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March is National Music in Our Schools so this challenge will follow suit! Sound dampening materials are used in the music industry to produce high quality sound. Without these materials the sounds from outside or inside could mix together. Imagine listening to your favorite song, but there are birds chirping in the background since they were outside the recording studio that day! It probably would ruin the song. There is a need for sound proofing to create excellent recordings. What materials help reduce sounds? How much of the material is need? That’s where the challenge comes in. Your challenge is to construct a prototype room for dampening sound coming from a device. What will be the best materials to use? What already exists in the real world or your school that does this?
Your sound proofing room does have some criteria and constraints. Only the materials provided can be used in your design. Each groups’ room should be the same size. Testing the room should be placed over the same device emitting the sound. Or the device inside could be recording and sound coming from outside the room.
Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the items to see how flexible, movable, and heavy they are. Also, let students test to see how the app or decibel meter works.
After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their design. Include as many ways to improve their prototype rooms as needed.
For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, show them different sound proofing rooms, amount of time in the room. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
If using cardboard boxes of some sort, they should all be the same size with one side completely open. If using the poster board or other type of paper, create a cube net stencil that students can trace, cutout, fold, and tape to create an open box to represent their room. The unfolded net would work well for creating their room before folding it together.
Make sure to standardize procedure of testing the room. The app allows the user to record the data collected so students will be able to test it out and the amount of sound it is picking up either inside the room or outside of the room created.
The classroom will have to be as noise free as possible when testing since the meter will pick up all sounds. Ensure that the noise being played is at the same level for each room being tested.
Discuss with students the best way to conduct the activity and collect data.
Connect to science by discussing sound waves, properties of materials, absorption, reflection, refraction, etc.
Happy New Year! It was officially winter on December 21st and that means the weather will continue changing this month to be more winter-ish. Colder temperatures could mean snow and ice and the possibility of water freezing on the roads and sidewalks. How does this happen? What makes the snow/water turn to ice? Better yet, what is the best way to get rid of the ice on the sidewalks or roads to prevent accidents? Snowplows do their best to prevent accidents but what are they spreading on the road? Is there something better? What do you spread on your sidewalk to get rid of the ice? Which dissolvent works the fastest? Your challenge is to figure out which ice melter is the best.
Your challenge does have some criteria and constraints. The ice cubes being used for the test should be from the same water source, the same approximate size, and conducted at the same time of an experiment. Make sure to also continually check the experiment and during the same time intervals.
Allow students planning and discussion time by having them examine the various melters to see how they are differently composed such as size, shape, color, and even names. A magnifier or microscope might help with some of these items.
After examining, allow student groups to plan their experiment. For the first experiment, you may want students to test each melter separately on small pieces of ice to get an idea on how each melter reacts to the ice. For the following experiments, allow students to mix different melters together and add any other materials they think will help the process.
For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, allow students to shake their containers. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
Make sure to standardize the experiment and the amount of melter to use. For example, if students want to individually test out all of the melters first, they should use the same amount of the melter on the ice. Also, a standardized way of measuring the melted ice needs to be considered. Students may think of finding the mass of the ice before and after it’s been melted.
Discuss pros and cons of the different ice melters and of the experiment. For example, one might be more expensive than another or in our experiment the temperature is warmer inside than when being outside so the ice could have melted not because of the chosen melter.
Connect to science by discussing weather, properties of matter, or chemistry.
Connect to ELA by reading about melting and freezing such as Why Does Ice Melt (How? What? Why?) by Jim Pipe, which has additional activities on melting and heating, or Snowplows by Rebecca Pettiford to discover how a snowplow gets the job done.
This month's challenge is a little different than previous months'. It is based on the Hour of Code! The challenge is to have every student in your classroom complete at least an Hour of Code in the month of December.
The Hour of Code initiative takes place each year during Computer Science Education Week, which is December 3-9. You can experience this at any time of the year, though! It is held annually in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).
Head here, https://hourofcode.com/us/learn, to checkout the free tutorials and experiences for all grade levels.
Additional information about completing the challenge and on the initiative can be found at https://hourofcode.com/us.
Veterans Day is a holiday observed annually on November 11 that honors military veterans. It marks the anniversary of the end of World War I, which formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. It celebrates the service of all US military veterans. These veterans are extremely important to us. Their uniforms are important to them. They use camouflage (make something blend in with their surroundings). Camouflage has been engineered over and over again to help veterans. Your challenge is to design camouflage for a soldier so that the soldier blends in with the room. What colors will work best? Where will the soldier blend in easiest/hardest? Will you need more than one color?
Your soldier should be colored and then hung up somewhere in the room so that it is camouflaged. It shouldn't be hung behind items but placed on top of the item. Challenge yourself to use more than one color of camouflage or place your soldier on different colors.
*Thanks to Mr. Norman Glover at Portville Central School District for the idea/inspiration!
Allow students planning and discussion time by having them choose where to place their soldier Experiment with the coloring items to practice blending and getting the right color.
After experimenting, allow student groups to camouflage their soldier and hang it around the room.
For differentiation, adjust the amount of colors needed for the camouflage, choose the places in the room for students, have students do more than one, give students a colored soldier that needs adjusted for better camouflage, or have the students place the soldiers on different items.
Make sure to standardize the amount of soldiers students camouflage. If they mess up or make a mistake, challenge them to maybe think of a different place in the room it could be camouflaged.
Connect to science by discussing adaptations, defense mechanisms, animal camouflage, inherited and acquired traits.
Connect to the Arts by discussing colors, blending, coloring techniques, clothing design.
Apples are the fruit of the season, autumn. There are so many ways to eat an apple, from apple cider to apple pie. Apples can be picked right from the tree or off the ground if not too severely damaged from their descent. Certain technology has been engineered to pick apples from trees. Most look like 3/4 of a small wire cage to grab and catch the apple on the end of a long handle. But, what about picking apples up off the ground? Is there something better that would work for this task? Your challenge is to construct a device for lifting an apple or more off the ground. What will be the best materials to use? What already exists in the real world that lifts items? Would it be better to lift more than one apple at a time?
Your apple picker upper does have some criteria and constraints. Only the materials provided can be used in your design. Your device has to be able to lift an apple 30 cm off the ground. The device must lift the apple without too much assistance (try to use simple machines to do the work).
Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the items to see how flexible, movable, and heavy they are. Also, let students test how heavy an apple is.
After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their design. Include as many ways to improve their apple picker uppers as needed.
For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, show them different uses of simple machines, include more apples to be picked up at once, change the height needed to be lifted. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
Make sure to standardize the platform students are building on. For example, if students are building a type of crane/pulley system, be sure to make it fair so they are placing it the same level above the ground.
Discuss pros and cons of different simple machines or ideas of apple picker uppers.
Connect to science by discussing gravity, weight, mass, weight bearing loads, strength/properties of materials, forces, Newtons.
Connect to ELA by reading Pull, Lift, and Lower: A Book About Pulleys or Scoop, Seesaw, and Raise: A Book About Levers both by Michael Dahl, to explore some concepts around simple machines and for students to gather ideas about what they could design.
It’s September and time to get back to school! At the beginning of the year, establishing routines is a must. Why not include collaboration and teamwork as part of that routine? This month’s challenge provides the opportunity to focus on teamwork. As they say, teamwork makes the dream work. Your challenge is to work together to build two exact structures out of building materials. Half of the team will get a structure already built or not, but then guide the other half of the team to build the same thing.
Your team does have some criteria and constraints. Your team will consist of 4-6 people. Both team halves (2-3 people) will get identical building supplies. But your team cannot see each other or the building materials. There should be a divider put between the team halves, so the structures cannot be seen. One half is the guide team instructing the other half to build the same structure.
If students are unfamiliar with the building materials, have them interact with the materials so they know how they fit together and can be utilized to build structures.
Have the structures pre-built for the teams. Hand them out secretively so the other members of the team cannot see it. Then have teams start. The guides with the pre-built structure guide the other team members (builders) to construct the exact same structure they have. Having the same pre-built structure for a whole group keeps the challenge consistent.
Or hand the identical materials to the guides and builders. Put up the dividers between the team members. Instruct the guides to build a structure while communicating with their builders to build the same thing. The guides could also build their structure first, then communicate with the builders to do the same.
Have teams change roles after the first round and complete the challenge again.
Debrief the challenge with the teams. How were the members or each team utilized? What was frustrating about the challenge? How did you work through these frustrations? What strategies did you use to simplify the challenge? How did you know when other members needed help? What did you do to help them? Why can it be difficult working as a team? What makes it easier to work in a team? What did you learn from this activity about teamwork?
So how do you prevent damage from the sun? Hopefully, you answered with something along the lines of using sunscreen or SPF (sun protection factor). There are so many different versions! Which is the best? How long does sunscreen work in the sun? Does the brand matter? These are all questions that you can try out for this month’s STEM Challenge. But just remember, no sunscreen is able to block 100 percent of the sun’s rays.
For criteria and constraints, it’s up to you to figure them out! It’s suggested that you put the same number of beads in the same kind of bag. The testing protocols are yours to choose, but just make sure everything you conduct is a fair test.
Allow students planning and discussion time for creating fair tests of how they will answer the question of their choice. Evaluate trials to ensure there is fairness and equity. Questions to consider but are not limited to: Are all brands of a certain SPF the same protection? Can you be in the sun longer with a different SPF? What’s the best sunscreen? How often should you reapply sunscreen? Does there come a time limit when SPF doesn’t matter?
After discussing and creating fair tests, allow student groups to plan their trial with the materials provided. Include as many ways to improve their trials as needed.
For differentiation, provide the question students need to answer, provide the fair test steps, have all groups working on the same question, limit the amount of questions in the class. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
Make sure groups are measuring the same amount of sunscreen for each trial as close as possible, using the same number of beads for every trial, laying the beads out the same number of minutes/hours in the same location, and labeling each bag with the brand and SPF of the sunscreen. Students should be trying to answer the question stated for their challenge.
Determine a process for adhering sunscreen to the beads for a fair test. One way is to put the beads in a sandwich bag, flatten the bag, and apply an even amount of sunscreen over the bag.
Connect to science by discussing the effects of sunlight or UV rays.
Connect to ELA by reading Sammy Learns About Sunscreen by Manisha Shelley Kaura, Sunscreen Irene by Larry and Jen Cheifetz, or Hey! Don’t Forget the Sunscreen by Kimberly Kennedy. Each book provides examples of the importance of wearing sunscreen when going outside with helpful hints.
This month is the 144th Kentucky Derby. The best horses will race 1.25 miles around the track at Churchill Downs. Who will help them guide the track? The jockey that rides the horses will do this. A jockey must be light in weight but still be able to control the horse. This a large factor in the competition and winning the race. So for this month, the challenge is going to be creating and designing a mock jockey for a mock horse! How can you make your jockey aerodynamic? How will the jockey stay on the horse? Where should the jockey sit? What will be the race conditions? Your challenge is to think about these questions and use all your given materials to build a jockey that will sit on top a matchbox car (your horse) and goes the fastest speed or longest distance.
Your jockey does have some criteria and constraints. Only the materials provided can be used in your design and ALL of them must be used. You should try to use the same matchbox car as everyone else in the class. The jockey must stay on the car for the entire race. You cannot change the car in any way. The race must be conducted as fair as possible.
Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the items to see how flexible and movable they are. Students could test out cars to time them before their jockey is attached.
After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their final design. Include as many ways to improve their jockey and race time as needed.
For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available, items needed to use, add any additional materials, take away materials, have students choose from a variety of cars, have the jockey need to look like a person. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
Create some sort of race track by using a wide piece of cardboard or other sturdy material set up like a ramp. This way multiple cars can be placed on the track at a time. Create a gate for the cars so that when lifted, all the cars start at the same exact time.
Discuss if students would like to race to see which car and jockey is the fastest over a certain distance or travels the longest distance after leaving the ramp.
Connect to science by discussing forces, air resistance, friction, speed, or variables.
Connect to math by having students graph their times or measure the distance their cars and jockeys travel after each race.
Connect to ELA by having students create a broadcast of the event as announcers of the race. Students can use a green screen app to broadcast and provide a photo finish for tight races. | 2019-04-26T15:38:35Z | https://www.advancingstem.com/advancingstem-challenges/category/all |
Move over, biker babes. A presumably tongue-in-cheek article in the Observer heralds the "Californication of New York," thanks to the proliferation of automobiles in "young, lifestyle neighborhoods" like Williamsburg, Astoria and Inwood.
According to the piece, a growing number of suburban transplants see auto reliance as a comforting reminder of home.
"I didn’t realize how much I missed the car until I had it here," said Lauren Robinson, a 25-year-old dietician with pixie-cut brown hair, a fetching dimple, and a bearded beau who was dutifully loading groceries into her Honda CR-V. The Honda was a relic of her youth in upstate New York, but she had recently brought it to the city after moving from car-hostile Manhattan to auto-friendly Brooklyn. She didn’t really need the vehicle, and, theoretically, she could have grabbed a bus to Fairway. But, as she explained, "It’s just so easy to jump in and drive somewhere."
"I don’t think you need a car," she said, "but I think it’s definitely a plus. And it definitely makes me feel more" — she paused to search for the word — "well, not like such a city person."
The article says the relative ease of keeping a car almost anywhere outside Lower Manhattan, due in part to auto-centric development and plentiful parking, makes the city a "drivers’ paradise." It even gives a wink to that most heartwarming ritual of suburban youth: drunk driving.
Perhaps the real sign of the car culture apocalypse — the hint that, when it comes to wheels at least, Williamsburg and Winnetka might not be so different after all — is the sobriety check that cops have set up on Meeker Avenue, near one of the on-ramps to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway … A floating barricade of police, batons and breath-a-lizers, just like back home!
And what of the costs, environmental or otherwise, of bringing a "four-wheeled friend" to the city?
"It just seems to me, if I stop driving my car, I don’t think that’s doing anything about the real issue," said Hans, a 31-year-old Williamsburg media guy (and musician, of course) with a receding, Jack Nicholson hairline and Chattanooga drawl, as he eyed his silver Elantra. "I know I’m contributing to it, but the end of the day, I obviously don’t feel bad enough about it to not drive my car."
The article is correct in that there has always been more of a car culture in NYC than we would care to acknowledge, especially in the outer boroughs. What is most galling to me dimension of suburban transplants trying to replicate their lifestyles here. You mean the WHOLE REST OF THE COUNTRY is not enough?
Also, there is no excuse for driving drunk in NYC. Anyone who does is a cretin.
These folks must live in some other Brooklyn.
We’ve had a car since we’ve had kids, and while it’s great for camping and visiting relatives out of the city, the cost is higher than expected ($450 per month plus in today’s dollars for an inexpensive Saturn bought new and kept thus far for 10.5 years) and so is the inconvenience.
Parking is getting tighter and tighter, as non-driving seniors are replaced by folks like those in the article. It’s a killer on Sunday night, when the car has be located on the correct side for alternate side.
Parking is also difficult at many Brooklyn destinations, particularly in areas built before (say) 1920 like Brownstone Brooklyn. I almost never do it, but driving in Brooklyn during a weekday is hell, particularly in those pre-1920 areas, where even four-lane streets can be blocked by a combination of a double-parker and a left-turner.
Depending on the cost and availability of rental cars at the time, the buy vs. rent as required(plus car service and additional transit) calculation may come out a little differently once the Saturn wears out.
The only reason to keep a car I can see is to have a vehicle that my children can use to learn to drive, given that they are Americans. Is that necessary? Perhaps that should be a discussion here.
“Oh, I hope New York’s not becoming L.A.-ified, because I moved to New York to get away from L.A.,” gasped Laura Allen, 24, a giggly SoCal native, right before she hopped into her boyfriend’s white Jeep Cherokee and turned its muscular tires onto the smoothness of Williamsburg’s North First Street.
I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I read this.
I remember back in the early 80’s we came to New York to escape the suburbs!
Getting around NYC — when systems like the subways and the highways work as they should –can be breathtaking. The expense is onerous but that’s part of the choice. Going home on a late night in 20 minutes instead of an hour will tempt you never to be carless in this city again.
The city shrinks, and vast swaths become suddenly accessible.
Let the suburbanites come. The city has always been large enough to accomodate a broad range of views and lifestyles, and vibrant enough to transform the bulk of the transplants into “real” New Yorkers. Folks who attempt to replicate a suburban lifestyle in New York will find themselves paying a lot of money to do so (including sales and income taxes and, hopefully, congestion fees), and those with urban savvy and insight/foresight will continue to make sure that money is spent to keep the city as it should be.
They seem to have no inkling that by bringing the suburbs with them they degrade the qualities that drew them here. Or else are narcissistic enough not to care.
Please, “Brooklyn,” I’d rather spend an extra forty minutes waiting for a subway (as I did last night) than deal with the hassle of driving a car around NYC streets. Not tempted. Sorry.
I can’t stand any news story about young out-of-towners finding their way in the big bad city.
Parallel parking is a dread experience??? Puh-leeeeze! Anyone from a place where you don’t have to parallel park during your road test to get a drivers license should be banned from driving in NYC altogether.
There’s also the occasional (or frequent) car service. A lot cheaper and more convenient than owning one.
In the West 90s of Manhattan, where I live, the amount of non-rush-hour daytime traffic has tripled over the past three decades as the neighborhood has become more affluent. What bothers me most — even more than the added congestion and air pollution, which are bad enough — is the constant honking. As hard as this may be to believe, very few people honked in this neighborhood when I moved here many years ago. Now I hear it all the time. I can’t go four blocks to the supermarket without hearing a dozen honks. And it doesn’t happen just at busy intersections. It happens everywhere. They come here, they bring their cars, and then they get mad because the city isn’t designed for their cars. Someone above said “let the suburbanites come.” I say let them stay home. If they must here, then they must be given some strong disincentives to car ownership. Congestion pricing and tolling are not enough. Let’s charge them a $1000 tax per vehicle per year, radically reduce the amount of on-street parking, and close 50 percent of the parking garages. And let’s give our car-driving neighbors a hefty dose of the open mockery they so richly deserve.
Brooklyn and Angus – or you could occasionally take a cab – I understand not liking to wait around in some dingy subway station (especially since one never knows how one has to wait) and it’s likely much cheaper than having your own car.
heh, i remember when i couldnt parallel park.
there are too many goddamned cars in this city.
You’re absolutely right, Dave. Last night I happened to have temporary health conditions that made me decide against riding my bike, but there were several empty cabs that went past as I was walking to the train.
This is just a personal thing with me: I feel very uncomfortable in cabs and car services. I can’t really explain it. I use them when I have to, and I support other people using them, but unless I’m really pressed for time I’d rather take a subway or bus, or walk or bike.
I moved from FL 2 years ago to escape from suburban lifestyle. I brought my automobile with me and rented a parking space on my building. I resisted to used it even during the weekends but in the past few months I decide to start driving again because the service of the subways from friday night to monday early morning is a complete disaster. I still use the subway or walk for all my activities during weekdays.
mark, i agree with you. i spent 30 mins looking for a parking space in park slope today (with a borrowed car) I’ve read about it on streetsblog many times but ive never actually experienced it. Everyone uses the street to store their cars. It should either be more expensive (tax or fee) exclusive (resident permits) or there should be less curb space for all these people to put their cars for a rainy day.
The only reason I had a car was because it was given to me for free five years ago. now that its dead i see no reason to buy a new one.
Mark, I grew up on W.93rd in the ’70s and I agree with you on the honking. Back then, though, I was much more concerned about getting mugged if I walked east than with excess noise.
The new affluence of the UWS and other neighborhoods brings both bad and good. Part of what makes New York City such a draw is the sense of limitless possbility. Of course that is an illusion; we face limits everywhere, on space, public services, other resources. If people want to come to the city with their cars and attempt to articulate a suburban lifestyle, I say, let them come, and let them pay (and a bit of mockery couldn’t hurt too much, either).
And Brooklyn and KoKoschka are of course right that having a car in the city at night can be great fun. It’s the other 16 hours a day that stink.
We should start a support group. I don’t take cabs much because more often than not I regret the trips I do take in them. There’s nothing luxurious about the slamming starts and stops, drivers talking on the phone, horn honking, and worst of all their menacing of pedestrians. Of course you’re supposed to be able to rein them in on all that, but personally I don’t want to be a barking taxi cab manager for ten minutes, and pay for it, and decide the employee’s under-the-table “bonus.” Public transportation, please!
So long as they pay for the privilege, I’m OK with it.
And if I need to hail a cab or hire a man with a van to lug the occasional heavy objects (such as items bought on craigslist) every once in a while, so be it.
That’s precisely the problem – they don’t. A substantial number of negative externalities are not captured by the price paid by drivers. The market price of driving does not reflect its true social cost.
As a NY native, it annoys me that people come to the city for the “experience” and yet they want to drive, they want their Applebee’s and Pizzeria UNO’s etc, and make fun of people with “Noo Yawk” accents.
You know what you have when you have to drive to go to the grocery store, can only go to chain restaraunts with fake-chipper wait staff, and have those neutral SLC accents, in NYC?
Is that really why people came here?
I really look forward to the city gov’t getting rid of allot of the free parking on the avenues, which supposedly is part of Jan Gehl’s “formula”.
If you want to /”have to” drive, fine. Just don’t expect a space to be easy to come by or cheap.
I totally agree with most of the participants. I’m not a car fan and that’s the reason why I moved to NYC to be car free and use mass transit. I don’t understand why there are a lot of people that move here but refuse to abandon their previous suburban life, but what I think it is the worst situation if the amazing amount of people that never change their license plates and insurance but abuse of the NYC road system and on-street parking privileges. Please, kept your SUV’s out of the streets and specially out of the 3 Ton Max. weight regulated Brooklyn Bridge but if you don’t at least pay for it!
ugh speaking of not having a car, anyone have a brilliant idea on how i can commute from bartel pritchard square to flatbush and Ave U?
My car increases my quality of life and reduces everyone else’s quality of life.
Everyone else’s car increases their quality of life and reduces my quality of life.
Everyone is in favor of restricting someone else’s car.
There is no reason for anyone to drive a car in NYC.
Not everyone, Larry. My car decreased my quality of life, so I gave it away. I’m not asking anyone to do anything I haven’t done.
Are you sure? My guess it was other people’s cars — and the resulting parking difficulties and traffic — that decreased your quality of life. And your getting rid of your own car benefitted them.
Hence the argument for congestion pricing/permit parking. Those who diminish other people’s quality of life should pay, those who increase other people’s quality of life should benefit.
Lee, call the MTA’s helpline at 718-330-1234 and they’ll tell you how to get there on public transit.
I don’t know about the diminishing quality of life argument with regards to congestion pricing. I think a better argument is toward rationing a limited resource. Public transit makes better use of the infrastructure (greater efficiency) so the cost is less, personal transit is more taxing on resources and so costs rise.
I’m not sure if we should rush to exclude altruism–maybe some people are not solely concerned with their family’s quality of life? Either way, the future of any growing city is that an increasingly smaller portion of residents will be able to increase their quality of life (or think they are) by driving. It is in the interest of the excluded majority to change the equation such that car ownership is a q.o.l. increase for fewer people, and even better so that the majority is compensated for it. I don’t think you disagree, L.L., but I do object to the idea that we’re all just naturally selfish, so whatever. Some forms of selfishness are grossly more destructive than others, daily car commuting particularly, such that it goes beyond a quality of life issue. It’s an ending of life issue, as some left-turning cadillac driver reminded me last night when she floored it to cut through me and others crossing broadway with a walk signal. It’s sickening.
Are you sure? My guess it was other people’s cars — and the resulting parking difficulties and traffic — that decreased your quality of life.
Your guess is wrong (mostly). I’ve seen a cyclist (a husband and father) thrown across three lanes of traffic by an impatient, distracted motorist, to land on his head and die before my eyes. I’m honest enough to admit that I can get impatient and distracted at times, and every time I got behind the wheel I was aware that I could be responsible for a horror like that. I guess you could call that breathtaking.
I’ve had similar thoughts. I imagine a child running out between parked cars an my hitting them.
I suggested at one point having a chip installed in every car radio to turn the radio on and play one of a series of public service announcements remind drivers of what might happen. Such reminders would probably reduce the number of accidents but, as you point out, it might also reduce the number of drivers.
no one needs to drive around williamsburg. it’s pretty flat, so it’s totally bikeable. well, unless you have a disability. also, no one has to shop at fairway. i don’t understand driving to get groceries. there are many grocery stores within walking distance of my house. and parking is such hell, always. i don’t get it.
however, to be fair, it’s not like there haven’t been sobriety checkpoints before. you couldn’t drive down frannie lou in queens in the 90’s without being stopped by cops. and i guess they were trying to stop drag racing, but still. that wasn’t suburban transplants.
Why oh why. I have spent my whole life growing up in the suburban sprwal that is Arizona. I cant wait to move to NYC to get away from cars. I love NYC. This article just disgusts me whenever people think of a place to live car free its NYC. Why do these people have to ruin that. My God go live in Detroit they love the car. Thats what NYC would be without its subways.
I moved to Queens from Florida about 2 years ago. Left my beloved car behind and I don’t regret it a bit. I rent a car occasionally to get that “gotta drive gotta drive” urge I get. In fact I was lent a car for a month. Got 2 tickets for alternate side– forget cars. I feel better dodging them than driving them in this city. Tax the non-commercial drivers out of the city. Let ’em go back to the suburbs.
Will the New York DMV Keep an Unlicensed Killer on the Road? | 2019-04-18T23:13:52Z | https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2007/09/19/new-york-a-drivers-paradise/ |
The type 1 diabetes mellitus (formerly known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that precipitates in genetically susceptible individuals by environmental factors (Atkinson and Eisenbarth 2001). The body’s own immune system attacks the beta-cells in the islets of Langerhans of the pancreas, destroying or damaging them sufficiently to reduce and eventually eliminate insulin production.
The increase in understanding of the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes has made it possible to consider intervention to slow the autoimmune disease process in an attempt to delay or even prevent the onset of hyperglycemia but varying in terms of their genetic, environmental, and amphopometric measures (2003).
Can we really predict type 1 diabetes? This is question has been a major target of diabetes research over the last decade. The aims have been to find a way of identifying individuals at risk and to accurately define their degrees of risk. Subjects who are at high risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be identified using a combination of immune, genetic, and metabolic markers, For example, prediction of T1D among relatives can be quite accurate, by combining screening of relatives by measurement of islet cell autoantibodies with subsequent assessment of insulin autoantibodies (IAAs), first-phase insulin response to intravenous glucose, and oral glucose tolerance, while excluding those relatives with the known protective genetic allele HLA-DQB1-0602 (Pugliese, Gianani et al. 1995).
Using this combination approach and screening approximately 100,000 relatives, it was possible to identify accurately two cohorts of relatives, one (339 individuals) with a projected 5-year risk of greater than 50% and actual 5-year risk of 60%, (2002) and another (372 individuals) with a projected 5-year risk of 25–50% and actual 5-year risk of 35% (Skyler, Krischer et al. 2005).
The seminal research discovery of islet cell cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ICA) in 1974 not only offered clues to the autoimmune basis for type 1 diabetes but in addition, aided in providing some degree of clarity to the aforementioned difficulties associated with disease classification and diagnosis (Bottazzo, Florin-Christensen et al. 1974). The discovery of autoantibodies in T1D also supported the formation of a series of studies defining the natural history of metabolic and immunologic events underling the formation of this disease, the biochemical nature of islet cell autoantigens in the disorder, and trials attempting to predict as well as prevent the formation of T1D.
The availability of two animal models of type 1 diabetes has made it possible to evaluate plausible therapeutic strategies before starting human trials. Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice and BioBreeding (BB) rats are in-bred strains that spontaneously develop autoimmune insulitis and diabetes with striking similarities to type 1 diabetes in humans (Mordes, Desemone et al. 1987, Elias and Cohen 1994).
The present landscape of basic and translational research in animal models of T1D is characterized by overuse of the NOD mouse. This scenario has some historic reasons that are understandable, foremost among those being the fact that NOD mice and humans share several susceptibility-related genes, including genes encoding the MHC class II homologs. But it is now also known that there is considerable complexity and heterogeneity in both the disease and in the genetics of the disease, and a singular focus on the NOD model generates too narrow a perspective.
The cumulative incidence of type 1 diabetes in these animals is high, and the onset of insulitis as well as hyperglycemia can be readily detected. Several interventions have been tested in these animals, often at a very early stage in the autoimmune disease process before the onset of insulitis. Examples include subcutaneous and oral insulin, nicotinamide, and the ß-cell antigen glutamic acid decarboxylase. Of note, many interventions have been effective in the murine models when applied before the development of hyperglycemia; however, very few interventions have reversed established diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is usually caused by autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing ß-cells in the islets of Langerhans (Atkinson and Maclaren 1994). In the new classification of diabetes, immune mediated type 1 diabetes is called type 1A to distinguish it from some rarer cases in which an autoimmune etiology cannot be determined (type 1B); the latter are said to be idiopathic (1997).
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) occurs in genetically susceptible subjects. However many agree that an individual's genetic predisposition to this disease modified by environmental factors likely form a key facet for development (Knip 2003) (figure 1).
Indeed, the genetic predispositionfor T1D, like most autoimmune disorders, in large partresides within genes controlling the immune response,principal amongst these being the major histocompatiblitycomplex (MHC). However, susceptibility and resistancefor T1D does not reside in the MHC alone as more than two dozen additional loci outside of theMHC complex have been identified to influence risk for this disease (Melanitou, Fain et al. 2003, Atkinson 2005). Among the many potential candidate genes residing in such loci are BCL2, CD28, CTLA-4, CXCL12, interleukin-2 receptor and INS genes (Atkinson 2005).
The natural history of type 1 diabetes is depicted. In individuals with genetic predisposition to beta-cell autoimmunity, exposure to an environmental trigger or triggers is believed to initiate beta-cell autoimmunity, first evidenced in the appearance of islet autoantibodies. If beta-cell necrosis ensues as a consequence of destructive betacell cellular autoimmunity, a subclinical reduction in beta-cell mass ensues. The first clinical evidence of beta-cell dysfunction is an abnormal IVGTT result. With continued damage to the beta-cells, the OGTT will become abnormal. Within 1–2 years, frank symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually evolve (Winter, Harris et al. 2002).
hypothetical, but it is currently speculated that once the pathway to T1D has been initiated, either through as yet unknown triggers or natural physiological processes, various aberrant immune responses begin to play a role. It is important to note that many theories for environmental contributions to T1D development (e.g., viral molecular mimicry, β-cell trophic viruses, cow milk consumption, childhood vaccines, etc.), while popular in terms of their notion, have not proven themselves reproducible across a variety of study populations over time (Litherland, Xie et al. 1999, Atkinson 2005).
Despite genetics and environment forming knowledge voids for T1D pathogenesis, models for T1D development have been proposed that include these factors in combination with other findings (e.g., immunoregulatory defects, rate of metabolic loss, formation of anti-islet antibodies, etc.) which have been subject to better and more detailed description (Litherland, Xie et al. 1999). Under one such natural history model, defects in antigen presentation as well as antigen presenting cell maturation imparts an unnatural arrest in clearance of immune cells from the islets. The additional inability to regulate this response to self-antigens, a facet largely controlled by genetic susceptibility, would ultimately lead to a destructive islet cell inflammation (i.e., insulitis), with death of the insulin secreting β-cells (Brusko, Wasserfall et al. 2005). As the total β-cell mass declines, a critical point is reached where glucose homeostasis is lost and eventually exogenous insulin is an absolute requirement for survival.
Aside from model systems, thoughts continue that T-lymphocytes play the predominant role either directly (cytotoxicity) or indirectly (cytokine mediated β-cell apoptosis) in the destruction of islets. Adoptive transfer experiments in animal models have shown that T-lymphocytes transfer disease and serum does not. At the same time, recent studies have suggested key roles for B-lymphocytes in this process as one mouse model for T1D, the NOD mouse, whenrendered deficient in these cells (either through genetic manipulation or through antibody treatment) fail to develop overt disease.
Hence, at one level, it isclear that B-lymphocytes are also involved inasmuch as they do produce autoantibodies (Brusko, Wasserfall et al. 2005) and in reality, it has been hypothesized that antigens presented by B lymphocytes may represent a critical feature to the development of T1D.
However, several aspects of the natural history of preclinical type 1 diabetes remain unclear, including the rate of progression and the changes in and predictive value of genetic and metabolic markers.
Genetic markers may be helpful in assessing the risk of type 1 diabetes in close relatives of a patient with type 1 diabetes. The risk is markedly increased in these relatives, averaging about 6 percent in offspring and 5 percent in siblings (versus 0.4 percent in subjects with no family history) (Atkinson and Maclaren 1994).
The major genetic determinants of type 1 diabetes reside in the HLA region within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on the short arm of chromosome 6. An association between HLA class I alleles and type 1 diabetes was first described in the early 1970s (Nerup, Platz et al. 1974). More recent observations have indicated that the genes in the HLA-DQ region are even more closely associated with type 1 diabetes than the DR genes (Morel, Dorman et al. 1988). Over 90 percent of patients with type 1 diabetes carry DR4, DQB*0302 and/or DR3, DQB*0201. Thus, if the proband is heterozygous for DR3 and DR4 (the highest risk combination), the incidence of type 1 diabetes in a sibling who shares these two haplotypes rises to 19 percent. On the other hand, the absence of the above alleles makes type 1 diabetes very unlikely, especially if the subject carries a protective allele such as DQB*0301, *0602 (Pugliese, Gianani et al. 1995), DRB*0403, or *0406.
Use of genetic markers plus the family history make it possible to estimate the risk of type 1 diabetes as being as low as one in 5000 (no susceptibility alleles or family history) to as high as one in four (two susceptibility alleles and a positive family history). However, the prevalence of the HLA susceptibility genes is relatively high in whites. As a result, the predictive value of HLA typing is much lower in population screening than it is among families in which one or more members have type 1 diabetes (Bingley, Bonifacio et al. 1993) (Table 1).
In general, the additional measurement of 2 HLA-DQ high-risk haplotypes does not increase the predictive value of combined autoantibody assays. However, in relatives who are seronegative for conventional islet autoantibodies, the presence of two HLA-DQ high-risk haplotypes is associated with an increased risk of progression to type 1 diabetes (Pietropaolo, Becker et al. 2002). This observation suggests that unidentified autoimmune phenomena may be present in seronegative relatives who carry the 2 HLA-DQ high-risk haplotypes.
Furthermore, specific allelic combinations of variants in the insulin gene (INS), the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 gene (CTLA4) and the protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 22 gene (PTPN22) have been repeatedly associated with type 1 diabetes susceptibility (Undlien, Lie et al. 2001, Pugliese and Miceli 2002, Ueda, Howson et al. 2003) using different approaches and increasing the number of susceptibility loci consideredsimultaneously generally increases the predictive value for T1D disease.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis confirms that, despite the higher absolute risk for those few with combinations of several risk markers, adding non-HLA genetic markers only marginally increases the utility of the prediction over that of HLA alone.
Despite near-multiplicative effects for most loci, and the fact that groups with very high relative risk of type 1 diabetes can be identified by testing for multiple susceptibility genes, only a small proportion of the population (and cases with type 1 diabetes) simultaneously carry HLA and multiple non-HLA susceptibility genotypes.
The most important change in the T1D risk status of a child occurs when islet autoantibodies develop. Several clinically useful serum autoantibodies can be detected during the preclinical period of type 1 diabetes, including islet-cell antibodies (ICA), insulin autoantibodies (IAA), antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), and antibodies to tyrosine phosphatase-like proteins such as insulinoma associated protein (IA-2, ICA512).
Furthermore, only 8 to 10% of all cases of type 1 diabetes have a familyhistory, while 90% of cases occur sporadically (Dahlquist, Blom et al. 1985).It was therefore important to examine the prevalence andthe prognostic value of autoantibodies in the general population.
ICA is polyclonal autoantibodies that react with all cells of the islet (i.e., α, β, δ, and pancreatic polypeptide cells). The next major discovery in terms of humoral autoimmunity in T1D was that of autoantibodies to insulin or IAA (Williams, Bingley et al. 1999).
The presence of ICA was associated with an increased risk of diabetes, particularly if the ICA titer was high, ICA were persistently detected, or ICA were present in combination with IAA or GAD antibodies (Verge, Stenger et al. 1998).
Similar findings have been reported with IA-2. In one study of first-degree relatives of type 1 diabetic probands, those with IA-2 autoantibodies in the upper three quartiles were at higher risk than relatives with an IA-2 autoantibody titer in the lowest quartile (Achenbach, Bonifacio et al. 2008).
In another study, an autoantibody response directed to the extracellular domain of IA-2 was associated with very high risk of type 1 diabetes progression, suggesting the presence of new antigenic determinants within the extracellular domain of IA-2 (Morran, Casu et al.). This has considerable implications not only for stratifying high type 1 diabetes risk, but also to facilitate the search for pathogenic epitopes to enable the design of peptide-based immunotherapies, which may prevent the progression to overt type 1 diabetes at its preclinical stages.
Unlike NOD mice, an animal model for type 1 diabetes, humans exhibit any combination of ICA, IAA, GAD, and IA-2 antibodies (Kaufman, Clare-Salzler et al. 1993, Tisch, Yang et al. 1993, Greenbaum, Sears et al. 1999). The risk of type 1 diabetes is relatively low with IAA alone, but is higher with the presence of multiple autoantibodies against islet antigens (insulin, GAD, IA-2 and ICA) (Bingley 1996, Pietropaolo and Eisenbarth 2001). Antibodies to GAD are predictive of progression to hyperglycemia even in the absence of ICA or IAA (Verge, Stenger et al. 1998). As with IAA, however, the risk is higher in subjects who are ICA-positive.
Parallel studies have shown the presence of these autoantibodies in the sera of individuals prior to the onset of T1D (Bingley 1996, Bingley, Bonifacio et al. 2001, Achenbach, Warncke et al. 2004). At the onset of disease using GADA, IA–2A and IAA in combination offers N85% sensitivity and 98% specificity (Bingley, Bonifacio et al. 2001). The sensitivity at onset of T1D for ICA is 70–90%, GADA 70–80%, IA–2A 50–70% and IAA 30–50% respectively, with the variances in the ranges reflecting the population differences between studies. In terms of prediction, multiple large intervention trials, while failing to prevent T1D, have validated the predictive value of these autoantibodies for T1D (Gale, Bingley et al. 2004) (Figure 2).
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) risk stratification by islet autoantibody characteristics. Characteristics associated with low, intermediate, high, and very high risk are grouped from left to right on the abscissa with corresponding T1D risks on the ordinate. Increase in T1D risk is associated with progression of islet autoantibodies from single to multiple autoantibodies. HLA genotype discriminates risk in single antibody–positive children, but multiple antibody–positive children have high risk regardless of HLA genotype.
By age five years, the frequencies of islet autoantibodies, multiple autoantibodies, and type 1 diabetes were 5.9, 3.5, and 1.5 percent, respectively.
The risk of diabetes was highest in those with multiple autoantibodies (40 percent within five years versus 3 percent in those with single autoantibodies).
Progression to multiple islet autoantibodies was fastest in children who developed their first autoantibody by age two years.
The risk of progression to diabetes was inversely related to the age of positivity for multiple islet autoantibodies (50 percent of children who had multiple positivity before age 9 months developed diabetes within two years, compared to 7 percent in those who had multiple autoantibodies at age five years).
Thus, children with the earliest evidence of autoimmunity are at greatest risk for and progress more quickly to the development of type 1 diabetes. Periodic testing for islet autoantibodies appears to help assess the risk of diabetes in children of parents with type 1 diabetes.
In another study of 81 Swedish children who later developed type 1 diabetes, 14 (17 percent) had at least one autoantibody present at birth (either GAD, IAA, or ICA512), as compared with 12 of 320 (4 percent) control children (Lindberg, Ivarsson et al. 1999). Four percent had more than one autoantibody present, compared with none of the control children. This study suggests that the autoimmune process may start in utero, but that this is rare.
In addition to identifying subjects at risk for type 1 diabetes, the presence of ICA and GAD antibodies can also identify late-onset type 1 diabetes in adults thought to have type 2 diabetes. In a study of 97 Swedish diabetic patients who were initially thought to have type 2 or unclassifiable diabetes, 70 became insulin-dependent after six years of follow-up. Among these 70 patients, 60 percent were positive for either ICA or GAD at diagnosis, compared with only 2 percent of the 27 patients who remained responsive to oral therapy.
The presence of these serological markers was closely correlated with histological evidence of insulitis in a study of 29 patients with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes (Imagawa, Hanafusa et al. 2001). Pancreatic biopsies obtained within these months of diagnosis revealed a T-cell infiltration of pancreatic islets and hyperexpression of HLA class I antigens on islet cells. These features were much more evident among patients with high serum ICA concentration, or the presence of GAD, IAA, or multiple antibodies.
The absence of islet autoantibodies, however, does not exclude type 1 diabetes (House and Winter 1997). The appearance of islet autoantibodies in pancreas transplant recipients predicts recurrence of type 1 diabetes (Bosi, Braghi et al. 2001). Type 1 diabetes can occur after organ donation, and thus living kidney donors from families with histories of type 1 diabetes should be screened for islet autoantibodies (Riley, Maclaren et al. 1990).
In 2007, zinc transporter-8 (ZnT8) was identified as a novel diabetes autoantigen (Wenzlau, Juhl et al. 2007). Autoantibodies against the cation efflux zinc transporter (ZnT8A) have also been identified as a candidate type 1 diabetes autoantigen and proposed as additional markers of rapid disease progression (Wenzlau, Juhl et al. 2007). This study demonstrated that ZnT8 antibodies (ZnTA) were found in 26% of T1D subjects classified as autoantibody-negative on the basis of existing markers (GADA, IA2A, IAA, and ICA). In addition, sixty to 80 percent of patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes have ZnT8 autoantibodies.
The function of this transporter is unknown. But, the combined measurement of ZnT8A, GADA, IA2A, and IAA raised autoimmunity detection rates to 98% at disease onset, a level that approaches that needed to detect prediabetes in a general pediatric population.
A recent study was examined the added value of measuring both IA-2βA and ZnT8A for prediction of impending diabetes in siblings or offspring of type 1 diabetic patients. It confirms the association of IA-2A, IA-2βA and ZnT8A with rapid disease progression and demonstrates that IA-2A and ZnT8A represent the most sensitive combination of two markers to identify relatives with a high progression rate.
Efficacious prevention of T1D will require detection of the earliest events in the process. Autoimmunity is likely the predominant effector mechanism in T1D, but it is possibly not its primary cause. A recent interesting report by Oresic et al. (Oresic, Simell et al. 2008) (see sect. VA) showed that elevated serum concentrations of lysophosphatidylcholine precede the appearance of each islet autoantibody, and thus overt autoimmunity, in T1D. If these results are validated in other well-characterized cohorts, like the German BABYDIAB (Achenbach, Koczwara et al. 2004, Baschal, Aly et al. 2007), the United States-based DAISY (Baschal, Aly et al. 2007) and PANDA (Carmichael, Johnson et al. 2003) studies, and the multinational TEDDY study (Hagopian, Lernmark et al. 2006), metabolome screening could be added to the screening panel to effectively identify pre-diabetic individuals for preventive treatments.
Although glucose tolerance remains normal until close to the onset of hyperglycemia (Atkinson, Maclaren et al. 1990), the acute insulin response to several secretagogues (glucose, arginine, glucagon and isoproterenol) decreases progressively during the preclinical period (Aanstoot, Sigurdsson et al. 1994). The most useful and widely performed test is the acute (or "first phase") insulin response to glucose (FPIR) during an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT); in this test the rise in serum insulin above baseline is measured during the first 10 minutes after an intravenous glucose challenge; the response correlates with the functioning ß-cell mass (figure 3). The IVGTT has been standardized to allow easier comparison between centers (McCulloch, Bingley et al. 1993). In first-degree relatives of patients with type 1 diabetes, for example, an FPIR below the first percentile of normal is a strong predictor of type 1 diabetes.
In the Diabetes Prevention Trial-Type 1 Diabetes (DPT-1), subjects at high risk for developing diabetes were followed with serial IVGTTs and oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs), and in a subsequent study, the metabolic factors associated with progression to diabetes were evaluated (Barker, McFann et al. 2007).
Relative acute insulin response to IV glucose. Reproduced with permission from Brunzell et al. (Brunzell, Robertson et al. 1976) http://jcem.endojournals.org. Copyright © 1976 The Endocrine Society.
Abnormalities of FPIR and two-hour glucose during OGTT had similar sensitivities for diabetes prediction within six months of diagnosis (76 percent for OGTT [95% CI 60-83%] and 73 percent for FPIR [95% CI 60-83%]). Sensitivity was better when both tests were performed, and the vast majority of these individuals (97 percent) had abnormal IVGTTs and/or OGTTs before the development of the overt diabetes. In contrast, fasting blood glucose levels were a poor predictor of diabetes.
The more important as pathogenetical significance was the finding of increased proinsulin in first degreerelatives or descendants from diabetic parents, both with type 1 (Roder, Knip et al. 1994, Truyen, De Pauw et al. 2005). Truyen et al. (Truyen, De Pauw et al. 2005) considered that the increased plasma proinsulin levels can be an additional marker for the prediction of type 1 diabetes. A simpler test that may prove useful is to measure the fasting serum concentration of proinsulin, the precursor of insulin. In normal subjects, proinsulin accounts for approximately 15 percent of serum immunoreactive insulin. This proportion rises as ß-cell function declines. One report, as an example, found that serum proinsulin concentrations were three to four times higher among ICA-positive relatives of type 1 diabetes patients as compared with ICA-negative relatives. However, prospective studies are needed to determine whether elevated serum proinsulin values will help in predicting the development of type 1 diabetes.
Since genetic susceptibility is only part of the risk factors for common diseases, genetic markers alone usually do not have adequate specificity. There is growing evidence that combining multiple genetic and clinical markers is the best way to develop a molecular test with clinically useful predictive power.
Various combinations can be used to obtain similar overall risk, and for most combinations the risk can be calculated empirically. Risk can be stratified from less than 0.1% to greater than 70%. Current approaches use a stepwise decision tree (Krischer, Cuthbertson et al. 2003) in which genetic risk is usually the first applied in the form of family history or HLA DR-DQ genotype. Autoantibodies are measured in those individuals who are considered to have sufficient genetic risk to warrant autoantibody testing. Because the risk of developing multiple islet autoantibodies is strongly linked to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II genotypes,(Walter, Albert et al. 2003) further typing is unlikely to be helpful in a child who has an armada of islet autoantibodies. Finally, beta cell function is measured in islet autoantibody–positive individuals using either the ability of the beta cell to secrete insulin in response to an intravenous glucose challenge or the ability of the individual to clear glucose after a meal challenge where low insulin secretion (eg, less than the first percentile) or impaired glucose tolerance are indicators of late-stage preclinical T1D.
Although the decision tree approach is logical, it may be expected that once effective preventative therapies become available, the decision tree approach could be replaced by the population-wide application of all the previously mentioned markers in a public health prevention manner. Clinicians may eventually move toward introducing a risk score based on the combination of all markers. This would represent a paradigm shift after years of increasingly complex layers of decisions in screening.
Finally, the T1D risk of an individual is not static throughout life. This is true even for genetically defined risk. Risk in a child who has no family history of T1D at birth increases more than 10-fold if his or her sibling develops T1D, and if the child has an identical twin who develops T1D, risk immediately increases 100-fold to around 50% (Redondo, Jeffrey et al. 2008). Risk calculated from the autoantibody status usually increases over time as autoantibodies appear and their number rises. Younger age is associated with increased risk than older age. Beta cell function measures are expected to show decrease the closer someone is to disease onset. Over the lifespan of an individual, the calculated T1D risk on the basis of genes, autoantibody, age, and beta cell function change.
Type 1 diabetes is an immunemediated disease leading to chronic insulin deficiency due to extensive and selective -cell destruction in subjects with increased genetic disease susceptibility (Atkinson and Eisenbarth 2001). As far as diagnosis of T1D versus other forms of diabetes the autoantibodies and genetic markers are of great value. There remains a subset of patients that are autoantibody negative at onset. This subset may at times present a diagnostic challengeand it is of importance for treatment to know if T1D (absolute requirement for insulin) or type 2 diabetes with a relative insulin resistance is present.
The occurrence of multiple antibodies against islet autoantigens serves as a surrogate marker of disease in primary or secondary intervention strategies aimed at halting the disease process (Pietropaolo and Eisenbarth 2001). Genetic typing for susceptibility or protective HLA alleles can also be performed.
Test individuals at risk for type 1 diabetes progression for GAD65 and IA-2 autoantibodies.
If they are present and confirmed in a subsequent sample, tests for insulin and islet cell antibodies can be done and the FPIR determined.
Nonetheless, the studies performed to date have given us tremendous insight into the natural history of T1Ds (Eisenbarth 2004, Achenbach, Bonifacio et al. 2005, Sherry, Tsai et al. 2005). As a consequence, at present we can predict the development of T1D. Ideally, we would like to couple such prediction with prevention, but unfortunately we do not yet have a safe and effective preventive therapy.
Successful prevention depends on 1) a good prediction/ identification of at-risk individuals and 2) a very safe intervention that causes no harm in those individuals who would have never developed T1D. Knowledge of the primary cause of T1D might not be crucial, even at the preventive stage. This statement is based on the fact that immune modulation appears to work in a variety of T1D models and at different stages of the disease. However, many preventive trials are based on data from the NOD mouse model which has improved our understanding of disease pathophysiology. A comprehensive analysis by Shoda et al. (Shoda, Young et al. 2005) concluded that “some popular tenets regarding NOD interventions were not confirmed: all treatments do not prevent disease, treatment dose and timing strongly influence efficacy, and several therapies have successfully treated overtly diabetic mice.” So, the good news is that some preventive strategies appear to have a good chance to cure the disease, even during an advanced status of beta-cell destruction. Examples of succesful treatments in NOD mice are ATG, anti-CD3, hsp, and proinsulin DNA vaccine.
Ideally, the balance between therapeutic efficacy and disease stage should be known prior to human trials.
A major problem with preventive trials is that it takes many years before conclusions can be drawn. As can be seen in Table 2, preventive trials divide in two main classes. | 2019-04-22T07:10:48Z | https://www.intechopen.com/books/type-1-diabetes-pathogenesis-genetics-and-immunotherapy/genetic-markers-serological-auto-antibodies-and-prediction-of-type-1-diabetes |
SATO TADAO: Chinese cinema has a long history. Many superb films were made from the 1930s to 1940s, said to be the golden age of film in China. When China became a socialist country, however, ideology took precedence, and there was a continued trend of slighting visual and dramatic interest. Few films were made during the period of the Cultural Revolution in particular, and those that were made were not very interesting. No worthy films were made during the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, either. Suddenly, in the early 1980s, fresh films of excellent quality began appearing. The excellent films made by such young directors as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige attracted international attention. Today, Chinese films are widely acclaimed, and they are counted as among the finest films in the world.
Zhang Yimou has created numerous masterpieces, and each succeeding film breaks new ground. He has created rough, powerful films, films with a light touch that resemble fairy tales, ironic films, and films of bold frankness.
After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy, Zhang began his career as a cinematographer and director of cinematography. Could you tell us about the circumstances that led to your admission at the Film Academy?
ZHANG YIMOU: At that time, entering university was an opportunity to break free and change my destiny. Therefore, I would enter any university if I had the chance. I considered physical education universities, art schools, and agricultural universities. I had taken photographs, so a friend of mine told me that there was a photography course at film school. It wasn't that I particularly liked movies; I just wanted to take a new step in my life.
The process through which I entered university was rather dramatic. I was five years over the age limit for admission, so I was told that I wouldn't be admitted to the Film Academy. I had begun to give up the idea. At the urging of a friend, however, I wrote a letter to the Culture Minister. The first buds of freedom were beginning to sprout at that time in China, and the leaders dealt directly with letters from the people. The minister authorized my admission to the school, perhaps because he could see my talent from the photographs I had enclosed. The film school was opposed because it was against the rules, but I was eventually admitted, and that changed my destiny.
One week after school started, however, it was revealed that the Culture Minister had ignored the procedures to allow me to enroll in school. The school hung a large poster on which it was written that my admission was an act detrimental to society, and that it was a bad precedent that would destroy the exam system. My pride was wounded, and I didn't feel like going to school anymore. Those days were really difficult for me. But then I reconsidered, and thought that things would go well for me as long as I had a diploma. My attitude improved and I began to study. But, I was ready to quit any time.
The Culture Minister resigned two years later, and the school told me that because I was admitted on his authorization, I had to quit too. I really thought I might leave school. I heard that I might be allowed to work as a photojournalist for a magazine company in Shanxi Province. They told me I could work there, but my chances would be better if I had a degree. That's when I decided to get a degree. At the end of those negotiations, I wrote out my application, and the school finally allowed me to stay.
SATO: The Culture Minister is the equivalent of the Japanese Minister of Education, so that was really an extraordinary event. He must have really had a sharp eye for judging photographs. What sort of photographs did you send him?
ZHANG: I selected about 20 from shots of scenery that I had taken as a hobby. During the Cultural Revolution, everyone took revolutionary photographs, so for that period, my photographs were artistic and did not have very strong political overtones. Now when I look at them, they seem perfectly ordinary.
SATO: People today still talk about the excellence of the students who overcame the intense competition for admission when the Film Academy reopened after the Cultural Revolution. I've heard that in contrast to the people in the Chinese film industry who bemoan the hardships they faced during the Cultural Revolution, the young people of the Beijing Film Academy were passionately committed to creating new films. Were there any indications of that among the students at that time?
ZHANG: At that time in China, some overseas films were shown behind closed doors for internal reference. That activity was concentrated in Beijing. I worked for seven years in Xian Yang City in Xian, however, so I didn't see any of them. That's why, after the Film Academy entrance ceremony, I was astonished when I saw the internal films with automobiles and gunfights and beautiful women in bikinis. The three students with whom I shared a room in the dormitory knew more names of films, stars, and directors than I did. I knew I was very much behind them despite being 10 years older than they were, so I felt a lot of pressure. I thought I had to study and catch up with them somehow.
The atmosphere at the school was very good at that time, and everyone tended to study hard. All the students had experience in society, so they had developed individual views. They were very dissatisfied with Chinese films of the time, so if the students saw a poorly-done scene in a film and thought it was of low quality, they used to heckle in a loud voice. Once, several directors brought their films to be shown at the Film Academy. Many of the students harshly criticized the films while they were being screened, and some directors left in tears. The students resolved never to make such bad movies. I was influenced by this attitude, and when I received my diploma, I decided that I mustn't make a movie that people would abuse. I decided that I had to express myself in ways that hadn't been done before. That has been the source of my creative strength for many years.
SATO: In your first film, One and Eight as a cinematographer, a big impression was created by the visual effect of the light and shadow on the three-dimensional angularity of the characters' faces. The film Yellow Earth had a structure elegant in its simplicity, and there was a clear statement in the camerawork. I think this was an entirely new phenomenon in the history of Chinese film. The camerawork in The Big Parade was also truly skillful, such as those scenes of the troops who stood perfectly straight without moving for hours, filmed at a distance with a telephoto lens through shimmering heat waves.
ZHANG: I put thought into Yellow Earthand The Big Parade while I was making them, but One and Eight was the emergence of an emotion. Everyone wanted to stay in Beijing or Shanghai after graduation, but three other classmates and I were told to take jobs in Guangxi. The four of us felt as if we were treated coldly, and felt ill at ease. That made us angry, and our psychological condition was such that we wanted to start a fight with somebody. That's why, when the first chance came for me to make a film, I wanted to make something that was different and was very striking. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the style of film I would make. I looked for a method that wasn't taught in school, in other words, something incomplete. I purposely intended to do something incomplete, so only half of the actors' faces were shown, or they were distorted. The actors got angry and told me that it wouldn't be a drama if I filmed them that way, but I explained to them that this was a different direction. I argued with them throughout the film until I finished it.
That movie generated a huge reaction. It was like an explosion in the Chinese film industry. When it was screened, everyone in the hall, young and old alike, gave it a long, standing ovation. Many of my classmates showered me with praise for that film, and wanted to shake my hand. While this different method was emotional and unstable, it brought about new change in a rigid time. When I look at it now, it seems very childish. The form surpasses the content, and it was rather smug. I didn't care about the story or the characters. For the time, it probably was strongly individualistic. It generated a powerful reaction. The film industry as a whole began to use my colleagues in an attempt to create a young film team like the one in Guangxi. I have heard that this film enabled everyone to gain the right to make films many years earlier than they normally would have.
I was not so angry during the days of Yellow Earth and The Big Parade. Rather, I had begun to think how I could blend form with the content. My plan for filming was that we had gone to an agricultural village and were in a big land under a wide sky. I wanted to show the land of China, the history of the farming people, and ideas about culture. It was the same with The Big Parade. I filmed that using a long focus with the sense that people would not live long. Also, I emphasized the question of the relationship between collectivist training and humanism.
SATO: I have heard that you said that you couldn't act freely in the traditional film studios of Beijing and Shanghai because of the many prominent people who were present, so that young filmmakers by common consent went to small studios in regional areas.
ZHANG: I didn't really want to go at all, but after I started to become well known, I said that I had the chance to work because I had gone to a regional area. Actually, the head of the studio treated us very well. But at first, of course, they made us work as assistants or equipment operators. That is an old custom in the film industry. But we were very brave, so we resisted. One day, by common agreement, we told them that we would not work as assistants. We wanted to be directors or cinematographers on our own. Of course, the head of the studio told us that we couldn't.
At that time, the studio had the script for One and Eight, and we heard that the studio head liked it but didn't have a director for it. We got together in a room with that script, depicted how we would film it, assembled a lot of materials, and took our ideas to the studio head. He recognized our talent and allowed us to form the only film crew in China at that time made up of young people. It was an unprecedented step, but they could do it because it was a small studio. A group of about 40 young people, 20 to 30 years old, formed a film crew, and we shaved off our heads together and expressed our resolve to get it done. Later, we dickered with the head of the studio and they lent us Chen Kaige, who was working as an assistant in Beijing. We made his first work as a director in Guangxi, Yellow Earth.
SATO: Then you became an actor, and won the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
ZHANG: At that time, I was making a name for myself as a cinematographer, and at the request of film director, Wu Tianming, the head of the Xian film studio at that time, I did the cinematography for The Old Well. Wu Tianming said that he wanted to make a fresh movie, so he wanted to use somebody new instead of a star. For several months, he looked all around the country for an actor. I was thinner and darker in those days, and wherever I went, he brought up myself as an example, and said I was the kind of person he was looking for. We didn't find anyone by the time we only had three months to go, however, and people were joking with him, telling him that Yimou should do it. In the meantime, he also become more serious, and he started asking me if I would do in the movie. I had no intention of doing it, because I have no acting ability, but in those days I was very brash, and I thought it might be fun, so I told him I would. Then it became difficult, however. I don't particularly like acting, and the love scenes are really hard. Even now, I don't think I'm cut out to be an actor. The reason I won an award was because the film and the director were so good.
SATO: After that, you made your debut as a director. Your first feature as a director, Red Sorghum, was a groundbreaking work in the new Chinese cinema. The villagers, who lived a perfect, free-spirited life in extremely harsh circumstances, were depicted on a scale different from that of ordinary life. Ancient Chinese literature, such as Shui Hu Zhuan (The Chinese Traditional Story) and San Guo Zhi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), contained an extraordinary power of imagination and world of visualization. It was a literary tradition that magnified the depiction of characters from an ordinary scale. Today, however, it has become commonplace to show ordinary people on an ordinary scale, so we are very surprised at the sudden resuscitation in a film of a Chinese literary tradition that we had forgotten. I think that film is a literary work in which the original itself revitalizes Chinese tradition. How did you get the idea to focus on that work and create a film on a scale that had never been done in Chinese cinema before?
ZHANG: Indeed, the characters of Red Sorghum are the hero of the same setting in Shui Hu Zhuan. The film's greatest success was in depicting these characters. The scenes, the colors, and the composition conveyed their fierce will to survive. After the Cultural Revolution, many Chinese films were just removed from the political framework, and most of the works were very heavy, depicting hardships and the oppression of humanity. Then, it was a bold stroke for a work to suddenly appear that depicted a hero of the type in Shui Hu Zhuan. It provided a jolt to the Chinese film industry. It was my first work as a director, so I incorporated in the work all the strength I had built up by then. It came out with a surging feeling, as if I was shouting in a loud voice. This feeling hasn't returned in the movies I've made since then, so maybe it was unique to my first film. That is my favorite aspect of Red Sorghum.
I did not want to film the war with Japan. I wanted to film the spirit of the farmers that sought love and freedom. There were political standards for Chinese films, so if I depicted the war, I thought I wouldn't be able to break out of the shell of Chinese cinema. But, permission to film wouldn't have been granted to a film if it didn't have a political theme. At that time, Mo Yan's novel, Red Sorghum had appeared and had gotten a great response. When I decided to make this novel into a film, many letters had been sent to director Wu Tienming, head of the Xian film studio. The novel was criticized as piracy, prostitution, salacious, and violent, and people were opposed to filming it, wondering why I had chosen to make a movie of it. Wu Tienming told me that I had to include a positive concept, so I told him that I would make the war a backdrop and create a story of opposition to the invasion, as Chinese films had been made until that time. That's how the depiction of the war was included. But, even for this content, there is a completely new feel in the scenes, the composition, and the colors. The manner of depicting war in particular was completely different than anything that had gone before. There was the spirit of the dynamic hero, who was not afraid of anything.
SATO: The scene depicting how urinating in the fermenting liquor created fragrant liquor was indeed art. I was very impressed. When they left to attack the Japanese army, they drank that liquor and sang together. Had that been a Japanese yakuza movie, that would have been a sentimental song, but with that song, the feeling really emerged of just putting everything into an attack, as if it were the fight song for a sports team. This controlled strength really brought home to me the immense tradition of Chinese culture. The use of color tones in that work was also noteworthy. How did you get the idea to turn the entire scene at the end red?
ZHANG: The part about urinating into the liquor was in Mo Yan's novel. We left that part in because we thought it depicted strong opposition with the sense of black humor. But there was a strong reaction to that scene. Young people said it was interesting, and older people complained about it. It's been 10 or 20 years, but many people still talk about that scene.
I decided on the color and the scenes I wanted at the start. For the song, I used a traditional folk song from Shanxi Province, where I'm from, with a shouted feel. I like the strength of northerners--you can't tell if they're singing or shouting. I also used that shouting power in To Live. I thought with that kind of singing, you could break out your internal feelings.
The music for the Yellow Earth spread the popular songs in the genre known as the Northwestern style in China at the time. These songs tell of the big skies and fertile earth of the Northwestern part of the country, and later they became very popular with Red Sorghum. They stayed popular for seven or eight years. I still enjoy today the songs created at that time by the Chinese people, and which became popular. Chinese popular songs today are influenced by Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and there aren't very many that are distinctively Chinese.
SATO: Once they have a major hit, quite a few directors continue to make similar kinds of movies. But, it seems as if you try to make works in a completely different style. For example, in The Story of Qiu Ju, you depicted in fine detail the speech and actions of ordinary people, and this was very innovative. How did that change come about?
ZHANG: After Red Sorghum, many people thought I was a northwesterner, and my image became associated with that. So, I changed my course and made movies as if they were detailed, lyrical prose, such as The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less, and The Road Home. Apparently, many people think of me as a stereo-typical stout northerner, and tell me they wouldn't expect me do make such romantic movies. I don't like to repeat myself, so to avoid getting into ruts I look for completely different possibilities and try to make movies with different moods. I take a lot of impossible risks, so some of my works are unsuccessful, but I still want to do it that way. I directed the The Turandot as well as a ballet opera. I think these different subjects and styles create a fresh sensation. This is also a challenge that I have presented myself. The new movies after that, such as the period dramas or the action dramas, were created from that way of thinking.
SATO: With Red Sorghum, I think the director had a strong image, and utilized all his talent to create a condensed work. In contrast, in The Story of Qiu Ju, the actress Gong Li freely released what she had internally, and the film was made by following that with the camera.
ZHANG: The Story of Qiu Ju was a work of realism. At that time, I wanted to make a movie with the feel of a documentary. That's why I had Gong Li speak in the Xian dialect. Many people were opposed to the use of the star Gong Li in this film. They said that for a documentary, using a new actress would give the film a touch of realism. But I had a deep understanding of Gong Li. First, she was excellent with the Xian dialect. During the filming of Red Sorghum, everyone in the film crew was from Xian, and Gong Li argued with the film crew in the Xian dialect. Also, the reason I cast her as a pregnant woman in The Story of Qiu Ju was that during the filming of Red Sorghum, she pretended to be pregnant to tease everyone. I used that experience. When you wrapped her face in a dirty muffler, she didn't look like a star at all. I hid the cameras and the microphones in the town at night, so when more people came out on the streets at dawn, Gong Li also came out, and I was able to film her speech and actions in secret as we had worked out ahead of time. None of us showed up at the location, and even the actors didn't know where the cameras were, so they performed as they wished. With this performance, I saw that she had exceptionally good qualities as an actress. Even today, I think that The Story of Qiu Ju was her most successful role.
SATO: When I think of having a big star give a documentary-like performance, the splendid performance in Not One Less seems just like that of an amateur.
ZHANG: I wanted to do Not One Less in a documentary style, but I thought I wanted to do it more completely in that style than The Story of Qiu Ju. I wanted all the roles to be even more like real people. In the movie, the village chief was really a village chief, the head of the television station was the head of a television station, students were students, and teachers were teachers. Most of the children in farming villages hadn't seen movies or television, so I started by looking for children that could act. When I got in my car and drove to a school, more than 1,000 students came out and surrounded me. I looked at all their faces, and selected those children that seemed to have potential to come forward and sing and dance. It takes a lot of courage for a child from a farming village to perform in front of others.
After four months, I had gone to all the junior high schools in a province and selected 50 children from among more than 40,000. Among them was Wei Minzhi. She had a lot of courage, and it didn't bother her to sing and dance in front of 1,000 people.
It's very difficult to select amateur actors, but it was easy to make that film because they would do anything without getting nervous. The one problem was that the film had to be shot in sequence. Usually with movies, you film five days worth of material for two hours worth of film and splice it together, but with this movie, what happened every day was a story. Therefore, after filming today, we had to film in sequence for the following day and the day after that. But, their performance was what they actually did in their daily lives, so as they got used to the camera, they began to forget where it was. That's why the performance of the children was superb.
SATO: Recently, The Road Home has won a lot of acclaim in Japan. I think this is really a well-done film in the film sense. Do you like films like this?
ZHANG: Yes, I really like this film. I like all films that are well done.
SATO: If you could cite several of your works that you thought were typical of your outlook, what would they be? To Live might be one of them.
ZHANG: I like most of my work, but there are some things I don't like so much. For example, Code Name Cougar did not turn out so well. I don't care for Shanghai Triad, either. But I'm really proud of the works I'm noted for-- Red Sorghum, The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less, To Live, and The Road Home -- and they are films I like.
SATO: Consistent in all your works, one notices the powerful individuality of those people known as the masses, or the general public. Each one has the human strength, humor and ability to overcome difficulties well, and that creates good films. Does your new work Hero go in another direction?
ZHANG: In my earlier movies, I depicted people struggling against their fate. I like these stories of the people. When the fate of the characters goes smoothly, the story becomes uninteresting. The stories that move people are those in which there are many hardships to confront and in which it is difficult just to survive. The most important aspect is depicting people at the time they either surmount or succumb to their difficulties.
Hero is my first period drama. I've liked novels about heroism or championing the underdog. It has been my dream for many years to make a film about heroism. Heroism will be an eternal topic of fiction in China, I think. As with the samurai in Japanese culture, it is a culture and tradition that conveys emotions relevant today, despite being from the distant past. They have the strength to confront their fate. They are very bold, and very romantic. Also, they are very mysterious, special people. I love movies filled with that sort of creativity. People nowadays live under a lot of pressure, and they can't do what they want. It excites them when they see a heroic drama in which a man quickly draws his sword and starts fighting. If things go well, you'll be able to see it in Japan in the first half of 2003. The actors include Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, and Chen Daoming. The score was written by Tan Dun, who won the Academy Award for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The music was performed by the world-famous maestro, Itzhak Perlman. Also, Japanese taiko drummers played the taiko. I asked Emi Wada, who worked with Akira Kurosawa on Ran, to do the costumes. There are many talented people working on this film, and I think they all did a good job. I used all the best things from my previous films in this movie.
SATO: I am very glad to hear that Emi Wada is involved. Were there any problems with giving a Japanese responsibility for period costumes from China?
ZHANG: There was no problem at all. Chinese and Japanese culture flow from the same source, so they resemble each other. I respect Wada a lot--she has ability, and she is very serious. I like the color red, and I wanted to use red in this film. I didn't specifically explain to Wada the kind of red I wanted, but I described the feel of it. This is a period film, so you can't find that kind of cloth or feel now. But Wada brought dye from England and Japan, and she began the work dying cloth by hand at a small factory she discovered in the Beijing suburbs. The dye really smells bad during the hot summer, but she kept dying for several months. I wanted only one kind of red, but she dyed 100 kinds of red and had me choose. I was really impressed. She also dyed by hand every one of the colors used in this film. All the colors were great--red, blue, white, black, and green. We Chinese have to learn from the good traits of the Japanese. When I talked with her on the telephone yesterday, I told her she had to get ready to receive the Academy Award for costume design.
SATO: Let's take some questions from the audience. "There are many Chinese students and businesspeople in Japan. Have you ever considered making a movie about them?"
ZHANG: People often ask me that when I go overseas. I answer, yes, if I get the chance. If there is really good material, and I can skillfully depict the students or the businesspeople, it will become a movie. If I wanted to make a movie like that, I'd have to live there for a while and get a clear understanding of what moves me. The problem is that I don't like living overseas.
ZHANG: The biggest problem is the decline in viewers. There are many reasons, but the biggest is the development of society and the diversification of entertainment. Next is the influence of American movies. Another problem is the circulation of pirate versions. I don't know how to solve these problems. The standpoint of the director is just to be artistic and to make films that customers enjoy. If the film is artistic, but the customers don't like the product, you won't get any backers. That's one of the reasons I made a heroic movie. My objective for the past several years has been to be the box office leader in Chinese movies. It's not to win awards.
SATO: "Recently, To Live was finally screened in Japan, and it was highly acclaimed. That movie was made some time ago, but why is it not shown in China?"
ZHANG: Of all my films, To Live is the only one not shown in China. The several political movements that occurred over the years, particularly the Cultural Revolution, serve as the backdrop to the film. The government has regulations, and films that depict political movements do not seem to receive permission to be screened. No one tells me the specific reasons, so I can only guess. But there are many pirate versions in China, so everyone who wants to see has already seen them.
SATO: "A younger generation of filmmakers is appearing in China following Zhang Yimou. How do you view the work of the new generation?"
ZHANG: I am called a master overseas, and people accord me great status, but that's not the case in China. Young people make films and television programs with the idea that this is their era. Most of the young directors make films underground. They secretly film on the cheap and sell the films that do not have to pass the government's screening. They are relatively free in the subjects they address, and they can make some subtle films. If they were to win an award at a foreign film festival, they would find backers for a second film right away. There are also people like me, who make normal movies for viewing by the general public in movie theaters. The new filmmakers have a lot of individuality, and they make films expressing their own thoughts. At the same time they have a strong self-awareness, but I also think they should value the commercial elements of film. That is my hope for younger directors. We are not the people supporting Chinese cinema--those are the younger directors.
SATO: Here is a question: "What Japanese films and directors interest you?"
ZHANG: I was greatly influenced by Japanese film. There was a course in Japanese film at the Film Academy, and we saw films by all the great Japanese directors: Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, and Kenji Mizoguchi. I respect these Japanese masters very much. Also, the sense of freshness coming from the works of the younger directors over the past few years has been a big influence on young Chinese directors.
SATO: "Compared to your earlier works like Red Sorghum, your recent works like The Road Home and others have dealt with more everyday themes. Are you aware of this change? Will you return to the tumult of your early works?"
ZHANG: That's not the case. The emotions in Hero are just as strong as those in Red Sorghum. When I filmed Hero, I had the same feeling as when I filmed Red Sorghum. I filmed a dream that I had had since childhood, so everything was fresh. I hope this film has a powerful impact.
SATO: Happy Time is very light and overflowing with happiness. I thought it marked a new step for you.
ZHANG: Happy Time was done with a concise theme, and it was like a tragicomedy. It was my first work with a comic touch. There was a lot of laughter, but in the end, I return to a theme I'm interested in--ordinary people facing a life of hardship. There are also a few tears. I like stories that don't end with a laugh, but by making people think instead.
SATO: It's interesting that the individuality of Hong Kong and Taiwanese films have a subtle difference due to differences in social structure, despite being Chinese films. What is your view?
ZHANG: Many Hong Kong and Taiwanese directors are my friends, and I am very interested in their work. I think they are good films. The style of films from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Chinese mainland are completely different, and each region has unique characteristics. I think Hong Kong is the originator of heroic movies such as Hero, but many of them are made in Taiwan, too. That's why I think of how to make films that are different from theirs and how to accentuate those differences. With a heroic movie for the Chinese mainland, I wanted to make something that would be understood right away. That's why I put a lot of my own personality in it and incorporated many themes that I wanted to express. I think it's different than a Hong Kong kung fu movie.
SATO: We've got this question: "I am a member of the drama club in junior high school. What is important when performing a role?"
ZHANG: From my way of looking at it, the most important thing is confidence. You have to believe that you yourself are the person you are performing. If you have extraneous thoughts, you won't give a good performance. That's why you have to completely become the role and enter into a different world. I think that is the most important thing.
SATO: In conclusion, I'd like to ask for a message for the people of Fukuoka.
ZHANG: This is the first time I've come to Fukuoka. I like it a lot: it's quiet, comfortable, and the people are friendly. I also like Hakata ramen. But the Asian-Pacific Festival left a particularly deep impression on me. Only Fukuoka has a major event that uses Asian culture as a theme. I think it is very significant, and not often seen. Nowadays, the advanced countries with powerful cultures exert an influence on the people of the world, and young people in both China and Japan have Western culture and fashion as their goal. But, as is suggested by the expression, Japan learns from the U.S., Hong Kong learns from Japan, and China learns from Hong Kong, people everywhere are teaching each other. I want to thank the people of Fukuoka for their many efforts to maintain this activity and to treasure our culture and traditions. The important thing is not who won the prize. The important thing is to become aware of Asian culture and ourselves through this activity. I hope all of you take pride in this important activity. Thank you very much.
In the panel discussion which followed, Professor de Silva analyzed the similartities and differences between the conflict in Cambodia and that in Sri Lanka. Topics such as the role foreign people can plya and what Japanese people can do towards creating peace in Sri Lanka were also discussed.
The forum concluded with words from Professor Nakamura who stated that this forum was a starting point to consider problems in Sri Lanka.
To conclude the forum, Professor Ishizawa appraised Professor Reid's main work Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce Vols, I & II highly as having a very important meaning in the history of Southeast Asia, and expressed his expectations for the publishing of Vol. III.
With proceedings lead by Mr. Yasunaga, discussion topics deepened further as the two guests spoke about what it was which started them on the course to becoming cartoonists and the various hardships whey experienced in continuing their serials. A great applause rose from the audience when the guests drew their popula characters on a sheet of paper at the end of the forum.
Mr. Lat could be seen after the forum exchanging frank words with those who asked him for autographs and handshakes.
Click to see more 2002 reports. | 2019-04-22T06:24:45Z | http://fukuoka-prize.org/en/event/2002/forum.php |
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for all of your love and support for our Team and the Peace Yoga Meditation Center.
As an experienced Teacher of young children, I have foundcatering to the needs of students is ever changing. The increasingpressures of curriculum, family life and a diverse range of needs students bring to the classroom can all combine to create a challenging and stressful environment.
For me Yoga in the classroom is a tool I use to create a positive and supportive environment in my classroom.
Since completing the ‘Yoga in the Classroom’ Teacher Training withDoreena at Peace Yoga I have found I am able to settle students in a fun way prior to beginning our traditional lessons.
My students, even very young ones, find the activities easy and fun. We use the breathing techniques to calm, relax and focus in the mornings and to cool down after playtime or during transitionsbetween lessons. We do the asana sequences in a fun way using animal names to stretch and energize when needed usually after or before sitting and listening is required.
My students now remind me when we need to breathe or do ourstretches.
Since learning the yoga techniques my students have shown an increased willingness to take responsibility for their own learning and behavior, a beginning of self-awareness and a kinder attitude to others.
Yoga in the classroom activities are adaptable and I’ve found the time spent using these techniques has a positive impact on the quality of teaching and learning in my classroom.
Doreena is a highly experienced practitioner and her course is delivered with knowledge and wisdom in a professional and caring manner.
I highly recommend this course for both new and experienced classroom teachers.
During the last few weeks of completing my Masters at Bond Uni, I, like everyone else there, was suffering from a massive amount of stress. This stress was so severe that it impacted negatively on my social life, since it caused me to find it hard to interact with others, afraid that I would transfer the negativity.
Doreena and her teaching of Brain Yoga transformed my Friday I went to the Peace Yoga studio from one of barely getting through, feeling stressed and severely socially awkward to one of the best evenings out in the company of good friends I ever had on the Gold Coast!
The coming weeks my vitality had increased to a level I hadn't experienced, since I was in my early 20´s, a decade earlier!
Life was bliss every morning when I biked to Bond!
This amazing effect continues to this day a year later when I practice the simple techniques taught to us kindly and professionally by Doreena.
So I highly recommend visiting Peace Yoga and learning from Doreena!
I just wanted to take the time to write and thank you Doreena & Peace Yoga for the contentment & happiness my daughter has achieved since attending your Kids Yoga classes. She's been calmer, more centred & generally happier since starting at Peace Yoga. She now regularly meditates on her own & I often find her practicing asanas each morning (Sun Salutations!) to get her energy flowing before school. It's amazing to see how Yoga has both energised & calmed her. A few of her school friends now practice with her when at home with us, it's fantastic to watch them enjoy the vitality of Yoga together. Thank you so much for passing on your knowledge & love of this beautiful practice.
"I would like to express to you and your team how much I value going to the Peace Yoga classes, each and everytime it's a new and unique experience - more than just toning and stretching yoga movements, breathing exercises that give wonderful stress & anxiety relief - but the added bonus of the beautiful flow of calming words of wisdom from yourself – a beautiful Angel!
I feel I learn something about myself and at the same time feel myself becoming more appreciative and positive, I always find your yoga uplifting and therefore don’t like missing my “weekly dose” as it really is a tonic for the soul!!!
The Peace Yoga Studio is spacious, colourful and welcoming with warm spiritual energy, love and music filling the air, you make every single person feel special with your words of encouragement and praise Doreen, I have never experienced any other Yoga as amazing as your classes --- A spiritual experience!
So thank you and I consider it a privilege to know you and attend your classes.
"I attended several Yoga schools before taking my first lesson at Peace Yoga a few years ago and after just one class fell in love with the studio’s warmth and spirituality. Doreen offered professionalism, knowledge and experience second to none and after a year of practice with her, I was inspired to become a teacher. Undertaking the Peace Yoga Teacher Training course was a turning point in my life and saw all aspects of it flourish. Studying not just the physical work, but the in-depth ancient Sanskrit, Vedanta, Auyveda and Anatomy study became the University of life for me. Doreen’s profound wisdom and magnetic persona is testament to the success of the studio and her heartfelt students. Peace Yoga is not just a studio, it is a home, a holiday and blessing all in one."
"I have been practising yoga for the past 10 years and have experienced many good Teachers however I find it very difficult to put into words the impact that Amrita (Doreen) has had on my life.
When I met Amrita I had suffered through crippling anxiety for many years, Amrita became a bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel and with her help and love, I practiced yoga all the way to a complete recovery.
In 2007 i went on a charity tour of India and Nepal with Amrita and Peace Yoga.
After raising money all year we got to see it distributed to orphanages, schools, homeless people and lepers in the form of blankets, warm clothes, and money. The highlight of the trip was giving the money to a girl named "Chandni" that had been burnt in a cooking fire some years before, with these funds she can now have the surgery she needs to have her face reconstructed.
This was a very humbling and rewarding experience.
Amrita has not only been my inspiration, but has also given me the courage and strength to undertake Yoga Teacher Training this year at Peace Yoga doing this fulfills a long term dream for me and I could not have done this without Amrita's love and support.
Anybody that believes that one person cannot change the world has not met Amrita.
To say that I am grateful to you Amrita, is not enough, I love you , my Divine Teacher and Beloved friend.
"How are you? I went to the prenatal class at Peace Yogo yesterday and LOVED it! Doreen is an angel and the class was so wonderful. I left feeling like a divine goddess of creation! I learnt a lot more there that will help me through labour than I did at ante-natal class at the hospital. I arrived in time for the tail end of baby massage (how gorgeous!) and one of the little girls sat through our class laughing and giggling the whole time - it was lovely! I'm so happy I tried it - thanks for the hot tip!
Hope all's well in your world"
"I have been a student of yoga for several years and very much enjoy coming to Peace Yoga. It is a beautiful welcoming atmosphere and you will be transported to a peaceful realm as you enjoy being present and listening to Doreen's soothing voice. I love the Gentle Yoga class on a Monday morning, it is an excellent way to start off the week and feel calm. This yoga is great and I particularly enjoy hearing about the philosophy of yoga. If there is one journey you undertake in this life let it be the path of yoga.
"I first came to Peace Yoga in search of a holistic way to deal with my hypertension. My classes with Doreen and the other kind and caring teachers have lowered my blood pressure far beyond my expectations. Not only have I found a place to get fit and stay fit but the atmosphere and individual support I receive helps me to start the day calm and relaxed in body, mind and spirit."
"Thank you for a lovely yoga session last night. I wish the yoga world was not only Tuesday evenings.Ahh the journey to living and appreciating the simple life!
You are a great mentor in the joy you can experience when you let go and let love and joy in rather than fear… your always glowing… anyhow Doreen I just need to come to yoga everyday with your lovely self! You truly are amazing and I am so pleased about the connection you have created for my Mum in joining the yogie world!
"From the moment I attended one of Doreen's classes, I knew i'd found the yoga centre for me! Every student from an absolute beginner to one advanced in their practice is treated with love and encouragement. Doreen inspired me to begin the teaching course which has been its own journey in personal growth. It's such a priveledge to study this ancient health science whose teachings are a metaphor for life itself. Achieving unity while accepting what is…!
Much love and see you soon,"
I have attended several years worth of yoga and meditation classes given by this beautiful person; participated in her numerous workshops, retreats and teachers courses; as well as seen her tireless and dedicated efforts in raising awareness and contributing to the betterment of others in our community and those abroad.
She is an earth angel that teaches the most divine yoga and meditation classes for mothers to be, children, mums and for all levels of yoga students. Doreen has that spark that ignites love, compassion and humility in all those that are fortunate to spend time with her. It is an honour to have her as my lifelong yoga teacher and, most of all, my friend.
When you attend and participate in any yoga activity delivered by Doreen Scales, you will truly love the learning and the experience. It is a glorious opportunity to ignite that spark of love and peace in yourself. What a special gift, then, to be able to share those experiences with your friends and family.
It feels like I have been attending Peace Yoga ever since I can remember.
Doreen has created an atmosphere where the abundance of love and serenity is contagious. She has made it a place where many people feel more at home in her studio, than in their own houses. Where strangers have become best of friends and friends a loving yoga community.
Doreen is the most beautiful person you could ever wish to meet, and all those who are lucky enough to be in her presence feel blessed. It is not a secret that her classes are heavenly, even yoga teachers from many other schools have thanked Doreen for her classes, regularly attend to deepen their own practice. I, like others feel so much better after attending her classes, when feeling low on life, tired or sick, her classes pick me up and make me feel great! When things are feeling unmanageable, they suddenly turn controllable and not only make me feel like everything will be okay, but that the world is my oyster and I am the pearl.
Not only is Doreen a great Yoga teacher, but a teacher for life! I have seen her touch so many lives. She has helped people overcome life threatening illnesses, also helped families coping with death, she has helped students find their true selves and brought broken families back together. An angel in many peoples lives!!!!! Over the years I have witness Doreen go above and beyond her role as a Yoga teacher, her overflowing love, makes her and her Yoga studio a stand out success!
"In September 2006 I walked into the studio of Peace Yoga. Listening in the doorway I heard Doreen speaking of stillness and peace within. I knew then this was what I was looking for.
I have been attending classes with Doreen for 18months and have gained more strength, balance and flexibility than I have in 20years in the gym. The simple yoga postures and the breathing techniques have given me a peace and satisfaction that I hadn’t found after attending doctors and therapists for many years.
The wonderful friends my husband and I have made since joining Peace Yoga has been a real joy. On attending my first yoga retreat April 2007 I was made to feel very welcome. I met so many wonderful people and came home more fulfilled and happy with my life than I have been in a long time. The positive nature and happiness that surround Doreen and her fellow teachers is contagious and can only improve our lives."
"There are people who mark you, change you. Add a bit to you or take a bit away, whatever it is, because of them you're different. You meet a million people in your life and sometimes you can meet a person who does one thing ~ they make you happy. You have created enough room for all, enough LOVE for all and a door always open. Those who didn't understand, condemned and; those that did were never the same. A million thanks for being alot more than a teacher."
good friends I ever had on the Gold Coast!
since I was in my early 20´s, a decade earlier!
simple techniques taught to us kindly and professionally by Doreena.
"Thank you Dorren and Brian you have made such a difference in my life I feel blessed to have found Peace Yoga Centre.
Brian is a wonderful person whose yoga and meditation classes reflect his beautiful and dedicated practice. It is always a pleasure to be part of his class and to know this special man. I have no hesitation in recommending this class to beginners, intermediate or advanced yoga devotees. The man and the class are truly an experience.
"Brian is the person who first introduced me to Peace Yoga by inviting me to join a trip that was organised to India in Feb 2005 - what an awesome experience for me to share with yourself and the brilliant group I joined as a ring in!!
I am so grateful to Brian for thinking of me.
Brian, you have the appearance and all the qualities of a true YOGI from India, a dedicated teacher -I’m so amazed and in awe at some of the yoga positions you are able to put your body into !!! Discipline to be admired!!"
Sarah Waters I attended my first Yoga class when I was 21. There was a lovely lady (Doreena) waving incense around and talking in a sweet sing-song voice about things I had never heard anyone talk about before! I thought it was kind of strange and amazing at the same time.
I kept up a regular practice since that first class and it became a really important part of my life. I have always had an urge to stretch, so loved the physical side of Yoga. I also loved the teachings and the philosophy of the ancient life science. But most of all, I loved the nurturing, healing space that I found at Peace Yoga. Over the years, it has taught me to find that nurturing, healing space inside myself and to me, that’s what Yoga is all about!
Now I want to help YOU find that space, so if you’re thinking about trying a class, please do it!!
"Fantastic instructor, classes just get better and better. Great intergration of all aspects of the being very talented, dedicated and caring."
"Everytime I go to Bec's class I walk out feeling like i'm walking on air and enjoy a magical day."
didn't need a single stitch. I think the yoga definately helped with the easy delivery. Just wanted to let you know..Heidi.
"Its hard to say what I enjoy the most about Brittanys classes. It is a joy just to be in her presence and her gentle encouragement throughout the session is very uplifting! Her gentle caring nature is especially evident during her beautiful guided relaxation and meditation sessions. It is like a beautiful dream whilst still awake!! Thank you Brittany!!"
"Brittany is a natural, a "born teacher""
"i just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your love and support you showed me throughout the last trimester of both my pregnancys. I felt like I have known you for ever Doreen, the world needs more people like you and Brian.
My first pregnancy was great and with thanks to Brian who couldn't be more helpful during the general yoga classes, and Doreen gave me my last class giving me advice from a womans perspective leaving me very confident. I had a 3 hr drug free labour giving birth to a 6p 12 girl.
With my second pregnancy, I still drove from tweed to attend the prenatal pregnancy yoga every wednesday as i enjoyed it and knew it was more than benificial. The drug free labour was 28 mins and I have yet another beautiful girl weighing 7p 8half. And like my first, sleeping at 3 months from 9pm till 6am, they are both happy, content and very bright girls.
I have certainly enjoyed my babies,and put this down to yoga, the fitness/relaxation aspect as well as the positive thinking, love and brightness you absorb from Doreen and Brian and their classes.
I have never met such positive, loving, bright people such as yourselves, who want to make a difference to the world, and you do. For that I say thank you.
I strongly recommend everyone to do yoga with these beautiful people, especially during pregnancy (modified or prenatal) as it assisted me in so many ways. No doubt I will be seeing you next pregnancy.
"Just wanted to say thank you for all you support during my pregnancy with Princess Summer Rose. You give so much comfort to first time mums in this exciting & sometimes a little nervous time in our lives. Every time you said that "this baby has chosen me as its mother" it brought me so much closer to my unborn little one. I now have no doubt that Summer Rose is with us because she wants to be. She is such a happy, calm baby, I think the yoga & the lovely environment at Peace yoga had a lot to do with that."
"Thank you Doreen for being with me during a wonderful time in my life. My thriving son is a credit to your wonderful prenatal classes and friendship."
For more information about Peace Yoga, please contact us.
"Our naming day was the most precious and beautiful day since our beautiful son Myles was born. I want to thank you Doreen for making our lives even more beautiful by blessing our son Myles. He will grow up knowing he was blessed by an angel, which is you Doreen! I cannot wait until we have another bundle of joy so we can share this sacred and joyous occasion with you again.
"This trip started the day I walked into your studio. I have laughed more on this journey with you and David than I have in many years. Thank you to you both and all your wonderful friends and children."
"Forever Grateful, forever in our hearts. Thank you Dave and Doreen and beautiful family. A TRIP OF A LIFETIME. Love You,"
"To Our Dearest Doreen, Wonderful Teacher, Beautiful Friend, An inspiration to us all. We thank you and David for this amazing journey that will live on in our hearts and memories forever.
"My wife and I joined 14 other people on the trip of a lifetime to Nepal and India which was organised by Doreen and her husband David. This is a trip which Peace Yoga takes annually. I cannot express how grateful we are for the effect this trip has had on our lives."
"I want to sincerely thank you for the experience I had in India. I can't explain in words what it did to my life but it started in my heart and transformed it inside out. You were such a JOY to travel with.
It seems the experience been the most recognisable in my life as I draw from it daily in all sorts of ways… as I draw from your kindness and Love that you share in your business and in your family. It sets an example and inspiration of what beautiful lives are like. So thank you!!
Keep spreading Peace and Love, you are SO good at it!!"
"Words can never express what a wonderful journey this course was.
Doreen; Thank you for this knowledge. We are truly blessed!!
Another step forward in this beautifuol journey we call life.
"Wowsa! I just want to say a big thank you once again for such a wonderful weekend. I feel like I have been away for a month, not just the weekend. So much goes on in our daily busy lives that we do forget to stop and just relax and smell the roses, watch the waterfalls and listen to the owls, talk to beautiful people and enjoy life, dance, sing, tell stories and be silent.
I had so many special moments on the weekend that I am still telling stories tonight. PLEASE put me on the mailing list for the rest of my life! I have become a life member of your special group if that is possible.
I feel really well and refreshed and know I will use many things from the weekend in my everyday life. I just wanted to let you know that you all are very special people to us.
The bonds will last a lifetime.
Thank you from the bottom and top of my heart."
What a spectacular retreat. Thank you.
"Thank you for an even bigger and better retreat than last year.
We shared and cared, laughed and cried.
But once again Mother Nature inspired.
towards the sun..oh what fun!
Indiana, Brittany and Dave worked so hard to feed us all.
We say thankyou. The order was so tall.
"I didnt know what to expect this weekend. I have been very lucky to have crossed paths with whom I will call my Spiritual Earth Angel. I would love to thank you… Thank you Doreen…. Your support mentally and physically has shown me a whole new outlook on giving.
I have learnt so much this weekend. I have learnt form Mother Nature, I have learnt from you, I have talked and listened to others and learnt from them. I made new friends. I realised that I need to love myself, my family and friends a lot more… for at the end of the day, we are all the same, even though sometimes we seem seperated or seperate from each other.
It has been an awakening for me and all I wish to do is share it with my loved ones… just as you have shared this supreme experience with me. It's hard to out my whole experience into words, I'd best describe my experience as a feeling of belonging. Wrapped up in a love that is so safe and warm. It's been there from the start and will be with me for eternity.
I feel like I have been soaked in a bath of Love from head to toe.
God Bless and Thank you!" | 2019-04-24T12:09:51Z | http://peaceyoga.com.au/testimonials |
Our society has been asking for our own notice board eversince forever. However, it had seemed that NO ONE was gonna listen to us until we had this workshop going on, and since the school wanted the notice board to look like it was being used, we were asked to fill it up.. finally! After a few suggestions thrown here and there, one of us volunteered to be in charge of it and promised to give us the most spectacular notice board ever in the history of PPKA haha.. Well, we didn't really expect a GRAND one, a normal acceptable one was enough but his words kinda rubbed the wrong way with a few of us. Me? I was thankful I wasn't put it charge of it so I welcomed anyone who'd wanna do it voluntarily..
However, it came with a condition that he wasn't to be bothered with the workshop so we readily agreed.. as long as we didn't hafta do the notice board. I'm already sick of notice boards eversince my school days hehe..
Come Monday, I had woken up late and only arrived at the school around 10.30am. As I arrived, the first question abg Fadzil asked me was if I had seen the postgrads notice board. Feeling a bit ashamed (I had assumed the committee member in charge had done his job well and abg Fadzil wanted us to notice it), I admitted that I hadn't and quickly went out to see it. However, I was a bit surprised to see it.. it was.. you know.. like.. in one word: EMPTY!
I only saw this WHITE board with ribbons there were already falling off, and charts that were crooked and all that. I was like: Oooo-kay! I have to admit here, I don't have any esthetic consciousness (the reason I HATE being put in this kinda committee) and at first, I thought I was the only one who was 'uncomfortable' with the notice board..
When I went back in the room, most committee members had complained of it. Aiyak! Why complain to me maaa? Then, the 'higher posts' of the association decided to do a make-over for the board and since it was assumed that I didn't have anything to do, me and Farah were asked to do it. I tried to call the person responsible, just to inform him of what was happening but he told me he was not feeling well, and in my haste in trying to ask him if he was okay, I forgot about informing him.
That night, me and Dgon stayed up till 2am, just doing the smallest notice board.
The next morning (a day before the workshop), once again I woke up late. When I arrived at the school, a few 'higher posts' were gathered around in the room, along with the one responsible for the notice board. I joined in with them for a breather before we started the days work. Then, as I was getting comfortable, along came the question..
"Who changed my notice board?"
Erk.. I was in an uncomfortable position as I was facing him. The others, including the 'higher posts' were looking at me expectantly. Truth is, the day before, they were afraid he'd be mad so they asked me to take the blame, in hoping that since I'm older than him, he might accept it. Well, can't really blame them as they had told me he'd been moody the day before and even complained that this was a girl's job when he was the one who volunteered to do a 'bombastic' job outta it. I didn't really wanna take it as this person doesn't exactly like me eversince I had confronted him on stabbing the back of my dear friend without his knowledge while pretending to be his friend but at that very moment, everyone else was quiet!
Double 'aiyak'! Especially since I just remembered I had forgotten to inform him the day before.
Then, trying to put on a VERY straight and indifferent face, I told him, "WE did!"
Him: Why didn't anyone tell me about this?
I didn't know what to reply until he went outta the room. I was a bit upset though. Alaaa, takkan la nak save your asses, I plak yang kene! But then again, there wasn't time to feel upset, we still had a lot to do..
Then, as we told Dgon about it (she came a bit later), she asked me why didn't I put the blame on her? Alooohhh, ade plak! But at least she was braver than me to tell it to his face WHY everyone had voted to change the notice board. I mean, he DID promise to do a great job as long as he wasn't assigned to other tasks so we never bothered him with anything. She had a point though and I wondered why didn't I think of it before haha..
Besides, Farah vouched when I said I had tried to call him..
I hope he won't be mad for long..
My life.. at 7pm, Mondays to Fridays!
A few weeks ago, while waiting for my turn to shower, I sat down with Elie to watch this pilot episode of a Taiwanese drama. Not really a fan of these soap operas (my weakness is, not matter how boring the thing is, I'd usually stick around to watch it till the end if I started watching one), I had really wanted to pass time while waiting for Yana, but it turned out, I got hooked!
Its just a simple story, as can be told by other viewers of this drama, but I didn't expect to actually wanna watch the drama through and through. For Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when I had afternoon tuition classes, I'd rush back home (my classes end at 6.45pm) to sit in front of the tv for this drama. And on days I have night classes (Tuesdays till Thursdays), I'd sneak to get ready during commercial breaks eg. 1st commercial break: wash my face and brush my teeth, 2nd commercial break: a quick bath, 3rd commercial break: Maghrib prayers.
Tuesdays and Thurdays are the hardest coz I have to get outta the house at least after the third commercial break as my class is in Bagan Serai (an around 20-minute drive), thus miss the final quarter of the current episode.
Me and Elie get a kick outta watching this. Ok.. ok.. real word here: EMOTIONAL!
Haha.. we'd be shouting at the actors, oohing and aahing at the right places, even nearly cried together at some scenes, give sighs of relief at certain scenes and so on and so forth hehe.. I might even laugh at myself if I had to watch myself in emotional stress during the drama hehe..
Whenever one of us misses an episode, the other one would always be ready to talk about it once the one who missed it arrives home. Gives me and Elie a topic to talk about nearly everyday :) In fact, during those nearly-six-weeks, my life revolved around this mini series, where I'd plan my activities around the showtime of the drama.. even broke my fast (ade ke perkataan tu?) at 8pm, due to not being able to tear myself away from the tv from 7pm to 8pm.
Then, while browsing to Ayeen's blog (which btw was the site I 'stole' this image), I found out she too was having the same experience.
But yesterday was the last episode for it. We nearly shrieked pretty well emotionally when they did a typical 'hindustani' scene where Shen Shen finally found her voice just to call out Wei Yi's name as he was fighting his diesease at the swim meet. The ending was thankfully not 'hindustani' enough where no miracle came to Wei Yi's rescue..
Now, my days at 7 o'clock are empty..
Btw, there's this english song in the drama that I've grown to like.. Ayeen, lagu pe tu eh?
My first stop was Abah's place as Mama and Izati were already there that morning. I arrived as Izati and Annisa were fighting about a packet of crisps.. and to think there's a 16-year differance between them haha..
Then we went out for lunch at Taman Bertam Putra.. or was it Taman Putra Bertam? Played peek-a-boo with Annisa when she came trotting towards me with a cheeky look in her eyes that were actually eyeing the icecream atop of my ais kacang. Mama shook her head while Umi was open mouthed in shock seeing a 26-year-old reduced to being a 1-year-and-a-half like her sister.. but then again, what do I care? Its good to be able to laugh now :) :) :) Especially seeing the look at Izati's face when Annisa preferred to play with me hahah.. sape suh gaduh ngan budak kecik tu pasal keropok?
The mystery of our lunch over there (really outta way from Abah's place) was answered after lunch. Turned out, Abah and Umi had bought a home there and wanted to show it to me and Izati (apparently Mama already knew about it).. and I guess in trying to be fair, it was also a corner lot (ours is a semi-D.. corner lot la jugak kan kirenye heheh..). Had a bit of a garden for Annisa to run around, quiet a pleasant house.
Annisa was red in the face and sweaty from running around the house (and she was actually sleepy before we arrived there) so when we arrived back at Abah's place, I wanted to bathe her as I also wanted to take a shower. I love bathing her just as she loves the water.. it took Umi to call her for us to stop frolicking in the water (Hehe, takut gak kat Umi ye, Ayu!). After putting her in her nappy and dress, I wanted to go to my car to get my towel but she raised her arms to me, wanting me to pick her up so she could follow me.
I didn't think anything of this until she refused to get outta the car. Then I remembered, the toy lion I had in front that has caught her eye for ages.. huh! Tricked by a nearly-two-year-old!!! No wonder she wanted to follow me to the car. I decided to take her for a ride and shouted to Umi to inform her, but then Izati demanded to follow us so there we were, the three Zainal sisters hehe.. I drove around until Annisa was half asleep (as our original plan) then went back.
Then I took my own shower. Very refreshing (imagine cold kampung water on a hot day!). By the time I finished my shower, Annisa was already sleeping..
It was then I noticed one of my slippers missing. Looking around, I noticed a puppy I had scolded earlier carrying my slipper in his mouth while watching me. I could've sweared he was laughing at me but since I still had my towel wrapped around my waist, I decided to let it be first.
When it was time to go home, I decided to go get my slipper and samak it. However, that puppy, with revenge in his mind, no doubt about that, had chewed it until it was useless. Damn that puppy! Good thing it was outta sight or I might've strangled it as I had no other footwear with me and in the end had to wear Mama's seliper jepun.
Thats when me and Izati decided to go to KBJ. She wanted to find footwear for sports while I decided that I DID NOT wanna go back to Pt Buntar with Mama's seliper Jepun. So Mama went back alone while Izati went with me. Initially we had thought of going to Megamall, but since it was already sixish, we decided to go somewhere near home instead. However, on the congested bridge, while I was loudly complaining about drivers who jump queue (while singing along with Izati who kept repeating 'Faraway' haha), Izati suggested we go to Queensbay since she hadn't been there. I have also never been there so I thought it might be a good idea.
Spent a good 3 hours there. What with fussy Izati dragging me around but at least I got my sandals (which btw, I still haven't regretted buying yet, though yesterday I suddenly felt that the colour was rubbing me off the wrong way now). I noticed a cute red mini football at the Nike counter, depicting MU's logo around it and I know someone who'd have loved it. I also found a lot of interesting shops there, though the only bookshop that was open, 'Borders' or something, actually failed to interest me. Thats a first hehe.. There was also this shop that sold frilly² skirt and all that stuff and Izati WAS ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN THEM. The tomboy Izati!!!! She scowled when she saw me trying my best to supress my laughter..
Then, finally we went to get some dinner. A full table for only the two of us. Here, I discarded Mama's seliper Jepun with my new sandals, much to the annoyance of Izati who was still so sure I was gonna regret the outta-line-for-kak-Yong purchase. After nearly bursting with food, we decided to head back home BUT an acessories shop caught our attention and before I knew it, I had bought her and myself, not one, but two bracelets each! I really have to check on my expenditure now!!!
WE had another adventure here. After getting outta the lift, we went to find the column labelled A12. However, A12 did not have my car near it. I would've panicked had I not noticed that earlier, my car was parked near the aircond outlet (or whatever that thing is) but even THAT was missing.
Then.. to my dismay, I realized that ALL floors have A12. Aiyak!!!! Took me another 15 minute to finally locate my car haha..
Went home, took a shower. I was brushing my hair which surprisingly has grown a lot longer than I expected when I heard voices.. IKRAM! Yeay..!
Practically ran down the stairs and sat with him and Izati in front of the tv though we weren't exactly watching it. Ikram, as usual, kept talking about his comic books and was happy when I asked him if I could borrow one or two since he seemed to be really interseted in them. The 'one or two' finally turned out to be about 40 issues when he insisted I read them all.. aiyak! Takpe la, Yam punye pasal, kak Yong bace laaaa..
Then he went to fry some 'bishops nose' (a still-hideous name for bontot ayam, his favourite part of the chicken though!) for all of us to munch on while he and Izati argued over whatever-topic-they-feel-that-could-be-a-good-argument and I just laughed on, enjoying he 'noisiness' of it all :) It was late before I was finally sleepy enough to retire..
Besides, I'm a movie buff, its very seldom I won't enjoy any kinda movie haha.. so I agreed but told her, I'd only watched movies which strated the latest at 12.30 as I had a class at 5.15.
Turned out, I cancelled the class in the end.
Went to KBJ but Izati didn't find the shoes she wanted. Then the movies there were quite a let down as they kept saying 'kene tunggu at least 4 orang nak tengok dik, baru kitorg bukak'.. What the..? Baik tak yah buh kat listing maaaaa.. After a frustrating wait, we decided to head off to Prangin, with hopes, Izati would find her shoes and that there'd be a decent showing of movies there.. but first, we went to Kenny Rogers so Izati could go exchange some loose change with her old manager.
On the way to Prangin, Izati suddenly shouted when she realized a Bata shop open (the other were closed) and she pretended to give me an 'oh well' attitude about it. Sheesh, had to u-turn to go there but it paid off as she finally found a shoe she liked.. and at a bargain too! So I DEMANDED she pay for my movie ticket ince she had a whole lot of leftover cash from what was her initial budget.. yeay!
Hazwan wanted to follow us at first but suddenly felt 'aku rasa segan la pulak ngan kak Yong'.. pulaaaaaaaaaakk!
Went to Prangin and finally decided to watch 'Songs and Lyrics'.. Hmm, or was it 'Music and Lyrics'? Hahah.. forgot already maaa! The movie was ok la (said I enjoy most movies, didn't say I'd LOVE them a LOT hehe..), kinda movie that you just sit down and watch and don't have to think though I won't actually suggest the movie to anyone but it was pleasant. I loved the song though.. Way Back Into Love. Even Izati loved it and she's already planning to go find the MP3 which I begged her to send to me if she found it. I've been searching for the lyrics but can't seem to find it yet..
Discovered Ikram had gone out with Sofi to catch Ghost Rider.. uwaaa, kene tinggal lagi :( He had already piled his comics in a neat stack for me but I fell asleep just as I was thinking of how I was gonna bring them all to my car. Woke at 6, then decided to quickly pack my things in the car. Asked Izati for help with Ikram's comic..
Thats when I found the picture above.. I can hear some 'Oooohhh, patut la ade gambo tu!' going around here hehe..
It was taken during raya and though the picture's colour isn't impressive enough, I love the picture. I was really happy during that Aidilfitri.
I love this picture enough to even put it in my Yahoo! 360 :) As I wrote in there: Clockwise from the top, with the hideous goatee and looking like a lost goat in the city is my closest brother Adi. On his left is Ikram who's happily pointing to me to prove I'm the shortest of the lot. Beside me is Izati and behind her is Iskandar, the youngest of our clan. Iwan didn't come home for raya so he's not in the picture and Mama was the one who took it, after we came home from prayers.
For a typical girl, its time to buy footwear (which includes sandals, slippers bla.. bla.. but would hereby be called 'shoes' after this point to make it easier for me haha..) when..
..you go out and suddenly see a shoe you like!
..you don't have the right shoe to go with a certain outfit you have!
Haha.. okay! I'm being sarcastic here but really, I don't quite understand what is it with girls and shoes (I'm a girl too, okay!). It amuses me though.. My friend Yun once laughed at me when I insisted that the essentials are just a pair of sandals to wear to class, flip flops to wear at home when going to the groceries or just hanging out the clothes, formal shoes to wear on certain occasions and maybe a pair of shoes to wear when exercising. The reason: She believes ALL those activites can be done with only a pair of flip flops.. hah! Now, she has a car trunkful of shoes, ranging from peculiar sandals to pencil thin heels.. and now I laugh back at her coz I'm still holding on to my shoe philosophy while she's now off the charts with her shoes.
Okay², I have a pair of pink sandals which I SELDOM wear which therefore is not fit to mention here, but thats all!
I don't even have sensible shoes which lands me in trouble whenever there's a function hehe.. I love my sensible sandals which is btw, sometimes called 'sandal orang tua' by my friends. Its the bulky Comfit sandals which by the way are VERY comfy and good enough to use for running in (especially when I wanna run away from my supervisor) or for walking long distance.. which says a LOT especially when compared to the pretty² sandals the others might prefer. So insult my sandals as you want, you KNOW they're more comfy than what you're wearing haha..
Mama has always complained on my lack of sense in the shoes department. Her reason is because she thinks I don't have enough shoes which I answer with an open mouth since I think I have more than enough. Even Yun keeps telling me I should buy more.. quadruple 'duh!' here!
Haha.. which bring me to the real reason of this entry.
On Sunday, I was awaken by Izati practically screaming (it was by sms actually, but I could imagine her haha..) telling me to wake up and meet them at Abah's place. I had planned to go home anyway so I thought 'what the heck'.. I haven't seen my sister in a long time anyway.. err, sister as in 'youngest sister' that is <--marah Izati hehe..
Anyway, when I arrived, it was the usually noisy bunch of us (Izati and me actually) but thats a different story and I'll talk about it in my next entry coz I wanna scan a picture I just found first..
Well, as we were going back, I noticed I had lost one of my selipar buruk. Trying to search for that particular one, I remembered a doggy in front earlier. I had scolded it when it came to play with me.. waaaaaaaaaaaaa! Of course I chased it away.. turned out, it had its revenged and was actually grinning at me with my selipar buruk in its mouth.
After a while, I decided to go get my selipar and samak it as the doggy had grown bored with it. However, to my dismay, it had chewed my selipar until it snapped and was no longer wearable. Boy! Was I mad..
The others laughed at me when I told them I had NOTHING else to wear so Mama let me borrow her selipar buruk. Waaa, I didn't want to go around in that selipar so me and Izati decided to go to KBJ and buy one as Izati also wanted to go get some sport shoes. However, on the way, we decided to go to Queensbay as the both of us have never been there (this is also another story)..
I just realized how true Abah was when he said Izati is VERY fussy.. and this is when not ALL shops were open because of the CNY holidays. I can't imagine how my feet would've killed me if ALL shops were open. We must've went into ALL shoe shops and sports shops that were open. I thought I'd never get a chance to buy something to replace my selipar buruk.. specially since most shops that were open sold silly sandals that are more pretty than practical and which I know would really murder my feet if I had to wear them for a long time..
Then my eyes rested on these GOLDEN sandals hahaha.. and to Izati's surprise (and to mine too!), I insisted on buying them. Izati was shocked!!! As I was too la, but I refused to let her know that. She knows me as this black or brown shoes person and here I was, stubbornly telling her I wanna buy the GOLD ones. Okay la, maybe not gold, more like copper.. but still, it wasn't the typical me type hahah.. no wonder Izati started to look around, trying to find if she had lost her sister somewhere in the store..
She kept asking me if I was sure, so confidently I told her, I was positive I wanted to buy them.. She didn't even wanna follow me to the counter, afraid I'd suddenly come to my senses and demand my money back thus creating a scene, perhaps hehe..
Then, as we sat to eat, I quickly exchanged Mama's selipars with the sandals and I had a fun time showing them off to Izati as she rolled her eyes, still confident I was gonna regret the purchase. I have to admit though, I DID think I was gonna regret it the next day so I decided to savour the moment as I enjoyed my GOLDEN sandals (impractical colour if you ask me) hahah..
Spoilt for choices.. or follow what my head tells me to?
Yesterday, I came to school <--skema²!
Okay.. lets start differently. During my masters, I kept hoping to finish it quickly, and be happy about it. I was anticipating the day when I'd be free of any thinking.. turns out, even when I've finished, I'm still required to think A LOT haha..
For weeks, I had my mind made up. I wanted to get outta here. Go and teach somewhere or maybe apply for the ASTS and hope to be sent someplace far away from here, at least for the moment. I know, I've been saying this alot, but I have my reasons why I don't wanna stay here anymore..
I had already updated my resume, photocopied the appropriate certificates I might need and even filled in the ASTS form (halfway through la tapi hehe..). Even prep-talked to myself to accept whatever place God puts me in.. I've also passed my address book around to my 'family' here, just in case I might just one day disappear from here!
Then, last week, I finally (or so I thought) accepted that it was better for me to go. Staying here actually hurts haha.. I called up my friend and told her that I was finally submitting my resume to her, then called another little friend, assuring him I'm posting my resumes to all the places I had promised him, just so they won't feel worried much. Knowing they they were happy with this decision I made, also made ME happy!
Then, yesterday as I went outta the toilet, guess who I met. The greatest mentor I ever had, Dr Farhan! He was just opening the door to his room when I passed by. Well, it isn't that I was avoiding him, but I didn't actually wanna see him as he's been asking about my plans after submitting. I've always known him as a very concerned supervisor, therefore I respect him a lot. I know he means well. He volunteered to be my referee if I wanted to apply for ASTS. Also offered the job I mentioned earlier to both me and Erwan. I didn't have any absolute answers for him yet, thats why I didn't actually wanna see him..
When I saw him, I didn't have any place to run. I couldn't possibly run back into the toilet so I decided to give him a smile then rush to the post grad room. However, he had his own plans and called me hahah.. tak bley lari la jawabnye..
He asked about his copy of my thesis and I told him I'd get it for him as it was in the room. He then told me to go get it and come see him, he said he had things to discuss.
O-oh, I thought.. not another, 'what-are-you-gonna-do' question..
Turns out, he had a PhD topic for me. Didn't quite expect that as I thought he wanted to ask about my plans. He already had a grant for this research and asked me if I was interested. I tried to make an indifferent expression as I had just convinced myself that I didn't wanna stay here but I guess he pretended to not notice.. or maybe I was the bad actress?
It was an interseting topic, a topic he knew I'd like. To my surprise, he also gave me a few papers for me to read, maybe to get me warmed up to the idea of this research. I still haven't touched the papers yet, but they seem to be screaming at me, asking me to read them. He assured me that since he already had the grant, I didn't have to worry about the allowances.. and THAT is tempting!
I could reject this offer, but the next time, I might have to find my own topic like most people. Then, there'd be the question of fundings..
I could accept, but how about my resolve to get outta here? I have my reasons for wanting to get outta here ASAP too.. but my future out there is still quite hazy.. and I might land in a job I dislike! But at least, I'd gain some experience, right?
But still, I'm gonna have to pursue my PhD sooner or later.. right?
Yet, I'd might need a short rest after completing my masters.. and what better way it is than to go find anther job SOMEWHERE else?
Arrrggghhhh!!! What am I supposed to do?
One thing for sure, I'm NOT telling Abah coz I know what he'd want me to do, and I know I'm gonna have to do it. Let it be my choice this time.. and yet, I can't think!
Hahah.. nope! JPJ and Izati have nothing in common. Just didn't know what title to put up there.
The first thing being the lembapness of JPJ. Well, err, ok, firstly, I was the initial lembap one here haha.. My car insurance and roadtax starts on the 14th of February last year, so naturally it ends on the 13th of February this year which was yesterday (Tuesday). Usually I have always been quick to renew both, around one week before. But this year, due to my lembap wages from USAINS, I didn't get the chance to renew them earlier. Luckily, I have some friends who are willing to help me out a bit until I get my checque (malu.. malu.. but thanx Yun and Cik Wa).
Monday noon found me marching up to Takaful to renew the insurance policy. Once again I met the kakak who remembers my name when I still haven't the slightest idea of what her name is. She asked why I've never gone there anymore for my personal insurance which I answered with a sheepish smile haha.. I've missed a couple of months I think..
After paying, the person at the counter checked with JPJ if the information had already been received online. However, the person at the other end explained that there was something wrong with the server but assured us it with be solved in 10 minutes. Still, I couldn't renew my road tax yet till the afternoon since the problem still persisted.
The next morning (yesterday), after playing tennis ala Ayu-Dgon, I rushed to the post office to renew the road tax. After standing in the line for nearly half an hour, I was disappointed when the clerk told me that JPJ still hadn't updated the information, therefore I couldn't renew my road tax.
I then called Takaful, informing them of what had happened and they promised to find out about it. Turned out, their server was still ^&*%#!
They told me to wait while JPJ tried to resolve the problem. I waited until noon, then proceeded to call Takaful to ask about it. Once again the kakak at Takaful told me that JPJ was still in the same problem. By then, she said that a lot of people were getting annoyed at this.. Well, JPJ would fine you even if you're late for your road tax for 1 day but when the problem starts from them, they just ignore all the complaints and pretend that it was still our fault.. sheesh!
ONLY at 4.15pm did the problem be ok but by then, it was too late to go to the post office. I arrived at the post office as they were closing up.. and this is when the post office is only a stone's throw from my house. I wasted the whole day waiting for their call at home, should've gone to school and do something productive (like knocking off Dgon's name on the high score list of Dynomite!).
The next thing I wanted to write was about Izati..
*will be continued* nak balik tgk Amarte Asi 3.30pm TV3 <--promote!!!
A couple of days ago, Izati smsed me telling me that my stepmother was pregnant again and she had just dreamt that Annisa would get an 'adik'. I told her, she's not the only one getting an adik as the whole lot of us would be getting one too. I thought she'd be happy for it.. but she replied with a "Tapi Ti tak ske.."
I was quite confused as Izati is very fond of Annisa, claiming she'd rather have Annisa as her 'same mother-same father' adik, rather than Iskandar haha.. In fact, if I tell her about the things I do with Annisa, she'd be quite jealous, telling me Annisa still prefers HER to me hehe..
I replied, asking her what she meant.. but she didn't answer..
The next day, I sent her another sms asking her the same question.. still she didn't answer..
Then yesterday, I sent her another one, but this time I DEMANDED an anwser.
Her reply left me in stiches. Apparantly, she didn't like a new addition to the clan as she was afraid she'd lose ALL her abangs (Hilang kakak dia tak takut plak.. cisssss!!). Hehehe.. Being the only lil' sister in the house before, we usually spoil her, especially Adi eventhough they love to fight. Ikram on the other hand always finds fault with her, but they still got along okay when talking about anime and comics they both love. Yeah, they figt coz they've got so much in common. Iwan, I dunno.. don't ask me. I'm not sure if he's fond of any of us but I guess he's ok with her. Even Iskandar and Izati who are more like cats and dogs than brother and sister are quite close.
True, eversince Annisa's arrival, everyone has been spoiling her. Starting with Iskandar who was happy to finally have an adik, then Izati and me who went to see Annisa for the first time together. And with Adi, though she was afraid of him at first, now, whenever Adi comes back, she'd ignore all of us and only want Adi as her companion. But her favourite brother right now is Ikram, where whenever she see's our van, she'd peek into it to search for Ikram FIRST, before giving her attention to us OR ignoring us completely when she decides she want Ikram.
No wonder Izati's jealous hahaha..
Even Adi told me, she had once told him, "Ti dah tak sayang kat Annisa" Hahah, for God' sake la Izati, Ti tu dah 18 laaaaa.. ade nak jeles² lagi ngan adik sendiri hehe..
When I asked her, how would she feel if I said the same thing about her? She replied, "Kak Yong tak penah ade abang ke ape ke.. ade adik je.. so ape kak Yong tau!" Cehhh.. very hampeh my sister laaa..
I bought my paper this morning (more like at noon.. being bitten by the insomnia bug the past week has been keeping me awake at night, and sleeping after Subuh right till noon <--anak dara ape ni?). Went through the news, reading aloud to Yana who had just come home from her kampung at Kulim. Not that she asked me to anyway hahah..
At the cartoon section, my horoscope caught my attention by telling me to focus on something that makes me happy. Hmm, interesting as I've been a bit blue this weekend. Then I remembered something I had wanted to write about on Thursday..
I just had my form 1 class at Bagan Serai. I like this class as the students are either bright or posses a high level of inquiry. A mix of malay and indian student, I sometimes laugh at their antics in class.
Now, I've always encouraged my students to bring their schoolwork to class if they can't do it. This is so they could share the problem with the class while we try to solve it together. This particular day, my brightest student, Dinesh, asked me for some help with his work. Turned out his class was also learning the same chapter as we were.
Dinesh had some problems with factors. I had noticed he had 5 question, to find the factors of 48, 64, 100, 175 and 500. He had completed the first three questions but was having problems with 175 and 500. Since the other students were also calling out to me, and knowing that Dinesh actually KNEW how to find the answers, I just gave him the answers and asked him to check. I felt an unappropriate swell of pride when he commented on how he wanted to be like me, to answer straight from the head without calculating on paper or calculator so I told him, he could be like that if he wanted to.. he just had to love maths AND complete his exercises. He nodded in agreement and his bestfriend, Riisyinder gave me a smile that left me wondering if I had done something wrong..
I quickly shoved that thought away as I helped my other students with the exercise I just gave them. After that, we had a half hour of discussing the exercise. As I was ready to move on to the next topic, Nafisah called out to me, "Teacher, minggu lepas teacher ade bagi homework. Bile nak discuss?"
Opppss, nearly forgotten about that so I borrowed her book to copy the questions on the white board.
Hmm.. those number DO look familiar! As I turned around, I saw Dinesh sheepishly looking away while Riisyinder trying his best to keep 'something' from getting outta his mouth.
I looked at the board again..
"Dinesh!!!! Awak tipu saya yeeeee!!!!"
And Riisyinder gave up trying to keep it to himself. "Teacher kene tipu.. Teacher kene tipu!"
The other students were already protesting, with one girl saying to me, "Tu la Teacher, saya dah cakap jangan percaya kat dia. Mentang² la dia pandai, semua orang percaye kat dia!"
Yeahhh right.. saying that while the whole class laughed at me for being tricked into giving him the answers to MY OWN questions. Even the clerks rushed into my class, wondering what the ruckus was all about haha..
And to think that I was tricked by a form 1 student :p Hahah.. how careless can you get, Ayu?
Takpe Dinesh.. ade ubi ade batas! You wait.. one day, I'm getting back at you haha..
"Liar.. Liar! Pants on fire!"
Haha.. what childish taunts could do when we were smaller, huh?
I'm sure most of us have seen the image above. Different things that can be seen when viewed differently.. or like they always say, there are two sides of every story. But most of the time, people only listen to the first version that usually determines their view of the second version which they'd probably accept half heartedly. Its how the world works..
Once, I had believed in that too.. that to be heard, maybe you should be the first to speak up! That is, until I realized how unfair it really is, especially when it happens to you (baru sedaq diri la kononnya niii..). Thats why, most of the time, I prefer to keep quiet about it.. and when I say, I didn't tell anyone about it, I really mean it..
I just got to know something.. and though I know that I should be mad, I'm still shocked at it. It started harmlessly enough. In fact, I was actually laughing about it at first when suddenly.. a slip of the tongue or fingers (depending on chatting one-on-one or online hehe..) or maybe a wrongly sent sms/email or maybe a sudden comment from the happy-go-lucky person that was followed with a dreadful silence and a hastily changed subject.. or maybe even all! It made everything click..
I had promised someone to NOT.. NEVER suspect my friends of anything. I had promised someone I'd trust them with their words. I had promised that no matter how suspiscious I feel, I'd NEVER give in to the need to accuse anyone of anything, in fact, its just the ugly side of me on wanting to blame someone so I should get rid of it. However..
I had frantically wanted to believe in the little things. The small, "I didn't tell!". The hope that everyone wishes everything to be better too.. but it turned out to be lies. I didn't realize how upset I was until it finally registered in my head on how blind I was. How desperate I was to believe that there was the same goal to make everything back to normal. I should have trusted what I had first believed when it started, huh?
Its jut a bit disturbing to realize, while I had kept mum about it, the other part of the story was already circulated. I'd understand why, if only the truth had been told. I mean, sometimes, we need to talk to someone, right? But, is it so hard to tell me the truth when I asked the simple question?
Am I not trusted when I say, I didn't talk about anything? Or is it that its a wanting to display me as the big bad wolf who's so evil, you just can't stand it? And the other part of the story as Little Red Riding Hood who just couldn't do anything about it? I find it hard to believe that though.. it can't be true, right? Thats not the reason, is it?
Betrayal of trust? Hurt? Should I feel all that, or should I just feel plain mad at everything?
Right now, I'm still in a haze of shock and disbelief full with a million 'how could you's swimming along in my head.. I learnt something though, don't say anything you don't mean, especially to other people, coz that act could make me feel so guilty and it hurts even more when I realize its not actually true.
These past few days have seen me not in the mood for anything. I dunno why, but I can't seem to find anything to make me wanna wake up early and get ready.. I'd wake up for my prayers then go back to slumberland as if there's where I really belong..
Eversince Sunday, I've been feeling this way..
Sunday morning: Woke up at 12.30pm (not exactly morning ehh..) after a night with Dgon and Helmi hehe..
Tuesday: Woke at 12.30pm and had to force myself to go take a bath.. the whole day was a blur, just sitting on the couch doing NOTHING!
Wednesday: Didn't sleep the whole night as I having my usual insomnia and I watched 5 cds back to back. Slept only after Subuh prayers and woke up at 1.30pm.
Today: Managed to force myself to not oversleep again. Had to practically drag myself to the bathroom and arrived at the school at 10.05am.. an accomplishment if you ask me haha..
Remember a time, not so long ago when I always managed to come to school anyway. My days always started with an enjoyable breakfast that I always look forward too, thus helps me to wake up haha.. Then there'd be the 'ditch-the-thesis-while-layan-gem' thingey I always do when I arrive at school. There's the playing hide-and seek or peek-a-boo with my supervisor. And usually at the end of the day, there'd be the I-wish-I-was-already-finished headache I'd have haha.. through it all, I enjoyed it though, even if it meant running away at the slightest sight of my supervisor.. though I also kept dreaming of the time I'd finally be rid of this hide-and-seek thingey, as well as the slaving of the thesis writing..
Right now, I miss all those.. I thought I'd enjoy the idleness, but its no fun when there's nothing to look forward too.. even the unpleasant encounters with my supervisor once upon a time ago. Now he's confused why I don't run away from him anymore haha..
Like right now, i'm supposed to be working with Dr Razip but the equipment he ordered has yet to arrived, thus, the I'm-BORED feeling engulfing me..
When am I gonna get a real job? So at least I could force myself to wake up early again. Maybe I just need a new routine.. running away from my new boss aka Dr Razip is no fun when there's nothing he could ask me about..
Or maybe I'm just plain sick of this place.. huh? I've got so much negative vibes about this place nowadays, I wonder how did I EVER enjoy it.. | 2019-04-20T18:32:07Z | http://ayuikhwani.blogspot.com/2007/02/ |
They say home is where the heart is. But home can take on a lot of different meanings: where you grew up, where you went to school, where you currently live or just a favorite place. It’s hard to walk down the street without passing someone wearing a hat or shirt featuring a sports team, college or a place they’ve visited. You’ve seen them all, the baseball caps, the embroidered golf shirts, and the silk-screen tees. One thing you probably haven’t seen is Brewster Belt Company’s custom city needlepoint belts.
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The Nashville Needlepoint Belt features famous landmarks from the “Music City.” Nashville’s downtown area is packed full of energy with a diverse assortment of iconic music venues, architectural and cultural attractions. This needlepoint belt includes images of: The Parthenon, Bridgestone Arena, Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, The District, Bell South Tower, Tennessee State Capitol, Nissan Stadium, Ghost Ballet Sculpture, General Jackson Showboat, and the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.
Brewster’s New Orleans Needlepoint Belt is a unique gift idea for a guy who loves “The Big Easy.” New Orleans is a beautifully blended melting pot of French, African and American cultures complete with a vibrant music scene, a culture rich in history and some very spicy cuisine. This New Orleans needlepoint belt offers a panoramic view of the city including images of: Le Petit Theatre, the statue of Andrew Jackson, the Cabildo, Bourbon Street, Jester Float, Alligator Float, and the Steamboat Natchez.
The Brewster Belt Company website features dozens of city landscape belts, as well as other unique needlepoint belt designs. Brewster also sells custom needlepoint wallets, flasks, key fobs and more.
Brewster regularly posts new needlepoint designs on their website, but if you don’t see what you’re looking for, you can create your own custom needlepoint belt at www.brewsterbelt.com.
It’s that time of year when more than 11,000 rowers from all over the world travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts to compete in the world’s largest rowing event: the historic Head of the Charles Regatta. This year, the Head of the Charles takes places October 21-22, 2017. Tens of thousands of spectators will cheer on the athletes along the Charles River from Boston University to Harvard University to watch rowers compete in 55 different race events.
Rowers and spectators alike can show their love for rowing with a Crew Needlepoint Belt from Brewster Belt Company. Since each belt is custom-made, it can be personalized with initials, the year, custom shell or oar colors, etc.
The city of Boston…and Cambridge, of course, has a long history of rowing that dates back to mid-1800s including historic races such as the Harvard-Yale Regatta (a.k.a. “The Race”) and the Head of the Charles. Boston also boasts the third oldest rowing club in the U.S. The Union Boat Club was founded in 1851 and is the longest continuously operating rowing club in Boston. Brewster Belt Company’s Boston Landscape Needlepoint Belt captures some of the city’s iconic landmarks and makes a great gift for those who love Beantown.
This book about an historic crew team, would make a great gift paired with a needlepoint crew belt.
Rowing is credited as the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. Colleges from coast to coast have participated in races and regattas since the mid-1800s. Collegiate rowing athletes and fans can show pride for their team with a custom campus landscape belt featuring their favorite college such as the Princeton University needlepoint belt below.
Brewster Belt Company wishes all rowing competitors the best of luck! And remember, whatever your favorite sport, hobby, city, college or whatever is….whatever your “thing” is…there’s a belt for that. Check out all the designs at www.brewsterbelt.com or work with our designers to create your own custom design.
On Monday, August 21, 2017 Americans in 14 states from, Oregon to South Carolina, will experience a total eclipse of the sun. The moon will completely cover the sun as as it makes its way around the Earth that day (at least from our perspective). Each location along the “path of totality” will be able to see the total solar eclipse for approximately two minutes and forty seconds. Those outside of the path will see a partial eclipse. The further away you are from the path of totality, the smaller the percentage of the sun that will be covered. Of course, if you turn on your TV, you will be able to watch the eclipse live from several locations across the United States and you won’t even need protective glasses.
Personalize this solar system belt with your initials or “2017” to commemorate this year’s solar eclipse.
The continental United States has not witnessed a total solar eclipse in 38 years, so many people will be seeing the first solar eclipse of their lifetime, which is why there is so much excitement around the event. If you’re a solar system or space buff, check out Brewster Belt Company’s Solar System Needlepoint Belt featuring the planets and….If you look closely, you can see the solar eclipse on the belt. For an added touch, this belt can be personalized with initials or the year “2017” (to commemorate the eclipse).
Whether you live in Oregon or are traveling there to be among the first Americans to view the total solar eclipse, commemorate the event with an Oregon Flag Needlepoint Belt or an Oregon Flag Needlepoint Dog Collar for your furry friends. To mark the occasion, add a “2017” monogram to the belt or dog collar.
The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse path of totality in the U.S. will end in the state of South Carolina. And, in case you were wondering, Brewster Belt Company also has a belt for that….and a wallet…and a dog collar. Check out all of the South Carolina needlepoint accessories here.
If you’re disappointed that you’re not in the path of totality for the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse, there is another solar eclipse coming to North America in 2024. The path of totality for the eclipse in 2024 will stretch from Texas to Maine.
If you’re looking forward to the 2024 Total Eclipse, the path of totality in the U.S. will kick off in the Great State of Texas. Get ready for the big day with a Texas Flag Needlepoint Belt or a Texas State Needlepoint Belt or a Texas Dog Collar.
Enjoy the total solar eclipse and don’t forget to use your viewing glasses!
It can be hard to find a gift for the guy who has everything….and even harder to find a meaningful gift. So, I was thrilled when I found out about Brewster Belt Company when I needed another gift for my grandfather. He’s now close to eighty years old and over the years, I’ve exhausted my arsenal of personalized gift ideas for him having purchased everything from custom golf balls to monogrammed handkerchiefs for Christmases, birthdays and Father’s Days. With another Father’s Day approaching, I was racking my brain for a unique gift idea that he would actually use when a friend told me about Brewster Belt Company’s custom needlepoint belts. When I saw the custom landscape needlepoint belts, I knew I had found the perfect gift and I knew just what landscape design I wanted on the belt….
A custom, landscape belt of a favorite place (like this Palm Desert Needlepoint Belt) makes a great gift for the person who has everything.
My grandparents have been “snow birds” in Palm Desert since the 1970s. Growing up, we usually visited annually. In the depth of winter, we would board a plane from Chicago’s frozen O’Hare airport where we were transported to the sunny, outdoor Palm Desert Airport. As a child, I remember looking out the plane window at the vast desert as we approached the airport through the mountains. As we flew by the residential areas with a bird’s eye view, the terra cotta roofs, golf courses and swimming pools looked like a dollhouse scene. In the early days, you exited the plane via stairs in the open air. The blinding sunshine and dry, floral smell of the air were always a welcome greeting.
We spent our time in Palm Desert basking in (and burning in) the eternal sunshine and keeping cool in the pool surrounded by flowers, palm trees, clear blue skies and mountains. We visited the Living Desert Zoo and shopped and dined on El Paseo. I rode alongside my grandfather as he drove his classic Jaguar to the Pink Elephant car wash and I still remember the elephant-shaped receipts he collected in the center console to earn free car washes. As we grew up, we started going to the big tennis tournament at Indian Wells and one night, he took my husband and I to “The Nest,” an iconic piano bar that has been a popular haunt for the young and old since 1965.
So, the next time you find yourself searching the end of the Internet for a personalized gift idea for a husband, dad, grandfather or friend in your life, consider a custom needlepoint gift from Brewster Belt Company and turn their memories into a meaningful, custom gift. In addition to belts, Brewster also offers custom wallets, flasks, dog collars and wedding gifts. Browse the website at www.brewsterbelt.com for design ideas or create your own custom design. Check out some city/landmark belts here: https://brewsterbelt.com/belts/cities-and-landscapes/.
When the 4th of July rolls around, it finally feels like summer and yet it also feels like summer is halfway over. From festive BBQs to booming fireworks, the 4th of July is a holiday that Americans love to celebrate. It’s also a holiday that Americans love to dress up for: American flags, stars, stripes and red, white and blue dominate 4th of July attire. Generally, 4th of July attire only sees the light of day once a year, but Brewster Belt Company has American-themed needlepoint accessories such a belts, wallets and flasks that you can use for 4th of July and all summer long. And, don’t let your four-legged friends miss out on all the fun; Brewster has custom, needlepoint dog collars that dogs and humans are sure to love such as the American Flag dog collar below, which can be customized with a name, owner’s phone number and more.
From sea to shining sea, Brewster offers hand-stitched needlepoint belts with an American flag design worked into the shape of an island or state, such the Nantucket Island American Flag Needlepoint Belt below, a classic look that works for 4th of July and all summer long.
American flag designs are available for any state or island and all belts and dog collars can be customized with a monogram. Thread colors, buckle metal color and leather accent color can also be modified to fit your preferences. Below is a State of Virginia American Flag Needlepoint Belt on a grey background.
Your Benjamins also deserve a comfy and stylish place to lay their heads, so check out the American Flag Needlepoint Wallet below. Stash your cash, cards and ID in style with this flexible, hand-stitched needlepoint wallet with leather accents. Like everything Brewster Belt Company makes, it’s made-to-order and customizable.
For those who are feeling particularly patriotic, Brewster’s Fourth of July American Flag Needlepoint Belt makes a bold statement. Featuring flags, stars, stripes, plaid and a red/white/blue motif, this 4th of July needlepoint belt design has it all.
Brewster Belt Company wishes you a fun and safe 4th of July holiday weekend. It’s never too early to order gifts for your friends, family or even yourself. Browse hundreds of designs at www.brewsterbelt.com or create your own custom design by contacting the designers at Brewster Belt who will help you make your design idea come to life.
According to research, spending money on experiences such as traveling, visiting museums and doing outdoor activities makes people happy. The experiences, researchers say, become part of your memory and identity. In addition, they say that talking about your experiences with other people and recalling those fond memories further enhances your happiness. So, get out there this summer and make some memories!
Summer in Chicago is the best! Show your love for the Windy City with this Chicago Landscape Needlepoint Belt.
When you return from your travels all happy and glowing, Brewster Belt Company’s city and landscape needlepoint belts can help you and your friends and family preserve those memories. The custom, hand-stitched needlepoint belts feature landmarks, landscapes and scenes from all your favorite places and make a great gift. The belts are so unique and detailed that they make a great conversation starter, so you can share your travel memories and fun experiences with others all year round.
Below is a sampling of some of the fantastic location and landscape designs that Brewster Belt Company has created for clients this year.
If you love vacationing on Cape Cod or need a gift for someone who loves the Cape, a Cape Cod needlepoint landscape belt features iconic scenes and landmarks including Canal Bridge, Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab, Hyannis Lighthouse, Well Fleet Harbor with fishing boat, Chatham Windmill, Chatham Lighthouse, Rail Bike Path, Providence Pilgrim Monument, Race Point Lighthouse and sand dunes.
Heading to the Cape this summer? Looking for a classic Cape Cod gift?
With this classic, hand-stitched needlepoint Nantucket belt around your waist, you have our permission to use “summer” as a verb. Nantucket style is clean, classic, preppy and timeless. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, this belt is sure to complement anything you wear on Nantucket and beyond.
A Brewster Belt Company client recently created this custom, needlepoint Palm Desert belt as a Father’s Day gift for her grandfather who has spent his winters in Palm Desert since the ’70s. She made sure to include an image of the Pink Elephant Car Wash where her grandfather used to have his classic Jaguar washed and the ever growing tennis complex where they watched many battles between Federer and Nadal surrounded by the desert and gorgeous mountains. Her grandfather loved all the memories included on his belt.
For those who love the mountains, hiking and the great outdoors, this mountain hiking needlepoint belt can preserve their mountain memories whether they are hiking an urban jungle or a mountain trail. All belts are custom-made, so you can change any aspect of the design including changing the leather and buckle color. Consider adding a monogram for further personalization for your favorite outdoorsman.
A Needlepoint Belt for Those Who Love the Great Outdoors….
If you’re looking for a Martha’s Vineyard gift idea for someone who loves going to the Vineyard, Brewster’s Martha’s Vineyard Needlepoint belt is a gift they will cherish for years to come. The detailed belt features a landscape including iconic landmarks such as Gay Head Cliffs, Gay Head Lighthouse, Larsen’s Fish Market, Grange Hall, Black Dog Tavern, Flying Horses Carousel, Edgartown Yacht Club, East Chop Lighthouse and the ferry.
The Big Apple is a popular travel destination all year long. Brewster’s New York City needlepoint belt features several iconic city landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, the High Line, MSG, a subway entrance, a New York City taxi, Guggenheim Museum, Chrysler Building, Washington Square Park, Times Square and the Empire State Building. This New York City belt makes a great gift for anyone who loves The Big Apple.
No matter where you travel this summer…whether it’s to your local pool or abroad, you can create a memorable needlepoint gift full of travel memories. In addition to detailed city and landscape belts, Brewster Belt Company also has state flag and state image belts for all 50 U.S. states. Check out the website for needlepoint belt design ideas or create your own custom design.
It can be hard to find a personalized Father’s Day gift idea that’s both personal and practical, but Brewster Belt Company has you covered with its hand-stitched, needlepoint belts, flasks and wallets. Browse the existing designs or create your own custom Father’s Day gift. Personalize any design with a monogram to make a truly one-of-a-kind Father’s Day gift. No matter what your father’s/grandfather’s/husband’s favorite hobby is, you can create a personalized gift that he can cherish for years to come.
Even if you’re shopping close to Father’s Day and your custom gift is still being stitched, Brewster Belt Company can provide you with a preview card that can be given to the lucky Dad, so he can see an image of the fantastic Father’s Day gift that is coming his way. Below are some design ideas to help you find the perfect Father’s Day gift….
If sports are his thing, Brewster’s got his game. From baseball to basketball to….croquet (does that count as a sport?), there’s a needlepoint sports belt for that…and a wallet…and a flask.
Whether he loves fly fishing, deep-sea fishing or freshwater fishing, Brewster has custom needlepoint fishing belts for dad who love to fish….wallets and flasks too.
Whether Dad likes hunting ducks, turkeys, big game, quails or even boars, Brewster has a needlepoint hunting belt design for that.
For the dad who loves sailing, a custom maritime signal flag belt is the perfect accessory. Each flag stands for a letter of the alphabet, so you can customize your belt with your dad’s full name, a vessel name, or a fun saying.
If dad is a fan of the America’s Cup race, he might enjoy this needlepoint belt featuring seven of the early America’s Cup winning yachts. Be sure to check out the other sailing designs as well.
Whatever his musical taste or favorite instruments, you can design a custom, needlepoint music belt. How about a needlepoint belt with a piano key design or musical notes or even images depicting his favorite song? If you can imagine it, Brewster Belt can help you design it.
Let your dad know you appreciate his humor by getting him a Father’s Day gift that’s a little tongue-in-cheek such as an emogi belt, a flamingo belt or an irreverent flask.
Even if you have to provide the tech support, at least Dad has a smart phone. And if he’s still using a flip phone, then maybe this needlepoint app belt will help him a hint.
All Brewster Belt Company needlepoint belts and accessories are made-to-order, so you can customize them any way you like. Whether you choose an existing design from the website or design your own custom needlepoint belt or accessory, our designers will help you create the perfect gift. If you’re ordering after the Father’s Day deadline, we can provide a gift preview card that can be given to the recipient, so he can see an image of the fantastic gift that’s coming his way. Gift certificates are also available.
Often “celebrated” as the holiday that kicks off the beginning of summer, Memorial Day has a much more meaningful origin. It was established as a somber day of remembrance for those who died in service to the United States. Originally called “Decoration Day,” the holiday was borne out of the Civil War; however, it was intended to recognize the sacrifice of all Americans who died serving the United States, regardless of the particular battle.
Traditional protocols for observing Memorial Day include raising the U.S. flag briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowering it to half-staff, where it remains until noon. At noon, it is raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. The half-staff position is in remembrance of the more than one million men and women who have given their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.
Other traditional observances include wearing red poppies, visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of the fallen heroes and visiting memorials.
This Memorial Day weekend, as we spend time with family and friends, let’s take some time to thank and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom.
If you’re wondering what to wear to the Kentucky Derby, Brewster Belt has you covered with fashion tips and unique Derby needlepoint belts. The Kentucky Derby is a great opportunity for men to go all out with their attire from bright colors to bold prints to preppy accessories. Whether you’re attending the actual Derby at Churchill Downs or heading to a friend’s Kentucky Derby party, Derby spectators love showcasing unique and preppy spring fashion.
Bright colors and pastels are always in style at the Derby. You may want to start coordinating your outfit by selecting a pair of pants first. While traditional khaki and navy is always in style, considering stepping out of your comfort zone with colored pants: pink, yellow, green…you’re likely to see it all. Bold-colored pants pair nicely with traditional shirts and blazers. Or, go neutral with your pants and bring in some color with your blazer or accessories. Brewster Belt Company’s needlepoint belts can be fully customized, so name your color.
Consider sporting some fun and preppy prints such as seersucker, plaid, gingham, stripes and other bold prints. Mix and match one or two prints for a contemporary look. Pants and jackets with embroidered horses, julep cups, and horseshoe designs can show people you’re serious about fun. You can also bring in prints with a preppy needlepoint belt. Add a monogram to your belt to further personalized it. When it comes to Kentucky Derby fashion, it’s okay to go a little over the top.
Say yes to a necktie or bow tie. Even if you’re wearing shorts, a bow tie can dress up your outfit and make you look that much more original. Match your bow tie with your pocket square and/or hat for a complete and coordinated look. Or, wear your bow tie on your belt for a more casual look. Focus on the details by adding a monogram.
The women don’t get to have all the fun with hats; men can wear them too. Men’s Derby hats are usually a solid color and inspired by the style from the 1920s such as a fedora or bowler hat.
You can also add some fun and humor to your look with your socks and belt. Whether you go classic or eye-catching, a Derby needlepoint belt will complete any Kentucky Derby outfit.
Brewster Belt Company offers an unlimited selection of custom, needlepoint belts and accessories. Create your own design or browse our designs at www.brewsterbelt.com. | 2019-04-24T20:21:43Z | http://blog.brewsterbelt.com/ |
This combination of photos shows congressional candidates Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., left, and Democrat challenger George Scott. A court-ordered redrawing of Pennsylvania's House districts has forced several Republican congressmen including Perry into more competitive seats and helped establish Pennsylvania as a key state for Democrats aiming to recapture the House majority.
We're breaking down the Thursday evening debate.
Reporters Ed Mahon and Emily Previti are annotating key moments from a televised debate between Republican Congressman Scott Perry and Democratic challenger George Scott. WGAL’s Janelle Stelson and Mike Straub moderated the Thursday evening debate. To see the notes, click on the yellow areas.
Perry and Scott are competing in the 10th Congressional district, which includes all of Dauphin County, plus parts of York and Cumberland counties.
Mike Straub: All right. Let’s get right to it, gentleman. Thank you both for being here. Our first question goes to the winner of the draw. That was Congressman Perry. So, congressman, every American, regardless of location, income or age relies on our health care system in one way or another. The costs of care, insurance and medicine continue to rise, to the point of forcing some Americans into bankruptcy. What will you fight for to ensure all Americans have access to reliable and affordable health care?
Scott Perry: What will I fight for? I will tell you one thing that I’m really privileged and proud to fight for and to clarify at this debate is this issue of pre-existing conditions. We all knew that we wanted to repeal Obamacare. And I want to repeal Obamacare because it is bad law. It is actually so bad that even Democrats are running away from it. They’re not trying to salvage it any more. They’re actually looking for single-payer and complete government-run healthcare.
But at the time, we were repealing Obamacare, Paul Ryan put forth a bill, all right, to replace it, and if you recall when that happened, that bill failed on the first try. If you recall all that. And we kind of stumbled and stubbed our toe.
One of the reasons it failed is because it didn’t adequately deal with pre-existing conditions. I know hundreds of people, including people in my own family, that have pre-existing conditions. We knew that insurance companies were denying people the care and the coverage that they should have just because of pre-existing conditions. And a bunch of us, myself included, said absolutely not. We will not, we will not vote for this bill, for myriad reasons, the most important one is not dealing with pre-existing conditions. And the bill that we passed, finally, that failed in the Senate dealt with pre-existing conditions completely and disallowed insurance companies to restrict people from care or coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Mike Straub: Thank you, congressman. Mr. Scott, what will you fight for to ensure affordable health care?
George Scott: Well, I’ll fight for the people of the 10th Congressional district, all of whom, as well as everyone in our nation, deserves affordable and accessible health care. And I’ll do that first by repairing and stabilizing the Affordable Care Act. It was certainly not a perfect piece of legislation. And yet it extended health care coverage to millions of Americans who had no coverage before.
To say that it’s a perfect system — or not a perfect system rather — doesn’t mean that it’s not good. And so we need to take that as the foundation and build going forward. We need to increase access to preventative care, which is, prevents the long-term bills. We need to make sure that there is coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.
My opponent has said that he is in favor of sustaining that. And yet there were two separate occasions. First in 2013, when he voted for House Resolution 45 and then again in 2015 when he voted for House Resolution 596 that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act in its entirety to include coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. I want to make sure that we have coverage for those with pre-existing conditions but that we go further and try to cover these escalating costs so that all Americans will be able to benefit, and not be worried about whether or not being able to provide for themselves or their loved ones.
Mike Straub: Congressman, he brought you up by name there, did you want to respond?
Scott Perry: Sure, I think I do.
Absolutely, we ran on, many of us, on repealing Obamacare because it has failed. And like I said, even Democrats are running away from it. The costs are spiraling. Most counties in the country, across the country, only have two insurers under the exchanges, and the cost — deductibles have quadrupled. Right ? And you think when the deductible goes higher your premium goes lower. But not with the ACA, not with Obamacare.
So even though I did vote to repeal there was always a place in mind to replace that with a better system, which is what I voted on and voted for.
Janelle Stelson: Are you saying that Mr. Scott’s ad saying you are against that is misleading then?
Scott Perry: I say that that ad is a lie. I think that Mr. Scott knows better and I know it’s a lie, because there was always the intention to deal with pre-existing conditions, every single time, and that was made clear at the time we passed that bill.
Janelle Stelson: Mr. Scott, anything to say about that?
George Scott: And yet he voted twice for legislation that completely repealed the care in the ACA for those with pre-existing conditions, with no legislation in place to replace it.
Scott Perry: The premise is, is flawed in that the only way to deal with pre-existing conditions is through Obamacare. That’s simply false. And the plan now with this health care for all at 33 trillion dollars, I mean we’re going to double everybody’s payroll tax, we’re going to double employer taxes, I mean there’s no plan to pay for that. That’s the alternative solution to the ACA from the other side – untenable.
Janelle Stelson: OK. We’re going to move along.
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally endorsing the Republican ticket in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018 in Erie, Pa.
Janelle Stelson: All right. Next question. We go first to Mr. Scott. A lot of voters are expected to go to the polls as a referendum this time around on President Trump. Do you think that’s going to help or hurt you? And is Mr. Trump somebody you feel you can work with to make the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania a better place to live? Mr Scott?
George Scott: Well, I’m running to help improve the lives of voters in southcentral Pennsylvania. As far as I’m concerned this is not a referendum on President Trump. This is about bringing better leadership to Washington, D.C. — leadership that will reflect the voices and values of people here in southcentral Pennsylvania and that will make sure that that we’re looking out for interests of people at home rather than a particular group like, say, the Freedom Caucus in Washington, D.C. This should be about the people here at home.
As far as the president, if there are policies that are serving the interests of the United States, for example, bringing home the remains of Korean War veterans from Korea — I’m fully supportive of that.
Even the, the newly renegotiated replacement trade act for NAFTA, the United-States-Mexico-Canada act, I think there’s some benefit to that. Most of the farmers that I’ve talked to who are particularly affected by that think it’s a step in the right direction. So I’m not completely, I’m not an idealogue. I’m a practical person who wants to work on bipartisan solutions — solutions that will benefit the people right here in this district.
And at the end of the day I think that’s what voters want. They want representatives that will go down there and that will work hard on their behalf and make sure that their voice is heard and that their interests are represented. And that’s exactly why I’m running.
Janelle Stelson: OK. Congressman Perry.
Scott Perry: Well, I think and I hope it will be a referendum on is your life improved in the last two years. And if we look at like I said the market up 7,000 points, employment up, opportunity up, wages rising, hostages coming home, getting out of bad trade deals. This is all good news.
And people in this district and hopefully the new district will learn that I am a good representative, and I’ve listened to all viewpoints. I don’t go out and protest things and then come back to my office and say, ‘Well come in and talk to me.’ And you don’t know whether I’ll call the balls and strikes correctly.
I take all people that come in and meet with them and listen to their concerns and make the best choices I can with the things that are in front of me. And I think that that’s what your representative’s supposed to do. Not go down there and be told by leadership what to do.
We come to participate, not to take orders. We joined a different organization to take orders. But this isn’t it. And I’ve told my leadership that. I support the policies and the things that are important in this district and I always have and that’s what I hope that the voters will be thinking about when they go to the polls.
Janelle Stelson: Is this a president you enjoy working with?
Scott Perry: I like his policies and I think he’s heading in the right direction. I think he’s done things that haven’t been done in a very long time. I do think he’s a disrupter. It makes it uncomfortable for some folks, but I tend to look at not the drama. I try and stay out of the drama and stick to the policies. And I think the policies are working. And you’re seeing the fruits of that all across the country.
Janelle Stelson: We want to talk about the environment. We’ve gotten a lot of e-mail from people who’d like to ask this question. The United Nations just releasing a major report. Ninety-one scientists from 40 countries warning that climate change is now happening so quickly that in little more than a decade Earth could suffer a catastrophic breakdown. First do you believe in climate change? And if so how would you work to turn the tide?
George Scott: I do believe in climate change. I think the scientific evidence in support of it is overwhelming and to say that the climate changes naturally — of course it does. But the rate of change is the issue and that’s what the science is pointing to. The rate of change is far beyond anything we’ve ever seen. And so we need to work now and not keep kicking this can down the road. This is an issue that could potentially have a drastic effect on our children and grandchildren. So we have a moral obligation to make sure that we hand off to them an Earth that is, that has a climate that’s balanced.
What I would specifically support is moving us as a nation through market driven forces towards renewable energy sources. One of the best ways to do that is a policy referred to as the climate fee and dividend policy. Now my opponent is going to tell you that it’s a tax. It’s not a tax. It’s revenue neutral. It takes a fee that’s put on carbon based fuels at the point of production or entry into the country and then that fee is distributed as a dividend to consumers. So for consumers there is in fact no fee, no additional costs. But what it does is as the cost of carbon fuels goes up governments and businesses gradually move away from fossil-based fuels and move towards renewable sources of energy.
In the long run, that type of program will not only reduce carbon emissions by 33 percent in a decade. It will also create 2.1 million new jobs. Those are the kind of jobs that we want to have right here in southcentral Pennsylvania.
Janelle Stelson: Thank you. Representative Perry.
Scott Perry: I think obviously man has a part to play in that. We know that CO2 is in the atmosphere and it affects it. But the question is, is how and then what can we do about it, what should we do about it, and what do we do with all the other nations that pollute much more, much more than the United States.
As a matter of fact, last year the United States had the greatest reduction in CO2 emissions. So we are doing our part.
But the, the program that my opponent is espousing from the U.N. — a couple of things to know about. It’s already been tried in Australia. Some metrics that go with that. CO2 actually went up, the deficit went up, the costs went up and unemployment went up. If we’re going to do that we should look to them and say, how did this work for you? And do we want to do this in America?
And by the way the very U.N. plan that that my opponent has talked about also said that … it would raise fuel prices, gasoline for your car anywhere from one dollars to 50 dollars a gallon on top of what you’re already paying. I think you have to proceed very carefully here before we, before we do that to our people in central Pennsylvania and across the United States.
Janelle Stelson: You talked about some of the progress that has been made, that was made under the emissions controls that the Obama administration put into place.
Scott Perry: And other, and other administrations.
Janelle Stelson: Yes, but he worked toward that and the current president has worked to roll much of that back, cutting the EPA in some, in many ways actually. And I believe you’ve voted for those things.
Scott Perry: In some cases, I have. What we don’t want to do is put ourselves in a position where we’re paying countries like India and China to clean up their mess and we cut our emissions and they could continue to pollute for another 20 years and then the United States economy has to pay for it. And that’s what we’re working towards. We want to clean up our mess, but we want them to clean up their mess and pay for their clean up as well. We’ll help them but we can’t be responsible for it and pay for it.
Janelle Stelson: How specifically do you want to clean up the mess here?
Scott Perry: Well, here? Well continue to move forward with things like, the economy does a great job. You look at what natural gas has done to some of those CO2 emissions from our coal fired plants. That was going to happen as a natural progression of the economics of natural gas and our availability to get it. And of course you know Pennsylvania, rich in coal but also rich in natural gas and we’re sitting right on that. And so we moved many of our plants from coal to natural gas just because of the economics and just by doing that, not with the requirement of government, we’ve really helped clean up our atmosphere. We just need to continue to do these things in a market based fashion. And they actually do work.
Janelle Stelson: I don’t want to take too much time on this. But no Republican no Democrat, if we don’t have an Earth none of us have a place to live.
George Scott: Exactly. And while natural gas is better than coal in terms of not contributing to climate change, the reality is it still does contribute to climate change. And as far as gas prices going up, gas prices have gone up more in the past year than at any time that they did during the four previous years. So we need to focus on the fact that we need to take action on this and the U.S. must continue to be a leader in climate change as it was in the past and not abandon its role.
Mike Straub: The Trump administration is enforcing stern tariffs designed to level the playing field for our industries in international markets. But farmers here in Pennsylvania say the tariffs are hurting their bottom lines. What is your message to those farmers? And what kind of future for tariffs will you fight for in Washington?
Scott Perry: Well, the message to the farmers is: I understand. And, of course, I grew up working picking fruit and working on a farm. So not only from a from the policy perspective, but from the doing business end of the perspective. And, of course, I go to church with farmers, and so on and so forth. So, I’m very attuned to what they’re dealing with, whether it’s milk or whether it’s grain or what have you, and I know that they’re suffering. One of the reasons they’re suffering is for trade agreements like the one we had NAFTA with Canada, for instance, where we couldn’t sell our dairy products from Pennsylvania into Canada but that they could sell theirs into ours. This is painful, and I don’t like tariffs because they hurt the consumer. The consumer ends up paying more.
But the administration, our government, has few options. Right? What are we going to do? We’re going to do a tariff we’re going to do a sanction or we’re going to do military action. Military action certainly isn’t the right answer. If you’re going to sanction somebody, what’s the punishment? We’ve made these agreements. So the president is trying to force better agreements that have been made over a long time a long period of time and update them. And the only way to get some of these folks to come to the table is with the threat of tariffs.
And in the meantime, the administration has also rolled out money and funds to make up the difference for the farmers, in the meantime, while the deals are coming together. And you can see that they are coming together. NAFTA now changed with the agreement with Canada and Mexico. The EU is trying to get in line because they see what’s happening. South Korea’s already there. Japan is right behind them. Australia. The big one is China. And this is to isolate China so that they quit stealing our intellectual property and taking advantage of our economy.
Mike Straub: Mr. Scott? Future of tariffs?
George Scott: Well, as someone who grew up on a farm and has a daughter who is studying agriculture in college and has a congregation filled with farmers, I’m deeply concerned about this issue and I’ve met and talked with farmers on numerous occasions. The tariffs have, quite frankly, hurt our farmers in a way that was unnecessary. To imply that the only ways we have to deal with trade with bad actors in the trade arena is either tariffs or or or weapons or to do some type of sanctions completely overlooks the fact that diplomacy is one of the most effective things that our nation has. And so, we should use diplomacy and, in particular, we should use the World Trade Organization. The United States has succeeded in over 91 percent of the claims that we put before the World Trade Organization. That’s the way to deal with this. And particularly, we need to go after China. But we should not be targeting our allies like Canada or the European Union with tariffs that hurt the farmers back here terribly. Soybean prices have practically collapsed and prices for dairy and other industries are very low and the farmers are paying the price for that day to day.
Scott Perry: I don’t, you know, our allies they’re … I’m sure they are our allies ,but they’re happy to take advantage of our markets when they can, and they have. And they continue and will continue to do that. And diplomacy, unfortunately, hasn’t gotten us any better — and relying on the World Trade Organization, which allows China to continually cheat. Regardless of how many cases we win, they continually cheat. And to allow that and count on the World Trade Organization to deal with America’s problems. We’re representatives of the United States of America, not of the World Trade Organization, and that’s what we need to be focusing on.
Mike Straub: And I know the farmers received some help. So is the message, really: Gotta tough this one out, … it’s going to be better in the long run?
Scott Perry: That’s exactly right.
George Scott: That’s a great message if you’re not a farmer. Farmers need help and they need it now.
Mike Straub: Thank you, gentlemen.
Janelle Stelson: The mission of our partners, the American Association of University Women, is to advocate for women. So let’s talk about the wage gap. On average women are paid 80 cents for every dollar a man gets for doing the same job. Will you work toward equal pay for equal work? And if so how?
George Scott: Yes. I will absolutely work towards equal pay for equal work for women. Women are the majority in our society and hopefully they’re going to soon be equal numbers and even perhaps a majority within our Congress. They bring a unique perspective and a unique ethic with them. And so as as the father of a daughter, I want to make sure that she has an opportunity to go out into the workplace and to receive equal pay for equal work. The wages that they have, they’ve got to be addressed through a variety of ways. One of the things that I’m very interested in doing is going to Congress and joining the Men for Women Caucus which is just being established by Congressman Don Beyer. It’s a group that will be designed to speak up specifically, male elected leaders speaking up specifically for women on their behalf. I think we need to look across the board at ways that we can improve the situation for women and in particular increasing wages is one of those.
Janelle Stelson: Thank you. Congressman Perry.
Scott Perry: Well, absolutely, and I will tell you, my mama taught me how to treat a lady. I don’t have join a caucus to do that. I have two little girls. Of course, my mom was the president of our company and my wife is a career woman. This is actually fairly simple. One standard for everybody. You do the work you get paid the wage.
Now I think what we can do, I think, in cases of the past maybe we discouraged ladies from getting into certain different vocations and there’s no reason that has to be done. I mean women are in combat now. Women are doing everything that generally speaking men are doing and they should be if they’re capable of doing it. And so it’s important that we, that we acknowledge that in our society and say that these things can be done by everybody and earn a commensurate wage.
Janelle Stelson: You’re a three-term congressman. Have you worked on this issue yet?
Scott Perry: Yeah, sure, in, with like the SKILLS Act, to make sure that everybody was looking towards the thing where they could make the living that they want, aspire to that wage, that salary level based on their work. Absolutely. We’ve passed legislation to deal specifically that.
Janelle Stelson: OK. Thank you.
Mike Straub: Alright, this question begins with Congressman Perry. The images of family separations shocked a lot of people. We learned just this week the Trump administration says 66 children remain in U.S. custody after they were separated from their parents who entered the country illegally this summer. Give us your top two priorities for immediate immigration reform.
Scott Perry: Well, first of all, every single one of us, whether you’re a parent or not, you see those little children that are abandoned. They are in a strange place and you can only imagine how horrific that is and in your heart is broken from them, however they got there.
I think we have to acknowledge too that many of them are separated before they got to the border and they’re with someone that is trafficking them.
And so, from my standpoint, especially in protecting the children that come to the border, is making sure that they’re not trafficked. If they’re coming to the border, then we have an obligation. If they’re with their parents, then we have to deal with that appropriately.
And the best thing to do would be to revise our immigration laws so that everybody, like my grandmother and my great-grandmother, came legally. So that it doesn’t encourage people to come illegally and discourage legal immigration because it’s too tough in many cases. And I’ve said that many times. Our immigration system is broken and needs to be revamped.
I was privileged to work on the two bills. Goodlatte one and Goodlatte two, as they were characterized over the summer, on immigration reform, which was going to reform a whole host of these things and make sure that we had appropriate levels and it was a merit-based immigration system. So, it dealt with what our country needs as well as the other countries that have individuals that want to come to our country while doing it while doing it safely. Unfortunately, we only got 195 votes and we needed 218 to pass. I urged our leadership to go back. We could give a little on each side and get something passed. I’m hoping we take it back up when we come back in.
Mike Straub: So is that an important policy to push a merit-based system as an important step in the right direction?
Scott Perry: Yeah, the world is changing. And we’ve got to know who’s coming in here and for what purpose. 40 percent of people here illegally are actually visa overstays who came legally and then just stayed. So we have to fix those problems.
Mike Straub: Thank you, Congressman. Mr. Scott. Top two priorities for immigration reform.
George Scott: Right. So, we have to have comprehensive immigration reform. What we have to do it in a bipartisan manner. To refer to the Goodlatte legislation as being a piece of legislation that was a good solution reflects the fact that this is not a bipartisan approach that you see from my opponent. There was not a single Democrat that voted for that bill and in fact 41 Republicans voted against the bill because they didn’t feel it was the right solution. So, we need to develop bipartisan solutions to immigration. It is a tough issue and bipartisan solutions are lasting solutions.
Above and beyond the general improving comprehensive immigration reform, we need to also look at securing our borders. But doing it in a responsible and compassionate way, not tearing children away from their families as has been done on the current administration.
And finally, I would point out the figure Mr. Perry cites of … I think it was 41 percent, he said, of children are being trafficked illegally. The reality is according to government data. Less than 1 percent of the children that cross the border are being crossed by traffickers. Most of them are coming with someone in their family.
Scott Perry: Just to be clear I didn’t I didn’t use a 40 percent term regarding trafficking of children. The trafficking of any child is horrific.
Janelle Stelson: We cannot talk about immigration without talking about the wall. President Trump promises to build on the Mexican border. First, a quick yes or no from both candidates: Do you support building a wall?
Janelle Stelson: OK. Now let’s dive a little deeper. We’ll begin with Mr. Scott. As taxpayers, do you think we should be concerned about construction costs? They’re still unknown, but the Government Accountability Office now says it will be billions more than the president has stated. You’re not in favor. If you’re elected, how are you going to work with a president who has made this a campaign promise?
