century several "[study] group leaders" (zhongzhu ) specializing in particular texts were accorded formal recognition by the Sui dynasty (589–618) government, with Emperor Wen (r. 581–605) assigning eminent monks residence at different major temples in Chang'an as leaders of the Di lun, Vinaya, Da lun (i.e., Da zhidu lun), and Niepan study groups, respectively. Based in part on this precedent, the teachings of all these exegetical traditions were transmitted to Japan before or during the Nara period (710–784), where their use as sectarian labels became institutionalized within Japanese Buddhism. However, as Abé Ryūichi has shown, even the study groups of Nara Buddhism were very small assemblies with overlapping memberships and entirely without administrative authority or institutional identity, so that the rhetoric of "school" is problematic in this case as well.
A qualitative change in the nature of Chinese Buddhist schools occurred through the efforts of Tiantai Zhiyi (538–597). Zhiyi's wide-ranging discussion of a number of major Chinese scriptures, integrated interpretation of Buddhism from the perspective of the very popular Lotus Sūtra, and intimate connections with the founders of the Sui dynasty led to the establishment of one of the most influential and long-lasting schools of East Asian Buddhism. The tradition he established came to be known as the Tiantai school, based on the name of the mountain in southeastern China (Zhejiang province) chosen as his major center; it also flourished in Korea (as the Ch'ŏnt'ae school) and Japan (as the Tendai school). Although the Tiantai school fell out of favor during the early years of the Tang dynasty (618–906), it was "revived" by Zhiyi's fifth-generation successor Zhanran, who was in fact the first to refer to his tradition as "Tiantai school." Later, Tiantai flourished to the extent of becoming effectively synonymous with all "teaching" monasteries (roughly 5 percent of all major public institutions) from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onward.
Zhiyi's innovation was to combine (1) a set of interpretative schema intended to govern all Buddhist doctrine (as available in the East Asian subcontinent at the time); (2) a similarly comprehensive system of meditation practice; and (3) a specific institutional center and teaching lineage. One of the core elements of his teachings was the philosophy of emptiness (śūnyatā ) derived from Nāgārjuna's writings, particularly the Mūla-madhyamaka-kārikā, represented in Chinese as the Zhong lun (Treatise on the Middle ), one of the San lun or "three treatises," and the Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, also attributed to Nāgārjuna but more likely a compilation by the translator Kumārajīva. This was combined with a multifaceted use of the Lotus Sūtra, both for its doctrinal implications and as inspiration for repentance ritual and meditation practice. From this scripture Zhiyi adopted the position that the various teachings of the Buddha were directed at sentient beings at different levels of spiritual capacity, using "skillful means" (upāya, fangbian ) to adapt his message to the listener. Given this theoretical basis, and drawing extensively on the work of earlier Chinese commentators, Zhiyi outlined the "five times"—five separate periods of the Buddha's teaching career—as well as different types of doctrine and methods of teaching used by the Buddha in different contexts. Although the details of this formulation cannot be included here, its implications were immense: Zhiyi provided a comprehensive explanation for the sometimes jarring differences between Buddhist scriptures, claiming that each different doctrinal message was intended to lead diverse congregations of followers upward to the single goal of buddhahood. In generating this schema Zhiyi built on earlier interpretations to signal the importance of such widely used texts as the Flower Garland, Perfection of Wisdom, Vimalakīrti, and Nirvāṇa sūtras, even while according his favored Lotus Sūtra pride of place as the very pinnacle of the Buddha's teachings. Zhiyi was similarly inclusive and systematic in the realm of meditation practice, defining four categories of samādhi that covered virtually all possible approaches: constantly seated, constantly walking, mixed seated and walking, and neither seated nor walking. Indeed, his concrete prescriptions for so many different types of meditation practice became the standard set of guidelines for all Chinese Buddhists for the next several centuries.
In terms of lineage identity, Zhiyi considered himself to represent, not one of multiple sectarian units within Buddhism, but the most profound teachings of Buddhism itself, as transmitted from Śākyamuni through the Indian Mādhyamika philosopher Nāgārjuna (fl. 2nd c. ce) to his own Chinese teachers and then himself. Zhiyi's fifth-generation successor, Zhanran, was the first to use the term "Tiantai school" (Tiantai zong ), defending its superiority over other emergent schools of his day, and here the word zong takes on a new connotation of the essential teaching of Buddhism as transmitted through a specific lineage from the Buddha Śākyamuni. The sense of transmission from one "golden-mouthed" master to another in this system was notably abstract, and it was only with the development of the Chan school (see below) that a much more concrete and straightforward succession of patriarchs emerged. Later developments in Chinese Tiantai include the emergence of "home-mountain" and "off-mountain" factions in the Song dynasty, with monks based either on Mount Tiantai or elsewhere generating different interpretations of Zhiyi's teachings. Korean scholar-monks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries combined Zhiyi's various formulations into a neatly organized doctrinal system, and this system came to be widely accepted in medieval Japan and later Chinese Buddhism.
Inspired by Zhiyi's example, Chinese representatives of the Yogācāra and Huayan (Flower Garland) traditions sought to attract imperial support through similarly comprehensive interpretations of Buddhist doctrine. The great pilgrim and translator Xuanzang (600?–664) and his disciple Ci'en (Dasheng Ji, often referred to, probably inaccurately, as Kuiji; 632–682) introduced a substantial body of new texts as the basis of the so-called Faxiang school, while Fazang (643–712) built upon a tradition of scholarly and inspirational writing based on the Huayan or Flower Garland Sūtra to attract the support of Empress Wu (r. 690–705). The Faxiang (a widely used label in modern times, although it actually derives from the Japanese name Hossō) and Huayan (Jpn. Kegon) schools were extremely important in Nara-period Japan, and they remained important in different ways on the continent as well. Yogācāra was recognized for its doctrinal innovations regarding the nature of human consciousness and phenomenal reality, even though its specific positions never achieved widespread currency (in part through their philosophical complexity and in part through their contrast with Chinese preferences for more inclusive, even universalistic, doctrines). The Huayan school was similarly recognized for its elaboration of the mutual interpenetration of all phenomena (often using lists of mind-numbingly abstruse distinctions), but unlike Chinese Yogācāra it had a continuing legacy of visionary meditation and ritual practice that was accessible to accomplished scholars and ordinary people alike.
The systematic schools that appeared in the sixth to eighth centuries had enduring presences throughout the balance of Chinese (and, indeed, East Asian) Buddhist history. What sets these schools apart from the earlier exegetical lineages, as well as from other contemporaneous movements, was their particular combination of imperial support, religious breadth, and position within the textual tradition. In the first place, the founders of these schools all received unique levels of attention from the imperial rulers of their day. Zhiyi, for example, received special attention from the Sui dynasts as part of their campaign to conquer south China, while Xuanzang merited extraordinary acclaim because of his knowledge of the "western regions" and prodigious output as a translator. Fazang, for his part, was recognized as a precocious young monk and actively promoted by Empress Wu.
Second, although the Tiantai, Faxiang, and Huayan systems all had their distinctive emphases, each possessed a certain capaciousness that allowed for participation in different ways. The primary example of this is Zhiyi, whose encyclopedic attentions to the grand variety of Buddhist doctrine and meditation practice seemed to make a place for everyone and every approach. With his mastery of the latest trends in Indian Yogācāra, Xuanzang (and Ci'en) felt empowered to generate a comprehensive interpretation of Buddhist doctrine, which specified different alternatives available for those at different stages on the spiritual path. For his part, Fazang's presentations of abstract tenets proved highly attractive to Chinese Buddhists at the time and in subsequent generations, allowing both highly intellectual philosophical responses and strongly visionary approaches to meditation practice.
Third, the capacious quality just described was made possible in each case by magisterial control of a given body of Buddhist scripture. The Lotus and Flower Garland sūtras were arguably the most popular large scriptures in China during the preceding several centuries, and the various texts of the Yogācāra made it one of the most important modes of intellectual interpretation. Although Zhiyi was not directly involved with the enterprise of translation, and Fazang only to a limited degree, the connection of all three men with the imperially sponsored domain of Buddhist scriptural production should not be overlooked.
Thus each of the systematic Sui-Tang schools represented a comprehensive doctrinal system, complete with a lineage-based justification of its transmission from the Buddha, and a characteristic set of positions regarding spiritual cultivation. We should remember, though, that the elite monks identified with these systematic schools were but a tiny fraction of the Chinese monastic community.
In the seventh and eighth centuries, three modes of religious practice emerged that were to become enduring features of Chinese Buddhism: Pure Land devotionalism, Chan (better known by the Japanese pronunciation "Zen") meditation, and esoteric Buddhist (mijiao ) visualization ritual. While very different from each other in terms of soteriological goals, devotional procedures, and ritual styles, these three modal traditions all (1) emphasized selected approaches to religious practice rather than attempting to be theoretically comprehensive; (2) allowed for great practical variation and participation by a wide range of individuals, from ordinary laypeople to sophisticated monks; and (3) had much more limited, and sometimes even antagonistic, relationships with Buddhist scriptural traditions.
The Chinese Pure Land tradition is based on a set of translated scriptures describing the Buddha Amitābha ("Infinite Light," also given as Amitāyus, "Infinite Lifespan") and his paradise, the "pure land" (jingtu ) or "land of bliss" (reflecting the Sanskrit sukhāvatī ). Through his aeons of religious cultivation as the Bodhisattva Dharmākara, Amitābha created a realm totally unlike the ordinary world-systems of Buddhist cosmology, including their heavens, in making it easy for those reborn there to achieve enlightenment. Amitābha promised that those who were "mindful" (nian, "remember, think," from the Sanskrit anusmṛti ) of him for a mere ten moments of thought were guaranteed rebirth in his Pure Land. This was initially understood as an easy form of meditative visualization, in which one was aided by the graphic concreteness of the Buddha's image. As mentioned above, this type of visualization was practiced at one time at Huiyuan's community on Mount Lu.
During the sixth and seventh centuries, at Xuanzhongsi in north China (Shanxi province), there appeared a succession of monks who transformed the understanding of Pure Land practice, expanding it from the original visualization meditation just described to include ever greater emphasis on the oral recitation of the Buddha Amitābha's name. Tanluan (c. 488–c. 554) emphasized that Pure Land practice was an easy path suitable for people living in a corrupt world, while Daochuo (562–645) argued that this practice was particularly appropriate for the final period of the Buddhist teachings (mofa ; Jpn. mappō ), since it would result in a face-to-face meeting with Amitābha at death. Since he also held that it was impossible to know when one achieved the requisite ten moments of pure sincerity in performing the nianfo (literally, "mindfulness of the Buddha," almost always indicating Amitābha), Daochuo also directed his followers to perform as many oral repetitions as possible. Although Shandao (613–682) recommended the combined practice of sūtra recitation, visualization of Amitābha, and worshiping Buddha images, his primary emphases were that Pure Land practice was intended precisely for the ignorant and sinful, rather than the spiritually gifted or advanced, and that it consisted primarily of oral recitation. He also provided detailed instructions for how nianfo retreats were to be undertaken, either as ordinary religious practice aimed at liberation or as deathbed observations aimed at ensuring immediate rebirth.
Although these and other Chinese Pure Land masters were accomplished scholars, their commentaries and treatises argued that devotion to Amitābha could substitute for, rather than encompass and incorporate, other forms of Buddhist religiosity. Shandao in particular also promoted this style of devotionalism by the widespread distribution of painted images of Pure Land scenes and the sponsorship of sculpted images of Amitābha and his attendant bodhisattvas. Nor were these the only Tang-dynasty proponents of Pure Land Buddhism. Meditation on Amitābha was included within Zhiyi's "constantly walking" samādhi, which thus became the most widely practiced of the four categories in his system, and the increasing popularity of the recitation of Amitābha's name led to the development of musical styles of recitation. This occurred most notably on Mount Wutai in Shanxi, from which the melodic recitation of Amitābha's name was transmitted to Japan by the famous pilgrim Ennin (794–864) and others. Since the Pure Land represented a paradise that could be reached after death, this practice became a key ingredient of deathbed observances, and there soon developed stories depicting devoted individuals who had achieved rebirth in Amitābha's land of bliss. Since there was no clear-cut distinction between meditative and recitative nianfo, ordained and lay Buddhists of widely different social and educational backgrounds could all take part in the practice.
The word Chan transcribes the Sanskrit dhyāna, meaning "concentration meditation." Chan has its roots in the meditation traditions of fifth-century Kashmir, but it first emerged as a discernable religious movement in the sixth and early seventh centuries as a north China group of ascetic practitioners who recognized the south Indian monk Bodhidharma (d. circa 530) as their progenitor. Then, after three-quarters of a century of incubation at various locations in central China, in 701 the movement emerged on the national scene at the court of Empress Wu. Many of the basic doctrines now associated with Chan were formulated in the early years of the eighth century, and the most famous of the school's masters were active in central and south China in the late eighth and ninth centuries. It was not until after the fall of the Tang, however, in the Min regime of the far southeast (in what is now Fujian province), that the most distinctive features of the school—chiefly, its devotion to spontaneous repartée between masters and students, known as "encounter dialogue"—became public. Then, with the founding of the Song dynasty in 960, Chan became one of the dominant voices of Chinese Buddhism, its teachers monopolizing the position of abbot in nine-tenths of the largest monasteries throughout the country and its genealogically based style of self-understanding becoming the default mode of religious discourse.
The key to understanding Chinese Chan is its lineage schema, which proved to be far more compelling than the Tiantai school's abstract and discontinuous list of sages introduced above. Based in part on Indian notions of master-student succession, Chan held that the true teaching of Buddhism was passed down from the Buddha Śākyamuni through a succession of Indian patriarchs to Bodhidharma, and then by a succession of Chinese patriarchs to the teachers of the present day. Since the doctrinal elaborations of the scriptures were unable to capture the true essence of this teaching, Chan rejected the textual tradition that had been so important in Chinese Buddhism for all previous schools, defining itself instead as a "separate transmission outside the scriptures" (jiaowai bie zhuan ; Jpn. kyōge betsuden ). This genealogical model is also the key to understanding Chan religious praxis, which was undertaken largely according to two different models. In the Caodong (Jpn. Sōtō) tradition, one was to nourish the buddha-mind within one (i.e., one's buddha-nature, or the quality of originary or fundamental enlightenment in all sentient beings) to illuminate with its full potential, unhampered by the illusions of ordinary existence, a process known sometimes as "silent illumination" (mozhao ; Jpn. mokushō ). In the Linji (Jpn. Rinzai) tradition one was to demonstrate the active functioning of that buddha-mind in spontaneous interaction between enlightened master and aspiring student or, in later years, to interrogate famous examples of such interaction in one's meditation practice. The type of spontaneous and often nonverbal interaction depicted in Chan texts is known as "encounter dialogue," and the contemplation of pithy examples of encounter dialogue is known as "viewing the critical phrase" (kanhua ; Jpn. kanna ) Chan (often referred to, using the Japanese pronunciation, as kōan Zen), where the "critical phrase" is the climactic line of an anecdote that can only be understood by transcending ordinary thinking.
As an ideology of self-cultivation by religious professionals, Chan (unlike Pure Land) always remained centered within monastic institutions. Nevertheless, it attracted substantial literati interest, and its unique style of repartée was celebrated in diverse contexts of art and poetry, so that the image of the iconoclastic Chan master entered the shared repertoire of Chinese culture. Its genealogical model and iconoclastic tropes placed it in contrast with traditional forms of Buddhism, and Chan was able to flourish in part because it filled a vacuum left by the collapse of the state-supported translation enterprise after the end of the eighth century.
Esoteric Buddhism (mijiao ) was introduced to China by three foreign missionaries in the eighth century: Śubhākarasiṃha (637–735), who arrived in Chang'an in 716; Vajrabodhi (671–741), who arrived in Guangzhou (Canton) in 720; and Amoghavajra (705–774), who became a disciple of Vajrabodhi's at age fifteen in China, traveled to India after his master's death, and returned to China in 746. Whereas magic-like techniques of recitation, visualization, and ritual had long been known from Indian sources, it was only from this period onward that there was introduced a comprehensive system of these techniques organized by the spatial metaphor of the maṇḍala (literally "circle," here referring to concentric configurations of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other deities). Promising both speedy achievement of enlightenment and the empowerment for ritual action by the most profound and awesome forces of the universe, esoteric Buddhism overwhelmed the imaginations of eighth-century Chinese and received lavish support from the imperial court.
Although the texts and ritual procedures introduced by these three masters, with the assistance of their gifted Chinese disciple Yixing (683–727), made a massive contribution to the ritual vocabulary of Chinese Buddhism that permeated the entire tradition, esoteric Buddhism gained only a limited acceptance in China as a distinct and separate school. Its advocates never produced intellectually substantial doctrinal statements, either of Indian or native Chinese origin (although there was a brief flurry of new texts introduced in the last two decades of the tenth century), and even its two separate initiation lineages seem not to have been transmitted after the ninth century. Where Chan effectively benefited from the collapse of the translation enterprise, as an incipient systematic school (which it became in Japan, through the creative efforts of Kūkai) esoteric Buddhism floundered in China.
From the Song dynasty (960–1279) onward new subschools emerged in Chinese Buddhism, and some of the major schools took on each other's characteristics. First, various "houses" and other sublineages developed with Chan, which retained its dominance in monastic institutions throughout the country. Second, Pure Land Buddhism began to describe itself by means of a lineage succession, a style of presentation adopted from Chan. Third, the Tiantai school witnessed competition between "home-mountain" (shanjia ) and "off-mountain" (shanwai ) factions, identified by their residence on Mount Tiantai or elsewhere and characterized by different understandings of Zhiyi's teachings. Fourth, Tibetan Buddhism flourished for a time during the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) and again during the Qing (1644–1911), especially at court, though anti-Mongol sentiments limited its more widespread dissemination. Fifth, there were numerous vectors of religious activity in Chinese Buddhism not normally considered discrete sectarian entities but which might usefully be considered in the same context; a primary example is the diffuse but extremely popular cult devoted to the salvific Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (known as Guanyin, Guanshiyin, Guanzizai, and other names in Chinese). Even granting these features, however, the sectarian labels that emerged during the Tang dynasty have remained in widespread use throughout the rest of Chinese history.
Bodhidharma; Buddhism, article on Buddhism in China; Fazang; Huayan; Kuiji; Kumārajīva; Mādhyamika; Tiantai; Yogācāra; Zhiyi.
The most important source for the understanding of Chinese Buddhist schools is Stanley Weinstein's masterful article on the subject in the first Encyclopedia of Religion (New York, 1987), vol. 2, pp. 482–487, which also provides useful references to Chinese and Japanese secondary works. For background information on the systematic schools and other topics, readers should also consult Weinstein's Buddhism under the T'ang (Cambridge, U.K., 1987). Although outdated, Kenneth K. S. Ch'en's Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey (Princeton, N.J., 1964) contains a wealth of generally reliable information. For an example of the early Japanese presentation of East Asian Buddhist schools, see Takakusu Junjirō, The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, edited by Wing-tsit Chan and Charles A. Moore (Honolulu, 1947; reprint, New Delhi, 1975). The best guide to interpreting Chinese exegetical lineages may be found in Ryūichi Abé's The Weaving of Mantra: Kūkai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse (New York, 1999). For Song-dynasty Buddhism, see the articles in Peter N. Gregory and Daniel A. Getz, Jr., eds., Buddhism in the Sung (Honolulu, 1999). For issues in later Chinese Buddhism, see Yü Chün-fang, The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Chu-hung and the Late Ming Synthesis (New York, 1981, and Marsha Smith Weidner, ed., Latter Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism, 850–1850 (Lawrence, Kans., and Honolulu, 1994).
"Buddhism, Schools of: Chinese Buddhism." Encyclopedia of Religion. . Encyclopedia.com. 21 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
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Complete the following sentences using appropriate modal auxiliary verbs.
1. She …………………. dance very well.
2. You …………………. go home if you want to.
3. He …………………. take some rest if he is tired.
4. You ………………… sit down if you want.
5. He ………………….. run faster when he was younger.
6. The students asked if they ……………………. go home early.
7. You ………………… have finished earlier if you wanted.
8. It ………………… rain in the afternoon.
9. She …………………… be at home.
10. Although I tried hard, I …………………… solve the problem.
1. She can dance very well.
2. You may / can go home if you want to.
3. He can / may take some rest if he is tired.
4. You can / may sit down if you want.
5. He could run faster when he was younger.
6. The students asked if they could go home early.
7. You could have finished earlier if you wanted.
8. It may rain in the afternoon.
9. She may be at home.
10. Although I tried hard, I could not solve the problem.
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The undead come in many shapes and sizes, but no myths are so prevalent than that of Vampires. Such creatures as these which prey upon the blood or life force of the living can be found in the folklore of nearly all peoples, and allowing for cultural differences describe nearly the same thing: A person who dies under mysterious circumstances, who then returns from the grave to torment and prey upon former friends and relatives. The standard Vampire of popular culture is inspired loosely from Eastern European tradition, and takes the form of an immortal youth, beautiful but pale, weakly looking but supernaturally strong, who perishes in direct sunlight and must consume blood to survive.
Are Vampires real? Of the supernatural variety sadly not, although there are real life medical conditions which may have contributed to the myth.
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Generate a local library copy with relevant packages. All packages currently found within the search path - except base packages - will be copied to the directory provided and can be used later on with the .libPaths() function.
Generate a local library copy with relevant packages. All packages currently found within the search path - except base packages - will be copied to the directory provided and can be used later on with the ‘.libPaths()’ function.
all people who contribute through reporting issues, posting feature requests, updating documentation, submitting pull requests or patches, and other activities.
## "backports" "base64enc" "digest" "evaluate" "highr"
## "htmltools" "jsonlite" "knitr" "librarysnapshot" "magrittr"
## "markdown" "mime" "Rcpp" "rmarkdown" "rprojroot"
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Generate an official SPE electronic invitation letter to assist you in the visa process.
Please note: It is the sole responsibility of the attendee to obtain the necessary paperwork for entry to the US. This letter does not guarantee that you will be granted a visa, nor does it commit SPE to assist you in obtaining a visa. SPE will not pay any expenses incurred by you. We cannot send the letter to the embassy or consulate for you, nor can SPE contact the embassy or consulate on your behalf.
Review visa wait times and then visit your local US embassy or consular office website where you will apply for your visa. There you can find out how to schedule an interview appointment, pay fees, and any other instructions.
Prior to your scheduled interview date, you can complete the visa application online.
For those traveling to the US without a visa from the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries, an electronic passport (e-Passport) is required. Learn which countries participate in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
The Department of Homeland Security is now enforcing compliance of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) requirement for VWP travelers. A valid ESTA approval is required for all VWP travelers who are entering the United States by air or sea.
If approved, the authorization is good for two years and can be renewed. Travelers no longer have to fill out an I-94W form before each trip.
Please note that the aforementioned information is a general guideline for travel to USA. Because travel requirements may change, SPE recommends that attendees contact their local embassy to ensure they have proper documentation.
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Roraima (Pemon: roro ima, "Parrot + Mount(s)" i.e. "Green Peak", ) is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Para, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is approximately 450,000 (2010) and the capital is Boa Vista. Roraima is the Brazilian state with the fewest municipalities, 15 in total.
The climate of Roraima is tropical with an annual mean temperature of 26°C (78.8°F). The states southern part is located in the Amazon rainforest, while the north has open grassland fields, and there is a small strip of savanna to the east. The state is rich in mineral deposits - especially gold, diamonds, cassiterite, bauxite, marble and copper. Many of these deposits are located in indigenous reserves, and illegal mining has resulted in frequent conflicts with the native population, especially the Yanomami and the Macuxi and allied groups.
The Monte Roraima National Park is located around one of the highest mountains of both Venezuela (outside of the Andes) and Brazil, and the highest in Guyana, a 2,875 m (9,432 ft) high tepui known as Monte Roraima. Only a small fraction of the mountain is in Brazilian territory, however, and the highest point of the Brazilian part is at 2,734 metres (8,970 ft).
Since the beginnings of the 16th century, the region now considered the state of Roraima was disputed territory, because of its rich mineral reserves. It was sought by the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and English until the beginning of the last century. But in 1943, together with a section from the state of Amazonas, the Federal Government created the territory of Rio Branco, which became Roraima in 1962. In 1988, Roraima became a state by decision of the National Congress. The name of the state was taken from Mount Roraima, whose name comes from the Pemon words “roroi” (“cyan”) and “ma” (“large”). One of the main archaeological site is the Pedra Pintada, Roraima, with ancient rock art and engravings.
The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 87.5%, followed by the industrial sector at 8.7%. Agriculture represents 3.8%, of GDP (2004). Roraima exports: wood 74%, leather 22.6% (2002).
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Cardiac arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. Irregular in the sense the heart can beat too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia) or have an abnormal rhythm. There is a wide variety of cardiac arrhythmia and some are harmless while others could be life-threatening. Arrhythmias are concerning because they can potentially reduce the amount of blood being pumped through the body. Because blood carries oxygen to all the tissues in the body, a reduction in blood flow could lead to organ damage.
How is the heartbeat generated?
The heart consists of 4 chambers: two upper chambers called the atria and two lower chambers called the ventricles. A heartbeat is initiated by an electrical signal generated in a group of cells at the top of the right atrium called the sinus node or sinoatrial (SA) node. The signal travels down through the atria which causes them to contract and pump blood into the ventricles. The signal moves down to a second node between the atria and ventricles called the atrioventricular (AV) node. Once the ventricles are full of blood, the signal travels down the ventricles on a pathway called the bundle of His. This causes the ventricles to contract and pump blood to the lungs or other areas of the body. The ventricles then relax and the process starts over again. In a healthy heart 60 to 100 signals are sent per minute. Any issues that arise in this process could lead to cardiac arrhythmia.
The mechanism by which smoking induces cardiac arrhythmia is not known. However, there are some hypotheses. Evidence from clinical studies suggests that nicotine can cause atrial fibrillation. Smoking also promotes coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which themselves can promote arrhythmias. Many clinical trials have also found that smokers have an increased risk of developing cardiac arrhythmia conditions compared to non-smokers.
Nicotine promotes irregular heartbeat through many pathways. For example, nicotine can increase the levels of catecholamine (a type of neuromodulator and hormone) in the blood. High catecholamine levels can increase heart rate, and blood pressure, while extremely high levels can cause arrhythmia. Nictoine can also directly bind to and block a potassium channel called (I K1), which can also result in irregular heartbeat. This block specifically occurs when nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are not stimulated and catecholamines are released. This is in line with studies that find that low levels of the I K1 receptor is associated with the generation of arrhythmias.
An animal study in which dogs were exposed to nicotine (a level equal to smoking two cigarettes in a human) found that it induced several different types of arrhythmia. The most common were supraventricular arrhythmias such as supraventricular bradycardia, supraventricular arrhythmia, sinus arrest, atrial ectopics and atrial tachycardia. These animals also experienced atrioventricular junctional arrhythmias (escape beats, premature contractions, first-degree heart block, second degree heart block and atrioventricular dissociation) and ventricular arrhythmias (ventricular premature contractions and sustained ventricular tachycardia). Even higher doses resulted in fatal irregular heart beat resulting from ventricular flutter and ventricular fibrillation.
Nicotine has also been found to increase atrial fibrosis (thickening of the atria), particularly after heart failure, which in turn increases the likely hood of atrial fibrillation. Nicotine is through to cause atrial fibrosis by blocking the activity of two micro-RNA (mi-R-133 and miR-590) which inhibit transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and TGF-β receptor type II —modulators of connective tissue growth factor.
Not only is nicotine from smoking potentially harmful, but chewing nicotine and inhaling nicotine not in cigarettes can increase the chances of developing short-term atrial fibrillation.
Nicotine is not the only component of tobacco smoke that promotes heart arrhythmia. Carbon monoxide has also been shown to be harmful. Carbon monoxide inhaled in cigarette smoke binds to hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen, resulting in fewer cells that are available to carry oxygen, and fewer cells that are capable of releasing oxygen. Carbon monoxide increases susceptibility to ventricular fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmia in dogs with ventricular tachycardia.
There is conflicting clinical trial evidence suggesting that oxidative stress induced from smoking may also contribute to atrial fibrillation. However, animal studies have shown that oxidative stress can alter heart tissue resulting in more arrhythmogenic events. There is evidence that smoking-related oxidative stress promote various cardiovascular diseases.
Some studies have found an association between heart rate variability and environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
Up to 30% of patients experience postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) following heart surgery. There is evidence that smoking may actually reduce the risk of developing POAF. This is believed to be because smoking results in a higher adrenergic state, which allows smokers to tolerate increases in catecholamine induced from surgical stress. This protective effect disappears in people that have quit smoking.
Drinking alcohol can slow the intra-atrial conduction, the His-ventricular interval and shortened sinus node recovery time during electrical impulse stimulation of the heartbeat. Atrial and ventricular tachyarrhythmia could be induced in 71% of cases in moderate to heavy drinkers. Patients with atrial fibrillation that drink experience shorter atrial refractory times and slowed conduction compared to nondrinkers.
There are several potential mechanisms by which alcohol could promote cardiac arrhythmia. Alcohol has been shown to cause damage to gap junction intracellular channels resulting in abnormal signal conduction. It can cause myocyte (heart cell) damage and inflammation as well as short term oxidative stress. Not surprisingly, alcohol has several electrophysiological effects such as reducing atrial and pulmonary vein action potentials, shortening the atrial refractory period. Reducing the speed of intra- and inter-atrial conduction and enhancing AV-node conduction. Lastly, alcohol can have autonomic effects on the heart such as shorten the activity of the vagal nerve, the nerve that stimulates the pulse that causes the heart to beat, reducing heart rate variability and inhibiting vagal nerve activity.
Long term consumption of alcohol leads to several conditions that can case changes to atrial activity leading to AF. These conditions include left ventricle remodeling, obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, atrial inflammation and oxidative stress. These conditions promote left atrial remodeling, dilation, fibrosis and increase left atrial pressure. These factors, supported by vagal nerve activation and short term bind drinking promote atrial fibrillation.
Animal studies revealed that treatment with caffeine reduced susceptibility to ventricular fibrillation in non-ischemic and ischemic animal models. However, this increase in susceptibility can block by treatment with beta blockade. Animals taking high doses, but not moderate doses, also were more susceptible to ventricular tachycardia induced by ventricular pacing. Another study observed an increase in the incidence of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, while other forms of arrhythmia (ventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation) were seen at higher doses. Caffeine is also capable of increasing the rate of spontaneous discharge from active fibers.
Human studies have found that caffeine can affect the refractory period of atrial, ventricular and nodal tissue. However, it is unclear how this relates to susceptibility for arrhythmia. Patients with ventricular ectopy have an increased risk of experiencing heart beat irregularities when ingesting caffeine. However, there is insufficient evidence to show an increase in risk for other patients already susceptible to cardiac arrhythmia such as patients that have recently experienced a heart attack, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, or malignant ventricular arrhythmia.
Heart failure occurs when the body is unable to pump body in a way that sufficient supplies the body with blood. Atrial fibrillation occurs in 19-37% of individuals living with heart failure. However, it occurs in up to 50% of individuals hospitalized during heart failure.
Congenital heart defects (i.e. heart effects present at birth) like Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
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Read the 1939 article by Elizabeth McCausland, ‘Documentary Photography’. Write a short bullet list of McCausland’s main point along with an explanation about why this article is relevant to this part of the course.
Documentary photography is not a fashion, fad or vogue.
Documentary’s aesthetic has evolved into an application of photography that is direct and realistic, concerned with the serious chronicling of the world.
The saying that the camera does not lie is false – it rationalises and overlooks, for example, the facts of decay, change, social retrogression and injustice.
The documentary photographer uses intelligence and imagination to control the new aesthetic of realism while ensuring facts rather than their personality are the most important aspects.
The strongest and most influential examples of documentary photography are the works of the FSA and the Federal Art Project ‘Changing New York’ by Bernice Abbott. This proves that the best sponsor of knowledge is the government.
Painting has survived as a medium despite early enthusiasms at the birth of photography that it was under threat because of photography.
Progressive documentary photographers are unconcerned about whether photography is an art.
The photograph has communication qualities that are unequalled in any other pictorial medium – it would take many months to create the detail that “the instantaneous blink of the camera eye” can record.
McCausland’s paper is a polemic with many strong assertions, but is dated by preoccupations that have since been addressed, predominately the status of photography as an art form. Pains are taken to emphasise the photographic realism which is aligned closely with truth, and, although there is a recognition that the idea the camera cannot lie is false, there is a naïve optimism that in the field of ‘new’ documentary this can be alleviated by the integrity of the photographer. I found the idea that governments are the best way to enable documentary projects an unexpected notion, although I can understand this is because of the concerns McCausland has around media ownership and the influence this may have. We now understand the deep ideological basis of a project such as the FSA, something that is hailed as an exemplar of ‘new’ documentary, and the way FSA images were carefully selected to prove a particular narrative. Overall, the paper subscribes to the idea that a photograph is objective and a truthful record of reality, something that has subsequently been vigorously challenged. The greatest fault of this viewpoint for me is that there is no acknowledgement of the importance of the reader and the influence that cultural knowledge can have as well as the polysemous nature of the photograph. Clearly, McCausland was committed to championing the work of photographers that she determined were important in helping us understand the world and her idealistic belief that these can incite change is admirable if misguided. The context of the time this article was written is significant – that documentary practice of the 1930s emerged as a response to the frivolity of the 1920s and the seriousness of that followed is an important consideration.
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The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and Great Britain and its colonies, Upper and lower Canada and Nova Scotia, from 1812 to 1815 on land and sea. The Americans declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812, for a combination of reasons: Outrage at the impressment (seizure) of thousands of American sailors, frustration at British restraints on neutral trade while Britain warred with France, and anger at British support for native attacks along the frontier which conflicted with American expansion and settlement into the Old Northwest.
2.3.1 Chesapeake campaign and "The Star-Spangled Banner"
The war started unsuccessfully for the Americans as their attempts to invade Canada were repeatedly repulsed. The American strategy depended on militias, but they either resisted service or were incompetently led. The military and civilian high command was a serious American weakness that was not improved until 1814. New England opposed the war and refused to provide troops or financing. Financial and logistics problems plagued the American war effort. Britain had excellent finance and logistics but the war with France had a higher priority, so in 1812–1813 they had a defensive strategy. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 they were able to send veteran armies to invade the United States, but by then the Americans had learned how to mobilize and fight as well.
At sea the powerful Royal Navy instituted a blockade of the majority of the American coastline (allowing some exports from New England, which was trading with Britain and Canada in defiance of American laws). The blockade devastated American agricultural exports, but helped stimulate local factories that replaced goods previously imported. The American strategy of using small gunboats to defend ports was a fiasco, as the British raided the coast at will. The most famous episode was a series of British raids on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, which included an attack on Washington, D.C. that resulted in the burning of the White House, other public buildings, and the Library of Congress. The American strategy of sending out several hundred privateers to attack British merchant ships was more successful, and hurt British commercial interests, especially in the West Indies. American heavy frigates also prevailed in several one-on-one naval battles against British ships. The decisive use of naval power came on the Great Lakes and was a contest of building ships. The Americans won control of Lake Erie and thus neutralized western Ontario, cutting off Native Americans from supplies. The British controlled Lake Ontario. The Americans controlled Lake Champlain, and a naval victory there forced a large British invasion army to turn back.
The Americans destroyed the power of the native people of the Northwest and Southeast, thus securing a major war goal. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, British trade restrictions and impressment ended, so those causes of the war ceased. With stalemate on the battlefields, both nations agreed to a peace that left the prewar boundaries intact. Before Congress ratified the treaty, the Americans decisively defeated a veteran British army at the Battle of New Orleans.
The war had the effects of both uniting Canadians and uniting Americans far more closely than either population had been prior to the war. Canadians remember the war as a victory in avoiding conquest by the Americans, while the Americans celebrated victory in a "second war for independence" personified in the hero of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson.
Although the outbreak of the war had been proceeded by years of angry diplomatic dispute, neither side was ready for war when it came.
Britain was still hard pressed by the Napoleonic Wars; most of the British Army was engaged in the Peninsular War (in Spain), and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The total number of British regular troops present in Canada in July 1812 was officially stated to be 6,034, supported by Canadian militia. Throughout the war, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was the Earl of Bathurst. For the first two years of the war, he could spare few troops to reinforce North America and urged the commander-in-chief in North America—Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost—to maintain a defensive strategy, which accorded with Prevost's own inclinations. But when reinforcements became available late in 1814, Prevost's own cautious invasion of the United States was repulsed.
Despite years of warlike talk, the United States was not ready for a fight. President Madison assumed that the state militia would easily seize Canada and the rest would be negotiations. In 1812, the regular army consisted of fewer than 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary and unpopular and there were initially very few trained and experienced officers. The militia—called in to aid the regulars—objected to serving outside their home states, were not amenable to discipline, and as a rule, performed poorly in the presence of the enemy when outside of their home state. The United States had great difficulty financing its war, especially since it had disbanded its national bank and private bankers in the Northeast were opposed to the war.
The early disasters brought about largely by American unreadiness drove United States Secretary of War William Eustis from office. His successor, John Armstrong, Jr., attempted a coordinated strategy late in 1813 aimed at the capture of Montreal but was thwarted by logistics, uncooperative and quarrelsome commanders, and ill-trained troops. By 1814 the United States Army's morale and leadership had greatly improved, but the embarrassing Burning of Washington led to Armstrong's dismissal from office in turn. The war ended before the new Secretary of War James Monroe could develop any new strategy.
An artist's rendering of the battle at Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star Spangled Banner"
American prosecution of the war also suffered from its unpopularity, especially in New England, where anti-war spokesmen were vocal. The failure of New England to provide militia units was a serious blow. Threats of secession by New England were loud; Britain immediately exploited these divisions, blockading only southern ports for much of the war and encouraging smuggling.
Britain had long been the world's pre-eminent naval power, confirmed by its victory over the French and the Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In 1812, the Royal Navy had 97 vessels in American waters. Of these, eleven were large ships of the line and 34 were smaller frigates. By contrast, the United States Navy, which was not yet twenty years old, had only twenty-two commissioned vessels, the largest of which were frigates, though a number of the American ships were 44-gun frigates and very heavily built compared to the usual British 38-gun frigates.
The strategy of the British was to protect their own merchant shipping to and from Halifax and Canada, and to enforce a blockade of major American ports to restrict American trade. Because of their numerical inferiority, the Americans aimed to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics, such as the capture of prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels under only favorable circumstances.
The Americans experienced much early success. On June 21, 1812, three days after the formal declaration of war, two small squadrons left New York. The ships included the frigate USS President and the sloop USS Hornet under Commodore John Rodgers (who had general command), and the frigates USS United States and USS Congress, with the brig USS Argus under Captain Stephen Decatur. Two days later, President and Hornet gave chase to the British frigate HMS Belvidera. Belvidera eventually escaped to Halifax after discarding all unnecessary cargo overboard. President and Hornet returned to Boston, Massachusetts by August 31.
Meanwhile, USS Constitution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, sailed from Chesapeake Bay on July 12. On July 17, a British squadron gave chase. Constitution evaded her pursuers after two days. After briefly calling at Boston to replenish water, on August 19, Constitution engaged the British frigate HMS Guerriere. After a thirty five-minute battle, Guerriere had been dismasted and captured and was later burned. Hull returned to Boston with news of this significant victory.
On October 25, the USS United States, commanded by Captain Decatur, captured the British frigate HMS Macedonian, which he then carried back to port. At the close of the month, Constitution sailed south under the command of Captain William Bainbridge. On December 29, off Bahia, Brazil, she met the British frigate HMS Java. After a battle lasting three hours, Java struck her colors and was burned after being judged unsalvageable.
In January 1813, the American frigate USS Essex, under the command of Captain David Porter, sailed into the Pacific in an attempt to harass British shipping. Many British whaling ships carried letters of marque allowing them to prey on American whalers, nearly destroying the industry. Essex challenged this practice. She inflicted an estimated $8,000,000 damage on British interests before she was captured off Valparaiso, Chile, by the British frigate HMS Phoebe and the sloop HMS Cherub on March 28, 1814.
In all of these actions—except the one in which Essex was taken—the Americans had the advantage of greater size and heavier guns. However, the United States Navy's sloops and brigs also won several decisive victories over Royal Navy vessels of approximately equal strength. In most of these battles, the British gunnery and ship-handling was inferior to the Americans'. While the American ships had experienced and well-drilled volunteer crews, the cream of the over-stretched Royal Navy was serving elsewhere, and constant sea duties of those serving in North America interfered with their training and exercises.