George Scott: Well, I understand the president has made a campaign promise. But the reality is is that the costs are going to be huge. A minimum of $25 billion is the price quoted by the president. Other government estimates say it could go up to $70 [billion or] 75 billion. Those are funds that we can better use for priorities right here at like improving our infrastructure which would create jobs and help people right here in south central Pennsylvania. Building a wall will certainly help some contractors who are lucky enough to get those lucrative contracts.
But static structures like a wall are not the most effective way to prevent illegal immigration. We have all kinds of different technological means which can and should be employed along the border.
And we need to continue to support those who are working on border security. They have got an incredibly difficult mission. And I want to make sure they are supported and funded in their mission and have the training and resources that they need.
Janelle Stelson: Congressman Perry, you want the wall. How are we going to pay for it?
Scott Perry: Cost is always important. We would hope to to have the help of some of our neighboring countries to pay for that. And I think that’s a deal that can be made between the two countries.
Janelle Stelson: They have clearly said they are not paying for it, Mr. Trump.
Scott Perry: Yes I know that. I know they. But we are the largest economy in the world and they want to trade with us. And there’s an impetus there for them to work together with us and I think that they should, and I think that we can.
We can’t discount the cost of illegal immigration whether it’s prisons, whether it’s our health care system, education system. Those things are big costs that are happening right now every single day and all of our communities.
And we can’t discount the cost of human trafficking. And we can’t discount the 100 Fentanyl deaths coming across our border every single day. It’s up 750 percent this year, Fentanyl coming into this country. They bring it across the border today and tomorrow it’s in your community via U.S. mail. That’s a cost, too, that we can’t we can’t disregard.
Janelle Stelson: And you think that a wall will stop that?
Scott Perry: I think it will help. | 2019-04-22T20:36:50Z | https://papost.org/2018/10/18/rep-scott-perry-vs-george-scott-debate-annotated/ |
Rabat, Morocco --- 8 February 2012 ... Having won the vote of confidence in Parliament on January 31, the new, democratic Benkirane Government in Morocco convened for the first formal session on February 7. To mark the occasion, King Mohammed VI chaired the Cabinet session in the Throne Room, the Royal Palace in Rabat. The main subject on the agenda was the Finance Act of 2012.
The King Mohammed VI opened the session by inquiring about the status of the crop in lieu of the cold wave and frost. The King also inquired about the precipitation rates and their impact on national agriculture in Morocco. Aziz Akhannouch, the Morocco Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, provided a detailed survey of the situation. He emphasized that the quantities of rain to-date were good for most provinces of the Kingdom, although some crops were damaged in the southern regions. He added that weather forecast was promising.
Rabat, Morocco ... 3 February 2012 ... Morocco's new Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane addressed the core issues of his government in the context of the Arab World's "Awakening" in an interview with the Jordanian daily As-Sabil. Benkirane stressed that Morocco has produced its own unique model of reforms that is different from the rest of the Arab World.
"Moroccan officials seized early on the message of the street and responded to it in a positive way, away from any ostracism or contempt for the calls for reform. In so doing, the Kingdom of Morocco has produced its own model that is different from those followed in other countries affected by the 'Arab Spring'," Benkirane explained.
All Moroccans have won, Benkirane argued, "for the population does not claim that the disruption of stability affected the activation and the pace of reform."
Rabat, Morocco --- 30 January 2012 ... Shortly after his new government won the vote of confidence in Parliament, Abdelilah Benkirane left Morocco for the Economic Summit in Davos - his first and most challenging international test.
On February 27, he shared the podium with Tunisia's PM Hamadi Jebali and two Egyptian presidential candidates, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Amre Moussa, for a discussion of the future of governance in North Africa.
Both Benkirane and Jebali focused on the economic challenges of the consolidation of democratic governments in their respective countries and the region as a whole.
Rabat, Morocco --- 26 January 2012 ... The House of Representatives in Morocco approved today the programs of reforms and democracy of the Benkirane government as presented by the PM in his speech to Parliament. The program was adopted by a vote of 218 in favor and 135 against. No abstained votes were recorded.
The session of the House of Representatives in Rabat, Morocco continued in order to enable the various parliamentary groups to explain their decision to vote both in favor and against the government program.
Newly elected Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane opened the debate by stressing the government's commitment to taking the position of the opposition into account.
Rabat, Morocco --- 21 January 2012 ... Both Houses of the Moroccan Parliament held a plenary session on Thursday, January 19, devoted to hearing Morocco's new Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane presenting the statement on the government's plan. The government's program is now formally presented for debate in both Houses of Parliament as the first step toward formal approval through a vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives in Morocco formally summoned the plenary session "in accordance with Article 88 of the Constitution."
Rabat, Morocco --- 21 January 2012 ... On January 19, five young Moroccans set themselves on fire near a building of the Morocco Ministry of Education in Rabat. The five were saved by passersby, but three had to be hospitalized. They were part of widespread demonstrations all over Morocco protesting unemployment, especially among university graduates.
One of the young people who set himself on fire explained that he wanted to focus attention on the plight and desperation of the young unemployed. The leftist opposition daily Libération commented in an Editorial that the self-immolation was attempted in order "to protest against delays or indifference in the treatment of their case despite the commitment of the new Benkirane government."
These five young men put a human face on one of the greatest challenges facing Moroccan society - and not just the incoming Abdelillah Benkirane government.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 18, 2012 ... The new Benkirane government in Morocco is moving prudently towards assuming power. Formally, the government still has to await the vote of confidence for the government and its programs by the House of Representatives. In the interim, ministers are studying their new fields of action without permission to engage in actual decision making.
Almost all the new ministers in Morocco are in the process of learning their new roles. They conduct meetings with all of their secretariats and senior staff, as well as directors of central and regional services.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 18, 2012 ... During the election campaign in Morocco, Prime Minister Benkirane had repeatedly promised that the fight against corruption would be a high priority for his new government.
Now, the Benkirane government has begun to make good on this promise and embarked on a major anti-corruption campaign. At the instructions of Benkirane, Morocco's Central Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ICPC) is preparing a document with "priority" proposals how to strengthen the fight against corruption in the Kingdom.
The ICPC President Abdeslam Aboudrar pointed out that the ICPC is preparing for a major transformation. With a new priority status, the ICPC is gearing up for a major surge in order to bolster the campaign against corruption in Morocco.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 10, 2012 ... After a weekend of well-earned relaxation, the members of Morocco's new government are starting to work.
There are huge expectations at the grassroots which the new government in Morocco must now meet. For about two thirds of the cabinet ministers and minister delegates this is their first experience in government. Most of them have managerial and or academic expertise in the issues handled by their respective ministries. However, they lack the political experience which can be a huge benefit for launching reforms and enhancing democracy, but also a hindrance in getting programs implemented by the multi-layered government and regional bureaucracies.
Morocco Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane is convinced that the cabinet's commitment to reform and democracy should override all other considerations.
"This new government has a true will for reform and we will keep all the promises we made," he said.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 04, 2012 ... As a quintessential element of their coalition forming, the General Secretaries of the four parties in Morocco, Abdelilah Benkirane, Abbas El Fassi, Mohand Laenser and Nabil Benabdallah, jointly signed on December 16, 2011, a landmark document in the history of Moroccan politics: "The Charter of the Majority".
The Charter is a contractual document that defines the scope of the joint action of the coalition's partners and the basic principles of their government's democratic program. With the swearing in of the new government by King Mohammed VI on January 3, 2012, the Charter of the Majority becomes a legal document of immense importance for it outlines and articulates the Benkirane government's program and modus operandi.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 3, 2012 ... After thirty-five days of arduous negotiations, Morocco has a new government. On January 3, 2012, Abdelilah Benkirane presented his selected ministers to King Mohammed VI for royal approval and swearing in. The ceremony took place in the Throne Room at the Royal Palace in Rabat.
The lengthy process of coalition negotiations and government forming in Morocco is bound to have tangible impact on the performance of both the government and PM Abdelilah Benkirane.
There are huge expectations from the new government at the grassroots level.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 3, 2011 ... King Mohammed of Morocco today appointed members of a new, diverse and democratic Cabinet. The Cabinet will be led by the Islamist Justice and Development Party ( PJD) leader and prime minister-designate Abdelilah Benkirane.
Rabat, Morocco --- January 3, 2012 ... Cognizant of the growing impatience in the public and media, Morocco's PM-designate Abdelilah Benkirane sought to calm down the doubters about the progress in the coalition negotiations toward the composition of his government.
Addressing a Party meeting in Rabat, Morocco, Benkirane reiterated that he was "optimistic" about the formation process of the new Cabinet.
Benkirane explained that the government forming process in Morocco was taking so long because it is a precedent-setting undertaking that, in view of the historic significance of the implementation of the new Constitution, involves the entire Moroccan nation and not just the leaders of the four parties of the coalition.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 28, 2011 ... As anticipated, the recently appointed Prime Minister of Morocco, Abdelillah Benkirane and his coalition partners - Abbas El Fassi, Nabil Benabdallah and Mohand Laenser - are discovering the complexities and length of meaningful, democratic, coalition and government forming negotiations.
Although their reaching of agreement on joint policies toward the key economic and democratic issues facing Morocco was indeed the main and most important challenge to be met, addressing and resolving the precise personnel issues are far more multi-faceted and thus lengthy undertakings. And herein the Moroccan coalition negotiations are snarled.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 25, 2011 ... On Saturday morning, December 24, Morocco’s Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane announced that major progress had been achieved in the coalition negotiations and that the specific ministerial portfolios to be allocated to the coalition’s four parties would be unveiled within the next couple of days.
“The question of allocation of portfolios should be resolved in one or two days,” Benkirane said.
The new Prime Minister of Morocco said that he expects the pace of negotiations to accelerate because “things are more clear” for the other three coalition parties. He plans to soon name “the eligible candidates for the portfolios” for the next government.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 22, 2011 ... On December 20, the new coalition in Morocco elected Karim Ghellab of the Independence Party as Speaker of the House of Representatives for the term of 2011-2016.
In his acceptance speech, Ghellab pledged “to put the Moroccan citizens’ concerns and expectations at the center” of the House’s action.
The coalition negotiators failed to meet the December 20, 2011 deadline they had hoped to achieve. Back on December 17, the eight members of the Commission responsible for developing the government’s joint program reported to the four party leaders in Morocco that they were hoping to form a government as early as December 20.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 16, 2011 ... On the evening of December 16, Morocco took another major step toward the forming of the new coalition government. The leaders of the four parties of the Coalition - Abdelillah Benkirane, Abbas El Fassi, Nabil Benabdallah and Mohand Laenser - signed in Rabat the Charter of the Majority.
Benkirane defined the document as a "contract between the components of the next governing majority." After the signing ceremony in Morocco, Benkirane said that with the signing ceremony, the four majority parties committed to "a common Charter and the structure of the new government."
The Charter of the Majority constitutes a major step forward in Morocco's grappling with the ramifications of the significantly greater authority of the next government as mandated by the new Constitution.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 14, 2011... Morocco’s designated next Prime Minister - Abdelilah Benkirane - continued on the path to democracy by conducting coalition building negotiations and consultations.
Earlier this week he met with the Secretaries General of his main coalition partners - Abbas El-Fassi (the current Prime Minister) of the Independence Party, Mohand Laenser of the Popular Movement, and Nabil Benabdellah of the Party of Progress and Socialism.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 13, 2011 ... Over the weekend, the governing bodies of the three parties interested in joining the coalition in Morocco with Benkirane’s Justice and Development Party formally decided to join the government.
On Sunday, the National Council of the Independence Party and the National Council of the Popular Movement both unanimously approved the decision to participate in the upcoming government.
Moreover, the Central Committee of the Progress and Socialism Party also approved by a large majority the decision to join the Benkirane government. These decisions mean that the forthcoming government will have from the start a comfortable majority of 217 seats (55 percent of the votes) - a profound improvement over the narrow 199-seat (50 percent) government Benkirane had been anticipating late last week.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 10, 2011 ....Abdelilah Benkirane, Morocco’s next Prime Minister, decided to expedite the formation of his new government by immediately forming a narrow, small majority government. This way, it would be possible to begin implementing the new Constitution and the new good governance socio-economic policies immediately. The new government’s focus on domestic issues was clearly stated.
“Social issues will be given priority by the incoming government in Morocco, which will put emphasis on the sectors of education, health, employment, housing and justice,” Benkirane told a gathering of political leaders.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 10, 2011 .... Abdelilah Benkirane, Morocco's first Islamist prime minister said on Friday that his democratic government would not try to make women dress more modestly. Abdelilah Benkirane is to lead a coalition government in Morocco after his Justice and Development Party (PJD) became the latest Islamist movement in the Mid East to win an election in the wake of the "Arab Spring" revolutions. The party is anxious to reassure powerful secularists in the Morocco establishment, foreign investors, and the tourists who provide much of the country's revenue, that it will not try to impose a strict Muslim moral code.
Rabat, Morocco --- December 5 ... On November 30, King Mohammed VI formally appointed Abdelilah Benkirane, the leader of the winning Justice and Development Party, as Morocco's next Prime Minister in accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution.
The King noted that he was following the new constitutional guidelines requiring the Monarch to choose a Prime Minister from the party which won the largest number of seats in the Parliament. Benkirane reiterated his fealty to the throne and stressed his commitment to follow the Constitution and keep Morocco online with the King's reforms process.
Rabat, Morocco --- November 30, 2011 ... The main challenge facing the Moroccan political system was the prospect of voter apathy. In the 2009 local and regional elections, turnout was 37 percent. In urban slums and remote villages, economically poorer elements of society told pollsters that "they did not plan to cast their ballots because they had no faith that legislators would work to improve their lives".
Rabat, Morocco --- November 28, 2011 ...The final results of Morocco's parliamentary elections were released on November 27. Together with assessments based on the parties' own political studies - these results constitute a sound base for analysis of what to expect next on the Moroccan political scene.
The two key factors in the results concern the relative powers of the leading parties.
Rabat, Morocco --- November 28, 2011... The International Strategic Studies Association (ISSA)1deployed a team of experienced election monitors to key areas throughout the Kingdom of Morocco to monitor the conduct of the November 25, 2011, Parliamentary elections, which followed the guidelines laid down in the new Constitution of the Kingdom, approved overwhelmingly by the July 2011 Referendum.
Rabat, Morocco --- November 26, 2011 ... Initial results, as announced by Morocco Interior Minister Taieb Cherqaoui, indicate that voters’ turnout in the 2011 parliamentary elections stood at around 45% nationwide. This turnout thus exceeds the magic 37% of the 2007 parliamentary elections.
Data collected and analyzed by the Moroccan Interior Ministry pointed out to a building voters’ momentum toward the closing of the elections. Voting started slow. By noontime, voter turnout stood at 11.5%. However, by 3pm (15:00 GMT) , voter turnout stood at 22.4%, and at 5 p.m. (17:00 GMT), voter turnout reached 34%. By 7 p.m. (19:00 GMT) when the polling stations closed down, the voters’ turnout stood at 45%.
The voters’ turnout, while still below the 50% mark, does point to a growing confidence in the role of parliament and democracy in charting the nation’s course. ..
Rabat, Morocco --- November 24, 2011 ... With the Middle East in many areas in political flames, Morocco is doggedly pursuing its evolutionary yet dramatic governance reform process which ranges from giving more self-rule authority to the country’s diverse regions to profound Constitutional reforms aimed to adapt to the changing times.
Rabat, Morocco --- November 22, 2011 ..... The November 25, 2011, parliamentary elections constitute a historic turning point in Morocco's evolution into a Western-style Constitutional Monarchy. Morocco has been undergoing a process of democratization and governance modernization since the mid-1999 ascent to the throne of King Mohammed VI.
The November 25, 2011, parliamentary elections will be the first conducted in accordance with the just ratified new Constitution.
Moroccan King Muhammad VI has led the way to several democratic reforms. | 2019-04-25T18:11:54Z | http://morocconewsagency.com/ |
What Will Retailers Do With Billions in Corporate Tax Savings?
As investors work to identify the winners and losers of the recent tax bill, it's clear that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new corporate tax rate will be the retail sector.
In this episode of Industry Focus: Consumer Goods, Vincent Shen recruits senior Motley Fool contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg to break down why the news is so good for retailers and its likely effect on companies, including TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX), Target (NYSE: TGT), and Macy's (NYSE: M).
The hosts also look at Bon-Ton's (NASDAQ: BONT) recent bankruptcy filing and its grim prospects even if management is able to avoid a liquidation.
Vincent Shen: Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Tuesday, Feb. 13th, and I'm your host, Vincent Shen. Joining me via Skype for today's show is senior Fool.com contributor, Adam Levine-Weinberg. Hey, Adam! Thanks for being here!
Adam Levine-Weinberg: Thanks for having me on the show! Always great to be here!
Shen: You've been busy on a few different segments for Industry Focus lately.
Levine-Weinberg: Yeah, this is my fourth of 2018.
Shen: Very nice. I'm glad that you're here with us. Fools, today we're going to start our discussion with news that broke earlier this month, before turning our attention to the new tax plan and the implications it has for some of our favorite retailers.
First up, we're going to spend a couple of minutes talking about the major retail bankruptcy, the first one of 2018, and that's for Bon-Ton Stores. They have over 250 store locations spread across 26 states. Bon-Ton is one of the larger regional department store chains in the U.S. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection on Feb. 4th.
Adam, when we actually covered department stores and their holiday results last month, you spoke briefly about Bon-Ton and how this outcome seemed pretty much inevitable at that point. How did Bon-Ton end up in this position?
Levine-Weinberg: From a high-level perspective, Bon-Ton's historical strength was being in these rural markets, primarily smaller towns where there wasn't a lot of competition, and there weren't a lot of options for consumers to get high-quality, branded department store goods. This was great until the internet came about. All of the sudden, after you had Amazon in particular moving into the fashion market, now people can get the same kinds of goods that they had to go to Bon-Ton for previously. Now, they can get the same thing at a lower price, at least a more competitive price, from Amazon and from the retail websites of companies like Macy's. That's the big picture of what has happened.
Bon-Ton is a lot smaller than most of its competitors, it has about $2.5 billion annual revenue. That makes it about a tenth of the size of Macy's, for example. And it just hasn't been profitable in many, many years at this point. A lot of people have talked about, "Oh, it had to file for bankruptcy, because it had too much debt." And it's true that it does have too much debt. It has roughly $1 billion of debt as of November. And for a company with $2.5 billion of sales, that's a pretty tough burden. That said, the reason why the debt piled up was because it couldn't pay the bills in the first place and had to borrow year after year. So the underlying cause of the bankruptcy is just that Bon-Ton is not profitable. They've been putting together annual losses of about $60 million in 2015 and 2016 -- 2017 hasn't been reported yet but it was probably even worse. Comp sales declined about 6% for the full year. Because the primary issue here is unprofitability as opposed to high debt, it's hard to see how Chapter 11 can really fix things.
Bon-Ton has already taken a hatchet to its cost structure. It's going to close some more stores, some of which aren't profitable. But given that the company has been losing so much money up until now, it's hard to see how, even with less debt, it's going to be a sustainable company. It has less than half of the online sales penetration of its larger rivals. And it's not that surprising. Bon-Ton, last year, planned to invest about $30 million in capital spending. Macy's plan was for about $900 million in capital spending. So Macy's has more money to invest in its stores, more money to invest in its e-commerce operations to try to keep up, at least somewhat, with Amazon. Bon-Ton is running on a shoestring budget, and it's really hard to see how a Chapter 11 restructuring would do anything more than string out the pain for another few years. A lot of Bon-Ton's creditors just want the company to liquidate. The company is fighting back. So we'll just have to see what happens. But the chances for long-term survival definitely don't look good.
Shen: Sure. Thanks, Adam. I'll add that, even for this most recent holiday shopping season, a pretty strong one for retailers across the board. In that episode from mid-January where you and I talked about the holiday results for a lot of department stores, in November to December, revenue for Bon-Ton was down about 4% year over year, while others were seeing pretty strong gains. And before this bankruptcy news even, you mentioned some store closures, the company had already announced plans to close over 40 stores. I'm on the same page as you in terms of the company's prospects. Even with a potential reorganization, it's looking rather grim. With that in mind, I'll ask you this: Are there any competing department stores or retailers that you think might stand to benefit the most from these store closures and what might fall out with the bankruptcy filing?
Levine-Weinberg: I think the biggest beneficiary is most likely to be Kohl's (NYSE: KSS). Kohl's has the broadest retail footprint among the department stores, because it has smaller stores than a chain like Macy's, for example, and it tends to have strip mall and stand-alone stores as opposed to being in malls. Kohl's has a bigger presence in the smaller markets where Bon-Ton has a stronger presence as well, so that definitely puts it in a good position to win some of that business. I think Macy's will also get some, but there's relatively limited overlap at this point in terms of malls where there's both a Macy's store and one of Bon-Ton's retail chains. So there's definitely some upside there for Macy's, definitely a little more upside on the e-commerce side, potentially, for Macy's. But in e-commerce, you're fighting with everybody, so it's kind of a jump ball. And given the way things are going, you'd expect Amazon to come up with a big chunk of that revenue.
So I would say that the most interesting thing that we're going to have to see about is whether any competitor tries to scoop up part or all of the company in a bankruptcy sale. You could imagine, even if Bon-Ton as a whole isn't profitable, you could plug in certain stores into a different company. And those particular locations actually might be pretty good department stores still. So we'll just have to see if anybody is willing to take that risk and try to integrate some of Bon-Ton's stores into their own store portfolios.
Shen: Alright, let's move on, then, to our main topic for today. Fools, Adam originally approached me last month, and he pitched the idea of covering the new tax plan, specifically the changes to the corporate tax rate. For the major retailers that we often discuss here on the show, the sector has been cited by many publications and analysts as a space that will benefit more than others from the new tax rate. Adam, since you pitched the idea to me from the get-go, I'll let you take it away. Can you give our listeners a rundown of some of the reforms that went into effect last month, and also why there is an outsized impact for retailers?
Levine-Weinberg: Absolutely. The big headline of the corporate tax reform that went into effect at the beginning of 2018 is that the statutory federal tax rate, so the base tax rate, was reduced from 35% previously to 21% going forward. That's a pretty significant decline there. However, a lot of companies weren't actually paying a 35% effective tax rate. There's a whole host of tax credits that existed under the previous tax law, and some of those still exist.
Companies that have a lot of international sales and earnings have been able previously to shelter that money by keeping it overseas and reinvesting it there. That's why you've seen companies like Apple keep so much cash abroad. So some tech firms have had very low effective tax rates in the past. By contrast, retailers really haven't been able to take advantage of any of these tax benefits under the old law. If you look at most retailers, they're very heavily concentrated in the U.S. for sales and especially for their earnings, and they don't have many tax breaks, so they're paying effective tax rates, when you include state taxes as well, of 37% and 38%. Those are typical numbers there.
Shen: I'll jump in there with some examples. You combine the fact that retailers, most of their operations are based in the U.S., so they generate the bulk of their revenue here, with that income being largely subject to the higher U.S. tax rates. And also, they just don't get access to as many of those tax credits and deductions that you mentioned, Adam. I have some specific examples that generally highlight what we've described so far. These are the effective rates for some of the bigger retailers out there.
Starting with Wal-Mart, they generate about 70% or so of their revenue in the U.S. Their effective tax rate for the trailing 12-month period came out to 31.8%. Its rival, Target, they note in their 10-K that virtually all of their revenue is generated within the United States. Its effective tax rate was 31%. And then, for the department stores, Nordstrom, Macy's and Kohl's are also all predominantly U.S.-based businesses, and their effective tax rates all came out in the range of 36% to 40%. Even TJX Companies, which has Canadian and international segments that they break out that account for about 25% of sales, that company is still reporting an effective rate of 37.2%.
So you compare those rates that I just mentioned with the broad U.S. effective tax rate from the Congressional Budget Office, that came out to 18.6%. So you can see that retailers are, indeed, paying higher rates, and thus in a position to benefit from this new tax plan. With some of those broader details in mind, Adam, I know you wanted to focus on how different companies might take advantage of their cost savings specifically. What did you have in mind?
Levine-Weinberg: I basically would group it into, there's two different categories here of retailers that will do well. The first are retailers that have very high cash flow already relative to their market cap. And then the other would be retailers that have relatively high capital spending budgets. We'll go through both of those in order.
On the cash flow side, when you look at retailers that have low price to free cash flow ratios, basically the tax cuts made a lot of these stocks, which were already pretty cheap, even cheaper. The typical benefit for a company that was paying a 37% to 39% effective tax rate previously, the benefit of moving to this new tax structure is probably worth about 20% more earnings per share on an after-tax basis. So even if their pre-tax earnings stay exactly the same in 2018 compared to 2017, you're going to see really strong earnings growth. So a company that might have been trading for 10x earnings before is now at something like 8x earnings. That makes these cheap stocks even cheaper. And to the extent that they haven't yet corrected, there's definitely some upside for investors there. And I would put a lot of department store companies into that category.
On top of the valuation aspect, companies with a high free cash flow are now going to have extra firepower because of the lower tax bill, to pay more dividends, to buy back more stock, or to reduce their debt. So Kohl's is a really great example of this. As we talked about on our last show last month, Kohl's reported 6.9% comp sales growth during the holiday period, which was its strongest result in over a decade. It's already doing really well -- it's already making the investments that are necessary to transform the business. The extra cash that it's now going to bring in from paying a lower tax rate, there's not much that it should do with it other than start returning it to shareholders. So I think you could see either a nice dividend increase this year or higher share buybacks, or potentially both.
Shen: And I just wanted to quantify the potential windfall that Kohl's will enjoy. Assuming its effective tax rate falls from 37%, which was the latest I could find for the trailing 12-month period, to about 23%, that's an additional $144 million in earnings that can potentially flow to the bottom line, so it's pretty significant, as you mentioned, in terms of giving them that additional firepower to, for example, pay dividends or buy back stock.
And if we categorize that as the more shareholder-focused benefits of the new tax rate, I think there's also, the other category you mentioned, in terms of the spending, the capital spending. With the traditional brick-and-mortar retail space, there's a lot of trends that are changing the sector, whether it's omnichannel, new store formats, experiential retail, among others. So for the companies that end up putting the savings back into their businesses and operations, what does that potentially look like?
Levine-Weinberg: There's an extra benefit for companies that want to reinvest the tax law savings. One of the interesting things in this tax law is, it implements a temporary cut in the cash tax rate for companies that are investing in the business. Instead of having to depreciate investments over a period of, it could be five, 10, or even 20 years, between now and 2022, companies will be allowed to expense 100% of their capital spending, which means that they can write it off all in the first year. That's an immediate tax deduction for them. That creates a lot of additional cash flow, because theoretically, a company that's reinvesting all of its cash flow could actually pay no taxes, even if it's posting pretty high profits, because it's getting all of these write-offs from its capital spending.
Among the retailers we've been looking at, none of them are investing quite that heavily, but there are definitely some that are putting more money into the business right now. TJX, which is the parent company that runs the popular TJ Maxx and Marshalls and HomeGoods chains in the U.S., that's definitely a company that's been spending at a pretty high rate to expand. It's adding square footage of about 5% a year in recent years. It could potentially even speed up its expansion even more going forward. Just in the past few years, it started to test out some new store formats for the United States to potentially give it even greater growth opportunities.
The first one that came about was Sierra Trading Post, which was a mainly online off-price retailer that it had acquired a few years ago, and it started opening some Sierra Trading Post retail stores. It's learned a lot from that. It seems to be figuring out how to make those work. And now it's started to ramp up that expansion. With the new tax law benefits, it's possible you'll see that expansion move even faster. A second area where it's experimenting is in the home market, because the HomeGoods chain has been by far the most successful in terms of comp sales growth and total sales growth in recent years. Now, TJX is testing a second home store format called HomeSense in the United States. It sees that as a way to tap into some different segments of that home market and further expand its growth. The idea is that, kind of like TJ Maxx and Marshalls have some overlap but also some differences, by offering two different home store concepts, TJX could significantly expand its long-term growth potential.
Those are two areas where you could definitely see TJX ramping up investment because of the benefits of this tax law. Then, aside from that, TJX will have more cash flow that it can return to shareholders. It's been raising its dividend at a pretty healthy rate in recent years, and it's also been buying back a lot of stock, so I'd expect to see more of the same in 2018 and beyond.
Shen: Another company that you pointed out before the show, too, that has announced recently some pretty big plans to up their spending, try and claim more market share, do some store remodeling, things along those lines, is Target. How much of a beneficiary do you think the company could be from these new rules that we've talked about so far?
Levine-Weinberg: Target isn't growing as quickly as TJX, but it is opening up some more small-format stores in the United States. This is its best way now to penetrate the markets it hasn't been able to get into up until now. Beyond that, it's investing really heavily in remodeling the stores, improving its technology and fulfillment so that it can capture a bigger share of online stores.
Really, if you look at the last 10 years of Target, the company made two really, really big mistakes that have held it back from its full potential. The first was, it got caught up in trying to expand into Canada, and that was just a complete disaster. It had to write off billions of dollars when it pulled out. And that also obviously diverted a lot of management attention. The second one was, years and years ago, it outsourced all of its e-commerce to Amazon, which gave Amazon a huge amount of data and meant that Amazon could run Target's business to not compete very much with Amazon's online business.
So Target has taken control of its own e-commerce operations again, but it still has a long way to go to improve its ability to serve that e-commerce market and try to gain some market share there, because right now, it's growing quickly but still quite small compared to the total company. So those are definitely areas where Target needs to invest, so the tax law is really convenient, because it will reduce the pain from those investments by creating some offsetting tax breaks.
Shen: I'm looking at Target's income statement here, and it's interesting. The tax savings, again, with the reduced rate for this company, the savings could come out to about half a billion dollars. If we keep in mind that, this time last year, that was when management announced they'd be doing the big push on their investment, spending $7 billion to gain market share, to develop that e-commerce platform, like you mentioned. So those investments, they said, would be spread out over three years. That's about $2.3 billion per year. If these recent tax savings come out to over half a billion dollars, they can make up almost a quarter of the annual spending that the company has planned, so pretty significant.
Our last part of the discussion, I want to focus on one last company that could really change over the next few years given some unique aspects of its asset base and the long-term vision that management seems to be pursuing for the company. How did the cards fall, then, as a result of the tax reform for Macy's?
Levine-Weinberg: Macy's is definitely a unique case here, and it could be, possibly, the biggest beneficiary in the retail sector from this change in the tax law. Similar to Kohl's, Macy's stock trades at a very low price to free cash flow ratio. In a scenario where nothing really major changes, you're going to have more cash flow, which Macy's can use to pay down debt, continue paying its really high dividend -- it has one of the highest dividend yields out there right now -- and it can also eventually, maybe later in 2018 or if not, in 2019, it could start buying back stock again. In the past year or so, it's been focusing on paying down debt rather than trying to buy back stock.
But outside of its core retail business, Macy's has also been starting to sell excess real estate. And the idea is, Macy's, over its more than 100-year history, has built stores all over the country. And some of them are actually in extremely valuable locations. And some of those stores, while they're profitable, they're not really making enough money to pay for the opportunity cost of what the real estate would be worth if it were to be sold. So sometimes, that's because the Macy's store is in a really great mall, where the mall owner wants to redevelop that Macy's store to put in luxury stores or restaurants or entertainment spaces that can generate higher rents. In other cases, Macy's has these downtown stores in really hot real estate markets like New York, San Francisco, even Chicago might fit into that.
The problem for Macy's is, when it sells these assets, if it's built a store 50 years ago or even 100 years ago, it built that store at a much lower cost than what the sale price would be. So every time it sells one of these stores to another investor, it has to pay a pretty big tax bill because of that asset sale gain. So with a high corporate tax rate where the taxes might take up 40% of the sale price, or close to that, it definitely would give Macy's pause as to whether it should sell the store or keep operating it, because obviously, the longer you operate the store, you're just paying taxes as you go, as opposed to paying a giant tax bill all at once. With this tax reform bill, now you have a lower rate, so that might encourage Macy's to start selling off properties at a faster rate, because now there's a lower tax penalty to doing that. And it's actually particularly good timing, because Macy's, as I mentioned, has been ramping up this strategy. They have a strategic partnership with Brookfield Asset Management, a huge firm in private equity and real estate management that's looking into several dozen Macy's store sites and ways to either redevelop the store or do additional real estate development on the parking lots or things of that nature. So that's definitely a project that could lead to substantial proceeds for Macy's.
Beyond that, it's looking into ways to monetize the upper floors of its humongous stores, both in Chicago and New York. So as these projects eventually turn into deals that bring in cash for Macy's, now it's not going to be paying as much tax, so it may have an incentive to speed up this movement. And that's pretty important, because most people who have analyzed this think that Macy's real estate is worth more than the entire company's valuation right now. So being able to sell off that real estate, bring in cash, pay down debt, and return cash to shareholders, could be really transformative for Macy's share price performance.
Shen: Absolutely. It sounds like, when it comes down to it, this tax change becomes another incentive for the company to right-size the store footprint, think of other uses for that valuable real estate. And just like a bunch of competitors have done recently with all the store closures that we've discussed in 2017 alone, that's going to be a push from the industry overall.
Final comments from me, I wanted to mention a couple of other potential benefits that we haven't covered yet today. First, there have also been some calls for companies to use their tax savings to increase wages and benefits for workers. In retail, Wal-Mart announced raises to hourly pay, in addition to one-time bonuses for its employees. Home Depot and Starbucks also made pretty similar moves, and that's a trend I hope to see across the industry, because employee turnover for retail positions is notoriously high, and better pay for workers often leads to better service. So the more companies experiment with things like e-commerce, in-store pickup, stores as fulfillment centers, these various initiatives that have come up in the past few years, the more they will end up leaning on their employees to adapt and execute well so that these initiatives are successful.
If we look at Amazon as this industry's boogeyman, so to speak, I think a lot of companies could take a cue from Amazon, considering how often it leads, for example, customer satisfaction surveys. With good service being closely tied with convenience, and convenience often being the differentiating factor for a lot of consumers, hopefully investments in higher pay for workers, higher wages, that could prove to be a worthwhile investment for a lot of companies in the sector.
And then, for consumers themselves, I've seen analysts generally agree that in the near-term, U.S. families will see higher take-home pay thanks to the tax bill. Consumer confidence is already really high, but you can bet that retailers are hoping to claim a chunk of that extra discretionary spending. Where that spending ultimately goes, whether that's to tangible goods that would benefit department stores, for example, or to experiences, whether that's electronics or smartphones, or clothing, we'll see. But I wanted to leave a minute here for you, Adam. Any final thoughts on your end before we wrap?
Levine-Weinberg: I would just echo the last thing you said. It's going to be very interesting over the next six months to a year to see how the individual component of the tax reform bill impacts spending at a lot of these retailers. It's definitely been a pretty weak market recently for apparel retail. It's a question of whether, if people now have a little more discretionary income, do you see, finally, an uptick in retail sales growth? And who's going to capture most of that incremental revenue? Because this retail sales model, the change in profit from a relatively small increase in sales growth is pretty significant. So that could have a pretty big impact on one or more of these retailers. We'll just have to see how it works out.
Shen: Alright. I'm sure we'll follow up on that, Adam. Thank you for joining us!
Levine-Weinberg: Thanks for having me on the show!
Shen: Thanks for listening, Fools! Anne Henry today is our woman behind the glass. People on the program may own companies discussed on the show, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against stocks mentioned, so don't buy or sell anything based solely on what you hear during the program. Fool on!
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of Apple, Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom, and The TJX Companies and has the following options: short February 2018 $160 calls on Apple. Vincent Shen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple, short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple, short May 2018 $175 calls on Home Depot, and long January 2020 $110 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot, Nordstrom, and The TJX Companies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. | 2019-04-20T14:39:16Z | https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/what-will-retailers-do-with-billions-in-corporate-tax-savings |
Can Nicotine Gum & Lozenges Help in Weight Loss?
This page is not a substitute for medical care. Consult your health care providers before beginning any new program.
In April 2012 I was a physical mess. I was 60 years old and overweight at 235-240 pounds.
I had severe sleep apnea. I needed a cane to walk. I had smoked cigarettes for 42 years.
Then, my longtime neurologist did me a huge favor and convinced me to quit cigarettes ... now it is early 2017 and I weigh a healthy 175-180 pounds! I've lost over 50 pounds and have kept it off over three years mostly by over the counter nicotine gum, lozenges, sensible eating and moderate exercise. Doctors have called me a medical miracle - but most of my weight loss success is due to how I have learned to use nicotine gum and lozenges. Cherry or mint flavored lozenges are my favorites.
I haven't had a cigarette in over 4 years; my balance is much better and I no longer need a cane to walk. Plus, I don't snore nearly as much. All my medical tests have vastly improved! My weight is tracked every two weeks by my long-time and much appreciated family physician. People who know me are amazed at how well I look today after losing 8-10 inches off my belly (size 44 down to size 34). I can even dance again! Most people gain weight when they quit smoking - but I lost weight because I use the new flavored nicotine lozenges and gum. The old nicotine gum and lozenges used to taste terrible - but newer flavorings have been developed to make them taste very good!
I cannot say enough good things about the nicotine patch, lozenges and gum. Today's gum and lozenges taste much, much better than the old peppery gum they had years ago. The new mint and cherry flavors are great tasting improvements! They are still tangy - too keep children from thinking they are candy. Years of research has gone into making a taste does not appeal to kids but most adults can like. You can find them at most grocery stores and anyone age 18 or over can buy them without a prescription.
My results may not be typical. One goal of this page is to stimulate research.
Show your doctor this website and read the references in this article.
Nicotine is "No more dangerous than coffee"!
A new report from the British Royal Society for Public Health has found one myth about the dangers of smoking has endured for decades. The research suggests nine out of 10 people falsely believe nicotine is very harmful to their heath, when in fact it is no more dangerous than the caffeine in a cup of coffee.
The British report promotes the wider use of NRTs like nicotine gum and lozenges to fight cigarette smoking. It is further proof that medical nicotine is vastly different from tobacco nicotine. The report says that 9 out of 10 people wrongly believe nicotine is much more harmful than it really is!
It may be hard to believe, but I really did lose over 50 pounds in my first year off cigarettes (documented by medical doctors.) I used BOTH nicotine patches and nicotine lozenges. I continue to use lozenges today with my doctor's support, which has the dual effect of curbing my appetite.
This method is often called " Harm Reduction " by scientists. The idea behind Harm Reduction is simple - nothing is as bad for us as cigarette smoking. Anything we can do to get off tobacco is good simply because nothing is as harmful as cigarettes. We can apply the same idea of "Harm Reduction" to weight loss! For some people using medical nicotine may be less harmful than obesity. Nicotine gum could make dieting easier for millions. It's now 4 years since I quit and my weight is still 175-180.
Medical nicotine products no longer require a prescription and can be purchased at most grocery stores. The FDA said that years of testing NRTs like nicotine patches and lozenges has found very few harmful effects! They have been tested for over 20 years with over 50,000 smokers. It's the tar and additives that kill - not the nicotine!
The relapse rate for smokers like me is over 80%. I will likely never be nicotine free, but I can be cigarette free! Nicotine patches and lozenges are much better for you. If I can quit smoking with patches and lozenges ANYONE can. I've been cig free for 3+ years and I use about 10 lozenges a day.
Lozenges are made in 2mg and 4mg tablets. They dissolve slowly in your mouth and are great after meals and for quick cravings. They also make your breath smell a LOT better than it used to with cigarettes (or chew).
Lozenges and gum both come in cool flavors like mint, cherry and orange that taste much, much better than the old gum. We could develop lozenges without nicotine that will also suppress the appetite. Having a long lasting lozenge has been vital to beating the cravings for cigarettes, food and for losing weight.
Nicotine stimulates the body and most people have drops in their energy levels after quitting cigarettes, but this method has kept my energy up! Also, I thought I would gain weight, like always when I tried to quit cigarettes. But, nicotine lozenges and gum are terrific appetite suppressants. With a lozenge in my mouth I am simply not hungry between meals. I don't believe using a patch alone would work for appetite control.
Medical nicotine is very different from tobacco and cigarettes. In Sept 2013 the US Food and Drug Administration said: After 20 years of testing and more than 117 trials with over 50,000 smokers, "NRT aids do not have significant potential for abuse or dependence".
Read NEW FDA Guidelines for Medical Nicotine, Sept 2013!
It is now easier to quit than ever before with the new FDA rules!
What about Nicotine's Side Effects like high blood pressure? I had a heart exam the year before I quit smoking. All appeared normal except for slightly elevated blood pressure which is fairly normal for men my age (I take Lisinopril daily). If you have had any history of heart trouble or high blood pressure be sure to consult with your doctor. Show her this web site. Medical nicotine is a much safer form of nicotine than what's in cigarettes - but it's still a mild stimulant. Check with your doctor.
Also, see this British study by the Royal College of Physicians of London which says, "Although it is unlikely that medicinal nicotine (or any drug) is completely safe, there is no evidence that medicinal nicotine is carcinogenic, or that, in practice, its use increases appreciably the risk of acute cardiovascular events ... To practical purposes, therefore, in comparison with smoking cigarettes, use of medicinal nicotine is extremely safe."
What about E-Cigarettes or “vaping”? I have not used e-cigs, but these may help many people quit and I would try it if I were ever attempting to quit smoking again. E-cigs were very new when I quit. I fear the smoke/vapor could keep me wanting more to smoke real cigarettes. Plus, vaping may not curb the munchies the way that lozenges and gum can. However, it's is very possible that a person could use BOTH vaping and nicotine lozenges/gum - each are replacements for the cigarette, which is so much worse for us.
If I was starting over to quit I would probably use e-cigs. But I might not have lost weight by vaping and I might not have thought of using gum/lozenges. I would still need to go outside for my nicotine fix rather than reach into my pocket! It's much easier to use lozenges and gum than to leave work for any type of smoke!
Can people who Chew use this Method? YES! This is the perfect method for tobacco chewers! Lozenges and flavored gum are a much cleaner, better way for guys to get their nicotine fix.
I have zero fear that people will start chewing (or smoking) because of using medical nicotine. The two products are very different - one tastes terrible and one tastes like a cool mint. Today's gum and lozenge taste much better than the old peppery flavor. They are still tangy - which keeps children from thinking they are candy. The spicy taste does not appeal to kids but most adults can enjoy it.
4 EASY WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT!
1. I weigh myself each day at the same time - in the morning. My weight can fluctuate quickly. Daily weighing shows me the small changes.
2. I control cravings between meals and after dinner with nicotine lozenges or gum. Nothing else can suppress the appetite like nicotine gum or lozenges. Gum and lozenges are much better to control food cravings than patches, cigarettes or vaping.
3. I eat WHATEVER I want for breakfast, lunch or dinner - in reasonable portions. For example, I quit buying half gallons of vanilla ice cream because I would eat the entire carton in three days. This was my habit for years. I still love ice cream but these days I drive and grab a soft- serve ice cream cone -- almost every day. This keeps me from being deprived!
4. I do not eat after dinner until breakfast the next morning - when dieting this includes late night alcohol (which contains sugars). Nicotine lozenges make it easy for me to avoid eating until the next morning (getting a good night's sleep is also very important). This is also known as "Intermittent Fasting" or simply IF.
You can drink alcohol with dinner or shortly afterwards, but stop as early as you can. There is some research saying that dark-colored grape can actually aid weight loss. But, alcohol is an intoxicant and we may be tempted to eat more when we drink (and smoke too!).
UPDATE! New Research on I.F.
Starting in the summer of 2012 I cut out all nighttime snacks after dinner. I simply do not eat after dinner until the next morning's breakfast, often 12+ hours later. I used to eat a lot of ice cream late at night and I knew I had to quit this bad habit! Read the exciting new research from the prestigious Salk Institute.
Scientists call this "Intermittent Fasting" - giving your body an 12 - 16 hour "fast" between dinner and breakfast. I've been doing this for almost 2 years and am now convinced that simply avoiding eating after dinner is a major factor in my weight loss. Here are several links about a way to lose weight and still eat the foods you love - in the daytime.
You don't have to count calories hardly at all! I try to eat only between about 8-9 am and 6-7 pm (but some researchers say you can vary the time as you need). This can make your dieting easier because you can eat mostly whatever you want during the daytime.
It is hard for many people to develop sufficient willpower to resist ALL between meal snacks. But, perhaps people could develop their willpower to resist the cravings for a regular 8-12 hour period only starting after dinner. We could teach people how to use their willpower for a short, defined time like 12 hours.
Check out these links for the the latest research and also look for see the new book called "The IF Diet" published in Jan 2014 by Robert Skinner. It's a very impressive book that collects the most recent information on Intermittent Fasting. I had not heard the term before, but I have been doing it over two years and it works.
? How Much Do NRTs COST ?
One big reason to quit cigarettes is because they cost so much, over $6.00 a pack now. All smokers would like to save the money. Unfortunately, quitting is not cheap either. Sure, you could go "Cold Turkey" and simply quit all nicotine - but the odds are 80% you will fail and soon go back to smoking - weighing more. Cigarettes are very addictive. But both the U.S. FDA and the British Royal College of Physicians have concluded that medical nicotine is nowhere near as addictive as tobacco. See links to their studies on this site.
The biggest financial cost with my method is in the first few months - when was using both patches and lozenges every day. After six months I began to cut the patches in half, which still kept a low-steady dose in my blood stream. I continued to use lozenges for cravings (at first about 10-15 a day). Like cigarettes, you have to be at least 18 years old in most places to purchase nicotine replacement therapies.
I still keep a few patches around for emergencies. Before I go to the store and buy cigarettes I will reach into my medicine cabinet for a patch - or more lozenges. I keep NRTs close to me, and I try to keep cigarettes far, far away. When I quit I was doing it because my doctor said I had to - now it's because I want to stay cigarette free!
The costs of cigarettes in money, respect and health make cigs a losing proposition. Many employers won't hire a smoker and it's impossible to mask the odor of cigarettes on clothes. Today my clothes are fine, my breath smells great and I can freely walk anywhere! Is that worth the cost of NRTs? YES! YES! YES!
We know that nicotine is the most effective appetite suppressant on the planet but nicotine may have other medical uses such as with people with cognitive disorders. Here is a brilliant new article in Forbes by Sally Satel, a well respected journalist on medical research and ethical issues. Believe it or not, nicotine may even have health benefits!!
Sally Satel also links to a recent study by the British Royal College of Physicians of London which studied nicotine, smoking and NRTs. On page 270 the Royal College of Physicians write: "The safety record of medicinal nicotine products is extremely good. Although it is unlikely that medicinal nicotine (or any drug) is completely safe, there is no evidence that medicinal nicotine is carcinogenic, or that, in practice, its use increases appreciably the risk of acute cardiovascular events, or indeed that nicotine itself is responsible for much if any of the harm caused by cigarette smoking" .
At first we did not know what was causing my weight loss when I quit smoking. Most doctors have forgotten what many teenagers know - that nicotine is an appetite suppressant! Sadly, right now, there is not a better appetite suppressant in the world.
We did several blood tests in late 2012 and early 2013 when the weight loss passed 25 pounds and then a few months later, after I had lost over 50 pounds. But, everything looked very good - better than they had in years. My doctors and their staff could not explain the weight loss. They kept telling me not to worry, but I had never even heard of anyone who lost 50+ pounds in the same year he quits cigarette smoking without having cancer. It was an unbelievable transformation for an overweight smoker of 42 years that none of them had ever seen.
Nothing physical, metaphysical or psychological seemed to explain the weight loss. But, perhaps if we had been in Europe we would have known it from the Nicorette company's own advertising! I was using nicotine lozenges and they were suppressing my appetite. It's funny in hindsight how none of us well educated men and women thought to look for the simplest explanation - the nicotine lozenge I had in my mouth!
I want to emphasize again, that I did not do any special diet, nor did I do any hard exercise. I did do a lot of positive thinking and affirmations, but when I quit smoking I completely accepted that I would GAIN weight. Unplanned losing weight for a smoker is a scary thing. We think it must be cancer - and often it is. I was eating my usual diet at mealtimes but I had quit eating between meals almost without realizing it. I just kept a lozenge in my mouth and did not even think about food or cigarettes. I never felt hungry at all.
I could not have avoided the hunger pangs without nicotine lozenges or gum. No other lozenge I know of has this effect. We need research for a nicotine-free lozenge that curbs the appetite. Science can do this – if we demand it. It's clear from ex-smokers in Europe that you can avoid gaining weight when you quit smoking using the lozenges, gum and patches. This will allow you to avoid snacking in the evening after dinner!
Critics may charge that this method keeps me addicted to pharmaceutical nicotine. That’s true. But, long time smokers like me have relapse rates over 80%. My original goal was to quit cigarettes. All my medical tests have vastly improved. I smoked for over 40 years, it's not likely I will ever be nicotine free, but I can be cigarette smoke free. That's good enough for me, my family and my doctors. I am using far less nicotine now than I was when I smoked cigarettes.
Also, radical as it sounds, pharmacological nicotine may have positive health benefits. Perhaps it's the hundreds of other additives the cigarette manufacturers add to tobacco that change it from the beneficial medicine that First Nations people used into the world's biggest legal killer today. The nicotine in replacement therapies is much cleaner than used by cigarette companies. It's been studied by for over 20 years and not found to be significantly harmful (compared to cigarettes).
Which is Really Worse: Obesity or Medical Nicotine ??
Despite all the weight loss programs, diet gurus & fitness gyms people are still gaining weight. People lose weight and then regain it back in a depressing cycle.
Medical nicotine such as gum or lozenges seem no worse than expensive surgeries, pills and extreme diets. Nicotine gum and lozenges may not be the ideal appetite suppressants but they works until something better is invented. Nicotine will boost your willpower to resist food.
Thank you For Reading this Page. I cannot give any sort of medical advice. But, I would love to hear your ideas. | 2019-04-19T18:27:04Z | http://members.efn.org/~opal/nicotineandweightloss.html |
Learn all aspects of the Roulette game: general rules, how to place inside and outside bets, chips denomination, minimum and maximum bets. The best part of sitting at a roulette table, is that there just aren’t that many gawkers, peaking from behind the players’ scolder (like in craps for example). The player has all the time, focus and control to play at his own leisure. The best place to place yourself and be able to reach everything, would be near the centre or next to the dealer. If neither spot is available, then take what you can get.
Once you have taken your seat, you are free to buy one or more stacks of 20 chips; each holding the table’s minimum bet as their value. Each player will be given chips of different colours, as to avoid any confusion when the action gets intense. Players are welcome to buy chips at any price they wish; this way they will increase the value of each individual chip in their stack, depending on how much the whole stack is worth. The dealer will then place a marker called lammer on the rim of the wheel; which acts as a reminder that a player has chips that are of higher value.
You can pay for your chips using physical money, or checks (chips that have their respective denominations printed on them). Please note that chips purchased from the roulette table, only work at the roulette table. Because they don’t have any indications as what they are actually worth, players are especially forbidden to remove and take any chips that don’t have a denomination printed on them. You can exchange roulette chips for casino checks once the game is over. Playing with checks and actual money is not that unheard of actually.
If a player steps up to the roulette table, offering regular casino chips as bets, the dealer might let him play. The problem arises when another player decides he want to do the same. In this case, the dealer might ask one, or even both players to purchase roulette chips (as to prevent people from arguing over whose chip is the winner, etc).
Now that we know the different kinds of roulette wheels, the table layout and how to purchase chips, we are finally ready to place a bet. Players can choose to bet on a single number, two or more numbers; a combination of numbers; or even on half the numbers at the same. You can in fact bet on every single number, including the house numbers, should you wish to do so (not really advisable). When a player chooses to place more than one chip on a number (numbers), he is to do so by single stacking the chips vertically on top of the desired space (we will discuss exactly how the different bets are positioned throughout the layout in just a few moments). Don’t worry if someone else had already put their chips on top your number, you are free to stack your chips of top of theirs. When placing bets, don’t forget to wait for the dealer to finish removing the winner marker from the table. If you don’t follow this instruction, you might get reminded (and eventually scolded at) by the dealer.
Bets are categorized in two major groups, inside and outside bets; depending on their position on the layout. All bets that are placed in the grid structure of the layout (i.e. on a number/numbers or on the grid itself) are referred to as inside bets. Bets that are placed outside the layout grid structure; like if a player was to bet on the ‘odd’ or ‘even’ section of the layout, are called outside bets.
Inside bets have an advantage over outside bets in that that they generally pay more (winning a single number bet on a double-zero wheel, will payout 35 to 1), but are much less likely to come up (only 2.63%).
The difference between a two number split bet and two single-number straight bets, lies in the displacement of the chip. When a player wishes to make a split bet, he must place his chip (or stack of chips), between the line of two adjacent (touching) numbers. Split bets save both time (and chips, should you be running low), by killing two rabbits with one stone, so to speak. The odds of winning a split bet are the same as hitting any single number, but doubled obviously (2.63% 2X= 5.26%). This means that placing two straight, or one split bet, makes no difference whatsoever; both in regards to the odds and the payout.
*This rule of adding up the odds by one unit as number themselves get progressively bigger, applies to all other combinations of bets in the game; both inside and outside respectively.
By placing a chip on the side on one of the twelve, three number rows (See fig; picture, etc + position 1,2,3…A,B,C), a player had just made what is known as a street bet. Upon a lucky spin, the player will be compensated 11 to 1; thus we can say that the player also has 1 in 11 chance of winning. As usual, when placing your chips on the roulette layout, be careful not to step on the lines of the two bordering rows.
A square bet is made by placing a chip in the middle of four neighbouring numbers. The bet is made precisely on the cross intersection; basically displacing the chip equally between the four numbers. Reference the layout (fig, position) to see all the various number combinations that can be played on a square bet. The payoff here is 8 to 1.
Only found in double-wheel roulette games, the five number ‘sucker’ bet is a combination of the first five numbers that are on the very top of the standard American layout. The chips is put on the left side, of where the numbers 1 and 0 meet (see position X). The numbers themselves are 0, 00, 1, 2, 3; which is the reason why this bet is called a sucker bet. Because there are 2 house numbers that go into the equation, the house edge in this situation would be 7.90% (instead of the usual 5.26% on double-zero wheels), which in turn pays only 6 to 1.
This bet can be described as being similar to the ‘split’, but instead of putting one chip (or stack of chips) on two neighbouring numbers; we will place the chip on the left border side intersection of two neighbouring rows/streets (see fig X). The payoff on a double street bet is 5 to 1.
Don’t be confused when looking for these combinations on the roulette wheel. The relationship between the numbers on the layout and the numbers on the wheel will be discussed in later chapters.
When we look at the standard roulette layout, we can see betting areas that are outside the numbers grid, and have no discernible denomination. Outside bets have no relation to the numbers themselves; rather to their characteristics and displacement on the layout.
A player can thus wager whether the numbers is going to turn up red or black, odd or even, high or low; and the position/displacement of the number, according to where that number is on the layout.
There are 3 dozens of 12 numbers that make up the 36 number layout. You can find them by looking for the markings “1st 12”, “2nd 12” and “3rd 12”. The first dozen are the numbers between 1 and 12. The second dozen captures the numbers between 13 and 24. And the third dozen features the remainder, 25 through 36. The house numbers are not included in this bet. Landing on 0 or 00, will result in immediate loss. Twelve number bets payoff 2 to 1.
Dozens are not the only 12 number bets in the game. Numbers can also be grouped vertically, as columns. Such a bet is referred to as a column bet, and it features the numbers of any of the 3 vertical columns that make up the layout. Looking at (fig X) we see the the 2 to 1 squares on the bottom of each column. The chip is placed inside the “2 to 1” square, which also indicated how much the house pays upon a successful landing.
This is the first time we are going to talk about even number bets. An even number bet, is where you pick half of the numbers featured on the layout, according to a number of variables. Choosing whether the winning number is going to be red or black is the perfect example of an even bet. Because there are 18 numbers that are black, and 18 numbers that are red, the odds of winning either are almost 50% (not including the house edge). As we can see (fig X), there two red and black diamonds on the left side of the layout. Please note that the house numbers are neither red or black, but green. Landing on either of them will result in a loss. The payoff on a 50/50 will be 1:1.
You will see two boxes on either side of the coloured diamonds (fig X), marked “odd” and “even”. Place your chip (or stack of chips) on one, whether you choose one of the 18 odd, or one of the 18 even numbers on the standard layout. Again, landing on zero or double-zero (even when they are technically even numbers) will result in a loss. The payoff once again is 1:1.
The ‘low’ betting section can be found at the very top left corner of the standard American layout. The bet features the numbers between 1 and 18, just as they are arranged on the table. The high number betting section (the numbers that run from 19 to 36) can be found at the bottom left corner of the standard American layout. Like all even bets, the house wins upon landing on 0 or 00, and as usually, the compensation upon a successful spin is 1:1.
Regardless of where you play the game, there is bound to be sing showing the ‘minimum and maximum’ betting limits for each individual bet. Even though some tables make it rather hard to find these indications, there cannot be a roulette table without them. The sign can read (MINIMUM OR OUTSIDE BET $5) OR (MAXIMUM OUTSIDE BETS $1000). There also might be some indication as to chip denominations and a bet limit system called “any way to a number”.
It is important to check for these, especially if you are using a strategy. Staying within these limitations is obligatory for all players, and it is perhaps the most crucial component when playing roulette.
As we discussed earlier, a player must purchase special roulette chips from the dealer before placing a bet. The chips usually come in stacks of 20; each chip holding a specific, predetermined value. Most casinos will offer small chip denominations (50 cent to a dollar); other might go even higher. If each chips is worth $1, then one, twenty-chip stack would add up to $20 total. If a player wishes to increase the value of each individual chip, he must pay the dealer the corresponding difference, and the dealer will place a special market called a lammer on the rim of the roulette wheel (to remind himself that not all chips are of the same value).
Even though the table minimum for both inside and outside bets is pretty much identical, they are nevertheless treated as two different entities. Table minimums usually vary between $5 and $50, depending on where you play, but for the sake of this guide we will assume that all table minimums are $5 and each chip is worth exactly $1. The reason why inside and outside bets are treated differently, is because the rules state that a player must place the entire minimum bet when making an even number wager. This means that a player betting on red, must place 5 chips ($5) on red, and not on anything else. If the player wishes to play another outside bet, he must forfeit 5 more additional chips. This rule doesn’t apply for inside bets; where you can spread all 5 chips among the various numbers and be able to play (as long as you meet the table minimum that is). A player can make both inside and outside bets at the same time, but meet both minimum bet requirements first.
The maximum amount of money you can place on a single bet (not a single spin) can range anywhere $500 to $10 000. This means that you can put a maximum bet on black to win, and you can put a maximum bet on odd to win; the two don;t relate to each other.
Because inside bets pay so much better than outside bets, it makes sense that the betting limits would be severely lowered. The average inside betting limit is around $400-500, although some casinos might go as high as $1000 (winning a straight bet on $1000 will pay $35 000 + the $1000 you had to put in). The rule usually written as “maximum inside bet: $200 any way to the number”, refers to the maximum betting limit for each individual number. This means that you can only put $200 on any straight number, regardless of whether the number appears in any bigger combination. This means that on a $200 maximum per number, you can bet $200 on a straight bet, $400 on a split bet and $800 on a corner bet.
It has come to the attention of gamblers world-wide, that some smaller casinos have been placing “maximum payout” signs on their roulette tables. This text could be found where the ‘maximum inside bet’ indication is supposed to be. This is done by more ‘cheaper’ casinos in order to fool the gullible out of their winnings. The ‘maximum payout’ limit (let’s say $2000) basically states, that a player is free to bet all the money he wants; but should he win and actually go over the maximum payout limit, the casino will only pay the aforementioned sum and not a cent more! This rule doesn’t affect the average betting enthusiast; but high rollers should keep this one in mind, just in case.
We can all agree that winning big stacks of cash is what the game of roulette is all about. Simply place a small $10 bet on any number on the table, and should you be lucky enough to stop the ball on that exact same number, and at the odds of 1/35 the house will have to pay you $3500, (and if that is not a good deal…). You still get to keep your original $10 chips, regardless of the number/combination chosen.
The list below table shows the odds and payouts of every single bet in the same, both inside and outside, as seen in (picture, figure).
Twelve Number Bet (Column/Dozen) pays 2 to 1, at a probability of 31.58%.
*Note that all odds are in accordance with the American double-zero wheel.
Almost every roulette table in the world will come equipped with a stack of cards/pamphlets, stating all payouts, so you don’t have to memorize them from here.
If you are playing in a big, well known casino in Downtown Las Vegas, you can be almost certain that they dealer won’t make a mistake when tallying up your winnings. This doesn’t apply for smaller, out-of-sight casinos, where human error (both unintentional and otherwise) can sometimes be an issue.
The house edge is the same for all bets (5.26%), except for the five number (sucker) bet, where it is considerably larger (7.89%).
Not all roulette games are played using the layout. Most roulette players in Europe would rather use the ‘announced bet’ calling system; where the player doesn’t place his bet according to inside/outside, red/black etc. markings on the layout, but rather the sequence of numbers on the wheel itself. When a player makes a straight bet, he can also call “…and the neighbours”, giving him a total of 5 straight bets. For further clarification, let’s say that the player wants to bet some chips on number 7 to come up. Should he request the ‘neighbours’, 4 more straight bets will be made from the 2 adjacent numbers on each side of the original number. Because announced bets are more common in Europe, we will go with the French number sequence; in which case betting on 7 and the neighbours, would include 18, 29 on one side, and 28 and 12 on the other. The player doesn’t need to know where each individual number is located on the roulette wheel; as long as he says number X and the neighbours, the dealer will make the appropriate bet for him. The house pays as with any straight bet – 35 to 1.
To draw the attention of the crowds, and to make the game more favourable for the serious gambler, some casinos have implemented some very interesting rules in regards to protecting all even money bets, should the ball land on 0 or 00. *Note that neither of following special rules apply to bets, that don’t pay even money like a dozen or a column bet (even bets are red/black, odd/even, high/low).
The rule ‘en prison’ only applies for French wheels; which are typically found throughout the European casino scene. When the ball lands on a zero, a player who had placed an even bet (regardless of what kind) has the chance of winning it back; instead of losing it like he normally should had.
The house will keep (imprison) the bet and let the ball spin one more time. If this time the balls lands on the lucky number, the house will pay the bet back (but not the winnings). This means that if a player puts a $10 bet on red, and the bet becomes imprisoned; the best he can hope for it getting his original $10 bet back (no winnings can be expected). If the player loses the second time, his bet becomes property of the casino.
Should the ball once again land on zero; different rules may apply in accordance to the casino’s personal policies. Either the bet is going to get imprisoned again (an event knowns as ‘double-imprisonment), or the player loses his wager altogether. Some casinos might even re-imprison the bet until something other than zero shows up on the wheel. En prison lowers the house edge on all even bets to 1.35% (from the usual 2.70% on single-zero wheels), giving the player an excellent chance to beat the odds.
The le Partage rule is basically the same as en prison – the only major difference is that now, you don’t actually have to play a second time in order get some of your money back. As the ball lands on zero, every player with an even bet riding on the table, will be automatically compensated by ½ of his original wager. Sadly, players cannot ‘let it ride’; in hopes of getting all of their lost chips back, instead of just half. | 2019-04-23T10:20:13Z | http://gamblingplex.co.uk/roulette-rules-playing-the-game/ |
There are all kinds of different ways to add interest to your wedding decorations. It is possible to make some astoundingly beautiful arrangements, by using an assortment of different flowers. Of course, these tend to be traditional and a little expensive. Some couples strive for something a little stranger, modern and mind blowing. If this is something that you’re seeking, you might want to consider incorporating the use of gelballs into your weddings décor. These items are becoming increasingly popular for wedding decorations and there are plenty of reasons why!
Let’s face it, gelballs are a child’s toy, but this doesn’t mean that they have to be used by children! Adults can have fun too, right? These items are actually available in a wide assortment of different colors and can be used for numerous displays. These beads are often referred to as many different things, including water beads, water pearls and of course, gel balls. Despite the complexity and mystery of their true functionality, they’re actually very simple. These are nothing more than little balls, which are filled with tiny microscopic holes. If you were to purchase a bag of these, you could either select an assortment of different colors or a singular color.
Again, you should remember that these toys are designed to be used by children, which makes them very simple. However, there is a specific set of instructions that need to be used and followed. First and foremost, you will receive these beads in a small plastic bag and shouldn’t be opened them right away. Instead, you will want to grab a significantly large bowl and fill it with a good amount of water. Once you’ve done this, you can finally tear open the bag and dump the gelballs inside. Although each specific brand might be a little different, it is generally best to allow the balls to soak for at least twenty-four hours, before the balls will reach their maximum size.
There are some specific specifications that need to be mentioned. For starters, these decorations can be extremely safe, since they are completely non-toxic. At the same time, they’re also entirely biodegradable, which makes them friendly to the environment. Finally, these balls can easily and safely be used near candles, which is what many couples decide to do! The balls are totally non-flammable and will not catch fire. They’re available in all of the colors of the rainbow, which gives you plenty to play around with.
When utilizing gelballs instead of water to fill your vases, you should consider using an array of colors. This will definitely add pizzazz to your centerpieces. You can easily layer the colors, so they have the appearance of a rainbow or just toss a handful of different colored crystals in a bowl and top it off with your wedding flower.
The multitier stack of water crystals will look extraordinary in a martini or cocktail glass. You can actually sit these around the bar or buffet table to draw attention to the area. There are so many things that you can do with the gelball, but you will definitely have to use your imagination, in the process of creating the most unique centerpiece ever.
These decorations are quickly growing popularity, because they can be used in innumerable ways. Truthfully, their uses are endless and it is possible to develop creative and unique ways to use these balls on your own, by using your imagination. Regardless of the type of wedding theme that you decide to use, you’ll be able to make wonderful decorations using these balls. Although it is best to use them in a clear vase or bowl, this isn’t necessary and anything will work, as long as it is filled with sufficient water.
Many couples will be interested in designing a cool and modern centerpiece, with these balls, which is certainly possible. However, this isn’t the only way to use water beads. They can be used to decorate a wide variety of containers, including aquariums, vases, bowls and even glasses. Therefore, they can be used to decorate various portions of your wedding venue, including other tables and even the entrance and walkway. In fact, these items are even capable of being used with flowers! Since the balls are water friendly, they can sit in water throughout the day. The steams of the flowers can easily find a way to access the water, which makes the combination compatible.
When it comes down to it, there are truthfully many different reasons to consider adding these items to your wedding’s venue. You are obviously going to want your wedding’s décor to be stylish and awe-inspiring. Gelballs are capable of making this happen! Below, you will be able to discover the numerous benefits of water beads.
• Totally Affordable – Despite your budget, you want your wedding to be awesome and memorable! These balls can help tremendously, despite being very inexpensive. A simple pack can be purchase for under a dollar in some cases. Be sure to purchase extra just in case.
• Numerous Applications – Although these beads have been used for some very specific purposes, it is possible to use them in various ways. If you can imagine it, you can make it happen with gel balls!
• Safe – Some decorations tend to be a little unsafe. Candles can result in a fire, if you’re not careful. With gelballs, you really don’t have as much to worry about. As long as someone isn’t shoving them in their mouth, you shouldn’t have a problem, since they’re non-toxic and non-flammable.
• Very Beautiful – When used in the right manner, it is possible to create an array of beautiful decorations, with water balls. Their transparent appearance allows the balls to glow and create a nice display for all weddings.
• Easy to Use – There is no doubt that gel balls are entirely easy to use. As long as you’ve got a little bit of water, you can make them expand to the maximum size with very little effort. Coming up with unique decoration ideas might be a little more difficult. Either way, they’re easy to use and actually fun!
Truthfully, it is hard to go wrong with these décor items. As long as you follow the recommendations, the balls will expand and create amazing centerpieces and other decorations for your wedding.
When attempting to decorate your wedding with gelballs, it is vital to follow some very specific guidelines. By using these recommendations, you will be able to ensure that these items are used in a way that will enhance your venue’s appearance in a safe manner. Below, you will be able to find some basic tips for using these decorations.
• Read the instructions – First and foremost, you will want to make sure that your read the instructions, which are typically found on the back of the packaging.
• Dispose of Properly – Make sure that you do not flush your beads down the toilet or sink! This is a terrible idea and will lead to significant problems, with your plumbing. Instead, throw them out in the trash!
• Do not eat – Although the balls are non-toxic, it is absolutely crucial that you do not attempt to eat them! If you have small children around, you might need to watch them carefully. The balls do resemble candies, so you will need to proceed with extra caution.
• Use Enough Water – If you’re going to allow the balls to grow on the day of the wedding, you’ll need to make sure that you use a sufficient amount of water! In order to do this, you can follow the instructions, or experiment with a bag, before the wedding arrives.
• Consider Color Schemes – It is almost certain that you’re going to be decorating your wedding venue with a specific color scheme in mind. This means that you’ll want your beads to follow this pattern. Choose specific colors and purchase a pack of a singular color, which is generally available for most retailers.
By following these basic guidelines, you can make sure that your decoration will be a smashing success!
In order to use these items, as part of your wedding’s décor, you’re going to need to purchase them obviously. With this in mind, you’ll need to know exactly where these decorations can be obtained. Thankfully, they’re available in a wide array of different retail stores, which makes it easy for you to get them, when you need them. Suffice to say, each option is more than suitable, but you’ll want to choose the one that suits your needs the best. Either way, these balls are more than affordable, so you shouldn’t be afraid to purchase extra. Heck, you can always taken them home and allow your kids to play with them!
First and foremost, it is typically possible to visit your local retail chain store. These massive retailers generally sell anything and everything. If you check their crafts aisle, or the toy section, you should be able to find packages of water gel balls. At the same time, you should consider visiting your local arts and craft store. These stores have a wide array of items, which can be used to decorate your wedding and they’ll most certainly have these items!
If you live in a rural area and are unable to find a retailer, with gelballs, you will want to consider shopping online. Suffice to say, you will be able to find a much wider selection and sometimes more affordable prices online. However, you will need to account for shipping cost and time! Make sure that you order early, since the shipping time can vary and you will want to receive the items well in advance.
In order to extend the life of the gelball, you will have to take very good care of them. There are several things that you should avoid doing, when utilizing the water bead, as a form of packing for your live plants. Avoid leaving them exposed to excessive sunlight, since this will cause them to dry out over a short period of time. Your main task will be to protect the beads from any type of element that can cause them to become damaged.
A gelball will last up to 2 years, without soil, but if you mix them with soil, they can last up to 7 years, which is quite extensive, but the soil can interfere with the overall appearance of the gelballs. The main purpose of the gelball is to give the floral arrangement a unique and elegant appearance that could not be achieved with dirt or soil.
Just make sure that you water the plant, as needed, so that the water crystals stay hydrated and do not dry out. If they begin to look dehydrated, just add a bit of water and in a few hours they will be revived.
While most couples fill their centerpiece vases with water, you do not have to stick with this tradition. The water crystal will add an enchanting ambience to any ordinary vase, even without a floral arrangement to top it off. When utilizing gelballs, you will find that they can help stabilize the flower or greenery, so that it cannot freely move around. This will actually save you some money, since you will not need to purchase floral foam.
Just pour the water crystals into a fishbowl, place rose buds all around the circular sides and then top it off with a center rose blossom. The roses will not be able to move from their placed position, which is perfect for reception tables, since they will get pushed and shifted throughout the reception.
When it comes down to it, gelballs are most certainly cool and stylish on their own, but it is possible to elevate the arrangement dramatically, by using LED lights. Truthfully, it is possible to create numerous arrangements, by using this combination. Some are easier to pull off and others are little more difficult. Either way, it is vital to consider each, which will be mentioned below.
• Free Flowing – If you purchase a handful of water balls and LED lights, it is possible to allow them to freely flow throughout the table. Instead of sticking them in a vase or bowl, you can allow them to grow to the maximum size overnight, before laying them on the table. Next, you’ll want to strategically position some LED lights around and between them. In the center of this decoration, you can put some flowers to pull off a modern centerpiece.
• Tall Eiffel Tower Vases – There is no doubt that an Eiffel Tower vase presents a cool and unique look. By accompanying this vase with a handful of gelballs and LED lights, it is possible to create a stunning centerpiece. The process shouldn’t be too difficult, but you’ll need to make sure that you choose the right LED lights, which will fit perfectly into the vase.
• Create a Light Table – Finally, it is possible to create a beautiful light table, which will produce an otherworldly appearance that will be sure to stun and impress your attendees. This doesn’t have to be anything expensive or complex. Instead, you can purchase a plastic container and fill it with an assortment of colorful LED lights. On the top of this container and around it, you will want to place these balls. The light will shine through and create a glowing effect on the gelballs.
Suffice to say, there are numerous ways to design a beautiful centerpiece or decoration, by using these balls and LED lights! Be sure to experiment quite a bit, until you find the decoration that works right for your wedding.
Throughout the years, many couples have resulted in using colored ice, as a way to decorate. Although this is a wonderful option, ice isn’t going to remain ice forever. When the venue or environment begins to heat up, the ice will melt and transform into water, which might create a mess. With this in mind, it is possible to replicate the appearance of ice, by using water balls. There are plenty of cool decorations that can be designed, by using this formula.
If you wish to create a cool, modern centerpiece, you will want to consider using gelballs and champagne bottles. It is possible to grab a bowl and fill it with a suitable amount of water and beads. Then, you can carefully place two champagne bottles inside. By decorating the surroundings with similar colors, it will be possible to create a nice centerpiece, which will actually be consumed, before the night is through.
On the other hand, it is possible to create a platter centerpiece, by using water gelballs and an assortment of different fruits. You’ll need a nice platter and it is generally best to use one that is clear. Then, you can add a little bit of water and plenty of water beads! Afterwards, you can decorate the display with an assortment of fake fruits. It is best to use artificial fruits, since you won’t want them to be consumed, during the wedding.
You can definitely create some fantastic wedding centerpieces with the oversized water bead. While most couples choose to poor a large amount of crystals in a cylinder vase and top it off with a flower, you can do a little experimenting beforehand. By creating a three-dimensional effect, in a jar or vase, you can develop a centerpiece that will be very aesthetically appealing, while adding alluring ambience to the atmosphere.
Go out of the norm and experiment with different types of décor. For example, you can utilize aquarium gravel, reptile sand, and the ex-large gel bead to create a multi-faceted arrangement.
Add a strand of sparkly silver, metallic hair tinsel to top it off. Set some tea light candles around the centerpiece, so that the glowing flame will reflect off of the water beads and tinsel.
There are many couples that are interested in building an enormous centerpiece, which is extremely hard to ignore. One possible way to do this is to use an aquarium. Aquariums aren’t overly expensive and they’re capable of holding plenty of water, without leaking. With this type of container, it is possible to decorate the inside of the aquarium with a large assortment of different items. The bottom of the aquarium can be filled with sand, stylish rocks and especially gelballs. Once these have been placed carefully, you can use them to keep plants and other decorations upright.
It is also a good idea to consider using flowers, which are large enough to hang out of the top of the container. Although it isn’t necessarily and you will need to be extremely careful, you will want to consider adding a few fish to the container. If you’re going to do this, you will need to handle the fish carefully and make sure to use a single fish, or those that are capable of living together! Obviously, you don’t want to toss in two Beta fish, which will tear into one another, during the wedding. Instead, use friendly fish species, such as a few guppy or goldfish.
If you’re intent on using your gelballs, as a way to design and build a nice centerpiece, you will want to make sure to go all out and use a mirror! Obviously, you’ll need to be very careful, when transporting the mirror, unless you’re not superstitious. Once you’ve placed the mirror on the top of the table, you will be able to enhance the appearance of the other decorations. Decorate the space surrounding the mirror and you will be able to reflect the appearance and create an otherworldly experience. Your guests will be able to see your centerpiece, regardless of their position in the room!
You will have limitless decorating options, if you choose to incorporate the candle into your wedding centerpieces. An oval or moon shaped glass vase will be the perfect size for a candle centerpiece. Just fill half of the vase with gelballs and then set the candle in the center. You can also add three or four flower buds around the candle to give it a more unique appearance.
If you want to get really creative, you can fill a large moon shaped glass vase with turquoise water beads and place white flower blossoms in the center. Fill a smaller sized moon shaped vase with turquoise water beads, candle, and the flower buds, in the same manner, as mentioned above. Stack these on top of each other, so that you will have a two-tier centerpiece.
If you have your mind set on a floral centerpiece, but want to achieve a unique aesthetic appealing creation, you should utilize the water beads. There is a specific technique that will surely stand out above the rest. By this point, you have most likely already selected a color scheme and theme, so why not incorporate this into the centerpiece?
By utilizing a single colored gelball and a floral arrangement of the same color, you can work your magic. This will give the entire centerpiece a unified look and feel. White water beads and white roses or daisies will definitely work perfectly. Fill the cylinder clear vase with the gelballs and top it off with your white roses. You can also use a pin spot light to create a focal point on the centerpiece, so that it will catch the eye of every guest.
If you truly want to impress your guests, toss some white, antique gold or pastel pearl beads into the vase, along with the gelballs. This will surely add a dash of sophistication to the overall wedding centerpiece and the reception area.
Replicate this large centerpiece and turn it into smaller arrangement with the same features. Set these in the center of your reception tables for everyone to enjoy.
During the process of your wedding, it is very easy to forget about your guests. Many couples get consumed with the planning process and forget all about the individuals that they’ve invited. Instead of doing this, it is vital to make sure that you take the time to put together some nice favors, which will help to show your appreciation to your guests. Many end up flattering in this area, by giving items, which will not be used or consumed. With this in mind, you will want to consider using gelballs, as your favors. Surprisingly, there are several different ways to do this.
First, you will want to think about purchasing a significant number of tiny gift bags. You can even personalize these bags to include the initials of the bride and groom, as well as the date of the wedding. Once you’ve gotten the bags, you will want to fill them with some nice little trinkets. Toss in some potential wedding souvenirs. Do not forget about adding these balls to the bag. Since these balls have so many uses, it is likely that your guests will take them home and use them for their own decorations. If they have children, their kids will have a blast with the balls.
On the other hand, you might want to consider putting together some nice vases. You don’t need to purchase anything extravagant! Instead, you can use small candleholders, or something similar. By decorating each of these with some water beads and floral arrangements, you’ll be able to create a nice little display, which will work excellently as favors for your guest. Your guests can easily carry these items home and use them to beautify their home!
Any couple, which is looking to put together a unique and stylish centerpiece, will certainly want to incorporate the use of gelballs. These items are can extremely advantageous, since they’re very versatile, durable and affordable. When used in the appropriate manner, it is possible to create some very cool, beautiful and unique decorations with these balls. Just make sure that you experiment, before your wedding, and you will be able to know exactly how they work! Allow your creativity to flow and the ideas will continue to emerge, until you discover one that suits your wedding’s theme and scheme perfectly. | 2019-04-20T11:08:18Z | http://www.gelballs.net/ |
An increase in phosphatidylcholine:phosphatidylethanolamine (PC:PE) and a decrease in fatty acyl chain length, monounsaturated:polyunsaturated (MUFA:PUFA) fatty acyl ratio reduces SERCA activity in liposomes and in mouse models of obesity and muscular dystrophy. We have previously shown that maximal SERCA activity is significantly reduced in mechanically overloaded (OVL) plantaris, however, whether changes in PC:PE ratio or fatty acyl composition may contribute to the alterations in maximal SERCA activity remain unknown. Here, we tested the hypotheses that in OVL plantaris 1) PC:PE ratio would negatively correlate with maximal SERCA activity and 2) PC fatty acyl chain length (ACL) and/or MUFA:PUFA ratio would positively correlate with maximal SERCA activity.
To overload plantaris in mice, we transected the soleus and gastrocnemius tendons from one leg, while the contralateral leg underwent a sham surgery. After two weeks, plantaris muscles were extracted, homogenized and processed for SERCA activity and lipid analyses. Specifically, we performed HPTLC densitometry to examine changes in PC, PE, and the ratio of PC:PE. We also performed gas chromatography to assess any potential changes to fatty acyl composition.
SERCA activity was significantly reduced in OVL plantaris compared with sham. Coinciding with this, we found a significant increase in PC but not PE in OVL plantaris. In turn, there was an increase in PC:PE but did not reach significance (p = 0.09). However, we found a significant negative correlation between PC:PE and maximal SERCA activity. Fatty acyl composition of PE remained similar between OLV and sham and PC demonstrated higher percent mole fraction of 17:1, 18:1, and ACL compared to sham. In addition, PC ACL, % MUFA, % PUFA, or MUFA:PUFA did not significantly correlate with maximal SERCA activity.
Our results indicate that the phospholipid headgroup PC:PE negatively correlated and could potentially contribute to reductions in SERCA activity seen in functionally overloaded plantaris. In contrast, fatty acyl chain (ACL, % MUFA, % PUFA, MUFA:PUFA) did not correlate with maximal SERCA activity. Future studies will determine whether altering PC:PE with genetic and dietary interventions can influence SERCA activity and ultimately change the physiological outcome in response to muscle overloading.
The sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) pumps are 110 kDa integral membrane proteins that catalyze the re-uptake of Ca2+ from the cytosol into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), thereby eliciting muscle relaxation and maintaining low intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) [1, 2]. Over the last few years, there has been a renewed interest in the study of membranes in regulating SERCA activity. Novel developments in X-ray crystallography have revealed that membrane phospholipids are indeed key components of SERCA pump function . Two phospholipids in particular are phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC), which together represent the major phospholipids in skeletal muscle . It is well-established that increasing the PC:PE ratio reduces SERCA function [5, 6], and may have implications in obesity and insulin resistance [7, 8], and muscular dystrophy .
We and others have shown that maximal SERCA activity is significantly reduced in functionally overloaded rodent plantaris muscles. Many factors may contribute to this reduction in SERCA activity including: an increased proportion of slow-oxidative fibers , which have lower SERCA pump density ; and an increase in sarcolipin protein, which is known to negatively regulate the Ca2+ pump . However, to our knowledge, no study to date has examined whether changes in PC:PE ratio could also influence SERCA function in this model. Building from our previous work , we mechanically overloaded plantaris in mice by tenotomizing soleus and gastrocnemius muscles in order to examine the hypothesis that reductions in SERCA activity in overloaded plantaris would correlate with increases in PC:PE ratio. In addition, previous research has demonstrated that longer chain length and greater level of monounsaturates compared to polyunsaturates leads to increased SERCA activity in synthetic lipid environments [5, 15]. As such, we also examined the fatty acid composition of PC and PE through gas chromatography to test whether any changes in PC and/or PE acyl chain length or level of unsaturation would be correlated with SERCA activity. Thus, we hypothesized that in mechanically overloaded plantaris 1) PC:PE ratio would negatively correlate with maximal SERCA activity and 2) PC fatty acyl average chain length and higher monounsaturates compared to polyunsaturates would positively correlate with maximal SERCA activity.
The mice used in this study were part of a previously published study examining changes in mitochondrial membrane lipid analyses in response to muscle overloading and unloading stimuli . Specifically, six adult (4–6 month) male C57BL/6 mice (29.1 ± 1.2 g) were used and housed in an environmentally controlled room with a standard 12:12-h light-dark cycle and allowed access to food and water ad libitum. All animal procedures were reviewed and approved by the Brock University Animal Care and Utilization Committee and are consistent with the guidelines established by the Canadian Council on Animal Care.
To overload plantaris, mice were first anaesthetized with 2% isoflurane in a precision vaporizer. Next, soleus and gastrocnemius tendons were transected in one leg while the other contralateral leg served as a sham control [14, 16]. Mice were then left for two weeks in individually housed cages to adapt as we have demonstrated previously that this time frame results in significant plantaris hypertrophy . Subsequently, mice were anaesthetized in an induction chamber using isoflurane (5%), transitioned to a nose cone (5% isoflurane) and then placed on a surgical bed for muscles to be surgically removed. Once removed, plantaris muscles were then homogenized in homogenizing buffer (250 mM sucrose, 5 mM HEPES, 0.2 mM PMSF, 0.2% [w/v] NaN3) in a 10:1 ratio (v/w) and stored at − 80 °C until further analysis. Once the muscles were removed, the mice were sacrificed via exsanguination while anesthetized with isoflurane.
SERCA activity was assessed in plantaris homogenates over Ca2+ concentrations ranging from pCa 7.1 to 5.3 in the presence of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 (Sigma C7522) using a Ca2+-dependent, enzyme-linked spectrophotometric plate reader assay that has been described previously . Maximal SERCA activity was taken from the raw data and SERCA activity-pCa curves were generated with GraphPad Prism™ by non-linear regression curve fitting using an equation for a general cooperative model for substrate activation.
Total lipids from plantaris homogenates (1.25 mg) were extracted as previously described and were subsequently spotted onto high-performance thin layer chromatography plates (HPTLC; 5633–5, EMD Chemicals, Darmstadt, Germany) and individual phospholipids were separated using a chloroform:methanol:acetic acid:water (100:75:7:4) solvent system . A standard curve (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 μg) of purified PC (P3556, Sigma Aldrich, MO, USA), and a standard curve (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 μg) of purified PE (P7943, Sigma Aldrich) were also loaded onto each HPTLC plate. After allowing the solvent to run up each plate for 45 min, the plates were then charred at 180 °C with a 10% (w/v) copper (II) sulfate in 8% phosphoric acid solution for 15 min . Images of the HPTLC plates were captured using a CCD camera on a Fluorchem 5500 imaging station (Alpha Innotech, CA, USA) under reflective white light. Densitometry analyses were then performed using imageJ (National Institutes of Health, MA, USA) and the standard curve of PC and PE (Fig. 1) were used to calculate the absolute PC and PE concentrations (per 1.25 mg of muscle) in plantaris.
The fatty acyl composition of PC and PE were measured as previously described . Total lipids were extracted from plantaris homogenates (1.25 mg), then spotted onto a separate HPTLC plate, and allowed to run in the same solvent and for the same time as discussed in the previous section. Next, the separated phospholipids on the HPTLC plates were identified by spraying a dichlorofluoroscein (DCF) solution (methanol:water [1:1], and 2′,7’-DCF filtered and washed with petroleum ether) onto the plate and setting it into a chamber containing 25% ammonium hydroxide for 5 min. The HPTLC plate was viewed under ultraviolet light and PC and PE bands were marked and scraped into individual 15 ml kimex culture tubes and allowed to methylate in 2 ml of 6% H2SO4 (w/v in methanol) overnight at 50 °C. Fatty acyl methyl esters were extracted with petroleum ether, dried down, reconstituted into dichloromethane (20 μl), and injected (2 μl) into a gas chromatograph (Trace GC Ultra, Thermo Electron, Milan, Italy) fitted with a split/splitless injector, a fast flame ionization detector, and Triplus AS autosampler (Trace GC Ultra, Thermo Electron) as previously described . PC and PE fatty acyl methyl esters were separated on an UFM RTX-WAX analytical column (Thermo Electron) using helium as a carrier gas. Fatty acids were identified by comparison of retention times with those of a known standard (Supelco 37 component FAME mix, Supelco, PA, USA), and absolute amounts (nmol) were calculated with the aid of the internal standard, tridecanoic acid (13:0), which was added to the samples immediately prior to the methylation process. The percent mol fraction of the individual fatty acid species was calculated using the sum of the absolute amounts as the denominator.
All values presented here are means ± standard error (SE). All comparisons were made using a paired t-test and a Pearson’s correlation was performed to test the association between maximal SERCA activity and PC:PE ratio, PC ACL, PC % MUFA, PC % PUFA, and PC MUFA:PUFA. Statistical significance was set to p ≤ 0.05.
As previously reported, the overloaded plantaris muscles from the mice used in this study exhibited significant muscle hypertrophy with a 75% increase in muscle mass and a 1.8-fold increase in plantaris:body weight ratio . In a recently published study, we showed that the increase in plantaris muscle mass due to the overload surgery was attributed to an increase in total myofibre number and cross-sectional area .
Consistent with our recent observations in this model , we observed a significant 20% reduction in maximal SERCA activity in overloaded (OVL) plantaris compared with sham (Fig. 2a and b). Furthermore, pCa50 was unaltered between sham and OVL plantaris muscles (Fig. 2c).
When examining the changes in PC and PE individually, we found that there was a significant 37% increase in PC (Fig. 3a), whereas there was no significant change in PE levels (Fig. 3b). In turn, and in agreement with our hypothesis, we detected a 15% increase in the PC:PE ratio in OVL plantaris compared with sham, however this did not reach significance (p = 0.09, Fig. 3c). However, plotting PC:PE ratio against maximal SERCA activity rates revealed a significant negative correlation (Fig. 3d).
For both PC and PE, 16:0 and 18:0 were the major fatty acid species representing 35–45% of all fatty acids; but there were no changes in the percent mol fractions of these fatty acids in either PC or PE between sham and OVL plantaris (Table 1). We did detect a significant increase in PC 17:1, PC 18:1, and PC ACL in overloaded plantaris compared with sham (2%, 3%, and 1.5%, respectively) (Table 1). PC ACL, % MUFA, % PUFA, and MUFA:PUFA did not significantly correlate with maximal SERCA activity (Fig. 4).
In the present study, we sought to determine whether changes in PC:PE ratio could potentially contribute to the reductions in maximal SERCA activity we previously observed in overloaded plantaris . Here, we found that a significant increase in PC but not PE led to a non-significant increase in PC:PE ratio, and that the PC:PE ratio negatively correlated with maximal SERCA activity. In all, our data are consistent with previous studies indicating a potential role for PC:PE ratio in the regulation of SERCA activity [7–9, 21]. Although the exact mechanism by which an increase in PC:PE ratio decreases SERCA activity is unknown, increasing %PE in synthetic liposomes steadily increases maximal SERCA activity . Furthermore, Gustavsson et al. found that increasing %PE in liposomes also increased SERCA’s affinity for Ca2+; which is thought to be mediated through greater covalent interactions between PE and SERCA . Notably, we did not detect any significant differences in SERCA’s apparent affinity for Ca2+ between sham and OVL plantaris; however, our assay does not directly assess SERCA’s capacity to bind Ca2+. Future research should examine the influence of overload-mediated changes on SERCA’s Ca2+ binding capacity.
We also examined the fatty acyl composition of PC and PE in response to muscle overloading. OVL plantaris resulted in increased PC 17:1, 18:1, and ACL compared to sham. Despite changes in two of the four MUFAs detected, this did not result in significant changes in % MUFA. In addition, PC ACL, % MUFA, % PUFA, and MUFA:PUFA did not significantly correlate with maximal SERCA activity. These findings are in contrast to synthetic liposome models, where SERCA activity is greater when reconstituted in PC membranes with longer ACL and higher levels of monounsaturation, particularly 18:1 . Gustavsson et al. have suggested that a monounsaturated bilayer of 20–22 carbons long results in maximal SERCA’s Vmax and Ca2+ affinity. The discrepant results may be explained by 1) the small yet statistically significant increase in PC 17:1, 18:1, and ACL did not alter SERCA activity potentially due to the larger influence of PC:PE; and 2) the fact that synthetic liposomes do not reflect the complexity of skeletal muscle SR, which is made up of 60–75% PC, 10–25% PE, 9–10% PI, and 2–3% PS [22–25]. As such, our results suggest that from a lipid perspective in naturally occurring membranes, it may be the ratio between PC and PE headgroups rather than any changes in fatty acyl configuration that may contribute to the reduction in SERCA activity seen with muscle overload stimuli.
A limitation to our study is that we examined the PC:PE ratio in whole muscle homogenates rather than purified SR membranes. Although HPTLC is highly sensitive and is capable of measuring lipids from purified SR membranes, in our hands, this would require a large amount of tissue (~ 100 mg), where often we would pool muscles from multiple rats . Thus, we were limited in our approach to quantify SR PC and PE in this study given the relatively small muscle sizes from mice (sham, 15.4 ± 1.3 mg vs. OVL, 26.9 ± 0.7 mg ) . Although we acknowledge the fact that whole muscle lipid analyses may mask potential differences that occur specifically at the subcellular level [4, 26, 27], our study inherently operates under the assumption that changes in whole muscle PC:PE ratio is reflective of the changes that occur in the SR. Indeed, in the basal state, isolated SR PC (60–75%) and PE (10–25%) make up the majority of phospholipids [22–25], which is similar to what is observed in whole muscle . Here, our densitometry analyses in sham plantaris indicate that PC and PE account for 55% and 23% of the total lipids, respectively. Furthermore, because we were able to detect a significant negative correlation between whole muscle PC:PE ratio and SERCA activity, this could potentially negate the need for isolating SR membranes for PC:PE analyses. However, future studies should determine whether whole muscle PC:PE ratio is indeed reflective of SR PC:PE ratio. In addition, future studies should assess the temporal changes between PC:PE ratio and SERCA activity to determine whether it is truly changes in PC:PE ratio that mediates changes in SERCA function or whether changes in SERCA activity precede changes in PC:PE ration and thus could be mediating the changes in membrane lipid composition.
In conclusion, the results reported here regarding PC:PE ratio during plantaris overloading stimuli is in support of previous studies demonstrating its role in regulating SERCA in skeletal muscle. Future studies aimed at altering PC:PE ratio through genetic and dietary interventions should be performed to further examine its role in regulating SERCA function and its potential physiological impact.
We thank the animal health technicians, Shawn Bujovak, Jean Flanagan, and Nancy Gibson for their help in developing and ensuring the success of our surgical protocol.
This work was supported by research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; MOP 86618 and MOP 47296 to A.R.T) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC; 327015–06 to P.J.L.). V.A.F. was supported by an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship. J.S.M. was supported by a Brock University Matching Minds undergraduate scholarship, and C.L. was supported by a NSERC undergraduate scholarship.
V.A.F., A.R.T., and P.J.L, conceived the study idea. V.A.F. performed the tenotomy surgery along with J.S.M. V.A.F. developed and performed the densitometric analyses on HPTLC plates, and along with J.S.M and C.L. performed the gas chromatography analyses. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
All animal procedures were reviewed and approved by the Brock University Animal Care and Utilization Committee (AUPP # 16 02 01) and are consistent with the guidelines established by the Canadian Council on Animal Care. | 2019-04-26T16:59:32Z | https://0-lipidworld-biomedcentral-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/articles/10.1186/s12944-018-0687-7 |
I have had a great adventure in one of Europe's best natural playgrounds: Wales and it's natural surroundings. Wales is undoubtedly an amazing country. Going on a roadtrip, we discovered some stunning and diverse landscapes, mountains, valleys and some incredible nature. I will take you on a visual journey from Snowdonia to the Shropshire hills.
The flight from Amsterdam took approximately 45 mins, so it was really quick. Being back in the UK is always great. I like it here and with my partner being English, it is always great to be visiting here again. After collecting our bags and equipment from all the necessary areas, we set off to obtain the hire car. Thankfully, Hertz was really good to us and offered us the fantastically equipped Fiat 500x. It was a great car, comfy, powerful, easy to ride and economical on fuel. With the wheels rolling, we set off west.
As my partner has been to Wales many times, he provided me with relevant tips on the best places to see on beautiful locations in the north and mid Wales. As previously mentioned, Wales is undoubtedly a fantastic country, with stunning landscapes and a 'getting away from it' kind of feel. Even during the busier seasons (like summer) it never seems to gets too busy. Perhaps unless you head to the beach on a sunny day, or try to conquer Snowdon in the perfect conditions. I guess these could be the usual tourist traps, but visiting so soon into the new year provided us with the chance to explore in a quieter context.
After leaving the urban landscape of Birmingham, you soon enter the peaceful county of Shropshire, which borders Wales and becomes the stepping stone from England to Wales. Shropshire is a nice county, with a strong rural feel and beautiful quaint villages dotted all around. The country lanes are fantastic, with high hedge rows lining the sides of the roads and sweeping bends that are fantastic for testing your driving skills. Knowing the area fairly well we looked for a suitable route that would offer us some great spots to stop along the way and of course potential spots to take some stunning pictures. The tourist trail offers many great locations, but we prefer (as travellers) to take the alternative routes to find special -and possibly- unique and different viewpoints from the norm.
An old relic in the fields of Shropshire.
We took the M54, A5 route to Shrewsbury and then decided at this point to come off the main route and take the back roads towards the beautiful Lake Vrnywy. It turned out it was a good decision to make, as the route was quiet and allowed us to see some spectacular sights along the way. The roads are narrow and twisting. Lined with naturally rich hedge rows and home to extensive, sprawling farmlands. The landscape here is undulating and the rolling terrain provides opportunities to take some nice rural images. In the distance you begin to pick out the Welsh mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see, from north to south.
Lake Vyrnwy isn't actually a lake, but a reservoir that provides water for the City of Birmingham and the surrounding areas. The valley was flooded many years ago, with the intention of providing water to the nearby urban conurbations. It is a stunning place, set in a stunning landscape. It is home to a wonderfully structured stone dam, which was built in the 1880's and was the first of its type. After parking the car on the small car park you can walk your way across the dam, from one end to the other. Here you have a drop one side, with nature walks in the valley and on the other, is the large expanse of water, that forms the main body of the reservoir.
View from the dam at Lake Vyrnwy, Wales.
Walking across this architectural splendour.
After taking in the beauty of the dam, we set off to drive the around the lake. This drive is fabulous and something everyone who visits, should experience. It has many twists and turns, but is set within a spectacular landscape of lake views and thick coniferous forests.
The trees here were amazingly high.
Towards the bottom of the lake we discovered a beautiful spot that is relatively secluded and quiet. Here you can walk down to the waters edge, sit of the rocks and take in the beauty of nature all around. It is a stunning spot and words cannot really describe how it makes you feel, but it is peaceful and not to be missed.
By the shores of Lake Vyrnwy, Wales.
Great views over the lake from here.
Slowly, winding round the lake you discover another gem. That is the tower on lake Vrynwy. The tower is 154 feet tall and is set just off the shore line and situated on the opposite side. It is a beautiful structure that helps to form a great backdrop for any photo-graphical opportunity. Its appearance is pretty unique and its function is to filter materials from the lake.
The famous Lake Vyrnwy Straining Tower.
When leaving the lakeside area we climb up into the nearby mountains, which are again covered in rich coniferous woodland and head towards our overnight stay. For this evening, we are to stay in the small village of Llanarmon. The village is set in a stunning location with again narrow winding roads and steep valley sides. Our accommodation was at the Hand of Llanarmon, which provided us an excellent stay. Our hosts Jonathan and Jackie Greatorex have clearly worked hard and established a wonderful hotel in a fabulous location. The accommodation was perfect and the food was divine. It's definitely a recommend place to visit, if you are in this area.
On our second day we went towards the Welsh mountains. We left early to make the most of the day. The route took us high over the Cambrian mountains along roads that were quiet and perfect for driving. Our chosen route takes us up on the road towards Blenu Festiniog.
Climbing roads through the mountains of Denbighshire, Wales.
Outside the small town of Bala you reach the popular stop off called Afon Tryweryn. Yet again, here is another stunning reservoir and large body of water, surrounded again by a spectacular mountain panorama. The light here was fantastic. It's definitely a stunning area and perfect for a picnic and viewpoint by the side of the road. In fact, this area gives you every reason to stop and take pictures, as we counted at least 12 stopping points, where you can simply enjoy some great surroundings.
Sunny views over the Welsh valley.
We head towards Blaunau Festinog, but take a quick right turn to explore an area close by. This area is high in the mountains, remote, beautiful and unique. It was an area once used by slate mines and after the mining industry declined it has left behind a strange 'lunar landscape' feel. It is unique and certainly gives you the great impression that you are out here on your own. It is prefect for capturing the essence of silence and certainly helps motivate you to capture some stunning shots.
The open expanse of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales.
After not seeing anyone for many miles and certainly not seeing a dwelling. We stumble across a small cottage and have to move the car over to one side of the road to let the Postman pass. It was a funny moment, as one moment you feel you are completely isolated, but the next you realise that life still does exist. Furthermore, it also leaves you with the impression that great history has happened here, as there is a slate 'mile marker' sitting by the side of the road. It measures the distance from one location to the next. It is old and shows that it has been there for many, many years, probably as long as when horses and carts travelled the same route.
Snowdonia views. Towards the Ogwen Valley, Wales.
The Ogwen Valley. An outdoor paradise.
We head through and travel down the A5 through Capel Curig and into the stunning Ogywen valley. Here you will discover an amazing valley that is home to spectacular mountains and stunning lakes. A true paradise for walkers and mountaineers. This area is home to the true giants of Snowdonia and is a must see place. With the ever changing weather conditions here, you can take some amazing pictures.
We spend some time here to experience what gems it has to offer, but due to its proximity in the shadow of the sun, it can get extremely cold in the winter months, so it is important to wrap up and be prepared for any eventuality. It is a very unforgiving landscape and should always be treated with great respect.
As the daylight slowly diminishes, we decide to pack up and move round into the other valley and travel towards Mount Snowdon. Snowdon is a beautiful sight and is Wales' largest mountain. Standing at 3,560 feet it dominates the surrounding landscape. It is of course popular with all types of walkers, who desire to reach the summit. There is of course a variety of stunning routes to the top, some of which are relatively straightforward, some rather technical. Alternatively, you can take the railway to the top, both of which are definitely something to do.
Llynnau Mymbryr in it's shining splendour.
Our route leads us past Snowdon, so we stop to enjoy the mountain and the perfect sunlight that is on the display. We eventually will travel and end up on the beach, in the valley below, but while we are here we are greeted with the most amazing display of sunlight above the Nant Gwynant valley. So we stop and of course take some moments to capture what we see.
Nant Gwynant sunset, Snowdonia, Wales.
Eventually, we peel ourselves away from this perfect location and move towards the sea. We head towards Harlech. Harlech is a favourite spot, as it not only has a wonderful castle that dominates the landscape, but it has the most amazing beach and dune area, probably on the west coast of Wales. It is a perfect expanse of sand, popular for walkers, beach lovers and sunbathers, in the summer months. In our case, it was the perfect location to grab a shot of sunset, as the weather had been cold and clear throughout the day. Luckily, the clouds were relatively light and isolated later that evening, for the moon and Venus allowing to shine in some great evening shots.
On route towards the dunes and Harlech Sands.
Duneland with a Snowdonia horizon in the background.
As darkness descended, we ventured towards our second night of accommodation, which was the Victoria Inn in Llanber. Here we found a nice and comfortable place to stay, positioned close to the main road and situated in the quiet village of Llanber. Again it provided us with the perfect stopover on route, with a comfortable room and good hearty food.
The next morning we woke up early to catch the perfect sunrise. We set off in the dark and head southwards, down the coast route and then turned east, back into the mountains.
Rhydymain and the mountain climb.
Passing the popular seaside resort of Barmouth and inland towards the small town of Dollegeu. Once out of Dollegeu, we ventured up the steep climb, back into the mountains. At the top of the long, winding road we noticed a small car park full of people. It seemed strange to have a car park so full of people at 7:30 am, so our curiosity led us to make the stop. At first we thought it most be the perfect location for sunrise shooting and that all of the people present, were here to capture the early morning sun. After few conversations, it did in fact turn out that all of the people present were plane spotters and they were there to witness the spectacular Mach Loop.
Looking back I think it was all a coincidence, so we proceeded up the mountain and to not only experience a wonderful sunset, but also the possibility of a flypast by a modern fighter plane. Unfortunately, on this occasion we had probably arrived a little too early to experience such excitement, but to be in such a place was pretty amazing and definitely makes it high on the list of places to come back to. Regardless of the the planes flying by, the scenery was fabulous and valley turned out to be pretty breathtaking as well.
After spending some time here, we moved off down the frost bitten valley and winded our way onto the A483 in the direction of Welshpool. Again, wherever possible we tried to plan our route to go slightly off the main roads. We would be heading in the direction of the Shropshire Hills, which is situated towards the south of the county. It was probably a distance of around 50 kms or so away, but with the narrow and winding roads, it tends to take some time.
Eventually, we crossed the border out of Wales and again entered England once more. Here you leave the rugged landscape of the North Wales mountains and enter the lower levels of mid Wales. The countryside here is more like rolling hills, farms and woodlands all around. Our first stop was the sweet village of Clun. On the outskirts of the village were the ruins of Clun Castle, which we explored. The surrounding countryside is so typical of rural England and probably hasn't changed for hundreds of years. It felt like stepping back in time really and was a great experience.
From here we ventured north and followed the narrow Shropshire roads up to another popular location: the Stiperstones and the Long Mynd. This area is again beautiful and a must see for any walker or landscape photographer. The landscape is here is elevated, with fantastic views all around. The Stiperstones is unique place. It is an 8 km ridge comprising of a collection of rugged rocks with stunning views. As being a protected nature area it has an abundance of diverse wildlife like many owls and grouses. We walked up and made our way (off piste) onto the jagged rocky outcrop.
A Shropshire view from the Stipperstones.
The rocks are stunning with rugged formations, so to reach the top is a bit tricky, but definitely worth the effort to witness some spectaculair views. We were lucky to capture an amazing sunset again. The weather had been sweet to us during the whole visit, with cold and crisp air which, allowing us to take some incredible shots.
Thoughts in the mid day sun.
Next, we meandered across towards the Long Mynd, which is another unmissable stop, with breathtaking roads and dramatic views.
After crossing the summit we started to again drop down into the valley and stopped off in the wonderful market town of Ludlow for our last overnight stay. An old town, again a must see place. Our accommodation was excellent, at the Feathers Hotel. A truly remarkable hotel and historic building with a stunning appearance. The hotel dates back to the 17th century, where it was an established coaching inn for visitors to the area. Since then it has been renovated to house guests and establish itself as a premier hotel, but many features still remain the same. Ludlow itself is a picturesque town, with small quaint shops, an variety of nice places to eat and drink, together with some great sightseeing spots, like the nice castle and church in the centre of the town. It was an ideal location for us to stay over and move on from, before heading back to the airport.
Historical Ludlow, Shropshire. A picture perfect market town.
Sadly, it was time to head back to the airport again. The trip had been fantastic and we both wished for spending more time to see one or two more places high on our list.
But before heading back, we took a quick stopover at Ironbridge, which is again a stunning location. Located on the river Severn and a village steeped in history. The Ironbridge spans the river severn (England's longest river) and is made of cast iron. It was opened in 1781 and highlights one of the many shining examples of British Industrial History. The village that surround the bridge is also a very nice place, quaint shops and cafes, with narrow winding streets that have a huge amount of history attached to them.
The Ironbridge circa 1779 and the wonderful River Severn below.
After a quick, but fantastic lunch in Ironbridge, we arrived back the airport to catch our short flight. The trip had been a wonderful experience for us both, I loved visiting some new places and my partner Gareth of course enjoyed being back in his motherland. Although the visit was short, it gave us a good insight into just how beautiful Wales and the border counties of England are. It is definitely an area of the UK that should be explored.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to @lovegreatbritain_nl, for providing us with this wonderful opportunity and for all of their efforts in the organisation and making this trip a great success!
All content on this site ┬ЕClaire Droppert 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | 2019-04-25T04:56:52Z | https://claireonline.nl/blogs/wales |
Engineering genetic Boolean logic circuits is a major research theme of synthetic biology. By altering or introducing connections between genetic components, novel regulatory networks are built in order to mimic the behaviour of electronic devices such as logic gates. While electronics is a highly standardized science, genetic logic is still in its infancy, with few agreed standards. In this paper we focus on the interpretation of logical values in terms of molecular concentrations.
We describe the results of computational investigations of a novel circuit that is able to trigger specific differential responses depending on the input standard used. The circuit can therefore be dynamically reconfigured (without modification) to serve as both a NAND/NOR logic gate. This multi-functional behaviour is achieved by a) varying the meanings of inputs, and b) using branch predictions (as in computer science) to display a constrained output. A thorough computational study is performed, which provides valuable insights for the future laboratory validation. The simulations focus on both single-cell and population behaviours. The latter give particular insights into the spatial behaviour of our engineered cells on a surface with a non-homogeneous distribution of inputs.
We present a dynamically-reconfigurable NAND/NOR genetic logic circuit that can be switched between modes of operation via a simple shift in input signal concentration. The circuit addresses important issues in genetic logic that will have significance for more complex synthetic biology applications.
The emerging field of synthetic biology[1–7] applies rational engineering principles to the (re)design of biological systems. Work in this area has often focussed on the creation of small-scale genetic devices, such as oscillators, toggle switches[9, 10], clocks, Boolean logic gates[12–15] and half-adders/subtractors.
One interesting aspect of such devices concerns their potential for multifunctionality (that is, the possibility that devices may switch between different operating modes, depending on some external signal). Most existing engineered gene circuits have been constructed to perform a single function, but recent results suggest that such devices may be able to implement multiple functions[11, 17]. This property is often observed in neuronal networks, as it allows organisms to select multiple behavioural “programs” using the same group of neurons. The ability to engineer multifunctionality into genetic circuits may have significant performance benefits when a range of different responses or behaviours is required. In this paper we describe a model for such a genetic circuit, which may be dynamically reconfigured (without modification) to serve as both a NOR gate (output “1” only when both inputs absent) and a NAND gate (output “0” only when both inputs present), depending on its input. We give the results of single cell computational experiments, before showing how two-dimensional, population-based simulations can shed valuable light on both the behaviour of the system and its beneficial features.
We describe this circuit in the context of our previous work on continuous computation in engineered gene circuits. By “continuous computation”, we mean gene-based computation that maximises the period during which outputs are valid and “readable”, by using “real-valued” signals.This addresses issues of reliability in such circuits, by (a) carefully interpreting binary signal values in terms of continuous/analogue value thresholds over time, and (b) using the concept of branch prediction (taken from computer architecture). During the execution of a program, a “fork” may occur as the result of a conditional statement (e.g., “if X is true, then do A, else do B”), as in the operation of a logic gate, where the output depends on the inputs. Branch prediction is a technique generally used for saving time when a device faces this kind of decision, and a prediction may be either conditional or unconditional. The latter (studied in) is used when the probability of one branch being taken is significantly higher than the other; in this case, the high probability branch is taken by default, and the situation is only corrected if it transpires that the decision is incorrect, based on the expression evaluation. The circuit proposed here uses conditional prediction, by assuming that the previous output expressed will be carried forward to the next output (and correcting itself if this is not the case) before processing the inputs.
We present our circuit design in Figure1. Although it can behave as either a NAND or a NOR gate, for clarity we describe here only the NOR logic interpretation of the circuit, and present the multi-functional behaviour in the Results and discussion section. The NOR (negated OR) logic circuit is formed by three sub-components: 1) a logic OR gate, 2) a logic NOT gate (or inverter) and 3) a genetic switch. As the NOR logic function is an inverted OR, the output of the inverter (I2) could be taken as the output, along the lines of a classical genetic NOR. However, in our design, the output is denoted by the protein expressed by the switch, (Out), as this allows us to implement branch prediction (that is, changing the switch means that our branch prediction needs to be corrected). In the Results and discussion section we highlight the advantages of the proposed circuit.
Proposed genetic circuit. Our circuit is composed of three well differentiated parts: 1) The OR function, with inputs A and B, inducing the expression of X and I1 by binding to their correspondent promoter; 2) The NOT function, with output I2, controlled by a constitutive promoter which is repressed by X; 3) A switch, made up of two constitutive promoters which express repressors R1 and R2 as well as the reporter Out. Protein complexes C i are formed by the sequestration of the R i by I i .
The inputs of the circuit, represented by molecules A and B, induce the expression of both genes G1 and G2(by binding to their correspondent upstream promoters), which produce, in turn, proteins X and I1(Induce r1) respectively. Product X represses the production of I2(Induce r2), which is expressed by the inverter using gene G3. Inducers I1and I2are in charge of controlling the switch, and change its direction. This third part of the circuit (the switch) is formed by two promoters which control the expression of three genes. Repressor R1 represses the expression of gene G5 unless inducer I1 sequesters it, forming the complex C1 (which has no functionality in the circuit). Symmetrically, R2 represses the expression of both genes G4and G6which, in turn, produces the reporter Out.
We now briefly consider the possible implementation of our system. The two main components we use are a genetic toggle switch and NOR gate, both of which have previously been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory[9, 20]. The main novelty in our proposed scheme (in terms of its implementation) lies in the connection between both components. We believe that this is where attention should be focussed during future laboratory work. The outputs of the NOR gate (that is, the inducers of the switch) are inhibitors of the R1 and R2repressors. By being sequestered, the repressors are rendered inactive, and the implementation of such a scheme is supported by a recent study, in which examples of such negative inhibition are demonstrated. Further investigations may also focus on alternative implementations of the connection scheme, without altering the fundamental behaviour of the device. One possible route to this may lie in directly repressing the switch promoters, instead of implementing the protein-protein interaction. There is also the possibility of using RNA-based logic to implement connections, as described recently in. The key consideration that should inform the engineering process is the fact that the maximum expression level of the NOR output must be at least equal to the maximum expression level of the switch inputs. This is what allows the switch to “flip”. Conversely, the minimum expression level of either NOR output must be lower than the minimum levels of either switch input. These two features allow the device to have the desired multi-functional behaviour.
In terms of traditional electronic logic, our circuit therefore corresponds to a system that produces, by default, a “high”, or “1”, signal in the absence of any input signals equal to “1”. As soon as either inputs equal “1”, the output signal is “pulled low” to “0” (classical NOR behaviour). Once all “1”-valued inputs are removed, the circuit defaults back to “high”. In the Results and discussion section, we study the dynamics of the circuit and - more importantly - the meaning of a logic “1”-valued input, from which the multi-behaviour feature of the system is derived.
We perform a number of computational simulations (model details are specified in the Methods section), with the two main aims of investigating the behaviour of the branch-predicting NOR gate, and then examining its potential as a reconfigurable device. In both cases, we perform single-cell and population-based experiments, to investigate both the internal dynamics of the circuit and its effect on a spatially-distributed collection of cells (which might be used in a realistic synthetic biology application).
We first emphasise the difference between static and dynamic (i.e., continuous) observations. Static measurements are performed by testing a single logic case (input setup), observing from the initial state of the circuit until a steady-state is reached. Dynamic measurements are taken once initialisation has occurred, and the logic input cases are modified sequentially. The outputs obtained are not always consistent, and we conclude that the continuous paradigm is more appropriate (i.e., robust) for these circuits.
Figure2 shows static observations of the NOR gate. We represent its output value in terms of the concentration of Out: 0 nM corresponds to an input value of “0”, and 5nM corresponds to an input value of “1”. As expected, we only observe an high positive output when both inputs are absent (i.e. zero). In the other cases, although the output is initially expressed due to the constitutively expressed inducer I2, it is soon repressed due to input action.
Static observations of circuit. Four logic cases (combination of two binary inputs) tested with logic “0” fixed at 0 nM and logic “1” at 5 nM (deterministic simulation). Perfect NOR behaviour is observed, as the output Out is only expressed at a high level for the input case 0-0. In the other cases, Out expression is repressed (initially expressed slightly due to initial I2 concentrations). Axes shown in logarithmic scale for both Time (hours) and Concentration (nM).
It is important to note, however, that this performance is only observed when the system starts from a “pristine” (i.e. unused) state. Therefore, this behaviour is only useful if the circuit is intended for “single use”. In non-trivial synthetic biology applications, it may well be the case that a circuit is used many times, with different inputs, so it is important to test its behaviour over an extended period. Once the system has been initialised with a set of inputs, we therefore need to switch over to a dynamic observation model.
In order to study the behaviour of the logic gate over time, we compare the concentrations of inducer I2(which would be a “traditional” NOR output) and our output signal, Out. Figure3 shows the concentration of these two proteins over time while the inputs to the circuit are changed dynamically. We observe correct branch prediction, in that an output tends to reflect the previous output. Both I2 and Out are produced at the outset, when there are no inputs to the system. As soon as one of the inputs is introduced (A, giving an input of 1 after t≈60 hours), the correct output must be “0”. A NOR without prediction, represented here by I2, would switch off the expression almost immediately, but Out is still expressed for some time (that is, there is a delay in pulling the output signal low, which starts to occur just at the end of the 1-0 input period, and continues through the subsequent 0-1 input period). This is due to the fact that it takes some additional time to “flip” the switch that is controlling Out, but this delay makes our circuit much more reliable (as we shall see when considering noise). By illustration, unwanted noise in the input will instantly affect I2, but the noise needs to be very persistent in order to affect Out. The same behaviour is observed when the proteins are again expressed (t≈210 in Figure3), where Out delays its expression before returning to “1” (since both inputs return to “0”). In both delays, the system is still predicting the previous output.
Continuous observations of circuit. Deterministic study of the change of Out and I2 over time, while the four logic cases are introduced dynamically. Until t ≈ 60 both inputs are “0” (case 0-0); from 60 until t ≈ 110 input A is a logic “1” (case 1-0); until t ≈ 160 input A is “0” while input B is “1” (case 0-1); until t ≈ 210 both inputs are 1; from there onwards both inputs come back to “0”. Logic “0” represented by 0 nM, logic “1” by 5 nM.
The effect of noisy inputs is shown in Figure4, where both input concentrations are affected by stochastic noise within different intervals. We highlight in this way the different behaviour of the classic NOR represented by the product I2and our approach represented by Out. During the 0-0 input phase (until t≈60) the input values vary within the range [0…0.05] nM. This underlines the importance of interpreting binary values in terms of ranges of analogue biological variables. The small changes in A and B test the definition of logic “0” in this experiment. Higher concentrations within that range are enough to stop the production of the inducer I2 (there is always a small concentration during this time), but are still understood as a logic “0” by our circuit (thus Out is constantly expressed). That “understanding” is precisely due to the engineered predictive behaviour: as the previous state was 0-0 (i.e., the initial situation), the circuit keeps that state regardless of the noise present.
Continuous observations of circuit, with added noise. Change of Out and I2 over time while the four logic cases are not homogeneous due to noise in input signals (stochastic inputs). During the case 0-0 (until t ≈ 60) the logic value “0” varies within the range [0…0.05] nM; for the case 1-0 (until t ≈ 110) input A varies within the interval [4.5…5.5] (logic “1”) while input B still varies within the previous interval for a logic “0”; same variation ranges for “0” and “1” during cases 0-1 (until t ≈ 160) and 1-1 (until t ≈ 210); From there, again the case 0-0 but with another definition of logic “0”, varying within the range [0…0.005].
Dynamic predictions are observed after the 0-0 case, as the initial - static - conditions are no longer valid. During the 1-0 input phase (until t≈110) input A varies within the interval [4.5…5.5] nM (logic “1”) while input B is still varying within the range [0…0.05] nM (logic “0”). In this scenario, the expression of protein I2is completely repressed, as the circuit senses this input as a clear logic “1” -not noise- for both I2and Out. The same thing happens during the next (0-1 and 1-1) cases, where the inputs vary within the same intervals for both logic values and output concentrations are the same. In order to get a more valuable insight into the system, we change the meaning for a logic “0” for the final case 0-0 (from t≈210) where it varies within the interval [0…0.005]. Such a low signal causes the production of I2but not at full capacity due to existing X repressors in the system. That amount, which can be interpreted as a positive output of I2, it is not enough to change the direction of the switch. Thus, the low inputs (A and B) are interpreted as noise for our system and Out will stay in the previous state, which is a “0” output. The noise causes an unclear signal to be received at the input: neither a clear logic 0 nor a clear logic 1, thus the system predicts the previous behaviour.
In Figure5, the results of a full stochastic simulation are shown, using the input profile of Figure4. The objective is to test the system in a situation where the concentrations of all proteins are subject to randomness. For this purpose, we added Gaussian noise (mean = value, standard deviation = value · noise) at every iteration of the integration. As we see, the overall behaviour remains the same, which allows us to conclude that the logical input values are the key factor determining the correct functioning of the genetic gate. We also observe that the levels of Out are more distinct (in terms of their mapping onto binary values) than the levels of I2.
Full stochastic simulation with noise. Stochastic simulation (eleven runs) of the changing behaviour of Out and I2. All input values and times are taken from Figure4. All expression products in the system are subject to randomness,with Gaussian noise applied to all concentrations in the integration steps of the equations.
We now study the behaviour of the circuit inside a population of simulated cells growing on a two-dimensional surface. We use an agent-based simulation approach, which considers the physical factors within the system (cell-cell pressure, collisions, movement, etc.) The first 2-dimensional experiment considers the surface divided in two different areas depending on the inputs they contain (amounts of A and B) as seen in Figure6. The left-hand side of the surface has both input molecules present (1-1), and the right-hand side has no input molecules present (0-0). As before, the logic “1” concentration is set at 5nM and the logic “0” is set at 0nM. We begin with a single cell in the centre of the surface; cells are “washed out” at the edges, and we assume the constant presence of nutrients (as in a chemostat). In these simulations, we assume Out to be a green fluorescent protein (for visualisation purposes), and the cell generation time is kept very high (around 12 hours), in order to aid visualisation. That is, because of the delay caused by the switch, we would not be able to observe the desired behaviour at this scale with much lower cell doubling times. Thus, in order to perform the spatial study with a scale that allow us to visualise single cell shapes we increase the doubling time to 12 hours (more details in the Methods section).
Population-based simulation. Sequential observation of a simulated growing population. The surface on which the cells are growing in contains the inputs with both inputs present in the left half (input logic “1”, established at 1.5 nM for this simulation, as before) and neither input present in the right half (input logic “0”, fixed at 0.0 nM, as before). The output Out is represented as if it were a green fluorescent protein: high expression corresponds to a bright green colour of the cells. The high mobility of cells after 50 and 95 hours (due to there being plenty of free space available) lets us see the graphical pattern produced by the predictive behaviour of the circuit. When the population is very crowded (after 180 hours) the behaviour of the circuit is directly proportional to the surface features. Red circled region: wrong predictions being resolved by changing the direction of the switch. Generation time of cells = 12h.
We depict the behaviour of the simulated colony in Figure6, starting with a single cell in the centre of the region. As the number of cells increases, those to the right-hand side eventually exhibit fluorescence, as they inhabit the 0-0 region, while those to the left (in the 1-1 region) show no fluorescence, as expected.
After 50 hours, we notice some cells on the right-hand side that are not producing light, when they should actually display a high output concentration. This is due to the fact that those cells are moved from the left-hand side (1-1 case) at high speed while they are being pushed strongly. Therefore, the circuit inside those cells has not had time enough to respond and start expressing Out (we recall the gap of Figure3). After 130h the cells clearly signal the input concentration corresponding to the inputs on the surface (any single-cell “errors” are due to cell movement and/or stochasticity).
We now look at the issue of cell movement in more detail. In Figure6 we show a population growing in a half and half world (in terms of input signal distribution), until we obtain an almost perfect pattern (the outputs matched the inputs, spatially speaking). This precision is obtained due to the low speed (and null direction) of the cells in the centre. In Figure7 we show the result of a subsequent experiment to investigate the effect on pattern formation of a higher velocity field.
Effect of cell movement on accuracy. Spatial delay in response due to time spent in changing the direction of the switch. The population is growing from the centre of the longitudinal trap (cells washed out at edges) and the image is taken after 300 hours. The middle sector of the trap (light gray) has only one input (case 1/0) at a high level (4.5nM, which leads to a NOR function), and the remaining area (dark gray) has no input (logic case 0/0). The velocity vector field (lower image) shows the direction and magnitude (colour scheme) of the speeds of every cell at the same time (300 hours).
In this experiment, the environment (a longitudinal trap) is divided into two zones: the centre: with a 1/0 input profile, and the remaining area, with a 0/0 input profile. The cells start growing once inoculated at the centre of the trap (about 100 cells are placed at the beginning). Obviously, as seen in the velocity field (bottom of Figure7), the cells move in one of two different directions, depending on their physical location: from centre to left, and from centre to right (due to pushing forces while growing). When the cells reach the 0/0 area we would expect a cell’s circuit to display a “1” state. This is what we observe, but with a time delay, as seen in the previous differential study. In this particular case, the higher a cell’s velocity, the more space it will cover before processing the inputs. This explains the gap between the beginning of the 0/0 area and the region in which the cells start expressing the output Out. This time-space delay plays a very important role in attempts to generate specific patterns in a cell population. If that is the case, there is a key parameter to bear in mind: the velocity of the cells, which can - of course - vary within the same colony (as in Figure7).
It is important to notice that our circuit offers significant possibilities for pattern formation or sensing studies. Instead of recognising only a logic “1” and a logic “0”, the circuit is also able to distinguish between a high logic “1” and a low logic “1”, and change its behaviour accordingly. We now investigate further this useful property.
In this Section we use different sets of simulations to illustrate one of the main features of the circuit: the possibility of reusing it (without modification) for evaluating a function other than NOR. The key factor lies in how we define input “1”. In contrast to our previous experiments, where this is denoted by an input concentration of 5nM, here we reduce the input “1” concentration to 1.5nM. By “flipping” the high input signal from 5 to 1.5nM, we obtain a change in functionality, from NOR to NAND (negated AND). Such a possibility could prove invaluable in terms of saving space in a hybrid bio-device, if differential behaviour is required for a range of input values. We compare our approach to that of Budyka; their gates use light as an input, and the functionality of a gate may be altered by changing its wavelength (see also, in which the behaviour of a promoter is flipped between that of an amplifier and an OR gate using different inducer concentrations).
In Figure8 we show the behaviour of the circuit with a concentration of 1.5nM representing input logic “1”, in contrast to the 5 nM of Figure3. We observe how I2reacts to the changes in exactly the same way as before, thus displaying a NOR behaviour. However, the Out signal now gives the correct output reading for a NAND logic function (which returns 0 if and only if both inputs are 1). When both inputs are introduced (t≈160), the circuit stops producing Out, and does not express it again until the inputs are gone (t≈210 plus the time needed for the degradation of R2).
Continuous observations of circuit with lower concentration for logic “1”. Change of Out and I2 over time while the four logic cases are being introduced dynamically. Until t ≈ 60 both inputs are “0” (case 0-0); from there until t ≈ 110 input A is a logic “1” (case 1-0); until t ≈ 160 input A is “0” while input B is “1” (case 0-1); until t ≈ 210 both inputs are “1”; from there onwards both inputs come back to “0”. As before, logic “0” represented by 0 nM, but this time logic “1” is represented by 1.5 nM.
Figure9 shows the behaviour of Out and I2over time when different input concentrations are used as logic values. We show logic “0” on the x-axis of the surface graphs, and logic “1” on the y-axis. The z axis (surface view) represents the cumulative value of the targeted output protein (Out or I2depending on the graph) over 300 simulated hours, while inputs are changed according to the profile of Figures3 and8. For example, if we fix the value of logic “0” to 0 nM, we observe a change in the concentration of Out when the concentration of logic “1” exceeds 2.8 nM, when Out abandons the contour line of 316 and enters the area of 100 (which means it has been expressed for less time during the 300 hours). However, that change is not present in the expression of I2, where the scenario is more homogeneous. This feature is the root cause of the multi- functional behaviour we have just demonstrated.
Effect of different input concentration values. Surface graphs that explore the behaviour of the circuit for different logic “1” and “0” concentrations. For each pair of logic “0” (x axis) and logic “1” (y axis) the experiments shown in Figures3 and8 are performed, and the cumulative values of Out and I2 over time are recorded. Those values are depicted in two ways: (1) colour surface (greyscale) with a linear scale from 0 to 700 (low precision as mean values are shown for intervals), and (2) contour lines (colour) with a logarithmic scale for detail behaviour. Output values (surface) shown in arbitrary units corresponding to the cumulative value.
Multi-functional behaviour in cell populations is shown in Figure10, where a bacterial colony grows on a surface with inputs that are spatially distributed as follows: top-left quadrant has no inputs (0-0), top-right quadrant has input A (1-0), bottom-left has input B (0-1), and bottom-right has both inputs, A and B (1-1). The top row shows the level of Out when logic “1” is fixed to 0.5 nM, and the bottom row shows it set to 4.5 nM (in both cases logic “0” is set to 0 nM). We clearly observe the difference between the NOR and NAND behaviour of the same circuit placed in different input scenarios.
Multi-functional behaviour of the circuit. Spatial cell growth simulation shown, where the inputs are embedded in the surface as follows: top-left quadrant has no inputs, top-right quadrant has input A (1-0), bottom-left has only input B (0-1) and bottom-right has both inputs A and B (1-1). Both rows show the expression of Out over time, but for different logic “1” standards: 4.5 nM for a NOR logic function (top) and 0.5 nM for a NAND logic gate (bottom). Logic “0” is 0.0 nM in all simulations. a.u.: arbitrary units. Generation time of cells = 24h.
The definition of logical values is of vital importance if different synthetic regulatory networks are intended to work together. Here we show that a given genetic circuit can display very different behaviours, depending on the thresholds of a specific input logic signal. This will be of significance for future genetic circuit design. The circuit proposed in this paper harnesses this fuzzy behaviour by reconfiguring its behaviour between the NAND and NOR logical functions in response to different input standards. In this way, the circuit can be reused for either of those two functionalities without modification. We highlight the importance of computational studies in order to find abnormal behaviours inside circuits, and to identify the key features of a system. Although in this work we take all parameter values from the literature, the simulation results help us to focus on the specific areas of interest to parts selection for future laboratory validation.
Due to the large size of the circuit - with 5 promoters, 10 protein species and 6 genes - the mathematical model is reduced to 6 Michaelis-Menten equations (4 to 8). However, a full deterministic model of the first expression product (X) is built in order to: (1) check if the approximation is correct, and (2) make a good setup of the parameters in equations.
where G 1 a denotes the gene with input A bound to its corresponding promoter, G 1 b is the gene with input B bound to the other promoter and G 1 ab represents the gene with both inputs bound. Regarding the rates: k1 and k2are the binding rates of A and B, respectively, to their promoters when G1 has no protein bound; k−1 and k−2 are the unbinding rates of the previous reactions; k3and k4 are the binding rates of B and A to G 1 a and G 1 b , respectively; k−3 and k−4 denote the unbinding rates of the previous reactions; k5, k6 and k7 are the active transcription rates of X by G 1 a , G 1 b and G 1 ab respectively; k8, k9 and k10 are the degradation rates of X, A and B; and k11and k12 are the creation rates of inputs A and B respectively.
All the parameter values used in 2 are taken from standard values in the literature[25–27]. The objective of this model is to provide as a generic model as possible, to abstract away from specific laboratory details (i.e. the utilisation of a concrete promoter type). Thus, similar kinetic parameters have the same value in order to prove the functioning of a complete standardised model. The values are as follows: k1 = k2 = k3 = k4 = 1 molecules−1hour−1; k−1 = k−2 = k−3 = k−4 = 50 hour−1; k5 = k6 = 500 hour−1; k7 = 700 hour−1; k8 = k9 = k10 = 0.1 hour−1; k11 = k12 = molecules hours−1. Notice that k7 is higher than k5and k6 in order to emphasise a stronger transcription rate when the two inputs are bound to their promoters at the same time.
Repressor concentrations over time. Left graph: Repressor X concentration expressed over time, using the set of equations 2. Right graph: Repressor X concentration expressed over time in a simulation of equation 3.
where α denotes a synthesis rate, K represents the dissociation constants, h the Hill coefficients, δ the protein decay or degradation rate and β denotes repression coefficients. It is important to notice that the sequestrated repressor complexes, C1 and C2, are represented by max([R1]−[I1],0) and max([R2]−[I2],0) which are the direct subtraction of the repressor by the inducer (or 0 if a negative result is obtained).
The values of the parameters are chosen to make Figure11 (right) match Figure11 (left) according to standard values[26, 29]. As before, similar parameters have the same value in order to make the in-silico study as general as possible. Thus, α I 1 = α X = 3.0 nM hour−1; α I 2 = α R 1 = α R 2 = α Out = 4.0 nM hour−1; K d 1 = K d 2 = 0.5 nM; β I 2 = β R 1 = β R 2 = β Out = 0.04 nM; δ i = 0.15 hour−1; h1 = 1; h2 = 2. The initial conditions are: A= B = 0.5 nM (again, both inputs set to a logic 1).
All simulations are performed with our own software coded in Python. Figures2,3,8,9 and11 are obtained by using a deterministic approach with the previous ODE (Ordinary Differential Equation) model. For Figure4 we added noise to inputs, as explained in the Results and discussion section, without changing the ODEs. Figure5 is obtained by adding noise to the full model (all species that change over time). For that purpose, the ODE model is altered by adding Gaussian noise at every integration step to the previous concentration (building a SDE, Stochastic Differential Equation model). In the spatial studies (Figures6,7 and10) the inputs are fixed in their specific surface areas and the rest of the species are subject to low stochasticity (in this case, however, it is the collective behaviour that matters, not individual).
For spatial studies we use the physics library Pymunk (wrapper for the physics library Chipmunk) to design and control the cells as rigid bodies with growth in an agent-based paradigm. The ODE model of the system is placed inside the cells so there are as many copies of the genetic circuit as cells in a given time (the circuit with all parameter values is copied from mother to daughter when the cell divides). In order to control the doubling time of the cells we can let the circuit run for as many integration steps as we may need before the cell divides. For visualisation purposes, the circuit runs during 12 or 24 hours in a cell life-time (making that time the doubling time) depending on the set-up (see Results and discussion section).
This work was supported by the European Commission FP7 Future and Emerging Technologies Proactive initiative: Bio-chemistry-based Information Technology (CHEM-IT, ICT-2009.8.3), project reference 248919 (BACTOCOM).
AG-M conceived the study, designed the circuit and performed the experiments. MA supervised the work. Both authors participated in writing the manuscript, and both read and approved the final manuscript. | 2019-04-19T11:17:00Z | https://bmcsystbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1752-0509-6-126 |
Mr. Speaker, as well as being proud of people like Fergie Jenkins, the baseball hall of famer who visited us two weeks ago, the people of Chatham-Kent—Essex are proud of citizens like George Sims, the award-winning town crier of the Municipality of Chatham--Kent.
George Sims, a long-time educator, has been retired from education since 1995. George has been an active volunteer in many community activities in Chatham-Kent—Essex and was selected as citizen of year in 1996. He received the Centennial Medal in 1967 and was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.
He was the North American town crier champion in 1998 and placed second many other times. Currently George is the Ontario town crier champion and placed second in the North American town crier championship of 2006.
I extend congratulations to George Sims on expressing his community involvement as an ambassador for the riding of Chatham-Kent—Essex and I welcome George to Ottawa.
Mr. Speaker, on October 25, HMCS Sackville, Canada's naval memorial, will be brought to Dartmouth to coincide with Eastern Front Theatre's production of Corvette Crossing, a play written by Michael Melski and directed by Hans Böggild, to run from October 25 to November 12. The play tells the story of five young officers who serve on a corvette while escorting merchant ships supplying the allied war effort during the Battle of the Atlantic.
HMCS Sackville is the lone surviving corvette and is a tangible reminder of the challenging life young Canadians from coast to coast endured in the cold North Atlantic. While the Sackville is in Dartmouth, she will be hosting a number of events, from a prayer breakfast for world peace to a number of receptions. I look forward to hosting my colleagues from the House of Commons finance committee before she crosses the harbour.
HMCS Sackville continues to be a symbol of the valiant efforts of our Canadian service people and reminds us of our debt to those who served, some of whom never returned.
I want to thank all those who worked so hard to preserve the Sackville and her legacy. We look forward to having her in Dartmouth and to Corvette Crossing.
Mr. Speaker, on October 7, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was killed. On October 10, one last tribute was paid to the well-known journalist for her critical coverage of the war in Chechnya. She gave up her life fighting for freedom of the press and human rights.
One of the few journalists to cover the second war in Chechnya, she agreed to act as a negotiator during the Moscow theatre hostage takings by pro-Chechnyan forces in October 2002.
Her tragic death emphasizes just how fragile freedom of the press and democracy are in Russia. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based NGO, Russia is the third most dangerous country for journalists after Iraq and Algeria.
The hon. member for London—Fanshawe.
Mr. Speaker, sadly today one of Canada's dedicated soldiers was laid to rest in London, Ontario. On October 7, trooper Mark Andrew Wilson was killed near Kandahar in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb struck his armoured vehicle. He was 39 years old. He left behind a devoted family, a wife and two sons.
A member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Trooper Wilson was an outdoor enthusiast who joined the Canadian Forces later than most, at age 35. He was described by his family as a rock, a caregiver and the type of person everyone loved. He was always smiling.
Trooper Wilson was a dedicated, knowledgeable and energetic soldier who was always looking to increase his skills and abilities. He was viewed as trustworthy and was well respected by his fellow soldiers and supervisors alike.
Trooper Wilson was a courageous and honourable man who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He will be greatly missed.
I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. My thoughts are with them today.
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today in the House of Commons to recognize that October 16 to October 20 is Self-Care Week.
This week is about the value of self-care to our health care system and the well-being of Canadians who benefit from the promotion of self-care and the need to support the advancement of self-care policies in Canada.
On October 17, 2006, NDMAC, advancing Canadian self-care, will be hosting the first self-care fall forum to bring greater attention to the significant contribution that self-care can make to the sustainability of the health care system and the health of all Canadians.
NDMAC's self-care fall forum comes at a time when Canada's new government is working hard to control the escalating costs of health care while providing excellent health care to all of our citizens.
I call on members of the House to attend these events and support the future of self-care initiatives.
Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity to visit a family in my riding that is living under very difficult circumstances. The Raza family has sought sanctuary in Crescent Fort Rouge United Church to escape persecution if returned to Pakistan by the immigration department.
The family has lived in Canada for four years and its members have been model citizens. Four of the six children have never been to Pakistan. Two are Canadian citizens.
I have been unsuccessful in my request to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration asking that he allow the family to return to living in the community while the application is processed so the children can attend school.
I have now written the minister asking him to grant landed immigrant status to the family and base his decision on the best interests of the children. The Immigration Act allows the minister to act in a humanitarian and compassionate manner.
Along with many thousands of other Winnipeggers, I urge him to do so and grant the Raza family refuge in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to encourage my colleagues and all Canadians to celebrate National Science and Technology Week from October 13 to 22, 2006. Natural Resources Canada and other departments involved in the sciences and health have planned a variety of activities and events across the country.
National Science and Technology Week is future-oriented. The new Canadian government wants to show young people how exciting the sciences can be and to encourage them to consider the adventure of a career in science and technology.
My colleagues will no doubt agree that science and technology are very important to our standard of living. For example, Canadian health science researchers have made significant progress that has improved our quality of life and strengthened our communities. They have also made discoveries that help Canadian businesses stay competitive and are making Canada a world leader in technology development.
I would invite all members of this House to join me in celebrating National Science and Technology Week.
Mr. Speaker, Robert Redeker, a philosophy professor in Toulouse, has become famous, unintentionally. Mr. Redeker published an article on Islam and the Koran in the well-known French newspaper Le Figaro. To publish an article, state one's opinion, open the door to discussion—such is the beauty of a democratic society.
The professor, who lives in France, has received death threats from fundamentalists, like those that forced the writer, Salman Rushdie, a resident of England, into hiding for several years. Many writers, artists, intellectuals, politicians and ordinary citizens are calling upon Quebec City and Ottawa to strongly condemn this matter, which is without question very similar to that of Mr. Rushdie.
Regardless of what was written in the article, the death threats received by Mr. Redeker go against the very basis of public life in a democratic state.
The Bloc Québécois is calling upon federal authorities to denounce this type of behaviour by fundamentalists and to send a clear message: these threats will not be tolerated in a democratic country.
Mr. Speaker, every year during Canada's Citizenship Week we take time to celebrate the values, rights and responsibilities attached to Canadian citizenship.
Today, October 16, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration officially launched Canada's Citizenship Week in Ottawa, a splendid occasion that I had the personal opportunity to attend.
From October 16 to 22, hundreds of newcomers will take the oath of citizenship at ceremonies across Canada. Thousands of Canadians will also reaffirm their commitment to Canada by reciting the same oath.
Around the world, Canadian citizenship is highly valued. Our society is based on the principles of justice, freedom, equality and respect. Newcomers choose Canada for different reasons, but all come to our country because they see a better life for themselves and their families.
On average, Canadian citizenship is granted to close to 200,000 people every year. Canada is proud to welcome them, with all their talents, dreams and aspirations. New Canadians make a significant social, economic and cultural contribution to the country and they play a crucial role in building a better Canada.
Canada's Citizenship Week is an opportunity for all of us to remember the importance of celebrating and preserving Canadian citizenship.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 10th anniversary of the Canadian Cure Campaign, which saw a then teenaged Christine Ichim rollerblade across Canada to raise funds for leukemia research.
This week she celebrates with a Hope for Leukemia Awareness Day and is teaming up with the Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplasia Association of Canada during the association's annual awareness week.
It is estimated that there are more than 1,500 new cases of these bone marrow failure diseases each year alone in Canada. This week is an opportunity to increase awareness and give hope to families faced with these diseases.
I believe I speak for all parliamentarians when I extend our support of these efforts to bring attention to serious bone marrow diseases.
Mr. Speaker, on Saturday evening I had the opportunity to attend the Vancouver Korean-Canadian Scholarship Foundation awards dinner. During the evening, more than 50 post-secondary students of Korean ancestry were presented with financial awards to help them achieve their academic and career goals.
For me, it was great to spend the evening in the company of such amazing young people. It was also great to see the tremendous contribution that the Korean-Canadian Scholarship Foundation is making to its community and to Canada.
Earlier last week, the Prime Minister also had the opportunity to meet with many of these scholarship recipients while he was in Vancouver. The Prime Minister's visit was warmly received and many students were delighted that he took the time to meet with them and extend his congratulations.
I want to make special mention of Eunice Oh, chair of the scholarship foundation and main organizer of this annual dinner. I was told that without Mrs. Oh this event would not have become the great success that it is today.
I know that Korean Canadians have made great contributions to Canada in the past, but based on what I saw Saturday evening, I would say that the best is yet to come.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday millions of people around the world, including thousands across Canada, stood up to make poverty history in support of the UN millennium development goals.
Today, right now, NDP members stand up to make poverty history. We urge all members of the House to rise with us in saying that Canada must meet its international commitment of 0.7% for development aid.
In 1989 Ed Broadbent got all-party support to end child poverty. In 2005 Parliament unanimously supported an NDP motion to meet Canada's commitment. And we forced the Liberals to include an additional $500 million in the budget for aid. So why do we have budget cuts that hurt the most vulnerable in our society? Why does Canada break its promises?
We stand today for hope, that when political will exists, these goals become real. We stand today because the world's poor are tired and dying of waiting. We stand today for concrete action to make poverty history.
October 16th, 2006 / 2:10 p.m.
Mr. Speaker, there are more than 400 co-operatives and credit unions operating in Nova Scotia.
The co-operative movement was started in Cape Breton by a fellow islander, Dr. Moses Coady. It came about mostly because of the struggles that farmers and fishermen were facing in rural areas during the depression.
In 2006 the Cape Breton Co-op stores won the CEO award from Co-op Atlantic in recognition of the best overall improvement in sales, expense controls and overall savings for their membership. Housing cooperatives in my riding of Sydney--Victoria provided good quality, affordable rental housing for almost 50 families.
I had the great experience of being a member of four different co-ops. During my time, I saw at first hand how the co-op not only benefits communities but also brings a sense of unity to the community.
I ask all members of Parliament to join me in recognizing this week as Co-op Week and celebrate the co-ops' accomplishments with them.
Mr. Speaker, it is crucial that the government do everything in its power to save the forest industry from this catastrophe.
In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, only five mills remain out of the 19 that were operating only a short time ago. More than 2,500 people have lost their jobs. My riding has been battered by this crisis.
We waited four years to see this conflict resolved. Now we have an agreement signed and look where it has left forest workers. It has been a long time; very long, too long. In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 14 out of 19 are now closed or about to close.
For many municipalities, these mills provided the main, if not the only, economic activity. This is shameful. The government must stop finding excuses for its inaction and immediately get to work for the citizens of Quebec's remote regions.
Mr. Speaker, I recently met with JoAnne Durham and Ron McBride, two individuals involved in Leading Hands of Canada, an organization designed to break down barriers between employers and employees with hearing loss.
In Ontario alone there are at least 85,000 persons with hearing loss. The need to provide training and support programs for such individuals as well as their employers is enormous. Often employers will look the other way from a potential employee with hearing loss because of various misapprehensions about the suitability of persons with hearing loss to maintain gainful employment, a lack of tax incentives for employers, and other factors.
With $17.7 million recently axed from literacy programs, there is a pressing need for the government to take a leadership role in providing educational and training opportunities for those who are without the tools to function at home, in the community and in the workplace.
The right to be treated equally has been sacrificed at the altar of those who can only think in terms of money, those who know the cost and price of everything, but the value of nothing.
The hon. member for Langley.
Mr. Speaker, today the Canadian Lung Association is meeting with MPs to raise awareness of the burden of lung disease in Canada.
The Canadian Lung Association supports this government's efforts to reduce the levels of air pollution and I believe it is looking forward to the introduction of the clean air act.
Like this government, the Lung Association recognizes the importance of reducing air pollution for the sake of our health. Smog and poor air quality continue to cause thousands of deaths each year and hundreds of thousands of severe episodes of asthma and bronchitis, particularly among children and the elderly. It is estimated that six million Canadians suffer from serious lung diseases and unfortunately, these disease rates continue to rise.
This government's approach was developed with the long term health benefits of Canadians in mind. Our approach is achievable and beneficial to our environment. Canada's new government is committed to improving the health of Canadians by cleaning up the air we breathe.
My thanks to the Canadian Lung Association.
Mr. Speaker, during the parliamentary break week, Liberals were out listening to Canadians. As I met with Canadians in small communities in northern Manitoba, Nunavut and rural Quebec, they told me they did not understand why the Conservative government had it in for our fellow citizens who were most in need.
Over and over again we heard about the Conservative government's cuts to literacy funding, a cruel blow to those adult Canadians who cannot read or write but want to better their lives.
Why is the government picking on those Canadians? Why is the Prime Minister giving the back of his hand to the most vulnerable in our country?
Mr. Speaker, if all these Liberal MPs were out working so hard, we would think they would have come back to the House to tell us exactly what they heard.
The House will know that the government will spend over $80 million on literacy in the next two years. We want to ensure those dollars are spent as effectively as possible.
Mr. Speaker, I wish the Prime Minister would go to Nunavut. There the literacy programs have been decimated; Literacy Partners of Manitoba was cut to pieces; and forget about the Quebeckers who are telling us that they cannot read instruction manuals for their kids' report cards.
Canadians understand that in the 21st century literacy means economic survival. Why is the government destroying hope for those Canadian adults who have serious literacy challenges? How can the government be both so meanspirited and so economically irresponsible?
Mr. Speaker, I think the most effective way of dealing with that kind of exaggeration is, once again, simply with the facts. The government will be spending over $80 million a year in the next two years. The government has announced new funding for immigration settlement which will also contribute to literacy programs.
The fact of the matter is that under the previous government, for 13 years, adult illiteracy went up. We are going to ensure we spend effectively so that it goes down.
Mr. Speaker, are workers affected by mill closings in Quebec exaggerating when they say jobs are being cut?
The Prime Minister gave in to the Americans. This has led to job losses in Quebec. Now, his Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is making things worse by blaming the job losses on the environmental programs of the Quebec government. This is irresponsible ignorance.
When will the Prime Minister and his Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec do their job and help workers living in regions experiencing difficulties?
Mr. Speaker, this government realizes that the forestry industry is facing major challenges. That is why the budget adopted by this Parliament includes funds for the forestry industry and for older workers.
A softwood lumber agreement is needed to bring stability to the industry. That is why our agreement is supported by the Quebec government, unions and corporations. The Liberal Party should support this agreement.
Mr. Speaker, more than 1,600 forestry jobs have been lost in Quebec and Ontario in the past week.
The so-called agreement with the Americans on softwood lumber has accomplished nothing. The promised stability is nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Does the Prime Minister concur with the erroneous and simplistic explanation given by his Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, who blames the Coulombe report, the Government of Quebec and environmentalists for the crisis in the forest industry? | 2019-04-25T00:33:48Z | https://openparliament.ca/debates/2006/10/16/mark-eyking-1/ |
Where do private school students go to school?
There are 34,576 private schools in the United States, serving 5.7 million PK-12 students. Private schools account for 25 percent of the nation's schools and enroll 10 percent of all PK-12 students.
Most private school students (78 percent) attend religiously-affiliated schools (see table 2 of the PSS Report). And most private schools are small: 87 percent have fewer than 300 students (see table 1 of the PSS Report).
Source: Table 205.50 Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 Tables, National Center for Education Statistics.
Visit the U.S. Census Bureau Web site for detailed tables on school enrollment for October 2015. Table 8 provides data by family income.
In March 2000, the National Center for Education Statistics issued a report entitled Service-Learning and Community Service Among 6th- Through 12th-Grade Students in the United States. According to the report, "Involving America's students in community service activities is one of the objectives established under the third National Education Goal for the year 2000,which seeks to prepare students for responsible citizenship."
The report notes a significant difference in levels of community service between public school students and private school students. "For both 1996 and 1999, students attending church-related private schools(42 percent for both years) and non-church-related private schools (31percent in 1996 and 41 percent in 1999) were more likely to say their schools required and arranged community service than students attending public schools...(14 percent in 1996 and 17 percent in 1999)."
Visit the NCES NAEP Writing Web Site.
Visit the NCES NAEP U.S. History Web Site.
Visit the NCES NAEP Geography Web Site.
Visit the NCES NAEP Civics Web Site.
Visit the NCES NAEP Science Web Site.
Use the NAEP Data Tool to develop customized reports.
What do the achievement levels mean?
Basic Level... denotes partial mastery of the knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at a given grade.
Proficient Level... represents solid academic performance, and competency over challenging subject matter. The proficient level is identified as the standard that all students should reach.
Advanced Level... signifies superior performance at a given grade.
September 1, 2017 -- Americans rate private schools significantly higher than other types of schools, according to a Gallup poll conducted early last month and released August 21.
The survey of 1,017 U.S. adults aged 18 and older found that 71 percent of participants regarded independent private schools as excellent or good, while 63 percent gave the same rating to parochial or church-related schools. Charter schools received excellent or good ratings from 55 percent of American adults; home schools from 46 percent, and public schools from 44 percent.
Read more about the poll in the September issue of CAPE Outlook.
January 3, 2017 -- Private school parents are significantly more satisfied with the schools their children attend than are parents from other sectors, including public charter schools and public district schools. That finding comes from two new studies released by Education Next, a scholarly journal on school reform published by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School.
The first study looked at results from a survey, commissioned by Education Next in May and June of 2016, of a nationally representative sample of 1,571 parents with children in school. The second study analyzed results from a survey of over 17,000 families conducted in 2012 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The second study’s larger sample size allowed for a deeper dive into population subgroups.
Read more about both studies in the January issue of CAPE Outlook.
November 1, 2016 -- If given the opportunity to select whatever school they could for their child, more millennials would prefer a private school than any other option, according to a national poll released October 11 by EdChoice, formerly the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
Asked “If it were your decision and you could select any type of school, and financial costs and transportation were of no concern, what type of school would you select in order to obtain the best education for your child?” 43 percent of millennials said they would select a private school (including independent, parochial, and religious); 28 percent would choose a regular public school; 13 percent, a home school; and 8 percent said they would choose a charter school.
Read more about the poll in the November 2016 issue of CAPE Outlook.
November 1, 2013 -- A central premise of the school choice movement is that parents know what’s best for their children. When they have a choice, parents tend to select schools that match their expectations of what a school should be. Making that match is a source of satisfaction.
A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics confirms the fact that parents who choose their child’s school are indeed more satisfied with the school and its various characteristics than parents who are assigned a school by the government. Looking at data from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012 (NHES:2012), the report centers on parent and family involvement in education.
Parents of 80 percent of students enrolled in a religious private school in 2011-12 and 82 percent of students in other private schools reported being “very satisfied” with their child’s school, compared to the parents of 56 percent of students in public schools to which their children were assigned and 62 percent of students in public schools that parents chose (e.g., charter schools and magnet schools). Higher percentages of private school parents than public school parents were also very satisfied with the teachers their children had and with the academic standards of the school (see table).
Find out more about the study in the November 2013 Outlook .
August 8, 2012 --Private school students are nearly twice as likely as students in general to give their schools a grade of "A," according to a national survey released today.
Asked, “If you could give your current school a grade from A to F, what grade would you give it?” six out of every ten students in private high schools awarded their schools the highest grade possible, while one in three students overall did so.
The 2012-2013 State of Our Nation’s Youth report, produced by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, covers the perspectives of young people on a host of issues. Some 1,500 individuals participated in the survey.
December 1999 - By a margin of nine to one, Americans believe parents should have the right to choose their child's school, according to a report released last month by Public Agenda, a research organization based in New York City. Moreover, if they were given a choice of schools-- along with the financial wherewithal to exercise it-- a full 55 percent of parents who currently send their children to public schools would want to send them to private schools.
The report, titled On Thin Ice, presents findings from a poll taken to assess the public's attitudes on vouchers, charter schools, and related issues. The survey of 1,200 citizens, about one-third of whom were parents of school-age children, was bolstered by insights from five focus groups.
May 2010: High Levels of Satisfaction Among Private School Parents.
In May 2002, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released its annual report to Congress on the condition of education. The report included a special analysis on private schools titled Private Schools: A Brief Portrait.
Private school teachers are more likely than public school teachers to report being satisfied with teaching at their school.
Private school graduates are more likely than their peers from public schools to have completed advanced level courses in three academic subject areas.
Private school teachers are more likely than public school teachers to report having a lot of influence on several teaching practices and school policies.
A majority of private school teachers express positive opinions about their principal and their school's management.
On average, private schools have smaller enrollments, smaller average class sizes, and lower student/teacher ratios than public schools.
Private high schools are four times more likely than public high schools to have a community service requirement for graduation.
Students in the lowest SES quartile who attended a private school in 8th grade were nearly four times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree than students from the same quartile who attended a public school.
Read CAPE's summary of the report.
Download Private Schools: A Brief Portrait (PDF) directly from the NCES web site.
June 1, 2016 -- The number of private school students increased from 5.3 million to 5.4 million between 2011-12 and 2013-14, according to a report just released by the National Center for Education Statistics. That change drove the private school share of all U.S. students from 9.6 percent to 9.7 percent.
According to The Condition of Education 2016, “In 2013-14, some 38 percent of all private school students were enrolled in Catholic schools,” which accounted for 2.1 million students. Conservative Christian schools enrolled 707,000 students; other affiliated religious schools, 565,000; unaffiliated religious schools, 758,000, and nonsectarian schools, 1.3 million.
Read more about the new report in the June 2016 issue of CAPE Outlook.
February 3, 2014 --With a college degree widely regarded as a ticket to success in life, it turns out that students attending private high schools are significantly more likely than other students to attain one.
According to a report released in January by the National Center for Education Statistics, tenth-graders in private high schools in 2002 were nearly twice as likely as their public school counterparts to receive a bachelor’s degree or higher by 2012. In turn, degree recipients were ultimately more successful in securing a job and realizing higher earnings—considerable consolation in an economy scarred by persistently high levels of unemployment.
October 3, 2011 -- A federal study following ninth graders through high school and into higher education and early work shows significant differences in achievement and expectations between the students in private schools and their counterparts in government schools.
Two reports by the National Center for Education Statistics examine select characteristics from the base year of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), a massive project tracking a cohort of roughly 20,000 ninth graders in 944 public and private schools.
The companion reports focus on the results of mathematics assessments, exposure to math and science courses, and students’ long-term educational expectations, while also offering contextual data provided by parents, teachers, counselors, and administrators.
For more on this story and others, read the October 2011 issue of CAPE Outlook . Receive Outlook free of charge each month.
September 3, 2013 -- Reports released this summer on two federal surveys provide, from an array of angles, a penetrating look at the state of private education in the United States.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in August released selected findings from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a nationally representative survey of public and private school principals and teachers.
The survey offers a rich assortment of information about schools, the people who run them, and the students who attend them. It turns out, for example, that 64 percent of graduates from all private high schools and 81 percent of graduates from Catholic high schools go on to a four-year college. The same is true for 40 percent of graduates from traditional public schools and 37 percent of graduates from public charter schools.
Read more about SASS as well as the Private School Universe Survey (PSS), a comprehensive count of the number of private schools, students, and teachers in the United States, in the September issue of CAPE Outlook .
April 3, 2013 -- Students in private high schools are more likely than those in public schools to receive a diploma, attend a four-year college, and ultimately earn a bachelor’s degree, according to data complied by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the request of CAPE.
The findings hold true regardless of the race or ethnicity of students and should be of interest to policymakers determined to improve rates of high school graduation, college attendance, and college completion.
Find out more in the April 2013 issue of Outlook .
December 12, 2005--The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) today released a comprehensive statistical analysis of the performance of private school students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) from 2000 to 2005. The report shows above-average performance of private school students in every grade, subject, and year tested. The report also examines student scores for various racial/ethnic groups, showing that Black students, Hispanic students, and White students in private schools outperform their counterparts in public schools.
October 12, 2016 -- Call it a year of transition for the College Board’s SAT assessment. Some graduates of the class of 2016 took the old SAT, which was last administered in January 2016, and some took the new SAT, first administered in March 2016.
The average total score on the old SAT for 2016 graduates was 1484 out of a possible 2400.
However, scores varied significantly by the type of school students attended, with college-bound seniors in religious and independent schools scoring substantially higher than the national average.
Read more about the scores in the October issue of CAPE Outlook.
August 22, 2012 --If you graduated from a private high school this past June, you were significantly more likely than graduates of other schools to be ready for college coursework, according to data compiled by ACT, the college admission testing company.
Eighty-three percent of 2012 graduates of religious and independent schools who took the ACT met or surpassed the test’s college readiness benchmark score in English, compared to 64 percent of graduates from public schools. The share of students who met the benchmark scores in other subjects was also higher in private schools (reading – 68 percent vs. 50 percent; math – 60 vs. 44; science – 42 vs. 29).
The ACT today released a report titled The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2012, which summarizes the national performance of ACT-tested students. At CAPE’s request, the company compiled comparable data for private school graduates.
Average actual ACT scores for 2012 graduates of private schools were significantly above the national average. The ACT mean composite score for 2012 private school graduates was 23.2, compared to 20.8 for public school graduates, and the private school advantage remained steady across all subject areas: English – 23.5 vs. 20.1, reading – 23.5 vs. 21.0, math – 22.8 vs. 20.9, and science – 22.5 vs. 20.7.
The ACT scoring scale ranges from 1 to 36, and seemingly small differences in the scale score can represent significant percentile shifts. For example, an ACT English score of 20 has a national percentile rank of 50 among all ACT-tested students in the class of 2012, meaning that 50 percent of graduates who took the ACT English test scored a 20 or below. But an English scale score of 24 places a student at the 74th percentile. In other words, a four-point scale difference on the English test represents, at least in this example, a 24-point percentile difference.
September 1, 2016 -- High-achieving black males who attend private high schools are dramatically more likely to attain a bachelor’s degree than similar students attending public schools, according to a study published in The Urban Review.
Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/00), Dr. Valija C. Rose, the report’s author, looked at how high school types, settings, and programs affect the chances of certain students attaining a college degree.
While controlling for socioeconomic status or SES (a variable combining parent education and occupation along with family income), Dr. Rose looked at the impact on getting a college degree of (a) school location (urban, suburban, rural), (b) school sector (public or private), and (c) educational opportunities (participation in gifted and talented programs or AP courses).
Read more about the study in the September 2016 issue of CAPE Outlook.
May 1, 2013 -- Students in religious schools enjoy a significant academic advantage over their counterparts in traditional public schools and charter schools, according to findings from a meta-analysis of 90 studies on the effects of schools conducted by William Jeynes, senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, and a professor at California State University, Long Beach.
The study also found that faith-based schools have narrower achievement gaps and better student behavioral outcomes.
Read more about the study in the May 2013 issue of Outlook .
April 6, 2007--What can be done to narrow the achievement gap? That question, in one form or another, has been challenging policy makers for decades. Grand national strategies, like the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Head Start, and the No Child Left Behind Act, have been promoted by presidents and passed by Congress to help address the problem through expensive programmatic and instructional interventions. But what if the solution to the achievement gap is to be found in other domains, such as school culture, family support, or religious commitment?
Jeynes drew much of his data from the massive National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS:88), which tracked a nationally representative sample of eighth graders through high school and beyond. NELS:88 provides data on a host of school and student variables, allowing Jeynes to look at whether schools were religiously affiliated and to examine other factors like school culture, curriculum, race relations, discipline, violence, and homework practices. The student questionnaire enabled Jeynes to isolate students who considered themselves “very religious,” those who were actively involved in religious youth groups, and those that regularly attended religious services. He also examined other variables, such as test results, socioeconomic status, race, gender, and family structure.
The NELS data showed that twelfth-grade religious school students in all SES quartiles achieved at higher levels than their counterparts in public schools, with the religious school advantage being highest for students in the lowest SES quartile. Religious school students in the bottom SES quartile had a 7.6 percent advantage in reading scores over similar public school students, while students in the highest SES quartile had a somewhat lower 5.2 percent advantage.
Looking at achievement by race, Jeynes found similar results: higher overall achievement for both minority and majority students in religious schools when compared to their counterparts in public schools, but with minority students (i.e., African American and Latino students) enjoying an even greater religious school advantage than white students. For example, before controlling for gender and SES, black and Latino students scored 8.2 percent higher than their public school counterparts in reading achievement, while white students scored 6.0 percent higher than their counterparts. But even after controlling for gender and SES (see chart), black and Latino students outscored their public school peers in reading by 4.6 percent, while white students did so by 3.4 percent.
With the achievement advantage among religious school students greater for low-SES students than high-SES students and greater for minority students than majority students, Jeynes concluded that both the SES and racial achievement gaps are narrower in religious schools than public schools.
Turning to the more complicated question of why religious schools have a narrower achievement gap, Jeynes examined factors relating to school culture, family, social capital, and religious commitment. Although the methodology did not allow a determination of the cause or causes of the higher student performance in religious schools, the study offered some interesting candidates and correlations.
Exploring the role played by school culture, Jeynes statistically examined five separate components, namely, school atmosphere, racial harmony, level of school discipline, school violence, and amount of homework done. According to the report, “The results demonstrate that religious schools outperform nonreligious schools in all of the five school trait categories and in nearly all of the individual questions that make up those categories.” The study also found that religious school students enjoyed an advantage over public school students in the three learning habits that were most strongly related to academic achievement: taking harder courses, diligence, and overall work habits. | 2019-04-21T02:18:45Z | http://capenet.org/facts.html |
Knowledge @ Wharton has a special report on Olympic sponsorships this week. Do these sponsorships make economic sense? Some experts argue that sponsorships don't offer an immediate benefit, but they have a positive long term effect on brand equity. That may be the case, but hopefully, firms would experience beneficial short term effects as well. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor Kathleen Farrell and her co-author W. Scott Frame conducted a study of the impact of sponsorships on the market value of firms. They found that stocks tended to fall slightly during the period in which firms announced that they were sponsoring the 1996 Olympics.
Perhaps even more interesting are two reports by marketing firms. Gallup and Robinson found that most people cannot identify the official Olympic sponsors. Another report by marketing agency Jam found that Nike was the brand most mentioned by consumers as an Olympic sponsor, but the firm actually is not sponsoring the London Olympics!
"The researchers proposed that this finding is driven by what is called "counterfactual thinking," those thoughts of what might have been if something different had happened. In particular, they proposed that silver medals did upward comparisons to the gold medal winner, while the bronze medalists did downward comparisons to people who didn't win medals"
Sutton also points out that expectations play a key role here. Of course, a bronze medalist who expected gold won't be very happy. However, a bronze medalist who wondered whether they would win any medal at all will be quite thrilled. I'm intrigued by the research, and I'll be watching the emotions of the Olympians from here on out... watching to see if this research finding holds true in London.
As we all know by now, Ron Johnson's first moves at JC Penney have not gone smoothly (to say the least). He put forth a bold new pricing strategy that left customers befuddled, and those consumers simply stopped shopping at his stores. Sales dropped sharply, sending the stock tumbling. Now the company has announced a shift in pricing strategy. They've made it simpler. The firm will cut prices across the board, while moving to a two-tiered pricing structure: EDLP on most items, with sharp discounts on clearance items.
Many people have criticized Johnson's pricing maneuvers. Rather than focusing on the CONTENT of his pricing strategy, I'd like to comment on the TIMING of his moves. According to the Wall Street Journal, Johnson's longer term strategy for the retailer is to focus on creating a "department store full of vendor-branded and themed boutiques." The company launched its first such boutique yesterday in Manhattan - a jeans boutique featuring Levi's, Arizona, and iJeans by Buffalo. My question is this: Wouldn't it have been more effective to launch the boutiques FIRST and then move to a new pricing structure? Didn't the firm need to get the store layout and experience improved FIRST and then try to wean customers off of constant discounts? I think the timing issue, in a way, is a more interesting strategic question than the issue of precisely how JC Penney should price its items.
The first thing he discovered is that the creative architects knew how to play. They could get immersed in a problem. It was almost childlike, like when a child gets utterly absorbed in a problem. The second thing was that they deferred making decisions as long as they could. This is surprising.
If you have a decision to make, what is the single most important question to ask yourself? I believe it’s ‘when does this decision have to be made’? When most of us have a problem that’s a little bit unresolved, we’re a little bit uncomfortable. We want to resolve it. The creative architects had this tolerance for this discomfort we all feel when we leave things unresolved. Why would those two things be importance? The playfulness is because in that moment of childlike play, you’re much more in touch with your unconscious. The second is that when you defer decisions as long as possible, it’s giving your unconscious the maximum amount of time to come up with something.
As a research on decision-making, I found this point about deferring decisions quite interesting. Often you hear people bemoaning the chronic indecision that they observe in their organizations. Here though, Bates' research shows that sometimes we have to give ourselves time to let thoughts and ideas percolate. I found it a bit hard to reconcile this advice with one of the key principles from design thinking...which is that we learn and improve very effectively through trial and error. In other words, take action, experiment, and learn and adapt from that trial. How does one reconcile that model of innovation with this advice to defer decisions at times? I think the idea here is that "deferring decisions" doesn't preclude trial and error. It simply means not setting things in concrete too soon. It means exploring options and waiting to commit fully to particular path. Trial and error, in fact, can help sort out those plausible options,and it can be part of the "play" process.
The key to your team becoming more proactive rests in the language subordinates and superiors use.
Marquet doesn't want action to begin with an order from the commander. Instead, he wants action to begin with an empowered subordinate coming up with a recommended course of action. Then, the subordinate should explain their plan ("I intend to"). The commander reacts to that recommendation, rather than simply barking out orders. The change in language may seem trivial, but it emphasizes a shift in responsibility. It pushes the burden down upon the subordinate to proactively come up with a plan of action and to recommend it to the "boss" - rather than having subordinates wait passively to be told what to do.
1. What does my organization bring to the world?
2. Does that difference matter?
3. Is something about it scarce and difficult to imitate?
4. Are we doing today what we need to do in order to matter tomorrow?
While that's not a new list, it is certainly very clear and concise. The challenging part, for many firms, is actually coming up with a clear and concise answer to these questions. It's amazing how many firms struggle to respond effectively. What about your company?
Working on Multiple Teams at the Same Time: Positive or Negative?
The professors also discovered that highly skilled people were more likely to be involved in multiple teams, and that having members who were involved with multiple teams was associated with good team performance. A person with that kind of knowledge tends to be highly sought after, so his or her attention will likely be divided among many teams. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, says Haas. Teams composed of these valuable members also performed well. "That was a surprising result," she notes. "It's not necessarily causal, but it suggests if you take people who are assigned to several other teams already and bring them onto a new team, that team can benefit from their networks, knowledge and access to resources, even if they can't devote a lot of attention to the team. The exception is if the team members who are involved in lots of other projects are also very geographically dispersed -- in this case, the fact that they cannot devote much attention to the team makes the performance advantage disappear."
I find these results compelling, and they make sense intuitively. I do wonder about one thing though. Does it matter what TYPE OF WORK the teams are doing, or THE TIME CONSTRAINTS under which they may be operating? Perhaps some types of work require more focused attention, while others benefit from people being able to access a wider network through service on multiple teams. Similarly, perhaps working under a tight deadline could make it less attractive to serve on many teams simultaneously.
What Does a Business Apology Mean in Different Cultures?
Yesterday, I taught my case on BP and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill here in Tokyo. We had a very interesting discussion regarding BP's actions both before the accident and in the immediate aftermath. Some Japanese executives felt that BP CEO Tony Hayward should have put forth a clearer, more direct apology immediately. Others were not so sure, pointing out that the US is a highly litigious society.
I brought up a study by Insead's William Maddux which he conducted along with Tetsushi Okumura of Japan's Nagoya City University as well as USC's Peter Kim and Northwestern's Jeanne Brett. They have studied the meaning and function of apologies across cultures. They found a difference between what they call "individual-agency cultures" such as the US and "collective" cultures such as Japan. In the US, an apology means that one is taking the blame for a failure. On the other hand, in Japan, apologies are "general expressions of remorse rather than a means to assign culpability." Perhaps because of this difference in meaning, they found that the Japanese tend to apologize more often, even if they were not at fault for particular actions. The findings definitely resonated with the Japanese executives with whom I discussed the BP case yesterday. They acknowledged that apologies do take on a different meaning in their country. As executives work and do business in different countries, they would be well-served to understand these key differences.
Will Non-Experts Fuel Future Disruptive Innovation?
Highly successful entrepreneur and philanthropist Naveen Jain has published an interesting essay on the Forbes website. Jain argues that non-experts will fuel much of the future disruptive innovations. He challenges Gladwell's emphasis on experts in his book, Outliers. Jain explains that the experts won't necessarily be the ones to solve some of the world's most challenging problems.
Do you agree with his arguments?
Thank you to Maria Popova for discovering this old video and posting it on her blog, Brain Pickings. It's called "Elevator Groupthink."
The Wall Street Journal reported that supermarkets are losing market share in the United States. Traditional supermarkets - such as Jewel, Stop & Shop, or Albertson's - accounted for nearly 2/3 of all grocery sales in the nation a decade ago. Today, those supermarkets generate only 51% of all grocery sales. Where have the grocery shoppers gone? Mass merchandisers (Target and Wal-Mart), Pharmacies (CVS, Walgreen's), and warehouse clubs (BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club) have all taken a bite out of that pie. Target, for instance, recognized that food may not be very profitable, but it generates traffic. When people come to the store more often, they buy other higher margin items. Traditional supermarkets are also feeling their profits squeezed because many are "caught in the middle" between premium players like Whole Foods and hard discounters such as Aldi or Dollar General.
Interestingly, I read another article in the Wall Street Journal recently about Target collaborating with Neiman Marcus on some special designer collections to be sold in both chains. It is a unique collaboration. Target, of course, is pursuing this type of strategy because they continue to try to seek unique items for their stores. They don't want to simply be selling the same items that you can find at Kohl's, Wal-Mart, etc. That makes a ton of sense. However, that triggered a thought in my mind... why don't more supermarkets pursue such strategies? Why aren't more traditional supermarkets trying to create unique product lines that can't be found elsewhere. A few players have done this successfully (think Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). However, the mainstream supermarkets don't do this much at all. They ought to be doing that, because otherwise all they are doing is competing on price. The struggles recently at firms such as Supervalu show that price competition can be deadly.
1. Japan is a collective society, with less emphasis on individual self-achievement.
2. Japan is a "high power distance" society, meaning that it's tough for young entrepreneurs to deal directly with senior executives at various organizations that might provide financing, supply key inputs for their products, etc.
3. Many Japanese value job security a great deal, perhaps even more so than securing the highest compensation possible.
4. Many Japanese worry about disappointing others and worry that a failed startup would harm many peers and colleagues.
5. Japan's low rate of social network usage relative to many Western nations means that potential entrepreneurs have lower social capital to draw upon as they seek customers, partners, investors, suppliers, employees, and the like.
One may or may not agree with each of these explanations, or characterizations of Japanese society. However, I do think all countries and regions should consider these hypotheses as they think about how to stimulate entrepreneurial activity.
1. Surround yourself with highly capable people.
2. Encourage dissent and discourage people from behaving as yes-men.
3. Regularly admit and fix your mistakes.
4. Treat every employee with respect.
5. Find an objective sounding board outside the office.
I think it's a terrific list. Moreover, I think it applies to managers at all levels of an organization, not just at the CEO position. Front-line managers should also cultivate an objective sounding board, encourage dissent, and surround themselves with talented subordinates. In fact, if people engage in these practices early in their managerial career, they may be less likely to catch CEO disease if and when they rise to the top.
1. First, focus on what you can control, rather than worry about what is beyond your control. Change the way you lead your team. If all of you in this program begin to do that, you will begin to shift the organizational climate. You will serve as exemplars for those that work for you.
2. Use questions as your tool for opening up more dialogue in meetings led by your boss. Rather than confronting your boss about the fact that he or she may not be encouraging people to speak up, try asking some non-threatening questions in team meetings that encourage others to share information or views that have not been disclosed previously.
3. Use one-on-one meetings to convey to your boss that he or she may not have heard all views in a key team meeting. Let them know, with specifics, how certain concerns are not being surfaced (without naming names!).
4. Invite your boss to sit in on a meeting you are leading with your team, and showcase some techniques that you and your team use to cultivate productive debate and candid dialogue.
5. When you read about a company that stumbled because senior executives were unaware of bad news until it was far too late, share it with your boss. Send the article to him or her by email. A compelling story of another organization's failure might trigger an attempt to change behavior at your firm.
Please don't tell my kids about this service!
David: How does being an entrepreneur at the helm of a very large enterprise differ from entrepreneurial leadership of a small startup or growth company?
Brad: Regardless of whether you are leading a large enterprise or a small team, you need to remove barriers to innovation and get out of the way. At Intuit, we operate like a company of startups. We create and foster a culture where our nearly 8,000 employees worldwide have the courage to take risks and grow by learning from success and failure. Idea Jams and unstructured time give passionate employees opportunities to collaborate on new ideas to solve customer problems. To keep ideas moving and teams nimble, we embrace the “Two-Pizza rule,” making sure product development teams are no larger than two pizzas can feed.
I absolutely LOVE the two-pizza rule. If everyone eats 2 slices of pizza, then we are talking about an eight-person team. That sounds just about right for me. I constantly find organizations building teams that are far too large to be effective at accomplishing a creative task. The two-pizza rule provides a simple heuristic for helping leaders keep their teams small and nimble. Every organization should consider embracing this powerful rule of thumb.
Knowledge at Wharton features the research of Wharton Professor Cassie Mogilner and her colleagues, Harvard business professor Michael J. Norton and Yale postdoctoral associate Zoe Chance. Through a series of experimental studies, they find that, "by taking time to help others, we can help ourselves by creating a feeling of expanded time." In other words, perhaps we should reconsider when we feel stressed and reject invitations to help someone else out at work, at church, or in our neighborhood. The scholars found that "although people's objective amount of time cannot be increased (there are only 24 hours in a day) ... spending time on others increases feelings of time affluence. The impact of giving time on feelings of time affluence is driven by a boosted sense of self-efficacy -- such that giving time makes people more willing to commit to future engagements despite their busy schedules."
While I find the work compelling, I think we should take great care acting on the conclusions. We might feel better if we help others, but we also have to remember that trade-offs exist. There is no free lunch. Will our effectiveness at all activities suffer if we take on too many tasks? Many students, for instance, struggle with time management in their early years in college. While taking on extracurriculars has many benefits, I have definitely seen many students become stretched too thin. Not only does schoolwork suffer, but their effectiveness in their social or community service work tails off as well.
The Wall Street Journal has an article today about Lenovo's vertical integration strategy. That strategy stands in stark contrast to many of the firm's rivals in the computer business (including Apple), which have outsourced many aspects of the manufacturing process. Lenovo CEO says, "Selling PCs is like selling fresh fruit. The speed of innovation is very fast, so you must know how to keep up with the pace, control inventory, to match supply with demand and handle very fast turnover." Lenovo's SVP of supply chain says, "Three years ago the whole industry was saying everyone should outsource, that's the future. [We] came to the conclusion that even though all our other competitors are going in the other direction…we can move faster if we're more vertically integrated."
I'm surprised by the comments, and frankly, by the strategy. Most people would agree that Apple is one of the most innovative and highly differentiated companies in the computer industry. If Apple can achieve that type of rapid innovation without being completely vertically integrated, then why can't Lenovo? Apple pursues vertical integration on selected components, most importantly on its operating system. However, Apple does not keep all manufacturing in-house. Lenovo chooses to use outsiders for its operating system (Microsoft Windows for its PCs and Google's Android for its new tablets). Yet, Lenovo is manufacturing many hardware components in-house. Time will tell if the strategy will pay off. One wonders if the path to successful innovation, though, has more to do with company culture, leadership, and new product development processes, rather than with the extent of vertical integration.
"Collaboration improves when the roles of individual team members are clearly defined and well understood — in fact, when individuals feel their role is bounded in ways that allow them to do a significant portion of their work independently. Without such clarity, team members are likely to waste energy negotiating roles or protecting turf, rather than focusing on the task."
Erickson also finds that a little less clarity or definition on the path to achieving the team's goals can be beneficial. Why? Individuals perceive the task as something requiring them to be creative, and they feel empowered to provide their input as how to achieve the team's objectives. In other words, define the shared goal very clearly, but give the team members some freedom to figure out the best way to get there.
Feeling Guilty About a Mistake? Is it a Sign of Leadership Potential?
Stanford Professor Francis Flynn and doctoral student Becky Schaumberg have conducted an interesting new study about leadership. They administered a personality test to groups of 4-5 people. The test examined guilt proneness, shame proneness, extraversion, and other traits. They were particularly interested in the distinction between guilt and shame. Feeling guilty means that someone "feels bad about a specific mistake and wants to make amends." Feeling shame means that someone "feels bad about himself or herself and shrinks away from the error."
In this experiment, the groups had to perform two tasks after completing the personality inventory. The subjects evaluated each others' leadership qualities after completing these tasks. It turns out that the people who scored highest on the "guilt proneness" measure tended to be identified as the strongest leaders. In fact, guilt proneness "predicted emerging leadership even more than extraversion." According to Schaumberg, "Guilt-prone people tend to carry a strong sense of responsibility to others, and that responsibility makes other people see them as leaders."
Well... I guess I may have some leadership potential... after all, I'm Catholic, and we are experts at feeling guilty! Seriously, though, I think the study points to something very important. Feeling a responsibility to others is the mark of a good leader. Moreover, wanting to atone for your mistakes, rather than simply trying to cover them up, makes for an effective leader. I wonder how we might look for those characteristics as we interview young people for leadership positions early in their careers. Thoughts? | 2019-04-20T10:18:50Z | http://michael-roberto.blogspot.com/2012/07/ |
While there have been questions over whether the Angels will demote Shohei Ohtani to the minors to begin the season, it seems they do plan to have him open 2018 in the majors, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. In terms of results, it hasn’t been a good spring for the 23-year-old Japanese phenom, who has yielded 15 earned runs against 25 outs as a pitcher and collected just two hits in 20 at-bats as a hitter. However, on the pitching side, Ohtani has struck out 19 batters and issued only three walks, which has encouraged the Angels, according to Fletcher. They’re also confident he’ll turn it around at the plate. “The track record gives us the confidence to move forward with him as a two-way player,” general manager Billy Eppler said.
The Astros may head into the season with an all-righty bullpen, thanks to the struggles left-hander Tony Sipp has endured in recent years, Oliver Macklin of MLB.com relays. Sipp, whom the Astros re-signed to a three-year, $18MM deal heading into 2016, posted back-to-back subpar seasons entering this year and hasn’t fared well this spring. Manager A.J. Hinch conceded that going with an all-righty relief corps is “an option,” though he suggested he’d rather see Sipp rebound to his pre-2016 ways. Sipp, who’ll turn 35 in July, is due to earn $6MM in the final year of his contract.
Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright may open the season in the team’s rotation, Ian Browne of MLB.com writes. Wright, who has been working back from the season-ending left knee surgery he underwent last May, threw three innings of live batting practice Saturday and called it “a huge, huge step in the right direction.” There’s also optimism about left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who had knee surgery last October. Of Rodriguez, manager Alex Cora said, “It seems like Eddie, he’s in a sprint right now, which is great.” Meanwhile, lefty Drew Pomeranz – yet another injured Red Sox starter – will throw a minor league game Sunday as he attempts to bounce back from a mild flexor strain. Cora noted that “you can’t rule out” Pomeranz or either of the other banged-up starters from beginning the year in Boston’s rotation.
Rangers pitching prospect Cole Ragans has a UCL injury that may require Tommy John surgery, Robert Murray of FanRag hears. The 20-year-old left-hander, whom MLB.com ranks as the Rangers’ sixth-best prospect, is in his third year with the organization. A first-round pick in 2016, Ragans spent last season at the low-A level and pitched to a 3.61 ERA across 13 appearances (all starts) and 57 1/3 innings, also notching 13.66 K/9 against 5.49 BB/9.
Major League Baseball has given Blue Jays pitching prospect Thomas Pannone an 80-game suspension without pay after he tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing substance, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Pannone, a 23-year-old southpaw, ranks as MLB.com’s No. 20 Jays prospect. Acquired from the Indians in last summer’s Joe Smith trade, Pannone divided 2017 between the high-A and Double-A levels, where he combined for a 2.36 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 over 144 2/3 innings and 25 appearances (all starts).
Have to agree with you. My only concern is the mental effect it might bring on. Being smashed in your first taste of big league play could start a mental block, similar to what’s happening to Fultz (although I’m aware the situations are different). I hope it doesn’t though. I’m rooting for him to do well.
You ever get tired of trolling me, Carl?
Why do you think I was so down on Wade, I disregarded his Spring Training. As I told Collin, his struggles last year, felt longer than 58 at-bats. I’m sure he won’t have 5BB next year to 19K and a sub .200 BA, Go away, Carl.
I underestimated Wade’s potential because he was completely overmatched last year in his debut. Instead of questioning people’s fanhood, try using the Severino analogy Cereal used, which really made me look at the big picture, regarding Wade’s potential. Even though they play different positions, Severino looked like BUST in 2016, to borderline-Ace SP in 2017. TGCF gave me year sample size of a player who was putrid, and rebounded nicely. You give me nothing but Trouble.
Wrong. Spring numbers matter when the player is doing good. They “mean nothing” when a player struggles.
Agree but disagree. In this circumstance these players are highly overrated. I could go in with examples but I’m sure you know by now. Bad signing, over hyped, will continue in the MLB unfortunately. Did anyone really think a Japanese pitcher could not only dominate yet hit as a DH?? That’s as ridiculous as this offseason.
While I agree that ST numbers mean little for veterans, that’s not the case with young players looking for their first MLB opportunity. There would likely not even be a discussion if it weren’t for the theatrics in Ohtani coming to the U.S. That said I do hope he makes it because there’s nothing not to like about the kid and it would be a great story that would generate piles of good PR.
for sure, if that was not the case I don’t know if the Angels would have enough pitchers for opening day! still wouldn’t mind if he started in AAA to get adjusted but he could always go down later if he really struggles early on.
Well yeah I’m sure that was the reason why he allowed the Angels to have his services with the condition of making the big league roster as a 2 way player. That’s the reason why he’s going to be that come opening day.
Might as well go with Sipp to start the season. You already owe the man $6M.
Yeah, they’ll give him a chance, but the leash is short.
If it’s the difference of retaining Collin McHugh. You let Sipp walk.
That’s a roster carrying 12 pitchers, Sipp hasn’t shown any promise in two years and keeping him at age 35 over another position player like Marisnick, Fisher or Stassi. Keeping because he’s the only lefty option is moronic, particularly since the last two seasons the team has gone weeks without using him.
Not having a lefty in your bullpen will hurt you eventually though. I agree if Sipp isn’t the guy you let him go but that doesn’t change the fact that you need a lefty in your bullpen.
Why? Harris and Devo do extremely well against lefties historically and considering how volatile LOOGYS are because they don’t ever learn how to pitch or forget how, it’s not worth wasting the roster spot for a guy who if he is lucky will pitch 45 innings in the season.
The LOOGY is a flawed logic within baseball, much like bullpening or tandem starting.
Yes lefties are more effective against lefties, but making a guy specialize against lefties forgets that a lion share of that data comes from starters who know how to pitch.
Bullpening and tandem starting is the same way. A good idea on paper, but the minute someone has a bad outing it screws with everyone’s rythem and stamina long term.
Yes, Houston did incredibly poorly last season by bulpenning and tandem starting. You’re right, it just doesn’t work.
Houston relied heavily on tandem starts in the postseason and just about every contending team looks for a lh around the deadline. Don’t think the logic is flawed. Never said the lefty needs to be a loogy either but at some point it’s goig to be advantageous to have a lefty lefty matchup.
You two seem to not understand the difference of pitching in a postseason with scheduled rest days and shorter season compared to 162 games of performance. In the smaller sample size there is less opertunity for error in performance. 162 games allows for more opportunities for error which is harder to recover from usage wise since you play every day with few off days.
Postseason is a good idea, regular season outside of a spot start for a sudden injury, not a good idea, I would think that was obvious.
Keeping him in the bullpen as opposed to making room for a position player is a smarter decision imo. It’s wise to not overload the pitchers for next season’s playoff run like we did Devo. Let Sipp eat up innings to keep everyone in the bullpen a little more fresh.
The amount of people who think Ohtani is already a bust are ridiculous. He’s literally one of the games top prospects and has struggled in what, 5 games? Maybe you’re new to baseball, but large sample size> small sample.
Large sample size? At what level?
Even if he struggles all year, he’s young and remember he signed for peanuts. Let’s give him tome to develop. Many players have great AAA numbers but struggle initially in the majors. Not saying that will happen here as I agree the sample size is small. I’m just hoping even if he plays well, he’s not a one year wonderkid. Fidrych was amazing but flamed out. Anyone remember Super Joe Charboneau? Like JD said, let’s give him a chance.
Those are bitter Yankees fans.
Yankee, Rangers, and Padres fans.
Let’s see Stanton or Ohtani..damn what a tough choice. Let’s go with……Ok Stanton.
1. How are those two connected at all?
2. If Ohtani turns into a star, it’s not even close. They’ll control him for very little in dollar amount. The Yankees on the other hand had to take on Stanton’s deal, which could turn out awfully.
Yankees getting Stanton was good for them now. Marketing him along with Judge and the rest of the bombers will pay off in merchandise and initial ticket sales but getting A-Rod was very similar. Then him and Jeter started having issues (not to mention A-Roids tabloid headings) and by the last few years, the contract was an albatross. Not trying to say that Stanton will go down the same path but the Yankees took a huge long term financial risk that only a few could absorb if the worst happened. Remember, Lurie knew either he or Stanton would be gone before the huge financial years kicked in. He never had the intention of directly paying it off.
Yes… adding a 3-4WAR player for $300M at a position that was not needing an upgrade over a potential front line starter who could put up 6 or 7 WAR for no money at a position that was desperately needing an upgrade….
Why compare the two? What does trading for Stanton have to do with Ohtani deciding he wanted to be on the west coast?
Front line starter that pitched once a week, never endured the travel aspects of the MLB game here in the US, and pitched against an overall inferior brand of baseball over in Japan. That’s your front line starter? See Gyro-Ball, see Big Fat Toad!
Not debating that Ohtani can/might be a terrific player but to denegrade Stanton to promote Ohtani is just wrong.
Also, if he is successful, $300 million will be a bargain comparitively.
You can’t compare a 145 game player to one that will pitch maybe….maybe 25-30 games for you and their impact (and I’m not dealing with his potential to be in the lineup hitting with that comment).
That’s funny. You assume Stanton is going to play more than 145 games a season when he has only done that 2 times in 8 years. Dude is injury prone.
I am going to disagree. Ohtani’s bat will be his living in MLB. That arm and shoulder are going nowhere longterm in the major leagues.
Put him in RF. Time will bare out what I am saying as correct. #Scoutseyes.
Sorry to say but the Angel didn’t get him to hit….its just that to get him you had to commit to him to bat!
You were NEVER a scout or a AAA manager ! Stop the lies!
It looks like he’s going to be a major leaguer despite those struggles. Had he been drafted or been like most IFA’s he’d go down to AAA for awhile and work it out. Hopefully he’s ready for the show because it doesn’t do him any good to be in the big leagues and get torched.
From pujols, to Hamilton, to ohtani (and there’s others) the angels keep making stupid, expensive, long term disasters with their contracts. Enjoy!
They’re paying him the bare minimum.
Plus the intl money you spent and the release fee of 20 million…..but yeah….bare minimum….
You don’t know what he signed do do you?
In today’s world, the posting fee is nothing for a 23 year old player at worst deserves to be at AAA. How many teams would do the deal for him now having seen him in spring training? My guess is just about all of the ones who seriously tried to woo him to sign. At worst, what could he today be traded for? Add the marketing dollars and he really is zero cost for the Angels.
Hamilton was a terrible signing. But Pujols HAS produced for CA. Not at STL numbers but in the seasons he’s been healthy (five of six) Albert has averaged 30HR’s and over 100rbi’s and provided Trout with protection batting behind Mike. Even though he’s not a 330 hitter anymore, his power allows Trout to get some good pitches to hit.
Pujols has been hitting in the .240s, only hit over 30HR in 2 of the last 3 seasons and barely hit 100 RBIs in 2 of his 3 100+ RBI seasons. That’s producing I suppose, but not at the value of his contract.
If Morales never got hurt in 2010 , I don’t think the angels sign pujols to the long term deal he got.
The Angels were paying Pujols to lead the team to on the field success. That’s where he hasn’t delivered. While you always hope for MVP numbers, his age and other factors made it unrealistic to expect SLC type numbers after the first couple of years. Unfortunately pitcher injuries and inconsistencies is what cost the Angels.
Pujols was the worst regular player in baseball in 2017.
Lineup protection isn’t exactly a real thing.
It has limited influence, mostly in two-out situations. That’s how I understand it.
The way I understand it is if lineup protection were a real thing, if Trout didn’t have Pujols batting behind him, he would just get walked every time he came up to bat, thus inflating his stats.
100% concur. I have been saying this for years now. Angel fan does not wanna hear it. Unfortunately for Angel fan, facts are facts. End of day Ohtani is what he is…. a bust in the making and that’s ok. This team is not going anywhere.
He’s a 23 year old rookie with the equivalent to AAA experience. He’s a prospect!
Not all prospects are Cody Bellinger. For example: Yoan Moncada. First big league stint was awful but he isn’t a bust is he?
Yoan moncada was sent down to AAA though. It doesn’t sound like the Angels have any interest in doing that. Hopefully he’s ready to go. They’ve gone to a 6 man rotation and have basically guaranteed he’s going to crack the roster despite his struggles. It may be the wrong way to go.
Like I said…. At the end of the day it does not matter. This Angels team is going nowhere. Angel fan what are you going to do when your boy wonder Mike Trout is playing in a different uniform?
Mike Trout wasn’t good in his first taste of the majors; he has since gone on to have the best start to a career in history. We can slow down with Ohtani. Scouts and other talent evaluators think he could be a very good pitcher and that the power at least plays at the plate.
So no matter how much he flops, I don’t think it can ever be considered a “bad signing”. It’s a very low risk, high reward signing and if anything, it’s brought some interest and attention back to the Angels.
It was a high risk signing for Ohtani. If he flops he’ll never receive the payday he was a virtual lock to receive.
That is 100% true. Great point but he made it appear that money wasn’t his priority and everyone just thought he was “saying the right things” figuring he’d get the money between marketing and his later contract. Time will tell. Hopefully he develops and it becomes a moot point.
RytheStunner….Are you forgetting the $20 Million posting fee it took to sign him?
Don’t you think that somehow gets added into the “measly” major league minimum and measly $2 Million bonus for his services?
Ohtani is under team control for 6 years for that 20 million dollars, so a little more than 3m/year with the posting fee included. That’s nothing for a major league franchise.
And let the tommy John surgeries continue more and more each year. These kids needs to stop be thrower and actually be a pitcher with movement and deception. Not blowing out their arms with 100 mph fastballs when everyone in majors is fastball hitting team.
The hate on here is ugly to say the least. Reminds me of the hate lonzo ball is getting in the nba. Anything these kids do is minimized but everything bad is bolded and put on headlines. Kid is 23 and playing spring ball, lets wait 2/3 years to really see what he is before we judge.
Well, 10 points a game on 36% shooting is what you can knock Lonzo on. Decent player otherwise.
At what point do they say it was ridiculous to give anyone the monicker “babe Ruth of Japan” and make the guy focus on pitching and nothing more. Trouts gone in 2 years, get the most out of him now:pitch and nothing else. The guy can’t hit, period.
Anyone that calls Ohtani a bust before the season even starts doesn’t understand baseball. Spring training is a time to get to stretched out and ready for the season. By all accounts Ohtani’s stuff is very good and will play at the big league level let him settle in a little and see how he does. As for hitting it’s also way to early to make any calls on that lets see some real game action and let him adjust to the big league pitchers. Give the guy a break my guess he will be just fine after an adjustment period. | 2019-04-26T10:24:08Z | https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/03/al-notes-ohtani-sipp-red-sox-rangers-jays.html |
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This week's Guests on the show include: Bas Rutten talking about his recent neck surgery, encounters with Dolphins, Rousimar Palahres' leg locks, Jon Fitch's career, Alistair Overeem and if he can get back to fighting for a title, CM Punk signing with the UFC and if he can be successful, the UFC law suit, his Christmas plans, Anderson Silva in Pride, Nick Diaz vs Silva preditction and more. - Gene Lebell talks about how Bruce Lee would do in the UFC, Ronda Rousey's success and why other MMA fighters aren't able to incorporate Judo as well, Muhammad Ali in his prime doing MMA, learning Judo in Japan, the story behind the pink jacket, competing in the first ever Mixed Martial Arts fight, sparring against Sugar Ray Robinson, why Chuck Norris had advantage over Bruce Lee, making movies and fight scenes with Elvis Presley, being on the Jimmy Kimmel, and more. - Also on the Show is discussion about UFC Fight Night 58 Brazil, and Rampage Jackson signing back with the UFC.
This week's Guests on the show include: TJ Dillashaw talking about fighting Dominick Cruz, why he's better than Cruz, knocking people out, his elbow injury, changes since becoming the Bantamweight champion, CM Punk in the UFC, his nickname not being "The Viper", why Conor McGregor doesn't deserve the next title shot, and more. - Ben Askren talks about his recent finishes and why he's finishing fights now, his thoughts on the Johny Hendricks vs Robbie Lawler fight at UFC 181, not liking Johny Henrcicks, fighting Jon fitch, Rousimar Palhares, Disc golf, CM Punk's UFC signing, if he'd ever go over to the UFC, his afro and more. - Ken Shamrock talks about his recent life changes, squashing his beef with Dana White, the security business, CM Punk signing with the UFC, transitioning between the UFC and WWE, if he'll ever be in the WWE hall of fame, his dream opponent, and more. - Also on the Show is discussion about the Ultimate Fighter 20 finale and UFC on Fox 13.
This week's Guests on the show include: Al Iaquint atalking about his big win over Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night Sydney, fighting Joe Lauzon at UFC 183, sharing a card with Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, pasta in Australia, a rematch against Michael Chiesa, being the mini Chris Weidman, the Iron Sheik and more. - Mark Hominick talks about his career, why he retired, what he's been up to recently, that Jose Aldo fight, the UFC's featherweight division now, Conor McGregor and why he's good for the division, how he'd match up against Conor, Frankie Edgar, his gym, his UFC debut at the USA vs Canada card, and more. CB Dollaway talks about his fight againt Lyoto Machida, The Dragon's elusive style, learning from Ryan Bader's loss, why he deserves the next title show against Chris Weidman, how he stacks up against the champ, fighting Luke Rockhold, the critics not giving him a chance, and more. Nate Diaz's Manager Mike Kogan talks about Nate being back in the UFC to fight Rafael dos Anjos, the UFC's new deal with Reebok, fighter pay, comparing the UFC to NFL, NBA, baseball, why the Reebok deal is good for Bellator, Jason High's suspension and the appeal, King Mo's rematch against Rampage, and more. - Also on the show is a discussion on Conor McGregor's current standings in the featherweight division, and UFC Melbourne. - Also on the show is discussion on UFC 181, Robbie Lawler's win over Johny Hendricks, and CM Punk signing with the UFC.
This week's Guests on the show include: Tito Ortiz talking about the fallout from his fight against Stephan Bonnar at Bellator 131, his emotions during the fight, the detached retina he suffered during, who he wants next, Rampage Jackson, King Mo's Django comments, becoming Bellator champion, Mike Dolce's weight cutting methods, his dream opponent, and more. - Hector Lombard talks about his upcoming fight against Josh Burkman at UFC 182, if the fight against Josh makes sense, Tyron Woodley avoiding him, fighting Matt Brown, Robbie Lawler vs Johny Hendricks, fighting Robbie for the title, the cage ban being lifted in Victoria Australia, the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and more. - Joseph Benavidez talks about his big win over Dustin Ortiz at UFC Fight Night Austin, the big shots exchanged in the bout, Ian McCall's comments on Mighty Mouse being boring, the pressures of a trilogy with Demetrious Johnson, fake trash talk, his proposal to girlfriend Megan Olivi, his favourite movies, and which celebrities he'd preffer in a game of "Would you rather". - Also on the show is a discussion on Conor McGregor's current standings in the featherweight division, and UFC Melbourne.
This week's Guests on the show include: Urijah Faber talking about his fight at UFC 181 against Francisco Rivera, if the match up make sense, who's left in the division for him to fight, Cruz' "Alpha Fails" comments and finishing the trilogy, what motivates him at this point in his career, if he'll fight for the title agin in his career, why he's fighting on the prelims, if he'd rematch Jose Aldo, thoughts on TJ saying that he wants to fight Aldo, and more. - King Mo Muhammed Lawal talking about his recent comments towards Tito Ortiz and what he meant when he said that he'd straight "Django" Tito. Mo also talks about a possible match up between him and Tito and why Tito wouldn't accept, how the fight would play out,his thoughts on Tito fight againt Stephan Bonnar, why there's no rivalry between Bellator and the UFC, Mayweather vs Pacquiao and more. - Ricardo Lamas talks about his twitter exchange with Conor McGregor, his win at UFC 180 againt Dennis Bermudez, his time in Mexico, Chad Mendes' call out, the UFc protecting Conor, how he'll spend his christmas, and more. - Also on the show are breakdowns of UFC Fight Night: Austin, and Metamoris 5.
This week's Guests on the show include: Tim Kennedy talking about his MMA return, where he's at mentally after UFC 178, being disappointed with NSAC, possibly competing at Metamoris against Chael Sonnen or Forrest Griffin, moving down to welterweight to fight Robbie Lawler or Johny Hendricks for the title, his recent hunting trip, his huge gun collection, and more. - Renzo Gracie talking about Metamoris 5, his rematch against Kazushi Sakuraba, how personal and important this match is, why he never went to the UFC in the early days, his UFC return, his match against Matt Hughes in 2015 at ADCC, his childhood, his first MMA fight, Pride FC, some crazy stories of backstage fights at Pride events, and more. - Anthony Perosh talking about OSP's callout, his thoughts on the match up, the blueprint to beat OSP, why he called out Fabio Maldonado, if Shogun should retire, training at Jackson/Winkeljohn's, being a UFC fighter while also having his gym as a career, fantasy match ups, and more.
This week's Guests on the show include: Alistair Overeem talking about his upcoming fight against Stefan Struve at UFC on Fox 13, his loss to Ben Rothwell, a rematch with Ben, training with Jon Jones, Travis Browne leaving Jackson's, plans after his fighting career is finished, music festivals, his favourite fighters to watch and more. - Nate Marquardt talks about his fight against Brad Tavares at UFC 182, how he feels being back at Middleweight, dealing with tough Knockout losses, his win at UFC New Zealand, his weight cut and how it affected him, the dangers of amateur MMA, Pancrase in America, the Anderson fight, his goals in the sport of MMA, and why he still does it after such a decorated career. - Ricardo Lamas talks about his upcoming fight against Dennis Bermudez, the injuries that plagued that UFC Mexico card, Conor McGregor, his place in the Featherweight division, a rematch with Jose Aldo, fighting Frankie Edgar, Robert De Niro impersonations, and more.
This week's Guests on the show include: Stephan Bonnar talking about his feud with Tito Ortiz, why it's personal now as opposed to in the UFC, the only reason why he came back, retired life, why justin McCully stil wears the mask, his fight against Anderson, life as a day trader and his future MMA career. - Martin Kampmann talks about being the new full time coach at Team Alpha Male, traveling all over Europe, his Poker career, Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes at UFC 179, Metamoris 5, his own MMA career, and who he'd like to fight upon his MMA return. - Ben Saunders talks about his upcoming fight against Joe Riggs at UFC on Fox 13, his first UFC run, his time in Bellator, his spectacular Omoplata finish, Joe Riggs' gruesome hun injury, and more. - JT Torres talks about his upcoming match against Rory MacDonald at Metamoris 5, being an MMA fan, Rory's death stare, his own BJJ epiphanies, training 8 hours a day, predcition for Renzo vs Sakuraba and more.
This week's Guests on the show include: Jake Ellenberger talking about his upcoming fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 180 in Mexico, Gastelum's strengths, weaknesses, training at the Glendale Fight Club, lessons learned from the Robbie Lawler fight, being too cautiously, rolling with the Gracie's, and a funny story about accidentally breaking into Mickey Rourke's neighbour's house. - Brian Ebersole talks about his win over John Howard at UFC 178, the Hairrow, his place in the welterweight division, hammer fists to the knee, unorthadox techniques, his UFC debut in Australia, and more - John Hackleman returns to the show to discuss Glover Teixeira's upcoming fight against Phil Davis at UFC 179, the reason Glover didn't train with him this time around, how he thinks the fight will go, Phil's wrestling, his past as a nurse, funny stories from the set of The Ultimate Fighter, his other fighters, if Chuck Liddell had knockout power before training at the Pit, and more. - Also on the show are discussions about Bellator 128 & World Series of Fighting 14.
This week's Guests on the show include: Cris Cyborg talking about her drop to Bantamweight, how she'll make the weight cut, differences in her training, Ronda Rousey as a person, her relationship with Dana White, future in the UFC, fighting Ronda for the belt. - Dennis Bermudez talks about his upcoming fight against Ricardo Lamas at UFC 180 in Mexico, his thoughts on Lama's style and holes in his game, being part of the first UFC card in Mexico, his impressive win streak, Conor McGregor jumping the queue to a title shot, Conor's performance against Dustin Poirier, being more vocal and more. - Al Iaquinta stops by to talk about his fight against Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney Australia, his place in the lightweight division, surfing, fighting overseas, training with Matt Serra & Ray Longo, pasta, and which other famous Italian-American he identifies with. Also on the show are discussions about UFC Fight Night Halifax & Stockholm, the Tim Kennedy and Yoel Romero Stoolgate incident, Wanderlei's retirement and more.
This week's Guests on the show include: Tito Ortiz talking about the brawl with Stephan Bonnar at Bellator 123 and if it was staged, the first thing that went through his head when he saw Justin McCully, Bonnar's personal tweets and steroid use, going for the Bellator title, and the biggest difference between Dana White and Scott Coker. - Stipe Miocic talks about being a UFC fighter while also working as a firefighter and Paramedic, if he still wants to fight Junior Dos Santos, Ben Rothwell vs Overeem, getting recognized at work when trying to save people, playing cricket in Australia, Ariana Grande, the EA UFC video game, superhero nicknames, amd lots more. - Diego Sanchez returns to talk about his fight against Norman Parke, fighting in Mexico, the importance of the Latino Market, going back to his ground 'n' pound style, his favourite meal, and more. - Also on the show are exclusive interviews with Michael Bispinf & Luke Rockhold just moments after their heated exchange in Sydney Australia. As well as discussion on their feud, and Andrei Arlovski's big win over Bigfoot Silva At UFC Brasilia.
This week's Guests on the show include: Ben Rothwell talking about his recent knockout win over Alistair Overeem, why he didn't like "Reem's" pushkicks to the knee, how being an underdog motivated him, wanting Junior Dos Santos next, a rematch with Cain Velasquez, being his own striking coach, Travis Browne's trash talk, and more. - Joseph Benavidez talks about his upcoming fight against Dustin Ortiz UFC Fight Night 57, the crazyness at team alpha male surrounding UFC 177 and Renan Barao, The Ferguson Castillo fight, TJ Dillashaw and Urijah Faber fighting each other, and why he'd rather Khloe Kardishian, Niki Minaj & Taylor Swift. - Thales Leites chats on the show about his crushing Knockout of Francis Carmont, his evolved striking game, why he wants Bisping next, and a rematch with Anderson Silva. - Also on the show is a breakdown of Bellator 123 & UFC Fight Night 50 Jacare vs Mousasi.
This week's Guests on the show include: Jim Ross talking about UFC Tulsa, the Benson Hendeson stoppage, WWE vs UFC, the UFC's biggest star, Cain Velasquez vs Jack Swagger, legitimate tough men in the WWE and how they'd do in MMA, Brock Lesnar's health, Sting in WWE, the infamous Brawl for All PPV in the WWF, TNA's future, GSP's comeback and more. - Jason Parillo, who is the boxing coach of BJ Penn, Michael Bisping, Tito Ortiz and others, talks about Bisping's recent victory over Cung Le, the critisim over his his knockout power, the sparring session against Luke Rockhold, BJ Penn's gameplan against Frankie Edgar, Cyborg vs Rousey and lots more. - Dan "The Beast" Severn stops by to talk about his days in the UFC, MMA in the mainstream, PED's in MMA, his fight againt Royce Gracie, his mustache vs Don Frye's, and who needs a mustache out of Fedor, GSP, Brock Lesnar and Dana White. - Also on the show is a breakdown of UFC177.
This week's Guests on the show include: Muhammed Lawal aka King Mo talking about his upcoming fight against Marcus Sursa at Bellator 123, and how the opponent change has affected him. The former strikeforce champion also talks about his beef with Rampage Jackson, Scott Coker taking over Bellator, the slippery canvas, TNA Impact Wrestling, and more. - Chris Leben talk about life post-retirement, and what he's between up to. "The Crippler" also shares some crazy stories from his career, including him kicking dow the walls to a Las Vegas restroom, why he never rematched Josh Koscheck, his toughest fight, his school, and more. - Anderson Silva's manager Ed Soares talks about "The Spider's" current condition and how his leg is doing. Soares talks about Anderson kicking with his leg, the fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, fighting Roy Jones Jr, moving to welterweight, Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira, The Nogueira Brothers and more. - Also on the show is a breakdown of UFC Fight Nights 48 Bisping vs Le & Fight Night 49 Henderson vs Dos Anjos.
This week's Guests on the show include: Randy Couture talking about Metamoris and if he'd compete in the grappling competition against Fedor Emelianenko. Randy also talks about what strategy he would've employed against "The Last Emporer", Jon Jones vs Cormier and would win, Nick Diaz vs Anderson Silva, Mark Bocek's comments on PED's in MMA, his show Gym Rescue, Exependables 3, and more. - Phil Davis talks about his fight at UFC 179 against Glover Teixeira, the Jones/DC brawl, Jones' eye pokes, lessons learned from the Anthony Johnson fight, his good friend Alexander Gustafsson from Alliance MMA, fighting in Brazil, and what's in his secret backpack. - Javier Mendez talks all things Jones/Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Luke Rockhold, Cain Velasquez, and Jon Fitch. Javier talks about the game plan for the DC/Jones fight, how the delay will affect Daniel, Jon Jones' eye pokes, and why they're the two biggest alpha males in the jungle that is the UFC light heavyweight division. Javier also talks about returning Vitor Belfort and how he think he'll do upon his TRT free return. Also on the show is a breakdown of UFC Fight Night 47 Bader vs St Preux.
This week's Guests on the show include: Luke Rockhold talking about his feuds with Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, and a possible fight agaionst Lyoto Machida, as well as th eJones Cormier media brawl, and recorded conversation on ESPN. - Jon Jones' coach Mike Winkeljohn stops by to talk about the Jones/DC situation and what kind of gameplan Jones will employ when he meets Cormier at UFC 178, as well as update on Holly Holm, Alistair Overeem and more. - Tarec Saffiedin talks about his upcoming fight against Rory Macdonald, and how he plans to beat Aries. Tarec also chats about brining MMA to Belgium, the welterweight division, Lawler vs Brown and more. Manny Gamburyan stops by to give the latest on his drop to Bantamweight and his title aspirations in his new division. The Anvil also weighs in on Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano and more. Also on the show are discussions on the Jones/Cormier Brawl and Jon Jones' alleged fakeness.
This week's Guests on the show include: Frank Shamrock reflecting on his career, his trilogy against Bas rutten, fighting in Japan, Pride, Dana Whitem the UFC hall of Fame, Diaz vs Silva, and more - Pat Cummins talks about his win over Kyle Kingsbury, Jones vs Cormier matchup and who he thinks will win, his own Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game, improvements to make from the Kingsbury fight, his favourite fighter to watch, the secret behind a good takedown, his bromance with Dennis Bermudez, and what really happened to his missing tooth! -Manager of Nate Diaz, King Mo and Royce Gracie, Mike Kogan talks about Nate Diaz's UFC future, the Nate/Diego Sanchez fight, the Nick Diaz/Anderson Silva fight, Scott Coker taking over for Bjorn Rebney, and gives updates on Paul Daley's VISA and King Mo's relationship with Bellator ahead of his September 5th fight against Tom DeBlass at Bellator 123. Also on the show are discussions on Metamoris 4 and the Diaz/Silva fight.
This week's Guests on the show include: Wanderlei Silva talking about his situation with the Nevada state athletic commission, fighting Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Luke Barnatt, Metamoris, his favourite fights, and Brazil in the soccer world cup! - Rich Franklin gives an update on his return, and also talks about his job as VP of ONE FC, PED's in MMA, unified rules vs global rules of MMA, the Chuck Liddell fight, who hit him the hardest, and more. - Diego Sanchez talks about his upcoming tour in Australia, as well as Norman Parke, the Pearson fight, Nate Diaz, his old wrestling style, beef tartar, and a crazy Nick Diaz story involving shoe throwing! Also on the show is a full breakdown of UFC on FOX 12.
This week's Guests on the show include: Alistair Overeem talking about Ben Rothwell, training at Jackson/Winkeljohn's, Jon Jones moving to Light Heavyweight, EA UFC, Cain vs Werdum, and more. - Tim Kennedy stops by to talk about his fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 178, Vitor Belfort's steroid abuse, teddyears, and more. - Dennis Bermudez chats about his big upcoming fight against Clay Guida at UFC on Fox 12, his win streak, being jealous of Conor McGregor, Aldo/Mendes drama and more. Also on the show is a full breakdown of UFC Fight Night 46: Dublin.
This week's Guests on the show include: Hector Lombard talking about Matt Brown, and his upcoming fight against Dong Hyun Kim. - Benson Henderson talking about his upcoming fight against Rustam Khabilov at UFC Fight Night 42 and more. - Bjorn Rebney talking about everything Bellator 120, including King Mo, Rampage Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Will Brooks, Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler and more. Also we break down UFC 173. | 2019-04-21T22:25:16Z | http://submissionradio.libsyn.com/webpage/2014 |
Today I am hosting a giveaway for Pam from Mad About Patchwork. Mad About Patchwork is a beautiful, well-organized, online fabric shop located in Ontario, Canada. Their site is easy to navigate and search and has fantastic customer service.
Mad About Patchwork is a great resource for the latest modern fabrics including Carolyn Friedlander’s latest, Doe, Lotta Jansdotter’s Follie, and Modern Quilt Studio’s Modern Plaid Collection. Also available this month, pre-order’s for Julie Herman’s amazing Gravity Block of the Month kits.
Also new to the shop are the three Elizabeth Hartman Aviatrix Kona bundles as well as her Aviatrix pattern.
Through the month of January, Mad About Patchwork is having a BUNDLE UP sale with 20% off all designer and stash bundles in the shop! A great time to stock up on collections or build your stash in specific colors. I think my favorite is the Shot-Cotton bundle.
Other markdowns include 25% off on Heather Ross’s Far Far Away. Kona Sunrise and Sunset rolls are also 20% off. Check the rest of the Sale selection for some great deals.
I like Doe and Aviatrix Medallion bundle in Autumn.
You can keep up with the latest happenings and arrivals at Mad About Patchwork on their blog or their Facebook page as well.
I like the Aviatrix in Winter FQ bundle.<br />Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
I have fallen head over heels in love with Persimmon: Apple Crisp in Marionberry Pie!<br />Thanks for the chance of winning!
I would love some of the bundles like Kaffe Fassett Collective Fall 2014 Sampler A. Too many choices.
Doe. I am in LOVE with this fabric collection and really want to get my hands on some yardage to go with my mini charm packs.
I love the fresh cut jelly roll – great store.
I like the Kona classic roll up.
I love the pearl bracelet line by Lizzy House.
I love the Midwinter Fancy bundle. This time of year I seem to need those bright colors.
I adore the Persimmon Bundle. Those colors speak to me. Love it. Thanks for the chance.
The Kaffe Fassett Collective bundles are my favorite – thanks.
I love the Wildwood collection from Elizabeth Olwen. And you're right, lovely shop.
Lots to love there! Up Parasol bundle in green or Riley ?Blake bundle in Aqua!
I like the Paint: Clippings in Spackle print.
I love the Kona Sunrise Roll Up.
Definitely the Kona solids. Also as a Canadian I'm pleased to know about another place to shop on line in Canada. Thank you very much.
Love the Horizon Bundle in Ocean.
I love the Shot Cottons too. 71 choices.
I love Mad About Patchwork!!! Being as they are in my province, I shop there a lot!!! I love the monthly specials they always do on Kona Cotton bundles. Great stash builders!!! I also love being able to buy a full bolt of Kona.
I like Lotus Pond – lotus drop in orange and snail trail in multi.
Love the Kona stash builder roll ups! I can't choose between the Sunrise and the Sunset, so I guess I'll have to buy both!
I love all of Doe!
I love the winter sunrise bundle and the selection of shot cottons. Thanks for the chance!
Horizon – makes me think of warm Caribbean waters instead of snow and subzero temps!
Kona stash builder, I'm loving solids right now.
I love the Follie collection! 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway.
I really like the Riley Blake Basics Variety Bundles and I love that the prices are in Canadian Currency :)!
I love the Annali Bunde very much!
How do I pick one thing to add here. I love it all. Kona bundles and stash builder rolls top my list this minute. That will change when I go back to their site after I finish this comment. Thank you for this contest.
I love any Kona bundle!
That Fancy jelly roll looks good to me!!
I also love the shot cotton bundle -so many pretty colors!
Up Parasol Bundle in Persimmon would be delightful. thanks for the chance!
I loved he whole Grunge collection by Basic Gray. Thanks for the give-away!!
I really like the Up Parasol Bundle in Persimmon. Thanks for the great giveaway.
I am torn between aviatrix summer bundle and the Lotus pond, but think they generally have lovely bundles, thanks for hosting this give away!
I love the Gramercy line, so I have my eye on the bundle they have on sale!
I really love Mochi especially the Moon Bunnies.
I would love the Horizon Bundle in Orchid. This is a color that I don't have in my stash, and my DD loves.
Good morning! I love the True Colors collection. I especially like the Going Up pieces with the tight prints!
I love the Stash Bundle in Fuschia – such a gorgeous color!!
She still has some Briar Rose calico in the clearance section!!
Wow, what a great selection! I love the kit Concerto, I will be ordering that. I love that this shop is located in Ontario, right around the corner from where I live (almost).
Love the Fancy fat quarter bundle in the Made About Patchwork site.
I really like the short cotton bundle as well. Thanks for the chance to win.
I really like their Winter Sunrise bundle!
Love the eight days a week. Thanks!
Love the Kona Classic Roll Up. The colors are happy!
Doe! Thanks for the chance at the bundle! Have a great day.
I like the shot cotton bundle for solids, Far and Away for the unicorns, and toyko train ride fox shrine in multicolor. Thanks for the giveaway.
More and more I am liking the newsprint fabric and who doesn't need Kona solids before the price goes up?!
I like Doe and Follie collections. You are right – the site is very easy to navigate. I love these features: "Show More" so you don't have to go to another page, an "enlarge" that ACTUALLY enlarges the swatch, and being able to see all the fabrics grouped into categories on the left sidebar. It is a very well designed website.
I love the stash bundle in fuschia because you can never have too much fuschia!
I like the look of stitch squares in peppermint.
I love the Cute as Heck Aprons kit in Paint by Carrie Blomston. They are adorable and the Paint fabric is pretty awesome.
Thank you for the giveaway. I like the Up Parasol Bundle in Persimmon.
I love how the site is organized, it makes it easy to find exactly what I am looking for.
I am in love with Birch Farm fabrics.
I like the Kona sunrise and sunset. Also there are some wonderful script fabrics.
Of course I want Doe in ladders pattern. Love that line.
I'm a sucker for solids so I love all of the Konas!
Love the new Modern Plaid – every color!
Love the Up Parasol in Persimmon–Looks like Spring!!!
I love the Elizabeth Hartman medallion pattern. The quilt is so colorful and juicy!
I love Sarah Watson's Arcadia!! thanks!
Love the Horizon bundle in Ocean too, but it's pretty hard to make a decision between all this lovely fabrics!<br />Thanks for the chance!
I love the far far away line.
I would love that shot cotton sample bundle! But the bundle they are giving away is lovely too. Thanks.
I love Daysail by Bonnie and Camille. The giveaway bundle is lovely. Thank you for the chance to win.
I liked the shot cotton bundle and would love to win the give away! Thanks for the chance!
I love all of the Grunge fabrics by Basic Grey. Thanks!<br /><br />Please click on the delaineelliott above for my email link.
What a great shop! I might have to go for the Shot Cotton Bundle! Thanks for the giveaway!
I really love the the Sarah Watson Arcadia fabrics. Beautiful colors!
Winter Sunrise is beautiful. I like the stash bundles they have in their shop. I'm heading back to take a second look.
I've been wanting to get into solids more, and I love their Aviatrix fat quarter bundles. I think Winter is my favorite!
I love the fancy fat eighth bundle!
I am loving the Fancy bundle. Fancy is my new favorite line.
I LOVE the Far, Far Away collection, especially the unicorn print in orange! Thanks for offering this.
My favourite on line store. I just placed an order! Now I cannot wait to receive it! I like Doe and Hadley and the Gravity Quilt looks amazing. Thanks for the give away.
I like the Dowry Bundle in Brass Locket. The Winter Sunrise bundle is beautiful too!
I am loving all the Doe, but I think my favorite thing right now would be the Stash Bundle in Fuschia.
I am obsessed with cotton and steel, I love Playful – jacks. Thank you for hosting this giveaway, I had never been to mad about patchwork before!
I quite like the Annali bundle. Thanks for the chance to win!
So much to choose from, but I really love the shot cotton sampler.
The annali bundle is beautiful!
I actually love all the black and white prints on that first page! I love black and white and would love to do a whole quilt of little pieced blocks in nothing but black and white. Sigh…………….
The Doe collection is what I am mad about right now. Thanks!
The Horizon bundle in ocean is great!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Hadley bundle – wow 🙂 I am in love!!!
So many nice things! I really like the apron kit in Paint-would be a great gift for a little one! <br />Thanks for telling us about this shop!
Follie – that's the first time I've seen it and I think it looks great. Almost as great as that super orange/teal bundle does!
Kona bundles always seem so versatile.
I love the Annali bundle, but what I am waiting for is Reel Time by Zen Chic for Moda!! So happy to see it on their upcoming list!<br />Thank you for the giveaway, and for introducing me to this great store. Wonderful to have this option here in Canada!!
Oh, that stash bundle in fuchsia is soooo pretty. WANT.
I love the Aviatrix in Autumn FQ bundle! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!
The far far away bundle makes me smile!
Mesa Fern Book in Mint and Mesa Tile in Turquoise both caught my eye. I also liked Dominio Dot White.<br />There were lots of fabrics that were eye catching.
The Aviatrix may just go to the top of my to do list.
First there was the Eight Days a Week fabric, then the bundles, then the BOM . . . awesome shop. Thanks for the heads up.
I am lovin Meadow by Leah Duncan….so cheerful on these winter days! Thanks for the giveaway!
Love her stash bundle in FUCHSIA! I haven't been able to find a fuchsia bundle anywhere!
My stash needs a infusion of color… The fancy fat eight or fat quarter bundle would help alot! tamaraboatright at gmail dot com.
I love their pillow kit, so cute!!<br />Great things come from Ontario, eh?
I like the rainbow stash bundle and I love all the Kona precuts. Thank you for a beautiful giveaway.
Doe caught my eye right away.
I am coveting one of the Persimmon prints (the line drawn birds on a neutral back) right now – I have plans to purchase "supporting yardage" of this one.
I really like the Gardenvale collection by Jen Kingwell for Moda.
I love the colors in the Kona Classic Rollup. Thanks for a chance to win!
I really like the giveaway bundle they've put together – corals, teal blues, and those lovely prints that bring the colors together.
I am really loving the Cotton and Steel collection.
I like the Horizon bundle in Ocean. Very pretty.
I love the Sun Prints! And that Winter Sunrise bundle! Thanks for the giveaway.
The Gramercy bundle is very pretty too!
I love modern plaid collection!
I love Mad About Patchwork and they have such an awesome collection of fabric that I want (and need!!). My favorite at the moment is Kaffe Fassett Collective Fall 2014 Sampler A.
I love the Fresh Cut jelly roll. It's one of my favorite new lines this spring.
The Cotton + Steel basics.
I agree with you Amy, I love that shot cotton bundle. Thanks for the giveaway!
i would love to get the jams and jellies script. i love script prints and do NOT have anough of them in my stash. thanks for the chance to win!
I love the Horizon Bundle in Orchid! Thanks for the chance to win!
I love the Wildwood Collection by Elizabeth Olwen!
I love the Dowry bundle!
love their Organic Cotton Line..Happy Sewing all.
I love the rainbow stash bundle! So many possibilities.
Love Domino Dot White!!! Thanks, Amy.
Love "Up Parasol" bundle in pink. Thanks for the chance to win!
Love the fact that they have so many collections to choose from… Hope I win… J.
Love the Annali bundle. It's beautiful.
I like the yellow stash bundle.
I love the Aviatrix bundles.
I like the Kona Sunrise bundle.
I love that they have the Kaffe Fassett Paperweight fabrics and that I can pay with a CC.
I like their large selection of Kona colors. Thanks for a chance!
The Riley Blake Basics Variety stacks look like they'd be fun to play with.
I love me a good bundle, so I went right to the bundle section and found: Horizon Bundle in Ocean (Kate Spain). Love it!
There are fabulous lovely bundle and one of my fav is all the solid.I don´t have a quilt made only with solids!
I really love Carolyn Friedlanders "Doe" – thanks for the chance to win!
I love the Doe, like everyone else, but I also like the the shot cottons and she has a great selection of the Kona cottons. Here shipping is very fast and she has great customer service–always happy to answer questions and do special orders.
I love the Stash Builders, the Green – Yellow is my favorite.
The Kona Sunrise and Sunset bundles are on sale! I want them both really bad, but I don't know what I would make with them, cdahlgren at live dot com.
I love that shot cotton bundle! I've never worked with shot cottons before and would love to have some in my stash!
Ooh, love that fabric! They have very tempting bundles of Dowry and Gramercy fabrics.:) Very nice selection!
Birch Hill by Joel Dewberry – beautiful!
I'm so excited to see Gardenvale by Jen Kingwell.
My favorite line is Tokyo Train Ride.
I'm loving Feather River in their organic collection.
Love the Moon shine bundle in Meadow. Great giveaway!
I like the Annali bundle!
Mmmmm hard to choose….Gardenvale is lovely. Thanks for the chance to win!
I love the Timber quilt kit!
I love Mad about patchwork!<br />the Fresh Cut collection Sweet Pea in Celery is wonderful. The color, the movement! I can't wait for it to come out.
I like the Up Parasol Bundle in Persimmon and oh so much more.
I'm dying to make a far far and away quilt!
I have to limit it to one item??? My favorite is the Horizon Bundle in Orchid….just lovely colors that make my heart swoon!
Doe. All of Doe. I drool over that whole collection!
I really like the Riley Blake Basics Variety in Lime. It would make a cute baby girl quilt!
I love all of the black & white – domino dot white, jam & jellies…the zebras!
Winter Sunrise is pretty! Thanks for the chance to win. I like the stash bundle in purples. That's a color in lack.
My "gotta have" is the Gravity BOM kit…so awesome!
Love the Kona Sunset bundle! Thanks!
i LOVED THE KONA STASH BUILDERS !!!!
I would love some Mochi: Scattered COTTON LINEN in Natural.
I love the fabric line Cotton + Steel. Oh so pretty! Thanks for the heads up on this store.
I do so like the various Stash Bundles. Thanks.
I love the colors in that give-away. I went to the website and really found their prices comparable and good selections. I'm working on a Kaffee Fassett quilt atm and like the 2 bundles I saw AND the prices. Also doing a solid with some Riley Blake and I need more colors. LOL Looks like they have the answers to all my needs. Thanks for the great give-away.
Hi – I liked how you can search by designer I found Bonnie and Camille line and that was just oh so adorable. There is the Konda bundle builders the color summer was very pretty. I liked the stash buster too – in pink!! Very cute website. Thanks for sharing it!
I like the Persimmon Bundle, and also the Oval Elements fabrics!! Lots of fun fabrics!!
I love all the kona fabrics they have to offer.
I love Philately and Gardenvale. Looks like a great site w wide variety. Thanks g or the opportunity.
I love Kate Spain's fabrics so her Horizon Bundle (either colorway) is my choice. Thanks for a great giveaway!
I adore the Cotton & steel Playful fabrics!
I love the Gramercy bundle.
Loved the Far Far Away line especially the Unicorn on Purple.
I love the stash bundle in pink. I love pink anyway, but especially when we are approaching Valentine's day!!
I love the Fuschia Stash builder bundle – or any of the stash builder bundles!
Fancy fat eighths bundle…I'm working on grandmothers garden at the moment and these would work in beautifully.
Would love to have a rainbow bundle, beautiful.
Oh dear they have a wonderful selection- so hard to say one! Kaffe's fall collection, Carolyn doe the kona shot!!! Oh heaven!
Follie by Lotta Jansdotter is super fun!
What a great shop! Great selection. I especially like bundles: the Kona, the stash builders, and the two curated bundles. Thank you for the giveaway!
I'm a fan of Horizon. So pretty!
I love the 'Horizon' collection by Kate Spain.
I really like the Annali Bundle….on sale, too! Thanks for the giveaway.
I love all of Maureen Cracknell`s Wild and Free collection!
Love that bundle! Saw it last night on instagram and fell in love! Thanks for the chance.
I liked the yellow stash bundle because I need sunshine right now! (^_^)<br />I also loved the sewing room kit. Really cute and on sale!
I'd have to say everything in Carolyn Friedlander's new line ~ Ladder Lines in black especially!<br />Thank you for the very generous giveaway!
While the Winter Sunrise would go quite well with the wallpaper in my sewing room, the Annali Bundle really sings to me! Thanks for the opportunity to win more fabric.
I live the kona classics and summer bundles!
I really love the winter sunrise bundle!
DOE is my current fabric crush and I'd love to get my hands on some. Fabulous shop, wonderfully curated!
Love Kaffe Fassett Collective Fall 2014 Sampler A.
Thanks Amy…I am excited about Gardenvale. Jen Kingwell's fabrics are as wonderful as her quilts.
I love the Riley Blake basics fat quarter bundle in hot pink.
I love the Kona Sunrise bundle and rollup. So pretty. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
I love the Concerto Kit. It is simple yet really stunning!
CUTE CUTE CUTE STUFF! Especially love Origami Oasis: Midnight Train in White, Jams and Jellies: Black Script on White, and Paint: Clippings in Spackle. Look forward to checking further into this site.
I like the Stash bundle in Yellow. Wonderful site for fabrics, definitely will visit again.
My favorite right now is the Feed Company Fat 8 Bundle. I also adore the Kona Sunset bundle! Pick me, pick me! Thanks!
Follie Leaves in periwinkle – omg I've been looking for fabric in periwinkle for ages!! Love this!<br />Thanks for the giveaway.
Love the Wildwood (coral!!!) and Arcadia – so much loveliness!
Aviatrix Winter, or Summer, then again Fall. I love them all.
My favorite is the "Up Parasol" the colors and patterns are so fun and cheerful☺ The bundle in the giveaway is beautiful, as well.
Thanks so much for the information. I had no idea that Mad About Patchwork sold Kona in Canada, and I will definitely switch. Hurray!
I am happy to see Maureen Cracknell's Wild and Free collection. Thanks to Mad about Patchwork for this giveaway.
I really liked the Wildwood collection.
I love their patchwork heart! Eek! I was thinking I'd buy the rainbow stash bundle BUT shipping was almost as much as the fabric… GAH. Your shot cottons are already sold out, so maybe I'll win the prize bundle?<br />Thanks for the chance, Amy and PWH.
I love the Fancy Fat Eight Bundle – have been thinking of a making something beautiful with this brightly colored fabric.
Anna's Pretty Potent is my current favorite.
Love the Kona Bright roll-up!
I am in love with Far Far Away. So beautiful!
I love the Moon Shine bundle by Tula Pink. Such gorgeous, subtle prints!!!
Thank you so much for the giveaway! I ADORE the Antler Damask in black from Birch Farm and I've been dying to use it in a project.
I love the Fuchsia Stash Bundle!
I love many things, but my favorite is probably the Flannel Echinacea in Boost by AMH!
The Twelve Trees Quilt made with Shot Cottons is calling my name.
I love the Mushroom March in Aqua. It is so darn cute. Thanks for turning me on to this site.
Love the Riley Blake basics bundles.
Kate Spain's Horizon! Love all those blues!
I love the Wee Folk fabric for the foxes!
I'm with you- I love the Shot Cotton bundle of fat 8ths AND the Twelve Trees quilt pattern it will make. Gorgeous!
I love the Annali line!
I love the rainbow stash bundle!
I love "Enchant: Little Folk in Aqua". Adorable!
I love the huge selection of black and white prints, especially those darling zebras!
I love the new Lotta Jansdotter Follie, so modern and fresh.
Anything Kaffe Fassett. Love his fabric and don't have a stitch of it! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
I love the White Dot Domino fabric. I also love that Persimmon bundle.
I really like the Doe collection. Thanks for the chance!
I would love a bundle of Follie.
I love the Kaffe Fassett Collective bundles. Wonderful!
stash bundles in specific colors… love it!
Kona solids are always the best. Low volume is always good also.
Wow! There are so many great fabrics to choose from. I really liked Pearl Bracelet in all its different color variations.
I really like the Kate Spain "Horizon" bundle. I would love to win a bundle it would come in handy for the beginning quilt class I have just signed up for!
I'm excited to see the new releases from Cotton and Steel. They are my favorite fabric direction at the moment.
I love all the Kaffe Fassett bundles available from Mad about Patchwork.
I like the Annali Bundle. Thank you.
That winter sunrise is gorgeous! I have some orange that would lok wonderful with! Thanks for the chance to win!
I love the kona solids! I would love to quilt with more solids, I don't have very many. Now to just find the time…thank you for the giveaway!
I like Carolyn Friedlanders Doe collection.
Love the Regent Street cotton lawns from Moda!
I love the stash bundle in yellow. And I also love Carolyn Friedlander's Doe. Gorgeous.
I really like the deep colors in the Annali Bundle!! There website is laid out very nicely. Easy to manuver around and find things!! Thanks.
I love the website. I've never been there before. Great prices too! My favorite is the stash bundles. The yellow green one caught my eye! Thanks for sharing and for the opportunity to win a beautiful bundle!
Ooh… horizon bundle for me! Love Kate Spain.
Love the shot cotton bundle too – thanks for a great giveaway!
Oh my goodness, how I love coral and teal. Just pulled a range of these from my stash – none as pretty as these. Thanks for the opportunity.
I love the Gramercy bundle!
I love the Kaffe Fassett .ALL!!!!!
I'm forever on the hunt for organic fabric and was happy to see that they have Feather River from Birch Fabrics!
I love the Gramercy Bundle! Thanks for the giveaway!
So many pretty fabrics to choose from! I really love the Playful line and I like The Mochi line too!
I really like the bright colors in the Fancy Fat Eight Bundle.
I will take some Mochi please! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the selection of collections!
I love the Paint line from Carrie Bloomston and Playful by Cotton & Steel.
I LOVE Kona Solids – all of them! And Mad About Patchwork has LOTS!
I love Kona's Aviatrix in Winter bundle !
I am surely in need of some solid fabrics. Am looking at the Kona FQ bundles of summer and winter.
I do love the Fancy fabric range (in every form!).
I love the Annali bundle with all those teals and maroons.
I love the shot cottons, specifically the Terra Cotta and the Viridian. Gorgeous!<br /><br />Thanks so much for hosting the giveaway.
Thank you for introducing Mad About Patchwork. I love their collections & how they are organized. I have a hard time picking any one but as I have been focused on needing some solids in my collection, I think I would choose the Shot Cotton Collection – please don't say I have to narrow it down to one color!
I really really really like Bonnie and Camile's day sail line. Thanks for the chance!
Wildwood: Full Bloom in Indigo in the Organic Cottons is beautiful!
The colors with Gramercy by Leah Duncan for Art Gallery are so appealing to me.
I like OFFSHORE TUMBLERS. Thank You for the chance to win! | 2019-04-24T06:06:19Z | https://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2015/01/fq-bundle-giveaway-from-mad-about.html?shared=email&msg=fail |
To understand the law relating to expert witnesses, one must first understand the law relating to witnesses generally and the special treatment afforded those with special expertise. For most witnesses, courts want the same thing that Joe Friday wanted on the "Dragnet" television series: "Just the facts, Ma'am!" Fearing that any departure from precise factual observations would usurp the jury's role in evaluating the evidence, courts have traditionally prohibited lay witnesses from offering their opinions on the evidence or departing, even to the slightest degree, from a purely factual recitation of events which the witness personally observed. Throughout most of American legal history, ordinary citizens who dared to take the witness stand needed three things -- the capacity to observe, to remember and to relate.
Like most evidentiary rules, courts have relaxed this restriction considerably over the years. Under Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, lay witnesses may testify in the form of opinions or inferences which are "(a) rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b) helpful to a clear understanding of the witness' testimony or the determination of a fact in issue." Accordingly, there are two types of opinions which laypersons are permitted to convey from the witness stand: First, laypersons may testify in the form of what has been described as "lay shorthand" where it would be impossible to communicate the facts without departing from strict factual language. Thus, while Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame would testify that "an excess of moisture was emanating from her tear ducts," a lay witness may depart from such uncompromising precision by testifying simply that "she was crying." Such testimony, while involving an opinion inferred from factual observations, is essential to a clear understanding of the witness' testimony.
Second, lay witnesses may convey the type of opinion which normal persons form constantly and correctly. Thus, a layperson may state that she heard a "siren" even though the identification of such a noise truly amounts to an opinion based upon the sound observed. Lay witnesses have also been permitted to testify regarding such emotional states as anger or upset, speeds of vehicles, whether someone appeared to be in pain, behaved in a drunken manner, had an honest reputation, or to similar opinions within the common experience of common persons and rationally based upon their perceptions.
Although the Federal Rules of Evidence have replaced a strict exclusion of lay opinions with the relaxed requirement that lay opinions must ultimately be "helpful" to the trial process, courts exercise considerable discretion in limiting lay testimony to elicit more precise factual accounts. At bottom, while some small amount of opinion testimony is reluctantly tolerated as a necessity of communication, ordinary persons taking the witness stand must still "stick to the facts" when testifying.
Expert witnesses are far from ordinary. Although the rest of us are limited largely to our personal observations, those who qualify as "experts" shed the limitations of mortal witnesses and are endowed with the power to render opinions and to provide other information far exceeding personal observations. If exercised properly, this power may be harnessed to present powerful testimony at trial and, ultimately, a powerful and winning case. To do so, the advocate must know when to use expert testimony, how to qualify an individual as an expert whose views will carry weight with the jury, and how to use the expert to lend an air of credibility and strength to the case as a whole.
A. When Is Expert Testimony Permitted?
Before a court will admit expert testimony, it must be satisfied that (1) the witness qualifies as an expert; (2) the field of expertise and underlying methodology is sufficiently reliable and valid to place before the jury; and (3) such testimony will truly assist the jury in understanding the case or in determining material issues.
Despite the stereotype, the Federal Rules of Evidence do not require that one obtain an "M.D." degree before taking the witness stand as an expert. Unlike most employers seeking to fill important jobs, federal judges do not require a degree as a prerequisite for expert testimony. Instead, the expert must possess knowledge, education or experience beyond that of the ordinary juror which will enable that person to assist in the trial process. While formal education may be helpful and even essential in some areas, expertise may be acquired far from the classroom in a variety of fields. Thus, where the plaintiff wishes to prove that her one hundred pound dining room table was damaged when the defendant's moving van improperly drove over a speed bump at thirty miles per hour, her best expert may be a truck driver who, after quitting high school, has spent a lengthy career transporting similar furniture in trucks of similar size. If the court is satisfied that this person has expertise not possessed by ordinary laypersons which will help the jury in understanding how the furniture may have shifted, that person may qualify as an expert despite the lack of a degree in physics.
Before eliciting an expert's opinion, one must take great care in establishing the witness' qualifications to the court's -- and the jury's -- satisfaction. In determining whether the witness possesses sufficient expertise, the court will evaluate the person's education, experience and knowledge in comparison with laypersons -- not other experts. Thus, a family doctor may testify as an expert on a specialty within medicine such as orthopedics despite the availability of orthopedic surgeons who possess even greater expertise.
While courts do not require that parties proffer the foremost expert in a particular field, effective advocates must elicit their qualifications from the witness stand in such a manner that jurors will trust and rely on their opinions. On direct examination, the attorney proffering the expert must present the jury with an "oral resume" of the witness, delving into her extensive education, training, knowledge and experience. Although opposing counsel may offer to stipulate to the witness' expertise in an effort to curtail the parade of credentials, smart advocates must march on with these qualifications in order to impress the jury with the witness' credibility.
Despite the importance of credentials, trust and credibility require more than a fancy resume. Indeed, the expert who is offered to the jury as a "know-it-all" may subliminally challenge jurors to contest the expertise of an egotistical or pompous witness. When conveying credentials, the attorney and the witness must be careful to show the witness' human side, thereby fostering an essential rapport between the expert and the jury. Beyond anything written on a resume, eye contact with jurors, clear communication and even some measure of modesty in the presentation of impressive achievements may be the most important credentials of all.
By the time that an advocate formally offers the witness as an expert in a particular field, earlier testimony should enable the attorney to do so proudly with little doubt as to the court's and the jury's acceptance of these qualifications.
Expert astrologers do not get to testify. Although Madam Isabella may possess astrological knowledge, skill, experience and training far in excess of ordinary laypersons, these clairvoyant powers will not overcome the exclusionary power of a federal judge.
Before admitting expert testimony, federal judges must screen the underlying methodology to ensure that it is both reliable and valid. Recognizing the unique aura of credibility with which jurors often regard expert testimony, particularly scientific testimony and evidence, courts have traditionally placed great limits on the areas in which experts may testify. Under the longstanding test of Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), "while the courts will go a long way in admitting expert testimony deduced from a well-recognized scientific principle or discovery, the thing from which the deduction is made must be sufficiently established to have gained general acceptance in the particular field to which it belongs."
While this Frye test served as the principle basis for excluding many areas of potential expert testimony for seventy years, the United States Supreme Court replaced this test in the landmark case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993). Concluding that the Frye test was "incompatible with the Federal Rules of Evidence [and] should not be applied in federal trials," the Supreme Court rejected Frye's general acceptance test in favor of a more "liberal" approach to the admissibility of scientific evidence. The Daubert Court held that trial judges must carefully screen "scientific" evidence to ensure that it is both reliable and valid. In so doing, trial judges must determine whether the expert is proposing to testify to (1) scientific knowledge that (2) will assist the factfinder in understanding the issues presented. "This entails a preliminary assessment of whether that reasoning or methodology properly can be applied to the facts in issue." Id.
1. Is the theory or technique at issue testable, and has it been tested?
2. Has the theory or technique been subjected to peer review and publication? While publication is not required, "submission to the scrutiny of the scientific community is a component of 'good science,' in part because it increases the likelihood that substantive flaws in methodology will be detected."
3. In the case of scientific techniques, what is the known or potential error rate? Are there standards controlling the operation of the technique?
4. Is the theory or technique generally accepted in the scientific community? While no longer a prerequisite to admissibility, general acceptance "can be an important factor in ruling particular evidence admissible." By contrast, techniques which are known but not widely accepted "may properly be viewed with skepticism."
Although the Daubert factors give federal judges considerably more discretion in determining appropriate areas of expert testimony, it is unlikely that Madame Isabella and her astrological colleagues will ever pass this test and assume the coveted role of expert witness. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court's departure from a "general acceptance" test will likely increase the areas in which expert witnesses may testify.
While many appellate decisions focus on the dangers presented by novel scientific testimony, expert testimony need not be rooted in science. As Rule 702 reminds us, experts may also testify on the basis of "technical, or other specialized knowledge" so long as the realm of expertise is sufficiently reliable and relevant to assist the factfinder in understanding the case.
Under common law, experts were only permitted to take the stand if the subject matter of their testimony was arcane or beyond the common understanding of jurors. Rejecting this requirement, Rule 702 merely requires that such testimony "assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue." See Kopf v. Skyran, 993 F.2d 374, 377 (4th Cir. 1993). In short, expert testimony must be "helpful."
Applying this rule, courts should exclude the testimony of experts who are no more capable than the jury of drawing certain inferences or conclusions. While an orthopedic surgeon's testimony is essential in determining the presence of post-traumatic lumbar instability, the same expert may not be helpful where common sense and logic will suffice. Thus, the same orthopedic surgeon may be precluded from taking the stand on behalf of a plaintiff amputee to testify that "removing the wrong leg is contrary to accepted medical practice." Where laypersons can easily draw the necessary conclusions, courts should not permit experts to intrude upon or even insult the intelligence of the jury by proffering un-enlightening and time-consuming testimony.
Assuming that the party proffering the expert has done so with care, the opponent will rarely succeed in excluding expert testimony by attacking qualifications on voir dire. However, in certain situations, limited and strategic cross-examination at this early stage may help to limit the witness' range of expertise and undermine an appearance of invincibility even before the expert has testified to the substance of the case. Even the most qualified of experts may lack some credentials or experience of importance in analyzing the case at hand.
Ultimately, the decision whether to pursue gaps in expertise on voir dire or to save such questions for later cross-examination is one of strategy. Many advocates believe that questions regarding the extent of one's expertise (as opposed to whether a witness should qualify as an expert in the first place) should always be reserved for the impeachment phase of cross-examination. These attorneys emphasize that voir dire is only designed for questions bearing on the court's preliminary determination of competence to testify. By contrast, other attorneys claim that, in certain situations, the opportunity to take an early aim at an expert's credentials will help to awaken the jury's sense of skepticism during the witness' substantive testimony.
While this opportunity should not be waived without deliberation, many attorneys misuse voir dire in strategically misguided ways. When confronted with a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of a multi-volume treatise on cerebral concussions, questions aimed at an expert's credentials may often be answered in ways which enhance the witness' credibility. Even where some gaps in qualifications do exist, the jury may well dismiss these inadequacies in light of a subsequent judicial ruling that the individual is nonetheless qualified as an expert in the field. Indeed, the court's ruling in favor of the witness' expertise may be viewed as a rejection of any attempt to contest the witness' credibility. If so, an early attack on voir dire may unwittingly enhance the witness' persuasive power rather than undermine it.
If counsel nonetheless decides to pursue questions on voir dire, questioning should not involve such impeachment issues as bias or lack of familiarity with certain material facts of the case. These issues are more appropriately raised on cross-examination since they do not relate to the witness' competence to testify in the first place. Thus, in many cases, the best approach to voir dire consists of "No questions, your Honor."
Once qualified, experts have few restrictions on the manner in which they may testify. As the Federal Rules of Evidence indicate, experts "may testify ... in the form of an opinion or otherwise." Fed. R. Evid. 702. Indeed, experts may share their specialized knowledge by explaining relevant principles without formulating a precise opinion. As long as the testimony is helpful, it is generally admissible.
Yet, in some circumstances, we fear that expert testimony may be too helpful. This is particularly true where experts testify to the ultimate issue in the case. Although courts have traditionally excluded such testimony as usurping the role of the factfinder, the Federal Rules of Evidence reversed this exclusionary trend. According to Rule 704(a), "testimony in the form of an opinion or inference otherwise admissible is not objectionable because it embraces an ultimate issue to be decided by the trier of fact."
Though the Federal Rules remove certain restrictions on expert testimony, they do not remove all barriers. "The promulgation of Rule 704 does not mean that witnesses will now be able to give testimony that involves nothing more than choosing up sides." Waltz, The New Federal Rules of Evidence 112 (2d ed. 1974). Ultimately, the trial court has considerable discretion in excluding opinions which underlie or unnecessarily invade the province of the jury or otherwise exceed the proper bounds of expert testimony. While these discretionary calls have produced little uniformity in the law, courts are particularly sensitive where experts testify like lawyers rather than technical specialists. Thus, courts often exclude testimony phrased in terms of inadequately explained legal criteria or legal jargon. This is particularly true where the expert failed to convey her testing in the form of specific facts, testified in a conclusory manner, or gave the appearance of instructing the jury on the law by deliberately testifying in terms of the applicable legal standard. See United States v. Scap, 846 F.2d 135, 140-42 (2d Cir. 1988), on rehearing, 856 F.2d 5 (2d Cir. 1988). Indeed, counsel must vehemently object where experts testify to mixed questions of law and fact involving considerations beyond the scope of their expertise. In many cases, rather than excluding such testimony, courts will simply instruct the jury that it is not bound by the expert's opinion and is free to draw its own conclusion.
Although opinions on the ultimate issue are tolerated in many cases, they are expressly forbidden in certain criminal cases. In the wake of John Hinckley's acquittal by reason of insanity in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan, Congress has prohibited experts from testifying to whether an accused possessed a mental condition constituting an element of, or defense to, the crime charged.
Experts who played an actual role in the facts underlying the case, such as treating physicians, may base their opinions on their own observations. Because experts are often impeached for lack of personal knowledge, the advocate should make some effort, if feasible, to provide the expert an opportunity to obtain personal observations of certain facts. For example, while a physician testifying for the defense in a personal injury case may dispute the plaintiff's injury on the basis of cold medical records, arranging for an examination of this patient may lend greater credibility to this opinion -- particularly where the plaintiff's experts consist of treating physicians who may testify from first hand observations of the patient's condition. This may even be true where such an independent medical examination would add little, if any, additional information.
An expert may listen to testimony or review documents admitted at trial as a means of informing his opinion. Furthermore, the facts relevant to the expert's opinion may be conveyed to the expert on the witness stand in the form of a hypothetical question so long as these facts are ultimately admitted into evidence. Fluckey v. Chicago Northwestern Transp. Co., 838 F.2d 302 (8th Cir. 1988).
Typically, the expert will review evidence or other information long before taking the stand. While such data need not be disclosed by the expert before giving her opinion, it is fully discoverable and may be pursued on cross-examination. See Fed. R. Evid. 705.
In rendering an opinion on the witness stand, experts may rely upon other experts' opinions so long as they are of the type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject. Fed. R. Evid. 703. For example, a medical examiner may rely upon a pathologist's classification of blood type when testifying to the cause of death. This permits parties to streamline the presentation of cases by calling a single expert rather than a number of individuals testifying to subsidiary opinions. However, the expert may not rely upon another's opinion on the very same issue to which the expert is testifying. Thus, the same medical examiner may not rely upon another expert's opinion regarding the cause of death.
Strange as it may sound, experts may base their opinions on information which the jury may not consider in reaching a verdict. As long as the information is "of a type reasonably relied upon by experts" in rendering such opinions, even inadmissible hearsay may provide the basis for an expert's opinion. Indeed, much of the information used by experts consists of hearsay gleaned from the expert's formal education, review of pertinent literature, or during one's practice.
Because experts are permitted to rely upon inadmissible information in certain circumstances, attorneys have been known to take advantage of this rule by calling expert witnesses to serve as conduits through which hearsay is brought before the jury. Although experts are frequently allowed to disclose otherwise inadmissible hearsay and other evidence for the limited purpose of justifying their opinions, such information is not admissible for its truth.
To prevent undue prejudice from the disclosure of otherwise inadmissible information, the court may instruct the jury as to the limited purpose for which such information is conveyed. Engebretsen v. Fairchild Aircraft Corp., 21 F. 3d 721, 729 (6th Cir. 1994). However, such limiting instructions may not be very effective in curbing the jury's misuse of such information. Therefore, when a court suspects that the expert is either serving as a conduit for the dissemination of inadmissible hearsay, or where conveying such information poses a substantial risk of unfair prejudice, the court should exercise its discretion to preclude disclosure of such information. Pelster v. Ray, 987 F. 2d 514, 525-27 (8th Cir. 1993). Furthermore, where there are constitutional or policy-based statutory prohibitions rendering certain information inadmissible, experts may be precluded from using such information in support of their opinions despite the language of Rule 703. See Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454 (1981); Robertson v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 954 F.2d 1433, 1435 (8th Cir. 1992).
While it would not be proper for trial counsel to disregard restrictions on the use of inadmissible hearsay and other evidence, effective advocates must recognize the strategic advantages of placing such information before the jury in the context of expert testimony. Where such information is disclosed for the legitimate purpose of supporting the expert's opinions, trial attorneys may succeed in presenting indirectly the type of information which they could never admit independently. When planning trial strategy, this fringe benefit of expert testimony must be considered.
Fed. R. Evid. 705. While the expert could theoretically provide his qualifications and only testify to his ultimate conclusions in a case, such testimony would hardly be effective in persuading the factfinder to accept these unsupported opinions. To the extent that the expert fails to disclose the bases for such opinions on direct examination, the underlying facts or data must be disclosed if such information is pursued on cross-examination. Of course, Rule 705 also permits the court to require that the expert disclose the bases for her opinions before providing them. Yet, because Rule 705 is designed to streamline the presentation of expert testimony, courts rarely interfere with such presentations in this manner.
The Maryland legal information provided on Maryland evidence law, expert witness qualifications, qualifying an expert, scientific evidence, examining an expert at trial, cross-examining expert witnesses, re-direct examination, grounds for expert testimony, admissible opinion testimony, expert discovery, objections to testimony, objecting to witness opinion, taking the stand, medical experts, engineers, forensic accountants, professional witnesses, conducting depositions of experts, conducting discovery of expert opinions and Maryland rules of evidence on expert opinion and testimony is designed for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The slogans, High-Speed Access to Legal Action, Legal Advice, Legal Counsel, Legal Protection, State & Federal Courts, Dispute & Conflict Resolution, Probate Protection, Legal News, Legal Training & Seminars, and the substantial equivalent thereof are service marks of Kramer & Connolly. | 2019-04-22T08:08:04Z | https://kramerslaw.com/expert-witnesses/72-overcoming-obstacles-a-objections-to-expert-opinion-testimony |
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Certification and maintenance of certification is contingent upon medical licensure and in compliance with all applicable Board policies, rules and codes. Physicians must hold a valid, unrestricted allopathic and/or osteopathic medical license in at least one jurisdiction in the United States, its territories, or Canada. If more than one license is held in these jurisdictions, all licenses must meet the requirement of being unrestricted. Should any medical license become restricted at any time, the Board may undertake proceedings consistent with due process to declare the individual ineligible to apply for any ABP certification, revoke any previously issued certificate(s) and/or take other actions against the physician. Physicians are responsible for immediately notifying the ABP of any restriction placed on any medical license held. Upon successful reinstatement or remedy of the encumbered medical license(s), and upon the ABP being notified of such by the physician, and subsequent verification by the ABP of general eligibility to apply for and hold an ABP certificate, certification may be attained pursuant to the ABP’s Reinstatement Policy found within the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy.
has had special conditions or requirements placed on his/her license (such as, but not limited to, supervision, chaperoning during the examination of patients, additional training beyond that required of all physicians for the maintenance of licensure), and regardless of whether or not such conditions or requirements are imposed by order of the State Medical Board or are the result of a voluntary agreement and/or stipulation between the physician and the State Medical Board.
At the sole discretion of the ABP, the ABP may review instances of licensure actions to determine whether such actions constitute a restriction in violation of this policy.
Beginning in 2019, applicants for the initial general pediatrics certifying examination or an initial pediatric subspecialty certifying examination must provide proof of a current, unrestricted medical license in the US or Canada. The option to fulfill the licensure requirement using a non-US or non-Canadian license will no longer exist for applicants for the 2019 initial certifying examinations or any initial certifying examination thereafter.
Diplomates practicing exclusively abroad, i.e., who are not practicing in the US or Canada, and who do not continue to hold a US or Canadian license after initial certification, must provide proof of licensure in the country in which they practice in order to meet requirements for the Professional Standing and Licensure component of Maintenance of Certification.
Obtain evidence from the individual(s) and/or entity(-ies) to whom the individual claimed to be certified.
Credentials Committee will review the materials cited in #1 above. If the Credentials Committee determines the individual has, either directly or indirectly, falsely claimed to be certified the individual may be subject to the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy at the Credentials Committee’s discretion.
The individual will be informed by letter (return receipt requested) and, if appropriate, given the opportunity for an appeal as described in the ABP’s Appellate Review Procedure.
The State Licensing Board may be notified of any actions taken against individuals once the individual is informed. In certain instances, the Credentials Committee may choose to notify the other relevant organizations such as credentialing bodies, hospitals, and managed care organizations of any action taken against an individual.
Other circumstances will be handled on an individual basis, including the option of directing the ABP lawyer to make a demand against the individual and/or assert a legal claim.
The ABP’s Time-Limited Eligibility for Initial Certification Examinations policy establishes a 7–year limit to the time that can elapse between a pediatrician’s completion of training and achievement of certification. Once the 7–year period of eligibility ends, an applicant for certification must complete an additional period of supervised practice in order to regain eligibility to apply for certification.
Following expiration of the time limit period, a candidate must cease and desist from making any representation of board eligibility. Any violation of this rule is considered a breach of ethical standards of medical practice and may subject the individual to ABP’s Disciplinary Policy.
A candidate’s eligibility for board certification does not equate with acceptance for an examination. Acceptance to take an examination requires the review of an individual’s credentials by the ABP, which does not occur until a formal application is submitted. Upon receipt of a signed release form provided by the ABP, information will be provided regarding the individual’s certification history and whether an individual’s application to take the general and/or subspecialty certification examination was accepted and when the acceptance expires.
If an individual has not yet applied for the examination, the ABP will be unable to verify satisfactory completion of training and suggests individuals seek this verification from the general pediatrics or subspecialty fellowship training program they completed.
If an inquiry is made to the ABP regarding the status of an individual, the response will be only whether the individual is or is not certified. Upon receipt of a signed release form, provided by the ABP, information will be released regarding the individual’s certification history and whether an individual’s application to take a general or subspecialty certifying exam was accepted and when the acceptance expires.
The ABP requires that applicants for certification in general pediatrics complete 3 years of training in programs accredited by ACGME or in programs in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In light of the agreement between ACGME, the American Osteopathic Association and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine for a single accreditation system announced in February 2014, the ABP will accept applications from individuals who have completed osteopathic pediatric residency training only if the training has been accredited by ACGME for the entire duration of required training. Training completed while the osteopathic training program either has not applied for accreditation by ACGME or has applied and has the status of pre-accreditation cannot be used to fulfill the requirements for certification by the ABP.
Beginning with the examination administered in 2014, the American Board of Pediatrics will require that applicants have completed the training required for initial certification in general pediatrics within the previous 7 years (eg, 2007 or later for examinations administered in 2014). If the required training was not successfully completed within the previous 7 years, the applicant must complete an additional period of supervised practice in a training program accredited by the ACGME in the US, or the RCPSC in Canada in order to apply for certification. The purpose of the requirement is to provide the ABP with an independent assessment of the individual’s contemporary competence to practice pediatrics without supervision. Such verification of contemporary competence is required before the ABP will allow an additional 7-year window of eligibility to sit for the certifying examination.
New applicants and re-registrants for the general pediatrics certifying examination who have completed residency training prior to the 7-year eligibility window must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 6 months of supervised general pediatrics practice in the environment of an accredited training program that offers a breadth of general pediatrics experience. This practice must be supervised such that the program director and faculty of the accredited program can assess the individual’s contemporary competence to practice pediatrics unsupervised. The program director of the accredited general pediatrics residency must submit the specifics of the planned experiences to the ABP for approval prior to initiation and then verify the individual’s competence at the conclusion of the supervised practice. The ABP allows flexibility in the design of the clinical experiences but they must include inpatient experience, newborn care, emergency care, recognition and stabilization of the ill child, and outpatient experience. Details of these requirements are outlined in an accompanying document, Plan for Supervised Practice and Assessment of Competence in General Pediatrics in the Accredited Training Program.
Following the satisfactory completion of the period of supervised practice, the candidate will have 7 years to become certified. If unsuccessful in becoming certified during the additional 7 years of eligibility, the applicant must enter an accredited general pediatrics residency program and complete 3 years of training in order to regain eligibility. When applying or re-applying for certification, the applicant must meet the requirements for acceptance in effect at that time.
Do you have questions regarding time-limited eligibility for initial certification in general pediatrics? Email us.
Beginning with the examinations administered in 2014, the American Board of Pediatrics will require that applicants have completed the training required for initial certification in the pediatric subspecialties within the previous 7 years (eg, 2007 or later for examinations administered in 2014) with one exception noted below.* If the required training was not successfully completed within the previous 7 years, the applicant must complete an additional period of supervised practice in a training program accredited by the ACGME in the US, or the RCPSC in Canada in order to apply for certification. The purpose of the requirement is to provide the ABP with an independent assessment of the individual’s contemporary competence to practice the pediatric subspecialty without supervision. Such verification of contemporary competence is required before the ABP will allow an additional 7-year window of eligibility to sit for the certifying examination.
New applicants and re-registrants for subspecialty certification who have completed fellowship (or were approved on the basis of practice) prior to the 7-year time limit must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 6 months of supervised clinical subspecialty practice in the environment of an accredited training program, with the breadth of experiences comparable to the clinical experiences in fellowship. The supervised practice must be in the discipline in which certification is sought. This practice must be supervised such that the program director and faculty of the accredited program can assess the individual’s contemporary competence to practice the subspecialty unsupervised. The program director of the accredited fellowship must submit the specifics of the planned experiences to the ABP for approval prior to initiation and then verify the individual’s competence at the conclusion of the supervised practice. The ABP allows flexibility in the design of the clinical experiences as long they allow comprehensive assessment in all aspects of the subspecialty discipline needed for unsupervised practice. Details of these requirements are outlined in an accompanying document, Plan for Supervised Practice and Assessment of Competence in a Subspecialty in the Accredited Training Program.
Following the satisfactory completion of the period of supervised practice, the candidate will have 7 years to become certified. If unsuccessful in becoming certified during the additional 7 years of eligibility, the applicant must enter an accredited subspecialty fellowship program and complete 2 years of training in order to regain eligibility. The requirement for scholarly activity is waived. When applying or re-applying for certification, the applicant must meet the requirements for acceptance in effect at that time.
Individuals who, solely because of their sequence of training, will not have an opportunity to take a subspecialty examination before their subspecialty eligibility has expired will be permitted one opportunity to take a subspecialty examination, provided that no more than 10 years have elapsed since their subspecialty training was completed and the individual is currently certified in general pediatrics.
Do you have questions regarding time-limited eligibility for initial certification in pediatric subspecialties? Email us.
For further information regarding both General Pediatrics and Subspecialty training and time-limited eligibility, visit this Questions and Answers Page.
If a certificate has an end date, the certificate will expire on December 31 of the year of expiration.
The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) expects residents and fellows in training, candidates for certification, and its diplomates to adhere to and maintain certain fundamental professionalism, moral and ethical principles. As specified by The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties, residents, fellows, candidates and diplomates must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to diverse patient populations.
The materials developed by the ABP for its in-training, certification, and maintenance of certification examinations, including MOCA-Peds, are copyrighted and the sole property of the ABP and may not be reproduced, recorded, published, transmitted, misused, stolen or distributed – in part or in whole – in any way, without the ABP’s permission. Reproduction of copyrighted material, in whole or in part, may be a federal offense. Irrespective of copyright, any attempt to reproduce, record, publish, transmit, misuse, steal or distribute ABP in-training, certification or maintenance of certification examinations, including MOCA-Peds, in whole or part, undermines the fairness of the certification process and may be considered unethical, unprofessional, and dishonorable, and will constitute grounds for the ABP to impose disciplinary sanctions pursuant to the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy and/or take any other action deemed appropriate by the ABP and its legal counsel.
Falsely representing one’s Board status undermines the integrity of the ABP’s mission. The ABP will consider any individual claiming to be certified by the ABP in any specialty or subspecialty when the record cannot support the claim to be unethical, unprofessional, and dishonorable, and will constitute grounds for the ABP to impose disciplinary sanctions pursuant to the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy and/or take any other action deemed appropriate by the ABP and its legal counsel.
Likewise, falsely presenting oneself as “Board Eligible” or making any representation of board eligibility after eligibility has expired will be considered unethical, unprofessional, and dishonorable, and will constitute grounds for the ABP to impose disciplinary sanctions pursuant to the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy and/or take any other action deemed appropriate by the ABP and its legal counsel.
Engaging in irregular or inappropriate behavior during the administration of any examination including MOCA-Peds, as evidenced either by observation or information or by statistical analysis.
Offering of any financial or other benefit to any director, officer, employee, proctor, or other agent or representative of the ABP in return for any right, privilege, or benefit which is not usually granted by the ABP to other similarly situated candidates or persons.
The finding, determination or stipulation of unethical, unprofessional and/or dishonorable conduct, whether final or not, by any entity or individual with authority over, control of, jurisdiction over, or regulation of an individual (e.g., state or federal prosecutors, state medical board, professional association, peer review boards or other health care governing bodies with the power to grant or restrict medical privileges), regardless of whether or not such finding is imposed by formal order, voluntary agreement and/or stipulation.
All ABP examinations are administered in testing centers by test administrators who are responsible for maintaining the integrity and security of the certification process. All candidates taking an ABP examination will be monitored. Test administrators are required to report to ABP any irregular, improper or disruptive behavior by a candidate and have the authority to discontinue a candidate's testing and eject a candidate from a testing center. Irregular, improper or disruptive behavior is any behavior that undermines, disrupts or threatens the integrity or validity of the examination administration, whether it occurs before, during or after an examination. Examples of irregular or improper behavior include, but in no way is limited to, giving or obtaining information or aid, looking at the test material of others, excessive use or misuse of unscheduled breaks, bringing unauthorized items (eg, watches, cell phones) into the examination room, failing to comply with time limits or instructions or other improper behaviors.
In addition to reports provided by the test administrators, the ABP utilizes data forensic techniques to identify data patterns that indicate potential test irregularities. Any irregular or improper behavior that is observed, made apparent by data forensics or discovered by other means will constitute grounds for invalidation of a candidate's examination.
Invalidate the examination results without refund.
Provide an opportunity to retest under conditions that ensure the validity of scores. New testing dates will be scheduled within two (2) weeks of notification of the potential breach. Candidates electing not to reschedule must notify the ABP within one (1) week of the notification of the potential breach to cancel their registration. Candidates electing not to reschedule will have their examination invalidated and will receive a refund of the examination fee. The processing and evaluation fee is not refundable. Candidates who wish to take the examination during the next regularly scheduled testing window will need to register as a re-registrant.
Pursue any other appropriate disciplinary, legal and/or reporting actions, such as, but not limited to, denying admission to the ABP's certification and/or maintenance of certification programs, revoking existing certificates, bringing legal action against the individual and/or reporting incidents to third parties such as state licensing boards.
The ABP is not liable for any expenses or associated losses incurred as a result of the investigation, invalidation and retesting efforts for such cases identified. Any subsequent appeal of a decision resulting from the application of this policy will be handled according to the established appeal process of the ABP.
Applicants for a certifying examination who are unable to appear for the examination due to the following circumstances may petition the ABP for an alternative test date. Alternative test dates must be scheduled no later than 6 weeks following the test date originally scheduled by the ABP.
Candidates must provide documentation of the circumstances that prevent them from appearing at their scheduled appointment. Candidates are urged to submit petitions to the ABP as soon as possible, but no later than 3 business days following the test date. Documentation of medical disabilities, medical emergencies, qualifying pregnancy or birth of child must be provided by the treating physician. Decisions as to whether a qualifying event results in a rescheduled exam are at the sole discretion of the ABP. If the alternative test date is missed, the ABP will not consider a second alternative date.
Alternatively, candidates may elect to delay the examination until the next scheduled administration and receive a refund of the examination fee. The processing fee and any late fee paid will be retained. However, the time-limited eligibility to achieve certification will not be extended.
Consistent with the ABMS/ACGME general competencies, the ABP expects its candidates and diplomates to use information technology (including the use of personal computers, the Internet, and e-mail) to support patient care decisions and patient education, better manage medical information, maintain certification and support their continuing medical education efforts.
the physician so certified shall have been found to be in violation of the ABP’s Honor Code: Professionalism, Moral and Ethical Principles policy.
If the ABP obtains probable cause to believe that a certificate should be revoked for any of the reasons set forth above, it may institute proceedings for revocation pursuant to the ABP’s Revocation Procedure, which may be obtained by writing to the ABP. The steps to be taken to appeal this determination are outlined in the Appellate Review Procedure of the ABP, which may be obtained by writing to the ABP.
Any finding of a violation of the ABP’s Honor Code: Professionalism, Moral and Ethical policy may constitute grounds for the ABP to deny admission to an examination, to withhold scores or certificates, require an individual to retake an entire activity or portions thereof, disqualify the individual from future examinations and/or other certification activities, invalidate and/or nullify current certification activities, mandate remedial actions, or take any other action deemed appropriate by the ABP and its legal counsel.
The steps to be taken to appeal this determination are outlined in the Appellate Review Procedure of the ABP, which may be obtained by writing to the ABP.
A physician may petition the ABP to regain status as a diplomate whenever he or she is eligible again for certification.
Once a certificate issued by the ABP has been revoked or surrendered, that certificate ceases to exist. Former diplomates desiring to become certified again must complete all then-current requirements for maintenance of certification and meet any other requirements deemed appropriate by the ABP.
The ABP may allow the physician to enter the certification process by administrative action or the ABP may refer the matter to the ABP’s Credentials Committee for a recommendation.
For any ineligibility sanction of five (5) years or more, an individual may petition the ABP to reconsider the sanction once every five (5) years. Such petitions will be handled pursuant to the applicable Appellate Review Procedure of the ABP, which may be obtained by writing to the ABP.
The policy of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) is to insure that it considers all diplomates for whom the ABP takes action to revoke a certificate on a consistent and non-discriminatory basis and affords them with due process. Accordingly, the ABP has adopted the following procedures for the revocation of a diplomate’s certificate in general pediatrics or in a pediatric subspecialty.
The ABP’s Disciplinary Policy sets forth the circumstances for which the ABP may revoke a diplomate’s certificate.
If the ABP obtains information from any source relating to the possible occurrence of one of these events, the ABP may request additional information from state licensing boards, institutions, or any other appropriate entities or individuals relating to the possible event.
Based upon the information in the ABP’ s possession, the ABP’ s President or his/her designee will make an initial determination as to whether or not there is probable cause to believe that one of the events for revocation of the diplomate’s certificate has occurred.
Upon an initial determination that there is probable cause for revocation, the ABP will notify the diplomate that revocation procedures are commencing and that the diplomate may appeal the determination by filing a written notice of appeal pursuant to the ABP’ s Appellate Review Procedure. The ABP’s notification will be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, and will be marked confidential. If the ABP is informed that its notification did not reach the diplomate, the ABP will make a reasonable attempt to determine the address of the diplomate and will resend the information.
If the ABP has not received a written notice of appeal within the time period defined by the ABP’s Appellate Review Procedure or if the ABP’s determination to revoke a diplomate’s certificate is upheld following an appeal, then the ABP will notify the diplomate that the ABP’ s revocation determination is final and the ABP will update its records to reflect that the diplomate is not certified. The ABP will notify the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) that the diplomate is no longer certified by the ABP and will request the ABMS to update its records to reflect the revocation of certification. The ABP may also notify any other medical specialty board who may have issued a certificate to the diplomate or any other appropriate organization or individual that the diplomate is no longer certified.
The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) will, on a consistent and non-discriminatory basis, afford reasonable due process for all diplomates and candidates receiving certain negative determinations and/or certain ABP disciplinary actions. Accordingly, the ABP has adopted the following rules and procedures for appeals.
A determination that a candidate is ineligible to take an examination due to the ABP’s determination that the candidate is in possession of a restricted medical license.
A determination that a candidate who has submitted a completed application for certification in a pediatric subspecialty is ineligible to take the examination due to the ABP’s determination that i) evidence of and/or the quality of the applicant’s Scholarly Activity/Research or Meaningful Accomplishment in Research is inadequate or ii) the practice experience is inadequate for admission via a Practice Pathway.
A determination that the individual has failed an examination, limited to appeals of instances of a compromise in the administration of the examination due to environmental or technical issues. An appeal from a failed examination will not reverse a failing grade or alter a score. Rather, a successful appeal may result in an invalidation of a score or result, and the candidate being rescheduled to sit for examination at the next available examination administration. In order to be able to institute an appeal under this subsection A(3), the individual must have sent a notice of the alleged compromise in the administration of the examination due to environmental or technical issues, in writing, to the ABP within 72 hours from the completion of the examination at which the compromise allegedly occurred.
A sanction imposed pursuant to the ABP’s Disciplinary Policy.
In addition to the above, the ABP may, at its sole discretion, grant an appeal of other determinations on a case-by-case basis.
In order for an individual to invoke any right of appeal, an individual must not be party to any legal or administrative proceeding at any time throughout the appellate process that is based in full or in part on substantially similar facts and/or circumstances which relate to the intended appeal.
Appeal Fee: As published. The fee may be returned at the discretion of the ABP.
Diplomate and/or candidate costs and expenses in bringing or pursuing an appeal are the sole responsibility of the individual, including travel expenses, postage/delivery costs, copying costs, legal fees or expenses and any and all other costs and expenses. The ABP is not responsible or obligated for the payment or reimbursement of any expense or cost incurred by any individual bringing or pursuing an appeal.
Notice of Right to Appeal. In conveying to an individual a negative determination pursuant to A1-A3 above, the ABP will state the individual’s right to appeal under these procedures, a copy of these Appellate Review Procedures, the Appeal Fee (if any) and the time limit of fourteen (14) days for the individual to submit to the ABP a “Notice of Appeal” and the full Appeal Fee. With respect to Appeals pursuant to A3, however, an appeal will not be allowed to proceed if the individual had not sent a notice of the alleged compromise in the administration of the examination due to environmental or technical issues, in writing, to the ABP within 72 hours from the completion of the examination at which the compromise allegedly occurred.
Notice of Appeal. To maintain an appeal, Appellant must timely submit to the ABP a written “Notice of Appeal”, together with all relevant supporting documentation, and the full Appeal Fee. The Notice of Appeal must specify each and every basis and supporting fact of the appeal. The Notice of Appeal and all supporting documentation must be written (audio and/or video recorded materials are not allowed and will not be reviewed) and must be in a single mailing to the ABP. If the ABP does not timely receive a Notice of Appeal and/or the full Appeal Fee, the Appellant will have forgone his/her right to an appeal and the determination shall be deemed final.
Written Appeals Only. No oral hearings or presentations will be granted or allowed.
Determination. The ABP’s President, or his/her designee(s) (hereinafter “SMT”), is authorized to make final determinations with respect to 1) the timeliness and/or adequacy of the Applicant’s submission of his/her Notice of Appeal and/or 2) the substantive merits of the appeal. The Appellant and/or his/her representative shall not have the right to attend any aspect of the determination of appeals under this subsection. In making a final determination, the ABP may consider or reject any materials submitted by the Appellant and/or any other documents, statements, data, information based on relevance, appropriateness, and/or necessity.
Notice of Determination. The result of the Appeal shall be sent to the last known address of the Appellant within seven (7) days of the final determination.
Notice of Right to Appeal. In conveying to an individual, a negative determination pursuant to A4 above, the ABP will state the individual’s right to appeal under these procedures, a copy of these Appellate Review Procedures, the Appeal Fee and the time limit of twenty-eight (28) days for the individual to submit to the ABP a “Notice of Appeal” and the full Appeal Fee.
SMT shall review each Notice of Appeal under this subsection to determine whether it was submitted in accordance with the procedure set forth herein.
If SMT finds the Notice of Appeal to be deficient, the ABP shall so advise the Appellant in writing and state the reasons for this finding. At the ABP’s discretion, the ABP may allow an Appellant to resubmit an amended Notice of Appeal within a specified period of time, correcting any identified deficiencies in the original Notice of Appeal. Any SMT final decisions concerning the sufficiency of an original or, if applicable, resubmitted Notice of Appeal shall be final and the Appellant may not appeal this decision.
If SMT finds a Notice of Appeal sufficient, the ABP shall forward the appeal (the “Appeal Certification”) to the applicable appellate review Committee (the “Appeal Committee”) and shall send written notice to the Appellant that his/her appeal is commencing.
Determination of Oral or Written Only Appeal Hearing. For Appeals initiated under A4, SMT is authorized to determine whether the Appeal hearing will be oral or written. This determination will be conveyed in the written notice to the Appellant that his/her appeal is commencing.
If the hearing is oral, the Notice of Hearing shall state the time and place of the hearing. In addition, the Notice of Hearing shall inform Appellant that if the Appellant intends to offer testimony at the hearing, including his/her own testimony, the Appellant must disclose to the ABP no less than twenty-one (21) days in advance of the Appeal hearing the names, contact information and relevant relationship to Appellant or appellate issues of the witnesses and a brief description of their testimony.
Neither the Appellant nor his/her representative(s) shall have the right to attend any portion or aspect of written hearings.
The Appeal Committee, in its sole discretion, may consider or reject any materials submitted by the Appellant and/or any other documents, statements, data, information based on relevance, appropriateness, and/or necessity.
Written hearings may be conducted by written correspondence or telephone communications among Appeal Committee members.
No less than twenty-one (21) days in advance of the Appeal hearing the ABP will inform Appellant of any witnesses it intends to call at the hearing, together with a description of the witness and a brief description of their testimony.
The Appellant and/or his/her representative(s) may, if he/she chooses, be present at oral hearings. The opportunity for the Appellant’s representative(s), including legal counsel, to address the Appeal Committee is left to the sole discretion of the Appeal Committee at the time of the hearing.
The Appeals Committee may, in its sole discretion, consider, reject or limit any evidence submitted by the Appellant, evidence and/or testimony to be presented during the hearing and any other documents, statements, data, information or other evidence based on relevance, appropriateness, and/or necessity. The determination to allow any individual, including the Appellant, to testify at the hearing and/or the limitations on testimony are within the sole discretion of the Appeal Committee and can be made at any time through the end of the hearing. As is reasonably feasible, however, no less than fourteen (14) days in advance of the Appeal hearing, the Appeal Committee will inform Appellant of any testimony it will not accept, taking into consideration whether such intended testimony is duplicative, unnecessary or not materially germane to any issues on Appeal.
A transcript of oral hearings shall be made.
Oral hearings will close at the discretion of the Appeal Committee, taking into consideration whether the Appellant has had a reasonable opportunity to address the issues on Appeal.
After a written or oral hearing, the Appeal Committee will deliberate and then vote by majority on whether it will affirm, reverse, amend or remand the appealed determination.
The Appeal Committee shall set forth its findings, recommendations and/or any ordered directions in writing and mail to the Appellant within sixty (60) days of the hearing.
Fair and Impartial. All appeals shall be conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
No Conflict of Interest. Any individual participating in an appellate review on behalf of the ABP shall be recused if they have any substantive and material conflict of interest with respect to the appeal. If, due to conflict of interests, it is not possible to constitute an Appeal Committee, the appeal shall be referred to the Executive Committee and such a referred appeal shall be conducted pursuant to all applicable policies herein.
Chair of Appeal Committee. Each Appeal Committee shall be chaired by the respective Committee Chair, or his/her designee. The designated Chair shall preside over appellate hearings and shall rule on all procedural issues. The designated Chair shall determine the manner in which evidence is presented, the length of testimony, and all other issues relating to running of the appellate hearing.
Appeal Committee. Each Appeal Committee shall have a minimum of three voting members and, in addition, the ABP’s Chair, President and/or Executive Vice President may serve, ex-officio.
Burden on Appellant. The burden is upon the Appellant to present sufficient evidence to the Appeal Committee to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the appealed issue(s) should be overturned.
Appellate Referral or Review. At the sole discretion of and based on a majority vote of a voting quorum of any given Appeal Committee, an Appeal Committee may refer an appeal to the Executive Committee or, upon a determination, request that the Executive Committee review some or all of the Appeal Committee determinations. The Executive Committee will determine, in its discretion and based on a majority vote of a voting quorum, whether it will grant or deny the referral of the appeal or request for review.
For any appeal from a negative determination affecting the certification status of an ABP diplomate, the diplomate’s certificate shall remain current and in good-standing until the appeal is deemed final. If a negative determination, in full or part, is upheld and deemed final on appeal, the change in certificate status will be deemed to be effective as of the date of the first written notification of the negative determination.
Determinations, findings or other decisions are final and binding once the appeals procedure provided by these rules has been exhausted or the time for making an appeal has expired. | 2019-04-18T16:25:20Z | https://www.abp.org/content/policies |
11 Liability/Indemnification/Interference with the Challenge or Website.
How can social media improve public health?
The ImagineNation Public Health Social Media Challenge challenges public health organizations to use social media in a creative and effective way to improve the health of the Canadian public.
Teams register the current or future social media initiative they wish to enter in the challenge on the challenge website.
At the end of the challenge, teams describe how the initiative unfolded and their results.
Each team must have one lead organization. The team may include other individuals and organizations, referred to in the challenge as team members. Organizations that do not meet the criteria for a lead organization may participate in a team as a team member, as long as the team has an eligible lead organization.
A similar organization, as approved in writing by Infoway.
Agencies or departments of the federal government may participate on a team as a team member. However, award monies cannot be disbursed to these agencies or departments. The lead organization on a team that includes an agency or department of the federal government may receive monetary awards if the lead organization is otherwise eligible.
Organizations, whether lead organizations or team members, may submit multiple initiatives to the challenge, as long as each initiative is unique and is entered through a separate registration process.
The key messages of the social media initiative must be primarily aimed at improving the health of a segment of people living in Canada, including through the social determinants of health.
The initiative must be targeted beyond the staff or members of the organizations on the team.
The messages must adhere to the best available evidence on practises and information regarding the health issue that is the focus of the initiative.
Initiatives must not infringe on intellectual property rights, and must be consistent with relevant legislation, regulations, and professional standards, including privacy and anti-spam laws.
The initiative must be active during at least part of the challenge period of February 26, 2014 to September 30, 2014. Initiatives can be active before the start of the challenge and continue beyond the challenge, but team activities outside the challenge period will not be considered towards the team’s results.
The name of the social media initiative being entered.
The public health issue(s) that the initiative targets.
The initiative’s targeted audience and an estimate of the size of the target audience, with an explanation of how the estimate was calculated.
An indication of whether the target audience is local, provincial or national.
The intended outcomes of the initiative in measurable, public health terms.
A list of the objective measures that can be used to verifiably evaluate the virulence and effectiveness of the initiative.
A “preferred metric”: the metric the team considers to be best suited to measure the initiative’s intended results.
Each team must have an individual team leader who is the primary point of contact for the team. Team leaders may invite, through the mechanism provided on the challenge website, other persons to register as team members on the challenge website in order to assist with administering the team.
Must agree to comply with the challenge rules and all relevant legislation and regulations.
The email address provided by the team leader will serve as the primary mechanism by which Infoway communicates with the team leader.
Once all required items for qualification are submitted to the challenge website, Infoway will review them for completeness and adherence to the rules. Once a team is deemed qualified by Infoway, the team leader will be notified by email or phone.
A recap of the deployed elements of the initiative, including any activities that take place outside of social media channels, such as news releases and ad buys.
The team’s reasons why the initiative should be chosen as Judges’ Choice Public Health Social Media Initiative and/or Most Innovative Public Health Social Media Initiative.
A description of how, if at all, the execution of the initiative differed from registration and why the change(s) occurred.
Documentation of the key elements of the initiative: tweets, videos, Facebook pages, etc. in the relevant format (website URLs, screen captures, etc.). This should include a selection of the most notable materials rather than all materials. The selection may contain content created by users. The documentation of key elements of the campaign will not be counted toward the two page Final Report limit, but judges are not required to review all materials submitted.
The results of the objective metrics identified at registration.
The results of the team’s preferred metric, preferably collected at multiple points in the initiative.
A description of the key lessons learned by the team throughout the initiative.
Submissions to the first Expert Forum accepted.
Submissions to the second Expert Forum accepted.
*Additional awards may be added.
Qualifying for the challenge before 3 p.m. ET on March 26, 2014.
Adding the official Infoway Twitter account, @Infoway, to the lead organization’ s “Following” list.
Spreading the word about the challenge by retweeting an Infoway tweet about the challenge on the lead organization’s official Twitter account.
Posting on the lead organization’s official Facebook or LinkedIn status a Challenge-related status that includes a link to the challenge website and tags the Infoway Facebook page.
A draw from among all ballots will be held within ten days after qualification decisions have been made for all teams that submitted qualification materials before the draw deadline. Draws will take place at Infoway’s office at 150 King Street West, Suite 1300, Toronto, Ontario. Recipients will be contacted by phone.
A panel of judges convened by Infoway and comprising communications experts, public health experts, representatives of the public, and/or others, will judge eligible initiatives based on the award criteria. Judges will have access to the registration information and Final Report for each initiative they judge. Teams must have submitted both the registration information and the Final Report by 3 p.m. ET on September 30, 2014 to be considered.
Virulence of the Initiative (30%) – Given the quantitative measures identified at registration, the length of the initiative, “metric of choice”, and intended audience size, how much did the message spread? Consideration is given to the meaningfulness of the engagement, e.g. being followed on Twitter may not be as strong as participating in a chat on Twitter.
Effectiveness of the messaging (30%) – Was the message appropriate to the stated audience? Was the message suited to the social media outlets used? Did the message reflect the best evidence on the issue? Was the message likely to achieve the stated health outcome or behaviour of the initiative?
Effectiveness of the initiative (30%) – Did the initiative achieve the results desired?
Lessons Learned (10%) – Did the team provide considered and insightful thoughts in the report on the lessons learned throughout the process of the initiative?
A panel of judges convened by Infoway and comprising communications experts, public health experts, representatives of the public, and/or others, will judge the initiatives based on the award criteria. Judges will have access to the registration information and Final Report for each initiative they judge. Teams must have submitted both the registration information and the Final Report by the 3 p.m. ET on September 30, 2014 to be considered.
One award of $10,000 is available.
Innovative Use of Social Media – How unique was the use of available social media tools? Did the initiative go beyond the typical use of communication channels to do something creative and engaging?
In addition to the awards above, Infoway and the challenge’s Supporting Organizations (organizations that support and promote the challenge; list available on challenge website) may provide opportunities that will be made available to challenge participants throughout the challenge. Participation in these opportunities is optional. These opportunities will be announced on the challenge website.
In order to be eligible for an award, the team leader and all team members must meet and agree to all of the terms and conditions described in these rules.
Infoway reserves the right to refuse an entry from a person or a team whose eligibility is in question or who has been disqualified or is otherwise ineligible to enter.
When an individual enters the challenge as an employee, contractor or agent of another party, he/she warrants that such party has consented to the individual’s participation on its behalf. The individual also warrants that his/her actions do not violate any of the employer’s or contractor’s policies or procedures. Any submission made on behalf of another party without that other party’s consent is void.
No organizations outside of Canada are eligible to participate in the challenge.
Directors, officers, employees and agents of Canada Health Infoway and their immediate family members as well as all persons with whom they reside, are not eligible to participate in the challenge.
Directors, officers, employees and agents of Idea Crossing, their immediate family members and respective partners, affiliates, divisions and subsidiaries, and all persons with whom they reside, are not eligible to participate in the challenge.
Challenge judges, their immediate family members, and all persons with whom they reside, are not eligible to participate in the challenge.
Directors, officers, employees and agents of Supporting Organizations of the challenge are not eligible to act as team leaders, but may participate as team members.
For the purposes of the challenge: “immediate family member” is defined as a spouse, a common law partner, his or her dependent children as well as the dependent children of his or her spouse or common-law partner.
Each team member agrees that for all purposes the identifier established for him/her in the context of the registration or similar process will be attributed to and legally bind such team member and may be relied upon by Infoway and its agents, affiliates, and other third parties with whom Infoway works with respect to the challenge and this even if another person used the team member‘s identifier. The team member agrees to guard as confidential information any account username and/or password created as a result of the challenge.
Infoway reserves the right to disqualify a team member or team from the challenge if Infoway, reasonably believes that a team member has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the challenge by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices, or has tampered with any of Infoway’s websites, the submission process, the judging process, has violated these rules, acts in an unprofessional or disruptive manner, or annoys, abuses, threatens, or harasses Infoway, its Supporting Organizations (organizations that support and promote the challenge), its representatives or any other challenge team or team member, or if a team member provides (or Infoway has reasonable grounds to believe that a team member provided) any information that is inaccurate, erroneous, not current, or incomplete.
The team agrees to provide accurate, current and complete information at all times. Teams also agree that they will review, maintain, correct, and update such information in a timely manner to maintain its accuracy and completeness by using the means allowed for the relevant information or, when appropriate, by contacting Infoway. If a team provides (or Infoway has reasonable grounds to believe that a team member provided) any information that is inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, Infoway may suspend or terminate access, and/or participation in the challenge, in addition to exercising all rights and remedies allowed by law.
No member of any team is to submit personal or confidential patient information to Infoway, and must at all times during the challenge adhere to the appropriate legislation and regulatory guidelines regarding personal health information.
Each team member agrees to reasonable participation, without any compensation, contribution, or fee, in Infoway efforts to promote the Challenge.
If an award recipient is found to be ineligible or otherwise not in compliance with these rules, the award recipient will be disqualified from that award, and all rights of the recipient to the award will be forfeited. If this occurs, Infoway may, at its sole discretion, select another award recipient from the remaining eligible teams.
Award recipients may be invited to participate in additional activities to communicate and share their submission and experience, for example through a webinar.
All monetary challenge awards will be forwarded to the lead organization named by the team leader during registration, which is then responsible for any distribution to others. The recipient selected to receive any award payment cannot be a federal government department or agency. It is the responsibility of the team to determine how the award money will be distributed. Once it has disbursed awards to the organization designated by the team leader, Infoway will not be involved in further distribution of award monies.
Infoway may verify, or request that a third party verify, the information provided in the submission to ensure compliance with challenge rules at any time for any reason. Any team or team member found to be in violation of the rules will be informed of the violation and will have three (3) business days to address the violation to the satisfaction of Infoway and/or the challenge auditors. Infoway, in its sole discretion, will determine the appropriate course of action, which may include disqualifying the team in question from the challenge, in addition to exercising all rights and remedies allowed by law. Teams may revise data they have submitted if that data was originally submitted on time.
b) To any person accessing the Website (“Visitors”) to use any Material, but solely for non-commercial purposes, as submitted (without any adaptation or other modification), provided that, where reasonable in the circumstances, the name of the team or team member, as disclosed as part of the registration process, is associated with any such Use.
The preceding license extends to all rights, including any intellectual property rights as may protect any Material or team or team member, whether now enacted, conferred or recognized or that may be enacted, conferred or recognized in the future, that any team or team member (or successor and assigns) may own, control or obtain, including pursuant to applications or registrations made with the appropriate governmental authorities either before or after the date of the team or team member’s submission.
Subject to the limitations set forth above, all team members hereby irrevocably waive any moral rights that (s)he may have in the Material to the full extent allowed under any applicable laws, for the benefit of Infoway and any other person who benefits from the above licenses.
The rights granted herein shall be granted without any compensation other than that specifically provided in these rules.
No responsibility is assumed by Infoway, its advertising and promotional agencies, their respective directors, officers, employees and representatives, its Supporting Organizations for any disruption to telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software or the failure of any submission to be received because of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, as well as for any lost, incomplete, destroyed, misdirected, illegible or late submission which was not received, for any reason whatsoever.
Infoway and its Supporting Organizations are not responsible for printing, distribution or production errors and may terminate, modify, extend any portion of, or withdraw, this challenge, at any time and for any reasonable cause whatsoever, without requirement of individual notice and without liability. Any changes to these rules will be posted on the challenge website.
Infoway reserves the right to modify the challenge (including, but not limited to, extending any portion of the challenge), these rules, or to cancel this challenge for any reasonable cause whatsoever including, but not limited to, in the event of technical corruption, virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other technical problems which may arise from time-to-time which in Infoway’s opinion undermine or destroy the integrity of this challenge. No liability or responsibility is assumed by Infoway or Supporting Organizations, resulting from user attempts to participate in this challenge or if required, download any information necessary to participate in this challenge.
If for any reason the challenge is not capable of being conducted as intended by Infoway, including due to computer viruses, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other cause that corrupts or interferes with the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the challenge, Infoway may, at its sole discretion, disqualify any team responsible for such misconduct and may then cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the challenge.
Any attempt to deliberately damage any website or interfere with the legitimate operation of the challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil laws, and Infoway reserves the right to seek damages and/or other relief from all responsible persons to the fullest extent permitted by law.
By entering this challenge, a team or team member agrees to hold Infoway, its Supporting Organizations, their respective directors, officers, employees and representatives, harmless from and against any and all claims and liability arising directly or indirectly out of or in any way connected with this challenge and/or the award(s) provided.
By participating in this challenge, the team agrees to be bound by the rules and the decisions of the judges and Infoway.
By registering and entering the challenge, the team leader consents to the collection and use by Infoway of his/her personal information in order to process the submission and administer the challenge, including the granting of any awards.
The team leader and all team members consent to the collection, use and publication on the website of the team’s name, location, organization(s), and initiative information, which information is mandatory in order to participate in the challenge, and which information will be posted on the challenge website.
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Where any discrepancy exists between these rules and other documents issued or provided in the context of the challenge, these rules shall prevail. | 2019-04-25T22:24:35Z | http://imaginenationchallenge.ca/phsm-challenge-rules/ |
Previously we have suggested that cancer cells develop a mechanism(s) which allows for either: silencing of the wild-type TP53 transcription, degradation of the wild-type TP53 mRNA, or selective overproduction of the mutated TP53 mRNA, which is the subject of this article. Sequencing of TP53 on the respective cDNA and DNA templates from tumor samples were found to give discordant results. DNA analysis showed a pattern of heterozygous mutations, whereas the analysis of cDNA demonstrated the mutated template only. We hypothesized that different TP53 gene expression levels of each allele may be caused by the polymorphism within intron 3 (PIN3). The aim of this study was to test if one of the polymorphic variants of PIN3 (A1 or A2) in the heterozygotes is associated with a higher TP53 expression, and therefore, responsible for the haploinsufficiency phenomenon.
250 tumor samples were tested. To analyze the involvement of PIN3 polymorphic variant (A1 or A2) on TP53 mRNA expression regulation, bacterial subcloning combined with sequencing analyses, dual luciferase reporter assays and bioinformatic analysis were performed.
Haplotype analysis showed the predominance of the mutated template during the cDNA sequencing in all samples showing a heterozygous TP53 mutation and PIN3 heterozygosity. Out of 30 samples (from the total of 250 tested samples) which carried TP53 mutations and had a bias in allelic expression 6 were heterozygous for the A1/A2 polymorphism, and all 6 (p = 0.04) samples carried the mutation within the PIN3 longer allele (A2). Reporter assays revealed higher luciferase activity in cells transfected with the plasmid containing A2 construct than A1 and control. A2/A1 ratio ranged from 1.16 for AD293 cell line (p = 0.019) to 1.59 for SW962 cell line (p = 0.0019). Moreover, bioinformatic analyses showed that PIN3 duplication stabilized secondary DNA structures – G-quadruplexes.
TP53 alleles are not equivalent for their impact on the regulation of expression of TP53 mRNA. Therefore, in PIN3-heterozygous cases a single TP53 mutation of the longer allele might sufficiently destabilize its function. Secondary DNA structures such as quadruplexes can also play a role in PIN3-dependent TP53 haploinsufficiency.
TP53 is one of the most prominent suppressor proteins and the respective gene is the most thoroughly studied one. Typically, tumor suppressor genes show either homo- or hemizygous mutations, but TP53 is an exception in this aspect . We have already suggested that the dominant negative effect and gain of function are supported by an unknown mechanism causing higher expression of the mutated allele (in comparison to the normal allele) in cells with a heterozygous mutation . Here, we made a further insight into the influence of PIN3 polymorphism on the regulation of TP53 expression.
We have already reported the differences in the results of sequencing of the TP53 gene between the analyses performed on DNA and those performed on the respective cDNA . The former presented the heterozygous pattern, whereas the latter demonstrated the mutated template only. This observation was an incentive to the search for an unknown haploinsufficiency mechanism. We hypothesized that the differences in the expression levels between alleles may be an effect of polymorphisms or epigenetic changes.
Albeit relatively infrequent, TP53 polymorphisms may be important from the perspective of susceptibility to various cancers. PIN3 and codon 72 polymorphisms are the two most frequently observed. Codon 72 polymorphism, leading to arginine-proline substitution, and thus, affecting the structure of the resulting protein , occurs within a proline-rich region, which controls growth suppression and apoptosis [5, 6]. It has been reported that Arg/Arg homozygotes are more efficient in apoptosis induction than Pro/Pro homozygotes, which, in turn, play a role in cell cycle arrest in G1 phase [7, 8]. Codon 72 polymorphism has been reported as associated with breast, lung and bladder cancer susceptibility [9–11].
Polymorphism in TP53 intron 3 (PIN3) is a 16 bp duplication (5’-ACCTGGAGGGCTGGGG-3’). The allele with only one repetition of 16 bp at the PIN3 site is usually marked as A1 or N (non-duplicated), the other (with 2 repetitions) is marked as A2 or D (duplicated). PIN3 is also responsible for the unique DNA conformer construction – a G-quadruplex structure, which overlaps intron 3 .
Since PIN3 is related to higher cancer susceptibility (including breast and colorectal) [13–15], we hypothesized that the insertion may cause different expression of each allele. Both exon 3 (22 bp) and intron 3 (93 bp) of the TP53 gene are relatively short, so an increase of intron 3 length by 17% (16 bp) may even influence the protein function. As reported by Mergny et al., the primary nucleotide sequence composition of tetramolecular structures can affect and change melting temperature and association constant values , which influences both G-quadruplex formation and stability, further affecting gene expression and protein function . Marcel et al. described the importance of intronic G-quadruplexes in the process of TP53 alternative splicing . Formation of the mentioned structures interferes with the excision of intron 2, which has an alternative translation start site, resulting in a Δ40p53 isoform , which, when expressed in excess, exerts a negative effect on the wild-type protein . Finally, Uhlemann et al. suggested that not only the regulatory elements, but also the areas between them affect the gene expression . They reported that the variation of TA repeats polymorphism upstream the promoter of the gp91 phox results in differences in the activation of gp91 phox promoter .
Gemignani et al. reported that the shorter allele (A1) provides higher expression than does the longer allele (A2) . Thus, our hypothesis could be tested for the selected group of cases (heterozygotes A1/A2). In these cases, the mutation of the allele allowing for the higher TP53 expression overrides the normal TP53 activity (through definite predominance of the mutated mRNA) despite the retention of the wild-type allele at the DNA level (haploinsufficiency). This lead to the aim of this study – to investigate if PIN3 polymorphism play a role in TP53 haploinsufficiency. Undoubtedly, behind the haploinsufficiency phenomenon there is an unidentified mechanism, which probably modulates TP53 mRNA expression.
The study included human cancer cell lines, cultured cells and tumor samples. The commercially available human cell lines were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, USA – SW962) and from Stratagene (California, USA – AD293). For this study the TP53 sequencing results from more than 250 tumor samples were analyzed. We have reviewed the sequencing results for 307 samples (partially previously published [2, 3, 19, 20], partially performed specifically for this analysis). Since a portion of the archival material was no longer available, PIN3 and codon 72 analysis was possible in 250 cases, among which there were 45 cases with missense mutations (Table 1), which were subjected to further analysis. All samples were collected using the protocols approved by the Bioethical Committee of the Medical University of Lodz (Approval No. RNN/9/10/KE and No. RNN/53/08/KE). Written informed consent was obtained from all patients and their data were processed and stored according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki.
AML – acute myeloid leukemia; WT – wild-type template; MT – mutated template; A1, A2 – polymorphic variants of PIN3; C – cytosine; G – guanine.
Cells were cultured in MEM or DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS (PAA, Linz, Austria) and antibiotics (penicillin/streptomycin/gentamicin; GIBCO, BRL, Paisley, Great Britain) in 5% CO2. Adherent cells were passaged with trypsin (GIBCO) before obtaining 70% confluence.
Total DNA and RNA were isolated from cell cultures and frozen tumor fragments (stored at -80°C) and peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from patients and healthy volunteers. The isolation was performed using AllPrep DNA/RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer's protocol. During RNA isolation DNase was used. Nucleic acid concentration was determined spectrophotometrically. 100 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed into single-stranded cDNA using QuantiTect Rev. Transcription Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer’s protocol.
Exons 4 – 8 of TP53 were sequenced in search of mutations. The primers used for the PCR amplification of TP53 DNA and cDNA sequences and sequencing primers are listed in tables A1 and A2 (Additional file 1). TP53 sequencing was performed using BigDye Seq kit v3.1 (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). The sequences were analyzed with the ABI 3130 genetic analyzer and DNA Sequencing Analysis Software (Applied Biosystems).
Bacterial subcloning was performed in order to determine which allele (A1 or A2) is preferentially mutated in samples with a heterozygous TP53 mutation. Since PIN3 is an intronic polymorphism, it may only be analyzed at the DNA level. Therefore, a direct analysis would require the subcloning of about 3 thousand nucleotide-long sequence (the distance between intron 3 and exon 8) into bacterial vectors. To avoid the technical inconveniences we performed an indirect analysis using another polymorphic site at codon 72 (Figure 1). Such an analysis was only possible for the samples with heterozygous TP53 mutation, PIN3 A1/A2 heterozygosity, codon 72 C/G heterozygosity and predominance of the mutated template during the cDNA sequencing. Firstly, cDNA sequencing of exons 4 – 8 was used to determine which allele (at codon 72) is mutated (Figure 2), since the predominance of the mutated allele would be also observed here. Subsequently, the bacterial subcloning of DNA fragments containing intron 3 and exon 4 (and thus, both polymorphic sites) from samples with a single heterozygous mutation was performed. It allowed for the sequencing of each allele separately, and therefore, for the detection of haplotypes (i.e. which codon 72 variant co-localized with which PIN3 variant). From these observations it may be easily inferred which PIN3 variant was mutated; e.g. if cDNA analysis revealed that the mutation co-localized with cytosine in codon 72 and subcloning showed that codon 72 cytosine co-localized with the longer PIN3 variant, we may conclude that the mutation occurred within the allele with A2 PIN3 variant. As the vector for cloning pUC19 plasmid was used. The TP53 DNA fragment was amplified by PCR using the primers complementary to the target DNA with additional nucleotides at the 5’ ends to facilitate digestion (Table A3, Additional file 1). Both the PCR product and the vector were digested with restriction enzymes BamHI and HindIII (Fermentas, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, USA) in two separate reactions according to the manufacturer's protocol. 1-sample proportion test with continuity correction was used to assess the probability of the observed allele distribution.
A schematic diagram of the subcloning procedure. A. Sequencing of TP53 cDNA fragment containing exons 4 – 8, that specify which allele with cytosine or guanine in codon 72 (exon 4) is mutated within exons 5 – 8. B. The samples containing an exonic mutation and codon 72 heterozygosity were subjected to bacterial subcloning. A fragment of TP53 gene comprising intron 3 and codon 72 from the selected samples were cloned into a bacterial vector and sequenced. Such an analysis allowed for the sequencing of each allele separately, and therefore, for the detection of haplotypes (i.e. which codon 72 variant co-localized with which PIN3 variant). C. Combination of these results allows to infer which PIN3 allele (A1 or A2) is the mutated one.
The result of capillary sequencing of the TP53 exon 8 fragment with the designated R273C mutation (the line marks the mutated nucleotide).
Generation of the reporter assay plasmids was performed by inserting DNA fragments comprising the intron 3 sequence of the TP53 gene, obtained with PCR on the heterozygous template. The PCR products were separated with 2% agarose gel electrophoresis and DNA was extracted from the gel using AxyPrep DNA Gel Extraction Kit (Axygen, Corning, New York, USA). The fragments of 174 and 190 bp were chosen for insertion into pTKLuc + reporter plasmid (ATCC). Both the plasmid and the inserts with the sequence of interest were digested with BamHI and HindIII restriction enzymes (New England Biolabs, NEB, Ipswich, USA) in two separate reactions according to the manufacturer's protocol. The products were purified by QIAquick PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen) and ligated for 30 min with T4Quick Ligase (NEB) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The ligation products were used for the transformation of E. coli NEB Turbo competent cells (NEB). The plasmids from the selected clones were sequenced to distinguish different polymorphic variants (construct A1 from construct A2) and to confirm the correct insertion of both constructs.
Two cell lines with different characteristics were used for the transfection and the subsequent dual luciferase reporter assay: AD293 and SW962. AD293 (which is commonly used for dual luciferase reporter assays [21, 22]), contained only wild-type TP53 and constituted the normal sample. SW962 was chosen as a cell line with heterozygous mutation of TP53. For the reporter assay cells were seeded in 6-well plates (2.5x105 cells/well) 24 h prior to the transfection. Cells were cotransfected with 0.25 μg of specific pTKLuc + reporter plasmid (ATCC; containing Firefly luciferase and either A1, A2 or no insert) and 0.25 μg of pGL4.74 control vector (containing Renilla luciferase; Promega, Madison, USA) using Lipofectamine Plus Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, USA) in OptiMEM (GIBCO) without antibiotics. 24 h posttransfection the cells were lysed using Passive Lysis Buffer (Promega). The lysates were analyzed by measurement of luciferase activity (Firefly and Renilla) using Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System (Promega) according to the manufacturer’s protocol on TD20/20 Luminometer (Promega). For AD293 cell line – 11 and for SW962 cell line – 8 independent experiments were performed. The ratios of luciferase activity were normalized (Fluc value/Rluc value). The ratios for the constructs were subsequently normalized to the control samples (C, transfected with the plasmid without inserts). The results are presented as mean ratios from independent experiments for each cell line, compared to mean ratio obtained for the control sample (Table A4, Additional file 1). The statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney U-test.
The sequence of TP53 intron 3, potentially capable of forming G-quadruplex structure, was obtained from IARC TP53 Database (Table A5, see Additional file 1) . To predict the secondary DNA structure of TP53 intron 3, RNAfold from ViennaRNA package version 2.1.6 with DNA energy parameters was used . The RNAfold predicts secondary DNA structure through energy minimization using dynamic programming . The default minimum free energy algorithm which yields the single optimal structure was used.
Among the 307 samples there were 97 gliomas, 94 soft tissue sarcomas, 31 colorectal cancers, 20 prostate cancers, 23 acute myeloid leukemias and 42 invasive breast duct carcinomas. Alterations of the TP53 gene were detected in 64 (20.8%) tumors (Table A6, see Additional file 1); a high number of TP53 mutated samples were found in colorectal cancer (19/31; 61.3%) and in glioma (25/97; 25.8%). TP53 mutations were also detected in 19% (8/42) of invasive breast duct carcinoma, 9.6% of soft tissue sarcoma (9/94), 8.7% of acute myeloid leukemia (2/23) and 5% of prostate cancer cases (1/20). For further analyses the 45 cases with missense mutations were used (Table 1). Within this group 15 showed consistent results of DNA and cDNA sequencing, while 30 cases showed differences between them (Table 1).
PIN3 polymorphism status was identified with sequencing (Table 1). Among the cases with a TP53 mutation and no differences between DNA and cDNA, 13 were recognized as A1/A1 homozygotes, 1 as A2/A2 homozygote and 1 as heterozygote. On the other hand, among the cases with differences between DNA and cDNA, there were 19 A1/A1 homozygotes, 5 A2/A2 homozygotes and 6 heterozygotes, which constituted the starting point for further analysis aiming to determine the haplotype of the tested alterations.
The sequencing of the obtained clones revealed that the mutation co-localized with the longer PIN3 variant (A2) in all six cases (p = 0.04) (Table 2) as well as with cytosine at codon 72 (in 5 out of 6 cases), both of which are the less common variants [13, 14].
MT – mutated template; WT – wild-type template; A1, A2 - polymorphic variants of PIN3; C – cytosine; G – guanine.
Genetic reporter assay confirmed that in all samples the transfection with construct A2 resulted in the higher luciferase expression than did the transfection with construct A1 (Figure 3; Table A4, Additional file 1). The difference between the luciferase activity of the control sample and A1 variant was marginal and not statistically significant (A1/C = 1.32; p = 0.056 for AD293; A1/C = 0.98; p = 0.645 for SW962), while samples transfected with A2 variant showed significantly higher luciferase activity than the control sample (A2/C =1.53; p = 0.008 for AD293; A2/C = 1.59; p = 0.001 for SW962). A2/A1 ratio ranged from 1.16 for AD293 (p = 0.019) to 1.59 for SW962 (p = 0.0019). The collective analysis for both cell lines proved the significance of the differences between the two variants (p = 0.00019). Normalized luciferase activities (Fluc/Rluc value) from independent experiments for each construct (A1 or A2) compared to normalized luciferase activities obtained for control sample are presented in Figure 3A. Graphs illustrate also comparison of ratios of A2 to A1 for each cell line separately and for both cell lines (Figure 3B).
Luciferase activity in cells transfected with control, A1 and A2 constructs (* p < 0,05; ** p < 0,01; *** p < 0,001). A. Normalized luciferase activity depending on cell line and transfecting construct. B. Normalized luciferase activity ratios of A1/A2 constructs versus control.
The results of A1 and A2 TP53 intron 3 secondary structure predictions are shown in Table A7 (Additional file 1). According to our analyses, both structures with G-quadruplex (Figure 4 and Figure 5) have lower free energy than the respective canonical structures (Figure 6 and Figure 7), thus, the G-quadruplex structure would be preferred. However, the differences in free energy between the canonical structures of both polymorphic variants are significantly higher than between the respective G-quadruplexes. Finally, the predicted free energy is lower for the longer variant (A2) in both structures (canonical or G-quadruplex), which may account for its greater in vivo stability.
TP53 intron 3 (A1) secondary structure prediction (in G-quadruplex prediction mode).
TP53 intron 3 with 16 bp duplication (A2) secondary structure prediction (in G-quadruplex prediction mode).
TP53 intron 3 (A1) secondary structure prediction (in canonical structure prediction mode).
TP53 intron 3 with 16 bp duplication (A2) secondary structure prediction (in canonical structure prediction mode).
The differences in the sequencing of TP53 between DNA and cDNA (mRNA) may result from the nonequivalence of the alleles’ impact on expression due to specific polymorphisms or epigenetic changes . To investigate the hypothetical role of PIN3 polymorphism in TP53 expression, we compared the frequencies of both polymorphic variants between the cases with and without the mentioned differences. Secondly, we analyzed which PIN3 variant is the mutated one in cases showing such discrepancies and conducted a reporter assay to compare the expression levels of both variants. Finally, we performed a bioinformatic analysis of the stability of both alleles with respect to their potential structures (canonical or G-quadruplex). The mutational analysis showed that among the 45 cases with a TP53 mutation, the majority exhibited differences between DNA and cDNA sequencing (66.7%). The group without such discrepancies consisted mostly of A1/A1 homozygotes (86.7%), of one A2/A2 homozygote and one heterozygote. The other group also comprised mainly A1/A1 homozygotes (63.3%), but the frequency of heterozygotes was higher (6 cases – 20.0%) and there were 5 cases of A2/A2 homozygotes (16.7%). Such a distribution suggests a relation of the longer variant with the differences between the expression of both alleles. Since the appropriate PIN3 analysis required 3 criteria (PIN3 A1/A2 heterozygosity, codon 72 C/G heterozygosity and DNA/cDNA differences), it could be performed in only 6 out of 250 tumor cases. In all A1/A2 heterozygotes with the discussed DNA/cDNA differences the longer variant (A2) was the mutated one. This observation may support the hypothesis that mutations within the allele demonstrating a higher expression result in the differences in the sequencing patterns. Conversely, Gemignani et al. showed that the shorter allele (A1) should be related to the higher expression of TP53 , however, their analyses were based on immortalized normal lymphocyte cells, known to present domains of monoallelic expression, which are possibly artifactual , and which may insufficiently reflect the conditions within tumor cells irrespective of the cell origin . The TP53 gene is most frequently mutated in solid tumors – the highest percentage of mutations in this study was detected in colorectal cancer (19/31; 61.3%) and glioma (25/97; 25.8%), in hematological malignancies these mutations are less frequent (in this study only 8.7% samples diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia were mutated), but often strongly correlated with unfavorable prognosis and resistance to therapy [28, 29].
Next, we performed a dual luciferase reporter analysis to test the hypothetical influence of specific PIN3 variants on TP53 expression. Its results support the association of the A2 variant with the higher mRNA expression in comparison to the A1 variant. This observation is especially important in the light of the TP53 tetramer structure, whose proper function is possible only with all wild-type subunits , therefore the increased expression of the mutated allele will further abolish the activity of the wild-type TP53. PIN3 may be a potential explanation of the differences between DNA and cDNA analysis in cases with PIN3 heterozygosity. However, it may only apply to a minority of cases showing TP53 haploinsufficiency, as the frequency of PIN3 heterozygosity is estimated as 20% in European population , 25% in South America and 31% in Asia [31, 32]. As reported in several case–control studies, PIN3 A2 allele is associated with an increased risk of various cancer types, particularly in colorectal and breast cancer (only in heterozygotes in case of the latter) [13–15, 33].
Finally, we took a closer look at the sequence of intron 3. It has a relatively small size (of 93 bp), therefore, the additional 16 bp insertion leads to an increase of intron length by 17%. Such change can lead to alteration in protein function or gene expression [12, 16–18]. Furthermore, the duplicated fragment consists of series of three or four guanines which are potentially able to form secondary structures – G-quadruplexes. Such structures within intron 3 of TP53 pre-mRNA were confirmed by Marcel et al. . G-quadruplexes on DNA strands function as regulators of replication and transcription. These motifs are especially common in the regions upstream of transcription start site of regulatory genes or oncogenes, while rarely within tumor suppressor genes , which advocates for the significance of PIN3. Since the duplication both significantly increases the intron's length and contains additional G-tracts, it most probably affects the topology of the G-quadruplexes and its stability, which, in turn, may have an impact on the transcript and, subsequently, on TP53 expression level. G-quadruplexes within pre-mRNA have already been confirmed , therefore, it was necessary to inquire whether such structures can be formed within DNA. A preliminary bioinformatic analysis showed that both DNA variants are capable of forming G-quadruplexes, however, with varied stability. The predicted free energy of the longer variant (A2) was lower, therefore, the G-quadruplex structure would be more stable (Table A7). The impact of G-quadruplex on transcription depends on its location. G-quadruplex structures within the template strand inhibit transcription, whereas those within the non-template strand enhance the process . G-tracts can also participate in hybrid quadruplexes (HQ) formation, which are intermolecular forms of G-quadruplexes formed between non-template DNA and nascent mRNA . Undoubtedly, the HQ structures require more attention due to their significant role in the regulation of transcription, both in vitro and in vivo .
The presented data strongly suggest that the TP53 allele with PIN3 duplication shows higher expression of TP53 mRNA in comparison to the allele without the duplication. A single mutation of the allele with PIN3 duplication in PIN3 heterozygotes (A1/A2) might be partially responsible for TP53 haploinsufficiency. These findings may provide a new insight into the search for the unknown haploinsufficiency mechanism and further therapeutic applications.
This study was sponsored by the National Science Centre No. 2011/01/B/NZ1/01502.
MWK conceived study design, performed database and genetic analyses and luciferase reporter assay, wrote the manuscript, contributed to data interpretation and cell culturing. MS performed genetic analyses and cloning, sequenced TP53 and contributed to data interpretation. PR conceived study design and provided help in manuscript preparation, participated in the acquisition of funding, performed genetic analyses and contributed to data interpretation. SP participated in the conception and design of the study, genetic analyses and data interpretation. MiB participated in the study design, genetic analyses, provided help in manuscript preparation and data interpretation, performed the database and statistical analysis. MW performed genetic analyses and cloning, contributed to data interpretation. MP performed bioinformatic analyses and data interpretation, revised the manuscript critically. MR performed bioinformatic analyses and data interpretation, revised the manuscript critically. JZ performed the luciferase reporter assays. MaB carried out genetic analyses and database analysis. KHB was responsible for cell culturing. JP was involved in collecting data, data analysis, results interpretation and preparation of the revised manuscript. RP participated in the manuscript preparation, contributed to data interpretation, revised the manuscript critically. ESF supervised the project, conceived study design and provided help in manuscript preparation, contributed to data interpretation and cell culture. All authors have given final approval of the version to be published. | 2019-04-21T08:28:39Z | https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2407-14-669 |
Pozole is a soup usually made with hominy, pork meat, spices and fresh garnishes that create a wonderful one bowl meal warm soup. Let’s say Pozole Is kind of the Mexican Pho. There are a couple of variations upon regions and availability of ingredients, red chiles , green tomatillos and poblanos, or just garlic and onion. There’s even not so traditional versions using chicken or turkey to make the soup a little lighter and healthier; even vegetarian versions using button mushrooms instead of meat, in my opinion all equally delicious in its own way.
Another variation on this dish would be the fresher version also known as ‘Pozolillo’, that uses fresh white corn in the cob kernels like in Michoacan and Guerrero. Which is the version I prepared.
The hominy used in Pozole is freshly made from dry kernels that are transformed into ‘nixtamal’ this process involves soaking the dry corn kernels in water and limestone to burn and cook the skin. It is an intense preparation more commonly used in the South of Mexico, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacan, Guerrero, State of Mexico and Distrito Federal. While in the norther mexican states like Sonora, Monterrey, Chihuahua, the proximity with the border has a not so preferred commodity, hominy on a can which to my taste is hard to equal the good flavor from the freshly made.
Despite the regionalism, Pozole is a classic soup among mexican families, every family has its own recipe and a style; whether is white, red or green, a grandma, sister, mom or aunt who makes it; It is always a great comforting meal that brings family and friends together.
In my family, My Grandma, from my father’s side is my Pozole Guru. She will start to cook the Pozole two days in advance by soaking the dry corn-nixtamal with a bit of lime stone to lose the skins on the kernels, rinse it infinite times and slow cook it for a couple of hours. Grandma Mago used pork shoulder and very meaty pork cuts. Her Pozole was white, meaning she would not add any chiles to tint and flavor the broth, the flavor came from the cosmic union of the extremely well prepared artisanal hominy, tender pork, garlic and onion. Amazing, simply amazing.
On the other side of my family, the Pozole Guru is my Aunt Paloma, she makes the BEST Red Pozole. Absolutely delicious, she uses also pork and red chiles like ancho and guajillo which are very mild chiles that flavor the broth transforming it in this aromatic and savory broth you almost want to use a straw to drink it. Scrumptious.
As you can see I have a mayor task here, So far I’ve cooked both Pozole styles, white and red, I love them equally. And yes, it is the cook hand, what we call “sazon” that makes a dish your dish and the only way to exceed at it is practice, practice and more practice my little grasshopper.
This time I’m attempted to recreate a Pozole Verde or Pozolillo. First time I had this green gem soup was at a friend’s house she was from Michoacan. I inmediatelly fell in love.
This Pozole Verde is made with white corn kernels instead of hominy and uses tomatillo, serrano and poblano peppers to flavor the broth. What is so special about it? the broth in this Pozole Verde It’s light, fragrant, almost has a herbaceous flavor, and the green tomatillo adds a bit of a thickness to the broth without making it heavy to the palette. The corn kernels make this Pozole a great fresh taste, really unique and very achievable if you lack of a mexican Grandma, Aunt or good quality hominy.
In this recipe, I used sweet corn. Why? Well, Ian is more familiar with the corn flavor than with the hominy. Not a lot of people likes hominy and I strongly believe is because what they have tried is from a can. So what you do? What did I do?..I used what I had freshest available. This week I ran into a good corn sale at the market, it was fresh and tasted sweet, juicy and crunchy good enough to make it into a soup.
Now, I know some people will crucify-me about using sweet yellow corn but, I have to say that the variation came out tasting really good.
Do your best with what you have, use what is freshest available to you, if you find white corn this will be my first option, and if you prefer Hominy, I will encourage you to find “Rancho Gordo hominy”.
Last option will be Juanita’s Mexican style hominy. Yes this particular brand has the best texture, and 3 ingredients, water, hominy, lime stone. Making it the best option. If can is the only option you have, this will taste good.
Any how, easy recipe, one pot wonder, it keeps really well, I have not attempted to make this Pozole Verde on a crock pot, I see no reason why not you could use it. Please, if you do, let me know how it goes.
Keep warm and EAT your SOUP, do not lick the bowl, use a straw!.
Serves 4 Mexicans 6-8 Green coats.
3.5-4 lbs. Whole chicken or the meat of a roasted chicken shredded.
3 poblano peppers remove seeds and deveined.
Toast in Oil about 14-20 dry red chile de arbol, until they have this mahogany dark color, remove from heat, add 2 garlic cloves cut in half and a good pinch of sea salt. Blend all this until a coarse puree. Add a dash of dis paste when ready to eat.The heat in this sauce-paste is mild, due to the toasting of the chiles, it makes it smoky and mild heat.
1. In a large pot add 8 cups of water ½ medium onion, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ head of garlic ½ bunch of cilantro, 2 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme, 2 carrots, 1 sprig of celery, 2 teaspoons sea salt. Add the whole chicken, skin on, cut in pieces, for faster cooking. Bring to a slow simmer; with a ladle remove the white foam that forms as it cooks. Cook for about 35-45 minutes. Until chicken is tender.
2. Once the chicken is cooked, Remove the chicken, herbs, onion, garlic, sieve the broth.
3. Let the chicken to cool down until riches a comfortable temperature to remove the skin and shred the chicken meat. Set aside.
1. Remove skin from roasted chicken and shred. Save the chicken carcasses and set aside.
2. In a large pot add 8 cups of chicken stock, ½ onion, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ head of garlic ½ bunch of cilantro, 1-2 teaspoon salt and the chicken carcasses from the roasted chicken. Bring to a slow simmer; with a ladle remove the white foam that forms as it cooks. Cook for about 20-25 minutes. Until chicken is tender.
3. Once the chicken broth is seasoned and cooked, Remove the chicken carcasses, herbs, onion, garlic. sieve.
4. Remove the tomatillo husk, wash them and cut in halves. Cut poblano peppers in half remove the green veins, and seeds. In a blender add the tomatillos, poblano peppers, the other ½ onion, 3-4 garlic cloves, the other ½ bunch cilantro, salt, 2-3 serrano peppers. Add one serrano at a time and taste in between blending so you can measure how spicy it is. The serranos in this recipe are used to add flavor not spice, they act like black pepper. Add a little of the chicken broth from the pot to help blend all this. Blend until is pureed.
5. On a large deep pot add 1 tablespoon sunflower oil until oil is hot. Add the tomatillo blended sauce to the oil and cook for 5 minutes (careful it will splatter). Now that the sauce is sautéed, add the 8 cups of chicken stock, along with corn kernels. Bring to a slow simmer. Cook for about 25-35 minutes.The broth will change color from emerald green to a bright sage green. At this point taste to adjust for salt. Add your shredded chicken to warm through.
7. Serve piping hot and garnish with shredded lettuce, chopped onions, slices of radishes, squeeze of lime and a dollop of crema. Enjoy!
One of the dishes that can be found in almost every culture is chicken soup. Chicken dumplings, Chicken noodle soup, Mexican Caldo de Pollo, Avgolemeno (Greek) , Penicillin (Jewish), Kerala (Indian), French using aromatics and herbs, German creamy chicken and potato soup. You name it, Chicken soup is the queen of soups.
Vietnamese cuisine features one favorite chicken soup, Pho Ga Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup . This cosmic broth can bring the use of all your tastebuds at once. There are two styles of this soup; Pho from Hanoi- phở bắc or “Northern Pho” and Saigon Pho-phở Sài Gòn from the south, both have two ingredient variations. Pho Ga (Chicken), Pho Bo (Beef).
Hanoi Pho uses a wider noodle, lots of green onions, vinegar and spicy chilies to garnish the dish. Saigon Pho uses a thinner noodle. The broth has lots of aromatics and slightly sweeter taste. For garnish they use a wide variety of fresh herbs, soy bean sprouts, lime, and chilli “rooster sauce” (Sriracha).
Saigon style is the one I’m more familiar with. I’ve made a little variations on this recipe. Usually Chicken Pho “Pho Ga”is served with a clear broth flavored with charred onion, ginger, and coriander seeds. While the Beef version “Pho Bo” the broth has notes of cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, and of course the flavor of roasted bones intensify the broth.
I added a few more notes to my chicken broth to accent the chicken flavor and give a little more depth of flavor. I hope you enjoy it. I think it is a fantastic dish, light and great for January with its cold weather. This would be a good recipe for a weekend since it requires a couple of hours worth of preparation and cooking. Now with all the big holiday dinner parties and big calorie dishes gone, I’m craving lighter dishes with a punch of flavor and fresh herbs or vegetables, Pho Ga Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup is my cosmic route.
2-3 lbs. extra chicken parts like wings, backbones, neck or any other bony chicken parts.
1 piece of cheese cloth and cotton string or a large tea ball.
or 1 shallot thinly sliced.
1. Rinse the ginger pieces with the skin on and cut the onions in half leaving the skins on. Place them in a cast iron pan and roast them in the oven at 450F/230C for about 15-20 minutes. Broil them for 2-3 minutes to charred the outside. If you have a gas stove, use direct flame until well charred. Set aside to cool them and peel and remove the ginger and onion skins.
2. Toast your spices, star anise, coriander, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods, pepper until they start to release their aromas. Using a piece of cheese cloth, a linen bag or a large tea ball, make a pouch and attach this to the pot making sure the bag is immerse in the water.
3. Rinse chicken inside and out roughly with warm water. Pat it dry. In a large pot add 4 quarts water.
4. If you are using the extra chicken parts, par boil them in a separate pot for about 15 minutes. At this point toss the water, rinse the chicken parts and add them to the main pot along with the whole chicken. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes. Using a ladle remove any extra foam that might form from the chicken broth. Once that the broth is cleared, cover and simmer for at least 15more minutes.
5. Short Alternative: There are a lot of good quality organic chicken broths available at the super markets. If you prefer to use something already made my only suggestion would be to buy organic and no-salt added or low sodium so you can control the amount of salt in your broth If you are using this route , just add the 32oz. jug of chicken broth to the main chicken and water pot. Bring to a slow simmer with the whole chicken, the pouch of spices, the charred onions and ginger. Simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes. Using a ladle remove any extra foam that might form from the chicken broth. Once that the broth is cleared, cover and simmer for at least 15 more minutes.
6. At this point, the chicken is cooked it should feel firm and juicy. Use a pair of tongs to grab the chicken and transfer it to a large bowl. Rinse the chicken with cold water and drain well. Cover and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes until it is cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, keep the broth at a steady simmer.
7. When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove all the breast meat, leg and thighs keep the flesh in big pieces so it does not dry out, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate. And remember to bring it to room temperature before assembling your noodle bowl.
8. Return carcass and all other attached parts to the stock pot and keeping in it under slow simmer. Cook the broth for at least one more hour. Adjust salt.
9. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve, discard the solids. Use a ladle to skim the broth if it has to much extra fat. Usually if you are using an organic chicken the fat content is way lower than chickens that had been in a faster grow diet. That’s why I will 100% recommend you to use an organic chicken which have less fat and stellar flavor! Return the broth to the stock pot and keep it at a slow simmer. At this point you should have about 4qts to 16 cups of broth left.
The broth should look translucent amber color, glistening and a bit saltier to compensate and balance the saltiness when you add the noodles.
10. Slice, chop, rise and dry your herbs and garnishes, place them in little side dishes on the table so everybody can customize their soup.
1. For dried noodles: cover them with hot tap water and let soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque. Drain in a colander.
For fresh rice noodles: untangle them, place in a colander, and rinse briefly under cold running water.
2. Slice or shred the chicken removing the meat from the leg bones, remove the skin. Set aside.
3. Warm your bowls in the oven at a low temperature make sure your bowls are oven safe. This is an extra step, but very important if its cold and you want your soup to stay warm longer when its served. I love my white authentic ceramic pho bowls they keep my soup warm!
5. In a warm bowl place the blanched, strained, noodles, top with slices of chicken, sprinkle some green onions, finely sliced yellow onions or shallots, crack some fresh pepper. Add 2-3 ladles of the simmering hot broth or until the broth covers the noodles. Serve immediately and top with the extra garnishes at the table. Enjoy!!!
I think as I get to know more people from different backgrounds, cities, expatriates, cultures, beliefs, culinary eccentrics, purist, creators; the more I conclude that authenticity is not a place, a language, a heritage, a culture, or a belief.
I think authenticity comes from within. Who you are at this right moment, in this place and at this time; and the one that you want to become…. that’s authenticity for me.
“… because you are more authentic the more you resemble what you’ve dreamed of being” – “La Agrado’s” monologue (All About My Mother) Almodovar.
In the culinary world, I’ve always questioned myself about what is considered an authentic dish? Perhaps it is the dish that resembles more to the people who created it?
For example, If you are from Mexico; is the soup that your grandma prepares more authentic, than my grandma’s soup?.. No, I really don’t think so.
I believe you embrace the flavors that make you happy and satisfy, that make you re- create a memory a flavor, an aroma and you create the soup you want to eat and share with your loved ones… It will be hard to imagine Mexican grandmas cooking for the authenticity sake! I believe you can cook along the way with tradition and make it your own with a few touches.
I hope you like the soup as much as I do. So let’s cook!. Enjoy.
4-5 cups Chicken stock previously made… or the best option you have available.
8-10 Corn Tortillas cut into 1/2-1/4” wide strips.
1. Start by preparing your chicken stock on a 7-8 qt pot. Place the whole chicken and add all the stock ingredients, add water enough to cover the chicken. Bring to boil and then lower down the heat to a slow simmer cover with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes.
2. Mean time slightly toast your chillies on a pan, small comal or cast iron pan.
3. In a small pot boil the toasted chillies and the tomatoes.
4. Once they are soft, place the chillies, tomatoes, onion & garlic into a blender or food processor and puree.
6. Cut and Fry the tortilla strips. Once fried place them on a plate with a paper towel to remove the oil excess. Sprinkle with salt while they’re warm.