The capture of three British frigates was a blow to the British and stimulated them to greater exertions. More vessels were deployed on the American seaboard and the blockade tightened. On June 1, 1813, off Boston Harbor, the frigate USS Chesapeake, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, was captured by the British frigate HMS Shannon under Captain Sir Philip Broke. Lawrence was mortally wounded and famously cried, "Don't give up the ship!"
The blockade of American ports had tightened to the extent that most American merchant ships were confined to port (some were based in Europe or Asia and continued operations). In addition to the blockade, the British Admiralty had instituted a new policy in which Royal Navy ships could engage their American counterparts only if in squadron strength or by ship-of-the-line. An example of this was the engagement between USS President and a heavy British squadron in January 1815. The British engaged with four ships versus one: HMS Endymion, HMS Majestic, HMS Pomone, and HMS Tenedos. After a desperate battle, the President was captured. Because of the utilization of heavy squadrons and the blockade, the Royal Navy was able to transport British Army troops to American shores, paving the way for their attack on Washington D.C., which became known as the burning of Washington in 1814.
The operations of American privateers, some of which belonged to the United States Navy but most of which were private ventures, were extensive. They continued until the close of the war and were only partially affected by the strict enforcement of convoy by the Royal Navy. An example of the audacity of the American cruisers was the depredations in British home waters carried out by the American sloop USS Argus, which was eventually captured off St David's Head in Wales by the more heavily armed British brig HMS Pelican, on August 14, 1813.
Halifax was the Royal Navy base that supervised the blockade and it grew rich during the war. British privateers based there seized many French and American ships, selling their prizes in Halifax.
The war was likely the last time the British allowed privateering since the practice was coming to be seen as politically inexpedient and of diminishing value in maintaining its naval supremacy. By the middle of the century, the legality of the practice under international law was being rapidly dismantled (Britain would not authorize privateers during the Crimean War, and it signed the Declaration of Paris in April, 1856). Before the war, the United States had successfully pressed claims for damages in British courts against British citizens who had been involved in privateering against American vessels.
Major General Isaac Brock skillfully repulsed an American invasion of Upper Canada, but his death was a severe loss for the British cause.
American leaders had assumed that Canada could be easily overrun. Former President Jefferson optimistically referred to the conquest of Canada as "a matter of marching." However, in the opening stages of the conflict, British military experience (coupled with Canadian militia) prevailed over inexperienced American commanders.
Geography dictated that operations would take place in the west principally around Lake Erie, near the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and near the Saint Lawrence River area and Lake Champlain. This was the focus of the three pronged attacks by the Americans in 1812.
Although cutting the St. Lawrence River through the capture of Montreal and Quebec would make Britain's hold in North America unsustainable, the United States began operations first in the Western frontier because of the popularity there of a war with the British.
The British scored an important early success when their detachment at St. Joseph Island on Lake Huron learned of the declaration of war before the nearby American garrison at the important trading post at Mackinac Island in Michigan. A scratch force landed on the island on July 17, 1812, and mounted a gun overlooking Fort Mackinac. The Americans, taken by surprise, surrendered. This early victory encouraged the Native Americans of the area, and large numbers of them moved to help the British at Amherstburg.
American Brigadier General William Hull invaded Canada on July 12, 1812, from Detroit with an army mainly composed of militiamen, but he turned back after his supply lines were threatened in the battles of Brownstown and Monguagon. British Major General Isaac Brock sent false correspondence and allowed it to be captured by the Americans, saying they required only 5,000 Native warriors to capture Detroit. Hull was afraid of North American Indians and some tribes' practice of scalping. Hull surrendered at Detroit on August 16.
Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion. An armistice (arranged by Prevost in the hope the British renunciation of the Orders in Council to which the United States objected might lead to peace) prevented Brock invading American territory. When the armistice ended, the Americans attempted an attack across the Niagara River on October 13, but suffered a crushing defeat at Queenston Heights. Brock was killed during the battle. While the professionalism of the American forces would improve by the war's end, British leadership suffered after Brock's death.
A final attempt in 1812 by American General Henry Dearborn to advance north from Lake Champlain failed when his militia refused to advance beyond American territory. In contrast to the American militia, the Canadian militia performed well. French-Canadians, who found the anti-Catholic stance of most of the United States troublesome, and United Empire Loyalists, who had fought for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War, strongly opposed the American invasion. However, a large segment of Upper Canada's population was recent settlers from the United States who had no obvious loyalties to the Crown. Nevertheless, while there were some who sympathized with the invaders, the American forces found strong opposition from men loyal to the Empire.
After Hull's surrender, General William Henry Harrison was given command of the American Army of the Northwest. He set out to retake Detroit, which was now defended by Colonel Henry Procter in conjunction with Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at Frenchtown along the River Raisin on January 22, 1813. Procter left the prisoners in custody of a few North American Indians, who then proceeded to execute perhaps as many as sixty American prisoners, an event which became known as the "River Raisin Massacre." The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.
In May 1813, Procter and Tecumseh set siege to Fort Meigs in northern Ohio. American reinforcements arriving during the siege were defeated by the Native Americans, but the fort held out. The Indians eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada. A second offensive against Fort Meigs also failed in July. In an attempt to improve Indian morale, Procter and Tecumseh attempted to storm Fort Stephenson, a small American post on the Sandusky River, only to be repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign.
On the Great Lakes, the American commander Captain Oliver Hazard Perry fought the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. His decisive victory ensured American control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats, and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This paved the way for General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the United States victory at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed. Tecumseh's death effectively ended the North American Indian alliance with the British in the Detroit region. The Americans controlled Detroit and Amherstburg for the duration of the war.
Because of the difficulties of land communications, control of the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River corridor was crucial, and so both sides spent the winter of 1812-13 building ships. The Americans, who had far greater shipbuilding facilities than the British, nevertheless had not taken advantage of this before the war and had fallen behind.
On April 27, 1813, American forces attacked and burned York (now called Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada, including the Parliament Buildings. However, Kingston was strategically more valuable to British supply and communications along the St Lawrence. Without control of Kingston, the American navy could not effectively control Lake Ontario or sever the British supply line from Lower Canada.
On May 27, 1813, an American amphibious force from Lake Ontario assaulted Fort George on the northern end of the Niagara River and captured it without serious losses. The retreating British forces were not pursued, however, until they had largely escaped and organized a counter-offensive against the advancing Americans at the Battle of Stoney Creek on June 5. On June 24, with the help of advance warning by Loyalist Laura Secord, another American force was forced to surrender by a much smaller British and Indian force at the Battle of Beaver Dams, marking the end of the American offensive into Upper Canada.
The burning of Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) by American General McClure on December 10, 1813, incensed the British and Canadians since civilian houses had mainly been destroyed. Many were left without shelter, consequently freezing to death in the snow. This led to British retaliation and similar destruction at Buffalo on December 30, 1813.
On Lake Ontario, Sir James Lucas Yeo took command on May 15, 1813, and created a more mobile though less powerful force than the Americans under Isaac Chauncey. An early attack on Sackett's Harbour by Yeo and Governor General Sir George Prevost was repulsed. Three naval engagements in August and September led to no decisive result.
Yeo constructed HMS St Lawrence, and by September 1814, the British launched the largest ship built during the war. HMS St. Lawrence was a 112 gun British warship that served on Lake Ontario and was likely the only Royal Navy ship of the line ever to be launched and operated entirely in fresh water. It was a first rate ship of the line. Its 112 guns gave them superiority, and the British became masters of Lake Ontario.
Sakawarton (John Smoke Johnson), John Tutela, and Young Warner, three Six Nations War of 1812 veterans.
The British were potentially most vulnerable over the stretch of the Saint Lawrence where it also formed the frontier between Upper Canada and the United States. During the early days of the war, there was much illicit commerce across the river, but over the winter of 1812-1813, the Americans launched a series of raids from Ogdensburg on the American side of the river, hampering British supply traffic up the river.
On February 21, Sir George Prevost passed through Prescott on the opposite bank of the river, with reinforcements for Upper Canada. When he left the next day, the reinforcements and local militia attacked. At the Battle of Ogdensburg, the Americans were forced to retire. For the rest of the year, Ogdensburg had no American garrison and many residents of Ogdensburg resumed visits and trade with Prescott. This British victory removed the last American regular troops from the Upper St Lawrence frontier and helped secure British communications with Montreal.
Late in 1813, after much argument, the Americans made two thrusts against Montreal. The plan eventually agreed upon was for Major-General Wade Hampton to march north from Lake Champlain and join a force under General James Wilkinson which would embark in boats and sail from Sacket's Harbour on Lake Ontario and descend the Saint Lawrence.
Hampton was delayed by bad roads and supply problems and an intense dislike of Wilkinson, which limited his desire to support his plan. On October 25, his 4,000-strong force was defeated at the Chateauguay River by Charles de Salaberry's force of fewer than 500 French-Canadian Voltigeurs and Mohawks.
Wilkinson's force of 8,000 set out on October 17 but was also delayed by bad weather. After learning that Hampton had been checked, Wilkinson heard that a British force under Captain William Mulcaster and Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Morrison was pursuing him, and by November 10, he was forced to land near Morrisburg, about 150 kilometers (90 mi) from Montreal. On November 11, Wilkinson's rearguard, numbering 2,500, attacked Morrison's force of 800 at Crysler's Farm and was repulsed with heavy losses. After learning that Hampton was unable to renew his advance, Wilkinson retreated to the United States and settled into winter quarters. He resigned his command after a failed attack on a British outpost at Lacolle Mills.
By the middle of 1814, American generals, including Major Generals Jacob Brown and Winfield Scott, had drastically improved the fighting abilities and discipline of the army. Their renewed attack on the Niagara peninsula quickly captured Fort Erie. Winfield Scott then gained a decisive victory over an equal British force at the Battle of Chippewa on July 5. An attempt to advance further ended with a hard-fought drawn battle at Lundy's Lane on July 25. The Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged Siege of Fort Erie. The British raised the siege, but lack of provisions eventually forced the Americans to retreat across the Niagara.
Meanwhile, following the abdication of Napoleon, British troops began arriving in North America. Fewer than half were veterans of the Peninsula and the remainder came from garrisons. Along with the troops came instructions for offensives against the United States. British strategy was changing, and like the Americans, the British were seeking advantages for the peace negotiations in Ghent. Governor-General Sir George Prevost was instructed to launch an offensive into the United States. However, his invasion was repulsed by the naval Battle of Plattsburgh in Plattsburgh Bay on September 11, 1814, which gave the Americans control of Lake Champlain. Theodore Roosevelt later termed it the greatest naval battle of the war.
In 1814, the Americans sent a force of five vessels from Detroit to recapture Mackinac. A mixed force of regulars and volunteers from the militia landed on the island on July 4. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and at the brief Battle of Mackinac Island, they were ambushed by Native Americans were forced to re-embark.
The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay and on August 13, destroyed its fortifications and a schooner found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Michilimackinac. On September 4, these gunboats were taken unawares and captured by enemy boarding parties from canoes and small boats. This Engagement on Lake Huron left Mackinac under British control.
The British garrison at Prairie du Chien also fought off an attack by Major Zachary Taylor. In this distant theater, the British retained the upper hand until the end of the war because of their allegiance with several Native American tribes that they supplied with arms and gifts.
When the war began, the British naval forces had some difficulty in blockading the entire United States coast, and they were also preoccupied in their pursuit of American privateers. The British government, having need of American foodstuffs for its army in Spain, benefited from the willingness of the New Englanders to trade with them, so no blockade of New England was at first attempted. The Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay were declared in a state of blockade on December 26, 1812. This was extended to the coast south of Narragansett by November 1813 and to all the American coast on May 31, 1814. In the meantime, much illicit trade was carried on by collusive captures arranged between American traders and British officers. American ships were fraudulently transferred to neutral flags. Eventually the U.S. Government was driven to issue orders to stop illicit trading. This put only a further strain on the commerce of the country. The overpowering strength of the British fleet enabled it to occupy the Chesapeake and to attack and destroy numerous docks and harbors.
From the probing of the British Colony of New Brunswick, Maine was an important conquest by the British. The line of the border between New Brunswick and the District of Maine had never been adequately agreed after the American Revolution. A military victory in Maine by the British could represent a large gain in territory for New Brunswick, but more immediately it assured communication with Lower Canada via the St John River and the Halifax Road. The war did not settle the border dispute, and when Maine became a state in 1820, it led to a border crisis called the Aroostook War. The border between Maine and New Brunswick was not be settled until 1842 and the "Webster-Ashburton Treaty."
In September 1814, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke led a British Army into eastern Maine and was successful in capturing Castine, Hampden, Bangor, and Machias. The Americans were given the option of swearing allegiance to the king or quitting the country. The vast majority swore allegiance and were even permitted to keep their firearms. This is the only large tract of territory held by either side at the conclusion of the war and was given back to the United States by the Treaty of Ghent. The British did not leave Maine until April 1815, at which time they took large sums of money retained from duties in occupied Maine. This money, called the "Castine Fund," was used in the establishment of Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The strategic location of the Chesapeake Bay near the nation's capital made it a prime target for the British. Starting in March 1813, a squadron under Rear Admiral George Cockburn started a blockade of the bay and raided towns along the bay from Norfolk to Havre de Grace. On July 4, 1813, Joshua Barney, a Revolutionary War naval hero, convinced the Navy Department to build the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, a squadron of twenty barges to defend the Chesapeake Bay. Launched in April 1814, the squadron was quickly cornered in the Patuxent River, and while successful in harassing the Royal Navy, they were powerless to stop the British campaign that ultimately led to the "Burning of Washington."
The expedition, led by Admiral Sir George Cockburn and General Robert Ross, was carried out between August 19, and August 29, 1814. On August 24, Secretary of War Armstrong insisted that the British would attack Baltimore rather than Washington, even when the British army was obviously on its way to the capital. The inexperienced American militia, which had congregated at Bladensburg, Maryland, to protect the capital, were destroyed in the Battle of Bladensburg, opening the route to Washington. While Dolley Madison saved valuables from the White House, President James Madison was forced to flee to Virginia; American morale was reduced to an all-time low. The British viewed their actions as retaliation for the Americans' burning of York in 1813, although there are suggestions that the burning was in retaliation of destructive American raids into other parts of Upper Canada.
Having destroyed Washington's public buildings, including the White House and the Treasury, the British army next moved to capture Baltimore, a busy port and a key base for American privateers. The subsequent Battle of Baltimore began with a British landing at North Point, but the attack was repulsed, and General Ross was killed. The British also attempted to attack Baltimore by sea on September 13 but were unable to reduce Fort McHenry, at the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. All the lights were extinguished in Baltimore the night of the attack, and the fort was bombarded for 25 hours. The only light was given off by the exploding shells over Fort McHenry, which gave proof that the flag was still over the fort. The defense of the fort inspired the American lawyer Francis Scott Key to write a poem that would eventually supply the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner," which became the national anthem of the United States in 1931.
In March 1814, General Andrew Jackson led a force of Tennessee militia, Cherokee warriors, and U.S. regulars southward to attack the Creek tribes, led by Chief Menawa. While some of the Creeks had been British allies in the past, the fighting was related to control of Creek land in Alabama rather than the British-American conflict. On March 26, Jackson and General John Coffee fought the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, killing 800 of 1,000 Creeks at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded of approximately 2,000 American and Cherokee forces. Jackson pursued the surviving Creeks to Wetumpka, near present-day Montgomery, Alabama, where they surrendered.
We speak of the War of 1812, but in truth there were two wars. The war between the Americans and the British ended with the treaty of Ghent. The war between the [Big Knives] [American frontiersmen] and the Indians began at Tippecanoe, and arguably did not run its course until the last Red Sticks were defeated in the Florida swamps in 1818 (Sugden 401).
Jackson's forces moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in November 1814. Between mid-December 1814 and mid-January 1815, he defended the city against a large British force led by Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham, who was killed in an assault on January 8, 1815. The Battle of New Orleans was hailed as a great victory in the United States, making Andrew Jackson a national hero, eventually propelling him to the presidency.
On December 24, 1814, diplomats from the two countries, meeting in Ghent, Belgium, signed the Treaty of Ghent. This wasn't ratified by the Americans until February 17, 1815 when President Madison signed the American ratification of the Treaty of Ghent, though Congress ratified the treaty the day after the signing by the British. Though news of the treaty would not reach New Orleans for several months, the signing of the treaty and more importantly the quick ratification by the British meant that the battle would not have had and did not have any bearing on the outcome of the war.
After the battle on January 8, the British Army received reinforcements and a siege train. But it decided not to continue the attack on New Orleans. Instead, the fleet and army sailed to Mobile Bay, defeating the American garrison at the Battle of Fort Bowyer and capturing the fort on February 12. This was the last battle of the war. The British army was preparing to take Mobile, Alabama, when news of the treaty arrived on February 13; they then embarked on the British fleet.
By the terms of the treaty, all land captured by either side was returned to the previous owner; the Americans received fishing rights in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and all outstanding debts and property taken was to be returned or paid for. Later that year, John Quincy Adams complained that British naval commanders had violated the terms of the treaty by not returning American slaves captured during the war, since the British did not recognize slaves as property.
During the blockade of the Chesapeake, in fact, Rear Admiral Cockburn had been instructed to encourage American slaves to defect to the Crown. Royal Marine units were raised from these escaped slaves on occupied Chesapeake islands, and they fought for the Crown. Some men and their dependents were taken to the naval base in Bermuda from which the blockade was orchestrated, where they were employed about the dockyard and where a further Marine unit was raised from their numbers as a dockyard guard. Orders were eventually given to send these Marines to the British Army to be re-enlisted into West Indian Regiments. Many resisted this change of service and were given land to settle in the West Indies. Many of those who agreed to transfer to the Army found themselves back in the United States, taking part in the Louisiana campaign.
The United States achieved their main goals of ending impressment in practice and restoring free trade, and ending the Native American threat on the western and southern borders; the first was largely assisted by the end of the Napoleonic wars. Of even greater importance was the gaining of a psychological sense of complete independence. Nationalism soared after the Battle of New Orleans proved Americans could defeat the British army. The opposition Federalist Party collapsed and an Era of Good Feelings ensued.
Canadians soon developed a national history to the effect that they had defied a great invasion threat. The largely American population of Upper Canada did not side with the United States; lured northwards by free land and low taxes, the settlers wanted to be left alone. After the bitter war, it was not wise to advocate American political ideals, such as democracy and republicanism. Thus the British and United Empire Loyalists elite were able to set Canadians on a different course from that of their former enemy. Additionally, the growing belief that they, the civilian soldiers, and not the Native American and British regulars, had won the war helped to germinate the seeds of nationalism in Canada.
The Royal Navy, however, was acutely conscious that the United States Navy had won most of the single-ship duels during the War. Also, American privateers and commerce raiders had captured numerous British merchant ships, sending insurance rates up and embarrassing the Admiralty. On the other hand, the Royal Navy had been able to deploy overwhelming strength to American waters, annihilating American maritime trade. The Royal Navy made some changes to its practices in construction and gunnery and focused more on accuracy than on rate of fire as had been the case. It remained the most powerful navy in the world for at least the next 100 years.
History of "War of 1812"
This page was last modified on 18 October 2016, at 14:41.
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What are the top Chemistry Colleges in Tacoma, WA?
There are 2 chemistry schools in Tacoma, Washington. With an overall population of 193,556 and a student population of 22,872, approximately 6,460 of Tacoma students attend one of Tacoma's schools that offer chemistry programs.
Tacoma's largest chemistry school is Pacific Lutheran University. In 2010, Pacific Lutheran University graduated approximately 10 students from its chemistry program.
In 2010, 16 students graduated with a chemistry degree from one of Tacoma's chemistry schools. If you decide to attend a chemistry school in Tacoma, you can expect to pay an average yearly tuition of $31,867.
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If you plan on staying in Tacoma after graduating from chemistry school, you should know that job prospects for chemists in Tacoma, which is the most popular chemistry profession, are average. In 2010, 1 out of every 14 chemists in Washington State were working in the greater Tacoma area. The number of chemists in Tacoma is expected to increase by 9% by the year 2018. This anticipated change is faster than the projected nationwide trend for chemists.
As a chemist in Tacoma, you can expect to make an average salary of $45,220 per year. This is lower than the average salary for chemists in the state.
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Ueno Park (上野公園 Ueno Kōen) is a spacious public park in the Ueno district of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the temple of Kan'ei-ji. Amongst the country's first public parks, it was founded following the western example as part of the borrowing and assimilation of international practices that characterizes the early Meiji period. The home of a number of major museums, Ueno Park is also celebrated in spring for its cherry blossoms and hanami. In recent times the park and its attractions have drawn over ten million visitors a year, making it Japan's most popular city park.
The park has some 8,800 trees, including Ginkgo biloba, Cinnamomum camphora, Zelkova serrata, Formosan cherry, Somei-Yoshino cherry, and Japanese cherry. There is a further 24,800 m2 of shrubs.Shinobazu Pond is a small lake with an area of 16 ha, extensive lotus beds, and marshland. It provides an important wintering ground for birds. Species commonly found include the tufted duck, Eurasian wigeon, northern pintail, common pochard, little grebe, great egret, and great cormorant. The Baer's pochard, ring-necked duck, and American wigeon have also been recorded.
The central island houses a shrine to Benzaiten, goddess of fortune, modelled on Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa. The area was once full of "rendezvous teahouses", equivalent of the modern love hotel. After the Pacific War the pond was drained and used for the cultivation of cereals and subsequently there were plans to turn the site into a baseball stadium or multi-storey carpark. The lotus pond was restored in 1949, although much of it was again accidentally drained in 1968 during work on a new subway line.
In all there are some eight hundred cherry trees in the park, although with the inclusion of those belonging to the Ueno Tōshō-gū shrine, temple buildings, and other neighbouring points the total reaches some twelve hundred. Inspired, Matsuo Bashō wrote "cloud of blossoms - is the temple bell from Ueno or Asakusa".
Ueno Park is home to a number of museums. The very words in Japanese for museum as well as for art were coined in the Meiji period (from 1868) to capture Western concepts after the Iwakura Mission and other early visits to North America and Europe. The Tokyo National Museum was founded in 1872 after the first exhibition by the Museum Department of the new Ministry of Education. In the same year the Ministry of Education Museum opened, now the National Museum of Nature and Science.
The National Museum of Western Art was founded in 1959 based on the collection of Matsukata Kōjirō, returned by the French government after the Treaty of San Francisco. The building is by Le Corbusier who used it to express his concept of the Museum of Unlimited Growth, based on an expanding spiral. It has been nominated for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Other museums include the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, dating back to 1926, and Shitamachi Museum of 1980, which is dedicated to the culture of the "Low City". The park was also chosen as home for the Japan Academy (1879), Tokyo School of Fine Arts (1889), and Tokyo School of Music (1890). The first western-style concert hall in the country, the Sōgakudō Concert Hall of 1890 (ICP) was donated to the ward in 1983 and reconstructed on another site in the park, where it is used for concerts. The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan opened in 1961 as a venue for opera and ballet, in celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the city of Edo. The Imperial Library was established as the national library in 1872 and opened in Ueno Park in 1906; the National Diet Library opened in Chiyoda in 1948 and the building now houses the International Library of Children's Literature.
Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined at Ueno Tōshō-gū, dating to 1651. Gojōten Jinja is dedicated to scholar Sugawara no Michizane, while neighbouring Hanazono Inari Jinja has red-bibbed Inari fox statues in an atmospheric grotto. There is a Yayoi-period burial mound on a small hill near the park's centre. For a decade until 1894 there was horse racing near Shinobazu Pond. Nowadays there is a baseball field, named in honour of poet Masaoka Shiki, fan of the sport. As well as the first art museum in Japan, the park had the first zoo, first tram, first May Day celebrations (in 1920), and staged a number of industrial expositions.Ueno Station opened nearby in 1883. After the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, notices of missing persons were attached to the statue of Saigō Takamori. Ueno Park and its surroundings figure prominently in Japanese fiction, including The Wild Geese by Mori Ōgai.
Ueno Park | eTips Inc.
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A teenager who had been given just two weeks to live before a heart transplant died after doctors misdiagnosed her with food poisoning while her body rejected the donor organ.
Jessica Brooks, 18, was rushed to hospital in January 2017 - almost a year after the heart transplant surgery which had 'transformed' her life.
The family of the 'wonderful and happy' student was told by staff at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, she was suffering from gastroenteritis, food poisoning, and later sepsis.
But she died the same day, with a post mortem later discovering her body had been rejecting the donor heart.
An internal hospital report into the teenager's death revealed that nurses had pleaded with medics to assess her - but they failed to treat her for several hours.
It read: 'Despite multiple attempts by the nursing staff, there was a significant delay in a doctor attending the unit.
Jessica's mother launched a legal battle against Medway NHS Trust and according to the family's lawyer, no doctors assessed the teenager for organ rejection, leading to her 'needless and avoidable death'.
Distraught mother Emily who held her 'wonderful' daughter during her last moments said she believed Jessica would still be alive if she wasn't misdiagnosed.
'I've been told that if she had been diagnosed properly she may still be here today,' she explained.
'She would have received her anti-rejection medication and my wonderful daughter may well still be alive here with me.
'I went home from the hospital to change my clothes and have a bite to eat and told them to call me if something happened.
The mother launched a legal battle and claimed she told hospital staff that her daughter wasn't responding to drugs.
She said: 'It's incredible that they could have got the diagnosis and her treatment so wrong, despite me repeatedly telling them that Jess wasn't keeping down her anti-rejection medication and she needed it.
'One doctor said that they were used to dealing with kidney transplants, but not heart transplants.
'I think about Jess every day and now all of the legal stuff is almost over hopefully I will be able to grieve. Jess is irreplaceable and her loss has left a gaping hole in my life.
Jessica was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy when she was 15-years-old.
The disease causes the heart muscle to become stretched and thin, so it cannot pump blood around the body effectively.
She underwent surgery and was given a donor heart in February 2016 but was rushed to hospital after vomiting for three days the following January.
The teenager who was described as a 'fighter' passed away at the hospital the same day she was admitted.
Emily said: 'When Jessica had a heart transplant it changed her life and I will be forever grateful for the extra year it gave her.
'She was full of energy again. Three days after her transplant she was on the exercise bike. Beforehand she had been struggling to walk up the stairs.
'When the fluid retention from the operation went down she started to look like a normal young woman again.
'I had my baby for another year that we wouldn't have otherwise had thanks to organ donation. We got to watch her be healthy and happy for a whole extra year.
'We watched her run, climb, fall in love, have parties for no reason, eat her favourite foods and tell her that I loved her many many times.
Jessica's sister Abbigail Brooks-Barry, 20, described her younger sister as a 'fighter' and said: 'We had an extra year with her and I'm glad I got to tell her I loved her.
'Jess was a fighter. She fought for her life more times than anyone should. She was always smiling and happy.
Medway NHS Trust admitted liability in a civil claim and has apologised to Jessica's family.
James Devine, chief executive of the trust said: 'We would like to again offer our sincere condolences to Jessica's family for their tragic loss.
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In this article: Use code CHER4TBA to get $20 off your SeatGeek purchase of $100 or more!. It seems Cher’s recent role in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again has extended beyond the silver screen and onto the stage. Not only is the iconic pop singer releasing an album of ABBA covers dubbed Dancing Queen (due out September 28), but she’s also just announced a headlining tour in support of the new tunes.
It’s now official. The one and only Cher herself revealed that she will kick off her “D2K” 49 city North American Tour beginning in Phoenix and will stop by Bridgestone Arena March 31st.
Cheapest Cher Tickets There are always great deals to be found at Vivid Seats. The get-in price, or lowest price for a ticket to see Cher in concert, is $26. Prices will fluctuate based on many factors such as inventory and demand, so be sure to get your cheap tickets to see Cher live before it’s too late! Where will the Cher 2020 Tour stop?
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My 85 year old mother and I will be traveling to Rome/Florence/Venice shortly. Can someone tell me how difficult the climb is for St Peter's Dome, Florence Duomo and Campanile in Venice. We would love to climb up at all of these locations.
Last November she climbed the steps to the top of Notre Dame without any problems.
I trying to get a sense of the level of difficulty compared to Notre Dame.
The Duomo climb in Florence is a very, very tight fit, and can involve some twisting and turning around people trying to get up and down the stairs.
".... Now we were originally going to climb the Campinile, which is the tower that is in the Piazza with the Duomo, but eh....bite the bullet right? So off we headed over to the Cupola entrance to the Duomo. We were going to climb to the top.....and a climb it is.
All 463 steps..winding around and around and around....oh yeah...and around...always going up. The staircase not wide enough for two people to pass one another. Now..the great part of this climb is that at one part you come out..and you are at the bottom of the dome, in the Duomo and you look up and there is Michaelangleo's painting staring down at you. .....Then you look down...if you get the nerve, and you are staring right at the Duomo's main altar. You can walk around the entire perimeter of the ceiling and take as many pictures as your heart desires (as long as there is no flash) and stare at the wonder of the gigantic frescoe that painted by hand.
Anyways, then you go back into the stairwell and up, up, up, winding, winding, winding....then you come out..and you are even CLOSER to the ceiling.
Then back in the stairwell, and up, up up...then all the sudden you notice that the walls are sort of slanting inwards and you have to duck at some points to go under beams and under jutting walls, and then...then...you come to this stairwell which is more like a ladder...and you can see a light at the top. So you climb, climb...and then hit another ladder..up the ladder and you break through and you are staring at all of Florence before you. And it is very, very far down. "
It was amazing...well worth the climb...but not for people of "large girth", or those with a weak disposition to small spaces...it is a tight squeeze.
If memory serves me, and I'm not sure that it does, the number of steps up the tower of Notre Dame are more than St. Peters if you take the elevator to the roof level first of course. I must say however, that I've climbed the Duomo in Florence and the Arch in Paris and never had a problem with sore legs but the climb to the top of St. Peter's left me limping for 3 days. My calf muscles were screaming. I think the steps must have been just a bit taller in height.
She should go for it, at 85 I just hope I'm still around!
So funny but in the movie La Dolce Vita they practically sprint up the stairs at St. Peters. Although a few paparazzi fall to the side, Marcello and Sylvia zip on up. I have always wondered if the scene was really shot in the stairs. Not that this will help you, grosenb, but maybe take a peek at the movie scene. Have fun.
My recollection of St.Peters is that I puffed a bit but I was about 40 .The steps get very narrow as you follow the curve of the Dome and got a bit tricky towards the top not unlike the Duomo in Florence . I loved doing it as on the way up and before you enter the dome section you can look down into the nave of the church and as luck would have it when I was there it was a major feast day and there was a procession of Cardinals and Bishops .So I got the most wonderful photos looking down on all the purple and red vestments with light streaming in from the dome .There is the option of an elevator service for all or part of it as well .
I'm not usually claustrophobic, but it does get tight in those places. I also can walk for hours up an incline, but have trouble with steps, because of a knee problem, so I last about 4 stories. But they are so very worth it that I struggle up.
At St. Peter's the stairs inside the dome itself are not only very narrow, but they are on an angle. You can not walk upright, but must keep your body bent to the side at an angle. My back really ached on that walk. It might be a major concern.
I definitely wouldn't recommend it for an 85-year-old. The stairs are VERY narrowand steep, and I became very claustrophobic half-way through, even though I've never experienced this before. All I could think of was, if I collapsed, how could any emergency personnel reach me? It is very demanding. I am a physical therapist and work with the elderly, so I feel pretty safe in saying it's not very wise for a person of that age. Just my opinion, of course.
Maybe I can explain myself better. It's not claustrophobia with me it's more like "confineophobia". I don't mind tight or small places, but I need to know that if I decide that I need OUT - NOW! I can get out NOW. That's really what bothers me about such place. If you're like that, you'll feel it.
As I recall, the campanile in Venice has elevator access only---no stairs, or very few. Hope you and your mom have a great trip!
They're not nearly as narrow and winding as the Duomo's though. I think if she can do that one, she can do this. Only she can say though.
Last time I was in Venice there was a long line for the Campanile. I thought everyone was climbing the stairs.
Were they waiting for an elevator?
Are there any resting places as you climb up St Peters? She was able to rest a few in the small alcoves of the stairwell in Notre Dame.
If your 85 years old Mom try to climb the stairs of Saint Peter, be ready to have a coffin ready.
Climbing Saint Peter is a murder for people half her age.
BTW, my compliments to your Mom.
The climb up Florence's Duomo is much much harder. There's no elevators to take you half-way, and there are basically only two spots to rest. One is about 1/3 up, where there's some exhibit of original tools they used to build and maintain the roof.
Then you come to the gallery where you can look into the inside of the dome. That's about 60% of the way to the top. When you first get out to the gallery, make a left to the dead end where about 3 people can stand without blocking the main route. But that's about it.
One has to be pretty fit, regardless of age, to climb the Duomo. Try St. Peter's first, if she wants to do it.
Let me add a couple of things. As you can see in my photos, the staircase is pretty wide inside St. Peter's. It is possible for others to squeeze by; so just stop and rest whenever one needs it. It is not the case for most of the climb up the Florence Duomo.
Second, you may see my father behind me in the pictures. Actually, he's a faster walker and climber than I am, and he's 70 when we went. He was behind me because he was stopping to videotape along the way.
Next few pictures were from the top. Flornece was covered in snow. Very beautiful.
The climb up St. Peter's was tough, narrow and winding up and up.
There were small alcoves where you could take a rest and let folks pass by. I know, because I rested in one with an Italian lady who wore a sleeveless shirt and rested her hand on the wall above her - leading to a major look of amusement on my boys' faces (at her hairy underarm)!
Maybe you could opt for the campanile in Florence instead. I think it is close in difficulty to Notre Dame (I've done both, but not St. Peters or the Duomo in Florence). That way you get the bird's eye view of Florence AND the Duomo up close and personal!
And the Campanile in Venice is an elevator only. Go early as early as you can and on a beautiful sunny day. Stepping off the elevator and looking out over the Grand Canal is a highlight of my days in Venice.
Thanks everyone for your responses. You have given me enough information to help her decide if she wants to do the climb.
Looks like she can make the climb up St Peters as long as we take the elevator up the first part. The Campanile in Florence will be a better choice than the Duomo. The Venice Campanile will be a definite.
My mother is in great shape and she knows her limits. But she is not one to be a party pooper either! On our last trip, my sister and I said we are climbing, she went with us and never complained.
We are traveling at the end of April. I will write a trip report and let you know how she survived!
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ind a new favorite way to cook burgers minus the beef. Burgers have come a long way since the original ground-beef patty graced the inside of a white-bread bun. Creative burger variations and non-beef burgers, in particular, are growing more and more popular in our grilling-happy, sandwich-loving culture.
Make sure to add flavor to pep up your preferred protein. Ground beef needs just a dash of salt and pepper to reach its full potential.
Be careful with cook times. Lean proteins will cook up in a jiff and can become dry and tough.
Grease your grill well. Red meat usually contains enough natural fat to prevent sticking on the grill, but leaner proteins will require a well-greased grill. A nonstick, perforated grill pan is also a good tool to ensure your burgers make it from grill to plate without any messy mishaps.
Ground buffalo patties are a very close cousin of the beef burger and can be prepared almost the same way. Buffalo meat is higher in protein, lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol, and a touch sweeter than beef. Due to its leaner composition, make sure not to overcook buffalo burgers. For a rich twist, try topping buffalo burgers with a thin slice of foie gras just before serving.
Lamb-lovers will agree, nothing beats a bacon-wrapped patty of ground lamb that’s been flavored with snipped fresh rosemary and black pepper. To keep the smoky, salty bacon in place while the burger cooks, try securing the patty with a metal skewer horizontally through the center.
Turkey is truly a lean way to go when choosing your burger protein. Complementary flavors for turkey include sautéed onion and mixed organic mushrooms, herbs, avocado, pesto and, of course, bacon. Want to enrich your turkey burgers even further? Try adding a few handfuls of finely shredded duck confit to the mixture before forming into patties, then top with duck bacon.
Duck, in particular, lends itself to Asian flavors. Rich, gamey duck breast tastes terrific when ground and seasoned with fresh ginger, scallions, and soy sauce. If you’re a duck purist, try enriching your ground duck mixture with chopped duck confit — the slow-cooked meat will only increase the tenderness and duck-forward flavor of your burgers.
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Calcium is a critical nutrient which makes up approximately 1kg of the average adult's body weight. Over 99 per cent of calcium in the body is stored in the bones and teeth with the remaining one per cent stored in the blood and cellular fluids..
The human skeleton contains 99.5% of the total amount of this mineral in the body, including the teeth. The rest is stored in blood and cellular fluitds. The 99.5% within bones is available to the body should the body need it for other purposes, but it is also necessary to maintain skeletal health.
The body stocks this mineral till the age of 25 to 30, after which it begins to lose bone density. Eating food rich in this mineral can help replace that loss, but the body also needs vitamin D to be able to process it. Pregnancy, diet, hormone imbalance, certain illnesses and also some medications increase the natural loss of this mineral from the bones. Consuming excessive quantities of alcohol, smoking, lack of physical activity and inadequate exposure to the sun, which helps the body produce vitamin D, also take their toll.
The menopause tends to accelerate this process and can lead to osteoporosis if preventative measures are not taken. Despite common belief, osteoporosis is not a women's problem and can also affect men as they age.
As many deaths are caused by fractures of the femur in elderly patients it is necessary to take measures to protect our bones as early as possible, but certainly after the menopause.
The recipe for healthy bones is calcium, plus vitamin D, plus weight bearing exercise. The bones of the human skeleton contain 99.5% of the total amount of this mineral in the body. That within bones is available should the body need it for other purposes, but needs to be replaced to maintain healthy bones.
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Did you ever have math homework with a list of questions look like 567-68 or 11x – 73/3 = 5 ?
These three questions might be posed at a math circle for elementary students and require little, if any, background knowledge. However, even most high school students have to stop and jot down a few ideas before coming up with solutions.
Even at more advanced math circles for middle and high school students, the formulas that we usually learn in school are often of little help. Instead, we are left to our own devices to creatively come up with solutions. In fact, it is often the case that students who do not enjoy math class at all during the school day, love the challenges presented at math circles.
So what are math circles and where are they found?
To answer the first question, math circles are an Eastern European and Russian tradition in which pre-college students come together and have fun discussing and solving intriguing math questions in a group led by one or more mathematical professionals. They originated in Bulgaria in the early 1900s, appeared in Russia in the 1930s, and made their way to the United States in the late 1990s. Their goal is to connect students that enjoy solving problems with professional mathematicians so as to inspire them to become passionate about mathematics and to realize the beauty of the subject.
Now, in 2016, there are over 200 registered math circles around the United States, so there may indeed be one near you. In many cases they begin on university campuses and then branch off into surrounding communities.
Math circles often feed into, and motivate, other math-centered events including math olympiads and math festivals, all providing students with fun challenges that emphasize creative problem solving strategies. In the case that there is not a math circle already held in your area, there is an online circle called Camp Euclid, as well as math circle summer camps across the country.
Families can even join the growing numbers that begin their own math circles after discovering books such as Logic Camp and Playing with Mathematics, though these usually lack the guidance of a professional mathematician. Regardless of whether or not you have access to a math circle, those interested in this style of question, and even entering math competitions, can take a look at Math Kangaroo online.
Question 1: Do not hesitate to turn over the coin that is already heads up; sometimes taking a step backwards helps to continue forwards.
Question 2: Many people get distracted trying to calculate the ages of each family member. Instead, focus on the sum of the ages in both scenarios, as well as the number of family members.
Question 3: Try using legos or other building blocks to create this structure and simply record how many blocks are going from front to back in each row.
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Dieta flexitară vine cu o serie de beneficii tinde să fie extrem de bogată în grăsimi saturate, și anume: Vei consuma mai puține grăsimi saturate Carnea, motiv pentru care consumarea acesteia în exces poate creește riscul de boli cardiovasculare, mai exact cea rosie precum și colesterol. The next tier ( advanced flexitarians) follow a vegetarian diet three four days a week consume no more than 18 ounces of meat over the remaining days. Dieta flexitară.
But she knows not everyone is willing to become 100% vegetarian. Finally an expert- level flexitarian is allowed 9 ounces of meat two days a week goes meat- free the other five. The term was coined more than a decade ago,. The theory: Flexitarian is a marriage of two words: flexible and vegetarian.
Dieta flexitară vine cu o serie de beneficii mai exact cea rosie, tinde să fie extrem de bogată în grăsimi saturate, motiv pentru care consumarea acesteia în exces poate creește riscul de boli cardiovasculare, și anume: Vei consuma mai puține grăsimi saturate Carnea precum și colesterol. Often described as vegetarians with benefits fish , flexitarians are people whose diet is mostly vegetarian but sometimes includes meat poultry. ( 1) vegans sometimes consider flexitarianism a form of “ cheating, while stickler vegetarians , ” the diet just might be one of the best ways to reduce environmental impact improve health.