7. Check on your chicken stock, the broth should look translucent, no foam on the top, vegetables soft and onion translucent, chicken fork tender. If it is done remove at least 4 cups of chicken stock and strain. Take out the chicken, place it on a bowl and cover with some aluminum foil wait a bit until ready to handle, remove the skin and shred the chicken.
8. In a medium size pot add 4 tablespoon of canola, or sunflower oil, once is rippling hot add your chilli-tomato puree, and cook the sauce in medium low for about 4-5 minutes.
9. Add chicken stock, and corn kernels season with salt and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
10. Taste the soup for salt and paper.
12. Serve on a deep bowl place the shredded chicken 2 to 3 ladles of the chilli broth place a good handful of the fried tortilla strips, and garnish with the cream, crumble cheese, avocados, and some of the chile de arbol fresh or toasted with a little oil for more heat.
I’m in love with the chickens from Smith & Smith Farms, it is a small family operated farm, they specialize in pasture raised meats that are hormone and antibiotic free. They raise Dorper Lambs, all different breeds of laying hens, Cornish Rock meat chickens, Red wattle hogs, and Broad Breasted White Turkeys. All of the animals on their farm are free range and roam around every where! They are all as happy as can be, and you can taste the happines when you cook them. Delicious! | 2019-04-20T15:00:57Z | https://yes-moreplease.com/ingredients/chicken/ |
Migration entails, among other consequences, the presence of different cultures and religions. Italy, being a latecomer among immigration countries, has had specific difficulties in acknowledging the new cultural and religious pluralism brought by migrations, due to lack of knowledge and reflection in this sphere. In the more recent context of social and cultural change in Europe, Italian society is also going through a phase characterised by reactive identities and cultural conflicts. They are producing a diffused anti-multiculturalist opinion, even though multiculturalist policies have not been openly implemented. Thus, on the one hand, this situation has so far prevented a real recognition of cultural and religious differences, particularly concerning Islam. But on the other hand, positive actions in favour of migrants can also be observed, especially at the local level.
Many laws: but which reference to cultures?
Since the 1970s, Italy has developed into a new immigration and religiously pluralistic country. But Italy has largely avoided recognising the cultural and religious implications of the process of pluralisation, particularly concerning Islam. In this sense, Italy can be considered – in contrast to most of the other case studies in this special issue – as a country without an established model of integration or pluralism; different governments have only produced contradictory laws, depending on the respective political majorities. Nevertheless, the specificity of Islam has been taken into account, although not with the priority to include it into the religious landscape of Italy, but more for polemic reasons – to contrast Muslims with the majority of the non-Muslim population in Italy. In this context, the ‘Consulta’, then called ‘Comitato per l’islam italiano’, has been founded, a specific instrument to deal with Islam. Even when it was abandoned in recent times, Islam seems to have a central role in Italian society, particularly in public debates, where it represents – as discursive substitute – the challenge of cultural and religious pluralism; yet, the importance of this religion for both the Italian society and its political consequences, is not sufficiently debated.
In the following article, I will first give a short overview about Italy as emigration and immigration country. Second, the link between recent immigration and the production of laws will be explored. Then, I will focus on cultural pluralism and specifically on Islam, and the consequences of its presence in public debates and policies. Finally, I conclude with the relevance of Islam for the Italian religious landscape.
It is also only since the 1970s that Italy has started to become in statistical terms an immigration country. The symbolic turning point can be considered 1973, the first year in which data from ISTAT, the Italian Institute of Statistics, show that there were 1366 more repatriates (125,168) than expatriates (123,802).3 Furthermore, Italy had in 1973 officially 175,746 foreign residents coming from European countries, a number slightly higher than the Italians emigrating in a single year. Finally, this was not yet the new wave of immigration from the so-called Third World. But from that moment on, quickly, silently and initially unnoticed, the phenomenon was manifest.
The fact that immigration in Italy is relatively recent can explain the weakness of politics and planning, and the initial lack of experience. But it is not enough to explain how even the legislative process concerning migration has been constructed without a reference model. It is a house designed without an architect, without a project and with little idea of the materials to use – with some good intentions, particularly in the beginning, and a lot of work done, but also with serious difficulties and obstacles. The Italian (missing) model of pluralism (Allievi 2010a) has been the result of changing majorities in government, that, as we will see, continually modified the principles underlying the different laws approved. But it was also the result of internal contradictions, of unclearness in purposes, of prevailing tactical positioning and – both on the left and on the right – rhetorical political arguments over the need to solve empirical problems, of missing field experience and references to real processes taking place, and of a total absence of pragmatism and experimentation. This is at least what has happened at the national level. By contrast, with less resources but with more interest to intervene in order to solve potential conflicts, much more has been done at the local, municipal level in terms of policies of integration (for the initial discrepancy between the national and the local level in the German case see also Loch in this issue), but sometimes, where xenophobic political actors were in power, also of ‘disintegration’ (see Guolo 2003).
The number of immigrants, in the beginning, was modest. In 1970, permits of stay issued to foreigners, many of which Europeans, numbered 146,989, in 1975 they were 185,715, by 1980 it reached 298,749. It is only in more recent years that migration from developing countries has become more visible and appeared in statistics: 1,549,373 is the totality of immigrants on 31 December 2002; 2.402.157 in 2004; 2,938,922 in 2006; 3,891,295 in 2008; and 4,570,317 in 2010 (or probably more, including regular presences of immigrants not yet registered, because of bureaucratic delays; and, of course, an irregular presence, by definition difficult to estimate).4 The initially modest numbers led the Italian government to fail to consider the new migration as an irreversible fact for a long time. And when they did, they seemed not to accept it, and they have not been able to learn any lesson from a century of emigration, its costs and its consequences.
The first immigration law approved in Italy, as a parliamentary initiative, and which ended an embarrassing legislative silence unparalleled in the receiving countries of Europe, was Law 943 (officially published on 30 December 1986), entitled ‘Legislation concerning the employment and treatment of extracommunitarian immigrants and against clandestine immigration’. This long title immediately reveals two things: (a) that immigrants from outside Europe form a specificity, called in the Italian bureaucratic jargon ‘extracommunitarian’; (b) that the law considers only the aspect of the presence in the labour market: the immigrant exists as a worker, and does not have any other specificity or need besides this role (Allievi 2010c).
The main purpose of the law was to make the foreign presence in the labour force visible, transforming a de facto presence in a de jure integration, shifting it out of the informal economy and the absence of rights, opening for immigrants equal rights and social citizenship. But in the process of drafting it, only the part of the law concerning employment remained, and only for wage and salaried work, not self-employment; laws on residence permits, students, refugees, citizenship and more generally on rights in the society, were announced but did not arrive. The immigrants were considered only as labour force: with a significant Italian expression ‘mano d’opera’ (literally ‘working hand’). Thanks to Law 943, about 118,700 foreign workers regularised their position – far fewer than expected.
The second law initiative on immigration has been the consequence of a quite different situation in the late 1980s. It was a period of mobilisation and activity by churches, trade unions and NGOs, and of relative sympathy towards migrants, also as a consequence of dramatic episodes of violence that victimised them – a sympathy that rapidly vanished in the following years. This led to the approval of the Decreto Legge 416, 30 December 1989, known as the ‘Martelli Decree’ (from the name of the vice-president of the Council that firmly wanted it), which became Law 39, on 28 February 1990, after Parliament approval with some modifications. The Martelli Decree reopened the debate about the presence of immigrants in Italy, and put it on different ground. Law 39/1990, with broader criteria for acceptance of regularisation applications (in Italian: sanatoria), led to 217,700 regularisations. Another sanatoria arrived 5 years later, with Decree 489 of 1995 (the so-called Dini Law, from the name of the minister who proposed it), that resulted in 246,000, and again 3 years later in 217,000 regularisations.5 As the numbers make it absolutely clear, the mass of these legislative initiatives were made under an emergency logic. There was no wider ambition to construct a full legislative system capable of governing immigration, prevent its negative consequences, predict its flows and help the integration of immigrants already present in the country. This logic characterised also the following years, with the sanatoria of 2002 which led to approximately 646,000 regularisations. Globally, Italy promoted regularisations, both with right-wing and left-wing governments, in 1977, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 1998 and 2002, going from 5000 (1982) to 646,000 (2002) regularised foreigners (Einaudi 2007). A new sanatoria has been approved in 2009, limited to domestic workers, and a last one proposed in 2012 by the Government for economic reasons.
From mid-1990s started the first serious attempt to build a non-emergency legislative framework concerning immigration in Italy. This framework law has been the Legislative Decree 286 of 25 July 1998, widely known as the ‘Turco-Napolitano Law’, from the names of the two ministers of the centre-left government – the first government of Prodi, in power after the elections of 1996 – that promoted it (Napolitano is currently the President of the Republic, re-elected in 2013). The framework law aimed to set a comprehensive and complete text. But the period was unfavourable to a law based on rights: wide sectors of public opinion were much more sensitive to the logic of refusal of immigrants, openly promoted with evident success by political parties like the Lega Nord of Umberto Bossi, but sustained also by the traditional right of Gianfranco Fini’s Alleanza Nazionale and the so-called new right represented by Forza Italia, the party created by Silvio Berlusconi (for the impact of the populist radical right on migration issues see also particularly the Dutch case presented by Entzinger in this issue).6 It is in this period that the Italian right, cited in the past by foreign observers as a positive example of openness and respect towards migrants, moved towards religious intolerance and xenophobic aggression, with an explicit anti-immigrant language (Bolaffi 2001). Much irony was addressed by the Northern League to the law, explaining its inefficiencies through the ministers’ last names, Livia Turco and Giorgio Napolitano (‘How could a good law on immigration come from a Turk and a Neapolitan?’7).
Nevertheless, the law tried to reconcile the universalist (in terms of rights) and the solidarist approach (the law was sustained by the Catholic Church and the more active movements and organisations working on migrant issues) on the one hand, with the need for law, order and security, introducing centres for temporary detention (CPTs) and other measures, on the other. In the eyes of public opinion it was probably the failure of the repressive part – meant to include repatriation of irregulars but never effectively applied – that was the main target of critics, putting the more positive integrative aspects in the background.
With the change in government and the triumph of the right-wing coalition at the following elections in April 2001 – heavily using the argument of immigration, and the need to regulate it or, better, to fight it, as an electoral tool – ideology triumphed completely. Law 189, of 30 July 2002, bears the names of the two right-wing leaders that in that period were the least tolerant on immigration, the leaders of the Lega Nord and of Alleanza Nazionale, and the Bossi-Fini law was presented as the tool to regulate immigration and eliminate irregularity. Ironically (and dramatically for the conditions and quality of life of migrants), because of its logic linking directly and exclusively the residence permit to a regular job, so that losing the latter was the condition for losing the former, the Bossi-Fini law increased the number of irregulars in the country, with the paradox of producing irregularity via the legislation. This has been defined as the Italian immigration schizophrenia (Pastore 2004a, 2004b), paired with an ‘invasion paranoia’ (Pastore 2009).8 It also produced a specific foreign presence in Italian prisons, with thousands of persons imprisoned because of crimes linked to clandestine immigration, that in itself became a crime with this law, due to non-compliance with expulsion orders, probably more than 10,000 people, according to widely published estimates. The Bossi-Fini law, widely considered inappropriate for the regulation of migration, has been from a certain point of view the perfect law to obtain the political support to implement so-called law and order policies, building social fears and exploiting them for political purposes (Bonini and D’Avanzo 2006). As we have already said, the purpose of the law was mainly ideological. There were no considerations of individual rights, pragmatism and realpolitik (attempts to regulate the phenomenon, at least at the economic level), emerging social problems and, obviously, least of all, cultural ones – not to mention multiculturalism. It has been in this period that the anti-Islamic discourses have emerged dramatically in the public space, particularly in the media and in politics, reinforcing each other, making Italy one of the countries in Europe where Islamophobic discourses have been more openly promoted by media and politicians, particularly because xenophobic parties and leading figures have been in power for long, until the fall of Berlusconi’s government in 2011.
In 2006 elections, the centre-left majority came back to power with a tiny and very weak majority, for what turned out to be a short parenthesis. The Minister of Social Affairs, Paolo Ferrero, a leftist from the Rifondazione Comunista Party, wanted to introduce a significant change in immigration law, even though the Minister of the Interior, Giuliano Amato, intended to follow a more pragmatic approach, a sort of return to rationality. With work proceeding in parallel on draft laws on immigration, citizenship and religious rights, a more open debate also on cultures seemed to become possible. On 24 April 2007, a new set of draft laws came under discussion, presented by the two ministers of the centre-left coalition and bearing their names (Amato-Ferrero). The draft bill, meant to become a definitive law within 12 months, represented a spectacular 180 degrees reversal in respect to the previous philosophy, and was probably too much of a change for general public opinion. The starting point was the failure of the Bossi-Fini law, which favoured a disproportionate weight of the clandestine presence compared to legal immigration. The main objectives concerned common sense goals, such as the control of illegal immigration, its legalisation, repression of human trafficking and policies of integration. But it bore an accentuated progressive view, much in counter-tendency when compared to what was happening in most countries of Europe, and also among the Italian public opinion. One example of a turnaround was the draft law on citizenship, presented in August 2006, which promoted a passage from a particularly strict jus sanguinis policy to a more generous almost jus soli approach.9 Yet, with the internal crisis of the centre-left government headed by Romano Prodi and its resignation, that forced the President of the Republic to call new elections in April 2008, the centre-right coalition returned to power, with a larger majority than before, and turned the clock back to the Bossi-Fini law.
After Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation in November 2011, due to a dramatic economic crisis and the complete international discredit of the coalition in power and its leader, the government led by Mario Monti10 stated the will to change the laws on immigration, granting more rights to immigrants and a larger access to Italian citizenship, particularly for the second generations. Only educative messages in this direction were addressed to the Italian public opinion from different institutional authorities – insistently by President Napolitano, who in various occasions pleaded for the quick approval of a jus soli law for second generations – but no concrete projects of law were presented.
Finally, the coalition government of Enrico Letta (April 2013), that includes both centre-right (Popolo della Libertà, Berlusconi’s party) and the Democratic Party as well as Scelta Civica, the former prime minister Monti’s new party, has not yet assumed any initiative, even though it took the strongly symbolic decision – not without opposition – to appoint Cécile Kyenge as the Minister for Integration, a doctor born in Congo, who succeeded in this office to Andrea Riccardi. Both these personalities represent a symbolic will to change integration policies compared to the previous governments of Berlusconi, in which a Minister for Integration simply did not exist.
So many different laws have dealt with immigration, but practically none with the cultural and religious impact of the presence of immigrant populations. There is not even a serious understanding of their cultural origins. The main countries of immigration to Italy at the end of 2010, that count for two-thirds of the total immigrant population, are Romania (968,576 residents), followed by Albania (482,627), Morocco (452,424), China (209,934), Ukraine (200,730), the Philippines (134,154), Moldova (130,948), India (121,036), Poland (109,018) and Tunisia (106,291). As both the figures and the percentages show, the more recent flows are mainly from Eastern Europe and other non-Muslim countries, and are much more intense than the flows from Northern Africa and the Middle East, with a constant increase that has also changed the cultural and religious landscape of migration. Immigrants from Muslim countries have never represented more than one-third of the total number of immigrants. Nevertheless, even though local protests and xenophobic attitudes have been occasionally manifested also towards other targeted groups (such as, in different periods, Albanians, Romanians, Black Africans, Chinese and notably the Roma populations), Muslim populations, and Arab Muslims in particular, remain at the centre of the cultural debates over immigration (Allievi 2005a, 2005b).
The legislative process concerning migration has not really raised – much less solved – the problem of the ongoing process of cultural pluralisation of Italy, usually interpreted in the media arena with the slightly negative connotation of the term multiculturalism diffused in the political language in recent years. The laws on migration simply did not contain any reference to cultural integration, and the European and Western debate on multiculturalism (see Meer and Modood and also Wieviorka in this issue) has not been seriously taken into account. This is even more surprising since the debate on cultures, and on Islam particularly, has been violently raised, overtly exploited politically and widely covered, if not fuelled, by the media (Allievi 2009, 2010b; on its consequences also Marranci 2004 and Frisina 2010). The (anti-)Muslim debate started in fact from what we can call the Black September of Islam in Italy. It was not September 11, 2001, but 1 year before, September 2000, when three important events occurred at three different levels and demonstrated that Islamophobia is not only an effect of Islamic terrorism. At the political level, the Northern League started, from a mosque project in the city of Lodi in Lombardy, an aggressive anti-Muslim campaign, that still continues with local closures of mosques and national law projects against Islam. On the religious plan, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, Archbishop of Bologna and linked to the powerful movement of Comunione e Liberazione, gave voice to Catholic anti-Muslim opinion with a letter addressed to his parishioners but intended for national readership, that has achieved significant popularity. At the cultural level, a popular academic expert in politics, Giovanni Sartori, with no specific expertise on the subject, published a very successful pamphlet against multiculturalism (Sartori 2000); and even if it was a superficial, polemic and poorly informed text, it was treated as if it were scientific by the media, for whom the author was already a well-known figure.11 Obviously this debate, once started, was fuelled by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which in Italy led, on the cultural level, as the most noteworthy example, to the extraordinary and unprecedented success of Oriana Fallaci’s books against Islam. Fallaci’s famous ‘trilogy’ became a popular and durable bestseller, with over one million copies of each sold (see Fallaci 2001, 2004a, 2004b; see also my comments in Bosetti 2005, Allievi 2006b). Since its publication, it has set the agenda of the debate on Islam in Italy, with surprisingly little criticism, both in the media and in politics: and still are successful longsellers. However, it is possible to note here a slight change in very recent times, following a more general and surprisingly quick change in the political and cultural climate of the country, after government Berlusconi’s resignation and the passage of the Lega Nord to the opposition: even in cultural terms, we might say. But, this change is too recent, even if spectacular, to allow us to examine its effects.
Politico-institutional initiatives on religion have been the only attempt to include immigrant cultures as an issue in the legislative framework of the country, leading to a peculiar way of addressing cultural integration. In other crucial fields like school, health, bioethics, etc., the legislative production to integrate immigrants has been very poor: nothing more than an encouragement, for instance in the school system, to deal with cultural and religious pluralism. In October 2005, the Minister of Interior of the right wing coalition then in power, Giuseppe Pisanu, set-up a consultative body for Muslims in Italy, the ‘Consulta per l’islam italiano’ composed of members nominated by the minister, with strong oppositions from other members of the coalition, the Lega Nord in particular. The Consulta has been confirmed by Minister Giuliano Amato, of the following left-wing coalition. When the right wing went back to power, Minister Roberto Maroni, representative of the Lega Nord, suspended the ‘Consulta’ and changed it in a ‘Comitato per l’islam italiano’, again nominated by the minister, including not only Muslim representatives but also non-Muslim academic experts on Islam and even anti-Muslim prominent figures in journalism, with no particular expertise on Islam. This choice was clearly intended to soften the vague attempt of representativeness of the previous Consulta; the aim was also to balance it with an ideological ‘fallacian’ approach, driving it to a substantially useless role. The ‘Comitato’ has in its turn unofficially suspended its activities with the following governments Monti and Letta. For them, given the dramatic priorities imposed by the economic crisis, Islam was not clearly a priority; but also Islamophobia has become a less useful tool.
On the legislative level things have been more problematic. The Italian legal system concerning religions is based on a privileged status offered, in the Constitution, to the Catholic church with the Concordato, and in a system of Intese (agreements) with religious minorities who apply for it. Some Muslim associations already started to lobby for an Intesa in the early 1990s, even if in recent times they have been much less enthusiastic and active in this field (Ferrari 2005, 2008). But, the political and cultural climate has been far from receptive to this solution. In fact, besides the first Protestant minority recognised in 1985, the Waldensians, and the later Intese with the Jewish community and with other Protestant reformed churches, the system in itself has been stopped by political will. Only in April 2007, six new Intese were signed, including with religious communities that represent important parts of the immigrant population, the Orthodox Church and Hindus. Parliament was expected to debate the new and old Intese, signed but awaiting ratification from the Parliament itself to become effective. But this has not yet occurred.
A law on religious freedom of minorities has also been proposed, granting most important significant rights to religious communities in general, with or without an Intesa. But after more than a decade it is still a project. It is patently clear that the hidden agenda of the law is to solve most of the practical problems that Muslim communities might have while avoiding any direct and specific recognition of Islam, particularly the symbolic recognition of an Intesa, possibly for a long time. This could be a way to escape, in practice, the ‘clash of civilizations syndrome’ – the trivialisation of the Huntingtonian approach that has been the mainstream cultural and journalistic approach to Islam for a decade in the Italian debate – without openly criticising it – and on the contrary continuously using it as an interpretative tool on which it is always possible to rely on whenever politically useful and exploitable. But even this path has not been seriously taken into consideration, up to now, and discussions have not led to any result.
As in other European countries, political decisions concerning Islam have tended to ‘exceptionalise’ Islam, not treating this religion on the same grounds, including legal grounds, as other religious minorities. A significant example of exceptionalisation concerns mosques, particularly in the Northern area of the country, where the Lega Nord is more often in power, locally (see the comparative researches in Allievi 2009, 2010b). But this has not been the only example.
Many debates on immigration, particularly the cultural ones and particularly those concerning Islam, have been imported even before the Islamic presence was visible and organised: the debate on the veil before veils appeared in Italian cities; that on mosques and minarets before visible mosques and minarets were built; that on genital mutilations before concrete significant cases have been discussed; that on freedom of expression through foreign cases (like the Theo Van Gogh killing or the Danish cartoons affairs, and, before, the Rushdie affair); that on internal terrorism through 9/11 or Madrid and London bombings (even if, differently from other countries, internal significant terrorist acts never occurred); and, finally, that on the burqa with the proposition of a law banning it from schools, even before it had appeared in any school of the country. All these debates have been imported from the countries in which they became hot political issues, and where the presence of Islam was more mature and visible. Even the debate on – or against – multiculturalism has been imported, and locally reproduced, before multiculturalist politics and policies were really implemented.
But there are also the cultural specificities of Italy which need to be taken into account. The fact that Italy does not have a colonial memory of racism and cultural plurality management included in legislative terms, is part of the problem (Andall and Duncan 2005). This leads to underestimate the racist attitudes manifested in that period, i.e. the popular myth of ‘Italiani brava gente’, which is still the mainstream idea of the colonial role of Italy (Del Boca 2005, see also Duncan and Andall 2010). This has also prevented reading immigration in post-colonial terms (Grillo 2002) like in France and Britain or The Netherlands, where it is so important in debates on immigration and in those concerning the relations with Muslims and Islam (see Barou, Meer and Modood and Entzinger in this issue).
In these relations, Italy has had some difficulties in acknowledging its internal religious plurality, even before international migration brought important religious differences, including Islam. These difficulties derive from its history and its substantial monopolistic self-perception in religious terms, due to its Catholic tradition and to the presence of the Vatican in its borders and its influence in the cultural and the political landscape of the country. To put it simplistically but significantly, Italy is a country where journalists who specialise in religious issues are still called ‘Vaticanists’. This perspective is shared by foreign observers, who too quickly identify Italy as a Catholic and only Catholic country. This happens regularly at different levels: in popular knowledge diffused even through tourist guides, in the media, but also among scholars and serious researchers in sociology of religion, who often forget to take into account the increasing pluralistic religious dimension of the country (Naso and Salvarani 2012).
Nevertheless, it is also true that the social and religious role played by the Catholic Church has had important positive effects on the integration of immigrants, exactly as it has had during the period of internal migrations, and in general concerning the traditional North–South cleavage: often the same Catholic organisations have been activated in both periods and situations. And faced with the religious sensibility of immigrant communities, it is as if a common religious grammar has been discovered in people practising different faiths. Given the key role played by Catholic organisations such as Caritas, Comunità di Sant’Egidio and ACLI (Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani), by several missionary orders, and by local parishes in the institutions helping migrants at all levels, and given the importance of the Catholic vote for both the centre-left and the centre-right coalitions, Catholic positions have in part mitigated the effects of the differences in the legislative frames we have described in the previous paragraphs. The fact that some high media-visibility figures in the Catholic hierarchy are more openly expressing critical opinions about immigrants in general and Muslims specifically – as it has happened in the Regensburg lecture of Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006, but not in his following positions on Islam – does not contradict this historic role. It only shows that the Catholic Church, just like secular opinion, is deeply divided over cultural and religious diversity, particularly when discussing Islam, even though, with present Pope Franciscus I, the Catholic church seems more prone to dialogue with other religions.
The traditional left-wing culture of solidarity has also played, at least for a long initial period, an important role in helping foreign workers integrate. This is particularly true for trade unions which, in contrast to other countries in Europe, have always approved an interpretative frame based on migrant rights and policies of integration, even though not necessarily when Muslims are concerned. The traditional mistrust of the secular opinion – and left-wing organisations are traditionally more secular – towards religious issues is frequently aggravated when Muslims are concerned.
Finally, the school system has played a key role in the making of the potential Italian multicultural citizen, devoting attention to cultural and religious diversity, promoting self-reflection among teachers, specific training and local initiatives. The school system and politics of massive literacy played a similar role for the making of the Italian citizen, when Italy, in the century following the unification of the country, became with its plurality of divided populations and regions, different cultures and even languages a unified and united nation. Thus, as an unforeseen and unexpected effect, the emerging discussions on Islam – even when going through phases of reactive identities and cultural conflicts (Allievi 2006a) – have helped Italians acknowledge that they were becoming, from the cultural and religious point of view, a plural country.
All the issues and debates on Islam we have mentioned (veils, terrorism, mosques, etc.) seem to be the symptom; the illness is the European imaginary of Islam, and in parallel the Islamic imaginary of the West, and the relations between one and the other. But this is only the first half of the argument, the most immediate. The second is that Islam is in its turn a discursive substitute and a transitional object, which represents, indicates and signifies the pluralisation of society, and in particular, religious pluralism. In this sense, Islam has become the discursive substitute for religious and cultural pluralism, that implies other issues often discussed as correlated to Islam only: gender roles, clothing codes, family models, parental authority, ideas of modesty, purity and sacredness, the relationship between religion and politics, religion and democracy, religion and state and other debated issues.
Islam – rightly or wrongly – has become the most extreme example of otherness and the changes that otherness brings to European societies. Just that the problem is much more profound, the change even more traumatic and the issues to face even more decisive, because they do not involve only Islam and Muslims, but European societies themselves. However Islam, given its symbolic overload and the problematic history that joins it to Europe, its striking aspect of some of its contemporary manifestations among which obviously the emergence of transnational Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, but also its significant statistical presence, is inevitably at the centre of political and social debate in Italy, as across Europe. And it will be for a long time.
1. A process that is due, on one side, to the discovery of its own internal religious pluralism, rarely acknowledged in a country still considered, originally, as ‘Catholic’ (Garelli et al. 2003, Allievi and Diotallevi 2004), and on the other, to the presence of new immigrant populations; on both aspects see Introvigne and Zoccatelli (2006) and Naso and Salvarani (2012).
2. For an extraordinary collection of information and data, see the two very complete collections of essays dedicated to the history of Italian migration by Bevilacqua et al. (2001, 2002). See also Gabaccia (2000).
3. All the data in www.istat.it.
4. For all these data, see Caritas 2011, and the previous editions of the Caritas annual report. For an analysis of past trends and data see Colombo and Sciortino 2004.
5. These numbers cannot be summed, because many beneficiaries have used more than one regularisation, losing their residence permit, becoming irregular – often due to bureaucratic problems connected to the issuance of the permits – and re-regularising.
6. Alleanza Nazionale (AN) has more recently tried to take, particularly in personal initiatives of its leader Fini, a more nuanced position, with declarations in favour of the right of vote for immigrants, campaigning for a less strict law on citizenship, or against the mainstream Islamophobia of the right-wing coalition. These declarations, important as principle stances, have never led to political initiatives.
7. In the Northern League’s logic, the two worst features are ‘coming from abroad’ and ‘being from the South of Italy’.
8. Part of this schizophrenia is that in the same period particularly the North of Italy (voting massively for the right-wing coalition) and the entrepreneurs’ organisations of the Northern regions were asking for a larger contingent of immigrants in the labour market of their regions. Yet, this met with the contradictions of particularly the North-eastern regions of Italy, where immigration is highest and integration most successful, but where xenophobic reactions and Northern League votes are strongest, see Diamanti and Porcellato (2007).
9. On citizenship issues in Italy see Zincone (2010).
10. This government had as Minister for International Cooperation and Integration Andrea Riccardi, leader of the Comunità di Sant’Egidio, which is traditionally sympathetic to immigrants. This example stands for a spectacular change of persons and intentions, starting from the name of the Ministry, previously inexistent as such.
11. On the three cases, see Allievi (2003); on Sartori specifically Allievi (2001), whose arguments are echoed in Sciortino (2002).
12. See among others Geisser (2003) and Allen (2010).
1. Allen, C., 2010. Islamophobia. Aldershot: Ashgate.
2. Allievi, S., 2001. La tentazione della guerra. Milano: Zelig.
3. Allievi, S., 2003. Islam italiano. Viaggio nella seconda religione del paese. Torino: Einaudi.
4. Allievi, S., 2005a. Sociology of a newcomer: Muslim migration to Italy – religious visibility, cultural and political reactions. In: A. Al-Shahi and R. Lawless, eds. Middle East and North African immigrants in Europe. London: Routledge, 43–56.
6. Allievi, S., 2006a. Conflicts, cultures and religions: Islam in Europe as a sign and symbol of change in European societies. Yearbook on Sociology of Islam, 3, 18–27.
7. Allievi, S., 2006b. Niente di personale, signora Fallaci. Una trilogia alternativa. Reggio Emilia: Aliberti.
8. Allievi, S., 2009. Conflicts over Mosques in Europe. Policy issues and trends. London: Network of European Foundations/Alliance Publishing Trust.
9. Allievi, S., 2010a. Multiculturalism in Italy: the missing model. In: A. Silj, ed. European multiculturalism revisited. London: Zed Books, 147–180.
10. Allievi, S., ed., 2010b. Mosques of Europe. Why a solution has become a problem. London: Alliance Publishing Trust/Network of European foundations.
11. Allievi, S., 2010c. Immigration and cultural pluralism in Italy: multiculturalism as a missing model. Italian Culture, 2, 85–103.
12. Allievi, S. and Diotallevi, L., 2004. Le religioni degli italiani. Da un monopolio (più che altro) cattolico ad una pluralità religiosa (maggiore di quella visibile). In: G. Amendola, ed. Anni in Salita. Speranze e paure degli italiani. Milano: Franco Angeli, 202–226.
13. Andall, J. and Duncan, D., 2005. Memories and legacies of Italian colonialism. In: J. Andall and D. Duncan, eds. Italian colonialism. Legacy and memories. Oxford: Peter Lang, 9–28.
14. Ascoli, U., 1979. Movimenti migratori in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.
15. Bevilacqua, P., De Clementi, A., and Franzina, E., eds., 2001. Storia dell’emigrazione italiana. Vol. I. Partenze. Roma: Donzelli.
16. Bevilacqua, P., De Clementi, A., and Franzina, E., eds., 2002. Storia dell’emigrazione italiana. Vol. II. Arrivi. Roma: Donzelli.
17. Birindelli, A., 1989. Le migrazioni con l’estero. Chiusura di un ciclo e avvio di una nuova fase. In: E. Sonnino, Demografia e società in Italia. Roma: Editori Riuniti, 189–225.
18. Bolaffi, G., 2001. I confini del patto. Il governo dell’amministrazione in Italia. Torino: Einaudi.
19. Bonini, C. and D’Avanzo, G., 2006. Il mercato della paura. La guerra al terrorismo islamico: Inchiesta sull’inganno italiano. Torino: Einaudi.
20. Bosetti, G., 2005. Cattiva maestra. La rabbia di Oriana Fallaci e il suo contagio. Venezia: Marsilio.
21. Del Boca, A., 2005. Italiani brava gente? Vicenza: Neri Pozza.
22. Diamanti, L. and Porcellato, N., 2007. Sorpresa: Nel Nordest l’integrazione funziona. Limes, 4, 47–62.
23. Duncan, D. and Andall, J., 2010. Hybridity in Italian colonial and postcolonial cultures. In: J. Andall and D. Duncan, eds. National belongings: hybridity in Italian colonial and postcolonial cultures. Oxford: Peter Lang, 1–20.
24. Einaudi, L., 2007. La porta stretta: Le politiche migratorie dal 1861 a oggi. Limes, 4, 87–94.
25. Fallaci, O., 2001. La rabbia e l’orgoglio. Milano: Rizzoli.
26. Fallaci, O., 2004a. La forza della ragione. Milano: Rizzoli.
27. Fallaci, O., 2004b. Oriana Fallaci intervista se stessa – L’Apocalisse. Milano: Rizzoli.
28. Ferrari, A. ed., 2008. Islam in Europa/Islam in Italia. Tra diritto e società. Bologna: Il Mulino.
29. Ferrari, S. ed., 2005. L’islam in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.
31. Gabaccia, D., 2000. Italy’s many diasporas. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
32. Garelli F., Guizzardi G., and Pace E., eds., 2003. Un singolare pluralismo. Il pluralismo morale e religioso degli italiani. Bologna: Il Mulino.
33. Geisser, V., 2003. La nouvelle islamophobie. Paris: La Découverte.
34. Grillo, R., 2002. Immigration and the politics of recognizing difference in Italy. In: R. Grillo and J. Pratt, eds. The politics of recognizing difference. Multiculturalism Italian-style. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1–24.
35. Guolo, R., 2003. Xenofobi e xenofili. Gli italiani e l’islam. Roma-Bari: Laterza.
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42. Sartori, G., 2000. Pluralismo, multiculturalismo e estranei. Saggi sulla società multietnica. Milano: Rizzoli.
43. Sciortino, G., 2002. Islamofobia all’italiana. Polis, 1, 103–126.
44. Volpi, R., 1989. Storia della popolazione italiana dall’Unità ad oggi. Firenze: La Nuova Italia.
45. Zincone, G. 2010. Citizenship Policy Making in EU Mediterranean States: Italy [online]. EUDO Citizenship Observatory, RSCAS. Available from: http://eudo-citizenship.eu/docs/EUDOcom-Italy.pdf [Accessed 14 August 2012]. | 2019-04-19T12:56:41Z | http://www.stefanoallievi.it/2014/10/immigration-religious-diversity-and-recognition-of-differences-the-italian-way-to-multiculturalism/ |
For other uses, see Ponta Delgada (disambiguation).
Ponta Delgada (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpõtɐ ˌðɛɫˈɣaðɐ]) is the largest municipality (concelho) and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. The population in 2011 was 68,809, in an area of 232.99 square kilometres (89.96 square miles). There are 17,629 residents in the three central civil parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro, São Sebastião, and São José. Ponta Delgada became the region's administrative capital under the revised constitution of 1976; the judiciary and Catholic see remained in the historical capital of Angra do Heroísmo while the Legislative Assembly of the Azores was established in Horta.
In around 1450, Pêro de Teive, established a small fishing village that eventually grew into the urban agglomeration in Santa Clara.
Populated since 1444, the island of São Miguel was a vast territory, with small settlements scattered about, except for Vila Franca do Campo in the central-southern coast, and the smaller community of Ponta Delgada. Villa Franca had for many years been the center of the island economically and socially, and seat of the local government, but many nobles and landed gentry despised its subordinate status to the government in that town (originating many conflicts between these inhabitants and administrators in the southern coast). The nobles in Ponta Delgada sent a secret contingent, headed by Fernão Jorge Velho, to meet with King Manuel in Lisbon to petition that the community be emancipated. In Abrantes, King Manuel conferred a foral on 29 May 1507, elevating the settlement to the status of village (Portuguese: vila).
Then, in 1522 an earthquake and landslide devastated the provincial capital, destroying many of the buildings and killing several people. Ponta Delgada became the only centre with an infrastructure to support the Azorean bureaucracy and supplant its important economic links. Quickly, its role changed, and eventually, it was elevated to status of city, during the reign of King D. João III by decree, dated 2 April 1546.
The naval Battle of Ponta Delgada (also known as the Battle of São Miguel) took place on 26 July 1582, off the coast, as part of the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis. An Anglo-French corsair expedition sailed against Spain to preserve Portuguese control of the Azores, which had aligned itself with the pretender António, Prior of Crato, thereby preventing Spanish control (it was the largest French force sent overseas before the age of Louis XIV).
During the 19th century the municipality experienced its greatest boost of economic activity, with the funneling of citrus exports to United Kingdom and the growth of foreign-owned businesses in the historic center, many of them Jewish merchants after 1818. As with other centres across the archipelago, the town of Ponta Delgada experienced many of the trends common for the period, including the "greening" of the communities (with the construction of the gardens of António Borges, José do Canto, Jácome Correia and the Viscount of Porto Formoso, which would become part of the University of the Azores), the construction of many of the ornate homes/estates, the clearing of animals from urban spaces, the opening of newer, larger, roadways, the moving of cemeteries to the periphery, and relocation of markets for fish, meat and fruits. Due to these changes, and growth of the mercantile class, Ponta Delgada became the third largest town in Portugal, in economic riches and the number of residents. The poet Bulhão Pato, writing of Ponta Delgada, was surprised by the extraordinary riches of the plantation owners, the "gentlemen farmers" that lived within the urbanized core: exporters of oranges and corn, bankers, investors, industrialists and shippers, all contributing to a privileged class of economic and social thinkers and philanthropists.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Ponta Delgada's position was relatively high (eighth largest), although the changing importance of rural economies steadily chipped-away at its growth. But, it remained the central place in the economy and hierarchy of the Azorean archipelago. Consequently, it was at the forefront of political change following the Carnation Revolution. In one such event, property-owners and right-leaning farmers challenged the Civil Governor António Borges Coutinho, who was responsible, under the direction of the MFA government to implement land reforms. The Micalense Farmers' Protest, forced his resignation, and inspired a series of terrorist acts that plunged the Azores into political turmoil. After a clandestine round-up of arrests and detentions by the Military Governor, the Autonomous District of Ponta Delgada was extinguished, along with the other districts (Horta and Angra do Heroísmo) on 22 August 1975, with the establishment of the Junta Regional dos Açores (Regional Junta of the Azores), the provisional government that assumed the competencies of the administration during the region's transition to constitutional autonomy.
The municipality of Ponta Delgada is one of the larger administrative divisions in the archipelago, extending from the center of the island to the western coast. Ponta Delgada is bordered on the northeast by the municipality of Ribeira Grande, and southeast by relatively new municipality of Lagoa.
Geomorphologically, Ponta Delgada covers a volcanic area composed of two structures: the Picos Region and Sete Cidades Massif. The Picos Region extends from the shadow of the ancient volcano of the Água de Pau Massif (known locally for the lake that rests within its volcanic crater: Lagoa do Fogo) until the area around the Sete Cidades caldera. It is a volcanic axial zone oriented generally in a northwest-southeast direction, essentially defined by several spatter cones and lava flows and predominantly covered by dense vegetation and pasture-lands. Its relief is relatively planar, especially along the northern and southern coasts, where many of the urban communities are located.
The Sete Cidades Massif, the other geomorphological structure that makes up the municipality of Ponta Delgada, consists of a central volcanic caldera and lake-filled cones which surround the crater. It occupies the extreme western part of the island, oriented along a similar northwest-southwest orientation, with many regional radial fractures marked by lava domes and spatter cones. The Sete Cidades Volcano at the center of the Massif consists of a caldera and a polygenetic volcanic field within it, that includes four lakes (two of which Lagoa Azul, the Blue Lake, and Lagoa Verde, the Green Lake, are linked). The caldera is almost circular and has evolved over the course of three phases. The first occurred 36,000 years ago forming the collapsed principal structure. The second phase conforms to a period approximately 29,000 years ago, when volcanic eruptions collapsed the northwest part of the structure. Finally, the third phase (about 16,000 years ago) caused the collapse of the north and northeastern portions of the caldera. Geologically, within the last 5,000 years, the central cone has been active (17 eruptions) and responsible for causing most of the activity in the archipelago, during that period. These geological eruptions were essentially trachyte eruptions of the sub-Plinian or Plinian type, with hydro-magmatic characteristics. The last eruption, at about 500 years ago, gave rise to the Caldeira Seca cone. Although there has been no historical activity today, its active status continues to be debated by the scientific community.
Most recently, its diverse geography includes various types of basaltic volcanism, both effusive and less explosive (essentially Strombolian and Hawaiian) along its flanks, usually conditioned by local and radial faults. The Mosteiros Graben is also an important feature in this area, representing collapse of lands on the northwestern flank of the caldera. Although there are no active aerial volcanic characteristics (like the fumaroles of Furnas), submarine vents around the region of Ponta da Ferraria and the beach at Mosteiros have been identified.
Being on the south coast of São Miguel Island, the climate is hot Mediterranean (Köppen: Csa), although it has a certain proximity to the humid subtropical (Cfa) and oceanic (Cfb), due to high levels of precipitation throughout the year combined with less sunshine, and because only one warm month just reaches 22.1 °C (71.8 °F). Although it does not meet the criteria of the main climatic classification used, the last climatic type is described by the municipal government with cool to warm summers and extremely mild winters for a marine west coast climate. Its location is one of the limits for pressure measurement to verify the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The municipality's climate, much like the rest of the Azores, is shaped by the Gulf Stream allowing a small variation in temperatures. Under the Trewartha system it is well within the subtropical range.
The Gulf Stream also contributes to an unstable weather that varies greatly during the autumn and spring, making weather forecasting on a daily basis difficult. Levels of humidity are significant enough (usually 90–100%) that temperatures fluctuations feel comparable to those experienced in locations on similar latitudes. Temperature differences between seasons are much smaller than those expected in continental Portugal, with milder winters and cooler summers than Lisbon.
Much like other communities in the archipelago of the Azores, the municipality is shaped by its geography; most homes are clustered along the regional road network that circles the island, with many ancillary or agricultural access roads bisecting the central portion of the island (primarily in the Picos Region) along a north-south axis.
Sete Cidades: located within the crater of the Sete Cidades Massif, the parish is bordered by twin lakes, and considered an ex-libris of the island of São Miguel.
Along the southern coast is the urbanized core of the historic village/town of Ponta Delgada, which includes the principal civic infrastructures, high-capacity motorways (Portuguese: Vias-rápidas), tourist and culture attractions, as well as the businesses and government services. This city of Ponta Delgada includes specifically the civil parishes of Santa Clara, São José, São Sebastião and São Pedro, which is divided by the motorways with the urbanized contour of Fajã de Cima and Fajã de Baixo. Not to be confused with a traditional city, the city of Ponta Delgada has no legal jurisdiction or mayor, but the municipality of Ponta Delgada has an elected official, the Presidente da Câmara Municipal who administers and Assembleia Municipal, which is the representative council, while dispersed parish councils (and elected presidents) govern the localities that circle the western edge of São Miguel.
The urban core includes the baixa or lower town, referring to the historic centre of buildings, shops and landmarks that gathered over the centuries around the square of São Sebastião and Praça Gonçalo Velho (dedicated to the island's discoverer). Immediately around this urban core are the municipal hall, the Gates to the City (Portuguese: Portas da Cidade) and old customhouse buildings in front of the main roadway that follows the coast (itself passing the Fort of São Brás and Campo do São Francisco in the west). Other important landmarks include the Portas do Mar (Gates of the Sea), main tower of the SolMar Avenida Center mall and Theatre Micalense.
The municipality of Ponta Delgada presents a glimpse into the divergent economic activities that exist in the Azores. With a strong concentration of service activities, the municipality is an important industrial and agricultural centre. The Arrifes-Covoada basin is the main bread-basket on the island of São Miguel, in addition to all the parishes located around the rim of the Sete Cidades Massif.
In 1999, 1039 companies had their operational seats within the borders of Ponta Delgada, roughly equal to 45.4% of the companies of the Azores. Of these companies, 4.4% were in the primary sector, 13.7% in secondary industries and 81.9% in the tertiary service sector. The volume of sales (in 2000) was equivalent to 1,458 million Euros, associated with the service industry, of which banking, computer programming/services, corporate and commercial services, as well as tourism, dominate.
Tourist activity in Ponta Delgada accounted for 34% of the hotel occupancy in the region, of which 46% were overnight trips (1997).
In addition, Ponta Delgada is the centre of administrative services in the region, with many of the governmental secretariats located in this municipal seat (including the Regional Presidency and several directorates).
Several newspapers are published in Ponta Delgada, including Açoriano Oriental (one of the oldest continuing daily newspapers in the country) and the Diário dos Açores.
Served by an international airport in the parish of Relva (Ponta Delgada-João Paulo II International Airport), the municipality is the principal port of entry for goods entering and people arriving in the Azores. SATA International and SATA Air Açores have their head offices in Ponta Delgada.
Near the harbour of Ponta Delgada a broad gauge railway was used several times to build and enlarge the harbor. The track used a seven-foot gauge, but it is unclear if this was Isambard Kingdom Brunel's 7 ft (2,134 mm) Brunel gauge.
Ponta Delgada is home to the central nucleus of the University of the Azores, a multi-disciplinary institution that ranges from courses in tourism, computer engineering, social sciences and business management. From its principal campus in São Pedro, the rectory manages three poles spread throughout the Azores, including Horta (with courses in Marine Biology, affiliated with the Department of Oceangraphy and Fishing) and Angra do Heroísmo (with a broad course calendar of courses in teaching, business and agricultural sciences).
The image of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles: this venerable celebration is the largest and oldest religious event in Portugal.
The front façade of the Convent of Our Lady of Hope, in Campo de São Francisco, during the events of The Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles.
Ponta Delgada is the traditional centre of the annual religious celebrations associated with the Feast of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles (Portuguese: Festa de Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres), from the square Campo de São Francisco (located opposite the Fort of São Brás). This venerable feast day and week-long celebrations, primarily focus on the fifth Sunday of Easter, attracting locals and Micaelense, in addition to peoples from neighbouring islands in the archipelago, the Portuguese diaspora and tourists on vacation. Associated with the Roman Catholic veneration of a Ecce Homo representing Jesus Christ following the Passion (retold in Luke 23:1–25 in the New Testament), a gift to the sisters of the Convent of Caloura in the mid-16th century, the event, as it paralyzes the streets of the city for a day. Following the images move to the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança (Convent of Our Lady of Hope), under the inspiration of the Venerable Mother Teresa da Anunciada the figure was used in religious processions that snaked through the streets of the city, stopping at each convent (and former-convent) in the city. The cortege, which includes clergy, politicians and lay folk is a popular event, attracting both religious (to the procession, sanctuary and open-air mass) and secular participants (to view and see the procession, imagery and taste traditional foods from the barracas located along the main avenue).
Following Pentecosts, many of the parishes within the municipality participate in feasts dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A tradition across the islands of the Azores, the Cult of the Holy Spirit dates to medieval traditions, involving "promises" made to God (Portuguese: promessas), the processions of faith to and from the Church and feasts of meat-broth soup and bread donated to the poor. In comparison to other islands/parishes of the Azores, most neighbourhoods of São Miguel allow the free participation of visitors, seen as fulfilling the tenets of the tradition, rather than the narrow sub-community of the Brotherhoods of the Holy Spirit.
One of the more popular non-religious events is the Noites de Verão (Nights of Summer): a summer event, traditionally held in the square of Campo do São Francisco, but in recent years dispersed throughout the streets of the city. Attracting families, friends and tourists to the downtown, highlighted by nightly musical events, popular Azorean bands/singers, guest concert bands, folklore groups and some international stars, in addition to vendor concessions selling food, refreshments or small goods. Starting usually in late June, the "Summer Nights" run until late September (four months), and is sponsored/supported by the municipal government and local/regional businesses.
In addition to several parks providing green-spaces for multiple recreational activities, the city of Ponta Delgada is home to sporting associations and sites for racket sports, organized team and open-air activities. In addition to multiple water-sports, such as swimming, surf/board and canoeing/kayaking, there are cycling routes and spaces for running/walking. As centre of tourist activities, visitors to the region have access to tourist companies providing excursions to island trails, all-terrain paths and sea-oriented activities such as diving, sport-fishing and boat tours.
Home to the Ponta Delgada Football Association, the region has a storied history of football, that includes teams that have made it to the 1st and 2nd Divisions of the National Football League. Among them are Club Desportivo Santa Clara (Primeira Liga), Clube União Micaelense, (Portuguese Second Division) and Marítimo da Calheta (São Miguel Regional Championship League).
Fernance B. Perry (1921–2014) was a successful business entrepreneur, philanthropist and broadcast executive, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, who emigrated to Bermuda with his parents in 1926.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ponta Delgada.
^ Ponta Delgada was once home to five Synagogues with the oldest surviving synagogue being the Sahar Hassamain Synagogue (Gates of Heaven) in downtown.
^ Bento, Carlos Melo (2 January 2008). "Roteiro do 6 de Junho de 1975 – A Vitória dum Povo" (in Portuguese). Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal.
^ Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia <Lisboa> Sonstige (2012). Atlas climatico de los Archipielagos de Canarias, Madeira y Azores temperatura del aire y precipitacion (1971 - 2000) = Atlas climatico dos Arquipelagos das Canarias, da Madeira e dos Acores : temperatura do ar e precipitacao (1971 - 2000) = Climate atlas of the Archipelagos of the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores : air temperature and precipitation (1971 - 2000). Inst. de Meteorologia. OCLC 1075426566.
^ "Clima Ponta Delgada: Temperatura, Tempo e Dados climatológicos Ponta Delgada - Climate-Data.org". pt.climate-data.org. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
^ "Prolongamento da Avenida Marginal de Ponta Delgada - 2ª Fase - Resumo" (PDF). Câmara Municipal de Ponta Delgada.
^ "PhD thesis - Andrew Harding 2006". crudata.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
^ Sayers, David (2006). Azores: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 9781841621562.
^ "Normais Climatológicas – 1981–2010 (provisórias) – Ponta Delgada" (in Portuguese). Instituto de Meteorologia. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Ponta Delgade". Retrieved 18 March 2013.
^ "Ponta Delgada (08513) - WMO Weather Station". NOAA. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
^ "Geminações de Cidades e Vilas" (in Portuguese). Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
^ a b c d e f g h i Câmara Municipal, ed. (2002). "Economia" (in Portuguese). São Sebastião (Ponta Delgada), Portugal: Câmara Municipal de Ponta Delgada. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
^ "Customer Care Archived 8 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine." SATA. Retrieved on 7 July 2010.
^ "Press Kit 2010." SATA. Retrieved on 7 July 2010. "The SATA Group comprises air transport companies whose decision centre is located in the city of Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, in the archipelago of Azores."
^ Brady, Chris (30 March 2010). "The Broad Gauge Railway of the Azores". Retrieved 3 May 2011. Many harbour breakwaters were built using seven foot gauge railways. ... [The locomotives] were disposed of to places as diverse as Brixham and the Azores.
^ Churcher, Colin. "Broad Gauge Railway Relics in the Açores". Retrieved 3 May 2011. The story of the railway in Ponta Delgada, ... begins in Holyhead on the island of Anglesea in North Wales. ... the broad gauge of 7 feet 0¼ inches ... was that chosen by Isambard kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway.
^ Martins, Ana Maria Almeida (2006). "Figuras da Cultura Portuguesa: Antero do Quental" [Figures in Portuguese Culture: Antero de Quental] (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: Instituto Camões. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2010. | 2019-04-24T17:59:39Z | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponta_Delgada |
This might sound odd on a blog that is dedicated to ways to improve your writing, but if you're more concerned with the technical rules of writing than the story itself, you're hurting your chances of ever getting published.
To write well, stop trying so hard to write well.
Would it shock you to hear there are over 600 adverbs in The Shifter? That thousands of best-selling novels have opened with dialog? That my "Big Six Publishing House" editor asked me to include more backstory in the opening of The Shifter? That sometimes it's better to tell and not show?
I can't say for sure why these rules became so carved in stone, but I suspect it's because it's easier to tell new writers to never use adverbs rather than explain point of view, showing and dramatizing a scene, and how to develop strong characterization. Adverbs are also something that are easily spotted and yes, if you cut them out, it will usually improve the writing. But if the writer just follows these rules and never truly learns why the sentence is better without that adverb, they never fully develop the tools they'll need to be a strong writer.
These common rules are guidelines, reminders of areas that are typically problematic to a story. They're not step-by-step instructions, and sometimes what you hear spouted as gospel is just plain wrong. It can hurt you if you follow them to the letter and forget why you're writing that book in the first place.
To tell readers a great story.
How many "crappy books" are there on the best-seller lists? Do readers care? Nope, because those books resonate with them and entertain them for as long as they turned the pages. Better, they often stick with them after the story is over. No matter what you think of a particular author's talent, they did what they were supposed to do--tell a reader a great story.
I'm not saying chuck the rules and do whatever you want. There is a certain level of professionalism required for the publishing industry. If you don't have a solid understanding and firm control of the English language, your odds are not good. You do need to revise and polish a novel to the best of your ability. Most of the "rules" flying around out there can help you if you use them well and understated what they can do for your writing.
But if you're spending hours upon hours taking out every single adverb, or never using dialog tags, or changing every bland noun and verb to something spectacular, following all the "rules" of writing and spending no time at all on the story itself, there's a good chance you're ruining your voice and killing the book.
Because your focus isn't on telling a great story to an eager reader. It's on following cookie-cutter rules.
Story is what matters. I can't stress this enough. I can (and do) offer advice on how to be a better writer and things to consider as you write, tips to try, processes to experiment with, ways to kick your writing up a notch. But in the end, your book is your book. What you do with the advice, what pieces inspire you or what tricks and techniques work for you are as varied as the stories we tell. Your novel can be as "perfect" as possible, but if the story isn't one a reader wants to read, it will go nowhere.
Yeah, I know, it's harsh.
I understand the need for those rules. The desire for a set of instructions that will help us achieve of writing dreams and improve our chances at publication. I did too when I was starting out. (Heck, I still want that. What's the key to a bestseller, huh?) We fool ourselves into thinking if we edit just right we'll get an agent. If we follow the rules and don't do any of the newbie mistakes we'll get that full manuscript request. And then it breaks our hearts when we don't, and we wonder what we did wrong. For many of us, what we did wrong was focus on the technical and didn't think enough about the story.
The reasons my first three novels got rejected were not because I had too many adverbs or used the wrong dialog tags. My stories sucked, plain and simple. I worked so hard on making them sound "like a fantasy novel" that my voice vanished and everything unique about my story and my writing went poofty.
Does my story offer an interesting character and a problem readers will want to see solved?
Does my plot illustrate that story in unpredictable and original ways?
Will readers care about the ending of this story?
Are my characters likable and will readers want to spend time with them?
Do my characters grow between page one and the end?
Is there an emotional connection between readers and my characters?
Do my characters make surprising choices and act in ways readers won't expect?
Is there something larger about this story that will resonate with readers?
Good writing is important, but good writing is more than just following the rules. It's telling a great story with great characters and a surprising plot that will compel readers to keep reading.
How do you feel about the rules of writing?
I feel that most rules of this nature -- don't use adverbs, don't open a story with dialogue, and whatnot -- focus too much on the mechanics of sentence- and story-building.
They seem to be a covert way to smother the voices of fledgling writers. The no-adverb rule especially. Adverbs exist because they're needed and should be part of your arsenal as a writer. Advocating the no-adverb rule is a bit of a crime against language.
Not all readers pick up a book for the story alone, after all. A good many want to savor the gifts and slow pleasures of a well-turned sentence, of a text that is at once lean and rich with imaginative wording.
Don't forget non-English-speaking readers, either, who acquire English-language books to enrich their vocabulary and understanding of English grammar. Tons of people all over the world read fiction in English for its vibrancy and depth. Start removing parts of speech from the equation and you end up without either one.
Basically, what I'm saying is I agree with your point of view. You can only follow the rules up to a point. Look at the books that have stayed with us for decades -- 1984, Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, A Tale of Two Cities. Ripping yarns all of them. Do they slavishly adhere to small-minded rules? No.
Writers are now under growing pressure to become domesticated, to serve the lowest common denominator in taste, despite their particular talents. Plenty of these cookie-cutter rules floating around on the Internet present themselves as one-size-fits-all, but the truth is they all came from different sources, they come with terrible potential for misinterpretation, and, like all monolithic advice of this nature, they risk becoming dogma.
Dogma and writing, now there's a lousy marriage.
I keep only one rule in my head...leave out the stuff readers skip.
Thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! Sometimes, when I've been reading "how to improve your manuscript" stuff, or when my brother tells me to write like Hemingway (ugh), I find myself looking at my WIP and questioning it.
On those days, I think I'll come back to this post.
John, great points. I think a lot of writers are looking for that magic formula, and writing doesn't really have one. Well, it does, but it's so general you can't be sure you'll following it.
Mac, ah, an Elmore Lennard fan! Good advice, though.
Great advice Janice. And very refreshing. Even the over used words are sometimes the right ones to use.
I always tell my writing students they'd better know the important rules of grammar, storytelling, and their genre, and, as importantly, know for damn sure why they choose not to follow one.
Otherwise, they are probably doomed to create an arrogant pile of nonsense that is unpublishable.
The writers who, despite their flaws, are successful are so, not because they don't follow rules, but because their writing is so strong their story succeeds in spite of its flaws.
If you think the rules spoil your creativity then use them during the rewrite stage, but the rules do exist for a good reason.
Craft is vital. Grammar is vital. The "rules" are vital. You must know them pretty cold before you "break" or "bend" them or you will step upon sensitive portions of your anatomy.
"Good grammar" in dialog, especially, gives that stilted, artificial feel to the character. On the other hand, if it is an Artificial Intelligence, you might want it to appear that way, at least at the beginning.
The better your Craft where it counts (structure, character definition, etc.) the better your chances are at breaking out. A decent level of this Craft is the minimum needed now-a-days.
But above all, you've got to tell a good story. You've gotta make the reader laugh, cry (happy or sad), and keep reading on well after midnight.
Myself, I'll forgive some typos, grammar screw-ups, and an occasional mis-continuity (e.g., hair color changed between chapters) if the story is compelling.
A compelling story grabs the reader and won't let him go. It gets his momentum up and enables him to ride right over the vast majority of your Craft mistakes.
I've been digging around the web a bit, and every time I find a stated rule against starting a story with dialogue, it is heavily qualified. Usually, the caution is to not throw the reader into a long section of dialogue without explaining who the characters are.
I'm pretty sure the dialogue ban is an overly specific rule. A better rule is "don't confuse the reader with a long stretch of stuff they can't understand because in the story yet, especially in the beginning."
My personal pet peeve is the: "drag an action scene from the middle (or end) of the story and slap it on the beginning to cover for a boring opening." I've often suspected this is something the publisher, not the author, does, but I honestly don't know.
Great advice. I had a writer friend who hated "was/were". Sure, overusing them means you might be missing opportunities to use better words, but she created some awkward sentences in her attempts to avoid them.
Excellent post, Janice, and excellent additional comments from John. I've been ranting against this same dogma myself.
Thanks Janice. As an unpublished writer I really (lol adverb) needed to hear this. Your blog is awesome.
Great advice, Janice. My sense is that as a novice, you need to start with lots of writng practice adhering to the rules,and only once you have mastered them can you get a sense of when and how it's not just ok, but wonderful to break 'em. and to read lots of authors who not just break the rules, but smash them magnificently.
Having said that, I must be a real novice, because I've never even heard of the no-backstory-for-the-first-fifty-pages rule.
Yep! Sometimes you just have to write the damn thing, and if it's not working THEN put your efforts into working out why and how to fix it. But there is certainly room for the right adjective. Opening with dialogue - so long as your readers don't get lost - can be a very powerful method, and sometimes backstory is exactly what readers need to know in order to feel the required sympathy for the MC. I agree with Mac above ( or Elmore Leonard, as I'm fairly certain he said it, too) - leave out the bits people will skip over and you're on to a winner.
Never have I heard it put so plainly!! It is the story that matters, thank you!!
Natalie, exactly. What best serves the story is usually the right way to go.
Marilynn, indeed. Know what you're doing before you break the rules. Just as important as not blindly following them without understanding them. Great tip about using them in the rewrite stage. First drafts are allowed to be messy.
Bozobuttons, that "flash forward" is one of those bad rules I mentioned. Somewhere out there people advise dragging that exciting scene forward and it's never a good idea. I've seen enough authors do it I doubt it's a publisher thing.
Cindy, we do crazy things to avoid breaking a rule like that. I always tryst me ear. If it sounds best doing what the rules say not to, I ignore the rule.
Tan Lee, thanks! Be true to your writing voice, learn your craft, use it well, but don't feel you have to follow a set of rules to succeed.
Julie, not at all! Write the story you want to tell, then worry about the technical stuff and what needs to be polished to make the story better.
Deberlene, indeed. Rules are there to help us tell better stories, not templates to be filled out.
Now, Plot rules really get at me sometimes. My first real project which has been going on and off for a while is a fantasy story which begins with a dream sequence which is set aside in a prologue. And from where I'm standing those seem to be the two biggest taboos people talk about. Now, I think it's the right place to start, and that it has enough of a disconnect from the next scene to be set off in it's own section. But sometimes it's hard listening to every set of advice about openings include "Don't do a prologue!" "And Never ever start with a dream!"
Kathie S, ooo yeah, that's a tough one. Bottom line, does that prologue dream sequence work to grab the reader and draw them into the story? Does it transition well into the first chapter? In essence, does it work? If so, you're probably fine. If not, then you might reconsider. Beta readers can help there, especially those who don't know the story already.
This post is a breath of fresh air. As a newbie writer, I find myself spending so much time trying to follow the rules that my voice often gets lost.
It's not as though I want to ignor the rules. Following them has helped my story quite a bit, but only up to a point. When I end up stressing for hours over whether a paragraph has too much telling, or whether I can use "was" or not - that's what kills my progress.
I follow the rules as best I can based on your awesome writing advice. But it still comes down to voice and story. I say, also listen to your gut. If it doesn't sound right, out it goes.
I love this post. I've read a ton of craft books, blogs, ancient writing tips scribbled on the side of lost Mayan temples (maybe not...but I bet there is some) and here are the only three pieces of writing advice that actually matter.
2) Do what works best for you.
3) The story matters more than all other factors combined.
All the rest - adverbs, tags, to prologue or not to prologue - those are all great for Editing/Revision. Trying to fix something that's not working. Apply them too soon or not needed and it is like pounding nails into a wall without reason.
I think the most difficult part for a new writer is finding the methodology they will use for writing. Sifting through the rules, styles and advice deluge only to realize that they probably knew and were doing the 3 Things above at the beginning.
And this post - great advice and one of the reasons why this is still one of my favorite places to stop for innovative thinking on writing.
Ken, that's exactly why I wrote this post. The information and lessons in those rules are good to know and learn, but when they distract you from the story they become un-helpful instead.
Tracy, absolutely. I'm a firm believer in trusting your gut.
I was at a workshop recently where the author gave similar advice. She said: There are no rules in writing, there are only conventions. The more you understand the conventions, the more you'll understand how and when to be unconventional.
Thanks for covering this issue - I was so encouraged. I'm at the beginning of the learning curve and sometimes find the rules so overwhelming I'm too paralysed to write.
Jo, great comment! That sums it up nicely.
Raewyn, that works :) When I was starting out, I would take one rule and work on that until I felt comfortable with it and understood it. Then I'd move on to the next. That helped keep me from getting overwhelmed with so many things to worry about.
Amen. Amen. and Amen. I had an editor cut a story up because she said, "We don't do this anymore" and "We don't do that anymore." I very politely told her I don't always do what "they" suggest. Love your column!
You're welcome. I should give you a byline in the acknowledgements of my next book. Ha. I think I've learned more about writing from your page than anywhere else.
Suzanne, lol. So glad I've been able to help :) You just made my morning.
Great post! Someone recently told me that you can write coal...because after all -- where do diamonds come from? I think it is critical to most of our creative minds to let go of the rules and let the story flow. Get it out of your head and onto the page... then take the rules (with a grain of salt) and edit. Thanks!
Love this post! Some of the most repeated "rules" are the most useless. They're often based on a basic misunderstanding of what makes compelling prose. Or simply fashion. Trendy writing isn't necessarily good writing. Lead rather than follow!
Karen, I saw that article (forget who myself) and that IS a great line. Monitor-worthy and a must for every first draft. | 2019-04-20T18:15:30Z | http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/09/rules-schmules-dont-follow-rules-tell.html |
Broad-based collaborations are becoming increasingly common among disease researchers. For example, the Global HIV Enterprise has united cross-disciplinary consortia to speed progress towards HIV vaccines through coordinated research across the boundaries of institutions, continents and specialties. New, end-to-end software tools for data and specimen management are necessary to achieve the ambitious goals of such alliances. These tools must enable researchers to organize and integrate heterogeneous data early in the discovery process, standardize processes, gain new insights into pooled data and collaborate securely.
To meet these needs, we enhanced the LabKey Server platform, formerly known as CPAS. This freely available, open source software is maintained by professional engineers who use commercially proven practices for software development and maintenance. Recent enhancements support: (i) Submitting specimens requests across collaborating organizations (ii) Graphically defining new experimental data types, metadata and wizards for data collection (iii) Transitioning experimental results from a multiplicity of spreadsheets to custom tables in a shared database (iv) Securely organizing, integrating, analyzing, visualizing and sharing diverse data types, from clinical records to specimens to complex assays (v) Interacting dynamically with external data sources (vi) Tracking study participants and cohorts over time (vii) Developing custom interfaces using client libraries (viii) Authoring custom visualizations in a built-in R scripting environment.
Diverse research organizations have adopted and adapted LabKey Server, including consortia within the Global HIV Enterprise. Atlas is an installation of LabKey Server that has been tailored to serve these consortia. It is in production use and demonstrates the core capabilities of LabKey Server. Atlas now has over 2,800 active user accounts originating from approximately 36 countries and 350 organizations. It tracks roughly 27,000 assay runs, 860,000 specimen vials and 1,300,000 vial transfers.
Sharing data, analysis tools and infrastructure can speed the efforts of large research consortia by enhancing efficiency and enabling new insights. The Atlas installation of LabKey Server demonstrates the utility of the LabKey platform for collaborative research. Stable, supported builds of LabKey Server are freely available for download at http://www.labkey.org. Documentation and source code are available under the Apache License 2.0.
To gain insight into complex, variable diseases like HIV, researchers need to bring together many different types of information from varied sources at early stages of research. Software systems that provide secure data integration, analysis and sharing can facilitate collaborative efforts against such diseases; however, existing software has significant limitations. Existing software systems typically do not span the full flow of data through an organization, require commercial licenses, focus on limited data types, provide limited extensibility, or cannot easily be used beyond the organizations that designed them. We developed LabKey Server as an end-to-end, "biology-aware" data integration platform that can be customized to meet the needs of diverse research organizations. The source code is freely available under the non-restrictive Apache License 2.0. The system has been proven in heavy production use and is maintained by a professional development team.
One of the largest installations of LabKey Server is called Atlas. It is managed by the Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention (SCHARP) at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. This installation illustrates the core capabilities of LabKey Server and demonstrates how these capabilities have helped a large organization accelerate and enhance research efforts.
The vast majority of LabKey Server features developed for Atlas are built into the LabKey Server platform and available as part of the open source project. Certain customizations of the Atlas installation are closely tailored to particular projects or studies, so they are not part of the open source project. They are only mentioned here as illustrations of extensibility, and they are noted as such.
Atlas has grown out of SCHARP's efforts to meet the needs of several consortia within the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (the Enterprise) . The Enterprise is a virtual coalition of researchers that aims to accelerate progress towards one of the most challenging problems in medicine, the development of HIV vaccines[2–6]. Following the example of the Human Genome Project, the Enterprise aims to set common goals, standardize processes and share data and techniques as soon as they are developed. Just like the Human Genome Project, this endeavour requires a massive data integration effort. Unlike the Human Genome Project, but like other large-scale, collaborative efforts against intractable diseases, the Enterprise must integrate a large number of data types. These include results from diverse assays, clinical records and sample information. Though Atlas is not a formal project of the Enterprise itself and has no official endorsement, it is used by a variety of consortia within the Enterprise to accelerate scientific discovery.
Uniting distributed efforts to investigate the biology and the treatment of an evolving disease poses challenges for data management tools. To gain insight into viral/host dynamics, researchers need to bring together diverse types of data (e.g., viral loads, specimen records and clinical notes) at all stages of research, even when the data originate from multiple labs and clinics across the globe. Researchers need to be able to see many different data types simultaneously to investigate study participants who have exceptional immune responses, such as elite controllers or rapid progressors. They require the agility to extract lessons from failed trials and move investigations quickly in new directions, or to swiftly scale up their successes. Researchers require tools to support the development, standardization and dissemination of new, improved assay protocols and workflows across organizations. Furthermore, they need to be able to quickly apply new analysis techniques to existing datasets without the assistance of computer programmers. Tools must be capable of handling the quantity and complexity of data generated by high-throughput technologies. As a team, they need to improve the quality, reproducibility and comparability of data through standardization of lab measurements and procedures. Globally distributed teams need to rapidly, securely exchange information and specimens, ideally through a single, unified interface.
Although existing software tools[8–28] could meet some of the requirements of the Atlas project, none meet all of them in the form of a comprehensive, end-to-end platform available as open source. Some tools have experienced only limited use. A few broad, commercial systems have recently been introduced (e.g., Microsoft Amalga Life Sciences, Genologics, Genedata and Axiope eCAT[32, 33]); however, they lack the transparency of open source solutions, so they are not reviewed here. Existing open source tools typically lack key features, such as role-based permissions, document sharing, easy extensibility, specimen requests, observational study management, full-text search, dynamic interaction with external data sources, integration with analysis tools like R, and support for describing arbitrary, complex experimental data types. Table 1 provides an overview of the feature tradeoffs between representative platforms.
This table compares LabKey Server with a representative sample of open source platforms for data integration. The focus of these platforms ranges from clinical research to high-throughput experiments. Documentation for many platforms is incomplete, so we can provide only a reasonable inference of feature availability.
To our knowledge, no other open source tool provides support for both web-based specimen requisitions and integration of specimen data with complex experimental results. For example, PASSIM (and derivatives SLIMS and SIMBioMS), caTissue, ePIMS and BASE) all provide sample provenance tracking, but none of these allow for web-based sample requests. eOncoLIMS supports equipment requests and GNomEx supports experimental work requests, but neither one supports specimen transfers. i2b2 has some form of a sample request module (i2b2 - Crimson) under construction, but it has not yet been released. BSI provides sample requisition support but does not provide for integration of sample and experimental data. CAISIS[12, 13] is exceptional in providing both specimen requests and deep support for data integration; however, it only supports simple test results entered through online forms, not complex experimental data types.
Many tools allow users to describe and collect custom metadata for experiments (e.g., Addama, BASE, iLAP, SIMBioMS, ISA). Several tools (e.g., iLAP, ISA and SIMBioMS) also provide customizable or domain-standardized wizards for collecting metadata for experiments during data import. Unfortunately, all of these tools store only metadata in their databases, not results. Keeping results out of a database makes perfect sense for exceptionally large result sets (e.g., microarray results); however, database import is often desirable for smaller datasets because it allows SQL-based querying. Open source software does not typically provide graphical, run-time tools for describing schemas for arbitrary, complex assay results and then performing advanced queries over both data and metadata.
Furthermore, no other open source platform known to us provides graphical facilities for defining a broad range of customizable, scientifically-relevant properties for any column of data (such as missing value indicators, regular expression validators, default values and lookup relationships). CAISIS allows the definition of a few of these properties (default values, defined vocabularies and collection requirements) for simple lab and clinical results; however, it provides no support for complex experimental data.
Many of the widely known frameworks for data integration (e.g., BioMart) are tailored primarily towards working with published data, after results have reached "finished" form, not for integrating evolving data types during the research process. Even among tools targeted towards research data, such as electronic lab notebooks, alteration or addition of data types typically requires database alterations. Tools designed for integrating raw research data often work only with specific data formats (e.g., SBEAMS, caIntegrator and GenePattern) or support the introduction or extension of data types only when the system is not running (e.g., Intermine). Even when tools provide flexibility in defining relationships between tables (e.g., Intermine), they typically lack graphical tools for doing so. Such approaches are practical when data types are reasonably static and standard, but not when these types need to evolve quickly, without developer support, as research advances.
Many data integration tools (e.g., Intermine, BioMart and Atlas (unrelated to SCHARP's Atlas)) lack dynamic access to external data sources and require aggregation of all data into a central warehouse. Updates can be challenging when external data sources change[43, 44]. Fully decentralized approaches (such as those used by BioMOBY) are not easily amendable to consistent quality control.
Open source clinical data management software tools (e.g., CAISIS[12, 13], OpenClinica and openCDMS) typically lack features necessary for managing both study data and highly dimensional experimental data. For example, they typically lack the ability to collect complex assay data in batches of runs. When open source systems do facilitate integration of both study and experimental data types, they typically support only limited data types or allow only narrow queries. For example, SIMBioMS understands relationships between participants, specimens and experimental results; however, it lacks extensible types, recognizes only particular data file formats, and allows users to filter only on metadata, not to fully query experimental results. i2b2 provides more of the querying capabilities desired by SCHARP. However, it requires that all imported data map to a set of fixed schemas, lacks data type extensibility and does not support experimental data management.
A growing number of tools (e.g., Atlas (unrelated)) furnish client libraries, but few (e.g., GMOD-DBSF and Intermine) provide APIs both for customizing interfaces and for querying data. Many tools that focus primarily on biological data integration (e.g., BioMart, GMOD-DBSF, Intermine, iLAP and Addama) supply some form of integration with open source analysis tools; however, none known to us provides a built-in, graphical R interface.
The SCHARP team found existing software alternatives to be insufficient, so team members collaborated with the LabKey Software team to enhance the LabKey Server platform and to establish Atlas. Atlas is an installation of LabKey Server customized with interfaces specific to Enterprise studies. Atlas does not aim to meet all needs of all researchers within the Enterprise; instead, its core mission is to tie together many different lab systems and data sources, as shown in Figure 1.
The Atlas data repository. Atlas facilitates collaboration among scientists, clinics and labs distributed across the globe by acting as a centralized, integrated, secure data repository. It currently serves the following members of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise: the Center for HIV Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), the Microbicide Trials Network (MTN), the Vaccine Immunology Statistical Center (VISC) and the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN).
Specimen requests and tracking. Users can track specimen records, execute web-based requests for specimens and integrate specimen information with clinical data and complex experimental results. No other platform known to us supports all of these scenarios.
Management of experimental data types that are invented or modified as projects evolve. LabKey Server's graphical assay design tools are novel in the way they allow scientists to quickly describe and manage arbitrary assay data types, plus extend built-in assay types. Users can graphically associate a broad range of scientifically-relevant properties (e.g., regular expression validators and standardized out-of-range markers) with each column of assay data and metadata. These properties can facilitate quality control, visualization and analysis.
Integration, analysis and visualization of diverse data sources. The platform's tools for creating custom, integrated views of data are exceptional in spanning not just built-in data types and sources, but also user-extended data types. Furthermore, LabKey Server is the only open source system known to us that allows users to integrate clinical data, specimen records and complex experimental results by leveraging: (i) basic relationships between study entities (e.g., participants, cohorts, visits and specimens) (ii) SQL-based queries and (iii) graphical view-building tools. The system is also noteworthy for providing dynamic access to external data sources.
Extensibility. It is unusual for a scientific data management system to provide backwards-compatible, well-documented client libraries that enable developers to both interact with stored data and to construct custom interfaces. It is also unusual for a system to provide such rich client libraries that developers do not need to become well-versed in the system's object model to quickly develop rich content. Lastly, LabKey Server's built-in, web-based interface for writing and deploying custom R scripts is also exceptional among data integration platforms.
LabKey Server is a web application implemented in Java that runs on the Apache Tomcat web server and stores its data in a relational database engine, either PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server. An earlier version of the platform was called CPAS (Computational Proteomics Analysis System) ; the current version includes all of the features of CPAS. LabKey Server is supported on computers running Microsoft Windows and most Unix variants, including Linux, Macintosh OSX and Solaris. Production installations can be upgraded in place with minimal down time. Some installations are run as software-as-a-service (SaaS), which moves server management out of the lab.
Figure 2 shows that the system consists of core services, including data storage, file management and security, together with specialized modules. LabKey Server modules support specific scientific scenarios by encapsulating application logic, user interfaces and data. Data can be shared and integrated across modules. Modules can be added, upgraded, distributed or removed independently, allowing the addition of new analytic capabilities, support for new types of data or other features. On an individual basis, they can be kept private within an institution or contributed to the LabKey Server open source project.
LabKey Server's modular architecture. LabKey Server consists of core services and specialized modules. Modules are autonomous, so they can be added or upgraded independently to add new functionality.
Datasets that reside in external repositories can be made directly accessible through a LabKey Server. Access to such datasets is dynamic, meaning that any modifications to such datasets within an external repository are immediately viewable on the associated LabKey Server. Dynamic access can be configured for PostgreSQL, MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server databases, or for other data sources such as SAS. In general, users can work with data from external sources just like any other type of data on a LabKey Server. Authorized users can view shared datasets using LabKey Server's familiar, accessible grid user interface. Users can customize their views with filters, sorts and column lists. They can use the datasets in custom queries and reports, or export the data to Excel, web query, or simple text formats. For data sources other than SAS, changes can be made to datasets in the external repository using the LabKey interface. While datasets from any one data source can be joined to each other, datasets from different data sources cannot yet be joined directly.
LabKey Server's role-based security model allows tight control of access to sensitive data while permitting broad sharing of content when this information is ready for wider release. Users can be assigned specific permissions outside of their groups and roles, allowing fine-grained control of access. Workspaces on a LabKey Server are arranged hierarchically and permissions can be inherited by children. Permissions are enforced no matter how information is accessed, including full-text search, data export and the LabKey API (Application Programming Interface). Updates to administrative settings and scientific data on a LabKey Server are logged, enhancing security and enabling auditing.
Authentication of users occurs either through LabKey Server's core authentication system or through external authentication systems. A LabKey Server installation may optionally connect to an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) server to automatically authenticate users within an organization. LabKey Server also supports Single Sign-On (SSO) through OpenSSO, allowing authentication of users from a partner web site.
The system provides full-text search for most types of data and documents, plus "science-aware" search for relevant concepts, particularly participant identifiers and study properties. A server can also be configured to display search results from external web sites. LabKey Server also provides a variety of web-based collaboration tools, including file management, wikis, message boards and issue trackers.
Automated exception reports are generated by LabKey Server installations and reported back to LabKey Software. By monitoring exception reports, the LabKey team can quickly fix issues and publish patches without the need for users to report these problems.
A key challenge of scientific data integration is the diversity and the rapidly changing nature of the data types that must be integrated. LabKey Server meets this challenge by combining the flexibility and rich metadata capabilities of RDF (the semantic web's Resource Description Framework) with the regular structure and familiar query mechanisms of a SQL (Structured Query Language) database.
The semantic web defines a network of interconnected resources, each of which can be uniquely identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). These resources are described by a set of properties and property values. Because the properties and property values are themselves resources, rich data and metadata can be assigned to every resource. Following the semantic web model, data items stored in a LabKey Server can be addressed with a URI in the form of a Life Sciences Identifier (LSID). Furthermore, they can be associated with an extensible set of properties known within a LabKey Server as fields.
LabKey Server provides a set of basic, predefined data types that can be extended with custom, administrator-defined fields. These data types include lists, assays, study datasets, and specimens. Fields may include standard SQL data types, such as string and numeric types, but may also use semantically richer property types designed for scientific research, such as participant identifiers. Fields can be associated with other scientifically interesting properties, such as out-of-range values, custom indicators for missing values, regular expression validators and custom URL templates for generating hyperlinks to external or internal resources. Fields can also be annotated to indicate that they represent concepts described in curated ontologies, such as those provided in UMLS (Unified Medical Language System). LabKey Server also allows administrators to define lookup properties that behave as foreign keys and allow automatic joining of related data.
All LabKey Server data types benefit from a core query service that allows users to browse, sort and filter tabular data. This service is diagrammed in Figure 3. It supports a graphical interface that allows users to create customized data views and save these views for reuse and sharing with other users. LabKey Server's built-in tools for creating R views, building crosstab views and drawing simple charts all leverage the query service. The query service also allows developers to write full SQL queries that can be executed by other users. Finally, the service provides the ability to export tabular data in a variety of formats for analysis with external tools.
• A table and a column list. A column list can include columns from the requested table or columns from related tables.
• A SQL query based on pseudo-tables known to the query service.
1. When the request is received by the server's API layer, the layer checks folder security and translates the request into calls to the query service.
2. The query service then uses schema information describing physical tables and pseudo-tables to translate the input query into a SQL query of physical tables. The query is formulated in the dialect understood by the underlying relational database. Schema information is supplied by other LabKey modules.
3. The database returns a tabular result.
4. The tabular result is annotated with additional information about the columns (e.g. user-friendly label, description and formatting hints).
5. The appropriate LabKey client library converts this standard data/metadata into a form easily understood by the client language. For example, an R dataset would be returned as the result of a call by an R client API.
To maintain security, the query service interprets these queries and executes them over a virtual database schema that reflects the permissions of the currently logged in user. For example, the system can perform cohort blinding by prohibiting particular users from viewing data columns that would reveal the cohorts of participants. Similarly, if a clinician holds permissions sufficient only for viewing data for locally enrolled participants, the clinician can only access views that are customized to hide data rows for all other participants.
Recent enhancements to the LabKey Server platform enable four core scenarios, all of which have contributed to the success of Atlas. Full documentation and tutorials for LabKey Server are available at http://www.labkey.org.
LabKey Server's specimen management system provides more than a centralized repository of specimen information. It also supplies secure, web-based tools for requesting, approving and tracking specimen transfers between clinics, repositories and labs. Centralized specimen information can be annotated and integrated with clinical, assay or other data for study participants or animal subjects to allow comprehensive analyses.
Figure 4 walks through typical steps for importing specimen information and configuring the request process. Figure 5 reviews a simple usage scenario, including searching for available specimen vials, joining specimen data to related data and requesting specimens using the specimen shopping cart.
Typical setup steps for specimen tracking and requests.
1. An administrator sets up a folder to display the "Specimens" web part and configures permissions for those who will be interacting with specimens. The administrator then imports an initial archive of specimen records and information about repositories and sites. A populated "Specimens" web part is shown in A.
2. A specimen data manager configures the specimen request process, including configuring request steps (B), identifying actors in the request process (C), configuring requirements for request approval, and setting up notification procedures (D).
Typical steps for vial search and request.
1. A scientist logs on the system from a participating lab, then searches for vials or specimens of interest, as shown in A.
2. To further narrow down the possible vials of interest, the scientist builds a custom view of the subset of vials she has identified through search. This custom view integrates information from diverse sources using shared identifiers. In the example shown in B, shared participant and visit identifiers are used to join in data from a related dataset. In this case, the gender of the participant who provided the sample (as defined in a separate, demographic dataset) is drawn into the vial data view.
3. The scientist then creates a new specimen request and uses the "specimen shopping cart" to add desired vials to this request, as shown in C.
4. When finished, the scientist submits the finished request, as shown in D.
5. Designated reviewers are notified of the requests and approve them.
6. Specimen repository workers are notified of the approved requests, fill the requests and update the web-based interface. Vial(s) that have been used are no longer requestable.
7. After receiving a specimen vial, the scientist performs an assay on the specimen. Results from this assay may be marked with the vial identifier or participant/visit identifiers so that they can be associated with specimen information on the LabKey Server. The process for associating assay results with specimens is shown later in Figure 7.
LabKey Server also includes built-in tools for building specimen summary reports that allow data managers to leverage the centralized availability of information about specimens. Reports can be parameterized by the type of specimen, date of collection, availability of vials, source participant in the study, cohort of the participant, current location and other measures.
This specimen management system is complementary to pre-existing, site-specific tools. Most labs already have LIMS, such as LabWare or the Frontier Science Laboratory Data Management System (LDMS), for specimen management. These LIMS are typically set up with freezer layouts, technician identities, mailing addresses, workflow info, and the like. The LabKey specimen management system does not aim to replace lab-specific LIMS; instead, it serves to connect them. Cross-site specimen management is typically a missing piece for LIMS that handle specimens, so LabKey helps consortia to "glue together" their LIMS through cross-site tracking of specimens and specimen requests.
Members of the Enterprise use Atlas heavily for both specimen request management and integration of specimen data with other types of data. The system records approximately 860,000 specimen vials and 1,300,000 vial transfers. Additional usage statistics are covered in the "Atlas Usage" section of this document.
Typically, labs manage new types of experimental data in spreadsheets, but this can quickly become unsustainable as results proliferate. LabKey Server provides graphical tools for describing, importing and analyzing assay data that would otherwise reside in a multiplicity of spreadsheets. These tools make it easier to bring data straight from the bench into a common system, minimizing the cost of centralizing data, preserving data provenance information, enhancing standardization of data collection and enabling data integration. Assays can also be customized through the LabKey client libraries to include specialized analysis capabilities.
Lab data managers define custom assay "designs" to formally describe experimental results, then import many sets of experimental results to a LabKey Server using the formats specified in the designs. The structure of an assay may include the number of input samples; the type and format of experimental result files; and the definition of summaries or visualizations appropriate for sharing.
Defining experimental properties in the form of an assay design helps to ensure that appropriate data points are collected for each experimental run or set of runs loaded into the server. For any manual data entry steps, LabKey automatically generates the appropriate data entry pages based on the assay design. The design determines which data entry elements are required and which are optional. A lab technician can also use the assay design to set appropriate default values for data items or provide pick-lists of standard values. This reduces the burden of data entry and the incidence of errors.
Customized assay designs can be based on a general template, or on specialized assay types that are added to the LabKey platform as modules. Specialized assay types currently include: neutralizing antibody (NAb); enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot); microarray; Luminex; cell recovery and viability; complete blood count; particle size, high performance liquid chromatography; and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Some of these have been developed to match the structured output of tools used by existing platform users, so they can be instrument-centric. Just like LabKey Server's proteomics and flow cytometry tools [49, 57], all assay types are backed by a common experimental design architecture that defines notions of experiments, runs, batches (groups of runs), protocols, inputs, outputs and materials (specimens, samples or tissues).
Assay run creation and deletion are audited and run data cannot be modified after runs are imported. Annotations can be added to assay runs through the user interface or programmatically through quality control scripts. LabKey Server's assay infrastructure can support GCLP (Good Clinical Lab Practices) and the establishment of repeatable, reliable, auditable and comparable lab procedures.
Figure 6 shows typical steps for designing an assay, while Figure 7 shows typical steps for populating the same assay design.
Typical steps for designing an assay.
1. An administrator creates an assay-type folder to act as a staging area for assay data before the data has undergone quality control.
2. A scientist creates a new assay design to match the contents of experimental results stored in spreadsheets. In this example, the assay design is based on a generalized assay template, but other assay types could be used. The assay design is named "GenericAssay," as marked by A.
3. The scientist then adds a set of batch fields that must be filled out when each batch of runs is imported. User-defined batch fields are backed by the same set of customizable properties as system-defined fields. This image shows label, description, type, lookup and custom URL properties for several fields. Other properties include conditional formatting, default values and regular expression validators. Here, the "Machine" batch field (B) is configured (in popup C) as a lookup to a simple list ("Lab Machines"). At the time of data import, the user will be presented with a defined list of options for populating the "Machine" field that are drawn from the primary keys of the "Machines" list.
4. Next, the scientist defines the run fields (D) that must be collected for each run. In this example, only one field ("MachineSetting") is defined.
5. Finally, to save time, the scientist infers the assay's data fields (E) from a representative spreadsheet file. These fields could also have been designed manually, in the same manner as the batch and run fields.
Typical steps for populating an assay.
1. The user selects the assay design that matches experimental data and chooses to sequentially import run data. This example uses the assay design from Figure 6.
2. For each batch of data, the user is prompted for batch properties (A). Here, the "Machine" options are provided as a defined vocabulary to reduce errors and variability in data entry.
3. For each run, the user is prompted for run properties and run data (B), as described in the assay design. A template of expected columns can be exported to help with matching data formats.
4. The user can import several runs sequentially using the same batch properties. C shows a summary view of the three runs that have been imported to this assay design using the same batch properties.
5. D shows an example of results imported as a single run for this assay. Note that the "Machine" column is defined as a lookup to another table, so each of its entries is hyperlinked to details for the appropriate machine, as provided by the "Lab Machines" list.
6. After assay data has been reviewed for quality control, it can be moved into a study folder for sharing with collaborators and integration with other types of study data. During the import process, the participant/visit identifiers for each row of assay data are matched (E) to identifiers for specimens in the target study. This allows viewers of the assay data within the study to quickly navigate to data for associated specimens.
LabKey Server's neutralizing antibody assay provides an example of how the system's assay tools can encourage process standardization across labs and catalyze contribution of data to a central repository for integrative analyses. The NAb assay tool included in the LabKey platform was developed to formalize data management for the TZM-bl NAb assay . Replacing a spreadsheet macro, it simplifies data processing by providing an automated system for uploading, transforming and analyzing data and displaying results (shown in Figure 8) through a web-based interface. Data from the plate reader and metadata describing the experiment are imported to the server, where calculations are done automatically and results can be visualized and shared.
Detailed NAb assay results view. The "details" view for a NAb assay visualizes measures of neutralization success and provides several calculations for areas under the neutralization curve.
As part of Atlas, the NAb tool has been used successfully by 14 labs across 4 organizations within the Enterprise (CHAVI, VISC, HVTN and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program). As of May 2010, these labs have used the NAb assay tool to upload and store over 25,000 NAb assay runs. The labs use the tool not just because it enables data transfer, but because it provides immediate value. The tool provides technicians with graphical feedback that indicates whether results fall within expected bounds, and thus whether the assay has been performed correctly. The use of the NAb tool facilitates standardization, organization, auditing and integration with other types of repository data, such as specimens.
Users of LabKey Server can draw together information stored in multiple tables using built-in summary views, a graphical cross-source view designer and custom SQL queries. Datasets are typically connected through shared identifiers for subjects (e.g., participant, animal or subject identifiers), samples (e.g., specimen identifiers) and/or time points of data collection (e.g., participant "visits" to clinics). However, tables do not need be related through these types of identifiers to be joined into common views; they may also be joined through administrator-defined lookup fields. Joined, integrated views can be used as the basis for complex analyses and visualizations.
Figures 9 and 10 show how LabKey Server's graphical tools and R can be used to join, analyze and visualize data from multiple source tables based on participant/visit identifiers. Figure 11 shows how the system's custom view designer can construct a joined view by means of a user-defined lookup relationship between two tables. Figure 12 shows how LabKey Server's SQL editor enables the construction of more sophisticated queries, including the inclusion of calculated columns and custom metadata. All of these figures use made-up data.
Example of joining datasets based on built-in relationships. Results from related data sources can be joined into a common grid view using built-in relationships between study entities. Here, the grid view customization tool is used to pull in columns from data sources that include the same participant/visit pairs. The results of an assay ("Lab Results") are joined with the columns from another assay ("HIV Test Results") and the results of a physical exam ("Physical Exam"). The joined custom view can be saved privately, made visible to collaborators or exported in various formats, including Excel.
Examples of analyzing and visualizing a joined custom view. Here, the joined custom view created in Figure 9 is used to construct a participant chart (A), crosstab view (B) and R chart (C and D) through the "Views" menu available above the joined grid.
A. The participant-specific chart view marked by A displays the same type of information for each study participant, in sequence. Users can toggle between the displayed chart and its associated dataset using the "View" and "Data" tabs. This particular chart displays the progression of HIV viral loads and CD4+ counts over time for each study participant.
B. A crosstab view like the one shown in B could be used to verify that different tests for determining HIV status produce consistent results.
C. The R script displayed in the "Source" tab of the R script editor (C) uses data from the joined custom view to compare how CD4+ counts and HIV viral loads change over time. The scripting environment makes the source dataset available as the labkey.data data frame, as circled in red.
D. The results of the script are displayed by selecting the "View" tab of the R script builder, as shown in D. Selecting the "Data" tab would display the source dataset (not shown). R views, just like other views, can be saved privately or made visible to collaborators with sufficient permissions to view the source data. Within LabKey Server's R environment, users can also invoke stored scripts and leverage advanced analysis or visualization packages, such as those provided by Bioconductor.
Example of joining data sources through a user-defined lookup relationship. The "Lab Machines" list, a simple table, was used in Figure 6 to provide a defined vocabulary for populating the "Machine" batch field of the "GenericAssay." The "Machine" batch field was defined as a lookup to the "Lab Machines" list. The existence of this lookup relationship allows us to join machine information into grid views of assay run data. Here, as circled in red, the relevant machine's "Contact Person" is joined into a grid view of assay results.
Example of creating a custom SQL view. This figure demonstrates how a custom SQL view can add a calculated column to a joined view and label the column using custom metadata. Part A of this figure shows LabKey Server's schema browser, which allows a developer to view, add or edit custom queries. Part B shows how the SQL source editor has been used to add a calculated column to a table as part of a custom query. It also shows how the table metadata editor has been used to edit the column's properties and add a custom title. The grid view produced by this custom query is shown in C.
On a LabKey Server, a folder-based "study" serves as the primary integration point for connecting heterogeneous data types collected as part of an observational study. A study defines built-in relationships between study data entities (shown in Figure 13) and provides built-in tools for summarizing and visualizing related data.
Simplified study schema. This simplified schema outlines the relationships between entities in a study. Data tables in a study can be integrated when they contain shared quantities, such as participants, visits or specimens.
Figure 14 shows how data flows into a study in many forms (e.g., Excel, text and DataFax case report forms) from many sources (e.g., labs, clinics and repositories), where it can be combined and consumed in different ways by collaborators (e.g., labs, principal investigators and statisticians). For example, labs might use aggregated data to identify issues with quality control methods, while statisticians might apply novel transformations in R, while principal investigators might monitor overall progress of cohorts through summary views. Studies also provide mechanisms for formalizing data approval prior to sharing and integration; adding "quality control" annotations at the level of datasets or data points; exercising fine-grained control over dataset security; grouping subjects by cohort; enforcing cohort blinding; summarizing data by participant or other measures; and exporting/importing/reloading entire studies for efficient backup, staging or transfer to new locations.
LabKey Server data flows. Data flows into a LabKey Server from diverse sources, undergoes quality control and becomes available to a range of data customers through a web-based portal.
Figure 15 shows a typical study portal page that lists the datasets and specimens associated with the study. Figure 16 shows the system's built-in interface for viewing all study datasets available for a particular individual across all visit dates.
Study portal page. A study portal provides a jumping-off point for investigating patterns in shared datasets. The interface can be customized to list the different types of data or views available in the study and to display custom data tables or visualizations. The "Study Navigator" shown in this figure is a data summary tool that rolls up information from many study datasets based on participant identifiers.
Participant-specific data summaries. A data overview is provided for each participant in a study. It displays all datasets in the study associated with a particular participant across all visit dates. Participant-specific charts can be displayed for each dataset, as shown for the "Physical Exam" dataset. A user can navigate through equivalent views for other individuals using "Next Participant" link and "Previous Participant" links.
Atlas exemplifies how a LabKey Server can draw upon both LabKey-based data and data from external systems to support observational studies. Atlas's flexibility in interfacing with external databases allows it to be different things to different types of data -- a database of record, an integration point, or both. Atlas interacts with several SAS and PostgreSQL databases in real time. It also imports data exported from other data sources, particularly a database of DataFax case report forms, and deposits data into relevant Atlas-based studies. For certain types of data (e.g., specimen requests), Atlas is the database of record. For others (e.g., specimen cell counts), Atlas is simply the integration point for diverse, specialized databases of record.
LabKey Server's deep support for customization and rapid application development frees labs to independently adapt their servers, interfaces and analyses to lab-specific needs. Client libraries in a range of languages, plus a user interface for R scripting, allow investigators to use familiar tools to build custom applications, interfaces, assays, reports and analyses. Developers can add larger features by encapsulating them in modules, create individual data views in R or simply add API-enhanced content to wikis or HTML pages in the file system.
LabKey Server provides multiple of methods for working with R. Users can employ the R client library to load live data from a LabKey Server into an external R environment for analysis, provided the user has permissions to read the data. The R library also supports querying for available data, then inserting, updating, and deleting data records, given sufficient user permissions. In addition to the R client library, the system provides an interactive R scripting interface that allows users with appropriate permissions to author scripts, view script results and see source data, as shown in Figure 10. Lastly, R scripts can be included as files in custom modules to define custom views for custom queries.
The SAS client library provides very similar functionality to the R client library, enabling interaction with LabKey Server data from SAS.
HTVN has built custom data summaries (available only on Atlas) that allow central labs to view the cumulative success of individual technicians in processing and preserving blood cells, as measured through cell viability tests. Study managers can use these summaries to swiftly identify problem areas and improve quality control. The result is a shorter feedback loop between central labs and remote labs. The summaries also provide transparency to project funders and digital historical records that take the place of paper-based tracking.
Custom study summaries defined in an Atlas module. LabKey Server modules can be used to encapsulate scientifically interesting applications. Atlas's vaccine study module defines several interfaces that generate interactive summaries of vaccine studies, including the interface displayed in this figure. This module is tailored to Atlas-specific data, so it is not part of the open source project. Generated summaries like the one shown in this figure make it easier for scientists to swiftly, publicly share study information and protocols after publishing associated research papers. The Atlas web portal respects user permissions, so study summaries display different amounts of information to different tiers of users. Atlas login is not required to view public study data, so you can explore the interfaces and data summaries defined in the vaccine study module without acquiring Atlas credentials: https://atlas.scharp.org/cpas/viscstudies/VISC/Completed%20CAVD%20Studies/studydesigns.view.
The ability of LabKey Server to meet core scientific and data management needs in a customizable way is demonstrated by the adoption of the platform by a range of organizations beyond the Enterprise. According to data reported automatically by active LabKey Servers, approximately 40 installations are currently in active use. LabKey Server v10.3, available in November 2010, is the 19th official, public release of the platform.
Adoption of the platform has also meant adaptation; research organizations use LabKey Server for a wide range of purposes. For example, several labs use their installations of LabKey Server to manage the large quantities of data that stream from flow cytometry, proteomics[61–64] and/or microarray experiments. Two systems biology labs use LabKey Server to integrate diverse data types at the lab level[61, 62]. The National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is customizing a LabKey Server installation to provide an extensible, life-science-aware database for non-human primate electronic health records. These features are being developed as a custom module for LabKey Server that will be available to other researchers. The Primate Center also uses LabKey Server for multiplexed genotyping and next-generation sequencing experiments. A distributed team of cancer researchers based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center uses a LabKey Server as a place for "virtual research." Team members consolidate data from existing, online databases onto their LabKey Server and then use R to collaboratively mine this data. Two labs use LabKey Server for post-publication sharing[61, 63]. AdaptiveTCR, a T-cell sequencing company, has used LabKey Server to build a customized, proprietary system that allows customers to purchase analyses, submit specimens, view results and interactively visualize data . Insilicos, a company focused on proteomics, uses LabKey Server to support cloud-based, scalable computing.
Atlas's success in achieving adoption across the Enterprise can be gauged by considering usage statistics for the system. The number of accounts (approximately 2,800 accounts across 350 organizations and 36 countries) is notable given the relatively high bar for gaining access to the system, as compared to open-access databases that publish fully anonymized data. Access is restricted due to privacy considerations for clinical studies on a sexually transmitted disease.
Atlas held 2,844 active user accounts in May 2010. The number of individual users likely lies closer to 2,800 because some users (particularly administrators) hold multiple accounts. Approximately 600 additional accounts have been deactivated (as typically happens when an individual leaves a position), so approximately 3,400 total accounts have existed on the system. The first user account on Atlas was created on October 4, 2005.
Approximately 350 distinct organizations are represented among user accounts. Roughly 200 distinct organizations have two or more active Atlas users while approximately 100 distinct organizations have five or more users.
Approximately 36 countries are represented among user accounts. The number of accounts associated with each country suggests the degree of usage in each country. 29 countries were associated with two or more user accounts while 23 countries were associated with five or more accounts.
As of May 2010, Atlas holds 26,684 uploaded assay runs, 2,637 customized data views, 2,116 unique wiki pages and 1,717 message board posts. Also as of May 2010, Atlas has tracked 156,349 specimens (such as blood draws or urine specimens). These have been subdivided into 859,759 vials and transferred during 1,280,407 specimen "events." Events record transfers of all types, including active requests for vials (made through the Atlas interface) and transfers without request (such as automatic transfer of vials from clinic to repository after collection). A total of 801 requests have been entered and processed through Atlas, resulting in the transfer of 19,727 individual vials. Each request typically includes multiple vials.
During April 2010, the Atlas web site welcomed 1,400 unique visitors from 36 countries. The average visit included 13 page views over 11 minutes. Overall, a total of 5,400 site visits produced 70,000 page views during this time period. These statistics are typical of recent months. The number of countries where visits originated was the only measure that notably increased over the past six months (from 27 to 36).
Adopting a shared platform like LabKey Server to accomplish data integration and process standardization can bring network benefits to collaborating organizations. At the same time, achieving adoption of a new platform across a diverse community is not an easy task, even when the community is joined together into a common effort such as the Enterprise. As we have learned first-hand, merely providing innovative software features is insufficient-the real challenge is making the software useful to scientists.
Add value at the level of the lab bench, not just the overall Enterprise, to entice users to bring data into the system. Labs are more willing to adopt new data management practises if adoption makes their own work more efficient, standardized and/or reproducible. LabKey Server's TZM-b1 neutralizing antibody tool has met wide adoption because it brings immediate value to front-line labs. It translates key lab workflows into standardized data management practises that enhance efficiency and reproducibility. In contrast, adoption of LabKey Server's Luminex assay tool has been slow because the tool does not provide a clear, direct benefit to labs. It was designed primarily to help labs put their data into a format useful to central data managers. Only 120 Luminex runs were uploaded to Atlas between February 2008 and January 2011 (roughly 40 per year); for comparison, approximately 40,000 NAb runs were uploaded from December 2006 to January 2011 (roughly 9,800 per year).
Interoperate easily with existing, external data sources. Easy interoperability enables data integration without the need to first transform a LabKey Server into the primary or archival repository. For example, LabKey Server is not the database of record for Enterprise specimens. Instead, the Atlas installation of LabKey Server synchronizes with existing LIMS systems. This allows members of the Enterprise to retain existing workflows and avoid transferring legacy data to a new platform. Given the extent of existing systems, the development of Atlas is unlikely to have occurred without interoperability.
Practice agile , interdisciplinary software development to continually incorporate user feedback. Close collaboration between data managers, research scientists and independent software engineers ensures continual focus on actual, not theoretical, user needs. The team uses short, four month release cycles and a formal feature review process to tighten the feedback loop. Notably, the features that have received the most user feedback during design and development (e.g., the TZM-bl neutralizing antibody assay, specimen management and API libraries) have become the most widely used tools. Features that did not have significant end-user involvement in the design process (e.g., the ELISpot assay tool) have experienced the slowest adoption. Notably, not a single ELISpot run has been uploaded to Atlas since the initial release of the tool in May 2008.
Use a platform-based approach to meet shared needs cost-effectively. The LabKey team works to identify common, long-term requirements for the platform so that the core system features it builds (e.g., the assay designer and tools for file management) meet shared needs using common infrastructure. New, specialized applications can simply leverage these core platform services. This lowers costs, reduces bugs and increases the speed of development. As we have learned, straying from a long-term approach (e.g., building a new assay outside of the generalized assay infrastructure) makes certain features (e.g., integration of this assay with sample management) cost-prohibitive.
Ensure that cross-disciplinary facilitators have bandwidth for adoption. SCHARP data managers have played a particularly important role in the success of Atlas. They have combined their understanding of research objectives with their knowledge of Atlas capabilities to facilitate the upload and effective use of data, cementing adoption. For new installations of LabKey Server, successful adoption has often been attributable to a primary champion in a lab who has set aside sufficient time to become a skilled user of the platform. Without in-house advocates and experts, adoption has often faltered.
Establish a reliable track record for ongoing, professional development, maintenance and support. Don Listwin of the Canary Foundation has quipped: "[Scientific] open source software has the half life of a graduate student". Given this type of scepticism and the resources required for adoption, it is particularly important to use development practises that build confidence in the longevity of the system. The LabKey Software team has used decades of experience in building commercial software to establish enterprise-calibre development practices for design, testing, stabilization, deployment and support. Some practises, such as automated exception reporting and public transparency, go beyond those common in the industry. Official builds of the platform are released with regularity, three times per year.
Most biomedical research organizations have unique and evolving software needs due to their specific suites of pre-existing infrastructure, distinctive organizational processes, and involvement in rapidly changing areas of science. A data integration platform like LabKey Server must therefore be tailored to such an organization's needs before the system becomes useful. The effort to successfully establish an installation of the platform should not be underestimated.
Additional boundaries of the platform stem from its scientific focus. The platform provides little direct support for managing the business side of scientific enterprises. It provides specimen request management and generalized issue tracking, but it does not replace existing tools for such things as ordering reagents, tracking inventory, managing freezer layouts and scheduling work shifts. The platform does not aim to replace mass-market collaboration software, so it does not provide SharePoint-style document co-authoring.
LabKey Server's facilities for tracking disease progression over time focus principally on associating data with individuals (subjects, participants or animals) and time points. These tools are less useful for experimental lab studies that focus on replicates, such as experiments on yeast biochemistry. Studies that require location as a key identifier, such as geographic studies of disease spread, would require support that is not yet built into the platform. The system is not currently designed around the execution of clinical trials; nevertheless, organizations such as HVTN still use it to share and adjudicate results.
At present, the study-based specimen tracking and request system requires that uploaded specimen data conform to a specific format based on the output of a particular LIMS, LDMS. Greater flexibility towards specimen input formats would not be difficult to add. The system already provides other tools for tracking arbitrarily shaped specimen data, but these do not support requests.
LabKey Server provides features (such as role-based security, authentication, audit logging and write-once rules for assay data) that are designed to meet the requirements of FDA Regulation 21 CFR Part 11. However, no installation of the platform has yet undergone full, formal evaluation for compliance. Compliance can only be certified for installations of software, not the software itself.
LabKey provides for data export in multiple formats, but does not yet provide protocols for data transfer to permanent, domain-specific archives, as do ISA and SIMBioMS[11, 9].
A key future focus for Atlas will be the development of new tools for interactive visualization and data exploration. These tools will allow more efficient extraction of information and insight from Atlas. Data exploration features will include interactive graphics, new tabular displays tailored to requests from investigators and tools for quickly performing analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculations and other statistical analyses. The data exploration tools will be combined with improved data submission capabilities, allowing investigators to swiftly and easily combine their own data with data stored on Atlas. In addition, we expect to simplify the application of existing ontologies to data types, allowing richer integration of data across independent datasets. We are also prototyping a distributed HIV dataspace that would provide a catalogue of data stored in a variety of locations.
Additional areas of focus may include the development of new custom assay tools (following the successful model of the TZM-bl neutralizing antibody assay) and the enhancement of full-text search. Integrating deeper knowledge of biomedical concepts into full-text search would better enable searches for scientifically relevant information.
Future areas of focus depend on the needs of users who fund further development of the core platform. Enhancements to the LabKey client libraries to aid application development have been a particularly consistent area of focus among user-funders. Support for next-generation sequencing data and integration with Galaxy is currently funded and under development. Adoption of the platform by consortia studying diseases beyond HIV would require certain enhancements, such as new custom data types, but the basic platform has been designed for use by consortia studying any disease.
Sharing data, analysis tools and infrastructure can accelerate the efforts of large research consortia by enabling new insights and enhancing efficiency. The Atlas installation of LabKey Server demonstrates the utility of the LabKey platform for collaborative research. Like all LabKey Server installations, Atlas supports secure, web-based data sharing and collaboration from the earliest stages of disease research; enables integration of diverse and changing data types based on subject and/or visit identifiers; allows easy customization of interfaces, wizards, analyses, and visualizations; supports programmatic automation and customization; supplies advanced tools for data querying, search and analysis; provides dynamic access to external databases; enables staging of data based on quality control status; and provides specimen request management.
Real-world adoption of Atlas by members of the Enterprise has helped the LabKey Server team refine the features of the base platform to suit the needs of a wide range of researchers. Functionality tailored to be useful to a broad array of scientists has helped to catalyze adoption of the platform beyond the Enterprise. Funding agencies' growing enthusiasm for collaboration among disease researchers[3, 79] suggests that the platform will become increasingly useful to a wider circle of researchers focused on other diseases.
LabKey Server's open source license means that other research consortia can freely adapt the base platform to their needs while contributing new features back to the effort and improving the software for all users. The platform's track record of regular, stable releases and ongoing maintenance provide a reassuring complement to its open source availability.
This section covers the methods used for measuring Atlas usage. Counts of active Atlas user accounts were made on May 11, 2010, as were estimates of the number of organizations and countries represented by these counts. To estimate the number of organizations using Atlas, we counted the distinct domains used by active user email accounts. This count excluded obvious duplicates (e.g., multiple email domains at the National Institute of Health) and obvious commercial, non-organizational email accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo and others). The total count may be an overestimate because there could have been further duplication, so it is useful mostly as a benchmark.
To estimate the number of countries where Atlas is used, each user account was associated with a country of origin based on the account's country code top-level domain. If the domain did not include a country code (e.g., .com or .org domains), the domain was assigned to the United States category. This practice made the country count a conservative estimate.
Overall counts of assays uploaded to Atlas, customized views, wiki pages and message board posts were made on May 11, 2010 by querying the production server's PostgreSQL database. Counts of specimens were made on May 17, 2010 on the staging server, whose content mirrors the production server with only a slight time lag. NAb, Luminex and ELISpot assay runs were counted on the staging server on January 10, 2011 for the purpose of comparing adoption rates for these assay tools. Counts of SCHARP-authored applications and tools on Atlas were made on the production server in October 2009 and included wiki-authored tools, file-based applications (excluding static content) and full-fledged modules.
Traffic to the Atlas web site was measured through Google Analytics. Tracking began in July 2008. Measurements for the month of April 2010 were compared to measurements in October 2009 to estimate current trends in usage.
The LabKey Server open source software is freely available for download at http://www.labkey.org under the terms of the Apache License 2.0 . This site also provides documentation, tutorials and demos for users and developers, plus instructions for developers who wish to contribute code to the project through the LabKey Subversion repository.
Compiled binaries for Windows, Unix, Linux or Macintosh installation are available for free through LabKey Software at http://www.labkey.com. A graphical installer is available for computers running Windows XP or later. It includes the LabKey web application; the Apache Tomcat web server, v5.5.29; the Java Runtime Environment, v1.6.0-22; the PostgreSQL database server, v8.3.7; and additional third-party components.
• Other requirements, as of LabKey v10.3: Apache Tomcat (5.5.29 or 5.5.31); Java Runtime Environment 6; and either PostgreSQL (8.2, 8.3 or 9.0) or Microsoft SQL Server (2005 or 2008). Check the project site for latest requirements of the most recent release.
LabKey Server can run on any type of modern computer hardware. Typically, the needs of the database are much greater than the web server, so these may run on different machines. Hardware requirements depend on the load placed on the system. In general, a modern, server-level system running Windows or a Unix-based operating system is sufficient for a modest deployment.
Access to Atlas is available to participating members of the research networks supported by SCHARP as part of the Enterprise (CAVD, CHAVI, MTN, HVTN and VISC at present). To inquire about access, contact [email protected]. Published results and information about certain projects are available to the public without logon at https://atlas.scharp.org. For example, all completed CAVD studies are published on Atlas in the VISC folder.
Current LabKey Software contributors include Trey Chadick, who leads testing; Ren Lis, who provides grant project management; Stephen Hanson, who contributes documentation; and Nick Arnold, who builds user interfaces. Previous contributors to LabKey Server design, implementation and documentation include Nicholas Shulman, Brendan MacLean, George Snelling, Jess Garms and Tamra Myers.
A large number of people on the SCHARP team have contributed to Atlas, including Steven Self, who leads SCHARP; Thula Weisel, who directs study operations for SCHARP; C. A. Magaret, who previously managed the Atlas team; Cassy Jarvis, who currently manages Atlas; Valerie Obenchain, who contributed many of LabKey Server's R APIs; Jon Ringuette, who manages Atlas infrastructure; Shane Coultas, who designs the look and feel of Atlas; and Robert Kleemann, who consults on Atlas application architecture; Sravani Cheeti, who develops applications on Atlas; Cristine Cooper-Trenbeath, who supports laboratory data operations; Mija Lee, who provides database administration; Julie Stofel, who builds applications that load and analyze data on Atlas; and Geoffrey Snyder, who contributes to Atlas feature design specifications.
CHAVI contributors include Barton Haynes, Director of CHAVI, and Kelly Soderberg, who directs CHAVI program management. CAVD contributors include David Montefiori, whose lab developed the NAb assay protocol; Michael Seaman, who provided feedback on the NAb assay tool; and Kelli Greene and Hongmei Gao, who are both program managers for CAVD at Duke. Blake Wood served as a senior project manager for both CHAVI and CAVD. Thanks also go to John Boyle and Sarah Killcoyne and three thoughtful reviewers for their helpful suggestions on this paper.
This work was supported by AI067854 Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) grant from NIAID/NIH, Division of AIDS; grant 38744 from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to VISC and CAVD; grants AI068635 and AI068614 from the NIAID to HVTN; grant AI068615 from NIAID to MTN; and grants SP51RR000167-48S3 and 3P51RR000167-48S2 from NIH to the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
All LabKey Software authors have contributed design, implementation and documentation to LabKey Server. MI leads design of the LabKey platform. BP and SR lead and coordinate work across LabKey and Atlas teams, respectively. JE leads the LabKey development team and BP did so previously. EKN wrote most of this paper and leads LabKey documentation. CN develops widely-used applications on Atlas. TS contributed strategic vision and leadership. All authors contribute testing and have reviewed this paper. | 2019-04-21T02:28:32Z | https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2105-12-71 |
Showing results for tags 'incursion'.
Lor Space Aboard the Praetorian Aquila Class Starship Devotion Mid-December, 2014 (Terran calendar) Amara Val-Ren still felt somewhat ill at ease in the command seat of the Praetorian spacecraft. But in the short time since she and her fellow Praetorians had been revived by the Curator, she had actually spent only a small amount of time aboard either of the Praetorians' surviving starships. She and her brethren had been thrust into another conflict with the Communion, this time seeking to help the various space fairing powers that were being hard pressed by the Communion forces. Lacking the numbers to directly confront the Communion as they had over two thousand years ago, the surviving Praetorians instead did what they could to organize and inspire the forces of those fighting the threat. But for every cruiser they destroyed, or wave of antibodies they decimated, there were always more, the Communion continuing to add to its forces as it cyberformed planet after planet as it moved through sectors of space. But as desperate the situation was, the sheer scope of the threat had left little time for Amara or fellow Praetorians to dwell much on the fact that they were now two thousand years removed from the empire they had once served, and that all that they knew, everyone they once knew, were not long gone, even with how long Naram could live. But occasionally there were quite moments, where such thoughts could come to the front. In the face of those times, Amara could only try to focus on what she had to do to try to see herself and the others safely through this crisis. Of course, much of the time it seemed as if she was merely delaying the inevitable, but she could not let that stop her from what she had to do, for countless beings were counting on them, even if many of those beings did not even know it.
Outer edge of the Sol System The Communion's attack on Earth had been repulsed by many of the planet’s heroes, working alongside several military and extra-governmental forces. For the moment, the planet was safe. But the Communion's world killer weapon was still positioned at the outer edge of the solar system, barely held in check by the Freedom League and their allies. With reports reaching back to the Freedom League and Earth's heroes from the Star Knights about a fleet of Communion ships headed towards the Sol System, possibly to try to assist in getting the world killer free, it was decided that merely holding the world killer at bay was no longer a viable solution. So the remaining League members on Earth had begun gathering a number of volunteers to try to help destroy the world killer before the Communion relief fleet could arrive. The gathering of the various heroes coincided with the return of one of Earth's Star Knights, Kyle Steward, who had firsthand experience against the Communion's deadly weapon. Now, Geckoman was behind the controls of one of the League's Pegasus spaceplanes, flying a rather odd collection of heroes to help in the fight against the world killer….
GM High Earth Orbit The Lighthouse December 25 th, 2014 9:40 PM Greenwich Mean Time (4:40 PM Freedom City) The last nearly two months had been busy ones aboard the orbital headquarters of the Freedom League. With so many of the senior league members off in space trying to help against the Communion, the work load for the remaining League members had increased, the team feeling rather stretched at times. The information sent back by the League members in space had done little to easy the stress of those remaining behind. As shocking as it had been to learn of the destruction of Lor-Van, what the Communion had done with the planets and peoples they did not just outright obliterate was perhaps even more horrific. But there had been little time to fully dwell on things, as there had been crises around the world and coordination with heroes across the world to try to be ready should the Communion turn towards the Earth. And then a few hours ago, the League members in space had sent a message back to the Lighthouse, stating that they had located the Communion’s world killer spacecraft, and it was heading towards Earth. The remaining League members on Earth had moved into action, contacting the various heroes they had spent the last two months connecting with and getting people moving to various parts of the world to prepare should the Communion make it past the League members in space. Freedom Hall had served as a launch point for many, teleporting them up to the Lighthouse, and then back down to Earth to the various League teleport locations that had been set up over the years. For a time, everyone had been so busy organizing things, there was little time for anything else. But once they had coordinated setting things in motion, there was little to do but wait for news from the League members in space, of for the Communion to just arrive if there was no one left to hear from.
Amazri IV, formally Lor Space March 1, 2015 (Terran Calendar) Amazri IV had long sat well inside the boarders of Lor space, many light years from the contested area with Khanate space. The planet had long been a colony for the Lor, established in the early years of their expansion from Lor-Van. It had developed into one of the Republic's primary centers of industry and manufacturing, with vast automated facilities that covered the northern and southern landscapes of several of its vast continents. Most of the large cities on Amazri IV had been located around its equator, where lush green forests spread out around the cities before giving way to high mountainous zones. Now more than half its surface had become silver colored metal, and even from space it appeared as if veins of the silver metal were continuing to spread towards the rest of the planet. Amazri IV was one of the most recent Lor planets to fall to the Communion, the cyberforming of the planet still underway. A group of the Coalition's top scientists had determined that the cyberforming process provided the most direct access to the Communion's central data centers, with the least protections in place to prevent unauthorized access. In short, if the Coalition was going to learn the whereabouts of the Communion's mothership, it would be by gaining access to one of the central relays on a world being cyberformed. So a small group of Coalition forces were aboard a Grue stealth ship, making their final approach to Amazri IV. "We will be at our target location within ten microcycles." Stated Gur'ul, the Grue Metamorph in command of the stealth ship, turning back to look at the odd collection of beings that he had been ordered to transport to Amarzi IV.
Lor Timemark 1329.8 - March 1, 2015 Garron-9, Garron System Trooper Ekna Veiu sat strapped into the back of the transport ship between a Lor mentat clone with a lantern jaw and a member of a scale covered species he couldn't name and tried to steady his breathing. He'd never planned to be a soldier but then the Communion had ripped through the Khanate, leaving the precious few survivors to flee or be turned into monsters. The Lor loved to talk about never forgetting Lor-Van but they hadn't been the only people to lose a homeworld and they weren't the only ones who'd wanted to fight back. Ekna was seventeen stellar cycles old; that had seemed like so long sitting around on his family farm waiting for his life to start, old enough to enlist with the Coalition forces, certainly. As the ship shook from atmospheric turbulence and he clenched his grey-green hands all he think about was whether or not he'd see his eighteenth cycle celebration. There weren't any enemy ships in the skies above Garron-9, at least. There didn't need to be. What had once been a densely populated border world with almost a billion inhabitants was now a solid sphere of computronium, a planet-sized server to add to the Communion's processing power. A billion people converted into raw materials and 'antibodies', the mindless, shrieking foot soldiers of the enemy. This was only Ekna's second deployment but he'd already gotten to see those up close and personal. They'd lost that moon but he'd acquitted himself well, getting his wounded sergeant to safety. They'd given him a commendation for that. They didn't mention the rest of his squad when they shook his hand. He didn't mention the night terrors he'd had ever since. That was how he'd ended up as part of one of four squads deploying to Garron-9 with a simple mission: fight their way through and take down a communication relay, in theory briefly blinding the Communion in the adjacent sector long enough for something apparently above his pay grade. Troopers didn't need to know the big picture, he guessed. He looked up from his knees and immediately regretted it as he saw the Grue strapped in across from him scowling right at him. At least Ekna thought the Grue was scowling. It was hard to tell with no mouth. He immediately looked back down regardless. Most of the other troopers were more experienced soldiers and most of them had experience fighting against those who were suddenly their allies. Tensions were always high but the calm before the storm was always the worst. Then again, at least he knew what a Grue was. Each squad had been assigned a commander for the mission, though Ekna got the impression the rank wasn't exactly official. One of them was a stern Lor officer with no patience for excuses; he'd met a lot of those in the past months. The Zultasian told a lot of jokes and laughed loudly, all swagger and confidence. Ekna had never seen anything like the grey skinned woman with the cybernetic tail, though, and even though the forth commander didn't look all that much older than him he'd heard some of the other soldiers say she wasn't really Lor but Terran and everybody had a friend of a friend with a horror story about a Terran. Ekna risked glancing up again to the back of the transport where all four of them were standing, holding onto handing straps and conversing.
GM UNISON Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland December 25, 2014 10:50 PM local time Just a few hours ago, UNISON headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland had been practically deserted, only a minimal security detail and a few technicians had been on duty, the rest home with their families for Christmas. That was until Colonel Ellis had been contacted by the Freedom League about an approaching threat from space. In the intervening time, scores of UNISON personnel had been called in, the headquarters now abuzz with activity as UNISON personnel were reaching out to contacts in governments and militaries around the world, as well as preparing itself for the possible arrival of a hostile alien force. Over a decade ago, UNISON had shocked many world leaders, when it had fielded a small fleet of space capable heavy fighters, the Uni-Storm, during the Grue invasion of 2003. Since that time, Colonel Ellis had managed to hold off efforts to decommission the Uni-Storm, which mean that UNISON had under its control a majority of Earth's space capable combat aircraft. The pilots for the fighters were still being brought it, and gearing up and receiving briefings for possible sorties. The mechanics that had been brought in were working as fast as they could to get all the fighters ready should they be needed, with more arriving all the time. Things were much further along than if there had been no warning, but they still needed a bit more time before they could get all the Uni-Storm into the air. During the past few hours, a number of even more unusual individuals had arrived at UNISON’s headquarters, as a group of superheroes from across Europe and the United States had arrived to offer what assistance they could. With Colonel Ellis' former connections with the Ministry of Powers in the UK, it was only natural that the current members of the Vanguard were present. Also present were two national heroes from countries in southern Europe, Professor Chiron from Greece, and Stella d'Argento (the Silver Star) from Italy. A pair of heroes had also transported to Geneva from the United States, sent by the Freedom League to assist as well. Currently the gathered heroes were with Colonel Ellis in a large command center in the center of the headquarters, where UNISON technicians were tracking activity all over the world as various militaries began the process of preparing themselves for the possibility of an attack, and keeping an eye on the telemetry coming in from numerous satellites and radio tracking stations on Earth that were scanning the heavens for signs of approaching ships. "So as of right now, we need about another half an hour to have all the planes ready to go into combat if needed." Ellis stated to the gathered heroes. "We can probably have half of them up in about twelve minutes, perhaps a bit sooner. As for the military units around the rest of the world…well, they are trying to mobilize as quick as they can, but this is probably about one of the worst times for such an attack in terms of the number of personnel away from base with friends and family."
March 1, 2015 51 Pegasi 50 light years from Earth 51 Pegasi is an LV-type star, the kind of small yellow dwarf utterly undistinguished except for the simple accident of longevity and luminescence that means they are, by a wide margin, the stars most likely to support Lor-type life across the galaxy. 51 Pegasi does have one novelty - 51 Pegasi B, the gas giant trapped a little more than 4 million miles from its home star. 51 Pegasi B is a burning hot world, wracked by storms and super-heated winds that make the planet one of the most hostile in Lor space. Even so, the scientific research station on 51 Pegasi Ba, the single asteroidal satellite of the planet, has always been something of a backwater. The fluid dynamics of superheated gas giants is a vigorously debated scientific discipline, but one with few practical applications. The team from Ohtalv University arrived for their year-long assignment five and a half months ago, a few weeks before Ohtalv University and the rest of Lor-Van was atomized by strong-nuclear suppression from the Communion. A routine scientific posting had suddenly become a refuge, but also a cage - the picket ship usually assigned as their rescue vessel was called away for convoy duty months ago and they have nothing on the base rated to so much as leave the shadow of the asteroid. Of the five person team from the University, their world gone and families dead, supplies dwindling more and more every day, four are still alive. It's a sad story, but a story repeated again and again the Lor Republic. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Until recently. As he sat in the station's control center, Narab Zober watched what would have been the career-making discovery of a scientist a year earlier play out before him with calm interest. Only the cool discipline of his Hephestian martial heritage kept him here, kept him working, and kept thoughts of home, family, and all he had lost out of his mind. Lives had ended - but life went on. "...from deep neutrino scans, the entity has reached the rocky core of Pegasi 51b and has begun what can only be described as _feeding_ on the heavy metals and other materials within." He watched the rippling clouds, gone chaotic in recent days, and raised a long feathered eyebrow, his padded fingers folded on the table in front of him. "To survive at the heart of a super-heated gas giant, the Gorgon's energy and matter absorption abilities must be even greater than previously estimated. Fascinating. At current rate of consumption, I estimate that within seven standard days, Pegasi 51b will have lost its gravitic cohesion and begin breaking up." And then plummet into the burning heart of the star - along with this station. "This is Dr. Narab Zober of Lor Science Station #0047, ending this rotation's report. Tomorrow Dr. M'Kelley will offer her report on the fluid dynamics of a gas giant in the process of core destruction. End transmission." When he was done, he stared at the communications terminal, as if willing a reply by sheer force.
Kestevan 79 23,000 LY from Earth March 1, 2015 Temperance was seeing the ghost of a dead star pass by. There was a way to say it that was much less poetic and much more scientific. And, although there may have been some literalism to it, given her powers, there was little spiritual thrum out in the void of space. If there were entities that represented the great void, they were likely to cling to the travelers passing through it - and even then, they were keeping a wide berth from her ship. Ship. She said it like it was familiar. She was hurdling through the void on a gigantic hunk of metal, the vacuum of space surrounding her on all sides. She knew enough to know that her head wouldn't necessarily explode if she went tumbling out into the void. That was where her knowledge ended. Everything else, on the other hand, was so limited. This was not her territory. Thank God for the others, then. Three of them had reached out to Sharl. They were space travelers of a sort - that was how she understood it - who had encountered Communion forces on a planet orbiting a star near Kestevan 79. The planet had been destroyed to make way for a wormhole - just like had happened to Lor-Van. By their estimate, and given the Communion forces overseeing the wormhole, they believed that whatever was controlling local operations would be stationed nearby. And they had gathered, through said intelligence, that there had been someone who'd survived Lor-Van who had a knack for electronic frequencies. Who had been on the planet when the Communion forces had organized and attacked. And who might be able to parse their signal through the field of cosmic radiation that made all other efforts impractical. He had recommended that she might want to stay behind. This wasn't her field, and it wasn't her fight. But she'd seen what had happened to him when he had come back. She was not going to leave him to wander into Hell alone. She just had to hope that, when the time came, they could get through the fires together.
Criminal Carter Bay, Florida, Terra One week before the Battle of Kesteven 79; Lor Timemark 1329.7 "Whaddya mean what do I want you to do with 'em?! They came to my son's house!" Anna knew she was screaming, and she knew she sounded like an old woman when she screamed, but for once in her life she didn't care. She'd tried for weeks to reach Basil after the fighting in Freedom City during the Communion incursion; and only now, pacing back and forth so fast she was burning through yet another bedroom rug, had she finally gotten ahold of her old friend. "They tried to kill my grandson! They tried to put their filthy stinking hands on my little baby granddaughter! I want them dead! I want their whole goddamned organization dead and buried in a goddamned hole in the ground!" Basil let her rant, like a good friend should, knowing what Clock Queen was like in a righteous temper. When she was finished, Basil broke in gently. "I'll do whatever is in my power to help you, my dear Anna." His voice was warm and soothing, the perfect veteran musician's calm, even tones. "I am not soley responsible for composing their fate, but I think I can persuade even their backers to dance to my tune for a while. But the question remains, Anna, what will you do for me in return?" His tone was serious, but almost apologetic, the same way he might have asked for repayment on money she'd borrowed from him back in the day - which now that she thought about it had happened more than once. "Certain things have never been tolerated in our organization - but of course we're talking about a third party. If I'm to move against them, I need to be sure that you can move with me the next time I need a favor." Anna put her head against the wall, palm flat against the bright green wallpaper of her retirement bungalow, and thought about her old friend's words, even as not for the first time recently she felt a great wave of unaccustomed fatigue. "Listen, Basil, I...I promised my boy I wouldn't get back in the League, and I meant it. It's important to him - and you know nothing's more important to me than family." She opened her eyes and caught sight of herself in the mirror across the hall. Jeez - look at me! Eighty years old, and she looked like a healthy woman in her fifties - a woman who was going to spend a long, long life right here in this bungalow if she chased Basil away right now. He'd better be right about the white noise blocking the line here. "But a deal's a deal. If you need a favor, a real favor...gimmie a call. I'm yours."
December 25, 2014 In Shropshire, Daniel Frewer turned his head to the sky, wondering suddenly what lay in the heavens. In Osaka, Homura Kato froze on the subway, feeling a sudden sense of calm and tranquility. In Alexandria, Amir al-Khudari locked himself in his apartment and spent hours writing page after page about some coming revelation, the dawning of a new prophet. Across the world, a whisper was falling into the minds of humanity. A thought launched like a needle, to grow and take hold for when the time was right. But for some people, the whisper was more like a shout. National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center Arecibo, Puerto Rico 9:12 PM The Scarab meditated above the structure hanging suspended over the gigantic radio telescope. She had felt the psychic broadcast raining down on humanity, and knew what it meant. If people were being guided towards a certain thought, it would likely come with a hard suggestion - and one of the best places for that to come through would be a site aimed towards receiving messages from the heavens. Something had come through early, however. When she arrived at the telescope, she had found the scientists in a mad bacchanal, offering praise and worship to whatever lay beyond. She had tranquilized them and managed to undo the damage, but they were still recovering. Now was the best time to turn this force's tricks against it. She just hoped the others would arrive to provide a full counter-offensive.
Lor Timemark 1329.7 - February 28, 2015 Repiuk System Asteroid Belt When rich ore deposits had been discovered in the asteroid belt of a system with no habitable worlds nearly a hundred and fifty years prior it had drawn in a rush of prospectors, independent fortune seekers and small companies looking to stake a claim that would set them and their families up for generations. As the demands of the galactic economy shifted and the best veins had been tapped out, however, the cost of refinement had risen past the profitability of the belt and one by one facilities had been abandoned, subterranean ghost towns riddling the asteroids with tunnels and shafts. Decades later those abandoned mines would serve as a base of operations for a vicious pirate fleet, their leader cannily realizing that the remaining deposits of heavy metals would play havoc with snooping sensor sweeps. They'd been found out by the Star Knights nevertheless and soundly routed, leaving another layer of abandoned equipment in their wake. It was Sri A'Lan Koor who had remembered those raids and suggested the belt, a remote location of no military significance or appeal to the Communion, as a staging area for the Coalition forces. For the past three months the secret had remained kept, long enough for the leaders of the Coalition to feel secure gathering together in one room as they planned out their last, best chance to drive out the invading menace. Standing at the war table the veteran Star Knight had to wonder if they weren't going to do the Communion's job for it. "You need to pull your head out of whatever orifice you've shapeshifted for defecation purposes," Senator Diena Th'emme told the Grue Arcane across from her flatly, fingertips pressed firmly against the surface of the horizontal display between them. The tall, imperious woman managed to make even the utilitarian grey jumpsuit she was wearing come across as regalia, her honey blonde hair done up in a crisp bun. "We have a precise window of opportunity. What troops we can spare to assault the communication relay will have to be enough." The short, stocky being to her made a fluting growl, waving fur covered hands for emphasis as his translator box did its work in an incongruously light soprano. "You would send them to their deaths and for what?" Minister Ch'rrr had rallied a number of worlds to the Coalition's banner in his home sector but was by nature disinclined toward risk taking. "The slim hope of a possible advantage for a doomed plan? Your ancestors' pardon, Citizen Tulink, but I cannot place so much faith in a single simulacrum. Surely you agree, Praetorian Val-Ren?"
December 25, 2014 Freedom City Midnight Manor Late in the evening on Christmas Day, a Deep One sang an eerie song in the Midnight Manor, her body silhouetted by the darkness outside. "BUT I GET UP AGAIN! YOU'RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN! WOO!" As her song finished and the strains of Tubthumping vanished into the quiet of what was sometimes one of many front parlors in the Hunter mansion, Aquaria leaped in the air and cheered, her smooth, wet skin glistening from the exertion of the vigorous karoake number. "I am awesome!" For their part, Mark and Nina both cheered and applauded - Mark hadn't been at all sure bringing the machine along was the right idea, but luckily Jessie's amphibian friend had practically snatched the karaoke machine up with her tongue and practically begged to go first. (Jessie had, blushingly, commented that Aquaria used to do this a lot before disappearing herself) Aquaria first approached Mark and Nina, since they had been the latest to the party - only arriving after Martha Lucas had turned in early and left her son and his girlfriend free for Christmas. "You guys want a turn? C'mon, don't be chicken!" Between Nina's competitive streak and Mark's natural showmanship, it wasn't long before the couple was standing in front of the computerized board, picking out their song - 500 Miles seeming to be an early favorite. Aquaria bounded over to join Erin and Trevor to watch the show, declaring, "Surface music is great, you can yell so loud when you're singing! And nobody complains!"
ic Incursion: Science Team Go!
December 25, 2014 Walking about the Dubai International Convention Centre and mingling, Amir al-Misri would have been well within his rights to congratulate himself on a very successfully hosted conference. The science and technology summit - his PR people had come up with a more pompous title but it had sounded a little too obviously designed by committee to stick in the billionaire philanthropist's mind - had drawn experts in civic engineering, clean energy initiatives, information networking and a few dozen other equally impressive fields from around the globe. The chance to compare notes and show off the latest prototypes had been incentive enough but the sizable grant money being offered by his firm to the most impressive projects hadn't hurt, either. He wasn't left to bask in satisfaction for long, however, as one of his aides rushed over, his colouring pallid with stress, and shoved a tablet into Amir's hands. "Sir! Sir, you have to see this," the uncharacteristically disheveled man insisted, running a hand through his neat beard. "Some sort of weapon just made groundfall in the Rub' al Khali! It looks like- the data suggests it was launched from orbit. The payload... we don't have any idea what we're looking at, sir." The thermal satellite image on the tablet showed an aerial view of the Empty Quarter with a small, strangely cool blotch at the site of the impact. A blotch that was slowly but noticeably spreading outward.
December 25th Continued from >Mind Over Matter Fast-Forward was back on the streets of Freedom City so fast he barely had time to grab a candy cane from a department store giveaway as he made his way to his first destination. It was evening New Jersey time when he appeared at Dancia Devons' front door in Lincoln, where his super-speed knock sounded like a machine gun's rat-a-tat before he slowed himself back down (and sped everything else up) until once again he was in sync with the normal world. Knocking firmly, he called, "Dancia Devons! Dancia Devons!" When she opened the door, the Discovery Channel personality on Dancia's doorstep said without preamble, "Scarab needs you to save the world from robot psychics from space." He glanced around quickly to make sure no one was in the hallway; luckily her neighbors were all still enjoying their Christmas. "How quickly can you get to Puerto Rico?"
December 25, 2014 A ripple of tension had traced through the world's hero community, even those with few direct connections or who actively avoided such interactions with their peers. Something big was coming, perhaps already there, and the Freedom League was calling in everyone, every able body, to meet it. Details were scares and answers were scarcer but the apprehension of a soldier the night before shipping out hung over them all the same. That silent tension was broken as Asli Sadik's phone vibrated with a message notification, marked urgent with an attached video file. The compression had sacrificed some of the image quality but the hood, cloak and mask of Seven, a relatively recent addition to the League reputed to be a witch of considerable power, was immediately recognizable. The background was an indistinct blur but the urgency in her voice came through clearly enough. "Greetings, hero. My apologies for the intrusion but the need is great..." * * * * * "...great-whatever owed my great-whatever a favour and I'm calling in the chip," the porcine young man who'd identified himself as a descendant of Zhu Bajie told Daniel Lee as the grainy video played on the engineer's laptop screen. He snorted absently in a manner that wrinkled the entirety of his flat nose and hitched up his belt with both hands. "I ain't really got time to explain everything but I figure if I tell you there's adventure and demons to punch involved, won't take much convincing anyway..." * * * * * "...obviously the west bank of the Nile is a little out of the way for you," admitted Elwyn Eldrich, hockey jersey wearing nephew of the Master Mage, waving about a rune covered staff for emphasis, "but we're stretched a little thin here, frankly. Believe me, if I could leave the dread dimensions myself right now-- well, you know how they get around the holidays, I'm sure." As the video played the shadows in the corner of Jeremiah Cornwell's dorm room deepened unnaturally. "Now, can't keep the shadow portal I'm making for you open long..." * * * * * "...realize this is-- It's not how I wanted to do this," the stern young woman with Asgardian armor and a bow strapped to her back frowned, crossing and uncrossing her arms uncomfortably as John Fraser watched on his aging laptop's monitor. "But my mother always said that in a real emergency, you were the one I should contract. I'm sure you have a lot of questions - I would, too - but right now the world needs Arrowhawk." The video file ended and the gently spinning whirlpool of pitch black and midnight purple that had appeared a few meters away beckoned.
December 25, 2014 South Pole Basin Lunar Farside It is not true that Farsiders never leave their city, merely that such events are rare and usually for a purpose. The construction of the South Pole station by Farsiders had been one such purposeful occasion, one launched over a Terran century ago by a Farsider monarch concerned about a recent Terran visit to the Moon. (Some Terran visitors to Farside City have pointed out that the Apollo missions took place over six decades later, but the Farsiders have the records of earlier 'interlopers' to show skeptical visitors of today.) With its neutrino detectors and concealed telescopes, the South Pole station is well-placed to directly monitor doings on Earth. Or for that matter, as Lady Lunar proved in the early 1980s, to strike at it. A collection of intellects vast and furious on Earth had realized the station's potential not long after the Communion crisis began - concealed as the station was, it was the perfect place to strike at an enemy in Earth orbit by surprise. What had been a location for observation could become a location for misdirection; a notion that appealed to the ruling government of Farside City, which liked the idea of saving the world they orbit without their true role ever being known. (Farsiders do love their secrets!) And so, for much of the last two months, the greatest minds of Earth have come to its only natural satellite with a singular purpose. To build a machine to protect the planet from the Communion! Steve Murdock had offered what advice he could during its construction, but his experience with dimensional technology was all practical. It had come down to Dragonfly's specific genius and Miss Americana's vast storehouse of general knowledge to put the great work into practice. Caradoc, and the other non-scientists in the party of heroes guarding the weapon (as Steve was not allowed to call it around his employer) had rapidly found another role in the small lunar colony. Lunar soil ashy beneath his feet, Caradoc raised his gleaming blade to the sky, the shining tip above the heads even of the tallest Farsiders in their environmental suits. A new group of Farsider militiamen had been deployed that week - and their usual trainers were busy with an Earth-Prime holiday, an important one, but one that he could miss while Gina Evans was safely ensconced in the tiny pre-fab quarters that she had occupied for the last month. There would be time enough for celebration when the work was done. He spoke over the radio. "Your enemy will target your environmental suits first! They are not pirates, or conquerors, or enslavers. Your dead flesh will feed their ever-growing armies." He lowered his blade as the group shifted uneasily, and for a moment there was dead silence on the lunar plain besides the domed Farsider military base even on the radio frequencies they used to speak with each other outside the dome.
Outer Edge of the Lor-Van System 17 Hours After Destruction of Lor-Van The previous solar cycle's worth of hours had been among the worst in the lives of either Seikahi’ino or Ana Plonsky. On shore leave from the Xeno, the human woman had chosen to spend it on the shining crown jewel of the Lor Republic with the more worldly Kahi'iru agreeing to tag along as a favour to their mutual acquaintance to make sure she didn't get herself into any trouble. There was no way either of them could have been prepared for the Communion's sudden, merciless attack on Lor-Van. There was no way anyone could have been prepared. They'd been among the lucky ones, making it to a spaceport and squeezing their way onto a mid-sized cruiser just as the bay doors closed and it made for orbit. They'd sat on makeshift benches formed from empty cargo containers while a panicked young man had asked over and over if anyone had seen his sister among the crowd and a frail grandmother had been unable to stop an infants plaintive wailing for even a moment. They'd been in the windowless hold when word had filtered down that the Star Knights had arrived in force, a moment of sudden hope and relief before learning that the armor clad champions had sacrificed themselves to give them and the other fleeing vessels time to break orbit. They'd been there when the air had begun to taste just slightly stale and those familiar with starships had begun muttering that the engines didn't sound quite right. There when a crewman had let slip that they'd fallen behind the rest of the extant fleet and wouldn't be able to jump to FTL until repairs had been effected. There when the panicked young man from before had to be restrained before he could hurt himself or anyone else. There when someone asked aloud what was stopping those terrible silver sliver ships from coming to finish them off. On the ship's bridge, Samran-86 ran a hand through her tightly shorn red hair and reminded herself to keep her breathing calm and steady. The Lor officer had assumed command of the vessel from it grateful owner, a cargo hauler with no experience with emergency situations. The clone mentat known to her fellows as Eject was beginning to think he'd had the right idea. "Any friendly vessels, this is the freighter Either Ore. We are venting plasma and require immediate assistance. Repeat: we require immediate assistance. Is anyone out there listening?"
Galandis Refinery Korivan The Khanate This seemed to be what he lived for, nowadays. He'd long since turned in his resignation at work. The guys at the aeronautics firm might have been willing to excuse his "long lunches" every now and again, but this was a different matter entirely. He had explained he was going to take a "sabbatical"; they acted like they understood, but he had a feeling that the position might be filled by the time he got back to Earth for any long stretch of time. If he got back to Earth. Sometimes, he wondered if he'd cracked. Here he was, alone, in the last place in the galaxy anyone wanted to be. He hadn't starting thinking about snails crawling along the edge of straight razors yet, so that was a point in favor of sanity. But there was still that urge, that drive. The need to do everything to the enemy that had been done to him and his people. He knew what lay down that road. But damn if it wasn't a tempting one to walk. Cavalier sighed. The personal reflection could wait. He had work to do. And so, he adjusted his visor to meet the swirling storm of dark silt, and trudged off towards his objective.
Aboard the Nomad The edge of the Lor Republic 19 Hours After Destruction of Lor-Van Aya K'zan, also known as Corona, had received a transmission about the attack on Lor-Van far too late for her to be able to try to get there aboard the Nomad. After learning of the destruction of the capital of the Republic at the hands of some new enemy called the Communion, she had contacted two of the few allies she had made since her arrival on Earth, a human Emily Stenford, also known as Mechanized; and another off-worlder, Memorial, formally of Belran. As it turned out, Memorial knew a good deal about the Communion, making it an even easier decision for Corona to bring her along. The three had been heading to try to rendezvous with the Lor fleet on the Nomad when they had received a transmission from Lor Fleet Command. With the chaos the Communion attacks had brought, and the Star Knights shifting their forces to help address the threat, large sections of space had been left unpatrolled or defended. Reports had come in from systems just along the spinward boarder of the Republic about increased pirate activity, capitalizing on the chaos and absence of Star Knights. Command had ordered Corona to alter course to investigate the activity and deal with it, noting that it was the sector assigned to one of the Star Knights that had died trying to defend Lor-Van. Corona had also been directed to make a stop to pick up an additional passenger from a system along the way, a Tempestian known as Galvanic, who had been known to provide help to those in need since leaving Tempest. Now with Galvanic aboard, the Nomad was well underway towards the sector of space that had seen the worst increase in pirate activity.
Rio Branco Avenue Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 25th, 2014 5:25 PM local time Nick Cimitiere's jacket was tempered for heat and cold, meaning he didn't need to forgo protection - or mystique - based on the temperature. But the humidity of the Rio summer was still getting to him. The whole city was strung out for Christmas, but the tilt of the earth meant it felt more like the height of July back home. Speaking of back home... he'd told his family he'd be out of town for a few days, but would be back for Christmas. He always hated to lie to his family about these matters. Four years home from college, eight years as a superhero, and he still hadn't come clean about meddling in the affairs of life and death. But some matters of death were more important than matters of life. There had been a number of disappearances in Rio over the past few weeks. People from all walks of life had left messages for their family and friends, saying they were going to "a better place," and then had vanished entirely. Fortunatus, a local seer and fate manipulator who Nick had partnered with on a particularly tough job years ago, had given him a call about the matter. "The path is clouded to me," he had said. "I see that they are gone, but I cannot see where they have gone and who led them there. I fear this may be more your department than mine." "Anything else you can tell me?" "Just one thing. There are a number of 'great bumps' on the horizon." "Great bumps" was Fortunatus's term for a confluence of random factors that could spell either windfall or disaster. Nick had no idea where it came from. "I have one that I must handle myself, as it involves plucking the threads of chance like a harp. But I can see that these disappearances will not stop soon, and may breed a catastrophe of their own if unimpeded." And so, after spreading the word amongst the community and walking the back roads of reality, Nick had found himself walking a beat in paradise. Those who had gone seemed to be truly gone - after visiting their residences and the local cemeteries, he could find no trace of the vanished having left ghosts. Then again, he wasn't the only one on the beat. "How's it coming on your end?" he asked over the comms relics he'd handed out. | 2019-04-20T02:33:04Z | https://www.freedomplaybypost.com/tags/incursion/ |
I always thought the story of Jonah was about a fish, but it’s really about a pit. Life is full of pits, ones we dig for ourselves, some that others shove us into– the question is how do we get out when the walls are slippery and we simply can’t. Jonah found the answer.
“To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But You brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:6-7 NIV).
Do you ever feel like you are hopelessly sinking? Going down into debt? Anger? Addiction? Negativity? We all sink down into something at some point and it’s why we need a God who is stronger than our situation.
When Jonah was being swallowed up by the sea, there was NOTHING he could do to save himself…except… remember the Lord. That was his action. He didn’t remember a skill he had or muster the strength to overcome by himself. Jonah REMEMBERED the Lord and prayed for help. And the Lord delivered Jonah from the biggest problem of his life for Jonah’s good and so he could be used for God’s glory in the town of Nineveh.
When Jonah was being swallowed up by the sea, there was NOTHING he could do to save himself…except… remember the Lord.
So some things the story of Jonah is more than a big fish swallowing a dude, although that is rather interesting. This true Scripture is about a man in need of help and direction being saved by The Living God from a situation he couldn’t save himself from.
You and I are Jonah. Every time we throw our hands up and say, “God I can’t! But I know you can! Show up here in this mess because I can’t clean it up myself.” And our God is still the same God from Jonah’s time. He is still willing and able to pull us out of our deepest pit if we call on His name and follow Him out.
In this season of hope, let’s remember who is our hope. Jesus. And let’s ask Him to show up big where we need Him knowing He hears and cares for His people.
Jesus thank you for each one of my readers. Thank you for all that you are doing in our lives that you are in control and working things out that we can’t even fathom. Father would you be so near today and comfort those who are hurting and missing their loved ones. Wrap them up in your love and comfort. Jesus glue families back together again today in your peace if they are struggling. And fill us with your never-ending joy. Help us to remain thankful after Thanksgiving. That we would recognize your blessings and praise you for them all year long. And no matter where we are in faith, just starting out or well seasoned, help us trust in you more each day and know you more so we can experience the life you came to give us. Thank you Jesus for loving us when we feel unlovable and help us really grasp that love so we can move it forward to others in our lives. In Jesus name. Amen!
Let’s face it, our actual Christmas doesn’t always mimic a Hallmark movie. Expectations, finances, hope, joy, sorrow, and where Jesus meets us in it all. Alexandra Kuykendall shared some practical and soulful insights during a video interview centered on her book, “Loving my Actual Christmas”.
I hope this Christmas interview blesses you as it did me as we prepare our hearts for the season…knowing that no matter our circumstances, Jesus is with us and is our source of all we need at Christmas and all year long.
“What do you do?” I heard that question twenty times at an awards banquet for my journalist husband. They were experts at their craft and I was a full-time mom, beginning blogger, part-time teacher. Nothing felt impressive about my life in this circle. Measuring my impact against theirs made me insecure, but the true measurement of our impact is not found on a plaque.
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:1-3, ESV).
When our faith is in Jesus, we don’t need the approval of people. We no longer need likes on Facebook or medals for a job well done. When we start living for Jesus, our impact is written on the hearts of people we love, serve, and do life.
When we start living for Jesus, our impact is written on the hearts of people we love, serve, and do life.
We don’t love well because we want to gain anything from it. We don’t mother well because we need an awards banquet. Or work with integrity and grit for a plaque. We don’t listen to friends’ problems over coffee or bring people meals for accolades. We love, serve, forgive, encourage, and empower anyone God puts in our path because He gave us both the work to do and the faith in which to complete it.
The people around us are our plaques as they walk around with the love we have stamped on their hearts. They are the real work God cares about.
So I wonder if, like me, sometimes you aren’t sure if your work matters. Maybe you sit in a cubicle, maybe you are a network marketer, a stay-at-home mom, or you wear suits to the office everyday. Wherever you are, your real job is to love and serve the people around you well.
Wherever you are, your real job is to love and serve the people around you well.
That job is harder than any other because people are messy. We are imperfect and make a ton of mistakes a day that require patience, peace, gentleness, kindness, and self-control even when undeserved.
But we keep at this important work because God gave us those people at our office, our neighborhood, and in our home.
“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:1, ESV).
Don’t lose heart. That is God’s desire for us. Keep loving, forgiving, enduring, serving, encouraging, and uplifting. God gave you those people for a reason. Because your love shows them a bit of Jesus in this selfish world. Don’t. Lose. Heart. Your impact matters.
Distressed. Confused. Wronged. Beat down. These are the affects we feel from this messed up world. Yet when we are the most fragile, in the deepest of despair, God’s people are unbreakable. YOU are unbreakable.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12, ESV).
The other day I got a package in the mail. A fragile item surrounded by three layers of bubble wrap and tucked in a taped up box. Because of the protection and guarding of the layers built up around it, it survived a cross country journey of bumpy terrain.
You and I, and the people we love, we are all fragile jars of clay rolling about as life swerves and jostles. But we are wrapped up in Christ. Maybe we are a little dizzy, but not broken. Perhaps a bit shaken, but not shattered. Not just for our comfort, but it is for His glory that His people survive the hard. Your life points others to Christ so they too can be wrapped up in his love.
You and I, and the people we love, we are all fragile jars of clay rolling about as life swerves and jostles. But we are wrapped up in Christ.
If we believe in Jesus, every hurt we encounter in this life can have purpose as we persevere leaning into Him. The Scripture above says our survival in incredible hardship is a testimony to God’s power working in us. That although alone we would be crushed, with Jesus we unbreakable.
I don’t know your story, but I’m sure you’ve had some curveballs along the way. You’ve experienced loss, you’ve been betrayed, you’ve been rejected, maybe forgotten about. You’ve wondered about the future, will it all turn out or come crashing down.
Yet as everything around us tells us to give up, give in, and lay down in defeat, Jesus steps up in our souls and helps us get up. Because with Jesus hope is alive and overcomes.
Yet as everything around us tells us to give up, give in, and lay down in defeat, Jesus steps up in our souls and helps us get up.
I pray you and I feel the comfort of Christ’s power and love wrapping us up today as life tries it’s best to make us crack. And I pray that when we get through our hard time with Jesus, that we look around for others and remind them they may feel fragile, but they are unbreakable in Christ.
What people or situations are or have tried to break you? How can you let Jesus into those hard spaces? Write a prayer asking Jesus to be your strength in your breaking points. Write and post in your house: With Jesus I am UNBREAKABLE!
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful,” (Colossians 3:12-15 ESV).
“…And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony,” (Colossians 3:14 ESV).
We are scandalously loved by Christ. And so when there is chaos around us, we as God’s people, are entrusted to extend that undeserved love to others. Because God first loved us when we were a hot mess.
Believe me, I know, it’s hard.
If you have been lied to or betrayed this is the last thing you want to do. It doesn’t mean that you say it’s all OK. It doesn’t mean that you don’t ask God for justice. But it DOES mean that you hand it over to God, completely. You hand over the outfit you were going to put on of judgment, anger, and bitterness, and you exchange it for a lighter more beautiful outfit of compassion, kindness, patience, and forgiveness.
This wardrobe switch is as much for you as it is for the person who wronged you. Because these clothes feel better on your soul. They feel healing and warm and peaceful.
I don’t know what outfits are in your closet, or why they are there. I’m sure there are very valid reasons. But I pray that you and I can fold them up and give them to Jesus today as we come to him in prayer. And ask Him to help us choose to clothe ourselves in love, grace, and thankfulness so we can experience His peace.
What relationships are strained in your life because of sin or betrayal? Have you forgiven that person yet? What feelings would you have to give to Jesus to exchange for an outfit of grace and love towards that person? Knowing God loves you, write a prayer asking God to heal your heart and work out good in others lives.
In the course of a summer day, my 8-year-old cried because he lost his favorite rock, my 5-year-old practiced princess dancing in her Cinderella dress, and my 3-year-old snuggled his beloved blue blanket. Mothering littles is full of these sweet moments. But I fear no matter how hard I try to press the invisible pause button, an unstoppable change is coming. And I’m going to need to borrow some courage.
The first day of kindergarten is this week for kid #2. She stretches her arms out wide to show me how nervous she is and then wider to show me how excited. Truth is she’s doing better than me. I’m way more nervous than excited. She’s my sweet babe and I don’t know how I will fare without her. Cue tears as I type.
Hungry? Here’s your red apple not yellow cut into lots of pieces with peanut butter on the side. Tired? Let’s snuggle with your star blanket with the tattered corner. Wanna go outside? Scoot bike to the park, babies in the stroller, or chalk on the sidewalk. Hurt? Kiss, hug, Bandaid from the bathroom drawer. And now it’s just…going to be different.
We watched a Cinderella movie tonight that we quoted afterward in princess voices, “Have courage and be kind.” And it made me break in two because it is too perfect for where we are. I pray that all our sweet babes have courage on all their first days this fall. And I pray that they would remember all that we have taught them, that kindness and love matters more than their reading level or state testing score.
And I pray for us moms as we grow our littles into bigs. That we would have courage to embrace all the changes and find new favorite things about every season of motherhood. And I pray that we would be kind to ourselves as we send our kids out into the world. That’s big and we may need some space, good friends, or Kleenex to process for awhile.
And if you are someone who has been through this season of motherhood and can look back empathetically and encourage a fellow mom along. Please do. We need to know it’s all going to be OK.
Think of your very worst day. The one you hope no one saw. Or your biggest mistake. The one you still haven’t forgiven yourself for. What if I told you that Jesus was there that day. Would that make you squirm? Would you believe me if I told you that is the best news ever?
In John chapter 4, Jesus was sitting by a well one day tired and thirsty. And up walked a woman. She was the kind of woman that others would avoid because she had slept around. Yet Jesus spoke to her and asked her for a drink. Instead of serving Jesus, she wondered why a Jewish man, someone who clearly out ranked a Samaritan woman, would even speak to her. She almost missed Jesus because she was insecure.
She almost missed Jesus because she was insecure.
Sometimes we feel like that, right? We think, why would Jesus love me? Why would He ever hear or answer my prayers? Why would He be on my side if He really knew what I have done and all the ways I’ve messed up.
Truth is He does know. But His response is the opposite of what we deserve.
Jesus knows every time we spoke out of anger, all the failures in motherhood or marriage, and every gossip or lie we ever told. He could say it’s time to reap your consequences! Instead, like He did for the woman at the well, He offers himself instead of condemnation and shame.
“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water”” John 4:10.
Because Jesus led a sinless life and died a sinners death on the cross, we get to take our worst moments and trade them for God’s grace and forgiveness. If you’ve trusted your life to Jesus and asked for forgiveness, He’s not thinking about your past anymore and He doesn’t want you to dwell there either.
It’s hard sometimes to let go of the past, but we have to in order to truly accept grace from God. What do you need to let go of today? What mistake do you need to forgive yourself for? Jesus wants your eyes forward looking out for opportunities to grant others the mercy you have received.
It’s about Jesus working with me for my good and the good of others as we step forward in faith.
After seeing their beloved Jesus die on a cross, I imagine His followers were confused and afraid. Maybe they even felt abandoned in the faith they were once so sure of. Jesus, knowing every one of their fears, showed Himself to His disciples to encourage their faith and to instruct them.
Some followers believed when they saw Jesus, others needed help believing.
If Jesus is with us, that means His power is too.
Let’s connect! How have you seen the great I AM at work in your everyday life? Comment below or on FaceBook and read more about overcoming fear with Jesus over at www.Whollyloved.com.
Or better yet, attend an upcoming Bold and Brave conference! | 2019-04-24T06:56:29Z | https://afruitfulwoman.com/blog/page/2/ |
It is with great pleasure that I can now share this earth shattering news. I am one of this year’s Salming Ambassadors. This was, by no means an easy feat, and despite the support and help of so many of my friends, family, and colleagues the end result was not guaranteed. In fact, in the final three days, I went from first place by a hair to second place with Mr. Andrey gaining a phenomenal 350 votes in final voting! I obviously have a lot to learn from my fellow teammates on how to reach out in the electronic world. I am fortunate that Salming extended the ambassadorship to others on the leader board who they felt would best represent their brand. Congratulations to all the athletes who entered the contest and made an effort to promote such a phenomenal company.
There are so many people to thank for this opportunity. Firstly, I truly appreciate the way Salming Running North America put this contest together and managed the voting process. This is an amazing position within their company that they left up to the general public to decide and I appreciate their trust and discretion. Certainly, I appreciate their support as I finish my quest of 50 marathon routes in 50 states in 50 weeks. Secondly, I’d like to thank everyone who voted knowing that this is an important step in my future plans in the running world and industry. Aside from supporting a company I believe really has the best interest of runners at heart, I can hopefully learn more about the industry and how they research, design, and market the footwear that carries us forward on our fleet footed quests. Thirdly, I would like to thank those who went the extra mile to garner me votes. People reposted my contest link on their Facebook Wall. They harangued husbands, wives, significant others, family, coworkers, and even clients. They regularly asked if there was anything more that could be done to earn extra votes. I would not have been in a top position if it wasn’t for your very vocal support. Lastly, I would like to thank the folks who didn’t vote, yet also didn’t unfollow me despite my constant pleas for help. I understand. It’s against your religion or the email verification process made you nervous, or you don’t believe in contests that appeal to a democratic process. Despite this, you continued to check in on a daily basis and support me in a myriad of other ways and for that I thank you.
For those of you interested in trying Salming for themselves please either contact me directly, on Facebook, or in the comments below for a 20% off discount code I can offer to friends and family. I have worn their Miles shoe and it is the most comfortable running shoe I have worn in a while. I will be getting the newest versions of their most popular running shoes and you can expect detailed reports on the quality and experience that each shoe provides.
I love when people get creative with their race signs. Power up buttons, political references, offers of high fives, anti Christopher Walken signs (even though you have a 1 in 3 chance of seeing me “Walken”, please keep in mind, the man is a national treasure), sexually explicit signs, funny punny signs, signs that support mothers and sons and sisters and loved ones who are not me – I love them all. More importantly I love the people who carry them. Even if you don’t have a sign, standing on the side of a course and offering your support to runners is an amazing act of compassion. I was blessed to not only receive these random acts of kindness from random strangers like sticking my ego in a cardboard glory hole, but I was also supported at the Tacoma City Marathon by local friends of 15 years and by a special friend who flew all the way across the country bearing race signs designed by loved ones from back home. Add to that a number of runners I had met at other races and online, cheering and motivating me along the course. Truly, I floated through some of this city, buoyed by the support of loved ones, even if some of the spectators were loved for a moment, a glance, or a high five.
I did need all that support. The Tacoma City Marathon is filled with rolling hills – not super steep hills, not hills that endlessly climb towards the heavens, but consistent, up and down, 15 knot winds in a row boat, getting slightly seasick, hills. I feel an special need to point this out because the friend who recommended it to me described it as flat. I am here to tell you this course is not flat. Maybe they were recommending one of the 4 other marathons that take place in the area or they were being facetious and I missed the sarcastic font they used. In any case, I want to be clear and explicit – make sure you don’t skip hill training in the weeks before this race. You will regret it.
Nestled between two beautiful National Parks, Tacoma has some beautiful water views and rising mountains to the east and west, great spring time foliage and an ornate downtown. Fortunately a small part of the end of the race takes place on a flat strip leading to a quick, steep, curve before finishing behind the art museum, because the hills in the downtown core are daunting! The race starts at the Tacoma Narrows Airport across the water in Wallochet and gives you a light two mile warm up running back and forth in front of the small commercial landing strip before taking you down to the first major landmark of the race – the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. A good half mile downhill makes it a little easier to run and lineup your photo with Mount Ranier in the background, but just as you get over the perfect cellphone photo opportunity, you’re confronted with the longest and steepest climb of the route. Hold the memory of the bridge crossing firmly in your mind, because 5 through 14 are run through mind-numbingly boring neighborhoods. Certainly, well manicured lawns and pretty tree-lined boulevards are comfortable scenery to run in for most people, but the course bypasses a number of city parks and barely skirts the campus of the University of Puget Sound and runs along the side of the Puget Creek Natural Area. This is also where the bulk of undulating hills are as you travel from one neighborhood to the next. Finally, after a somewhat long climb with the sun bearing down on the back of your neck, the course turns into the shady lushness of Point Defiance Park. Although the hills continue through the park, the benefit of the tree cover can’t be overstated; it was a hot day and running in the park felt 10 to 15 degrees cooler. The second most dramatic climb takes place right after a beautiful view of Puget Sound from the tip of the park and a number of runners were taking an over extended photo opportunity there before climbing that hill. After one more dipity-do in the forest, you have a nice, long, half mile downhill plunge before bursting out in the sunlight. One more neighborhood loop up a slight incline (with a water stations and Portapotties at the top) before you make your way to scenic Ruston Way. Running from miles 20-25 along this gorgeous elongated waterview of Commencement Bay is definitely enough to clear your sinuses of stifling suburbia like taking a seawater Neti Pot to the nose. It was hot, but there was a light breeze blowing in from the bay, almost making it tolerable. Even on this mostly flat expanse the are two hills in the forms of bridges at miles 22 and 25. After that final bridge you run along the city’s beautiful downtown front street past a number of classically inspired museums before entering the final speed chute to the finish line.
I finally got to meet the Mayor of Runnerville, Burt Yasso at this marathon. If you have done a certain 800 meter speed training that bears his name, you shouldn’t hate this guy because of it. He is one of the most down to earth people on the planet, taking my awkward interruption at 6 am for a photo op in stride. After running his own half marathon, he went out and was cheering at mile 23 on the course – who does that? Then, not only does he cheer me at the finish line, he spends 5 minutes helping me search for the top of my water bottle (“You know those caps are $10 to replace?”). Politely but definitely, introduce yourself and your story to Burt Yasso. He is a stand up guy.
If someone offers to support me on the course this summer, I’m not asking for Gatorade, I’m not asking for Smartwater or gels. I’m asking for popscicles. Big, frozen hard, popscicles. A random stranger was handing them out at mile 22. I love her. I really love her. Seriously, if you’ve got a number I may have already bought the ring. It has proven that it is going to be a very hot summer and I think the only way I can make it through is popsicles on the marathon course.
I was feeling pretty strong and on target throughout the beginning of this race. There were pacers for a wide variety of paces, and my goal was to stay ahead of the five-hour pacer. This may have been a bit aggressive considering the heat in the hills, however I was able to stay ahead of the five-hour Pacer all the way through mile 18. Unfortunately, my system started to overheat with that final tiny hill, and I staggered to the finish from there. I was encouraged by my speed and consistency through and past the first half. I did start having some issues with my right knee after mile 21, a feeling that something had popped out of joint. Fortunately, that evening I had the pleasure of have a massage from someone who was very familiar with my body’s quirks and pitfalls and I felt better enough the next day to do a little hiking up at Mt. Ranier. My finishing time was decent at 5:24:53 but a far cry from the under 5:00 finish I was shooting for. A very special thanks to Kelli Palmer for carrying signs from friends (especially Brenda MacDonald) all the way across the country, and cheering me on along the course. As well as Reyes Carranza and Joe Rixman for the big hugs and encouragement before and after the race. Tacoma will always be a special race because of you all. Thank you for reading my review and I hope you’ll join me on my next installment as I run a trail race in scenic Montana – the Two Bear Marathon in Whitefish, Montana. As always I look forward to your comments, questions, and discussions.
After two weeks of marathon routes set in the most transendant places, my next marathon brings me to a somewhat desolate place. Southwest Idaho. Barren fields and boring views. Cheap airline flights dictated my races in this area and the last minute deal I got to Hawaii opened up an extra week in my schedule. Although it was a long haul from San Francisco to Boise where some long time friends lived, I got to break up the trip by stopping by beautiful Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe has been on my travel wishlist for some time. So please realize that after three incredibly beautiful locations to run (Big Sur, Maui Coast, and Lake Tahoe), Nampa can only seem plain and lonely. This was my first impression as I arrived for the Lowell Lake Marathon.
I will start off by saying, I should be a little biased about this race because this was the first time in two months that I beat my personal record. I shaved 7 minutes and finished with a 5:17:21. I was a little disappointed in myself because I was gunning for under 5:15, but a 7 minute improvement is nothing to sneeze about. However, despite this win for me, I was discouraged in how the race was run.
Firstly, I was a little downcast at the race packet pick up. The volunteers were friendly enough. Guest speakers, scheduled demonstrations, great vendors with new or interesting gear are things that I look for in a decent expo. However, when you only have 7 vendors and 3 of them don’t show up, this doesn’t come across as a vote of confidence from the sponsors. I mention this because it eventually has an impact on my race day finish.
The race was abnormally warm for the beginning of April (this is becoming repetative, I know. I’m like the anti-Jack Frost, bringing melting and unseasonably hot weather where ever I go). Clear skies and crisp air started off our morning. The race starts with a quick run down the steepest incline of the course (something you regret as you climb back up to get to the finish line on this out and back course). You only get the briefest glimpse of the lake before you plunge down that hill and surround yourself with plowed empty fields. Most of the course is run along this farmland, plowed empty furrows not even showing the promise of crops to come. The lake itself sits just out of view, hidden behind homesteads, farms, and forrests. Running out the beginning of the course, you barely notice the rolling hills that pyramid up to a point around the fifth mile then taper to the gentlest of downhills to take you to the big turn near mile 6. Here you start to get a good gander at the best feature of the course, Lowell Lake and the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge. At mile 7, the road runs along a dam on the western edge of the lake, a flat, hard concrete road with gravel to the side, a little less forgiving than the rest of the road. The next five to ten miles are a good place to pick up some time. The road here is fairly flat compared to the the first 6 miles of the course. There are also wide meandering curves for the runners who like to cut time by “running the tangents”. Five miles of flat curves to the turn around (which was not really well marked. I had to ask the ladies at the 13.1 table and they said it was the end of the table.) Then five miles back to the dam.
This was where this race got a little dicey for me. Just after mile 18 you turn back onto Riverside Road. Even though today was a banner day for speed for me, I’m still slow compared to most runners so this is around 10:30 and the traffic was pretty heavy at this point. Initially, when we were running on the dam, you can run on a gravel path to the side of the road, but after 18 miles, I’m a little leery of this. I’m at my weakest at this point and unstable footing is not something I want to deal with. However the speed of the cars and the fact that the course design put us on the side of the road with the traffic (usually as runners, we position ourselves for safety against the traffic) forced me of onto the gravel. The problem was compounded when we turned onto Orchard Avenue for miles 20 through 24. There were many places where there was no shoulder and we needed to run on the road. Although I saw volunteers putting up signs for the race, they were not runner’s ahead/race in progress signs, they were construction signs. Quite frankly, if I’m a driver and I see construction signs and no construction or people wearing construction worker garb, I keep going the speed I’m going. This was an area I felt very unsafe and unprotected on the road.
I should also note that as you are running back to the Start/Finish Line, those slight rolling hills are much more daunting in the last 10k than in the first. There is a slightly different angle coming back than when heading out, especially in miles 20 and 22. From 22.5 to 25.9 it is either flat or downhill, with that final push uphill to get to the finish line.
One final note of disappointment was the finish line services. This day was a triumph for me and I was looking forward to a little bit of a finish line party. However, it seemed that most of the sponsors/vendors had packed up and headed home after the last of the half marathoners crossed the finish line. This was just annoying. There were supposed to be physical therapists/massage therapists, members of the armed forces were to be serving lunch and other things. Later, a friend who finished the half marathon posted pictures and all of those amenities were in full Highland fling for the half marathoners and fast marathoners. Those of us at the back of the pack got luke warm beer, dried out hot dog rolls and burnt cold hot dogs, brown bananas and over concentrated Crystal Lite. I’ve been told jokingly before that if I want the good stuff at the finish line, I need to run faster. This was definitely the case at this race.
I just feel that if you pay $80 for an event that isn’t going to a charity or worthy cause, that the first priority should be road safety which I did not feel was acheived. This was the second race I’ve been to out here in the west, where there was no police presence to moderate speed or traffic. Support at some of the water stations was lackluster, with one lady not even getting out of her truck or even waving at us, just filled up liquid cups and set out dried-out-from-sitting-in-the-hot-sun oranges. Lastly, you should make sure that the finish line party is as good the first hour as it is for the last. I was grateful for the cute medal and free photos, but between the safety issue and the overall boring views on the course, I would want to find another race to check Idaho off your list.
I had chosen this race because I wanted more actual races and it fit my revised timeline. I got to stay nearby with great and supportive friends. I earned a new Personal Record. Did I really stay true to my mission statement – beautiful runs in beautiful places? There is an old sales model that says you can only get 2 out of 3 of the following things: Quality, Price, Convenience. If you want good quality and it’s convenient for you, you’re going to have to pay a higher price. If you want to pay a low price in a way that’s convenient for you quality will go down. Sometimes, you only get one out of three. I could have run a much more beautiful course just an hour away, on my own, for free and felt a lot safer. Choose wisely.
This is another subtle form of negative thinking. I will be running along and start talking to a faster runner. As we are conversing I will notice that my pace will pick up and that we are running faster. At some point, I will wave off that faster runner and let them know I can’t keep up. It is not my responsibility to worry about their pace, I should just worry about mine. When I get tired, I should slow to a healthier pace and let them decided when they are going to leave me. I certainly shouldn’t skip my walk breaks (certainly no more than one). Now to find a balance between the high of talking to another runner and the discipline of running my own race. I now know it begins with this step.
As you could imagine, after this race I was feeling pretty tired. At mile 20, as I was doing the math, I didn’t think I could PR. Fortunately, a pair of Marathon Maniacs passed me at that time and motivated me to hunker down and give it my best shot. I owe my pace in mile 21, 23, 24, and 25 to them. I was feeling wonderfully strong and accomplished after this race with a very first half and last inning save towards the end. No problems the next day with ankles, knees, hips or feet and two days later I was doing some pretty aggressive hill training. We were even a little bit above sea level (2000 ft) to add a little more spice to the mix. I am looking forward to running next week in one of the legendary running arenas – Eugene, Oregon to run the route of the Eugene Marathon. I look forward to you joining me. As always, I welcome your comments or views about this article and your own experiences with this race. | 2019-04-19T00:40:14Z | http://www.globorun.com/tag/running/ |
It was a chance encounter in May last year at the 2015 Balmoral Show at the Maze when I passed the DUP stand. I came across the then party leader and First Minister, Peter Robinson MLA and then Minister for Finance and Personnel Arlene Foster MLA, who had taken over the portfolio a few days earlier at the start of that week. I had not seen either for a while and both readily agreed to have their photograph taken, which I used in an article I wrote for the Northern Standard. The way Peter put his arm around Arlene’s shoulder was perhaps an indication that later in the year she would become his preference for a successor when he announced he was standing down. Both were in very good mood at the time and I was fortunate to get a picture of them in an informal setting, rather than an office or the Assembly chamber.
Arlene Foster then turned the tables and very kindly offered to take a photo of myself with the then First Minister, proving her media skills! During our brief encounter, I did not ask Mr Robinson whether he was thinking about Arlene as a successor at that stage. But ten days later he was admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack and was fitted with a heart stent. I assure you the timing was coincidental!
Arlene Foster grew up in Roslea, County Fermanagh, just across the border from Scotstown in County Monaghan. Her father, a small farmer, was a full-time RUC member and was injured in an IRA gun attack at their home in 1979. As a teenager in 1988, she survived an IRA bomb in Lisnaskea, which exploded under her school bus while it was being driven by a part-time UDR soldier.
A qualified solicitor and former member of the Ulster Unionist Party, Arlene Foster has always been very courteous in dealing with media requests for interviews. I wish her well in her new post, in which she will share responsibilty for government in Northern Ireland with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness. She has written an article for today’s Belfast Telegraph in which she outlines some of her priorities. She says she wants to lead the North in the right direction and ensure that children grow up in a better Northern Ireland than she did.
The robotic milking parlour by Lely was a big draw for the crowds this week at the Balmoral Show.
Plenty of interest too in the judging of various categories including dairy cattle.
Traffic problems did not seem to be as bad as two years ago but it still took half an hour to get out of the main car park yesterday afternoon (Friday).
Even in a crowd of thousands the chances are you will always meet someone with a Monaghan connection. So it was at the new-look Balmoral Show, transferred by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society from its usual venue at the King’s Hall in Belfast to the Maze/Long Kesh development site near Lisburn. Amidst the rubble of the H-Blocks and with some of the watchtowers and remainder of the security wall from the former high security prison in the background I came across Charlie Barker from Derryvalley in Ballybay.
The former nurse at St Davnet’s hospital is a volunteer with the Riding for the Disabled Association Ireland, based at Geraldine Bellew’s Cloncaw Equestrian Centre in Glaslough. He was helping Tom Cloonan from Castleshane to take part in a riding display involving games in one of the outdoor arenas. It was organised by RDA groups from the North.The Monaghan group meets every Tuesday morning and helps a dozen or so people with learning difficulties to enjoy riding a pony, in this case “Major”, which Geraldine had transported to the show. Keeping them company was Mary Foley from Lemaculla, Ballinode.
Another Glaslough connection encountered at the new Balmoral Park was David Boyd from Mullaghduff, a Holstein cattle breeder and dairy farmer, who had a number of them entered in the show. He has been on the Irish judges’ panel for the past twenty years and has judged at shows throughout Ireland, England, Portugal and Italy. In March he was a judge at the European Holstein Championships in Switzerland. It was Holsteins that took the two top spots for the dairy interbreed section at Balmoral. David was among the visitors at the Town of Monaghan Co-op stand, where chairman Hugo Maguire from Clones was on hand to greet suppliers, their families and friends and provide them with a welcome cup of tea and delicious scones with cream and jam. The visitors included another Glaslough man, Trevor Keith, along with two brothers, Paddy Rafferty from Monaghan and Eddie from Sheetrim, Tydavnet. They were accompanied by Brendan Greenan from Ardaghy.
In another part of the 65 acre complex beside the main arena I met Ann Connolly from Tydavnet, who was with Joyce Blackburn from Monaghan, enjoying a break after a long day at the show. Their excursion might have brought them into contact with Liz McGuinness from Tydavnet, who brought her range of Kiwi Country Clothing to the shopping village. She told me that after one year in business she was now exporting her goods to a number of countries. In another part of the complex, Castle Leslie in Glaslough was promoting its leisure breaks.
But one of the most impressive displays from Monaghan was from McAree engineering of Ballinode, regular exhibitors at the trade stands. Eamonn McMeel and Noel Kiely were busy showing their range of V-Mac silos, hoppers and tote bins to prospective clients. The company used the show to test the water for its latest product, which immediately caught my attention when I visited the stand.
The V-Mac bag hopper with adjustable “legs” can be transported on a tractor with a buck rake or grab to collect a one ton bag of meal from the merchant and then bring it back to the farm and store it. The hopper has a chute at the bottom to dispense whatever amount of feed is required. Hopefully this design will prove to be another success for the company and we can expect to see more of them in use around the county.
The Balmoral show had something to attract all ages and when I saw a young lad in a Monaghan GAA top I immediately went over to his parents to discover it was Joe McCarey from Dundian, Carrickroe, enjoying a day out with his wife Pauline and three sons, one of them a baby, Páidí, named after the great Kerry footballer who died last year. Cathal (standing in the front of the picture) is becoming a media personality, having appeared in the Irish News and also on the RTÉ Sport coverage of the Monaghan v Meath division III final when the camera zoomed in for a close-up of him, apparently!
Over at the childrens’ farm, earth science expert Gretta McCarron from Monaghan had set up a stand for the Open University iSpot programme, encouraging people to identify and record wildlife and plants. All in all it was a very successful show at the new Balmoral Park, with a strong Monaghan presence.
Thousands have again poured through the gates on the third and final day of the Balmoral Show at its new location on the site of what was once the high-security Maze prison near Lisburn. It used to house prisoners from republican and loyalist paramilitary groups, many of them serving life sentences for murder. Following a provision in the Good Friday agreement in 1998, the prisoners were released and the jail was closed in 2000 when the last four prisoners were freed. Demolition of the H-Blocks began on 30th October 2006 but after some controversy, part of the prison including the hospital block and one H-block were kept.
Unionists are now protesting against any plans to preserve these structures, which republicans feel are important because of their role during the 1981 hunger strike, in which ten inmates died. By chance, I am writing this while watching an RTÉ News report about the force-feeding by US authorities of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention camp at an American naval base in Cuba.
The farming community voted with their feet and gave their backing to the decision made last year by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society to move from their long-standing home at the King’s Hall, Balmoral, in South Belfast and to settle down instead at a 65 acre site at the Maze. Several huge marquees helped to make the complex into a tented village. One of them housed all the cattle. Among the prizewinners in the Irish Moiled category which made a return to the show this year after a gap of 70 years was Valerie Orr from Trainview Farm in Ballygowan. Valerie featured at the launch of the show in March.
The grand parade in the main arena this afternoon with representatives of all the classes (except dairy cattle, which had to be milked!) was very impressive, with all the prize winners showing off their rosettes and cups.
There had been many problems with traffic arriving at the show on Wednesday. Although things had improved considerably by the final day, some motorists still reported difficulties on the approach roads, caused in one case by a filter traffic light for a right hand lane allowing only six cars through at a time. Although the police were nearby, they remained in a car apparently and did not attempt to override the lights in order to improve the traffic flow. My experience was that on the second day, I found no problem arriving by car in the late afternoon, but it took over twenty minutes to get out of the car park at 7pm. A slip road to the M1 motorway which runs alongside the perimeter of the site is urgently needed.
So for the other two days I let the train (and bus) take the strain. I travelled by train from Adelaide station past Balmoral and the King’s Hall to Lisburn where there was a shuttle bus to the Maze. Translink staff told me between 40 and 48 single and double-deck buses were used for the service. Leaving the show site at 5:10pm at peak time, I was back at Balmoral (station) in one hour, with hardly any delay at Lisburn station, although a signalling failure had caused delays on the line. So take a bow, Translink staff, for providing excellent public service and showing good co-operation between bus and train divisions. Perhaps next time something can be done to designate a route for buses only and to give them their own entry/exit point, in order to improve journey times.
Roll up, Roll up for the Racing Pigs!
It was an a-mazing second day at the Balmoral Show. Standing in the shadow of two watchtowers, a security wall and other reminders of the former high-security jail, I met a group from the Riding for the Disabled Association (whose President is the Princess Royal, sister of Prince Edward, who opened the show yesterday). They came from clubs in Newtownards, Banbridge and included some members of the RDA Ireland from Monaghan.
I was at the Maze only once during its previous existence as a high-security prison. Making a radio programme for BBC Radio Birmingham in the mid-1970s, I spent a night with a British Army regiment known as the Birmingham Gunners (39 Medium Regiment Royal Artillery) in the military base on one part of the site.
I remember it was around the time of St Patrick’s Day and I eventually found a suitable spot to drown the shamrock. Next day I was taken in a Land Rover on one of their perimeter security patrols and was also shown into one of the watchtowers. From there I could see a group of prisoners exercising in one of the H-blocks. One of them was running around the large cage and when he spotted a face in the observation post, he made a two-fingered gesture and shouted towards his “audience”.
The Gunners did four “emergency” tours of duty in the North in the 1970s, the first to Fort George in Derry in 1973, which, like the Maze, is now earmarked for a regeneration project. At the time of their deployment at the Maze, the squaddies were also in Craigavon and some were stationed at the border checkpoint at Aughnacloy. Some years previously in 1969 while on exercise in Libya, the Regiment found itself caught up in the military coup of the then Captain Muammar Gadaffi against the government of King Idris.
Now after some 37 years I was back at the Maze, but in a very different context. With thousands of cars parked on hard standing all paths from the car park led to the main entrance of the 145th annual Royal Ulster Agricultural Society show. This event transferred from the King’s Hall complex at Balmoral in Belfast is helping to bring a promising future to the site of the former jail.
The transformation is being carried out by the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation. Programme Director Kyle Alexander confirmed to reporters this evening that funding for the development of a Peace-building and Conflict Resolution Centre is expected to be in place by the end of this year. Although the Corporation wants to emphasise that the 347 acres should be a shared site, some unionist politicians and loyalists have protested that the preserved hospital and one H-block from the prison should not be allowed to become a “shrine” for the republican hunger strikers who died there.
Meanwhile the show will continue for a third day, with initial traffic problems apparently sorted, although the delays in arriving now seem to have been transferred to departure from the site. There are plans to build a slip road to the nearby M1 motorway in 2015, which would ease congestion along the narrow access roads around the complex. RUAS President John Bamber was pleased with the opening day of the show and said he hoped the traffic management plan put into place with the PSNI and Roads Service would help to ease congestion, especially for those travelling from West of the Bann.
The Maze was once the site of Northern Ireland’s high security jail, spread out over 360 acres. Today saw a new chapter in its history as thousands made their way to Balmoral Park, the new venue for the annual Royal Ulster Agricultural Society show. Helping to entertain the crowds in the main arena was the Army No.1 Band from Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin, under the direction on this occasion of Captain Fergal Carroll.
Who would have thought that 13 years after the closure of the prison in 2000 and the release under the Good Friday agreement of the remaining loyalist and republican paramilitaries who had served sentences, that an Irish Army presence would be welcomed there. In addition, I noticed the tricolour flying alongside the Union flag and the flag of Canada in the same arena, where the showjumping was held.
As the band was performing for the second time, the riders were coming out to inspect the course for their competition. Among them was Captain Geoff Curran from the Army Equitation School at McKee Barracks in Dublin, who met Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the National Stud in County Kildare in May 2011.
In the past, the cages on this site were the H-blocks, housing prisoners. Now the only cages and huts are those holding animals and livestock. There is just the hospital wing and part of the H-blocks remaining.
It has taken many months of planning to get the Balmoral Show to its new site at The Maze. I passed by recently on the M1 motorway and saw in the near distance the extensive tented village and the hard standing for the car park area. Today I was able to enjoy a visit to the complex. Translink had put on special transport arrangements for public transport, including a shuttle bus to and from Balmoral Park from Lisburn station.
The journey to the show via Hillsborough and Culcavy took half an hour but the return at 6:30pm took half the time. My sister-in-law travelling from Monaghan and others heading from West of the Bann trying to reach the show from the M1 motorway ran into great difficulty. She took four hours, having left at 9am. The former Ulster Unionist leader Tom Ellliott MLA had a similar story. He left Fermanagh at 8:30am along with two children in the car and did not reach the showgrounds until 1:30pm! His successor Mike Nesbitt though had no such problems and told me he had taken less than half an hour to reach Balmoral Park.
For more background on the move to the Maze site and the programme of events see my post in March.
Getting ready for Balmoral Show 2013. The launch was at the King’s Hall complex, where it has been held since 1896. But this year the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society’s premier event is moving to a new 65 acre complex at the former high security Maze prison site near Lisburn. The space is more than double the size of the Balmoral showgrounds in South Belfast. The move which Society members approved last June is quite historic and it’s going to be a phenomenal success, according to the RUAS President, John Bamber.
It’s Ireland’s largest agri-food show and attracts exhibitors and visitors from throughout the island. The organisers are hoping to surpass the 70,000 crowd they had last year. The new showgrounds is called Balmoral Park and will have most of the usual attractions as well as a funfair for the first time. They say it will be bigger and better than previous shows.
Balmoral Park, designed by the London architects Studio Egret West, with its well laid out walkways and paths (many bearing street names with a respectful nod to the past), green spaces and landscaped areas, allows a greater space for trade exhibitors, larger facilities and warm up/practice areas for competitors. The arena increases in size by 25%. Adjacent to this is an area of tiered seating and landscaped banks allowing spectators to view show jumping, pony club games, the inter hunt chase as well as the headline attraction – The Kangaroo Kid. The cattle lawn, sheep, horse and pig & goat rings also boast larger exhibiting areas.
The Show (map here) can now accommodate further livestock, making room for a number of other breeds including cattle with European Angus, Beef Shorthorns, Dexters and Irish Moiled, horses with Coloured Horses and Connemara Working Hunter and sheep with the addition of Swaledale and Lanark Type Blackface.
Greater acreage has led to a greater number, size and range of exhibits, as RUAS Chief Executive, Colin McDonald explained, “We are very excited about the new Showgrounds and the amazing opportunities it presents to expand and enhance the Show. The move has allowed us not only to safeguard the future of this event and the Society but also to build upon our century long track record of showcasing food and farming excellence.” There will now be room to bring back plant machinery exhibits. Two of the most popular attractions – the Garden Village and the NI Food Pavilion have both expanded.
Food, a key component of the Balmoral Show, will be available in abundance throughout the Showgrounds and in the NI Food Pavilion which will offer more local variety than ever before. The Garden village will be the location of the Womens’ Institute tea rooms, where you can enjoy a relaxing break while enjoying their new home industries section. The new feature show garden will be a combination of contemporary gardens, an elegant classical garden, a Japanese garden and an open countryside.
There will be four official car parks around the Showgrounds, in addition to dedicated exhibitor car parks and disabled facilities. Provision has been made for up to 10,000 cars. Public transport will be available and more details will be released later by Translink. Balmoral Show will take place at Balmoral Park at the Maze near Lisburn on Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th May 2013. The Show runs from 9.30am to 8.30pm on the first two days and until 8pm on the final day. Further details can be found here.
The question now is what will happen to the King’s Hall complex, where some of the older pavilions used by the RUAS and the grandstand have been demolished. There was planning permission a few years ago for around 140 houses on a section of the site. The Hall itself which was opened in 1934 is a grade B1 listed building. It remains the largest exhibition area in Northern Ireland. It was also a famous boxing venue. Rinty Monaghan boxed several times in the hall. A blue plaque was unveiled in his memory at the hall in 2007. In 1985 the Clones Cyclone Barry McGuigan made his first title defence against Bernard Taylor at the Hall, having fought there on six previous occasions. | 2019-04-24T18:21:34Z | https://fisherbelfast.wordpress.com/tag/balmoral-show/ |
Evaluation of published research in a region provides insight into relevant aspects of clinical care and research priorities. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the type of critical care research published in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) over a 10-year period.
During the study period (2007–2016), the search strategy revealed 4303 publications, of which 1537 were included in the analysis; studies were excluded for the following reasons: not critical care, conducted in non-EMR countries, editorials, case reports, in-vitro or animal studies, as well as those conducted in multiple countries and those that evaluated foreign military personal. Countries varied in the number of publications produced, ranging from none in Somalia to 620 in Iran. The majority of the studies were observational (78%), evaluated adults (73%), and the most common areas of research were infectious (29%) and respiratory (10%) diseases. Median sample size was 120 and the mean (SD) impact factor of the journals in which the articles were published was 1.02 (0.7).
Critical care research forms the foundation for evidence-based practice [1, 2]. While the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has made great advances in the field of medicine, including critical care, the proportion of resources allocated to research is generally low . The EMR of the World Health Organization (WHO) comprises 22 countries . The healthcare services in these countries vary widely; for example, the number of hospital beds per 1000 population ranges from 0.5 in Afghanistan to 3.7 in Libya .
Bibliometric studies of research in various medical disciplines in the EMR demonstrate overall low research productivity with considerable variation among countries [6–12]. Furthermore, the quality of research and the impact factor of journals in which it is published is generally low [10, 13].
Two studies examined research productivity in critical care globally but did not report on research in the EMR [14, 15]. Recently, Nazer et al. published a brief report providing a quantitative assessment of published critical care research in the EMR. Though the authors reported a substantial increase in research output in the last decade, it was generally low and varied among countries. This study extended the work and aimed to provide more insight about the current state of critical care research in the EMR countries through a comprehensive assessment of the type of critical care research published over a 10-year period.
Two investigators (ME and LN) independently conducted a PubMed search to identify original articles and reviews in the field of critical care conducted in countries in the EMR (January 1, 2007–December 31, 2016). The search terms used were “critical care”, “critical illness”, “intensive care”, “intensive care unit”, “critical care outcome”, and “critically ill”. The search was performed for publications from each of the EMR countries by combining the search terms as medical subject headings (MeSH) and as text words in all fields with the name of the country as MeSH term and as text word, with no language restrictions. A medical librarian reviewed the search strategy. The results of each investigator were compared, and any discrepancies were discussed. If a decision could not be reached, the discrepancy was presented to all study investigators, and a final decision was made by majority consensus.
Eligible articles were those that included patients from ICUs in the EMR. Studies of critically ill foreign military personnel and military medical practice in EMR countries were excluded, as it was considered that those would reflect the Western clinical practice rather than that of the country in which the study was conducted. Studies of critically ill patients in non-ICU settings were included if the main objective of the study was to investigate a critical illness. Meta-analyses, reviews, and clinical practice guidelines were included if the primary author was from one of the EMR countries. Studies conducted in more than one country were excluded since those may include non-EMR countries or may not have originated from the EMR and therefore, would not be a reflection of research productivity of the countries involved. However, multicenter studies in which all study sites were in the same country were included in the review. Publications on anesthesia or intraoperative management, editorials, letters to the editor, case reports, in-vitro investigations, animal studies, and conference proceedings were also excluded.
The total number of publications from each country was determined, as well as the number of publications adjusted for the population and the number of publications adjusted for the gross domestic product (GDP). The most recent data reported by the World Bank was used to determine the population and GDP for each country .
For clinical studies, the location in which the study was conducted was the country of origin, regardless of the location of the primary author. However, for meta-analysis, reviews, and clinical practice guidelines, the country of origin was that for the primary author.
A comprehensive assessment was conducted for critical care research published by assessing the patient population, research field, impact factor (IF), H-index, sample size, and study design for each eligible publication.
Patient populations were classified into: adults, pregnant women, pediatrics, and neonates. The research field was categorized for each publication according to the classification described in Table 2. For publications that addressed more than one research field, the major field was recorded.
For each publication included in this analysis, the IF of the journal in which it was published was recorded as the most recently reported for the journal at the time of the analysis, regardless of the article’s publication date. The most recent IF was derived from the website for each journal or, if the journal’s website did not provide the information, from the Web of Science . For journals with no reported IF, an IF of zero was recorded.
The H-index reported for each country in the category of critical care and intensive care medicine was recorded. The SCImago Journal and Country Rank database, which is a publicly available portal that lists the journals and country scientific indicators retrieved from information in the Scopus database, were used to identify the H-index for each country .
The sample size was taken as the total number of patients, events, or measurements evaluated in the clinical study or meta-analysis. In the sample size analysis, we excluded reviews and studies that did not report their sample size.
The design of all studies during the past decade was classified as: randomized-controlled trial, non-randomized controlled trial, observational study, meta-analysis, or review. The observational studies included retrospective and prospective cohort, case–control, and cross-sectional studies, as well as surveys. Both systematic and non-systematic reviews were included.
The search strategy revealed 4303 publications, of which 1537 were included in this analysis; 2766 were excluded for the reasons outlined in Fig. 1. The number of publications produced in the EMR countries varied significantly, ranging from none from Somalia to 620 publications from Iran. Tables 1 and 2 outline the assessment of the published critical research from the EMR countries. The largest number of publications was from Iran (n = 620), Saudi Arabia (n = 273), and Egypt (n = 165). However, when adjusted for the population, the highest number of publications was from Qatar, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia and when adjusted for GDP, the highest number of publications was from Tunisia, Jordan, and Iran.
The types of patient populations evaluated and the most frequent areas of research for each country are listed in Tables 1 and 2. Adult patients were the most commonly studied group (n = 1119; 72.8%), followed by neonates (n = 267; 17.4%). The most common fields of research were infectious diseases (n = 441; 28.7%) and respiratory diseases (n = 148; 9.6%).
The mean IFs of the journals in which the publications from each country appeared are listed in Table 2, with the H-index, and the study design. The overall mean (SD) IF of the journals that published articles on critical care from the EMR countries was 1.02 (0.7); the mean (SD) IF for countries ranged from 0 to 2, and the number of publications in journals with an IF > 3 ranged from 0 to 36. Although Lebanon did not rank highest in terms of the number of publications (Table 1), the mean IF of the journals in which Lebanese studies were published was the highest. Saudi Arabia had the largest number of publications in journals with an IF > 3 and the highest H-index for publications in critical care and intensive care medicine.
The median sample size in the EMR critical care literature was 120, ranging from 4 patients to > 250,000 observations in surveillance studies. Observational studies accounted for more than two thirds of the publications (n = 1207, 78.5%). Although randomized controlled trials were not common, they comprised one-fifth of the publications from Iran. Meta-analyses were the least common type of study from all countries, with a total of six over the past decade.
Critical care research productivity varied significantly among the EMR countries, with the highest number of publications being from Iran, followed by Saudi Arabia and then Egypt. . However, when assessing research productivity, it is important to adjust for country-related factors such as the population and the state of economic well-being and growth. Previous studies of publications in other biomedical fields in Arab countries ranked Saudi Arabia and Egypt first in terms of absolute number of publications but both were ranked after Iran when including the three countries in the analysis [9–11, 19].
In this study, we evaluated the type of critical care research published from countries in the EMR. Regardless of the economic well-being and population size of the EMR country, the majority of the published studies were observational, with relatively small sample sizes, and primarily evaluated adults. Furthermore, the majority of the research publications were in journals with IF ≤ 3. The research fields of the publications were very diverse but the most common among the majority of the countries were infectious and respiratory diseases. The reason behind having infectious and respiratory diseases as the most common is not clear but this may be reflective of some of the major concerns in critical care in developing countries.
In a study of worldwide research productivity in critical care medicine over a 9-year period (1995–2003), Michalopoulas et al. identified original articles and reviews published in 14 journals directly related to critical care medicine and indexed in PubMed . The authors reviewed a limited number of journals and did not report the research productivity for individual countries. Nevertheless, they also observed an increase in overall research productivity over the years. In addition, they reported significant variation in research output by region, ranging from a total of 161 publications from the African region to 9076 from Western Europe and 8554 from USA.
A similar study was conducted to evaluate national productivity in 20 highly cited journals in critical care (2006–2010) . Studies from high-income countries represented nearly 90% of all articles, with North America being the most productive region. After adjustment for population size, Australia and European countries were more productive in research.
Although many of the critical illnesses encountered in developing countries are similar to those in developed countries, the pathogenesis, management, and outcomes may be different. Studies of critical care in low to middle-income countries indicate inadequate numbers of specialty-trained staff, lack of standardized processes of care, and difficult access to therapies [13, 20]. Research plays an essential role in providing the foundation for evidence-based practice and decision-making at institutional and governmental levels.
The reasons for low research output and low quality of publications in developing countries have been suggested. Constant political turmoil in a region, lack of funding, a “brain drain”, and difficulty in publishing research of local interest in high-IF journals have been described as major barriers [13, 19]. Furthermore, lack of the skills necessary to conduct research and lack of mentorship contribute to poor-quality research that has little chance of being published [13, 19]. In a study evaluating pediatric critical care research in low-and middle-income countries, the main challenges to conducting research were lack of funding, high clinical workload, and limited research support staff . The solutions proposed included increasing research funding, better access to mentors, research training and networks, and improved data collection and medical record systems.
To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive assessment of critical care research in the EMR. The findings provide a general understanding of the state of critical care research in countries in the Region and guidance for identifying research priorities and needs.
The search was conducted utilizing PubMed, while other databases such as Embase, HINARI, and Scopus, were not searched.
Certain articles from the EMR may not have been retrieved from the PubMed search if the name of the country was not mentioned in the abstract.
The H-index from the Scopus website is based on the publications identified by Scopus and not those that are included in this study and thus there may be some variability.
The study did not include in-depth content analysis which is necessary to help in setting specific research priorities.
ME: conception of study idea, participated in its design and coordination, carried out the literature search and assessments, participated in drafting the manuscript. LN: conception of study idea, participated in its design and coordination, carried out the literature search and assessments, participated in drafting the manuscript. LS: participated in the study design, participated in the data analysis and interpretation of results, participated in drafting the manuscript. NA: participated in the study design, participated in the data analysis and interpretation of results, participated in drafting the manuscript. RK: participated in the study design, participated in data analysis and interpretation, participated in revising the manuscript. KO: participated in the study design, participated in data analysis and interpretation, participated in revising the manuscript. FH: participated in the study design, participated in data analysis and interpretation, participated in revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
The author would like to acknowledge Ms. Alice Haddadeen and Ms. Lubna Al-Useiley at the library of the King Hussein Cancer Center for their assistance in the literature search. We would also like to acknowledge Dr Elisabeth Heseltine for her editorial review of the manuscript. This project was part of the Critical Care Research Academy program that provided mentorship and guidance to junior clinicians in conducting and publishing research.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no data were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Cairo; 2018 (http://www.emro.who.int/countries.html. Accessed 5 Feb 2018.
The World Bank. World Bank Open Data. Washington DC; 2018 (https://data.worldbank.org). Accessed 8 Dec 2018.
Web of Science. . http://wokinfo.com/ Accessed 8 Dec 2018.
SJR Scimago Journal and Country Rank. Country rankings in critical care and intensive care medicine http://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php. Accessed 5 Feb 2018. | 2019-04-26T08:35:53Z | https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-019-4093-7 |
The number of people crossing the border between the Indonesian part of the Timor island of Atambua and Timor Leste rose sharply ahead and after Christmas on Dec 25.
A flood inundated hundreds of houses in several parts of Gorontalo city on Sunday night following heavy rains in the past few days. The flood affected Siendeng, Biawu and Tenda in Hulonthalangi sub district, Amir, a local resident, said here Monday.
Floods hit four districts in North Sumatra Province, killing two people and one went missing, a spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
The Sydney Morning Herald has run an investigative article by Michael Bachelard examining how Australian motorcycle gangs are establishing business links in Bali.
The number of visitors to West Bali�s iconic Tanah Lot Temple for the period January � November 2012 totaled 2.4 million people. Operators now expect to end the year with 2.5 million visitors to the picturesque ancient temple set on a rock a short distance from Bali�s coastline.
The Ministry of Tourism and the Creative Economy reports that foreign tourist visitors to Indonesia through the end of November 2012 have reached 7.227 million, against a target for the year of 8 million.
Indonesia plans to operate unmanned aircraft in 2013, manufactured by the Agency for Technology Assessment and Application (BPPT), according to minister of research and technology Gusti Muhammad Hatta.
A 5.6-magnitude undersea earthquake rocked the city of Gorontalo, the capital of the Gorontalo province in northern Sulawesi early Saturday, the Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.
Tens of thousands of domestic tourists are descending on Bali over the current Christmas and New Years holiday. Until January 5, 2013 Bali will see a total of 76 additional flights landing during the holiday period.
The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) needs a total of 267 investigators to cover cases of transportation across the country, said KNKT chief Tatang Kurniadi.
Yogyakarta`s Health Department has informed the residents that leptospirosis can spread in the city during the rainy season. "In 2011, many people were affected by leptospirosis. We have sent an official letter, warning the residents of Yogyakarta about this disease," said Tuty Setyowati, Head of Yogyakarta's Health Department, on Friday.
Papua Police are investigating an attack on a journalist in Sorong, West Papua. "My officers in Sorong, West Papua, have received the report about the incident and are now investigating it," the Papua regional police command spokesman, Adjunct Senior Commissioner I Gede Sumerta, said here on Friday.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono attended Christmas celebrations at the Jakarta convention centre on Thursday. Vice President Boediono, his spouse, Herawati Boediono, and several ministers from the cabinet, Indonesia Bersatu II, were also present at the event.
The Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday sentenced gangland boss John Kei to 12 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of businessman Tan Harry Tantono aka Ayung.
Big floods flowing down the slope of Mount Willis hit three villages in the regency of Madiun, East Java , following heavy rain on Thursday until early Friday.
Indonesia is planning to launch a three-digit rocket, with a range of 100km to 900km, to strengthen its artillery system. Indonesia is planning to launch the rocket next year.
The Jakarta regional government cannot guarantee that the capital city will be free from floods after the completion of the river restoration project in 2017-18, according to a minister.
Indonesian Constitutional Court (MK) Chairman Mahfud MD has stated that human rights violations by the state have drastically reduced since the reform era. "Now, such violations of human rights occur only sporadically and on a small scale, usually committed by the regional apparatus," he said here on Wednesday.
The attorney general office said five prosecutors and administrative employee of prosecutor office were dishonorably dismissed in 2012 from their position as civil servants for certain offenses.
Eight convicts who have been sentenced to death this year will soon be executed, according to the Attorney General`s Office (AGO). "They are among the 133 defendants who have received the death sentence this year," Attorney General Basrief Arief said here on Wednesday.
Rain triggered floods have inundated thousands of houses in the regency of Subang of West Java over the past three days.
The Narcotics Investigation Directorate of East Java Police has destroyed 908 grams of shabu (methamphetamine) worth Rp2 billion. The drug is worth Rp2 million to Rp2.5 million per gram.
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted Seluma (southwest), Bengkulu, at 3.46pm on Tuesday.
Hundreds of foreign tourists attended a Christmas Mass at St Fransiskus Xaverius Paroki church in Badung district on Christmas Eve, where the Mass was delivered in both Indonesian and English.
The main roads of Jakarta, starting from the Medan Merdeka Barat street (in front of the National Monument), Thamrin street and Sudirman street up to the Bunderan (roundabout) Senayan area, will be closed on New Year`s Eve.
The bomb squad of Central Sulawesi Police, assisted by Poso Police Sector Office personnel, defused a bomb found in front of Poso Central Market on Tuesday at 7am local time.
The Indonesia`s Religious Affairs Minister, Suryadharma Ali said, Muslims can convey Christmas greetings to Christians. "It is not unusual to convey Christmas greetings to Christians," said Ali on Monday.
The number of whirlwinds that hit Indonesia last year was 28 times higher than that of the year 2002 due to the impact of global warming, according National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
More than 1790 Christian prisoners in the East Nusatenggara province will receive Christmas remission on Tuesday. They are among inmates of 16 prisons in a number of cities in the Christian dominated province.
The five-year cycle of big floods that always put most of Jakarta under water is feared to come early 2013.
Coordinating Minister for the People`s Welfare Agung Laksono expressed concern with the condition of health care infrastructure in Papua and Papua Barat.
Once again a movement has been launched in Bali to secure a share of the visa-on-arrival fees (VoA) paid by visiting tourists to Bali that is now entirely remitted to Jakarta.
An observer of the Advocate Division of Corruption Study Center of Gadjah Mada University (Pukat UGM), Oce Madril, has predicted that corruption would increase in 2013-2014, due to tense political rivalries.
After weeks of uncertainty, the Jakarta administration has revealed it will move forward with the plan to construct the city�s first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line next year.
The Garut Legislative Council (DPRD) on Friday recommended the dismissal of Garut Regent Aceng Fikri after finding him guilty of violating the code of ethics and breaking the oath of office - for his undertaking of an unregistered marriage with a teenager.
The National Police Headquarters will give top priority to the capital city of Jakarta in its efforts to ensure security across the country during Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Head of Security Maintenance Department of the National Police, Commissioner General Imam Sujarwo, said.
The Indonesian Integrated Team will send a letter to the Singaporean government, seeking cooperation in tracking down corruption convict Djoko Tjandra.
The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) is preparing a rocket launch for September 2013 on Morotai Island (North Maluku), Head of LAPAN Bambang S Tejasukmana said here on Thursday.
Research and Technology Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta has stated that Indonesia will produce N-219 transport aircraft in 2014.
Some 730 natural disasters have hit Indonesia so far this year, according to Chairman of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Vice President Boediono has called on all parties to maintain the values of social solidarity and prevent them from being eroded by the flow of modern life and globalization.
The people of Manado, North Sulawesi appealed to the government to seriously and immediately cope with dengue attacking their city. A community leader, Zuber, said here on Thursday that cases of dengue have increased 300 percent to 412 this year from 143 cases in 2011.
Three police were shot to death by unidentified gunmen at 10 am local time in Poso, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday, the National police spokesman said.
A legislator has urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to question Finance Minister Agus Martowardoyo over an alleged corruption in the Hambalang Sports Complex construction scandal.
Indonesian aircraft manufacturer PTDI and Airbus Military have strengthened their business partnership through a variety of joint production programs that include long-term agreements between the two companies.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa has stated that the construction of Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) is still constrained by the subsidy schemes that hamper the development plans of Jakarta provincial administration.
Some 504 houses in Pandeglang district, Banten province, have been inundated by floods since Monday night, with floodwaters reaching a height of 1-2 metres, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Following the blackout in Jakarta International Airport Soekarno-Hatta on Sunday, December 16, the airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II blamed the 15-year-old Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) unit that is to be replaced in 2013.
Supreme Court judge M Taufik died of ailment at a Singapore hospital on Monday, a Supreme Court spokesman said. The body of M Taufik who died at 09.30 a.m. local time will be flown to Jakarta on Monday evening, the spokesman, Djoko Sarwoko said.
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Banggai Islands district in Central Sulawesi province on Monday evening, sparking panic among local residents but no damage reported.
The Commission Eradication Commission (KPK) has once again summoned Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo, a suspect in a corruption case involving the procurement of driving simulators for the National Police Traffic Corps in 2011.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono installed Vice Admiral Marsetyo as the new Navy commander and Vice Marshal Ida Bagus Putu Dunia as the new Air Force chief here on Monday. The two military officers were installed based on Presidential Decision No. 78/TNI/2012 which was signed on December 14, 2012.
Nuclear technology has long been developed in Indonesia but the public still focuses on its potential negative impact, according to National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan) researcher Haryanto.
Police on Sunday shot dead Hubert Mabel wanted for his alleged part in the bombing of district legislative body building and traffic police post in the Jajawijaya district capital of Wamena, Papua province.
Catholic sacred place Sendangsono in the sub-district of Kalibawang, Yogyakarta, will be renovated to serve not only as a place for devotional visit by Catholics but also as a tourist object. Renovation will be made by phases depending on the available fund collected from donators and philanthropists.
The ruling Democrat Party plans to announce its presidential and vice presidential candidates for the election in 2014 next year, head of external relations Andi Nurpati said.
Officials from the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN) has surveyed a number of locations on Morotai Islands District, North Maluku, to find a launch site for its Satellite Orbiting Rocket (RPS).
As reported by The Jakarta Post, Bali is targeting 3.1 million foreign tourist visitors in 2013, based on the belief that improvements in the island�s infrastructure will add to the island�s appeal.
Bengkulu recorded growing number of cases of rabies, the city agriculture and animal husbandry office said. So far this year, 10 people were bitten by dogs and cats positively infected with the disease, Head of the Bengkulu Farm and Animal Husbandry Office Arif Gunadi said here Friday.
A survey institute director has stated that there are no indications that suggest the toppling of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, despite the current legal and political climate in the country.
Indonesia`s national news agency ANTARA marked its 75th anniversary here on Thursday in a ceremony attended among others by its former chiefs. Its current president director, Saiful Hadi, in his speech said that ANTARA would always put forward public interests in its operations.
Indonesia`s retired army general, Wiranto, will run for president in 2014. "I am ready to run for president in 2014," said the general chairman of the People`s Conscience Party (Hanura) on Wednesday.
The value of Indonesia`s democracy has declined over the past few years blamed on the attitude of both the people and the government officials, an expert says.
The Indonesian Police will protect 38,499 churches as part of the 10-day Operation Candle, from December 23, 2012 to January 2013, in light of Christmas, New Year`s Eve and the New Year.
Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono has stated that foreign aid accounted for some 70 percent of the government`s budget for HIV/AIDs treatment and prevention programs.
A 5.9-magnitude undersea earthquake rocked the North Maluku provincial capital of Ternate on Tuesday evening but there was no immediate report of casualties or material damage, according to the local geophysics station.
Indonesia`s district heads have been called to protect rice fields to support national rice production.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed concern here on Monday over human rights violations that happened in horizontal or communal conflicts in the country caused by excessive euphoria in the implementation of freedom of expression.
The West Jakarta Livestock and Fishery Office has neutered hundreds of feral cats wandering around the city`s local hospitals, bus stations, and neighbourhoods, in an effort to reduce their population and prevent rabies.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is currently focusing on efforts to prevent corruption in Indonesia by running anti-corruption campaigns in cooperation with various institutions of the country, according to KPK Chief Abraham Samad.
Mount Kerinci in Jambi province sent thick smoke up to 200 meters into the sky over the past few days, causing anxiety to residents living on the volcano`s slope. "The volcano had normal activity earlier. No thick smoke spewed from its crater," Syaipul, a resident of Kayu Aro village, said on Sunday.
More than 8,870 houses in a number of subdistricts in Central Kalimantan have been flooded for four days due to the overflowing of River Barito. "The thousands of houses are flooded 1 to 3 meters deep," Head of the North Barito District Natural Disaster Mitigation Board (BPBD) Guntur Pardede said on Sunday.
Indonesia ranked 100th together with 11 other corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, a global anti-corruption watchdog, in its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2011.
Mount Lokon in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, erupted again at 11.02pm local time on Saturday.
Three people have been found dead while 40 others were believed to have been buried after a warehouse collapsed at Warehousing 88 Complex on Jalan Ir Sutami here on Saturday.
Vice Chairman of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR), Ahmad Farhan Hamid, has said that Jakarta should no longer be the center of government because of its many complex problems.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his hope that Christmas 2012 would be celebrated inclusively and enjoyed by all Indonesians who wish to participate, National Christmas Committee Chairperson Nafsiah Mboi said here on Friday.
Police said they had arrested two suspects of drug dealers with 49.2 kg of marijuana in this Bali capital city this week.
Indonesia`s chief anti-graft investigator, Abraham Samad, said investigations are being carried out with regard to the (Rp6.7 trillion) Bank Century bailout scandal.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will call a press conference in connection with the legal case of Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng.
Sports Minister Andi Malaranggeng resigned from his present post at his ministry after the issuance of a travel ban by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) against him.
The Indonesian government is planning to build a museum dedicated to Papua`s woven bag, Noken, in Jayapura, the capital of Papua, in 2013, said a local official.
Jakarta`s Governor Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said he hoped to reach an agreement with the central government on sharing the repayment of loan used to built Jakarta`s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.
The Attorney General Intelligence Service arrested a law fugitive, John Lucman, at the Mediterania Apartment in Jakarta on Wednesday night. For the time being Lucman is held at attorney general`s jailhouse in Salemba, Jakarta.
Singapore is ready to help the Jakarta administration develop a mass rapid transport system, according to Singaporean Ambassador to Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar.
The government will raise the amount of general allocation funds for mountainous districts in Indonesia`s eastern-most province of Papau next year, a presidential aide said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would remove anyone who is considered uncooperative or a hindrance to development efforts.
The ruling Democrat Party is still looking for the best figure to be nominated as the party`s presidential candidate for the 2014 election, advisory board member Syarif Hasan said.
Police Inspector General Djoko Susilo was detained after being grilled for eight hours by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) here on Monday. "Today following questioning and based upon a detention order after a legal process I was detained," he said after the questioning.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said the country's budget deficit is expected to widen to more than the previously set target of 2.23 percent as a result of growing energy subsidy.
A constitutional law expert from Brawijaya University, Dr. Ibnu Tricahyo, has stated that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should not hesitate to follow up the Bank Century bailout case even though it involves the Vice President.
At least 180 houses were flooded in the Pondok Batu village of the Mukomuko District on Monday, following incessant heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday. A total of 210 families were affected by the floods, said Syahrinal, Pondok Batu's Village Chief, on Monday.
A civilian, identified as Ferdi Turuallo, was shot dead by an unidentified armed group, in Lanny Jaya district, Papua province, on Monday morning. Turuallo, 25, was on his way to Tiom market when he was shot in the head allegedly by members of separatist group Free Papua Organization (OPM).
The Jayawijaya police office has named six suspects who were involved in the Pirime police sector station attacks. These attacks happened on Tuesday November 27.
Many Indonesian youth are now aware of importance of waste management in preserving the national resources. | 2019-04-25T19:42:48Z | http://blog.indahnesia.com/archive/2012/all_entries_for_2012.php |
dAb's blog: [文獻] Flash Video 正火熱!
我原本就對Flash影音整合的方面很有興趣, Flash MX之後提供了FLV的串流影音格式, 不僅檔案小, 而且透過Flash Player 6以上就能夠順利播放, Flash程式也內建了漂亮的播放器. 設計者可以輕易的將影片檔整合在Flash網站中. 最近我一連做了幾項嘗試, 一個是製作首頁上的影音留言簿, 一個是昨天剛完成的Flash Video for blog部落格改良版. 原因在於我認為過去被提到爛掉的"網路影音服務", 會由內容提供(Contend Provider)的角度轉為個人化影音.
我們已經注意Flash Video的使用狀況有一段時間了, 我們發現將影片整合到Video的趨勢有驚人的成長. 有些是直接把影片作嵌入, 例如 Discovery Broadband, 有些則是提供了豐富的互動性, 例如 Vodafone Future Vision.
- Rich Media 在網路廣告上的應用: 其效果出奇的好, Rich Media某種程度上與影音的整合式同樣意思.
由於我們注意到您也很在意Flash Video的未來趨勢, 我們在五月份執行了一項調查計畫, 主題是[妳現在/或計畫拿影片來做些什麼], 坦白說, 研究結果讓我們很驚訝. 根據這份報告我們導出的結論是--Video is Hot!
以上是Greg Stern專文的概要節錄, 根據這篇文章的主旨, Macromedia近來推出了大量的Flash 影音整合教學與工具, 而我dAb也十分看好未來Flash Video的後勢.
其中提到了一種服務-Falsh Video串流服務廠商, 我覺得很有趣. 現今的個人影片製作能力因為各種工具的普及(ex數位像機)日漸平民化, 在加上寬頻網路的同步成長, 過去的網路影音內容服務廠商獲利不佳, 我推論下一個網路影音的契機會是針對個人的個人化服務.
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Hey there. I discovered your blog via Google whilst looking for a related topic, your web site came up. It appears good. I've bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then. | 2019-04-20T21:18:17Z | http://www.dab.idv.tw/blog/archives/000104.php |
During any worship service, Jews do a lot of standing. There’s the Amidah, “the standing prayer” at the core of each service. We stand when doors of the Holy Ark containing our Torah scrolls are opened. We stand to recite the Kaddish (a memorial prayer.) We stand for (non-memorial) Kaddishes that punctuate various transitions during the worship service, conclude of a brief period of learning within a service, or celebrate the completion of an extended period of study of certain texts. We stand for the Kiddush which is a prayer recited over wine or grape juice and is not to be confused with Kaddish. We stand during the hakafah when the Torah is walked through the congregation. During the High Holidays there is even more standing.
So it was, during this past High Holiday season, that I became vexed at a woman who remained seated during an entire service. She didn’t seem to have a physical limitation; there was no walker within reach or cast on her foot. When we stood in unison to recite the Amidah, she sat. When the ark was opened, she sat. When the congregation rose for the memorial Kaddish, she sat. Not only didn’t she stand, but she never opened a prayer book, opting instead for her Kindle. Perhaps she had a vision impairment and had downloaded the service on her e-reader so that she could enlarge the type? No, she was just reading a book. Not The Book. I was waxing wroth big time. Why was she acting with such obvious disrespect? She had to be Jewish. No non-Jew would have behaved so obtusely.
It occurred to me that perhaps the woman two seats over simply wasn’t able to rise, for whatever reason. Physical impairments are not always visible. Emotional ones even less so. Perhaps she hadn’t attended synagogue in years due to some tangled tormented emotional pain and resentment. Showing up Rosh Hashanah morning was as far as she could rise. Perhaps she was there out of deference to her husband and some grand bargain they had struck: she would attend but would remain seated and take refuge not in the prayers but in her Kindle. Perhaps she remained seated simply to mirror back to me my own pissy judgment.
That realization sent me on a train of thought about this coming year and the inevitable expectations I will place upon those in my circle. I began considering the ways I have expected others to rise to my standards and my subsequent judgments when I perceived they didn’t. I pondered the unknown and unconsidered ways I surely had not risen to my loved ones’ hopes this past year and began to consider how I might rise to them in this New Year.
“If you are able, please rise.” How many times is each of us just not able? Not because we don’t care but because of some inner barrier, known or unknown, that disables us. How many times do we rise but it just doesn’t look like it from the outside? How often have I refused to rise simply because I didn’t wanna? How will this year be different?
The woman two seats over will never know the impact she had on me. I am grateful to her for rising that Rosh Hashanah morning to attend synagogue. Sitting through the entire service, she invited me to rise. I pray to be able.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on September 18, 2018 by Debra Darvick.
HIGHLIGHTING DEBRA’S CREATIVITY—We have several fun ways for you to enjoy Debra Darvick’s creativity this week. First, please read our Cover Story about Debra’s book, We Are Jewish Faces, a colorful picture book of Jewish diversity. We are celebrating with Debra the news that her book has been chosen by the worldwide PJ Library for distribution in 2019! Please, share this news with friends.
IMAGES ALSO TELL A STORY—Debra’s multi-faceted media work also includes the creation of a set, called Picture a Conversation, that may look like a stack of beautiful full-color postcards at first glance. In fact, each card’s image prompts people to think about several questions, which are printed on the back of each card. Here’s more about the history of this unique project. But what are the limits of picture-based reflections? Well, Debra has just written a column about communication with her infant granddaughter—which includes a great little story about sharing an image across generations.
BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Every week, we share a Front Edge Publishing column full of news and tips about professional media. This week, Marketing Director Susan Stitt writes about how the authors we publish are doing in their efforts to present engaging Amazon Author Pages. As it turns out, Debra Darvick is No. 1 on Susan Stitt’s list of great examples.
This entry was posted in Debra Darvick, Read the Spirit on July 8, 2018 by David Crumm.
Mr. Bergman survived what he called a “Ring of Fire” and for as long as I knew him, he was eternally on a quest, as you will read in his story, to understand why he survived. Why had he lived, time and again, when others had not?
It is in Mr. Bergman’s memory that I post his story here.
When I was about eight years old I asked my rabbi, “What does God look like?” Sixty years later I still remember his answer.
“I cannot tell you what God looks like,” the rabbi said, “but when you take your last breath, you will see God. You will see a ring of fire and there you will see God in the middle of it.” As a child, I visualized God’s ring of fire being about as big around as the wooden rain barrel we kept outside the doorway between the garden and the back entry to our home in Bockow, where I lived with my parents, grandparents, sister and brother, in the Carpathian mountains of Czechoslovakia .
I never questioned whether God really existed in a ring of fire. I visualized the ring of fire even though I couldn’t visualize what God looked like within it. When you’re that young, you obey your parents; you trust what they tell you. What they say is emes, the truth, and that’s it.
Five years after that conversation with my rabbi, I was thrown into a ring of fire much larger than our rain barrel. The ring of fire encircled concentration camps and extermination camps. The ring of fire encompassed unspeakable cruelty, humiliation, the darkest and most brutal side of humanity imaginable. It was a ring of death. And just like my rabbi told me, God was right there in the middle of it. I am here to tell of it and because I am, I cannot but think that God was there, too.
I have not been so much concerned with the question, “Why did God allow the Holocaust to happen?” From what I have seen and experienced, I have to say that the urge to kill and the urge to be compassionate are a combination of inborn traits and external environments. God planted within us the capacity to be cruel or compassionate and the ability to choose the path we want to take.
The question I have wrestled with all these years is, “Why me? Why did I survive?” After years of pondering this I have concluded that God doesn’t give us the privilege to know why. All we are allowed to see are the results. If you try to answer “Why?” all you can come up with is speculation, a belief, and a guess. God only allows us to see the results. Those results can be survival, Israel, or our grandchildren; it’s up to us to see God’s results. What I am aware of is that the answer to the question, “Why did I survive?” is a series of extended events, one result after another that kept me alive. “Why did I survive?” is the relationship I forged with God within the Holocaust’s ring of fire.
I had read and learned in cheder: following God’s commandments, praying twice a day — all of it went blank, as if it never happened. In its place a new force of survival took control of my life. I wasn’t even aware of it. I had no time to think. Survival was everything. I went from having a family to suddenly being thrown into hell; from somewhere deep within me there came a strong desire to live.
In the midst of all the chaos I heard a voice telling me to get out of the children’s line. It was a silent voice; the words were in my head like when you are hungry and you hear an internal voice saying, “It’s time to eat.” You don’t hear it but it’s a silent signal. Well, this was the same type of voice signaling me that I was in danger. “Get out of the children’s line,” it said. And there in the line I had a conversation with this voice.
“How do I get out of the line?” I asked it.
I have no proof that there was a voice. At the momentI wasn’t even thinking that I was communicating with God. All I have are the results. I am here. Within two hours, those in the children’s line were all dead.
And so I followed the voice’s command, waiting for the guards to be distracted and then making my move to the adult line. When I did, I found my father. But don’t think that being in the adult line meant I was safe. In the adult line it was look and point, look and point. The Nazi officer quickly appraised us and pointed us to life or death. With a flick of his hand he wielded a malevolent inversion of God’s power. When it came to my turn the officer stopped. “What are you doing in this line?” He growled. “How old are you?” As I was about to admit my age, the force inside me suppressed my voice and prevented me from speaking up.
Standing beside me my father sensed something was wrong and told the guard I was fourteen. I wanted to shout the truth; my father had never lied in his life and there he was lying to a Nazi officer! I didn’t know then that I was standing between life and death. The Nazi officer ordered my father and me into the work line. Shortly afterward, my voice returned.
We were seven days in Auschwitz when an officer entered our barracks and ordered me, my father and fifteen others onto a freight train that would take us to a work camp. When the door was bolted shut and the train began to move, my father announced to everyone present, “Today my son is bar mitzvah.” I had completely forgotten about it, but my becoming bar mitzvah meant so much to my father that he risked his life, hiding a small bottle of wine in his clothes. He passed around the bottle of wine. They all took a sip and made a toast to me in honor of my bar mitzvah.
Three hours later we arrived in the work camp of Plaszov. We heard that only those who have a trade will survive. When they asked for tailors my father stepped out of the line. When they asked for bricklayers the voice returned to me once again, telling me to raise my hand. And so I did and was put to work as a bricklayer. I followed what the others did — mixing cement and placing the stones to build walls. Five, ten times a day we walked from where they mined the stones to where we built the walls. After three months my father and I were separated. I never saw him again.
Plaszov to Gross Rosen, another extermination camp. By this time I knew my life depended on convincing the Nazis I was old enough to work. The voice returned to me. “Tell them you are sixteen. Look them straight in the eye; tell them you are sixteen and do not break your focus for a moment.” When you look someone in the eye they have to look back. I must have convinced him that I was sixteen because he let me go to the work line.
Was the voice of God helping me to survive? I know I didn’t do it all on my own. I have the results. There I was, thirteen years old, not knowing why I was there, why I was being exposed to such horrible things. But I didn’t have the luxury to dwell on such thoughts. There was not time even to give thanks when each time my life was spared. This was survival. Do you want to live or do you want to die? If you want to live, focus on survival. I wanted to live and that phrase “I want” became the hallmark of my survival, the connection to the voice that kept me out of death’s grasp.
In Gross Rosen and then again in Reichenbach I had close call after close call. One day I was standing in roll call waiting to be sent to work. We had strict orders not to move, not to look in any direction. But when I heard a noise in the sky, I couldn’t hold back. I looked up to see American bombers streaking through the sky. I gazed at the sky with envy, just wishing I was in one of those planes.
Suddenly the Nazi officer saw that I have disobeyed a rule. “Schweinhund!” he bellowed. “Pigdog! Why are you disobeying me?” Club in his hand, ready to beat me to death, he waited for me to answer. And the voice that had guided me every step of this nightmare said, “Focus on his eyes and stay silent.” You can imagine the restraint it took not to stammer some excuse, not to plead for mercy. The entire camp was looking in our direction.
“I’ve got news for you,” he barked. “You’ll never make it out of this camp alive!” Still I didn’t answer and the voice inside my head said, “You will be free again and you will see their mighty country destroyed.” And all of a sudden the commandant turned around and walked away from me! No one had ever defied a Nazi officer and lived. But I had. I listened to the voice and I survived. But I knew I was living on borrowed time.
I was not Reichenbach’s only only underage captive. In an effort to flush out those of us who were under sixteen, the Nazi camp commandant promised extra food rations to any captive who turned us in. In this way, I and about fifteen others were pulled from the work group to be shipped to an extermination camp. Facing death, I focused as hard as I could on the desire to live and be returned to a work group. “I want to live.” “I want to live!” I repeated again and again to myself. All of a sudden I began feeling pulsations, similar to electrical shocks emanating through my mind like mysterious Morse code messages.
Then someone in a work detail suddenly fainted. Instead of choosing a captive from the line of replacements, the Nazi camp commandant went from one end of the camp to the other and stopped right in front of me and ordered, “Heraus!” “Out!” He could have taken any of the captives standing nearby. He could have chosen any one of the youths from the group I was standing in. But he didn’t. He came at me with an angry voice. He seemed to be moving against his will, like someone was forcing him. And he ordered me back into the work group.
I have wrestled with this issue for decades. What made the Nazi commandant walk across the entire camp, stop right in front of me and send me in as a replacement for the man who fainted? Those youth I had been standing with were all gassed. I got back to work exhilarated, if exhilaration is possible in such a circumstance. My elation lasted only moments. I knew this Nazi camp commandant was obsessed with not allowing children my age to survive and I wondered each morning if it would be my last.
From Reichenbach, I and a hundred and fifty others were sent to Dachau. I escaped the crematoria by yet another miracle. During that seven-day journey, we received no food. Why feed those who can no longer work? I had passed out and, being taken for dead, was placed on a wooden stretcher bound for the crematoria. A worker saw my hand move and smuggled me into a barracks where he and other heroic captives shared their meager rations with me so that I could survive.
Two months later I was liberated. I came to America and during the Korean War was drafted into the Air Force. I was sent to Germany and just like the voice predicted, I saw with my own eyes the destruction of that once mighty and forever horrible country.
Some people are given the gift of creating art or music. I was given the gift of survival, the ability to visualize what I wanted. When my feet were cut and bleeding I saw them whole and healing. Never once did they become infected. Never once in fourteen months of captivity did I have a cold or develop any of the diseases raging through the camps. Never once did I have a nosebleed, something that plagued me before the war and after.
In captivity I had the choice of striving for survival or giving up. God didn’t come and tell me, “Give up or not.” He left it up to me; he built into me a striving for survival. The voice is with me to this day. In the morning I am in pain from arthritis, but I want to walk. I want to be with my beautiful granddaughters. And so I walk despite the pain and boom! the pain is gone. I chose to marry. I choose to enjoy my grandchildren. I choose to balance my terrible memories with things that give me pleasure.
After all these years I have concluded that the “I want” element that sustained me is actually the soul and the spirit of our being. It is the pipeline connecting us to God. When I was in captivity and said to myself, “I want,” I was actually reaching out to God, asking God to give me whatever it would take to survive. And sure enough God was always there for me when I reached out to Him. Within the ring of fire I drew not my last breath, but my next. Again and again and again.
This Jewish Life, Stories of Discovery Connection and Joy contains 54 stories of transforming Jewish experiences. Learn more here.
This entry was posted in Musings and tagged holocaust, Shoah, This Jewish Life on February 2, 2018 by Debra Darvick.
“There’s nothing like it,” my friends began saying. “Nothing in the world!” They weren’t talking kale or cilantro. Or the season’s best read. They were talking grandchildren. Yes, grandchildren. “Just wait,” they’d say, smug with a knowledge that admittedly I didn’t possess.
I did have 63 combined years of parenting my now-adult children. That’s more than a fleeting familiarity with being utterly smitten-drunk in love with my babies. I know the elation of that slew of firsts — smiles, hugs, laughs, raspberries, teeth, steps. I can revisit the highs of hearing my kids’ first words because I still have the journals recording their mamas, dadas, I wuv ooos, and nos! How much more love could my heart generate? Or need to?
And then Olivia was born. My friends were right. Each and every one. There is nothing like it. Nothing in the world. Olivia disappears time. I am with her and the world drops away. I watch her, love her, play with her fully in the now. Forget meditation. Forget mindfulness practice and yin yoga. When I am with Olivia, I am alive within every moment as if as newly-arrived as she is. Whether we’re rolling a ball down an improvised slide, or clapping hands, or trying to catch a ribbon of water as it falls from the spout at bath time, that’s all that exists. In tandem we discover the world — a magical universe of unfurling surprises.
My heart has no assignment but to love. It isn’t obsessed with schedules or deadlines. It doesn’t future-fret about college or carpools. It neither second guesses me nor sinks in the face of newbie insecurities. There’s no obsession over milestones. Olivia’s teeth will come in when they are ready to emerge. She will crawl when she’s ready to locomote. She will speak when speech clicks for her. She will walk when crawling no longer serves her. While those milestones wait in the wings, all I am called upon to do is love this delicious sweet bundle of squeals and grins, luscious wrinkles and dreamy softness.
As a new parent, I glommed onto something Mr. Rogers said about becoming a parent giving you a second crack at your own childhood. I well nigh engraved that one upon my heart. My kids and I delighted in bugs and bunnies. We read endlessly. We danced in the rain and played dress up. With the help of wise therapists, I healed childhood traumas striving to become the kind of parent my children deserved to have. Rain puddles aside, my reality never wavered — I was first and foremost a parent. My job was to guide and discipline, to role model the kind of people I hoped my children would become. I traveled a road much taken yet one not infrequently marked by uncertainty, fear, delight, passion, confidence and self-doubt. Somehow we all made it through.
In those early years, I wrote in my journal, “Oh, I just wish I could have perspective. I just want to know it will all be OK!” Such innocent and impossible yearnings. For perspective belongs to the time-weathered. Perspective now lies gently in my hand, the same hand that once gripped a pen as if it were a magic wand, as if inking a mere word on a page could manifest it into my life.
I have joined that club my friends so lovingly and smugly knew would change my life and I have no idea if it will all be OK. We have escaped many sorrows; others rained down upon us and upon our children. Today, we prevail. Tomorrow, who knows? But in this moment, everything is OK. Unfettered by the worries that forest the landscape of parenthood, I simply witness and cherish each of Olivia’s moments.
Mr. Rogers was right. Becoming a parent gives you a second crack at childhood. What he didn’t say was that becoming a grandparent gives you a second crack at parenthood. Becoming a grandparent allows you to walk beside the young mother still within you, healing her and praising her, comforting her and celebrating her and sometimes, when the moment is right, gently and respectfully sharing her hard-fought wisdom with the generation now coming up. Nothing beats that. Not even kale.
This entry was posted in Musings and tagged grandmothers, grandparenthood, Mr. Rogers on October 26, 2017 by Debra Darvick.
Who Pays for the Tombstone? Who Attends the Wedding?
Since 2013, I’ve written a monthly advice column for the Detroit Jewish News. I love writing it and thought it would be meaningful and gratifying to expand the love to my Read the Spirit family. You don’t have to be Jewish to have tsuris! (troubles, heartaches, problems.) You just have to have a trouble, problem or dilemma that plagues you by day and disturbs you by night. Write to me at deardebra at renmedia dot us or use the form that accompanies the column.
I am the oldest of three brothers. Our middle brother died this year and it is time to order and pay for his headstone. Baby Brother says he does not have the money, but will reimburse me when middle brother’s estate is settled. I know very well that my brother could afford to contribute his share, but chooses to spend his money on lavish vacations, kitchen renovations and expensive designer clothes by Ralph Lauren.
Start by dropping the terms Big Brother and Baby Brother, which reinforces the roles of responsible vs irresponsible siblings.
If you can pay up front for the headstone, have your brother sign a promissory note stipulating his commitment to repay you when middle brother’s estate is settled. Provide the executor of your deceased brother’s estate with a notarized copy of it as well. Your personal attorney can guide you here.
If by “shenanigans” you mean that your brother has wiggled out of other financial commitments, you may have to be prepared to pay for the headstone yourself, or take him to court. But if by shenanigans you mean he lets others make the first move and then ponies up, you can be reasonably confident you will be reimbursed.
Since Jewish law requires that a tombstone be prepared to mark the deceased’s burial plot, you might consider ordering one for yourself when you purchase the stone for your deceased brother. Should you predecease your remaining brother, you will not have to worry if he’ll come through.
Two days after I RSVP’d to my younger niece’s wedding, an invitation to her older sister’s wedding arrived! These out-of-town weddings are six months apart. We cannot afford to go to both.
Would that we could dictate how our hosts should organize their affairs. But we can’t. If the financial impact makes attending both weddings out of the question for your husband and you, perhaps you can divide and conquer. Let your husband attend one wedding and you attend the other. Or let hubby off the hook and you attend both, kind of a one-for-the-price-of-two solution that also pleases your sister who is expecting you at both. Just be sure to let Bride Number One know immediately that you will be attending solo. Once you have decided how you will handle the RSVP’s, shift your attention from aggravation to celebration. Jewish weddings are called simchas for a reason — simcha means happiness, and that’s what every bride and groom is entitled to on their wedding day.
I’d bet a dozen bagels he wishes he had a whole committee of folks who never needed reminding and never forget to show up! Then he’d be free and clear to go fishing, read the latest New Yorker or check out a new restaurant in town. Even the most dedicated folks sometimes forget to show up and welcome extra reminders.
The committee chair has likely assembled all his volunteers in one address file. You don’t really expect him to include your name for the first mailing, delete it for all subsequent ones and then reinstate it the next year, do you? Next reminder you receive, simply hit the delete key, disposing of the annoying email and maybe your peevishness, too. Better yet, before deleting the chairman’s reminder, hit reply and acknowledge all his hard work. What you call eccentric, I’d call practical. And often thankless.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on October 31, 2016 by Debra Darvick.
Since 2013, I’ve written a monthly advice column for the Detroit Jewish News. I love writing it and thought it would be meaningful and gratifying to expand the love to my Read the Spirit family. You don’t have to be Jewish to have tsuris! (troubles, heartaches, problems.) You just have to have a trouble, problem or dilemma that plagues you by day and disturbs you by night. The reader who penned Problem Number Two, took this invitation literally. Write to me at deardebra at renmedia dot us or use the form that accompanies the column.
Dear Unfavored, Familial favoritism should be the 11th Thou Shalt Not. Has your husband discussed with his parents that the children have noticed the favoritism? If 1) he has and they haven’t changed or 2) he cannot or will not bring it up, then you have to take the initiative . Tell your in-laws that you’ve missed having them around and would love to see more of them. Invite them to share a new family tradition — a weekly Skype or family outing. Hopefully they will respond in kind. But if they remain scarce, you will have to help your children learn a painful and important life lesson: we cannot change others, we can only change our reaction to what life throws us. Be sure you give them the message, as much as is needed , that their grandparents’ behavior has nothing to do with them. They are the biggest losers for missing out on joyous time with some pretty terrific grandkids.
Dear Sleepless, Even the Creator of the World granted Himself weekly rest after Her labors were completed! It seems quite awful that your husband has to be available 24/7. But since you didn’t ask me to weigh in on that one, I’ll keep mum. And here’s my advice on what you did ask about: Set hubby’s phone to vibrate and slip it beneath his pillowcase. If the sound of the incoming text doesn’t stir him, hopefully the motion will and the sound of the vibration will not disturb you. . You might also try sweetly whispering, as he is falling asleep, that you are turning his phone off (but don’t). Perhaps the anxiety of missing an emergency text will prompt some part of his sleeping brain to keep one eye (or ear) open so you can keep both of yours shut.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on October 5, 2016 by Debra Darvick. | 2019-04-23T14:14:11Z | https://www.readthespirit.com/debra-darvick/ |
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The words Amatsu Tatara are not well known. However, the knowledge of the secret scrolls and books of the Amatsu Tatara are well known to special Japanese scholars, martial artists and spiritual experts. It is very difficult to explain the Amatsu Tatara because it is traditionally intended for a special Grandmaster or special priest. For this reason it has been kept very secret.
Shoto Tanemura is the 58th Grandmaster of Amatsu Tatara Bumon (martial arts) and Shumon (spiritual). He feels the time for his true mission has come and that is to show the world what Amatsu Tatara is.
Amatsu means Heaven or Nature. Tatara means the highest secret teaching system of martial arts and original Shinto spirit.
The Amatsu Tatara Hibumi (secret scrolls) are special scrolls about all martial arts, spiritualism and humanism. These were written about 700 BC by the King of Mima as the history of Japan.
Grandmaster Takamatsu Toshitsugu Sensei had mastered the Amatsu Tatara Bumon Shumon and made better known the word of Amatsu Tatara by his explanations after World War II.
What is truely mysterious? If I use another word to explain the meaning of it, I would say it is "awareness". It's a true mystery. To explain what I mean by this, let us take the example of a deathly ill patient being examined by a Western medicine Doctor and an Oriental herbal Doctor. The former tells the patient he can't be helped, while the latter can treat him effectively. Another parallel is that of a person succeeding in doing something that he has been thought by others to be impossible to do.
Simply speaking: "Imagine a bicycle". Looking at it, we can clearly understand what it is for, and how to use it. Yet in the case of the human body, such clarity is non-existant. When seeing a model of it, we can't perceive the entirety of it. In the not so distant past, people thought that air machines were an impossibility. But now such things are common, discovered through the efforts of human ability. So I feel there is still unlimited items to be made through human ingenuity. I feel for example that the present aircraft which require so much space for landing and take off, in the future will be able to land and take off vertically with another option of being able to hover in mid air.
Taking into consideration the working of the conscious and subconscious, there is no limit to these abilities. Yet with the human body there are physical limits imposed. Take the case of a person having a strong subconscious, they are able by the control of it to lessen the pain and injuries of burns when fire is applied to certain parts of the anatomy. This amazes the average person who thinks such things are miracles. Yet understand that even with utmost patient training in this, still there is a point where the fire will overcome. But this kind of training is equal to that of training the spirit.
This is the true miracle event, the power of the human spirit, which is the combination of "the miraculous, the mysterious and faith" being akin to natural religion. From these 3 the true super sense can be developed. As an academic theory this is called "Amatsu Reiho" (special knowledge for the use of the spirit of Heaven).
We are not only the people of one nation or religion, indeed we are universal beings. So it is that we must all make effort to try and contemplate all things in a benevolent light. This is the very foundation of what it means to be human. Consciousness and subconsciousness are the 2 forms of awareness. If a person is cast totally in his subconscious mind, he can experience ghosts and is too vulnerable to physic influences. On the other hand, the person using only his conscious mind can catch nothing, even if he tries with all his might. Parents worried about their sons going to war, constantly think and pray for them, through which they make a link through which the spirit of their child can communicate with them. So it is that strong motivation, visualizations, prayers or desires when continously repeated with faith, are put in into the subconscious mind, so that they are likely to be realized on the material plane. In that point or focus the power of belief can be effective.
The relationship of the conscious and subconscious is the academic theory for "Shiryugaku" (study of religion and spirit). This theory applies to hypnotism, Kiaijutsu, Shingenjutsu (mental powers), prayers and fortune-telling. Having understanding of it, one can comprehend. This theory is interwoven through all levels of Shinto, Mikkyo, Buddhism, Shugendo and Ninpo.
Ninniku Seishin O Konpon To Suru.
Nintai Seishin O Yashinau Kotoni Hajimaru Mono De Aru.
Heiwa O Tanoshimu Mono De Aru.
Tai O Motte Shizen Ni Aite No Ken O Sake.
No Dai Shizen O Riyoshite.
Ninja No Konpon Gensoku De Aru.
"The essence of 'Ninniku Seishin' is the spirit of the Ninja who has the power to use patience together with the body, mind and subconscious. It is this power that one must develop by training hard. The result will lead to the ability to pocket any insult and later throw it away together with all traces of resentment (Nintai Seishin). The true meaning of 'Nin' is having a heart as peaceful, joyful and lovely as that of a flower (Kajo Waraku). One should never place the blade before the heart. It is also very important to acquire a good knowledge of diversionary tactics using both the heart and body, so that in emergencies one will be able to disappear. This is known as 'Kyojitsu Tenkan', and is for defeating evil with the powers of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Air for justice, in the defense of oneself, or one's country."
Following are some excerpts explaining the main ideas of "Hontai" (true body).
The "Hontai" means Shinrikyorei (the condition of nothingness). The purpose of this is "Shinkifudo" (or Fudoshin = immovable heart). When you meet the enemy and a feeling rises up that this is the enemy, then already the heart is moving. If the heart is already moving this is no good. If you can look at and meet with the enemy with "Fudoshin" (immovable heart) and keep completely relaxed then this is already the "Hontai". We can say that this is the "Fudochi" (wisdom of Fudoshin).
To get the "Fudoshin" like "God's spirit" we must effort in our daily lives. By having this spirit and an enemy stands before you, you can completely consume him. This we may say is the first timing. For example if something is begun by the enemy and I am in the state of "Shinkifudoshin", the enemy will be unable to do anything soon. "So I can surely promise victory".
Many different Ryu often refer to "Hontai". The meaning of "Hontai" is well explained in the Kito Ryu scroll. So I will make an explanation. This "Hontai" contains everything about the backbone of Taijutsu and the fundamentals of the spiritual part. This "Hontai" equals the heart condition. It is like a straight wave up peace that doesn't move up or down. The mind/spirit quality equates to the deepest state of the soul. This spirit is when you can look at anything - something can happen, but you are not surprised, never moved. This is the true "Fudoshin". The atmosphere can't be completely conveyed by words. It can't be understood only by reading.
Yet if the reader of this has a high grade spirit then upon reading these words he can readily and immediately understand. Such a grade of person has the state of a great Master or Grandmaster. And the scroll goes on to say that in meeting the enemy, have an immovable heart and stay peaceful as like the enemy and you are one.
The following essay is the teachings of Bu-Fu (warrior-wind) and an example of what one's heart, as a warrior, should be like. Please read it over and over, nurture and find its spirit within yourself.
As a warrior, one should constantly practice awareness. From the moment one awakes in the morning; one should keep a watchful eye on his own behaviour and manners, his conduct, never forgetting the meaning of humanism. These are all Bu-Fu. Never act violently nor be rough in nature, and at no time you should take life lightly. Try to build up a gentle lifestyle without hurrying through it. Consciously relax. Be not afraid of life; allow yours to be gentle and rich in love, in accord with the spirit of "Kajo Chikusei" or "Kajo Waraku", a flower's heart, the spirit contained within the growing bamboo.
If you are proud of the martial arts, do not tarnish their image by acting violently. People often say that we should bring relief to those who suffer, stand up against those who oppress others and knock them down. However, be also cautious of the weak, never relax in their presence for, at times, they themselves turn into oppressors. Be not one who seeks battles. If you wish to use this martial art, it should be for the good of those in need, who truly are both good and honest, never in the cause of the dishonest and evil. Those who follow these maxims may be termed true warriors.
If you are ridiculed or humiliated, do not allow it to move your heart; laught it off instead. It is this type of heart, which contains the truly strong spirit of Nin, patience and perseverance.
The true spirit of Nin lies also in the ability of not drawing one's "Katana", sword, too often, doing so rather, only at times of intense need. A warrior must never forget this type of heart. Let your heart be strong and your spirit be full of vigor, resembling the autumn sleet on fields shimmering in the sunlight, and with love as that murmured by the fresh wind of spring.
To attain this type of heart, a good command of both philosophy and the martial arts in true balance is of the utmost importance. Once obtained, the warrior is then a true servant of Bu-Fu.
To begin learning the Ninja warrior-way, the study and cultivation of culture and philosophy and a heart full of evil-dispelling light is essential. One must have a flower's heart and honesty, should be as clean-cut and straight, as a blade cuts through a bamboo stalk. Allow your heart to grow the power to solve all of life's problems. Do not rely on your head alone, learn through your body as well. If one is able to comprehend these essentials, he is sure to find his Bu-Fu flowing within his body and heart.
Finally, one must turn all the above into reality, strive to accomplish it all, so as to truly be a servant of Bu-Fu.
In statements from sacred books and scrolls we are told about the "Prologue Of Religion", how prior to present times (resembling World War II) there was the natural powers in existance and the succesful work of Heaven to bring all into harmony.
Over 1 million years ago, the step by step process of the implementation of Heaven's plan ... In the Christian Bible it's referred to as "Genesis" when eventually religion was planted by the seeds of necessity. From sacred Buddhist texts there is the telling how before "Miroku" came down from Heaven, he sent his messenger the "King of Tenrin" before him to prepare the way and bring under control the destructive forces. This being like a Christian Bible referring to a Golden Age of Paradise being close to Heaven. To reside in such, one must have a pure and clean heart. From the point of view of Heaven glancing down upon mankind it is said: "A thousand years is as a day, and a day is as a thousand years". From Heaven the passing of 3.000 - 5.000 years seems but a second.
Before the start of recorded history, in Japan the age previous to the ascension of the Imperial throne by Emperor Jinmu was called the "Age of the Gods". In Japan, Kami (Gods) were also seen as meaning "Mitama" (God's spiritual soul). This referring to how in those ancient days many pure person were infused by the powers of the Gods and elevated to a unique station in the eyes of their fellow humans. These people became peacemakers being as they had become "Shin Rei" (avators). The Gods and Shin Rei were not conceived of as just protecting Japan, this is a wrong thinking limited mind's idea. But that the blessings of the God's fall upon virtuous people anywhere, this is it's true wide and deep perspective.
Other countries with their exalted Gods and their hierarchy are the same as in the case of "Jehovah". Historically when talking about "Bonten Tentei" (The King of Heaven), for example, we can understand the many difficulties inherent in the deep underlying relationships of such. This referring to such "Shin Rei" cases as: Shaka, Koshi, Christ, Mohammed, ... . Going to the roots of the matter, the true point can be clearly seen as the same thing in all cases. So it was regarded in old Japan that the Kami not only beheld Japan but all places; and not only mankind but, all grasses, trees, animals, ... . The Gods having connections with all matter. So because of this, the present man can be gifted with true vision of light. He can throw off limited dogmatism and egoism. Always he takes steps to open out more, seeing the truth of the friendly "Shin Rei", and having at last to reach a correct belief.
So there is welcome for Brahmins, Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Kaikyo sects, Kurenaimanji sects, Kotaikyo sects, Tenrikyo sects, Konkonkyo sects, followers of William Dowdrebere, Bahains, ... . On the true path of religion for the true believers truely the names of sects, cults or whatever doesn't matter; everyone is seen as a fellow traveller on the way. We see a lot of those two-faced ministers of whatever philosophy who speak eloquently of the truth and righteousness, but inside don't believe at all or practice what they preach. Any person who is a true believer, regardless if they are Christian, Buddhist or whatever and who has an open spirit, with a light surrounding their heart, is truly of another world!
On 23 August 1999 Grandmaster Tanemura Tsunehisa Shoto Sensei arrived in Ireland for a 3-day visit to the Hill of Tara, Newgrange, Loughcrew, Knowth and some other interesting places. He was accompanied by 10 other Genbukan/KJJR Dojo-Cho from Ireland, England and Belgium.
Ireland has a beautiful large green surface which is very hilly. When arriving at the Hill of Tara we could see a beautiful white horse that was all alone in the meadow. Sensei told us this was already a special sign of Heaven.
Tanemura Sensei first did special Kuji-Kiri to a stone, to break the curse done to destroy Tara. He could strongly feel the bad spirit in the stone placed there by a bad priest. Hereafter we could all suddenly see a white cat coming out of nowhere coming to us. She was very friendly and according to Tanemura Sensei a second good sign. Then we went to the Mound of the Hostages and we could clearly see in the cave the stones with the inscriptures of the 3 spirals. We went further to the main hill to visit the Stone of Destiny. Tanemura Sensei explained the stone is not the true Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny), but we could use it as a focal point because Tara is a sacred place. Here Tanemura Sensei did a very special Kuji-Kiri ceremony to repair the Stone which was already damaged by the curse, supported by all the other Dojo-Cho. It gave us all a deep emotionally feeling.
Tara is a very special place and very old place in Celtic Legend where the royal lines of the "Tuatha de Danann" stretch back into the mists of time and the crowned Kings of Ireland, until approximately 1022 AD.
Tara was the political and religious centre of Ireland where ceremonies were done by Kings and druids in relationship with the Gods. Japan and Ireland have the same legendary history about the Goddess (in Japan Amaterasu) who hid in a cave so the light disappeared of the world. The Gods would then have made music and danced to lure her out of the cave. As soon as she came to take a look what was happening, guards took away the large stone before the cave and the Goddess came back out, so the light came back.
Tanemura Sensei told us afterwards that this was "the most beautiful day of his life". He told us that he could get for the first time a direct contact with Heaven. We all could feel a strong shining light (even when our eyes were closed) appearing above us. Sensei told us that this was "the light of the King of Angels". There truly is a deep connection between Tara and Amatsu Tatara. Even the symbol of the 3 spirals can be found back on ancient Japanese Amatsu Tatara scrolls. This visit left a very deep spiritual impression on all of us. | 2019-04-21T06:38:18Z | https://www.genbukan.eu/en/spirituality/ |
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Contact Health Rx Scripts first. If a dispute arises between you and Health Rx Scripts, our goal is to address your concerns and, if we are unable to do so to your satisfaction, to provide you with a neutral and cost effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Disputes between you and Health Rx Scripts regarding the Health Rx Scripts Services may be reported to Customer Service online at http://www.healthscriptsrx.com, at any time, or by phone at the number listed in the Customer Service section of the site.
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Arbitration Procedures. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures, including the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement to Arbitrate. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s website at http://www.adr.org.
The arbitration shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or Health Rx Scripts may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and Health Rx Scripts subject to the arbitrator’s discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. Attendance at an in-person hearing may be made by telephone by you and/or Health Rx Scripts, unless the arbitrator requires otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different Health Rx Scripts users, but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same Health Rx Scripts user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Costs of Arbitration. Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, Health Rx Scripts will pay all filling, administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request for payment of fees by Health Rx Scripts should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your Demand for Arbitration and Health Rx Scripts will make arrangements to pay all necessary fees directly to the AAA. If the value of the relief sought is more than $10,000 and you are able to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, Health Rx Scripts will pay as much of the filing, administration, and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse Health Rx Scripts for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by Health Rx Scripts on your behalf that you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA’s rules.
Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in subsection (a) of this Agreement to Arbitrate (“Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”), if a court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall still apply. If a court decides that any of the provisions in subsection (a) of this Agreement to Arbitrate (“Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”) is invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall be null and void. The remainder of the User Agreement, including all other provisions of this section (Disputes with Health Rx Scripts), will continue to apply.
Opt-Out Procedure. You can choose to reject this Agreement to Arbitrate (“opt out”) by mailing us a written opt-out notice (“Opt-Out Notice”). For new Health Rx Scripts users, the Opt-Out Notice must be postmarked no later than 30 Days after the date you accept the User Agreement for the first time. [If you are already a current Health Rx Scripts user and previously accepted the User Agreement prior to the introduction of this Agreement to Arbitrate, the Opt-Out Notice must be postmarked no later than 30 days after you first accept and acknowledge these revised Terms. You must mail the Opt-Out Notice to Health Rx Scripts Pharmacy, Attn: Litigation and Regulatory Law Department, 900 S. Wayside Dr. Suite 400 A, Houston TX 77023.
The Opt-Out Notice must state that you do not agree to this Agreement to Arbitrate and must include your name, address, phone number, and the email address(es) used to log in to the Health Rx Scripts account(s) to which the opt-out applies. You must sign the Opt-Out Notice for it to be effective. This procedure is the only way you can opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate. If you opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate, all other parts of the User Agreement, including all other provisions of this section, will continue to apply. Opting out of this Agreement to Arbitrate has no effect on any previous, other, or future arbitration agreements that you may have with us.
By placing, modifying and/or canceling any auto-reorder, you expressly and affirmatively consent and agree to terms and conditions of the Auto-Reorder & Save program described herein. These terms and conditions are subject to change.
We reserve the right to cancel any order, in whole or in part, for any reason. Such reasons may include, but are not limited to, product availability, price discrepancy, or pricing error. Otherwise, your auto-reorders will continue until you cancel or change them.
Your first order (“Initial Order”) will be processed with the shipping method you confirm during checkout. All future shipments for your items scheduled to auto-reorders (“auto-reorders”) are sent FREE with standard shipping only.
The payment method you use for your initial order will be used again for your auto-reorders, unless you stop your auto-reorders or update your payment information.
For your Initial Order, you will be charged the price displayed during checkout. For auto-reorders, you will be charged either (1) the sale price in effect at the time the order is processed, or (2) the current price less a discount of 10% or more; whichever is better. Applicable promo codes will be applied to your Initial Order only.
The price you pay for an Initial Order is not guaranteed for auto-reorders. If the price advertised for any of your items is changed on healthscriptsrx.com, this price change will also apply to your items scheduled for auto-reorder. You will not be notified of price changes before your auto-reorder items are processed and shipped.
To view and manage your auto-reorders, sign into your account and click “Auto-Reorder Manager” under the Orders & History tab in Your Account.
If you no longer want to receive an item in auto-reorders at all, click Cancel next to that item to delete it from the page completely.
The Skip Next Shipment button next to each item only skips one auto-reorder shipment. Later auto-reorders will continue to be sent on your regular schedule.
Each auto-reorder shipment has a deadline for cancellation or changes that is posted on the Auto-Reorder Manager page. Any changes you make before the deadline will apply to the next scheduled reorder. Changes after the deadline will not affect reorders already in progress, but will apply to future reorders.
If you are unable to access the Auto-Reorder Manager page on a mobile device, please switch to the desktop site or call us for assistance. | 2019-04-21T05:00:41Z | http://healthscriptsrx.com/index.php?m=terms-and-conditions |
We just had our Baby Shower & I’d like to share a few tips on planning/ organising one.
But before sharing with you tips on planning a DIY Baby Shower, I would like to express the gratitude my husband & I have for making our Baby Shower one that’s to remember.
We have been praying for our Baby Shower… since the beginning of our journey, we have seen God’s mighty hand move & our shower was no exception. I remember praying for God’s presence to be evident & that His glory would be made known through the celebration. I mean, those who know our story & my personal story would know why this was our prayer & why I am very passionate about marriage, family, parenting & motherhood. Sounds like a cliché or as what I’ve expressed during the shower, “being OA?”. I’m sorry, not sorry. This is simply the truth, God is gracious, loving, faithful & kind. So, I will boast about who He is & how he’s been moving in our lives. This was & is a big deal because EVERYTHING we were, are & will be experiencing, in this case a celebration of life, are all because of His Divine intervention, work & sovereignty.
I still remember the days I prayed for the things I have today.
Our Baby Shower, a day full of His love. We felt it deep. All love languages ticked.
Quality Time I Warm Fuzzy Feels through every message & hugs from everyone!
First, ALL GLORY TO GOD. We thank the Lord for this great blessing. Having a baby was a dream & a prayer request. We specifically prayed to be pregnant after our 1st anniversary & that’s exactly what happened. A dream come true & an answered prayer!
Next, I want to honour my husband & just express how great He has been during this journey. WE were both pregnant, if you know what I mean. Love, you have been nothing short of amazing!
Thank you to my dear sister, Gale, for organizing the baby shower, most of all, supporting us all the way, in any way.
Grateful for everybody who helped out & made the shower, extra extra special.
And to EVERYBODY who came, made time, gave gifts & helped us with the baby essentials & even those who weren’t able to come but showed some LOVE in any way, sending gifts, messages & prayers during this season. FAMILY & FRIENDS, we will be forever GRATEFUL. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your lives, you’ll always be part of ours. We are truly humbled by the overwhelming support. WE SPEAK A BLESSING TO YOUR LIVES a gazillion folds, IN HIS NAME, as you’ve blessed us tremendously.
The Sister, giving her message.
With Tita Gina of Team Merced I Every time she has appointments in Velez, she invites us for lunch for a quick catch up!
With Hannah & Tita Dory’s representative, Drew!
Never a dull moment with Lenie!
Love this bunch! They’re our constant Prayer Warriors.
Here’s Manna, giving a message on how EXTRA I am. Haha!
Tita Mila giving her message.
Missing the rest! Insert Cha, Franz, Anne & Resane.
Emotional over everything. God is Great!
Thankful for everyone for the gifts, helping us out with Renee’s essentials.
First thing’s first! Set a date & time. Try answering the basic questions when planning a Baby Shower or any event for that matter- WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW. First thing’s first- WHAT & WHEN. What? A Baby Shower, in this case. When? Baby Showers are usually done on the 7th month of the Mom’s pregnancy. Communicate with the Mom- to- be some time in the 6th month when would be the best time, so that you have ample time to prepare.
Answer WHO. Who are the ones who have been part of your journey? To the Mom, do not feel obligated to invite everybody, just because… You would know who were the ones who’ve made an impact in your journey. And this principle I keep in mind- You do not need a title nor an invitation to care for people. There will be people who will care or have shown care despite not having a title in your life or an invitation to gatherings like these. It’s your choice to invite them or simply appreciate them some other way. The right people will always stay. Communicate with Mom- to- be on the guest list before inviting.
Having a Gift Registry makes it very convenient for the Parents to- be & the guests. This would ensure parents are able to use the items for their baby in a way they plan to use them. And it would be easy for guests to choose their gift because they’ve been already sorted out. The first time I joined a Baby Shower, I was so clueless of what a baby would need. Thankfully, the celebrant had a registry. Totally saved me! As the planner, you may ask for the registry details from the Mom- to- be.
And so much more! Be creative. Don’t forget to consult with the Mom- to- be. But like I said, this is just optional. A simple & memorable gathering is more than enough.
Once you’ve established, date, time, event & theme. You may start inviting. Fortunately, inviting people has become very convenient due to social media. You can choose to give out invitations &/ or simply make an event on facebook. Announce when, time & gift registry. You may also include an “attire” based on your theme. How about WHERE? I would suggest answering that once you get a headcount. It’s best to have planned a month before the date to give time for people to adjust their schedules & make a confirmation. Announce the details as well as a deadline when each could possibly confirm so that you can set the venue. While you’re waiting for everybody’s confirmation, you may do some ocular visits & make calls to inquire. However, if you choose to give out hard copies of the invitation, you might need to finalize venue already.
So you’ve got the headcount, now’s the time you book the venue or you may pencil book in advance. Make sure venue is suitable for the shower, consider number of guests coming & food is appropriate for the shower.
Have about 2-3 games & consider time for eating, gift giving & messages. The whole duration of the shower should be about 2-3 hours only. If you have a lot of guests, lessen the games & give more time for messages because even if you say “keep it short”, it won’t be. I personally would rather give the guests time to say or share something than games. They deserve the time considering their support, efforts & love. But customize & personalize all you want, it’s your shower!
This is another thing that’s optional. However, this would be something you could give as a remembrance of the milestone to the parents- to-be. So if you are able to stretch yourself in making this happen, it would be great!
Make or announce updates from time to time to make it interesting. Other than important details, you may post trivia’s, post maternity photos or make a countdown. Here were a few sample postings in our shower.
Most of all, have fun in doing all of these things (considering that you’re close with the parents- to- be) knowing that you are blessed to be blessing the couple in their milestone.
Here’s hoping you have a memorable & meaningful baby shower! Hope this helps. Enjoy your journey!
G’day Mate! Whenever my husband & I travel to a place, we make sure we cover what the place we are going to is about- history, culture, food & etc. Although it is quite impossible to cover everything in just a couple of days, we try. We try to have fun & learn at the same time. Last July, we went to ‘Straya’ (that’s how locals say it), Sydney to attend the Hillsong Conference but we extended to a few days to “Sightsee Sydney”. If you plan to visit Sydney, this might help you with your itinerary.
Sydney, is not the capital city of Australia neither is Melbourne, Canberra is. Going back to Sydney, it is however the state capital of New South Wales & Australia’s first city. With 658 suburbs, 40 local government areas & 15 connecting regions, it is the most populated city in Australia.
Australia has been known to be a British Colony where convicts were sent to in the early days. In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip led the first fleet of convicts to Sydney. He called the city “Sydney” in the name of the 1st Viscount Sydney, Thomas Townshed. Transfer of convicts then ended in the 19th century & since then, Australia has been transformed from a colonial settlement into a main economic & global center. After World War 2, Sydney became a multicultural city with the mass migration. Developments in Sydney took place making it one of the most livable cities in the world & has been in the top ranking for economic opportunity with advanced market economy- a fortes in finance, manufacturing & tourism. Expect Sydney to be a hub of multinational corporations & banks. Since the hosting of the 2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney has been one of the top destinations to visit.
Before getting on with your sightseeing, here are a few Aussie (Australian) words & phrases that might help you communicate around.
You’ll know one is in Sydney when a photo of the Sydney Opera House is posted. Named a UNESCO World Site, the Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon which opened on October 1973 to be a multi venue performing arts centre. Since its opening, it became one of the symbols of architecture in the 20th century. And it’s undeniably an eye catcher when visiting Sydney. Because of this, it receives about 8 million visits annually.
Tip I You may dine inside the Opera House or enjoy its view outside while having your fish & chips. Very touristy!
Just across the Sydney Opera House at Circular Quay is the Harbour Bridge or locally known as the Coathanger. It is the world’s largest steel arch bridge which stands 134 meters above the harbor. It’s interesting how this bridge was built by 1,400 men in 8 years. Today, it carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. For tourists who are adrenaline junkies, you may do the ‘Bridge Climb’, where you are able to climb the monument & enjoy the breathtaking 360 view at the top of the pylon.
If the bridge climb at the Harbour Bridge is too much for you, this may be another option to have a breathtaking view of Sydney. However, if being able to see the whole of Sydney in a birdseye view isn’t a priority, you may just check out the tower from a distance. The Sydney Tower or Sydney Tower Eye stands 309 meters or 1,014 feet above the Central Business District (CBD) making it the tallest structure in Sydney.
St. Andrews Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in Australia which opened in 1868. It was designed by Edmund Blacket with a Gothic Revival architecture.
The Laneway art project’s goal was to revitalize Sydney’s laneways to create a livelier city while exploring its past. One of the artworks is the Forgotten Songs. It is made up of 120 suspended bird cages in the laneway located above the Angel Place accompanied by the sound recordings of extinct bird species of central Sydney. Its intention was the celebration of birds living in Sydney “before they were gradually forced out of the city by European settlement”, returning the bird sounds to the city.
The Queen Victoria Building (or QVB), is a Romanesque Revival building in the late nineteenth-century designed by the architect George McRae in 1893 which was designed as a marketplace. With 30 meters wide by 190 metres long, it fills a city block by George, Market, York and Druitt Streets. It is known as an iconic heritage building of Sydney and Australia. Dating from 1898, the Queen Victoria Building has continued to operate as a market facility for over 190 years. Until today, people are able to go there to shop & dine. Outside QVB, you’ll find the “Talking Dog”.
The Macquarie Street which is named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie is known to have the major landmarks & government institutions of New South Wales, Sydney. It extends from Hyde Park to the Sydney Opera House. Landmarks & government institutions located in this stretch include Hyde Park Barracks, St. James Cathedral, Hyde Park, St. Mary’s Cathedral, The Mint, Government House, II Porcellino, Queen Victoria Statue, Customs House, Mcquaries Wall, Busby’s Bore Fountain, Foundation Stoner, Dorbell Memorial Sculpture, Drinking Fountain, Martin Place, John Dunmore Lang Statue, Bridge Stairs, T2 Building, Secret Restoration, Admiralty House & National Trust of Australia. That’s a lot!
If you are into History, the Hyde Park Barracks will interest you. It is listed in the New South Wales State Heritage Register and the Commonwealth Heritage List, as well as being celebrated on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of 11 pre-eminent Australian Convict Sites as amongst “the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts”. This was designed by architect Francis Greenway between 1818 and 1819 to provide lodging for convicts working for the government till 1848. Then it became an immigration depot for women who were seeking for employment to reunite with family & a female asylum till 1886. Then it became a law court & government office to 1979. Until it became a museum in the 1990s.
Although its architectural appearance isn’t grand, the Parliament House is said to have an exceptional historical and social value since it has played a vital role of Australia’s history of the colonial government. It is the oldest public building in Sydney. Since 1811, the Parliament House and the Mint Museum are the two surviving wings of the triple wing General Hospital.
Glebe is one of Sydney’s suburbs famous for its intellectual feel & atmospheric heritage buildings besides some vintage finds at the Glebe Markets which open every Saturday. The place is surrounded by cafes, bookshops, galleries & ethnic eateries. Some of its landmarks are Johnstons Creek, Coroner’s Court, Lyndhurst, St. Scholastica’s College, Bellevue, Sze Yup Temple & the Rozelle Tram Depot.
If you’re with kids, just around the city you can visit the Luna Park. It is an amusement park with rides, shows & attractions & it has NO entrance fee!
Very rich in history, The Rocks is one of the top tourist spots in Sydney. It is hard to miss specially that it is located by the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, just beside the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Rocks has gone a long way from having a reputation as a slum where convicts arrived & where sailors visited prostitutes to a tourist historic area. Today it is surrounded by shops, restaurants, hotels, bars, museums & galleries.
Must Try I Here you can find the famous Pancakes on the Rocks which is known for their pancakes, of course! Another reason why it’s famous because it’s open 24/7.
Heads Up I Take note that shops, restaurants & malls generally close early in Sydney so this might be on your list especially if you get hungry after a long day of touring the city.
Seafood you say? One of the things you do as a tourist in Sydney is visiting the Sydney Fish Market & indulging yourself, not just to see food, but to eat a lot of seafood! It is the biggest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere & the 3rd biggest in the world, in terms of variety. 13,500 tons are traded nationally & internationally every year. Make sure you visit for your seafood fix.
Just a ferry away from the Circular Quay, visiting the Taronga Zoo with about 4,000 animals is one of the refreshing things to do in Sydney, especially with kids! There are many ways in going to Taronga, but riding a ferry is probably the best way as it allows you to well, ride a ferry along the harbor getting a different view or angle of the Sydney Opera House & Darling Harbour Bridge. You simply ride the ferry at the Circular Quay Wharf 4 then in less than an hour, you get to Taronga!
Must See I QBE Free- flight Bird Show or the Seal Show.
Tip I Get a map & check the animals you want to see first before you start wandering around especially if you want to have animal encounters. Make sure you go early to the scheduled time of the shows to get good seats.
Approximately 45 minutes from Central Sydney, you may enjoy the iconic Bondi Beach. Bondi is an Aboriginal word which means water breaking over rocks which is why its known for surfing. But if you’re not into surfing, you may simply enjoy the view during sunrise & sunset, through a stroll/ coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee or picnic, having coffee, fish & chips or like in our case, have churros by the beach.
By Bus I Go to Alfred Street in Circular Quay & ride the bus numbered 380/ 333 (destination of the bus should show NORTH BONDI, DOVER HEIGHTS, WAITRONS BAY or BONDI BEACH). You may ride the same bus in going back to the city (destination of the bus should show CIRCULAR QUAY).
By Train I You may ride in stations Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff to Bondi Junction. Then switch into a 380, 381, 382 or 333 bus for a 15-minute ride to the beach. You may ride the same bus to Bondi Junction then from there, switch to a train going back to Central.
Must Try I We didn’t have much time to explore around Bondi but we tried San Churro which were recommended by our friends who lives in Sydney. Churros with assorted dips, coffee plus the view. Ah!
The Grounds of Alexandria is one of the places tourists love to visit for some food trip cozy experience. It’s a rustic-like courtyard with a café serving freshly roasted seasonal blend and single origin coffees & artisan pastries, a potting shed serving drinks & a garden where pizza, burgers & other charcoal grill offerings are served. There are also shops, food stalls & a play area for kids.
Must Try I Chargrilled Lamb topped with Garlic & Chili Sauce paired with Rose Lemonade.Coffee & Pastries, for sure!
Heads Up I The place gets crowded. A little patience will go a long way to get your seats.
Tip I Should you have time for shopping, there are a lot of outlet shops in Alexandria. Check your maps for all of them!
If you’re into some nature tripping, Blue Mountains is a place for you. Although we weren’t able to visit this place during our trip due to time constraints, this should be part of the places to see when in Sydney. It is called Blue Mountains because they look ‘blue’ from Sydney. This is the result of the eucalyptus oil’s mist (products of eucalypts or gum trees that make up the Blue Mountains) refracting light, making the haze look color blue from a distance. It is famous for the three sisters sandstone rock formation. The place is filled with forests, waterfalls, gardens & a magnificent view that will surely take your breath away! If you don’t have a vehicle going there, you may book a tour or ride a bus going to Katoomba, from there you may ride a bus to get to the Blue Mountains. This will take approximately 3 & a half hours so expect the whole journey to at least 1 whole day should you go back to the city.
This is one of the places we missed, that should be on the list, during our last visit to Sydney. This is a place for the wine lovers! It is Australia’s oldest wine region. Here you may explore vineyards with fresh & exceptional wine paired with gourmet food. You may also enjoy its scenery through riding a hot-air balloon or skydiving. Ah! Both on our bucket list! If you don’t have a vehicle going there, you may book a tour or ride a bus or train to Maitland, the main transit point of the Hunter Valley. Which will take approximately 3 & a half hours so expect a whole day trip should you go back to the city. Another option is by plane from Sydney to Cessnock or to Newcastle which is the nearest main town to the Hunter Valley. It is best to have a vehicle or to book a tour for a hassle free experience.
A dream come true. God knows how grateful we are & how much our hearts are full.
If you want to attend Hillsong Church Services, you may check the schedules in the different campuses at their website (https://hillsong.com/sydney/). Best to have reserved seats as services across the campuses get full especially during the conference season. Visit their website & click “Plan a visit”, go to “Concierge”, fill out the details then you’re good to go! All the details are at their website. Despite the reservation, be early still. Main service is at the Hills campus. They provide a free transportation from the Parramatta Station & Blacktown to the Hills & back, right after the service. Just check details under “Courtesy Bus”.
Get an Opal Card for free with a minimum load of $10 & download the Opal App to get around Sydney. This can be used for trains, ferries, buses & light rails.
Download the tripview app for transport timetables.
Schedule far destinations, which cost more in transportation on Sundays, as maximum spend for that day is only $2.50.
Sydney provides a FREE BUS that operates every day around Central Sydney called/ numbered 555. It runs every 10 minutes from the Central station to Circular Quay & back through Elizabeth & George street. Check photo for the direction of the whole loop. Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30am- 3:30pm, Thursday 9:30am- 9pm, Saturday- Sunday 9:30am- 6pm.
Get a sim card for communication, data usage & getting around Sydney. You may purchase it upon arrival at the airport. Make sure your phone has an open line.
Take note that most of the shops, malls, stores & restaurants close early or by 5pm in Sydney.
Check online deals ahead of time to score discounted tickets.
For shopping, visit Pitt Street, QVB, Strand Arcade, DFO Homebush (Chemist for perfumes & Priceline for makeups), Birkenhead, Surplus Shops- K- Mart & Target & for Souvenirs- Paddington Markets.
If you are in hurry to get to a place, Uber is very convenient in Sydney.
Don’t forget your TimTams! Another sweet treat to try is Coles Ultimate Chocolate Chip & Cinnamon Donuts.
Go- to food: Nando’s, Thai Food.
If you’re attending the conference, you should try the NACHOS sold at one of the stalls there. Yum!
This definitely won’t be our first & last. We’ll be back to attend another conference & see more of Straya. See you later, Mate!
“look out, you’ll never see that in other countries”.
And on the same day he says “let’s book tickets every time there are promo fares”.
It is impossible not to love Siargao.
Some say this island has a magnet. I agree.
So what’s in this beautiful island? As much as I want people to discover for themselves, I just can’t zip it. This is how stoked this place is.
Situated in the province of Surigao del Norte is the enchanting Siargao, a tear- drop shaped island in the Philippine Sea with approximately 437 square kilometers land area. Siargao is known for its waves & is dubbed as the Philippine’s surfing capital. It is composed of municipalities of Burgos, Dapa, Del Carmen, General Luna, San Benito, Pilar, San Isidro, Santa Monica and Socorro.
WHAT TO DO & WHERE TO GO?
Although Siargao is famous for surfing, for me, you get hooked to Siargao not just because of surfing but because of the whole island life experience.
With a lot of surfing spots, it is known to be the surfing capital of the Philippines. One of or the most famous surfing spots is CLOUD 9 which has a reputation of reaching up to 9ft & thick with hollow tubes making barrels in surfing.
That’s Reel, the husband, gracefully gliding his way through the waves while I stare in awe from afar. Do you see me?
Cloud 9 is where the provincial government of Surigao del Norte holds the Annual Siargao Cup during September where the waves get really big. Surfing conditions are divine from August to November.
Surf Spots Cloud 9, Caridad, Cemetery, Guyam Island, Jacking Horse, La Janoza, Mamon, Antokon, Anajauan Island, Pacifico, Pansukian Reef, Pilar, Rock Island, Stimpy’s, Tuason’s Point & many more.
You’ve got to get rid of the voice that’s screaming, you can’t & listen to that still small voice that’s saying LET GO. Let Go & Let God.
Eyes here! Check out the Surfing & Diving Spots.
Offshore, there are 3 islands to go to- the Naked Island, Daku Island & Guyam Island. The naked island is as it is- naked with lush sand bar while Daku & Guyam Islands are covered with dozens of coconut palm trees. Three Islands have equally pristine sandy beaches surrounding them.
Although Siargao is famous for surfing, diving does not take a back seat & does not fall far from the known surfing spots in the Philippines. Dive sites near Daku & Naked Island are Casulian, Pilar Twin Rocks, Shark Point, Blue Cathedral, Puyo and Seeco Reef. You can also do free diving.
You will never go hungry in this island, you will always have something awesome to eat. My husband & I couldn’t try all of them but here were some of the places we went to dine. If you’re on a budget, you can shop at the market & at the grocery store for ingredients & cook them at the place where you’re renting. Gladly we have a chef- friend who blessed us with his passion.
If you’re on a budget, buy food at the Market & cook ’em! Fresh catch & very affordable.
F&B at Kermit’s is SUPERB! And the ambiance is just perfect. My favorite from this trip.
Who needs a manmade pool when you have this natural wonder in this place? About 39 minutes from General Luna, you’ll be able to experience the Magpupungko Rock Pool. Make sure you visit during low tide or else this beauty will be hidden by the bounty of water from the sea.
Sugba Lagoon is about 58 minutes from General Luna. There you can swim, paddle board, take photos & videos or simply chill. We weren’t able to go there at this time. Now that’s a reason to come back!
Approximately 2-hour drive from General Luna to Socorro is another beauty- Sohoton Cave where you can swim with the stingless jellyfish!
With the scenic views & a-ok roads, you with family & friends would surely enjoy going around the island on a leisurely bike or motor ride or exercise through cycling or running. You can bring your own bike/ motorbike or rent them. Daily rental for bikes are P150 per person & P500 for motorbikes.
Massage areas are just around the vicinity & you can also let the masseuse go at your place where you’re more comfortable. We got ours for P400 each.
Yoga Centers are available here & there. You may ask the resort personnel where you can do your Yoga, I saw one at Kermit & at the Boardwalk in Cloud 9. As well as renting a kayak to go island hopping or paddle boarding around the beach just before reaching the area where the waves break for surfing.
There are daily activities in the island, there’s an Acoustic Night at Buddha every Tuesday. Here are some of the events happening in the Island. For other information on the happenings in Siargao, you may check Siargao Classifieds & Siargao Events on facebook or check hashtags on Siargao online.
Love to take photos & videos? Whether your goal is to take fashion, sports or travel & having models as your subject or landscapes, Siargao is the place to be. You will see a lot of photographers & videographers around the plus photos online. Talk about FEED GOALS. Here are some of the photos that made me swoon.
For more interesting shots, follow them on instagram.
Another attraction that’s soon to rise! Check Siargao Wake Park for updates.
This I believe makes a big difference to your Siargao experience. Well, you could say you can do all of these things to the other parts of the Philippines or in the world for that matter but all of the above plus the interaction that you get is the cherry on top.
The moment we got to Siargao till the end, we felt the warmth of every soul, local or tourist, we’ve encountered.
Good food & good company!
Fly directly to Siargao via Cebu. All direct flights are currently via Cebu through Cebu Pacific Airlines (www.cebupacificair.com) with approximately 50 mins. back & forth.
Fly to Surigao City then ride a ferry to Siargao.
Fly to Butuan then ride a bus to Surigao City then ride a ferry to Siargao.
Ride a ferry from Surigao City to Siargao.
There are many ferries or the Roll-on-Roll-off (RoRo) that travel from Surigao City to Siargao that connect to the Dapa Port in Siargao which cost approximately p210- p350 per person. Ferries accommodate cars & trucks. Travel usually takes 2 to 3 hours depending which vessel you’ll ride.
From Cebu, you may ride Cokaliong Shipping Lines (www.cokaliongshipping.com) or Cebu Ferries Corporation (www.cebuferries.com) which is an overnight trip. When you arrive at Surigao City take the next ferry to Siargao.
From Manila, you may ride Manila Superferries (www.superferry.com.ph) which takes approximately 30 hours to get to Surigao. Then, when you arrive at Surigao City take the next ferry to Siargao.
24 hour Bus services are readily available in the places mentioned. Once you get to the bus terminal, check the daily schedule.
If you booked in a resort, most likely you’ll have transfer services already, you may check with them. If not, they will recommend transfer services or you may contact the numbers below. Fee is P300 per person but if you’re on a private trip/ transfer it’s usually 1,500.
Nowadays, this question is very easy to answer. You can just google them then boom, you’ll see the list of resorts in Siargao. If you want a luxurious experience you can stay at Dedon but if you’re on a budget, no worries! Siargao is relatively affordable. If you’re a beginner, it’s best to stay in General Luna because there are a lot surfing spots nearby but if you wanna get on the big waves, you may stay at Cloud 9.
We stayed in MATANJAK. We were blessed by our friend, Bren. This was his wedding gift to us. Horray! Blessed even more to encounter warm people there.
For inquiries you may check them on facebook- Matanjak Guest House. | 2019-04-24T13:04:12Z | https://trulytara.com/tag/photography/ |
The International Cyanide Management Code (hereinafter “the Cyanide Code”) and other documents or information sources referenced at www.cyanidecode.org are believed to be reliable and were prepared in good faith from information reasonably available to the drafters. However, no guarantee is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any of these other documents or information sources. No guarantee is made in connection with the application of the Cyanide Code, the additional documents available or the referenced materials to prevent hazards, accidents, incidents, or injury to employees and/or members of the public at any specific site where gold or silver is extracted from ore by the cyanidation process. Compliance with this Cyanide Code is not intended to and does not replace, contravene or otherwise alter the requirements of any specific national, state or local governmental statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, or other requirements regarding the matters included herein. Compliance with this Cyanide Code is entirely voluntary and is neither intended nor does it create, establish, or recognize any legally enforceable obligations or rights on the part of its signatories, supporters or any other parties.
Signatories of the International Cyanide Management Code commit to follow the Cyanide Code's Principles and Standards in the use of cyanide. The Standards of Practice listed under each Principle in the Cyanide Code set performance goals and objectives that an operation must achieve in order to be certified as in compliance with the Cyanide Code.
The specific means of implementing the Cyanide Code described in this guidance document are not mandatory in order for an operation to become certified as Cyanide Code compliant. An operation can achieve certification if it is able to demonstrate that its methods achieve the performance goal as stated in the Standard of Practice.
This Document can be a useful tool for all stakeholders in that it describes an acceptable method that achieves the performance goals set by the Standards of Practice.
1. PRODUCTION - Encourage responsible cyanide manufacturing by purchasing from manufacturers who operate in a safe and environmentally protective manner.
Purchase cyanide from manufacturers employing appropriate practices and procedures to limit exposure of their workforce to cyanide and to prevent releases of cyanide to the environment.
Many cyanide manufacturers are members of the International Council of Chemical Associations' Responsible Care® Program, which promotes the adoption of Cyanide Codes of Practice to limit workforce exposures to cyanide and to prevent, control and respond to environmental releases of cyanide. Most cyanide manufacturers pay great attention to product stewardship and employ management systems, procedures and practices to achieve these goals. Cyanide Code signatories can play a significant role by encouraging cyanide producers to act responsibly and purchase cyanide from manufacturers that have signed the Cyanide Code and had their production plant certified as compliant with the Cyanide Code's Principles and Production Practices.
A company’s primary purchasing arrangements for cyanide can be interrupted by production or transportation problems beyond its control, and it may occasionally be necessary to purchase cyanide from alternate sources for a limited time to ensure continued production. Operations should include the same requirements in all contracts developed with secondary cyanide distributors and producers.
The contract with an independent distributor of cyanide should require the distributor to provide cyanide that has been produced at a facility certified as compliant with the Cyanide Code. A certification or chain-of-custody documentation stating that the cyanide delivered to an operation was indeed produced by the stated manufacturer must also be provided.
2. TRANSPORTATION - Protect communities and the environment during cyanide transport.
Establish clear lines of responsibility for safety, security, release prevention, training and emergency response in written agreements with producers, distributors and transporters.
For international shipments, packaging and labeling should conform to Recommendations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (a.k.a. the Orange Book), published by the United Nations Economic and Social Council's Committee of Experts on Transport of Dangerous Goods.
The written agreement should also specify that the designated responsibilities extend to any subcontractors used by the producer, distributor, transporter or the operation for transportation-related activities.
Require that cyanide transporters implement appropriate emergency response plans and capabilities, and employ adequate measures for cyanide management.
Although it may not have direct control over the cyanide transport process, a mining operation is expected to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the transporter, and any subcontractors involved in cyanide transport, make health, safety and environmental considerations a priority while transporting cyanide to the mine.
Operations should require in their transport contracts for cyanide that the transporter signs the Cyanide Code and has its cyanide transport activities certified as compliant with the Cyanide Code's Principles and Transport Practices.
Design and construct unloading, storage and mixing facilities consistent with sound, accepted engineering practices, quality control and quality assurance procedures, spill prevention and spill containment measures.
To the extent feasible, unloading and storage areas for liquid and solid cyanide should be located away from people and surface waters. The potential for releases to surface water and/or human exposure associated with the storage location should be evaluated, and the operation should implement precautions as needed to prevent or minimize these potentials. Protective measures may include automatic sensors and alarms for hydrogen cyanide gas, enhanced or additional containment structures, and specific emergency procedures for notification, evacuation, response and remediation. Additionally, many cyanide manufactures have guidelines for the design, construction and operation of unloading and storage facilities that may be helpful in the implementation of this practice.
Unloading of liquid cyanide should be done on a concrete surface to prevent leakage from contacting the environment. Systems and procedures should be in place to address potential recovery of released solution, remediation of any contaminated soil, and possible failures of the tank trucks as necessary to protect surface and ground water. A method to prevent the overfilling of cyanide storage tanks (other than by direct observation and manual gauging rod) should be provided, such as an automatic level indicator, high- level alarm, or integrated tank and tanker valve-shutdown device.
Storage areas for cyanide should be well ventilated to prevent the build-up of hydrogen cyanide gas. Measures such as storage under a roof and off the ground or in secure containers should be in place to minimize the potential for contact of cyanide with water. Cyanide should be stored within a secure location where public access is prohibited, such as the fenced boundary of the operation/plant or within a separate fenced and locked area. Cyanide should not be stored with acids, strong oxidizers, explosives, foods, animal feeds, tobacco products, or any other incompatible materials. Berms, bunds, walls or other barriers that will prevent mixing can be used.
Cyanide storage and mixing tanks should be located on a concrete surface to prevent seepage to the subsurface. Secondary containment should be employed to contain any releases from the tanks, and for any precipitation that may come in contact with the cyanide. Allowances must also be made for the recovery and return to the cyanidation process or proper disposal of any contaminated water or cyanide leakages.
Secondary containments used for this purpose should be constructed of concrete, asphalt, plastic or other materials that are demonstrated to provide a competent barrier. Containments, which may include multiple containments connected by piping, should be sized to hold a volume of leakage greater than that of the largest tank, any piping that drains back into the containment, and should have additional capacity for the design storm event. Procedures should be implemented to prevent discharge to the environment of any process solution or precipitation contaminated with cyanide that is collected in a secondary containment area.
Operations should employ quality control and quality assurance procedures in the construction of foundations, storage and mixing tanks, solution handling facilities and containments to ensure that design objectives have been achieved. Records should be retained documenting that these procedures have been followed.
Cyanide storage and mixing tanks and related pipelines should be constructed of or coated with materials compatible with cyanide and high pH conditions. Tanks and pipelines should be clearly identified as containing cyanide, and the direction of flow should be indicated on pipelines. This should be accomplished by using labels, tags, signs or other clearly legible markings. Some jurisdictions also have standardized color-codes for cyanide tanks and pipes containing cyanide.
Operate unloading, storage and mixing facilities using inspections, preventive maintenance and contingency plans to prevent or contain releases and control and respond to worker exposures.
The unloading, storage and mixing of cyanide at an operation involves concentrated solutions of cyanide and solid cyanide salts and therefore presents the potential for worker exposure and environmental releases involving potentially toxic concentrations of cyanide. Employing appropriate practices and procedures during these activities is critical to protect worker health and safety, prevent releases, and effectively respond to any exposures or releases.
Operations should develop and implement a written set of procedures designed to prevent or control exposures and releases during cyanide unloading, storage and mixing activities. These procedures may be in the form of an operating manual, standard operating procedures, checklists, signs, training documents, or other written formats as long as they address the elements discussed below, as appropriate for the site and its unloading, storage and mixing activities.
The procedures should include instructions for operating all valves and couplings, and requirements for use of personal protective equipment. Procedures for handling solid cyanide should include measures to ensure that containers are neither ruptured nor punctured, and describe limits on stacking containers. Mixing procedures should include techniques to minimize the evolution of hydrogen cyanide gas, prevent loss of solid cyanide, and insure the handling and disposal of empty cyanide containers consistent with the Cyanide Code.
Where the operation receives cyanide in solid form and mixes it into solution on site, the resultant high strength cyanide solution should contain colorant dye at a concentration that provides for clear visual identification and for clear differentiation with other solutions or rainwater that may be present. For adding dye, high strength cyanide solution is defined as solution having a minimum concentration of 15% cyanide.
Operations should develop contingency procedures for responding to releases and worker exposure that may occur during the unloading, mixing and storage of cyanide. These plans should address the issues identified under Principle 6, Worker Safety and Principle 7, Emergency Response, and may be incorporated into the operation's overall Emergency Response Plan.
At least two individuals also should be present when unloading liquid cyanide so that one can be available for immediate response in the event of an exposure. These individuals, who may be from the operation or the transport company, should be trained in the unloading procedures used at that site as well as in the applicable procedures for emergency response to worker and community exposure and environmental release. Remote video monitoring can be used in lieu of the second "observer" during the unloading of liquid cyanide.
At least two individuals should also be present when mixing cyanide with water unless an automated system is used or a remote video monitoring system is used. The cyanide manufacturer's recommended procedures for mixing or similar site-specific procedures should be followed closely to minimize the possibility of worker exposure. The pH of the mix water should be sufficiently high to minimize the evolution of hydrogen cyanide gas. The exact pH required at a given operation will depend on the concentration of cyanide in solution, the water chemistry, and the engineered controls built in to the mixing system.
Cyanide-specific first aid and emergency response equipment should be readily available for use at unloading, storage and mixing locations, including high-pH water for decontamination of exposed workers, oxygen, resuscitator and appropriate personal protective equipment. An antidote for cyanide poisoning must also be available. However, while any trained individual can administer oxygen and/or amyl nitrite, only certified medical personnel may administer intravenous antidotes. A means of communication or notification, such as a radio, telephone or alarm system, should also be available to summon help in the event of an exposure. Workers involved with unloading, storage and mixing should be trained in the use of emergency rescue equipment and in the first aid procedures for responding to cyanide exposures as discussed in Principle 8, Training.
Spill neutralization and clean-up equipment should also be readily available at unloading, storage and mixing locations. This may include water for cleaning up spills of liquid cyanide, shovels for cleaning up spills of solid cyanide, and chemicals to treat or neutralize cyanide and cyanide-contaminated soils, as well as cyanide-specific personal protective equipment. See the Guidance for Standard of Practice 7.5 regarding treatment of cyanide. Personnel engaged in unloading, storage and mixing activities should be trained in the operation's procedures to respond to cyanide spills, including notifications, clean up and detoxification.
Storage areas, pipelines, pumps, valves and tanks should be inspected regularly for evidence of leakage, presence of solution in secondary containments and integrity of the containment. Deficiencies should be noted and records retained documenting the inspection and the implementation of necessary corrective measures.
Empty cyanide containers should not be reused on or off the mine site for any purpose other than holding cyanide. Prior to disposal or re-use, cyanide drums should be rinsed three times with high-pH water to remove cyanide residue. All rinse water should either be added to the cyanidation process or assumed to contain cyanide and disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The rinsed drum may then be crushed and placed in a landfill. Plastic bags and liners should also be triple-rinsed prior to disposal. Wooden crates are difficult to effectively decontaminate; it should be assumed that they have come in contact with cyanide and they should be burned or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. Cyanide containers that are specifically meant for return to the vendor for reuse may not require internal rinsing, but any cyanide residue on the outside of the container should be washed off and managed consistent with the Cyanide Code, and the container should be securely closed for shipment.
The cyanide manufacturer's guidelines and government regulations where they have been established.
4. OPERATIONS: Manage cyanide process solutions and waste streams to protect human health and the environment.
Implement management and operating systems designed to protect human health and the environment including contingency planning and inspection and preventive maintenance procedures.
Written management systems, including operating plans and procedures, are the link between a site's design and its operation. On a daily basis, these systems provide a method to insure operational parameters are consistent with design criteria and assumptions. Although formalized plans are suggested, the Cyanide Code does not require an operation to compile its cyanide-specific procedures into specified formats or documents or that the necessary cyanide management procedures be documented separately from an operation's other operating, training or environmental plans and procedures. Procedures may be in the form of manuals, standard operating procedures, checklists, signs, training materials or other forms, and may be separate for cyanide management or included with other documentation, as long as they demonstrate the operation's understanding of managing cyanide in a manner that prevents or controls releases to the environment and exposures to workers and the community.
Operating plans or procedures should be developed and implemented for both new and existing facilities such as leach plants, heap leach operations, tailings impoundments, cyanide treatment, regeneration and disposal systems for the use, management and disposal of cyanide and cyanide-containing solutions.
The plans or procedures should describe the standard practices necessary for the safe and environmentally sound operation of the facility and the specific measures needed for compliance with the Cyanide Code, such as inspections and maintenance activities, and identify the assumptions and parameters on which the facility design was based. They should also identify any applicable regulatory requirements necessary to prevent or control cyanide releases and exposures, examples of which include the freeboard required for safe pond and impoundment operation and cyanide concentrations in tailings on which the facility's wildlife protection measures or permit limits are based.
The management system should also include procedures to identify when the initial design and operating practices at the site have or will be changed, and require a change in cyanide management practices. For example, the initial design of a facility may have been based on disposal of tailings with a sufficiently low Weak Acid Dissolvable (WAD) cyanide concentration, making no additional wildlife protection measures necessary. But if the mine encounters ore with a high copper content, the increased cyanide concentrations required for efficient leaching may result in a tailings solution that is harmful to birds. Therefore, a change in procedure would be warranted to prevent the exposure of birds to a tailings solution that may have a toxic concentration of cyanide. For example, the procedure may require the blending of ore types, or the use of a cyanide destruction or regeneration plant, to address this issue.
Management systems and operating plans or procedures should also include contingencies for situations where there is an upset in a facility's water balance, when inspections or monitoring identifies a problem, and when a temporary closure or cessation of operations may be necessary. Prior planning for these situations allows rapid responses and minimizes risks of cyanide exposures and releases.
Various programs and guidelines can be useful as models for development of environmental management systems. The International Standards Organization's ISO 14000, British Standards BS 7750, European Community's Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, V. Environment all provide frameworks an operation can use as a basis for its cyanide management system. However, the Cyanide Code does not require the use of any single approach to environmental management nor accepts such systems in lieu of the development and implementation of the plans and procedures identified in the Cyanide Code.
Facilities should be inspected on an established frequency to ensure that they function within design parameters. Although specific inspection needs will depend on the facilities at a given site and the degree of automated instrumentation, some visual inspections are typically necessary at most sites. Tanks holding process solutions should be inspected for structural integrity and signs of corrosion and leakage. Secondary containments should be inspected for their integrity, the presence of fluids, and their available capacity to ensure that drains are closed and, if necessary, locked, to prevent accidental releases to the environment. Leak detection and collection systems at leach pads and ponds should be inspected as required in the design documents. Pipelines, pumps and valves should be inspected for deterioration and leakage. Ponds and impoundments should be inspected for the parameters identified as critical in design documents to their containment of cyanide and solutions, maintenance of the water balance (such as available freeboard) and the integrity of structures for diversion of surface water and runoff.
Facility inspections should be documented on inspection forms, in log books or by other means, and should include the date of the inspection, the name of the inspector, and any observed deficiencies. The nature and date of corrective actions also should be documented.
Preventive maintenance programs should be implemented and their activities documented to ensure that equipment and devices necessary for cyanide management function continuously. Pumps, pipelines, and cyanide treatment and destruction/regeneration equipment are examples of equipment that should be regularly maintained so that failures do not result in worker exposures or releases to the environment.
Operations should have a source of emergency power for pumps and other equipment to prevent unintentional cyanide releases and worker exposure when their primary power supply is interrupted. Back-up power generating equipment should be maintained and tested to insure its viability and reserves.
Introduce management and operating systems to minimize cyanide use, thereby limiting concentrations of cyanide in mill tailings.
Limiting cyanide use to the greatest extent practicable has environmental and economic benefits because reducing the concentration of cyanide lowers the risk of potential seepage, and harmful exposures to wildlife, and minimizing the amount of cyanide that must be transported to the site lowers the potential of transport-related releases.
While facilities must use the amount of cyanide determined to be metallurgically necessary for efficient precious metal extraction, operations should use bottle roll or other test procedures to determine the optimal amount of cyanide, and should reevaluate and adjust addition rates as necessary when changes in ore type or processing plant practices occur. Operations should also evaluate various control strategies for cyanide additions, such as periodic sampling and automated systems to optimize efficiency, to reduce cyanide concentrations in mill tailings and/or recycled solutions, and then implement the chosen strategy.
Implement a comprehensive water management program to protect against unintentional releases.
The proper management of process solution and storm water is central to the prevention of releases from tailings impoundments and solution ponds. A comprehensive water balance should be developed in order to define the necessary parameters for design and operation of these facilities. Inspection and monitoring to maintain the water balance should become part of the facility's operating procedures, thus preventing an over-accumulation of water that can result in overtopping, unplanned discharge into the environment, and the potential structural failure of the facility.
The water balance should be probabilistic in nature, taking into account the uncertainty and variability inherent in the prediction of precipitation patterns. This entails considering precipitation and evaporation ranges, extremes and seasonal variations, as well as average conditions. Although a water balance must be developed on a site-specific basis, a number of basic factors must be considered in all cases.
The rates at which solutions are applied to leach pads and tailings are deposited into storage facilities are critical design parameters for sizing facilities. Once set (unless other engineering changes are made) these rates will limit the amount of tailings that can safely be discharged to an impoundment and the volume of leach solution that can be circulated through a leach operation.
Facility design must be based on a storm duration and return interval that provides a sufficient degree of probability that overtopping of the pond or impoundment can be prevented. Since precipitation falling on the facility and evaporation from it may represent a significant input and loss of water to the system, these rates should be evaluated on a regular (typically monthly) basis to account for seasonal variations in weather patterns. The selection of events and their recurrence interval should be based on the anticipated period of operations, rainfall distribution patterns, the relative safety, health and environmental risks at the site, applicable regulatory requirements and an adequate margin of safety. Examples include but are not limited to designs for containment of a 100- year, 24-hour event (the most precipitation anticipated to fall during a 24-hour period once every 100 years) and a 50-year, 72-hour event (the most precipitation anticipated to fall during a 72- hour period once every 50 years). The quality of existing data is also a factor, and conservative assumptions or adjustments may need to be considered when long-term data are not available or where the only data available do not represent actual site conditions.
The amount of precipitation entering a pond or impoundment resulting from surface run-on from the up gradient watershed must be considered in the water balance. While the design storm event used to calculate inflow from up gradient will be at least the same as that used for precipitation falling directly on the facility, it may be necessary to increase the anticipated volume of precipitation if the watershed includes significantly higher terrain, to account for infiltration into the ground and run-off entering the facility.
In regions receiving precipitation as snow or ice, an "inventory" of precipitation may accumulate for weeks or months during freezing conditions and be released as a single inflow during a thaw. The potential for such an occurrence must be considered in areas experiencing such conditions.
For leach ponds, the water balance should also include an evaluation of the amount of solution that can drain from the heap to a pond before pumping capacity can be restored. Site-specific parameters, such as the height and porosity of the heap, should be considered along with the design storm event and other potential failure scenarios such as pipe failure. A 48-hour period is used by some jurisdictions for drain-down calculations.
The water balance must also take into account various solution losses in addition to evaporation. These include the capacity of decant, drainage and recycling systems used to return solution to the process, seepage to the subsurface as authorized by the applicable jurisdiction, and whether the facility is allowed to discharge solution to surface water. Where pumps and other equipment will be used to remove solution from ponds and impoundments, the water balance must account for potential power outages or equipment failures, and the availability of back-up equipment and power.
Where discharge to surface water is allowed and deemed necessary to accommodate site design and climatic conditions, the capacity of cyanide treatment, destruction or regeneration systems must be considered in the water balance. Further, the on-line availability of these systems, and the implications of their failure or maintenance downtime, must be factored into the water balance and facility storage capacity.
Other aspects of facility design may have direct consequences on how the water balance must be determined, and these factors must be included when calculating the amount of water that can be stored in the impoundment. For example, the analysis of dam stability or potential seepage of a tailings impoundment may be based on an assumed phreatic surface within the dam.
Ponds and impoundments must be designed to maintain an adequate freeboard between the crest of the pond or impoundment and the maximum design level of solution determined to be necessary from water balance calculations. Heights of 0.5-1.0 meters are examples of freeboard requirements that are typically found in many regulations and guidance documents as a safety factor and to account for potential wave action in tailings storage facilities. Greater freeboard may be necessary in leach ponds since their surface areas are generally much smaller than those of tailings storage facilities, and they fill more rapidly during increased precipitation.
Operation of a rain gauge is necessary unless daily precipitation data is available from another nearby source that is representative of site conditions. Precipitation data should be compared with the assumptions used for facility design, and operating practices should be reviewed and revised as necessary to account for actual measured precipitation.
Implement measures to protect birds, other wildlife and livestock from adverse effects of cyanide process solutions.
Process solutions impounded in a Tailing Storage Facility (TSF), leaching facilities and solution ponds can attract birds, wildlife and livestock. A concentration of 50 mg/l WAD cyanide or lower in solution is typically viewed as being protective of most wildlife and livestock mortality other than aquatic organisms. Where birds, wildlife or livestock have access to water impounded in TSFs, leaching facilities or solution ponds, operations should implement measures to limit the concentration of WAD cyanide to a maximum of 50 mg/l. Various treatment methods are available to reduce cyanide concentrations in mill effluents to achieve this concentration.
Measures to restrict access by wildlife and livestock should be instituted for all open waters where WAD cyanide exceeds 50 mg/l. These measures include fencing, filling in leach solution collection and transport ditches with gravel, and covering or netting water in ditches, ponds and impoundments. Hazing techniques such as use of air cannons are not effective in most cases. Fencing is also appropriate in most cases to prevent unauthorized access and potential exposure to humans.
Solution application methods for leach operations should be designed and operated to avoid significant ponding on the heap surface and limit overspray of solution off the heap liner. This should prevent contact with birds and other wildlife and potential contamination of surrounding soil, surface water and ground water. Ponding on a heap leach facility may indicate saturated conditions at depth in the heap that could lead to structural failure and release of process solution to the environment.
Implement measures to protect fish and wildlife from direct and indirect discharges of cyanide process solution to surface water.
Process solutions may be discharged directly or indirectly to surface waters. A typical direct discharge would be a permitted discharge of tailings water to a stream, while an indirect discharge could be seepage from a tailings storage facility that flows on the surface or through the subsurface and enters a stream. Direct discharges to surface water may be necessary in regions where precipitation exceeds evaporation. Operations should implement measures to protect against and manage indirect discharges so that cyanide concentrations are not harmful to fish and wildlife in these surface waters.
Discharges to surface waters should not exceed 0.5 mg/l WAD cyanide nor result in a concentration of free cyanide in excess of 0.022 mg/l within the receiving surface water body, and downstream of any mixing zone approved by the applicable jurisdiction. The 0.022 mg/l guideline is from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Water Quality Criteria for Cyanide, and represents a concentration to which a freshwater aquatic community can be briefly exposed without resulting in an unacceptable effect.
The lower quantification limit (LQL) for free cyanide analysis achievable by most laboratories is 1 mg/l. (See: Sampling and Analysis) If the analytical laboratory cannot accurately determine compliance with the 0.022 mg/l value, the operation may demonstrate compliance by determining the free cyanide concentration in the discharge and calculating the resulting concentration after dilution in the mixing zone (if applicable). In the event that the free cyanide concentration of the discharge is below the analytical limit of quantification, the operation should determine the WAD cyanide concentration in the discharge, assume that all WAD cyanide is free cyanide, and calculate the resulting concentration after dilution in the mixing zone (if applicable). Operations may also apply biotoxicity testing using species and techniques accepted by the applicable jurisdiction.
Free cyanide levels of 0.022 mg/l may not be appropriate in all cases, as the sensitivity of aquatic life to cyanide varies with the species present and the characteristics of the receiving water. It will usually be necessary to treat or regenerate cyanide prior to its discharge in order to achieve 0.022 mg/l free cyanide downstream of the mixing zone. Many jurisdictions have their own specific numerical standards for surface water discharges or surface water quality, or may limit cyanide species other than free cyanide.
Treatment may be passive (allowing sufficient residence time in an impoundment for natural processes to reduce cyanide concentrations or use of wetlands) or active (utilizing any of the various available technologies to oxidize cyanide or to regenerate hydrogen cyanide for reuse in production). It should be noted that some treatment methods could increase the concentration of cyanide degradation products (such as cyanate, ammonia and nitrate) in the discharge. These substances can themselves be harmful to fish and wildlife. Although control of these substances is not covered by the Cyanide Code, operations utilizing such treatment systems should evaluate the effects of cyanide degradation products on exposed fish and wildlife and take measures necessary for their protection.
Monitoring surface water quality both up and down gradient of a cyanide facility can determine if an indirect discharge is causing harmful concentrations of cyanide in the surface water. In such a case, the discharge should be stopped either as soon as possible or intercepted and collected. The water balance and design parameters of a tailings storage facility should be reviewed to determine if the seep is from improper water management. Seepage that cannot be stopped should be collected in trenches, ponds or wells, and either returned to the production process or, if permitted, treated as necessary and discharged.
Implement measures designed to manage seepage from cyanide facilities to protect the beneficial uses of ground water.
Measures designed to manage seepage of leaching and tailings solutions should be incorporated into the design and construction of facilities to protect the existing beneficial uses of ground water, and/or the beneficial uses designated by the applicable jurisdiction. Where the beneficial use of ground water has been adversely impacted, mine operations should implement remedial measures to protect against further degradation and restore beneficial uses at the applicable monitoring location or point(s) of compliance.
For leach pads and leach solution ponds, this typically requires lining with a minimum of one synthetic membrane, such as high- or low-density polyethylene, HDPE or LDPE, placed on a prepared and compacted earthen liner. These and other liner systems, such as two synthetic membranes, can be designed and constructed with leak detection and recovery systems between the liners where significant hydraulic head exists (i.e., a solution pond or the internal solution collection trenches of a heap leach pad) to allow for periodic monitoring for leakage.
Limiting the hydraulic head by maintaining a small pond area will reduce the force driving solution into the subsurface. The earthen floor of an impoundment can be compacted in its natural condition, or by adding clay materials to form a liner.
Deposition methods can be used to promote tailings compaction and reduce their permeability.
Dam designs are available to promote drainage to a collection system rather than to the subsurface, and cut-off trenches can be used to intercept and collect shallow seepage before it can impact ground water.
Remedial actions such as pump-back systems also can be used to manage subsurface flows and prevent existing ground water plumes from reaching potential receptors and interfering with the beneficial uses of ground water.
The need for and nature of seepage control measures is highly dependent on site-specific hydrogeological conditions. Such systems should therefore be factored into the initial design of a tailings storage facility and be incorporated into the facility's operating plan to protect the designated beneficial uses of ground water. Any measures to restrict or control seepage from tailings storage facilities must be integrated into overall facility design, as they are directly related to the overall stability of the engineered structures.
Information on design and construction of TSFs can be found in Bulletins # 74, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104, 106 and 121 published by the International Commission On Large Dams, ICOLD, as well as in documents developed by many political jurisdictions.
Where mill tailings are used as underground backfill, the operation should determine the cyanide concentrations in the liquid phase and evaluate the risks to worker safety and ground water quality. Where potential exists for worker exposure to hydrogen cyanide gas, or for the release of cyanide to ground water, treatments to chemically convert, remove available cyanide, or to complex it in forms that do not present risks to worker health or the beneficial uses of the ground water or other appropriate actions should be implemented.
Provide spill prevention or containment measures for process tanks and pipelines.
Tanks holding process solutions such as leaching vessels, CIL and CIP tanks and cyanide tanks associated with cyanide regeneration activities should be located on concrete or material impermeable to seepage of spilled solution. Secondary containment should be provided for potential failure of cyanide process solution tanks, with provisions for recovery of released solution or remediation of any contaminated soil as necessary to protect surface and ground water. Containments should be sized to hold a volume greater than that of the largest tank within the containment, any piping that drains back into the containment, and have additional capacity for the design storm event.
Spill prevention or containment measures should also be provided for process solution pipelines. Examples include secondary containment ditches, differential pressure sensing with alarms and/or automatic shutoff systems, and preventive maintenance programs with pipe thickness measurements. While a program of regular visual inspections should also be conducted, visual inspections alone are not typically sufficient unless the inspections are conducted at a frequency that can identify and prevent significant releases. If a risk exists for a release of process solution from a pipeline to adversely affect surface water, such as where pipes cross streams, operations should evaluate the need for special protection such as double-walled piping.
Cyanide process tanks and pipelines should be constructed or coated with materials that are compatible with cyanide and high pH conditions. Tanks and pipelines should be clearly identified as containing cyanide. The direction of flow should be indicated on pipelines. Labels, tags, signs or other clearly legible markings can accomplish this. Some jurisdictions also have standardized color-codes for cyanide tanks and pipes containing cyanide.
Implement quality control/quality assurance procedures to confirm that cyanide facilities are constructed according to accepted engineering standards and specifications.
Facilities for the management of cyanide should be constructed according to accepted engineering standards and specifications. Quality control and quality assurance programs should be implemented during construction of new facilities and modifications to existing facilities to insure structural integrity and the ability to safely contain process solutions and solids. Qualified personnel should review facility construction and document that the facility has been built as proposed and approved.
Existing facilities may not have been subject to quality control and assurance programs when originally constructed. If no records exist, to ensure that the facility can operate consistent with the Cyanide Code’s Principles and Standards of Practice the facility must be inspected by appropriately qualified personnel and a report issued documenting the results.
The quality control and quality assurance program should address the suitability of the construction materials and the adequacy of soil compaction for earthworks such as tank foundations and earthen liners for leach facilities. Quality control and quality assurance procedures are also necessary for installation of synthetic membrane liners used in ponds and leach pads, for pipes, pipe fittings, for welds and bolts on cyanide storage and process tanks, and for any other equipment containing cyanide. Records should be retained to document that the specific quality control and quality assurance procedures have been followed.
Oversight by qualified personnel of all phases of construction and testing, and well-defined procedures for approval of changes to original design or construction techniques are also important aspects of quality control and quality assurance programs. The previously referenced ICOLD documents, as well as guidance documents developed by many individual countries and jurisdictions, provide information on quality control and quality assurance programs for construction of tailings dams and impoundments. In particular, the suitability of construction materials and the degree of compaction necessary for natural materials are of critical importance in most tailings storage facility designs. Other parameters may also be significant depending on the design.
Implement monitoring programs to evaluate the effects of cyanide use on wildlife, surface and ground water quality.
Monitoring programs play a key role in release prevention and identification and provide a basis for effective worker training. Sites should develop written standard procedures for monitoring activities and conduct these activities in a uniform and consistent manner to insure good quality.
Operations should monitor cyanide in discharges to surface water, and in the surface and ground water up gradient and down gradient of the site to determine the effectiveness of the current management systems and take any necessary corrective actions. Sampling and analytical protocols should be developed by appropriately qualified personnel and should specify to the extent practical how and where samples should be taken, sample preservation techniques, chain of custody procedures and cyanide species to be determined. Sampling conditions and procedures should be documented on standardized written forms, in logbooks or by other means.
Monitoring should be conducted at intervals adequate to characterize the medium being monitored and to identify changes in a timely manner. Timing may vary from site to site, depending on the amount of existing data, the stability of the parameters, and the rate of ground water movement. Discharges to surface waters are typically monitored daily, while surface water monitoring may be weekly or monthly. Ground water monitoring may be monthly, quarterly or longer. Monitoring for wildlife mortality is normally part of a daily inspection of cyanide facilities.
Plan and implement procedures for effective decommissioning of cyanide facilities to protect human health, wildlife and livestock.
Prior to the start of new operations, the steps necessary to decommission the cyanide facility should be determined so that the facility can be closed in a manner that prevents adverse impacts to people, wildlife or the environment.
Issues related to cyanide are only one component of a site's overall decommissioning and closure strategy. An operation may incorporate procedures to address decommissioning of cyanide facilities in its overall site closure plan, or it may develop separate procedures for decommissioning and closing. The chosen strategy should address issues such as disposal of cyanide reagents, decontamination of equipment, rinsing of heaps and activities to prepare tailings storage facilities for closure, removal of water from pond surfaces or reduction of the cyanide concentration to a level protective of human health and wildlife, and the installation of any equipment necessary for long-term protection of ground and/or surface water quality during the facility's closure period. The plan should also include implementation schedules for each activity. The decommissioning strategy should be routinely reviewed and revised during the life of the operation to address changes in facilities or the development of new decommissioning technologies.
Establish an assurance mechanism capable of fully funding cyanide related decommissioning activities.
A mining operation should develop an estimate of the cost to fully fund the cyanide-related decommissioning measures identified in its plan for site decommissioning or closure. The estimate should be based on the current cost for a third party to implement the identified decommissioning measures, and should be reviewed and updated at least every five years or when revisions are made that affect cyanide-related decommissioning activities.
An operation will be considered compliant with this Standard of Practice if it has met the financial assurance requirements imposed by the applicable political jurisdiction in an amount sufficient to cover its decommissioning costs as identified above.
In situations where there is no jurisdictional requirement for financial assurance for site decommissioning, an operation should establish an assurance mechanism capable of covering the costs of its cyanide-related decommissioning activities. One option is the establishment of a financial instrument, such as a bond, letter of credit or insurance in the amount estimated to be necessary for cyanide-related decommissioning activities. If the operation uses self-insurance or self-guarantee as its financial assurance, it must provide a statement by a qualified financial auditor that it has sufficient financial strength to fulfill this obligation as demonstrated by an accepted financial evaluation methodology such as those described in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations at 40 CFR 264.143(f), 30 CFR 800.23, 10 CFR 30, Appendix A, or at Sections 13 through 20 of Ontario Regulations 240/00, Mineral Development and Closure, under Part VII of the Ontario Mining Act.
6. WORKER SAFETY Protect workers' health and safety from exposure to cyanide.
Identify potential exposure scenarios and take measures as necessary to eliminate, reduce and control them.
Job functions and tasks should be evaluated to determine possible exposure scenarios and pathways. Process changes or engineering controls should be developed and implemented to eliminate these exposures and reduce or control them when they cannot be eliminated.
Operations should then develop and document procedures for performing cyanide-related tasks such as unloading, mixing, plant operations, entry into confined spaces, and equipment decontamination in a manner that minimizes worker exposures. These procedures should also address, where appropriate, the use of cyanide-specific personal protective equipment such as respirators, eye protection, protective gloves, coveralls or suits, pre-work inspections, emergency response, cyanide monitoring, communication and documentation. Personnel involved in cyanide management should be trained to handle cyanide in a manner that protects their safety and their co-workers' safety. Training should also include the proper use of equipment for personal protection, emergency rescue, and cyanide first aid.
Operations should also implement procedures to review any future proposed process or operational changes or modifications for their potential impact on worker health and safety, and to incorporate the necessary worker protection measures.
The workforce is a valuable source of information regarding where and how potential exposures can occur and how they can be managed. Worker input through safety meetings, suggestion boxes, or other methods should be factored into the development and evaluation of health and safety procedures.
Operate and monitor cyanide facilities to protect worker health and safety and periodically evaluate the effectiveness of health and safety measures.
The pH of a solution containing cyanide significantly affects the amount of evolved hydrogen cyanide and the potential for workers to be exposed to toxic concentrations of hydrogen cyanide gas. In aqueous solution, the cyanide ion hydrolyzes to form hydrogen cyanide. At a pH of 9.3 - 9.5, the cyanide ion, and hydrogen cyanide are at equilibrium. Higher pH conditions result in greater concentrations of the cyanide ion. At a pH of 10.0, 88% will be in the form of the cyanide ion and when the pH is increased to 11.0, more than 99% will be in the ionic form. Below a pH of 9.3 - 9.5, hydrogen cyanide will be the predominant form of cyanide. While aqueous hydrogen cyanide is soluble in water, it volatilizes rapidly under the temperature and pressure conditions typically found in gold cyanidation operations. Therefore, maintaining process solutions at a sufficiently high pH is necessary to effectively prevent evolution of significant amounts of hydrogen cyanide gas. However, in high saline water or when processing certain ore types, solution chemistry limits how high the pH can be adjusted. Operations should evaluate their solutions to determine the appropriate pH for limiting the evolution of hydrogen cyanide gas, and develop operating procedures and controls to reduce risks to its workforce.
Process changes and engineering or administrative controls should be used to limit worker exposure to hydrogen cyanide gas and sodium and potassium cyanide to a ceiling limit of 10 parts per million (11 mg/m3) as cyanide, not to be exceeded for any period of time. This value is used by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Australian National Occupational Health and Safety Commission as an 8-hour time-weighted average, and by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy and the World Bank as a ceiling or instantaneous limit. Additionally, workers should not be exposed to hydrogen cyanide gas and airborne sodium and potassium cyanide dust at concentrations exceeding 4.7 parts per million (5 mg/m3) as cyanide for a period of 8 consecutive hours or more. This value is recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) as a Ceiling Limit and by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a 15-minute short term exposure limit. Where the potential exists for significant worker exposure to hydrogen cyanide gas or sodium or potassium cyanide dust, the operation should monitor hydrogen cyanide concentrations with ambient and/or personal monitoring devices (either automatic or manual, passive or active) and evaluate the results to confirm that controls are adequate. Cyanide-specific personal protective equipment must be required in any areas and for any activities where process and engineering or administrative controls are not practicable or effective in limiting worker exposures to a maximum of 10 parts per million or where personnel are exposed to more than 4.7 parts per million for a continuous 8-hour period.
Cyanide monitoring equipment should be maintained, tested and calibrated as directed by the manufacturer, and records should be retained for at least one year. The need to monitor for hydrogen cyanide gas is increased in facilities where the solution chemistry is such that maintenance of a high pH in process solutions is difficult.
Warning signs should be placed where cyanide is used and should alert workers that cyanide is present, that smoking, open flames, eating and drinking are not allowed and that the necessary cyanide-specific personal protective equipment must be worn.
High strength cyanide solutions should contain colorant dye for clear identification when out of proper containment and for clear differentiation with other solutions or rainwater that may be present. Dye should be added at levels that provide a clear visual indicator of high strength cyanide solutions. For adding dye, high strength cyanide solutions are defined as those having minimum cyanide concentrations of 15% cyanide. For solid cyanide, dye should be added prior to or at the time of mixing, so that the resultant cyanide solution is dyed. When liquid cyanide is delivered to an operation, the solution should be dyed prior to delivery.
Showers, low-pressure eye wash stations and dry powder or non-acidic sodium bicarbonate fire extinguishers should be located at strategic locations throughout the operation where cyanide is present. This equipment should be maintained, inspected, and tested on a regular basis, and records should be retained.
Tanks and piping containing cyanide should be identified by color code, signs, labels, tags, decals or other means to alert workers of their contents. The direction of cyanide flow in pipes should also be labeled, marked or otherwise designated.
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), first aid procedures and any other informational materials on cyanide safety should be written in the language of the workforce and should be available in areas where cyanide is managed.
All exposure incidents should be investigated and evaluated to determine if the operation's programs and procedures to protect worker health and safety, and to respond to cyanide exposures are adequate or if changes are necessary.
Develop and implement emergency response plans and procedures to respond to worker exposure to cyanide.
Although every effort must be made to eliminate risks to workers from exposure to cyanide, operations must nonetheless be prepared for such exposures with effective response procedures and trained personnel. Cyanide first aid equipment including medical oxygen and a resuscitator must be on hand and inspected regularly to insure it is available when needed.
Antidotes for cyanide poisoning should be available at an operation. Preferred and permissible antidotes vary from country to country, and their selection at each operation must take local requirements into account. Intravenous antidotes such as sodium nitrite, sodium thiosulfate, cobalt edetate (Kelocyanor), and 4-dimethylaminophenol (DMAP) must only be administered by certified medical personnel. The antidote amyl nitrite is inhaled, and can be administered by trained non-medical personnel. However, all antidotes can themselves be harmful depending on the dose and the patient's overall health, and must be administered with great care and an understanding of the patient's pre-existing medical condition. Antidotes must be stored, tested and replaced as directed by their manufacturers.
Activate alarm or call for help to notify the appropriate site personnel (through alarms, radio, and telephone) so that medical assistance is available as soon as possible.
Call for assistance before responding to the emergency ("buddy-system"). Never try to rescue a cyanide victim on your own.
The responder must put on the personal protective equipment necessary to safely enter the area and come in contact with the exposed individual.
If possible, the responder must move the exposed individual to a safe area away from continued exposure. If removing the exposed individual from the area is not possible, the responder must attempt to prevent further exposure to the victim or seek assistance in moving the victim from the area of exposure.
All contaminated clothing must be removed from the exposed individual, and the exposed individual should be decontaminated by washing with water. Safety shower and eye wash stations using low-pressure water are recommended.
Oxygen must be administered, and medical help must be sought. Where authorized by the applicable jurisdiction, treatment with amyl nitrite is recommended along with oxygen. A resuscitator should be used if the exposed individual is not breathing.
Notify the appropriate site personnel and put on personal protective equipment.
The exposed individual, when conscious, should spit or be made to vomit, and the mouth should be rinsed with water.
Continue with decontamination and administration of oxygen and amyl nitrite if permitted, or if the exposed individual is not breathing, a resuscitator should be used.
If the exposed individual is not conscious, or has impaired consciousness, treat with oxygen and amyl nitrite, if permitted.
Workers who may be called upon to respond to cyanide exposures must be trained in the operation's response procedures and should take part in routine drills to test and improve their response skills.
Operations must develop their own on-site capabilities to provide first aid and medical assistance to workers exposed to cyanide. This is especially important in remote areas where qualified medical personnel may be hours away. Where qualified off site medical facilities are locally available, the operation should develop procedures to transport exposed workers. Formalized arrangements should be made with local hospitals, clinics, etc. so providers are aware of the potential need to treat patients for cyanide exposure prior to incident. The medical facility should have qualified staff, equipment and expertise to be able to respond effectively. The operation may need to assist local medical providers with training and equipment to enhance its capabilities.
Mock emergency drills based on likely release/exposure scenarios should be conducted periodically to test response procedures. Lessons learned from the drills should be incorporated into response planning and other procedures.
Prepare detailed emergency response plans for potential cyanide releases.
Failure of tailings impoundments, heap leach and other cyanide facilities.
Plans for transportation-related emergencies should consider the transportation route, the physical and chemical form of the cyanide, method of transport (e.g., rail, truck), the condition of the road or railway, and the design of the transport vehicle (e.g., single or double walled, top or bottom unloading).
The Plan should describe specific response actions, as appropriate for the emergency situations. These include clearing personnel and potentially affected communities from the area of exposure, notifying operational management and response personnel, use of cyanide antidotes and first aid measures, controlling releases at their source, containment of releases, assessment of the release and mitigation, procedures to examine the cause of the release, and implementation of measures to prevent its reoccurrence.
Due to its remote location, a mining operation may be the closest emergency responder in the event of a cyanide emergency at another mine or during cyanide transport. Although not an auditable Cyanide Code requirement, it is a good practice for operations to enter into mutual aid agreements with other mines or entities located nearby or on its cyanide transport routes.
Involve site personnel and stakeholders in the planning process.
The workforce and off-site stakeholders, including potentially affected communities, should be included in the emergency response planning process. The workforce can provide significant input in the identification of potential failure and release scenarios and response capabilities. Potentially affected communities should be made aware of the nature of the risks associated with cyanide and should be consulted regarding communication and response actions. It is especially important that the operation involve communities when the community has a role in the response action, such as when an evacuation may be necessary. The community may be involved directly through contact with potentially affected individuals or groups, or by contact with community leaders or representatives, depending on the nature of failure and effects scenarios.
Local response agencies such as outside responders and medical facilities in the community may be able to assist in a cyanide-related emergency. Their input should be solicited as appropriate to their capabilities and potential role in response actions.
Regular consultation or communication with the local community or its representatives should also be conducted as necessary to assure that the Plan addresses current conditions and risks.
Designate appropriate personnel and commit necessary equipment and resources for emergency response.
Primary and alternate emergency response coordinators should be designated.
The coordinator should have explicit authority to commit the resources necessary to implement the Plan.
Emergency response teams should be identified and appropriately trained and prepared.
The Emergency Response Plan should include call-out procedures and 24- hour contact information for the coordinators and response team members.
The duties and responsibilities of the coordinators and team members should be specified.
The Plan should identify all emergency response equipment available during transport of cyanide along transportation routes and/or on-site, including personal protective equipment. Procedures should be included to inspect this equipment regularly so that it will be available when required.
The Plan should describe the functions and responsibilities of outside responders, such as medical facilities and include necessary contact information. The operation should confirm that all outside entities included in the Emergency Response Plan are aware of their involvement and are included as necessary in mock drills or implementation exercises conducted by the operation.
Develop procedures for internal and external emergency notification and reporting.
The Plan should include procedures with up-to-date contact information for notifying management, regulatory agencies, community leaders, outside response providers and medical facilities of a cyanide emergency. Procedures and contact information should be included for notifying potentially affected communities of the incident and/or response measures and for communication with the media. Communities may have responsibility for their own protection in terms of evacuations or avoidance of contaminated water. If appropriate, a back-up contingency communication system should be considered.
Incorporate into response plans monitoring elements and remediation measures that account for the additional hazards of using cyanide treatment chemicals.
The Plan should describe specific remediation measures including procedures for the recovery or treatment of cyanide solutions or solids, decontamination of soils or other cyanide-contaminated media and management and/or disposal of spill clean-up debris. Where a cyanide release could contaminate sources of drinking water, the Plan should provide for an alternate drinking water supply.
The two major chemical treatment methods used to remediate cyanide in the environment are oxidation (using chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide or biological treatment) and complexation (using ferrous sulfate). Although both can be effective in reducing the impacts of cyanide released onto the land, it must be recognized that there are no safe and effective options to treat cyanide once it has entered natural surface waters such as streams and lakes.
Sodium hypochlorite and ferrous sulfate must never be used to treat cyanide that has been released into natural surface water bodies. Both of these chemicals are toxic to aquatic life. Treatment with sodium hypochlorite can produce cyanogen chloride (ClCN), which is hazardous to humans and aquatic life. Moreover, these chemicals have very limited effectiveness in treating cyanide at the pH of natural surface waters. Their utility is further reduced by the practical difficulty of adding them to surface water in a manner that allows for adequate contact and mixing with a cyanide plume, especially in a flowing stream or river. Although hydrogen peroxide is a less toxic and persistent oxidant than sodium hypochlorite, it is also harmful to aquatic life and its effectiveness is similarly limited by the lack of a means to mix it with the cyanide.
First, there must be a method to introduce the chemical into the water that ensures adequate mixing with a cyanide plume.
Second, effective treatment of the cyanide must be demonstrated at the pH of the surface water.
Third, the inevitable adverse impacts to aquatic life must have been considered and determined to be necessary in order to prevent human mortality. This implies that the technique has been fully evaluated prior to its use rather than done as an ad hoc response to an emergency. However, it must be recognized under Standard of Practice 7.4, an operation should develop an emergency notification procedure capable of providing sufficient warning to potentially affected individuals and communities to prevent contact with or ingestion of contaminated surface water.
Both sodium hypochlorite and ferrous sulfate can be used to treat releases of cyanide to land. Ferrous sulfate binds cyanide in an insoluble complex but does not chemically convert it to a less toxic substance. The complex formed is susceptible to photo-decomposition and can release cyanide back to the environment if it is not properly managed. Application of hypochlorite to neutralize a cyanide spill on land will oxidize the cyanide to the less toxic cyanate, which breaks down to ammonia and carbon dioxide. Hypochlorite and ferrous sulfate both must be used carefully to avoid their introduction into aquatic systems, and soil contaminated with these chemicals should be excavated and disposed of in compliance with the Cyanide Code and applicable requirements (i.e., with mill tailings or on a leach pad). Biological treatment of contaminated soil is also possible but is much slower than chemical treatment.