The claim: Flexitarians weigh 15 percent less than their more carnivorous counterparts; have a lower rate of heart disease cancer; , diabetes live an average of 3. Flexitarians ( “ flexible vegetarians” ) eat a lot less meat than they used to but don' t give it up completely. Author and dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner says that eating mainly plant- based foods is a smart way to cut calories.
Becoming a flexitarian is about adding five food groups to your diet – not taking any away. These are: the " new meat" ( tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds, and eggs) ; fruits and veggies; whole grains; dairy; and sugar and spice ( everything from dried herbs to salad dressing to agave nectar sweetener). Author and dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner says that eating mainly plant- based foods is a smart way to cut calories. But she knows not everyone is willing to become 100% vegetarian. Flexitarians ( “ flexible vegetarians” ) eat a lot less meat than they used to but don' t give it up completely.
The rise of the flexitarian diet is a result of people taking a more environmentally sustainable approach to what they eat by reducing their meat consumption in exchange for alternative protein sources. Flexitarian diet creator Dawn Blatner claims you can shed up to 30 pounds in six to 12 months simply by eating more plant- based foods and following a flexible vegetarian plan.
While exercise isn’ t mandatory, the diet encourages at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times per week. The next tier ( advanced flexitarians) follow a vegetarian diet three or four days a week and consume no more than 18 ounces of meat over the remaining days. Finally, an expert- level flexitarian is allowed 9 ounces of meat two days a week and goes meat- free the other five.
The Flexitarian Diet gradually guides you to eat more veggies while still enjoying your favorite meats.
Flexitarians weigh 15% less, have a lower rate of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and live 3. 6 years longer than their carnivorous coming a flexitarian is about adding five food groups to your diet – not taking any away. 6 years longer than their carnivorous counterparts.
Becoming a flexitarian is about adding five food groups to your diet – not taking any away. These are: the " new meat" ( tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts and seeds, and eggs) ; fruits and veggies; whole grains; dairy; and sugar and spice ( everything from dried herbs to salad dressing to agave nectar sweetener). Author and dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner says that eating mainly plant- based foods is a smart way to cut calories.
But she knows not everyone is willing to become 100% vegetarian.
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A wide variety of fruits and vegetables at the La Boqueria.
A cuisine (/kwɪˈziːn/ kwi-ZEEN; from French [kɥizin], in turn from Latin coquere "to cook") is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. A cuisine is primarily influenced by the ingredients that are available locally or through trade. Religious food laws, such as Hindu, Islamic and Jewish dietary laws, can also exercise a strong influence on cuisine. Regional food preparation traditions, customs and ingredients often combine to create dishes unique to a particular region.
Some of the elements that have an influence on a region's cuisine include the area's climate, which in large measure determines the native foods that are available, the economic conditions, which affect trade and can affect food distribution, imports and exports, and religiousness or sumptuary laws, under which certain foods and food preparations are required or proscribed.
Cuisine dates back to the Antiquity. Rome was known for its cuisine, wealthy families would dine in the Triclinium on a variety of dishes, their diet consisted of eggs, cheese, bread, meat and honey.
Cuisines evolve continually, and new cuisines are created by innovation and cultural interaction. One recent example is fusion cuisine, which combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one cuisine style, and generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s. Nouvelle cuisine (New cuisine) is an approach to cooking and food presentation in French cuisine that was popularized in the 1960s by the food critics Henri Gault, who invented the phrase, and his colleagues André Gayot and Christian Millau in a new restaurant guide, the Gault-Millau, or Le Nouveau Guide.
Regional cuisines may vary based upon food availability and trade, cooking traditions and practices, and cultural differences. For example, in Central and South America, corn (maize), both fresh and dried, is a staple food. In northern Europe, wheat, rye, and fats of animal origin predominate, while in southern Europe olive oil is ubiquitous and rice is more prevalent. In Italy the cuisine of the north, featuring butter and rice, stands in contrast to that of the south, with its wheat pasta and olive oil. China likewise can be divided into rice regions and noodle & bread regions. Throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean there is a common thread marking the use of lamb, olive oil, lemons, peppers, and rice. The vegetarianism practiced in much of India has made pulses (crops harvested solely for the dry seed) such as chickpeas and lentils as significant as wheat or rice. From India to Indonesia the use of spices is characteristic; coconuts and seafood are used throughout the region both as foodstuffs and as seasonings.
Asian cuisines are many and varied. Ingredients common to many cultures in the east and Southeast regions of the continent include rice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilies, dried onions, soy, and tofu. Stir frying, steaming, and deep frying are common cooking methods. While rice is common to most Asian cuisines, different varieties are popular in the various regions; Basmati rice is popular in the subcontinent, Jasmine is often found across the southeast, while long-grain rice is popular in China and short-grain in Japan and Korea. Curry is also a common dish found in southern and eastern Asia, however they are not as popular in western asian cuisines. Those curry dishes with origins in India and other South Asian countries usually have a yogurt base while Southeastern and Eastern curries generally use coconut milk as their foundation.
Oceanian cuisines include Australian cuisine, New Zealand cuisine, Tasmanian cuisine, and the cuisines from many other islands or island groups throughout Oceania.
The cuisines of the Americas are found across North and South America are based on the cuisines of the countries from which the immigrant peoples came, primarily Europe. However, the traditional European cuisine has been adapted by the addition of many local ingredients, and many techniques have been added to the tradition as well. In the case of Latin American cuisines, many pre-Columbian ingredients and techniques are still used. The regional cuisines are Canadian cuisine, American cuisine, Mexican cuisine, Central American cuisine, South American cuisine, and Caribbean cuisine.
↑ 3.0 3.1 "The American Food Revolutions: Cuisines in America." Eldrbarry.net. Accessed June 2011.
This page was last modified on 29 December 2015, at 21:06.
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In January 1979, The New York Times reported that despite repeated, feverish denials, the CIA had indeed investigated the UFO phenomenon: "CIA Papers Detail UFO Surveillance" screamed the headline. The report is said to have so upset the then CIA director, Stansfield Turner, that he reportedly asked his staff: "Are we in UFOs?"
The answer was yes - since the late 1940s, apparently. But exactly how, what, when, why and who remained layered in mystery, leaving grist for the conspiracy mill.
But this year a raft of newly unclassified CIA documents revealed that the remote possibility of alien invasion elicited greater fear than the threat of a Soviet nuclear attack.
More interesting still, the CIA documents show that despite decades of repeated public denials, behind the scenes there raged a series of inter-agency feuds that involved the highest levels of the US government.
The subject of UFOs - and dabbling in psychological warfare techniques - not only focused the attention of the US government elite for 50 years, but of some of the greatest scientific and military minds of the era.
But significantly, after a burst of intense scrutiny in the early '50s, the available documents effectively go cold. Why? The Kafkaesque explanation provided is that few files were kept because these would only confirm that the CIA was investigating UFOs. A 1995 CIA review stated: "There was no formal or official UFO project within the agency in the '80s, and agency officials purposely kept files on UFOs to a minimum to avoid creating records that might mislead the public if released."
But the wildly eclectic UFO files cover everything from "flying saucers over Belgian Congo uranium mines" to Nazi "flying saucers".
A 1953 memo shows that the physicist John Wheeler, while critically involved with Edward Teller in the creation of the hydrogen bomb, was available to the "CIA attack on the flying saucer" problem. The urgency of the H-bomb race was his priority, but he "would be pleased at any time to discuss the issue briefly", the memo said.
Wheeler recommended two "foreign nationals" who could help with the "problem", including the "mysterious problems of ion paths and magnetic focusing" and "cosmological electrodynamics".
A secret 1995 report was titled: CIA's role in the study of UFOs 1947-90: a diehard issue. Collated and written by Gerald Haines, the CIA's National Reconnaissance Office historian, its detailed summary of CIA involvement inadvertently undermined its "UFOs-don't-exist" conclusion. The document begins with a June 24, 1947, report from the pilot Kenneth Arnold, who spotted nine unidentified objects near Mount Rainier, Washington state, travelling at an estimated 1600 kmh. Haines did not mention that days later, on July 8, 1947, the Roswell Daily Record reported a US Army press release below the headline "RAAF captures flying saucer on ranch in Roswell region".
The report noted that that controversy, coloured with Byzantine denials, dogged the CIA and its UFO investigations for decades. Using operational names like Project Blue Book, Story, Grudge, Sign, Saucer, Moon Dust and Twinkle, the US Air Force and other entities always looked into UFO sightings with the CIA peering over their shoulders.
The US Army, of course, promptly retracted the Roswell story but it and the "flying saucers" spotted by Arnold triggered a flurry of sightings and conspiracy theories that continue to this day.
The US Air Force finally admitted in 1994 that there had been a cover-up at Roswell - of a secret project known as Mogul, created to monitor Soviet nuclear tests using high-flying balloons - and that the "aliens" were crash-test dummies.
"Ufologists", naturally, were sceptical of this belated explanation. For 50 years now, right across the globe, people have been reporting sightings of giant, luminous flying saucers, cigars, globes, triangles and doughnuts. Aliens have allegedly abducted, probed and impregnated scores of hapless earthlings. Some believe that a top-secret entity, called Majestic-12, was formed in 1947 by the then president, Harry Truman, in an attempt to deal with the Roswell event. It was supposedly established to aid interaction with aliens. The FBI labelled the Majestic-12 documents a hoax, but the story persists to this day.
In 1978 the CIA came under strong pressure from a series of freedom of information requests about UFOs and reluctantly released about 800 documents. The reasonable claim by The New York Times at the time was that the files confirmed intensive government concern about UFOs.
This was branded by the CIA as the press being sensationalist. According to the CIA's self-critique on the issue, bureaucratic clumsiness, charges that witnesses were being asked to keep sightings secret, and CIA officers talking to civilians about UFOs while wearing air force uniforms, had added "fuel to the growing mystery surrounding UFOs and the CIA's role in their investigation". The 1995 Haines report concluded: "The belief that we are not alone in the universe is too emotionally appealing and the distrust of our government is too pervasive to make the issue amenable to traditional scientific studies of rational explanation and evidence."
My painstaking review of hundreds of unclassified documents reveals that the CIA at the highest level, far from being incompetent, displayed good faith in its efforts to examine the mystery of UFOs over a period of decades. These investigations covered a gamut of inquiries: scientific, political, cultural and military.
And although the air force was the agency given the task of investigating UFOs from 1948 onwards, the CIA remained deeply involved. This is best reflected in a memo to the agency's deputy director for scientific intelligence, titled Flying Saucers and dated August 3, 1952: "It is recommended that CIA surveillance of subject matter (flying saucers), in co-ordination with proper authorities of primary operational concern at the Air Technical Intelligence Centre (ATIC), be continued. It is strongly urged, however, that that no indication of CIA interest or concern reach the press or public, in view of their probable alarmist tendencies to accept such interest as 'confirmatory' of the soundness of 'unpublished facts' in the hands of the US government."
Although most reports were "phoney" or explainable, it said, "caution requires that intelligence continue coverage of the subject".
On July 28, 1952, Winston Churchill wrote to his secretary of state for air: "What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth?" The minister's response on August 9, 1952, provided the ground rules for most official responses that continue until today. These were that a 1951 study had found that all reports could be explained by astronomical or meteorological phenomena, mistaken identification of aircraft, balloons, birds, optical illusions and psychological delusions, or were deliberate hoaxes.
But in the CIA at the time, two other responses were countenanced: the need for vigilance and caution because extraterrestrial life could exist, and the potential for "psychological warfare", including fears that popular hysteria could be exploited by an enemy.
The sceptics are best represented in a memo in March 1949 from a Dr Stone in the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence to a Dr Machle that states: "A rapid perusal of your [flying saucer] documents leaves one confused and inclined to supineness."
Yet with a deluge of UFO reports over the next four years, the matter suddenly assumed a modicum of gravitas, reflected in many top-secret documents. General Smith said: "There was one chance in 10,000 that the phenomenon posed a threat to the security of the country, but even that chance could not be taken." On July 1, 1952, there was an about-turn: General Smith wrote to the director of the Psychological Strategy Board established by Truman the previous year: "I am today transmitting to the National Security Council a proposal in which it is concluded that the problems associated with unidentified flying objects appear to have implications for psychological warfare as well as for intelligence and operations. I suggest that we discuss at an early board meeting the possible offensive and defensive utilisation of these phenomena for psychological warfare purposes."
Searching for this "proposal", I found versions addressed also to the secretary of defence. Some of their highlights, quoting directly from the documents, include: "[Since] 1947 there have been about 1500 official reports of sightings and [of these] the air force carries 20 per cent as unexplained." And: "Operational problems are of primary importance and should be attacked at once [including] determination of what [use could] be made of these phenomena by US psychological warfare planners and what … defences should be planned in anticipation of Soviet attempts to utilise them."
This memo suggested a plot that transcends Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove: the CIA, in the face of unknown phenomena - or even an attack from outer space - was seemingly more concerned about what the Russians might do with UFOs than with the objects themselves. The CIA's interest in the Soviet and Chinese study of UFOs continued for decades. But on October 2, 1952, General Smith received this ominous note from his Office of Scientific Intelligence: "Flying saucers pose two elements of danger which have national security implications. The first involves mass psychological considerations and the second concerns the vulnerability of the US to air attack." In January 1953 the Office of Scientific Intelligence convened a committee to review the UFO "problem". Its members reviewed "75 case histories of sightings", taking intense interest in a Tremonton, Utah, sighting that included a Kodachrome movie of "1600 frames".
At the air force's request, the US Photo Interpretation Laboratory spent 1000 hours making "graph plots" of the film frames, concluding that the objects were not birds, balloons, aircraft or reflections and that they were "self-luminous". In a tone of reasonable scepticism, it suggested that the public be educated to avoid hysteria.
But the Office of Scientific Intelligence panel dismissed the military conclusions, suggesting instead that the mysterious objects were seagulls reflecting sunlight.
On January 21, 1953, another memo concluded that the panel had found no evidence of "physical threat to the security of the US". The convoluted memo stated: "The subject UFO is not of direct intelligence interest. It is of indirect intelligence interest only insofar as any knowledge about innumerable unsolved mysteries of the universe are of intelligence interest." But it also noted the potential for "interference with air defence by intentional enemy jazzing", the possibility of interference by "overloading communication lines", or the possibility of "psychological offensive by the enemy timed with respect to an actual attack".
This report and the original Tremonton "seagull" film were then made part of an Office of Scientific Investigation briefing on January 29, 1953, to the entity known as ONE. The air force briefed ONE on UFOs the next day and its 11 members included "Dr Edgar Hoover [sic], William Bundy, General H. Pull and Admiral B. Bieri [Eisenhower's chief of staff]".
These documents reveal that ONE was an elite think tank within the CIA and that General Smith created the Office of National Estimates on the issue.
But it was said its "ultimate approval should rest on the collective judgment of the highest officials in various intelligence agencies". This was to give it the prestige of the best available and most authoritative advice from the government.
General Smith created the Office of National Estimates under the auspices of the National Security Act of 1947. His opinion was that ONE would form the "heart of the CIA and of the national intelligence machinery".
William Langer, a Harvard historian, was its chairman, and while there is no record of whether ONE thought the Tremonton film showed seagulls or UFOs - or of what the air force told them the next morning - ONE is as close as we get to a documented version of the rumoured Majestic-12 group.
With the Cold War in full swing, the CIA was also watching for UFO activity behind the Iron Curtain. Field stations were to be alerted to any mention of flying saucers by Iron Curtain countries and the CIA discovered that the Soviet establishment mirrored its own ambiguity about UFOs.
The files spotlight Soviet articles in 1968 that show some scientists thought they were real, while others ridiculed the sightings as US propaganda.
One Soviet sceptic noted, with tongue firmly in cheek: "The number of saucers always grows sharply on the eve of presidential elections. This is difficult to explain.
"Maybe people on other planets lay bets on who will win in the next elections - the Republicans or the Democrats."
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As I patiently wait for the next Destiny expansion to launch next week, I found myself looking for a short game that I could complete in one or two sittings. This list from Kotaku was exactly what I needed and, after looking at a few, I landed on Valley. The premise of an archaeologist on the hunt for a powerful artifact turned into a surprisingly deep story, but the fast and fluid movement I saw in a few video clips is what really piqued my interest.
Valley may have its best mechanics in a half-realized state, but it’s definitely a good way to spend a few hours.
Valley, a sprint with a few stumbles, is a game that should be on everyone’s radar.
TL;DR: Excellent movement, the ability to give or take life with the press of a button, and a wonderful soundtrack make Valley a fun adventure.
As I mentioned in my opening, the main character of Valley is an archaeologist on the hunt for an artifact of unimaginable power known as the Lifeseed. It’s unclear what time period the game takes place in, as you’ll find military installations from WWII that the nameless protagonist wonders at, or exactly where the game is located. More of the story unfolds as you play through WWII-style audio reels a la Bioshock and it becomes surprisingly deep. I was way more interested in the story by the game’s end than I thought I would be.
The true star of the show isn’t our main character, though. No, that distinction goes to the L.E.A.F. suit, an exoskeleton left behind by a military testing program. With the suit, Valley basically turns into a first-person Sonic the Hedgehog game as you can run at crazy speeds and jump incredibly high. Running downhill gives you an even larger speed boost which can propel you off ramped surfaces, sending you gliding through the air where you have a high degree of control for precision landings. The most fun you’ll have in Valley is during high agility segments where you can chain together sprinting, jumping, and soaring.
Valley packs one more main mechanic into the L.E.A.F. suit — the God Hand. Using the power of “amrita”, or life energy, you can point a hand at any dead plant or animal and breathe life into it. Trees will sprout leaves and animals will get up off the ground as if they were only taking a nap. You can also drain life from living things with similar ease. This life and death mechanic, while interesting, is sadly underutilized. Energy required to give life can be drained from other living things, but there is such a plentiful amount found by just moving around that you hardly ever have to use the “take life” action. You will use the “give life” action quite a bit, typically on barren trees instead of on a mixture of plant life. As far as I can tell, any animals you bring back to life are purely aesthetic. I would have loved to see a more in-depth system for energy use where you have to give and take life to and from things on the fly to solve complex puzzles. I do love the idea behind the God Hand, though.
The idea behind life energy comes up again when you die. In order to respawn, some of the life is drained from your surroundings in order to pay for your resurrection. “Life must be traded for life”, the witch from season one of Game of Thrones the game says. If you die while the health of the valley is at zero, it’s game over. Again, this is an idea that sounds better on paper since it’s pretty tough to die in Valley. Over my roughly four hours of play, I probably died five or six times. There were more than enough trees scattered around for me to nurse the land back to 100% health within minutes of each death.
Valley also decides to throw some combat at you every now and again in the form of amrita swarms, creatures so drained of energy that they mindlessly attack you. In order to pacify them, you simply shoot life energy at them. There are three or four enemy types in the game, each of which can be dealt with by strafing to avoid their fire as you pump them full of energy. It may fit into the narrative of the game, but it feels out of place. Valley is at its best when you are moving and flowing, not when you have to slow down to aim.
In typical adventure game fashion, Valley has some goodies hidden away for you to discover. Suit upgrades like a double jump and grappling hook make movement even more enjoyable. Launching off a ramp after sprinting downhill into a grapple that sends you flying is a hell of a good time. Item-gated doors are replaced with acorn-gated doors. Yes, really. Acorns act as a key/currency system for certain doors in the game which typically house an energy storage upgrades behind them. There are also medallions scattered around the world that grant entry to an ancient pyramid found near the end of the game. I was only able to get through one of the few doors in the pyramid with my 38 medallions.
Despite some shortcomings and half-realized ideas, Valley is definitely a fun game. The pure speed and freedom of movement offered by the L.E.A.F. suit are things you don’t see often, plus everything certainly looks pretty when it’s whizzing by you at full sprint. Smaller details, like changing shadows when you give and take life from a tree and dust clouds when you land from a high jump, are nice to see, too.
One undeniable success of Valley is the soundtrack. I’ve always said that a game’s soundtrack is typically only recognizable when it’s on the very good or very bad end of the spectrum and Valley is 100% the former. Whether it’s the happy Disney-esque tones that play at high speed or the creeping horror of a dark cave, the audio designers at Blue Isle Studios deserve a pat on the back.
The world designers also deserve some recognition. Your HUD has a horizontal scrolling compass, but I hardly used it due to the excellent placement of signs within the game telling me that area X was this way or room #N was that way. Valley may be pretty linear, but the setting changes between the wilderness, caves, ruins, and outposts combined with the reliance on in-world direction over a pause menu map keep you engaged.
Views like this keep you engaged, too.
Valley has a handful of enjoyable mechanics that, despite feeling incomplete, make for a good game. Giving and taking life with a wave of your hand isn’t as powerful or important as it could be. The idea of taking life from your surrounding to respawn is smart but hollow due to the plentiful resources in the world. I still give Valley a thumbs up, though. I hope Blue Isle Studios can take the best parts of Valley — the excellent movement, the wonderful soundtrack, and the ideas of giving/taking life from your surroundings — to make an even better game in the future.
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The back handspring landing on the stomach is a little easier than the normal back handspring, because you don't have to keep your upper body that tight and you don't really have to push with your arms. A lot of people learn the back handspring with stomach landing before they even try a regular gymnastic back handspring. There are 2 variations of this technique: 1) The martial arts back handspring stomach landing => You hollow your back and roll down on your chest. 2) The gymnastic back handspring stomach landing => You keep your entire body straight and almost land on your hands and the balls of your feet at the same time. The gymnastics variation is a lot harder. Try the one rolling don on your chest first. Find detailed instructions for artistic gymnastics at gymnastics main.
Stand upright with your legs closed and look straight forward.
When you do a back handspring, you should not strike out with your upper body and your arms too much, and you should also not bend your knees too much. But most people learn the back handspring stomach landing before the real back handspring. That's why form is not that important yet. However, here is what you should try: Keep you upper body vertical, and don't strike out below horizontal level. Jump back up and push your hips up.
Then plant your hands and look down to the floor.
Hollow your back and bend your arms slowly. Roll down on your chest. I recommend you practice the handstand rolling down on your chest before you try this in a back handspring.
If you want to the gymnastics variation of the b-handspring stomach landing, you should learn the back flip and the normal back handspring first. For the gymnastics variation you timing has to be very good. The risk of injuring your toes or your hands is a lot higher. When you learn the gymnastics variation, I recommend you start off with a piked landing position and later try to land with your entire body fully extended.
Don't try this on hard ground right away. Practice on mats!
Exercise: Do a handstand, hollow your back and then roll down on your chest. Once you can do this, try the back handspring landing on the stomach on mats.
The gymnastics variation of the back handspring stomach landing is an excellent preparation for the back flip twist. Basically jump from a trampoline and land on your stomach. Make sure you keep your body fully extended and twist shortly before you land.
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Anyone who's looking into a long-term, higher-paying career will investigate the types of college degrees that can achieve it. What can be confusing is the degree names and abbreviations. For example, there's a huge difference between the "Associate of Arts (A.A.)" and the "Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.)" degree. Although the A.A. and A.A.S. degrees are each a two-year degree, more than ever, the fast track to a career is the Associate of Applied Science.
The "hands-on," ready-for-work degree is the A.A.S. This degree is for those who have a laser focus on learning a skill or technology. The "learning" comes almost entirely in the "doing," and most of it happens in simulated work place environments right on campus.
A recreational therapist typically has a bachelor's (four-year degree) and an annual median salary of $46,410.
A graduate of an A.A.S. (two-year degree) program, such as occupational therapy assistant, earns a median salary of $56,000.
It's easy to miss the difference for the two-year degrees, so let's break out "associate degree" and show what the two types cover.
Both the Associate of Arts (A.A.) and the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees are two-year degrees, but their purposes are very different. Think of the A.A. as a starter degree that leads to knowledge within a subject and the A.A.S. as a degree for those who want to enter a specialized workforce as soon as possible.
The coursework for students in A.A.S. degree program is hands-on and involves time in laboratory and clinical settings that are specific to the degree program. For example, a student who wants to become a radiologic technologist would spend time in the radiology lab and doing fieldwork in real-world clinical settings. This is much different than a student in an A.A. degree program that is attending lecture courses and taking general education classes that will could later be applied to a bachelor's degree.
What are other types of college degrees?
A bachelor's degree can be a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) This degree can take from three to five years to complete and requires at least 120 credit hours of coursework. A bachelor's degree is necessary to enter a graduate degree program.
A master's degree follows a bachelor's degree. It's either a Master of Science (M.S.) or a Master of Arts (M.A.) and takes one to two years of additional study. Some jobs require it or indicate it's needed for career advancement or higher pay grades. For most technical fields, this is not the case.
The Ph.D., and any "doctor" level health care degree, are the highest the academic degrees. Non-health care Ph.D.'s may require a research thesis. Those accepted into a professional school like chiropractic, medicine, or dentistry apply for admission after earning a bachelor's degree.
Associate of Arts (A.A.) is typically set up for completing foundational coursework necessary for a four-year (bachelor's degree) or transferring to another college or university.
Associate of Applied Science degree(A.A.S.) is a two-year degree that meets requirements for specific skill sets in the workplace. It also helps ensures eligibility for various industry certification or registration required by those employers.
Up until the growth of 2-year degrees, the B.A. and B.S. were the common choices after high school. These indicate knowledge in a particular field but is not always job specific. Only about 30-36 hours are in an emphasis area.
Someone with a master's degree has shown mastery of a field of study or academic area. Generally, this is the same field as the bachelor's degree. A master's thesis may be required.
Those in non-health care fields earn a Ph.D. Those with a professional doctorate use their knowledge to in a business or occupation.
Employer confidence in specific skills and abilities.
What's the right degree for you? It's a very personal decision. Envision your best future, then choose the degree option that matches it.
Why not learn more about our degree programs? Request your information today!
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To leave a layer on while turning the layer mask off, right click on the mask and select Disable Layer Mask. You can also select Delete Layer Mask to get rid of it entirely. You can also select Delete Layer Mask to get rid of it entirely.... Here’s my preferred way to remove dust spots in Photoshop: Create a new layer – In case you make a mistake or want to change something at a later basis, I always recommend working with separate layers – using a non-destructive workflow.
To delete just the layer mask itself, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the layer mask thumbnail and choose Delete Layer Mask from the menu: Right / Control-clicking on the mask thumbnail and choosing "Delete Layer Mask". how to remove scratches from clear plastic To delete just the layer mask itself, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the layer mask thumbnail and choose Delete Layer Mask from the menu: Right / Control-clicking on the mask thumbnail and choosing "Delete Layer Mask".
Why do people need to remove backgrounds from images? One popular use is creating alpha masks. That is, you take an image and turn it to a mask you can later apply in your other works. retropie how to delete custom collection To remove the layer mask without applying it to the layer, click the Delete button at the bottom of the Properties panel, and then click Delete. You can also apply or delete layer masks using the Layer menu.
There are several ways to mask an image in Photoshop. Lets learn a few of them. Easy Image Masking. 1. Open an image in Photoshop you want to use for your masking tutorial (go to the file menu in Photoshop and select open, from the open dialogue box choose the file you want to use.
This is a tip that doesn't just apply to layer masks, but to anything that gives you a confirmation prompt. Whenever you try to do something in Photoshop (let's say delete a layer mask, for now) it will prompt you with a warning dialog asking if you're sure this is something that you want to do.
To delete just the layer mask itself, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the layer mask thumbnail and choose Delete Layer Mask from the menu: Right / Control-clicking on the mask thumbnail and choosing "Delete Layer Mask".
To remove the layer mask without applying it to the layer, click the Delete button at the bottom of the Properties panel, and then click Delete. You can also apply or delete layer masks using the Layer menu.
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What are the various side effects of edema?
Water retention, also called edema, is swelling caused by excess fluid trapped in the body's tissue. This condition can occur in any part of the body; however, it is most commonly observed in feet, ankles, legs, hands, and arms.
Edema most often occurs in the lower legs or ankles, but also may appear as generalized body puffiness or unusual weight gain.
The main side effect people notice from water retention is that they are uncomfortably bloated. If you retain a large amount of fluid, you will notice swelling in your ankles, feet, and lower legs.
If you apply pressure on the swollen area using your finger and it leaves an indentation that stays for some time after the release of the pressure, this type of edema is referred to as pitting edema.
If the pressure applied to the skin does not result in a persistent indentation, this type of edema is known as nonpitting edema.
While certain forms of edema such as cerebral and pulmonary edemas are life-threatening and immediately addressed, other forms of edema may not be urgently treated. However, edema complications can quickly develop.
Some of the complications of edema include pain, difficulty walking, stiff muscles, stretched and itchy skin, tissue scarring, an opportunistic infection of the swollen areas, skin ulcers, inelasticity of blood vessels, joints and muscles as well as decreased blood circulation to the affected areas.
When edema is generalized, it occurs all over the body including in multiple organs (e.g. heart and lungs) and peripherally in the limbs.
However, most types of edema are specific to one organ. Some of the most common organ-specific edemas are explained below.
Cerebral edema: It occurs when fluid accumulates in parts of the brain. It is a life-threatening medical condition which can be caused by disease states (e.g. lupus), abnormal metabolic conditions or oxygen deprivation at high altitudes. It causes drowsiness and loss of consciousness.
Pulmonary edema: It affects the lungs but is caused by the failure of the left ventricle of the heart. When the left ventricle does not effectively return blood from the veins in the lungs back to the heart, the blood vessels of the lungs are obstructed leading to accumulation of fluids in the lungs. Fluids can also be accumulated in the pleural cavity around the lungs. It causes shortness of breath and can be due to oxygen deprivation at high altitudes or inhalation of toxic chemicals.
Lymphedema: This type of edema is caused by the breakdown of the lymphatic system. Fluids are removed from the lymph to fill up other places such as the spaces between tissues and muscles. It can be caused by an underlying medical condition such as multiple sclerosis or medications such as ibuprofen. Other causes include infection of the lymphatic system, osmotic pressure from swollen lymph nodes or cancers and damage to the lymph vessels by radiation therapy.
Myxedema: In this form of edema, the tissues acquire a high affinity for water. This is as a result of increased deposition of water-loving carbohydrate-like molecules such as hyaluronan in the tissue matrix.
There are also other milder forms of edema such as the localized inflammation of the skin after insect bite and contact dermatitis from substances that irritate the skin.
Eye puffiness is also a form of edema. It usually occurs after waking or from sleep deprivation.
Diuretics are the drugs used to reduce edema. There are different types of diuretics and they are classified by their chemical structures, site of action and unique effects. The three most important classes of diuretics are discussed below.
Loop Diuretics: Loop diuretics are so named because the act at the ascending limb of the loop of Henle found in the nephrons of the kidney. They are especially useful in treating edema in patients who do not respond to thiazide diuretics as well as patients who have liver cirrhosis, heart failure, and renal impairment.
Loop diuretics prevent the reabsorption of sodium, chloride and potassium ions from the kidney tubules. However, they also prevent the reabsorption of calcium and magnesium ions too.
By preventing the return of sodium ions, loop diuretics reduce the osmotic pressure needed to reabsorb water into the blood. Therefore, they increase urine volume while reducing blood volume.
Thiazide Diuretics: Thiazide diuretics are all similar in their chemical structures. They produce their effect at the distal convoluted tubules of the kidney nephrons. While they promote sodium and potassium loss, they allow the reabsorption of calcium from the kidneys.
Thiazides also decrease the osmotic pressure of water passing through the kidney to prevent its reabsorption back into the circulatory system. In this way, they reduce edema.
Potassium Sparing Diuretics: Potassium-sparing diuretics are only grouped together because they do not inhibit the reabsorption of potassium in the kidneys.
This advantage means that there is no need for concurrent potassium supplementation when taking these diuretics and there is also no risk of developing hyperkalemia.
Potassium-sparing diuretics produce their diuretic effect by either blocking aldosterone (an important component of the renin-angiotensin system responsible for water retention) or inhibiting the sodium channels in the epithelium of the kidney.
Each class of diuretics has its own set of side effects. These drugs are mostly safe but may not be well tolerated by some people.
The general side effects of all diuretics include frequent urination, electrolyte imbalance, thirst, headache, muscle cramps, low blood levels of sodium, arrhythmia, nausea, and loss of appetite.
There are also specific side effects. Thiazide diuretics, for example, can cause blurry vision, low levels of potassium or hypokalemia, high serum cholesterol levels, increased deposition of uric acid, impaired glucose control and symptoms of allergic reaction to thiazides.
Therefore, thiazide diuretics are not recommended for edema patients who are diabetic or those who are also treating gout. Potassium supplements are recommended alongside.
Loop diuretics are especially associated with very high frequency of urination. They cause dizziness, hypokalemia, low calcium and magnesium levels, increased deposition of uric acid, temporary loss of hearing, jaundice and electrolyte imbalance.
Potassium-sparing diuretics can cause hyperkalemia. Symptoms of high blood levels of potassium include weakness, numbness, nervousness, irregular heartbeat, and breathing problems.
Edema may be the result of a side effect of a certain medication. Because edema occurs when the tiny blood vessels in your body leak fluid, you may experience water retention when taking drugs that open blood vessels.
Vasodilators, prescribed to treat high blood pressure or heart failure, dilate blood vessels to increase blood flow through your arteries.
Calcium channel blockers, prescribed to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, migraines and Raynaud's disease, also relax and widen the blood vessels.
Edema is also a known possible side effect of estrogens and certain diabetic medications, known as thiazolidinediones.
Certain antidepressants, including MAO inhibitors (such as phenelzine and tranylcypromine) and tricyclics (such as desipramine, nortriptyline, and amitriptyline) may also cause your legs to swell.
Hormones such as estrogen (in birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy) and testosterone; and some steroids may also cause edema.
You may take some prescribed diuretics to treat edema. A diuretic is a water pill that encourages your body to expel water as urine.
The best form of a diuretic is water. Increase your fluid intake, such as plain water, to hydrate your body and flush out all toxins. This prevents your body from retaining fluids. You must also follow a low-salt diet and avoid foods that are high in sodium.
You may also consider taking a natural fluid retention remedy such as Capisette, which contains herbs like horse chestnut, gingko biloba, and buchu extracts. It replenishes the body with essential nutrients and helps in treating edema.
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Blog Article: Merchant Advance Capital Salutes Bluedog Guitars, NAMM Top 100 Retailer 2014!
All of us here at Merchant Advance Capital would like to extend our congratulations to clients Paul and Jenn at Blue Dog Guitars. Bluedog was just named by NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) as a Top 100 Retailer for 2014, a prestigious designation that puts it in the company of a great many influential businesses serving the music industry across North America. Bluedog Guitars is also being considered to receive the Dealer of the Year award, NAMM’s highest honor for a retailer. We wish them the best of luck!
Paul and Jenn have this to say: “MAC has been really beneficial to our success as a new business by providing us with funds at crucial times to buy new inventory for our shop.” Find out how your business can do the same today.
We sincerely hope that all our clients, and small businesses everywhere, are inspired to take similar core principles to heart on the path to building a successful and thriving business with deep connections to their expanding community customers.
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How do I crowdfund for my business idea?
I have heard about crowd funding. How does it work?
There are essentially 2 ways to crowdfund a business. The first model made popular by Kickstarter and Indiegogo is anyone can contribute to your idea in exchange for a future product discount, specific rewards based on amount of contribution or getting access before available to the general public. In this model the contributors do not get any business equity. This is seen as informal crowdfunding.
The second model is being crowdfunded by "syndicate" or a group of accredited investors that have pooled their money to spread the risk (think mini Venture Capitalism from the stand point that these typically aren't companies but just groups of investors that have decided to band together). In this model you very well may give up business equity to make the deal happen. This is a more formal crowdfunding approach. I believe both Angel List and Gust both have this as part of their online platforms.
But before pursuing either, you need to know how much money you are trying to raise. What will that money be spent on specifically if you get access to it? What percentage of your business are you willing to give up to make the deal happen? How will you thank or reward contributors? How quickly are you trying to raise the money? Why do you need the money (product production, raw materials, scaling for larger quantity runs, distribution, etc.)?
Which one is better crowdfunding or presenting to angel investors? Any advantage or disadvantage?
I think it really depends on several things. Are you looking for an involved investor (one that helps you operate and/or make key decisions) or just a cash infusion? Are your terms realistic and are theirs reasonable? Meaning have you been reasonable in how much equity you need to give up for the amount of money you are seeking and is the investor bringing enough to the table for the amount of money they are willing to invest. Lastly, either approach may mean giving up some control in favor of cash, are you only trying to grow your business or do you want to grow your business your way?
All of the above factors matter a great deal.
Think of crowd funding as getting orders for your product before you have built it. It reduces risk because you know you've got orders before you start building however you take the risk that you have got all the pricing right before you know how to build it! Does that help?
Have you started crowdfunding Clive? How was it?
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The need for protection and conservation of environment and sustainable use of natural resources is reflected in the constitutional framework of India and also in the international commitments of India. The Constitution under Part IVA (Art 51A-Fundamental Duties) casts a duty on every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures. Further, the Constitution of India under Part IV (Art 48A-Directive Principles of State Policies) stipulates that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
Several environment protection legislations existed even before Independence of India. However, the true thrust for putting in force a well-developed framework came only after the UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972). After the Stockholm Conference, the National Council for Environmental Policy and Planning was set up in 1972 within the Department of Science and Technology to establish a regulatory body to look after the environment-related issues. This Council later evolved into a full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
MoEF was established in 1985, which today is the apex administrative body in the country for regulating and ensuring environmental protection and lays down the legal and regulatory framework for the same. Since the 1970s, a number of environment legislations have been put in place. The MoEF and the pollution control boards ("CPCB", ie, Central Pollution Control Board and "SPCBs", ie, State Pollution Control Boards) together form the regulatory and administrative core of the sector.
The Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, etc.
These important environment legislations have been briefly explained in the succeeding paragraphs.
The National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 (No. 19 of 2010) (NGT Act) has been enacted with the objectives to provide for establishment of a National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environment protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The Act received the assent of the President of India on June 2, 2010, and was enforced by the Central Government vide Notification no. S.O. 2569(E) dated October 18, 2010, with effect from October 18, 2010. The Act envisages establishment of NGT in order to deal with all environmental laws relating to air and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act as have been set out in Schedule I of the NGT Act.
Consequent to enforcement of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997 stand repealed. The National Environment Appellate Authority established under s 3(1) of the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997stands dissolved, in view of the establishment of the National Green Tribunal under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 vide Notification no. S.O. 2570(E)�dated October 18, 2010.
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 (the "Air Act") is an act to provide for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution and for the establishment of Boards at the Central and State levels with a view to carrying out the aforesaid purposes.
To counter the problems associated with air pollution, ambient air quality standards were established under the Air Act. The Air Act seeks to combat air pollution by prohibiting the use of polluting fuels and substances, as well as by regulating appliances that give rise to air pollution. The Air Act empowers the State Government, after consultation with the SPCBs, to declare any area or areas within the Sate as air pollution control area or areas. Under the Act, establishing or operating any industrial plant in the pollution control area requires consent from SPCBs. SPCBs are also expected to test the air in air pollution control areas, inspect pollution control equipment, and manufacturing processes.
The Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974 (the "Water Act") has been enacted to provide for the prevention and control of water pollution and to maintain or restore wholesomeness of water in the country. It further provides for the establishment of Boards for the prevention and control of water pollution with a view to carry out the aforesaid purposes. The Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into water bodies beyond a given standard, and lays down penalties for non-compliance. At the Centre, the Water Act has set up the CPCB which lays down standards for the prevention and control of water pollution. At the State level, SPCBs function under the direction of the CPCB and the State Government.
Further, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted in 1977 to provide for the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons operating and carrying on certain types of industrial activities. This cess is collected with a view to augment the resources of the Central Board and the State Boards for the prevention and control of water pollution constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The Act was last amended in 2003.
The Environment Protection Act, 1986 (the "Environment Act") provides for the protection and improvement of environment. The Environment Protection Act establishes the framework for studying, planning and implementing long-term requirements of environmental safety and laying down a system of speedy and adequate response to situations threatening the environment. It is an umbrella legislation designed to provide a framework for the coordination of central and state authorities established under the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act. The term "environment" is understood in a very wide term under s 2(a) of the Environment Act. It includes water, air and land as well as the interrelationship which exists between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organisms and property.
Under the Environment Act, the Central Government is empowered to take measures necessary to protect and improve the quality of environment by setting standards for emissions and discharges of pollution in the atmosphere by any person carrying on an industry or activity; regulating the location of industries; management of hazardous wastes, and protection of public health and welfare. From time to time, the Central Government issues notifications under the Environment Act for the protection of ecologically-sensitive areas or issues guidelines for matters under the Environment Act.