The Plan should also address the potential need for environmental monitoring to identify the extent and effects of a release and mitigation. Sampling methodologies and parameters should be established in the Plan for a rapid evaluation of the consequences of the release. Where practical, possible sampling locations should be established.
Although it may not be possible to detail all remediation and monitoring actions in advance of an actual release, the Plan should include sufficient information to provide a basis for decision-making during an emergency.
Periodically evaluate response procedures and capabilities and revise them as needed.
The Emergency Response Plan should include provisions for reviewing and evaluating its adequacy on a regular basis. Mock emergency drills reflecting the most likely incidents identified through the failure mode analysis should also be periodically used to test and evaluate the adequacy of the Plan. Drills can simulate a full-scale emergency situation or selectively isolate some aspect of the Plan. Including the potentially affected community in a simulation can enhance the benefits of the exercise, by creating a more realistic event, testing the public's response, and allowing participants to become familiar with operations and response personnel.
The Plan also should be evaluated after any emergency requiring implementation. When a review or simulation has identified deficiencies, the Plan should be revised as soon as possible to insure its proper functioning.
Train workers to understand the hazards associated with cyanide use.
All personnel who may encounter cyanide must be trained on its inherent hazards. This training should include recognition of cyanide materials at the operation, information regarding the health effects of cyanide, symptoms of cyanide exposure, and procedures to follow in the event of exposure. Material Safety Data Sheets or other informational materials written in the language of the workforce are useful for this purpose. Re-training should be conducted periodically, and records of training should be retained.
Train appropriate personnel to operate the facility according to systems and procedures that protect human health, the community and the environment.
Health, safety and environmental components are intrinsic to task training and should be considered part of each worker's responsibility. Each job position involving cyanide management should be evaluated to identify how the required tasks can be accomplished with minimum risk to worker health and safety and in a manner that prevents unplanned cyanide releases. The training elements necessary for each job should be identified in training materials. Personnel in these positions, including personnel involved in unloading and storage of cyanide, plant operators, tailings storage facility operators, maintenance personnel and the environmental and management staff should be trained in the procedures, as appropriate to their job functions. Training should be provided by appropriately qualified personnel, and may include outside trainers for specialized areas such as environmental regulatory programs, and the operation's own staff.
Training must be provided prior to employees working with cyanide. Refresher training should be conducted regularly to ensure that employees continue to perform their jobs in a safe and environmentally protective manner. Testing or observation to ensure that employees conduct their activities in compliance with cyanide operating procedures should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of all training.
Records documenting employee training should be retained throughout an individual's employment, and should include the names of the employee and the trainer, the date of training, the topics covered, and if the employee demonstrated an understanding of the training materials.
Train appropriate workers and personnel to respond to worker exposures and environmental releases of cyanide.
All personnel involved in cyanide management should be trained in emergency cyanide release procedures, including notification of the appropriate site personnel, insuring worker safety, and stopping or containing the release.
Site personnel who may be called upon to respond to worker exposure to cyanide must be trained in decontamination and first aid procedures. This training should include the procedure for notifying appropriate site personnel and stress that the responder must first insure his own protection through use of cyanide-specific personal protective equipment.
Personnel acting as Emergency Response Coordinators and members of the Emergency Response Team should receive specialized training. Responders must be thoroughly familiar with the procedures included in the Emergency Response Plan, including the use of response equipment. Communities, local responders and medical providers included in the operation's Emergency Response Plan should be made familiar with the Plan and their responsibilities.
Records should be retained documenting all training on responses to cyanide exposures and releases, including the names of the employee and the trainer, date of training, topics covered, and how the employee demonstrated an understanding of the training materials. Refresher training should be conducted regularly.
Emergency drills simulating worker exposures and environmental releases are important training tools; these drills should be conducted periodically to provide hands-on training for the workers involved. Drills should be evaluated from a training perspective to determine if personnel have the knowledge and skills required for effective response, and training procedures should be revised if deficiencies are identified.
Provide stakeholders the opportunity to communicate issues of concern.
Operations should provide the opportunity for stakeholders to communicate issues of concern with respect to cyanide use. In order for the communication to be meaningful and productive, the frequency and format for this input should be appropriate for the issues discussed and the nature of the concern. Methods to foster public input include open public meetings, creation of citizens’ advisory panels and site tours for interested parties. Opportunities for public input are also available during the development and review of environmental assessments, or reviews of permits and licenses required by applicable jurisdictions.
Initiate dialogue describing cyanide management procedures and responsively address identified concerns.
Operations should create opportunities to engage concerned stakeholders and address their issues in a direct and responsive manner. Information regarding the operation's practices and procedures should be available to demonstrate that cyanide is managed responsibly and that the operation takes measures to improve cyanide management when deficiencies arise. Some of this dialogue may occur as part of a jurisdiction's environmental review, permitting or licensing process.
Make appropriate operational and environmental information regarding cyanide management available to stakeholders.
It is important that stakeholders understand how mining operations manage cyanide to protect human health and safety and the environment. Operations should develop written descriptions of cyanide management activities in appropriate local languages, and make these descriptions available to communities and stakeholders. This information can be disseminated through brochures, newsletters or other educational materials at the operation or at locations in local communities, at public forums or meetings, libraries, local government offices, on websites, or through other means. Where a significant percentage of the local populations are illiterate, operations should provide information through presentations or direct, regular consultations with community leaders.
Operations should also make available information on confirmed releases or exposures involving: a) incidents of cyanide exposure resulting in hospitalization or fatality; b) incidents where releases off the mine site required response or remediation; c) incidents where a release on or off the mine site results in significant adverse effects to health or the environment; d) incidents where a release on or off the mine site required reporting under applicable regulations; and e) releases that caused exceedances of applicable limits for cyanide. This information can be included in a company's Annual Report, its Health, Safety and Environmental report, its verification audit report, posted on a company website, reported as part of applicable governmental reporting requirements, or through other means.
United Nations Environment Programme. Companies' Organization and Public Communication on Environmental Issue. Technical Report No. 6. 1991. | 2019-04-19T00:22:50Z | https://www.cyanidecode.org/become-signatory/implementation-guidance |
The following lecture was given in Birmingham, England, this year, 1990, by Mr. Ian Dallas.
It is characteristic of this particular talk that the speaker touches upon a great many points of reference that all meet at tangent and thereby make connection to the central theme of the philosophy of FREEDOM AND ITS INTERRELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENT MONETARIST SYSTEM AND ITS MEANS OF CONTROL, IN POLITICAL TERMS, OVER WORLD POPULATIONS. This is a vast subject and has been lectured as well as written upon extensively by Ian Dallas. Nevertheless, this short talk can serve as a precis to many of his challenging and refreshing ideas.
Ian Dallas was born in Scotland and began his writing career as a playwright. As a contract writer for the BBC TV, he was responsible for a large number of plays and dramatisations. Within the last year, Mr. Dallas released his newest novel, THE TEN SYMPHONIES OF GORKA KÖNIG, published by Kegan Paul International of London. Most recently, Ian Dallas has completed his book on the study of WAGNER’S RING, which is expected to be released this summer.
To address the theme of the limits of freedom, of course one must begin by defining freedom before proceeding to inquire if it has limits and, if so, what these limits are. On examination, we find that the philosophical discourse views freedom differently from the doctrines of politics.
The background to this divergence of views between reason and the pragmatics of power is nothing less than the twentieth century and its unconfronted crises and contradictions. Unless in some degree we face up to these critical conditions, we will be unable to arrive at any meaningful or active understanding of this vital issue.
The mid-century saw an irrecoverable breach with the European past and tradition. Yet its causes go back not just to Weimar, but to 1914. If we regard the first world war as an imperialistic crisis within the kind of framework now assumed in college and classroom, we will not make sense of subsequent events.
Ernst Jünger, Europe’s greatest living writer, whose works you are not permitted to read, thus not at liberty to read, said that with the end of the first world war came the end of the monarchies and with the end of the second world war came the end of the nation-state.
Ernest Nolte, one of Germany’s most distinguished historians,recently wrote a most important book, which you are not permitted to read, thus not at liberty to read, entitled, THE EUROPEAN CIVIL WAR 1919-1945. His thesis was that the conflict of mid-century was in no way a fight between dictatorship and democracy, but rather one between National Socialism and Bolshevism, or International Socialism.
The implications of this were very far reaching. One side of his model was that the concentration camp was seen as a technological solution to political opposition, its system having been designed by Lenin and Stalin, then adopted by the Nazis.
For taking this liberty, he was rewarded by a bomb which exploded in his car outside his Berlin home where he was professor of history. You may recall that he was invited to address an Oxford college, then disinvited. The point is that this hysterical and slanderous attack guarantees that the issues raised by Nolte, at least for the moment, will not be examined. They will not, however, go away. One of the implications of his argument is that International Socialism won the war.
At this point it is interesting to take into account that following World War II, in the reconstructed Germany, the study of history at university level was stopped and in its place was put sociology. The political sciences were placed within an ideological framework that was inescapably Marxist in its location; the intriguing fact being that this was expedited by a series of right wing governments apparently wedded to capitalist doctrines.
From 1950, the European universities were set in a pattern which established an orthodoxy of socialist thinking and its leaders were the well known Frankfurt School. The illusion of open debate was none other than the working out of this ruthless dogmatism, for its dialectic was uniquely that socialism was the only valid humanistic thesis, fascism its unacceptable,repellent and, let us not forget, defeated antithesis.
Since this, by implication, was refined and revised doctrine, thus there was no argument, only orthodoxy kept alive by the threat of denouncing all its enemies as fascist, anti-semitic and reactionary.
The high point of this conflict was, of course, 1968 and the radical uprising which mysteriously resulted in placing a Rothschild in the Elyseé Palace.
The radical dialectic, far from moving the historical process forward by critical analysis, had enthroned a power system whose face we can now begin to see.
The dialectic is a fraud as we can now see. Jünger’s profound perception that the nation-state was over did not simply imply the arrival of the super-state – EUROPE, SOUTHERN AFRICA, INDIAN SUBCONTINENT – but marked the historical point where state power ceded its sovereignty to a totally different emergent system of banking entities and financial flow mechanisms.
The so called collapse of eastern communism and the mythic reforms of Russia are nothing other than the entrance of these new markets into the slave system of world banking. The Gulag has not closed, it is elsewhere – Palestine and the new correctional facilities.
In this sense, the dialectical method has performed its role perfectly. This is an interesting historical moment, since we are in an interspace between the collapse of critical dialectics and the emergence of another orthodoxy which will explain to the world why it should accept the newly imposed tyranny of world banking.
The most crucial implication of the current situation is that the political mechanism, assembly democracy, far from assuring the masses their freedom, legislates their subservience to the banking oligarchy, from the imposed wedding of identity visas to economic status to the census itself, which defines the state’s parameters and what are they but the outlines of debtorhood.
For the democratic state, as constitutionally defined, is nothing other than the receptor of debt, national debt, owed to the banking entity – an entity, in itself, supranational, whose executive remains unknown to us, yet is our absolute ruler, elected by no known franchise. Thus the existence of the powerless democratic state is the seal of the power of oligarchic banking. The dissolution of the state would mean the dismantling of the debt receptor and the end of the current world banking tyranny which is destroying the ecosystem, the cultural template we inherited and the possibility of humanness.
The constitutional state took its model from France following the revolution. That state’s immediate task was twofold: the issuing of the Assignats, or first state paper money, and the creation of the Bank of France. The ideological frame of the so called Enlightenment was the notorious Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. The whole thrust of the movement was that goodness had to be legislated. Robespierre’s goodness.
The political view which declared that utopia could be constructed by interventive legislation and imposition of just force had its philosophical foundations in the Kantian doctrines of a critically apprehended pure reason. The Kantian viewpoint was grounded on the existential reality of the Absolute Subject who, in turn, scrutinised and examined the analysable object. During these years, the analysable object, from being a scientifically specific object, submitted to a science’s disciplines, became society and, finally, man himself. The bill for the enormously costly celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, was paid almost entirely by French banks.
Solzehnitzen has bitterly demonstrated how the worst excesses of the communist police were performed, not in spite of, but in enthusiastic application of the Soviet Constitution. High sounding clauses defending the freedom of the masses assured the genocidal removal of millions of citizens. There could be no critique of technique from a system which was, in itself, technical and this proves to be as true of Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and Zionist Israel.
Yet within the turmoil and passions of the late twenties and early thirties, a proud intellectual revolution was taking place. So intense has been the emotional and political dialectic which has determined to denounce everything of that period as Nazi and thus unthinkable – an unpleasant and dubious word – thus both strengthening the current oligarchic doctrines and keeping at bay the discovery of the intellectual revolution which lay embedded, and certainly, at times, entangled in political events.
The three towering giants of that epoch are Heisenberg, Heidegger and Jünger. Heisenberg, who along with Niels Bohr, is responsible for a total revolution of our understanding of the nature of matter and thus existence, effectively changed forever not only how we thought but what we could think about , for the ultimate constituent of matter was transformed from solid object to particles in space or waves of light.
More traumatic, however, was the discovery that the observer had become dethroned from his position of absolute power. Indeed, the act of observation itself took on a paradoxical dimension.
In the realm of philosophy, Martin Heidegger, inheritor of the last stronghold of post-Kantian thinking and the last attempt to provide a method which could licence the Cartesian subject to function scientifically, phenomenology, whose ultimate practitioner was Husserl, Heidegger’s teacher.
In 1927, Heidegger produced his first masterpiece, SEIN UND ZEIT, Being and Time. In this revolutionary work which caused a tremendous shock when it was published, Heidegger basically redefined man.
In order to finish once and for all with the Kantian subject, himself so helpless a technical functionary of the system of technique, he proposed the figure of Dasein, literally being there, as man’s true identity. Man was no longer the passive participant in the technical program, he was the active searcher for his own meaning and reality which he could only fulfill by undertaking his own project.
Heidegger demonstrated how modern man had evolved technique to serve him but, in the end, it was he who served the total interlinked technical system. His delineation of man, as Dasein, in turn demonstrated that the picture of man inside the technical apparatus was false. Man was never separate, distanced from his objects of activity, but enlaced, connected and joined to his every day activities.The famous modern crisis of alienation, the point where man felt apart and cut off from existence, far from being a neurotic failure of nerve, was a breakthrough, a clearing and space which allowed him to see existence as it really was, with himself, a mortal, in-time creature whose true task was his own self discovery.
The third giant of the twentieth century was the visionary writer, Ernest Jünger, a soldier in two world wars, who emerged from the ferocious battles of the epoch stubbornly refusing his name and support to Right or left.
Finally, in the middle of the second war, he could no longer remain aloof and joined with Stauffenberg in the failed coup to assassinate Hitler. He was, quixotically, amnestied from execution because of his World War I decorations for bravery and he survived with simple court martial. The only German who refused to submit to denazification, since he furiously rejected the necessity to be cleansed from what he had never taken on, he withdrew into the Schwabian forests to write his great masterpieces, HELIOPOLIS, and EUMESWILL.
His thirties’ masterpiece, THE WORKER, was a work of prophetic genius. In it, he redefined the worker from being a unit in the economic framework of capitalism. He saw the worker as being modern man and women, every one of whom participated in the technical process. We were all workers, all electricity consumers, road users, plane passengers, radio listeners. He saw that the issue facing the human species in this century was how to deal with and go beyond this apparently inescapable destiny of technical development. He did not propose Luddite opposition nor did he suggest retreat from the issues in private ease. From then until now, he has grappled with the discourse of freedom, and thanks to men like him, we can – at least we will try to – reach a constructive view.
His manifesto, if we may call it that, was written after the completion of his futuristic novel, HELIOPOLIS. In this novel, his hero, after facing the violent conflicts and contradictions of both tyrannical dictatorship and indifferent democracy, at the point where he is politically trapped and assured destruction, goes apart and, with the woman he loves, ingests a psychotropic drug resembling LSD, and from the inner illumination of this experience, he confirms his own being and decides to prepare for a new future. He sets off in his space ship with his wife and his student to prepare for the education of his student and, thus, a new generation.
His text, in which he outlines this new viewpoint, is called DER WALGANGER, the one who goes into the woods. He does not in any way, imply by this a retreat to nature. He means, by this, the one who draws on his or her own inner resources and finds meaning, not from the social project or the technical template, but from depths of their own being.
It is not surprising that Jünger remains little published outside Germany, although he is available in French and the Spanish are now bringing out the complete works. In America and England he is virtually unknown.When he was appointed Doctor Honoris Causis this year in the University of the Basque Country, one of Spain’s leading intellectuals hailed the event as the most important world event of the year, a fact confirmed by Spain’s most renowned sociologist, Carlos Moya.
Thus a growing number of European intellectuals are entering the arena of thinking that is the phenomenology of freedom.
The Heideggerian philosophy which places freedom as the existential condition implies a transvaluation of all previous values. Gadamer, himself a student of Heidegger, has said, “There is no higher principle of reason than that of freedom.” So we can see that, if freedom is not something arrived at by legislation and enforced rules and by structuration, it follows that it is something lost by these imposed patterns.
As we noted with Solzehnitzen, constitutional law and defined human rights, far from achieving this end, resulted in licensed slavery. This means that only the removal of imposed power structures will open human beings to their condition and their potential.
It is the state and its instruments of power that represent the destroyer of freedom and it is the state that is the political arm of interest-debt banking which represents the highest oligarchy and the most empowered structuration of modern world.
The romantic socialism of the Third Reich and the realistic socialism of Soviet Russia both took a toll in human lives of several millions. Yet the achievement of state power in post-1945 world of political democracies is much more impressive. It can boast a death rate that surpasses the slaughter of the past, achieving annually what it took these regimes a decade to accomplish.
According to the official report of Dr. Hiroshi Nakajimi, Director-General of the World Health Organization, “We are witnessing the silent genocide of eleven million children every year in the developing world and these deaths are by preventable causes.” This annual slaughter is the direct result of interest-debt economy and the intolerable burden that enslaves these countries to the banking oligarchy.
The whole integrated technical system of today’s world is sustained and directed by the dictates and logics of a financial system that is, in itself, incapable of rational function, is magical, nonpredictive, and locked into cyclical catastrophe. Its main survival mechanism is war or disaster. It is nonreformable and already outside the possibility of local limiting restraint at national level. The constitutional state cannot rescue us, for as we have indicated, its role is to be a servo-mechanism of debt collection. Therefore the assembly politics of so-called liberal democracy is nothing more than the new instrument of world slavery.
One monetarist intellectual recently hailed this event, the dominance of free election democracy, as being the end of history. He would be right if men and women were to lose altogether their recognition of the basic nature of life as freedom itself.
Thus Jünger, Heidegger, Heisenberg, and here, indirectly, the great psychologist Jung, all point towards divine recognition. Yet before we turn to this, let us stay a moment with the Jungian insight into the human psyche.
Abandoning the dialectical prison of Freudian distinctions, Jung turned to the language of myth to supply the dynamic imagery which allow deep examination of human conflicts, a procedure also adopted by Jünger in his visionary writings. Jung builds up a series of insights around the myth of the god Priapus, introduced into the pantheonic world of gods, precisely when the previous natural Olympic world had collapsed before the imperialism of Rome. Thus, Priapus represents unnatural elements which have broken into the primal harmonies of nature. When phallic energy is denied, the phallus representing man’s libido, his capacity to potentiate his own destiny, it becomes split off and becomes an autonomous complex. Thus phallic power becomes disembodied, a thing in itself. This is Priapus.
So, in this Jungian model, the fantasy inflation is followed by humiliation and that, by nature of its realism, can be the opening to natural life if the event is embraced and confronted.
In cultural terms, Jung implies that the masculine, embodied in the social realm by patriarchy, or male values, dominates modern existence. This, in turn, means that, since each conscious attitude has a compensatory unconscious attitude, in our vastly male dominated society, there is a massive and powerful matriarchal fixation. This unconscious, or let us say, hidden connection to the maternal archetype would inevitably result in a Priapic cycle, isolating the phallus from union and indulging in fantasy, social gigantism and inflation.
It is here that the Jungian model takes on its special significance for us. For the fantasy inflation does, in fact, take place cyclically in the global economic system of financial control which modern man has designed. The inflationary cycle, true to this model, is unpredictable, unstoppable and a constant and nagging anxiety which dominates society, brings down governments, causes the rush to desperate means like dictatorships, greater armament programs, nuclear terror, or alternatively for the masses, retreat into drugged avoidance of crisis through compulsive pleasure.
In other words, looked at outside the view of dialectics, itself the framework of sustaining fantasy and avoiding responsibility, the current interest-debt system of world finance is the product – not the cause – of the disturbed psyche which denies women their collaborative place alongside men.
The constructive solution to the dilemma of modern neurosis is the conscious withdrawal from the fantasy mechanisms of inflationary living based on a human economy of worthless money, symbolic wealth, paper and plastic tokens given value by arbitrary assignation of mathematical symbols.
Freedom implies – in our new sense – the right to access to genuine natural wealth of our choosing and not chosen for us, a right which today no individual possesses. We do not and cannot choose our own money. We will not be able to trade freely with real wealth tokens of our choosing as long as the modern state and super state exist. For, as we have defined it, the state’s role is nothing other than the enslaving of its citizens to debt.
Therefore, a conscious and deliberate withdrawal from electoral enslavement must precede the downfall of the banking neurosis and humiliation of the end of the fantasy quest of the Priapic dilemma.
Only with the collapse of the modern computerised state will natural and humanly viable existence begin, and only then will the planet itself be safe from the clearly unstoppable ravages of the fantasy power induced by the billions of dollars which daily inflate, lose their value and commit us to impossible social programs, the most dangerous and most inevitable of which is nuclear war.
We need to march on parliament and claim it back for the people. Then we need to share the wealth of the nation by become self sustainable as a nation. The ‘civilisation’ we exist in has been an experiment. Speaking for myself we have to adopt a scientific approach to coexisting in harmony with nature as a nation and as a global civilisation. This can not be achieved with the tool of money, but it can be achieved with all humanity working together in unity and solidarity. | 2019-04-24T23:54:45Z | http://www.norwichconference.com/?p=404 |
The outline here given of notable parts played by him in that convention is extracted from a series of articles, "The Committee of the Texas Declaration of Independence" by James K. Greer, published in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Austin, Texas, in its issues of April, July, and October 1927. Those articles are well documented with references (omitted here) to support the information stated.
The convention of delegates from the municipalities, as the political districts were then called, of that part of what had recently been the "Estado Libre de Coahuila y Tejas" of Mexico and had more recently, in 1835, organized a provisional government of a new state, Texas, of Mexico, met at Washington Texas, 1 Mar 1836. George C. Childress and his uncle Sterling C. Robertson...were the delegates from the municipality of Viesca (renamed Milam by the first Congress of Texas which convened that year).
When the convention met it was called to order by Childress, and then proceeded to organize. Early in its first day's session Childress introduced the following resolution: "Resolved that the President appoint a committee to consist of five delegates to draft a Declaration of Independence." The resolution passed. Childress was appointed member and chairman of the committee.
The following day, 2 Mar 1836, "Mr. Childress, from the Committee, reported a Declaration of Independence which he read in his place. It was received by the house, committed to 'a committee of the whole, reported without amendment, and unanimously adopted, in less than one hour from its first and only reading."
The next day, 3 Mar 1836. an engrossed copy was read, and then signed by all the members present and later by several members who had not then arrived. That document is now in the custody of the Secretary of State in the capitol at Austin.
The original draft by Childress has disappeared.
...The handwriting of Childress indicates that he did not specialize in penmanship which is probably one reason why the official and signed document of the Texas Declaration of Independence was a copy made by an engrossing clerk.
Childress participated extensively in other proceedings of the convention. One of his motions was for prevention of slave trade in the republic, another that "a single star of five points, either of gold or silver, be adopted as the peculiar emblem of this republic."
Following the report of the Committee on drafting a Constitution, Mr. Childress introduced the following preamble and proviso: "Whereas the African slave trade being abhorrent to the laws of God and the feeling of all civilized nations, the encouragement of such inhuman traffic shall be made piracy by the laws of the land, and all persons legally convicted before the legitimate tribunals, of being hereafter engaged in it, either directly, by capturing Africans, or purchasing them out of slave ships, or knowingly from those who may have previously bought them, shall suffer the punishment of death, and such captured persons to be disposed of in such manner as may be hereafter prescribed by Congress. Provided, That this article shall not be construed to prohibit emigrants from bringing their slaves into the country, and that no free people of color shall ever be admitted to reside in the republic after the ratification of this Constitution" The resolution was referred to the Committee to draft the Constitution.
"Resolved that a single star of five points, either of gold or silver, be adopted as the peculiar emblem of this republic; and that every officer and soldier of the army and members of this convention, and all friends of Texas, be requested to wear it on their hats or bosoms," which was adopted.
The Texas Declaration of Independence evidences high attainments of its author. Inasmuch as copy of it may not be available in many libraries a copy here follows.
When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression. When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated central military despotism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the army and the priesthood, both the eternal enemies of civil liberty, the everready minions of power, and the usual instruments of tyrants. When, long after the spirit of the constitution has departed, moderation is at length so far lost by those in power, that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms themselves of the constitution discontinued, and so far from their petitions and remonstrances being regarded, the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons, and mercenary armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet. When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.
The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United States of America. In this expectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the Mexican nation has acquiesced in the late changes made in the government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who having overturned the constitution of his country, now offers us the cruel alternative, either to abandon our homes, acquired by so many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood.
These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the people of Texas, untill they reached that point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from the Interior.
We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy conclusion, that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruction of their liberty, and the substitution therfor of a military government; that they are unfit to be free, and incapable of self government.
One of his letters to his uncle, Sterling C. Robertson..., was preserved by the latter's only son whose daughter, [122431D] Mrs. Lela Robertson..., made it available for the preparation of the facsimile herein shown.
The part where its date was probably written has crumbled away. It was written about 1839. He was then in Houston, Texas, where the letter was written and was about to leave on a trip to New Orleans, La., and perhaps to Nashville. Tenn., where he is known to have been for a visit in the winter and early spring of 1839-40.
I recd yesterday your le(tter) and the Deeds by Washington. I shall (get) off to New Orleans, I think by the next boat, the Cuba. I applied to Col. (name illegible) for the Deed; he was not at home but his brother seemed unwilling to give it up; but I have hopes of getting it when the Col. returns. I shall get off to New Orleans I think in the next boat-and if I can make a sale there for you at all will be able to do so in a day or two after my arrival.
I send by Washington the garden seed and shoes you sent for, and also the balance of the Ten Dollar note after paying for them, and if I succeed in making a sale for you in the United States will send you the clothing and groceries mentioned in your letter. We have nothing new since you left here please present my respects to Mr. Flury & Louisa.
Returned to Washington the balance of the $10 sent by Mr. F.
"Washington" is believed to have been Washington L. Hannum who married Matilda ("Patsy") Robertson..., sister of the mother of Childress.
"Louisa"...was daughter of Washington L. and Matilda (Robertson) Hannum; "Mr. Flury"...was Louisa's husband, Anthony B. Flury. They resided in Washington Co., Texas, according to Sterling C. Robertson's will dated 10 Aug 1840. Sterling C. Robertson may have been there when this letter was written although his will describes him as "of County of Milam in the Republic of Texas."
On the bridge, built in 1927, where Texas Highway No. 43 crosses the Brazos River, which divides Milam and Robertson Counties, near the site of Nashville, once the principal town of the Robertson Colony in Texas, and now entirely abandoned and on the west, or Milam Co., end of the bridge is a handsome bronze tablet, erected by the Milam County Commissioners, by request of the Sarah McCalla Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, with the following inscription.
NASHVILLE - HERE WAS LOCATED THE CAPITAL OF - STERLING C. ROBERTSON'S - COLONY - 1834 - THE HOME OF GEORGE C. CHILDRESS - AUTHOR OF - TEXAS' DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - FIRST COUNTY SEAT OF MILAM COUNTY.
One of the counties of Texas was named for George Campbell Childress. Childress County was created 11 Apr 1876 and organized in 1887.
Judge Z. T. Fulmore (2061) in his History and Geography of Texas as Told in County Names, p. 76, gives the following sketch of Childress.
This county (Childress) was named for George Campbell Childress, author of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas.
He was born in Nashville, Tenn., January, 8, 1804. He was a son of Elizabeth Robertson Childress and James (should be John. WCH) Childress, his mother being a niece of General James Robertson..., the founder of Nashville, Tenn.
Through the influence of his uncle, Major Sterling C. Robertson..., the empresario, he became to Texas in 1832 and located at Nashville, on the Brazos, in the colony of Robertson.
He was by profession a lawyer, but in the absence of courts he could do little more than act as counselor for the settlers in perfecting their titles to the lands acquired under the colonization laws.
In 1836, he was elected a delegate to the convention which declared independence and framed the Constitution of the Republic of Texas.
He was a brilliant lawyer and orator, a man of great magnetism, and profoundly versed in political science. These qualities and his record as an ardent advocate for independence commended him to the convention as the proper person to head the committee to draft a declaration.
After the adjournment of the convention President Burnet appointed him as a commissioner to go to Washington and present the claims of Texas to President Jackson, the personal friend and Tennessee neighbor of Childress, for recognition as an independent Republic. Childress went to Washington, but had not arrived when the battle of San Jacinto was fought. He remained in Washington until the adjournment of Congress and his mission was ended.
Later he returned to Nashville and entered the practice of law. In 1840, he committed suicide at his boarding house. He was never married.
Note: Judge Fulmore is in error here. Childress was twice married. He killed himself, 6 Oct 1841, in Galveston, Texas. He does not appear to have returned to Nashville, Tenn., to reside after he joined Robertson's Colony in Texas in the eighteen thirties. The date of his removal to Texas is variously stated from 1832 to 1836. WCH.
" George C. Childress, son of Mrs. Matilda (should be Elizaabeth. WCH) (Robertson) Childress and her husband, Judge John Childress, was born at 'Rokeby' (the Childress home) in Nashville (Tenn.).
"He married, 2nd, Miss - - - Jennings, a sister of the prominent physician, Dr. Thomas R. Jennings of Nashville and sister of the wife of Governor Henry Alexander Wise of Virginia.
"There were two children by the second marriage: Annie Childress, born about 1837, and Ellen Childress, born about 1839 . . .
" Annie and Ellen Childress, daughters of George Childress, lived for two or three years in Nashville in the home of their uncle, Dr. Jennings, in North High St., immediately before the beginning of the War of the 60's. Annie Childress married - - - Daw of New York and had one child, Annie Daw. Ellen Childress married - - - Crute of Arkansas and had one child, Ellen Crute."
(The following is gleaned from "Biographical Sketch George C. Childress" in Southwestern Historical Quarterly, October 1927, pp. 130-149) .
George Campbell Childress was born in Nashville, (Term.) January 8, 1804.
He studied law and was admitted to the Davidson County Bar in 1828.
Six years later, on September 22, 1834, be became one of the editors of The Nashville Banner and Advertiser, Nashville's daily paper. At the time that Childress began his editorship the paper was reduced from a daily to a tri-weekly.
His Texas Activities in Nashville, Tenn.
His efforts in behalf of the Texas colonists while editor of this paper, and his decision in 1835 to go to Texas were occasioned by numerous settlers having gone from Tennessee to Texas, the early activities in Tennessee of the Nashville Company which began the movement, and Sterling C. Robertson's work as an empresario from that state in carrying on the work.
On November 17, 1835, the press of Nashville published a call for a public meeting of the citizens of Nashville and Davidson County to be held at the courthouse, "for the purpose of adopting suitable measures for the assistance of their fellowcitizens in the province of Texas." At this meeting Childress was unanimously called to the chair. He explained the object of the meeting and "eloquently portrayed the condition of our friends and countrymen, who are there battling for all that freemen hold most dear, against the grasping ambitions of Mexico's despot and his hireling slaves."
The meeting was described as the most spirited ever held in Nashville. Childress was designated by resolution as correspondent from Texas with the committee of five men in Nashville.
"No. 36Geo. C. Childress aged (blank)Child Charles aged 10 monthsSworn & recorded Jan'y 12th, 1836 by Alcalde." (Note: This record indicates that he had a son, Charles, b Mar 1835. This son probably died young; nothing further has been learned of him. WCH).
Childress' wife was in Texas in 1836. Col. William F. Gray of Virginia in his diary, From Virginia To Texas 1835-1836, published 1909 in Houston, Texas, states: "February 15, 1836...found Mr. Childers of Milam...Childers informed me that himself and Mr. Robertson, the empressario, were elected (delegates to the convention) from Milam. (Evidently George C. Childress and Sterling C. Robertson were the "Childers" and "Roberson" mentioned).
Col. Gray continued his journey to San Felipe. His diary states: "February 24, 1836...Started about noon for San Felipe. Arrived after night at the home of a Mr. Foster, a venerable old man, a native of King and Queen County, Virginia, and his wife of Spottsylvania County ...Here for the first time in Texas I heard a blessing asked for our meal at supper. Found Mrs. Childers here." Mr. L. W. Kempsee his commentsstates that this was probably Mrs. Goolsby Childers. She, as well as Childress, was then in Texas. WCH).
Mr. Childress resided in 1836 in Texas at Nashville, on the Brazos. (Not a building now stands in this abandoned town, founded by Tennessee settlers in Texas, and named for Nashville, Tenn. As previously herein mentioned its site is in Milam Co. where Texas Highway No. 43 (also near where the International and Great Northern R. R.) crosses the Brazos River. WCH).
On Texas Diplomatic Mission to U. S.
On 19 Mar 1836, two days after the adjournment of the convention which proclaimed the independence of Texas, the President of Texas appointed Childress one of the two Commissioners to proceed to Washington, D. C., and open negotiations with the United States government concerning "the Sovereignty and Independence of Texas."
Greer states: "Childress was appointed Special Agent to Washington for three reasons: first, the Texas government naturally sent the men they felt were best qualified for the work, and Childress's work in the Convention had established him as an outstanding man in that group; second, the chief point he was to emphasize was the Texas Declaration of Independenceand he was insofar as has been ascertained, the author of that document; third, his father and President Jackson had been good friends and it was thought that he would be able to reach him, if necessary, through this channel."
Other commissioners were appointed to succeed Childress and his colleague and reached Washington 8 July, 1836.
(Some have thought that Childress then returned to Nashville, Tenn., and thereafter resided there. No doubt he did return via Tennessee for a visit but it is certain from evidence to follow that he returned to Texas, resided, and died there. WCH).
In a letter of 28 Oct 1836, from Louisville, Ky., to Gen. Stephen F. Austin of Texas, Childress wrote: "I shall set out for Texas tomorrow via Nashville; Tenn."
Col. Gray, in his diary already mentioned, writing in New Orleans, La., states: "February 5, 1837...Called after church...to see Mrs. Childress (he now no longer spells it Childers), who her husband wished me to become acquainted with. Young, pretty, newly married, a Presbyterian, his second wife, interesting. She had heard favorable report of Mrs. Gray, and hoped they might be neighbors in Texas."
From this paragraph we learn that Childress was twice married. We may conclude that his son, Charles, who 12 Jan 1836 was "aged 10 months," was by his first wife and that the first Mrs. Childress died in 1836 and that Childress remarried that year or before 5 Feb 1837.
His two daughters whom Mrs. Bond states were born, Annie, about 1837 and Ellen, about 1839, and were named in letters, hereinafter quoted, written by their father just before his death in 1841, which indicate that their mother was then alive, were evidently by his second wife.
On 27 Jan 1838, in a conveyance made at Milam, Sabine Co., Texas, he sold to Daniel L. Richardson for one thousand dollars his claim for headright certificate for one league and one labor of land which he had proved before the Board of Land Commissioners for Nacogdoches County. (Greer, in footnote, cites the following reference: "File 61 Karnes / 58Goliad 1st ClassGeo. C. Childress 26 laborsH. R. Certificate No. 72." General Land Office).
Returning from his mission in Washington, D. C., Childress wrote as before stated from Louisville, Ky., 28 Oct 1836: "I shall set out for Texas tomorrow, via Nashville, Tenn."
He eventually went to Houston, Texas, where he wrote a letter, facsimile of which appears herein, and where we find further evidence of him in 1839.
(published in The Weekly Picayune, New Orleans, La., April 1, 1839) .
George C. Childress, Attorney at Law, will attend the Supreme Court, and the District Courts of Harrisburg, and some of the adjacent countiesOffice at the City of Houston.
Claims on the government, either for Bounty Land or money, will be undertaken and promptly attended to, either for nonresidents or residents of Texas.
Address from the United States:City of. Houston, to the care of S. Ricker, jr., (Texas Post Office Agent) New Orleans.
The Telegraph, city of Houston; Commercial Bulletin, Bee, Courier, (etc. J. K. G.) Journal, Louisville Republican Banner, Nashville; Little Rock Times and Advocate; Huntsville Advocate; Florence Gazette; the Tuscumbia paper; and the Journals in the City of Mobile will please republish the above three months, and forward their accounts to me for payment.
In the winter of 1839-40 Childress visited Nashville, Tenn., as will appear from a letter (copy herein) of Oct. 7, 1841, to Dr. T. R. Jennings, Nashville, Tenn., from Dr. Ashbel Smith of Galveston, Texas. Dr. Smith states that he was introduced by Col. Childress in Nashville, the previous winter.
The correspondence of Dr. Smith herein mentioned is now filed in Library of University of Texas, Austin, designated as "Ashbel Smith Papers MSS."
New Orleans, March 26th, 1841.
Your friend & Obt. Svt. Geo. C. Childress.
Childress appears to have been in Galveston, Texas, June 9, 1841, when he wrote the following letter to Gen. M. B. Lamar, President of the Republic of Texas.
I returned to Texas a few weeks since, and have passed the time since my arrival at this placeA contest having arisen between Judges Shelby & Johnson, each claiming to be the Judge of this District, together with the general dulness of the times, has almost put an end to the administration of Law here, so that there is no inducement, at present, to embark in the practice of my profession.
My cash means being small, I would gladly embark in the service of Government, if there be any situation in which I could be of servicethe compensation of which would defray my expenses until Fall, when I intend to commence the practice of Law. Such a situation would suit me the better as I expect to reside permanently at the City of Austinmy family, now in Tennessee, will be out in the Fall.
If the post of private Secretary to the President be at this time vacant I flatter myself Sir that I could give you entire satisfaction in that situation, by taking the labour of writing all ordinary communications which you would have, if approved, but to sign. I write, mechanically, with dispatch, and have been somewhat in the practice of composition. If you could give me any employment which would occupy my time, and defray my expenses at the Seat of Government for a few months it would be a favor Sir to be thankfully received and always rememberedI have both lands and business in the Vicinity of Austin, so that residence and employment these would bring me in proximity with my other interests.
If you have time from your numerous and pressing duties Sir to drop me a line in answer to this by return mail I will be thankful for the favor.
Gen. M. B. LamarCity of Austin.
(His letter does not appear to have attained its purpose. He probably remained in Galveston where his tragic death oc. curred 6 Oct 1841).
Oct. 6. Arrived in Galveston: 6 A. M. found Col. Geo. C. Childress who had inflicted on himself several wounds in the abdomen with a bowie knife of which he died about three hours afterwards.
Dr. T. R. JenningsNashville, Tenn.
I cannot bear to live longer and I consider it an act of Justice in dying to declare that my unhappiness had in no part arisen from the conduct of my wife your sister,she has made the best of wives, and is the greatest and most perfect character I have ever known.
(Footnote: Thomas Reed Jennings was son of Rev. Obediah Jennings, D.D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville).
Mr. Franklin MorganCare of Morgan, Crutchers & Co.
To you and your wife Mary I bequeath my little daughter Ellen-Should she lose her mother adopt and raise her as your own child, and oblige.
(John Catron...was brother-in-law of Childress. He was then a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. WCH).
Letters written to each one of the above named gentlemen and to be forwarded by same mail with the originals.Oct. 7.
(Only details of description of wounds are omitted. WCH).
Galveston Texas Oct. 7, 1841.
A painful duty has been imposed on me. I have just returned from the burial of your brother-in-law Col. Geo. C. Childress.
On my arrival in town yesterday morning after an absence of a fortnight in the interior I was told that Col. Childress had committed violence on his own life and was then supposed to be dying. I went forthwith to see him. His intestines had protruded through two severe wounds of the abdomen. ...To my inquiry of what is the meaning of this He replied "it is the effect of an oversensitive mind"and shortly after added, "I had neither money to bring my wife to this country or to enable me to visit her." He told me that he had written some letters inclosed in an envelope to me which he wished me to take copies of and forward the originals agreeably to their address respectively. He wished me to learn by correspondence whether his letters came to handand in case of any miscarriage to send copies of the copies in my possession. His letters are written to yourself, to Judge Catron, and to Mr. Morgan of Philadelphia. He had not written to Mrs. Childress, he could not, he wished you to break the intelligence to her: He was when I arrived in full possession of his understanding& of his senses. He expressed no regret for what he had done, nor any desire to live; nor fear of death, but a wish to be saved the pangs of dying. He conversed with much calmness. He requested me to send for his clothes but to the inquiry of Mr. Pizer (?) whether he had any request to make concerning his lands &c, he replied, "none." A short time before he expired, he wished to be baptised. But there being no clergyman in town it was not done. A religious gentleman prayed by his bedside, he added "amen" and died a half hour afterwards without much suffering, about three hours after stabbing himself ...He was buried with respect the following morning 26 hours after his death, at 11 o'clock A. M.
The effects, consisting wholly of articles of clothing, a razor, & two pairs of saddle-bags, a copy of Paley's Moral Philosophy were duly inventoried and put in my care by the Judge of Probate; Also a package of papers of little value & some letters, all of which are carefully sealed up. His land papers are in the hands of a Mr. Van Alstyne who had advanced Col. Childress twelve & a half dollars. The expenses of his funeral have been between 60 and 100 dollars. What other demands exist here against him I know not. I have replied for to no person until you shall be heard from. Mr. Price formerly of Nashville joined in this opinion. Everything will remain as at present until his friends send instruction. What shall be done with his clothes and other articles? His clothing is considerably worn and contains no article of fineness as I suppose his friends would wish to preserve.
Accept my thanks and gratitude for your very kind letter of Octr 7th. enclosing that of Col. Childress. I found them here on my return from Kentucky yesterday. The melancholy tidings they communicate, inflict on Mrs. Childress and on the sisters of Col. C. most melancholy and severe suffering. The suicide to them so unaccountable: yet, to us who knew Mr. C. best, it was not so surprising on reflection, after the first shock had passed off. He had been subject to fits of melancholy since boyhood, that ran into madness, in which he was so violent, & reckless, in a high degree in regard to others; and when his feelings of desolation turned on himself, the conse. quences that did ensue, should have been anticipated, & I find were so, by Judge Brown..., who of all others best knew Col. C.
I hope you and the other gentlemen who were kind to Col. C., will accept the heartfelt gratitude of his relations; and that you will present most especially their thanks to Mrs. Crittenden. Dr. Jennings informs me that he has written you in regard to all necessary matters concerning the affairs of Col. C. in Texas.
P. S. Mrs. Childress goes to Philadelphia to reside with her mother on Monday (22inst).
(The relationship of brother-in-law of Morgan to Childress was that of Morgan having married Mary S. Jennings, a sister of Childress' second wife. WCH).
I am in receipt of your kind favor of the 7 ulto. communicating the sad intelligence of the death of my brother-in-law George C. Childress. For your kind attention to his wishes, you will please accept our thanks. The letter from Mr. C. to myself dated 4, ult., came to hand at same time.
Hamilton Stuart, founder and editor of The Galveston Civilian, who knew Childress, made the following notation in reference to the grave of Childress: "His body lies in Galveston within a few feet west of the Rosenberg school building."
The State of Texas, by act of its legislature, has erected in the Episcopal Cemetery in Galveston a monument of Texas granite over six feet in height with the following inscription.
Reference is made elsewhere herein to information of Childress.
On 14 Jan 1828, he gave bond to the administrator of the estate of his parents...to secure the administrator for the delivery to him of "negroes and other personal property to the value of $2824 dollars, the said Geo. C's distributive share of the personal estate of the said John and Elizabeth Childress." No doubt he received also a part of the large land estate of his parents.
His uncle, Eldridge Blount Robertson..., in letter of 29 Jan 1842 from Fayetteville, Tenn., to the laters brother, Sterling C. Robertson, in Texas wrote: "Rumor has it in this part of the country that George Childress killed himself in consequence of his endorsements for Col. Marshall (probably related to Childress' brother-in-law, Samuel B. Marshall...WCH). I dont know how the fact is."
Rumor is rarely reliable and was probably not so in this case. Childress seemed to have been in general financial distress and with little hope of improving that condition when he brought about his untimely end.
Source: William Curry Harlee, Kinfolks: A Genealogical and Biographical Record, 3 vols. (New Orleans: Searcy & Pfaff, 1935-37), 3: 2604-2619. | 2019-04-22T00:10:13Z | http://robertson-ancestry.com/122413-01.htm |
Whenever we hear the sound of a helicopter circling overhead, we know that someone is in trouble in our little village. The helicopter lands on the school playing field, and the one in need is whisked away to hospital.
Last year it rescued an elderly resident who’d slipped down a cliff, the year before, a village teenager with broken legs and arms after coming off his new motor cycle.
This time it was a profound tragedy when a young mother was suddenly rushed to hospital with a killer illness that struck out of the blue, and who only lived for another two hours. Everyone wants to surround the family and the small children with love and care and food and anything that would assuage the grief that can never be assuaged.
That’s how a village works. When I had a car accident many years ago, the family were swamped with food and help both while I was in hospital and afterwards. My daughter- in- law has the beautiful knack of creating a village wherever she lives or works, whether it’s a block of flats and her work place in London, or her suburban street and her children’s school here in New Zealand.
I’ve often wondered how she does it… I think it’s a mixture of care, interest in everyone around her, a willingness to become involved with their lives, and a sense of responsibility to the world and to her neighbours, however you define neighbour. And tolerance.
I think of other villages where those were the things that not only defined the village but made them unique, and two spring to mind immediately.
At a time when France allowed over 80,000 Jewish men, women and children to be deported to concentration camps, the community of Le Chambon- sur- Lignon in France hid some thousands throughout the war. This tiny community of only several thousand themselves, took Jewish children and families into their homes, and though most were poor, and hard put to feed themselves, they fed and protected their charges throughout the years of Nazi occupation.
No-one was ever turned away. The Germans knew this was happening and several times tried to intimidate the villagers and their leader, Pastor Andre Trocme, arriving with buses to take the Jews away. Whenever the Germans came, the villagers hid their refugees in the forest, and when the Germans had left the villagers would go into the forest, and sing a song. The Jews would then emerge from their hiding place and go back to their homes in the village.
Later one of the villagers said: “We didn’t protect the Jews because it was moral or heroic, but because it was the human thing to do”.
One other village in Occupied Europe also did this human thing. In the tiny village of Nieuwlande in the Netherlands, every one of the one hundred and seventeen villagers took a Jewish person or family into their home and kept them safe throughout the Nazi occupation. The pastor’s son, Arnold Douwe was the moving force behind this act of compassion and unbelievable courage.
The people in both villages showed incredible moral and heroic fortitude, not just for a day or a week or a year, but for years, never knowing how long their ordeal would last. Philosophers may argue about whether altruism exists, but as far as this naive human being is concerned, this was altruism of the highest order.
These apparently ordinary people put themselves and their families in mortal danger, and coped with daily drudgery too – would you want the inconvenience of sharing your home with strangers indefinitely? They did this for no reward except for knowing they had done their best for other human beings, and in doing so were themselves truly human.
Such generosity and compassion in a community can still happen. We all saw on the news the loving welcome the people of Germany offered to the tragic human beings who arrived on their doorstep in the last few days, after their months of unfathomable misery and un-imaginable hardship.
The heart-rending picture of one small boy lying dead on a sunny beach has reached the hearts of most people in the world, and shown us once again that we really are a village. The actions of western governments and power plays of western nations have destroyed these decent, ordinary people’s lives and countries, their towns and their villages. So now perhaps it’s time for the world to remember that it is a global village, and to show with action the loving compassion of village life in societies all over the world.
And maybe, like Cecil the Lion, whose cruel and untimely death raised the consciousness of the world about the value and nobility of animals, these terrible scenes of refugees struggling to find safety and peace for their children, will raise the consciousness of the world too. These lines of exhausted refugees, and frail boats filled with desperate families, sinking in the sea, are reminding us of our common humanity.
They are reminding us of all that we have in common – love for our families, a love of peace, a longing for freedom, enough food, and education for our children – blurring the lines of division, whether race, religion, nationality or gender.
These strange times could be a turning point in the history of the world if we could use this crisis as an opportunity to bury our differences, and work for a common cause… which is peace on earth and goodwill to all men, women and children.
One of my favourite dishes is risotto, and I have lots of variations. This one is a very subtle version, using leeks instead of onions. Rinse and chop two medium leeks very finely and gently cook them in butter. Don’t let them brown, as they will turn bitter. When soft stir in a cup of risotto rice, I use arborio, and then a glass of white wine or Noilly Prat.
Let it boil up until the alcohol has evaporated, and then add the hot chicken stock in the usual way. When cooked, stir in a knob of butter and four tablespoons of grated parmesan.
Meanwhile grill six rashers of streaky bacon or pancetta if you have it, cut it into small pieces, and when the rice is cooked, stir them into the mix, and serve with more parmesan.
It is so heartening Valerie to finally see images of citizens arriving to greet those fleeing with warmth and compassion, that emapthetic welcoming response must mean so much to people who have endured what they have been through in the recent past and during this journey. It seems rare for us to hear, as we have today from one woman “we have so much and now finally we can do something to help these people”.
Thank you for this post Valerie, I am sure we are going to witness a much greater outpouring of kindness, support and assistance for refugees, as the Prime Minister of Finland has shown. What a role model.
It’s true that while many villages were turning the Jews over to the Nazis those two stood out for their humanity.Last week a village in Germany showed it still had vestiges of that humanity when it cheered and welcomed the refugee families to it’s midst.If it was the image of the dead child on the beach that did that, as it’s spurred countries to accept more of the refugees, then I hope that image stays with people a long time.In truth, I have high hopes of people and what kindness they can show. It’s Governments I need my hopes raising with.
The UK has shown finally that it’s heart is in the right place and more refugees will be accepted by the Government, now the people will be able to show what kindness they can do.Let’s hope this is not a one off gesture but a real attempt to help an make things better. Maybe all the European Countries will then see the damage done by their conflicts in other lands and stop creating conflict for oil. We must put people first.
Yes, David, I think most decent people feel the same, and want to help.And as you say, we have to find a way to resolve conflict through other means than war… war never works, but people with power never seem to get this message !!!
A lovely piece. I have been so moved by the tragedies paraded daily on our TV screens and often rather depressed but the response from UK politicians. Now I think the tide is turning as it should. I think we all need to remember that we are all part of one race – the human race and that borders are man made things which can be changed.
I wasn’t expecting such a powerful piece this morning, and am touched and warmed by your beautifully presented writing. This essay should be editorial fodder for newspapers around the world!
I love your writings, Valerie. Thankyou so much for your effort.
Barbara, thank you so much. What a wonderful comment, no writer can ask for more than that someone enjoys their writing, and gets the point too !!!!
Beautiful and moving article, Valerie. There is still much beauty, kindness and compassion in our world.
Thank you Isabella Rose, yes, you’re right, there is so much beauty, kindness and compassion in our world, and sadly we too often only get to hear the other stuff. We just have to remember that the goodness is always there..
Yes indeed. And what we dwell on grows, of course. Bless you, Valerie.
We have a fascinating programme on Radio 4 here called the long view which is just what you have done here in this beautifully written post about humanity. People every where are rising up to help despite the meanness of our government, in particular.
We love a leek risotto too, usually with bits of chicken but next time with pancetta or bacon – perfect.
While you try pancetta in your risotto, I will lash out with chicken !!!
These examples of humanity are beacons of hope in a world that sometimes seems anything but a village. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to live in a small, close-knit community to create that sense of caring for one another.
Thank you, Andrea, good to hear from you… yes, good is rising up to meet us everywhere !
So beautifully written! I agree this needs to be flung far and wide around the world for other to see ….to stop and say…I can be part of the solution.
Dear Linda, thank you for your appreciation and enthusiasm… and you’re right, we can be, and are, part of the solution, and I think governments are actually beginning to hear us…..
I hope so…it is time.
And aren’t they just perfect – I have always loved Kind people kindness is priceless..
Thank you Valerie, I only wish your words would reach into the heartless of this nation. I am living among those without compassion or empathy I think and it breaks my heart every single day.
This was beautifully written and a wonderful reminder of humanity at its finest.
Thank you Val, you always give me such encouragement. I also know how painful it is for you to see the pain around you, and to feel powerless to stop it… but I do think you make difference by being who you are,and being such truthful and eloquent witness to it all.
Valerie, what a beautiful and compassionate post. I’d never heard about those villages who took in Jewish refugees. Solidarity is powerful. Thank you.
Juliet, thank you as ever for your lovely encouragement.Yes, those villages were a light to us all, weren’t they..
This was quite common in the French countryside, especially in the wilder and more remote bits. For the Germans (or the Vichy authorities before them) a big sweep such as was used in Paris just wasn’t possible.
Your description of how the village works very well describes the nature of a community.
My neighborhood is a planned community of thirty-six houses. I often call it my village because it has some of the characteristics you mentioned about villages. Your daughter-in-law has a priceless talent. I admire her knack of creating a village wherever she lives or works. A city can be such a lonely place without people like her to break through the anonymity and disregard.
Today my blog spotlights a woman who left the war and chaos of Laos fifty years ago. She entered the United States as a refugee, and now she has a successful life. I hope today’s refugees will be welcomed and do just as well as she has.
Thank you Angela, you’re so right… if only the likes of us could rule the world !!!! And those of us who have been housewives, could probably balance the budgets better too !!!!
Beautiful post, Valerie. You always give us the long view of history and humanity. The Dalai Lama speaks the truth and so do you. War never does work, but kindness always is possible. Thank you for these powerfully expressed words.
Thank you so much for your beautiful comment …yes, there is never a moment in time when kindness isn’t possible..Aldous Huxley’s last words were the wish that we could all be kind to each other !!!
We live in very interesting times – a global world, with global problems. There are no easy solutions – history provides us with many examples of migrations that were brought on by war and famine. One of my favourite quotes is by J.R.R. Tolkien: “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
That quote from Tolkien always rends my heart with its sadness and truth and beauty… thank you as ever, for the perfect words.
Some Governments, such as our own, are deciding how many refugees they can afford to take. There is sense in considering cost factors but in times of crisis, can the accounts not be done later? These refugees are people not items on a balance sheet. In previous times of crisis the NZ Government and NZ families opened their arms to refugees. In WW2, you may recall, NZ accepted about 700 Polish children and their carers. NZ was to take care of them until they could return to Poland. It was an innovative solution to a crisis. In 1956, New Zealanders welcomed refugees following the Hungarian revolution. https://realruth.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/harbouring-a-hungarian/ Your choice of the Dalai Lama’s quote for your post is apt, especially as the Dalai Lama himself knows the life of the refugee so intimately.
I agree Amanda, it’s not as though the government couldn’t give up some of their perks like ministerial cars, free flights for the rest of their lives etc, to share some of our plenty with those in dire need.
I will never forget those desperate last words coming out of Hungary as the radio closed down and the Russians closed in. It broke my heart.
I am actually really surprised that the media hasn’t commented much on other refugees crises in Europe’s past, such as the Hungarian revolution.
Ah Valerie, only you might write a post that offers comfort. That little boy who drowned on a beach in Turkey? The place is Bodrum. My husband and I visited Bodrum almost 20 years ago. I bought the rug on our living room floor there; I chose a prayer rug with a pattern that reminded me of ribbon candy. Now, when I look at this rug that has brought me so much pleasure through the years, instead of candy I see the waves of the sea bringing desparate refugees from their homes in hopes of a place to live in peace. I am so proud of my adopted home of Germany. The German people show what we as humanity are capable of — from worst, to best. This is one of their finest hours. Thank you for your post.
Yes, it was so inspiring to see those wonderful pictures of the German people greeting the refugees with such warmth and love.
It brought tears to my eyes – tears of thankfulness and gratitude that people can be so caring, and relief that at last the refugees were getting some love .
I remember reading a book about Le Chambon- sur- Lignon maybe in the 80’s, very well written. Do you happen to know it, or the name of it? I’d like to find it again.
Thank you for your comment, lovely to know you enjoyed it…. There is a book by Philip Hallie ” Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There”.
Also Victoria Barnett wrote ” Bystanders. Conscience and Complicity During the Holocaust” in which she includes a chapter on Le Chambon.
Ah, thank you! I think it was the Hallie book I remember!
I’m certainly not ahead of the response curve on this post, Valerie. Unpleasantly busy week, but wonderful compared to what so many refugees are experiencing, so I’m ever mindful to be grateful for my life. I greatly admire people like your daughter-in-law, who assemble a village wherever they are. I’m a good one-on-one friend, but not so much with the village gathering. But I love living in a village, having grown up in one of 2500 people and seen how that works and cares for each other. Very thoughtful and timely post, Valerie, thank you.
Hello Ardys…. sweet of you to comment at all – I know how blogging housekeeping can get on top of you !
Yes, I’m a one- on- one friend, rather than a gregarious one…it takes all sorts !!!! | 2019-04-22T20:24:15Z | https://valeriedavies.com/2015/09/06/the-world-our-village/ |
Vera Petrovna de Zhelihovsky (April, 1835 - 1896) was the younger sister of HPB.
My sister, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, nee de Hahn, better known in our country under the nom de plume of Radha-Bai, which she adopted for her writings in Russia, was a sufficiently remarkable person, even in these days, when striking personalities abound. Although her works are but little known to the general public, nevertheless they have given birth to a spiritual movement, to an organization founded on the theories therein contained which it pleases her disciples to allude to as “revelations” - I speak of the Theosophical Society, so well known and widely spread throughout America, England, India, and in a less degree throughout Europe.
This Society was planned and founded by Madame Blavatsky, in the year 1875, at New York, in which city she had established herself - why she herself hardly knew, except that thither she was drawn by an irresistible attraction, inexplicable at that time to her, as we shall see by her letters.
Without money, without any kind of influence or protection, with nothing to rely on but her indomitable courage and untiring energy, this truly extraordinary woman in less than four years succeeded in attaching to herself devoted proselytes, who were ready to follow her to India and to cheerfully expatriate themselves; and in less than fifteen years she had thousands of disciples, who not only professed her doctrines, but who also proclaimed her “the most eminent teacher of our times, the sphinx of the century,” the only person in Europe initiated into the occult sciences of the east - they were, indeed, with few exceptions, ready to canonize her memory, had the philosophy she taught them permitted any such thing.
There was hardly a country in which the death of H. P. Blavatsky did not produce a most profound impression. All quarters of the globe responded, in one fashion or another, when the news reached them of the death of this poor Russian woman, whose only claim to such celebrity lay in her personal genius. For a time her name rang throughout the press of the entire world. Doubtless it is true that more bad than good was spoken of her, but none the less they spoke of her, some abusing her up hill and down dale and loudly complaining of the injuries wrought by her; and on the other side twenty or so theosophical journals proclaiming her “illuminated” prophetess and saviour of humanity - humanity which, without the revelations which she had given out in her works, above all in The Secret Doctrine, would - so they affirmed - be dragged to its doom by the materialistic spirit of the time.
It is not my business to decide as to whether the truth lay with her friends and enthusiastic disciples or with her bitter enemies. My intention is simply to offer to the public some impartial family reminiscences and to lay before them some letters of undoubted interest.
It would be easy for me to fill many volumes from the mass of materials which I have at my disposal; I will, however, merely select that which is most remarkable and weave it together with my personal recollections.
Our mother, Mdme. Helene de Hahn, nee Fadeew, died when she was twenty-seven. Notwithstanding her premature death, however, such was the literary reputation she had already acquired, that she had earned for herself the name of the “Russian George Sand” - a name which was given her by Belinsky, the best of our critics. At sixteen years of age she was married to Pierre de Hahn, captain of artillery, and soon her time was fully occupied in superintending the education of her three children. Helene, her eldest daughter, was a precocious child, and from her earliest youth attracted the attention of all with whom she came in contact. Her nature was quite intractable to the routine demanded by her instructors, she rebelled against all discipline, recognized no master but her own good will and her personal tastes. She was exclusive, original, and at times bold even to roughness.
When, at the death of our mother, we went to live with her relations, all our teachers had exhausted their patience with Helene, who would never conform to fixed hours for lessons, but who, notwithstanding, astonished them by the brilliancy of her abilities, especially by the ease with which she mastered foreign languages and by her musical talent. She had the character and all the good and bad qualities of an energetic boy; she loved travels and adventures and despised dangers and cared little for remonstrances.
At the age of seventeen, H. P. Blavatsky married a man thrice her age, and some months later she left her husband in the same headstrong and impetuous manner in which she had married him. She left him under the pretext of going to live with her father, but before she got there she disappeared, and so successful was she in this that for years no one knew where she was, and we gave her up for dead. Her husband was the vice-governor of the province of Erivan, in Transcaucasia. He was in all respects an excellent man, with but one fault, namely, marrying a young girl who treated him without the least respect, and who told him quite openly beforehand that the only reason she had selected him from among the others who sought to marry her was that she would mind less making him miserable than anyone else.
He never could say that he did not get what he had bargained for.
H. P. Blavatsky passed the greater part of her youth, in fact almost her entire life, out of Europe. In later years she claimed to have lived many years in Tibet, in the Himalayas and extreme north of India, where she studied the Sanskrit language and literature together with the occult sciences, so well known by the adepts, wise men, or Mahatmas, for whom later she had to suffer so much. Such, at least, is the account of her doings that she gave to us, her relations, as also to her English biographer, Mr. Sinnett, the author of the work entitled, Incidents in the Life of Madame H. P. Blavatsky. For eight years we were without any news of her. It was only at the expiration of ten years, the period necessary to render legal the separation from her husband, that Madame Blavatsky returned to Russia.
After her return to Russia, she first came and settled herself in the Government of Pskoff, where at that time I was living with our father. We were not expecting her to arrive for some weeks to come, but, curiously enough, no sooner did I hear her ring at the door-bell than I jumped up, knowing that she had arrived. As it happened there was a party going on that evening in my father-in-law’s house, in which I was living. His daughter was to be married that very evening, the guests were seated at table and the ringing of the door-bell was incessant. Nevertheless I was so sure it was she who had arrived that, to the astonishment of everyone, I hurriedly rose from the wedding feast and ran to open the door, not wishing the servants to do so.
My sister asked me to ask them a mental question. This I did, selecting a question as to a fact only known to myself. I recited the alphabet, and the reply I received was so true and so precise that I was positively astounded. I had often heard talk of spirit-rappings, but never before had I had an opportunity of testing their knowledge.
Before long the whole town was talking of the “miracles” which surrounded Madame Blavatsky. The not only intelligent, but even clairvoyant answers given by these invisible forces, which operated night and day, without any apparent intervention on her part, all round her, struck more astonishment and wonder into the minds of the curious than even the movement of inanimate objects, which apparently gained or lost their weight, which phenomena she directly produced by merely fixing her eyes on the object selected.
All these phenomena were, at the time, fully described in the Russian newspapers. There was no longer any peace for us, even in the country, where we shortly went to live, on a property which belonged to me; we were pursued by letters and visits. Matters became insupportable when, by the intervention of “messieurs les esprits,” as our father laughingly called them, was discovered the perpetrator of a murder committed in the neighbourhood, and the officers of the law became convinced believers, clamouring for miracles. It was still worse when, one fine day, Helene began describing “those whom she alone saw as having formerly occupied the house,” and who were afterwards recognized from her descriptions by the old people and natives of the place as having been former lords of the manor and their servants, all long since dead, but of whom they still preserved the memory. I may as well remark that this property had only been mine for a few months. I had bought it in a district completely unknown to me, and none of us had ever before heard these people she described spoken of.
Ever since her return to Russian, H. P. Blavatsky was at a loss to explain her mediumistic condition, but at that time she by no means expressed the disdain and dislike for mediumship that she did later on. Ten or twelve years later she spoke of the mediumistic performances of her younger days with much repugnance - in those days the forces at work in the phenomena were unknown and almost independent of her will, when once she had succeeded in obtaining entire mastery over them she no longer cared to recall the memory. But at the age of twenty-eight she had not the power of controlling them.
She began laughing and saying that she would like nothing better, but that she could not answer for them.
Alas! I knew it but too well. And so I was not astonished, but all the same suffered agonies when I heard the tapping begin as soon as ever the venerable old man began to question my sister about her travels. . . . One! two! . . . one! two! three! Surely he could not but notice these importunate individuals who seemed determined to join the party and take part in the conversation; in order to interrupt us they made the furniture, the looking-glasses, our cups of tea, even the rosary of amber beads, which the saintly old man was holding in his hand, move and vibrate.
He saw our dismay at once, and taking in the situation at a glance, enquired which of us was the medium. Like a true egotist, I hastened to fit the cap on my sister’s head. He talked to us for more than an hour, asking my sister question after question out loud, and asking them mentally of her attendants, and seemed profoundly astonished and well pleased to have seen the phenomena.
On taking leave of us, he blessed my sister and myself and told us that we had no cause to fear the phenomena.
He again blessed Helene and made the sign of the cross.
How often must these kindly words of one of the chief heads of the Orthodox Greek Church have been recalled to the memory of H. P. Blavatsky in later years, and she ever felt gratefully towards him.
Helena Petrovna for the next four years continued to live in the Caucasus. Ever in search of occupation, always active and full of enterprise, she established herself for some time in Imeretia, then at Mingrelia, on the shores of the Black Sea, where she connected herself with the trade in the high-class woods with which that region abounds. Later on she moved southwards, to Odessa, where our aunts had gone to live after the death of our grandparent. There she placed herself at the head of an artificial flower factory, but soon left that for other enterprises, which in turn she quickly abandoned, notwithstanding the fact that they generally turned out well.
She was never troubled by any dread of doing anything derogatory to her position, all honest trades seemed to her equally good. It is curious to note, however, that she did not light on some occupation which would have better suited her talents than these commercial enterprises; that, for instance, she did not take instead to literature or to music, which would have better served to display her grand intellectual powers, especially as in her younger days she had never had anything to do with commerce.
Two years later she left again for foreign parts, first for Greece and then for Egypt. All her life was passed in restlessness and in travelling; she was ever, as it were, seeking some unknown goal, some task which it was her duty to discover and to fulfil. Her wandering life and unsettled ways did not end until she found herself face to face with the scientific, the humanitarian and spiritual problems presented by Theosophy; then she stopped short, like a ship which after years of wanderings finds itself safe in port, the sails are furled and for the last time the anchor is let go.
Mr. Sinnett, her biographer, alleges that for many years ere she left definitely for America, Madame Blavatsky had had spiritual relations with those strange beings, whom she later called her Masters, the Mahatmas of Ceylon and Tibet, and that it was only in direct obedience to their commands that she travelled from place to place, from one country to another. How that may be, I do not know. We, her nearest relations, for the first time heard her mention these enigmatic beings in 1873-4, when she was established in New York.
The fact is that her departure from Paris for America was as sudden as it was inexplicable, and she would never give us the explanation of what led her to do so until many years later; she then told us that these same Masters had ordered her to do so, without at the time giving any reason. She gave as her reason for not having spoken of them to us that we should not have understood, that we should have refused to believe, and very naturally so.
Soon all her letters were full of arguments against the abuse of spiritism, that which she termed spiritual materialism, of indignation against mediumistic seances, where the dead were evoked - “the materializations of the dear departed,” the dwellers in the land of eternal spring (the summerland) - who in her opinion were nothing more than shades, elves and lying elementaries, often dangerous, and, above all, evil in their effects on the health of the unfortunate mediums, their passive victims.
Her visit to the brothers Eddy, the well-known mediums of Vermont, was the last drop which made her cup run over. She became from thenceforward the deadly enemy of all demonstrative spiritualism.
It was at the Eddy homestead that Madame Blavatsky made the acquaintance of Col. H. S. Olcott, her first disciple, her devoted friend and future President of the Theosophical Society, the child of their creation, and on which all their thought was thenceforward centred. He had come there as a keen observer of spiritualistic phenomena, in order to investigate and write about the materializations caused through the agency of the two brothers, of which all America was talking. He wrote a book on this subject, a study called People from the Other World - that was the last service done by him for the cause of the propaganda of modern spiritualism. He accepted the views of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, which the American papers readily published. Being both of them deadly enemies of materialism, they considered that spiritualism had rendered a great service to humanity, in demonstrating the errors of the materialistic creed; but that now that once spiritualism had proved the existence of invisible and immaterial forces in nature, its mission was fulfilled; it must not be permitted to drag society to the other error, namely, to superstition and black magic.
As we could not understand this sudden change of front in one whom we knew to be a powerful medium, and who quite recently had been the vice-president of the Spiritualistic Society of Cairo, she wrote to us beginning us to forget the past, her unhappy mediumship to which she had lent herself, as she explained, simply through ignorance of the truth.
At the same time she sent us cuttings from the American newspapers publishing her articles, as well as the comments on what she had written, from which it was evident that her opinions met with much sympathy. Her brilliant powers as a critic revealed themselves, above all, in a number of articles treating of Professor Huxley’s meetings at Boston and at New York - articles which attracted considerable attention. That which astonished us extremely was the profound learning, the deep knowledge, which became suddenly evident in all she wrote. Whence could she have gained this varied and abstruse learning, of which until that time she had given no sign? She herself did not know! Then it was that for the first time she spoke to us of her Masters, or rather of her Master, but in a most vague manner, speaking of him sometimes as “the voice,” sometimes as Sahib (meaning Master), sometimes as “he who inspires me” - as if the source of these mental suggestions was unknown at that time; it did not assist us towards understanding her, and we began to fear for her reason.
“Tell me, dearest friend, are you interested in the secrets of psychic physiology? . . . That which I am about to relate to you offers a sufficiently interesting problem for the students of physiology. We have, among the members of our small society, lately formed of those who desire to study the languages of the east, the abstract nature of things, as well as the spiritual powers of man, some who are well learned. As, for example, Professor Wilder, archaeological orientalist, and many others who come to me with scientific questions, and who assure me that I am better versed than they themselves are in abstract and positive sciences, and that I am better acquainted with the old languages. It is an inexplicable fact, but one none the less true! . . . Well! what do you make of it, old companion of my studies? . . . Explain to me, if you please, how it comes about that I, who, as you are well aware, was, up to the age of forty, in a state of crass ignorance, have suddenly become a savant, a model of learning in the opinions of real savants? It is an insoluble mystery. In truth I am a psychological enigma, a sphinx, and a problem for future generations as much as I am for myself.
The diplomas were sent by Masonic Lodges of England and Benares (Society of Svat-Bai), which recognized her rights to the superior grades of their brotherhoods. The first was accompanied by a cross of the rose in rubies, and the second with a most valuable and ancient copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the bible of India. But that which is more remarkable still is the fact that the Reverend Doctor of the Episcopal Church of the University of New York, took this book, Isis Unveiled, as a text for his sermons. For a series of Sundays he occupied his pulpit, and the Rev. McKerty, taking his themes from the third chapter of Vol. I., edified his parishioners by hurling thunderbolts and opprobrium on the materialist disciples of the Auguste Comte and such like.
H. P. Blavatsky, to the day of her death, remained Russian and a good patriot; the goodwill and approval of her compatriots were always the laurel she most coveted and most valued. Her works, prohibited in Russia by the censorship (notwithstanding their being incomprehensible to the majority of the people owing to the fact that they were in English, a language little known in Russia), had few readers. The honour, therefore, was the greater if those who had read them in speaking of them, quite independently, used terms almost similar to those of the Rev. Archbishop Aivasovsky (brother of our well-known painter), and the son of our celebrated historian Serge Solovioff, the well-known novelist Vsevolod Solovioff.
The following is the opinion of M. Vs. Solovioff, contained in a letter from him dated July 7th, 1884, after reading, in manuscript, the French translation of the same work.
So they agreed! M. Solovioff and the Archbishop Aivasovsky have both often said to me, that it seemed to them to be unnecessary to speak of other of my sister’s miracles, after that which she had accomplished in writing that book.
In regard to the phenomena, called natural, psychological tricks, as they were termed by H. P. Blavatsky, who always spoke of them with indifference and disdain, it would have been better both for her and for her Society if they had been less spoken about or not at all. Her too ardent friends, in publishing books like the Occult World of Mr. Sinnett, rendered her a bad service. Instead of adding to her renown, as they believed, the stories of the wonders worked by the Founders of the Theosophical Society did her a great deal of harm, making not only sceptics, but all sensible folks call it a falsehood and accuse her of charlatanism.
All these stories by Olcott, by Judge, by Sinnett and by many others, of objects created from nothing, of drawings which she caused to appear by merely placing her hands on a sheet of white paper, of apparitions of persons who were dead or absent, or of numbers of objects which had been lost for many years being found in flower-beds or in cushions, added nothing to the reputation of Madame Blavatsky and her Society; on the contrary, they gave a handle to her enemies, as proofs of bad faith and error. The world at large is alive with more or less convincing phenomena, but there will always be more people incredulous than believing, and more traitors than men of good faith. The number of ardent members of the Theosophical Society and zealous friends of Madame Blavatsky, who became her bitter enemies in consequence of the failure of their mercenary hopes, proves this once again. . . .
“It is evident that it is difficult for you to comprehend this psychic phenomenon, notwithstanding that there are precedents of which history speaks. If you will allow that the human soul, the vital soul, the pure spirit, is composed of a substance which is independent of the organism and that it is not inseparably linked with our interior organs; that this soul, which belongs to all that lives, to the infusoria as well as to the elephant and to each one of us, is not to be distinguished (from our shadow, which forms the almost always invisible base of its fleshly envelope) except in so far as it is more or less illumined by the divine essence of our Immortal Spirit, you will then admit that it is capable of acting independently of our body. Try and realize that - and many things hitherto incomprehensible will become clear. As a matter of fact, this was well recognized in antiquity. The human soul, the fifth principle of the being, recovers some portion of its independence in the body of one profane during the period of sleep; in the case of an initiated Adept it enjoys that state constantly. St. Paul, the only one of the apostles initiated into the esoteric mysteries of Greece - does he not say in speaking of his ascension to the third heaven ‘in the body or out of the body’ he cannot tell; ‘God knoweth.’ In the same sense the servant Rhoda says when she sees St. Peter, ‘It is not him, it is his “angel,” that is to say, his double, his shade. Again in the Acts of the Apostles (viii. 39), when the Spirit - the divine force - seizes and carries off St. Philip, is it in truth he himself bodily and living, that is transported to a distance? It was his soul and his double - his true ‘ego.’ Read Plutarch, Apuleius, Jamblichus. You will find in them many allusions to these facts if not assertions which the initiated have not the right to make. . . . That which mediums produce unconsciously under the influence of outside forces evoked during their sleep, the Adepts do consciously, working by understood methods. . . . Voila tout!
Thus it was that my sister explained to us the visits of her Master, who not only instructed and made suggestions to her by means of her intuition, from his own vast wisdom, but even came in his astral body to see them - her and Colonel Olcott and many others besides.
During the war between Russia and Turkey, Helena Petrovna had not a moment’s peace. All her letters written during 1876-1877 are full of alarm for her compatriots, of fears for the safety of those members of her family who were actively engaged in it. She forgot her anti-materialist and anti-spiritualist articles in order to breathe forth fire and flame against the enemies of the Russian nation; not against our enemies themselves who were also to be pitied, but against the evil-minded hypocrites, against their simulated sympathies for Turkey, their jesuitical policy which was an offense to all Christian peoples. When she heard of the famous discourse of Pius IX, in which he taught the faithful that “the hand of God could direct the scimitar of the Bashi-bazouk towards the uprooting of schism,” in which he gave his blessing to Mohammedan arms as used against the infidel Orthodox Greek Church, she fell ill. Then she exploded in a series of satires so envenomed and so clever that the whole American press and all the anti-popish journals called attention to them, and the Papal Nuncio at New York, the Scotch Cardinal MacKlosky, thought advisable to send a priest to parley with her. He gained little from that, however, for Madame Blavatsky made a point of relating the occurrence in her next article, saying that she had begged the prelate to be so good as to talk with her through the press and then she would most certainly reply to him.
We sent her a poem of Turgenyeff’s, called “Croquet at Windsor,” which represented Queen Victoria and her Court playing croquet with the bleeding heads of Slavs for balls. She quickly translated it, and it was in The New York Herald, if I mistake not, that it first saw publicity.
In October, 1876, H. P. Blavatsky gave fresh proof of her powers of clairvoyance. She had a vision of what was happening in the Caucasus, on the frontier of Turkey, where her cousin Alexander Witte, Major of the Nijni-Novgorod Dragoons, narrowly escaped death. She mentioned the fact in one of her letters to her relations; as, often before, she had described to us apparitions of persons who warned her of their death weeks before the news could be received by ordinary means, we were not greatly astonished.
All that she made in the way of money, during the war, from her articles in the Russian newspapers, together with the first payments she received from her publisher, were sent to Odessa and to Tiflis for the benefit of the wounded soldiers or their families or to the Red Cross Society.
In the spring of 1878 a strange thing happened to Madame Blavatsky. Having got up and set to work one morning as usual, she suddenly lost consciousness, and never regained it again until five days later. So deep was her state of lethargy that she would have been buried had not a telegram been received by Colonel Olcott and his sister, who were with her at the time, emanating from him she called her Master. The message ran, “Fear nothing, she is neither dead nor ill, but she has need of repose; she has overworked herself. . . . She will recover.” As a matter of fact she recovered and found herself so well that she would not believe that she had slept for five days. Soon after this sleep, H. P. Blavatsky formed the project of going to India.
The Theosophical Society was thenceforth duly organized at New York. The three principal objects were then as they are to-day: (1) the organization of an universal brotherhood, without distinction of race, creed or social position, in which the members pledged themselves to strive for the moral improvement both of themselves and others; (2) for the common study of the oriental sciences, languages and literature; (3) the investigation into the hidden laws of nature and the psychological powers of man, as yet unknown to science - this last clause being optional; in fact, it is only the first which is considered binding on all the members of the Society, the other two are not insisted on.
The work of Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott was, in America, confided to the care of the most zealous and devoted of their disciples, Mr. William Q. Judge, who is at the present time Vice-President of the Theosophical Society. As for the Founders, they left in the autumn of 1878 for India.
They were ordered, so they stated, by their Masters, the guides and protectors of the theosophical movement, to work on the spot and in concert with a certain Dayanand Sarasvati, a Hindu preacher who taught monotheism and who has been called the Luther of India.
On the 17th of February, 1879, after a long stay in London, where they formed the first nucleus of their brotherhood, which for the time prospered, Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott arrived at Bombay.
Notwithstanding this grand demonstration on arrival, their life was a hard one at first. They worked eighteen hours a day; Olcott travelled the greater part of the year, forming branches of the Theosophical Society, which at once took root in the congenial soil of Oriental belief, and Madame Blavatsky hardly quitted her table, writing night and day, preparing material for their projected journal, The Theosophist, which was started that same year, and also in writing articles in the English, American and Russian newspapers to help their common resources. From their very first start they were harassed by the Anglo-Indian administration, which took a dislike to Theosophists and put them on their black books, treating them as spies and propagandists of the Russian Government.
It must be borne in mind that just at that time there was considerable excitement in England as to the fate of Afghanistan, on account of the success which had attended the Russian arms in the Transcaspian regions. The English had become more mistrustful and more full of Russophobia than ever. In vain the poor Theosophists protested and represented to the authorities that their mission was entirely concerned with philosophy and had nothing on earth to do with politics. They were put under police surveillance, their movements were watched and their correspondence opened. . . . So much the worse for the government of Queen Victoria, for H. P. Blavatsky added fuel to the flames, put no restraint upon her feelings in her letters, and doubtless the officials had often the pleasure of reading therein many home truths, which must have been somewhat trying to their vanity. . . . At last friends in London and the press took the matter up, and the police surveillance was removed - thanks, however, principally to a letter which Lord Lindsay, a Fellow of the Royal Society and President of the Astronomical Society in London, wrote to Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India, and which made him ashamed of any longer persecuting a woman and other persons engaged in abstract studies of a moral character.
The visits, the dinners and the balls, and all the exigencies of society, were exceedingly irksome to Helena Petrovna, but she did her best to comply with them for the sake of her Society. She passed the hot weather in the hills, sometimes taking part in the Colonel’s travels, but more often staying with friends, and always occupied, without intermission, on her writing.
All these slanders served to aggravate the maladies from which she suffered most terribly. She was obliged to have recourse to the authority of her relations and of her friends in Russia to prove her identity. Prince A. M. Dondoukoff-Korsakoff, at that time Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasus, wrote her a most kind letter, describing himself as a friend who had known her from her youth, and enclosed a certificate of identity, which was published in nearly all the Anglo-Indian papers, to the great delight of her friends.
But, alas! she had more influential enemies than she had friends.
The Theosophical Society at that time numbered its recruits by the thousand among the natives, among those who held no official position, but had made very few converts among the leading classes in India. The English, bound by their official ties, or their social position, contented themselves for the most part with taking a general interest in the movement, and in the teachings in particular, but would have nothing to do with diplomas, and so forth, and, not being members of the Society, they lost no time in disowning it when it got into low water. Those who wish to acquaint themselves with the details of what occurred during the sojourn of H. P. Blavatsky in India can do so by reading the accounts written by Olcott and by Sinnett and by other eye-witnesses.
At length the adhesion of rich and influential natives, given to fraternity which reaffirmed the truth underlying their faiths, whether Hindu of Buddhist, irritated the missionaries to such an extent that they seemed to forget Christian charity. They saw already clearly enough that Madame Blavatsky, whether sincere or hypocrite, magician or conjurer, was the strength and the soul of the Theosophical Society, and they directed their attacks against her in consequence. She had not openly embraced Buddhism as had the President of the Society, but she proclaimed the equality and unity of all religious systems. For this very reason she was more dangerous than the Colonel, who was the author of a Buddhist catechism, approved by Sumangala, the High Priest of Ceylon. From thenceforward, therefore, she became the point of attack for the enemies of Theosophy and the scapegoat of the Society.
What with eighteen hours’ work out of the twenty-four, the abuse and the constant worry, the mental strain added to her chronic bodily disease, which was aggravated by the bad climatic conditions, she at length came within an ace of death. During the five years H. P. Blavatsky passed in India she had no less than four attacks of illness of so serious a nature that the best doctors of Bombay and of Madras in each instance decided that she could not possibly live; but at the last moment some unlooked-for and at times unusual aid always came to her. On one occasion it was a native doctor, on another a Brahmin Yogi, or a poor “pariah,” shrunken by fasting and austerities. They appeared unasked and offered their remedies, which proved to be efficacious. Then at the specified hour she fell into a deep sleep, from which, according to the European doctors, she should have passed into her last agony. Instead of which, she woke from this long sleep as if she had had nothing the matter with her. Twice, however, it fell out otherwise. Strange, unknown and unlooked-for visitors appeared, who took charge of her and carried her off no one knew whither.
Scores of witnesses testify to the fact, in addition to which her own letters prove it clearly. I have one before me, unluckily undated, as it was her habit in writing to us - her aunt and myself - not to trouble about the day of the month. In this letter she gives us news of a severe illness she was passing through; a “chela” (a disciple of the Masters and a student of the Occult sciences) had brought her an order from one of the Adepts for her to follow him, and she begged us not to be uneasy on account of her silence, which would necessarily be prolonged, as the place where she would be obliged to pass some time in order to recover was far removed from posts and telegraphs.
Here, again, is a letter addressed from Meerut, beyond Allahabad. This one was written in May, 1881, after a severe illness, of which those who were with H. P. Blavatsky had informed us, saying that we must be prepared for the worst. Her friends were taking Helena Petrovna into the country - she was convalescent, but still very weak - when she received the “order” to leave the main roads and to strike off into the mountains.
This was an allusion to her previous letter, in which she had spoken of the fact of their meeting.
Having recognized the Tibetan Lama, my sister again relapsed into one of her strange sleeps and did not recover consciousness until she was again at the foot of the mountain, in the village where her European friends were waiting for her.
Never was it permitted, not only for the English but even for the natives themselves, to follow her on such secret expeditions, on which occasions it was presumed she went to see her Masters - notwithstanding this conviction, held by those who surrounded her, she never wrote to us of her visiting them; nevertheless, I have come across one of her first letters (written in 1879), in which she relates the participation of Mahatma Morya in one of her journeys with Colonel Olcott, amid the vaults and the ruins of ancient temples, which is of intense interest.
In the spring of 1881, H. P. Blavatsky fell seriously ill after receiving the fatal news of what had occurred in Russia on the 13th March in that year.
“Good God of mercy! what a bloody horror!” she wrote to us, “Are the last days of Russia come? . . . Or is Satan himself incarnate in her children, in the miserable abortion of my poor country? After this unprecedented crime, what next? Where are the Russians of days gone by? Whither is my beloved Russia drifting? Yes, I am a renegade. Yes, I am a Buddhist, an atheist - according to you, a republican - but I am miserable, profoundly miserable, over this atrocious monstrosity! Oh! how I pity them all - our martyred Tsar, his unhappy family, and all Russia!
“Cursed be these monsters, these Nihilists, these reckless fools!
And she proved it by falling ill.
Her journal, The Theosophist, appeared in black borders. This was a most kind attention on the part of the President of the Theosophical Society; for she herself was far from being in a condition to think of such things. Hardly had she recovered from her first stupor, when she set to work to write a beautiful article for The Pioneer, in which she recounted all the acts of bravery, of humanity and kindliness done by Alexander II., and was delighted that all the Anglo-Indian press echoed what she said. As a reply to certain ill-disposed remarks in two clerical organs, alluding to “the American citizen and her journal dressed in mourning for the death of an autocrat,” H.P. Blavatsky sent a collective reply to the Bombay Gazette, whence the other papers reproduced it.
In the winter of 1881-82 the Theosophical community transported its penates from Bombay to Adyar, a property in the neighbourhood of the city of Madras, bought by contributions from all the members of the Society, who desired to provide their founders and their staff with a permanent home. It is there that the President lives up to the present time, and it was here also that Madame Blavatsky passed the last two years of her life in India, and it was there that in that same year the seventh anniversary of the founding of the Society was celebrated with especial solemnity - I say “especial solemnity,” as the number seven is an important one in theosophic beliefs, and as these anniversaries are numerous at Adyar, at New York and at London, those which contain this number are double marked.
During their frequent travels Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky were always received with great pomp by the natives of the country they passed through; for all the Hindus were devoted to them, partly because by their translations of the Sanskrit books of the ancient Aryan literature they had done much to popularize them, partly on account of the efforts they had made to lessen the barriers between the castes, and also for what they had done in the way of modifying the unjust contempt with which the Anglo-Indians regarded the natives, even the learned Brahmius. In this work, according to the opinion of the natives, the Society had met with considerable success. Nowhere, however, were the Theosophists feted as they were in Ceylon. Each time they set foot there the Buddhist population were en fete, and led by their priests they organized a triumphal welcome.
It was in the interests of the Sinhalese that the President planned a journey to Europe and especially to London, in order to present a petition to Parliament in their favour.
It was towards the end of 1883 that H. P. Blavatsky found herself rather improved in health, thanks to a better climate and to the fact that she had a well-built house to live in. Nevertheless, her health left much to be desired, and all her doctors agreed that even a temporary change of climate would do her a great deal of good. It was therefore decided that she should accompany the President, and thenceforward Helena began to form projects of seeing once more her relatives. She immediately wrote to us; then in the month of December they left Bombay.
Before leaving the shore of India, however, my sister had three successive visions which indicated to her the death of her uncle, General Rostislav Fadeew, who died at that very time at Odessa.
As we knew she was about to leave, and were too upset ourselves by this heavy blow, her aunt and I neglected to send her news of what had happened. She was unaware of the illness of her uncle, when he himself came and told her that his trials were over.
The two or three letters of Madame Blavatsky dated early in January, 1884 - General Fadeew having died on the 29th December - proved conclusively by the truth of these visions, whilst the words from beyond the tomb, which she heard pronounced by this man, one who was esteemed and honoured by all who ever knew him, had for her a singular significance.
She had implicit belief in the truth and the importance of visions of this nature - not sought for but proceeding from the initiative of him who was dead. She had experienced them all her life, and nearly all the members of our family were privileged in the same manner.
Once in Europe, H. P. Blavatsky was besieged with invitations. All the Theosophists in London, in Paris, and her friends in all countries wanted to have her; but her idea was to see her own nearest relatives, and to this end, after resting at Nice at the house of the Duchesse de Pomar (Lady Caithness), President of the Eastern and Western Branch of the Theosophical Society in Paris, she settled down in Paris in a small flat, which she took in order to be able to receive my aunt and myself under her own roof, knowing that we should not care to accept any other hospitality. Harassed by the curious and by reporters, more than by friends or those seriously interested in her teachings, she went away and spent a fortnight in the country, accepting the invitation of M. and Mme. d’Adhemar, who owned a charming villa near Enghien. In LUCIFER (the magazine since founded by H. P. Blavatsky in London) for July, 1891, I find a delightful letter from Countess d’Adhemar, giving her reminiscences of the musical phenomena produced by Madame Blavatsky during this visit, in the presence of several persons.
I regret that the limits of this article preclude my quoting at length this letter, and also many others, which would doubtless be more convincing to my readers than the depositions of a sister. I hope, however, to be able to do so at some future date, if only in order to undeceive the public regarding the lying accusations brought against Madame Blavatsky by evilly disposed persons, old pupils for the most part, who, finding their hopes of some immediate miraculous results disappointed, became her bitter enemies.
There were always enough and to spare of foolish people, who expected to receive occult gifts for the asking, and of mercenary folk who were ready to lend their aid and encouragement to H. P. Blavatsky in exchange for larger or smaller sums of money. As soon as these saw that she had neither the means nor the desire to pay them, either in ready cash or in occult powers conferred on them, they lost no time in becoming her deadly and too often unprincipled opponents.
I passed six weeks, in the spring of 1884, at Paris with my sister. She was all that time surrounded with crowds of people; not only those who had come from America, from England and from Germany, expressly to see her and to talk with her business connected with Theosophy, but also with numbers of Parisians interested in the teachings and particularly in the phenomena, who constantly assailed her.
The Theosophical Society in Europe was then in its infancy. Even in London there were not more than a score of sincere and working members devoted to the cause; in Germany there was not even one branch duly organised; in Paris, there were indeed two Lodges, but they did not between them comprise a membership of more than twenty or thirty, while the “mother branches of New York and of Adyar” were constantly being split up by dissensions among their members, which did not promise well for their future prosperity. Amongst those, however, who were constant visitors at our house, 46, Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, were several of eminence. I remember seeing there many savants, doctors of medicine, and of other sciences, magnetisers and clairvoyants, and a number of women more or less acquainted with literature and the abstract sciences, among these many of our compatriots of both sexes. Among those whose names I remember, were C. Flammarion, Leymarie, de Baissac, Richet, Evette the magnetiser, the pupil and friend of Baron Dupotet, and M. Vsevolod Solovioff, the Russian author, one of the most constant visitors and ever full of protestations of his devotion to the cause and person of Madame Blavatsky. Among the ladies were the Duchesse de Pomar, the Comtesse d’Adhemar, Madame de Barreau, Madame de Morsier, Mdlle. de Glinka and many others, French, Russian, English and American.
Colonel Olcott and Mr. Judge, the latter having arrived from New York, told us endless stories of the most wonderful phenomena of which they had been witnesses; we, however, saw none except such as had to do with psychology, with the exception of, on one or two occasions, hearing harmonious sounds, produced at will by Helena Petrovna; again, on one occasion not only was a sealed letter psychometrically read, but, having drawn in red pencil an arrow and a theosophical star on a sheet of paper, she caused the same marks to appear on an indicated place of the sealed letter, which was contained in an envelope and folded in four. This was vouched for by the signature of six or seven witnesses, amongst them M. Solovioff, who described what happened in the Russian journal Rebus, under date of 1st July, 1884, and under the title of “Interesting Phenomena.” There was also another, which I myself described at the time. It was the sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance - without the least trace being left of it - of a Russian newspaper article, published at Odessa, three days before it appeared in the scrap-book of my sister, in which it was her custom to insert all that was published referring to her. That same morning we had all read this article with great astonishment (for the letters from Odessa to Paris took from four to five days to reach us) and that same evening not the smallest vestige of it remained in the book, which was a bound one and of which the pages were numbered. The disappearance of the article in question had not interrupted the series of consecutive numbers. With the exception of these two palpable facts, material phenomena, so to speak, I never - so far as my memory serves me - saw her produce any other than psychological phenomena, such as clairvoyance, psychometry and clairaudience. For my own part I never received any letters from the Adepts and I never perceived nor did I have the chance to see, as many others had, any apparition - neither lights nor letters falling from the skies. I do not contest their depositions - far from that! I am quite ready to believe them, for, so far as I see, no one has a right to contest the belief of others from the sole standpoint of ignorance or his want of perception; but I cannot put forward anything except what occurred in my own experience.
That, however, should not prevent my repeating the experiences of others, more fortunate or more endowed than myself, which they have related to me. It would be impossible, however, to relate all the stories told by the nearest disciples of my sister, and it is needless to do so, for all the Theosophical journals have told and retold those to which Messrs. Sinnett, Olcott, Judge, and many others bore witness; but I will quote the testimony of one who has not been hitherto reported in the English or French press. I allude to the remarkable phenomena which M. Vs. Solovioff has described in many letters.
After staying with my sister, in the month of September that same year, at Elberfeld, whither he went to see her, he wrote me a long letter about an interview which the Mahatma Morya had granted him, and also of the visions which he had experienced previous to the appearance of this great Adept. I will not describe what took place in detail, for he sent an account to the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research in London; this, however, is what he wrote to me in reply to my questions as to the authenticity of this apparition, on November 21st, 1885.
The occult powers of Madame Blavatsky were, without doubt, great. Nevertheless no one, so far as I know, has ever attributed her faculties to hypnotic suggestion, as M. Solovioff seems to imply. Besides which, his hypothesis will not stand criticism, for many times the letters from the Mahatmas and from Madame Blavatsky have been submitted to the inspection of experts, who have always pronounced the handwritings to be different. In addition to which, M. Solovioff has not been the only one to receive such letters under precisely similar conditions. Dr. Hubbe Schleiden, editor of The Sphinx, and many others who can prove it, have received their letters in the absence of Madame Blavatsky.
Returning to the testimony of M. Solovioff. He finishes his letter of 21st November with these words: “When her life ends, a life which, I am convinced, is only kept going by some magic power, I shall mourn all my life for this unhappy and remarkable woman.” Indeed he might well say so, he who more than any other had had proof of her remarkable powers! Here are a few lines from another letter of his, written on December 22nd, 1884, at a time when my sister had been already in India for two months, and he was living in Paris.
As a matter of fact, it signified nothing at all serious. My sister merely wanted once for all to return, in her astral body, the frequent visits that M. Solovioff had at various times paid to her at Paris, Elberfeld, and at Wurtzbourg, in the flesh.
We left Paris on the same day in the month of June, I and my aunt N. A. Fadeew for Odessa, Madame Blavatsky for London, whither she was urgently invited. She was there fully occupied in endeavouring to establish a permanent branch of the Society, under the presidency of Mr. Sinnett, and, although never out of pain, devoted much time to those who came to see her out of curiosity, and to social life. From the first she was feted and met with adulation. On her behalf they organised large meetings and conversaziones. At one of these, nearly one thousand persons were present at Princes’ Hall, and more than three hundred persons were introduced to her. Among those who thus took notice of her were Professor Crookes, Lord Cross, Minister for India, and her friend and countrywoman Madame Olga Aleksevna Novikoff. Sinnett made a fine speech, in which he praised to the skies the energy and wisdom of Madame Blavatsky, the unceasing work of Colonel Olcott and the beautiful humanitarian and moral principles which formed the basis of their teachings. Unfortunately the health of H. P. Blavatsky was not equal to supporting the strain of her incessant work, together with the calls of society, coupled with the emotion caused by the receipt of bad news from Madras. I allude to the well-known conspiracy of her late servants, the carpenter Coulomb and his wife, who sold forged letters to the Journal of the Christian College of Madras, the sworn enemy of the T.S. and above all of its Foundress, and who, in the absence of the masters from Adyar, set to work to make, in Madame Blavatsky’s room, hidden doors and cupboards with false backs, which she could never have ordered, for even if she had wished to deceive her visitors by such means, she would not have been so made as to have her secret arrangements carried out in her absence. All these made-up stories, well paid for by her adversaries, led to the sad history of the expose “of the frauds of Madame Blavatsky, the greatest impostor of the age,” to quote the words of the report of the Psychical Society of London. This report has been over and over again shown to be false in its details, by many different individuals, who, being deeply versed in occultism and in the Theosophical teachings, went and diligently investigated the affair on the spot; but scandalous stories, especially those which are accusations, are very difficult to uproot. It is quite clear that the assertions of the Psychical Society - translated as they were into all languages - will serve, for a long time to come, as weapons in the hands of enemies of Madame Blavatsky, while the refutations of her devoted disciples, far better acquainted with all the details of the conspiracy, will remain in a great measure powerless owing to their want of publicity, appearing as they did in Theosophical journals, very little read by the outside public.
I have, in my port-folio, a whole series of articles written by friends of Madame Blavatsky in her favour, which no Russian journal would publish, for fear of polemics. In reply to an allusion in the Novoic Vremia to this very report of the Psychical Research Society - a score of members of the Theosophical Society in London, who had got to the bottom of the whole intrigue, sent a collective address to the editor, but this address never saw the light of day, and the defamatory article continued to appear in the paper, all founded on the calumnies of the Psychical Society.
The malevolence of the “Christian College” went so far as to affirm that “H. P. Blavatsky would never dare to return to India, for not only had she extorted money from her dupes, but had also stolen the cash-box of her own Theosophical Society.” She! who had ruined her health in her efforts for the Society! She! who had given up all her fortune, her life, and her sole for it! This one statement alone from a so-called “Christian” journal proves the perfidy of her adversaries.
She hastened to leave for India, if only to give the lie to her persecutors. At Ceylon and even at Madras itself she met with a splendid reception. The students of the Madras Colleges presented her with a most flattering address, signed by eight hundred people. Certainly it was a most eloquent demonstration, and it consoled her not a little for her bitter vexations.
The immediate danger had passed, but, nevertheless, she was so weak that they were obliged to carry her in an invalid chair and have her hoisted, almost unconscious, on board a steamer leaving for Italy, all the doctors being agreed that the approaching hot weather would be inevitably fatal to her.
The early months of the summer that Madame Blavatsky spent near Naples, at Torre del Greco, were months full of suffering. She felt ill, solitary, and deserted, and, what is more, she feared that the prosperity of the Theosophical Society was ruined by her unpopularity and by the calumnies at all times directed against her. But at the first suggestion of resignation she made, she raised a storm of unanimous protest from America, Europe, and above all, from India. The President was powerless to calm the malcontents, who urgently demanded the return of H. P. Blavatsky, and the resumption by her of the business of the Society and of Theosophical interests in general. In vain she tried to prove to them that she would really be of more use to the movement by devoting herself, in seclusion and uninterrupted by business affairs and troubles, to the writing of her new work, The Secret Doctrine. They replied with assurances of devotion to her and by asking her to come to London to Madras, and to New York; settle where she would, she would be welcomed, if only she would resume the leadership of the movement. As for leaving them, she must not for a moment think of it, for, according to the unanimous opinion, her leaving meant the dispersion of the Theosophical Society and its death!
Once again H. P. Blavatsky had a severe illness, from which she with difficulty recovered, thanks to the devotion of her friends, who never left her side for a moment. It was principally to Dr. Ashton Ellis, of London, Countess Wachtmeister, and the Gebhard family that she owed her recovery; but from this time forward her life was one of continuous suffering more or less acute.
In the month of April, 1887, her friends succeeded in removing her to England. The previous winter she had passed at Ostend, where she finished the first half of The Secret Doctrine, and here she was constantly surrounded with friends, especially with those who came to see her from London; amongst these was the President of the British Theosophical Society, Mr. Sinnett, who had just published his book, Incidents in the Life of Mme. H. P. Blavatsky.
The last four years of her life, which Madame Blavatsky passed in London, were years of physical suffering, of incessant labour, of mental over-excitement, which completely undermined her health; but these years were also years of success, of moral fruition, which fully compensated her for her sufferings, and gave her cause to hope that her book, the Theosophical Society, and her writings would remain as evidence in her favour after her death, and would serve to clear her name from the calumnies with which it had been covered.
Here is an extract from one of her letters, written in the autumn of 1887, excusing herself for her long silence.
The activity of the Theosophical Society in London, its meetings, its monthly and weekly magazines, and, above all, the writings of its foundress, attracted the attention of the press and the reprisals of the clergy. But here their representatives never gave way to such unjust and calumnious excesses as did the Jesuits of Madras. Most assuredly there were many stirring meetings, at which H. P. Blavatsky, to use her own expression, was “treated like Lucifer - not in its true sense, as bearer of the heavenly light - but in the popular sense, that which is ascribed to him in Milton’s Paradise Lost. I was presented to the public as anti-Christ in petticoats.” Nevertheless, her fine letter, entitled “LUCIFER to the Archbishop of Canterbury,” made a great sensation at the time, and all but put an end to clerical hostilities.
In London there was no longer any question as to phenomena; Helena Petrovna took an aversion to them. Nevertheless, as Mr. Stead remarks with truth, in his article on Madame H.P. Blavatsky in The Review of Reviews for June, 1891, never before did she make so many distinguished converts or converts more devoted to her cause than during the last four years of her life. Her visions and her clairvoyance, however, never left her. In July, 1886, she told us of the death of her friend, Prof. Alexander Boutleroff, before it was mentioned in the Russian newspapers. In fact, she saw him at Ostend on the very day of his death. The same thing happened in the case of our celebrated politician, M. N. Katkoff, a patriot whom she cordially esteemed. She wrote to me (and the letter is fortunately still extant and precisely dated) one month before his end that he would be ill and would die. In July, 1888, when I was in London, she extricated me from serious perplexity, caused by a wrongly-interpreted telegram, and told me, after an instant’s meditation, what had happened at Moscow on that very day. When in the spring of 1890, the Headquarters of the Society in London was moved into a new house, better adapted to accommodate her increased staff, H. P. Blavatsky said, “I shall never move again, they will take me from this house to the crematorium.” When asked why she foretold this, she gave as a pretext that this house had not her lucky number; the number seven was lacking.
The health of Helena Petrovna continued to go from bad to worse with the increasing growth of her occupations. She formed around herself a group of ardent Theosophists who were anxious to study the occult sciences. With regard to this she wrote to me in 1889.
Two years after she had settled in London, Madame Blavatsky made the acquaintance of a woman of extraordinary knowledge, merits, and talent.
I will let her speak herself.
My sister had good grounds for what she said. With the support of Theosophists such as Mrs. Besant, Countess Wachtmeister, Bertram Keightley, and such like, she could have rested in peace and devoted herself quietly to her literary works, had her days not been already numbered.
The winter of 1890 was, as we all know, very severe in London, and, from the spring of 1891, the influenza, this new scourge of humanity which has the gentlest appearance and does not show its claws until later on, joined issue with the inclemencies of the season and carried off a larger proportion of the world than all the other diseases - our old friends - who do not deceive people by their airs of innocence. The whole community at 19, Avenue Road, was taken ill with it during the months of March and April. The younger members recovered, H. P. Blavatsky succumbed.
Mrs. Annie Besant was away; she had gone to the Congress of American Theosophists, to represent there the Foundress of the Society, and had been entrusted by her with an address to “her fellow citizens and brothers and sisters in Theosophy.” The first successes of Helena Petrovna had their cradle in New York; the city of Boston had the privilege of giving her her last pleasure while on earth. The telegrams full of kind sentiments, of thanks and sincere good wishes for her, which reached her from America, after the reading of her letter, gave her real joy, at the very time she was confined to her bed and condemned. . . . Condemned? No. She who so often had been deceived herself and had so often proved false the sentence pronounced on her by the doctors, once again deceived them, but in another way. At eleven o’clock in the morning of May 8th, the doctors pronounced her out of danger, she got up and sat at her writing-table, without doubt wishing to die at her post, and at two o’clock she closed her eyes and - departed.
“She departed so quietly” - so wrote a witness of this unlooked-for death - “that we, who were near her, did not know even when she ceased to breathe. A supreme sensation of peace took possession of us, as we knelt there, knowing all was over.” (“How she left us,” by Miss L. Cooper, LUCIFER, June, 1891).
I had seen my sister for the last time in the summer of 1890. She had just been settling into her new house and was very busy and nearly always in pain. She was then forming a Home at the East End for working women. “The Working Women’s Club,” founded at the cost of a wealthy Theosophist who wished to conceal his identity, prospered at this time under the protection of the lady patronesses belonging to the Theosophical Society. We passed the evenings talking of old days, of her beloved country; the injustice of the English Press and its calumnies against Russia seemed always to amount to injuries against herself. It is a great pity that her compatriots do not know all her articles on this subject. Many of them, those, above all, who formed their idea of her from the allegations of certain Russian newspapers, would have changed their opinions about her after reading, for instance, her article in LUCIFER, June, 1890, entitled, “The moat and the beam,” written in reply to the false accusations against the Government of Russia, carried at indignation meetings held with regard to “Russian Atrocities in Siberia,” which latter were, for the most part, invented by the too vivid imagination of George Kennan. And, curiously enough, the last words from her pen, which appeared on the same page of LUCIFER in which a hurried notice of her death was inserted, related to the Emperor of Russia. Therein she gave the Court of the Queen of England the good advice, that they should endeavour to follow the example offered by our Imperial family, in the practice of certain virtues, unknown to those devoid of “True Nobility,” that being the title of this article.
On a fine May day, the remains of the Foundress of the Theosophical Society were taken in a coffin, completely covered with flowers, to the Crematorium at Woking. There was no elaborate ceremony, neither was mourning worn, she herself having expressly forbidden it.
It was in India and, above all, at Ceylon, that her death was commemorated with much pomp, but in Europe the ceremony was of the simplest, only a few words were spoken of her “who had created the Theosophic movement, who had been the apostle of universal charity, the apostle of a life of purity and labour for the sake of others and for the progress of the human spirit and, above all, of the eternal and divine soul.” Then the body was committed to the flames and “three hours later, the ashes of her who had been Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, were brought back to her last home. Possibly some amongst her disciples were too fervent, but there were others who spoke nothing but the absolute truth concerning her. I quote, as a specimen, these words, which cannot fail to be approved by any impartial person.
“The friends of Madame Blavatsky merely ask that the rules of palpable common sense shall be admitted in any judgment of her, that testimony from those who know much shall be thought weightier than testimony from those who know nothing, that every well-established principle in the interpretation of human character shall not be reversed in her case, that the unsupported assertion of a daily newspaper shall not be conceded the authority of a Court or the infallibility of a Scripture. They do not even ask that the impartial shall read her books, but they suggest, not from hearsay, but from experience, that if any man wishes his aspirations heightened, his motive invigorated, his endeavour spurred, he should turn to the writing which express the thought and reflect the soul of Helena P. Blavatsky.” - (“Test of Character,” by A. Fullerton, Path, June, 1891).
“Amen,” say we, her nearest relatives, to this tribute of a disciple.
As for myself, although I do not exactly hold with them, yet I may be allowed to say that the teachings of Theosophy should not be ignored by our contemporaries, even though the Society be dispersed and no trace remain of it as an organised body. These teachings will have their place in the history of the Nineteenth Century and - even if they do not materially influence the coming generations, as is the hope of her devoted followers - yet the name of a woman who was capable of calling forth a movement based on universal ideas, cannot be entirely lost in oblivion.
April 15, 1895, pp. 99-108. | 2019-04-22T19:16:19Z | https://theosophy.world/resource/helena-petrovna-blavatsky-vera-petrovna-de-zhelihovsky |
Doing something meaningful for your kids, that makes you feel good.
Doing something with longtime heroes of yours, that makes you feel good.
Josh Lovelace got to do both at the same time.
As a member of the band Needtobreathe, the Tennessee-based Lovelace is no stranger to the big rockstar life, but even big rock stars sometimes just want to hang with their kids. With his new album Young Folk, out next month, he sings songs of, well, singing songs. And family, and silliness, and love. It's a heartfelt, organic, celebration of those things -- think Dan Zanes if he'd tried to make a more directly preschool-focused album, or the Okee Dokee Brothers if they'd ever stop touring the entire United States and just spend a few weeks in the living room.
Lovelace also recruited a bunch of friends to sing along on some of the tracks, including Canadian kids' superstars Sharon Hampson and Bram Morrison -- aka two-thirds of Sharon Lois & Bram. Lovelace grew up listening to the trio, met them several years ago, and now Sharon and Bram sing on one of the album's most heartfelt tracks, "Sing a Song For Me." It's a very come-full-circle moment for Lovelace, and I'm glad to be able to premiere the track today.
But that's not all. I caught up with Lovelace in Wyoming while he was in the midst of a tour with Needtobreathe, and talked to him about memories, making music with Sharon and Bram, and what it's like to make music with your heroes. So give "Sing a Song For Me" a spin, then read on!
Josh Lovelace: I grew up in a musical family... my mom played the piano, my dad the trumpet. My mom's parents were singers, and my dad's father was a songwriter... They would teach folk songs -- Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie. I was drawn to storytelling songs -- I was inspired by someone who could stand at the front of the stage and lead people in song. It got to the point that I wanted to be up there. [I remember] my mom would set me on top of copy paper boxes to perform for office coworkers.
How did your collaboration with Sharon and Bram come about?
I grew up listening to their Elephant Show Record, their show was on in Canada, then aired on Nick a few years after... The love and joy in their face was mesmerizing. I continued collecting their albums [as I got older].
[In 2011] Needtobreathe was touring with Taylor Swift and played in Toronto for the first time. I wanted to reach out to them and invite them or their grandkids to the Taylor Swift concert. Sharon couldn't make it, but we met for coffee the next morning, and we talked for 3 hours. My son is named Henry Bram, so they're important to me.
When I started working on this project, it was kind of accidental. I knew what I liked, and I'd think [about a song], "Would this work on a Sharon, Lois & Bram record? A Raffi record?" This song "Sing a Song For Me" has a line that references Woody and Pete, and I thought "That's so Bram."
They are legends in their market, but they're also very kind people. They're very aware of how they're perceived by kids, or by parents.
I'm so glad I had the opportunity, and we're planning on doing some events together for the album release.
What's it like to do things with your heroes? Not just random things, but the very thing that those heroes did and inspired you to do those same types of things.
It's insane. I've been doing this for so long, and when you meet a legendary person, [it's nice to be able to] talk to them as a peer, find a common thread.
With this album, I got to do things with friends, who said, we can do something for you.
A song can change someone's life... and I want to live moments that are going to outlive me.
What do you hope families get out of the album?
The album started as a conversation with my kids, and introduces genres.
This music can be enjoyed together -- these days, people have iPhone or iPod personal playlist. But it's a human experience, being together, and as a parent, [I know] that parents all want something they can do together.
Sharon would say that the biggest compliment they'd get [for their music] is when somebody would put on [their music] when dropping the kids off at school, then leave it on afterwards.
We're doing an album release show in Knoxville, and I plan to do some shows, not a lot. I want to sing, hear the crowd singing back.
Posted in Interviews and tagged with Josh Lovelace, needtobreathe, Sharon Lois and Bram, Sharon and Bram, Tennessee, new music, Upcoming Releases, interviews, world premiere.
October 26, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd.
I'm a big fan of musician/illustrator Key Wilde and musician/kindie uber-producer Dean Jones, so when I got word that the two had teamed up for a new project, I was super-excited.
Especially when I heard it was, unexpectedly, not a musical pairing, but a podcast pairing.
The podcast is called Doug the Digger, and it's the story of a resourceful groundhog named Doug and a couple of humans, Nick and Una who make his acquaintance. You can listen to the first four episodes now (here's an iTunes link to make it easy for ya), and while you're waiting for the episodes to download to your family's favorite podcast app, you can look at this brief video interlude. It's silent, but the gentle pace of the video matches that of the podcast itself.
Posted in Interviews, Podcasts and tagged with Doug the Digger, groundhogs, Key Wilde, Dean Jones, Podcasts, podcasts for kids, interviews.
October 23, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd.
Ear Snacks Season 2! Read (Hear) All (A Little Bit) About It!
I know that saying that a creative endeavor is unlike anything else that's out there sounds like hyperbole, but Ear Snacks fits the bill. There are lots of great podcasts for kids, but in its absurdist and often non-story-based style (not to mention its greater though not exclusive emphasis on preschool listeners), the labor of love from Los Angeles-area musical duo Andrew and Polly is unique.
And it's back for Season 2!
Zooglobble: Is there a theme to season 2, or is it more or less random like season 1?
Polly Hall: It's more or less random, though this season we are being much more intentional about how the episodes tie into developmental milestones.
Can you give a sneak preview of some of the episode topics? How about just the first letters of each topic?
What's happening this season on Ear Snacks? Hands! Puzzles! Bad Guys! And much more. We'll keep the rest top super secret secret, but we are lining up some really fun guests to help us investigate science, music, art and culture in absurd & awesome ways. Kindie music friends will be making regular appearances, starting with Jazzy Ash & TMBG's Danny Weinkauf and some podcast pals like Wow in the World's Mindy Thomas. And to answer a question no one was asking -- yes, we are going to try to talk to conceptual artist John Baldessari. Because stickers.
What are you doing to be more intentional about developmental milestones?
Ear Snacks Season 2 will still be built around super-fun topics for kids to explore, but each episode is also intentionally tied to an important milestone central to childhood and growing up. We've met and sung with thousands of kids at this point and that "data set" really informs our work - but we're also weaving in our personal life, too. As parents (to a 4-month old and 3.5 year-old), we're learning first hand from playdates, pre-school and the playground. We know all about the big feelings that come while starting to make sense of the world - and this season we're trying to support kids as they're experiencing new situations, tackling new challenges and starting to connect with each other. Don't worry, there aren't any lectures in these episodes! Instead we take a sideways approach to topics like hitting, biting, differences and feeling confused that we think will equip kids to move through critical moments in an empowered way.
How has kids podcasting changed since you started Season 1?
The world of kids podcasts has changed A LOT since we started doing this in 2015. Personally, we know that parents are seeking out and discovering podcasts for their kids way more now than they were a couple of years ago - proof we've seen from our audience growth alone. We published our first episode of Ear Snacks in July 2015 and two years later we guess our weekly audience to be about 5,000 families and growing. That feels like a lot of people to be talking to, since our own research - and research published by the non-profit organization Kids Listen, of which we are proudly founding members [Ed. note: As am I!] - indicates that kids in our audience range are almost always listening with at least one adult. That's a lot of moms, dads, big brothers and sisters and lil' ones rocking out to our music, cracking jokes, knowing facts about seahorses and being curious about the world.
There's generally more awareness now about this kind of content - perhaps partly because more attention is being paid to the medium by the press (see recent Common Sense and New York Times articles), or partly because more creators are entering the space including NPR, Panoply, and Peabody-winning Gen-Z Media - even Nickelodeon & Disney have podcasts for kids now. Or a little bit chicken and egg? We're excited to see more advertising and grant money (see Brains On! and Book Club for Kids) is becoming available to support the work we're all doing.
There are even some podcast apps exclusively with kids content on the App Store now - Kids Listen, Leela and Panoply [Pinna] - and those are all great discovery tools for parents who are wondering, what should my kid be listening to?
There's so much great audio out there right now for kids and it's even a little easier to find - but still not necessarily the first idea a parent of a pre-schooler might have when reaching for an activity. A podcast for my pre-schooler? Yup, there is one, and it's called Ear Snacks.
Posted in Interviews, Podcasts and tagged with Podcasts, podcasts for kids, Ear Snacks, Andrew & Polly, Polly Hall, interviews, Kids Listen.
October 16, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd.
A sign of the health of kids' podcasting is that big names are launching well-produced shows with lots of lead time to generate interest. Case in point: Boston's NPR station WBUR launched the storytelling podcast Circle Round this summer with a pilot featuring Jason Alexander, with promises of more episodes this fall. That is a positive development, especially when the story featuring Jason Alexander is every bit as entertaining as you might expect a story featuring Jason Alexander would be.
Well, fall is approaching, and next Tuesday the 19th the Circle Round podcast officially launches, with a parade of well-known names and voices (including Kathryn Hahn, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Sela Ward, among others) set to appear on the show in the weeks ahead.
The two people responsible for getting the show into your families' earbuds are Rebecca Sheir and Eric Shimelonis. Sheir has been a public radio reporter and host while Shimelonis is a composer and musician. Together, their talents align quite nicely if you want to put together a podcast featuring richly-produced retellings of folktales from around the world.
In advance of the show's official launch next Tuesday, Sheir answered questions about her own storytelling and radio-producing background, how Circle Round came to be, and what's in the show's future.
Zooglobble: What are your memories of storytelling growing up? Were there particular storytellers -- either those you knew personally or those you knew only by voice -- that were particularly memorable?
Rebecca Sheir: Eric Shimelonis and I have always been crazy about a good story. We both had the fabulous fortune of growing up in households where the bookcases were full to bursting!
As a youngster, among my favorite storytellers was the gloriumptious Roald Dahl; the phizz-whizzing way he squibbles with language has always made me feel positively hopscotchy. And in terms of particular books by storytellers, my copy of Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth racked up a whole lot of mileage during my childhood, as did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett. Eric and I have been reading the Barretts’ brilliant creation to our toddler since he was a baby - my exact copy from childhood, in fact, which is equal parts dog-eared and well-loved.
How did you get interested in radio production?
I came to it first; Eric serendipitously followed. It all began when I stumbled into the public-radio realm as a graduate student; I was working toward an MFA in Creative Nonfiction at the University of Iowa. While I’d been listening to NPR since my parents would blast Car Talk and Whad’ya Know? en route to my Saturday morning acting classes, I’d never thought about working in that arena.
But I got friendly with the folks at Iowa Public Radio and began writing radio essays and reporting feature stories. I loved how it combined many of my favorite things. I got to play with language, I got to stretch my acting muscles, and the whole writing/editing process brings in elements from the worlds of music and film: you need to think about things like rhythm, pacing and painting a mental picture for your listeners.
Fast-forward a decade or so, and I met Eric: a composer and sound designer in film and theater. At the time I was hosting a weekly public-affairs program for WAMU (the National Capital Region’s NPR station), and it wasn’t long before we were collaborating. Any time I needed original music for the show, he was my go-to guy!
What was the genesis of Circle Round (i.e., did you pitch the show, or did WBUR come to you with the idea)?
I’ve known Jessica Alpert, a phenomenal producer at WBUR (Boston’s NPR station), for many years now. When she learned that Eric and I had launched our own audio-production company, Sheir and Shim LLC -- and that we’d relocated from Washington, D.C., to the Berkshires, not far from Boston -- she told us about a long-held dream she had. She wanted to make WBUR’s first-ever child-focused program, a storytelling podcast that would take on a kind of radio-play style: i.e. there’d be an engaging host, dramatic scripts, gifted actors, and top-notch sound design and original music. She asked whether we’d produce a pilot episode. We all collaborated on that episode -- nabbing the amazing Jason Alexander to play our lead -- and the rest is history!
How long has it taken to get the show off the ground?
The whole thing has happened blissfully fast! Jessica called us up this past winter. We released the pilot at the start of summer, and will officially launch the show... once the school year is in full swing.
How do you select the stories you’ll use on the show?
There’s an endless number of fantastic folktales out there, so luckily we have plenty to choose from! When selecting which tales we’ll adapt for our listeners, we want to ensure there’s enough of a story arc to sustain a 15-minute podcast; when we go to a break in the middle of the show (what we call “midroll” in the podcast world), we need to leave our listeners teetering at the edge of a dramatic cliff. We also want to make sure our stories come from countries and cultures all over the globe, and that they help our listeners come to some sort of new discovery or realization about the world... and about themselves!
How are you selecting the performers? Are you finding it easy to get well-known actors like Jason Alexander to participate?
We’re lucky to have Amy Lippens, C.S.A., on our team; she’s the one coordinating our big-name actors from stage and screen. Performers have been very excited about this opportunity; it’s not often that you get to hearken back to the good old days of radio plays and portray a fairy, king, giant or dragon in the process!
Very roughly, how many hours of work does it take to put together a single 15-20-minute episode?
The amount of labor (it’s hard for us to call it “work,” since it’s so much fun!) varies per episode. We spend a lot of time poring through folktale books, to find the ideal stories to turn into Circle Round episodes. Once we’ve selected a tale, we’ll spend a few days adapting it: fleshing out characters, bulking up visual descriptions, considering sound-design possibilities, and punching up the language to make it as attention-grabbing -- and attention-holding -- as possible.
From there, we go through the character list and consider who might be a strong fit for each role. Casting director Amy Lippens and executive producer Jessica Alpert take care of recording our big-name actors. Because Eric spent so many years composing music and designing sound for theater -- and because I spent so many years covering theater as a public-radio reporter -- he and I have an extensive network of performers, theaters and theater companies we can all upon.
After all the actors have recorded their lines, Eric starts working his magic. He reads each script carefully, and finds ways to add depth and texture to certain moments through sound effects and music. And fun fact: in addition to composing all the music, Eric also plays nearly every instrument you hear on each episode of Circle Round! So for a few days, our home studio is full of the wonderful sound of music.
How many episodes have you already finished, and how many episodes do you have planned for the first season (assuming you’re breaking this up into seasons)?
We have a total of thirty episodes planned for this first season. We’re also planning some live events, where audiences will get to watch a story unfold in front of them - replete with live musicians and actors, right there on stage!
What are your goals for the show?
At the end of our episodes we invite our audience to take part in some sort of activity -- telling a story, creating a dramatic scene, drawing a picture -- that reflects on the themes in the tale they just heard. We invite them to share their story, scene, picture, etc., with someone they love: a family member, a friend. So another goal is to spark dialogue, and provide a way for children to make connections with others, as they delve into virtues and themes that have been shared around the world, throughout history - from kindness and generosity, to persistence and perspective.
Posted in Interviews, Podcasts and tagged with Podcasts, podcasts for kids, NPR podcasts, Rebecca Sheir, Eric Shimelonis, WBUR, interviews, storytelling, folktales.
September 13, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd.
One of the kids musicians who most successfully employs a bilingual approach in his music is the Massachusetts-based (most of the time) Ben Gundersheimer, or as lots of kids know him, Mister G. Over the course of seven albums, his music's become more complex, taking on the flavor of Latin American sounds and rhythms. Lyrically, he easily moves between English and Spanish (and back... and back again).
After you watch the video, make sure you scroll down further for a quick, bonus interview with Mister G about the motivation for the album, memories from recording it, and more about his upcoming book series with Penguin Random House!
Mundo Verde / Green World (the album) is out September 15, 2017.
Zooglobble: What motivated you to make a “green”-themed album now?
Mister G: Mundo Verde/Green World is my eighth album for children and families, but I've been writing about nature and eco-activism from the beginning. My first CD actually had several songs with explicit environmental themes ("Don't Waste Stuff" "Mister Chubby Pants" "Squirrels"). To me, there is no issue more important than working together to protect this one and only planet we share. Now more than ever, I think it's important that we inspire kids and families to enjoy the beauty of nature, but also to do all we can to insure a healthy green world for future generations.
Any favorite memories from the recording process?
That's a tough one! I was incredibly fortunate to record with so many phenomenal Latin musicians all over the world on this project. If I had to pick one experience, it would be recording the song "Gozar/Enjoy" in the Dominican Republic with the great merengue band, 440. It was an unforgettable experience to work with these great artists (and wonderful people) in their studio in Santo Domingo.
How do you pick animators for your videos?
We love working with our talented friends from different parts of the world. Many of our videos ("The Bossy E", "Cocodrilo", "Siete Elefantes") have been done by a great husband/wife team of Argentinians who are based in Barcelona. The "Mundo Verde/Green World" video was made by our friends in Oaxaca, Mexico. The illustrator, Marcos Almada Rivero, created the beautiful art for our last two albums, "Los Animales" and "Mundo Verde/Green World."
What can we expect from the books you’re creating?
The books we have coming out through Penguin Random House are based on my songs. In each case, I adapted the original song and created more of a narrative. The first book, "Señorita Mariposa," is about a monarch butterfly who is flying from the US to her winter home in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. Happy to announce that Marcos Almada Rivero is illustrating the book!
Posted in Interviews, Videos and tagged with Mister G, Ben Gundersheimer, interviews, videos, Upcoming Releases, world premiere, books, kids books, bilingual kids music, kinetic bilingual typography, kinetic typography, Spanish, Marcos Almada Rivero.
August 9, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd.
Ella Jenkins needs no introduction, and I have to believe the Venn diagram would show the overlap between "readers of this website" and "people who don't know Ella Jenkins" to be very slim indeed, but in case you reside in that area, Jenkins is a living legend in kids music, leading multiple generations in song, encouraging tolerance and togetherness will little more than her voice, a guitar or ukulele, and good humor.
She's been recording with Smithsonian Folkways for sixty years (not a typo), and earlier this summer she celebrated her 93rd birthday and released her latest album with them, Camp Songs with Ella Jenkins and Friends. It's a collection of songs that might sound familiar to anyone who's spent time at a sleepaway camp of any sort, or even just a day camp. She partnered with kids and musicians from Chicago's venerable Old Town School of Folk Music and with Tony Seeger and Kate Seeger.
The Seegers are siblings -- their parents ran Camp Killooleet in Vermont, and Kate runs it today along with her husband. (Here's an article about the camp.) Pete Seeger was their uncle, so they have some experience making music with living legends. And Tony Seeger is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Ethnomusicology at UCLA and the Director and Curator emeritus at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. All in all, a pretty good match for Ella.
I asked Ella a couple questions about the album, then reached out to Tony for more details.
When I asked Ella why it's important for kids to sing together, she responded with the importance of "sharing, leadership, [and] working together." She said these "are all tools for a happy life."
As for favorite memories of the recording session(s) for this album, she agreed that "it was a wonderful project." Ella noted that "many, many people helped create this recording [and] it was all memorable."
Tony went into more details about camp singing memories and recording the album -- and if you want more insights, I recommend reading the liner notes (available at the Folkways album page link above).
Zooglobble: What are your favorite memories of camp singing growing up?
Tony Seeger: For Kate and me our favorite memory is of our parents singing and leading songs at campfires and other camp events. They met as counselors at a summer camp and went on to run Camp Killooleet in Vermont for nearly 50 years. They loved to sing in harmony on such standards as “Summertime” and “Birth of the Blues.” My father taught his younger brother, Pete Seeger, to sing in harmony on long trips in the car. My father also led singalongs like “Jacob’s Ladder” with the campers. Kate and I learned to play instruments at Killooleet and began to accompany our parents when we were in our teens. We have been singing at Camp Killooleet, where Kate Seeger is now the co-director with her husband Dean Spencer, for most of our lives.
What do you appreciate about camp songs now as an adult?
Camp songs can create a community feeling in a group of insecure campers who may be homesick or don’t know each other very well. We find campers are always delighted to be asked to sing along rather than sitting still and listening. They are then equal participants and we are creating the performance together. Over 14 million children and adults attend summer camps each year, and the music they enjoy together often creates an enduring bond and stimulates fond memories of the time they spent together.
If you could only sing three camp songs to get a group singing together, what would they be?
For me, they would be a call-and-response song like “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” (which is on this CD), a gesture song like “The Court of King Caractacus” (which is on the CD), and a multipart song from Africa like “Bayeza” (not on this CD, though we tried it out).
What are your favorite memories of the recording session(s) for this album?
Ella has a delightful sense of humor which made the long hours in the studio much more fun. She regaled us with stories about singing at summer camps, only one story of which is on the CD (at the start of track 12, “Hill Was Steep and Tall”). She reminisced about learning camp songs from her brother and how to play the harmonica from her uncle. After the studio sessions with the children ended and they were getting ready to leave, Ella spent hours talking with them and their parents. Her enjoyment of the children, her unexpected skills on the harmonica, and her enthusiasm for the project are all warm memories. She asked me and Kate to accompany her on songs we didn’t know beforehand. Even when I didn’t sing “The Damper Song” very well, she rewarded me with a “That’s good!”—as she has done for generations of children and adults singing along with her.
How did you think about Ella’s role in the album?
Ella had proposed recording an album of camp songs years ago, but she and I were always too busy until the opportunity came to record one in a studio in Chicago with a group of musicians and children from the Old Town School of Folk Music. She sent Kate and me a list of songs for the album, and we proposed some rounds and songs for older campers, which she approved. She has been recording for Folkways for 60 years, so her voice was not as strong as she had hoped when the time came to record. So she sang on a few songs, played the harmonica on some, and led the children singing on a few more. Even though many musicians participated in the album, it was her spirit, her musicianship, her generosity, and her enthusiasm for having the children sing along that made this project what it is.We just helped her make it happen.
Why is it important for kids to sing together?
Not all camp music is singalongs. Children also like to listen to each other sing solo, and to adults, But singing together can transform a group of campers into a cohesive and active group. Focusing on something together and sharing the experience of learning something new together helps create a community feeling. Moving together is fun, too. Ella Jenkins has been encouraging children to sing and to move during her whole career, and that works well at summer camps too.
Posted in Interviews and tagged with Ella Jenkins, Smithsonian Folkways, camp songs, Tony Seeger, Kate Seeger, Camp Killooleet, Pete Seeger, interviews.
August 1, 2017 by Stefan Shepherd. | 2019-04-21T21:07:42Z | http://www.zooglobble.com/?category=Interviews |
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Constitution and By-Laws of the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona 🇺🇸The Constitution • Constitution.com • Founding documents, historic papers and writings, state and nation/state constitutions, presidential addresses and executive orders, treaties, united nations reports, etc.
We, the Apache Indians of the San Carlos Reservation, wish to make use of the right of self-government and have herewith laid down, in the form of a constitution, our resolutions thereon, to be accepted and confirmed by a general tribal vote, so anybody may know how all of our internal affairs shall be carried out.
We want the United States Government to continue among us for some time such establishments as health and educational service, a superintendent, advisory officers, and other such connecting links with the Federal Government. In our relation to it a relation similar to that which a town or a county has to State and Federal Governments, our own internal affairs shall be managed, in so far as such management does not conflict with the laws of the United States, by a governing body which shall be known as the Council of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
The jurisdiction of the council and courts of the San Carlos Apache Tribe shall extend to the land now comprised within the San Carlos Reservation and to such other land as may be added thereto, except such portions of the reservation as may have passed out of Indian ownership.
The membership of the San Carlos Apache Tribe shall consist, in the first place, of all persons duly enrolled on the 1934 census roll of the tribe. Secondly, all children of resident members shall be entitled to membership; and all children of nonresident members shall be entitled to membership when such children shall have resided on the San Carlos Reservation at least six months. Finally, the council shall have power to pass ordinances, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative, covering the adoption of new members. No person shall be adopted into the San Carlos Apache Tribe unless he has resided upon the reservation for a probationary period not to exceed five years, the period to be fixed by the tribal council.
SECTION I. Composition of the tribal council.-The council shall be composed of seven members to be chosen as follows: Indians affiliated with the Tonto section shall elect one member. Indians affiliated with the Mojave section shall elect one member. Indians resident within the Bylas District and not affiliated with either section shall elect two members. Indians resident within the Peridot District, the Gilson Wash District, the Seven Mile Wash District, and not affiliated with either section, shall each elect one member. The seven members of the council so elected shall choose from among their own number a chairman of the council. It shall be the duty of the council, from time to time, to propose by-laws amending the foregoing number and distribution according to the growth of population.
SEC. II. First election.-The first election of the council shall be called by the Secretary of the Interior within sixty days after the adoption and ratification of this constitution.
SEC. III. Term of council members.-Members of the council shall take office on the first Tuesday of the first month after their election. Their term of office commencing on that day shall continue for two years, or until their successors are elected.
SECTION I. Representation of tribe.-The council shall have authority to represent and speak for the San Carlos Apache Indians. It shall act in all matters that concern the welfare of the tribe, and shall make decisions in this regard that do not go beyond the limits set by this constitution.
SEC. II. Legal counsel.-The council shall have the power to employ legal counsel for the protection and advancement of the rights of the tribe and its members, the choice of the counsel and the fixing of fees to be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. III. Conservation of assets.-The council shall have the power to prevent the disposition, lease, or encumbrance of tribal lands, interests in lands, or other tribal assets without the consent of the tribe. Any grant or lease of any portion of the reservation or the granting of any rights as to the use of land or the granting or relinquishment of any water rights of the Indians of this reservation, is hereby expressly and exclusively withheld to the Indians of this reservation and must be approved by a three-quarter majority of the tribal votes cast on the matter after it has been approved and recommended by the council at least thirty days prior to the time set for the tribal vote on the matter duly called for that purpose. The total vote cast on the matter must represent at least three-fifths of the total eligible voters. The tribal council shall, however, have the power to issue revocable permits for not to exceed five acres of land for commercial purposes, for a period not to exceed three years by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members of the tribal council.
SEC. IV. Expenditures.-The council shall have power to approve or disapprove expenditures from the tribal fund, authorized by the Secretary of the Interior, for any project beneficial to the community. For the allowance of expenditures from the tribal fund in excess of five thousand dollars, other than expenditure for regular support purposes, permission must be granted by a vote of the qualified voters of the tribe in a special election called for that purpose. A two-thirds majority of the aggregate votes cast at such an election shall be required to authorize such expenditures.
SEC. V. Financial recommendations.-The council shall have the power to advise the Secretary of the Interior or his authorized representative upon all appropriation estimates of Federal projects for the benefit of the tribe prior to the submission of such estimates to the Bureau of the Budget and Congress, and to make a prompt recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior, his representative, or to the proper committees of Congress with respect to all such estimates and appropriations.
SEC. VI. Tribal herd.-The council shall have the power by appropriate resolutions or ordinances subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, to manage the tribal herd, particularly with regard to the selling of steers, the purchasing of fresh stock, the distribution of the increase to the Indians as individual cattle owners, and the protection of the herd and the range against encroachments.
SEC. VII. Appointments.-The council shall have the power to select subordinate boards, tribal officials, and tribal employees not otherwise provided for in this Constitution and to prescribe their tenure and duties.
SEC. VIII. Voluntary associations.-The council shall have the power to pass ordinances, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, covering the activities of voluntary associations consisting of members of the tribe organized for purposes of cooperation or other purposes and to enforce the observance of such ordinances.
SEC. IX. Trespass.-The council shall have power to provide by ordinances for the removal or exclusion from the reservation of any non-members whose presence may be injurious to members of the tribe. This power shall not extend to the removal or exclusion of Government officials or other persons now occupying reservation lands under lawful authority, and in all cases this power may be exercised only with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. X. General welfare.-The council shall have power to regulate the conduct of members of the tribe and to protect the public peace, safety, morals, and welfare of the reservation through the promulgation and enforcement of ordinances, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, to effectuate these purposes.
SEC. XI. Inheritance.-The council shall have the power to prescribe rules of inheritance, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. XII. Domestic relations.-The council shall have the power to regulate the domestic relations of members of the tribe, but all marriages in the future shall be in accordance with the State laws.
SEC. XIII. Guardians.-The council shall have the power to provide by ordinance for the appointment of guardians for minors and mental incompetents, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior .
SEC. XIV. Procedure.-The council shall have the power to regulate its own procedure by ordinance or resolution.
SEC. XV. Future powers.-The council may exercise such further powers as may be delegated to the San Carlos Apache Tribe by the Secretary of the Interior or by any other qualified official or agency of government.
SEC. XVI. Reserved powers.-The foregoing enumeration of powers shall not be construed to limit the powers of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, but all powers of local government not expressly entrusted to the tribal council by this constitution shall be reserved to the people of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. and such powers may be exercised through the adoption of appropriate bylaws or constitutional amendments.
SEC. XVII. Review by Secretary.-Any resolution or ordinance which, by the terms of this constitution, is subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be presented to the superintendent of the reservation, who shall, within ten days thereafter, approve or disapprove the same.
If the superintendent shall approve any ordinance or resolution, it shall thereupon become effective, but the superintendent shall transmit a copy of the same, bearing his endorsement, to the Secretary of the Interior, who may, within 90 days from the date of enactment, rescind the said ordinance or resolutIon for any cause, by notifying the tribal council of such rescission.
If the superintendent shall refuse to approve any resolution or ordinance submitted to him, within ten days after its enactment, he shall advise the tribal council of his reasons therefor. If these reasons appear to the tribal council insufficient, it may, by a majority vote, refer the ordinance or resolution to the Secretary of the Interior, who may, within 90 days from the date of its enactment, approve the same in writing, whereupon the said ordinance or resolution shall become effective.
All members of the San Carlos Apache Reservation shall be accorded equal political rights and equal opportunities to participate in the economic resources and activities of the tribe, and no person shall be denied freedom of conscience, speech, association or assembly or the right to petition for the redress of grievances.
SECTION I. Qualifications of voters.-Voters to be qualified shall be members of the tribe, male or female, over twenty-one years of age.
SEC. II. Notice.-All elections shall be announced by special notice posted at least thirty days before the election at the voting places and other convenient places.
SEC. III. Voting places.-The voting places shall be: One at San Carlos at the agency, and another at Bylas; others to be established by the council at whatever places a long distance from the voting points just named where a large number of tribal voters may be at work and have difficulty in going to either of those two places.
SEC. IV. Candidates.-Names of candidates nominated by the districts or sections for their councilmen shall be posted for a period of at least thirty days prior to election. .
SEC. V. Nominations.-Nominations shall be made at mass meetings of the respective districts and sections. Each district or section shall nominate at least two candidates for each position.
SEC. VI. Manner of voting.-All elections shall be by ballot. The council shall have power to prescribe ordinances governing the casting and canvassing of ballots, the manner of conducting district meetings for nomination, and other necessary details of election procedures.
SEC. VII. Special elections.-Special elections shall be held as hereinbefore provided, and notice of them shall be given as in the case of general or regular elections.
SEC. I. Forfeiture of office.-If a member of the council fails or refuses to attend two regular meetings in succession, if not too sick to attend or otherwise prevented by circumstances for which he cannot be held responsible, or shall be convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral integrity, his office shall be forfeited, and a special election called by the council shall be held to replace him.
SEC. II. Removal from office.-If a member of the council shall fail in the performance of the duties assigned to him, his recall from office shall be a matter to be taken up by the council. The council may by unanimous vote, after affording the accused member a fair opportunity to be heard in his own defense, remove such member; or the council may, by a majority vote, after affording a similar opportunity to be heard in his own defense, require such member to stand for reelection in a special election of the district or section which he represents.
SEC. III. Resignation and replacement.-Any councilman resigning, or by death taken out of his office, shall be replaced only by a special election in the respective district.
The reservation land shall as a whole remain tribal property and shall not be divided by allotment of any parts to individuals or groups of individuals as private property that could be sold at will; but assignment of land for private use may be made by the council in conformity with by-laws which may be adopted on this subject, provided the rights of all members of the tribe be not violated.
This constitution and by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of the qualified voters of the tribe voting at an election called for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, provided that at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote shall vote in such election; but no amendment shall become effective until it shall have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to call an election on any proposed amendment, at the request of the council, or upon presentation of a petition signed by one-third (1/3) of the qualified voters, members of the tribe.
SECTION I. Chairman of council.- The chairman of the council shall preside over all meetings of the council, shall perform all duties of a chairman and exercise any authority laid upon him or given him specifically by the councilor by a general meeting of the tribe. He shall vote only in case of a tie.
SEC. II. Secretary and custodian.-A recording secretary is to be chosen by the council out of the council members if there is among them a person able to perform the secretary’s duties. If this is not the case, then the council may elect for secretary a person from outside it. If a council member is able to perform common secretarial duties but not to conduct more difficult secretarial business, then he may have a competent assistant from outside the council. As long as the tribe is given, by the United States Government, such help as referred to in article I, in health and educational service, a superintendent, and other advisory officials, the Federal Government may be represented at the council meetings by a delegate without vote and such a delegate may be selected by the council to serve as secretary. To such a secretary or other employee of the United States Government selected by the council shall be entrusted, for the time heretofore referred to, for safekeeping in the agency, the records, and other books, documents, and related valuable papers of the council and the tribe. Such custodian shall be responsible for the safekeeping of such papers and shall give access to such papers to the council chairman and the council secretary .The secretary shall send out notices of election and special meetings at the discretion of the council or its chairman, and perform the other clerical duties laid upon him by the council.
No member of the tribe shall be qualified to be a member of the council who is not a person twenty-five years of age, and a resident of the district or a member of the section which he is to represent. No person who has been convicted of a felony, or who within the last year preceding the election has been convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral integrity shall be eligible to hold office in the council.
SECTION I. First meeting.-At the first meeting of the council after a regular election, the council shall see that all members have a correct and clear understanding of the constitution and by-laws and the management of the tribal and reservation affairs as well as the rules for the conduct of their own body.
SEC. II. Regular meetings.-The council shall meet officially on regular meeting dates which shall be on the first Tuesday in each month at nine o’clock a. m. and all its meetings shall be public to the Indians and the United States Government representatives and may be attended by guests welcome to the council. In case the time of the regular council meeting on the first Tuesday of each month should conflict with a national or State election, the meeting shall be held on the following Wednesday.
SEC. III. Special meetings.-The chairman of the council shall call a special meeting of the council upon the request of two or more other councilmen, upon request of a section or a district, if at least one-third of its voting members request it, also upon request of the superintendent, and in every case reasonable advance notice of such special meeting shall be served upon every member of the council and the superintendent.
SEC. IV. Conduct of business.-In the conduct of business, recognized rules of order shall apply. Voting at the council meeting may be by word of mouth, but at the discretion of the chairman or upon the request of any two members of the councilor of the representative of the United States Government, a secret vote shall be taken.
SEC. V. Quorum.-Matters of business for the council shall be decided by a majority vote. A quorum (a number competent to transact business) of the council shall be constituted if a majority of the members are present. In the absence of the chairman, the remaining members of the council may elect a temporary chairman.
SEC. VI. Restriction of voting in the council.-In any matter coming before the council which involves the Indian office or any person or company, no member of the council that may be permanently connected with the party so involved shall be permitted to vote without the special consent of the remaining members of the council.
SECTION I. The council shall from time to time call meetings of all voters of the tribe to lay before them such matters as may come before such a general meeting. A general meeting of the tribe shall be called upon request of a majority of the qualified voters of any section or district.
SECTION I. It shall be the duty of the council to provide through the necessary by-laws or ordinances for the establishment of a tribal court upon the reservation.
SEC. II. This court shall have jurisdiction of such petty offenses, not falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal or State courts, as may be enumerated in the ordinances or by-laws of the tribe.
SEC. III. This court shall have jurisdiction over all disputes between Indians on the reservation, and over such disputes between Indians and non-Indians as may be brought before the court by stipulation.
SEC. IV. The duties, jurisdiction, and procedure of this court shall be more fully set forth by by-laws or ordinances.
SEC. V. The judges of this court shall be appointed by the tribal council, subject to the approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. VI. It shall be the duty of the council to establish by ordinances a tribal police force. Such ordinances shall outline in detail the authority and duties of such tribal police force and the manner in which such police force shall function. Members of the police force shall be selected by the council, subject to the approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
It is the resolution of the voting community of this reservation that a system of levying an income tax, and possibly other auxiliary methods, be established for the creation and maintenance of a fund wherewith to prepare for the support by the tribe of those of its members that may elsewise be destitute in old age, or that in earlier life may not be able to earn their livelihood by their own work. How this provision is best to be set in operation shall be considered by the council, in conjunction with competent advisors, and shall be laid down as a by-law, subject to approval by the tribal vote.
SECTION 1. The council shall request the superintendent to furnish it with the names of all civil service probationers or temporary employees under civil service regulations, on the San Carlos Reservation that are nearing the end of their probation periods, and shall advise with the superintendent in the matter of their being given permanent positions as civil service employees on the reservation.
SEC. II. In case of complaint or charges by a member of the tribe against any civil service officers or employees, the council, when deeming action necessary, shall observe the requirements of right, equity, and law, so that the accused have ample opportunity to hear and answer complaints or charges. Specific and incriminating charges must be sustained by written statements sworn to before a justice of the peace or other person authorized to take affidavits. In transmitting such charges and complaints to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, it shall state its conclusions and recommendations concerning the action to be taken.
All rules and regulations of the Department of the Interior which are not in conflict with this constitution shall continue in force until modified or abolished by the Secretary of the Interior or by future amendments to this constitution.
After the constitution has been thoroughly discussed in group meetings and a representative general meeting, it shall be made public by being posted for thirty days at the proposed voting places and other convenient public places on the reservation, with the notice that on the day terminating this said period a general election shall be held for the purpose of the proposed adoption of this constitution and by-laws. If this constitution and by-laws shall be approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the San Carlos Apache Tribe voting at this election, and if at least thirty percent of the qualified voters of the tribe vote therein, the constitution and by-laws so adopted shall be forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior for approval and shall be effective from and after the date of such approval.
We, the undersigned members of the tribal council members of the canvassing board of election at San Carlos Agency and superintendent of the San Carlos Reservation hereby certify that we personally were present and have canvassed the votes as cast under date of October 19, 1935, by the San Carlos Apache Tribe in connection with vote as to acceptance of the attached constitution.
I, Harold L. Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority granted me by the act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended, do hereby approve the attached constitution and by-laws of the Apache Indians of the San Carlos Reservation.
All rules and regulations heretofore promulgated by the Interior Department or by the Office of Indian Affairs, so far as they may be incompatible with any of the provisions of the said constitution and by-laws are hereby declared inapplicable to the Apache Indians of the San Carlos Reservation.
Approval recommended January 9, 1936.
WASHINGTON, D. C., January 17, 1936. | 2019-04-21T06:27:04Z | https://constitution.com/constitution-and-by-laws-of-the-san-carlos-apache-tribe-of-arizona/ |
Reduce your daily stress level by implementing some relaxation techniques. Skin problems are often caused by stress in your life. Getting complexion problems under control may simply be a matter of reducing emotional or environmental stress. If you feel good about your skin, you will feel better about life in general.
For blemishes, rub in some apple cider vinegar. Doing this can restore moisture to your skin and decrease the dryness that can occur with acne. Use this only in the daytime though, as the strong smell could inhibit sleep or transfer to bedding.
Remove your makeup before you go to bed. Your body and skin need time to rejuvenate and repair from the day. When you sleep with makeup, a thick layer is preventing your skin from breathing. Take the time to remove all of it before you head to bed.
To achieve a beautiful face, you should exfoliate a minimum of three times each week. You should get a scrub for exfoliating your face. If you have sensitive skin, use a moisturizing exfoliant. Exfoliating can benefit your skin in numerous ways, such as eliminating dead skin cells and unclogging your pores. The more exfoliating you do, the more radiance comes through.
Protect your skin by applying sunscreen or makeup with SPF 15 or higher. Sunscreen can prevent your skin from being burned or dried out by the sun. Applying sunscreen every day before going outside can prevent premature aging, keeping your skin healthy and youthful longer.
If you have been searching for a skin sooth mask to use, a honey mask will do wonders. Honey can control the redness on your skin and help to brighten and create a vibrant glow on your skin. It is also suggested to reduce acne.
You still have to moisturize if you have skin that is very oily. After washing your face and in advance of applying make-up, be sure to moisturize. Moisturizer helps balance the oil production of your skin. If your skin is naturally oily and you use a strong cleanser to dry it out, the skin will overcompensate creating more oil.
During extreme seasons of summer and winter, your skin becomes very dehydrated due to heat and cold. To make sure your skin’s essential oils aren’t lost, don’t over-shower or bathe weekly. If you feel you don’t absolutely need a shower, it really wouldn’t hurt too much to skip a day.
People who have oily skin should use special products designed for this skin type. To help keep the oils on your face at a minimum, you can use either an astringent or a toner. Using a moisturizer meant for oily skin can give you the moisture your skin needs without adding oil to it.
The advice you just read should have showed you how to make sure you have great skin that lasts for many years. Make use of this advice, and your skin will be the envy of all your family and friends.
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If you’ve been wondering just where to start your weight loss efforts, read on! Below you will find some hints and tips on how to start losing weight.
Remain active in order to lose weight. Any activity you engage in is sure to burn more calories than sitting in front of the TV. Giving up a half hour of television for some modest exercise is all that is required.
Make sure to always have walnuts around to snack on. Research has shown that if you eat walnuts along with your normal breakfast, you are less likely to overeat during the day. A great snack to have are walnuts.
Instead of consuming large evening meals, try eating the large meals midday. Instead of a sandwich or salad for lunch, switch things up a bit and enjoy it for dinner. Calorie burning slows down at night, so take advantage of the higher calorie burn during the day with your larger meal at that time.
When losing weight, get exercise into your routine. If you’ve got the money and time, sign up for a gym membership. Other options are Tai Chi, Pilates, or simply running. Talk with your doctor prior to beginning any program if there is a chance you have any heath problems. You can stay healthy just by doing exercises at home.
Choose to eat leaner meats when you are trying to lose weight. Try choosing lean cuts of meat, and flavoring them with seasonings instead of a sauce. This prevents your meat from being tasteless or dry. Chutneys come in a wide variety of flavors and make your proteins stand out.
Get a monitor for your heart rate. Cardio work depends on getting your heart rate in the right zone. The heart rate monitor will help you know if you are meeting your needs there.
Aim for a goal clothing size, rather than a goal weight. Don’t bother with the scale. People can vary a lot in how much they weigh. Everyone’s weight that they want to be is different, it can be absurd to go for a certain weight. A better solution is to look to clothing you want to be able to wear comfortably again.
While salty and fatty sides are what most places feed to you, there are some places where the people cooking are going to have more healthy options that cost just about as much. Sub out a butter-laden baked potato for a salad, or sub out fried sides for tasty veggies.
Stay away from things that are causing you stress. There’s a lot of temptation to consume unhealthy food when you’re stressed out. It is a lot easier to succeed and remain on the right path when you live a happy life that is free of stress.
Fostering friendships with those who are fit and healthy can be beneficial to you. These people can act as your role models as you move forward to your ideal weight. They could also give you good tips in trying to lose weight as well.
When trying to lose weight, you must be aware of the basic principles concerning weight loss. Once you get the basics down, your pounds should start coming off quickly. By applying this article’s advice, it will be easier for you to achieve your goal of losing weight.
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Forex trading, a shortening of “foreign currency,” is actually a currency trading market place where investors change a single money into another, ideally making money in the industry. As an example, a venture capitalist in america obtained Japanese yen, however considers the yen is becoming less strong than the U.S. $. If this sounds like the best selection then income will likely be produced.
Will not enable feelings get involved in trading. The benefits of this are twofold. It really is a chance control precaution, and it deters impulsive trades based on rash selections. You ought to be rational with regards to generating buy and sell decisions.
To be able to flourish in Currency trading, you need to trade info with other people, but constantly adhere to what your gut notifys you. Whilst others’ views may be very effectively-intentioned, you need to finally be the one who has last say in your ventures.
Never choose a position in fx trading from the placement of your various forex trader. Foreign exchange forex traders are only human being: they talk about their successes, not their breakdowns. Nobody bats a thousand, including the most knowledgeable dealers continue to make infrequent faults. Use only your trading program and indicators to plan your deals.
Foreign exchange is a organization, not just a activity. When someone desires to give it a try exclusively for the thrill from it, they may not take advantage of the outcome. A casino casino might be a far better usage of their time and expense.
The usage of Foreign exchange robots can be quite expensive. Even though it can create sizeable revenue for retailers, there is little to no obtain for your customers. It is advisable to make the choices separately without using any instruments that consider managing your money from your hands.
Draw up an in depth plan that outlines what you want to get out Currency trading. Set up objectives along with a time where you desire to reach them in Forex currency trading. While you are making the initial trades, it is important to allow for several faults to occur. Figure out how much time that you may have each day to dedicate to forex trading and research.
Adhere to your set objectives. When you start off in fx trading, be sure to make objectives and plans on your own. Be sure you permit some problem, specially when you are first understanding how to business. Also, plan time in the day for both the forex trading as well as the required analysis of the trading markets.
You can’t just blindly adhere to the suggestions folks present you with about Forex currency trading. You can find a 100 different conditions that may make that suggestions insignificant. Get all suggestions with a grain of sodium and use challenging information and intuition for almost all your transactions.
Demo credit accounts with Foreign exchange do not need an automated program. Just proceed to the principal Forex trading website and open up certainly one of their trial credit accounts.
Numerous new traders get very enthusiastic about foreign exchange and chuck their selves into it. It really is typically challenging to remain focused on forex trading for more than a handful of hours. Give yourself sufficient down time from investing on the Forex market.
Use a mini bank account prior to starting investing large amounts of money in the Forex market. This helps you keep your failures downward while also enabling you to process forex trading. Although a mini account might not exactly appear as fascinating as being an bank account which allows for greater great deal trades, it means that you can test out different techniques. Practicing using this method, together with minimum chance, will enable you to evaluate precisely what does and will not do the job as you build your personal trading fashion.
The relative strength crawl can assist you get a much better thought of how healthier a particular market is. This should present you with understanding of a selected market’s prospective, but fails to necessarily represent your particular investment. Will not amuse the concept of investing in a market which happens to be normally not lucrative.
All foreign exchange dealers have to know after it is a chance to take out. It is actually only unskilled forex traders who see the marketplace change unfavorable and try to ride their positions out as opposed to decreasing their deficits. This is an unwise approach.
When you first begin Fx trading, make use of a smaller account to lessen your danger. This assists you get accustomed to trading without having placing lots of money at risk. Whilst you may choose to plunge directly in and initiate having an accounts that allows larger trades, it is actually easy to become familiar with a lot in 12 months of analyzing the trades you have manufactured in addition to their profitability.
You will find Forex trading news just about anywhere, at anytime. Check the World wide web, your best information channels or search Tweets rss feeds. There is definitely an abundance of information. There exists a great deal information since no one wants to be uninformed in relation to any kind of funds.
If you are a novice or seasoned, continue to keep things straightforward. By using a challenging nd engaged process when you are new to forex trading will cause a lot more problems than it will success. Stick with basic techniques that are tried and tested for yourself. While you get experience to see what works, develop it. Remember to keep considering with what locations you are able to keep growing.
Cease decrease orders placed are utilized to restrict losses in trading. Plenty of dealers maintain on to their losing position, thinking that the market could change.
You should have the best danger getting frame of mind to be successful in forex. This is simply as important as proper examination. Once you understand the basics of the foreign exchange market along with the famous, proven buying and selling techniques, you may build on them and make up a plan for profitable forex trading that one could fine-tune as time passes.
Established a timeline to the how long you plan on concerning oneself with forex trading. This can help you produce a great plan. If your program is always to get involved in forex for a long time, keep a list of standard techniques at heart. Take 21 times for every one of these techniques. Focus on them one-by-one to enable them to turn out to be ingrained with your approach to functioning. This way you then become a rock solid entrepreneur and investor with impressive habits and discipline that may be worthwhile through the years.
Obviously, you may use foreign exchange for additional earnings or you can use it to replace your income totally. It really is your option, based on the time you have available and the degree of achievement you may achieve. For the present time, set your energy into understanding whatever you can about buying and selling.
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Forex is really a market place in which dealers reach trade 1 country’s currency for another. For instance, an American dealer can get a the same in principle as one hundred money in yen in the event the yen can be a weaker currency in comparison to the U.S. buck. If this trader helps to make the appropriate buying and selling determination, a profit can be produced.
In order for your Forex currency trading to have success, you need to ensure your feelings are certainly not involved with your computations. The advantages of this are twofold. It is actually a danger managing provision, and it also deters impulsive deals based upon allergy choices. Although all your other worries usually play a role in operation, you should ensure you are generating rational judgements.
Choose one currency match to start out and learn information on it. Learning about distinct pairings and the way they have a tendency to have interaction takes a while. Rather, you need to pick the pair you intend on utilizing, and discover around you may about it. Keep the buying and selling basic when you first get started.
You ought to never business according to feelings. You will definitely get into issues if greed, rage or hubris muddies your decision producing. Given, sensations may have a small bit with regards to all things in daily life, and trading is not any exclusion. Just don’t allow them to consider heart phase therefore making you forget about what you really are looking to achieve in the end.
If you’re initially getting started, do not industry throughout a slender marketplace. Slim financial markets are trading markets that do not have quite a lot of community curiosity.
Exploring the dealer you wish to use is of utmost importance when working with a maintained accounts in foreign exchange. Take a look at several-year buying and selling histories, and make certain the agent has a minimum of been offering securities for 5 years.
Don’t think that you’re going to go into Forex trading without having understanding or expertise and instantly begin to see the revenue going in. Trading on the forex market calls for traders to learn several complex fiscal methods. Actually, they have taken some individuals many years to discover everything they must know. You happen to be unlikely ahead over the perfect investing strategy without the need of initial making the effort to discover the system. Consistently research verified strategies and stay as to what functions.
Men and women need to deal with their currency trading account very seriously. Individuals who would like to spend money on Forex trading simply for the excitement need to most likely look at additional options. They will likely have more entertaining actively playing slots at a on line casino until finally they exhaust cash.
The majority of people believe that they could see quit failures in a industry and the money worth will tumble listed below these marker pens prior to it is back. It is a fallacy. You have to have a stop damage buy set up when forex trading.
Will not ever give up if you are planning to provide assistance to another Trader. Legislation of big figures dictates which every dealer are experiencing a shedding streak gradually. Dedication and ambition will independent winners from losers. Even though there will not are most often light-weight following the tunnel, continue to keep walking and you may see it gradually.
You may spend your hard earned money if you purchase Digital books or robots for Currency trading. Nearly all of these kinds of products give you untested, unproven Forex trading methods. These products and services are not likely to generate money for any individual other than those who industry them. A single-on-1 training by having an seasoned Currency trader may help you become a more lucrative dealer.
You are able to reduce loss of trades by utilizing stop decrease requests. A lot of investors have a tendency to maintain through to positions that are sliding for too much time. They are doing this expecting they market place may come about for these people.
One of the better items of assistance any fx trader can receive would be to never ever quit. Even reliable forex traders have bad days. Wonderful traders have an issue that the others don’t: commitment. Sometimes it is difficult to see all around corners, but the darkest of scenarios can turn about.
Several seasoned and effective forex trading market dealers will explain to help keep a record. Keep track of all of your success as well as your breakdown. Carrying out this lets you monitor the development you may have created in the Forex market, and analyze the activities for future years. This may increase the income that is constructed from forex trading.
Limit your failures on transactions by utilizing cease decrease requests. Way too many dealers will stay within a dropping placement, convinced that the industry could eventually change to their prefer once they put it out.
Getting and inspecting info effectively and correctly relies upon great crucial contemplating expertise, so grow your own. Among the essential ways to forex trading is so that you can synthesize data which comes in from a few different options.
You should employ a general tactic to business properly on the forex trading markets. Never ever depend upon byways to attain instant income with this marketplace. Market place success is definitely the summary of contemplating over time and determing the best steps before employing them, as opposed to hastily barging to the market without having thought of the procedures.
You will probably find after a while that you will be aware enough concerning the marketplace, which your buying and selling account will be big enough to generate a large earnings. Have patience and discover everything you can rather than planning on to earn all you imagine right away. Don’t overlook to take pleasure from the process. In the end, money you will make is money you didn’t have prior to, regardless of whether it’s just one or two bucks.
The arrival of any youngster is definitely the most happy day time of countless parents’ day-to-day lives. The bond from a mom or daddy and their child is stronger than almost every other. These parenting tips can assist you keep your link strong with your little ones as well as your child is the ideal he could be.
Imagine how your little one will interpret everything you tell him! You need to set up a basis of trust in between your youngster so you.
While you do need to devote much time with all the children, you must also make time yourself. The occasional time by itself will assist you to take care of your very own personality.
In terms of selecting a college or university, mothers and fathers have to by no means spot unwarranted pressure on their own adolescents. Whenever they sense pressured, teens may possibly respond inside a perverse method once they believe an individual is attempting to regulate them.
Although it is important to spend more time with your young ones, you usually must put aside a little while yourself. This lets you maintain your uniqueness with your personality as a parent.
Parents ought to prevent looking to influence their young people to attend a particular college. If the young people sense that they are being pushed or manipulated, they may behave by carrying out the exact opposite out from spite.
You must never ever cigarette smoke within your house, whether you have young children in the house or not. In fact, this is an excellent reason to just cease. Secondhand smoke is extremely harmful to other folks. Next-fingers light up publicity can lead to asthma, respiratory disease and also other respiratory problems for youngsters.
Young kids naturally need to have self-sufficiency. As a result, if you allow them to have activities at home, you are able to improve their assurance. Even preschoolers can sort out straightforward, harmless tasks like unloading spoons in the dish washer. Kids love to be useful with the laundry, and can assist you fold, or successfully pass you items to be folded. Modest jobs help them feel as if they’ve getting unbiased, and they’ll be helping you to out as well.
If you want to embrace, be truthful with the kid about his biological loved ones. Followed youngsters are interested in exactly where they came from and sooner or later, they will want replies, which they will choose you for. Be as available and sincere with them as is possible being untruthful is never the most effective strategy and might make them resent you.
When you are marrying someone who has dependent youngsters, understand that the stepchildren most likely won’t cozy under your control without delay. It can be all-natural should they truly feel resentment to you above the fact that their mom and dad are no more jointly. Try to be understanding and ultimately the both of you can develop a distinctive link.
Make some policies for you personally little ones to follow. You must also inform them from the penalties for busting the guidelines. Enable your kids know you are developing these borders as you love them and wish these people to be secure. Through the use of rules, you can make existence much easier for the spouse so you.
To prevent boredom and prevent things from getting hidden inside the toybox, keep the toddler’s games in constant rotation. Preschoolers will cast aside playthings they will not like and play most favorite with all those they enjoy. When you spin toys and games they may seem to be unfamiliar with the young child and you will probably not need to purchase them constantly.
If you are planning traveling with preschoolers or toddlers, take along common calming goods. Your youngster can get distressed by taking them a place new. Creating your child happy with not familiar surroundings may require merely bringing together a beloved blanket or beloved plaything.
Young children exhibiting tough behavior sometimes reply better to good strengthening. You possess to remember your kids are encountering something totally new and new thoughts every single day, and sometimes do not have the various tools to show themselves. The most effective way to assist these kinds of youngsters would be to illustrate proper behavior and admiration them for reproducing it.
Preserving an exclusive partnership along with your young children is extremely important and can have got a positive impact on their life permanently. The recommendation and tips in this article will offer assistance with commencing and building up that parent/kid romantic relationship.
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Increasing a kid is difficult function, without any level of advice or planning can alter that. Prep and data might have an outcome, although, about the outcomes that tough parenting job brings. A useful suggestion on the proper time can certainly make the raising a child method less difficult. Read on to have a couple of suggestions which may fix some little one-rearing issues.
Obvious off of a space about the kitchen counter-top, lay your kids again over a rolled cloth, and operate normal water through the faucet across the hair and scalp. If your child is scared of possessing their mind underwater, or does not like water put right on their go, this will generating laundry their head of hair a lot less nerve-racking for all.
Don’t enable a youngster young than a number of drink any sort of soft drinks. Stick with cocktails that have plenty of vitamins and minerals, like glucose-cost-free liquid, normal water, or whole milk.