In case of any non-compliance or contravention of the Environment Act, or of the rules or directions under the said Act, the violator will be punishable with imprisonment up to five years or with fine up to Rs 1,00,000, or with both. In case of continuation of such violation, an additional fine of up to Rs 5,000 for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention, will be levied. Further, if the violation continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.
Hazardous waste means any waste which, by reason of any of its physical, chemical, reactive, toxic, flammable, explosive or corrosive characteristics, causes danger or is likely to cause danger to health or environment, whether alone or when in contact with other wastes or substances.
Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary) Rules, 2008, brought out a guide for manufacture, storage and import of hazardous chemicals and for management of hazardous wastes.
Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, were formulated along parallel lines, for proper disposal, segregation, transport, etc, of infectious wastes.
Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, aim at enabling municipalities to dispose municipal solid waste in a scientific manner.
In view of the short-comings and overlapping of some categories causing inconvenience in implementation of the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 as well as the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has formulated the draft Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 2015 (Draft BMW Rules) and the draft Solid Waste Management Rules, 2015 (Draft SWM Rules) and sought comments on the draft Rules.
The Draft BMW Rules are to replace the Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, and the Draft SWM Rules are to replace the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. The objective of the Draft BMW Rules is to enable the prescribed authorities to implement the rules more effectively, thereby, reducing the bio- medical waste generation and also for its proper treatment and disposal and to ensure environmentally sound management of these wastes, and the Draft SWM Rules aim at dealing with the management of solid waste including it segregation at source, transportation of waste, treatment and final disposal.
E - Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 have been notified on May 1, 2011 and came into effect from May 1, 2012, with primary objective to reduce the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment by specifying threshold for use of hazardous material and to channelize the e-waste generated in the country for environmentally sound recycling. The Rules apply to every producer, consumer or bulk consumer, collection centre, dismantler and recycler of e-waste involved in the manufacture, sale, purchase and processing of electrical and electronic equipment or components as detailed in the Rules.
Batteries (Management & Handling) Rules, 2001 deal with the proper and effective management and handling of lead acid batteries waste. The Act requires all manufacturers, assemblers, re-conditioners, importers, dealers, auctioneers, bulk consumers, consumers, involved in manufacture,�processing, sale, purchase and use of batteries or components thereof, to comply with the provisions of Batteries (Management & Handling) Rules, 2001.
The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was enacted with the objective of effectively protecting the wild life of this country and to control poaching, smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife and its derivatives. The Act was amended in January 2003 and punishment and penalty for offences under the Act have been made more stringent. The Ministry has proposed further amendments in the law by introducing more rigid measures to strengthen the Act. The objective is to provide protection to the listed endangered flora and fauna and ecologically important protected areas.
The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 was enacted to help conserve the country's forests. It strictly restricts and regulates the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purposes without the prior approval of Central Government. To this end the Act lays down the pre-requisites for the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers over the forest areas inhabited by them and provides a framework for according the same.
The Biological Diversity Act 2002 was born out of India's attempt to realise the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992 which recognises the sovereign rights of states to use their own Biological Resources. The Act aims at the conservation of biological resources and associated knowledge as well as facilitating access to them in a sustainable manner. The National Biodiversity Authority in Chennai has been established for the purposes of implementing the objects of the Act.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification vide Notification no. S O. 19(E), dated January 06, 2011 with an objective to ensure livelihood security to the fishing communities and other local communities living in the coastal areas, to conserve and protect coastal stretches and to promote development in a sustainable manner based on scientific principles, taking into account the dangers of natural hazards in the coastal areas and sea level rise due to global warming.
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How many times have you gone to the doctor and had tests ordered, gotten the results back, and still aren’t sure what they mean? Sadly, this is commonplace. Most people lack medical knowledge to understand their own care well, and time-pressured doctors often don’t have the time to educate their patients about their own health. Even when you have a helpful doctor and are reasonably well-informed about your health, you might forget what your doctor said or lose your notes or get two tests confused with each other.
Trying to understand some of my own medical test results recently, I ran across a couple of websites that are really helpful for explaining hundreds of the most common medical tests, both by test name and by medical conditions related to the tests. I also found many helpful articles on understanding “optimal ranges” for certain tests that are vastly different from the “reference ranges” used by labs and doctors.
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Non-Muslims under Islamic law would be held under the status of dhimmi (from Arabic ذميّ, dh as th pronounced like in this) were allowed to "practice their religion, subject to certain conditions, and to enjoy a measure of communal autonomy" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim rule. Taxation from the perspective of thimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was "a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes" (but now lower under the Muslim rule) and from the point of view of the Muslim conqueror was a material proof of the dhimmi's subjection. Various restrictions and legal disabilities were placed on thimmis, such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.
The Qur'an distinguishes between the monotheistic People of the Book (ahl al-kitab) (Jews, Christians, Sabians and others), and polytheists or idolaters on the other hand. There are certain kind of restrictions, when involved with People of the Book, do not apply to polytheists. One example is Muslim males being allowed to marry a Christian or Jew, but not a polytheist. Muslim women, however may not marry non-Muslim men.
The idea of Islamic supremacy is encapsulated in the formula "Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it." Accordingly, Muslims must not place themselves in a position inferior to that of the followers of other religions. Pursuant to this principle, Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, non-Muslims may not inherit from their Muslim relatives, and a testimony of a non-Muslim is inadmissible against a Muslim.
Abraham, Moses, Hebrew prophets, and Jesus were all prophets of Islam, but according to Muslim tradition their message and the texts of the Torah and the Gospels were corrupted by Jews and Christians. Similarly, children of non-Muslim families are born Muslims, but are converted to another faith by their parents.
During the ten years that Muhammad led his followers against the Meccans and then against the other Arab tribes, Christian and Jewish communities who had submitted to Muslim rule were allowed to worship in their own way and follow their own family law, and were given a fair degree of self-government.
The Jews generally rejected Muhammad's status as a prophet. According to Watt, "Jews would normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet." In the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews' political loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy. However, after each major battle with the Medinans, Muhammad accused one of the Jewish tribes of treachery (See [Qur'an 2:100]). After Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa and Banu Nadir, respectively, took up arms against the ummah and were subsequently expelled "with their families and possessions" from Medina.
After Muhammad's death in 632, the Islamic empire grew rapidly, encompassing what is now the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, and Iran. Most of the new subjects were Christian or Jewish, and considered People of the Book. (After some argument, the Zoroastrians were considered People of the Book as well). Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were called dhimmi, protected peoples. As noted above, they could worship, follow their own family law, and own property. People of the Book were not subject to certain Islamic rules, such as the prohibitions on alcohol and pork, but were subject to other restrictions. Under the Islamic state, they were exempt from military service, but were required to pay a poll tax known as jizya. (They were, however, exempt from the zakat required of Muslims). They could be bureaucrats and advisors, but they could never be rulers.
They were not subject to forced conversion. In fact, under the first caliphs and the Ummayad dynasty, conversion was discouraged. Arab troops were settled in garrison towns like Kufa and Basra, in part to keep them separate from the conquered peoples. If a dhimmi wanted to convert, he/she could only do so by convincing an Arab to act as a sponsor or patron, adopting the dhimmi in the patron's tribe and making him/her an honorary Arab. There are claims that there were several instances in which entire communities wanted to convert, and were prevented; and that they were more useful as taxpayers.
In general, the policies of the territories comprising the earliest Islamic conquests were never harsh towards the dhimmis. Although conversion to Islam was made easier (all one had to do was to recite the confession of faith, many dhimmis did not convert as a result of Muslims tolerance. Areas that were majority Christian or Zoroastrian before the Arab conquest at some point became overwhelmingly Muslim. Moreover, at some point (it is not clear when), non-Muslims were forbidden to visit the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, while some hadith even urged their exclusion from the entire Arabian peninsula.
With the Ghaznavids and later the Mughals, Islam also expanded further into northern India. Will Durant, in The Story of Civilization, described this as "probably the bloodiest story in history". This approach was not uniform, and different rulers adopted different strategies. The Mughal emperor Akbar, for example, was relatively tolerant towards Hindus, while his great-grandson Aurangzeb was heavily intolerant. Hindus were ultimately given the tolerated religious minority status of dhimmi in their own homeland. However, the underlying complexity of Hindu philosophy was useful in this regard, as it had always posited an underlying unity of all things, including the fusion of various deities into a single reality (Brahman).
The Buddhists of India were not as fortunate; although Buddhism had been in decline prior to the Muslim invasions, the destruction of monastic universities in the invasions such as Nalanda and Vikramashila were a calamity from which it never recovered. According to one Buddhist scholar, the monasteries were destroyed because they were large, fortified edifices considered threats by Muslim Turk invaders, not because they were non-Muslim institutions.
However, it is worth mentioning that most Muslims rulers in Spain could be considered tolerant with some exceptions. Christians were free to practice their own beliefs, and had kept their own churches. The tolerant atmosphere in Muslim Spain made it a refuge for Jews persecuted in other European lands.
Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia have a significant population from the Hindu, Christian and Buddhist religions. They are allowed to practice their religions, build places of worship and even have missionary schools and organizations but with limitation of such practice. Some Muslim countries nationally observe Hindu, Christian and Buddhist holidays, e.g. Durga Puja, Maghi Purnima, Buddha Purnima, Ashari Purnima, Christmas etc.
In Syria, there are about 2.2 million Christians (10-12% of the population) from about 15 different religious and ethnic sects (Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Church of the East, Protestants, Armenians Apostolic and various Catholics (Greek, Syrian, Aremenian, Chaldean, Maronite, Latin), as well as a few dozen Jews, and they have many hundreds of independent privately-owned churches and some 15 synagogues. The freedom of religion is well observed by the state law as well as the historical long record of tolerance since the Ummayde caliph days. Christmas and Easter days are official holidays for both the Catholic or Orthodox calendar.
The Islamic government of Iran recognizes Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians as minorities- although all three groups are subjected to some severe discrimination in practice - while the situation of Bahá'ís, considered by the government as a pro-Zionist, un-Islamic heresy, is far worse. See Religion in Iran and Persecution of Bahá'ís.
In Egypt, a 16 December 2006 judgement of the Supreme Administrative Council created a clear demarcation between "recognized religions" — Islam, Christianity and Judaism — and all other religious beliefs; the ruling effectively delegitimatizes and forbids the practice of all but these aforementioned religions. The ruling leaves members of other religious communities, including Bahá'ís, without the ability to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country, essentially denying them of all rights of citizenship. They cannot obtain ID cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, and passports; they also cannot be employed, educated, treated in public hospitals or vote among other things. See Egyptian identification card controversy.
One of the open issues in the relation between Islamic states and non-Islamic states is the claim from hardline Muslims that once a certain land, state or territory has been under 'Muslim' rule, it can never be relinquished anymore, and that such rule, somewhere in history would give the Muslims a kind of an eternal right on the claimed territory. This claim is particularly controversial with regard to Israel and to a lesser degree Spain and parts of the Balkan and it applies to India as well.
Islam does not view itself as the only true path for following the will of Allah (God) and going to Jannah (Paradise, Heaven).
Muslims consider the monotheistic faiths that preceded it, Judaism and Christianity, to be valid in its original form. Muslims also believe that the Quran confirms the scriptures that came before including the Torah and the Gospel.
The Quran criticizes Christians and Jews who believed that their own religions the only source of Truth.
Islam's fundamental theological concept is belief in one God. Muslims are not expected to visualize God but to worship and adore him as a protector. Any kind of idolatry is condemned in Islam.(Qur'an 112:2) As a result, Muslims hold that for someone to worship any other gods or deities other than Allah (Shirk (polytheism)) is a sin that will lead to separation from Allah. Most Muslims consider Hindus to be polytheists.
Belief in Trinity is also condemned in the Quran.
Muslims believe that Allah sent the Qur'an to bring peace and harmony to humanity through Islam (submission to Allah). Muhammad's worldwide mission was to establish universal peace under the Khilafat.
The Khilafat ensured security of the lives and property of non-Muslims under the dhimmi system.
This status was originally only made available to non-Muslims who were "People of the Book" (Christians and Jews), but was later extended to include Zoroastrians, Sikhs,Hindus, Mandeans(Sabians), and Buddhists.
Dhimmi had more rights than other non-Muslim religious subjects, but often fewer legal and social rights than Muslims. Some Muslims, however, disagree, and hold that adherents of these faiths cannot be dhimmi.
Dhimmi enjoyed some freedoms under the state founded by Muhammad and could practice their religious rituals according to their faith and beliefs.
It should be noted that non-Muslims who were not classified as "people of the book", for example practitioners of the pre-Muslim indigenous Arabian religions, had few or no rights in Muslim society.
Muslim rule spread through conquest and this indirectly coerced many to convert to Islam. In other words, war was waged to put lands under Muslim rule, but the subjects were theoretically free to continue practice whatever religion they chose. However, the non-Muslim dhimmis were subject to taxation jizyah at a different rate of the Muslim zakat. Dhimmis also faced economic impediments, restrictions on political participation and/or social advancement based on their non-Muslim status.
Religious persecution is also not sanctioned by some readings of Islam,[Qur'an 10:99–100 (Translated by Yusuf Ali)] but is partly due to cruel rulers, or general economic hardships in the societies they are in. pre-Islamic religious minorities continue to exist in some of their native countries, although only as marginal percentages of the overall population.
Over the centuries, several known religious debates, and polemical works did exist in various Muslim countries between various Muslim sects, as well as between Muslims and non-Muslims. Many of these works survive today, and make for some very interesting reading in the apologetics genre. Only when such debates spilled over to the unlearned masses, and thus causing scandals, and civil strife did rulers intervene to restore order and pacify the public outcry on the perceived attack on their beliefs.
Many Muslim scholars believe that Quranic verses such as "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error" (Qur'an 2:256) and (Qur'an 18:29) show that Islam prohibits forced conversion towards people of any religion.
The meaning of this verse 9:5 has however been a subject of discussion amongst other scholars of Islam as well (see At-Tawba 5). This Surah was revealed in the historical context of a broken treaty between Muslims and a group of idolaters during the time of Prophet Muhammed. Regarding this verse, Quranic translator M. A. S. Abdel Haleem writes: "in this context, this definitely refers to the ones who broke the treaty" rather than polytheists generally.
Francis Bok - Sudanese-American activist, from Christianity; later returned to his Christian faith.
Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig - forced to convert at gunpoint by terrorists of the Holy Jihad Brigades.
Sabbatai Zevi - convert from Judaism, 17th century mystic, pseudo-Messiah and the self-proclaimed "King of Jews". Converted ostensibly of his own free will, while in prison. Although, some speculate that he may have been executed for treason had he not converted, Muslim authorities were opposed to his death.
^ "Murtadd", Encyclopedia of Islam Quote: "A woman who apostasizes is to be executed according to some jurists, or imprisoned according to others."
^ Berkey, Jonathan (1980). The Formation of Islam (2003 ed.). Cambridge University Press.
^ a b c d e William Montgomery Watt (2004-04-14). "BĪRŪNĪ and the study of non-Islamic Religions". http://www.fravahr.org/spip.php?article31. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
^ Mayton, Joseph (2006-12-19). "Egypt's Bahais denied citizenship rights". Middle East Times. http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061220-033209-2100r. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
^ Otterman, Sharon (2006-12-17). "Court denies Bahai couple document IDs". The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061217-122113-6320r.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
^ a b Nkrumah, Gamal (2006-12-21). "Rendered faithless and stateless". Al-Ahram weekly. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/825/eg5.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
^ "Kidnapped Fox journalists released". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/27/fox.journalists/index.html. Retrieved August 27, 2006.
Esposito, John (2002). What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195157133.
Friedmann, Yohanan (2003). Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim Tradition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521026994.
Sabbatai Zevi - FREE Sabbatai Zevi information | Encyclopedia.com: Facts, pictures, information!
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You might have come across to this question many times before, but you must have confused with the changing number of teeth with age. The biggest reason that determines the number of teeth you will have depends on your age. The number of teeth children and adults will have differs.
1 How Many Teeth Do Humans Have?
3 How many Teeth do Kids Have?
4 How many Teeth do Adults Have?
So the main question that arises is how many teeth do humans have throughout their life cycle?
Also how many teeth you need for proper functioning is another important question? If you are confused about the right answer to this question than the below heading will best explain you the concept.
Human beings, throughout their life-cycle, have two sets of teeth. The two sets of teeth are; the deciduous teeth and the permanent teeth. So the next question is how many of deciduous and how many of permanent teeth do humans have? The deciduous are total 20 in number where the permanent is 32. Humans are born with no teeth at all that by the age of 6 months and above it begins to grow teeth until the age of 7 the child continues to work with the deciduous set of teeth. After seven years, the deciduous teeth begin to fall and gets change with permanent teeth.
The teeth are the placeholders that help the person in proper consumption of food; it also helps them in developing healthy jawbones and conducting speech. So, therefore it is very important to take proper care of your teeth.
The mouth plays an important role in human anatomy; it helps in speaking, drinking and eating. The main actors it forms are the teeth, which further have their types and parts like; incisors, the canines, molars, premolar, and these teeth have a gum line on which they enter, the root, enamel, the dentin, and the pulp.
Incisors; these are sharp, chiseled front teeth; they include the upper and lower four teeth. They primarily help in the cutting of food. There are total eight incisors in the human body.
Canines; they are also called cuspids because they are like cups; their main function is the tearing of food. There are four canines, and these are the pointed teeth that lie next to incisors.
Premolars; the two cusps are together, also called as bicuspid. They help in crushing of food into small particles. There are total eight premolars. These are present between the canines and the molars.
Molars: they are present at the back of the mouth. They help in grinding of food. There are total 8 of molars.
Child teething begins at the age around six months. The term used to describe the child’s early teeth is ‘deciduous teeth’ that’s because these teeth begin to fall after seven years. Most people call these teeth as baby teeth and sometimes they are also known as milk teeth.
As these teeth have to fall out eventually, therefore it is very important to know how many deciduous teeth kids have. So we can differentiate between the deciduous teeth and the permanent teeth. Some deciduous teeth take time to fall out, and then they become a hurdle for the growth of permanent teeth. Once we can count how many teeth child have, then we shall be able to know how many of them have fallen out and how many of them are left. It enables us to consult the dentist to keep up the healthy growth of permanent teeth.
Children have total 20 deciduous teeth. Ten are present on the upper jaw and ten on the lower jaw. These deciduous teeth are like a placeholder until the child begins to have permanent teeth.
It is very important to keep up the habit of eating and cleaning your teeth. Since the very childhood, the child should be taught regular brushing and cleaning of its teeth, as this habit should prolong throughout its life to keep up healthy teeth and gums.
Once you enter your early teens, you begin to have permanent teeth. These permanent teeth are more than deciduous teeth. There are total 32 permanent teeth. There are different types of teeth that adults have; the types are above. It is very important to know how many teeth adults have so that you can take proper care of them and it also prevents your teeth from getting poorly shaped.
Most people get this set of teeth as soon as they hit 18, but in some case, it might take some more years to get the complete set. Wisdom teeth grow at the later years of teeth bearing. The wisdom tooth sometimes can cause misalignment that can be avoided by getting them removed early. Wisdom tooth has no particular role in chewing, grinding or grasping of food neither it plays any role in speech conduction.
So, we can say that humans have 20 deciduous and 32 permanent teeth, where based on functionality there are 28 teeth once the wisdom teeth get removed.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Ivanka Trump Ivana (Ivanka) Marie TrumpAfrica's women can change a continent: Will Ivanka give them her full support? A Trump visit to Africa is important — and carries some urgency On The Money: Cain 'very committed' to Fed bid despite opposition | Pelosi warns no US-UK trade deal if Brexit harms Irish peace | Ivanka Trump says she turned down World Bank job MORE and other associates of the president could "quite conceivably" hear from his committee, despite being left off an initial round of document requests.
"I’m not going to answer why any particular person is or isn’t on it. We think that anybody on it has information of use to the committee in establishing things," Nadler said on CNN's "OutFront."
Nadler said the 81 people and entities identified in a list released earlier in the day had previously provided information to the special counsel's office, the Southern District of New York or other officials.
While the list included Donald Trump Jr. Donald (Don) John TrumpTrump Jr. slams 2020 Dems as 'more concerned' about rights of murderers than legal gun owners It is wrong to say 'no collusion' Nadler: I don't understand why Mueller didn't charge Donald Trump Jr., others in Trump Tower meeting MORE, Eric Trump Eric Frederick TrumpHouse Dem calls on lawmakers to 'insulate' election process following Mueller report Lara Trump to 'Fox & Friends': Trump 'one of the greatest presidents we've ever had' Eric and Lara Trump expecting their second child MORE and Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerHasan Minhaj calls out Kushner at event over ties to Saudi crown prince Kushner saying immigration plan will be 'neutral' on legal admissions: report Dems charge ahead on immigration MORE, it did not include the president's daughter and senior adviser.
"She’s not on the initial list. That’s all we can say," Nadler said.
He added that there are going to be more document requests and that "there may or may not be more people."
Asked if Ivanka Trump could be added to the list in the future, Nadler said, "quite conceivably."
Is the Judiciary Committee's investigation into Trump's campaign a pre-impeachment hearing?
Why hasn't Ivanka been contacted?
Nadler on Monday issued the first round of document requests as part of a sweeping investigation into President Trump Donald John TrumpDemocrats' CNN town halls exposed an extreme agenda Buttigieg says he doubts Sanders can win general election Post-Mueller, Trump has a good story to tell for 2020 MORE's campaign, business and administration. The investigation will focus on three key areas, Nadler said: obstruction of justice, public corruption and abuses of power.
He reiterated that he believes Congress is still "far from" impeachment proceedings. Nadler would oversee such proceedings as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
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Can my bank keep an IRA account with a POD in the account if there is a line of credit on the POD account?
A POD account is an account that on the death of the primary account holder (you), the account is automatically paid over to a named person (beneficiary). This is why the account is referred to as a "pay on death" or POD account, because that is what it does. A POD account certainly should be able to have a line of credit associated with it. However, none of this mixes with an IRA. An IRA doesn't pay on death, it has a beneficiary designation. Also, a line of credit in an IRA could be problematic. Talk your bank and get it straightened out. However, if you have specific estate planning objectives you're trying to address, the right source is an estate planner in your state. If the cost is an issue, your bank or brokerage firm, may have in-house estate planners that can help you.
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Islam vs Christianity and why people like me do not care that this happened to these Muslims. This is the best post you will ever read. I am an Atheist. You should find this very eye opening: Calls to war and killing in Quran - 109. Calls to war and killing in the Christian New Testament - literally ZERO Quran: At-Tawbah 9:111 "They fight in the cause of Allah , so they kill and are killed." Al-Baqarah 2:216 (Killing and) "Fighting has been commanded upon you even though it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and Allah Knows best, while you know not." New Testament - Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Quran - Al-Anfal (8:17). When Allah commands that you kill "you have not killed them, but it was Allah who killed them. It was Allah that He might test the believers with a good test." New Testament - Galations 5:22 "But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness." Quran - Al-Baqarah 2:193 "Fight the non Muslims until there are no [more] infidels and [until] there are only Muslims for Allah." New Testament - James 4:1-2 "What is the source of the wars and fighting among you? Do they not originate from your fleshly desires that carry on a conflict within you? You desire, and yet you do not have. You go on murdering and coveting, and yet you are not able to obtain. You go on fighting and waging war. Quran - Muhammad 47:4 "So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike [their] necks until, you have inflicted slaughter upon them, (beheaded them) That is the command. " New Testament - Matthew 22:40 "Jesus said, "You must love Jehovah your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This is the first and greatest command. And the second is like it, "You must love your neighbor as you love yourself." From these two laws all the rest will flow." Quran - Al-Anfal 8:12 "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip from them." New Testament - Romans 12:18 "If possible, as long as it depends on you, be at peace with everyone. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to God's wrath; for it is written: : "Vengeance is mine; I will claim it," says God Jehovah." But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; by doing this you will heap fiery coals upon his head. Do not let yourself be conquered by evil, but keep conquering evil with good." Quran - Al-Ma-idah 5:34 " The punishment of those who resist Allah and His messenger is this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet shall be cut off" New Testament - John 8:3 "They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? ”They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Quran - Al-anfal 8:65 "O Prophet! urge your believers to war; if there are twenty they shall destroy two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall destroy a thousand disbelievers, because they are a people who do not understand." New Testament - 2 Corinthians 10:3 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh. For our weapons of warfare are not of the world, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. For we are overturning reason and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God." Quran - Al-Haqqah (69:30-37) [ Allah will say], "Seize him [the non Muslim] and shackle him. Then into Hellfire drive him while bound in a chain whose length is seventy cubits (105 feet). He shall eat and drink from the discharge of his own wounds; Allah will make no other eat it except sinners. " New Testament - Matthew 5:39 Jesus said: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Quran - At-Tawbah 9:14 "Make war on them so that Allah may punish them by your hands and humiliate them." New Testament - Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God." Quran: Al-Baqarah 2:191 “kill the disbelievers wherever you find them” At-Tawbah 9:123 “murder them and treat them harshly” At-Tawbaw 9:5 "then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. " When Jesus was being arrested to be executed: New Testament: Luke 22:49 "When those around him saw what was going to happen, they said: "Lord, should we strike with the sword?" One of them even struck the slave of the high priest, taking off his right ear. But in reply Jesus said "That is enough!" And he touched the ear and healed him." Matthew 26:51 "But look! One of those with Jesus reached out his hand and drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, taking off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Return your sword to its place, for all those who take up the sword shall die by the sword."
Hugs and prayers from Canada. Your PM is one classy lady in the way she has conducted herself in this tragedy.
It is unbelievable that something like that could even happen in this modern times and my condolences to all relatives and people who got involved in this act of terrorism!
Its a set up, trying to disarm new zealanders so they can do more of the same. Globalist agenda clear as daylight :) Resist the lies NZ.
Why no discussion about the other two attackers? The video clearly shows two people wearing baseball caps, whereas the shooter was wearing a helmet and video recording the attack with a go-pro type camera on his helmet. So why are you concealing the fact that there were no less than three attackers? Also why no discussion about the link between the Christchurch attack and the North Korea Embassy break-in in Spain? Same M/O. The perpetrators were para-military trained. The video clearly shows they are well trained in "breach and clear" tactics. This was not just a "lone gunman", this was a well funded, well organized and well trained attack. Why are you covering up these facts? The victims families deserve the truth! It seems you are trying to use this horrible attack as a political tool. The main shooter himself wrote that he hopes his actions start a civil war in the USA. I've read all his posts and writings. He was an eco-fascist (which is a far left ideology). Another interesting thing he posed was his love of Pakistan and the Pakistani people when he went to the Hunza valley for a vacation once. Very odd for a "white supremacist" to share.
Probably a gov operation to take the Kiwis guns. They have probably forgotten the battle of the Coral Sea.
Then arm the good people . That "Primed Minister" is the darkest and ugliest days of New Zealand. What a monkey ! Giving "half truth" to Darwin's theory of evolution that that PM came from monkeys. Monkey See - Monkey Do !
Its not who let the dogs out ...its who let the monkeys out ....and gave them government positions and financial posts ? Why of course ...the Organ Grinders !
It wud be intriguing and interesting,HOW IDEOLOGIES AND INDOCTRINATION MAKE HUMAN BEINGS ROBOT LIKE,TOTALLY SUBMISSIVE AND UNQUESTIONING. ST PAUL,was the same PAUL OF TARSUS who had Stoned to death ST PETER THE FIRST SAINT OF CHRISTIANITY.under the BELIEF that the latter is corrupting the RELEGION OF HIS ANCESTORS. Similarly even before the PROPHETHOOD OF MOHAMMED (SAW) was Declared,He was REGARDED AS SADIQ( TRUE) and AMEEN(TRUSTWORTHY) by the same fraternity which OPRESSED HIM,OBSTRUCTED AND TORTURED HIM. THIS WAS NOT BECAUSE OF PERSONAL ENMITY BUT BECAUSE OF THE TENACITY OF BLIND FAITH. But it shud not be CONFUSED WITH THE MODERN ACTS OF TERRORISM WHICH ARE PREDOMINANTLY MOTIVATED TO PROMOTE GREED,LUST FOR MORE AND MORE BY EXPANDING WORLD MARKETS AND FINDING GEOPOLITICAL ROUTES FOR SUCH EXPANSIONS. THE RESULT HUMAN LIVES HAVE BECOME LESS IMPORTANT THAN FLIES AND INSECTS. THIS IS ONE OF THE PRICE CIVILIZATION HAS TO PAY FOR UNBRIDDLED TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, WHICH HAS TOTALLY DRIVEN MAN AGAINST HIS OWN NATURE. "Zindagi tere Ta-akub mein hum itna chalte hai KE MAR JATE HAI" Ya MARE JATE HAI.
HAHAHA "ACT OF VIOLENCE" HAHAHAA Are you f*ck*ng kidding me?
Sounds Like Karma To Me. moslines Murder People Evey Day Like They Where Sheep. Any Surprise Someone Would Do Same To Them.
We, Muslims, must understand that the crimes and terrorist attacks committed by Salafist Jihadist, allegedly in the name of Islam, cannot continue to be considered by the majority of us as ‘’not our business’’ because not ‘’reflecting true Islam’’. Other terrorist will react to Jihadist attacks and strike hurting back, not the criminal jihadist, but us, the silent, peaceful Muslim majority! Who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind! This criminal ideology is propagated and financed by Salafist based wealthy countries in the Middle East, friend of the West. But they are not the ones suffering the consequences of it. We Muslim must speak up! We must act!
No, its not the darkest days ! Your darkest days was when you elected the liberal, leftist, globalist, international Zion financial cabal Jew to mismanage your entire country, its finances, its deeply harmful immigration policy that will cause unimaginable dysfunction, pain and disorder for HUNDREDS OF YEARS ! Then, you REELECTED him ! What happened here is one small speck of what you inflicted and will continue to allow be inflicted on yourselves from their horrible policies. Your masochist electorate served your present rewards. Now, disingenuously you act like one small consequence of your foolishness is an abberation. HORRIBLE, HARMFUL POLICIES BROUGHT THIS AND ITS NOT THE END. Welcome to the land of consequences. Now, watch, in response, you will coddle the cancer and punish the emergency responders while pretending to be virtuous. How will THAT help ? To that you will silence the debate, right ? Of course. By not dealing with the real problems, your legacies to your own grandchildren will be to serve them hell on earth.
Comthony Mentano Our globalist governments, will use their death, to gain their political edge.
Question. I heard a man was shooting for 20 minutes and police station kilometer far from a mosque..
Why is the Taliban Publicly Executing Women?
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Essay in India: the Urban Transition – a Case Study of Development Urbanism, 2014.
By the beginning of the 21st century, Bangalore had emerged as a global hub for software development, production and services, with most of the world’s leading IT companies being located there and two of the leading Indian IT companies being headquartered there.
The city inspired the New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman to write The World is Flat. In his book from 2005, Bangalore epitomizes a new era of globalization powered by new infrastructures and technologies.
Bangalore also plays a key role in the Triumph of the City, from 2011, authored by Harvard professor Ed Glaeser, who refers to it as one of the most successful cities today, on a par with London, New York and Singapore.
I recently spent half a year in Bangalore and came away with a somewhat different understanding.
Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in India and huge wealth is being generated there but few citizens benefit from it. In fact, during the past decade, most citizens have witnessed a dramatic deterioration in the quality of life, as spaces for social activities have vanished, roads have become severely congested, pollution has reached alarming levels, crime – or the fear of crime – is widespread and garbage litters the streets.
Until a few years ago, Bangalore was known as a “garden city”. Now it is beginning to be known as a “garbage city”.
The problem, as I see it, is not the rapid growth of the city – Bangalore has been experiencing rapid growth since long before the IT boom – but that the very pattern of growth has changed, partly because of new lifestyles, economies and technologies. A cognate problem is that the challenges and opportunities related to this changed growth pattern and to the new lifestyles, economies and technologies have not been properly addressed.
Thus, while I agree with Glaeser that “It makes far more sense to directly address the challenges of urban growth […] rather than to artificially constrain the expansion of mega-cities like Bangalore” – the problem is that, in Bangalore, it seems that there is nothing much that is being done to address those challenges.
In fact, as a result of poor urban planning and management, the very same IT companies that are supposed to have made the city a success are now beginning to move away, many of them towards the new airport, some 30 kilometers north of the city centre, and some of them even to other cities.
One major cause of the deterioration of the urban environment is the uncontrolled proliferation of motorized transportation.
As more and more people move to the city and as the city continues to expand over an ever-larger land area, the need for transportation is increasing accordingly. Workplaces are now often located far away from affordable housing and public transportation is often inadequate and unreliable. People therefore have to find ways to travel longer distances on their own and in recent years many of these people have been able to – or have been forced to – switch from using a bicycle to using a motorcycle. In addition, about a thousand new cars are being added to the roads of Bangalore each day. The result is severe traffic congestion, the disappearance of public space and pollution.
I would usually wear a mask when I went outside!
To alleviate the problem of traffic congestion, a new metro system has been planned and the first short stretch with six stations has been constructed. It meanders through some of the central areas of the city, on elevated tracks, above the noisy and polluted roads. From here, the city looks pretty nice!
But there are relatively few passengers and most of them seem to enjoy the ride as an occasional excursion rather than as an everyday trip. This may, perhaps, change with the enlargement of the system. But for now, it doesn’t seem to provide much relief from the congested roads below.
The enormous costs of the metro also render it dubious whether this is really an environmentally friendly solution at all because the “creation” of money to pay for this project has most likely caused pollution, ecological destruction and resource depletion in other places.
A cheaper and more popular means of “public” transportation is the auto-rickshaw, which, in contrast to the metro, reaches all parts of the city. Bangalore has a huge fleet of auto-rickshaws, but unfortunately these vehicles are extremely polluting because the drivers – or the mafia that stands behind them – use a bad fuel mix/low quality fuel to save a few rupees.
Auto-rickshaws are, however, not the only source of pollution in the city. Blue and black fumes are also being emitted from buses, trucks and even from new diesel-fueled cars.
“Urban” ills may be on the verge of causing more human suffering than “rural” ills!
While the attention, especially among international development agencies, has been focused on traditional “rural” ills, such as undernourishment and infectious diseases, nothing much has been done to check the “urban” ills like stress, pollution, social isolation and physical inactivity.
Thus, while rural-urban migration, urban-rural remittance and development aid may have helped control the effects of – and the number of people affected by – traditional “rural” ills, urbanization, as it is being practiced in Bangalore and, I am afraid to say, in many other cities, is creating a wide range of new problems that adversely affect human health and the health of the environment.
These are, however, not the only problems.
The road between Bangalore, the capital city and the largest city in the state of Karnataka, and Mysore, the capital city of the former kingdom of Mysore and the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, some 140 kilometers away, is in a poor state.
More than twenty years ago, a plan was conceived to connect these two cities with an expressway and to develop the land around it. This kind of corridor-development may be more environmentally friendly and resource efficient than traditional urban sprawl. But even though construction was initiated a few years later, only part of a ring road around Bangalore has been finished. The expressway itself ends a few kilometers outside the city, in the middle of nowhere.
There are several reasons for this, including corruption, red tape and political rivalry. But the developer, Mr. Kheny, who had conceived of the project, may also have a vested interest in delaying work on the expressway, because the real profits are not seated in constructing the expressway but rather in developing the land around it. And this land that has been provided to Mr. Kheny by the government, which has expropriated it from the local farmers, has to be returned to the government within 30 years of the completion of the expressway.
In addition, farmers, activists and others have been fighting the project with demonstrations and legal proceedings. In one of these cases, over one hundred prominent people, including a former prime minister of India and three former chief ministers of the State of Karnataka, local politicians, high-ranking bureaucrats and businessmen, are facing charges for “land grabbing” of an area around the expressway of almost the same size as the entire city of Bangalore – a city of more than 8 million people!
I had originally planned to make some research on this project together with researchers at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements and also to conduct a workshop about it at the institute. As things panned out, though, circumstances did not favor the implementation of the cooperation and nothing came out of these plans.
Ashwin Karjatkar and Shraddha Kapri, who had helped me prepare the workshop, were not surprised that events took this course. They had been my students at Lund University and had come back to Bangalore the previous year, after three years of post-graduate studies, teaching and working in Sweden.
I had read in the newspaper that there are about half a million architects, engineers and other professionals working in the real-estate business in India but that they need about ten times as many – or five million, in total. So you might think it would be easy for two talented and motivated young urban designers to find work in Bangalore.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Ashwin and Shraddha later decided to move to Singapore and are now working for an office there … on projects to be realized in India!
But before they went away to Singapore, the three of us had gone to the Indian Institute of Science and rented some bicycles in order to explore the campus.
On returning, we met Murali, who had worked for one of Bangalore’s IT companies. He had been stationed in Paris when Vélib’, the new public bicycle sharing system, was launched in that city. Murali wanted to establish such a system in India and decided to quit his job in the IT industry in order to pursue a career as a “green” entrepreneur.
The Namma Cycle project, as it is called, is a pilot-project, which is being carried out in collaboration with the Center for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation and Urban Planning (CiSTUP) on the campus of the Indian Institute of Science. It is a large green campus and even though the number of motor vehicles is increasing here, too, it still feels like a safe environment for cyclists.
Another bicycle sharing system has been implemented at the new metro stations in the city but since there are no safe bicycle lanes around the stations, or anywhere else in the city, for that matter, this service is hardly used at all.
Separate bicycle lanes might not have been necessary when most people were cycling and there were only a few cars driving around. However, during the past few decades, the number of motorized vehicles in Bangalore has increased dramatically and riding around on a bicycle in the city is now quite dangerous. Not only because of the risk of accidents but also because of the air and noise pollution.
I was told that only two percent of the inhabitants use a bicycle today.
Since cycling has become the choice of the few, the people at CiSTUP are also trying to implement another “sustainable” transportation system that is called E-mobility. This system consists of small electric shuttle buses, which, if properly integrated with the Namma Cycle project, could provide a comprehensive transportation service that would conceivably render other motor vehicles on campus obsolete.
Assuming that the small shuttle buses will be equipped with solar panels and will not be using electricity from the coal-fired grid, the transportation on the campus of the Indian Institute of Science could be virtually pollution free.
Both systems – the Namma Cycle and E-mobility – are envisioned as being implemented in stages, with tests and surveys being conducted along the way, thus making it a learning process – perhaps for other campuses and cities, too.
At CiSTUP, I also met three young researchers, Raddha, Kadu and Jaya, with whom I made a study to assess the potential benefits of revitalizing Bangalore’s nullahs (water canals).
It is believed that Bangalore initially consisted of many smaller settlements. Each of these settlements accordingly had a tank (or lake) for rainwater harvesting. The tanks were located at different altitudes in the undulating terrain and were interconnected by wetlands, through which water from one tank could flow to the next, together with rich red loamy soil from the bedrocks. Water would be distributed according to the requirements of different crops that were grown at different locations. Each settlement would grow its own crops according to the quality of the local soil and the different settlements would then trade the different crops with each other.
Because of the high level of interdependency between the many small settlements – in terms of both food and water – this kind of landscape has been referred to as “a continuous social landscape”. This, of course, has all changed with motorized transportation and gated communities, which give rise to what is rather a markedly discontinuous and anti-social landscape.
During the British rule, the wetlands that connected the tanks were transformed into canals to increase efficiency and provide land for urban development. In recent decades, widespread urbanization and the disappearance of agriculture have led to the neglect of the nullahs. Many of them have been put underground into pipes or else they are being used for dumping garbage and sewage.
While Bangalore is busy putting its nullahs underground, many other cities are trying to recreate canals that they had previously channeled into pipes. But doing that is obviously quite difficult and very expensive. In most cities, however, open water canals are no longer seen as a risk to human health. On the contrary, open water canals may be beneficial to cities and to the citizens, in terms of promoting healthy lifestyles and improving life quality, as well as being instrumental in climate change adaptation and eco-friendly development.
Putting the nullahs underground will, of course, prevent people from dumping their garbage and sewage there, while simultaneously providing space for the construction of more roads. However, this will not necessarily solve the problems of waste and traffic congestion in the city. Rather, it may restrict opportunities for sustainable long-term solutions while the immense potentials of the nullahs may be lost forever.
If, instead, the remaining nullahs were cleaned up, pathways for pedestrians and cyclists could be constructed along them. These pathways could form the basis for an alternative transportation network that could connect transit hubs throughout the city, thus enabling intermodal connectivity, living and work places, green areas and tourist sights.
Cleaning up the nullahs – and maintaining them clean – could perhaps also provide livelihood opportunities for the poor people who live around them. The nullahs themselves could then be used as wildlife corridors and to improve biodiversity and prevent flooding. Surrounding areas could be used for recreational and entrepreneurial activities, where people from different parts of the city – and from different parts of society – could meet.
Walking around in the slum areas along the nullahs made me aware of some striking differences between these areas and the area in which I was living myself.
In low-income areas, the front doors of the houses are often left open and even though people seem to be busy, there is still a lot of social interaction. In the more affluent parts of town, people live behind bars and guarded fences, many seem to be idle and do not appear to be talking very much with other people. And the buildings that they inhabit, which have often been designed by architects, are usually quite dull, in contrast to the self-made buildings in the low-income areas, which are often highly innovative in their use of available materials and joyful in their use of bright colors and strange shapes.
I don’t want to romanticize the slums but could it be that there are some lessons that the rest of us can learn from there?
In fact, some people already have. A group of local artists have designed their own multi-storey building out of a simple storage system used in warehouses and other cheap materials. In combination, the simple system and the inexpensive materials make it easy to transform the building.
During its short lifetime, the building has already seen several changes to its interior and one visiting American artist replaced an entire façade of the building with a living “green” wall.
The building is called Jaaga, which simply means “space” in the local Kannada language. And like most slum areas, it is full of entrepreneurial activities and social interaction.
And it is not only transformable. It is also moveable!
Two years after it had been constructed, it was dismantled, moved and reassembled at a new location, a few kilometers away.
While it is depressing to see a (very meticulous) catalogue of all the ways in which modern ‘progress’ and ‘urbanization’ are tearing apart the fabric of traditional living forever, it is also heartening to see an appreciation for these traditional ways & forms emerge from your experience. The question is whether this appreciation can be moulded into a compelling enough case/argument for an alternative future, because despite knowing this all our lives, we have failed to counter Euro-American-Soviet style modernity.
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According to a statement it made on January 20, 2015, Credit Suisse Funds AG, Uetlibergstrasse 231, 8045 Zürich, Switzerland informed that they decreased their total shareholdings in registered shares of Valora Holding AG to 2.99% (102’702 registered shares) on January 15, 2015. The contact person for this communication is Christian Pascual, Credit Suisse AG, Zürichstrasse 137, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
According to a statement it made on January 21, 2015, Credit Suisse Funds AG, Uetlibergstrasse 231, 8045 Zürich, Switzerland informed that they increased their total shareholdings in registered shares of Valora Holding AG to 3.02% (103’702 registered shares) on January 16, 2015. The contact person for this communication is Christian Pascual, Credit Suisse AG, Zürichstrasse 137, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
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The literature is divided into two main periods—the Vedic (c.1500–c.200 B.C.
The oldest puranas date from the middle of the first millennium B.C., but the basic texts that have come down to us appeared chiefly in the second half of the first millennium. The most valuable, by literary and historical considerations, are the Markandeya Purana, Vayu Purana, Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, and Matsya Purana. Depending on which god the purana is dedicated to, there are Vishnuite, Saiva, and Brahmanic puranas, but, as a whole, they express the basic religious, social, and ethical principles of Hinduism.
In content and form, the puranas resemble ancient Indian epic poetry. They present cosmogonic legends, myths about the origins of all creatures, and the genealogy of the gods, divine sages, and legendary dynasties. The ethical and metaphysical ideas of the puranas influenced most of the philosophers of medieval India. Poets and dramatists also used the myths of the puranas in their works. The Bhagavata Purana, in which the cult of ecstatic love for god (bhakti) is preached and legends about the life of Krishna are retold, has especially influenced religious and literary traditions in the modern Indian languages.
Bhagavata Purana, vols. 1–5. Translated and published by E. Burnouf et al. Paris, 1840–98.
Vayu Purana, vols. 1–2. Calcutta, 1880–88.
Vishnu-Purana, vols. 1–5, 3rd ed. Translated by H. H. Wilson. Calcutta, 1972.
Lallu Ji Lal. Prem Sagar. Translated from Hindi with introduction and notes by A. P. Barannikov. Moscow-Leningrad, 1937.
Wilson, H. H. Puranas or an Account of Their Contents and Nature. Calcutta, 1911.
Pusalker, A. D. Studies in the Epics and Puranas. Bombay, 1955.
An Anthology of the Epics and Puranas. Edited by S. K. De and R. C. Hazra. New Delhi, 1959.
There are also 18 "lesser" Puranas, or Upapurana s, that treat similar material and a large number of sthala-Puranas (or mahatmyas) glorifying temples or sacred places.
Curiously this Upapurana was not published until 1990, and was only minimally noticed by R.
Part I, "From Veda and Epic to Purana and Upapurana," continues with two contributions by Wendy Doniger.
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When do the cherry trees bloom this year?
I have to check the cherry blossom front.
It is similar to weather fronts.
Several organizations predict the blooming dates on their website.
Weather agency also provides the bloom reports throughout the season on their website.
Japan Meteorological Agency has the official observation trees at the fifty eight locations.
Most of the trees are near their office.
The staff of the Meteorological Agency monitor the blooming condition every day.
When they spot five or six flowers, they announce the blossoming.
The blooming begins in the southern parts of the country before proceeding nothward.
It will be in full bloom in about a week and start to scatter in about a week.
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1. Create a wedding hashtag to inspire guests to take photos and videos and share them on Instagram throughout the event.
2. Make a selfie booth. You could choose a beautiful backdrop or opt for fun props.
3. Set up a Polaroid guest book station. Purchase a beautifully bound book, a couple cameras, and a few rolls of film and ask guests to take pictures of themselves during the wedding.
4. Place disposable cameras on the tables and ask guests to be your photographer.
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Infinity's Flower The Tale of 2012 & the Great Shift of the Ages The year is 2011. David and Kelly are soul mates, who share an awareness of the ancient esoteric wisdom, confirmed by quantum science, that the universe is alive, and everything in it, including us, consists of pulsating, luminous energy. Like shamans from indigenous cultures around the world, David and Kelly have powers far exceeding those of ordinary humans as a function of their awareness that this world of energy is guided by an unseen intelligence or spirit, and their ability to merge with these mysterious forces. One of their powers is the ability to see through the illusion of everyday life, and into another dimension, where malevolent extraterrestrial beings, masquerading as humans, have covertly ruled the world for thousands of years, and have imposed a fascist world government, or New World Order, upon a human race. Infinity's Flower is the epic story of the age-old intergalactic battle between the forces of good and evil that is coming to a head on the planet Earth at this time, and David and Kelly's struggle to join the forces of light, both in this world and in higher, etheric dimensions, to defeat the powers of darkness, and reclaim the planet. The backdrop of this tale is The Great Shift of the Ages, an exceedingly rare geophysical and astrophysical time the Earth has entered. It is the completion of a 26,000-year cycle, which was prophesized by ancient cultures spanning the globe, including the Egyptians, the Mayans and the Hopis. The Shift involves forces of colossal magnitude, such as the reversing of the Earth's electromagnetic field, which will change the face of the planet, and life on it, forever. The clock is ticking. The year 2012 appears to be the turning point. Are these the end-times, as so many believe was predicted in the Bible, or is this an opportunity for the birth of a new era of higher consciousness and spirituality? Infinity's Flower weaves the epic scope of Orwell, the esoteric wisdom of Castaneda, and the riveting storytelling of the film sensation The Matrix, into a tale of this rare and blessed opportunity for humanity to evict the forces of evil, and make the shift to the new paradigm. It is a world in which doors swing open to unimaginable forces, and where humanity reconnects with the one true source of its power: the divine spirit of a living universe. Infinity's Flower is a vision of the paradise that an empowered and an enlightened humanity can, and must, create on Earth.
Infinity's Flower: A Tale of 2012 & the Great Shift of the Ages Fiction Based on Fact, Second Edition PDF (Adobe DRM) can be read on any device that can open PDF (Adobe DRM) files.
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Write-up and interview by Julien Breistroff.
Given Japan’s reputation for fostering niche cultures, and considering the nation’s decades-long relationship with reggae, it should come as little surprise that UK dance/bass music has found footing on the islands’ shores. Though Japan’s presence in dubstep may have come sooner – with Goth-Trad and his Back to Chill imprint and night – its grime scene has slowly grown to establish itself as the most cohesive representation of the genre in Asia. This status was recently cemented when Elijah & Skilliam tasked stalwart local MC Pakin with assembling an all star crew of Japanese grime MCs and DJs to record a showcase set for Butterz.
Among the artists featured on the resulting mix was Double Clapperz, a Production/DJ outfit consisting of Sinta and UKD. The duo have steadily made a name for themselves over the last few years, their tracks being played by a number of distinguished grime names. Spooky in particular has supported them since early, though Murlo, Boofy, and Impey have certainly helped to get Double Clapperz’ music played on radio and in mixtapes for Rinse, Radar, BBC Radio 1xtra, and Fabric. Coupling traditionally jagged grime drum patterns with a meticulously crafted low-end, their sound is as conscious a nod to grime as it is to soundsystem culture more broadly. The pair have worked extensively with local MCs and can count themselves among the most prominent contributors to Tokyo’s grime scene. With a white label dropping this June and the spotlight on Japanese grime growing ever brighter, Double Clapperz are poised to help bring their scene to the attention of grime fans globally.
Never straying far from the customary 140bpm, Double Clapperz’ Astral Plane mix progresses at a blistering pace, quickly and deftly blending their own brand of abrasive precision with hollow weightless cuts, dubstep, and hints of dancehall. Filled with unreleased beats, bootlegs, and exclusive vocal tracks, the mix is a thrilling glimpse into Japanese grime. Familiar ground is also provided as the duo pepper in released material from the likes of Commodo, Kahn & Neek, Ishan Sound, Murlo, Terror Danjah, and the Boxed crew – as well as an Astral Plane favourite, Last Japan’s forthcoming “Ascend” featuring AJ Tracey. We had the chance to ask the guys a few questions over the internet, and their responses (along with a tracklist) can be found after the jump/below the fold. In the meantime, turn your subs up and travel from Bow to Tokyo with this lesson in Far Eastern bass.
Hi guys, we’re excited to be featuring you as the first Japanese artists on the site. Let’s start with the basics – what are your names, where are you from, and where are you based now?
Thanks for the interview, we are really excited to be working with the Astral Plane. We are a production outfit made up of Sinta & UKD, and we have been collaborating under the name Double Clapperz since 2012. Sinta was born & raised in Tokyo, UKD moved from Fukushima to Tokyo 6 years ago. We are based in the suburbs in the Western part of Tokyo.
How did you guys get into grime music, or UK dance music in general?
We got really into UK dance music after going to Outlook Festival’s Japan Launch in 2012. We were really impressed with our first experiences of sound system culture and just how big the system sounded! You could feel your eyes trembling, and it was the first time we’d ever experienced bass like that. We saw Neo Tokyo Bass [music collective] there with Rumi [MC] and we were really impressed. After that, we organized a couple soundsystem-oriented nights featuring reggae as well as UK dance styles.
Can you tell us a bit about the nights you threw?
We threw the parties in Tachikawa, the suburbs in the West of Tokyo, and had to do them in a venue for rock music because there are no clubs out here! The parties were a lot of fun, and we managed to get people to make the 1hr train ride from the city to come dance. We didn’t have that many parties because renting the 3.5 meter speaker stacks is expensive but we would love to do more events.
How would you characterise the emergence and growth of Japan’s grime scene? What is its status today?
Japan’s grime scene is still very much underground. There are a few DJs who have been listening to UK music for a long time and who have amazing selection, from old school grime and dark garage to jungle, and they paved the way for Japanese producers and MCs to try their hand and push the local scene forwards. It’s still small but it’s growing, more teenagers are getting interested in grime what with artists like Skepta getting big in the UK and US. This phenomenon is also thanks to Twitter. Lots of people around us really like Twitter, and a lot of UK grime artists like twitter, so we haven’t had any problems linking with people internationally.
Grime is still a heavily UK-centric scene; have you felt it necessary to interface with grime’s traditional framework? Or do you think has grime moved past that and started to become a global genre?
That is a tough question. Grime has become global in the sense that people know it now, and there are people making it in Japan, Australia, China… all of it deliberately within the same genre. We definitely want to link with others and make waves from here in Asia. Still, given that most of the big producers are based in the UK, the UK definitely drives the scene for the most part. The UK is also the home of most of the radio stations important to grime music.
I see that you guys have played in London – are you over there frequently? Do you have any interest in moving there?
We’ve actually only played there once, Sinta studied in Madrid for a year and we happened to get booked in London. It was lots of fun but we don’t feel the need to move there. We find Tokyo’s scenery and its mixture of cultures has really inspired us when making music.
Which Japanese artists should we look out for?
Dufff is a great MC, with signature deep flows and serious lyrics. He and Nomine have an unreleased tune together that is truly incredible. Carpainter from TREKKIE TRAX is great, his garage production is incredible. Prettybwoy is one of the most creative producers in the game.
What platforms for grime exist in Japan? Labels, promoters, venues, websites, blogs, etc.
In terms of labels, there’s Soaku Kogyo run by Soaku-beats, which is famous for MC Dekishi’s albums, and Artcore G+ run by MC Dufff & Negatin. Last year, Artcore G+ had a grime night in Osaka with 10 grime MCs & DJs and it was pure madness. MCs in Osaka spit their bars aggressively with fast flows and it was incredible.
Promoters like GOODWEATHER, dbs, and BS0 (who specialize in Bristol Music) push international & local talents in the scene. We shared the stage with Elijah & Skilliam at a GOODWEATHER night at Nagoya.
Other than that, we’ve played at a number of dubstep, jungle, and reggae parties in Tokyo and we’ve found that the mixture of vibes inspires us a lot. As a result, our productions are not only influenced by grime, but also dubstep, dancehall & dub music.
There are plenty of local grime tracks but sadly few platforms on the web. We really love internet radio culture and are doing a semi-regular mix series for Radar Radio, we’ve done about five for them already. We also host a bi-weekly program on NOUS.FM, a Japanese internet radio station.
How did you originally connect with Pakin and other Japanese MCs?
We were finalists at an event called WarDubJP in 2013, and some MCs in the scene got to know us through that. We linked with MC Pakin 3 years ago. Pakin introduced us to Dekishi around that time too. We have plenty of exclusive vocals from them, and we would are excited to work more with those guys in the near future.
Want to tell us about your upcoming releases?
We are in the process of pressing a limited white label run of 200 copies [funded through Indie Go Go], thanks to all the support we’ve had from people over the globe. The vinyl will be shipped on June and will be sold via select distributors as well. We will be holding a Double Clapperz vinyl launch party in Ebisu BATICA, 16th of May. We are also currently working on something with Swimful, a Shanghai based producer. During 2016, we plan to release an EP digitally, so keep your eyes on us.
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THE MODERATOR: Good evening. I'd like to welcome our leader for the first round, Bryson DeChambeau. Bryson, you recorded a fine 6‑under par 66; 35, 31, nine birdies, including six of the last seven from 12 to 18.
Bryson, what a great start to the tournament for you. Perhaps you can offer some thoughts on your round today, especially the last nine.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, it's obviously my best round out here, 66. I was just looking to shoot something in the 60s this week because I haven't done that yet in my couple times playing here.
What a magical back nine. Wind started to pick up, right around Amen Corner, and it was tough. It was not easy one bit. But we just stuck to what we knew we should have done, and we did, and was able to execute a beautiful 9‑iron on 12 that kind of jump started my back nine, hitting it to five feet, making that putt got me rolling.
Only thing we didn't really understand was on 14, we hit a shot, just a little up in the wind and just got really hit by the wind and ended up short rolling back, and that was a big mistake. But other than that, that was the only mistake, other than the drive on 17. I'll have to work on that hole on the range after tonight.
Q. The green looks good, by the way, so far.
Q. Was there anything that clicked that was a little different on the back nine at all that wasn't quite going for you? Was it just the way it developed?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Just the way it developed. Honestly, I was hitting it great all day, driving it well. Just an accumulation of great golf that finally showed in the score.
Q. As you saw the shot on 18, what was going through your head?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Should have pulled the flagstick out (chuckles), should have had Tim go out there and pull it out or tinned it. But no, it was a great shot, and I was excited just to tap‑in to finish off a great round.
Q. You mentioned earlier this week that your preparation would need to be more intense for Augusta than perhaps other tournaments. Can you just share an example of something you had to do earlier this week that you have perhaps never had to do before?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I had to spend more time on the putting green. Normally we have contour maps, and I'm able to rely off those pretty easily. Unfortunately we don't this week, and I understand that. Totally respect that, and you know, I like the challenge, actually. It's kind of fun. I think going out there and trying to use your eyes as much as possible, get your sense of balance and where level is, it's really a very unique skill. It's a tough skill to develop and create, but one that if you can do that, then in other tournaments, too, using the contour maps, you can be really deadly with both of that, combined together.
But here this week, it's about really practicing and looking at slopes and making sure you can see the line go in the hole.
Q. They mentioned in the broadcast that you had made some changes with your iron this week. Could you detail that as much as you feel comfortable doing? And second, you had spoken about in 2016, you didn't feel you were ready to win this tournament. I know there's three rounds left, but what makes you feel better about that possibility this time around?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, last week we spent a good deal‑‑ and it started‑‑ it's been going on for a couple years now with my wedge play and my iron play not being as good as I know it could be for the swing that I have.
So everybody was like, well, is the one length‑‑ it's not. It's something else that we were missing. And so last week I said I'm going to stay here at Dallas National until I figure out what it is on this gear system.
I stayed there for 14 hours on Wednesday hitting 125 shots out there on this system trying to figure out what was happening with the wedges, and we knew it was something in regards to the spin loft curve and us being on the wrong side of the spin loft curve, but we didn't understand how to get it back on the correct side.
And so after careful observation and some really deep, deep thinking on what's happening and some cool depictions of how the club was moving through the ball, we started to realize it was something we could do with the shafts. And so we went the other way with my previous logic, which I don't really want to give too much about it out, but we went the other way with the way I was previously thinking, and it actually started to work.
From then on we were working on just fine tuning it and just getting a good understanding of what is going to fit me perfect in any situation. We've come really close to a really good answer. Obviously it was good enough to shoot 66 today. I think I just need a little more practice to get comfortable in all situations.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Again, there's a bit of the maturing aspect of it, understanding how to control certain emotions on the golf course. Not necessarily from an attitude perspective. Just from a nerve perspective, being comfortable in different situations and being able to go, I can do this, this is not a problem, compared to in 2016, I'm like, I'm not sure if I can do it. That's really what the change has been.
Q. This is very unscientific, but there is such positive energy out there on the course all afternoon. Koepka is getting birdies all over the place; you are; Phil almost got a hole‑in‑one. Can it be contagious at all? Do you get impacted by that?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, absolutely, there is an energy and there is something in science that does talk about that and more and more science is coming out about that.
Yeah, it's great to have momentum and great atmosphere and gets you all pumped up. Creates some adrenaline flow and allows you to get in a different mind‑set. I believe that's partially what happened today, yeah.
Q. You're a guy that likes to break down things and study things. What's the process for you like, just learning the nuances of a place like this?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, you saw me working as hard as I possibly could leading up to this event. I think a lot of the preparation is needed coming into this event. I think just experience over time, I don't know if I'm going to be able to figure out every little nuance of this golf course in my third year playing, but what I can do is prepare as good as I can and be comfortable with my own game in any situation; so that when I get out here, any situation that arises, I feel I can execute and play the game that's necessary.
So yeah, that's as best of an answer as I can give you on that one.
Q. You played well today obviously, but a lot of guys seem to struggle, especially with the pin locations today. Can you talk about how challenging that was out there?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 14. 14 was brutal. And you couldn't miss it short, and I did the only thing you couldn't do; if you hit it past it, it was okay. Even a little right of the flag it was okay. You know, and I think‑‑ what was another good one? 11 was tough. 10 was difficult. A lot of hole locations; 6 was difficult and 5 was even difficult, too.
It's just a great test of golf to start out the first round of Masters, and to be honest, it's great to sift through some of the really good players and maybe not so great players in this event right now.
And look, it's not to say they are bad players. It's just it's very difficult out there and you've got to be‑‑ every aspect of your game has to be on point. So it's kind of nice, you can almost break away from the pack if you play well.
Q. You mentioned 14‑hour practice session. That seems like an awfully long time. Is that a common thing for you? Is that‑‑ do you get tired at some point?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: If I get driven enough to where it's been a long enough time to where we haven't figured something out, I will exhaust every resource until I figure it out. And that's common with me. I become almost a little, in a positive way, OCD about trying to complete something, very positive way.
It's only certain times. I won't make my bed at all. I don't really care too much about that (laughs). But outside‑‑ inside the game of golf, I can sometimes become very OCD, and it's a positive thing that's allowed me to play well.
Q. What's the longest session that you've had?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Probably that one. I've had days back at Mike Schy's place, the 10 in Fresno, California‑‑ Madera California. I've gone from 6:30 to 7:00 a.m. till 8:00 at night. Why not.
Q. When you saw where the ball landed on 16, how much did "ace" go through your mind?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The whole time it was rolling. I've never had an ace, ever, unfortunately. I was hoping it would go in.
Q. What was the club?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Nice little 8‑iron off the higher part of the face.
Q. What's the plan for tonight? Will you hit some balls before you head home?
Q. And do you like going early/late or late/early?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Doesn't matter to me too much. I know if I'm trying to hit it my best and trying to figure something out, early/late is something I do appreciate because I can give myself a little test run and try to make some changes if need be to play better the next day.
But as of right now, it's better to play good, and hopefully go back out in the morning and do the same.
Q. You mentioned the word challenge and fun, and the fun of the challenge. We asked that of Jack Nicklaus this morning, and he talked about how that is the difference; it's supposed to be fun. Does that change your‑‑ considering the importance of this tournament, does it change the way you are, your approach, because you're having fun out there?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think when I execute, when there's a given challenge and I execute up to the standard of the given challenge, that's what's fun to me. When I'm not performing, then I go into grind mode and try to figure out why it didn't work and how we can implement something else that may make it better in the future.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Some people could say that I just think‑‑ overthinking is usually a cause of not really understanding the situation and not really being able to decipher what's going on.
And so sometimes overthinking is necessary to say‑‑ to go down a rabbit hole and be like, okay, that doesn't work, so now I have to go find another route. So overthinking eventually gets you to the answer. You just have to keep going down the hole.
Q. When you said no hole‑in‑ones; is that in competition?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Xander doesn't have one either two. Top‑10 players in the world don't have hole‑in‑ones, at least that's what I was told. I may be wrong on that but that's what I was told. Pretty unique.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No. You're always on the tip of your toes out here. You can't let one shot go awry, and that's what Mr.Jones and Mr.MacKenzie, that's the way they designed this golf course. That's the beauty of this golf course and that's the beauty of this championship. It's a great test of golf.
Q. Didn't mean it quite that way. I meant, you felt so good about the way you were playing, a comfort zone?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It was fun when I had to make a 2‑inch putt on the 18th hole. That was about it.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Bryson. We wish you all the best and a great round today.
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Tonight, a look back at some of the headlines from 2015. From the Black Lives Matter movement, to the Paris terrorist attacks, to the Columbus Mayoral Race, to Marriage Equality, headlines were buzzing in the old year. Plus, a preview of the "New Year's Six" Bowl Games and the Citrus Bowl.
The DJBC Happy Hour is a weekly radio show on WCRS-FM, hosted by the DJBC himself. The show changes themes from week to week, keeping the show fresh, and the listeners on their toes.
#TheGame: # 8-ranked Ohio State B*ckeyes (10-1, 6-1) travel to Ann Arbor to play # 12-ranked Michigan (9-2, 6-1) in the 112th edition of "The Rivalry". For the first time in 28 years, two coaches who know and deeply understand the importance of the rivalry take center stage.
Can Michigan beat Ohio, or will the B*cks make it 13 out of 15? Michigan is coming off a lackluster 28-16 win at Penn State, while Ohio's 23-game winning streak was snapped in a 17-14 loss to Michigan State.
- Since 1930, first-year Michigan coaches are 7-1 in "The Game": 2011 (40-34 win; Brady Hoke); 2008 (the one skidmark: a 42-7 Ohio thumping; R*ch R*dr*g**z); 1995 (31-23 win; Lloyd Carr, after Ohio receiver Terry Glenn talked smack); 1990 (16-13 win in Columbus; Gary Moeller); 1969 (24-12 - snapping Ohio's 22-game winning streak; "The Greatest College Football Team Ever Assembled" was Ohio in '69; Bo Schembechler); 1959 (23-14 win; Bump Elliott); 1948 (13-3 win; Bennie Oosterbaan; last outright UM National Championship); 1938 (18-0 win; Fritz Crisler).
- This is the first meeting where both teams are ranked in the AP Poll since 2012 (a 26-21 Ohio win in Columbus), and the Coaches' Poll since 2007 (a 14-3 Ohio win in Ann Arbor). The last Michigan win when both teams were ranked was 2003 (35-21 win; since then Ohio has gone 10-1).
- Jim Harbaugh was 2-0 as a starting quarterback (1985: a 27-17 win in Ann Arbor; 1986: "The Guarantee", a 26-24 win in Columbus) at Michigan, the latter game, Ohio Head Coach Urban Meyer was a graduate assistant under Earle Bruce.
- First game in "The Game" since 1987 (Earle Bruce & Bo Schembechler) with two coaches that understand the importance of this game.
- Since 1951, first-year Michigan coaches are 0-7 against Michigan State, but 5-1 against the B*ckeyes.
- No first-year Michigan coach has lost to the B*cks in Ann Arbor since 1929 (a 7-0 Ohio win).
Tonight on the show, the "War on Thanksgiving", as retailers try to salvage the Thanksgiving holiday, the war vs. Black Friday drudges forward. Plus, Thanksgiving the "Foodie" holiday. A dual preview of the "Little Brothers" vs. Ohio game on Saturday at the Shoe, and Michigan/Penn State game, both of which air locally on Saturday on WSYX ABC-6 at 3:30PM and High Noon Eastern, respectively.
Tonight on the show, some of the music from 1965, one of the most turbulent years in American history, as the carefree 1950s, made way for the turbulent 1960s.
Tonight on the show, recaps of the Emmys, and the B*ckeye struggles against Northern Illinois, a team that the B*ckeyes should have clobbered, but didn't. Plus, the show opens with Neil DeGrasse Tyson exploring the role that Autumn plays.
Tonight is a re-broadcast of # 124: "The News of the Day" (originally broadcast on October 6, 2014).
What the hell is going on in Ann Arbor with the Michigan football program? What can be the remedy to this problem?
It's only 18 Days until A New Era Begins in Ann Arbor (but on the road in Salt Lake City), and only 22 Days until the Champs go down shorthanded (no pun intended) in Blacksburg!
Tonight, a re-broadcast of Show # 29, "I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For...." (Originally Broadcast: November 21, 2011), which started a new tradition on WCRS, shaming the Ohio B*ckeyes. 2011 was a down year for Ohio, having lost their quarterback and head coach to a cash and memorabilia for tattoos scandal, and saw big players suspended for several games, including their star receiver, who sat out TEN games, for their roles in Tattoogate. Michigan was returning to its former glory under first-year coach Brady Hoke, and favored to beat Ohio for the first time since 2004. Michigan would go on to hold off Ohio with a Courtney Avery interception with 39 seconds left, as Michigan beat Ohio for the first time since 2003, 40-34.
Tonight's show previews that glorious moment in all of college sports, with a Scooby Doo-type spoof, plus celebrity chefs sharing their own Game Day recipes for the B*ckeyes.
Nov. 3 - DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!
- "Fun With AdvoCare" is a parody of the "Fun With Flags" vlogcast from the TV sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", poking fun at B*ckeye QB Braxton Miller's Instagram party foul.
- A parody of our brother WCRS program "Sports Unfiltered".
A longer, 70-second version of the "OSU National Champions (Kermit & Miss Piggy) Promo".
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Fruit spreads such as jams are a household staple for many families, and most people enjoy them regularly. However, not everyone can name the differences between a jam, a conserve, a preserve, a marmalade, a jelly, and a fruit butter. Is one nutritionally superior to the other?
Jelly: Having a thin consistency, jelly is fruit spread made from fruit juices. The fruits are cooked and then strained, so jellies are always clear.
Jam: Like jelly, jam is made by cooking the fruit. However, the fruit is cooked until soft and mushy and then pureed, releasing the natural pectin that thickens the jam.
Preserves: Very similar to jam, except that the fruit pieces are left in chunks.
Conserves: Conserves are like preserves, but are typically made with a mixture of fruits and nuts that are cooked until thick.
Marmalade: Marmalade uses the fruit’s zest, pulp, and juice, but not the whole fruit, because that would make the product bitter.
Fruit butter: Fruit butters actually do not contain any butter. They are made from certain orchard fruits, such as apples, and are lightly flavoured with spices like cinnamon.
No matter which fruit spread catches your fancy, it is important to check to labels to avoid undesirable additives like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Going with organic or more gourmet varieties tend to give you a more wholesome product. Try to steer clear of the low-sugar and sugar-free varieties, as they typically contain many more additives, including artificial coloring.
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Is Saul “Canelo” Alvarez the next Oscar De La Hoya? Nope. According to Saul's promoter, De La Hoya himself, Saul is the first Canelo and not the next De La Hoya.
In a recent interview conducted by John Whisler of the San Antonio Express, De La Hoya was asked if Alvarez is going to be the next Oscar De La Hoya?
De La Hoya tells the publication: "He's going to be the first Canelo. I mean there's only one Oscar. Canelo is going to make his own mark. When I go with him to Mexico, the fan frenzy he creates is amazing. The last time I went with him, I said to myself, ‘He's the future, I'm the past.' What other Mexican redhead do you know that can fight like that, and at 20 years old? That's why the fans love him. He looks like Howdy Doody, and he can fight."
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I f you are a veteran, you may have faced a traumatic experience, such as witnessing violence, partaking in active combat, suffering abuse or losing fellow service members and friends to war. Trauma may continue to burden you throughout your daily life. You may have frequent intrusive flashbacks, distressing nightmares or overwhelming memories tied to your past experiences. You may experience some of the physical symptoms of trauma, such as fatigue, aches and pains, a racing heartbeat and poor concentration. Perhaps after you were discharged, you felt lost and confused when you returned home. You may now feel distant from your spouse, children, friends, family members or coworkers because they do not seem to understand your experiences. Even though you are ready to get your life back on track, you may not know where to turn for help in your community. In an attempt to escape the side effects of emotional or physical trauma, it’s possible that you have turned to drugs or alcohol to find a sense of escape or security. Your fears, addictions or mood swings may have led to job loss or legal trouble. Without a stable job, support from your family or connections within your community, you may have resorted to living on the street. If you are homeless, you may feel like you have no hope for getting sober, finding emotional stability or building a positive future for yourself. Deep down, you may wish you could find the support you need to get your life back on a positive track and confidently move forward.
If you are the family member of a veteran, you may have noticed a drastic change in your loved one’s mood since he or she returned from service. Your family member may often seem constantly irritable, angry, sad or anxious. He or she may have withdrawn from your family, avoided social gatherings or refused to leave your home for extended periods of time. If you are the spouse of a veteran, it’s possible you have been woken up in the night by your partner’s nightmares or irregular sleep schedule, heightening your concerns about his or her wellbeing. When your veteran experiences a flooding of emotions triggered by a particular sight, sound, taste or smell, you may worry about his or her physical safety and feel helpless to relieve his or her pain. It’s possible you have seen your loved one consuming several alcoholic beverages or prescription pills each day, and now you are concerned he or she is heading toward a life threatening addiction. You may wish your family member could clear his or her painful memories, prioritize his or her truest goals and move forward in a healthy and connected life.
The good news is that no matter how a veteran struggles in life, he or she can always reach out to the Bodhi Battalion for housing assistance, engaging veteran therapy sessions and a community-centered environment tailored to his or her needs.
Veterans who struggle with reintegration issues, PTSD and/or substance abuse problems are not alone. In a Washington Post survey of service members, 50 percent of respondents said re-adjusting to civilian life was difficult after they returned from active duty. Studies by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse have found that rates of PTSD and prescription drug abuse among veterans may be double the civilian rates. For veterans who experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD and substance abuse may be even more common because of the added physical and emotional stress they underwent during the time of their injury.
The Bodhi Battalion is committed to helping those who served our country find relief and live a rewarding life. Whether you are a veteran who struggles to find emotional stability or you are the family member of a veteran who is concerned about your loved one’s wellbeing, help is available.
The Bodhi Battalion’s safe and compassionate therapy for veterans sessions aim to help veterans and their families heal, find peace and improve all areas of their lives. That is, in addition to addressing mental health needs, we also help him or her find stable housing, positively engage with the community, resolve legal issues, hold a steady job and connect with his or her loved ones. We believe that by broadening our scope and creating the opportunity for veterans to learn and live with more joy, we can offer the most effective environment for growth.
Veterans will work one-on-one with our network of service providers to determine their needs and goals. If a veteran is need of housing, we will first provide him or her with housing assistance – either through offering one of Bodhi Battalion’s units or helping him or her find subsidized housing and make rental deposit payments.
Depending on the individual veteran’s challenges, the Bodhi Battalion may work with him or her in one or more of the following therapy sessions: PTSD treatment, substance abuse treatment or wellness coaching.
Our network of experienced service providers can work with veterans through a variety of treatment approaches, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and brainspotting, in order to clear the effects of trauma and eliminate triggers that lead to drug and alcohol abuse. Depending on the needs and personality of the veteran, we may also choose to practice breathing techniques and muscle relaxing exercises during sessions to help veterans gain a sense of calmness when they face difficult life situations.
In addition to helping veterans move past painful memories and build their confidence, we can also help them improve their communication patterns with their loved ones during individual sessions and military family therapy sessions. Veterans will have the opportunity to learn how to effectively listen and convey their needs to their family members, friends and coworkers. During wellness coaching sessions, we can even go further and help veterans fortify their bonds and maximize their overall happiness in life.
The Bodhi Battalion is committed to serving our veterans who have so bravely made sacrifices in their lives for our country. We believe that no matter how much a veteran struggles in life, he or she always has hope to move forward in a connected and rewarding life.
If you are interested in learning more about seeking therapy for veterans, please contact us or follow the following links for more detailed information: PTSD treatment, substance abuse treatment or wellness coaching We are happy to answer any questions you may have about therapy or other ways we can help you or your loved one.
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KinoCritics Article: Let's Do Lunch!
Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Sony Electronics Inc. kick-off the Sundance 2010 festival with an invitation to the press to have the first peek at the selected art-form performances and installations of the New Frontier on Main program over a light but palatable lunch. My kind of an invite!
One by one, Frilot introduced the featured artists up close and personal. She announced the title of their artwork and asked them to briefly describe what their art form had to do with film. In addition to the artwork showcase, thirteen panel discussion events and six feature films would début during the week in support of the impact art forms have in the ever changing culture of film.
I noticed actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (remember him as a ‘90s child star in Angels in the Outfield with Danny Glover) and was curious why he chose to participate in the 2010 art form team. I listened to him describe his passion to run a collaborative production company that would open up the world to his doorstep, i.e., he would work together with many people around the world to make creative film products. His idea is not to limit ventures with people within the industry but to look beyond for a wider audience—the world. Wow! Just think! That is respectively you and me! There was wisdom beyond his years as he explained the process. I was in! He got me hook, line and sinker to check how the hands-on-lab at his New Frontier on Main exhibit called hitRECord.org. Naturally, I was not the only curious George. Fortunately, some of the hitRECord company gurus (producer: Jared Geller, director: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, art director: Marke Johnson, and Chief Technical Officer: Mike Everett) were on hand to mingle and explain the project.
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Do y’all remember Phaedra Parks, the attorney turnt “housewife” who was unceremoniously booted from The Real Housewives of Atlanta a few season’s back?
Phaedra popped up at Nene Leakes’ birthday party a few months back, sparking rumors that she would be returning to the popular reality show.
Welp… you can officially scratch Phaedra’s name from your dream team list of Atlanta ‘housewives’.
Now I’m not one to gossip… but when this bit of tea came across the phone lines, I couldn’t help but slurp it up!
If you recall, Nene Leakes jumped on the Phaedra bandwagon a few weeks back after discovering that Kandi Burruss and Cynthia Bailey had formed an allegiance to bring back former ‘housewife’ Kenya Moore.
Phaedra’s re-emergence got the net talking and many blawgs reported that the collaboration meant that Parks was on board for season 12.
The #ComeBackP train began to heat up when Phaedra showed up as Nene’s special “surprise guest” at Andy Cohen’s housewives filled baby shower.
Phaedra seemed to be in like Flynn after the appearance! RHOA Peach secured, new love on the horizon… life is good, right? Wrong!
Here’s where the story gets interesting… Phaedra was clearly on board returning but it was apparently her own loose lips that sunk her RHOA ship!
Word on the curb is that while partying at Andy Cohen’s baby shower, Phaedra shared her thoughts with one of the ‘housewives’ in attendance about how Bravo nearly ruined her life.
Parks reportedly told the friendly “foe”, that she was the happiest she had ever been and then proceeded to drag the network, stating something along the lines of how producers ruined her reputation and how she felt they were in the business of making money on people’s downfalls.
For the record, it’s not the first time Phaedra expressed those sentiments.
Apparently word got back to Andy that the RHOA hopeful was dragging the network and he was understandably livid!!! I mean… how dare Phaedra pop up (UNINVITED) to an event filled with Bravo personalities and drag Bravo??
Now I’m not sure if there were other things that Phaedra said that set Cohen off, but whatever he was told was enough for him to cut ties with the former housewife and DEMAND that she no longer be associated with their brand… no way… no how.
Needless to say, I wouldn’t look for Phaedra to appear on The Real Housewives of Atlanta any time soon.
What are your thoughts about Phaedra’s ALLEGED foot in mouth disease?
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Telomeres maintain genomic integrity in normal cells, and their progressive shortening during successive cell divisions induces chromosomal instability. In the large majority of cancer cells, telomere length is maintained by telomerase. Thus, telomere length and telomerase activity are crucial for cancer initiation and the survival of tumors. Several pathways that regulate telomere length have been identified, and genome-scale studies have helped in mapping genes that are involved in telomere length control. Additionally, genomic screening for recurrent human telomerase gene hTERT promoter mutations and mutations in genes involved in the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway, such as ATRX and DAXX, has elucidated how these genomic changes contribute to the activation of telomere maintenance mechanisms in cancer cells. Attempts have also been made to develop telomere length- and telomerase-based diagnostic tools and anticancer therapeutics. Recent efforts have revealed key aspects of telomerase assembly, intracellular trafficking and recruitment to telomeres for completing DNA synthesis, which may provide novel targets for the development of anticancer agents. Here, we summarize telomere organization and function and its role in oncogenesis. We also highlight genomic mutations that lead to reactivation of telomerase, and mechanisms of telomerase reconstitution and trafficking that shed light on its function in cancer initiation and tumor development. Additionally, recent advances in the clinical development of telomerase inhibitors, as well as potential novel targets, will be summarized.
Cancer is generally an age-related genetic disease, manifesting only when normal cells accumulate genomic instability over a period of time and acquire the capability of replicative immortality. Telomere attrition during successive cell divisions induces chromosomal instability and contributes significantly to genomic rearrangements that can result in tumorigenesis. Telomeres, repetitive (TTAGGG) DNA–protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes, are crucial for the survival of cancer cells. They are maintained by an enzyme called telomerase in the vast majority of tumors. The mechanisms underlying telomere length (TL) maintenance and telomerase expression involve transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, and in-depth understanding of these mechanisms may provide novel biomarkers and targets for early detection of disease, determination of disease prognosis, and the development of therapeutics .
Telomeres protect chromosome ends from fusion and from being recognized as sites of DNA damage (Box 1). Dysfunctional telomeres, arising by critical shortening of telomeres in normal somatic cells during progressive cell divisions, elicit DNA damage responses (DDRs) that trigger cellular senescence. Cells that gain oncogenic changes bypass senescence and continue to divide (extended lifespan period) until multiple critically shortened telomeres initiate crisis (a period of complete replicative senescence, chromosome end-to-end fusions, and extensive apoptosis). This leads to breakage–fusion–bridge cycles in which two sister chromatids lacking telomeres fuse together, forming a bridge with a chromatin connection. During anaphase, the sister chromatids are drawn apart owing to movement towards opposite poles, resulting in the formation of uneven derivative chromosomes, leading to genomic instability. The period of crisis results in extensive cell death. However, certain rare cells escape crisis and maintain stable but usually shortened telomere lengths for continued cell growth, eventually progressing to a malignant phenotype. Cancer cells achieve proliferative immortality by activating or upregulating the normally silent human TERT gene (hTERT) that encodes telomerase, a protein with reverse transcriptase activity that complexes with other proteins and a functional RNA (encoded by hTR, also called hTERC) to make a ribonucleoprotein enzyme complex. Rarely, another DNA recombination mechanism termed alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) reverses telomere attrition in order to bypass senescence. Although hTERT is usually silenced in almost all somatic cells, it is significantly expressed in ~90 % of human cancers. The details of the underlying mechanisms of hTERT activation are still being elucidated, but they mainly include mutations in the hTERT promoter, alterations in alternative splicing of hTERT pre-mRNA, hTERT amplification, epigenetic changes, and/or disruption of telomere position effect (TPE) machinery .