Make sure your young ones have reflective supplies on his or her back packs or jackets when they go walking to university. Retro-refractive Velcro strips are also available. Velcro is convenient to affix and can be simply taken out or put onto a different part of clothes. Your youngster will be apparent to individuals within the deeper early morning and later evening time.
Never ever supply a kid or baby soda take, even when it is diet plan. Provide your kids beverages which have nutritive benefit, including low-body fat dairy, h2o and small quantities of fruit juice.
You ought to never ever cigarette smoke inside in case you have young children. Better yet, think about laying off completely. Secondhand light up is a whole lot worse than smoking cigarettes. Youngsters subjected to 2nd-fingers cigarette smoke are at risk of establishing respiratory ailments like bronchitis, asthma attack and in many cases pneumonia.
Every single kid is exclusive. Methods that dealt with 1 kid might be inadequate together with the after that little one. Advantages and penalty will likely be effected. Tend not to try to adhere to a cookie cutter file format when elevating your youngsters, as an alternative experiment to locate what works well with them so you.
Not all child will probably be a social butterfly. It really is very fine for the little one to become bashful and retiring, and you must acknowledge that should it be the situation. Take note of whether or not your kids gets to be very withdrawn. Look at consuming your kids with their doctor or to a counselor to make certain there isn’t something more challenging at the heart with their antisocial actions.
Kids appreciate sensing self-sufficient, so determining them jobs to accomplish when you organised up will make them feel beneficial and self-confident. Have your son or daughter enable you to un-load the dish washer. By way of example, while folding your clean laundry, solicit your child’s aid to organize socks. These basic duties help your child to feel unbiased and enable you to get operate carried out throughout the house.
If you need your youngsters to experience a far healthier diet regime, consider each of the junk food out of the home. In the event you don’t continue to keep sweet pleasures or some other junk food in your own home, your son or daughter won’t require them all the. Think about these treats only on special events, including while in Halloween and Holiday.
Young children in a natural way wish to have self-sufficiency. Therefore, when you let them have things you can do throughout the house, you are able to improve their self confidence. When you are cleansing the food, check with your son or daughter to dried up them for you. As an example, whilst collapsable your nice and clean washing laundry, recruit your child’s help to type socks. By assisting you to with one of these duties, it will cause them to feel completely unbiased.
Developing a everyday regimen aids enforce willpower inside a child’s daily life. Try to keep them punctually throughout their every day routine, in the course of research time, dish time, and particularly your bed time. Developing a timetable allows the kid borders and permits the him to get ready for every single area of the time.
By removing all fast food from your property, you will be motivating healthier eating. Your child most likely won’t request fast food if you don’t possess about. These snack foods needs to be restricted to special occasions.
Youngsters adore praise have in their mind when they show excellent behavior. It can be natural that kids search for interest. When you don’t give it to them for performing the best issue, they will consider to have it by performing a bad issue. Mothers and fathers who overlook to concentrate on the child’s excellent behavior by praising them for doing it could possibly be stimulating the child to do something in bad approaches.
You need to have an incredible groundwork to develop a fantastic being a parent encounter on when you ingested every one of the advice in the following paragraphs. Of course, your mileage can vary. Being a parent differs for all. Despite the fact that huge amounts of young children happen to be increased on the planet, there is absolutely no one particular “positive-blaze” way to become a mother or father. Employ any information and facts that you simply feel is useful and seems like it will be right for you. Keep in mind that raising a child is definitely an interesting time for both you and your kid, so take pleasure in each minute you might have, since they do certainly mature so quickly.
Whatever sport you perform, you need to succeed. Nevertheless it requires more than wanting it. It is not sufficient just to read how to accomplish this as you must physically exercise. These tips will assist you in improving your football skills.
Whenever you are compelled to pass the soccer golf ball, you shouldn’t instantly believe that you simply will not be needed in the enjoy. Keep to the recipient of the ball, vying to get a situation to help you out. An effective staff associate will successfully pass it to you personally if you’re open.
It may be pretty apparent, but you need to keep your eyes on your ball all the time. The video game of football is incredibly quick consequently, the tennis ball will be easily passed on in between players instantly. Should you don’t know the location where the tennis ball is, then you might end up allowing the other group to credit score.
Begin a style by spanning the tennis ball from the very same direction for two or three plays. Your opponents will start to count on this enjoy. You may then delight the opposite group and acquire a few secs by crossing the soccer ball in the other course or by not spanning at all.
Set up a pattern by dribbling or moving in a similar manner for a lot of performs. The defense gamers are going to begin to see the pattern and anticipate it. Then, you may shock them by not traversing, or by traversing on the opposite side.
Balls that happen to be lofted really are challenging to manage. If you wish to complete the soccer ball to the teammate with no other team acquiring it, your passes by needs to be lower so you can whip it. Pass with lofted balls when coming up with extended goes by to a person inside a a lot more open up area.
You should keep proper communication along with your staff although enjoying football. You are going to all are more effective like a strong staff should you talk on the industry. Even master football teams heavily depend on connection along with other teammates to win games.
Consider to stay in overall great condition so that you can perform the best soccer. A lot of bodyweight can cause this game being more challenging. Maintain health and well being by managing your food intake and consume.
To assist you increase your scoring capabilities, exercise punishment kicks soon after an particularly invigorating drill. This will help you find out about the charges strike. Be sure to determine a number of methods which function each and every time.
There are actually steps you can take to assist you to crack totally free of a tight protection. Getting good awareness of your teammates is essential, and shifting the soccer ball in between each individuals to obtain your rival on his or her high heels and enable you to transfer the soccer ball easily upfield. Stay focused on working with your crew. Know you will probably have to aid staff if they’re struggling with this issue.
Tryouts are definitely the spot to showcase the takes on you might be finest at. Don’t consider goes you aren’t confident with. In case you are unsure of what you can do in a given location, keep it to your self until you have created the group.
Attempt to understand ways to shoot making use of the foot that’s the weakest. Lots of people only concentrate on utilizing their most powerful feet, but that can pose an issue since your challenger will be aware of this and steal the tennis ball of your stuff. Having the ability to control and shoot the tennis ball with the two ft . can be a expertise that can only help you in the soccer area.
Discover ways to remain resistant to injuries. Entering into condition is one way to remain risk-free. Follow a correct diet and exercise program to have this. Workouts would be wise to include some strength training and normal cardiovascular regimens.
Learn how to method football with confidence. One of the primary challenges for soccer participants is overcoming their doubt. It usually is advisable to preserve offensive thinking. When you find yourself using the ball, target the quickest course to produce a objective.
Carry out some practice with smaller as well as other scaled balls. Messing close to using a softball or golf golf ball could seriously help enhance in several methods. Exercise at moving and also making objectives. When it is possible to operate just a little tennis ball, the greater football soccer ball appears simpler to management.
Profitable initial happens in your mind – not in the discipline. To possess assurance in yourself is the notion in your thoughts that you could get over any hurdles in the area, and you can confidently make your goes by and shots once the time arrive. A good mindset might help your group win.
Now you have reviewed this material, it is actually now time to job it into your activity. You will be inspired, thus it is time to display your stuff in the field. It’s not easy to boost your soccer activity, but it’s somewhat pleasurable.
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You might want to generate income online, but you should become familiar with a handful of significant things initial. The key reason for learning some pointers would be to protect against on your own from getting overwhelmed. Just spend some time to examine the following advice and you shouldn’t possess any issues with this all.
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Whichever your ultimate goal, physical fitness is crucial for your good results. How to get started is definitely the hardest a part of any physical fitness routine. This short article features every one of the tips you should get going on the proper foot.
When you are serious about increasingly match, you need to choose a schedule that enhances versatility, burns calorie consumption and colors numerous muscles. Local classes are ideal as they are far more convenient as opposed to others.
Do you shortage a significant prevent of time setting apart for training? Separate your routines. There is no need to increase the time you happen to be training, just break down it in two. For example, as opposed to walk for just one constant 60 minutes, try exercising thirty minutes at the start of your day, then jog for thirty minutes in the evening hours. In the event you prefer to not go to the gym 2 instances per day, then do a single workout in the club and one in your house.
Doing some easy press-ups may help you buy your triceps in shape. Nonetheless, as opposed to performing typical force-ups, your triceps might be specific by converting within the fingers up until the fingertips face one another, which can be around 45 degrees. This kind of pushup shades and strengthens your triceps better than other types of exercise routines.
Have a daily log, documenting whatever you do. Incorporate each of the exercise routines you do and anything you ingest. If you believe it helps, record the day’s weather. Should you do this, it will also help you while you think about the everywhere points. Should you have had to place away working out a bit whilst, note why.
Attempt to add a couple of sit down-ups in your crunch regimens. Lots of people believe that sit-ups aren’t a good physical exercise. When exercising your ab muscles, recall never to anchor your feet with sit down-ups because they can be harmful to your back again. They are continue to bad for your again muscle tissues.
Nice and clean fitness gear just before use. Other individuals could possibly have left dirty germs. Bear in mind the reason why you really journeyed to the gym to feel good, not even worse.
Managing your breathing will help increase your routines and helps make sure they are far better. Whilst carrying out crunches or stay-ups, breathe out intentionally as soon as your shoulder blades attain their top point. In the event you agreement your stomach muscles if you exhale, you will definately get a stronger exercise routine.
Break down your jogging study course into three phases. Keep the pace sluggish in the beginning, then improve your speed progressively. For the last element of your operate, operate as quickly as your hip and legs enables you to. Performing this will help you to develop your stamina, and you’ll discover that you will keep running for a longer time each time you head out.
Getting strong key muscle groups is vital. Your key durability can boost the effectiveness of a number of exercises. 1 established way of constructing your central does situps. Rest-ups will increase your range of flexibility. Carrying out these kinds of exercises will goal your ab muscle groups.
A great health and fitness hint to formulate your quadriceps is to begin carrying out lower leg extensions. Most fitness centers have at least one lower-leg extension equipment, so use it. Although seated, all you want do is increase your legs to obtain the exercise’s advantages.
Bodyweight-raising is great for joggers. Numerous joggers don’t take into consideration excess weight picking up, but it is really helpful. It’s been approved in conventional scientific studies that strength training presents joggers better endurance, along with greater velocity, when compared to those that don’t lift.
An excellent health and fitness idea is to do volunteer job. There are a lot of effort-extensive careers that involve volunteers. As well you happen to be gettting far more active, you happen to be aiding individuals need.
Prior to starting working out your hands place out your targets. Weightier weight loads are good for muscle development, because they raise the concentration of your regular workout. In case your aim is sculpting, go for much more repetitions utilizing light-weight weight load to tone without muscle building.
Once you have recovered from a physical injury, you have to get safeguards to avoid overworking the affected muscle tissues. Quick, relatively extreme exercise routines will allow your own muscles to recover more effectively. Stretch out hurt muscle groups gently for increased blood circulation and oxygenation.
A fantastic exercise routine is to use barbels and free weights on the exercise bench. To reach your goals, you need to pick the best sort of table. When you experiment with the table and really feel wooden demanding towards your back again, you might want to go with an alternative counter. You can diminish your back by utilizing the wrong kind of table.
Contrasting perceptions on the concept of physical fitness can make the method needlessly difficult. There are actually dos and don’ts when it comes to health and fitness, and crucial facts to consider prior to starting a health and fitness strategy. Supply the ideas offered right here the opportunity to release a healthier plus more gratifying way of life for your self.
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When keeping yourself in shape is one thing that a lot of people locate easy to do, others need a lot of preparation and support to make this happen aim. These guidelines might help anyone obtain the facts they need to begin over a exercise journey.
Are you currently quick on physical exercise time? Divide your exercise routine period into a couple of halves. You don’t have to sort out a lot more, just break time by 50 %. Instead of shelling out 1 hour running, manage for half an hour near the beginning of your day after which yet again nearer the final. If you’d choose not to attend your health club more than once in a day, you can try undertaking a single exercise routine in your fitness center, and undertaking one exercise in the open air.
You have to look at trying different methods when choosing an exercise strategy. There are lots of exciting routines that you can do away from health and fitness center. Find an action which you genuinely enjoy. This will likely help keep you determined, especially when you find yourself very first beginning.
Have a log from the workout you full every day. Consist of each of the exercise routines you are doing and anything you ingest. Even make be aware in the occasions you exercising and consume, along with the temp on a daily basis. It will help you think about whatever impacted every day. Although you may don’t physical exercise over a provided time, record it.
It really is normally better to do a lot more repetitions with much less excess weight as an alternative to performing only some repetitions with many different weight if you would like boost your muscle tissue. Bigger muscle tissues tend not to generally range from individual who lifts by far the most weight loads. This can be a very well liked technique among a lot of professionals.
Ab crunches aren’t proceeding to give you a 6-pack, no matter how numerous you are doing. It is possible to develop energy on your own physique because they build your ab muscles, nevertheless, you won’t truly burn up a lot of excess fat at the same time. The best way to accomplish washboard stomach muscles is usually to lessen the overall amount of fat in the body by employing an enhanced diet plan and plenty of cardiovascular system coaching.
Attempt carrying out true sit-ups in addition to crunches whenever you exercise. You might have noticed that rest ups usually are not useful to you. In order to avoid trauma, you must steer clear of carrying out stay-ups along with your ft . anchored. Anchored rest-ups placed needless stress on your lower back.
When you work out, put on clothes that may be comfortable. There’s plenty of stress available, specifically at fitness gyms and physical fitness centres, to put on the trendiest work out clothes all around. Pick clothing in which you can transfer openly and pleasantly. Using the clothes which are best for you will ensure that you get the most from your regular workout. You do not need to worry about impressing any individual but yourself.
Health and fitness can have not only actual benefits. Accomplishing physical fitness can increase your emotionally charged well-being. Exercises cause endorphins to become launched, which actually create a euphoric sensing. Moreover, working out allows you to feel happier about your self and obtain a increased sensation of confidence. In many techniques, just a few routines stay in between you together with satisfaction.
Attempt volunteer work to increase your exercise and also have a optimistic impact on your community. There is a lot of volunteer function that requires physical labour. This can get you match and offer aid to disadvantaged agencies.
A great technique in becoming in shape is by rollerblading. Rollerblading is probably not as popular as it was actually 2 decades in the past, but it’s still an excellent approach to burn up some calories. Rollerblades can nevertheless be located in several showing off very good stores.
Count in the opposite direction. Once you know the volume of repetitions you want to perform, matter lower. It will help make the treatment appear to be quicker because you are considering smaller sized. Showing yourself you just have numerous a lot more is far more stimulating.
Hoping to get match? Look at buying a hop rope. You may hop rope just about anywhere. Leaping rope burns up 3 x the quantity of unhealthy calories as other kinds of cardiovascular exercise workouts. In principle, you must be able to hop rope for at least ten minutes at the outset of your regiment, but boost to at least two times that over time.
Ingesting fruits like pears and apples increase your health and fitness and well being. Ingesting a diet plan full of refreshing create can market greater health.
Try out doing a little exercises by means of t . v . to stop you from obtaining bored stiff. There are lots of tv workouts accessible including pay out-for each-see, on-need displays and sports activities networking sites. Not needing an idea what is going to occur up coming and studying new goes is able to keep you involved and help the exercises pass more quickly. Unless you have access to these programs, attempt locating some on the internet or searching for video clips.
It is simple to meet up with your fitness goals together with the appropriate suggestions! This might appear like a significant obstacle, though with the proper suggestions, it is far from insurmountable. You have to give your very best at exercise to succeed precisely like you do at anything else. Utilize the advice you merely go through to go forwards on your own route toward fitness.
Succeeding game titles is an important thrill in terms of playing athletics. But there is much more to profitable than actually just hoping it to come accurate. In order to be considered a far better football participant, you need to look at the helpful tips in the following paragraphs. Then go have that tennis ball, go exterior, and acquire to practicing!
Don’t try and kick your soccer ball to the target if you’re inside a crummy placement. Find out if your teammate is a favorable situation when the industry lacks an opening. Move them the soccer ball immediately as an alternative to looking to run to the aim all by yourself.
When you are considering new cleats, take into consideration your degree of playing potential. When you are a beginner, get plastic or man-made cleats. More technical football gamers must use metallic cleats, for them to consider different kinds of job areas.
Prevent colliding with another participant, if you can. Try to expect your opponent’s motions to avoid speak to. If you this, you will retain the ball along and get away from probable injuries.
If you’re finding an excessive amount of activity where you are using the golf ball, pass it to a person who isn’t flanked by activity. This will give you a couple of mere seconds prior to the defenders crossing the area so you’re in a position to not risk dropping your soccer ball.
In case a good deal is going on where you stand, strike the soccer ball to a different one participant within a less packed region. There needs to be a couple of moments before these defenders cross and also this is effective in reducing the risk of dropping the football ball if the region is crowded.
Keep in mind that football is actually a crew activity. Always remember this. Football is a staff sport activity. You won’t do well when you are a soccer ball hog who will take his teammates with no consideration. The team is vital to succeeding in soccer. That means giving up goal possibilities if somebody different includes a much better picture.
Although achieving your personal objectives in soccer is very important, it is additionally necessary to continue to keep staff goals with the forefront too. Football is determined by the full team for achievement, so team desired goals must be more valuable than your own personal.
Practice set takes on if you would like improve you capacity to make decisions. As an example, try immediate photographs or area kicks together with your teammates. In the event you training these kinds of plays on a regular basis, you will understand how to choose and this includes during video game enjoy, which is certain to allow you to win.
You need to have a profitable attitude should you expect to succeed games. Trusting inside the capability of the group and oneself affords the confidence necessary to make your shots and passes by, as well as installation a powerful shield from your opponent. Trying to keep a positive perspective and cheering your crew on will assist your team be successful.
Tryouts will be the destination to emphasize the performs you happen to be very best at. Don’t try goes you aren’t more comfortable with. Usually do not try any moves you are entirely more comfortable with until once you are on the crew. Tryouts are for showcasing your strong points for the trainer.
When playing on soaked areas, your footwear need to give you enough hold to keep your footing. A number of people that engage in soccer appreciate using much softer cleats which can be easily-removed within these situations. Put on broad cleats during times once the discipline is drenched. In this situation, two cleats are saved to your hindfoot, when four have your the midsole.
Work with constructing peripheral vision. You are able to coach your peripheral perspective to assist you to monitor the field and enjoy the soccer ball. To get this done, you shouldn’t be specifically working on the soccer soccer ball. Rather, your emphasis ought to be in a middle-air stage involving the tennis ball and you.
Ideally, at this point you learn more details that may help you get better at soccer. It’s excellent to find out new things, but you need to ideal the relevant skills by taking measures. Exercise these top rated capabilities together with your buddies, and also help them learn everything you now know. Together, then, you may turn out to be really tough to beat. | 2019-04-24T13:02:36Z | http://todoscontraelcanon.com/ |
Tang San leapt up. He didn't have his father's profound spirit power, but he had his own ways. The Flying God Claw shot out, catching up to his father's silhouette in midair.
Half the waterfall was directly rolled up by the Clear Sky Hammer, and Tang Hao pressed with his left hand on the rock wall behind it. Seemingly solid rock unexpectedly caved in, revealing a portal.
In a flash, he had already made his way inside.
Tang San had never imagined that there would actually be a place like that behind the waterfall, but right now his heart was already filled with the pain of his father's lost limbs, and he followed directly inside without thinking about it.
Perhaps it was because of the waterfall just outside, but the inside of the cave was very damp. The cave was about three meters high, two meters wide, extending directly inside. Within was very dark. Tang Hao pulled out a faintly golden gem from his spirit tool, illuminating the interior.
Watching his father jump inside on his one leg, Tang San couldn't hold back his tears. At this moment, his father's back seemed so lonely, desolate.
Recalling past events, he suddenly deeply felt the enormous pain his father must have endured over all these years.
Walking furthest inside, the surroundings brightened. Raising his head, he saw a hole in the rock ceiling. And here was an only ten square meter stone room.
There were no decorations in the stone room, absolutely empty, but just below the hole in the ceiling, there was a small stone pot. In the pot, a slender blue silver grass swayed in the wind. That blue silver grass seemed a bit longer than ordinary grass, but most extraordinary was the thin golden line in the center.
Tang Hao pointed next to him, folding his one leg to sit.
Tang San's heart throbbed violently. Taking a few steps forward, he knelt in front of that blue silver grass as his father instructed.
"Ah Yin, I've brought our son to see you. Our son has already grown up now. He's got your beauty, and he's even more outstanding than me. Do you see? Our son is here."
Tang San's heart shook, stupidly watching that slightly swaying, distributing a gentle aura, blue silver grass. His heart trembled fiercely, and his Blue Silver Grass spirit released uncontrollably, scattering from him, instantly covering the entire rock room.
Tang San's Blue Silver Domain also quietly opened in this situation, gentle spirit power fluctuations pervading this quiet space.
That blue silver grass swayed even a bit more sharply. Receiving the influence of the Blue Silver Domain, it seemed to grow quietly, the golden line on the blade moved slightly as if alive, golden light rippling.
"I, I never imagine. Ah Yin, Ah Yin, don't tell me, you really can come back to life? Ah Yin."
Tang Hao wept. The Title Douluo of an era right now unexpectedly had a face covered with tears, his one hand trembling as it caressed that blade of grass, letting his tears moisten the soil.
Tang San's gaze was still lifeless. At this moment he finally understood why his Blue Silver Grass would be so unique. Just like he loved Xiao Wu, the one his father had fallen in love with was actually a hundred thousand year spirit beast. Now wonder, no wonder his father would know so much about everything related to hundred thousand year spirit beats, even more than Grandmaster knew.
Tang San also shuddering extended a hand, without restraint pouring all his spirit power into that constantly flowing Blue Silver Domain, turning this entire stone room a clear blue color.
That blue silver grass was originally one chi long, and now it had already gradually grown to two chi. But only to two chi, it didn't continue growing.
Tang San's hand also gently caressed a blade of that blue silver grass. At this moment, a strange scene appeared. Among that blue silver grass, the two longest blades unexpectedly slowly moved, one twisting around Tang Hao's hand, and one twining around Tang San's fingers.
Extremely gentle spiritual fluctuations quietly appeared, much stronger than ordinary blue silver grass, it seemed to transmit a most familiar feeling.
Tang San was no longer able to hold back, falling prostrate on the ground, he cried voicelessly. Even though he wasn't originally of this world, when he truly felt the aura of his mother, how could he inhibit the waves in his heart?
Tang Hao's lips trembled, but the excitement and joy in his eyes was something that hadn't appeared for twenty years. He had never expected that the blue silver grass in front of him would actually grow so quickly in his son's presence.
This growth was already more than the sum of the last twenty years!
Feeling that blade of blue silver grass rolled around his hand, Tang Hao suddenly felt very blessed. That deathly silent heart also gradually became a bit more alive.
In such an atmosphere, Tang Hao and Tang San, father and son, didn't know how much time passed. Only when Tang San's spirit power was no longer able to maintain the Blue Silver Domain, and the Blue Silver Grass stretching from him also slowly withdrew, did they gradually wake up.
That fantastic blue silver grass swayed softly. Tang Hao's gaze had already become somewhat lifeless by now, sitting there, his face unexpectedly had a somewhat silly smile.
Tang San's voice had become a bit hoarse from crying, as he called out for his father.
Eyes somewhat perplexed, Tang Hao seemed to look into the past, and began to tell his story.
"When young, I was as outstanding as you. Among the directly related Clear Sky School disciples, me and my elder brother were the most outstanding two. And we were also the sons of the previous generation's school master. Relying on outstanding talent and strenuous cultivation, very soon, we became the leading figures of the Clear Sky School's new generation. The outside world called us the Clear Sky Twin Stars."
"My elder brother is fifteen years older than me, and looked after and cared for me in every possible way. From childhood, I felt more deeply for my brother than for my father. Practically all my skills were cultivated under my brother's instruction."
"In talent, I was stronger than big brother. When I was twenty, I was already acclaimed as number one of the young generation. It was also that year that my father awarded me my first spirit bone. A sect heritage spirit bone. And my big brother was thirty the year he received that honor."
"Our Clear Sky School always put strength first, and my father's health wasn't good. He was injured in his early years, and was already growing worse day by day. In order to support the Clear Sky School in the future, me and big brother never married, spending each day in assiduous cultivation. Until I was thirty, when I broke through the seventieth spirit power rank, and my cultivation had gradually caught up to my big brother. At that time, he was seventy eighth ranked. Even if there was still some distance to the sect elders, at that time we were already quite formidable."
"Perhaps it was because your grandfather knew his body was growing worse, and he ordered me and big brother to go outside to gain experience for ten years. It was also at that time that I received the second sect spirit bone, and big brother didn't. There are altogether three of our Clear Sky School inheritance spirit bones, and father giving the second bone to me was the same as declaring me the successor for next school master. His evaluation of big brother was that he was abundantly calm, lacking in drive. But not having left the sect for decades, if we didn't experience the outside world, how could he be at ease in leaving the sect to us? Subsequently, me and big brother left the Clear Sky School, entering the teeming world of the Douluo Continent. Regarding father's favor, big brother didn't have the slightest complaint."
"Relying on outstanding strength and the military fame of the Clear Sky School, very soon, we had charged out into the Spirit Master world and made it our own. Even though we still hadn't broken through eightieth rank, at that time Clear Sky School was already regarded as one sect with twin Douluo. With our ages at that time, nobody knew which of me and big brother would be first to step into the Title Douluo level."
"On our fifth year in the outside world, we met your mom. She was called Ah Yin, the Yin of blue silver grass."
At this point, Tang Hao's face softened again, as if seeing again the scene where he first met Ah Yin.
"Me and my brother had both focused fully on cultivation for decades. Even I was already thirty five at that time. Meeting your mom, we were practically attracted to her at the same time. You know? Your mom wasn't only beautiful, but even more important was that fresh and clean aura she exuded. She was a fairy without the slightest impurity. Even the first time I met her, she had already captured my heart."
"Big brother also liked Ah Yin at the same time. By chance, the three of us became companions. Ah Yin was very gentle, very good to both of us. After a crisis, we decided to become sworn siblings. At that time she announced that she was the youngest, therefore she was ranked third. We already called her Ah Yin, and also little three. Your name comes from there."
"The next five years were the happiest days of my life. For three years, the three of us travelled to practically every corner of the Continent, and our friendship also grew even deeper. Being like a father, even though big brother and I equally fell deeply in love with the fairy like Ah Yin, he still decided to step down. One night, he quietly left us, returning alone to Clear Sky School. That night, me and Ah Yin talked for a long time. She also always hesitated, hesitated on what to do. It was just that night she told me her identity. She wasn't human, but rather a hundred thousand year Blue Silver Emperor on the verge of entering the mature stage."
"That day, I was stupefied. Of course I knew what a hundred thousand year spirit beast meant. But, the love I had for Ah Yin diluted everything. What about hundred thousand year spirit beasts? As long as she entered the mature phase, she would be truly human, not different in any way. Thus, I confessed my love to Ah Yin."
"Your mom really was very kindhearted. The one she liked had always been me, but because of her own identity, as well as being afraid to hurt big brother, she'd never said anything. Where the water flows, a canal is born. I decided to bring her back home and formally introduce her to father. Even though I knew it would be very dangerous, your grandfather was a Title Douluo, and could completely see through Ah Yin, I still didn't want to wrong Ah Yin in any way. I believed that your grandfather would understand. As long as we stayed hidden after marrying and let Ah Yin quickly cultivate to the mature phase, nobody would be able to tell that she was a hundred thousand year spirit beast again. Then, she would be truly human.
At this point, Tang Hao's voice halted, looking at the blue silver emperor in front of him, his heart seemed to tremble slightly.
"But, on our way to Clear Sky School, we ran into major trouble. Originally, as early as when the three of us started travelling the Continent together, we'd already drawn the attention of Spirit Hall. After all, me and your uncle represented the new generation of Clear Sky School, how would Spirit Hall fail to notice us? And they also noticed Ah Yin who was travelling with us. I was thirty five that year, but my spirit power had already reached the eighty fourth rank. The one who came from Spirit Hall was a Title Douluo. Even though his spirit power was more formidable than mine, against my Clear Sky Hammer, he couldn't gain an advantage, and I destroyed his leg. I brought Ah Yin to swiftly run far away. I knew that we couldn't return to Clear Sky School."
"Sure enough, before too long, Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff at the time sent down orders, condemning Clear Sky School. Demanding the Clear Sky School hand over me and Ah Yin. At that time, your grandfather's disease had already attacked his vitals. Suddenly learning about this, and moreover being unable to find me, in a fury, he passed away. I also couldn't see him before his final moment."
At this point, Tang Hao couldn't keep from shivering, a profound pain and regret visible in his eyes.
Tang San silently listened from the side. He could completely understand how his father felt at that time.
Unable to return home, hesitating at a loss. Not knowing how to confront his family.
His grandfather's passing was no doubt an extremely heavy blow to his father.
After a long time, Tang Hao's mood quietly calmed.
"Despite big brother just having cultivated to the Title Douluo level at that time, and there was also no lack of powers among the clan elders, even if we were the number one sect under Heaven, having lost your grandfather's control, all influences under the sect still grew restless. Facing the step by step coercion of Spirit Hall, even your uncle could be said to only make progress with great difficulty. Fortunately, our Clear Sky School's might was valiant, and even Spirit Hall absolutely wouldn't dare act blindly without thinking."
"Me and your mom got married. But our days were also ones of fleeing to the east and hiding in the west. Despite knowing I wronged her like this, despite very much wanting to return to see the sect, I couldn't. With this matter gradually settled with much difficulty, I couldn't return to stir up trouble for the sect again. I couldn't even go pay my respects to your grandfather. Even afterwards, I never returned. Because I wasn't qualified to pay my respects to father. I was a disgrace to the sect."
"Dad, no matter what you owe the sect, I will definitely repay it double on your behalf in the future."
"That time, fortunately I still had your mom at my side. Even if I gave up everything for her, I've never regretted it. If I could choose again from the start, I would still choose her, but I would also return to protect the sect."
"One day twenty one years ago, your mom was pregnant. With you. At that time I truly felt very blessed, I no longer had thoughts of fighting for victory, I only wanted to live properly together with your mom. I don't know if it was because I was together with your mom, but in those days my spirit power advanced by leaps and bounds, and that day you were born, was just the moment my spirit power reached the eighty ninth rank. And your mom, had also finally entered the final mature human form stage. But it was that day, that Spirit Hall's people came to find us."
"Spirit Hall truly put on a great parade. The Supreme Pontiff of the time led them personally, and there was still two Title Douluo, as well as a large number of Spirit Hall experts. They surrounded the place me and your mom stayed at. At that time, your mom had just given birth to you, and the foundation of her vitality was greatly weakened, her strength greatly discounted. The Supreme Pontiff proposed to let me and you leave, but he would take your mom. How could I let him have his wish fulfilled? An unavoidable battle ensued."
At this point, Tang Hao's eyes had already become deep red. Tang San didn't need to ask to guess how bitter the battle of that time must have been. Having just stepped into the ninetieth rank but not yet having obtained the ninth spirit ring, his father would have confronted three Title Douluo, including the Supreme Pontiff.
Even if he also had two spirit bones, how could the Supreme Pontiff not have the same?
"Very soon, I was seriously injured. The conclusion already seemed settled. It was at this moment that your mom walked out holding you. That moment, she seemed very calm. Seeing her walk out of the house, Spirit Hall's people stopped fighting, watching her quietly. Your mom indifferently asked them, did they know what ability a hundred thousand year Blue Silver Emperor possessed? Did they know what the highest mystery of the Blue Silver Domain was? The Supreme Pontiff was stumped by her question."
"Your mom told them that the highest secret of the Blue Silver Domain, was immortality. Nobody could kill her. Even fewer could obtain her spirit ring and spirit bone. Unless she killed herself. Afterwards, she proposed to the Supreme Pontiff that, as long as they agreed to let me and you off, she would come with them, and moreover kill herself to offer her spirit ring and spirit bone. It was me, it was all my fault, I didn't have the strength to protect her. The Supreme Pontiff didn't seem to want to thoroughly offend the Clear Sky School, and very quickly, he agreed to your mom's proposal."
"At that time, my injuries were so serious I wanted to die, even to the extent that I couldn't speak. I could only watch helplessly as your mom walked over to my side, placing you in my arms. That moment, I really hated that I couldn't die immediately. Ah Yin, you really were silly, why would you pick that choice?"
Tang Hao's body shook violently because of the agitation, teardrops once again flowing uninhibited.
"Your mom's voice echoed in my ears. She said, she would be mine forever, never to be possessed by others. The next moment, in front of me, she killed herself......"
Intense grief instantly pervaded every corner of this narrow cave. Tang San's body shook just like his father. He could naturally imagine that moment, how his father suffered, how helpless he was.
Suppressed by three great Title Douluo as well as countless Spirit Hall experts.
Watching the death of the one he loved the most in front of him. What could be more painful than this?
Tang Hao's lips trembled, for a long time unable to speak another word, only softly caressing the blue silver gras his wife had become in front of him.
Tang San also didn't speak. Tears flowing down his cheeks, he knocked his head against the ground nine times towards the blue silver grass in front of him.
He knew that his mother had passed in order to protect him and his dad. And all of this, everything, was because of Spirit Hall.
"The death of a hundred thousand year spirit beast will produce a formidable magnetic field. Even Spirit Hall didn't have a hundred thousand year spirit ring, and therefore, they didn't know. Your mom didn't deceive them, with the Blue Silver Domain, she was originally immortal. The highest mystery of the Blue Silver Domain, called: Wildfire Blows Without End, Spring Wind Blows Rebirth. No matter how serious the injury, she would still come back to life within forty nine days after her death. However, she chose to kill herself, used her own hundred thousand years of cultivation as the price to kill herself. Moreover, unconditionally pouring herself into me to become a spirit ring. She, truly merged with me."
"Under the effect of the formidable magnetic field your mom's death left behind, Spirit Hall's numerous experts attacked simultaneously, but were still unable to harm me. They could only helplessly watch me and Ah Yin's spirit ring fuse together. To become the youngest Title Douluo on the Continent at that time. A Title Douluo possessing a hundred thousand year spirit ring is basically another concept than ordinary Title Douluo. At that time, not only did my body heal, but my strength rose dramatically. Ah Yin's death, made me insane. That fight continued for a full three days and three nights. I held you in my arms, pouring out strength to attack. I don't know how many of Spirit Hall's experts died in my hands, and of the two Title Douluo the Supreme Pontiff brought, one died and one was injured, and he himself was seriously wounded from my strike. My injuries were also equally sustained at that time."
"Your mom had died, but she didn't leave a corpse. All that remained was her spirit bone and a seed. After seriously wounding my opponents, I gradually came to my senses. I knew that if I kept fighting, perhaps I would be able to kill them all, but that wasn't what Ah Yin wanted. There was still you, I couldn't ignore you. You were the flesh and blood of Ah Yin and me. Therefore, I brought you away. Dragged my injured body away. Found this place. This was the place where me and Ah Yin originally got married, it was she who brought me here. I planted the seed she left behind, I knew that this was her, just her without the hundred thousand years of cultivation. In this life and this age, it was impossible for me to see her human form again, but I would always protect her."
"Not much later, I received the news that the Supreme Pontiff had died from his wounds after returning to Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall has always written this debt in my name, and also the Clear Sky School. The Supreme Pontiff's death no doubt produced enormous troubles for the sect. In order to preserve the sect, your uncle had no choice but to declare me thoroughly struck from the rolls of the sect, and in order to avert Spirit Hall's reprisals, he sealed the sect. It was from that time that, while our Clear Sky School had the reputation of first sect under Heaven, in fact, all the factions that originally adhered to us quietly scattered. Only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan still kept some contact."
"You know all about what happened later. I planted your mom's seed here, then brought you to the not distant Holy Spirit Village. Living in confusion. What you sensed at that time was right, my old injuries are very serious. Originally, I planned to end my life like that. Unable to return home, unable to protect my wife, what kind of man was I? The Supreme Pontiff was also dead, so I could be considered having avenged Ah Yin. As for Spirit Hall, even though I was of a mind to retaliate, I really didn't want to cause even more trouble for the Clear Sky School. Therefore, the father you saw was a blacksmith, a drunkard. A drunkard indulging in shoddy alcohol every day."
"Until you told me that the spirit you awakened was Blue Silver Grass, that it was the Clear Sky Hammer. Twin Spirits. That moment, I awakened a bit. You were very sensible from childhood, I didn't take care of you, on the contrary it was you who took care of me. I knew that it was impossible for me to reverse the circumstances of the sect or thoroughly avenge your mom with my body in this condition. However, in you I saw hope. Therefore, starting from then, I sent you off to Nuoding Academy, secretly observing your growth. You were even more outstanding than I could have imagined, you also had a good teacher. In a short ten something years, the core of your strength was already formed. Even though I never said it, when I saw you lead your Shrek Seven Devils to smash the Spirit Hall team, my son, I was proud of you."
The previous Tang Hao had never praised Tang San like this, but saying it under circumstances like these, kneeling there, it would be difficult for Tang San to be more moved. Fiercely embracing his father's broken body, he cried bitterly and voicelessly while trembling.
"Silly kid, don't cry. A man of character doesn't always go weeping. I think your mom has perhaps already recovered some awareness in your Blue Silver Domain. Seeing what you look like now, she's definitely very, very happy. No need to feel sad for me. I've gone through even more difficult moments. I didn't lie to you, that arm and leg, I really cut them off myself. That was something I had to do. Because, I hope to be able to live a few more years. To see how you return the sect to glory, how you avenge me and your mom."
"I will. I definitely will."
"You should have sensed that the old injuries in my body have already faded. I used my spirit power to force the murky blood clots into the arm and leg I cut off, thoroughly severing the trouble of the injuries. Even though only a third of my spirit power still remains, I feel kind of relieved. I did it soon after bringing you to your aunt's place. If I waited for you to return, I knew that anyhow or anyway, you wouldn't let me disable my body. Therefore, I just chose to do it while you weren't here."
"Dad, was it really worth it? Didn't I tell you? Maybe I could find a method to help you recover."
Tang San couldn't help saying.
"The one who made the error should take it on himself. I've let down the sect for so many years, I have to account for myself somewhat. Originally, the two spirit bones I received from the sect were in the arm and leg I cut off. Getting them back should also be considered settling accounts. As for the influence my actions had on the sect, I can only rely on you to redeem me. Even though I've become a cripple, since losing my arm and leg, I've felt a lot more relaxed. Because I can finally lay down everything to keep your mom company. Despite only having a third of my spirit power left, my strength is still seventieth ranked. Enough to defend myself. There's no need for you to worry either. I won't leave your mom again hereafter, I'll spend my last years accompanying her like this."
"Isn't it said that, after a spirit bone fuses with the body, they're inseparable? Only through death can they separate from the body."
"That only goes for ordinary Spirit Masters. To Title Douluo, as long as we want to, spirit bones can still be removed. But the price is also equally heavy. Naturally nobody would choose to do it. Among the six spirit bones, the skull bone and torso bone really are inseparable, but the spirit bones of the four limbs can be cut out by cutting off the limb and moreover permanently losing ten ranks of spirit power. Consequently, my spirit power has now dropped to the seventy fifth rank. But don't worry, the two spirit rings I got rid of were only the two lowest ranked ones. Even if only thirty percent of my spirit power remains compared to before, in this world, it would require at least a Title Douluo level to be able to put me to rest. The military glory of Clear Sky can only continue with you in the future."
"I don't want to see you crying again afterwards. I'm very well right now. I've placed my burden on you. Perhaps, this is somewhat heavy for you."
"No, dad. I'm your son."
Tang San used his most resolute tone to make clear his determination to his father.
Let him repay the debts of his parents. Right now, he was already gradually recovering from the pain of his father's handicap, because he also discovered that, right now, Tang Hao really had become different from before. His entire person became relaxed, and the pain also gradually grew more distant.
"Good. Once I've finished my accounts, you return to the sect. I will never be able to go back, but you must. Take my place to offer sacrifice to your grandfather. Take my place to kneel before his tomb for three days. Return to the sect to know your ancestors and clan. Listen to your uncle for everything. You can do as you see fit with the enmity with Spirit Hall. After all, I've already killed the main instigator long ago. However, you must reawaken the Clear Sky School at any price. The sect fell because of me, I want you to help it rise again."
"Perhaps I was too strict with you in the past. In the future you can return here every year to see me and your mom, and tell me about the matters of the outside world. I won't be leaving this place again. I won't injure my body again, because I still have you to entrust with my hopes. And I still have your mom for company."
"Dad, mom lost a hundred thousand years of cultivation and needs to regrow, then, if outside growth speed factors influenced her, wouldn't that cut down on her cultivation time?"
"There's no need of it. Only by cultivating thousand years can she have true intelligence, a hundred thousand years to be able to take human shape again. I won't have the chance to see her in this lifetime. I can only leave it for the later generations. Once I'm gone, the task of looking after your mom will be left to you."
"No, dad, listen to me. I know a place that can let plants grow thousands of times faster. Only I haven't seen a plant type spirit beast there, all that grew were some heavenly treasure type plants. Perhaps, perhaps mom might recover? After all, she cultivated to the hundred thousand year level once before. Even if it's recultivating, it should be a bit different from ordinary plants."
"That place is known as one of the world's three great treasure bowls, it's called the Ice And Fire Yin Yang Well. It's the place Poison Douluo Dugu Bo planted his herbs before. Ordinary people are unable to live there, but to plants, it has enormous benefits. All plants that grow there will mature in a short period of time. Even if I've never seen a plant type spirit beast there, with the profound qualities of the Ice And Fire Yin Yang Well, perhaps mom......"
Tang Hao's originally calm eyes began to display an excited luster. His wife's death was the greatest blow to him in his life.
If speaking of his wife returning alive, even if it was to let him see her face before he died of age, he had no other requests.
"Ah Yin, did you hear? Our son said that there might be a way to help you recover. Do you know how much I've wanted to hear your voice again? Ah Yin, let's go. I'll bring you there."
"Dad, wait a little bit, then we'll leave at once."
"What I have here is dragon zoysia leaf. You've severed two limbs, your vitality is greatly injured. Dragon zoysia leaf can solidify the foundations of vitality. Eat one each month hereafter, and in one year, your body should have recovered its health. Dad, you have to stay alive for mom as well. I truly hope there can be a day when our family of three can reunite."
Tang Hao swallowed the dragon zoyzia leaf in one gulp.
His son's words had brought him enormous hope.
Three from "Little three" () or "third youngest" is the same character as san in Tang San (). | 2019-04-23T00:27:06Z | https://firefoxosworld.net/douluo-dalu/145.html |
Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21 1892 – June 1 1971) was an American Protestant theologian most famous for his efforts to relate the Christian faith to the realities of politics and diplomacy. He is a crucial contributor to modern thinking about what a just war would be.
Man is endowed by nature with organic relations to his fellow men; and natural impulse prompts him to consider the needs of others even when they compete with his own.
Reason is not the sole basis of moral virtue in man. His social impulses are more deeply rooted than his rational life.
This insinuation of the interests of the self into even the most ideal enterprises and most universal objectives, envisaged in moments of highest rationality, makes hypocrisy an inevitable by product of all virtuous endeavor.
The stupidity of the average man will permit the oligarch, whether economic or political, to hide his real purposes from the scrutiny of his fellows and to withdraw his activities from effective control. Since it is impossible to count on enough moral goodwill among those who possess irresponsible power to sacrifice it for the good of the whole, it must be destroyed by coercive methods and these will always run the peril of introducing new forms of injustice in place of those abolished.
The measure of our rationality determines the degree of vividness with which we appreciate the needs of other life, the extent to which we become conscious of the real character of our own motives and impulses, the ability to harmonize conflicting impulses in our own life and in society, and the capacity to choose adequate means for approved ends.
While it is possible for intelligence to increase the range of benevolent impulse, and thus prompt a human being to consider the needs and rights of other than those to whom he is bound by organic and physical relationship, there are definite limits in the capacity of ordinary mortals which makes it impossible for them to grant to others what they claim for themselves.
The society in which each man lives is at once the basis for, and the nemesis of, that fulness of life which each man seeks.
The hope that the internal enemies will all be destroyed and that the new society will create only men who will be in perfect accord with the collective will of society, and will not seek personal advantage in the social process, is romantic in its interpretation of the possibilities of human nature and in its mystical glorification of the anticipated automatic mutuality in the communist society. ...In all these prophecies pure sentimentality obscures the fact that there can never be a perfect mutuality of interest between individuals who perform different functions in society... Man will always be imaginative enough to enlarge his needs beyond minimum requirements and selfish enough to feel the pressure of his needs more than the needs of others. Every society will have to maintain methods of arbitrating conflicting needs to the end of history; and in that process those who are shrewder will gain some advantage over the simple, even if they should lack special instruments of power.
The extension of human sympathies [toward ever-larger communities] has... resulted in the creation of larger units of conflict without abolishing conflict. So civilization has become a device for delegating the vices of individuals to larger and larger communities.
The inevitable hypocrisy, which is associated with the all the collective activities of the human race, springs chiefly from this source: that individuals have a moral code which makes the actions of collective man an outrage to their conscience. They therefore invent romantic and moral interpretations of the real facts, preferring to obscure rather than reveal the true character of their collective behavior. Sometimes they are as anxious to offer moral justifications for the brutalities from which they suffer as for those which they commit. The fact that the hypocrisy of man's group behavior... expresses itself not only in terms of self-justification but in terms of moral justification of human behavior in general, symbolizes one of the tragedies of the human spirit: its inability to conform its collective life to its individual ideals. As individuals, men believe they ought to love and serve each other and establish justice between each other. As racial, economic and national groups they take for themselves, whatever their power can command.
The naïve faith of the proletarian is the faith of the man of action. Rationality belongs to the cool observers. There is of course an element of illusion in the faith of the proletarian, as there is in all faith. But it is a necessary illusion, without which some truth is obscured. The inertia of society is so stubborn that no one will move against it, if he cannot believe that it can be more easily overcome than is actually the case.
Human existence is obviously distinguished from animal life by its qualified participation in creation. Within limits it breaks the forms of nature and creates new configurations of vitality.
An irrevocable defeat of a socio-historical cause which gives meaning to the life of the individual must create a complete sense of meaninglessness unless the individual is sustained by a religion which interprets such defeats from the aspect of the eternal.
The final sin of man, said Luther truly, is his unwillingness to concede that he is a sinner. The significant contribution of modern culture to this perennial human inclination lies in the number of plausible reasons which it was able to adduce in support of man's good opinion of himself.
There is no level of moral achievement upon which man can have or actually has an easy conscience.
Man does not know himself truly except as he knows himself confronted by God. Only in that confrontation does he become aware of his full stature and freedom and of the evil in him.
The modern man is . . . certain about his essential virtue . . . [and since] he does not see that he has a freedom of spirit which transcends both nature and reason . . . [he] is unable to understand the real pathos of his defiance of nature's and reason's laws. He always imagines himself betrayed into this defiance either by some accidental corruption in his past history or by some sloth of reason. Hence he hopes for redemption, either through a program of social reorganization or by some scheme of education.
The brotherhood of the community is indeed the ground in which the individual is ethically realized. But the community is the frustration as well as the realization of individual life. Its collective egotism is an offense to his conscience; its institutional injustices negate the ideal of justice; and such brotherhood as it achieves is limited by ethnic and geographic boundaries. Historical communities are, in short, more deeply involved in nature and time than the individual.
This statement, or variants of it, have often been attributed to others, including St. Francis of Assisi, but without sources. Though similar prayers may have existed, the work seems to be Niebuhr's. He never copyrighted the prayer, and it has been used in many variants.
Since 1914 one tragic experience has followed another, as if history had been designed to refute the vain delusions of modern man.
The fact that the prevailing mood of modern culture was able to transmute the original pessimism of romanticism into an optimistic creed proves the power of this mood. Only occasionally the original pessimism erupts in full vigor, as in the thought of a Schopenhauer or Nietzsche. The subjugation of romantic pessimism, together with the transmutation of Marxist catastrophism establishes historical optimism far beyond the confines of modern rationalism. Though there are minor dissonances the whole chorus of modern culture learned to sing the new song of hope in remarkable harmony. The redemption of mankind, by whatever means, was assured for the future. It was, in fact, assured by the future.
There were experiences in previous centuries which might well have challenged this unqualified optimism. But the expansion of man's power over nature proceeded at such a pace that all doubts were quieted, allowing the nineteenth century to become the “century of hope” and to express the modern mood in its most extravagant terms. History, refusing to move by the calendar, actually permitted the nineteenth century to indulge its illusions into the twentieth. Then came the deluge. Since 1914 one tragic experience has followed another, as if history had been designed to refute the vain delusions of modern man.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own; therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.
[The value and dignity of the individual] is threatened whenever it is assumed that individual desires, hopes and ideals can be fitted with frictionless harmony into the collective purposes of man. The individual is not discrete. He cannot find his fulfillment outside of the community; but he also cannot find fulfillment completely within society. In so far as he finds fulfillment within society he must abate his individual ambitions. He must 'die to self' if he would truly live. In so far as he finds fulfillment beyond every historical community he lives his life in painful tension with even the best community, sometimes achieving standards of conduct which defy the standards of the community with a resolute "we must obey God rather than man."
We take, and must continue to take, morally hazardous actions to preserve our civilization. We must exercise our power. But we ought neither to believe that a nation is capable of perfect disinterestedness in its exercise, nor become complacent about a particular degree of interest and passion which corrupt the justice by which the exercise of power is legitimatized.
Our dreams of bringing the whole of human history under the control of the human will are ironically refuted by the fact that no group of idealists can easily move the pattern of history toward the desired goal of peace and justice. The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.
Our dreams of a pure virtue are dissolved in a situation in which it is possible to exercise the virtue of responsibility toward a community of nations only by courting the prospective guilt of the atomic bomb.
The separation of church and state is necessary partly because if religion is good then the state shouldn't interfere with the religious vision or with the religious prophet. There must be a realm of truth beyond political competence, that's why there must be a separation of churches, but if religion is bad and a bad religion is one that gives an ultimate sanctity to some particular cause. Then religion mustn't interfere with the state — so one of the basic Democratic principles as we know it in America is the separation of church and state. … A church has the right to set its own standards within its community. I don't think it has a right to prohibit birth control or to enforce upon a secular society its conception of divorce and the indissolubility of the marriage tie.
We don't properly discriminate. We never discriminate properly when we're dealing with another group and one of the big problems about religion is that religious people don't know that they are probably as flagrant in these misjudgments as irreligious people.
The people that weren't traditionally religious, conventionally religious, had a religion of their own in my youth. These were liberals who believed in the idea of progress or they were Marxists. Both of these secular religions have broken down. The nuclear age has refuted the idea of progress and Marxism has been refuted by Stalinism. Therefore people have returned to the historic religion. But now when the historic religions give trivial answers to these very tragic questions of our day, when an evangelist says, for instance, we mustn't hope for a summit meeting, we must hope in Christ without spelling out what this could mean in our particular nuclear age. This is the irrelevant answer, when another Evangelist says if America doesn't stop being selfish, it will be doomed. This is also a childish answer because nations are selfish and the question about America isn't whether we will be selfish or unselfish, but will we be sufficiently imaginative to pass the Reciprocal Trade Acts.
I know that the Communists are atheistic and godless, but I don't think that that's what's primarily the matter with them. What's primarily the matter with them is that they worship a false god. That's much more dangerous than when people don't believe anything; they may be confused, they may not have a sense of the meaning of life, but they're not dangerous. The fanatic is dangerous. The Communists do have a god, the Dialectic of History, which guarantees everything that they're going to do and guarantees them victory; that's why they're fanatic.
The more complex the world situation becomes, the more scientific and rational analysis you have to have, the less you can do with simple good will and sentiment. Nonetheless, the human situation is so, and this is why I think that the Christian faith is right as against simple forms of secularism. That it believes that there is in man a radical freedom, and this freedom is creative but it is also destructive — and there's nothing that prevents this from being both creative and destructive. That's why history is not an answer to our problem, because history complicates, enlarges every problem of human existence.
Freedom is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary for the individual, because the individual, no matter how good the society is, every individual has hopes, fears, ambitions, creative urges, that transcend the purposes of his society. Therefore we have a long history of freedom, where people try to extricate themselves from tyranny for the sake of art, for the sake of science, for the sake of religion, for the sake of the conscience of the individual — this freedom is necessary for the individual.
Despotism, which we regard with abhorrence, is rather too plausible in decaying feudal, agrarian, pastoral societies. That's why we must expect to have many a defeat before we'll have an ultimate victory in this contest with Communism.
On the conceits of pious theists and rationalistic atheists.
"Dread or anxiety," he explained, "is the psychological condition which precedes sin, comes as near as possible to it, and is as provocative as possible of dread, but without explaining sin, which breaks forth first in the qualitative leap." Kierkegaard saw this "sickness unto death" as an inherent factor in human existence, and he taught that a "synthesis" was needed, by which he meant a vital relationship of man with God by which man may resolve his inner conflicts and live at peace with himself. Influenced by these thoughts of Kierkegaard, Reinhold Niebuhr has developed the thesis that man is a creature of two dimensions: "He stands at the juncture of nature and spirit." As finite, man is a part of nature, subject to its laws and its vicissitudes; but as self-conscious, man transcends himself, being capable of viewing himself as object, and thus is a creature of spirit. As part of nature he is determined; as spirit he is above nature and free. It is natural to man, therefore, to be in tension between the two; that tension is his anxiety, which is not sin but tempts to sin.
The reverential awe his words evoked reflects, in part, the shallowness and superficiality of the reigning intellectual culture. ... But to explain his status as "official establishment theologian" we must also attend to the lessons drawn from his exhortations. ... The inescapable "taint of sin on all historical achievements," the necessity to make "conscious choices of evil for the sake of good"—these are soothing doctrines for those preparing to "face the responsibilities of power," or in plain English, to set forth on a life of crime, to "play hardball" in their efforts to "maintain this position of disparity" between our overwhelming wealth and the poverty of others, in George Kennan's trenchant phrase as he urged in a secret document of 1948 that we put aside "idealistic slogans" and prepare "to deal in straight power concepts." Herein lies the secret of Niebuhr's enormous influence and success.
He persuaded me and many of my contemporaries that original sin provides a far stronger foundation for freedom and self-government than illusions about human perfectibility.
Niebuhr's analysis was grounded in the Christianity of Augustine and Calvin, but he had, nonetheless, a special affinity with secular circles.
His warnings against utopianism, messianism and perfectionism strike a chord today. We are beginning in this distraught decade to remember what we should never have forgotten: We cannot play the role of God to history, and we must strive as best we can to attain decency, clarity and proximate justice in an ambiguous world.
Niebuhr the man? He was high-spirited, great-hearted, devoid of pomposity and pretense, endlessly curious about ideas and personalities, vigorous in his enthusiasms and criticisms, filled with practical wisdom and, for all his robust ego, a man of endearing humility.
The right sin to commit and commit it."
Reinhold Niebuhr is a man of God, but a man of the world as well. Dr. Niebuhr would seem to be saying that if a nation would survive and remain free, its citizens must use religion as a source of self-criticism, not as a source of self-righteousness.
Niebuhr updated what the Lutheran tradition calls the elenctic use of the law: the function of God's law is first to show us that we are sinners. Luther had made this claim about the Ten Commandments and other laws. Niebuhr applied it to the Sermon on the Mount; the function of these teachings of Jesus is to show us that we need forgiveness.
This page was last edited on 18 January 2019, at 01:46. | 2019-04-23T22:35:38Z | https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer |
Q. How have you observed the present political situation?
A. It has been almost over a year since in my last interview with you I had said that the terai issue now would find it difficult to be resolved through constitutional amendment alone. I had also insisted that a new cycle of agitations would begin. I have been saying that the political process begun a decade ago in the name of constitution-drafting had defied the very fundaments of constitutionalism and the more we pursue this course the more this country will be enmeshed in a quagmire that will ultimately threaten its very existence. This I have been saying in your weekly since 2006 immediately after the so called ‘Jana-aandolan’. I am happy I am on record in your paper since you chose to interview me as an exception in a charged environment of exclusiveness bordering on persecution that prevails still in some sections of the ‘mainstream’ (read partisan) media and must thank you for that opportunity at that crucial moment in Nepali history when sane voices were deliberately drowned ostensibly in pursuance of a revolutionary new Nepal.
There are, as I see it, four possibilities. Firstly, The Congress, UML and the Maoists, together with the Terai parties will see the coming threats to their political monopoly and patch up their differences with compromises in the constitution amendment proposals, ram the election regulations through the legislature and the dates for elections to beat the deadline of February next year for the implementation of the new constitution promulgated last year. This may be logical but looks highly unlikely at the moment given the increasingly rigid and publicly contradictory standpoints of the tarai parties and the UML on the issue of the demarcation of the proposed federal states—unless, that is, our rulers are arm twisted to comply by our foreign overlords. Secondly, the version currently being toyed with, elections at any cost whether to the local or directly to the central level achievable through more amendments or through presidential decree. This will be designed to divert and stifle the growing public resentment and disenchantment and to field cadre to secure votes wooing the voter and prospective local workers through machinations of the use of their moneys, muscle and the media regardless what damage this will do to the state in its aftermath. The third option is to continue the various public postures and allow it to foment until the approaching deadline expires to make feasible yet another presidential decree as previously to extend the ‘transitional period’ and retain the monopoly of state in this manner as previously. You will notice that all the options mentioned do not preclude the eventuality of the streets being aroused which is the fourth option. Who will man the streets will determine the course of events. The country, as we all have experienced, is in a perennial agitation mode.
Q. Former King’s message on King Prithivi Narayan Shah’s birth anniversary indicates very gloomy picture of the nation. He has urged for unity among all the patriotic forces to fail foreign intervention. Do you also feel the same?
A. What has he said wrong? It is the widespread public concurrence on the state of affairs in the country as pointed out by a former head of state that has drowned the threats and insinuations which have emerged on part of the political establishment in response. The pointer at foreign intervention should itself shake the country towards a non-partisan national response. But our monopolists feel threatened that their stranglehold over the organized sector will be eroded and so their disparaging response.
The ‘foreign hand ‘in the agitation of 2006 is now all too public to be dismissed as political myth. Excessive foreign micro-management of Nepali affairs has reduced our political masters to subservient roles that are traded as charges and counter-charges by these competing monopolists themselves. Prithwi Narayan Shah’s ‘Yam between two boulders’ characterization of Nepal’s geo-political situation is being tested not merely by our political leaders but also by their political overlords who concluded for us that the feudal’s response to the expansion of colonialization in the vicinity was merely to expand his feudatory. In actual fact, our political response to globalization should have been to accommodate the chances that the numbers of boulders have increased complicating things further for the country.
Indeed, any sane assessment regarding Nepali capabilities should have been able to envisage the extent of foreign competition in Nepal in today’s strategically shrinking world. Moreover a united Nepali response to these perennial challenges should have been able to impress upon the neighborhood that competition in Nepal to the extent it is being goaded towards may impede and destroy Nepali peace and stability to the extent that it can threaten the very peace and stability of the region as a whole. I think I explained in one of your interviews that historical lessons must be drawn from how historically India and China retained their millennia-long dominance of the global economy without allowing competition to regress towards conflict.
At a ceremony marking National Unity Day, the organizers who had managed to lure a mainstream media crew approached me for a ‘byte’ for the crew to whom I acceded by asking them whether they could actually cover my response. Upon their assurance, I was filmed responding that the lay public should begin thinking as to why the long dead Prithwi Narayan Shah’s ‘ghost’ should haunt our current contractors so much as to deny widespread demands to remember him once a year when the reality is that we go to bed in Nepal and wake up in the country that he founded. Of course, the byte was never aired. But the public should be reminded of some things regarding the change a decade back. If what I heard is true, among the very first proposals for ‘new’ Nepal at a parliamentary committee meeting was one to change Nepal’s name altogether. I believe the proposal was struck off the record upon opposition by a patriotic legislator. Of course, what became more public was the discussion on change in the national flag, the very flag under which king Gyanendra called on all Nepalis to unite. But the thought that ideologies should be so interpreted as to render Nepali identity anathema to Nepali development should instill in us an understanding that the fundaments of what our politicians call modernism are certainly alarming. Imagine its effects on state when armies of cadre from their very juvenile stage are indoctrinated and fielded in the country with such faulty thinking. Our very identity as a nation at fault? What does the alternative mean?
Q. Even after such a miserable state of the nation, general public have remained silent. Why don’t they come to the streets to protest the leaders?
A. The answer to your question needs a bit of elaboration so please bear with me. You will recall that for over four decades now my published writings on Nepali politics have touched upon the faults of excessive emphasis on the much espoused theory that political parties manifest democracy. I was happy the other day to discover a Fukuyama lecture on You Tube on development and democracy where the author refrained from including elections but instead used the word accountability among his requirements for democracy. I came across a query the other day put by an author in a book who responded to one of my seminar papers blaming the state of Nepali affairs on the political parties with a statement tantamount to equating democracy with political parties. In these days when political scientists including Larry Diamond and even contemporary American columnists such as Fareed Zakaria have now begun conceding the existence of ‘illiberal‘ democracies, is it now possible to conceive of the existence of illiberal political parties? By now people like me have developed a thick skin regarding charges that I represent the regressive, reactionary element in the country. But to my knowledge, it is the right to organize politically that manifests the political party and not the political party that manifests democracy. Reservations regarding the conduct of the political party were voiced two centuries before king Mahendra of Nepal by none less than that icon of democracy George Washington of the United States of America in his public treaties upon leaving his office of the president of the United States of America. Recall that the American war of independence was prompted only after excessive partisan concerns of British parliamentarians denied the American colonials their demands: ‘no taxation without representation’. Also pertinent in that article would be Washington’s foresight regarding partisan manipulations of the world powers at time of his fledgling state. The British, Spain and the French all had powerful presence and interests in his continent.
As for Nepal, those of my age and much younger as well have been spelled out the ills of political parties in the country by none less than king Mahendra and the discarded Panchayat thought. Organized onslaught by organized political leaders against that Mahendra thought ultimately toppled the Panchayat system. One enduring tag that helped serve the defeat was the charge that the Panchayat merely manifested Mahendra’s limitless ambitions for power. Karl Deutsche among others, however, in defining the political man, concede top ambition to the politician in the pyramid of political man. Mahendra was merely a king . I am merely stating that our politicians base their political strength on organizations that derive their political legitimacy on the strength of their organizations and not on the state. How these organizations receive their legitimacy in the state is based on the democratic constitution of democracies which vary from state to state on the commonly accepted democratic right of the people to organize.
How our political organizations organize is key to the future of our country and its democracy. Had they paid due cognizance to Mahendra’s critique of the functioning of political parties in this country after some thirty years of subterranean machinations as banned political parties, they could have limited the current damage to the state and its democracy. They have, instead, very politically at that, chosen to take advantage of their victory over the ‘partyless’ panchayat by paying no heed to the fact that 1960 and the presence of three decades of partylessness was as much on account of national experience of a decade of post-1950 party politics.
The politics of organization since 1990 swept aside all reservations put forth by the partyless Panchayat and began a deliberate process of politicizing sectors whose independence from politics was vital for the health of the state. The charges of partisan sharing of professional positions that are only now being more frequently voiced was begun since then. The theory of independent administration under the rule of law was crushed from the very outset by tampering in the civil service and the security organs. Even the judiciary was not left sacrosanct as a result of which the current judicial appointments have invited even more controversy. If you recall, I resigned as executive chairman of the Gorkhapatra Corporation some two months after the reintroduction of the new dispensation with a statement that such organized political conduct would compromise professional management. It is not for nothing that most government sector organizations have collapsed or are close to collapse given the political dabbling. The fact is that professionalism has been so sacrificed to politics as to ensure that our monopolists have a say and that the people are dependent on their goodwill in every mundane matter from the provision of services to everything else. This all-pervasive presence among the public has actually served to antagonize the public further because of the poor performance that has been exposed all round. It is political for the monopolists to retain their monopoly by excluding the alternatives. But the end effect has been a seething public antagonism that can be suppressed no longer. When it bursts, it will. One can only hope that it will not contribute to the detriment of state.
Q. You have been predicting that the present system cannot function; therefore, the 1990 constitution has to be restored as soon as possible to rescue this country. Is it possible?
A. There is this AP news byte still locatable in You Tube which pictures a victorious crowd at Girija Koirala’s residence upon king Gyanendra acceding to the demands of the coalition that led the agitation in 2006. There is Sher Bahadur Deuba speaking to the press, a western member of the diplomatic community speaks. The byte ends at my place where I say that it is now upto the coalition to protect the constitution since the king failed in his attempt to do so and that he can only do what is in the constitution.
My first day as minister at office witnessed a host of journalists poking their microphones at me asking me how I felt. I drew considerable criticism for having said I was sad since the king had wished that there was an elected minister in my place as per the constitution.
I would ask your readers to review the events at that time and actually consider that it was by no means a takeover. It was, instead a ‘handover’ by the organizations in parliament whose internal and external squabbles tied the constitution into knots for the king to unravel at the request of an elected government. Indeed, time upon time the king is on record calling publicly for the parliamentary forces to provide a unified parliamentary option. One can perhaps go back in history to comprehend why prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who had failed to conduct elections for which he had dissolved parliament did not resign on his own but instead asked the king to extend his tenure as prime minister. There is this precedence in the Nepali Congress that charged Matrika Koirala for handing over democracy to the palace by resigning his office. But why did the parliament fail to arrive at a consensus given the disarray they put the constitution to? Nobody is asking this question. How would the monarch have distanced himself constitutionally from handpicking any individual for Deuba’s job. None less than Tanka Prasad Acharya, if memory serves me right was dismissed from office with the same charge of inability to conduct elections for which he was nominated. At that time, moreover, there was no parliament whether sitting or dissolved. I believe that the king incurred the wrath of not only homegrown democrats but also the international community for not handpicking a prime minister from parliament among whom there were, as everyone knows, several willing and ready claimants. Just as resignations have their utility in democracy, so does an-all party government at times of constitutional crisis. Instead, I would ask all to recollect, that the king’s repeated call for such was nothing less than publicly ridiculed. Surprisingly, such an all party government could be engineered in New Delhi and, later could also include the rebelling Maoists.
Of course, the king failed. He was made to fail by the very stakeholders of the constitution that he was being asked to protect. This is how I see it.
Ample grounds had been prepared for his failure as latter day disclosures verily assert. The king had merely insisted that the constitutional process would have to takeover through elections from the bottom levels upwards for which he had asked for a time bound period to which his government immediately set about. Why was he made to fail when a consensus could be achieved in New Delhi, that should be the key question? And we now suddenly discover that our politics has been outsourced and there is this foreign hand in every other development in the country?
So the king used his constitutional powers and reinstituted the duly dissolved parliament and, as per the presumed consensus in the dissolved parliament, appointed Girija Koirala as prime minister who swore by the constitution of 1990. Then began the series of violations of that constitution, not amendments but violations. By these actions, the political parties in parliament clearly stated that they were above the constitution, so whither constitutionalism?
Thence on, actions that have emerged in the name of constitution making have depended whole and solely on a degree of consensus and cooperation among and between our political parties the absence of which brought the 1990 constitution to a standstill in the very first place. I would deem this wishful thinking since this is not in keeping with the behavior of our leadership. Politics, as democracy, is behavioral. Impudence has and will be the norm unless constitutionalism is not restored to the country.
Perhaps more dangerous is the fact that, in the name of a modern constitution our impudent politicians are very calculatedly tampering with national structures. If, after 1990, these very politicians functioned to make partisan gains by systematically cannibalizing our painfully built economic structures, the process of dismantling the state has been furthered after the 2006 agitation by touching upon vital structures of state focusing on its identities. The process itself is suspect.
The 1990 constitution does not prevent the accommodation of preferential and progressive representation. It is the overly centralized political parties and their individual- centric leadership behavior that has been and will continue to be the impediment. There is no provision for the remedy of such political behavior in the new constitution nor in the interim one and so we may expect the impudence to continue even after the constitution that is currently under a state of crisis is supposedly put to active use.
As for how the 1990 constitution can be brought back, it is time that sane minds assert. I recall a tweet by a politician in a blog that carried my interview with you in 2006 where he asked whether this was a joke, what of the 17000 lives that the change cost? He asked. In actual fact, this is not going back constitutionally. It is proceeding with constitutional development from the point where it was abruptly impeded. When where we are heading is disaster it is wise to retreat.
Actually, our politicians should have done some homework on how the agenda for a constituent assembly emerged in Nepali politics and from whence, looked around and saw the actual consequences in the neighborhood on the basis of which politicians in the late 1950s agreed on an alternative which paved the peaceful way to a constitution and elections in 1959. The same took place in 1990. How unheard of agenda and unseen games are being played out once the constituent assembly idea was taken up again should itself jerk the country to a new awareness as to the mounting national threats. The idea is to restore in actuality the constitutional process. It would be wise for the political sector to admit the mistakes, forgive one another and revert to the 1990 constitution and make it accommodate national demands constitutionally thus. Or else, our politicians will continue to make impudent moves, blame their inadequacies on the constitution and proceed with the dismantling of the state structures until Nepal and the rest of the international community may find the state withering away.
Next Will constitution be amended? | 2019-04-22T16:38:26Z | http://peoplesreview.com.np/the-foreign-hand-in-the-agitation-of-2006-is-now-all-too-public/ |
Method and apparatus for re-routing a call in a packet network during failures is described. In one example, a failure condition is detected for a destination endpoint for the call. At least one alternative endpoint address is identified from an alternative routing plan registered with the packet network in response to the failure condition. For example, various alternative routing plans may be registered with the packet network and stored in a database. Each of the alternative routing plans may include alternative endpoint address data for a plurality of endpoint devices. The database may be queried using the destination endpoint as an index value and the at least one alternative endpoint address may be retrieved. The call is then routed to the at least one alternative endpoint address.
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to telecommunications systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for re-routing calls in a packet network during failures is described.
Generally, telecommunications systems provide the ability for two or more people or machines (e.g., computerized or other electronic devices) to communicate with each other. A telecommunications system may include various networks for facilitating communication that may be generally organized into packet networks and circuit-switched networks. Exemplary packet networks include internet protocol (IP) networks, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, frame-relay networks, and the like. An exemplary circuit-switched network includes a plain old telephone system (POTS), such as the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN).
Telephony service providers typically offer services to enterprises that access the services through nodal endpoints on the customer premises. Presently, when these nodal endpoints experience outages (i.e., when the nodal endpoints fail), calls to these endpoints are blocked. These calls are blocked regardless of the existence of alternative active endpoints for reaching the user of the failed device. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method and apparatus that re-routes calls in a packet network during failures.
Method and apparatus for re-routing a call in a packet network during failures is described. In one embodiment, a failure condition is detected for a destination endpoint for the call. At least one alternative endpoint address is identified from an alternative routing plan registered with the packet network in response to the failure condition. For example, various alternative routing plans may be registered with the packet network and stored in a database. Each of the alternative routing plans may include alternative endpoint address data for a plurality of endpoint devices. The database may be queried using the destination endpoint as an index value and the at least one alternative endpoint address may be retrieved. The call is then routed to the at least one alternative endpoint address.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a computer suitable for implementing the processes and methods described herein.
To better understand the present invention, FIG. 1 illustrates an example network, e.g., a packet network such as a voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) network related to the present invention. Exemplary packet networks include internet protocol (IP) networks, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, frame-relay networks, and the like. An IP network is broadly defined as a network that uses Internet Protocol to exchange data packets. Thus, a VoIP network or a SoIP (Service over Internet Protocol) network is considered an IP network.
Referring to FIG. 1, the customer endpoint devices can be either Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) based or IP based. TDM based customer endpoint devices 122, 123, 134, and 135 typically comprise of TDM phones or Private Branch Exchange (PBX). IP based customer endpoint devices 144 and l45 typically comprise IP phones or PBX. The Terminal Adaptors (TA) 132 and 133 are used to provide necessary interworking functions between TDM customer endpoint devices, such as analog phones, and packet based access network technologies, such as Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL) or Cable broadband access networks. TDM based customer endpoint devices access VoIP services by using either a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 120, 121 or a broadband access network via a TA 132 or 133. IP based customer endpoint devices access VoIP services by using a Local Area Network (LAN) 140 and 141 with a VoIP gateway or router 142 and 143, respectively.
The core VoIP infrastructure comprises of several key VoIP components, such the Border Element (BE) 112 and 113, the Call Control Element (CCE) 111, and VoIP related servers 114. The BE resides at the edge of the VoIP core infrastructure and interfaces with customers endpoints over various types of access networks. BEs may also be referred to as “edge components”. A BE is typically implemented as a Media Gateway and performs signaling, media control, security, and call admission control and related functions. The CCE resides within the VoIP infrastructure and is connected to the BEs using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) over the underlying IP/MPLS based core backbone network 110. The CCE is typically implemented as a Media Gateway Controller and performs network wide call control related functions as well as interacts with the appropriate VoIP service related servers when necessary. The CCE functions as a SIP back-to-back user agent and is a signaling endpoint for all call legs between all BEs and the CCE. The CCE may need to interact with various VoIP related servers in order to complete a call that require certain service specific features, e.g. translation of an E.164 voice network address into an IP address.
In order to illustrate how the different components operate to support a VoIP call, the following call scenario is used to illustrate how a VoIP call is setup between two customer endpoints. A customer using IP device 144 at location A places a call to another customer at location Z using TDM device 135. During the call setup, a setup signaling message is sent from IP device 144, through the LAN 140, the VoIP Gateway/Router 142, and the associated packet based access network, to BE 112. BE 112 will then send a setup signaling message, such as a SIP-INVITE message if SIP is used, to CCE 111. CCE 111 looks at the called party information and queries the necessary VoIP service related server 114 to obtain the information to complete this call. If BE 113 needs to be involved in completing the call; CCE 111 sends another call setup message, such as a SIP-INVITE message if SIP is used, to BE 113. Upon receiving the call setup message, BE 113 forwards the call setup message, via broadband network 131, to TA 133. TA 133 then identifies the appropriate TDM device 135 and rings that device. Once the call is accepted at location Z by the called party, a call acknowledgement signaling message, such as a SIP-ACK message if SIP is used, is sent in the reverse direction back to the CCE 111. After the CCE 111 receives the call acknowledgement message, it will then send a call acknowledgement signaling message, such as a SIP-ACK message if SIP is used, toward the calling party. In addition, the CCE 111 also provides the necessary information of the call to both BE 112 and BE 113 so that the call data exchange can proceed directly between BE 112 and BE 113. The call signaling path 150 and the call data path 151 are illustratively shown in FIG. 1. Note that the call signaling path and the call data path are different because once a call has been setup up between two endpoints, the CCE 111 does not need to be in the data path for actual direct data exchange.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary configuration of the communication system of FIG. 1 in accordance with the invention. In the present embodiment, an endpoint device 202 is in communication with the core network 110 through an access network 204 and a border element 206. Endpoint devices 216 and 218 are in communication with the core network 110 through an access network 214 and a border element 208. The originating endpoint devices 202 and the terminating endpoint devices 208 may comprise any of the customer endpoint devices described above (e.g., TDM devices, IP devices, etc.). The access networks 204 and 214 may comprise any of the access networks described above (e.g., PSTN, DSL/Cable, LAN, etc). In the present example, the endpoint device 202 attempts to establish a call to the endpoint device 216. Thus, the endpoint device 202 is referred to as the originating endpoint device, and the endpoint device 216 is referred to as the destination endpoint device.
For each call requested by the originating device 202, the call setup process described above is performed. In the present example, assume that the destination endpoint device 216 has failed (e.g., the destination endpoint device 216 has ceased to function, has lost power, or is otherwise unable to perform its intended function). The call setup message transmitted by the BE 208 towards the destination endpoint device 216 is not acknowledged due to the failure. As such, a failure condition is detected for the destination endpoint device 216. The failure condition may be detected by the BE 208, the CCE 111, or both (referred to as the “detecting network element”).
The destination endpoint device 216 may be unavailable for other reasons than a failure. For example, the destination endpoint device 216 may be unavailable to receive the call due to a busy condition or a no answer condition. However, the detecting network element is configured to determine whether the unavailability of the destination endpoint device 216 is due to a failure condition or a busy/no answer condition. For example, the destination endpoint device 216 may respond to the call setup message with a message indicative of the busy/no answer condition, which is received by the detecting network element. In contrast, if the destination endpoint device 216 has failed, no such busy/no answer message is received, which is indicative of a failure condition. In this manner, the detecting network element is configured to distinguish between a busy/no answer condition and a failure condition.
Having detected a failure condition for the destination endpoint device 216, the detecting network element informs an application server 210. The application server 210 is coupled to a database 212. The database 212 is configured to store various alternative routing plans for different endpoint devices. Each alternative routing plan may comprise alternative endpoint address data for each of a plurality of endpoint devices. For example, an enterprise may register an alternative routing plan with the network for its endpoint devices. The application server 210 queries the database 212 using the destination endpoint address as an index value to identify at least one alternative endpoint address for the endpoint device(s) 218 (“alternative endpoint device(s)”). The application server 210 then forwards the alternative endpoint address data to the detecting network element. The detecting network element then re-routes the call to one or more of the alternative endpoint device(s). In this manner, when the destination endpoint device 216 has failed, calls to the device are re-routed to alternative device(s) instead of being blocked.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a method 300 for routing a call in a packet network in accordance with one or more aspects of the invention. The method 300 begins at step 301. At step 302, a determination is made whether the destination endpoint for the call is unavailable. If not, the method 300 proceeds to step 312, where the normal call setup process is performed. The method then ends at step 399. Otherwise, the method 300 proceeds to step 304. At step 304, a determination is made whether the unavailability of the destination endpoint is due to an error condition. If not, the method 300 proceeds to step 314, where the normal process for handling a busy/no answer condition is performed (e.g., a busy signal is returned to the originating device in response to a busy condition, a no answer message is returned to the origination device in response to a no answer condition). The method 300 then ends at step 399. Otherwise, the method 300 proceeds to step 306.
At step 306, a failure condition for the destination endpoint is deemed to be detected. At step 308, at least one alternative endpoint address is identified from an alternative routing plan registered with the packet network in response to the failure condition. At step 310, the call is routed to the at least one alternative endpoint address. The method 300 then ends at step 399.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a computer 400 suitable for implementing the processes and methods described herein. The computer 400 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 401, a memory 403, various support circuits 404, and an I/O interface 402. The CPU 401 may be any type of microprocessor known in the art. The support circuits 404 for the CPU 401 include conventional cache, power supplies, clock circuits, data registers, I/O interfaces, and the like. The I/O interface 402 may be directly coupled to the memory 403 or coupled through the CPU 401. The I/O interface 402 may be coupled to various input devices 412 and output devices 411, such as a conventional keyboard, mouse, printer, display, and the like.
The memory 403 may store all or portions of one or more programs and/or data to implement the processes and methods described herein. Although one or more aspects of the invention are disclosed as being implemented as a computer executing a software program, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Such implementations may include a number of processors independently executing various programs and dedicated hardware, such as ASICs.
The computer 400 may be programmed with an operating system, which may be OS/2, Java Virtual Machine, Linux, Solaris, Unix, Windows, Windows95, Windows98, Windows NT, and Windows2000, WindowsME, and WindowsXP, among other known platforms. At least a portion of an operating system may be disposed in the memory 403. The memory 403 may include one or more of the following random access memory, read only memory, magneto-resistive read/write memory, optical read/write memory, cache memory, magnetic read/write memory, and the like, as well as signal-bearing media as described below.
An aspect of the invention is implemented as a program product for use with a computer system. Program(s) of the program product defines functions of embodiments and can be contained on a variety of signal-bearing media, which include, but are not limited to: (i) information permanently stored on non-writable storage media (e.g., read-only memory devices within a computer such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disks readable by a CD-ROM drive or a DVD drive); (ii) alterable information stored on writable storage media (e.g., floppy disks within a diskette drive or hard-disk drive or read/writable CD or read/writable DVD); or (iii) information conveyed to a computer by a communications medium, such as through a computer or telephone network, including wireless communications. The latter embodiment specifically includes information downloaded from the Internet and other networks. Such signal-bearing media, when carrying computer-readable instructions that direct functions of the invention, represent embodiments of the invention.
routing the call to the alternative endpoint address.
querying the database using the destination endpoint as an index value.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the failure condition is detected by a network element in the packet network.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the call is routed to the alternative endpoint address by a network element in the packet network.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet network comprises a voice-over-internet protocol network.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the detecting is performed by a network element in the packet network.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the routing is performed by a network element in the packet network.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the packet network comprises a voice-over-internet protocol network.
13. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the packet network comprises an internet protocol network.
14. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the packet network comprises a services-over-internet protocol network.
15. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the packet network comprises a voice-over-internet protocol network.
16. The tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the detecting, the identifying, and the routing are performed for each additional call.
EP Search Report Publication for EP 1705864 A1; published Sep. 27, 2006.
Examination Report for EP 06 111 719.8, Jul. 21, 2008, copy consists of 3 pages.
Examiner's Report for CA 2,540,629, Dec. 7, 2009, copy consists of 8 pages.
Zhu, X., et al., "IIN Model: Modifications and Case Study," Computer Networks, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam, NL, vol. 35, No. 5, Apr. 2001, pages. | 2019-04-22T07:15:16Z | https://patents.google.com/patent/US8355314B2/en |
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On May 2nd, 2017, the World Affairs Council of Connecticut partnered with the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition for the 20th annual celebration of Immigrant Day at the state’s capitol in Hartford, Connecticut.
Immigrant Day seeks to celebrate the trials, tribulations, and unparalleled societal and cultural contributions experienced and produced by the immigrant population of Connecticut. In such a tumultuous national and global landscape, it is imperative to highlight the immense contributions our immigrants provide as the backbone of our society.
In Connecticut, we are privileged to have immigrants from countries on all continents, be they Congolese, Polish, German, Latino, Jamaican, Albanian, Bosnian, or any other nationality!
We were fortunate enough to be joined by Rafael Perez-Escamilla, M.S., Ph.D., Doctor Honoris Causa, who delivered a brilliant and moving keynote address.
Mr. Perez-Escamilla was kind enough to impart a few steps to address the needs of immigrants and refugees in our communities. Please explore these ideas alongside the biographies of just a small handful of the amazing refugees we recognized for this event.
When Abdul traveled from Karachi, Pakistan to Queens, New York with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from NED University, he brought with him an ambition to succeed in this new country. After receiving an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the City College of New York, Abdul tackled the financial, economic, social, and physical challenges that every young entrepreneur must face. He maneuvered throughh eavy workloads by subcontracting to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) and offered high-quality services at an affordable cost.
Today, Al Engineers, Inc. stands as an ENR Top 500 Design Firm and services federal, state, and municipal clients from Massachusetts to Virginia. Having been a struggling professional himself, Abdul looks toward fresh college graduates and new generations of engineers to join his workforce. He has actively engaged himself with local urban communities to encourage personal success and provide opportunities to economically and socially disadvantaged individuals. His generous financial support has benefitted many charities in the Hartford area.
The Cuban Revolution of 1959 convinced Carmen’s family to leave Cuba in search of liberty and opportunity. Settling in Venezuela, Carmen attained a B.A. in Social Work, an M.A. in Social Research, and fluency in the English language. She fell in love, married, and gave birth to three children. However, changes in the Venezuelan government reminded Carmen about the Cuban regime she fled from, and she and her husband decided to emigrate for the sake of their children.
They settled in Connecticut, United States, and while waiting for her immigration paperwork to be processed, Carmen began volunteering at the International Institute of Connecticut. Once authorized to work, Carmen was immediately hired by the International Institute as an Immigration Caseworker and Counselor for Refugee Families and has served in that position for the past twelve years. Her personal experiences have fueled her passion to ensure no immigrant families are scammed or robbed by opportunists.
Doreen is known as someone who can do the impossible. She emigrated from Jamaica to the United States with a Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education from the University of the West Indies in the hopes of finding a steady job. After various substitute teacher assignments and endless interviews, Doreen decided to further her own education. She struggled on her daily commute to Central Connecticut State University because her car continually broke down and could barely function in hazardous winter conditions. However, Doreen’s perseverance earned her a B.S. in Elementary Education, an M.S. in Special Education, a Six-Year Professional Degree in Advanced Studies in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D) in Educational Leadership.
Doreen soon became the first certified teacher of the new Jumoke Academy in Hartford County’s Blue Hills community. Her ambition vaulted her to the position of principal of this new school, which funneled students from Hartford’s low-performing schools and needed massive academic improvement. Under Doreen’s leadership, Jumoke’s Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scores rivalled and surpassed those of wealthier school districts’ across the state. Today, Doreen is the principal of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School in Hartford, and continues to affect countless students with her dedication to improving education.
Born in Cuba in 1942, Magdalena was brought from her second home in Panama to the United States through a scholarship from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Shortly afterwards, Panama was taken over by General Omar Torrijos and many of Magdalena’s friends were imprisoned or exiled, prompting her to become engaged in human rights activism. She attained an M.S. in Child Development from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from the UCONN Law School.
She founded the Women’s Center, advocated for LGBT rights, and discussed issues with fellow immigrants that concerned women in their home countries. UCONN’s Vice Provost for Multicultural and International Affairs would grant the Pioneer Award to Magdalena in 2006. After graduating, she worked at New Haven Legal Assistance and the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch to affect the lives of countless people faced with low incomes, lack of documentation, and more. Magdalena would sharpen her writing skills by joining the Hartford Courant as a monthly opinion columnist. Her love of writing extends to numerous titles and accolades within the realms of short stories and poetry.
Born in 1928, Gisela was raised under an oppressive Nazi regime that restricted her family’s rights because of their Jewish heritage. Her family was separated through a series of transfers to different ghettos and camps across Poland and Germany, during which time her father was murdered and her mother disappeared. Gisela was living at the Kurzbach labor camp in January 1945 when the Allies breached Germany’s defences. She was taken on a death march and, after five days, was rescued by a Polish Christian man, who hid them and 42 other women until the Soviet army liberated them.
Gisela then married a Polish-Jewish soldier named Severyn Adamski and lived in Paris, where their child Eliane was born. They briefly moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, before settling in Queens, New York, in 1956. Gisela joined the local chapter of Holocaust Survivors, Inc. as a board member and worked at a Gauge Calibration Laboratory for 27 years, part of which was spent leading the factory following her boss’s death. At age 84, Gisela earned her high school degree in Hartford, Connecticut; at age 85, she survived cancer. Today, Gisela contributes to the world around her home in West Hartford by speaking about her struggles and the truths of what she faced so many years ago.
Below, please find a full transcript of Rafael Perez-Escamilla’s keynote address along with the biographies of all awardees.
Buenas tardes, good afternoon everyone. It is a huge honor to have been invited to provide these remarks at the 20th anniversary of the Connecticut Immigrant Day organized by the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, especially given the very challenging times our communities are facing in these days and times.
As the Colombian literature Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez once wrote “Human beings are not born forever the day their mothers delivered them, rather life forces them to give birth to themselves over and over again.” Although this is universally true, I would argue that this is especially true for us immigrants and my dear fellow refugees who have undergone unimaginable challenges within their countries and throughout their journeys to our beautiful state of Connecticut.
journey that will almost certainly will expose them to major dangers during the journey and also upon arrival to the U.S. will most likely throw the kids into a nightmarish court system designed for dealing with adults (and which by the way is totally neglectful of the fact that the U.N. human rights charter calls for not taking any actions the supersede the best interests for a child)? In response to that “blame the victim” perspective I often tell people “I think you are not framing the question the right way as you are implying that somehow the parents are neglectful and at fault”. I believe in this instance the right question is “What led to the conditions that forced a family to make such an excruciating decision?” And when we think about it that way, we then start realizing that it is the massive social injustice that exists in our world and the forces behind them that are in fact responsible for unimaginable decisions, such as this one, that have to be made by millions of families as we speak all over the world. As the World Health Organization declared “Social injustice is [indeed] responsible for the deaths of people on a massive scale.” So what can we do to address the needs of immigrants and refugees?
economic development of the host countries. If we can’t imagine our country without Ellie Wiezel (Romanian-born holocaust survivor), Steve Jobs (biological father Abdulfattah Jnadali from Holms, Syria), Elias Zerhouni (former Director of the NIH- born in Algeria), Gloria Estefan, Isabel Allende, Sanjay Gupta, the top baseball and basketball leagues in the world, the top universities in the world, and the U.S winning Nobel Prizes right and left every year (in 2016 the U.S. had 6 Nobel Prize winners, all of them immigrants) then we shouldn’t imagine having a country that disrespects and undervalues immigrants and their descendants. Fourth, us immigrants and refugees should acknowledge the major accommodations that our host countries have made to be able for us to be here seeking a better life. We are indeed very lucky to be living in a very progressive and welcoming state where our Governor and Congress representatives in Washington D.C. have never doubted their welcoming stance toward all of us.
I want to conclude my remarks by thanking once again the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition for this incredible honor. I also want to extend my warmest congratulations and kindest regards to each and all the immigrants and refugees in this room today and their families and especially to all of you that are being recognized today for your major contributions to our beautiful state. Finally my profound thanks to the University of Connecticut, where I worked from 1994 until 2009, and the Yale School of Public Health where I have been since 2009 for welcoming and taking a chance with this immigrant from Mexico whom I hope has not disappointed you. Thank you all very much, indeed!
When he traveled from Karachi, Pakistan to Queens, New York with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from NED University, Abul brought along an ambition to succeed in this new country. After receiving an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the City College of New York, Abul tackled the financial, economic, social, and physical challenges that every young entrepreneur must face. He maneuvered through heavy workloads by subcontracting to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) and offered high quality services at an affordable cost.
Today, AI Engineers, Inc. stands as an ENR Top 500 Design Firm and services federal, state, and municipal clients from Massachusetts to Virginia. Having been a struggling professional himself, Abul looks toward fresh college graduates and new generations of engineers to join his workforce. He has actively engaged himself with local urban communities to encourage personal success and provide opportunities to economically and socially disadvantaged individuals. His generous financial support has benefitted many charities in the Hartford area.
Aida earned a B.S. Joint Honors in Physiology and Biochemistry at King’s College in London before marrying and moving out of the United Kingdom. While in the United States, she earned an M.S. in Community Health at the California College of Health Sciences and settled in Connecticut when her husband started an internship at the UCONN Health Center in Farmington. Since then, Aida has been working to bridge the cultural divide between the United States’ Muslim community and fellow Americans.
Her presentations on understanding Muslims and her community work towards solving domestic issues has earned her various accolades, including the Human Relations Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Public Service Award from the Permanent Commission on the Status of Hartford Women, and the Celie J. Terry Prize, a Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy, and an M.A. in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations from the Hartford Seminary. Her “Muslims Against Hunger” team in Foodshare’s Annual Walk has raised over $25,000 in past years. Aida held the position of President of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut between 2011 and 2016.
Between the ages of 9 and 17, Alisa lived in Germany as a refugee from the civil war in her home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The carnage left little of her family’s old life intact, so they moved to the United States in 2000 with the help of Catholic Charities. She earned a B.A. from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford and an M.S. in Communications from Central Connecticut State University.
Alisa worked in the field of marketing and communications for ten years, eventually leading her to her current job as Manager of Marketing and Public Information Officer of Bradley International Airport. Alongside her professional accomplishments, Alisa volunteered at community organizations such as the MetroHartford Alliance and its Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs (HYPE) program, the Bushnell Park Foundation and its Summer Solstice Event Planning Committee, and the YWCA Hartford Region and its “In the Company of Women” Luncheon Planning Committee.
Following the end of British rule in India in 1950, Anwar moved to East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh, where he received his B.A. in Architecture from a local university and worked for world-renowned architect Louis Kahn. In a search of higher learning, Anwar traveled to the United States, where he earned an M.A. in Architecture from Syracuse University in New York. Anwar’s plan to return to his home country was prevented by the war for East Pakistan’s independence. Stuck in the U.S., he eventually made his way to Hartford, where he met and married his wife, Diana.
The biggest challenge for Anwar was the internal struggle between his obligation to help Bangladesh recover from the war and his hopes for his future in the United States. After choosing the latter, Anwar was blessed with two sons and two grandchildren and has worked on over 5000 projects over the course of his life in the U.S. His greatest contributions to society include four nationally-recognized schools, his dedication towards community organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the East Hartford Rotary Club, and Catholic Charities, and his establishment of Muslim houses of worship and cemeteries that Connecticut was lacking.
In 2005, Hung brought his family from Vietnam despite having little to no English speaking experience. A year later, he’d polished his language skills enough to land a factory job. The Chungs have since faced a variety of personal challenges, including Hung’s wife falling ill and a lack of free time to care for the family’s younger members. However, Hung pulled his family through these trials and now dedicates much of his time to volunteering at the Connecticut Coalition of Mutual Assistance Associations (CCMAA), where he provides transportation for the elderly and assists new Vietnamese immigrants with settling in the United States. Hung still seeks to advance both professionally and within his community.
The day before her eighth birthday, Maria and her family were exiled from their home in Poland by the Soviet military and sent to Siberia. Following the USSR’s entry into World War II’s Allied Forces, the Polish exiles were granted amnesty and traveled to Iran. There, an eleven-year-old Maria took the lifelong oath to become a Polish Scout. Maria and her family migrated to Kenya and England before finally settling in Hartford, Connecticut in 1953, where she reunited with her lost brother and sister.
Maria co-founded the Polish Scouting Organization in Hartford four years later and spent over fifty years organizing events, spreading culture and awareness, and mentoring Polish youth. She was invited to an audience with Pope John II and an interview for the PBS film “Sharing Stories: Polish Life in Our Valley” over the course of her lifetime. Additionally, Maria has contributed her talent and wisdom time and again to local organizations.
Nana is both a role model and mentor to young women, especially in the African American community, who are interested in pursuing medical careers to and beyond the graduate school level. Considering nursing her calling more than just a career, Nana moved from Ghana in 1996 to search for greener pastures in the United States. With an M.B.A. and an M.D. from Quinnipiac University, she serves at Yale-New Haven Hospital as an Assistant Patient Services Manager and at the Yale School of Nursing and Sacred Heart University as an Adjunct Clinical Professor.
Nana’s mentorship role extends to her local parish, where she educates other nurses in standard operating procedures during crises situations. Fellow parishioners learn from Nana about health awareness programs ranging from childhood to full maturity. As a nurse, Nana has been considered very highly by her patients, who describe her as gentle and calm. As a role model, Nana seeks to encourage African-Americans to pursue higher education qualifications for their careers.
Nino received her M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tbilisi Technical University in her home city of Tbilisi, Georgia, before coming to the United States as an international student. Shortly before receiving her green card, Nino joined Catholic Charities in 2005 as a job developer in the refugee resettlement program, eventually becoming a caseworker. She also began studying at the University of Hartford and earned an M.B.A. in 2009.
Nino went through many training sessions where she learned about how to handle finances, manage stress, and encourage people to pursue GED’s or higher education. Since 2013, Nino has been working as a Primary Case Manager in the Empower People for Success Program of the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies, where she assists struggling families with financial burdens and employment hurdles. Nino’s has a strong will to help the community around her through her job and donations to the Salvation Army and Goodwill.
Rafael currently works on the global stage to combat issues relating to public nutritional needs and maternal-child health. He entered the United States in September 1983 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Ibero-American University in Mexico City and proceeded to obtain an M.S. in Food Science, a PhD in Nutrition, and a post-doctoral degree in Early Childhood Development from the University of California at Davis. Both the University of Connecticut’s Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Yale School of Public Health have enjoyed Rafael in various professorial positions.
While living in Connecticut, Rafael tackled major issues affecting local low-income communities primarily through the Connecticut Hispanic Family Nutrition SNAP-ED Program and the Connecticut NIH Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos, both of which he co-founded. Today, Rafael is a world-renowned leader in health sciences, having advised organizations that include the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He has attended myriad conferences across the world on the topics of maternal-child health and public nutrition. In addition, Rafael and his wife Sofia have been busy raising two sons.
At age seven, Rhona emigrated from Scotland to the United States. A first-generation college student, she would earn a B.A. in Economics from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana. Rhona taught Economics at Eastern Connecticut State University for 25 years before moving to administrative roles such as Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Provost.
In these positions, Rhona worked to make college affordable for students of difficult socioeconomic backgrounds and to combat challenges preventing Hispanic, African-American, and female graduates from attaining well-earning jobs after undergraduate school. Today, Rhona holds the position of President of the University of Saint Joseph, where she has implemented four-year housing scholarships for Hartford Promise recipients, extended merit aid to foreign students, and offered free tuition, room, and board to Tanzanian priests. She maintains a presence among organizations such as the Connecticut Commission for Women, Children, and Seniors and the Northwest Chamber of Commerce.
Stanwyck celebrates his Guyanese heritage through his artwork. Having earned a B.A. in Applied Arts from Charter Oak State College in New Britain, Connecticut, and an M.F.A. in Painting from the University of Hartford, Stanwyck has served as an Artist-in-Residence and a Visiting Artist at myriad schools across Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. He has been leading Solo Exhibitions of his art since 2012, and his collections have traveled from as close as Hartford to as far as Wisconsin. Stanwyck belongs to art organizations such as the National Conference of Artists, the Black Dimensions in Art, the Caribbean Society of Visual Artists, and the B.G. Art Group. His artwork was featured on Proclamation Day by Hartford Mayor Mike Peters in 2000 and again by Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2005. | 2019-04-23T19:55:08Z | https://ctwac.com/2017/05/04/2017-annual-immigrant-day/ |
China is the world’s biggest market for electric cars. As the Chinese government continues to push for more EVS, its influence on the global vehicle market can’t be overstated. And yet, we as Americans have very little understanding of how the Chinese EV market works.
To help fill in the big missing gaps, I spoke last week with Feng An, executive director of the Innovation Center for Energy and Transportation. The think tank, based in Los Angeles and Beijing, was founded by An more than a dozen years ago. Prior to forming ICET, he worked as a physicist for Argonne National Lab. An earned a Ph.D. in applied physics from the University of Michigan in 1992. Here are a few of the insights he shared.
China sold about 1.25 million electric vehicles last year. There’s a lottery system to significantly restrict sales of internal-combustion vehicles in China, but EVs can be readily purchased by Chinese buyers.
Don’t expect to see a lot of LEAFs, BMW i3s, and Teslas buzzing around the streets of major Chinese cities. An explained that the vast majority of historic Chinese EV sales were low-quality, low-speed EVs produced by small, unknown, indigenous Chinese automakers in second- or third-tier cities. “Most of them have been micro-EVs,” An said. (He later clarified that by the end of 2018, the share EVs represented by microcars had dropped to about 37 percent.) Between one-third to two-thirds of the cost of those subcompact EVs are covered by the government.
But things are about to change. For China to meet its upcoming EV goals, foreign brands will need to start selling EVs in the country. An said the target in actual sales numbers (not the oft-quoted system of credits) is about five percent by 2020. “China has to open the door to the multinationals,” said An.
An said that there are currently approximately 400 EV start-ups operating in China. The majority of those companies are small shops, assemblers, and firms making commercial electric vehicles. But because it’s incredibly easy for EV start-ups to get major government support, there’s a mad rush to try to compete against the big domestics and the foreign automakers about to enter the Chinese market.
The gold rush is on. “Every city hopes to create jobs. There are 40 new EV makers in the last year or so, and each one can get a billion dollars,” said An. “That’s even if the companies and the funders don’t believe they will be successful in the long run.” He explained that most of the start-ups want to quickly flip the companies to a new investor – before China’s economy slows down.
An believes that the result is a huge overcapacity of EV manufacturing. “Ninety percent of those companies will go bankrupt in the next five years or so, if not sooner,” he told me.
So when you hear about Chinese Internet entrepreneurs and venture capitalists starting EV companies, realize that the money really comes from the Chinese government. “If you trace the venture money, it all comes from the government side,” said An. He explained that many regional governments raise money by selling land. The proceeds are invested in emerging technologies like EVs, but there is almost no concern for getting a return on investment.
The 400 or so current EV companies will get winnowed down to perhaps a dozen in the next few years, according to An.
“From a pure economic sense, it seems like a waste of money,” he said. “But you have to invest that money somewhere. So you train a new generation of engineers.” An said that many Chinese EV companies might die, but their engineers will move on.
The cost will eventually come down so far that EVs could become cheap commodities like solar panels are today. “If you look at the future, 10 or 20 years, making an EV will offer a very low margin. Nobody will make money by making EVs. You’ll make money by providing mobility services.” He’s referring to services like ride-hailing, car-sharing, and delivery.
The combined trends of readily available capital and the shift to mobility services helps explain a Chinese EV company like Nio, which contracts out manufacturing, places more importance on the user experience than the car itself. Nio is focused almost exclusively on the Chinese market.
None of this threatens the American or European car markets. Instead, Chinese domestic automakers should be worried about competition from the likes of BMW, Ford, and GM.
“If you are a consumer in Beijing or Shanghai, and you have the choice to buy a car made by Beijing Automobile Works or JAC Motors compared to Ford, Volkswagen or Tesla, which one are you going to buy?” An said that well before Chinese automakers can consider selling cars in the United States, they have to become competitive in China. “They first have to survive in their home turf,” he said.
43 Comments on "The Reality About Chinese Electric Cars Could Surprise You"
Why is that man lifting a heavy battery all the way off the ground? That’s gotta hurt after a while – and somebody else put them down there!. Somebody spend $20 on a cart!
Because he’s in China, and nobody is going to spend $20 “just” to save a Chinese workers back, sadly. Instead they will just hire a new worker once he’s worn down.
Exactly. People are a commodity in China. They are viewed as an item to be used, discarded and replaced when worn out.
That is a very good description of what US manufactures did when they burned through US employees. Then in the 80’s gutted and raided their employee’s retirement and health funds after they discarded those employees when they had worn them out, and replaced them with Chinese workers.
It is almost like we’ve forgotten who it was who closed US plants, kicked out workers, and opened new plants in China, and pretend that was something the Chinese did all by themselves without US company executives and hedge funds having anything to do with it.
I’d be worried about the manufacturers and the manufacturing.
China has tariffs + domestic-only subsidies + mandates, which is forcing foreign manufacturers to build in China. China knows it’s the biggest market, so manufacturers feel they need to be there. And if manufacturers are there, they’re going to want to export from there.
They’ve already tested the waters with some models.
If you look at the global vehicle market, outside of temporary situations or low-volume models, very few cars actually get shipped across continents. The cost of shipping a car is just too large to make it worthwhile. China won’t change that. The Chinese EV companies *will* try to expand internationally at some point (once they have become competitive in the home market, as the article points out) — but with most of the production facilities located near the target markets, not back in China.
That however leave India, South America and Africa wide open for cars that are a lot cheaper than the North American or European models.
India has it’s own manufacturers, and even cheaper labor than China. Tata, Maruti, Chinkara, Mahindra and others.
And several articles point to those buses from BYD getting a very poor reputation for quality or longevity.
Is the strong Chinese government support of their domestic auto makers really helping China to take a lead? Or is it just artificially propping up an industry with hopelessly poor production and safety standards, and by doing so, ensuring that Chinese cars will never be able to compete on the world market?
Well, “never” is a long time. But if BYDs electric buses are an example, then it may be much longer than we think before Chinese auto makers ever sell any EVs in quantity in any first-world country.
You are obviously talking about the “Made in America” BYD buses. Yes, these buses are crap.
BYD does not make buses in the US. It just assembles them from parts shipped from China. Assessing the tone of your comment, I am 99% sure you are one of those brainwashed communist youths from China. All other commentators should read the book written by Australian academic Clive Hamilton “Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia” to understand my point.
Your comment is 100% wrong, and I can only assume you are a member of China’s underpaid “50 cent army” of contractors paid to post pro-Chinese propaganda to social media.
My sympathy for your, at best, subsistence-level wages.
Well, taking the lead is actually unlikely for *any* country — the logistics of car production just do not support that. But they could very well be among the major players in the future.
He didn’t say the established car makers are safe — he said they are safe *for now*.
The US has a law called The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that makes it illegal for US companies and their employees to bribe foreign officials in exchange for getting a purchase order or contract. China has no such law or restriction against bribery that applies to their domestic companies. Human nature and greed make bribes and “lavish gifts” an effective means to secure contracts and purchase orders from government officials in less developed countries over competitors who are hamstrung by laws like The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
I agree. If Chinese companies like BYD are able to sell 250 mile EVs profitably and quickly ramp production into the millions they could potentially flood global markets in 3-4 years time. If European and US companies aren’t ready they could be in trouble. I personally think that most of them will make it (just) but a few will collapse. 2025 could be the year of reckoning.
Look up EV sales blog under “China” and you’ll see Emc2 is right.
Can you point to an authoritative source to support your claim that low-speed EVs are not eligible for subsidies?
Everything I’ve read about the Chinese market for EVs says that there isn’t any bright line between what we here in the U.S. call “NEVs” (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles), which are low-speed EVs with limited range, vs. highway-capable EVs. In China, there is an unbroken spectrum from very limited speeds, through intermediary speeds of perhaps 50 MPH, all the way up to full freeway speeds.
In China, they are all labeled what they call “NEVs”… which there, confusingly, means “New Energy Vehicles”.
Also, you may be ignoring the fact that in China, there may be substantial goverment support (and/or protectionist regulations) at the Prefecture or municipal level. Not all subsidies for local industry come from the central Chinese government, and the way Prefectures support local industries heavily favors the small pop-up auto makers described in this article. The central Chinese government keeps trying to suppress them, to give potentially larger auto makers a better nationwide market, but apparently to little effect.
However, low-speed small electric cars are not recognized by the central government as new-energy vehicles because of safety and environmental concerns. Industry experts have varied opinions on the safety and pollution aspects of such vehicles, which are mostly powered by lead-acid batteries.
This is quite clearly talking about government support at the Prefecture and/or municipal level… which is precisely where the problem lies. The central Chinese government would like to see an end to all these pop-up, fly-by-night regional or local auto makers, because they are suppressing the market for larger, nationwide auto manufacturers which might be able to compete on the international market.
Unfortunately, the Prefecture/ municipal governments, a holdover from the days of Imperial China, are entrenched in Chinese culture, and have proven very resistant to change.
I wonder where you got that idea. Every single article I have seen about the Chinese LSEV market makes it very clear that they are a totally different category. Beside the low price, they are popular because of much lower legal requirements in terms of registration etc. — they don’t even need a driver’s license!
Odd that I have read many articles on the subject of the EV market in China without any one of them mentioning that small, low-speed EVs are treated quite differently by the Chinese government.
Until very recently LSEV’s were not recognized at all as vehicles and in fact illegal to use on the public road in most places in China. This didn’t stop Chinese citizens, mostly in rural areas, to purchase and use them. Somewhere in 2018 (october, november?, I can’t find the official communication) new legislation was applied to LSEV’s, giving them some legal status and demanding certain technical standards.
The LSEV legislation is actually linked to China’s EV-quota for regular cars. Most LSEV’s used lead-acid batteries, while EV’s used LiFePo batteries. The Chinese government aims for a leading position in battery technology and shaped the quota regulations in such a way, that EV-manufacturers are forced/pushed to adopt state-of-the-art NCM batteries. This frees up the LiFePo-supply (still a very significant portion of Chinese battery production) for LSEV’s.
The only one confused is you. Should we give you another lesson that you once again will ignore because of…ignorance? Tesla fanboi-ism? Sinophobia? Gold fish memory (which is not fair to the gold fish, studies has shown that they easily can remember labyrinths 6 months after they first learned them)?
Thank you for sharing. Do you really think we can apply to the production of electric vehicles what happened to the production of gasoline vehicles? Would not it be interesting to imagine something different?
He’s probably just behind the times on the LSEV/NEV ratio. Bloomberg’s chart shows LSEVs were 80% of the plug-in car market in 2016 vs. @55% last year (see EMC2’s link above).
@Assaf – I will bring your points to Feng An. I think there’s a lot of value in presenting the observations of an expert like An, who has spent the last dozen years studying this issue. He has a deep understanding and a perspective that I had not previously heard. He’s reasonable as well. So let’s see what he says about the discrepancy between his numbers and ev-sales. Stay tuned. Thanks.
I did say more than 90% EVs sales in China so far are Chinese brands, and among them, more than 50% are Micro EVs (55% based on 2017 figures, class A00). Microcars do have 4 seats. However, by the end of 2018, Micro car share dropped to about 37%. It’s a rapidly changing landscape.
I think you mean they are not allowed to travel on highways. Surely they are allowed on city streets?
About 200 thousand low-speed small electric cars were sold in 2013, and 750 thousand units in 2015. LSEV sales in 2016 were estimated at 1.2 million, while highway capable plug-in passenger cars were over 300 thousand. As of December 2016, the stock low-speed small electric car was estimated to be between 3 million and 4 million units. However the sales ratio between LSEVs and passenger NEVs began to decrease beginning in 2015. In 2014, LSEVs sales were 15 times more than normal plug-in passenger cars, but the ratio declined to about four times in 2016, and fell to 2.5 times in 2018, when about 1.1 million normal passenger electric vehicles [sic], compared to 1.4 million low-speed vehicles.
Regardless of the current and future state of Chinese EV manufacturing capability – I’m glad the interviewee is reflecting on the positive side of “failure”. Ultimately, the best EV solutions have to stand on their own, without subsidies; and those companies that find the break-through solutions will pull away from those that don’t. The best path towards EV excellence is a competition of many players where they all have an opportunity – but not a guarantee – to pull ahead. I am not against subsidies during the development stage, but the need to answer to a a competitive market drives the best solutions ahead.
Yes, I believe the phrase “creative destruction” applies.
The 1,25 million EVs sold last year in China is NOT part of this article. Those are the serious cars with quality from the established manufacturers that are called NEVs (New Energy Vehicles).
Plenty of upstarts that will go bust for the NEVs too, but those are more aiming for the international market with western engineers, names and quality.
I think some of the Chinese EV markers should have entered an overall tiny market like Norway (given crash tests are OK), and used that as a testing ground for further expansion.
Given the market for EVs.. and many EV owners in cities may care less about which brand is on the hood – as long as it does the job.
Right now I’m in Shanghai, and I can confirm there is nearly no Chinese car on the road. I ask some people why, and they told me because they are sh*t. Only Shenzhen has a lot of BYD, because of the taxis. They won’t try to conquer foreign market before they can have an acceptable part of the local market. | 2019-04-22T07:18:22Z | https://insideevs.com/reality-chinese-electric-cars-surprise/ |
The 1998 NBA draft was one that was full of stars and busts. There were a handful of legendary selections as well as plenty of players who failed to reach their potential. There were five players to make all-star appearances and at least two players who look like locks for the hall of fame.
The draft consisted of 58 players being taken over two rounds with 56 of those selections appearing in the NBA. The player drafted the lowest to play was Maceo Baston who was the last overall pick by the Chicago Bulls. He lasted four seasons and averaged 2.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 105 games.
Here is a look at how the draft would have gone if it were done today.
Skinner was the was the 22nd overall pick by the Los Angles Clippers. He played 14 seasons for the Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies. His best year came with the Bucks in 2003-04 when he averaged 10.5 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the floor. He added 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 28.2 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 4.7 points on 49.4 percent shooting with 4.7 rebounds in 608 games.
Garrity was the 19th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded twice before he landed with the Phoenix Suns. He played 10 seasons for the Suns and the Orlando Magic. His best season came with the Magic in 2001-02 when he averaged 11.1 points on 42.6 prcent shooting from the floor, including 42.7 percent from 3-point land. He added 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 30.1 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 7.3 points on 41.7 percent shooting with 2.6 rebounds in 552 games.
Clark was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Orlando Magic and traded to the Denver Nuggets before he played a game. He played six years for the Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz. His best season came with the Raptors in 2001-02 when he averaged 11.3 points on 49 percent shooting from the floor. He added 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists in 27 minutes a contest.
For his career, he averaged 8.2 points, on 50 percent shooting with 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 353 games.
Buckner was the 24th pick of the second round (53rd overall), by the Dallas Mavericks. He played 10 seasons for the Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies. One of his best seasons came with the Nuggets in 2004-05 when he averaged 6.2 points on 52.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 40.5 percent from 3-point range. He added 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 21.7 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 5.0 points on 45 percent shooting with 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 570 games.
Although he didn’t get drafted, Carter earned a roster spot with the Miami Heat in 1999. He played 12 seasons for the Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks and the Toronto Raptors. His best season came with the Nuggets in 2007-08 when he averaged 7.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting from the floor. He added 5.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 28 minutes a game.
For his career, he averaged 4.8 points on 40.4 percent shooting with 3.8 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 623 games.
Mohammed was drafted with the last pick in the first round by the Utah Jazz and then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He has played 18 seasons for the 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls. One of his best seasons came with the Atlanta Hawks in 2001-02 when he averaged 9.7 points on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor. He added 7.9 rebounds in 26.4 minutes a night.
to this point in his career, he has averaged 5.8 points on 48.6 percent shooting with 4.7 rebounds in 1,005 games.
Lue was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 23rd overall pick and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the package for Nick Van Exel. Lue played 11 seasons for the Lakers, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. One of his best years came in 2004-05 when he averaged 11.2 points on 45.1 percent shooting from the floor. He added 4.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 28.7 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 8.5 points on 43.7 percent shooting with 3.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 554 games.
Boykins wasn’t drafted, but signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets in early 1999. He played 13 seasons for the Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets. One of his best seasons came in 2006-07 when he averaged 14.6 points on 42 percent shooting from the floor, including 39.7 percent from 3-point range. He added 4.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 30.8 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 8.9 points on 41.7 percent shooting with 3.2 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 652 games.
James went undrafted out of college, but managed to earn a roster spot the Miami Heat in 2001. He played 12 seasons for the Heat, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and the Dallas Mavericks. His best season came with the Raptors in 2005-06 when he averaged 20.3 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including 44.2 percent from beyond the arc. He added 5.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 37 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 9.9 points on 41.7 percent shooting with 3.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 595 games.
Nesterovic was the 17th overall selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played 12 seasons for the Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. His best season came in Minnesota in 2002-03 when he averaged 11.2 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the floor. He added 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in 30.4 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 6.8 points on 50.2 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 assists in 811 games.
Olowokandi was the first overall choice by the Los Angles Clippers. He played nine seasons for the Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Boston Celtics. His best year came with Los Angeles in 2001-02 when he averaged 11.1 points on 43.3 percent shooting from the floor. He added 8.9 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 assists in 32.1 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 8.3 points on 43.5 percent shooting with 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 500 games.
Dickerson was the 14th overall pick by the Houston Rockets. He played five seasons for the Rockets and the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies before he retired. His best year came with the Grizzlies in 1999-2000 when he averaged 18.2 points on 43.6 percent shooting from the floor, including 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. He added 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 37.8 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 15.4 points on 43.2 percent shooting with 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 212 games.
Alston was the 10th pick in the second round (39th overall), by the Milwaukee Bucks. He played 11 seasons for the Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and the New Jersey Nets. One of his most productive seasons came with the Raptors in 2004-05 when he averaged 14.2 points on 41.4 percent shooting from the floor, including 35.7 percent from 3-point land. He added 6.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34 minutes a night.
For his career, he averaged 10.1 points on 38.3 percent shooting with 4.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 671 games.
Davis was the 21st overall selection by the Charlotte Hornets. He played 12 seasons for the Hornets, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Los Angeles Clippers. One of his best seasons came with the Cavaliers in 2002-03 when he averaged a career-high 20.6 points on 41 percent shooting from the floor, including 36.3 percent from beyond the arc. He added 5.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 39.6 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 13.5 points on 44.6 percent shooting with 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 736 games.
Harpring landed with the Orlando Magic with the 15th overall pick. He played 11 seasons with the Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz. His best season came with the Jazz in 2002-03 when he averaged a career-high 17.6 points on 51.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 41.3 percet from 3-point land. He added 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 32.8 minutes a night.
For his career, he averaged 11.5 points on 48.1 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 665 games.
Patterson was the second pick of the second round (31st overall) by the Los Angeles Lakers. He played 10 seasons for the Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. His best season came with the Bucks in 2006-07 when he averaged a career-high 14.7 points on 54.8 percent shooting from the floor. He added 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 31 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 10.7 points on 51.7 percent shooting with 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 649 games.
Wells was the taken with the 11th overall choice by the Detroit Pistons and traded to the Portland Trail Blazers before he ever played a game. He played 10 seasons for the Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Hornets. One of best season came in Portland in 2001-02 when he averaged 17 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the floor. He added 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.7 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 12.1 points on 46 percent shooting with 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 591 games.
Harrington was selected with the 25th overall pick by the Indiana Pacers. He played 16 seasons for the Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. One of his best seasons came with the Hawks in 2005-06, when he averaged 18.6 points on 45.2 percent from the floor. He added 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 36.6 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 13.5 points on 44.4 percent with 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 981 games.
Hughes was taken with the eighth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played 13 seasons for the 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets and the Orlando Magic. He was at his peak while playing in Washington where he made a big impact on both ends of the floor. His best year came in 2004-05 when he averaged 22 points on 43 percent shooting from the floor. He added 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals in 38.7 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 14.1 points on 40.6 percent shooting with 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 727 games.
Even though he didn’t live up to the hype created after being a two-time First-Team All-American at Kansas, LaFrentz still had a solid NBA career.
He was taken with the third overall pick by the Denver Nuggets and played 11 years with the Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Trail Blazers. ONe of his best seasons came with Denver in 2000-01 when he averaged 12.9 points on 47.7 percent shooting from the floor. He added 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 assists in 31.5 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 10.1 points on 46.6 percent with 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists in 563 games.
While he never put up huge numbers, Williams was one of the most flashy and exciting point guards ever play in the NBA. He had a great handle and the ability to make even the most difficult pass look routine.
He was the seventh overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. He played 12 seasons for the Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. One of his most productive seasons came with Memphis in 2001-02 when he averaged 14.8 points, 8.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 34.4 minutes a night.
For his career, he averaged 10.5 points on 39.8 percent shooting with 5.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 788 games.
Mobley was one of the steals of the draft when he was taken with the 12th pick of the second round (41st overall) by the Houston Rockets. He was a go-to scorer who played 11 years for the Rockets, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and the Los Angles Clippers. He was at the top of his game with in Houston where he and Steve Francis formed one of the elite scoring back courts in the game. One of his best seasons came in 2001-02 when he averaged 21.7 points in 43.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 39.5 percent from 3-point territory. He added 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 42.1 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 16 points on 43.3 percent shooting with 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 747 games.
Even though he didn’t hear his name called in the draft, Miller was one of the most productive players that entered the NBA in 1998 and turned out to be one of the elite undrafted players in league history.
He made the Charlotte Hornets as a rookie and would go on to have a 14-year career with the Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was a two-time all-star selection who made his biggest contributions with the Sacramento Kings. One of his best seasons came in 2004-05 when he averaged 15.6 points on 52.4 percent shooting from the floor. He added 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 37.3 minutes.
For his career. he averaged 11.2 points on 48 percent shooting with 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 868 games.
While he never made an all-star game, Bibby was one of the top point guards in the NBA for more than a decade and ran the show for some of the top teams in the West.
Bibby was the second overall pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He played 14 seasons for the Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat and New York Knicks. One of his best seasons came with Sacramento came in 2005-06 when he averaged 21.1 points on 43.2 percent shooting from the floor, including 38.6 percent from beyond the arc. He added 5.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 38.6 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 14.7 points on 43.6 percent shooting with 5.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 1,001 games.
Lewis was at his best in Seattle where he paired with Ray Allen to e one of the best one-two scoring punches in the league.
He was the third pick of the second round (32nd overall) by the Seattle SuperSonics. He played 16 seasons for the SuperSonics, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat. One of his best seasons came in 2006-07 when he averaged a career-high 22.4 points on 46.1 percent shooting from the floor, including 39 percent from 3-point land. He added 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 39.1 minutes.
For his career, the two-time all-star averaged 14.9 points on 45.2 percent shooting with 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 1,049 games.
Jamison is one of the most underrated scorers the league has ever seen. He managed to reach the 20,000-point plateau even though he was just a two-time all-star.
He was taken with the fourth pick by the Toronto Raptors before being traded to the Golden State Warriors for college teammate Vince Carter. He played 16 years for the Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. One of his best seasons came with Washington in 2007-08 when he averaged 21.4 points on 43.6 percent shooting from the floor. He added 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals in 38.7 minutes.
For his career, he averaged 18.5 points on 45.1 percent shooting with 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals in 1,083 games.
Carter became an instant hero for Canadian basketball fans thanks to his scoring ability and his amazing and often improbable dunks.
He was taken with the fifth overall pick by the Golden State Warriors and then Traded to the Toronto Raptors for Antawn Jamison. He has played 18 seasons for the Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies. He was an eight-time all-star and a two-time Al-NBA honoree. One of his best season came in 2000-01 when he was named All-NBA Second_team after he averaged 27.6 points on 46 percent shooting from the floor. He added 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in 39.7 minutes.
So far in his career, he is averaging 18.8 points on 43.9 percent shooting with 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 1,274 games.
It is almost shocking to think that the best two players in this draft had to wait until the last two picks of the top 10 to hear their names called.
Pierce was selected with the 10th overall pick by the Boston Celtics. He has played 18 seasons for the Celtics. Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers. While he has been productive with the other teams, it was in Boston where Pierce was at his best. He made 10 all-star games in an 11-year stretch and was an All-NBA performer in four of those years. One of his best years came in 2005-06 when he averaged 26.8 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor. He added 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 39 minutes a game.
So far in his career, he is averaging 20 points on 44.5 percent shooting to go along with 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 1,318 games.
Nowitzki has been the cornerstone of the Mavericks organization for nearly two decades and one of the legendary scorers in league history.
He was the ninth overall selection by the Milwaukee Bucks and then traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor. He has played his entire 18-year career with the Mavericks and has been a 13-time all-star, a 12-time All-NBA selection and the league MVP in 2006-07. That season, he averaged 24.6 points while shooting 50.2 percent from the floor, including 41.6 percent from beyond the arc. He added 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 36.2 minutes.
To this point in his career, he is averaging 22 points on 47.4 percent shooting with 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 1,340 games. | 2019-04-19T17:05:57Z | https://jmoneysports.com/2016/04/23/the-1998-nba-draft-redone-busts-second-round-steals-and-hall-of-famers/ |
So, its another new year. A chance to look anew. An excuse to restart. An opportunity to refresh. Perhaps a new way to renew. A milestone by the side of the road that announces an opportunity to change lanes. A pin drop on the map of fast alleys and winding lives. For some of you, it may just be a change of a calendar. However it is for you, it is an unmistakable opportunity to pause, ponder and plod on, in directions that you have always wanted to.
My little miss has been at work for some time now. Shooting the rural breeze, counting sheep, feeding cows and dipping toes in the village well. Last night, she drew me a picture and wished me a happy new year. Of course, we spoke about it for a while.
She said that the honey bee was actually playing and so was the flower! In her world, the ground was blue, because, ‘it is a nice colour’. And the Sun is always smiling at us all. She wanted us to play more in the new year, like the Sun and the flower. And perhaps paint the road in the colour of choice.
That left me pondering ‘PLAY’ as the word for 2019! Play stands for joy. Experimentation. Light. Wins. Losses. Trials. Preparation. Diligence. Practice. Work ethic. All in a spirit of partnership. Am reasonably sure that this is not what she had in mind when she said ‘play’. For her, it means ‘great fun’! And I can’t agree more of that being the baseline.
And that is my most sincere wish for you. To Play. Erupting in childlike joy and to always retain the essence of curiosity and free will. All of this with the energy to float and the effervescence of holding others and their actions lightly.
May we all live fulfilled, happy, healthy lives.
May we play 2019 well. Happy New Year!
A riot of colour and a rich fodder for thought!
She is in a sparkling pink and I in an odd blue. Her eye for colours catches my ear. For every time she chooses one, she exclaims aloud. “Red” “Blue”. And so on. She paints with tentative strokes first. Then come bold ones. After a while, she says “Over”. A riot of color is all that remains as she darts away to play. I look at her work. Her strokes fill my heart with happiness. This moment has been the highlight of this festive season.
Festivities are about colour to the senses. You feel a sense of completion to be with close ones and do simple things. A feeling that escapes description and begs for it to be let easy. Diwali especially is a feast for all senses. Homes get lit. After being cleaned and washed. Sweets get made in abundance. And There are no reasons to not tuck in the extra one. There is noise in the air ( not to speak of discounts and offers in every shop and website ). A ‘cannot be missed’ warmth in people. The security guard smiles a little extra even as the stern neighbour nods just a tad more in acknowledgment. You are benign with the odd gasbag who spams your inbox with a ‘Happy Diwali’ message, consigning his message to the recycle bin with a smile.
As the festival wind thin, a thick question remains. A question that my little miss posed to me: “Why can’t every day be Diwali?” Indeed, I thought. Why can’t it be?
Why can’t there be this richness in our daily life? A richness that exudes colour, space and that little bit of warmth that can add so much more to our lives. Kindness, acceptance, some accommodation. Some peace. A way of thinking that is inclusive and respectful. That after all is the spirit of Diwali. For that matter, that after is the spirit of all major festivals of the world!
As I gazed hard at her random brush strokes, the gaiety in her question only pointed to possibility and choice. We have the choice, I told myself. To live it up in a simple, kind way. Perhaps we need to be reminded that this choice exists until we don’t have to be reminded. A choice that we can consciously make. A choice to revel in abundance and to forever seek to live a life that is of meaning.
A new energy coursed my veins. A riot of colour, as I call this piece, will be my north star of sorts, I told myself. A north star that reminds me that in a world that leans towards mono-chromatic rhythms, multicoloured richness is important. That is being human by soaking in all the richness we come endowed with.
So this Diwali, I have a wish for you. A wish that comes from my daughter and everybody around. May the festivities never end. May we lead a life soaked in colour and joy. May we have the courage to wander yet be decisive. May the humanness in us overpower the insecurities that seep in. May our life be something to someone. May we be kind to one another. May there be a riot of colour.
I am in search of a word. One word. That would help hold the array of thoughts and emotions on a string. It remains elusive. I am searching for one word to encapsulate the time as 2104 says goodbye and 2015 chirps in with a hello.
Its the night of the 31st Dec. There are fireworks that light up the night sky. Puppet shows. Loud music. People on the road genuinely wishing each other. Lights. Parties. Cops on the road. Bizarre brawls. TV shows. Discounts and offers. Three and a half tonnes of whatsapp messages. And such else!
A flurry of activity on how the world went by in the past year marks pronounced presence across all media. Both the erstwhile and the new media. People are acknowledged. Events are recalled. Comments are regurgitated. Photographs dug out. Videos showcased. Sometimes, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. At other times, the bridge has shifted. Or seems irrelevant.
At the other end of the spectrum there are experts and commoners making a set of predictions for the new year. For the times ahead. Sometimes with glaring audacity that causes an involuntary gape in awe and at other times such stark pessimism pervades that you would much rather want to go back to the previous year.
I take the lift to reach my home. Today my neighbours dog looks at me in the lift and it seems to ask me what this fuss is about. What ‘Happy New Year?’ he seems to say, in-between his hefty panting.
I peer into his eyes and shrug. Hoping that he catches my sentiment. That life is a seamless continuum. The ultra heavy importance accorded to one single day seems rather tame in a naive sort of a way and misplaced. Must you not seek to be happy on all days?
I continue peering into his eyes as the neighbour, the good lady that she is, continues to speak into the phone to a person of importance who she is on first name basis with. I am sincerely impressed, for the lift has never shown me any mercy ever before. All my conversations on the phone stand abruptly terminated the moment I enter the lift.
As the lift makes its slow climb upwards, I continue to peer into his eyes and a thought strikes me. If there is any reasonable use to this day, it is this : It represents a transition. Ah. Transition. Maybe thats the word.
A punctuation mark, if you will. A comma for some. A period for some others. Maybe it’s a new sentence. A new paragraph. Perhaps a brand new chapter. Whatever it is, a year singing out and new year breaking is a transition that helps the world keep collective score.
An opportunity to sit down and take stock, if you will. Of wins and losses. Of joys and sorrows. Of fears and hopes. An opportunity for renewal. Of ties. Of hopes. Of oneself. While footprints thus far shout out where we have been, where we will get to is a function of the direction and distance we train our sights on. Now!
I wonder if the Retriever reads my mind. He seems far more composed as they alight at their floor. The lady still on the phone.
Later that night, at the strike of the midnight hour, the little miss sees some fireworks in the sky and said, “Papa, the lights are tickling the sky”. It is her extension of a thought that’s been on her mind for a while now.
I stare into the night sky and wonder how the next 365 days will pan out. I am not sure. I know for sure about one thing though. The new year will arrive at blistering pace with syncretised assortment of events, that will appear as fleeting as the fireworks that decorate the night sky. Intense. Fleeting. Colourful.
For me though, every new year is a push at the punctuation precipice. I can choose to stop. Start. Or keep going with a comma. Begin a brand new sentence. A few chapters. All of it in a varied dizzying array of possibilities. Ah ‘possibilities’, I think. Perhaps that is the word I am looking for.
The next day morning, as the night sky turns a brilliant blue, it dawns on me that it is rather foolish to attempt to encapsulate it in one word. Even with a wide all encompassing word like ‘possibilities’! With ‘change’ holding us as life prisoners of sorts, perhaps what’s required are a string of words. Transitions. Possibilities. Perpetual beta. Amoeboid movement. And such else. Many more come to the mind. A string of words that will need us to stay alive to the moment and yet stay true to our dreams. That will also be deeply personal! As it has been every year. Wonder what it will be for you.
Whatever it is, here is my wish for a great time. Happy New Year! And one last thing, Stay foolish. There is merit in that.
These horses hold their sway at a small temple in the interiors of rural Tamil Nadu. They convey colour and sense of raw presence through the lens of the camera.
Through the lens of the eye, the statues almost jump at you with a neigh of a horse in motion. Especially when you see multitudes of people thronging the precincts with hope and fervour. Cooking the traditional pongal , dancing to hard beats and an alien but alluring tune. All in reverence. In honour of the lord.
For the ill to be warded. A child to be cured. Or even a prayer of thanks, for all that has been and in subtle way, asking for the ‘nice’ to perpetuate!
There are a heap of real cool people coming in today. I have had great fun putting my thoughts together, not to mention dealing with the countless memories that came rushing back of Sundar, Ghost Particle, Manu and several others! People who I aspired to hang out with on blogs ten years ago and who went to become wonderful friends. Yes. Its I hope My Story will resonate with a few that come.
Follow #WIN on twitter today. And of course, wish me some more luck!
A brand new year has come our way. Yet again. Like it always does. Here is another opportunity to seek renewal of promises made and conversations had. With others and ourselves too. ourselves too.
Here is a wish. Actually here are a bunch of wishes for you. For me. And for the rest of the world. A set of disparate wishes that perhaps form an incoherent bouquet of sorts. Delivered with love, which is its only redemption. Perhaps!
Here is a wish for moments stolen from the frenzy of daily living to pause and ponder. At the marvel of creation and the simple joys of life and living too.
A wish to keep reality of the large world firmly in our midst even as detest even the slightest seconds that we are disconnected, from the internet that is!
A wish to stay healthy in the mind & body, with a resolute belief that ‘things have a way of working out’. A wish in tow for good sleep. Good habits. And great choices!
For patience with our fellow people. For acceptance. For passion, consistent effort and zealous work to strive for progress.
I look at my daughter and the words flow on to the screen with greater ease.
A fervent wish for each of us to be filled with curiosity about what’s possible. A child like laughter. Togetherness. And a devout hope for a better future.
And then, to look around and pass these, better wishes and some cheer, at the first available excuse to our children. And their children. Year after year.
For now though, its Happy New Year 2014. Heres wishing you the best!
A time for renewal !
Its time to change those calendars on your desks. Its time for a new year. While the sun and sea, the frog and the fox, the bacteria and the blue whale could wonder what the big fuss of changing calendars is all about, its time for us to seek renewal. In the name of a new calendar, if not for anything else !
2012 provides us an new opportunity to wear a fresh coat of joy that comes from pausing to ponder and pandering our curiosity about the simple things that life asks us often.
2012 offers one more the possibility to disagree honourably, to agree with grace and help us anchor relationships at an arc that is higher than mere agreements or disagreements.
2012 will lead us down new roads, if we care to take them! May we be blessed to take long walks. May we run. May we do whatever we can, to exercise muscles and wholesomely engage with the brain. May we laugh and be ourselves when we do these and everything else.
2012 will get us new gadgets while offering us another chance to put gadgets, tools and technologies in their rightful place : Along with other, tools, gadgets and technologies. May the focus shift to connecting with one another, from the tools to be used for such connections.
2012 could well see the death of the quest to find a superheroes in the world to put an end to the problems we face. May we realise that each of us are superheroes when we do what we need to, with joy, passion and in a spirit of just doing!
As we dash from deadline to deadline, may we find new diagrams and decipher answers to grand questions that comes from young children. Like ‘why is the sky blue’. Or ‘Why cant I be named ‘idli’?
May our children grow stronger. Drawing strength from the resolve of our characters rather than the latest gizmo they were presented with or the sight of the fancy car in the garage. May they learn to soak in every moment, and erupt in joy and learning. May they see a life that has a greater end than mindless competition. Oh yes, may we see it too!
May our worlds emerge far more clearer, when we take stock at the end of the year. May our lives resonate with a spirit of having made an difference to someone. Or to someplace. Or to something !
Heres wishing us all a wonderful, peaceful and fulfilling new year !
The first day of the year has sneaked into us. Offering warmth and hope of a brighter tomorrow. Like the first rays of the sun that spreads and reaches out to all, urging me to break free and fly ! On the strength of a deep wish and the sincerity of a real prayer !
A prayer that extends all the way to the heart, for reason to prevail. On me. And you too. And your neighbour. And his neighbour too. And so on. Until we form a chain of reason that breaks the chains that holds us back.
May 2011 be the year when peace and harmony become permanent coatings on all our walls. A wish escapes from the soul, for sensitivity to the person next door. However similar or otherwise he is. Or she is.
May there be abundance of health, love and cheer in our lives. May it travel far and wide, and become the only permeable infection in this world. And may there be no antidote that found for that infection!
May there be peace. May goodness be our permanent companion and fairness be our passport to higher orders. And let there be challenge enough to strengthen our backs and solidify our resolves.
May there be laughter. Dance. May there be reading. And writing. And a constant http://healthsavy.com/product/ativan/ strife. To take our collective futures, forward!
May our children grow stronger. Drawing strength from the resolve of our characters rather than the strength of our bank balance. May they learn to see, understand, and appreciate life and living. May they see a life that has a greater end than mindless competition. Oh yes, may we see it too!
If that sounds like a tall order, perhaps we should leave it at a simpler wish for all of us : a renewed energy in the going about doing all what we do, with character, love, honesty and joy!
May this year be the year that we came to that edge of the cliff, cast a glance at the ravine below, and had it in us to take a leap of faith…leaping to fly off towards a better future !
Happy new year ! Lets fly !
The Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu, has some real pretty faces and often presents to your eyes meandering queues of Nepalis packing their bags to work overseas. ‘Demand for Nepali workmen is high’ says a fellow traveler while lifting a bag that could weigh as much as my provisions. For three full years and more perhaps.
Work done in Nepal i am on my way back. A kind colleague who sympathises with my attempts at photography tells me that the view of the peaks ‘is a good thing to get on the lens from the plane. If you are lucky’.
His words firmly in my radar, I specifically ask for a window seat. Smiling one of the most beautiful smiles and after saying ‘ofcourse sir’ and a little later ‘have a wonderful flight sir’, flashing that pretty smile, the lass at the Jet Airways counter gives me hands over the baording card. Which after getting into the aircraft i realise entitles to everything else but a window seat ! An aisle seat with two young nepali boys on the middle and window seats for company. GREAT.
Soon we are airborne, and the peaks show up on the window in such majestic splendour that I let out a gasp of surprise laden pleasure. Hastening to pull out the camera and attempting to get a few snaps. Aiming and dodging my two young row mates on the middle and window and ensuring that their noses or hands don’t form part of the picture of the snow clad peaks is quite a struggle.
They can see it too as I hoover-up as many snaps as possible as they give me a look that I would reserve for corner cockroach. And fiddle with the entertainment panel and watch an Ajay Devgun movie.
For a second, I cant believe this. These young boys could actually trade the beauty and majesticity of the mountains and the snow capped peaks for a Ajay Devgun movie on the entertainment panel! Alas, what has the world come to !
Without much ado and a presumptuous air I dismissed their intellect, intent and everything about them.
Soon the peaks vanished and I retired to my world of books and work. The next couple of hours vanished like a sugar laden sweet disappearing down the oesophagus. Not very later we were all set to land in Mumbai.
An announcement that was accompanied by what best could be described as a mild frenzy of of nepali boys peering through the window in other seats.
Greatly surprised I turned to the window on my row, which is when I noticed my own neighbours had pulled out their simple cameras and shared every bit of the window between themselves, cheek to cheek.
Perhaps they were sure they would see someone like Ajay Devgun outside the window, I thought, and suddenly they yelled ‘samundar’ ( ocean ), describing the waves and boats on the Bay of Bengal, with such energy that perhaps dwarfed my attempts to capture the peaks on the camera lens.
It was my turn to fiddle with entertainment panel and theirs to dismiss my intellect, intellect and everything else about me with presumptuous élan.
At that moment, one of them turns to me, grins a sheepish grin, points to the Bay of Bengal and says, ‘Samundar – me first time’. I broaden the sheepish smiles further and point to myself to say ‘Himalayas – first time’. The sheepishness of both our smiles intensify. He returns to look at the Bay of Bengal. And I to the entertainment panel.
I keep smiling. Realising that in the sheepishness of our smiles lay an acknowledgement of our different pasts, a happiness at the present and a deep wish for each other for the future.
I realise that there cant be better wish on Christmas day ! Merry Christmas people ! | 2019-04-21T13:06:12Z | http://www.kaviarasu.com/tag/wishes-2/ |
In the recent past, the need of developing a sustainable path of development has become a crucial element to people, organizations and countries in different parts of the world. As it stands now, the conflict between the man and nature has continued to become deplorable in the last two decades. As witnessed in various parts of the world, this conflict has led to the deaths and diseases of human beings, animals and plants in different part of the world. For instance, the levels of greenhouse emissions have almost tripled since the 1980’s and this results to severe effects to the global environment. As witnessed in the developed and developing countries, such as United States, European and Asian countries among other notable countries, the problems and challenges associated with climate change and other forms of unsustainable development has rendered life to be unbearable in these countries. For instance, countries like Philippines, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and Russia have all faced extreme levels of extreme weather patterns ranging from the flood to wildfires, which have left many people dead, disabled or displaced, thus reducing the overall potentiality of the affected areas. In addition, to be on the global tectonic plates, the effects of greenhouse emission leading to climate change have resulted to frequent earthquakes in Japan.
This has resulted to the closure of major firms, such as the Toyota among other notable firms, as well as loss of billions of dollars in reconstruction activities. In the last one year, the Eastern part of Africa, which includes countries such as Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia among others, has faced major challenges associated with the drought. Currently, more than 60 million peoples in this region face the danger of starvation, mainly due to political instability, destruction of their respective economies, and unequal distribution of energy among other aspects, which are important for the sustainable development. Sustainability is a long-term preservation of the wellbeing that mostly deals with the energy, environment and social-economy dimensions, which encompasses the ideas of stewardship and responsible management of the available resources. In the field of ecology, the aspect of sustainability entails on the way biological systems remains productive and diverse in a given period of time that is necessarily precondition for the well being of all human beings. Healthy and long-lived forests and the wetlands are some of the examples of the sustainable biological system. Healthy environments and the ecosystems offer vital services and goods to human beings as well as other organisms. Two of the notable way of managing the impact of human beings is the ecosystem service to the environmental management, while the other is effective management of consumption of the resources based on the information obtained from the field of economics. Sustainability of human beings interfaces with the economics through ecological and social consequences of the economic activities. Moving toward sustainability is a social change, which involves, among other factors, national and international law, transport, urban planning, individual and the local lifestyles as well as the ethical consumerism.
The author of the book titled “The crash course: the unsustainable future of our economy, energy, and environment” is known as Chris Martenson. Chris Martenson is a trained scientist, who possesses a PhD as well as a program in post-doctorate from the Duke University, where he specialized in neurotoxicology. He is a father to three young children, a keen financial observer, and experienced businessperson, who have profound changes as far as his lifestyle is concerned, due to what he always view to be coming in the near future. In contrary to his keen interest in financial interests, Chris Martenson does not regard himself as an economist, as regarded by many people across the globe. He indicates that in the field of science, he has received an extensive training, which guides and informs him on the way he thinks. He gathers data, develop hypotheses, and continuously seek to rejection or accept hypothesis based on evidences at hand, as this helps him to make informed decisions based on data collected. He entered the field of science with the sole intension of teaching at college level. He loves teaching, especially in challenging of explanation to complicated or difficult subjects to the people who have no background or limited knowledge in the area of his interest. He strongly agrees that by doing this, he has not only improved the well-being of the students whom he has taught, but also furthered his knowledge in the area of science.
It is also worth noting that Chris Martenson posses MBA studies (finance option) from the Cornel University, that enabled him to spend approximately ten years working for various positions, such as strategic consulting and corporate finance. This way, he has been able to gather a lot of comfort in the area of finance as well with all other areas dealing with numbers. At the age of 40 years, where he was least known by people across the globe, he was a professional working his way up to the vice president of one of the largest, an international Fortune 300 firms and was living in a five bathroom house that was mostly paid off. His three children were about to enter public school and his investment portfolios were being managed by brokerage firm at one of the largest institution. In the recent past, Chris Martenson has fully stepped away from the biological science as well as management in order to develop education video seminar series known as The Crash course base on the neo-malthusian. The course investigates on the ways in which economy, energy and environment interact as and the way they interact.
The Crash Course presented by Chris Martenson is approximately 3.5 hours, though it is broken into various chapters, which are between 4 and 21 minutes in length. Most people who have watched the course strongly agree that Chris is a talented presenter, who is easy to listen because the content of this particular course is easy to follow. Chris has broad goals aimed at introducing and describing many of the challenging sustainability problems faced by humankind in the recent years. The problems are extremely serious, thus it is worth to contemplate about. Generally, it is worth noting that many decision makers regularly seek Chris across the globe. For instance, he has been invited to speak during major forums organized by the United Nations, United States legislatures, United Kingdom Houses of Parliament, large capital management firms and multinational corporations, mostly operating in Asia, U.S., and Europe among other notable continents. In order to lead by example, Martenson as well as his family and friends have remodeled their lifestyles in order to live sustainably. This includes the use of green energy, conservation of water, proper use of the available financial and material resources and the general conservation of environment. Other people who follow Martenson ideologies have adopted his way of living.
This can be attributed to Martenson ability to predict major occurrences, which are taking place across the globe. For example, he predicted major developments like the economic contraction, financial market correction, and energy supply breakdown, housing market collapse prior to their occurrences. He also provided recommendation strategies to these occurrences, such as investing in gold and silver and the home energy efficiencies, which have since demonstrate to be wise. From his work, great work, it is clear that Martenson has adequately used an agnostic data driven approach. This is because his focus is mainly distilling accurate truth from the data rather than using any belief-oriented or dogmatic association. He also have a positive focus, where the core message is urging people to take the appropriate actions now, thus being able to create a world worth of inheriting in the near future.
For all those people who would wish to understand the interconnection of the prevailing national debts in various countries across the world, raising food and oil prices, the unrest-taking place in Middle East, The Crash Course is an important area to study, as well see in different parts of the world, the aspect of economic, environmental and energy sector is rapidly changing. The book clearly indicates that the future is currently unfolding in the real-time. It has appropriate “lens”, which enables us to interpret the developing issues in their suitable contexts, thus offering the reader with invaluable advantages. In this book, Chris indentifies the fast approaching crises as defined by the accelerating decline in the supplies of the energy and the main natural resources, which are important inputs for the economic growth. The fewer inputs suggests that the future of “less” in almost everything, that is, fewer services and goods, reduced portfolio values, reduced support of government, which clearly indicates highly unsustainable future. Due to the way our future operates, all the sustained contractions are highly disruptive, yet most of them are not aware of the nearness and magnitude of the risks faced by human kind. It is worth noting that the book is not a “gloom and doom “but it presents an extremely honest assessment of the predicament, as well as illuminates on the path ahead.
The goal of the book is to assist communities, individuals, and firms to understand the possibilities of disruptions in future, thus positioning themselves effectively. This way, they will be able to thrive in the future, hence more profitability. It is important to indicate the main aim of writing this book was to motivate societies and individuals to reshape their lifestyles to become resilient and balance. Further, their lives should become sustainable in the light of raised challenges to our energy systems, economy as well as the environment. All people having positive visions for all families, business or wealth interests should aim to nurture and protect the available resources for sustainable growth. The book also offers enhanced accurate insights as compared to the traditional financial pundits and economists on the true factors, which are at play to impact on our wealth and the standard of life. Intuitive explanations that are easy to understand with regard to what the future holds are well elaborated in this book, with a sole aim of helping and guiding societies and individuals. Generally, the book offers actionable guidance on steps that individuals and societies can embrace in the current times concerning lifestyle and wealth to position themselves for upcoming “the future of less”. In addition to this, the book aims to sensitize the individuals and the society about the importance conserving the environment. The author arguments all much original, as most of his findings comes from primary research.
From the information given above, one can see that the book is written, with a sole purpose of motivating the individuals and societies to recognize and mitigate the root causes of their predicaments, protecting themselves as well as their families against possible risks. The Crash course gives a positive vision for the ways we reshape our livelihoods to be more resilient, balanced and sustainable. Due to the prevailing conditions, which threaten sustainable living in the current times, this book comes in handy to offer the long-lasting recommendation. For instance, the housing crash witnessed in U.S. continues to affect the U.S. economy in a great way. Employment level has reduced by approximately 9.1%, social inequalities; there have been reduced taxation levels to the high earning groups in the U.S. among other developed countries. This has resulted to massive protests across Wall Street among other notable areas, such as London, as people struggle to restore fairness and equality in their countries. It is worth noting that the world has fully recognized the great importance of sustainable development both in the short and long run. For instance, Germany, the most developed country in the Euro Zone, has adopted green energy as the next frontier in the energy sector. Because of this, the country has invested heavily in green energy, which includes solar, wind, tidal among other notable areas of energy.
The awarding of the prestigious Nobel Prize to famous personalities, such as Professor Wangari Maathai from Africa in 2004, among other crusaders of environmental management across the globe is a clear indication of the importance attached to sustainable living. From the book, the author offers some warning signs that face our planet. In the energy and mineral supply, it is estimated that the discoveries for new oil have been outpaced by the oil consumption by nearly 400% on annual basis. Therefore, the known deposits of numerous critical minerals shall be exhausted in two decades time, if the supply of energy will be steady. In the current time, getting new oil deposit has become hard to get, deeper down, more dilute and more remote. In the area of water and food supply, Chris indicates that the world population will climb up to 9.6 billion people by 2050. Despite, nearly all the high arable land being under production, the world continues to face severe food and water problems.
This is an indicator that the problem may greatly escalate, owing to the fact that the population will have increased by almost 50% from the current 6.8 billion people. Food yields are dependent on the fertilizers that are energy intensive during the manufacturing process or easily depleted. The reason for applying the fertilizers is the fact that, the soils being mined through the removal of important nutrients, without any foreseeable chances of replacing these nutrients. In the sector of the environment, there has been over 40% reduction in the oceanic phytoplankton in the last half century, leading to reduced number of the wildlife, such as bees, bats and birds. Mercury levels both in the soil and water has significantly increased, thus making carcasses from marine mammals to be treated as toxic. The globe is in deep economic crises and there are no easy fixes of predicaments faced. The unsustainable trends in the economy, environment and energy have ultimately caught up with every one of us and they are conveying an extremely slim window of time. The Crash Course indicates the predicaments we face and illuminates on the path ahead, so that the readers can face upcoming disruptions without fear or retreating to denials. The book offers solid facts and is grounded on reasoning that is presented in a positive, calm and a non-partisan ways. Our money systems have placed impracticable demands upon finite world. The exponentially increasing levels of debts, which are based on the assumptions of the economic growth to finance repayment, will largely shudder to stop and then, reverse in the near future. Unfortunately, the financial institutions do not operate in reverse, thus the consequences of massive deleveraging shall be severe. The reality of dwindling oil reserves is evident to most organizations and countries, yet less than 5% of them have come up with Plan B, to face the challenges.
No one is responsible for nearly all of the use, damage and loss of the environment, which is getting into disaster proportions in the way of pollution and the loss of fertile soils, freshwater, and fisheries. The author of this book argues that the earth’s natural ecology and rejuvenating bio-capacity are being sternly degraded and this lessens the earth’s capacity to sustain life. Air water and land are being increasingly polluted; species are dying greater than their natural pace of extinction, there is desertification and global warming is well on the move. These arguments are much credible, because the globe climate keeps on changing day after day and its consequences, continues to be more ferocious.
For instance, forestland is lost at the rate of 375 kilometers square every day and this is greater than the entire area of Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New Jersey among others. The planet has by now lost 80 percent of its real forests cover. Between the years 1960 and 1990, the worlds’ 1.1 billion acres of tropical forests were cut down. At the global currents rates, about five to ten percent of tropical forests habitants will become extinct each decade. Deforestation also comes because of clearing forests in search of energy sources and this is a great threat to extreme weather conditions and global warming. Urban growth and heavy industrial needs large amounts of energy. In some countries, such as China, approximately 100 percent of industrial work uses the most dangerous forms of energy, coal, like cement manufacturing. Currently, the global becomes lesser to everyone as scientists reveal meteorological findings in universal air movement. Nitrogen oxides and Sulfur dioxide are discharged by China’s coal power-driven plants fall as acid rain in South Korea, Seoul, and Tokyo, to mention some affected parts. Actually, most of Los Angeles particulate pollution instigates in China.
Man’s quest for energy has also led to increased air, water and land pollution because until lately, pretty lot of all our activities for energy creation has resulted to hurting the environment. Energy used is almost totally produced from fossils fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Together with hurting the environment and polluting it in the course of mining the fossil fuels, their burning to produce electricity also harms the environment in that they produces ridiculous amounts of gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide and other forms of toxic compounds. These substances are dangerous to the lives of human beings and animals and can result to global warming. As a result, private and public sectors should take desirable measures, like using alternative sources of energy, such as the wind and solar energy, which are renewable and don’t harm the environment through pollution.
Oil spill is another example caused by man’s quest for energy. Oil spill refers to discharge of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon in to the atmosphere as a result of mans activity and is a kind of pollution. Marine oil spill is where oil is discharged to the coastal or ocean waters and this posses a great threat to marine mammals and sea birds. Spills take months or years to clean up. David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that necessary measures are required, as the spill had started spreading to the Mississippi river. He said that, the oil spill could result to be the states most horrible environmental adversity in decades, thus threatening many species, such as birds, fish and other wildlife alongside the Gulf Coast.
Global warming exists and is a serious problem that requires to be addressed. Every individual can assist to lessen the demand for fossil fuels, which in turn decreases global warming, by utilizing energy more intelligently. The Americans electricity system menaces the health of our societies by polluting the air and leading to global warming. Heat trapping emissions, for instance, carbon dioxide can cause irreversible harm to societies throughout the United States of America and the globe at large. The damage comprises of augmented air pollution, and infectious diseases, such as West Nile Virus, flooding and erosion in the coastal communities as a result of sea level rising, extreme weather conditions, declined productivity, and loss of species.
The landmark report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, entitled "Our Common Future", cautioned that unless we modify most of our lifestyle patterns, the globe would face undesirable levels of environmental harm and human suffering. The Commission said, "Humanity has the capacity to make growth sustainable and to guarantee that it meets the wishes of the current necessities without compromising the capacity of the outlook generations to meet their requirements.
"Energy effect to environmental destruction is a global threat and this requires to be addressed so as to save the planet. Various efforts have been put forward to deal with the predicaments that result from energy consumption. For instance, in China, change is mandatory and although market based incentives does not exist; the Communist Party Leaders have mandated a decline in emissions. This year, China has set an objective of 20 percent less energy use and 10 percent reduction in sulfur dioxide, mercury amid other pollutants. It is true that such countries as Japan, Britain and United States polluted their way to riches and got troubled about the consequences after the maturity of their economies and better living conditions for their middle class population. China would also like to employ this as a gratis bypass to pollution, although the New York Times states “China is like an adolescent smoker with emphysema”. The state has not attained economic stability and has attained environmental crisis.
In order to reduce global warming, individuals and states need to lower their energy use and use cleaner or alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar or geothermal energy. The most significant element in fighting global warming is reducing the amount of hazardous green house emissions that are discharged into the environment as a result of burning fossil fuels and natural gas. Every year, each state should reduce about 17500 to 20000 kwh per capital of energy consumption without affecting the quality of life. In the United States, more than half of the states have acknowledged a renewable electricity set -a policy that entails suppliers of electricity to raise the usage of renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal. These states have expressed that these renewable resources have lessened CO2 and the effects of fossil fuels extraction on the water and land resources.
Deforestation can also result from energy use. Deforestation threatens the lives of wild animals, leads to extreme weather conditions and can also result to global warming. States should encourage individuals to plant trees and use alternative renewable sources of energy, as this will also reduce global warming, since trees will give off oxygen and utilize carbon dioxide.
The environmental ethics field concerns the ethical relationship between human being with natural environment. Several philosophers have written on environmental philosophy, although this topic developed well in the 1970s. The emergence of study in this area has increased the awareness on the effects of industry, technology, rapid population growth, economic expansion on environment. Environmental ethics is a component of environmental philosophy that considers extension of the traditional boundaries in ethics from human beings to include the non-human world. This area influences on large number of disciplines such as sociology, law, geography, economics, and theology among others. The fundamental questions addressed by environmental ethics include the duties of human beings to the environment and the reasons as to why human beings have an obligation to the environment they live in. It is clear that development of environmental ethics have been enormous in the last decade as compared to the past years as human beings are becoming aware on the importance of participation in environmental conservation among other aspects.
It is evident that environmentalist tries to come up with solutions which have a commensurate benefit to the environment, thus making it an important aspect to many environmental regulation bodies across the world. The principle of the commensurate burdens and benefits indicates those who derive benefits should be the ones who sustain the commensurate burdens mainly refereed to as unacceptable interruptions. The idea of this philosophy is that one should suffer the consequences of their actions.
The idea of some philosophers were that burdens and benefits comes and goes from social spot which we can not be able to tease out of the specific effects of every one actions. The principle of commensurate between burdens and benefits is not just a moral principle, which governs distribution of justice, but it is essential. It is worth noting that there had been shortcoming resulting from libertarian and free-market approaches in seeking to restore and maintain the environment. This is due to the fact free market, tort of law as well as property rights I most of the countries have not been able to address the issue of environmental conservation properly as compared to modern approaches of legislations set by the states. Free market has been unable to address some of the pertinent issues such as negative externalities of the industrial production as well as excessive depletions of non-renewable resources among other issues.
By reviewing the above book, one can clearly see the urgent need of ensuring steady growth in economical, energy and environmental sector. This is because these sectors are the backbone of sustainable development, both in the short and long run. For countries, such as China, Europe, and the U.S., lack or delay in coming up with workable policies to cater for the three sectors has led to massive looses in revenues, both at state and federal levels. Consequently, the livelihood of people continues to decreases, despite the numerous efforts undertaken by the government to upgrade their standards of living. On the other hand, a country like Germany, which has embraced numerous policies aimed at sustainable living, remains one of the best performing economy in the European continent. As a result, it has played a vital role in giving loans and grants to poor performing economies in the Euro zone like Greece, Portugal, and Spain among others. In conclusion, individual and societies should continue to adopt more proactive methods of sustainable living as advocated by Chris Martenson. This way, we will be able to avert most of the foreseeable failures that greatly threatens human race in some years to come. | 2019-04-25T14:28:24Z | https://essaysprofessors.com/samples/book-review/the-unsustainable-path-of-our-economy.html |
Robert Foster with Trebor Home Inspections conducted a very thorough, professional inspection of the home I am buying. He spent a considerable amount of time testing and visually inspecting critical components of the house, and allowed me to follow along while he explained what he was doing each step of the way; he answered every question I asked in a patient and courteous manner. I have confidence that all deficiencies were identified, and that the potential ramifications of each was comprehensively detailed in the written report which Trebor provided me within hours after the inspection was completed. I don’t hesitate in recommending his services.
Extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and takes the time to explain things if you want/ask questions. He also reiterates that he is available to you after the inspection process for any questions (which I can certainly vouch for). I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone thinking about buying a home. You want to know what you’re getting into!
I can’t say enough good things about Robert’s inspection. He is extremely detailed, very knowledgeable, and extremely helpful in pointing out issues, both those that can be modified and those that cannot. He focuses attention on aspects of the house that will require ongoing maintenance as well as changes that can alert one to problems that are brewing. His report was extremely helpful and I will print it out and keep it in a binder for future reference. I have had houses inspected in the past and I have never had such a helpful inspection done before.
This is the second time I have hired Robert Foster for a home inspection, and the experience both times was fantastic. He did a very thorough inspection, and the report was uploaded quickly and was easy to read. The best part was that I learned so much about what I was getting myself into with each house–but I also learned so much about houses in general. Robert is extremely knowledgeable and eager to answer questions, and he took the time to look in every nook and cranny, even to the very far corners of the crawlspace. I would (and do) highly recommend hiring Robert.
Robert Foster is the best home inspector we’ve worked with! He is incredibly thorough and took the time to make sure we understood everything in the report.
Robert Foster did a fantastic job. He was extremely careful and thorough. It’s helpful that he distinguishes between different types of comments, too — issues that should be taken into account in the purchase versus normal maintenance issues.
We’ve used four house inspectors in our home buying time. Robert definitely one of the best. He’s thorough, and uses technology extremely well to communicate and provide evidence for the issues he discovers. This helps make the point to buyers. This includes images of the problems, video (audio — “hear that popping sound, that’s not good”) and links to web articles that explain technical elements we weren’t familiar with. No equivocation — hire Robert for your inspector.
Robert was thorough, helpful, friendly, and quick – we really enjoyed working with him!
I wouldn’t use anyone else other than Robert. He is absolutely the best. Smart, knowledgeable, thorough — and I really appreciate the detailed, easy-to-access online report . Thanks!
Robert did an outstanding job inspecting our property. He is extremely thorough in his examination and assessment of structural integrity, construction features and basic operating functions. While onsite, he takes the time to explain his approach and review his findings in great detail. The report he produces is also quite comprehensive and compiled in a way that is both easy to understand and quite helpful in identifying issues in need of more immediate attention and remediation. Moving to a new place can be a very stressful experience – especially when relocating to another state, as is the case with our family. Robert’s professionalism, knowledge and expertise provided us with more than enough information we needed to feel more confident about our purchase decision, while offering insights that allowed us to become better acquainted and more comfortable with our new home. We highly recommend him when only the best will suffice for your next inspection project.
Robert is personable, thorough, and experienced, and knows the community well, which was great for me as someone moving to town. Follows through, reports are ready when promised. Couldn’t ask for more.
I was very impressed by Robert’s thorough inspection and great communication. He came to me strongly recommended by friends, and I have no regrets! He was in touch before, during, and after the inspection, and went above and beyond. During the inspection, he took the time to notice even the tiniest of details. Instead of simply pointing out any deficiencies he noted, Robert also took the time to answer my questions, educate me about the different features in the home, and give me tips on how to plan for future maintenance and improvements. I appreciated his detailed and color-coded written report, which made it very easy to understand the state of the house and how best to prioritize repairs/remediations. I would recommend him to anyone looking for a thorough and honest inspection!
Highly recommended! Robert was extremely knowledgable, professional, and helpful throughout the entire process, which I especially appreciate as a first time homebuyer. The report was easy to read and informative – the color coding and accompanying videos were great. Thank you, Robert!
This is my fifth home purchase and inspection and I would rank my experience with Robert as #1. He’s very thorough and professional and easily communicates what he’s looking for as well as any discrepancies he finds. His report is equally thorough and descriptive. In addition, he promptly responded to any email questions we had. I would give my Robert my strongest possible recommendation for anyone requiring a home inspection.
Robert is very knowledgeable and did a great job putting his findings in layman’s terms for me. His report — color-coded and detailed — is something we’ll be referring to often as we make our move. 10/10.
This was our 3rd experience buying a home. Robert’s inspection report was by far the most thorough we have ever received. We are buying this house while stationed overseas, so have not personally ever set foot in it. Robert’s report, with its extensive photos and written information, gave us confidence to go through with the deal. We were able to use the report to very clearly show to the sellers where and why we requested some small repairs. Thanks to his diligence and professionalism, we are making a fully-informed purchase, despite being thousands of miles away. Should we ever buy another house, we would turn to him again.
Robert was incredibly informative during this inspection, and we have full confidence in our home purchase as a result of his very thorough assessment. He lists his reports with super helpful categories beyond the typical green, yellow or red issues that come up upon a new purchase – as Robert is intent on preparing his clients for *owning* and living in the home rather than just buying it. He is patient with both novice and experts, and takes the time to explain anything he observes. If I could advise a new homebuyer on anything, it would be to stay close to Robert while you all walk through your new home – yes, the whole time – as you will undoubtedly learn much about how your home is built and how to take care of it most optimally.
Robert is extraordinarily thorough and knowledgeable about every issue relating to inspecting a home. He walked us through every item he found and answered our questions thoughtfully. The report is well arranged and really useful both during the purchase process and will serve as a start to an “owner’s manual” in our new home. He is also very professional and helpful. We definitely recommend Robert to inspect your purchased home.
We benefitted from Robert’s deep knowledge of building science, thorough and organized inspection, and capacity to translate his findings into a clear, actionable report that we’ll be able to use as a reference tool during ownership. He was personable, happy to explain his findings, and open to follow-up questions. We consider this one of the best investments we’ve made in our new home. Recommended without reservation.
Robert not only squeezed in a last-minute home inspection for us, but he conducted it with the utmost kindness, honesty and thoroughness. He talked us through all of the potential issues while we went, so that some of what could have seemed scary became more innocuous, and he answered all of our questions with great patience. His report was promptly sent and easy to read, and we just can’t recommend Trebor Home Inspections enough!
Robert did an incredible job; he was very thorough and knowledgeable! I’d highly recommend him to anyone!
We are new to the Charlottesville, VA, area and had no clue which home inspector to go with. Robert was referred to us by our Realtor and we are grateful for the recommendation. Robert was a great communicator before the inspection via email suggesting we visit his website to take a look at a sample of an inspection report to see what he does for an inspection. He also informed us of the cost of the inspection and other services we requested, how soon the inspection report would be available, and confirmed the time and date of the inspection. I was able to be present for the inspection of the property we were under contract to purchase. Being an objective, third party, Robert provided a wonderfully sincere, forthright, and honest approach to the inspection explaining in detail what he was seeing. The inspection report itself was a very straightforward document. Robert doesn’t sugarcoat things. He reports what he saw and presents his reasoning for his evaluation. I highly encourage anyone to be on hand for the inspection. Being able to talk to and question Robert during his inspection was a great benefit. We highly recommend Robert for a home inspection.
We hired Robert to inspect the home we purchased in October 2016. Robert provided us with an incredibly thorough inspection. He truly cared about our experience and noticed things we would not have noticed. His communication was excellent throughout the process. He was very accommodating in doing the inspection without much notice in order to work around my husband’s work schedule. We had a wonderful experience and give the highest recommendation for Robert’s services.
Robert was extremely thorough and knowledgable. He made us feel as confident as possible with the decisions we had to make about the house by pointing out the extent of the issues and the possible ramifications. I’d highly recommend Robert to anyone.