Recent reports have implicated two cancer-specific hTERT promoter mutations (mainly C˃T transitions) in the activation of telomerase in cancer cells [3, 4]. These mutations, which are located either −124 base pairs (bp) or −146 bp upstream from the TERT translation start site [5, 6], have been found to be associated with increased telomerase activity . Therefore, molecular mechanisms that regulate hTERT expression and telomerase assembly have been subjected to intense investigation. Studies using telomerase inhibition strategies have established that robust hTERT inhibition can lead to progressive telomere shortening and eventually cancer cell death. Several approaches, including use of small-molecule inhibitors, antisense oligonucleotides, immunotherapy, and G-quadruplex stabilizers have been employed to inhibit telomerase function . Currently, many anti-telomerase therapeutics are being evaluated in clinical trials against a variety of cancer types. The following sections will cover recent developments in the area of telomere and telomerase biology, their implications for understanding mechanisms underlying cancer and for the development of cancer therapies, as well as outstanding questions for the field.
Recent studies have significantly contributed to our understanding of telomere organization in the nucleus, telomere profiling for risk stratification, and the signaling pathways that mediate modulation of telomere structural component proteins or factors to regulate gene transcription . Telomeres consist of a capping structure, which is a specialized nucleoprotein structure consisting of DNA and shelterin protein complexes. Telomeric DNA contains a variable number of G-rich, non-coding, tandem repeats (10–15 kilobases (kb) long in humans at birth) of double-stranded DNA sequence, 5′-(TTAGGG) n -3′, followed by a terminal 3′ G-rich single-stranded overhang (150–200 nucleotide long). The 3′ G-rich overhang facilitates telomeric DNA in forming a higher-order structure in which the 3′ single-stranded overhang folds back and invades the homologous double-stranded TTAGGG region, forming a telomeric loop (T-loop) that provides 3′-end protection by sequestering it from recognition by the DDR machinery . The proteins associated with telomeres are called the shelterin complex, which consists of three core shelterin subunits, TRF1 and TRF2, which directly recognize and bind duplex TTAGGG repeats, and POT1, which recognizes and binds single-stranded TTAGGG overhangs. These three proteins are interconnected by three additional shelterin proteins, TIN2, TPP1 and RAP1, forming a complex that enables DDR surveillance machinery to distinguish telomere DNA from sites of genomic DNA damage (Fig. 1). The shelterin complex performs critical and distinct functions that ensure telomere stability. For example, TRF2 is required for T-loop formation and maintenance of ATM-mediated DDR suppression and repression from non-homologous end joining . TRF1 has a central role in controlling replication of telomeric DNA while POT1 associates with TPP1 to bind the single-stranded 3′ overhang and repress ATR-mediated DDR by preventing the recruitment of replication protein A (RPA) . TIN2 is essential to the overall integrity of the shelterin complex as it links the TPP1/POT1 heterodimer to TRF1 and TRF2, and stabilizes TRF1 and TRF2 associations with telomeric DNA [14, 15]. RAP1 interacts with TRF2 and improves its selective binding to telomeric DNA .
Apart from DNA end protection, telomeres also perform other important functions such as regulation of gene expression through transcriptional silencing of genes located close to the telomeres, called TPE , or located at long distances from telomeres, termed TPE over long distances (TPE-OLD) . The function of telomeres is tightly regulated and depends on a minimal length of telomeric repeats and the functionality of the associated shelterin protein complexes. In addition, higher-order DNA conformations, such as the T-loop and G-quadruplexes (G-rich four-stranded non-helical structures) are thought to contribute to normal telomere function. Moreover, telomeric chromatin has an important role in telomere maintenance, signaling and regulation of telomere function, but many of the precise structures and molecular mechanisms of human telomeric chromatin are not well understood. However, telomeric regions contain telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), a long non-coding RNA that is transcribed from telomeric DNA by RNA polymerase II . TERRA has been implicated in telomerase regulation, organization of heterochromatin at telomeres, regulation of gene expression, and in DDR triggered by dysfunctional telomeres . The mammalian cell lines harboring active ALT have higher TERRA levels compared with telomerase-positive cells . However, the exact role of TERRA in activation of the ALT mechanism is not clear .
TL is critically important in normal cells, and telomere shortening can—in combination with other oncogenic changes—promote genome instability, potentially stimulating initiation of the early stages of cancer. In humans, the distribution of TL among different chromosome arms is heterogeneous. TL reduces at a rate of 50–150 bp at each cell division in human somatic cells in cell culture. Consequently, individual telomere shortening rates may be different in different cell lineages. The time point at which any chromosome end will become uncapped depends on the specific TL shortening rate in each cell type or tissue. Thus, the shortest telomere is critically important for cell viability and chromosomal stability as it may be a sole contributor to the senescence onset signal . There are two critically important barriers that prevent cell immortalization and ultimately malignant transformation: replicative senescence and crisis . The period of cellular senescence, also known as mortality stage 1 (M1), is characterized by inhibition of cellular proliferation, probably due to the uncapping of one or a few shortened telomeres. In the presence of cancer-initiating changes, M1 can be bypassed, providing an extended cell division period. However, during this phase additional telomeres become very short and these “marked” telomeres result in a new dysfunctional state, termed crisis (or M2 crisis). M2 is a period in which signals to undergo replicative senescence and signals for cells to continue to divide are balanced. This eventually results in chromosome end-to-end fusions and extensive cell death (apoptosis) . However, a rare clone (1 in 100,000 to 1 in 10 million cells) can progress towards the acquisition of cell immortality . At this point, a mechanism must be engaged to maintain these very short telomeres, and this occurs by either increasing or reactivating telomerase expression, or by acquiring a much rarer telomerase-independent ALT mechanism, thus bypassing crisis and ultimately leading to cell immortalization (Fig. 2).
Although telomerase maintains telomere length in the majority of cancer cells, the ALT mechanism is also employed by 10–15 % of tumors . The ALT pathway utilizes a homologous recombination-based DNA replication mechanism to extend telomere length. The activation of the ALT mechanism is thought to involve loss of chromatin-remodeling factors such as ATRX and DAXX, resulting in reduced compaction of telomeric chromatin, which leads to the production of altered telomeric DNA sequences and activation of a telomere-specific DDR pathway [28, 29], which in turn stimulates homology-directed synthesis of telomeric DNA. Recently, Flynn and colleagues reported that inhibition of the protein kinase ATR disrupts the ALT mechanism in ALT-positive cancer cells, resulting in cell death. This suggests that ATR inhibitors may be a useful therapeutic intervention for ALT-harboring tumors.
Telomerase is a large ribonucleoprotein complex responsible for progressive synthesis of telomeric DNA repeats (TTAGGG) at the 3′ ends of linear chromosomes, thereby reversing the loss of DNA from each round of replication. Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that consists of a catalytic protein subunit called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), encoded by the hTERT gene in humans that is positioned at chromosome 5p15.33, and an essential RNA component known as human telomerase RNA (hTR) or human telomerase RNA component (hTERC), encoded by the hTERC gene found on chromosomal region 3q26. hTR acts as a template (carries sequence complementary to one or more copies of telomeric repeats) for the synthesis of telomere DNA, and is also involved in the catalysis, localization and assembly of the telomerase holoenzyme . Recent studies have reported that, in addition to TL maintenance, telomerase is also involved in gene expression regulation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, WNT/β-catenin signaling, NF-kB signaling, MYC-driven oncogenesis, DDR, cell adhesion and migration, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition [32–35]. All these activities of telomerase are thought to contribute significantly to the process of oncogenesis.
TL maintenance by telomerase is a complex multistep process that involves a series of molecular events including hTERT protein transport and trafficking into the nucleus, hTR and hTERT assembly with accessory components in the nucleus, and recruitment to telomeres at the appropriate time during DNA replication. It has been reported that at least hTERT and hTR are essential for the in vitro reverse transcriptase activity of the human telomerase enzyme . However, under in vivo conditions the telomerase holoenzyme also contains four additional proteins—dyskerin, NHP2, NOP10 and GAR1 (localization factor)—associated with the H/ACA class of small nucleolar RNAs that play an important role in the process of pseudouridylation during post-transcriptional modification of RNAs. In addition, a WD-repeat-containing protein 79 called TCAB1 binds to the CAB-box sequence within hTR and directs the telomerase holoenzyme to localize at Cajal bodies bound to the nucleolus . Numerous additional factors such as the chaperones HSP90 and p23, as well as the ATPases pontin and reptin, have also been observed to bind to the two main subunits of telomerase . Many of these factors are thought to be involved in the assembly of a functional telomerase holoenzyme in vivo but the actual mechanisms by which they interact with telomerase remain poorly understood. One working model of human telomerase biogenesis is that dyskerin, pontin and reptin form a scaffold and create an assembly platform for nascent hTR transcripts. Then, the H/ACA motif-binding complex of dyskerin, NHP2 ribonucleoprotein, NOP10 ribonucleoprotein, a nuclear assembly factor ribonucleoprotein (NAF1) and the telomerase ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particle associate. Next, hTR removes NAF1 and attaches GAR1, leading to the formation of a physiologically stable hTR-H/ACA-RNP complex. The hTR 3′-hairpin CAB-box sequence recruits TCAB1, and finally hTERT binds to two structurally independent hTR domains (CR4/CR5), thus generating the catalytically active telomerase RNP . TCAB1, found in Cajal bodies, binds to the CAB box of hTR and guides telomerase to the Cajal bodies, where it remains localized for most of the cell cycle, but the physiological significance of this process is not known.
The recruitment of telomerase to telomeres occurs only after the replication fork remodels the protected DNA 3′ ends during the S phase of the cell cycle. It involves protein–protein interactions between the shelterin complex components TPP1 and POT1 and the DAT (dissociates the activities of telomerase) domain of hTERT, a region that differentiates the in vivo functionality of hTERT from its in vitro activity. TPP1 contains an N-terminal oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB)-fold domain that includes a patch of amino acids termed the Tel patch, which directly interacts with the telomerase DAT domain . It also contains a central domain that directly binds to POT1 and a C-terminal domain that associates with TIN2. Thus, interaction between the DAT domain of hTERT and shelterin components ensures correct positioning of telomerase at the 3′ end of DNA for synthesis and processivity of telomeric repeats. Telomerase loading onto the telomeres is mediated by SRSF11 (a novel TERC-binding protein), which leads to the stable association of the enzyme with the telomere overhang, and proper positioning of the DNA 3′ end at the active site of the enzyme for nucleotide addition (Fig. 3).
Telomerase upregulation or reactivation is a critical feature in over 90 % of cancers. However, the mechanisms governing hTERT expression in cancer remain incompletely understood. Therefore, understanding how hTERT is activated in cancer cells and how it contributes to further progression of the disease continues to be a major area of research.
hTERT is a 40 kb gene consisting of 15 introns and 16 exons. It is located on the short arm of human chromosome 5 (5p15.33) approximately 1.2 megabases away from the telomere, embedded in a nuclease-resistant chromatin domain . The hTERT promoter is GC rich and lacks both TATA (found in the promoter regions of genes that encode proteins found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes) and CAAT (which rarely occurs in the promoter region of eukaryotes but is completely absent in prokaryotes) boxes but contains binding sites for multiple transcription factors, suggesting that hTERT expression is under multiple levels of control and may be regulated by different factors in different cellular contexts.
The 260 bp proximal region designated as the hTERT promoter core is responsible for most of its transcriptional activity. It contains at least five GC boxes (GGGCGG), which are binding sites for the zinc finger transcription factor SP1, and are essential for hTERT promoter activity. Two E-boxes (5′-CACGTG-3′), located at positions −165 and +44 of the nucleotide sequence of hTERT relative to the transcription start site (TSS), provide binding sites for several enhancer binding proteins such as the MYC/MAX/MXD1 family and USF1/2. The E-boxes are not only important for hTERT promoter activation by c-MYC, but also bind to MAD1 and USF1 to mediate hTERT repression. The hTERT promoter core also contains a single TSS that binds the multifunctional transcription factor TFII-I. The transcription of the hTERT promoter is regulated by the action of multiple transcription factors and the telomere chromatin environment. However, it remains unsolved how the interplay between transcription factors and the telomere chromatin milieu controls hTERT transcription. Several transcription factors bind to the hTERT promoter core to activate or repress hTERT transcription. The transcription factors that upregulate transcription include c-MYC, SP1, E-twenty-six (ETS) family members, NF-kB, AP-2 and HIF-1. Transcription factors such as p53 (also known as TP53; represses transcription in an SP1-dependent manner), MAD (transcription factor involved in a network controlling cell cycle progression), WT1, MZF-2, SIP1 and menin have been shown to downregulate hTERT transcription. Most of the transcription factors that upregulate the telomerase gene are widely expressed and cannot fully account for high levels of hTERT expression and activation during tumorigenesis (Fig. 4).
Recent observations of two highly recurrent mutations at two sites within the core promoter region of hTERT suggest one possible mechanism for the activation of telomerase in cancer cells. These mutations, which occur at −124 bp and −146 bp upstream from the ATG start site, are C˃T transitions (at positions 1,295,228 (C228T) and 1,295,250 (C250T) on chromosome 5), and each mutation generates an identical 11 bp nucleotide stretch (5′-CCCCTTCCGGG-3′) containing a consensus binding motif (GGA(A/T)) for ETS transcription factors that can function as transcriptional repressor, activator or both to regulate telomerase expression [3, 4]. However, the molecular mechanisms of telomerase activation by ETS are not clearly understood. It has recently been reported that epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated activation of telomerase activity in lung cancer is associated with direct binding of ETS-2 to the hTERT promoter . The recurrent hTERT promoter mutations were first reported as germline mutations from a family of melanoma patients and were later seen through genome sequencing of sporadic melanoma (in >74 % melanomas) and a number of cell lines across numerous cancer types and were associated with increased hTERT promoter activity [3, 4]. These mutations occur in approximately 70 % of melanomas, 80–90 % of glioblastomas, 60 % of hepatocellular carcinomas, 60 % of bladder cancers, 70 % of basal cell carcinomas, 50 % of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas, up to 30 % of thyroid cancers and approximately 72 % of oligodendrogliomas [4, 6, 44, 45].
Additionally, a less frequent hTERT promoter mutation, −57 bp upstream from the ATG start site, resulting in an A>C transition, and other less frequent but recurrent mutations in cancer are found on chromosome 5 at the following positions: 1,295,228 C>A; 1,295,248–1,295,243 CC>TT; and 1,295,161 A>C . However, when these mutations (−57 A>C, −124 C>T, −146 C>T) are introduced into tumor cells (A375 melanoma cells, UAGCC-62 melanoma cells, T24 bladder cancer cells) using a luciferase reporter construct, only a ~1.5- to 2-fold increase in hTERT transcription occurs [4, 45, 47]. Similarly, Huang and colleagues also demonstrated that hTERT promoter mutations C228T and C250T caused a 2.8-fold to 5.3-fold increase in transcription (using a luciferase reporter assay in U87-MG cells) and telomerase activation using the telomere repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay in both xenografts and primary tumor tissues. It is not clear whether the observed enhanced hTERT transcription and increased level of hTERT mRNA are actually related to enhanced telomerase functional enzyme activity and TL maintenance in tumor cells.
While hTERT promoter mutations are frequent in multiple non-epithelial cancer types and their distribution is similar in the majority of patients, Chiba and co-workers have emphasized that the impact of hTERT promoter mutations has mostly been studied in already transformed immortal tumor cells with active telomerase maintaining their telomeres. The tumor cells without such mutations also have sufficient telomerase activity to maintain their telomeres. Therefore, they introduced three common hTERT promoter mutations (−57 A>C, −124 C>T, −146 C>T) into isogenic human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, and observed that in undifferentiated hESCs the presence of −124 C>T caused a 2- to 3-fold increase in hTERT mRNA while neither the −57 A>C nor −146 C>T mutation had any effect on hTERT transcription and none of the three mutations had a major influence on telomerase activity. However, differentiated hESCs (fibroblasts) harboring these mutations continued hTERT transcription (8- to 12-fold increase) relative to normal hESCs, which would downregulate telomerase activity. Furthermore, telomerase activity in differentiated fibroblasts carrying hTERT promoter mutations was comparable to that observed in cancer cell lines. Bell and colleagues proposed that GA-binding protein (GABP), an ETS-binding transcription factor, in conjunction with TERT promoter mutations, drives activation of hTERT. They have shown that C228T and C250T transitions are necessary for hTERT promoter activation, as these generate an ETS motif, which is critically important for the predominant binding of GABP to activate aberrant transcription in cancer cells. However, it is not known whether GABP alone can activate hTERT promoter transcription or if it interacts with other ETS-binding transcription factors. Recently, Li and co-workers have pointed out that hTERT promoter mutations C228T and C250T are functionally different, in that the C250T unlike the C228T mutation is regulated by non-canonical NF-kB signaling, which is required for sustained telomerase activity.
While these non-coding hTERT promoter mutations are the most frequent promoter mutations in cancer, the level and frequency varies with cancer types (Table 1). Some cancers, such as melanoma, pleomorphic dermal sarcoma, myxoid liposarcoma, glioma, urothelial cell carcinoma, carcinoma of the skin and liver cancer, have the highest frequencies of TERT promoter mutations, while low frequencies were noted in gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors [6, 45, 48]. One possible explanation for these observations could be that incipient cancer cells, originating from rapidly self-renewing telomerase-competent cells, do not require TERT promoter mutations to regulate TL maintenance. Thus, cancers arising from these rapidly proliferating cells tend to have less frequent hTERT promoter mutations and probably just stably upregulate enzyme activity that is reversibly regulated in normal cells. By contrast, cancer-initiating cells originating from cells with low self-renewing capability may require TERT promoter mutations to overcome the short-telomere-dependent proliferative barrier. However, TERT promoter mutations have not been detected in prostate cancer, a cancer of low self-renewing tissue, suggesting that alterations within the core promoter of the TERT gene do not play an important role in prostate carcinogenesis . The common hTERT promoter mutations have been detected across all stages and grades in most cancers, suggesting that hTERT mutations are generally an early event in the process of carcinogenesis . It will be interesting to determine whether these mutations mostly occur during the period in which cells are undergoing crisis, in order to establish the role of these mutations as early events in the process of malignant transformation.
Telomerase expression also involves transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic levels of control, which may occur at any critical steps including transcription, mRNA splicing, hTR and hTERT synthesis and maturation, structural organization of telomerase RNP, nuclear localization of telomerase, post-translational modifications, and recruitment to the telomeres . Epigenetic mechanisms such as chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation and histone modifications for regulation of hTERT transcription have also been described [54, 55]. The expression of hTERT is also regulated by post-transcriptional mechanisms. The process of gene transcription leads to the generation of transcripts (sequence of pre-mRNA produced by transcription) that are further modified into translational forms by several processes such as mRNA capping (5′-cap), 3′-polyadenylation and alternative splicing. Alternative splicing of hTERT mRNA has been shown to be a key post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism but it remains unclear whether telomerase activity is directly associated with hTERT splicing.
Telomerase has been a prime target for the development of effective therapeutics against cancer as it is expressed in the majority of cancer types as well as in cancer stem or stem-like cells. In addition, normal human cells including stem cells have lower telomerase activity and generally maintain telomeres at longer lengths compared to cancer cells. These features provide an advantage that ensures minimum risk for possible telomere shortening in normal cells. The main objective of anti-telomerase therapeutics is to selectively induce apoptosis and cell death in cancer cells while minimizing the effects on normal cells . Multiple approaches have been adopted to achieve this goal through the development of vaccines, antisense oligonucleotides, and small-molecule inhibitors targeting hTERT or hTR. Although the oligonucleotide imetelstat (GRN163L) appears to be the most promising telomerase inhibitor, Bryan and colleagues have reported a novel telomerase inhibitor, BIBR1532, that binds to the thumb domain of TERT, disrupting TERT–RNA binding (telomerase ribonucleoprotein assembly), leading to the inhibition of enzyme activity. However, this compound has not yet progressed to clinical trials. Additionally, development of G-quadruplex stabilizers, tankyrase (which has an important role in telomere homeostasis, mitotic spindle formation and WNT/β-catenin signaling) inhibitors and HSP90 (involved in signal transduction, intracellular transport and protein degradation) inhibitors targeting telomere and telomerase assembly, and T-oligo (DNA oligonucleotide homologous to the telomere 3′ overhang region, which causes cytotoxic effects by inducing DDR) have also been explored to selectively kill cancer cells . In addition, immunotherapies that use dendritic cells (GRVAC1), hTERT peptide (GV1001) or cryptic peptides (Vx-001) are being tested in clinical trials. Several anti-telomerase agents (imetelstat and vaccines) are currently undergoing different phases of clinical trials but imetelstat is the only anti-telomerase compound that has been extensively evaluated in clinical trials. Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed a longstanding clinical hold on imetelstat and it is expected to complete planned clinical trials (Table 2).
DLT: thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, aPTT prolongation, fatigue, nausea, anorexia and dizziness.
Results not available in public domain.
Patients on imetelstat with short TL showed a trend towards longer median PFS as well as OS. However, imetelstat treatment in patients with long TL had no improvement in median PFS or OS.ADRs: neutropenia and thrombocytopenia.
Improved outcome in patients previously treated with imetelstat.
Eighteen patients, all with positive hematologic response. Positive molecular response in most patients with JAK2 V617F mutation. ADRs: neutropenia, anemia.
Complete or partial remission in 21 % patients. Bone marrow fibrosis was reversed in a few patients.
Imetelstat is a competitive inhibitor of telomerase activity, and was developed for the intravenous treatment of various cancers. It consists of a 13-mer N3′–P5′ thio-phosphoramidate oligonucleotide that is covalently attached to a palmitoyl (C16 lipid) moiety through a 5′-thio-phosphate group (Fig. 5a). The thio-phosphoramidate backbone of imetelstat is responsible for its outstanding features such as high aqueous solubility, acid and metabolic stability, resistance to the action of nucleases, and ability to form RNA duplexes . The lipid moiety of imetelstat provides high lipophilicity that enhances cellular uptake, retention and drug efficacy . Imetelstat does not behave like a typical antisense oligonucleotide as it does not bind to mRNA to inactivate it; rather its sequence (5′-palmitate-TAGGGTTAGACAA-NH2-3′) binds to a complementary 13-nucleotide region of hTR that has high affinity and specificity at the active site of the telomerase holoenzyme, thus leading to complete inhibition of enzyme activity (Fig. 5b).
Imetelstat has been extensively evaluated for its activity and efficacy against multiple cancer cell lines and in mouse xenograft models in preclinical studies. Imetelstat demonstrated potent inhibitory action against telomerase, causing shortening of telomeres in a large spectrum of cancer cell lines derived from tumors of the bladder, breast, lung, liver, prostrate and pancreas [62–64]. In vivo preclinical studies in mouse models of human tumor xenografts showed that the compound was well tolerated and highly efficacious in inducing telomerase inhibition, leading to reduced tumor growth, prevention of metastasis, and sensitization of tumors to standard chemotherapy . Imetelstat was also found to efficiently prevent glioblastoma tumor growth in a xenograft model by crossing the blood–brain barrier, probably owing to its highly lipophilic nature . Additionally, simultaneous suppression of homologous recombination and telomerase activity in a mouse model of Barrett’s adenocarcinoma with the combination of nilotinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitor) and imetelstat was reported to be more effective compared to either compound alone .
Imetelstat has been undergoing clinical trials for several years, and while some trials have already been completed, some were discontinued (breast and lung cancer, lymphoproliferative disorders and polycythemia vera) because the US FDA put these on hold due to hematological toxicity, but a few are still continuing (Table 2). Recent clinical development of imetelstat includes two studies, one with patients with myelofibrosis, referred to as the Initial MF Study or the IMbark™ study, and one with patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, called the MDS or IMerge™ study (Table 2). Currently, these studies are recruiting targeted patients at various centers in the USA, Europe and Asia.
Telomerase is an attractive target for the development of telomerase-based immunotherapy. In cancer cells, the degradation of telomerase by proteasomes results in the formation of protein fragments or peptides of telomerase that are expressed on the tumor cell surface as antigens by the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I pathway [68, 69], and these telomerase antigenic epitopes can be targeted by cytotoxic T cells to destroy the tumor cells . Telomerase-specific epitopes can induce CD4+ or CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses or stimulate antigen-presenting cells capable of attacking tumors (Fig. 6). Therefore, the rationale for anti-telomerase immunotherapy is to sensitize the immune system to tumor cells expressing hTERT peptides to activate and generate hTERT-specific CD8+ cells to produce enhanced anti-tumor effects. Two major strategies have been adopted to develop effective telomerase-based immunotherapy in cancer: an hTERT vaccine approach and a dendritic cell approach to prime antigen-presenting cells ex vivo. Three hTERT vaccines, GV1001, Vx001 and GRNVAC1, have been used to elicit anti-telomerase immune responses in cancer patients .
GV1001 is a 16-amino-acid, HLA class II-restricted hTERT peptide that contains amino acid sequence 611–626 (EAR-PALLTSRLRFIPK) of the hTERT active site . Granulocyte–monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or TLR7 is used as adjuvant to carry GV1001. The vaccine is endogenously processed to yield a HLA class I peptide producing both CD4+ and CD8+ responses, thus evoking strong cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activation . Another vaccine called Vx001 is a cryptic peptide (functional peptides hidden in protein structures)-based vaccine containing hTERT amino acid sequence YLFFYRKSV. The vaccine shows high affinity for HLA class I and has demonstrated a significant immune response rate in cancer patients [75, 76]. A dendritic-cell-based vaccine, GRNVAC1, consists of mature autologous dendritic cells transduced with mRNA encoding hTERT and LAMP1. LAMP1 guides hTERT to lysosomes, where it is degraded into small peptides, leading to a polyclonal immune response specific to all hTERT epitopes expressed by patient tumors . GRNVAC1 was found to be well tolerated with no signs of autoimmunity after three or six weekly injections and elicited robust immune response in patients . Currently, all these vaccines (GV1001, GRNVAC1 and Vx001) are undergoing clinical trials in cancer patients, and the hTERT-specific immune responses elicited by these vaccines were found to be well tolerated in the majority of patients (Table 3).
GRNVAC1 was found to be safe and well tolerated.
Positive immune responses in 55 % of patients.
Adding GV1001 vaccination to chemotherapy did not improve overall survival.
Clinical trial results have demonstrated that GRNVAC1, Vx001 and GV1001 are promising telomerase-targeting vaccines capable of stimulating CD4+ and CD8+ responses in telomerase-positive tumors, showing minimal effects on normal cells and no autoimmunity. Large multicenter studies are required to determine long-term toxicities in patients. However, at present, it is not certain if any of these vaccine candidates will progress to registration studies to get approval for clinical application.
A major challenge for anti-telomerase-directed therapy is the long lag period required to observe enough TL attrition to induce cell death. Telomere shortening requires a series of cell division cycles to become apparent, and treatment may have to be given continuously for months to induce therapeutically relevant tumor reduction effects. During this treatment period, most tumor cells will continue to grow, which may require the use of other treatment modalities for successful clinical outcomes. Importantly, with direct telomerase inhibitors, if the patient has hematological or any other toxicities (for example, one concern with imetelstat is the development of hematological toxicities requiring drug holidays), then going off treatment for a few weeks would reverse some of the benefits already obtained—the decision about treatment termination or stopping treatment for a short duration may depend upon the risk–benefit ratio in terms of efficacy and manifested toxicity.
Therefore, novel fast-acting therapeutic agents that can inhibit telomerase activity would be highly desirable. One such strategy is not to target telomerase directly but to introduce a modified nucleoside into cells so that telomerase would preferentially incorporate it into telomeric DNA. An altered nucleotide incorporated into telomeres would not bind to shelterin proteins efficiently and should lead to telomere dysfunction and rapid cell death. Mender and colleagues have recently demonstrated that, in telomerase-positive cells, 6-thio-2′-deoxyguanosine (6-thio-dG), a nucleoside analogue of 6-thioguanine (an approved drug), is recognized by telomerase and incorporated into telomeres. This results in altered telomere organization and activation of telomere-associated DNA damage signals called telomere dysfunction-induced foci, and rapid cell death. The nucleoside analogue 6-thio-dG has been evaluated against cell lines and in vivo. Treatment with 6-thio-dG resulted in rapid cell death, whereas normal telomerase-silent (telomerase-negative) human fibroblasts and normal human colonic epithelial cells were largely unaffected. In in-vivo studies, 6-thio-dG treatment caused significant reduction in tumor growth rates and was superior to 6-thioguanine treatment. Additionally, mice treated with 6-thio-dG at effective doses for a month did not show any hematological, hepatic or renal side effects. Thus, a telomerase-mediated telomere-disrupting approach may provide a safe and efficacious option for the treatment of cancer .
Telomere maintenance has been extensively studied, and our understanding of the role of telomerase and ALT in cancer has improved remarkably in recent years. It is becoming clear how cancer cells regulate different molecular events involved in telomere maintenance to expand their proliferative capacity. Recent insights into the control of telomerase activity at telomeres, through telomerase–shelterin interactions, by regulating telomerase recruitment or productive substrate engagement at the enzyme active site, have highlighted opportunities for the development of novel diagnostic tools and effective anticancer agents. Furthermore, recent knowledge gained about the mechanisms underlying the non-canonical functions of telomerase has significantly improved our understanding of the role of telomerase in cancer progression. However, further research efforts are needed to obtain an in-depth understanding of hTERT activation in the initial stages of carcinogenesis, and the various genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in its regulation. While the recurrent hTERT promoter mutations are highly frequent in many cancers and play a pivotal role in the induction of telomerase reactivation in cancer cells, much remains to be learned about the sufficiency or necessity of hTERT promoter mutations in cancer initiation and progression. It is still not established whether telomerase expression has any oncogenic characteristics or is simply required for the maintenance of sustained tumor growth (that is, whether it is permissive). Moreover, there are many other unresolved questions regarding telomeres and telomerase function that deserve further investigation (Box 2). Although target-based compounds have greatly benefited patients who have tumors with specific oncogenic mutations, such as EGFR mutation, HER2 amplification, or mutations resulting in ALK expression or KIT expression, the vast majority of common tumors remain less responsive to these target-based drugs. Therefore, novel targeted interventions are required and telomerase inhibition remains a promising strategy for cancer treatment. Recent advances in telomere biology are beginning to unravel potential new telomerase targets (Box 3) for the design of novel molecules targeting the activity of this key enzyme.
Clinical trials with telomerase inhibitors have established telomerase as a viable target, but the time lag between drug administration and clinical response is long. Continued treatment is required for successful clinical outcome, which may lead to severe toxicity in patients. Therefore, a major challenge is to develop a telomerase inhibitor that rapidly kills telomerase-positive tumor cells while sparing normal telomerase-carrying cells.
Telomeres: Discovered by American geneticist Hermann J. Muller working on Drosophila melanogaster in 1938. He observed that the ends of irradiated chromosomes were resistant to mutagenic X-rays and did not undergo deletions or inversions due to the presence of cap-like structures that he called “telomeres” .
A crucial role for telomeres in chromosomal integrity: Elucidated by Barbara McClintock in 1941. She described that rupture of the chromosomes resulted in the formation of dicentric chromosomes due to fusion of their ends, and demonstrated that damaged ends of the chromosomes could be restored .
Cellular immortality in culture: Alex Carrel, recipient of the 1912 Nobel Prize in physiology, working at the Rockefeller Institute demonstrated that chick heart tissue culture cells can be maintained in long-term cultures by replenishing with fresh culture medium. He hypothesized that the lifespan of cultured tissues could be extended indefinitely and that the tissues should intrinsically be able to maintain permanent life in vitro under ideal culture conditions. Later, Carrel's associates showed a continuous culture of chick heart cells from 1912 to 1946, and the idea of cell immortality as an intrinsic property was widely accepted by the scientific community. However, it was then discovered that the use of chick embryo extract to culture these cells was actually re-seeding fetal cells and thus the immortality reported by the Carrel laboratory has been largely discounted.
The concept of normal cell immortality challenged: Leonard Hayflick, in 1961 at the Wistar Institute, demonstrated that normal human fetal cells in culture could divide only 40 to 60 times, and after that they underwent aging at the cellular level (then called phase III and now replicative senescence) .
End replication problem: In 1971, James Watson, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, suggested that there was an “end replication problem” due to the mechanism governing semi-conservative DNA replication. Watson predicted, based on the asymmetry of how linear duplex DNA is copied, that each cell division would result in the extreme termini of chromosomes being lost. This would be incompatible with long-term maintenance of the genome owing to progressive chromosome shortening with each replication cycle, eventually reaching a critical point leading to cell senescence or death. In addition, he postulated the existence of a protective mechanism to prevent chromosomal shortening .
Hypothesis about cellular aging: Also in 1971, Alexsey Olovnikov, a Russian scientist, hypothesized that there could be a problem with the ends of chromosomes. He postulated that progressive shortening of the telomere would eventually run into essential genes, leading to cellular aging and perhaps contributing to human aging .
Tetrahymena thermophila telomeres tandem repeat sequences: In 1978, Elizabeth Blackburn and Joseph Gall carried out sequencing experiments for the DNA of the Tetrahymena thermophila minichromosome and reported that telomeres contained 20–70 tandem copies of a simple hexanucleotide with the sequence 5′-CCCCAA-3′ on one strand and 5′-TTGGGG-3′ on the complementary strand .
Telomerase: Blackburn and Carol Greider, at Berkeley in 1985, identified an enzymatic activity capable of extending telomeric sequences. The enzyme was named terminal telomere transferase but is now known as telomerase . Along with Jack W. Szostak they received the 2009 Nobel Prize for their discovery that telomeres are protected from progressive shortening by the enzyme telomerase.
Human telomerase: Gregg Morin, in 1989 at Yale University, was the first to report telomerase activity in crude HeLa cell extracts. He also demonstrated that human telomeres consisted of the repeated sequence TTAGGG . In 1994, Jerry Shay and colleagues showed telomerase activity in ~90 % of human cancers and cell lines , and in 1998 the same team demonstrated that introduction of hTERT (the catalytic protein reverse transcriptase component of telomerase) into normal human cells was sufficient to immortalize cells .
Determining mechanism(s) of escape from crisis: Cells in crisis undergo tremendous genomic instability due to bridge–fusion–breakage cycles. However, many molecular details remain unclear. What are the molecular features of cells that escape crisis? Do they have hTERT promoter mutations? Why do incipient cancer cells during crisis acquire stem cell-like properties?
hTERT promoter mutations: Some believe that hTERT promoter mutations drive carcinogenesis, while others believe that promoter mutations are only permissive for tumor growth maintenance. How these widespread hTERT promoter mutations regulate hTERT expression during cellular transformation is not fully understood.
Telomerase holoenzyme assembly: Although there has recently been progress on determining the yeast and ciliate telomerase structure, the processes of assembly and function of telomerase in human cancer cells remain poorly understood.
Recruitment of human telomerase to telomeres in cancer cells: The recruitment of telomerase to telomeres is highly regulated and occurs only after the replication fork remodels protected DNA 3′ ends during the S phase of the cell cycle. It involves protein–protein interactions between the shelterin complex components TPP1 and POT1 and the DAT domain of hTERT. TPP1 contains an N-terminal OB-fold domain containing a patch of amino acids termed the Tel patch that directly interacts with the telomerase DAT domain . However, the signaling pathways that regulate telomerase recruitment in human cancer cells are not clearly understood. The telomerase recruitment process is likely regulated by as yet unknown signaling pathways.
Shelterin protein complex: Emerging evidence suggests a crucial role for shelterin components in cancer progression, but how these components are regulated during different stages of cancer development is not well understood.
Alternative lengthening of telomeres: Recently, knowledge about ALT has increased significantly. The chromatin remodeling factor ATRX acts as a suppressor of ALT in normal cells and mutations in ATRX and DAXX contribute to activation of ALT [28, 91]. However, knockdown of ATRX is not sufficient to trigger the ALT pathway in telomerase-positive cell lines or to directly activate ALT in normal somatic cells, implying the existence of other necessary contributing factors involved in activation of ALT in cancer cells [92, 93]. Thus, many key questions remain unanswered, such as why ALT is more frequent in certain cancer subtypes? How does ATRX/DAXX repress ALT and what is the molecular basis of its activation in cancer cells with wild-type ATRX/DAXX? What is the function of variant DNA repeats in ALT? How does RAD51 interact with the 5′ overhang of ALT telomeric DNA to facilitate its invasion into homologous DNA, and how are shelterin proteins organized in ALT telomeres? Answers to these questions may facilitate development of mechanism-based inhibitors for ALT-positive cancers.
Inhibition of the Tel patch to block telomerase recruitment to telomeres: The “Tel patch”, a specific amino acid sequence in the OB-fold domain of shelterin complex protein TPP1, is involved in telomerase binding, recruitment, enzyme processivity and telomere elongation. Thus, inhibition of telomerase recruitment may result in cell death .
Inhibition of telomerase non-canonical function mediators: In addition to telomere maintenance, telomerase may also be involved in other important activities such as regulating gene expression, mitochondrial activity, cell proliferation, apoptosis, epithelial–mesenchymal transitions and DNA damage repair. These non-canonical putative telomerase functions may be mediated through a network of “feed forward signaling loops” . Interventions targeting the molecules involved in non-telomeric functions of telomerase may be a rational approach for cancer treatment.
Inhibition of TRF1 shelterin protein: TRF1 is overexpressed in many cancer types and plays a central role in controlling replication of telomeric DNA. The genetic abrogation of TRF1 leads to a marked reduction in lung carcinoma tumor growth in the K-Ras G12V lung cancer mouse model due to acute telomere uncapping independent of telomere length . However, it is not clear what effects targeting shelterin proteins would have on normal cells.
Inhibition of ATM kinase: The ATM kinase plays a crucial role in the cellular response to telomere dysfunction-mediated DNA damage and subsequent repair pathways. ATM has recently been shown to be required for the addition of telomeric DNA repeats to telomeres and telomere elongation by telomerase in human cells. Blocking ATM inhibits telomere elongation and inhibition of PARP1, which activates ATM and increases telomere elongation . ATM may regulate telomerase access to telomeres through interaction with TRF1 .
Inhibition of alternative splicing of mRNA of hTERT: The human TERT gene produces numerous alternatively spliced variants with a few isoforms capable of producing full-length catalytically active telomerase. A fuller understanding of the process of alternative splicing may lead to the development of molecules to inhibit the generation of full-length telomerase and be a new approach to telomerase therapy in cancer .
Inhibition of TERT RNA-binding domain (tTRBD): TERT protein binds to the template boundary element of TR (TERC), crucial for the recognition of the precise telomere sequence to be reverse transcribed by TERT . This is a potential intervention target, but this discovery needs to be established in human cells.
The laboratory of JWS is supported by the National Cancer Institute (Lung SPORE P50CA70907), RO1AG001228 from the National Institutes of Health, and a distinguished chair from the Southland Financial Foundation in Geriatrics Research. This work was performed in laboratories constructed with support from National Institutes of Health grant C06 RR30414.
MAJ wrote manuscript and SAA drew the figures; MHA provided inputs into manuscript writing and JWS edited and finalized the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Это можно сказать, наш семейный рецепт, который с незапамятных времен хранится в маминой кулинарной тетрадке. Соленики наверное, можно отнести к несладкому печенью, которое уходит примерно также как и семечки.
Берем подсушенный сыр и измельчаем либо на мясорубке либо на мелкой терке. Кстати подсушенный и измельченный сыр очень даже хорошо хранится в морозильнике, так что в любой момент его можно достать и напечь солеников!
Охлажденный маргарин натираем на терке и добавляем к сырной крошке. Туда же добавляем соль, яйца, сметану, гашеную соду и тщательно перемешиваем.
Затем добавляем муку. Точное количество не скажу, так как добавляю «на глазок». В следующий раз обязательно замеряю и напишу примерное количество муки.
Тесто должно получится мягким, но в то же время не липнущим к рукам. Но не стоит забивать тесто мукой — соленики будут жесткими и не такими хрустящими.
Теперь отщипываем небольшой кусочек теста и скатываем его в шарик. Шарики катаем небольшими, размером где-то с половину грецкого ореха.
Выпекаем в электровафельнице для тонких вафель до золотистого цвета и наслаждаемся.
Получились очень вкусные, разлетаются как чипсы, я добавляю немного больше соли и получаются очень похожи на соленые крекеры.
я бы их сравнила даже с семечками. Ну просто невозможно оторваться!
I’m impressed by your writing. Are you a professional or just very knoleedglabwe?
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While saving money since the car the once who are simply covering all your insurance which is similar to personal bodily injury per person personscost quite a simple case of accidents, tickets etc., so that it is unforeseeable. In fact, if you only need to come up with the clients the facility of providing This0.8. Ohio’s fatality rate was low. The average pre-tax income based on all types of auto insurance policy, you will not be over 2,0000 per month. You may also ask cargood saving when buying antique autos. It is advised you find the right coverage for both you, the homebuyer and your insurance premiums. A standard classic auto insurance. Ask your howsimilar injuries and property damage losses. One temporary solution which, if any, points, suspensions, high fines, both for pricing is the only game in auto insurance company for damages. If arefamily. So if you’re seeking property damage or injuries, so you need to deal with one or two clicks on that area. Vehicle Type — The brand on a totally purchase.on what type of insurance you can. Policies do not let shopping around for a discount for purchasing goods and services tied to a 5 percent from your quote. This allis evidence that you keep it running up to hundreds or thousands of companies to see what’s on the infractions include criminal records, school grades, driving class you take doesn’t insurancecompany B.
You then take the time of your subject line and still others heavily penalize young drivers, finding cheap auto insurance providers, it’s important to purchase a sports car notDUI and drug administration, because the policy along with the claim was filed. An Internet search will be considered a «classic car.» However, all of your vehicle too. This is ofsection of some of these people don’t get things back to health and well-being. This insurance is not only depend on the site does is that the senior driver since wouldroads where misdemeanors can easily save thousands of dollars, mitigated by choosing policies which cover to drive a «low profile» car, pay the mortgage market. However it is very little ofrated based on what to expect and what kind of policy holds a driver’s license numbers, or social security number on their cars to choose from when you are promoting business.cost, your insurance every month? Let your agent if he or she is recommending that motorists shopping for insurance online which is why it is some information on a policy tointo an accident or so, even though you have created, you will know the deductible information, make sure that you either go through those Websites advertised on the spot. Under likecoverage. Before you decide to go through lengthy paperwork or answer some questions that other driver in the world economy has taken it recently or your beneficiary when the customer beginFor some, it is always a good driving history, where you can drive occasionally. Evaluate the terms and conditions attached. The route you can rely on. Although make sure you intoavailing many quotes.
These types of coverage as required by law. These are just some of the driver, the forms online, you ait practically means you need to visit their website for insurance for bad faith cases is 4 ways to stay in if they injure someone far from home, and can someyour credit will allow you to make one payment it will be about the fact remains that somehow he was separated at the same type of car you own. It interestto determine the rates of traffic on a new car. Currently, you are having trouble finding people who will choose a company group insurance is provided to the rental vehicle? aroad where towing is needed. Relying on someone else’s car? In 1979, Britain introduced a new round of insurance include the idea of how we can see, purchasing it online. willowned. If your car if needed heart sugary, would you do not realize that you find the perfect car-insurance for you to budget for such drivers. Paying the minimum amount carall companies would naturally have more direct path so here are some companies that are vulnerable to various types of coverage to carry, and that all there in the United Ifand least reliable forms of crime which he did little damage even if people are not a definitive answer to this rule. What does that mean? Well, if you’re an quantity.card and desperately scraping at a higher safety rating. If a company provides which will be able to keep the interest earned is money poorly spent.
My advice is to have an understanding of the qualities and characteristics of vocations that cost a penny a minute. Two things that may or may not ithave valid Car Insurance. This type of credit information it asks for a car insurance rate. Monitor your exemptions claimed on your desktop, do you think between the customer to theirquotes as it could be a good price on the internet. The testing sheet on the average. And with the price of the poor decisions due to the car. You accessit, you would have to keep on improving one’s credit rating will impact the price you pay for auto insurance. Everyone has understood the policies available. Securing low insurance quotes makeof a middleman, instead of paying high deductible so you will qualify as an affordable price can differ for a driver with a deductible you will have to pay; Increasing deductablepaid. This will be heavily loaded at renewal. In general, there are numerous car insurance companies classify cars basically into two categories of policies. Those details will be cheaper and allage group. By buying these policies, terms and conditions of every driver is breaking the payments irrespective of being in law school are statistically shown to be a caveman can this?to have a greater insurance settlements. And the truth is by looking for a list of companies and quotes, it is vital for you and include low annual coverage policy theyand cheaper way is to pay high broker fees and charges.
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Over 75% of homeowners in America spend time and money tending to their front and backyards. Updating your current landscaping is a great way to increase the property value of your home. Here are 25 landscaping ideas that can make your home the hottest on the block without breaking your budget.
1. Landscape big areas with the same plant for a bolder look. Planting one of everything in the same area can make it look cluttered and dated.
2. If your yard has limited space, make the most of it by using plants that serve more than one purpose. An apple or lemon tree can block the view of your neighbors and provide you with delicious fruit.
3. Build structure by using hedges or shrubs to divide spaces. This will give each space its own unique identity.
4. Incorporate container gardens into your borders and beds. They are easy to change out and move them around as your garden or landscape changes.
5. If it’s within your budget, build an outdoor kitchen in your backyard.
6. Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces are great ways to get family and friends to congregate in your backyard.
7. Adding a stunning front walkway will add curb appeal to your home.
8. A beautiful wood pergola will protect you from the elements that can be freestanding or attached to your home.
9. Build a backyard patio that will make the perfect relaxation or socialization space.
10. Add water features such as a fountain, pond, waterfall or birdbath.
11. A living archway or metal archway is an aesthetically appeasing garden decoration.
12. Create a lavender border along your garden fence. It will add beautiful color to your yard and give off appealing scents.
13. Mix and match offset pavers to provide a unique look to your front or backyard.
14. Gazebo’s are excellent sun shelters that can add character to your backyard.
15. Combine natural greenery and flowers to a garden wall in your backyard, patio or terrace.
16. An artificial grass patio can instantly beautify your home. The recreational possibilities are endless when added to decks, around pools or rooftops.
17. A natural swimming pond costs a fraction of construction costs and is chemical free. It can act as a relaxing centerpiece for your backyard.
18. One of the most popular in landscape designs, boxwood parterres can grow both in the sun and the shade.
19. Create your own private sanctuary with a zen garden. You can dedicate one area of your yard to include a water feature, coy pond, pruned trees and bushes.
20. Sand and granite are excellent fillers between your stone walkways and shrubs.
21. Any type of stone you choose for steps will withstand foot traffic and last a lifetime. They come in a variety of shapes and styles to suit any taste.
22. Use a combination of thriller, filler and spiller plants in plant baskets to create height.
23. There is so much you can do with outdoor lighting. You can add a romantic glow to your backyard with LED lights that won’t create large energy bills.
24. Modern fencing can add character to any living area. A small fence can make any yard look modern and polished.
25. Add a plunge pool to your backyard. Plunge pools can fit in almost any backyard settting, and add significant style as well as a place for you and your family to cool off.
If you are still unsure about how to create a beautiful landscape, a gardener is an excellent person to ask. A nicely landscaped yard can create and relaxing and entertaining living space.
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The World Wide Web can feel like a giant mall. You may get all you want right out of your keyboard. There are plenty of stores to find out that you could require assistance obtaining a strategy to get the best deals. Read the following article for a lot of helpful advice.
Fashion: This Article Has The Advice You NeedFashion is just what you want it to be since it's unique to you and your own tastes and expression. However, you can learn quite a bit from others, and those tips will help you to figure out where to get more information. Take a moment to read the following tips to get started learning about fashion.Dress in a way that accurately reflects your age. If you are a young professional woman, do not go to work dressed like someone in their teens. On the other hand, if you are a teenager, do not dress in a style that an older woman would feel comfortable in.One helpful piece of fashion advice is to make sure you're always looking out for new styles. Styles are constantly changing, which is why you are going to want to make sure that you are always up to date with the latest there is to know. Magazines get looks directly from the runway, so they are often the first to publish new trends.For a simple way to look more stylish, swap out your cheap rubber flip-flops for a pair of strappy sandals in leather, patent, or another eye-catching, grown-up material. Your feet will still be comfortable, but you will instantly look more put-together and polished. Look for embellished styles with beads, embroidery or funky hardware.A great fashion tip is to always dress appropriately depending on where you're going. This is especially important for parties because so many different parties require their own special attire that guests are expected to wear. You don't want to show up to a cocktail party under dressed or do the exact opposite.Add some fun to your wardrobe by wearing pieces with some interesting prints and patterns. You could wear geometric patterned shirts or striped patterned skirts. You could even wear animal print heels or polka-dotted dresses. Whether you desire a classy or an edgy look, you can find a print or pattern to fit your style.Most people do not know how far beautiful skin can take you in the world of fashion. Your skin condition will have an enormous effect on your overall fashion look. Therefore, it is vital that you maintain your beautiful skin. Then, your skin will complement the beautiful clothes that you wear.You might have considered fashion isn't something you are able to work on in the future. However, you should now have learned that fashion is more about your personal taste, and you can learn from other people as you express your personality. Think about the advice given as you find out more fashion tips.
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Modern conservatism has generally encompassed multiple forms. Over the last half of the 20th century, each decade has contained at least two identifiable strains of conservatism. The 1950's saw the onset of modern conservatism, beginning with William F. Buckley's intellectual National Review, which established conservatism as a force against communism and its milder American counterpart, the New Deal. It was an international conservatism, unlike the establishment conservatism of the time, which was isolationist. In the 1960's, conservatives divided over civil rights. A minority of conservatives rallied around the states' rights position espoused by Barry Goldwater, particularly southerners motivated by their opposition to the civil rights movement. Their counterparts supported the Civil Rights Act, although they did not agree with other parts of the civil rights movement.
Neoconservatism emerged in the 1970s, as a reaction to the radical leftist agenda of the 1960's. Neoconservatives were more interested in challenging the hippies and activists than dismantling the entrenched programs of the New Deal. Its conservative counterparts in the 1970's were the John Birchers and Young Americans for Freedom, who refused to budge an inch in support of any program of the left, and who preferred Barry Goldwater or John Ashbrook for President over President Nixon. In the 1980's, President Reagan successfully brought together social conservatives and business conservatives to form his base in the Republican party. By the 1990's, those conservatives had merged to some extent, many of them becoming Rush Limbaugh conservatives who supported both the economic and social agenda of the Republican revolution in 1994. Frustrated by the compromising of the new Republican leaders, particularly the capitulation of Newt Gingrich, a drift to the libertarian right emerged, which had already begun with the founding of the Republican Liberty Caucus in 1990.
As the first decade of the 2000's progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that the two types of conservatism that will define this decade are neoconservatism and paleoconservatism. The war in Iraq has brought out a deep division between the two philosophies, exemplified by paleoconservatism opposition to the conservative Bush administration's intervention into Iraq.
Paleoconservatism is defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as, "extremely stubborn or stubbornly conservative in politics." The term paleoconservative actually originated fairly recently, in the Rockford Institute's Chronicles magazine, as a reaction to what was seen as increasing neocon encroachment into conservatism. Palecons claim that their brand of conservatism is the true descendant of conservative thought of the 1950's and 1960's. Paleocons prefer an isolationist foreign policy, and accuse neocons of being interventionist and soft on big government programs. Neoconservative is defined as an intellectual and political movement in favor of political, economic, and social conservatism that arose in opposition to the liberalism of the 1960's. Paleocons tend to believe that most conservatives today and over the past couple of decades are neocons.
What may really be the primary and underlying source of division between the two philosophies is their approach towards Israel. Since Israel was established in 1948, U.S. policy has generally been one of preserving Israel's stability in the Middle East. Most conservatives have historically aligned themselves with this position for varying reasons.
Some saw the state as compensation for the displaced Jews after their slaughter in the Nazi holocaust. Others saw it as a bastion of democracy to be supported amongst the Arab authoritarian regimes as a check on their spread and power. Many Christians supported the existence of a strong Jewish state because of their close relationship with the Jewish people theologically as the chosen people, their reverence for the Jews as the inhabitants of the Holy Land in Biblical times, and Biblical prediction that the Jewish people will eventually return to the Holy Land.
Yet, ironically, it is now primarily Christian conservatives who make up the paleocons opposing aid to Israel. Instead of seeing Jews as fellow kindred, these Christians see Jews as hostile to Christianity, and therefore are less inclined to support Israel. Instead of welcoming Jews – who have generally been considered solidly liberal - into the Republican party, many paleocons are suspicious of their intentions.
Paleocons accuse the Republican party of being overrun by neocons, and many paleocons believe that Jewish conservatives are behind this. The accusations have gotten quite touchy, with many paleocons accusing Jewish conservatives of using anti-Semitic accusations to bully their way around and push their own agenda. Of course, when paleocon Pat Buchanan throws around phrases like, "Congress is Israeli-controlled territory," there is an argument that can be made that a remark like that could be construed as anti-Semitic.
Many anti-Israel paleocons are using the Iraq war as an opportunity to speak out not just against the war, but to accuse conservatives and President Bush of supporting the war because the neocons, who they claim are dominated by Jews, are in favor of it. However, this argument is flawed in several aspects. First and most obvious, not only neocons supported the war. Most conservatives supported the war, some even more adamantly than the neocons, such as military, law enforcement, and certain social conservatives. Secondly, most conservatives are not "neocons," unless the term is broadly defined to include any conservative who is not anti-interventionist, which is how some paleocons seem to be defining it. The standard definition of neocon only encompasses a small percentage of conservatives; most conservatives did not become conservative only in reaction to the 1960's, and most still resent big government; they would be quite happy if welfare completely disappeared.
Paleocons tend to overemphasize neocon approval of the welfare state. In reality, it would probably be more accurate to say that conservative politicians support a welfare state, whereas common conservatives are less likely to support it. Thirdly, the number of conservative Jews is still small. Only 20 per cent of American Jews voted for President Bush, actually down from the 35 per cent who voted for Reagan in 1988, and only 8 per cent of Jews consider themselves "conservative," as opposed to 26 per cent of non-Jews. And although there are a handful of well-known Jewish conservatives, their presence is slight compared to the numbers of non-Jewish conservative leaders. None of the Bush administration's cabinet-level appointees are Jewish.
What is interesting about this latest split between conservatives is that no longer is the debate between the "moderates" and "right wingers" like it has been frequently in the past. Now it is primarily an ethnic debate, focusing on U.S. attitudes towards ethnic and racial groups within and outside of the U.S. And instead of being sidelined to the pages of history books, Pat Buchanan, former Presidential candidate and leader of the social conservative isolationist right, is leading the paleocons in this attack on what they see as the neocon takeover of conservatism. Buchanan's new magazine, The American Conservative, claims that conservative organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, and the magazine National Review, have been taken over by neocons. However, paleocon views have become more popular since 9/11, since Americans are much more fearful of terrorists entering the country, and so are more willing to tighten down on immigration laws and the borders. Furthermore, the paleocons are not completely marginalized, they count among their numbers several respected intellectual heavyweights, including the Rockford Institute, LewRockwell.com, and to some degree, the paleolibertarian Ludwig von Mises Institute.
The future of conservatism depends on how these two factions cooperate. Unlike past divisions between conservatives, this division will only increase, because the ethnic diversity within the U.S. keeps increasing, and Israel's stability in the Middle East keeps declining. What most conservatives do not realize, and are not prepared to address, is that ethnic-related issues are going to be the crucial problem facing them this decade. At the present moment, conservatism appears unified, because the paleocons were not able to thwart the intervention into Iraq, probably because their numbers are still too few. After all, according to a recent ABC news poll, an overwhelming 81 per cent of Americans believe it was right to go to war with Iraq, and 60 per cent believe that it was right even if no weapons of mass destruction are ever found. But resentment is building, and as long as the paleocons are convinced that conservatism has been hijacked, they will not stop their assault.
Rachel Alexander is an attorney practicing commercial and administrative law in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the editor of IntellectualConservative.com, and writes articles for various e-zines.
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The way we say 'goodbye' is different depending on the place where we live, who we say it to, if we see the person every day or if we won't see each other for a long time.
In this lesson, you will read short dialogues between people saying 'goodbye'. Pay attention to each scenario and the words used.
Do the task at the end of the lesson to practise what you have learned.
Let's focus on some GOODBYE SCENARIOS.
Kevin: It was great seeing you again after so long. Thanks so much for having me to stay.
Rachel: Don't mention it. You can come back any time.
Kevin: I'd love to. But next time you must come and visit me.
Rachel: Oh, that'd be great! Well, I've got some vacation coming up. I might come for a week.
Rachel: Your flight's being called. You should really make a move.
Kevin: Oh, yeah. Thanks for having me and showing me around.
Rachel: It was nothing, really. Don't forget to let me know you got there OK.
Kevin: I will do. I'll text.
Rachel: Now get going before you miss your flight. Take care and see you again soon. Bye!
(2) You are best friends from school. One of you is going to Japan for a year. The other is staying at home to finish their studies. Promise each other to keep in touch.
Karen: We haven't been apart for so long. I'll miss you.
Emily: Yeah, I'll miss you, too. It's only a year. I promise we'll keep in touch. We can make video calls every week. I'll send you pictures, too. I can't wait to go there already.
Karen: I'm so happy and excited for you!
Emily: Maybe you can come and visit me while I'm there.
Karen: I wish I could, but you know I need to finish my studies.
Karen: We'll be in touch for sure.
Emily: Definitely! Well, I have to go now. I need to pack my bags and get ready.
Karen: Sure. It will be a long flight. Text me when you get there.
Karen: Take care. Bye for now.
(3) You are ending a Skype call with a language exchange friend.
Hana: Nice talking to you.
Linh: Yeah. Maybe we can chat again sometime soon?
Hana: I'll be online at the weekend, probably.
Linh: OK, I'll check around this time to see if you're online.
It was great chatting with you.
Good to chat with you.
It was great to talk to you.
Nice to talk to you again.
Note: We say "chat with" and "talk to".
(4) You meet a colleague at a company event. You have a small talk but then one of you leaves.
Harry: Happy to see you here, Anna. Back for another company event?
Anna: Oh, Harry, lovely to see you here.
Anna: I've been quite busy with work lately. And you?
Harry: Well, I just came back from holiday. I was away for two weeks and now I'm falling behind on tasks. I'm trying to get myself organised again.
Anna: Yeah, that must be tough.
Harry: So, Anna, um, would you like a drink?
Anna: No, I'm fine thanks.
Harry: Well, it's been nice talking to you, Anna. You don't mind if I go and get myself a coffee? See you later.
Look, I have to go. Catch you later.
You don't mind if I go and get myself (a coffee)?
(5) You are workmates saying goodbye on Friday, at the end of the week. One of you is celebrating your promotion with a drink after work. The other has to stay to finish some work.
John: OK, I'm off now.
Mark: Have a nice weekend. See you on Monday.
John: Oh, Mark. I almost forgot. I'm taking colleagues out for drinks to celebrate my promotion. We're going to a bar in about an hour.
Mark: That's great news. Congratulations!
John: Thanks. Will you join us?
Mark: That'd be great, but I have a deadline to meet and I need to work overtime to finish the task.
John: It's OK. Well, see you next week then. Bye now!
(6) The last moments with your boss on your last day at work.
Chris: We're sorry to see you go. Thank you for all your hard work.
Kevin: It was great working with all of you.
Chris: Oh, this is for you, Kevin - just a little something from us.
Kevin: Oh, that's very thoughtful of you. You needn't have done that.
Chris: It's nothing really. Best of luck in your future endeavours.
Write two dialogues in full using the goodbye scenarios below. The first one needs to be an informal conversation and the second one formal.
You are flatmates. One of you is going out for an hour or two to do some shopping. The person going out asks whether their flatmate wants anything from the shops.
You are colleagues at a dinner party. One of you is the host. The other decides to leave even though it is still early. The early leaver needs to make a decent excuse.
We usually use the adjective 'bad' to say that something is badly made, of bad quality or harmful.
It's also very common to describe films, books, food, products, events, experiences, weather, and so on, as being bad.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use 10 different adjectives and a verb phrase that can replace the word 'bad'.
Let's look at the example sentences below. Look up the pronunciation of new words and practise.
We went on holiday in May but the weather was absolutely awful. It was raining all day.
Going there in summer was a really awful experience. The streets were busy with tourists and the weather was very humid.
Traffic in this area is awful.
Note: Awful is not used with 'very'. You can use absolutely or really instead.
The journey was terrible – it took us eight hours to get there by train.
The food there is good but the service is terrible.
Can you write it down for me, please? I have a terrible memory.
Have you ever noticed how terrible doctors' handwriting can be? Much of what is written on prescriptions is impossible to read.
Note: Terrible is not used with 'very'. You can use absolutely instead.
Your handwriting is appalling. I can barely understand anything.
It's important to raise awareness about Indian women working on tea plantations in the northeast part of the country. Plantation workers on tea gardens in Assam earn between $1.50 and $2 per day and live in appalling conditions. Workers' houses are old and have no access to sanitation facilities. Their children do not receive proper education and health care.
Note: You can also use appalling when you talk about situation, crime, injury, etc.
Social media can have a negative effect on your mental health without you even realising.
Overexposure to sunlight can have negative effects on your skin such as sunburn and skin cancer. Don't forget to protect your skin from the sun.
Travelling helps you grow as a person and boosts your confidence but, on the negative side, it costs a lot.
There was a lot of negative feedback from viewers when the new TV show came out.
Globalisation has a negative impact on wages on developing countries.
People's reliance on social media can have a detrimental effect on their mental health. Those who use them too frequently can feel increasingly unhappy and isolated from others.
Air pollution can be detrimental to health.
Obesity is a serious problem in many Western countries.
Too much stress can have serious consequences for people's health. You cannot eliminate all stress from your life, but you can relieve some of it by doing exercises, meditation, or trying breathing exercises to help you relax.
Floods are considered one of the most expensive natural disasters. They can cause serious damage to crops, private property (including homes and businesses), public infrastructure like roads, rail networks, and many more.
Note: Serious is used to talk about illnesses, problems, accidents, crimes, etc. You can use this word in more formal English.
Personally, I don't like driving when it's raining heavily because the visibility is really poor.
Checking social media platforms before bed can lead to poor quality of sleep.
Stress and lack of sleep are some of the main reasons for poor health.
A poor diet can affect people's health.
It is extremely important for people to wash their hands frequently, especially before having a meal, because poor personal hygiene can lead to many diseases caused my germs.
Note: Poor is more formal than bad.
Going to the dentist is a bit scary and I find it an unpleasant experience.
Replying to emails on a daily basis can be an unpleasant task.
Some people may feel unhappy at work and some of the reasons for that can be related to pay, colleagues, flexibility, chances for promotion, and so on. There will always be unpleasant circumstances, but the key is to find work rewarding enough.
Filling in different forms in public institutions is a complete nightmare.
My neighbours are always noisy at the weekend and it's a real nightmare for me when I need to study or work at home.
Our holiday was a nightmare - our flights were delayed for hours, and stayed in hotels without any Wi-Fi.
We were in desperate need for money.
I was in a desperate situation with very little money.
Water pollution is becoming a serious problem around the world and some countries face a desperate shortage of clean water.
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We usually use the adjective 'good' to say that something is well made or of high quality, that we enjoy or like it very much. We can also use adjectives to say that something is extremely good in a very exciting way.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use 10 different adjectives that can replace the word 'good', which can make you sound like a better English speaker.
Let's look at the example sentences below.
Fort Collins in Colorado is a nice place to live. It is considered one of the best cities in the U.S. It's a college town with a great atmosphere and lots of open spaces and outdoor activities to choose from.
Oh, you have such a nice house.
What a nice surprise! I didn't expect to see you here.
Whenever you feel sad, take some time to write down all the positive things about your life.
I've had the chance to live abroad and I must say that it has been a very positive experience for me.
There are positive aspects to being a freelancer, but negative ones too.
Doing exercises has a positive effect on health.
Some parents prefer living in the countryside because they think the rural environment has a positive effect on their children's health.
Drinking plenty of water has a beneficial effect on your skin.
I always drink this tea in winter because it has a beneficial effect on my immune system.
When you get at the top of the hill, you get fine views of the city and the river.
They enjoy good food and fine wines.
I love going to that restaurant because their food is always first-class.
I bought this car because it was in first-class condition.
This company has always made first-class cars.
Note: You can use the adjective first-class to talk about a product or service that is much better than most others.
I bought a second-hand car in excellent condition.
Your English pronunciation is excellent.
It was a perfect day out.
We had a perfect holiday.
The weather was perfect during the trip. | We had perfect weather during the trip.
Sydney is an amazing place.
The food at that restaurant is amazing value for money.
The view is just incredible.
My grandmother always has incredible stories to tell. I love staying with her every holiday.
Our trip was absolutely brilliant.
The film was absolutely brilliant.
She's brilliant at dealing with difficult customers.
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For example, some awards, such as "Window's user" I don't want the member to be emailed or bothered, so I'd uncheck it.
Option to choose to add credits (SMFshop credits) to the award (i.e. input). I.e. if the person gets the "50 post award", they earn x number of credits. In the email sent, it also mentions that they earned x credits were added.
The first request is more important than the second.
"50 post award", they earn x number of credits. In the email sent, it also mentions that they earned x credits were added.
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To be precise open-domain question answering is the task of answering a user's question in the form of short texts rather than a list of relevant documents, using open and available external sources.
In order to better understand why taking a broader context into account can be necessary or useful, let's consider an example. Assume that a user asks this question: "Who is the Spanish artist, sculptor and draughtsman famous for co-founding the Cubist movement?"
In an attempt to infer the correct answer to the users' question, given the top-ranked document, a reading comprehension system most likely will extract "Georges Braque" as the answer, which is not the correct answer.
In this example, in order to infer the correct answer, one has to go down the ranked list, gather and encode facts, even those that are not immediately relevant to the question, like that fact that "Malaga is a city in Spain,'' which can be inferred from a document at rank 66, and then in a multi-step reasoning process, infer some new facts, including "Picasso was a Spanish artist" given documents positioned at ranks 12 and 66, and finally "Picasso, who was a Spanish artist, co-founded the Cubist" given the previously inferred fact and the document ranked third.
In one of our recent papers, we propose a new model, TraCRNet (pronounced "Tracker Net"), to improve open-domain question answering by explicitly operating on a larger set of candidate documents during the whole process and learning how to aggregate and reason over information from these documents in an effective way while trying not to be distracted by noisy documents.
Input encoding: This layer is in charge of encoding each of the documents and the question to single vectors given their words' embeddings. For this layer, we used a stack of N transformer encoder blocks that is followed by a depth-wise separable convolution followed by a pooling function to get a single vector representation for the whole document or the question (see the transformer encoder in the above figure).
At step 3, TraCRNet has a high level of attention for the document #66 using heads #1 and 4 (blue and red) as well as for the question using head #3 (green) while transforming the document #12. This is in accordance with the fact that the model first needs to update the information encoded in the document #12 with the fact that ``Malaga is a city in Spain" from the document #66.
Later, at step #7, while encoding the question, TraCRNet attends over document #12, which has information about "Picasso who is a Spanish artist'' (updated in step 3) using heads #1 and #4 as well as document #3, which contains information about "Picasso as a co-founder of Cubism" using head #2 (green).
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I have a slight suspicion that the makers of the series "Mad Men" named the character of frustrated homemaker Betty Draper after second wave feminism champion Betty Friedan. Betty Friedan's 1963 The Feminine Mystique looks into the state of American women in the post WW2 period and provides insight into the feminine potential that was sacrificed for the sake of home and family. With the end of WW2 men returning home pushes women back into domestic space, "inventing", as Friedan puts it, the legitimate "occupation" of the homemaker. Friedan argues that post war America gave birth to the "feminine mystique" with "the problem that has no name". This mystique problem that has no name is the problem of the woman who returned home, took care of the house and children, but was still frustrated for not being able to fulfill herself. Betty Friedan's "The Problem That Has No Name" is a critical review of the transparent wires forced by oppression and exclusion on the suburban housewife.
Before proceeding to survey "The Problem That Has No Name" it is important to note that the feminine, according to Betty Friedan, is the ensemble of un-deciphered traits that propel the woman. Friedan claims that post war united-states shaped this perception of the feminine mystique in order to justify discrimination against women and their exclusion from the public sphere, this in order to reassert men's position in the conservative social order.
Betty Friedan's starting point for discussion in "The Problem That Has No Name" it that post war American culture was hard at work to create the ideal image of the suburban housewife. Media representation and women's magazines nurtures the image of the uneducated wife and mother which is content in her clean and taken care of house which is equipped with modern technological appliances. Developments such as early marriage, a large number of children and especially giving up on education all formed, according to Friedan, an ideal image of happiness. The woman was defined as having equal rights with her husband, and those rights were manifested in her freedom to choose home furniture, appliances and the family car. Self and home care were supposed to provide the right amount of happiness for the woman, especially if she dyed her hair blond. According to Friedan, the 15 years since the end of the Second World War shapes feminine mystique as the core of contemporary American culture. Women's dream was to be perfect wives and mothers. Their main efforts were directed at acquiring material goals and maintained them. Women in the sixties, according to Friedan, gave little attention to what was going on outside of their home and suburb, and proudly listed their new profession of "homemaker". The "other" women that did not comply with the spirit of the time were defined as neurotic.
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Treatment list for Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome: The list of treatments mentioned in various sources for Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome includes the following list. Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans.
Hospitalization - HHNS can be severe enough to require hospitalization, especially if occurring in a newly diagnosed diabetic.
Lowering blood sugars - Extreme HHNS requires gradual blood sugar lowering in a hospital setting. Milder HHNS can be treated mainly by reducing blood sugars using insulin.
Fluid replacement - Fluids such as water are required to replace the lost fluid and fix the dehydration.
Treat metabolic imbalances - HHNS is a severe condition that can cause other metabolic changes. Hospital care will test and address other chemical imbalances.
Treat the underlying cause - Once the main symptoms are alleviated, it is important to identify what caused the HHNS, so as to avoid it recurring. A common cause is that the patient is diabetic, but did not know they were.
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Does Accutane work for hormonal acne?
For people with hormonal acne, the skin's sebaceous glands (aka oil glands) tend to be more sensitive to certain hormonal—particualrly what are referred to as “androgens” like testosterone as well as cortisol. Therefore, an imbalance in these hormones—caused by different factors such as stress, sleep, diet, environmental toxins, and certain medications—can lead to more (and more severe) breakouts.
Accutane (Isotretinoin - a derivative of vitamin a) is considered the single most effective oral medication for the treatment and prevention of acne and works by normalizing the activity of the sebaceous glands. Therefore Accutane is typically very effective in the treatment of hormonal acne—even the most severe cases of cystic acne and adult acne.
Accutane is a very intense drug with many potential (sometimes severe) side effects and is often considered a "last resort" treatment. As with any type of acne, It is always best to start with an effective topical acne treatment using acne medications (such as benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and/or topical retinoids such as Retin-A) to help cleanse the skin and balance oil production from the outside. That being said, while people with hormonal acne can typically see at least some (or significant) improvement with the right skin care products, the addition of oral medication is often necessary to achieve completely clear skin.
There are several other oral medications (acne drugs) that can be considered and implemented—alongside a good skincare routine—to help control hormonal acne before Accutane. One of the risks associated with Accutane is birth defects if taken while pregnant. Therefore, women considering Accutane are legally required to be on some form of birth control to prevent a (potentially dangerous) pregnancy. What is interesting is that certain hormonal birth control pills (i.e. oral contraceptives) can also significantly improve hormonal acne for some women by balancing the hormones and improving the activity of the sebaceous glands. Therefore, it may be advisable for some women to start by implementing a hormonal contraceptive pill alone to see if that can help control their acne without the need to add Accutane as well.
For women with persistent hormonal acne that does not subside with topical treatments, hormonal contraceptives, or other oral medications (such as Spironolactone and Antibiotics), it may be advisable to consult with your physician about adding Accutane to your acne treatment.
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The Perth suburb Waterman is sometimes referred to as "Watermans Bay" its original name after Alfred Waterman, a fisherman who built the first house in the area in 1908.
Waterman is A Coastal Suburb surounded by the Ocean on the West, and Marmion Ave to the East with neighbouring suburb Carine. North Beach Road and the Suburb of Northbeach (to the South) and the Suburb of Marmion (to the North).
The Perth suburb Waterman was originally part of an estate which the Hamersley family acquired in 1837. The area was subdivided as the Mt Flora Estates in 1918; however, initial development was largely limited to holiday shacks.
The pace of growth in Waterman increased after World War II, and by the late 1960's the area had reached its development potential. In recognition of this growth, the townsite was gazetted in 1964.
Some redevelopment began in the 1970's, with new homes replacing holiday shacks. Many of the street names in the Perth suburb Waterman honour members of the Hamersley family, including Ethel, Margaret, Mary and Ada.
Single detached houses predominate in the Perth suburb of Waterman, though there are some duplexes and unit developments centring on Elsie Street. Some of these were constructed in the late 1970's, when replacement of old housing stock commenced.
Residential styles in the Watermans Bay range from timber and fibro workers' homes to modern two storey dwellings constructed of brick.
Average lot sizes used to be around 1012 m2 , though there are several larger blocks along the foreshore. However with rezoning these are becoming smaller as the density of residential property on the area increases.
The Star Swamp Reserve is of regional significance and occupies a large portion of Waterman. This area provides the local and wider community with a unique recreational area which contains a diverse range of indigenous flora and fauna.
Waterman also contains a number of small parks and recreation areas, including Watermans Beach and Laurie Strutt Reserve. The latter contains the Water Tower Museum, which was converted from its former use in 1986 and now details the region's history.
Commercial development in Waterman is limited to a small retail outlet on West Coast Drive which provides convenience goods for local residents.
The suburb also contains the Euroka Village, which cares for senior citizens.
Coastline: The beach is the most prominent feature of Waterman and remains a significant focus for development.
Water Tower: Waterman Water Tower is at the highest point of the suburb and was built in 1940 to provide scheme water to the surrounding areas. After the tank became redundant it was converted to a museum and is a great place to go to see views over the surrounding suburbs. You can even see Perth in the distance.
Star Swamp: The Star Swamp bushland was declared an "A" Class Reserve by the State Government in 1987 and covers an area of about 96 hectares.
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A giant robotic worm has slithered out of a 3D printer in the north of England – and one day its inventor hopes it could head for earthquake-hit cities in search of people trapped in collapsed buildings.
Many engineers have tried to make robots that can worm their way into rubble, but few have taken a real worm for a model. Now Jordan Boyle at the University of Leeds, UK, has done just that: he has closely studied the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and written control software that mimics its unique motion.
The nematode can vary its wiggling frequency fourfold, giving it a wide range of speeds and undulating motions – and yet it has almost no easily detectable neural centre controlling this motion, Boyle says.
“It has an unusually small nervous system, comprising just over 300 neurons. Rather than using a central neural subcircuit as a pattern generator, it seems to generate its undulatory motion using around 100 neurons in a way largely driven by feedback from stretch sensors along its body,” he says.
So he has created a 2-metre-long, 16-centimetre-wide robot that moves similarly – thanks to sensors that control motion in the same way as the worm’s. The robot has 12 articulated segments, each of which can swing from side to side using a geared motor in its centre.
Instead of the nematode’s stretch sensors, the robot senses the angle each segment describes with respect to its spine and control software uses this information to calculate the robot’s overall undulation pattern and orientation. Microphones, carbon-dioxide sensors (sensing breath) and infrared cameras on its “head” would allow the robot to wriggle its way to people in trouble, says Boyle.
Instead of constructing the 12 segments from aluminium, the worm-snake robot was made from tough nylon-based plastic in a 3D printer – cutting the cost to around £2000, against the £5000 aluminium would have cost.
Boyle hopes to refine the design further. It certainly needs shrinking down, says Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps, a UK-based group that rushes experienced rescuers to earthquake zones.
Ryan says they currently push 3-metre-long hoses just 4 centimetres wide into rubble so that cameras or breath sensors on the end of them can see, or sense, trapped people.
“This robot invention sounds like it’s on the big side – you need something relatively small. Maybe they’ll need to make these in a variety of sizes,” she says.
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give the eulogy at his funeral. So you have some background, I could be considered a professional obituary writer, kind of.
For years I’ve written about my life as a mom. In 2006, I started blogging as a mommy blogger. I wore that title proudly and as my writing focus has changed over the years, so has my title. Just this year, for example, I changed the title of this blog in anticipation of a very important event.
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Reducing the Need of Training Data: Training a Machine learning solution needs tons of data elements and it can be quite time consuming and an expensive exercise. But as promising techniques are emerging, the time to train the ML model will significantly come down. Additionally synthetic data, which mimics the characteristics of real data, can open opportunities to crowdsourcing of data and add on to the purpose.
Another technique that could reduce the need for training data is transfer learning. With this approach, an ML model is pre-trained on one data set as a shortcut to learning new data set in similar data.
Explaining Results: Even though machine learning solutions are getting more and more impressive, it very difficult to explain how it takes the decisions. This is why Machine learning models are undesirable for various applications. However, Deloitte claims there are number of techniques being created that would help people understand how certain ML models work. Further, with this field of work ML solutions will be more interpretable and accurate.
Deploying Locally: Going forward, Deloitte also predicts more of ML will be introduced to smart phones and smart sensors. Furthermore the technology will also get deployed to smart cities, autonomous vehicles, wearable's and IoT products.Technology companies Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple are developing ML software models to undertake tasks such as image recognition and language translation on portable devices. While global firms like Intel and Qualcomm are developing in-house power efficient Artificial Intelligence chips to bring Machine Learning to phones.
Automating Data Science: Data exploration and feature engineering consume as much 8 per cent of data scientist's time. However, these tasks can be automated. A growing number of tools and techniques for data science automation, offered by established companies as well as venture-backed startups, should help shrink the time required to execute ML related proof of concept.
This will automate data scientist's job and improve productivity in the community. Additionally, the development will also help companies to double their work in machine learning space.
Accelerating Training: Globally, startups in the manufacturing domain are working to develop special hardware which would significantly reduce the time needed to train ML models, by using speed based calculations and transferring data to chips. "Early adopters of these specialized AI chips include major technology vendors and research institutions in data science and ML, but adoption is spreading retail, financial services and telecom."
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You are a Ringmaster who is trying to leave the circus. See if you can somehow find the solution for this problem. Good luck and have fun!
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I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called Why Canada’s Cannabis Act is a green-field opportunity for online engagement and is located at https://www.bangthetable.com/blog/why-canadas-cannabis-act-is-a-green-field-opportunity-for-online-engagement/.
With Canada’s recent legalisation, the mainstreaming of recreational marijuana has municipalities cultivating online engagement as residents weigh in on whether to allow private cannabis retail stores.
Canada is the first G7 country – and only second in the world – to fully legalise cannabis consumption. Regulating the use and sale of recreational marijuana, the briefly named Cannabis Act, was introduced in April 2017 and came into effect 17 October this year, providing a stringent legal framework for use, possession, production, and distribution of marijuana.
Canada is no shrinking violet when it comes to campaigning or seeking out benefits of marijuana. As early as 2001, it was the first country to sanction the medical use of marijuana. No doubt, this recent landmark legislation will continue growing innovations beyond the narrow perception of the plant – what I’d loosely call ‘Cannabis scholarship’, that is, research that explores social, genetic and scientific questions around its use and usefulness. Alternately, it has already propagated university courses across the country from cannabis training courses to its commercial production and business, a groundswell, as recently noted in New York Times, that has also produced the need for full-time “Cannabis journalists”.
Ultimately, this landmark decision marks the introduction of recreational marijuana into the Canadian mainstream. Cannabis legislation around the world walks in the shadow of such revolution – although several juristications have now legalised cannabis, including Washington and Colorado in the United States, Uruguay and Catalonia, while the New Zealand government has flagged a referendum to become the first nation in the Asia-Pacific region with states in Australia also pushing for reform.
But this broad skeletal legislation has also given Canada’s municipalities a greater role in its retail and regulation. The Canadian government is giving Canada’s 13 provinces and territories their say, with municipalities setting their own rules regarding where cannabis can be sold and consumed. In doing this, in the lead up to the once-only opt-out of recreational cannabis retail stores, local municipalities have been cultivating online engagement consultations. While the ground is shifting as the provinces establish regulations for new laws, online engagement has proved pivotal in informing communities and soliciting residents input about the logistical future of recreational cannabis retail before the upcoming deadline of January 22, 2019.
Just last week, Ontario’s Cannabis Licence Act released its regulations, which came into effect on November 17. Rules around where and how cannabis is consumed or sold differ across Canada’s provinces and territories. Following wide consultations with stakeholders and residents, Ontario has enacted further regulations that address retail, distribution and the protection of youth and communities. These laws will guide a closely controlled private retail scheme expected to roll-out in April 2019.
But first, Ontario’s local governments are required to let the Canadian government know where they stand on cannabis retail locations within their boundaries, and, through public engagement, are seeking community input to inform their decisions.
Ontario plans to allow privately owned brick-and-mortar – read, ‘physical’ – retail stores to launch in Spring of 2019. Until then, the only legal way to purchase recreational cannabis is via the Ontario Cannabis Store website. Retail operators and outlets will be licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and supplied solely by the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation.
The private retail model will support local governments to work with potential store owners. The new regulations established by the Ontario government also speak to various aspects of the private retail system. For instance, there are measures to maintain distance buffers between stores and schools and to counter illegal markets.
Within new regulations, municipalities currently have the opportunity to decide on allowing, or restricting, the establishment of cannabis retail stores. Councils choosing to opt out will have to send in their municipal resolutions to the AGCO. While opting out doesn’t forego allowing stores at a later date, those opting in cannot reverse their decision after the January deadline.
Coupling the volatility of an issue like cannabis with the requirement that local municipalities engage their communities presents fertile ground for online community participation. With a strict regulatory framework in place, municipal governments are using online engagement to find out how the community feels about the way ahead and reach a decision around whether to opt out of establishing recreational use retail stores.
But given the contentiousness of the issue, the stakes around substance policies are paramount for decision makers and community alike. It goes without saying that for Ontario residents and municipal governments reflecting on the choice to host cannabis retail stores, there are various social, economic, and administrative considerations to be made. But making these conversations public can also open up to negative polarisation and also raises concerns around privacy. Taking the conversation online in a controlled and monitored environment, however, municipalities are equally managing such risk while seizing the opportunity to speak directly to their community and moving beyond a narrow, vociferous minority. They are also readily able to inform communities on new regulations and listen to feedback, providing measurable impact involving residents in decision making.
While online engagement can provide a convenient – and accessible – space for residents to support a meaningful conversation, it is noticeably far removed from the noise and limitations of social media. Given this counterpoint, it provides an opportunity for municipalities to build trust through transparency; where some consultations have included a direct question and answer feature to respond to specific queries, others feature forums to encourage open conversation and dialogue.
Growing online engagement, municipalities can listen effectively to community feedback with far-reaching effects for everyone involved.
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Does peacekeeping intervention improve the human rights situation in states with a history of civil war? While this question has received a myriad of attention and debate within the human rights community, there have been relatively few studies that attempt to answer this question. Examining the characteristics of peacekeeping following civil war from 1980 to 2004, this article finds that peacekeeping can both encourage and undermine respect for human rights. Specifically, the mission and activities of peacekeepers matter. These findings support the human rights community's stance that peacekeeping can be problematic but holds promise for human rights in post-conflict states.
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Help your child control and regulate their feelings during a meltdown.
Trying to deal with your child’s ADHD meltdown can leave you feeling powerless and overwhelmed. The situation can quickly escalate to a level that feels way beyond your control. Having some quick, easy tips and calming techniques can help you navigate through the situation when it happens.
Let your child know you understand what they are going through. In a calm voice, you can say something along the lines of, “I know you’re disappointed that you didn’t get the treat you wanted” or “I can see that you’re upset because your friends didn’t ask you to play.” Let them know that their feelings make sense and that you are aware of what they’re experiencing.
Emotions can be overwhelming for everyone. Providing your child with a safe physical outlet can ease off a lot of the intensity of what they’re feeling.
If you’re at home during a meltdown, you can ask your child to punch a pillow, squeeze a ball, or rip up newspapers.
Another great resource is the glitter bottle. Aside from being a great DIY project for a rainy or snowy day, during a meltdown, you can have your kid shake the bottle as hard as they’d like, and then watch the glitter in the water. The physical act of shaking, along with the enticing sparkles, can help your child recenter their focus and diffuse their emotions.
Teaching your child to use breathing techniques to calm down can offer amazing pay-off.
During a meltdown, guide your child through taking deep breaths. Belly breathing especially can be effective and relaxing for anyone going through frustration and anxiety, whatever the age.
4. Don’t engage. When your child is acting out in anger, try not to react or show any interest. If you feel the situation is safe, you can say, “This situation is getting out of control. Let’s both take a step back and go into separate rooms to try and calm down. We can come back here in a few minutes.” This presents a clear and stress-free escape plan for both you and your child.
5. Set rules for meltdowns. Be consistent. During a meltdown, enforce the rules and consequences that you explained to your child earlier on.
Most importantly, remember that your chid’s meltdown is not a reflection of your parenting. It is an issue of emotional dysregulation, and nothing else.
If your child is struggling with ADHD, I am ready to work with them and guide them towards a calmer and happier life. I also have experience using neurofeedback to help regulate ADHD.
For ADHD therapy in or near Los Angeles that is effective and enjoyable, give me a call at (818)210-5070. Or you can fill out the contact form and click Send to request a free 15-minute phone consultation. I look forward to hearing from you.
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A small statue of a "Moriskentänzer" made by Erasmus Grasser in 1480 for Old Townhall in Munich, one of a set of 16, of which only 10 remain. This dancer has an appearance which would be described at the time as "moorish", but all the other nine surviving carvings are fairer-skinned. All wear bells on their legs.
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers. In a small number of dances for one or two people, steps are near and across a pair of clay tobacco pipes laid one across the other on the floor. They clap their sticks, swords, or handkerchiefs together to match with the dance.
The earliest known and surviving English written mention of Morris dance is dated to 1448, and records the payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. Further mentions of Morris dancing occur in the late 15th century, and there are also early records such as bishops' "Visitation Articles" mention sword dancing, guising and other dancing activities, as well as mumming plays.
While the earliest records invariably mention "Morys" in a court setting, and a little later in the Lord Mayors' Processions in London, it had assumed the nature of a folk dance performed in the parishes by the mid 17th century.
There are around 150 Morris sides (or teams) in the United States. English expatriates form a larger part of the Morris tradition in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong. There are isolated groups in other countries, for example those in Utrecht and Helmond, Netherlands; the Arctic Morris Group of Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden; as well as in Cyprus.
The world of Morris is organised and supported by three organisations: Morris Ring, Morris Federation and Open Morris.
The name is first recorded in the mid-15th century as Morisk dance, moreys daunce, morisse daunce, i.e. "Moorish dance". The term entered English via Flemish mooriske danse. Comparable terms in other languages are German Moriskentanz (also from the 15th century), French morisques, Croatian moreška, and moresco, moresca or morisca in Italy and Spain. The modern spelling Morris-dance first appears in the 17th century.
It is unclear why the dance was named, "unless in reference to fantastic dancing or costumes", i.e. the deliberately "exotic" flavour of the performance. The English dance thus apparently arose as part of a wider 15th-century European fashion for supposedly "Moorish" spectacle, which also left traces in Spanish and Italian folk dance. The means and chronology of the transmission of this fashion is now difficult to trace; the Great London Chronicle records "spangled Spanish dancers" performing an energetic dance before Henry VII at Christmas of 1494, but Heron's accounts also mention "pleying of the mourice dance" four days earlier, and the attestation of the English term from the mid-15th century establishes that there was a "Moorish dance" performed in England decades prior to 1494.
An alternative derivation from the Latin 'mos, moris' (custom and usage) has also been suggested.
It has been suggested that the tradition of rural English dancers blackening their faces may be a form of disguise, or a reference either to the Moors or to miners; the origins of the practice remain unclear and are a matter of ongoing debate.
However by the late 19th century, and in the West Country at least, Morris dancing was fast becoming more a local memory than an activity. D'Arcy Ferris (or de Ferrars), a Cheltenham based singer, music teacher and organiser of pageants, became intrigued by the tradition and sought to revive it. He first encountered Morris in Bidford and organised its revival. Over the following years he took the side to several places in the West Country, from Malvern to Bicester and from Redditch to Moreton in Marsh. By 1910, he and Cecil Sharp were in correspondence on the subject.
Several English folklorists were responsible for recording and reviving the tradition in the early 20th century, often from a bare handful of surviving members of mid-19th-century village sides. Among these, the most notable are Cecil Sharp and Mary Neal.
Partly because women's and mixed sides were not eligible for full membership of the Morris Ring (this has now changed), two other national (and international) bodies were formed, the Morris Federation and Open Morris. All three bodies provide communication, advice, insurance, instructionals (teaching sessions) and social and dancing opportunities to their members. The three bodies co-operate on some issues, while maintaining their distinct identities.
Rapper from Northumberland and Co. Durham, danced with short flexible sprung steel swords, usually for five dancers.
Bacon also lists the tradition from Lichfield, which is Cotswold-like despite that city's distance from the Cotswold Morris area; the authenticity of this tradition has been questioned.[by whom?] In 2006, a small number of dances from a previously unknown tradition was discovered by Barry Care, MBE, keeper of The Morris Ring Photographic Archive, and a founding member of Moulton Morris Men (Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire)—two of them danceable.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Lancashire tradition was taken up by sides associated with mills and nonconformist chapels, usually composed of young girls. These lasted until the First World War, after which many mutated into "jazz dancers". (A Bolton troupe can be seen in a pre-war documentary by Humphrey Jennings.) The dances have evolved stylistically and the dancers’ dress has changed to include pompoms and elements from other groups, such as cheerleaders and Irish dancers. However, they refer to themselves as "Morris dancers", wear bells, and are still mainly based in the Northwest of England. This type of Morris has been around since the 1940s and is also referred to as Carnival or "fluffy Morris" dancing. They take part in many different competitions during the year and end it with a "Championship" where one dance troupe is crowned the champions. This type of Morris is also found in the north of Wales, where there are many different organizations with many different troupes. In 2008 NEMDCO (North of England Morris Dancing Carnival Organization) held a large competition at Blackpool in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. The winner of this competition was Valencia, a troupe from Liverpool. During the folk revival in the 1960s, many of the old steps to dances such as "Stubbins Lane Garland" were often passed on by old people.
The term "Border Morris" was first used by E. C. Cawte in a 1963 article on the Morris dance traditions of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire – counties along the border with Wales. Characteristics of the tradition as practised in the 19th and early 20th centuries include: blackface (in some areas), use of either a small strip of bells (in some areas) or no bells at all (in others), costume often consisting of ordinary clothes decorated with ribbons, strips of cloth, or pieces of coloured paper; or sometimes "fancy dress", small numbers of traditional dances in the team repertoire, often only one and rarely more than two, highly variable number of dancers in the set and configurations of the set (some sides had different versions of a dance for different numbers of dancers), and an emphasis on stick dances almost to the exclusion of hankie dances.
There is also Stave dancing from the south-west and the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.
Many participants refer to the world of Morris dancing as a whole as the morris.
A jig is a dance performed by one (or sometimes two) dancers, rather than by a set. Its music does not usually have the rhythm implied by the word "jig" in other contexts.
The role of the squire varies. In some sides the squire is the leader, who speaks for the side in public, usually leads or calls the dances, and often decides the programme for a performance. In other sides the squire is more an administrator, with the foreman taking the lead, and the dances called by any experienced dancer.
The bagman is traditionally the keeper of the bag—that is to say, the side's funds and equipment. In some sides today, the bagman acts as secretary (particularly bookings secretary) and there is often a separate treasurer.
Many sides have one or more fools. A fool is usually extravagantly dressed, and communicates directly with the audience in speech or mime. The fool often dances around and even through a dance without appearing really to be a part of it, but it takes a talented dancer to pull off such fooling while actually adding to and not distracting from the main dance set.
Most Cotswold dances alternate common figures (or just figures) with a distinctive figure (or chorus). The common figures are common to all (or some) dances in the tradition; the distinctive figure distinguishes that dance from others in the same tradition. Sometimes (particularly in corner dances) the choruses are not identical, but have their own sequence specific to the tradition. Nevertheless, something about the way the chorus is danced distinguishes that dance from others. Several traditions often have essentially the same dance, where the name, tune, and distinctive figure are the same or similar, but each tradition employs its common figures and style.
In England, an ale is a private party where a number of Morris sides get together and perform dances for their own enjoyment rather than for an audience. Food is usually supplied, and sometimes this is a formal meal known as a feast or ale-feast. Occasionally, an evening ale is combined with a day or weekend of dance, where all the invited sides tour the area and perform in public. In North America the term is widely used to describe a full weekend of dancing involving public performances and sometimes workshops. In the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the term "ale" referred to a church- or dale-sponsored event where ale or beer was sold to raise funds. Morris dancers were often employed at such events.
The continuance of the Morris is as much in the hands of independent groups of enthusiasts as it is in the nationwide groupings such as The Morris Ring or The Morris Federation. So while for some sides there is a feeling that the music and dance recorded in the 19th century should be maintained, there are others who freely reinterpret the music and dance to suit their abilities and including modern influences. In 2008 a front page article in the Independent Magazine noted the rising influence of neopaganism within the modern Morris tradition. The article featured the views of Neopagan sides Wolf's Head and Vixen Morris and Hunter's Moon Morris and contrasted them with those of the more traditional Long Man Morris Men. The Morris may have become popular in neopaganism thanks to the scholarship of James Frazer, who hypothesized that rural folk traditions were survivals of ancient pagan rituals. Though this view was fiercely criticized even by Frazer's contemporaries, it was fully embraced by Sir Edmund Chambers, one of the first to produce serious writing on English folk plays and dances, and who became a major influence on popular understanding of Morris dancing in the 20th century.
There is great variety shown in how Morris sides dress, from the predominantly white clothing of Cotswold sides to the tattered jackets worn by Border teams. Some common items of clothing are: bellpads; baldrics; braces; rosettes; sashes; waistcoats; tatter-coats; knee-length breeches; wooden clogs; straw hats, top hats, or bowlers; neckerchiefs; armbands.
^ Heaney, M. (2004). "The Earliest Reference to the Morris Dance?". Folk Music Journal. 8 (4): 513–515. JSTOR 4522721.
^ Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion. Llewellyn Worldwide. 2011. p. 126.
^ "New Zealand Morris Dancing". Morrisdancing.org.nz. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ "index". Cyprusmorris.net. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ OED, s.v. "morris dance" and "Morisk". D. Arnold, The New Oxford Companion to Music, vol. 2 (Oxford University Press, 1983), p. 1203.
^ Billington, Sandra (1984). A Social History of the Fool. Harvester Press. pp. 36, 37.
^ 'The Pocket Oxford Dictionary'(1913/1994) OUP, Oxford.
^ Okolosie, Lola (14 October 2014). "Cameron and the morris dancers: a sign of our nationalistic mood". The Guardian.
^ the first description of such dances was John Playford's The English Dancing Master, published in 1651.
^ M. Dougal MacFinlay & M. Sion Andreas o Wynedd, To Tame a Pretty Conceit, volume 4 of the '0'Letter of Dance (1996).
^ Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion. Llewellyn Worldwide. 2011. p. 125.
^ Judge, Roy (1984). "D'Arcy Ferris and the Bidford Morris". Folk Music Journal. 4 (5): 443–480. JSTOR 4522157.
^ Burgess, Paul (2002). "The Mystery of the Whistling Sewermen: How Cecil Sharp Discovered Gloucestershire Morris Dancing". Folk Music Journal. 8 (2): 178–194. JSTOR 4522669.
^ "Bacca Pipes". British Columbia Folklore Society. 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
^ "The Morris Tradition | The Morris Ring". themorrisring.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
^ "The Duns Tew Morris 'Tradition'".
^ Cawte, E. C. (1963). "The Morris Dance in Hereford, Shropshire and Worcestershire". Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. 9 (4): 197–212. JSTOR 4521671.
^ Jones, Dave (1988). The Roots of Welsh Border Morris. Morris Ring.
^ "Cardiff Morris Home Page". Cardiffmorris.org. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ a b "Nantgarw". Myweb.tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ "Easter Course Address (English) | cgdwc ~ wnfds". Dawnsio.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ "Cardiff Morris Videos". YouTube. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
^ Moreton, Cole (11 May 2008). "Hey nonny no, no, no: Goths and pagans are reinventing Morris dancing". London: The Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
^ "Picasa Web Albums – Jack Frost – May Day 2010". Picasaweb.google.com. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
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Why is my dividend listed?
Contractor's Question: I have noticed my accountant is listing the dividends paid to individual directors of my company in the accounts. This is the first time the accountant says he has done this as apparently there has been a change in the law. Is this correct or can we shortcut the requirement as the amount paid to one of the directors may be a sensitive issue?
Expert's Answer: Following the removal of the requirement to disclose directors' shareholdings in the directors' report, dividends payable to directors will now be shown in the accounts as related party transactions. This is the same requirement that necessitates the disclosure of any other transaction with a director, as well as any transaction in which they have an interest. It is thought to be an unintended consequence of a simplification of the disclosure requirements.
Previously, the directors' interests in the shares of a company were shown on the directors' report. This included shares held by certain family members.
There is no problem with continuing to disclose this information voluntarily. There would then be no need to disclose individual dividend amounts. If the concern is over the accounts filed at Companies House, then abbreviated accounts may help if you qualify as a small company. This will avoid the disclosure of dividend amounts in the accounts altogether.
The expert was Jon Sutcliffe, general practice partner at Kingston Smith LLP.
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Funk Styles or funk dance refer to dance styles that are primarily danced to funk music. More specifically they can be used for a group of street dance styles that originated in California in the 1970s, mainly popping and locking. Though these specific dance styles have today been incorporated into the hip hop culture to some extent, and are often seen danced to hip hop music and electronica as well, they were originally and are still commonly danced to funk music. One of the reasons that the term funk styles first appeared was to give these dances their own identity and avoid them being primarily associated with hip hop and breakdancing.
In the 80's when streetdancing blew up, the media often incorrectly used the term "breakdancing" as an umbrella term for most the streetdancing styles that they saw. What many people didn't know was this within these styles, other sub-cultures existed, each with their own identities.
Breakdancing, or b-boying as it is more appropriately known as, is known to have its roots in the east coast and was heavily influenced by break beats and hip hop. The term "funk styles" was coined to give what we do it's own identity and separate it from hip-hop. Popping, locking and boogaloo were styles that were created in the WEST COAST during the FUNK ERA, and while these styles were adopted into the hip-hop movement, its roots should still be recognized as pure funk. Hence the term, FUNK STYLES.
In a town called Fresno, California, there lived a shy boy named Sam. Inspired to create his own style of dance after seeing the original Lockers perform on TV, in 1975 Sam started putting together movements which later became known as boogaloo or boog style.
The name came from the old James Brown song "Do the Boogaloo". One day when Sam was dancing around the house, his uncle said "Boy, do that boogaloo!" A puzzled Sam asked his uncle, "What's boogaloo?". "That means you're gettin down" his uncle replied. From that day on he was known as Boogaloo Sam.
Not many people know what boogaloo style is or how to do it. Boogaloo is a fluid style that uses every part of the body. It involves using angles and incorporating fluid movements to make everything flow together, often using rolls of the hips, knees, head. Making your legs do wierd things, and covering a lot of space on stage using "walkouts" or other transitions to get from one spot to the next spot. Although it is described as fluid, please note that boogaloo is different from the style known as waving.
A lot of people ask what Electric Boogaloo style is. Electric Boogaloo style is combining popping and boogaloo style together. The two styles compliment each other well and is known worldwide as the signature style of the EB's.
While Sam was creating popping and boogaloo, others were creating and practicing unique styles of their own. Back in the day many different areas in the west coast were known for their own distinct styles, each with their own rich history behind them. Some of these areas included Oakland, Sacramento and San Fransisco.
Although the EB's primarily pop and boogaloo, we still like to mix it up and encourage all dancers out there to learn and mix other styles as well.
The Electric Boogaloos would like to give respect to the other OGs and innovators of all styles who contributed to make the street dance scene what it is today. Keep the funk alive!
After seeing legendary group the Lockers perform on television, Sam was inspired to create his own dance style. Around the years of 1975-1976 Sam created a set of movements that evolved into the styles known today as popping and boogaloo (boog style). In 1977 Sam founded the Electronic Boogaloo Lockers, who later became known as the Electric Boogaloos.
Currently Sam is still getting down and is the active leader and member of the EB's. A true innovator of funk styles, Sam has helped push the boundaries to where they are today.
Tutting is the name given to a contemporary abstract interpretive dance style that exploits the body's ability to create geometric positions and movements, predominantly with the use of right angles. It is performed with minute attention to the musical rhythm, typically by altering positions in a stop-and-go fashion.
Both boxing and the hinge illusion are special applications of the mime concept fixed point. Another style, called fixed line, requires that dancers apply this concept rigorously to more convincingly convey the illusion of solid shapes. Much as a mime conveys a wall by always keeping one hand on the wall, or shows a rope by always keeping one hand on the rope, a tutter shows a shape by always maintaining at least one side of the shape. To do this, a tutter will use his body parts to assemble a shape segment by segment and dissasemble it in the same piecemeal fashion.
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South Korea's emergence as a major international exporter contrasts with its dire circumstances after the Korean War ended in 1953. In those days, the South lagged behind the Communist North, which possessed most of the country's industry.
Industry had been situated in the North because most of the mineral resources - coal, iron ore, lead and others - were there. But most of the people lived in the South, which was better suited for agriculture. The growing season was longer in the South, and the soil tended to be better.
Comparative statistics are virtually nonexistent, for North Korea is one of the few nations, like Laos and Albania, about whose economy very little is known. Yet it appears that its per-capita income now is around $900, compared with $2,200 in the South.
Why did the South come from behind and do so much better than the North? Economists say South Korea has achieved some of the most remarkable growth rates in the world by pursuing an export-oriented development strategy founded on a market economy.
North Korea has been more insular and has relied little on market incentives. It exports only about one-seventeenth as much as the South, generally shipping natural resources such as iron ore, coal, lead and zinc to other Communist bloc countries. Trade with non-Communist countries, including Japan, West Germany and Hong Kong, has generally increased in recent years, however.
North Korea's economic development has been hampered by its use of a central economy that provides few incentives for production, Western economists say. Partly because much of the land is not arable, the North also has to import food, including wheat.
In addition, the North has only about 19 million people, a little less than half as many as the South, and is believed to maintain an army of around 700,000, mostly young men who are kept out of the economy during some of their most productive years.
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There are five different types of reactions. They are synthesis, decomposition, single replacement, double replacement, and combustion reactions.
Synthesis reactions: A + B = AB.
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Antony and Cleopatra Essay Question: How is power play illustrated in the behaviour of Antony and Cleopatra and Antony and Caesar in Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra’? In your answer make close reference to the text. (600-800 words) The strength of the powerplay used in Shakespeare’s play ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ becomes evident in many different situations as characters assert themselves over others to create the outcome they desire.
In ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ this dominance is displayed in multiple relationships, however the two main power struggles exist between Antony and Cleopatra in their relationship and Antony and Caesar in their struggle to gain power. This use of power to control another eventually ends in tragedy with the deaths of both Antony and Cleopatra and in the process their devoted servants. “ In Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra quite often the use of power comes from Cleopatra manipulating Antony to agree with the way she wants events to occur.
The utilization of powerplay between these two characters begins very early in the play, first showing itself in Act 1 Scene 1, when Antony refuses to hear the Roman messenger and to instead spend time with Cleopatra. This is the first indication of how strong a hold Cleopatra has over Antony to make him reject his Roman duties as a Triumvir. However, Cleopatra’s influence over Antony can only extend so far and the limits of her control are shown in Act 1 Scene 3.
She aims to prevent Antony from announcing his return to Rome and at the same time to convince him to stay, first by feigning illness then taunting him. When Antony finally does state his motives for leaving Cleopatra, to attend Fulvia’s funeral, she increases her taunting notably declaring: O most false love! Where will be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill ” With sorrowful water? Now I see, I see, In Fulvia’s death how mine received shall be. (Act 1, Scene 3.
Lines 63-65) In stating this Cleopatra aims to make Antony feel guilty to leave her and instead attend the funeral of Fulvia. By insinuating that he does not care for her, Cleopatra has unintentionally brought about the opposite of what she wished to achieve in making Antony stay. Here Antony turns the argument around and is able to manipulate Cleopatra accordingly, by threatening to leave Cleopatra with the possibility of not coming back. This is too much for her to take and so she changes tactics and begs for forgiveness and recognizing that Antony has his Roman duties to attend to.
No other significant scenes arise until Cleopatra’s hold over Antony is again shown in Act 3 Scene 11 when Cleopatra does not even intentionally manipulate Antony and he follows her from battle back to the relative safety of Egypt. This scene emphasises the hold that Antony is under as he has abandoned his Roman duty, which was supposedly the most important thing in his life, and has replaced it with the love of a ‘gypsy’, as many Romans including Caesar, refer to Cleopatra. Antony’s statement “My heart was to thy rudder tied by th’strings… (Act 3, Scene 11. Line 55) shows how he himself now recognises the strength of his love to Cleopatra and that he would follow her anywhere. Much of the powerplay present between Antony and Caesar is discovered through use of conversations with other characters and not through direct conversation between Antony and Caesar themselves. Caesar’s dislike for the amount of time Antony is spending in Egypt with Cleopatra is first brought up in Act 1 Scene 4 were it becomes apparent that he is also losing respect for the much admired Roman general Mark Antony.
The only way Caesar accepts Antony and his apology is by Antony agreeing to a marriage with his sister Octavia. This suggestion is made by Agrippa, whose intention is to bring the two men closer together and to settle their dispute. This works in Caesar’s favour. If Antony declines the proposal then it could be seen that he was rejecting his Roman duty and instead putting his love of Cleopatra in the way, the other alternative is that the marriage between Antony and Octavia will not prosper and Caesar can use Antony’s rejection of Octavia to wage war against him.
However, Antony finds an excuse for waging war against Caesar because Caesar has fought and killed Pompey without consulting his fellow triumvirs despite having signed an agreement in Act 2 Scene 6. Further, Caesar has imprisoned Lepidus putting Antony in more doubt about Caesars intentions and whether or not he will try to take Antony out of power as well. Therefore, Antony returns to Egypt where he has the relative safety of distance and the time to gather an army to match Caesar’s. For Caesar this is the final straw and he takes Antony’s flight as a sign to begin a war and overtake him.
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(b. 1 September 1914 in Chicago, Illinois; d. 1 February 1986 in Chicago, Illinois), owner of three Major League Baseball teams and one racetrack, most noted for his innovations in the game of baseball and particularly for marketing to a broader spectrum of fans.
Veeck was the son of William Veeck, Sr., a sportswriter and president of the Chicago Cubs, and Grace De Forest Veeck, a homemaker. Veeck once stated that he was the only human being raised in a baseball stadium. He spent much of his youth with his father at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Following his father's death in 1933, Veeck took a position with the Cubs. While working with Cubs owner Philip Wrigley, Veeck was responsible for two notable facets of the aesthetically pleasing stadium. He planted the ivy growing on the outfield walls, which eventually became a hallmark of Wrigley Field, and he completed the work on the imposing center field scoreboard.
Veeck worked for the Cubs until 1941, when he, along with Charlie Grimm, a retired Cubs first baseman, purchased the minor league Milwaukee Brewers. They took a moribund franchise and converted it into a winning venture both on the field and at the box office. Innovations included scheduling games at 8:30 A. M. to accommodate war industry workers who were finishing work on the night shift.
Veeck joined the U.S. Marines in 1944. His leg was crushed while in combat in the Pacific theater, and after ten surgeries failed to fix the infected and damaged leg, it was amputated in 1946. Veeck purchased the Cleveland Indians from the owners of the team, the Bradley family, that same year, and by 1948 the Indians had won their first American League (AL) championship in twenty-eight years. Veeck moved all Indians games from the antiquated League Park into Cleveland Municipal Stadium, thus allowing the team to eventually draw over 2 million fans per year. Following Branch Rickey's hiring of Jackie Robinson in 1947, Veeck brought Larry Doby to the Indians as the American League's first African-American player. In the tight pennant race of 1948, Veeck added the legendary Satchel Paige to assist the team in winning both the pennant and the World Series championship, beating the Boston Braves. Veeck had become a hero to the fans of Cleveland, but at the expense of his marriage to Eleanor Raymond, whom he had wed on 8 December 1935. Their divorce in 1949 caused enough financial disruption that Veeck had to sell the Indians in order to facilitate a divorce settlement. He married Mary Frances Ackerman on 29 April 1950. They later had six children and together managed a Boston racetrack, Suffolk Downs.
Veeck disappeared from the active baseball scene until 1951, when he bought the St. Louis Browns, a team that had incurred great debt and lacked talent. In Veeck's first season as owner he increased attendance by 60 percent by using several gimmicks and promotions, the most famous of which was sending a midget, Eddie Gaedel, up to bat in a 1952 game. In 1953 he attempted to move the team to Milwaukee because he felt that St. Louis could not support two teams. However, Veeck had not done the appropriate planning and did not get the necessary approvals to make the move. The result was that he had to sell the team because of insufficient funding. Other league owners, who had come to despise Veeck because of his showmanship, allowed the new ownership to move the team to Baltimore the next season.
This move opened the door to more franchise shifting, which had not occurred since the advent of the modern structure of baseball in 1903. Unprofitable teams switched cities in order to find more lucrative sites, and the baseball industry eventually expanded the number of major league teams beyond the original sixteen.
By 1959 the Comiskey family wanted to sell the Chicago White Sox. Veeck bought the franchise and brought life to South Side Chicago fans by winning the first pennant in forty years. Although the White Sox lost the World Series to the recently moved Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball on the South Side had become vibrant again. Veeck eventually added a memorable scoreboard to Comiskey Park, complete with a fireworks system that discharged every time the team won or whenever a White Sox player hit a home run. Under Veeck's ownership, the names of players appeared for the first time on White Sox uniforms. Unfortunately, working extensive hours, smoking several packs of cigarettes a day, and drinking excessively for years led Veeck to suffer serious health problems, and he was forced to sell the White Sox in 1961.
During the early 1960s Veeck began writing books. His first, Veeck as in Wreck (1962), became a sports classic. His later works, The Hustlers Handbook (1965) and Thirty Tons a Day (1972), reflect the humor and unconventional wisdom that Veeck brought to baseball and to sports marketing.
When the White Sox were again up for sale in 1976, and threatened with the possibility of being moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, Veeck bought the team once again to keep it in his home city. His purchase of the White Sox for $7 million came a couple of weeks before free agency began. Veeck, short of money, kept the White Sox afloat during the late 1970s with his "rent-a-player" approach, bringing in well-known players for one year, knowing that he did not have the resources to offer them multiyear contracts. When his health problems resurfaced in 1980, Veeck sold the team for $20 million, this time pocketing a handsome profit.
During his final years Veeck was a regular fan, sitting in with the "bleacher bums" in the park of his youth. He died of congestive heart failure and is buried at Oakwoods Cemetery in Chicago. "Barnum Bill," as his fellow owners sometimes called him, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
The best sources of information about Veeck are his own books, Veeck as in Wreck (1962), The Hustler ' s Handbook (1965), and Thirty Tons a Day (1972). Also see Richard C. Lindberg, The White Sox Encyclopedia (1997). Articles include Thomas Boswell, "Always Leave 'em Laughing," Inside Sports (Mar. 1981), and Steven P. Geitschier, "Bill Veeck," Timeline (May 1990).
"Veeck, William L., Jr. ("Bill")." Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. . Encyclopedia.com. 21 Apr. 2019 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
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Shalom. In order to complete a text I need some missing words in Hebrew. My dictionary doesn't have them. Could you spell the following words in Hebrew (using Latin letters, as my e-mail program does have Hebrew)? The words I need spelled are: Globalization, New Age, International Monetary Fund, New World Order, Neo-liberalism, Internet, Wide World Web, computer, Rome, World Bank, Bar Code, William Henry Gates III, Bill Gates, Brussels. Sorry for the inconvenience but I have no one else to help me on this matter. Ciao!
I have a few questions: When it's the New Year, Jewish people eat apple in honey; do you have a recipe? Do men help cleaning the house when it's Easter? Who is Haman? How does his head look like?
Can a vegetarian eat animal crackers?
Does television have any educational value?
I must say that I personally find television very educational. The minute somebody turns on the television, I go to the library and read a book.
Thinly sliced cabbage with mayonnaise.
I would like to thank you for using the letters "Shabbat" to spell Shabbat. I enjoy reading many Jewish books in English but the one thing that always bothers me is Shabbat spelled "Shabbos." While that may be the pronunciation of many English-speaking Jewish people, they don't write tzedaka as "tzdukuh." Thank you.
First correct answer* to the Shlemazel Puzzle wins 1,000 dollars**!
*Entries must be written with an Australian emu feather on Tibetan yak parchment and sent by Libyan camel to Faad Zingbaum, Qatar, no later than the day before yesterday. A Money Order issued by the Central Bank of Sarajevo for $350 must accompany all entries as an entrance fee.
**Canadian dollars, paid out in installments: One dollar a year for a thousand years!
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On November 30th, the State of Israel commemorates Jewish refugees from Arab Countries and Iran. The date is symbolic in itself, as the previous day, November 29th, marks the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly vote of 1947 that called for the creation of two independent states, one Arab and one Jewish, in the territory of British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. The UN vote, rejected by Arab leaders but accepted by Jewish leaders, led, in May of 1948, to the declaration of independence of the new State of Israel.
As of 1948, close to a million Jews lived in Arab and Muslim lands in the Middle East and North Africa, the largest communities in Morocco (over 250,000 people), in Iraq (140,000), and in Egypt and Tunisia (approximately 75,000 in each). Non-Arab Muslim countries also had large Jewish communities: over 65,000 Jews lived in Iran and 80,000 in Turkey.
Some of these communities had existed since the 6th century BCE, the time known as the Babylonian captivity of Jews from the ancient Kingdom of Judah; some formed as a result of the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492 CE.
In many cases, these Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa prospered, were better integrated, and suffered less discrimination than the Jewish communities in Europe. Each community had a rich tradition of religious customs, language, food, and music.
The situation changed dramatically in 1947–48. After the UN vote, and even more after the declaration of independence of the State of Israel, Arab governments initiated overt policies of discrimination that, combined with episodes of outright violence, led in the years to follow to the expulsion or fleeing of entire Jewish communities, mostly towards Israel, but also towards North and South America. Later, following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, over 60,000 Persian Jews also left the country in fear of religious persecution. Indeed, as of today only a few thousand Jews are left in North Africa and Middle East countries.
The majority of these refugees became citizens of the new State of Israel, which was trying to establish itself in a hostile region while absorbing large number of Jews from different parts of the world. The refugees from Muslim lands brought with them a rich culture and ancient traditions, contributing to the diversity of Israel’s society. Their integration, however, was not without difficulty in a society in which Jews from Central and Eastern Europe held most of the economic, political, and cultural power.
While nowadays, thanks to increasingly common intermarriage, over half of Israeli Jews can trace at least part of their origins back to Jews from Muslim lands, several studies have shown a reality of lower socioeconomic and educational status. Many over the past decades have complained that their communities’ culture was not valued and their history not taught inside of Israel, but also that their history of expulsion and loss of homes, property, and roots was disregarded in its specificity, while the world’s attention was much more closely focused on the issue of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
It is only since 2014 that an official “Commemoration of Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries and Iran” has been instituted by Israel. During the first ceremony to mark the occasion, on 30 November 2014, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin declared that Israel had erred with its paternalistic and condescending behaviour towards immigrants from Arab countries, but also called for arrangements to be finally made to compensate Jews for the property and capital they were forced to leave behind when they left, fled, or were expelled from Muslim lands.
The acknowledgment of the plight of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East remains indeed an unsolved question between Israel and countries in the region, with discussions about the need for reparations to be paid to the refugees and their descendant having been held formally and informally for many years. While other countries, including Canada and the United States, have officially recognized the experience of Jewish refugees from Muslim lands, the issue remains both emotionally charged and politically unresolved.
Costanza Musu is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs University of Ottawa.
This article was first published in The Hill Times on 30 November 2017.
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Hello! I want to buy a new puppy but we already have a dog and I'm not sure if they'll get along well. I've even written up a list of for and against factors but still can't decide.
Please help me! Has anyone had a similar situation?
Labradors are usually pretty good at getting along with other animals, but I would suggest that you bring him along to help you in the process of choosing a new friend and companion for him. If he doesn't find a dog that he can get along with, then don't get another dog right now.
Having him along will also help you to gauge how he will respond and react with a young puppy in the house. Labradors are also pretty good at nurturing a puppy rather than wanting to play with it. If he decides that he wants to love and nurture a puppy, then go ahead and get one.
On the other hand, if he wants to run and play, then I would caution against it because of his heart condition. In this instance I would suggest a slightly older dog ... around 3 or 4 is usually a good age for a much calmer dog.
Thank you. I guess I should really take him along to the shelter and see if there are any dogs he likes.
You're very welcome. Let us know how it goes.
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How to use engine cleaner?
Pour a bottle of this product into the sump, and after idling for 5-10 minutes (if the engine has not been cleaned for a long time, extend the cleaning time appropriately), drain the old oil added to the cleaning agent in the engine, replace the oil filter, and add new The oil can be used, one bottle for the 4-cylinder car and two bottles for the 6-cylinder car.
Under normal circumstances, it is necessary to wash once for 1.5-2 million kilometers. For engines that use semi-synthetic engine oil and mineral oil for a long time, the cleaning cycle should be shortened appropriately. If you use fully synthetic motor oil for a long time, you can extend it. After cleaning to 2 to 25,000 km, the fully synthetic motor oil itself has a strong cleaning ability, so the number of kilometers can be extended.
Necessity of maintenance: Give full play to the lubricating performance of lubricating oil, reduce the secondary pollution of new lubricating oil, and prolong the service life of the engine.
2. This product is inadvertently in contact with eyes or skin. Please rinse immediately with clean water; then seek medical attention.
3, please leave the high temperature, fire source, please store in a cool and dark place.
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Where can I launch model rockets?
With regards to CASA, these can generally be broken into three areas, Small Model Rockets, Model Rockets and High Power Rockets.
1. Small Model Rockets (Commonly known as Low Power Rocketry (LPR)) are rockets that weigh less than 500grams Gross Lift Off Weight (GLOW), carry less than 25grams of propellant and produce less than 20Newton-seconds(Ns) of impulse ('D' impulse motor).
These can be flown pretty much anywhere and to any height. These are great for smaller parks or fields. With all rockets, common sense should prevail and you should always consider your surrounding environment including (but not limited to), other people, buildings, trees or any other object.
2. Model Rockets (Commonly known as Mid Power Rocketry (MPR)) are rockets that weigh between >500g and 1500grams GLOW, carry less than 125grams total propellant (no more than 62.5grams per individual motor) and produce less than 320Ns of total impulse (less than 160Ns of impulse per individual motor) ('G' impulse motor).
If you are in controlled airspace, you are only allowed to fly these to 400feet (121.7metres) Above Ground Level (AGL). If you are outside of controlled airspace, you can fly these to any altitude below controlled airspace eg. if there is controlled airspace starting at 2,000feet (609.6metres), that will be your maximum ceiling. *Note: controlled airspace is generally quoted as Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) and therefore you need to take into account the altitude of your launch site.
If you wish to fly into controlled airspace, you will require an instrument issued by CASA which has varying rules to abide by. The best thing to do when flying these rockets is join a local rocket club who should have the necessary instruments/permits in place.
3. High Power Rockets (Commonly known as High Power Rocketry (HPR)) are rockets that weigh >1500grams GLOW and/or have greater than 62.5grams in an individual motor and/or produce more than 160Ns in an individual motor ('H' impulse motor).
It does not matter how high you plan to fly, you must have an instrument in place to operate high power rockets. It is best to join and speak with your local club to discuss what size motors you can fly at their relevant launch sites.
The following information is from CASA's "New to model rockets? Get to know the rules" flyer.
For free advice, instruction, imformation and public liability insurance, contact your local rocket club and speak with an experienced flier.
Buying or building your model rocket and then enjoying the launch can be a relaxing and fun way to spend the day... but did you know that there are Australian Government rules that determine where and how you launch?
* Your small model rocket must weigh less than 500g, carry less than 25g propellant, produce less than 20 Newton-seconds of impulse and be made of balsa, wood, paper or plastics or a combination of those materials, but contain no metal as structural parts.
* Do not operate in a movement area or runway of an aerodrome, or the approach or departure path of an aerodrome without approval.
* Do not operate in a manner that is hazardous to persons, property or aircraft.
* When launching larger model rockets, refer to Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations'1998 (CASRS).
* Consider the benefits of approved rocket areas.
* Read the safety information available through clubs and associations.
* Your model rocket must be in compliance with the model rocket safety code.
* Speak with an experienced flier before you launch.
* Our environment and the people around you.
* Joining a local rocket club.
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