We’ve engaged Robert’s services multiple times in the last few years and have always been impressed by his knowledge, thoroughness, and professionalism. As long as Robert is inspecting homes, we’ll be his clients!
Robert was a great inspector and made the process very clear and understandable. The report was clear and the color coding was amazing. My husband and I are first time home-buyers and Robert certainly made the process clear and understandable for us first timers! An added bonus was that he was quick to respond to email and always answered questions with clarity as well as regularly offered his assistance if we had questions. We will definitely use him in the future – I highly recommend him!
I’m so glad Donna recommended you! I felt well-advised throughout the process. Thank you for a great job!
Robert did a fantastic job with our home inspection. He is extremely knowledgable, friendly, thorough and professional. His report was delivered on the same day and was easy to read, very detailed, included pictures with arrows and diagrams and even is color-coded so you know where the big problems are! He has tons of special equipment and literally checks every square inch of the house. For us, he even had to crawl through the entire crawl space in the rain and still came out smiling! He is the best and great with communication during the inspection. if you need a home inspected and you want to know every potential issue, call him. You won’t be disappointed.
We were incredibly appreciative of Robert’s expertise and thoughtfulness during our home inspection. We bought an older home, and having never bought a home more than 5 years old, we needed a lot of guidance. Robert was extremely thorough and thoughtful in all of his assessments and we were beyond impressed with his report. We are still using it to guide us through all of our home improvement projects and know that we can call on him in the future if we have any questions. We hope to not be buying another home any time in the near future, but if we did, we would hire Robert again without hesitation, and will certainly be recommending him to friends and family!
Robert did an excellent job with my home inspection. He was extremely thorough and the report he provides is outstanding – complete with pictures and color coded so you can easily prioritize repairs. I would recommend Robert without hesitation! He truly takes pride in his work and clearly enjoys educating home buyers.
Robert is extremely knowlegeable and thorough when he performed his inspection of the home my wife and I are purchasing. His inspection was a “top to bottom” review of all the systems and building structure (from the crawl space up to the roof) and I found his inspection process very detailed oriented and well worth the price. I would highly recommend Robert to any of my family and friends when it comes time for their home inspection!
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into (buying an older house) and your report gave me so much information and a lot of direction–It was very helpful in allowing me to make better decisions about how to move forward with the purchase. Many thanks, Robert!
I can’t really add to the remarks found on Robert’s website. After participating in at least a half dozen pre-purchase inspections over the years, I can say this was the most interactive and complete inspection, followed by the best report, that we’d ever seen. My only hesitation in recommending Robert is that his schedule is bound to continue to put him out of reach of those folks on a short deadline. He is absolutely worth the wait!
I thoroughly enjoyed working with Robert on my home inspection. His inspection of the house I was buying was extremely thorough and he took the time to explain to me what he was doing and looking for in each part of the house. His report was very comprehensive and easy to read. His use of pictures and color coding made it very easy to follow and I was shocked at how quickly he sent me the finished report given how much information was included in it! I’d highly recommend hiring Robert.
Robert was:- 1. punctual and provided a thorough inspection of the outside, including windows, siding, roof, mechanical as well as evaluations of the driveway and landscaping contour 2. provided clear explanation of all his findings – particularly the mechanical issues 3. was pleasant in his manner and did not fill his time on the clock with idle chatter 4. explained along with the realtor what were reasonable requests to be made to the home-holder to be repaired. 5. good value for the amount of time he spent and the quality of his reporting.
Robert has inspected two of our homes and I wouldn’t dream of using anyone else. Robert’s integrity, deep knowledge of all things construction (both new and old), and passion for what he does leave us feeling confident in our purchases. Robert is always willing to let us tag along during his inspections and ask probing questions regarding his observations and insights, always providing an honest and considered response. Robert is thorough, committed, passionate about his work, incredibly trustworthy, and highly recommended.
When I was asked to rate Trebor Home Inspections, thorough, professional, and helpful came to mind immediately! Robert explained the process clearly before we even got started and followed through with everything quickly and completely. And he didn’t mind my following him around and asking questions as he worked! The final report was full of information and easy to understand. He not only included immediate concerns, but offered safety and maintenance issues I should watch for in the future. An excellent experience all around, I would highly recommend him.
We had the pleasure of having our housing inspection completed by Robert Foster of Trebor Home Inspections. The level of professionalism exhibited was exemplary and far surpassed our initial expectations. The preparation, quality, pride and integrity were obvious throughout the process and has set the bar for future interactions with the home buying process. Robert is a consummate proprietor and left us with the knowledge and belief that his desire and promise to provide the best customer service would be achieved. His proficiency was quickly established and maintained throughout the inspection and follow – up process. His ability to communicate and explain his findings both verbally and in writing in an understandable manner were very helpful and appreciated. He is a true pleasure to work with. We would not hesitate to recommend him to others or work with him in the future.
The inspection process was very clear, and very welcoming for us to ask questions at any time. The inspection report was incredibly detailed and thorough – the level of detail and aspects like the color coding helped us immensely in terms of prioritizing our negotiation requests for the Sellers. The inclusion of photographs throughout was also incredible helpful. The report provides us with a fantastic baseline “manual” for short and longterm improvements to the house. Thank you again – we really felt like we got top-notch expertise and service.
Robert was extremely thorough and professional during our home inspection. He included not only information about what inspection items were critical, but also information that is helpful for general home ownership, including areas where energy efficiency could be improved. His report was easy to read and understand. We would absolutely recommend him to potential home buyers!
Mr. Foster combines professionalism and accessibility to inform and educate his clients. There is no detail to small or task to simple for him to take the time to examine and explain how it works. He has inspected two houses for us and we will ask him to inspect all our future houses as well.
Robert did an excellent job and took his time giving the home we are considering buying a thorough inspection. We appreciated him taking his time to explain his findings to us in a way we could understand.
Robert not only gave us a thorough and complete professional inspection, he patiently offered a veritable tutorial on the home and its systems. He didn’t mind me tagging along for the inspection, in fact he seemed to enjoy my involvement and my questions. He explained not only the potential issues but how to manage them to prevent future problems as well as how some of the systems/equipment work and suggested maintenance tips. Robert is a no-nonsense and trustworthy professional who had no bias except to give an honest report on the condition of the our future home. I am not only more confident about our purchase decision, I’m more prepared to own the home without the learning curve it might take to become acquainted with how it functions and how to properly care for it.
Robert was not only professional and extremely knowledgable, but he was a pleasure to work with! We felt very comfortable with his level of expertise and his report was so helpful as we moved forward with the home buying process. We not only felt like Robert’s inspection and report was helpful for our decision as potential home buyers, but as future home owners! We are so grateful to understand our home at the level that we now do and would feel completely comfortable recommending Robert to our friends, families, and acquaintances in the future! Thank you!
As first time home buyers, Robert’s thorough report is going to be a tremendous asset to us as we maintain our home over the coming years. We are beyond grateful that we had him perform our home inspection.
Enjoyable, and we felt we were in very good hands!
Robert, My apology for not sending a message sooner but I was hopeful that we might see you again this summer for another inspection. We did not purchase the house on Rutledge Avenue for various reasons. Your thorough and informative inspection of the property helped us very much as we considered this property. However, we ultimately decided that we needed more space and did not want to invest the funds necessary to do so at this house. We continue to look for a suitable home and will again call on you for the inspection. It was a pleasure to see you at work and your written report was excellent! Thank you very much.
Couldn’t have asked for a more thorough, thoughtful, and knowledgable inspector. I learned so much about the property, construction, and home maintenance that will last a lifetime. I felt comfortable asking lots of questions and he took the time to explain many concepts to a new homeowner. I felt like he was extremely detail oriented and brought to light many issues that could easily been overlooked. I felt like he gave me the full picture so I could go into the buying process with my eyes wide open. Overall a great experience and a great guy.
Thank you so much for your informative and thorough inspection!
ROBERT WAS VERY THOROUGH. HE CHECKED THINGS I WOULDN’T HAVE THOUGHT TO CHECK. GOOD JOB.
Robert Foster was incredibly thorough, looking into items that weren’t even addressed in our last home inspection experience. He was helpful, explained everything, and has made himself available for any questions in the future. His inspection report is detailed and comprehensive. A fantastic inspection, and I would highly recommend him.
Robert goes above and beyond with his home inspections. Not only is he extremely thorough, but he also explains things very clearly to the buyer. As someone who was a novice in home buying I felt like I understood much more about the home from Robert than I even did from the builders. Would highly recommend!
The most thorough inspection we have ever received.
Robert did an excellent job with the inspection. He was thorough with the report, but also was very helpful to explain issues during the inspection and offer advice on home maintenance issues that weren’t necessarily defects.
Robert-We could not have been more satisfied with your report and how easy it was to work with you. Anyone who is able to use you for their inspection should consider themselves extremely lucky, and in the best hands possible. We will absolutely recommend you to others. Thank you!
Thank you for your excellent work, Robert.
No suggestions for improvement. Could not have been more thorough. We would this inspector for any and all inspections.
Robert’s on-site inspection and detailed report were as detailed and informative as I’d hoped. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a thorough and expert home inspection.
I thought the work was thorough; the company used electronic communications effectively; and — re the charges and other provisions of the “contract” — quite transparent.
Very thorough inspection and detailed report. Made us aware of a lot of deficiencies without making every issue seem like a crisis.
Wonderful service; prompt, thorough, easily understandable. Robert was helpful in answering tough questions we posed after the Inspection and we are grateful. Would not change anything.
Robert was great at explaining all items noted on the inspection report, as well as other general items that will help me take care of my home the entire time I own it! He answered each of my questions thoroughly and made himself available for questions via e-mail after the inspection. I would definitely recommend him!
Thank you very much for such an informative, concise and detailed report. The manner in which you layout your comments on each area of the home made it so easy to work with. As well, your willingness to explain the process while you were conducting the inspection, I feel, helped me not only understand the report more easily, but understand the inner workings of the home as well.
Robert was exceptionally thorough and professional in the inspection of the property considered for purchase. His report was detailed and easy to follow with the inclusion of pictures, color coding of deficiencies, and his specific descriptions of concerns. Most importantly, he was easy to work with, which made the inspection an enjoyable and informative process. I would definitely recommend him and will continue to consult with him in the future.
We’ve bought and sold a number of homes over years and Robert’s inspection of the home we are buying was one of the best. He was completely thorough, took the time to explain issues in layman’s terms that we could understand, answered questions patiently and produced the best, hands down, final report that we’ve ever received. Highly recommended.
Robert was professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and very thorough. We would definitely recommend him and would choose him again for any potential future inspections. He answered all of our many questions and provided great advice for future maintenance.
We were so impressed with Robert’s attention to detail and his thorough process. He was very open to our questions and explained everything as we went through the inspection. The inspection report was detailed and not only covered the issues found, but also provided information to enable us to best care for our home. This is our third time buying a home and this is by far the most helpful inspection we have had- the extensive information in the report is invaluable as we get to know our new home. We highly recommend Robert!
Robert was extremely knowledgeable and professional. He examined and explained everything thoroughly. The report we received after the inspection was detailed and easy to understand. Robert has done an excellent job following up after the inspection to ensure that any outstanding questions are addressed. We enjoyed working with Robert and would recommend him to anyone.
Robert was the most thorough inspector that I’ve had the pleasure of doing business with. Extremely knowledgeable and professional.
Robert was extremely thorough and focused not only on the home inspection, but providing helpful insight for home OWNERSHIP. As a first time home buyer this was an incredibly educational and valuable experience.
Robert took time to explain every detail of the house and showed us how we need to care for it moving forward. He was thorough and provided a detailed inspection report in a timely manner. We would definitely recommend his services.
It was a pleasure to meet you and work with you on my condo. I am happy to write a very positive testimonial. Not having much experience on my own with home inspections, I especially appreciate how incredibly patient, thorough and informative you were in educating me on all aspects of the inspection, purchase concerns and, the specific maintenance guidelines. Karen told me that you are the best in Charlottesville, and she was correct! Lastly, I appreciate you offering to be of assistance to me if I have further questions after taking ownership.
Thorough and thoughtful with no pretense or drama. I cannot recommend you more highly.
I have probably had experience with a dozen home inspectors over the years and none have been as comprehensive and thorough as Robert. An exceptional job with clear and concise recommendations and concerns. Highly recommend his services.
Very thorough and easy to work with. Exceeded my expectations and I would recommend him to anyone.
Robert is friendly, professional and knowledgeable. He is very helpful and answers any and all questions thoroughly. We were very pleased with how detailed Robert’s written report was and appreciated the way he organized everything in the report. It was very user friendly and easy to follow. We would definitely recommend Robert to our friends or family!
Robert, we are grateful for your knowledge, and the delivery of that knowledge in an engaging, informative and friendly way. We value what we’ve learned and see it as a tool and not just a grade, so thanks!
Thorough and friendly, great combo. I appreciated all of the insight into items that were both necessary and suggested as repairs. I honestly don’t have any constructive feedback right now, it’s good to know that I have respected professionals such as yourself and Karen Ball working around me, makes the process of purchasing a home much better.
You rock Robert. Your covering letter was so reassuring as it is disheartening to read a list of negatives. Your report shed light on so many things I was far too excited to notice and really focused my attention. Of course the reason we hired you was to have an expert opinion and I don’t see how we could have done better. We have the necessary leverage to get certain things done now before we close thanks to your report, and awareness going forward. Thank you so much. I won’t hesitate to reccommend you.
As first time home buyers, we found Robert to be extremely honest and diligent with a terrific eye for detail. He was willing to explain and walk through each problem found in the home and helped suggest options to remedy. He is certainly the buyer’s advocate.
Robert was extremely professional and meticulous in his inspection. The exhaustive report reflects his attention to detail and care taken in evaluating my condo for purchase. HIGHLY recommended!
During his meticulous and thorough inspection, Robert left no stone unturned. I am extremely pleased with the full assessment that we received and I feel much more prepared for the future with his report in my hands. Thanks, Robert!
Robert was extremely organized, efficient and professional. His expertise was greatly appreciated and I would recommend him without hesitation.
I’m extremely satisfied with my home inspection. I’ve shown the report to several friends and family, all of whom told me that it was one of the most informative inspection documents they had seen. Besides delivering a very thorough and easy-to-read report, Robert has also been friendly, forthcoming and professional before, during and after the inspection. His candor regarding the home’s deficiencies (and strengths) made me very comfortable with the direction that my purchase process has taken. I’d recommend him to anyone looking to buy a home in the area.
Very complete and informative report I only wish I could have been there in person to benefit from your expertise and professionalism.
Robert was great! He explains everything and asks if you have questions every step of the way.
Excellent inspector. I was not able to attend but the report was made it feel like I was. Detailed pictures and video of any issues or concerns was brilliant.
We have had a number of buyers inspections performed. Robert gave us the most thorough and informative one we have ever received.
We can’t thank you enough for your very thorough inspection. Because we could not be there for the actual inspection day, we really appreciate your coming back and going over the house with us. Your report and your thoughts on various parts of the house will be very helpful in not only moving forward with the sale, but knowing things we may need to keep an eye on in the future. We can’t thank you enough for your professionalism!
We are so very pleased with all the information you provided. The attention to detail, the pictures, and the bits of information make us feel like we know the house inside and out and can make well-informed decisions about it. Thank you Very Much!
Robert was extremely thorough and did a great job of explaining possible issues/concerns and areas for energy savings (both during the inspection and in his report). I would highly recommend him.
Working with Robert was a pleasure. He communicated quickly via e-mail to set up the inspection. He arrived on time. He was extremely thorough in his inspection. He talked me through what he was seeing. He produced his report within 24 hours, complete with video and photos. He answered my follow up questions. Couldn’t be more satisfied. Well worth the cost.
Great job! Only confusion was the date of the inspection. Maybe do call a ahead the day prior to avoid this.
Robert was extremely thorough in his inspection and was helpful in answering all the questions I had. I would use him again and recommend him to anyone needing a home inspection.
Very thorough inspection, and was willing to explain the process and issues as they came up and their importance. Very happy with the results, the report, and the immediate turn around provided. Also provided substantial green/environmental improvements to make a home more efficient.
An incredibly professional and thorough inspection! Robert clearly knows his way around a 100-year-old house and exactly where to look for structural problems, safety issues and areas of concern. I feel so much more confident in making this purchase because Robert took the time to walk through the house with me, giving me his unbiased impressions, and confirming in this case that the house is basically solid, with a few issues to address to keep it that way. Highly recommended.
I am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with your level of detail and commitment to inspection quality. You brought to my attention all the issues and concerns in my new home. I now have a clear understanding on improvements and safety issues that can be remedied. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
Professional, knowledgeable, friendly, patient, detail-oriented, pernickety (in the good way!)–the best I could have asked for as a first-time home buyer. Grateful for his help throughout the process.
I appreciated Robert’s taking the time during the inspection to point things out to me. His report was comprehensive and I am sure I will refer to it many times over the coming months.
Robert was extremely thorough, informative, and helpful. We highly regard his work!
Thanks for an excellent inspection. In addition to giving us extremely valuable information about the current condition of the home we’re buying, you’ve given us a road map to all the repairs needed and areas that require vigilance going forward. We especially appreciate your availability for post-inspection questions.
Robert, we feel like your inspection was very thorough, and certainly brought out concerns we weren’t aware of. In fact, as a result of the attention you brought to the roof, siding, and crawl space, we arranged estimates for work on those areas. After receiving estimates on the roof and crawl space, even before getting a siding repair estimate, we decided to terminate the contract. The dollar amount had already surpassed what we were willing to spend in addition to planned interior updates. During the inspection for the crawl space work, the technician pointed out that the placement of the air handler for the heat pump in the crawl space meant the air being pulled into the house brings with it , whatever is “growing” in the crawl space. Not having owned a home with a heat pump previously or understanding the handler is located in the crawl space, we didn’t realize this until we got that estimate. That would have been good info in the report. Thanks for a great job!
Fantastic analysis and incredibly thorough! Would refer him to anyone buying a house or who wants a well-organized and detailed inspection for their home.
Thank you for the thorough and detailed home inspection. I especially appreciated your emphasis on all parts of the home being installed and functioning per manufacturer’s specifications. It seems that for you, there is no “good enough” or “that should work.” Something is either exactly correct or it isn’t – a great trait for a home inspector.
Appreciate the report and will use it going forward.
Robert’s knowledge and thoroughness are exceptional. Our realtor says he is the best in the Charlottesville area and we see why.
Robert was very thorough and very informative. I know I will reference his report as long as I’m living in this house.
Never met anyone more professional and thorough than Mr. Foster. I feel that even though we had confidence in our builder, the fact that they knew Robert would be doing his inspection, encouraged them to be on top of their game. Worth every penny of extra expense, don’t build a house without him.
Robert was very knowledgeable and discussed issues as we walked through the house. The report was also very helpful.
Hi Robert, I thought you were very thorough (though obviously I have no point of comparison) but mostly I appreciated that communicated with us in a way that conveyed the information without being condescending or too technical for us to understand. We really enjoyed working with you and would recommend you to anyone looking for a home inspector.
Really appreciate the attention to detail and the followup contact, as well as making recommendations that the sellers generally agreed were important to fix. Will happily recommend!
Very thorough and helpful. Explained items that, although were not immediate concerns, could be issues and how to remedy. Would most definitely recommend.
I’ve only been a party to a handful of home inspections, but Robert is, by far, the most thorough inspector I’ve seen. And his report was clear and easy to understand. I also highly recommend attending the inspection in person. Robert seems to take pride and joy in educating home owners about good home maintenance.
Your inspection was meticulous and presented in a friendly, accessible, and highly knowledgeable manner. We learned so much. In discussing the house, we showed your report to several family members including one contractor, all of them remarked on the thoroughness and insight of your inspection. Thank you for your help and sharing your knowledge with us!
I so appreciated Robert’s easy manner and willingness to educate me about the home while conducting his inspection.
Robert’s thoroughness was top notch. He was very professional to work with and taught us so much along the way about the process.
Robert was a pleasure to work with. He encouraged me to ask lots of questions so that I was comfortable with the results of the inspection. Robert was extremely thorough during the inspection. He found numerous issues and he took the time to educate me about items that were minor and which ones were more significant. Robert came highly recommended by my realtor, and after working with Robert, i have the same high opinion of Robert and would gladly recommend him to my friends.
Robert performed an excellent inspection – it was extremely thorough and provided us with clear information that was easy to understand in layman terms. Robert offered follow up and clarifications and excellent service. I would absolutely recommend Robert to anyone!
Robert you are by far the best inspector I have ever met and I have met a lot as I sold real-estate in Florida. You were VERY clear in your report and very willing to give 110% on paper and in person. Thank you for working with us. I will absolutely tell anyone looking for an inspector about you.
Robert’s work is meticulous and his documentation is of the highest order. During my home inspection Robert was able to answer all of my questions. This assured me that all critical issues were being properly observed and documented. Robert’s work is exceptional in every regard and I would highly recommend him for any home inspection project. In addition to his professionalism, he happens to be a very cordial (‘nice guy’) person and one that exudes unmistakable integrity.
Robert, we thought your inspection was thorough and insightful. Having some background in home construction (my dad was a building contractor), I saw several of the items you pointed out. The major items you highlighted were right on! There is just a bit of work to do but but the best part is the positives far outweigh the cautions! Thank you for a great job.
We were so happy to have Robert as our inspector. We felt that he was extremely thorough, and he took the time to carefully explain to us everything that he found. His report is also very easy to read and review. For first-time home buyers like us, we were thankful to have such a conscientious inspector like Robert.
Robert is thorough and detail-oriented. He does a great job of inspecting a house and explaining the deficiencies in layman’s terms. I learned a great deal about our new home by joining Robert during our inspection.
I was very impressed with your knowledge and professionalism! I feel absolutely confident in my purchase with you having done the inspection. Thank you so very much!
He was very thorough and answered all of our questions along the way. I feel extremely comfortable in recommending his services to anyone.
Robert was very professional and he combed the house for defects. He found a slew of minor defects along with a major defect concerning a safety issue. Thank you Robert for a job well done.
We were very fortunate to have chosen Robert to perform our home inspection. He performed an extremely thorough inspection of our home. His professionalism and knowledge put our minds at ease, and Robert’s detailed report which was readily available in 24 hours was beyond what we expected. Not only would we choose Trebor Home Inspections again, we will happily refer him to anyone who we know could use his services.
It is refreshing to find someone who does what they say they will, when they say they will, who is friendly, knowledgeable, and sticks to the quoted price for the service. Thank you for being honest and informative.
Very committed to finding any faults or defects that the home may have. Robert is very personable and approachable with questions or concerns. I highly recommend Robert to perform home inspections.
Robert Foster was awesome. Although I consider myself very experienced purchasing, selling, and maintaining homes, Robert’s extremely detailed home inspection at my future Earlysville, VA home found substantive issues that I would have never found that must be corrected regardless of whether the Seller or Buyer pays for the Repairs. Moreover, I will be moving into this house from out-of-state and Robert was so patient with my long phone calls and never ending Questions. Robert’s report was so professionally done, well organized, and documented with color photos such that even a novice homeowner would understand the issues.
Thank you for being so detailed. The pictures were very helpful.
We were very impressed with the amount of detailed information we received from Robert. His extensive knowledge of the whole house made us very comfortable with the accuracy of his findings. He is a pleasant and well-mannered person. We highly recommend him to anyone who needs a home inspection.
Thanks again Robert for all your detailed information and especially the online photos of the problems with our home purchase. Thanks also for your help and input after the fact. We greatly appreciate your professionalism, courtesy and quick turn around of the inspection report.
Thanks for taking such care on our inspection + preparing such a clear and easy to read report!
Robert was incredibly thorough and a wealth of knowledge. We learned so much about the home and have every confidence in his report.
Although we didn’t meet face to face your report was thorough and complete. It is the most in depth and direct home inspection I have ever received. Our daughter and her husband were totally complimentary.
In all the years I’ve been in real estate and all the home inspections that I’ve gone through, never have I come across such an incredibly honest, knowledgeable and experienced professional inspector. You make the right call outs and can certainly identify important issues. This is a bonus for the home buyer and also a benefit for anyone wanting to sell their home. I have yet to find another inspector as good as you. Sknaht, Trebor.
Thorough, thoughtful, and well informed home inspection. Robert’s understanding of construction and material condition allowed him to not only look at the home, but to assess the condition and make recommendations. We are very happy and will use him again any time we need a home inspector.
I cannot imagine a more thorough inspection than the one I had with Mr. Foster. He spent hours in the process, looking at every detail, investigating every space, employing every method to make sure we understood the condition of the house. He did this all while explaining what he was looking for and the significance of each finding to me and patiently answering my questions along the way. I came away with a good understanding of the house – from the HVAC system to the grading of the yard â?? and the piece of mind that comes from really knowing what you are getting into. And it was fun! Also, the business (contract, billing etc) end of the process was very easy, professional and thorough as well. As homeowners, we will use our incredibly detailed inspection report as a prioritized checklist of projects that need our attention â?? its usefulness will extend years beyond its role in the real estate negotiation. Mr. Foster is in a class by himself and has my most enthusiastic recommendation.
Thanks! You are exactly the kind of critical advisor one wants when considering the purchase of a building.
I have only great things to say about Robert’s job knowledge, communication, honesty, attention to detail and demeanor. He is, without question, one of a kind.
Mr Foster was quick to make you feel comfortable and at ease to ask questions while maintaining a friendly and professional manner. His thoroughness and attention to detail. I found the report itself to be detail oriented. The only thing I would change would be to insert a reference page/ summery page to highlight the deficiencies found.
You were very patient with us as first time home buyers. Explaining the severity and implications of each issue as well as giving a recommendation on fixing each one. I felt that you were very thorough and answered all of our questions honestly.
It is my first time to buy an old house. Both my wife and I think we are so lucky to find Robert as our inspector. The inspection lasted about 3 hours and Robert checked almost everything of the house. He also answered me a lot of questions. He sent me the report on the same day. The report is very detailed and clear. My wife and I are very satisfied with the service.
Although I didn’t attend the home inspection, the report suggested an extremely thorough approach which helped assure me that I was taking delivery of a new home with all punch-list items appropriately identified. Also, Robert was responsive by e-mail to my questions beforehand.
Excellent inspection with the most thorough walk thru and written report I have ever received. While all the deficiencies were highlighted by Robert and discussed with me, the helpful hints he provided proved just as valuable. He is a wealth of knowledge for anyone, whether a first time homebuyer or a seasoned veteran of home purchases.
Robert was incredibly thorough. He didn’t miss a thing in our inspection.
Robert is thorough and knowledgeable. He takes the time to answer all questions thoughtfully without inflating issues unnecessarily. I appreciate his professionalism.
Robert has incredible attention to detail and really took the time to completely assess the home, both for current and potential future concerns. He was incredibly knowledgable and timely in his extremely detailed report. I would highly recommend Robert to anyone needing a home inspection.
Robert was fast and thorough. He took a lot of pictures of problem areas and published them in his PDF report so we’d have an easy, all-in-one document reminding us of the things that will need to be addressed once we move in. His color-coding system made it easy to quickly understand which were the areas of major, minor, and no concern. Thanks for making our first inspection experience a great one, Robert!
Great report and really nice to have things pointed out that are not problems today, but if ignored could become big issues down the road. I will absolutely recommend his services to anyone that I come across that needs them in the future. Thank you very much for your help.
Thank you very much for the excellent home inspection. It was exactly what I was expecting, based on you sample inspection report posted on your website. I would definitely recommend you to anyone who is considering a home inspection. I really appreciated the insight and comments you provide during the inspection. The only suggestion I would make is maybe a summary page on your inspection report. A++ Home Inspector! Once again, Thank you!
The inspection was very detailed with pictures and important details to support the need for repairs to be fixed. It’s always important to have a return of the investment for paying for this type of inspection. I would say this was worth the cost by having the sellers of the home correct the concerns prior closing.
Robert is very prompt,knowledgeable, professional and responsive. I appreciated the explanations that he shared with us; the detail of his report, and especially the drawings/explanations of the correct way to remedy the deficiencies that he found. I highly recommend Robert to anyone needing construction information about their existing or future home.
Very knowledgeable and courteous. Very thorough inspection, and Robert was accommodating to our schedule. We really appreciate his work!
Robert was extremely informative not only with recognizing issues but explaining the difficultly level it would be to repair/replace. Following him around vastly increased my knowledge of the home I was buying. Robert was extremely thorough and I would recommend him to anyone looking to do a home inspection.
They say buying home is the biggest purchase decision most of us will make in our lifetimes. Robert Foster will inspect your home with a thoroughness that will leave no doubt you are making the right decision.
Hi Robert, Thank you for working with us again. We really appreciate the time you take in giving us a thorough inspection. We also learn so much from you in the process. We’re glad you were recommended to us and would absolutely recommend you to anyone looking for an inspection.
Thank you for squeezing this in yesterday. You rock! As always.
Robert is the inspector I recommend for my buyers, no matter if they are first-timer buyers or veteran buyers. His approach is thorough and careful, using tools and techniques that go beyond the basics, yet he keep discoveries in perspective given the dynamic nature of climate, homes, age and condition. His disposition is friendly and informative–a great balance in what for many buyers is a very stressful time!
Professional, thorough and fair inspections done carefully and with a humility rare in inspectors and architects.
Keep up the good work and really appreciate your willingness to answer the questions at any point in future. The report is very detail oriented with pictures and explanations.
Robert was professional, knowledgeable, and thorough. He took the time to explain all of the issues he found to us and his report was detailed and easy to understand. Overall we are very satisfied.
Thank you for such a thorough inspection! The information you shared was vital to final negotiations on this home. Thanks to your expertise, I was able to walk away from what could have been, not only a hazardous home, but a costly one. Thank you so much. Your help and advice was invaluable. See you on the next one!
very thorough and professional-would highly recommend Robert to anyone for his service!
Robert was on time and extremely professional. We would use him again!
We are very impressed with the extremely thorough and thoughtful home inspection we received from Robert. The report was very detailed and gave my husband and me something tangible to look at when it came time to make decision on what we felt were needed repairs. As we move forward with the purchase of our next home, this report also detailed things we should be aware of for potential early breakdown in the future. Thank you for your dedication!
Bob is very professional and helpful. He did an excellent job, which helped us a lot in the negotiation with the seller. The house inspected was pretty old so I emailed him a lot with millions of questions after the inspection and he replied promptly. Highly recommend him.
Robert gives the most thorough inspection I have ever ordered on a house. He provides an extremely detailed report with photographs. An example of a sample report is on his website and the actual report exceeded my expectations. Further he gave very useful suggestions for the corrections of trouble areas and general home maintenance. An inspection with Robert is more than just insurance against bad value, it is a valuable information about your new home.
Mr. Foster did a fantastic job with our potential home inspection. Mr. Foster went above and beyond in provide outstanding advice and insight. I would recommend Mr. Foster to anyone in the future and plan on using him again.
I was very pleased with Robert’s professionalism, personality, and quality or work completed. My husband and I were very pleased with how detailed and precise our inspection report was as well as the follow up and continued contact available should problems arise in the home in the future.
Thank you for the outstanding inspection that you performed at my residence. The report you provided was very detailed and through and was easy to follow.
Robert, There is no doubt you do your job very well. I dont think anyone couldve done it any better. Thank you!
Thorough inspection and helpful explanations of all issues. Would highly recommend him.
Very thorough and great explanations provided for any findings. Thanks Robert.
Robert, thank you for an excellent home inspection! Not only did you provide a detailed report complete with pictures and video of the areas needing attention, you answered every question we had regarding home construction and repairs. We were very satisfied with your work and have already recommended you to other real estate agents and potential home buyers.
Robert was incredibly thorough in his inspection. He took the time to talk through everything with us and answer any questions we had. We are now buying the house with confidence and a much greater understanding of the building. A very big thank you!
Robert, thanks for the extremely thorough inspection and report about the property. I also appreciate your availability and willingness to patiently answer all of my questions. I will be happy to recommend your services.
We wanted to let you know the good news that we settled on pricing and terms based off your report. We can’t thank you enough for your thoroughness! We learned SO much about the house during the inspection, and your final report addressed everything we needed to know to move forward & then some. Mike and I plan to stay in touch and put your extensive knowledge to further use! 🙂 THANK YOU AGAIN!
Robert- Thank you for your kindness, professional way, and utmost throughness of your inspection report. This report will certainly help my parents as they prepare to put their home on the market.
Wow…welcome to Charlottesville. It’s a pleasure to see the bar raised!
Thank you so much! The report is so detailed and informative. I’d gladly recommend you to anyone needing an inspection and if I need another, I’ll be giving you a call.
Thank you, Robert, for your assistance and detailed report. I really appreciate the time you took to go through your findings with me, and your willingness to answer all the questions I had concerning the fine deails of the house’s construction. | 2019-04-23T20:21:46Z | http://treborhomeinspections.com/client-testimonials/ |
-Diablo II is optimized for Voodoo series video cards, which were popular among 3D gamers when it was released. Glide is the 3D graphics API for Voodoo cards, and D2 runs much faster in Glide mode than in other modes (Direct Draw/3D.) If you don't have a Voodoo, you can't select Glide mode.
-In short, a Glide wrapper lets other video cards than Voodoo work in Glide mode, to improve the graphic performance.
-This Glide Wrapper is recommended in Eastern Sun forum [[Glide Wrapper thread:http://phrozenkeep.hugelaser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47073]].
-You can find many other Glide Wrappers, too, but this one is optimized for Diablo II, and would work better.
- If you are running Windows Vista with the Aero-theme activated, the Glide Wrapper will not function by default due to OpenGL conflicts. You can go around this issue by configuring your Eastern Sun shortcut: Go to the compatibility-tab at the shortcut properties, and enable 'Disable desktop compositing'. This setting will disable the Vista Aero-theme every time you run ES from the shortcut, which allows the Glide Wrapper to run properly.
-NOTE: The 'test version of Sven's Wrapper includes an option to automatically tun off the effects needed to run properly under Windows Vista/7.
-''Repair/Recharge cost'' is very low in ES. You no longer have to worry about the recharge cost. Superior Runeworded items will never bankrupt you.
-''Other mercenaries'' than Act 2 mercenaries are also useful. All mercenaries have useful support skill(s) like an aura, warcries, etc.
-''Mercenaries hired in Hell'' has the same stats as the ones hired in Normal (Only the aura of the Act 2 mercenaries changes each difficulty). You can change your mercenary without losing their stats, so I recommend hiring each mercenary at least once to see how they work.
-''Weaken'', ''Iron Maiden'' and ''Decrepify'' reduce monster's physical resist by 60% while ''Amplify Damage'' reduces it by 80%. Now Amplify Damage isn't the only melee curse to be considered.
-''Inner Sight'' also reduces monster's physical damage by 5-35% (more than 70% when fully synergized), and this works on top of another curse.
-''Damage Augmenter'' is a free bonus charm included in the starting items. All characters should have one. You can make one by a cube recipe for your old characters.
-You start out with a very low chance to hit, so go after easy targets like Fallen until you gain a couple levels.
-(Edit) All monsters' life was roughly doubled in R5, and characters are given 500 fulminating potions instead, which would let you gain a few levels with ease.
-Please note even the weakest monsters have a twice higher level than you, and this level difference make it very difficult to hit monsters. Attack Rating would be given the highest priority.
-Don't be afraid to flee back to town and start a new game if you get too many monsters coming after you at once.
-Every character class can benefit from a javelin/shield combo early on. This gives you the benefit of ranged combat (thrown), or melee combat with the additional defense of a shield. Also, cubing any javelin/throwing/quiver by itself, resets the quantity to 255. Useful to remember if you are out in the wilderness and you get the low quantity warning.
-''Socketables'': Don't be afraid to stick the socketables you find into a weapon or piece of armor...you can take them out anytime you want by putting the socketed item in your Horadric Cube together with a key. Nothing is destroyed, you get your gems, jewels, or runes back, as well as the item they were in.
-''Gemwords/Runewords'': Everyone can benefit from [[gemwords:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3gemw_n.htm]] early on. If you fill all the sockets in a white item with the same type and quality of gem, you'll get a CtC skill as well as the listed bonuses. Many useful low level [[runewords:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3runew_n.htm]] are also available.
-''Buying Gems'': Wish you had more gems of a certain type? You can buy more from Akara, or make a pgem using [[Secret Recipie #14:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#sec]].
-''Socket Weapons/Armor'': Following list shows the maximum socket numbers of the items available in normal Act 1. Because socketables are so powerful and flexible, it's a good idea to stock one or two of maximum socket items when you find them at the shop, for you and your hireling. Please also note hirelings can equip gloves, belt and boots in ES.
-''3 Socket Helms'': If you need more sockets, the [[3 socket Mask, etc.:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#nor]] from Decipherers may be worth cubing. These are the only 3 socket helms available early on.
-''Sash/Light Belt Upgrade'': Any Sashes and Light Belts can be [[upgraded to a Belt:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#bas]] by cubing with a Stamina Pot.
-''Gambling'': Gambling is much better in ES than in vanilla, you have a 5% chance each of getting a set or unique item. That means you have a 1:20 chance of finding each...about 1 in 10 items you gamble will be either a unique or a set item. You can check out the [[set:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3set_n.htm]] or unique [[weapons:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3uweap_n.htm]]/[[armor:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3uarmo_n.htm]], and get one that looks nice.
-''Set Item Conversion'': Some Set Items can be [[converted:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#set]] into a piece of another set or another base item by cubing with a Thawing Pot.
-''Starter's Weapons'': Need a good weapon for getting started? With a normal and a chipped gem (depending on what skill tab bonus you would like to have), a decipherer, and a magic jewel you can make a very good magic weapon, with 1-2 sockets, +1-2 to one of your skill trees, and either 100% enhanced damage with 15-20% IAS (for ranged/melee weapons), or +1 to class skills, +20-40 mana, and +4-6 mana per kill (for caster weapons) using the [[Starter's Weapon:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#mag]] recipes. You can also get a prefix and a suffix, if you get a good one, that recipie can produce an excellent item.
-''Skill Tab Rings/Amulets'': You can also boost your skill levels by crafting +to skill-tab rings/amulets, e.g. +3 to Lightning Skills (Sorceress Only). With three decipherers, a normal gem (of a specific type), and a class-only ring/amulet, you can create a piece of jewelry which gives +1-3 to a skill tab. Like the Starter's Weapon recipie, it can also get a prefix and a suffix...and since it uses class-only jewelry, there's also a chance you could get +1-3 to your favorite skill. The exact recipies can be found on the ES database, in the [[ring/amulet:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#rin]] section. Scroll down until you see "Skill Tab Re-roll".
-If you're looking for something to pick up to make lots of gold at the shop early on, it's javelins and throwing daggers you should keep your eye out for, since they're worth more in ES. Wands/Orbs are much less expensive in ES than in vanilla, so if you play Necromancer or Sorceress, look through Akara's inventory of items for sale...you might find something nice that you can afford.
-Also keep your eye out for throwing potions. Rancid Gas and Oil Potions are worth the most. A full stack (500) can sell for 10'000 in Normal, and almost twice that in nightmare. A quick tip: don't sell them right away when you find them. If you find only one, cube with a rejuvination potion to bring it to 255, then save it until you find another one. Rejuv that one to 255, put them together to fill one, then rejuv the other back to 255 and save. Sell the one that's full, and repeat. Also remember, if you're farming in Normal but you've made it to Nightmare, save your Oil Potions and Rancid Gas and sell them when you go back to Nightmare.
-If you get more than one of the same scroll, you can either try to get a scroll you don't have, by trasmuting two extra scrolls into a new scroll (two scrolls in the range 1-25 give outputs in the range 1-30, scrolls from 26-50 give outputs in the range 20-50), or you can turn your extra scroll into a [[D-Stone>Glossary#dragon_stone]], by transmuting it with a key.
-Wish you had more decipherers for all those nice crafting recipies, or to identify your Ancient Scrolls? You can split a D-Stone into 8 decipherers using the [[multi-stocker>Glossary#multi-stocker]], which can be useful early on. You can also get decipherers by transmuting organs in your cube: it takes six hearts or souls, or two of any other organ to make an Ancient Decipherer. You may prefer to save most organs for [[tinkering:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#tin]], but if you aren't interested in the tinkering mod given by a certain organ, turn your extras into decipherers. Unwanted unique/set items (armor/weapons) can also be turned into decipherer points by cubing with a Multi Stocker.
-Wish you had more Dragon Stones? Once you make it to Act II, you can pick up as many as you need by doing [[HoD runs>Glossary#hod_runs]].
-IMHO a much better method is to do quick clears of Normal Levels (anything from regular Act 1 levels to Cows) at a high player setting with a character that has a good area attack (Auradins are best if your level is very high as the aura damage will kill all monsters as soon as they come on screen, leaving you free to sort through the loot) and pick up only important items like dstones, Ancient scrolls, rings/ammys, charms and such.
You may remember playing in Hell got much harder in LoD 1.10 than in 1.09. You may feel the same thing in ES, because of the greater resist penalty and all monsters hitting hard. This is because all items are highly enhanceable in ES, and it's supposed that most players have some decent equipment.
But for the first time play, players are often misled by the fact that Normal and Nightmare are rather easy in ES, and enter Hell without any preparation to face a hard time.
In the long history of ES, many recipes have been added by the requests/suggestions, and ES cube recipes will look very complicated for beginners. In this section, it will be explained how to prepare for Hell, mainly how to enhance your equipments.
-If it's not the first character to enter Hell (and has some decent equipments), you may need no specific preparation. But for the first time play I strongly recommend to do treasure hunting and leveling in Nightmare, say in Cow Level, Lost Farm, Marsh of Pain and WSK.
-You may not believe monsters drop any good items in Nightmare, and like to play in Hell soon. But you can get the best resist charms and skiller charms in Nightmare, and you will collect cubing materials more efficiently because you can play in a higher players setting there.
-Those special areas in Nightmare aren't a bad place to level, either. You don't need to level consciously. While repeating treasure hunting, your character's level will hit 70 soon. The character level makes a lot of difference in hell because the chance to hit depends on the difference of character level and monster level.
-''Gems:'' Gem Can is useful to collect gems.
-''Runes:'' NM Cows drop up to "No" runes (the lowest gold rune). For runewords and base upgrade recipes.
-''Charms:'' Resistance charms will help a lot in Hell where you suffer a heavy resistance penalty. Even junk charms are worth Keeping for rerolling.
-''Ancient Scrolls:'' You may like to get Scroll #27 to reroll rare charms before you enter Hell. When you finish Nightmare, your character's level will be enough high to reroll a rare charm, because you can get most useful mods on rare charms around clvl 60, and the highest mods aren't available on rares anyway.
-The lack of resistance can be lethal. It's preferable that all resistances are at least 75% in Hell. But it's also true that resistances tend to be redundant later, by getting better items and rescuing Anya in Hell.
-''Charms:'' Charms are the most flexible way to gain resistances. Before entering Hell, getting a couple of resist charms in NM will greatly help.
-''Gems and Jewels'' Another flexible way. Gems are easy to get and have nice resistances, but please note that you must put them in the shield or belt for the resistance. If your character uses a two handed weapon, the belt is the only and precious slot. The Torso Armor also uses Shield Gem type so it is also useful to get resists.
-''[[Forging:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#for]]:'' Forgings are now "removable", too. One forging grants 16% All Resistance. But you may like to spend forgings for the skill bonus or max life.
-''[[D-Stoning:http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3cube_n.htm#dst]]:'' While all resist charms are very difficult to get, it's quite handy to D-stone all resists which only requires a D-Stone for 4% all resists. On the other hand, it may not a good idea to D-Stone resists, because D-Stoning can't be removed and resists tend to be redundant later. If you need to D-Stone resists anyway, D-Stone the cheapest item, because you only have to give up that cheap item when you don't need resists in future.
-It would be safe for casters to have 3000-4000 life in Hell, for melee characters, 5000-6000.
-You can do with less life once you get godly equipment (killing power, defense, damage reduction, elemental absorbs, etc.). You may like to replace some life enhancement with other offensive enhancements later.
-''Call To Arms (LoD Runeword):'' A favorite runeword. Baal himself can drop an Ohm decal in Nightmare, but Cows can't.
-''of Skillmaster (Suffix):'' Rings, amulets, helms, body armor and spears can have the suffix of level 1-12 Battle Orders. The affix level is 56. Spears include javelins, which are 1 handed (can be equipped with a skiller shield) and good for the second weapon. Don't overlook any rare javelins! Oskill Oak Sage is fragile, but easier to get and better than nothing. Please note that Vigor has Max Life% bonus, too.
-''Defensive Barbarian:'' If you don't have any oskill BO, and your character often dies in Hell, I strongly recommend hiring a Defensive Barbarian mercenary. They are much tougher than desert mercenaries, and their BO and Shout make the character and themselves even tougher. It's not too late to consider other mercenaries after you find an oskill BO.
-A very strong effect which 1.08 Shako had. Abolished in the current version of LoD, but easy to get in ES. Why don't you utilize it a lot?
-''Forging:'' One forging grants 16% Max Life. As stated in "Resists" section, skill forging is also attractive, but life would be more important when your character often dies in Hell. Also, the cost of Stat forging is about half of skill forging. If you have a limited number of Anvil Stones, 32% more life would work better than +1 to skill levels.
-''D-Stoning:'' Well, you can't remove D-Stoning. But unlike resists, more life is always better. So there is less chance to regret D-Stoning Max Life% later. [[Item Enhancement>ItemEnhancement]] page introduces fully life D-Stoned Achilles' set, which can be the final gear for most melee builds and mercenaries.
-If you often die in closed combats, the life leech may not be enough. With godly weapons, less leech will suffice, but with moderate weapons, you will need more leech than you need in LoD.
-''D-Stoning:'' D-Stoning rings and amulets is one way to add life leech. Low unique/rare jewelry like Ring of Vengeance or dual leech rares is a good base of D-Stoning Life Leech. Fully D-Stoned RoV can have 40% Life Leech or more, for example. D-Stoned cheap jewelry can be more effective than high level unique jewelry, depending on your setup.
-Other good methods are Gem-melding Skulls on your weapon and gloves if you need both Life and Mana leech or socketing a Skull or Ya rune in the Weapon/Gloves. A very good method (especially for melee Mercs) is to Ya-forge Jewels.
-If you have no CBF on equipments, find a Fu rune or better in NM Cow and downgrade it to Fu.
-If you can prepare 2 Fu runes, forge it onto some equipment to get CBF.
-Of course more DR% is better. But tons of DR% isn't indispensable as long as you have enough life.
-At least one of oskill ''Lower Resist'' or ''Conviction'' would be a must for casters. Both are available on mid level runewords/gemwords. Hireling a Conviction Mercenary or Offensive Barbarian would also be ok. It's ideal to have both.
-Physical attackers and Druid summoners will need one of physical resistance reduction curses (''Amplify Damage'', ''Decrepify'', ''Weaken'' or ''Iron Maiden''). CtC curses would be ok for physical attackers, but Druid summoners will need an oskill curse unless they use a special item like a Strafe oskill bow. If you can't find any good oskill curses, I recommend making a Unique Great Axe, which has an oskill Amplify Damage. Fully synergized Inner Sight can also reduce enemy's physical resistance fairly well. A curse and Inner Sight stack one another, so it's ideal to have both.
Monsters drop Ancient Decals in the same way as they drop Runes. The reward of Hellforge Quest isn't a monster drop and never drops Ancient Decals. But all other monsters can drop both Runes and Ancient Decals. In following sentences, the word "Runes" includes "Ancient Decals"
Runes aren't magic items, so Magic Find doesn't increase %%%or reduce%%% the chance of their drop.
More players in the game increases all drops including runes. As an exception, Countess' special rune drop isn't affected by the number of players.
Of course more monsters drop more runes, so crowded areas like Cow Level and Lost Farm are good place to find runes.
Belhifeits and Cyclopes drop runes instead of their organ (roughly 1/60 chance), in addition to the ordinary rune drop.
Ancient Scrolls aren't magic items and Magic Find doesn't work, either. Only more players can increase the chance of their drop.
You can cube a low level Ancient Scroll from a Cookbook, and you can cube a Cookbook from DragonStones, so collecting Dragon Stones is another way to enrich your bookshelf.
In R3F, following recipes were added.
Crystals are new items that are used to cube Uber Organs and Kanji Runes. They are found in Ores which serve as a container for them. Crystals are extracted by cubing the ore with itself. An empty ore has no further use.
The crystals contained in an ore are randomly determined, just like mods on a rare item. An ore may contain only one crystal, or even no crystal at all. All monsters have a very slim chance to drop an ore. This chance is doubled in Nightmare and tripled in Hell. These ores may contain 0-6 chipped crystals (0-1 crystal of each kind), but 2 crystals on average.
Listed below are some particular bosses that have an extra chance to drop a higher quality or a 'boss' ore.
There is no difference in appearance between normal ores and boss ores, but the latter tends to contain more crystals.
Boss ores have a high chance to contain a kind of crystal related to that boss (0-4).
Boss ores have a mid chance to contain 3 kinds of crystals loosely related to that boss (0-1).
Boss ores have a low chance to contain other 9 kinds of crystals (0-1).
In theory a boss ore can contain 15 crystals at best, but 3 or 4 on average.
--Can be stored in Rune Stocker (H).
--Kanji Runes can't be upgraded or downgraded.
-Since the Gambling of D2 has a hard-coded clvl dependant formula and is difficult to tweak, the Gambling had been changed many times in ES. In the latest version, most gambling problems have been fixed by introducing Gambling Chits.
-The difficulty doesn't matter for gambling any longer.
-The chance of getting a unique item is increased from 0.05% to 5%.
-The chance of getting a set item is increased from 0.1% to 5%.
-The chance of getting a rare item is increased from 10% to 30%.
-The ilvl of gambled item randomly varies between your clvl -5 and your clvl +4.
-The ilvl must be equal to or higher than the qlvl of the base item.
--If the ilvl is less than the qlvl of a specific item, that item simply doesn't appear on the window. For example, if you see a pair of Gauntlets (qlvl = 29) on the window, it means its ilvl is 29 or higher.
-The ilvl must be equal to or higher than the level of the set/unique item.
--If the ilvl isn't enough for a specific set piece, that item turns into a magic item.
--If the ilvl isn't enough for a specific unique, that item turns into a rare item.
-The parameter for exceptional is increased from 0.9% to 1.5%.
-The parameter for elite is increased from 0.33% to 2.5%.
Where (clvl - 5) or (clvl + 4) is the actual ilvl of the gambled item.
--This formula is quoted from the Arreat Summit (ie. may be wrong).
--It seems Exceptional is checked first, and then Elite is, because 100% chance of Exceptional results no Elite at all.
--Much improved from the LoD chance, but please note the high level elites are still very difficult to gamble. Please consider buying gambling chits for those items.
-Anya and Larzuk sell Gambling Chits as an alternative of gamblimg.
-Gambling Chits are cubed into an item, and the result is random just like gambling.
--Please check the gambling cost, too. If the gambling cost is cheaper, gambling can be better.
-Gambling Chits have the same chance for Unique/Set/Rare as gambling.
--These fixed chance are very helpful to get high level elites which are very difficult to gamble.
-Anya and Larzuk always sell all kind of Gambling Chits.
--This feature is convenient when you can't use Gamble Filter.
--You can reset Anya's window by entering the red portal.
-Gamble Filter is a Windows utility to filter the items on the gamble screen. Mac users can't use this utility. Gambling Chits may be helpful in such cases, because you can buy at least 1 chit per visit.
-You can run Gamble Filter without exiting ES. (You can use Alt+Tab to switch applications.) But you have to make a new game after you edit the items on the gamble screen.
even try for it until I'm at least level 50.
high qlvl makes chits a better bet.
This section is a partial transration of [[Monju's Character Build Delusion (jp):http://miyoshino.la.coocan.jp/eswiki/?JP_Nikki_Monju_build#z6855b1b]].
-To negate 1% monster's resistance beyond 100%, you need 5% lower resistance effect from the skills.
-The lower resistance effect from items can't negate the resistance beyond 100%, but it works once other skills break the immunity.
-Lower Resist can reduce Magic and Poison Resist by the synergy from Pierce Poison & Bones.
-Unique bosses are spawned with random mods, some of them give extra resistances and make them invulnerable immune.
+DR is less effective than DR%, and most players tend to neglect DR, but dozens of DR is actually very helpful. Normal (non-boss) monsters usually deal less than 200 damage in Hell Act 5 (ex. Enslaved in Bloody Foothills deals 136-182 melee damage). So even 20 DR reduces a fair amount of such "daily" damage. Also, DR works beside DR% which has the cap, and it reduces some spell damages like Diablo Lightning.
+The cap can be raised up to 95% by +Max Resist equipment. Hirelings are penalized by the difficulty, but monions aren't.
+The cap can be raised up to 95% by +Max Resist equipment. No penalty by the difficulty exists, which is why you can live without any Magic Resist.
+Absorb and Absorb% heals first.
(ex) When a monster deals 100 Fire Damage and you have 40% Fire Absorb, first your life is healed by 40 (100 x 40%), and then you take 60 Fire Damage (100 - 100 x 40%).
+While X Absorb negates 2 x X Elemental Damage at best, MDR always negates only X Elemental damage (Roughly speaking 1/2 effect). But it reduces all four elemental damages and magic (bone, holy) damage. Dozens of MDR is helpful as well as dozens of DR.
-Your characters and shared stash are saved in "Diablo II\es300r\save". You are recommended to backup this folder from time to time.
-The button with an X on the skill panel resets the skill points.
-Pressing Shift increases the handled amount of the stat points to 5.
the gold window in the stash.
-The shared stash and multiple personal stashes are self-explanatory.
-A huge shared stash makes ES take a longer time to be launched, and can cause a join failure in TCP/IP games. Please keep the shared stash tiny as possible, say less than 100 pages, and use the personal stash and mule characters instead.
-To disable the map regeneration in single play, please use 'ES 3.00 R preference' shortcut in the Start menu, instead of editing PlugY.ini directly.
-You can find the players to play with in this thread.
-Please DON'T ACCESS THE SHARED STASH IN TCP/IP GAMES as possible. If you forget to switch back to the normal stash and quit the game, (or if D2 crashes during you access the shared stash), the normal stash is destroyed. People do forget, so please make it a rule never to access the shared stash in TCP/IP games.
-If you host with a router, you need to open TCP/UDP port 4000, 6112-6119. D2 can't display the correct external IP address when you use a router.
play only. Please make sure to reset the filter before you host a TCP/IP game. | 2019-04-26T06:03:01Z | http://miyoshino.la.coocan.jp/eswiki/?cmd=diff&page=Playing%20Tips |
To compare non coplanar field (NCF) with coplanar field (CF) -intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) planning for ethmoid cancer.
Seven patients treated with NCF IMRT for ethmoid cancer were studied. A CF IMRT optimization was prepared with the same constraints as for the NCF treatment. The maximum point doses (D max) obtained for the different optic pathway structures (OPS) should differ no more than 3% from those achieved with the NCF IMRT plan. The distribution of the dose in the target volume and in the critical structures was compared between the two techniques, as well as the Conformity (CI) and the Homogeneity Indexes (HI) in the target volume.
We noted no difference between the two techniques in the OPS for the D1, D2, and D5%, in the inner ear and controlateral lens for the average Dmax, in the temporo-mandibular joints for the average mean dose, in the cord and brainstem for the average D1%. The dose-volume histograms were slightly better with the NCF treatment plan for the planning target volume (PTV) with a marginally better HI but no impact on CI. We found a great improvement in the PTV coverage with the CF treatment plan for two patients with T4 tumors.
IMRT is one of the treatment options for ethmoid cancer. The PTV coverage is optimal without compromising the protection of the OPS. The impact of non coplanar versus coplanar set up is very slight.
Ethmoid sinus cancers are rare malignant tumors of the paranasal sinuses. They are often diagnosed at a late stage and are often, at that point, locally advanced. Despite the lack of randomised studies [1–3] we have a multidisciplinary approach with initial surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. Planning the radiation treatment is a challenge for the radiophysician due to the proximity of critical and radiosensitive structures. The outcome is suboptimal with locoregional failure and treatment morbidity [4–9]. The implementation of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for this pathology offers a better bilateral sparing of the optic pathways and probably increases the therapeutic ratio. Nevertheless, the coverage of the target volume depends on the dose delivered to optic structure . In daily therapeutic practice, the physician has to make a decision based on the probabilities for locoregional control and the risks of loosing binocular vision. The possible contribution of non coplanar field (NCF) as opposed to coplanar field (CF) IMRT is not well known. In our hospital, 7 patients were treated for ethmoid sinus carcinoma by IMRT with a non coplanar technique. The dose delivered to the optic structures depended on initial staging of the pathology and was at the discretion of the physician. For all these patients, we came up with a coplanar treatment plan, with the same maximum doses to optic structures as those obtained with NCF. The aim of this paper was to compare the dose distribution in the target volumes and in other various critical structures in coplanar and non coplanar field IMRT.
Between July 2004 and April 2005, 7 consecutive patients (3 males and 4 females) with node-negative ethmoid sinus tumors (based on the CT scan) were treated in the radiotherapy department of the CRLC Val D'Aurelle – Paul Lamarque. The median age was 51.7 years old (range 24 to 72 years). The initial staging was performed clinically with a cervico-facial CT scan, a sinus MRI, a chest X-ray and an abdominal US scan. We detected three adenocarcinomas, three esthesioneuroblastomas and one undifferentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma. Four patients were treated with surgery and post operative radiotherapy, two patients with concomitant radio-chemotherapy and one with sequential radio-chemotherapy. The studied population consisted of three T2, two T3 and two T4; one with anterior orbital soft tissue invasion, the other with extensions in the cavernous sinus.
Patients were immobilized in supine position with a customized cushion (Moldcare, Bebig®) and a 5-point thermoplastic face mask. A CT scan (Picker PQ2000) with iodine injection was performed from the vertex to the sternum with 3 mm slice thickness spaced every 3 mm. Images were transferred to the virtual simulation system (Acqsim Philips) and the isocenter, located in the clinical target volume (CTV1), was defined directly after the CT scan acquisition. This referent point was marked on the patient face mask using mobile lasers.
For non-operated patients, the gross tumor volume (GTV) was delineated after MRI-CT fusion scan. The CTV1 was defined with a 3D empiric margin of 4 mm around the GTV. For operated patients, the CTV1 was contoured after the same fusion scan with the help of the surgical report and the anatomo-pathologist's results. The CTV2 included all the CTV1, the ethmoid, the ipsilateral maxillary sinus, the nasal cavity, the sphenoid sinus and the caudal part of the frontal sinus. In the case of sphenoid invasion, the cavernous sinus was included and for orbit extension the whole orbit was delineated. The planning target volume (PTV) was determined by a 4 mm 3D margin around the CTV.
For all patients, the following structures were delineated: spinal cord, extended spinal cord (ext cord) made up of a 7 mm 3D margin, brainstem, frontal and parietal lobes, pituitary gland, optic chiasma, optic nerves, retinae, lenses increased by a 2 mm 3D safety margin, parotids, temporo-mandibular joints, lachrymal glands.
The 7 patients were treated with 5 non coplanar fields: two fields with 95° and 265° gantry angulations without table rotation and three non coplanar fields with 35°, 320° and 345° gantry angulations with 90° table rotation.
Optimization was performed on the inverse planning system Eclipse Helios (Varian Medical Systems) with 6 MV photon beams. The dose constraints used for the different volumes are summarized in Table 1.
The dose delivered to the optic pathways depended on the proximity of the CTV1. Therefore, to validate the treatment plan, the physician had to compromise between target volume coverage and the dose to the optic pathways.
The comparative study consisted of performing a treatment plan for each patient using coplanar fields with a maximum delivered dose (Dmax) to the chiasma and optic nerves within 3% of the Dmax delivered with the non coplanar treatment plan. Optimization was performed with the same inverse planning system using the set of constraints described in Table 1. Five 6 MV photon coplanar fields were applied to these patients with 0°, 70°, 140°, 210° and 290° gantry angulations, the latter being approved by the physician in charge of the patient.
The maximum dose in the optic chiasma, ipsilateral and controlateral optic nerves are represented in the Figure 1a,b,c. No difference was noted between NCF and CF techniques.
Maximum doses in optic pathways, respectively optic chiasma (a), ipsilateral optic nerve (b) and controlateral optic nerve (c). For each patient (Px), the maximum dose for coplanar field CF (grey) and for non coplanar field NCF (black) is represented.
Likewise, the doses delivered in 1, 2 and 5% of these volumes (D1, D2 and D5%) were similar for the two techniques (Figure 2a,b,c). The differences did not exceed 2 Gy except for patient n° 2, where the dose in the controlateral optic nerve was more than 3 Gy lower with the CF technique.
Dose distribution in optic pathways for each patient (Px); optic chiasma (a), ipsilateral optic nerve (b) and controlateral optic nerve (c) respectively. The dose difference in Gy between non coplanar field NCF and coplanar field CF (D NCF – D CF) is represented in terms of D1%, D2%, and D5% corresponding to the doses in 1, 2 and 5 % of the volumes respectively. This means that when the difference is negative, the dose to optic pathways is higher when using coplanar field technique.
In Figure 3, we show the most characteristic tolerance doses for each organ at risk (OAR). Also represented are the mean values for each organ with their standard deviation. No difference was noted between CF and NCF for the ipsilateral and controlateral lenses, brainstem, temporo-mandibular joints, inner ears or parotids. Moreover, we did not find a subgroup of patients who benefited from either of the techniques.
Comparison of dose distribution in organs at risk for the coplanar field technique CF (grey) and non coplanar field technique NCF (black). The most characteristic tolerance dose for each organ at risk is represented. D1%, Dmean and Dmax are the 1% of organ volume doses, mean dose and maximum dose respectively. Mean dose values and standard deviation are shown.
The mean dose volume histogram for the PTV1 is shown in Figure 4. We can observe a slight difference in favour of the NCF compared with the CF. The HI confirm this tendency with a mean value of 0.14 for the NCF and 0.16 for the CF; HIs are represented for each patient in Figure 5. The conformity index for the two techniques was similar as shown in Figure 6. In the subgroup of patients with skull base involvement (T4), a significant benefit was noticed with the CF compared to the NCF (Fig. 7). Ninety percent and 95% of the volume received respectively 96% and 94.5% of the prescribed dose with the CF technique and 94.5% and 93.5% with the NCF technique.
Mean dose volume histogram in the planning target volume for the coplanar field CF (grey) and non coplanar field technique NCF (black). Minimum and maximum doses of the study group are represented by dotted lines.
Homogeneity index (HI) for each patient in the coplanar field CF (grey) and non coplanar field NCF (black) technique. HI is defined as the difference between D1 and D99% divided by the prescribed dose. A perfect homogeneity would be reached with a zero index.
PTV mean dose volume histogram in the T4 subgroup for the coplanar field CF (grey) and non coplanar field technique NCF (black). Minimum and maximum doses of the study group are represented by dotted lines.
In the other subgroups, we observed no dosimetric impact of either of the techniques.
The implementation of modern radiotherapy (3D conformal and IMRT) has led to a reduction of the mean total dose to organs at risk and particularly to the optic nerves when compared to conventional radiotherapy . Radiation optic neuropathy is highly dependant on the radiation dose [13–15]. Consequently, the high incidence of radiotherapy-induced blindness, as much as 37%, with conventional radiotherapy could be reduced by the use of 3D radiotherapy [16–18]. However in a single institution study with 40 patients , conformal radiotherapy for paranasal sinus carcinoma seems to be safer with only a 5 % incidence of cataract and only 2.5% unilateral blindness.
The benefits, in dose reduction to the optic pathways, of IMRT over 3D conformal radiotherapy have already been investigated , with an average maximum dose of 56.4 Gy for IMRT and of 64.2 Gy for 3D conformal radiotherapy. However, a complex treatment planning with 4-field 3D conformal radiotherapy and forward treatment planning will yield similar results to CF IMRT . We have to point out though, that since high doses were delivered to both optic nerves, this diminishes the case for IMRT in this study.
One other advantage of IMRT is the mode of administration of radiotherapy: as integrated concomitant boosts with a daily dose fraction to OAR of less than 2 Gy which can prevent late complications .
In a publication by the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the maximum point dose for the controlateral optic nerve was significantly reduced when using 5 non coplanar field IMRT rather than the 9 coplanar field method . On the other hand, there was no significant difference for the ipsilateral nerve. In our experience, we did not observe better D1, D2 and D5% to the optic pathways with the non coplanar fields when using the same maximum dose for both techniques.
The significance of maximum point dose to serial organs such as chiasma or optic nerves in fractionated radiotherapy is not well known, and many teams use D1 or D2 as the maximum tolerated dose for the validation of dosimetry. A Belgian study by Claus et al. introduced a planning organ at risk volume (PRV) made of a 2 mm isotropic expansion around the optic pathway with the following constraint: less than 5% of the PRV should receive more than 60 Gy . A median follow up of 31 months for the 39 patients did not show any radiotherapy-induced blindness. Moreover, a recent publication with 36 patients treated by IMRT for paranasal carcinoma did not report decreased vision.
For small organ volumes such as the lens, we used a PRV with 2 mm isotropic margin. During optimization, constraints were modified in order to have the lowest dose possible. Maximum dose to the lens was very similar for both techniques, around 16 Gy. Probability of cataract remained high at 27% at 5 years and 57% at 8 years for a dose of 15 Gy in 15 fractions, as described by Henk et al. .
This excess dose to the lens does not depend on the radiotherapy technique, and even with conformal 3D treatment [12, 21], the ipsilateral and controlateral lenses are irradiated more than the tolerated dose given by TD 5/5 published by Emami . Proton therapy could be used to reduce the dose to the controlateral lens but 40% of the controlateral lens will still be overdosed , without any impact on the dose delivered to the ipsilateral lens.
It would be tempting to compare the two treatment modalities for the entire ocular globe. We know that coplanar IMRT and 3D conformal radiotherapy reduce the mean total dose in a similar way when compared to conventional irradiation , with a slight benefit with a 5-beam conformal radiotherapy over coplanar IMRT . A significant dosimetric advantage represented by the mean dose is noted for non coplanar over coplanar field IMRT when considering the two ocular globes . Nevertheless, the pertinence of these comparisons for clinical practice is doubtful because of the difference in radiosensibility for the diverse components of the eye .
The DVH and the conformity index for the PTV1 are similar between the two techniques. No available data demonstrating the superiority of the non coplanar over coplanar fields on the target volume has been published. This lack of difference can be explained by the ease with which the inverse planning system can follow the constraints prescribed for sliding window IMRT. No superiority of conformal 3D treatment over conventional treatment planning was demonstrated in maxillary sinus tumors . In ethmoid carcinoma, conformal radiotherapy with forward planning is better than conventional planning [21, 28].
In the publication of Adams et al., the conformity and homogeneity indices are better with IMRT than with conformal treatment . The same observations were made when comparing multifield dynamic IMRT and step-and-shoot IMRT to 3D conformal treatment . Interestingly, no dosimetric benefits for the target volume were noted with IMRT over conformal treatment planning in the maxillary sinus , probably due to the distance from the optic pathway and the lack of concave organs.
The MD Anderson Cancer Center experience did not directly compare coplanar and non coplanar field IMRT; however, they used a parallelized multi-resolution beam angle optimization (PMBAO) which included non coplanar fields and obtained thus better dose homogeneity without a real impact on the conformity index . Their results could be explained by the use of only two non coplanar beams in a 5-beam configuration. The impact noted on the homogeneity in the target volume is in agreement with our results and seems to be due to non coplanar fields rather than the PMBAO.
IMRT using the non coplanar field technique in ethmoid carcinoma is an effective approach for treating this tumor. A slight impact was shown on the PTV coverage for the non coplanar set up compared with the coplanar technique. Using our beam configuration, T4 tumors with skull base involvement were better treated with coplanar fields. In all cases, inverse planning allows for a dosimetric sparing of the optic pathways with good target volume coverage whatever the set up employed. The clinical impact on local control and on late effects is still not known with IMRT and a retrospective analysis of this cohort of patients is required.
Parallelized multi-resolution beam angle optimization.
The authors would like to thank B. Hawkins and F. Godson for the excellent assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.
AS, KI, and PF conceived the study, collected data, and drafted the manuscript.
AA, LS, and NA collected data.
JBD and DA participated in coordination and helped to draft the manuscript.
CL, RG, and MM participated in the design of the study and assisted in data collection.
DA provided mentorship and edited the manuscript. | 2019-04-22T22:53:17Z | https://ro-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1748-717X-2-35 |
In common law, a writ of habeas corpus may be issued by a judge ordering a prisoner to be brought before the court. The most commonly used, specific form of habeas corpus ad subjiceiendum requires the prisoner to be brought before the court to determine whether or not the individual is being held in custody lawfully. Originating in English common law, prior to the Magna Carta, habeas corpus in some form exists in most countries of the world, and in spirit in the United Nations "Declaration of Human Rights."
In its most basic form, the writ of habeas corpus serves as the final chance a prisoner has to challenge his conviction, one that will only be granted based on constitutional issues. This protection of the basic individual right to freedom, except for those proven to be dangerous to others, is vital to a properly functioning, fair human society. Until such times as those in power can guarantee such freedom by their own good character, legal recourse in the form of the writ of habeas corpus continues to be necessary. Albert Venn Dicey has written that the Habeas Corpus Acts "declare no principle and define no rights, but they are for practical purposes worth a hundred constitutional articles guaranteeing individual liberty."
In common law, habeas corpus is the name of several writs that may be issued by a judge ordering a prisoner to be brought before the court. More commonly, the name refers to a specific writ known in full as habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, a prerogative writ ordering that a prisoner be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not the prisoner is being imprisoned lawfully.
The words habeas corpus ad subjiciendum are Latin for "(That) you may have/hold the body to be subjected to (examination)," and are taken from the opening words of the writ in medieval times. Other habeas corpus writs also existed, for example habeas corpus ad testificandum ("[That] you may have/hold the body to bear witness"), for the production of a prisoner to give evidence in court.
The writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is often referred to as the "Great Writ." Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is a legal proceeding in which an individual held in custody can challenge the propriety of that custody under the law. The prisoner, or some other person on his behalf (e.g. where the prisoner is being held incommunicado), may petition the court or an individual judge for a writ of habeas corpus. Although the wording of the writ of habeas corpus implies that the prisoner is brought to the court in order for the legality of the imprisonment to be examined—only after the writ has been issued—modern practice in England, for example, tends to eliminate the formality of issuing the writ. Instead, the practice in England is for the original application to be followed by a hearing with both parties present to decide the legality of the detention, without any writ being issued. If the detention is held to be unlawful, the prisoner can usually then be released or bailed by order of the court without having to be produced before it. It is also possible for individuals held by the state to petition for judicial review, and for individuals held by non-state entities to apply for an injunction.
This article, though it does not directly mention habeas corpus does call for adherence to what is essentially Habeas Corpus. Thusly, habeas corpus is not a universal practice, but it does apply to all UN member states. In most countries the procedure of habeas corpus can be suspended in time of national emergency. In most civil law jurisdictions, comparable provisions exist, but they are generally not called habeas corpus.
The practice and right of habeas corpus was settled practice and law at the time of Magna Carta and was thus a fundamental part of the unwritten common “law of the land” of England (Robertson 2006). The use of the writ has evolved since that time in the United Kingdom and other countries. Examples of its development, use, and suspension, are described below in the United States, Republic of Ireland, and Malaysia.
The procedure for the issuing of writs of habeas corpus was first codified by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, following judicial rulings, which had restricted the effectiveness of the writ. Then, as now, the writ of habeas corpus was issued by a superior court in the name of the Monarch, and commanded the addressee (a lower court, sheriff, or private subject) to produce the prisoner before the Royal courts of law. Petitions for habeas corpus could be made by the prisoner himself, or by a third party on his behalf. Since the eighteenth century, the writ has also been used in cases of unlawful detention by private individuals, most famously in Somersett's Case (1771), where the black slave Somersett was ordered to be freed.
The right of habeas corpus has been suspended or restricted several times during English history, most recently during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although internment without trial has been authorized by statute since that time, for example during the two World Wars and the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the procedure of habeas corpus has in modern times always technically remained available to such internees.
Habeas corpus, part of English common law, was considered important enough to be specifically mentioned in the United States Constitution, which says, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it" (Article One, section nine).
In the U.S., the writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum is a civil (as opposed to a criminal) proceeding in which the court inquires as to the legitimacy of a prisoner's custody. Typically, habeas corpus proceedings investigate whether a criminal trial was conducted fairly and constitutionally, after the criminal appellate process has been exhausted. Habeas corpus is also used as a legal avenue to challenge other types of custody, such as pretrial detention or detention pursuant to a deportation proceeding.
The "constitutional" writ of habeas corpus was originally understood to apply only to those held in custody by officials of the executive branch of the federal government, and not to those held by state governments. Congress granted all federal courts jurisdiction under Title 28, Section 2241 of the United States Code to issue writs of habeas corpus to release prisoners held by any government entity (state or federal) from custody, but only when held in violation of the Constitution. Title 28 U.S.C., section 2254, is the primary habeas corpus vehicle to challenge the constitutionality of a state court conviction.
A similar provision, 28 U.S.C., section 2255, (though technically not a habeas corpus statute) provides analogous relief to federal prisoners. Sections 2254 and 2255 govern the grant of habeas corpus relief by the federal courts after a prisoner is convicted and his direct appeals (in either state or federal court, depending on which jurisdiction has convicted the prisoner) have been completed. Prisoners who have been convicted in state courts also have access to habeas corpus actions under state law and can pursue such relief in addition to federal habeas corpus. Decisions by the Warren Supreme Court greatly expanded the use and scope of the federal writ in the 1950s and 1960s.
In the later part of the twentieth century, decisions by the Burger and Rehnquist Supreme Courts have somewhat narrowed the writ. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 further limited the use of the federal writ by, among other things, imposing a one-year deadline (statute of limitation) and dramatically increasing the federal judiciary's deference to decisions previously made in state court proceedings either on appeal or in a state court habeas corpus action.
An example illustrates the section 2254 (which challenges a prisoner in state prison) process: A prisoner is convicted in state court and sentenced to a term in prison. He appeals his conviction to the state appellate court and then to the state supreme court. All uphold his conviction. Within a year, he files a petition for habeas corpus in a federal District Court, naming the prison warden as the defendant (as noted above, a petition for habeas corpus is a civil proceeding, with the prisoner as the plaintiff). The warden, typically represented by the state attorney general, files an "Answer." The prisoner may then respond to the answer. If his petition has a procedural defect, such as a failure to appeal to his state's highest court, his petition will be dismissed "without prejudice," meaning that the prisoner may refile his petition once he finishes exhausting his state remedies. If his petition, however, appears to have merit, the district court may appoint a federal Public Defender to represent him and hold an evidentiary hearing to evaluate the merits of his claim. If the judge determines that the prisoner's detention in state prison infringes on a constitutional right as recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, the judge will order that the prisoner be released or, at least, granted a new trial. If not, his case will be dismissed with prejudice. After that, the prisoner may appeal to the United States Court of Appeals, provided he obtains a "certificate of appealability," or "COA," before proceeding. If the COA is denied, the prisoner may ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision. If the prisoner is unsuccessful, he is barred from filing a second or successive petition for writs of habeas corpus in the district court, absent permission from the Court of Appeals.
A more recent use of the habeas corpus petition is with cases involving DNA evidence. If new technology can prove that a convicted prisoner did not commit the crime, he may file a habeas corpus petition and allege that his detention was based on a misapplication of the facts. At the evidentiary hearing, his attorney presents exculpatory DNA evidence, and the judge may then order his release. Thus, in its most basic form, the writ of habeas corpus serves as the final chance a prisoner has to challenge his conviction, one that will only be granted based on constitutional issues.
Habeas corpus was suspended on April 27, 1861, during the American Civil War by President Lincoln in Maryland and parts of the midwestern states, including southern Indiana. He did so in response to riots, local militia actions, and the threat that the Southern slave state of Maryland would secede from the Union, leaving the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., in the south. He was also motivated by requests by generals to set up military courts to rein in "Copperheads" or Peace Democrats, and those in the Union who supported the Confederate cause. His action was challenged in court and overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court in Maryland (led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney) in Ex Parte Merryman, 17 F. Cas. 144 (C.C.D. Md. 1861). Lincoln ignored Taney's order. In the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis also suspended Habeas Corpus and imposed martial law.
In 1864, Lambdin P. Milligan and four others were accused of planning to steal Union weapons and invade Union prisoner of war camps. They were sentenced to hang by a military court. However, their execution was not set until May 1865, so they were able to argue the case after the Civil War. In Ex Parte Milligan 71 U.S. 2 1866 the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the suspension of the writ did not empower the President to try and convict citizens before military tribunals. The trial of civilians by military tribunals is allowed only if civilian courts are closed. This was one of the key Supreme Court Cases of the American Civil War that dealt with wartime civil liberties and martial law. In the early 1870s, President Grant suspended habeas corpus in nine counties in South Carolina, as part of federal civil rights action against the Ku Klux Klan under the 1870 Force Act and 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act.
The September 18, 2001 Presidential Military Order gave the President of the United States the power to declare anyone suspected of connection to terrorists or terrorism, as an enemy combatant. As such, that person could be held indefinitely, without charges being filed against him or her, without a court hearing, and without being entitled to a legal consultant. Many legal and constitutional scholars have contended that these provisions are in direct opposition to habeas corpus, and the United States Bill of Rights.
In the case of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, argued before the United States Supreme Court in March 2006, Salim Ahmed Hamdan petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the lawfulness of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's plan to try him for alleged war crimes before a military commission convened under special orders issued by the President of the United States, rather than before a court-martial convened under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. On June 29, 2006, in a 5-3 ruling the Supreme Court of the United States rejected Congress's attempts to strip the court of jurisdiction over habeas corpus appeals by detainees at Guantánamo Bay, although Congress had previously passed the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), which took effect on December 30, 2005: "[N]o court, justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." §1005(e)(1), 119 Stat. 2742.
In the Republic of Ireland the principle of habeas corpus is guaranteed by Article 40, Section 4 of the Irish constitution. This guarantees each individual "personal liberty" and outlines a detailed habeas corpus procedure, without actually mentioning the Latin term. However it also provides that habeas corpus is not binding on the Defense Forces during a state of war or armed rebellion.
Ireland inherited habeas corpus as part of the common law when it seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922, but the principle was also guaranteed by Article 6 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State in force from 1922 to 1937. A similar provision was included when the current constitution was adopted in 1937. Since that date, habeas corpus has been restricted by two constitutional amendments, the Second Amendment in 1941 and the Sixteenth Amendment in 1996. Before the Second Amendment an individual detained had the constitutional right to apply to any High Court judge for a writ of habeas corpus and to as many High Court judges as they wished. Since the Second Amendment a prisoner only has a right to apply to one judge and, once a writ has been issued, the President of the High Court has authority to choose the judge or panel of three judges who will decide the case. The amendment also added a requirement that, where the High Court believed someone's detention to be invalid due to the unconstitutionality of a law, it must refer the matter to the Irish Supreme Court and may only release the individual on bail in the interim.
In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled in the O'Callaghan case that the provisions of the constitution meant that an individual charged with a crime could only be refused bail if they were likely to flee or to interfere with witnesses or evidence. Ever since the Sixteenth Amendment, it has been possible for a court to take into account whether or not a person has committed serious crimes while on bail in the past.
In Malaysia, the right of habeas corpus is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, though the name habeas corpus is not used. Article 5(2) provides that "Where complaint is made to a High court or any judge thereof that a person is being unlawfully detained the court shall inquire into the complaint and, unless satisfied that the detention is lawful, shall order him to be produced before the court and release him."
As there are several statutes, for example, the Internal Security Act 1960, that still permit detention without trial, the procedure is usually only effective in such cases if it can be shown that there was a procedural error in the way that the detention was ordered.
Habeas corpus is imperative to the sustainability of law and order in a developed nation. Habeas corpus is essentially the foundation of the U.S. Bill of Rights and similar documents in other governments. Without habeas corpus, the potential for wrongful imprisonment is infinitely great.
Habeas corpus is a very necessary element of a fair government that wishes to adhere to regulations that institute equality for its citizens. Without habeas corpus, the people’s ability to view its government as legitimate decreases—as legitimate governments are most often perceived to provide reason for the imprisonment of its citizens. Thus, the likelihood for chaos as a result of the people’s desire to uproot an illegitimate government is increased.
In a perfect society, such guarantees of fair play by the government should not be necessary. Until such time, though, the security of an individual's right to freedom unless properly charged with criminal activity remains vital.
Carpenter, A.H. 1902. "Habeas Corpus in the Colonies" in The American Historical Review. Vol. 8.,1. 18-27.
Nutting, Helen A. 1960. "The Most Wholesome Law—The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679" in The American Historical Review. Vol. 65., No. 3, pages 527-543.
Bazelon, Emily. 2005. "The Formerly Great Writ" in Slate. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
Colonial Williamsburg, The Newsworthy Somerset Case: Repercussions in Virginia. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
Robertson, Joseph Dale. Habeas Corpus the Most Extraordinary Writ. Center for the Preservation of Habeas Corpus. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
United Nations. 1948. Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved July 23, 2007.
A brief history of habeas corpus.
This page was last modified on 24 July 2017, at 19:14. | 2019-04-21T14:55:58Z | http://web.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Habeas_corpus |
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For more than a century, Mutual of Omaha has been committed to helping our customers through life's transitions by providing an array of insurance, financial and banking products. A full-service, multi-line provider of insurance and financial services products, Mutual of Omaha offers products and services that provide financial protection to help families, individuals, businesses and groups achieve their goals.
Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company offers life insurance and annuity products to help individuals and businesses meet a diverse range of financial objectives. Our knowledgeable, independent insurance advisors work directly with clients to analyze needs and goals, recommend solutions and provide ongoing, personalized service.
CNA Surety provides a full range of surety and fidelity bonds in all 50 states. Through a combined network of approximately 36,000 independent agents, the company has the capability to serve a full range of bonding needs, from the smallest commercial bonds to multi-million dollar contract bonds.
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The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, in business since 1937, ranks third in the nation for auto insurance based on premiums written and provides drivers with competitive rates and 24/7, in-person and online service.
The Progressive Group is the number one writer of automobile, motorcycle, RV and personal watercraft insurance through independent agents and a leading agency writer of boat and commercial auto insurance.
We offer a variety of commercial lines products for risks of all sizes with options that can be tailored to meet your client’s needs. Coverage is available on either a monoline or package basis. Our binding authority contracts enable us to quote submissions, bind coverage and issue policies quickly. Brokerage arrangements with several other markets for specialty insurance products provide additional opportunities for you to write more commercial lines business.
Founded in 1981, Sagamore Insurance Company is licensed in 49 states to provide property and casualty insurance.
We are the largest Medicare-approved Part D prescription drug plan provider. A proud member of the CVS Health family of companies, SilverScript (PDP) was part of the group of insurers chosen by Medicare to help launch the Part D program in 2006. In this, our 10th anniversary year, we now serve over 5 million members, providing confidence, consistency and worry-free coverage to America’s seniors and people with disabilities.
Based in Springfield, Illinois and serving the entire Illinois – Indiana area, Standard Mutual offers insurance that you can depend on for reliable, convenient coverage. As a property and casualty insurance provider, we provide customizable plans that can be tailored to your specific needs. While offering a full array of property insurance and casualty insurance, we specialize in providing personal line products including automobile insurance and homeowners insurance.
Today, the State Auto Insurance Companies employ approximately 2,400 associates and market products and services through independent insurance agencies, which include retail agencies and wholesale brokers. Group assets are in excess of $3.6 billion with 2012 direct written premium of $1.9 billion. The corporate headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio, where State Auto was founded in 1921. Regional headquarters are located in Nashville, Tenn., Indianapolis, Ind., Columbus, Ohio, Austin, Texas and Baltimore, MD. The State Auto Group is rated A (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company and consists of State Automobile Mutual, State Auto Property & Casualty, State Auto Ohio, State Auto Wisconsin, Milbank, Meridian Security and Patrons Mutual.
Surplus Insurance Brokers Agency, Inc. is a MGA (Managing General Agency) serving the independent agent sector for more than 32 years. We offer our knowledge, professionalism and a portfolio of carriers to provide solutions for that hard to place or specialty risk. We are located in South Bend, Indiana and can provide coverage for risks domiciled in the regions of Indiana and Illinois.
Safeco® is known for helping people protect the lives they’ve built, but we’re also known for being a great place to work, nurturing community involvement and supporting independent agents with innovative tools and programs.
Based in Kokomo, Indiana, Downey Public Risk has more than 40 years' experience in the insurance industry. Downey Public Risk provides coverage for police officers, firefighters, emergency responders, school bus drivers and other invaluable public servants who put their lives on the line every day for the public good.
Downey Public Risk Underwriters have been in operation since 1970, providing insurance services for public entities. Most notably, Downey Insurance has performed as the administrator of Indiana Public Employers' Plan (IPEP) for the past 20 years. IPEP is the largest provider of public entity workers compensation in the State of Indiana which provides coverage for as much as $1,000,000,000 in public worker wages.
Downey Public Risk Underwriters is also the Program Administrator for a municipal property and casualty program (PEP) which provides a wide range of coverages to public entities through EMC Insurance Companies, Inc. Through this program, Downey Insurance provides comprehensive package lines of insurance including professional liability for law enforcement and public officials. These coverages are available to counties, cities, towns, townships, school corporations, and others.
Additionally, Downey Insurance continues to operate as the Regional Director for Volunteer Fire Insurance Services, Inc. (VFIS) for the State of Indiana. Through the VFIS program, Downey Insurance provides professional liability and enhanced full package coverages to Emergency Services Organizations (ESO) throughout the State of Indiana.
At UnitedHealthcare, we are committed to improving the health care system. UnitedHealthcare is an operating division of UnitedHealth Group, the largest single health carrier in the United States. Our family of companies delivers innovative products and services to approximately 70 million Americans. UnitedHealthcare's nationwide network includes 632,000 physicians and health care professionals, 80,000 dentists and 5,060 hospitals. Our pharmaceutical management programs provide more affordable access to drugs for 13 million people.
Ash Brokerage is an insurance Brokerage General Agency (BGA). No, that doesn’t mean we trade stocks and bonds on Wall Street. We work with financial professionals who are certified to sell insurance, such as licensed advisors, financial planners or registered investment advisors. Those advisors come to us with the information about their clients; we do all the processing and leverage our relationships with insurance companies in order to find the product that best fits your needs. Basically, we represent more than 80 top-rated carriers, rather than just one. Each one has products with unique options and requirements, so how do you know which is the best for you? That’s where we come in.
The Western Reserve Group operates exclusively through over 400 independent agents, providing insurance protection to over 170,000 households and businesses in the states of Ohio & Indiana. The company is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. The Western Reserve Group offers a wide range of value added property and casualty insurance products for individuals, homes, and businesses in Ohio and Indiana. | 2019-04-19T10:52:22Z | https://www.hughesinsurancegroup.com/Carriers |
To Then "Cure Himself of Us", Of "Us" as "Separate From" Him?"
Go To: Introduction - to "Version 01" of "Expanded Overviews"
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Short Overview - of "Version 01" of "Expanded Overviews"
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01. Please Try to be Patient - with what we have shared with you in this Spiritual Letter, about the "truth of us", and about the "truth of God" within us, as we know this provides a very different perspective about us, about our current life, that is, about the "outside" of us, and about God within us, but it is all true. Ok?
- go to "Version 01 of Expanded Overviews"
My dearest loving brothers Tom and Aron, please try to be patient with what we have shared with you in this Spiritual Letter, about the truth of us, and about the truth of God within us, as we know this provides a very different perspective about us, about our current life, that is, about the "outside" of us, and about God within us.
A very different perspective about our current life, about our source, which is God within us, and about the potential within each of us to truly return to our source, through our faith and trust in God within us, through our using God within us, to get to God within us.
That is, through our joining in partnership with God within us, to find and become "One with" the "Gift of God" for our age, and through this "Life and Teaching of God" for our age, this "Word of God" for our age, both within us and on the "outside" of us, for the "Children of God" for our age, to become truly successful in our lifetime.
For the "Children of God" for our age, which in truth is all of us living in our age, if we truly want it, if the true intention for our life within us, not on the "outside" of us, for our soul life within us, is to again become "One with" God within us, before we die to the flesh.
And in this way, to join in partnership with God within us to close down the world of hell within us, which is the world of illusory creation within us, and to close down the world of jinns within us, which is the world of false destruction or death within us, and to close down the world of fairies within us, which is the world of illusory life within us, the illusory life of all of the of darkness and evil within us, that in our ignorance we have allowed to grow within us, all of which makes up the 7 hells within us, the worlds below our neck, which is our chest, our stomach, and below our waist.
In this way, closing down the real but "false inside" of us, and opening the "true inside" of us, which are the 7 heaven within us, all existing above our neck, with us living in our heart, the handful of earth that God placed within us, as Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, as the true boundary between the two, between heaven and hell within us, between good and bad within us, and between truth and falsehood within us, which is the "Wealth of the Three Worlds" within us, which in the Islamic tradition is called the "Mubarakat" within us.
Which is our heart within us, which is the "mim" of Muhammad (blessing and peace of God be upon Him) within us, which is currently in hot dispute within us, between the 7 heavens and the 7 hells within us, which is the true Jerusalem within us, and the true conflict of the Middle East within us, all of which is truly within us, and can only be truly resolved within us, within each of us, not on the "outside" of us.
That is, if at least one of us, before the "outside" of all us is destroyed by at least one of us, will only willingly and peacefully let the illusory world on the "outside" of us, gradually come to an end within us, both within us and on the "outside" of us, establishing the state of "Perfected Faith" within us, which is the true "Shaikh-Disciple Relationship" within us, which is the light and form of "Perfected Faith" or Iman within us, which is Moses (peace be upon Him) within us, the 96 potentialities of man within us.
In this way, through the "Perfected Faith" of Abraham (peace be upon Him) within us, being peace and contentment in His "Pit of Fire" within us, and of His two Sons within us, of Ishmael and Isaac (peace be upon Them) within us, realizing the "True Exaltedness of Self Sacrifice", of dying to the "outside" of us so God can truly live again within us, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us, which is the true lineage of both Judaism, Christianity, and Islam within us, as "One" within us, not as "separate" on the "outside" of us.
In this way, having overcome the 36 potentialies within man within us, which in truth is our "current illusory drama" of life on the "outside" of us, a drama of "separation and differences", of "mind and yours", of "I and you", of sin or "selfishness", on the "outside" of us, and of the real but incomplete lives of darkness and evil within us, that we have allowed to grow within us, in our ignorance, which have now become in maturity the real but "false inside" of us, which now rule over us as the 9 openings of our elemental body, with "God's Permission", until we "See God and Steady God" within us, if we like, allowing God to then "Cure Himself of us", of "us" living on the "outside" of us, as if we are "separate from" God within us, all of which is not true.
Then to re-open the world of souls within us, which is our original pure birth, and life, and consciousness within us, our 6th level of consciousness within us, which is the wisdom surrounding our soul within us, or God consciousness or wisdom within us, which teaches, analyzes, and controls everything within us, having awakened, liberated, and become "One with" our soul within us, which in truth is Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us, is the "Light of the Purity of God' within us, the Light of man within God within us, which is our awakened wisdom within us have liberated our original pure birth and life within us, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us, from our impure birth and life within us, from the "Enemy of our soul", both within us and on the "outside" of us.
From the "Enemy of the soul" within us, which in truth is "us" living on the "outside" of us, is "us" living an illusory life, a dream life, of "separation and differences" on the "outside" of us, in our ignorance, as if we are "separate from" God within us, which in truth is not true, and which in truth is the flower of the "triple dirt" within us, of the lives of arrogance, karma, illusion, mind and desire, which form the lives of darkness and evil within us, that have grown like weeds within a beautiful flower garden within us, in our ignorance, and that now in maturity rule over us as the 9 openings of our elemental body Amen.
And then, if we like, our awakened wisdom after liberating our soul, by pulling out the 5 nails of "our desire" to live on the "outside" of us, and sin, and having joined as "One with" our liberated soul, goes in search, finds, and becomes "One with" the "Light of our wisdom", which is the "body of the soul" within us, the form of grace within us, in order to open the Kingdom of God within us.
And in this way, for God within us to again becoming "One with" God within us, or at least truly start up again this journey of God within us back into God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us, on the "Path of God" within us.
Using God within us, if we like, not what God has discarded within us, that is, using our awakened wisdom, our liberated soul, and the light of our wisdom within us, if we like, and not using the current "us" on the illusory "outside" of us, not using the "flower of the triple dirt" within us, and doing this, or at least truly starting it, before we die to the flesh, so God within us can then "Do everything else", in order for God within us to disappear back into God within us, and "We will be within it", as the Witness, as the Witness of God, and what God is doing within us, which is revealing God to God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us. Amen.
And my dearest loving brothers, Tom and Aron, all of this is most certainly true within us.
This is what we must join in partnership with God within us to realize, at this point in "Our Story", without the slightest doubt, if we are to truly become successful in our lifetime.
We must realize this, and realize that God has truly given each of us, that is, all of us living in this age, everything necessary for this truth of us, and this truth of God within us, to germinate and come to maturity within us, which includes the ability to realize, understand, accept, and join in partnership with this truth of us, and with this truth of God within us, if we like, that is, to join in partnership with God within us, to bring it to completion within us.
So it all comes down to the following.
now that we have heard about it.
For the choice is ours, not God, but in truth only God within us can truly do anything with the "right and wrong", the "good and bad", and with the "truth and falsehood", that He has lovingly and ever so patiently placed within each of us, as the "Wealth of the Three Worlds" within us, as the 7 heavens and the 7 hells within us, which in truth is the "Wealth of the Three Worlds" within us, of the "World of souls" within us, "This earth world or dunya" within us, and the "Here after or akhirah" within us, not "us" as "separate from" God within us, because in truth we have not come here for the wealth, but rather for the understanding that can be obtained by joining in partnership with God to experience that wealth.
For we have come here, not to get something, but rather to understand who we "Already are", and having understood this, to then leave here, and return to who we "Already are", sharing this understanding with who we "Already are", with God within us for eternity, and "understanding only occurs through contrast", through the contrast within each of the "Three Worlds", between the 7 heavens and the 7 hells. Ok? Something to certainly think about, Yes?
So what are we to do, and the answer is so very simple, it has to be, if any of this is to truly happen within us, so simple indeed that the answer immediately reveal the only problem in the way, the only fly in the ointment, which is our ego, with is the "idea" or thought that "we exist" as "separate from" God within us, and reveals the solution, to join in partnership with God within us to destroy the ego, for once it is gone, God is there.
and if God is there you are not there".
"Man is God in the forgetting of himself."
Such is the limitation of an "ego oriented life", of a life living on the "outside" of us, as if, we are "separate from" God within us. It has nowhere to go, except to end, either peacefully having realized the truth of us, and the truth of God within us, that in truth, "We are One", that is, "us", and God within us, and True Man within God within us, are all One, like an apple seed, the apple tree, and the apple fruits, are all one, One within the other as One, One revealing the Other within us, as it disappears within the One being revealed, only to appear again from within the Other, in the next cycle, in the next cycle of the "AppleTree-Apple/Apple-AppleTree, or in our case, the next cycle of "God-Man/Man-God". It is truly this simple.
That is, if "you are there" as "separate from" God within us, then in truth "God is not there", God cannot be there, because God is One, God is the Truth, the truth that "There is nothing other than God" within us, the truth that "Only God exists" within us, and the truth that "God is One" within us.
And if "God is there", as "One with" us, and with "us" as "One with" God within us, then in truth, "we are not there", that is, the "we" as "separate from" God within us, is then not there, because when we give up the ego, in partnership with God within us, when we give up the illusory "us" and the illusory "outside" of us, which in truth is the real but "false inside" of us, in partnership with God within us, then God will then "Cure Himself of us", of "us" as "separate from" God, because then, "We no longer exist", we no longer exist as "separate from" God within us, and God can then discard it again from Himself, as He did before to become God within us, but t his time discarding it from within Himself within us.
And in this way, if we just make this small step in our life, and truly turn back to God within us, as our life, as our faith, as our truth, as our religion, as our Prophet, as our everything, and let God gradually pull the soul within us, the 6 life within us, the light life within us, which in truth is Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us, then God will do "Everything Else", to make our life truly successful in our lifetime. This is "God's Promise", this is "God's Guarantee" for our age.
And when He has finished what He has started within us, a very, very long time ago, then "We will be within it", as the Witness, as the Witness of the telling and the bringing to completion of the Story of the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, a Story which in truth we have come to this earth world, to join as "One with" this earth world, with the Creation of God within us, to tell.
That is, to tell and bring to completion within us in partnership with God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God (which is this earth world or dunya or School of Contrast) within us, and for the benefit of all of the Creation of True Man (which is the hereafter or akhirah or School of Light) within us. Amen.
And this is the truth for our age. May we all know it now, and start to act accordingly, allowing our soul to again become "One with" God within us, before we die to the flesh, that is, before we physically die to the "outside" of us, and before at least one of us prematurely destroys the "outside" of us, for all of us, which is also a very real possibility in our age. May God help us all. Amen.
In this way, what God has given to us is everything necessary for "Us", which is "us" joined in partnership with God within us, everything necessary to make our life truly successful in our lifetime, that God has given to us as part of His incomparable love for us, and of His undiminishing grace within us, which is Himself within us, and the "Seed of Himself" within us, buried within the Creation of God within us, and everything necessary, if we like, to allow that seed to germinate within us, within the Creation of God within us, within the "Earth of God' within us, and in this way, to reveal the "Tree of God" within us, and the "Fruits of God" on that Tree, and again the "Seed of God" within those Fruits, but this time a 1000 fold. Amen.
And this is where God is, within us, within the wisdom surrounding our soul, and this is where our soul is, our 6th life is, as the "Seed of God" buried within the Creation of God within us, on the forehead of Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, and this is where all of the "Stuff of God" is, within God within us, including all of the 124,000 Heavenly Beings, Prophets, and Lights of God within God within us, that God has lovingly and patiently sent into the world on the "outside" of us, to teach us "what we do not know", to show us by example, who we "Already are", so we can do as They (peace be upon Them) did, which is to reveal God within Themselves (may God be pleased with all of His Prophets). Amen. Not for them become someone or something that we worship as "separate from" our selves, not to put another layer between us and God within us, which in truth is just the opposite of why They came in to the world, that is, to bear Witness of God within Them, and teach us how to do the same, before we die to the flesh.
This is why They came into the world, over and over again, to all of the people of the world, in each age, as "Fingers Pointing To God" within us, within all of us, if we like, so we could also become "Fingers Pointing To God" within us, so we could also become the "Light of God" to the world for our age, for the benefit of everyone living in the world in our age, and doing all of this, or at least truly starting to do it, in partnership with God within us, before we die to the flesh, if we like, that is, if that is what we want, if the true intention for our life within us, for our soul life, is to again become "One with" God within us, before we die to the earth. May we all know this now, and start to act accordingly. Amen.
And in this way, this is where God placed our soul, this is where God planted the "Seed of Himself", within us, within the Creation of God within us, which in truth is the "Earth of God" within us, or Adam (peace be upon Him) within us, and this is where God hid Himself within us, within the wisdom or divine consciousness of God surrounding our soul within us, which is our 6th level of wisdom within us, which in truth is Moses (peace be upon Him) within us, is the Qutbiyyat of God or the Holy Spirit or the Muhaiyaddeen of God within us, which is the wisdom within us which teaches, analyzes, and controls everything within us, if we like.
And once awakened within us, if we lie, our awakened wisdom will liberate our soul, will liberate our original pure birth and life within us, which is Jesus (peace be upon Him) within us, from our impure birth and life within us, which is "us" on the "outside" of us, which is our current life of "separation and differences" that we are currently living with our dearest loving brothers and sisters, in the world that we see in our collective ignorance as existing on the "outside" of us, but which in truth is within us.
But which in truth are the lives of darkness and evil that in our ignorance we have allowed to grow within us, and which are now ruling over us as the 9 openings of our elemental body, with God's Permission, until we "See God and Steady God" within us, if we like, allowing God to then "Cure Himself of us", of "us" as "separate from" Him, because when we join with the "Gift of God" for our age, with the "Life and Teaching of God" for our age, with the "Word of God" for our age, for the "Children of God" for our age, we will most definitely "See God" within us, and "Steady God" within us.
And when we do this, when we join in partnership with God within us, to "See God and Steady God' within us, then if we like, God will most definitely "Cure Himself of us", of "us" as "separate from" Him, without "separating us" from Him, without "separating us" as "One with" God within us, for when our soul has been liberated from our impure birth and life, that is, then Jesus (peace be upon Him) has been removed from His Cross within us, which is our current life of sin, of selfishness, on the "outside" of us, and when God has then discard the "illusory outside" of us, and the "false inside" of us, from Himself, without discarding "us", because now we are within God within us.
Because this is where we end up within God within us, before we die to the flesh, and this is how we end up within God within us, before we die to the flesh, when we join in partnership with God within us, in our current state of "separation from" God within us, to allow our awakened wisdom to liberate and becomes "One with" our soul within us, by pulling out the 5 nails of "our desire" to live on the "outside" of us and sin, allowing our soul to then become again "One with" God within us, and allowing the "illusory outside" of us, and the real but "false inside" of us, to come peacefully to an end, or at least truly start to end, before we die to the flesh, then "We will be within it". Amen.
and in our ignorance that we now see as existing on the "outside" of us?"
For this is the true question of our life, not whether we will go to heaven or hell, which is really just a distraction from the reality of our current life, that what we are currently telling God within us, that we want for eternity, is hell, is an eternal life as "separate from" God within us, because in truth there are only two Choices, God or hell, not three Choices as some would have us believe, so we can continue living a life of sin in the world on the "outside" of us, and not stop all of useless "working for wages to get into some illusory heaven within us, when we die to the flesh", all of which is not true.
Rather than starting the true useful work of our life, which is to "join in partnership with God" within us, before we die to the flesh, to allow our soul to again become "One with" God within us, and if we do, then when They are One, "We will be within it", as the Witness, as the Witness of God completing what God started within us, a very, very long time ago, which is to reveal God to God within us, or before we die to the flesh, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us. Amen.
And what we have grown within us in ignorance is the real but "false inside" of us, which we in our ignorance only currently see as the "outside" of us, as "us" and our dearest loving brothers and sisters living a life of "separation and differences" in the world that we see in our collective ignorance as existing on the "outside" of us, all of which is not true, and which is only leading us to an eternal life as "separate from" God within us.
For example, if we choose to accept this Spiritual Letter as in truth, "our own life speaking to us", as God within us all speaking to all of the Children of God for our age, and not just the ramblings of this fool, as truly our "last chance" to get it right before we die to the "outside" of us, and before at least one of us prematurely destroys the "outside" of us, for all of us, which is also a very real possibility in our age, then "God will do everything else", and then our life will become successful in our lifetime. This is "God's Promise", this is "God's Guarantee" for our age.
For as our dear Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased within Him) within us, and God within Him, teach us for our age, and now on the "outside" of us, as His Children (may God be pleased with each of Us) are teaching us right now, if we like, both in "Spiritual Letter 72" (www.SpiritualLetter071.
"Man is God in the forgetting of himself".
My dearest loving brothers Tom and Aron, this is the true "point of our life", that we have come here to this earth world to learn, that in truth we are not what we are currently experiencing in our ignorance on the "outside" of us, but rather we are in truth "what is within us", as an apple seed buried within the earth is not the earth it is buried within, but is the apple seed, and is "what is hidden within it".
In a similar way, we in truth are the "seed of something else" buried within the "earth of God" within us, that is, we are the "Seed of God" buried within the Creation of God within us, as the apple seed buried within the earth, is an "apple seed" not the elemental lives surrounding it within the earth, lives of earth, fire, water, air, and ether or colors, it is the seed of the "apple tree" and its "apple fruits" hidden within us, and again the apple seed, the apple seeds hidden within the sweet taste of the mature apple, but this time appearing a 1000 fold.
But until it, until the apple seed buried within the earth, realizes the "truth about itself" and the truth about "what is hidden" within it, and joins with it, as "who it is", and as "where it is", and as "what is happening" it its life, that in truth it is the "apple fruit happening" within the "apple tree happening" within the earth that is buried within, until then, it believes, the apple seed buried within the earth, truly believes in its ignorance, as we currently truly believe in our ignorance, that it is what is on the "outside" of it.
And truly believes that's its primary work, in order to survive, as we currently believe, that in order to survive it has to somehow protect itself from that very same "outside" of itself, that is, to protect itself from the earth that it is buried within, to protect itself from being destroyed by the earth surrounding it.
And in this way, the apple seed, like each of us, has a covering over it, protecting it from the earth surrounding it, from being destroyed by the "outside" of itself, which we can see with close examination, as a separate covering over each of the two halves of the apple seed, just like what is now covering the true value hidden within each of us, which is our mind and desire, just like what is now covering our soul life within us, covering the "Seed of God" within us, from the "outside" of us, which is what has grown within us, in our ignorance, right out of the "outside" of us, which is current consciousness of ignorance, which is our mind and desire, always acting like they are protecting us from the "outside" of us, but all the while leading us to hell, to an eternal life as "separate from" God within us.
Such is the state of the apple seed buried within the earth, before it realizes the truth of itself, and the truth of what is hidden within it, as such is the state of each of us, buried within the Creation of God within us, seeing everything on the "outside" of us through our mind and desire, that is, before we, like the apple seed, become ready, ready to hear, and ready to either accept or reject, the truth hidden within us, ready to realize the truth of ourselves, and the truth of what is hidden within us, that naturally emerges from within us, like this Spiritual Letter, when we are ready to hear this truth, which is the truth of us, and the truth of God within us.
And in this way, when the apple seed buried within the earth is ready, just like each of us now living in the world today are now ready, that it, ready to realize, to understand, to accept, and to join as "One with" the truth of ourselves, and of the truth of what is hidden within us, and ready to either accept or reject this truth, then quite naturally, this truth will emerge from within us, as it quite naturally emerges from within the apple seed, from within the apple seed buried within the earth, before it rots in the earth and eventually dies in the earth.
In this way, giving the apple seed the opportunity, if it likes, if it chooses to, as we are right now being given the opportunity with this Spiritual Letter, to either germinate or not, that is, to either join with the earth that it is buried within, to germinate, and to reveal what is hidden within it, which is the apple tree, and its fruits, and again the apple seeds, or not, and if not, to then rot in the earth, and eventually die in the earth, only to be re-born 105 million times, but never again as the apple seed, as the story of the "Oneness of the apple tree and its fruits", that it came from the apple tree, and from the fruits of that tree, to join as "one with" the earth, to tell. Never again as that.
And so can we, if we like, we too can germinate, and reveal the truth hidden within us, if we like, we too can join as "One with" our earth, which is the Creation of God within us, to allow God within us, and True Man within God within us, to tell the story of the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God and of True Man within us.
That is, if the true intention for our life within us, for our soul life, for the light life buried within the 5 elemental lives within us, buried within the impure birth and life within us, that is now covering the original pure birth and life within us, before we die to the flesh, if the true intention for our life within us, for our soul life, is to again become "One with" God within us, before we die to the flesh, rather than continue to try and live a life of sin, a life of "separation and differences", a life of "selfishness" on the outside of us, as if we are "separate from" God within us, all of which is not true.
Or not, or rot in mind and desire, in our earth, and eventually die in our earth, and become subject to 105 million rebirths, but never again as the "Seed of God" within us, never again as the story of the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, that we came from God within us, and from True Man within God within us, to become "One with" the Creation of God within us, with the "Earth of God" within us, to tell. Never again as that.
So now the choice is yours, each of you, to make the next move, and to use your dearest loving brother Louie, or Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (Louie Beutler), to help you in any way that he can, for in truth "he belongs to you", "he is you", if you like, as "Bawa" belongs to this child, as "Bawa" is this child", if he likes.
For such is the true nature of the true "Shaikh-Disciple Relationship", which is "Oneness" or "Unity", that each of us must join in partnership with God within us to establish, to establish between ourselves and God within us, both on the "inside" and on the "outside" of us, or at least truly start it up, before we die to the flesh, so God can then "Do everything else", so God within us can finish His journey back into God within us, along the "Path of God" within us, having completed His duty within us, like the rain falling back into the ocean, having completed its duty, again becoming the ocean, no longer existing as the rain, as "separate from" the ocean. Amen.
For in truth, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen, is the name of each of the Children of God for our age, when we awaken to the truth of us, and to the truth of God within us, when we realize, understand, accept, and join as "One with" the truth of us, and as "One with" the truth of God within us, and gradually, ever so gradually, by joining in partnership with God within us, in each breath, in each prayer, by establishing the "Presence of God" within us before we "say or do" anything on the "outside" of us, in this way, allowing God to reveal God to God within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of God within us, and allowing True Man within God within us, to reveal True Man to True Man within us, for the benefit of all of the Creation of True Man within us, in this way, revealing the "Oneness of God and True Man" within us, which in truth is God and True Man within us, and "We will be within it", as the Witness, as the Witness of Them within us, and of what They are doing within us. Amen.
And this is the name, Shaikh Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him), that our dear Father, Shaikh Muhammad Rahim Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (may God be pleased with Him) within us, and God within Him, gave to this child in 1980, when we went to Ceylon, at the request of His Holiness, to visit His Holiness, walking into His room, in Colombo, which is in the center of this tiny Island off the southeastern coast of India, arriving on December 25, Christmas morning, spending 3 weeks with Him and His Children, in prayer, cooking, eating, and visiting, ending up in Northern Ceylon, which is now called Sri Lanka, in Jaffna, where His Holiness built a "House of God", for the Children of God for our age, where all are welcome, as He also did in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, where all are welcome, no matter what religion we may come from, or currently practice, or not. Amen. | 2019-04-23T02:50:27Z | http://spiritualletter072ov01.homestead.com/ |
Love Reels Casino: Full Review of its Games, Payouts and More!
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Love Reels Casino was born in 2018 as the newest member of the growing Nektan family. Though catering primarily to players who like nothing better than to spin reels, the team does not neglect fans of other online casino games. This detailed Love Reels review evaluates every element of the casino’s offering, including games and their respective payouts, mobile play and quality of customer support.
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With two respectable licensing bodies looking after the player’s best interests, one can bet on close to 700 games provided by more than 20 software developers, collect a generous welcome package and continuously enjoy balance boosts offered via ongoing and time-limited promotions. Will you love what Love Reels Casino has to offer? Read on to find out! If the answer happens to be yes, register and claim the first bonus by clicking on the above ‘Play Now’ button.
A quick look reveals the operator has enlisted the help of multiple game providers to build a holistic catalogue with every single category represented by at least a few products. Slots rule, which is kind of expected given the site’s name, but there are also 80+ alternatives one can use to take a break from all the spinning action and potentially win while at it.
The Love Reels games portfolio counts almost 600 classic and video slots with different themes, features, betting range and win potential. Variety is kind of guaranteed seeing there are about 25 contributors adding to the Love Reels software, including big brands such as Microgaming, NetEnt, Scientific Games, alongside up and coming studios Yggdrasil, Quickspin, Realistic Games, IGT, Pragmatic Play, Big Time Gaming, Lightning Box, 2by2 Gaming, Blueprint Gaming, Eyecon, Rabcat, Amaya, Bally, WMS, Core Gaming, Merkur and Red Tiger Gaming. There are also a number of small studios cooperating with Microgaming, namely Stormcraft Studios, Slingshot Studios, JFTW, Triple Edge Studios and Fortune Factory Studios. As if that wasn’t enough, Nektan has added a good number of its own products and thus provided exclusive games that you can only play at Nektan-powered casinos. When it comes to slots, you’ll find a bit of everything – good old titles that never go out of fashion such as Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, Thunderstruck II, Immortal Romance, Foxin’ Wins and Cleopatra, recently launched games like Halloween, Vikings and Baron Samedi, and a range of exclusive Nektan slots, such as Best of British and Cave Raiders.
There are more than 20 titles with a progressive jackpot attached and almost half are currently going to pay over £1 million. The most generous one is Mega Moolah, which is steadily approaching £10 million at the time of writing. The choices of random number generated (RNG) table games and video poker games is very modest, consisting of a few blackjack, roulette, baccarat and Poker variants and no more than 5 popular video pokers. If you’re into Roulette or card games, Love Reels live casino is more likely to satisfy your gaming hunger. Instant win section stores a number of scratch cards and arcade games, with the list of specialties including Wheel of Fortune, Cash Buster Towers, a dice game called Tripoll and DaVinci Diamonds Tic-Tac-Toe. The operator has covered pretty much everything with the exception of Bingo, Keno and some other popular dice games. Still, focus is doubtlessly on slots and all else looks more like a nice-to-have than a serious attempt to please players that are not exclusively in love with reels.
I’m always happy to see live dealer games powered by Evolution Gaming because, let’s be honest, nobody does it better. Everything else comes as a cherry on top, and in this case the cherry is NetEnt. Evolution has supplied a number of live blackjack tables to allow you to pick the one with adequate minimum and maximum wagers, along with those using a roulette wheel spun either by a dealer or an automated mechanism and tables playing Baccarat, Dragon Tiger and Poker. NetEnt contributes with its usual roulette and blackjack mix with limits to fit both low and high-rollers. Read my upcoming live casino review to learn more about live gaming experience at Love Reels.
You can take Love Reels to go providing there’s an iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone in your pocket and you’re connected to the internet. There are no mobile apps, so you’ll do the same as when playing on a computer: open whichever browser you’re using and search for Love Reels Casino. The mobile website has a very similar layout, though some changes were necessary to adapt to screens of smaller size and frequently used portrait format. What’s great, and not at all expected, is that all games available in the desktop version remain available.
Being limited by available physical space, land-based casinos can offer only so many tables and/or slot machines and will never be able to match the kind of diversity you’ll find at online casinos. What’s more, they’ve got substantial fixed costs to cover, unlike gaming sites which need not pay high rent and expensive furnishing nor employ dealers, bartenders and cleaners. These are the reasons online venues regularly feature a larger number of games and can attach different limits to each, and it’s also why you’ll find more accessible variants with lower minimum bets when playing via the internet. In researching for this Love Reels Casino review, we looked to see if the operator makes the most out of these advantages. It has a range of slots which can be played for as little as 10p per spin and at least one (Dead or Alive) requiring an investment of only 9p with all paylines active. If you’re one of those looking to wager hundreds per round, try Wheel of Fortune: Ultra 5 Reels or 7’s To Burn and invest up to £500 a pop. At Love Reels Casino, roulette plays for a minimum of 20p and a maximum of £10,000, blackjack requires an investment of 10p to £2,500. In order to play poker games, one has to place Ante bets ranging between £1 and £40. Most categories are suitable for both high-rollers and fiscally conservative players except for poker, though more adequate variants of the latter may be found within live casino section.
If you’re new to the online gaming world, you may not be familiar with the term “theoretical return to player”, frequently presented as RTP%. Each casino game, be it RNG-driven or playing live, comes with an expected return on your investment over a longer period of time. I’m talking thousands of spins or hands dealt so perhaps you won’t experience the same percentage having spun the reels 100 times, but RTP is still a useful pointer towards game variants theoretically able to pay back higher portion of your bets. In other words, they’re more likely to lose less over time. Most of the big brands make this information readily available within their games and some online casinos present payout reports on their websites. Love Reels software does so, but only by category. Its July-September 2018 report shows slots RTP of 95.53%, table games RTP of 97.46%, 96.72% RTP for live games and 90.82% for instant games. In most categories, you’ll find variants with much lower and much higher RTP percentages and it helps to know which are which. That’s where I come in!
Love Reels payouts for blackjack games range between 99.53% and 99.66%, which are clearly well above average. The same applies to high RTP percentages attached to table games and video poker games. On the other hand, roulette fans are able to enjoy a RTP of 98% and more at Mansion Casino. Slot machines generally feature a much wider payout range with a RTP of 97% or above considered to be high-paying slots. Love Reels Casino games feature a few of those, among them Starmania (97.87%), Rainbow Riches Fortune Favors (97.75% RTP when playing Big Bet game), Couch Potato (97.43%) and Jackpot Jester 50,000 with an RTP as high as 99.9% when placing 100 credit bets. Classic and video slots with progressive jackpots usually feature lower payout percentages so keep that in mind while playing the likes of Major Millions (89.37% RTP) and Mega Moolah (88.12% RTP).
If you have ever played at a Nektan-powered casino, you’ll get a deja vu feeling at Love Reels. Nektan casinos eature identical layouts with minor changes to the colour scheme. One could consider this to be good or bad but, frankly, I prefer seeing creative and unique executions which differ from alternatives, even if the alternative sites are run by the same company. Unlike the Kindred Group or MT SecureTrade Ltd, Nektan has probably decided it found a winning formula and consistently keeps delivering clones. You’ll probably be able to live with it as long as the formula in question is user-friendly. The Love Reels website, though not much to look at, is simple enough to navigate. You’ll find category filters just below the top slider and links to all other areas of interest, such as support, terms and FAQ, at the very bottom. The remainder is occupied by games, which are classed as Player Favorites. Category filters in the Love Reels software are not that convenient; there is no slots tab, which is kind of weird, RNG table games are grouped together with those playing live, and the only other filtering option is a name search.
No Love Reels software downloads are needed to play but games take a bit longer to load than we’d like, which may be a bit frustrating if using low speed internet connection. Randomness of their outcomes is regularly tested by accredited organisation, NMI, so you needn’t doubt game fairness when dealing with a losing streak. Providers such as Microgaming are beyond doubt and the quality of their products is always well above average. Since Microgaming was founded (which was way back in 1994), it managed to create a portfolio counting close to 1,000 slots, table games, specialties and live dealer games. Live gaming is the only area where this hugely successful developer hasn’t focused, since its titles were bought by Evolution Gaming. Its range of slots, however, is truly incredible. Players can pick among numerous three-reelers, which either faithfully replicate land-based one-armed bandits or feature design and production quality matching those of modern video slots. Microgaming’s Mega Moolah is the highest paying progressive jackpot ever, responsible for creating more than a few multimillionaires.
The Love Reels team has done a great job in terms of number and quality of chosen software providers. One can only wish its gaming catalogue came in a more attractive and easier to handle packaging. Applying the standard Nektan template, unfortunately, impacts the rating in a negative way.
Nektan is an international gaming provider that has been active since 2011. Having become aware of the speed of development of the mobile gaming segment, founders have acquired a mobile technology business Mfuse Limited and within a year went through the rebranding process to give birth to Nektan. It has since been working hard to reach its final goal of becoming “a top tier gaming services and solutions provider across both Europe and the US”.
Nektan offers white label solutions which enables third party operators to deal solely with marketing, while Nektan manages all other aspects of the gaming operations. This could explain why these sites often look the same. Among other things, they’ll populate the casino’s library with games from top-tier suppliers and secure an efficient customer support service. The company became an AIM-listed company of the London Stock Exchange in 2014 and in February 2018 it reached a milestone with 100th online casino launch. In 2016, Nektan signed a licence agreement with NetEnt, in 2017 the company started cooperating with High 5 Games, and in 2018 it struck partnership deals with Pragmatic Play and Yggdrasil. Its white label package additionally gives access to games developed by Microgaming, Scientific Games, Blueprint Gaming, Lightning Box, Evolution Gaming and Extreme Live Gaming.
All Nektan-powered gaming sites offer a list of frequently asked questions, including those related to the registration process, security and fair gaming, bonuses and payments. It explains deposit and withdrawal process in details, addressing individual payment options such as Skrill, Neteller, Boku and PaySafeCard. Further information is, as usual, available within the terms and conditions. Use these resources to start with and then contact members of the customer support service if you feel one or more questions have been left unanswered. Players using emails are guaranteed to receive a reply within 24 hours, but will likely get a response within 60 minutes. Those choosing live chat or phone options get to discuss their questions pretty much instantly – as long as contact is initiated between 8:00 am and midnight GMT. While multiple options are appreciated, one would expect from the company with such scope to provide 24/7 support, like the best online casinos invariably do. As is, you may be in a gaming mood but find yourself stuck with no one to talk to for hours.
Love Reels Casino is licenced by two reputable regulatory bodies, the UK Gambling Commission and the Government of Gibraltar. You may already be aware of the impeccable reputation of the first but should know that the Gibraltar authorities are equally committed to protecting your interests. Their licensees are required to get all games tested and certified by an independent organisation, ensure they are at all times able to finance current and foreseen obligations, and implement an effective complaints management system. Disgruntled members of Live Reels Casino can file a complaint with the Customer Support Manager and thus invoke Nektan’s internal disputes procedure, and if unsatisfied with how their complaint is dealt with, they can escalate the matter by contacting IBAS.
Players fearing their gambling is becoming a problem are invited to contact the Casino’s support team to discuss the issue, learn about Reality Checks, place deposit limits, take a Time Out, or temporarily or permanently self-exclude. A list of 10 questions should help identify if you indeed have a problem, and if confirmed, the operator will ask that you contact GamCare. If Nektan discovers you’re under 18, it will return the deposited funds, confiscate your winnings, and report the activity to the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner, which may then contact local prosecution authorities, parents or legal guardians. The latter are offered links to third party applications – Net Nanny and CYBERsitter, which can be used to restrict internet access. There’s also software such as GamBlock and Betfilter, which, once installed, blocks computers from accessing gambling sites.
As far as I can say in this Love Reels Casino review, Nektan is not among the awarded operators yet and this website is too young to boast any of its own. Bonus points are awarded for exclusive content consisting of Nektan’s own games which you’ll only get to play here and at sister sites. Promotion-related points are based on the pretty generous welcome package followed by several ongoing and seasonal special deals with a chance to claim free spins, deposit bonuses and other goodies. A currently active tournament comes with a prize pool worth £50,000 and promises to treat one lucky player to a Vegas experience of a lifetime. Additional benefits, such as exclusive promotions and faster withdrawals, become available as soon as you deposit £2,000 and thus qualify for VIP Club membership.
Zero awards translates into zero respective bonus points, and having looked as hard as I could, I didn’t manage to identify any exceptional elements worthy of extra points. Exclusive games and the Casino’s promotional portfolio are what makes Love Reels different to other online casinos catering to UK players. If great bonuses are what you’re after, you may also want to check our list of the best bonus offers in the UK.
At this moment in time, this Love Reels Casino review is a mixed bag. It has chosen great game providers and built a portfolio of a respectable size, making it easily accessible without pesky downloads. Choice of promotions is pretty good and the same goes for available deposit and withdrawal options. Players are able to fund their accounts via credit and debit cards, popular eWallets including PayPal, as well as mobile payment tools Boku and Zimpler. Withdrawal limits are quite friendly, with a minimum set at £10 and maximum as high as £10,000 per day.
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The casino is supposed to take up to three days to process withdrawal requests, which is a bit too long. What’s worse is that it doesn’t take a lot of browsing to find that Love Reels is being criticised by numerous players which claim their winnings have not been paid fairly and in time. Seeing that it operates with the UKGC and Gibraltar licences, we expect these issues to be resolved soon and in a satisfactory manner. Making existing and potential members doubt the operator’s fairness and honesty can be damaging both short and long-term, even if the casino performs impeccably in all other areas. Which it doesn’t, at least as long as direct support remains available during limited hours. If looking for a new place to play, better options can be found on our list of the best UK online casinos.
Does Love Reels Casino charge deposit and/or withdrawal fees?
Generally, Love Reels will charge no fees on your deposits or withdrawals, with one exception. A 15% fee is deducted from Boku mobile deposits, so if you were to transfer an amount of £30, the Casino will take £4.50 and credit your account with £25.50. All other payment options are free..
The average payout rate is 96.10%.
Residents of United States, Australia and South Africa are not currently permitted to create a player account.
Ever-popular Gonzo’s Quest by NetEnt applies Avalanche Multipliers which increase with each successive win and awards free games triggered by Free Fall symbols.
Hi-Lo Blackjack offers a side bet that players can use to bet on whether the second card dealt is higher or lower than the first.
Two balls are in play, with Inside bets winning when at least one ends on the chosen number and Outside bets paying when both land on numbers that satisfy the bet.
The quickest and easiest way to contact customer support is through Live Chat, which is available between 8am and midnight GMT. | 2019-04-19T18:35:51Z | https://www.casinoreviews.co.uk/love-reels-casino/ |
Curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints on highways leading to Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco; neighborhoods encircled by military trucks; police attacking protesters; mass arrests; activists abducted off the streets. Since May 26, the first day of Ramadan, the city of Al Hoceima has seen continuous tumult, culminating with a day of bloody clashes on June 26, in what is now being called the Black Eid of 2017. Tensions had been running high in the Rif region, with ongoing protests since October, when a young fish vendor died at the hands of the police, crushed to death in a trash compactor as he tried to retrieve his confiscated merchandise. A truce of sorts had been negotiated in mid-May, when a ministerial delegation arrived in the city of Al Hoceima promising various development projects.
The imam never completed his khutba. Zafzafi gave his own sermon to a crowd gathered outside the mosque. Street battles broke out between protesters and security forces, as the latter tried to arrest Zafzafi and his entourage for “hindering…freedom of worship.” Protests and sit-ins soon spread across the north and to major cities in central Morocco. Thousands marched across the country, chanting, “Rest in peace Abdelkrim, we will continue your struggle!” On the following Monday morning, the interior ministry announced that Zafzafi and dozens of activists, artists, and journalists had been arrested and taken south.
Just a decade ago, thousands marching nationwide waving pan-Berber flags would have been hard to imagine.
My grandmother—Yema, as we called her (“mother” in the Tarifit language of northern Morocco)—came into this world at the same time as the Rif Republic. Her father, M’Hamed, and mother, Tahera, were both born in the late 1800s in Ajdir, a village just south of the port town of Al Hoceima. Both were members of the Aït Ouriaghel tribe, which produced Abdelkrim, the founder of the Rif Republic, and M’Hamed would go on to become a confidant of the Riffian leader. In their youth, my great-grandparents would periodically decamp from Ajdir to Tangier (300 kilometers west), when violence—between tribes or against the Spanish—erupted, and would return when the situation calmed down. My grandmother was thus born in the kasbah of Tangier in 1922. Her mother had arrived in Tangier in 1910, fleeing marauding Spanish troops. But when Abdelkrim declared an independent republic in 1923, Tahera, and her 9-month-old daughter returned to the Rif.
The Spanish have been present in northern Morocco since the conquest of Melilla in 1497. The Riffians had risen up against Spanish rule in 1893 and 1909, but with little success. But then Abdelkrim burst onto the scene. The scion of a prominent Riffian jurist, and fluent in Spanish, Arabic, and Tarifit, Abdelkrim was working as a journalist for La Telegrama del Rif in Melilla when he decided to lead his Aït Ouriaghel tribe in a revolt against the Spanish.
Che Guevara and Mao Zedong would hail Abdelkrim as a Third World revolutionary.
On July 22 1921, in an epic battle, Abdelkrim’s fighters inflicted a crushing defeat on the forces of King Alfonso XIII, killing 13,000 Spanish troops and regaining the northeast from Spain. The Battle of Annoual would become etched in the annals of military history, a stunning success, signaling the birth of modern guerrilla warfare. Che Guevara and Mao Zedong would hail Abdelkrim as a Third World revolutionary, and it’s said that Ho Chi Minh’s 1954 defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu was inspired by Annoual.
In February 1923, Abdelkrim declared the Republic of the Rif (Jumhuriyat al-Rif), a Berber state with its capital in Ajdir, extending from the outskirts of Tangier to the suburbs of Melilla. Yema and Tahera returned to Ajdir. Women sang and ululated as Spanish prisoners were paraded through the streets. The red and white Riffian flag fluttered above buildings. Well-wishers went to see Abdelkrim at “L’Oficina,” his new headquarters; the women who got to meet him said he had kind eyes and beautiful, creamy hands. Yema’s father, linked by kin to the president, brought his family back home to witness history. The 500,000 Tarifit speakers of northern Morocco, long maligned by both Europeans and Arabs as savages and barbarians (the name Berber derives from Greek bárbaros, and the Arabic word barabira also means “barbarians”), now had their own country, with an army and even a currency (the Riffian). Inspired by Ataturk of Turkey, Abdelkrim consolidated the Rif’s tribes into a nation, building a road system linking different areas, a bureaucracy with a three-tier tax system, and a national assembly. He would, from memory, dictate a 40-article Constitution to his scribes. According to our elders, after the Battle of Annoual, the Rif was the only corner of the Muslim world not under colonial rule.
Abdelkrim was wildly popular throughout the Arab world, and as far away as Delhi. Muslims were captivated by this underdog warrior, who spoke of pan-Islamic solidarity and traced his ancestry to Omar ibn Kattab, a senior companion of the Prophet. So was the European left, which were charmed by this Spanish-speaking Moor who refused to conquer Melilla, saying he was “anti-imperialist and not anti-Spanish.” Abdelkrim even riveted the American public; the turbaned revolutionary was Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1925. Yet for all his appeals to Wilsonian principles, Abdelkrim could not get President Coolidge to extend his support. The Great Powers would not recognize the Rif Republic. The commander in chief of French forces in Morocco, Philippe Pétain, feared an independent Rif Republic would expand southward and threaten French Morocco, where he ruled through a puppet sultan. And so in 1925 France and Spain joined forces against the newborn republic. That’s when M’Hamed sent his wife and daughter back to the International Zone of Tangier.
King Alfonso XIII directed his military leaders—one of whom was a young colonel named Francisco Franco—to use poison and nerve gas. The aim, according to the monarch, was clear: “the extermination, like that of malicious beasts, of the Beni Urriaghels and the tribes who are closest to Abdel Karim.” The Riffians were massively outgunned and outmanned, and in May 1926, Abdelkrim surrendered to the French. “I surrender,” he is said to have said, “so that my people continue to exist.” Three-year-old Yema and her mother would be safely ensconced in the kasbah of Tangier, surrounded by other members of the Ouriaghel tribe, when word arrived of Abdelkrim’s surrender and then of her father’s death. The French exiled the leader and his family to the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, though he eventually settled in Cairo, where he died in 1963. Two of Yema’s cousins were also dispatched to Réunion. Franco would go on to consolidate his grip over northern Morocco, later recruiting thousands of young Riffian men to fight Republicans in Spain’s civil war.
When I was growing up in the 1980s, I remember my grandmother and her cohorts telling stories about Abdelkrim’s exile: which cousin had gone off to Réunion, who had settled in Cairo, who had ended up in Madrid or Barcelona; the time, in Ajdir, when Tahera had fired a rifle at intruders from a rival clan, striking a man in the leg. Then the younger women would get up and do impersonations: withering imitations of the portly Spanish nun who used to teach them Spanish as children, the snobbish young bride whose behind happened to stick out just like her mother’s, and so on. My grandmother would pick up the round bendir drum and lead off, her fingertips tapping a buzzing sound; the others would join in with their hand drums. The percussion would soften, and either she or Khadouj (In Tarifit, Arabic names are given an affectionate “oush/ouj” ending: Khadija becomes Khadouj, Amina becomes Minoush) would begin a mawal. Yema sang beautifully, women’s songs from the Djbala and Rif mountains. One of her favorites, about war and one-sided love, begins with gunpowder exploding on the hills of Chefchaoun, where the Riffians had done battle with the Spanish. “I cry for the dead, for the wounded can heal,” goes one verse.
A black-and-white portrait hanging in my grandparents’ living room shows Yema in her teens, circa 1938: eyelashes raised with kohl, black hair braided in two long tresses and short sidelocks, with a centipede-like tattoo—the marking of the Aït Ouriaghel, the largest tribe in the Rif—crawling down her chin. Back then, girls from the Rif wore their hair in braids and short sidelocks. Yema never went to school. After her father’s death in the early 1930s, she had to help Tahera take care of the three young boys. She would cook dishes from the Rif for them—majaha, turda, and zambo. The boys had shaven heads, except for a thin braid going down their back, which they had to cut if they wanted to attend the nearby escuela Alfonso XIII. In Aïn Hayani, the little village near Merqala Beach, Yema met my grandfather Hamadi (we called him Vava, “father” in Tarifit), also of the Ouriaghel tribe, who had arrived in Tangier as a small boy in 1922.
After World War II, Tangier returned to being an International Zone, ruled by a committee of eight Western powers and a mixed court. Moroccans were until 1960 restricted to the native zones—the Medina, M’Salla, Dradeb, and Aïn Hayani. Merqala Beach was one area where Europeans and Americans interacted with the natives. The cove was located at the foot of the “English Mountain,” so-called because that was where British and American expats had lived for centuries. At sunset, when the “Nazarenes” left, Yema and her friends—housewives, wheat-sellers, and cooks who worked for the foreigners up the hill—would tuck their caftans into their waistbands and step into the rock-strewn water, looking for seaweed (a good skin exfoliator) and smooth stones for prayer ablutions. The European and Moroccan women rarely mixed, but one woman from the Café Miri, where the foreigners sat and smoked hashish, would regularly approach the Moroccans, a jaunty, red-headed woman who was married to the American writer who could be seen during the day, walking along the cliffs, notebook in hand. “Jeannie,” as Jane Bowles was called, was intrigued by Moroccan women, and they by her; the Riffian women would long debate if she had earned her nickname because of her love of gin, or because she had seen the djinn. Witty, Arabic-speaking, and an excellent mimic—mimicry is a valued talent in Tangier—Jeannie became close to the neighborhood women. Souad, Yema’s sister-in-law, would go on to become Paul Bowles’s housekeeper for many years.
Despite the myth of Tangier as a “dream city,” during the international era, the city’s native population was essentially stateless, consigned to impoverished, segregated neighborhoods. Locals sought rights and protection from the myriad consulates in the city. Hamadi, my grandfather, became a Spanish citizen. Eventually he founded Hispamaroc, the travel agency next to the Hotel Rembrandt, and in 1951 opened a restaurant, Hamadi’s, which remains the longest-standing restaurant in Tangier. Yema, in turn, became the community conciliator, power broker, money-handler, and the guardian of our memory. She prevented marriage disputes from escalating, and made sure no fatherless children in the clan went hungry. Her prestige fed my grandfather’s reputation, and vice versa.
After Morocco gained its independence from France in 1956, it was agreed that Tangier would be handed over to the Moroccan government—now under the suzerainty of Mohammed V—over the next few years. Hamadi gathered his children around the tayfor—the low table around which we eat—and tore up his Spanish passport, “We’re now Moroccan.” Compensation came quickly.
After independence in 1956, the king cracked down on the Rif, using napalm and leaving 10,000 dead.
Protests turned violent. In early 1959, the Moroccan air force began bombing the Rif. Claiming that the intifada was coordinated by Abdelkrim in Cairo with the backing of Nasser—and seeing the recent overthrow of the Egyptian and Iraqi monarchs—the Moroccan army responded brutally with a scorched-earth policy. Led by then–Crown Prince Hassan, the military cracked down in 1959, using napalm and burning homes and wheat fields, leaving 10,000 people dead. Photographs show the diminutive prince strutting through the razed villages in a striped shirt and velvet vest, grinning, a rifle on his shoulder.
An October 2014 issue of Tel Quel magazine shows Crown Prince Hassan in the Rif in January 1959, after the Moroccan military’s suppression of the Berbers.
In 1960, King Mohammed traveled to Cairo to reconcile with Abdelkrim, addressing him as “father” and inviting him to return to Morocco. Yet the monarch died soon after, and upon coming to power in 1961, his son, King Hassan II, would ally himself with the United States and against the Soviet Union and its “radical” Arab allies like Egypt and Syria. He issued a new Constitution, which Abdelkrim promptly criticized as having no “democratic contours.” Hassan then began a policy of isolating and economically strangling the north, moving diplomatic missions and airline offices from Tangier to Casablanca and Rabat, steering tourism and investment toward the south and depleting an already impoverished region. Tens of thousands of Riffian men migrated to Belgium, France, and Holland.
As children, we never understood what we—as a people—were being punished for.
In July 1999, Mohammed VI, the son of Hassan, ascended to the throne and began a policy of reconciliation with Tangier and the Rif region. The disaffection in the formerly Spanish north—by then a noted hub of cannabis production and Islamist activity—and the impasse in the Western Sahara, also a former Spanish territory, had become an embarrassment for the regime. From the 1960s onward, the regime had mobilized Islamism against Berber nationalism and leftist movements, but by the late 1990s, state officials were losing control of Islamist movements, which were now openly challenging the throne. Berber nationalism came to be seen as a way to offset Islamism. Abderrahman Youssoufi, a prominent Riffian dissident whose brother had been disappeared by Franco, was appointed prime minister in 1998.
Mohammed Choukri’s acclaimed memoir, For Bread Alone, describing his escape from the Rif to Tangier in the 1940s, which had been banned in 1983, was reissued in 2000. Amazigh, meaning “free person,” officially replaced “Berber” as the preferred term in public discourse. The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture was founded. Books began appearing about the north’s “embargoed history,” and magazines ran spreads about the “women warriors” of the Rif. And in January 2004, the regime launched an Equity and Reconciliation Commission to investigate human rights abuses that occurred in the northeast—and in other parts of the kingdom—during Hassan II’s rule.
In 2011, protests erupted in the Rif again—though this time, activists liaised with counterparts across the kingdom.
The cultural volte-face has indeed been astonishing. Nowadays driving through Morocco, one sees Tifinagh script (the Tamazigh alphabet) on highway signs, banners, and government buildings. Amazigh first names—Tilila, Kahina, Ayur—once frowned upon, if not banned, are now fashionable among middle-class Moroccans. (Those of us born in the 1970s and ’80s were given Egyptian names—Hisham, Rania, Amr—reflecting our parents’ orientation back then.) Amazigh cultural festivals are now organized around the country. Most striking, perhaps, is the resurrection of Abdelkrim, now extolled as a Moroccan hero who fought Spanish and French imperialism. Walking through Tangier’s street markets, one sees his visage on scarves, T-shirts, and keychains. Cap Radio, in its Tarifit broadcasts, plays chaabi and rap songs praising the leader. “Rif-Hop” is now a genre. Abdelkrim’s daughters have become minor celebrities, touring the country speaking about exile and reconciliation. The Riffian revolutionary is slowly becoming a cultural icon, an emblem of an alternative Morocco.
The more militant protesters also demand the return of Abdelkrim’s remains from Cairo, and his commemoration as an Amazigh democratic figure, not just an anti-colonial symbol. Over the past year, violence has almost always erupted when protesters attempt to plant the flag of the Rif Republic on a building and the police intervene. While the pan-Berber tricoleur is seen across the country, the (Ottoman-inspired) red Riffian flag, with its crescent and six-point star, remains a point of acute contention: The head of the Moroccan socialist party says the flag should be integrated into national identity; other politicians see it as a sign of separatism and republicanism.
But the popular image of the Riffian—long seen as a separatist, barely Islamic, green-eyed mix of African and Viking—is changing. Culturally and linguistically, the Rif since 1999 has been largely integrated into the kingdom. Moreover, the younger generation of Riffian leaders is politically savvy: Rather than speaking in Tamazight or Spanish, of indigenous rights and ethnic difference (as their elders may have), the hirak, as the activists are called, now issue their appeals in Arabic, demanding rights and services, and linking their movement to democratic struggles across the Arabic-speaking world. And their speeches tend to be laden with religious references as well. Holding a Quran in one hand and flanked by portraits of Abdelkrim, Zafzafi will speak of the Berber ancestors Masinissia and Jugurtha, the kings of Numidia, and the wisdom of the Prophet’s companions. In fact, it was his mosque speech challenging the government’s control of religious institutions—an issue that resonates broadly—that elicited the current crackdown. These days protests will erupt in Hoceima or Nador in the north, and quickly spread to southern cities, where a solidarity chant will rise, “Wlad al Rif mashi awbash!” (The children of the Rif are not awbash) and “Are you a government or a gang?” The Rif has become the epicenter and impetus for political protest in Morocco.
Yema never learned how to read, not Arabic or any other language. She loved television shows on ocean life, and was a longtime fan of Jacques Cousteau’s Undersea World series. So in primary school, I would check out books on sea life and read to her. I’d point to different creatures and say the name in English or French, then ask her how to say it in Berber. She’d pause and utter some word, gijdoor or bibet. I’d look up at her. Her green eyes would light up—she was making up the words. Who on earth knows how to say “humpback whale” in Berber? Yema was tender. Her apron pocket contained an infinite number of coins, nuts, and Smarties, the British M&Ms. When the cold Atlantic winds started blowing in November, she would press her lips against our foreheads to see if we had a temperature. But she had a hard, unsentimental side. In Tangier, conversations tend to begin with a swell of nostalgia: how the city is deteriorating, overrun, not what it used to be. I never heard Yema express an iota of nostalgia, not for the Rif, not for the International Zone, not for the Italianate villas on the boulevard that were being razed and replaced by hideous high-rises.
When I was a boy, every September a large burlap sack of almonds would arrive at my grandparents’ house, a post-harvest remembrance from distant relatives in Ajdir. In recent years, the sack had dwindled to a parcel, yet Yema would still give everyone a handful of sweet, crispy nuts. That was for decades a recurring, if tenuous, link to our ancestral land. When Yema’s heart stopped beating on February 7, the Rif came flooding back. For the three days of mourning, octogenarians with hennaed beards and women with names like Titem and Achoucha came to pay condolences.
My grandmother was buried in Sidi Amar cemetery overlooking the bay of Tangier. Her headstone faces northeast; Gibraltar and southern Spain to her left, and the Rif mountains to her right. Part of the Amazigh predicament has always been which way to face. Abdelkrim’s generation looked to the east—Cairo, then Mecca—for salvation; subsequent generations would turn to Spain and France, and then east again. Which direction should the living face? As long as Yema was alive, we didn’t have to decide.
Editor’s note: The original post, which has been corrected, misidentified the French leader in Morocco during the Rif War. He was Philippe Pétain, not Henri (which was his first name, but he commonly went by the name Philippe), and he was commander in chief of French forces in Morocco, not colonial administrator. | 2019-04-23T22:05:49Z | https://www.thenation.com/article/is-morocco-headed-toward-insurrection/ |
The book is a journey through human progress focusing on the construct of psychologically safe workplaces which has re-emerged recently.
The book is a journey through human progress focusing on the construct of psychologically safe workplaces which has re-emerged recently. It looks as far back as the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, highlighting the construct of utopia as applied to the world of work. It explores where we are in the world of work and how humans are treated at work. It underlines how various advances through industrial, and much more recently technological, revolutions have changed the nature of work and society. It explores if a ‘utopic’ ideal of work has ever existed or can exist. As a monograph, it will engage the readers’ interest with its story and intention.
Dr Georgios P. Piperopoulos studied sociology and psychology at American, German and Austrian Universities receiving his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees; taught at several American, European and Greek Universities at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels before retiring from his professorial chair at the Department of Business Administration, The University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dr Piperopoulos is currently Visiting Professor at Newcastle Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK. He was Visiting Professor at Newcastle University Business School, U.K. from 8/2013 to 8/2016.
He has held a variety of managerial posts in private enterprises and public social services organizations in the USA and Europe.
He has developed and taught Leadership, Communication, Stress Management and Psychological Operations courses at the Supreme Joint War College of the Hellenic Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air force), the Army staff training school, the Hellenic Police Continuing Education Centre and at the Greek branch of the United Nations Peace Serving Operations Training Centre.
Professor Piperopoulos has published several textbooks and many popular books in Greek and English and authored hundreds of articles and editorials in leading Greek Newspapers and magazines. He has been a frequent guest on Greek TV and radio programs as a commentator and, for several years, presented his own show titled ‘I Communicate Therefore I am’ in Greek National and Regional TV channels and Radio stations. He has delivered hundreds of public lectures to groups in Greece, Europe and the USA.
Control Your Stress and Manage Your Time!
His daughter Dr Natasha (Anastasia) Piperopoulou lives with her son in Athens and is employed as psychologist in a public school for training and educating adolescents with special needs. His son Dr Panagiotis (Panos) Piperopoulos is Associate Professor at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
For the romantics who still cherish such a myth this book will serve as a much needed cold shower! To those who propagate such concepts will come as a warning that even a best clad myth van be denuded! Well doing Union heads should read it carefully!
Refreshingly provocative, pleasant narrative and challenging monograph.
A smooth running narrative, an historical review which fliws asv pleasant reading but between the lunes emerge creatively provocative arguments on the historical and currently reviving myths of psychologically safe workplaces for the average working men and women!
Not a 4 or 3 star journal text but most certainly a 5 star monograph as a modern, provocative narrative on an archaic subject namely the relationship between employers and employees. Well done!
A well written, inviting journey in the history of employers and employees from the ancient times iof building the pyramids and the acropolis to the modern era of globally operating multinationals.
The first part of the title is romantically provocative; the second part realistically challenging! The book is a pragmatic, useful monograph worth reading. The author denudes some popular myths and pays proper attention to the Japanese concept of "lifetime employment" not particularly welcomed by global "locust type" corporate giants.
Fascinating approach to a perpetually misunderstood subject. Work safety in the public and especially the private sector is desirable but also elusive. The book will provoke, challenge and put in their proper place those who thrive perpetuating the old Utopia.
Provocative narrative, challenging conceptualization poignant thesis in a modern, well documented and broad in perspective monograph. Well done.
Well perceived, provocative and enlightening narrative. Surely the evolution of work is not linear but the book poses a challenging, modern thesis.
Nostalgic of the obsolete, betrayed call "workers of the world unite?" and ready to be lured by the much promising new call "find a psychologically safe workplace?". Stop and read this monograph to understand how utopias are continuously and skillfully updates!
Truly a nook worth reading. Written by an academic who obviously has not lost touch with the realities facing working men and vwomen. Cheers!
As a realist, not negativist, by nature combined with work experience I would sat do not get lured by the utopian promise of psychologically safe workplaces. In a world wherever are longer persons but 'human resources' governed by "locust type" corporations and apathetic Unionists show me some examples and I will show you myriads of oases in Sahara.
As a working woman I would strongly suggest to working women and working men to download and read this book. It delivers a powerful well supported message!
Reading through the lines I discern a romantic attitude in Professor Piperopoulos' narrative despite his half century experiences in Business Schools where management students learn tonaim for profit maximization techniques! Improved profits benefit corporation stakeholders and assure managers bonuses! It is a book worth reading.
In my humble opinion a truly remarkable book which comes to fill in many voids in the history of employer employees relations. Take a close look at the chapter on Unions and the review of Business Schools.
An interesting monograph which raises a few note pertinent questions while answering directly and indirectly several others.
Professor Piperopoulos with this monograph makes a major contribution to modern employee/employer relations and convincingly sets the stage for a much needed and, strangely enough, neglected dialogue.
Laconically stated this is a truly fascinating monograph. You will be generously rewarded for the timebyou will invest in reading it!
When we are told that 26 individuals have personal wealth which equals that of three billion other humans Capitalism an Free Economy become real threats to workers! And then when we read in this book about the much promising and never delivering historical facts about the Bolsheviks in the collapsed USSR and look at the modern socialist/communist utopias of Madoro'Venezuela and Castro's Cuba the threat to workers becomes unmanageable emotionally. Read this book.
With a plethora of scary news concerning store closures and massive redundancies in most business fields securing a psychologically safe workplace is indeed a...Utopia! The book is provocative and challenging and while answering many questions raises a series of new and disturbing ones on the future of employment for men and women...Not robots!
Provocative, challenging and creatively innovative narrative knocking off past, present and future myths on paradise promised to the average working men and women. Enlightening and constructive views on Business Schhol education and programs.
Simply an excellent historical assessment of the difficult relations between employers and employees. Excellent criticism of Bolshevik USSR myths and creative criticism of globalized capitalism.
Genuinely provocative thesis challenging stereotypes and myths and skillfully setting the stage for a much needed honest dialogue between employers and employees and some comfortably abstaining Union Leaders in view of potentially cataclysmic changes in the labor market.
A truly challenging monograph with a provocative well documented narrative denuding some well protected myths.
The book is well structured and thoroughly documented which makes its narrative acceptable although it is provocatively challenging and 'scary' in its epilogue on the coming threat of AI endowed robots.
A provocative monograph which belongs to the bibliography of University HR modules and the bookcases (laptops, computers and ipads) of HR managers before they become casualties of the trend to replace human employees with robots. I appreciated the chapter on Business Schools and the author's play with the Greek concepts of Utopia, Eutopia and Dystopia... Challenging contemporary narrative with adequate historical references.
A truly challenging journey through human history focusing on crucial issues of the eternal relationships of employers and employees.
As a middle level manager at a tourist organization I can see both the benefits of creating a psychologically safe workplace evironment and the precarious nature of such a reality when financial pressures demand redundancies. Professor Piperopoulos as an academic and a practitioner has approached his subject with due scholastic respect and philosophical contempletion. Psychologically safe workplace construct, unfortunately, has often been abused for the benefit of owners, employers and top managers who reap the benefits of employees who are loyal and offer their best to the companies they work for. It is a interesting and worthwhile book that will create a much needed dialogue as we witness in the last 3 decades the collapse of USSR and the development of locust type behaviors on the part of many multinationals.
An impressive monograph challenging several working men and women related myths and denuding some classic management claims. The paradise promised to workers by Bolsheviks ended up as a caricature for them and a blessing for Communist Party leaders. Is there a hope for true psychologically safe workplaces? My personal opinion is simply NO!
A fascinating journey in the history of working conditions of men and women employees rendered in an iconoclastic monograph as provocative narrative. A challenging view of Business Schools.
If there will ever be 'an eutopia where employers and employees will not coexist but will thrive together' all working men and women across the Globe will have a chance to 'taste' work-paradise. Until that day comes you can comfortably read and enjoy this realistic book countless times.
Written by an academic/practitioner who knows his stuff, enriched by a scent of neo-Marxism cauterizing the Bolshevik applications of pseudo-Marxism this is a really fascinating monograph worth reading.
Provocative narrative on a perpetually challenging management theme. Well-written and supported.
A provocative examination of the historical journey of employer-employees interactions and the role of the intermediate actors known as managers. Professor Piperopoulos denudes some well established myths and brings a fresh breath of objectivity in what has been a biased subjective interpretation on employee loyalty and creativity.
A truly remarkable book on the relationships of employers and employees throughout history.
Here is a book that will stir up a new dialogue on work conditions, the human predicament of employees and the profit motive. Excellent bibliography.
A remarkable 'reality therapy' book for every working man and woman dreaming of a psychologically safe workplace. It is worth every minute spend reading it!
Professor Piperopoulos has literally 'hit the nail on the head' in this notable monograph. To denude a royally clad myth is not an easy task but the narrative of this book does exactly that. Read it!
This book travels the reader through history in respect to the socio-psychological aspect of workplaces and the human relations at work from ancient Egypt and Greece to modern times, up to 2018, the era of robotics and artificial intelligence, covering the literature of management theory and strategy globally, in a pleasant and concise way. We loved the “prolegomena ‘ and “epilegomena” both in text as well as in the terms used in the richest language of all centuries, the Greek language, the mother language of our civilization.
With so many employees becoming redundant (which means 'fired') day after day by SME's as well as large corporations the concept serving as the first part of the book's title sounds as a...blessing! The book presents a provocative narrative tendering it as worthwhile reading.
Where management introduces the construct the benefits it secures are worth the risks! But as the introduction of Robots increases dramatically thesycgologically safe workplace ends up as a myth and a utopia! Very interesting narrative!
This is a monograph deserving the attention of each and every working man and woman as well as those in charge of HRM departments. Absorbing and informative reading.
Informative, enlightening contemporary. A unique edition to HR history, practices and theories.
An innovative narrative on employers and employees offering a challenging and provocative review of motivation theories and employee dedication to their employers. Answers some unanswered a questions be mile raising more that need answers such as the structure and functions of 13,000 Business Schools!
A book useful for business school students as it wiil provide them with a more humane attitude towards employees. Useful for working men and women below the supervisor/middle manager levels. Useful for the interested members of the general public for its wealth of information on management theories and historical facts. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Bypass the old myth "that you can't judge a book by its cover"! Professor Piperopoulos has written a book that ends this one and a number of other myths related to working men and women and 'good hearted' employers. Fascinating narrative.
A well written provocative narrative of the journey of working men and women through history. Based on his experiences as an academic/practitioner the author has composed a significant contribution to the existing binliography. His presentation of the Bolshevic revolutions and the seven decades of the existence of USSR should be carefully read as should the chapter on the birth and proliferation of Business Schools across the globe.
The construct would be a real blessing for working men and women but the way things are going (14 stores shut down everyday in the UK, medium and large enterprises are making thousands of employees redundant across the EU) so it looks Notre as a Utopia than a feasible reality. And with robots of new generations enriched with brilliant AI surpassing a single employee's talents the prospects resemble motte a nightmare than a sweet dream! Read the book carefully and as other reviews have noted search "between the lines".
A brilliant work by an experienced academic who has obviously gained immense volume of work experience as a practitioner. It touches upon some issues usually bypassed by professors of Business Schools who choose to instruct their students/future managers how to entlarge corporate profits and claim good chunks of bonuses for themselves. In the psychologically safe workplace utopia women have been and continue to be left far behind men coworkers.
An excellent monograph on the history of work and the myths related to working men and women and their plights. Indeed if psychological safety is a utopia in the western industrialized countries it is a 'fairy tale' in the economies of developing nations of the third world, practically a 'dream which never will come ttue'.
For those of us who attended a Business Administration degree a most welcome, nostalgic revisit to familiar concepts and theories. I think it should be on the bibliography of most HR modules. For members of the general interested public a rich source of useful information!
Professor Georgios Piperopoulos has produced a very interesting monograph. I would say, not ironically but as a compliment, that this is a 'dragon killer' for all utopian and unrealistic myths on employees welfare overriding employers welfare. Refreshing reading.
Eleni Dagla, B.Sc (hons), M.A., M.Sc.
A modern, powerful, provocative and well documented contemporary defence of the too often neglected rights and hastily overlooked plights of men and women employees across the globe. Professor Piperopoulos’ new book, a monograph, makes a good argument for the immense benefits to employers emerging from psychologically safe work environments while it simultaneously underlines the fact that when such environments are embedded in corporate cultures the benefits for the workers range from loosely defined to non-existing rendering the relevant concept as a utopia rather than a (desirable) reality. Lively, easy to read and comprehend narrative.
Well-structured, rich in psychological management theories and entertaining reading. If you live in a safe or in a cut throat competitive work environment is irrelevant. Read this book and you will learn a lot.
Surely a psychologically safe wotkplace would be an oasis in the current competitive world of business. But it looks more as a utopia than a reality which would benefit employers and employees. This is an eye opener of a book. Do read it!
A fascinating monograph which will reward you fot t ime invested in reading it and will doubly reward those who will spend the time required to read between the lines of the challenging and provocative narrative.
To put it laconically a really interesting book which answers difficult questions while questioning some inadequately answered current questions!
Professor Piperopoulos has written a book which will ultimately stirup a much needed dialogue on men and women who are no longer persons as they have become 'resources' soon to be displaced by 'non-persons' known as... robots!
Here is an interesting and challenging monograph which should be read not only by university students and working men and women but primarily by Union Leaders who refuse to see the unstoppable downgrading of Unionism in 21st century global realities. Well done by an academic/practitioner who obviously knows his stuf and has the courage and integrity to speak publicly!
A Psychologically safe workplace would be a blessing if it could exist as a reality and not a pretentious facade. Some would think that public employment is an indirect semblance of work safety but that is not as solid as it used to be as Redundancies have become more commonplace on local, regional and national levels across the globe. The nook is very interesting AND simultaneously very provocative. I suggest it unreservedly irrespective of your employment affiliation in the public or the private sector!
A refreshing overview of labor relations history, false promises and employer skewed theoretical schemes. Fascinating monograph leading us from the pyramids of Egypt to the brave new world of 'charismatically' skillful robots replacing humans massively in the not so distant future.
Excellent reading for your next transatlantic, transpacific or intra European plane trip.
Professor Piperopoulos has written a book that should be read by everybody who is an employee and those employers who comfortably forget their respect for their employees. I would also suggest it to Board members of many organizations who easily bypass the reality that their employees are the ones who make them feel proud bring in charge of their organizations. Useful and contemporary.
As an academic and practitioner obviously the author has gained valuable experiences sitting at both sides of production, services and administration settings. His theses atr a bit provocative but his arguments well substantiated and his bibliography massive. A book worthy of the attention of employers and employees, practioners and academics. Rewarding journey from ancient times to the 21st century.
This book should be considered as an effort to introduce to a large number of students and readers in general tools which will be valuable to them in the practical business of their subject. It deserves a wide welcome.
Another excellent, worth reading book from Professor Piperopoulos!!! Congratulations Professor, it was an honor to have been your student!
A really interesting book covering the development of the continuing strangle between employer & employees in which employees give their best but are not properly rewarded.
Excellent historical overview of the classic antagonism between employers and employees with good bibliographical support. The author dedicated his book to a EUTOPIA where employers and employees will thrive together but this sounds fairly utopian especially in view of a developing DYSTOPIA where hundreds of millions of human will be replaced NY robots... A counter argument could be that they can be retrained but do Nations have the resources and do middle aged unemployed have the motivation and stamina to acquire new skills? Professor Piperopoulos has created a provocative monograph worth reading!
Professor Piperopoulos has produced an indeed iconoclastic monograph which comes to express the agonies of myriads of employees across the globe who feel unsafe and insecure in their jobs. Undeniably creating a psychologically safe culture in corporations and organizations will bring forth great benefits as employees will give their best, loyalty and productivity will increase and so will the profits of corporations and the social esteem of organizations along with the various forms of ‘bonus’ to management ‘golden boys’. But the classic question remains intact: to what extent do employees who give their best share in corporate profits? The agonies relating to job security have not gone away but have been intensified as employees who used to be ‘persons’ overseen by ‘personnel managers and directors’ are now ‘human resources’ overseen by ’human resources managers and directors’ and they are nowadays not ‘fired’ but become ‘redundant’… The reality seems to become even harder on job security as IT, AI and robots enter in masses the production and services sectors of global economies. Written by a practitioner/academic this book should be carefully read and indeed should serve as the epitome of a much needed, honest and humane dialogue between employers and employees; it should be part of many modules in the 13,000 Business Schools operating across the Globe.
This new book by Dr. G. Piperopoulos is a valuable resource for management practitioners interested in the various aspects of a psychologically healthy workplace. It offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy. With so much riding on innovation and creativity it is essential to attract and retain quality talent—but what good is talent if employees are afraid to express their opinion in an open way without worrying about unpleasant consequences? The book clearly states that the traditional corporate culture of just “fitting in” can spell disaster in today’s modern economies. Corporate success requires a continuous influx of new ideas, new challenges, and critical thought. The interpersonal business and organization climate must not suppress and silence employees but it must create a culture that fosters creativity and autonomy of employees and encourages involvement in organizational decision-making which is so important for creative thinking and new ideas. Many informative examples of effective project management spanning from the Pharaohs and the ancient Greeks all the way to the current and near future AI development and its effects on future human employment and labor markets are given throughout the book. Explanations and ideas provide a clear path to constant learning and healthy corporate innovation which is necessary in today’s business environment. The link between psychological safety and high performance is clearly stated as well as the need to nurture and create a culture where it is “psychologically safe” to express new ideas openly. This book provides a framework for establishing psychological safety in today’s business, teams and organizations. Excellent work and highly recommended!
Obviously no ifs and buts but honest challenges to well entrenched misconceptions of the antagonistic relations between employers and employees. Indeed psychologically safe work culture is desirable and will ensure a plethora of benefits but the hatrsh question posed by the author us simply "for who". If employees will shatre the benefits go on and create such places and such work culture. If not why bother?
Simply a fascinating contemporary monograph. Psychologically safe workplaces for the benefit of employees and not solely the employers has been a Utopia since the dawn of history. Obviously an optimistic statement from professor Piperopoulos who dedicates his book to a Eutopia where employers and employees thrive together. Should we be preparing for a future Dystopia where humans will be massively replaced by robots? Are out politicians, financiers and academics ready for such a prospect or will modern forms of psychologically safe workplaces serve as...placebos? Provocative book!
As a small entrepreneur in the education field, located in Germany and providing remedial support services to high school students as well as foreign language classes with my small staff I confess that I was impressed by this book written by professor Piperopoulos an academic with rich practitioner experiences in upper management as well as in consulting to national and multinational corporations and organizations. Some of the book’s theses are indeed bold and provocative but the author substantiates them properly. His historic overview of the wonders of the Industrial revolution in 19th century England and of the roaring 20’s in America is refreshing and, considering Unionism and Unions, should serve as an authenticated basis in assessing the conditions of working people across the globe then and now. Certainly things will become challenging for the average employees in many Nations as the massive introduction of robots endowed with superior IT and AI skills in productions will end up displaying immense numbers of people and thus necessitating their re-training in modern skills. In my small company I have discovered after 3 decades of operation that people appreciate a psychologically safe environment and work culture but I cannot hurriedly overlook what the author describes as ‘locust’ - Anglo/US types of corporations who simply aim to gain as much profits in as little time as possible overlooking their operations’ impact on human and environmental resources. It is a notable addition to relevant bibliography and should be read by university students and employers as owners and managers of corporations and organizations.
As an academic in the tertiary level of education I have enjoyed reading the new book written by a now retired ex-colleague at the University of Macedonia, Greece. Professor Piperopoulos was always a forward looking academic daring to confront issues which some others would prefer to let lay dormant. In this book he confronts in a bold and provocative manner the perennial issue of the antagonism between employers and employees which gave rise to Unionism during the Industrial Revolution a couple of centuries ago. The book’s challenging and provocative theses are well documented by proper bibliographical references. The epilogue concentrating on the rapidly rising numbers of high tech, IT and AI enriched robots in production and services which by 2030 may lead some 400 to 800 employees to ‘redundancies’ raises issues which should be immediately dealt with by Governments across the globe. Employees replaced by robots will need retraining and acquisition of new skills or else societies will be faced with serious challenges and potential upheavals. It is an iconoclastic monograph and a worthy edition to the existing bibliography for Business Administration students, practitioners and the interested public at large.
An outstanding historical journey into the relationships of employers and employees, of management and unions, of gteediess and profits without proper respect for humans and the environment. A nook that will stir up spirits. Well done and perhaps prophetic on the threats posed nyrobots, robotics, ITand AI for average employees.
Excellent book for all the workplace players. I was suprised by the details the writer develops about the motives of the job that are critical for the future of the labor market.
Ioannis Daglas, BSC (hons), MA.
As a graduate in Business Administration from the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece I have known professor Piperopoulos and I am familiar with his iconoclastic style in viewing both the academic and the practitioner sides of studying and exercising management; after half a century of being an academic and a practitioner in management I can readily see the propriety of his arguments and their validity. Holding a Master’s degree in Management from a recognized UK University and now operating as the owner-manager of a micro enterprise I can appreciate the fact that little of what we learn in both undergraduate and post graduate University programs prepares us to enter the real world of Business enterprise. This book is destined to become a classic in starting a much needed dialogue on the programs and the processes of Business Schools operating across the globe and, simultaneously, on the need to ensure that humans dislocated in the next few years by robots richly endowed with advanced IT and AI will not be neglected. I wholeheartedly do recommend this book to university students and fellow graduates working in some corporate or organizational environment or running their own show.
As a journalist I have had the pleasure of discussing on the air a number of subjects relating to the sociology and psychology of Business enterprises and organizations providing various services. As a guest professor Piperopoulos always distinguished himself not only by presenting bold views and provocative perspectives but also by being able to look at and bring forth to open view hidden sides of the difficulties of being an employer and an employee, of living on the edge of antagonistic relationships characterized by the ‘profit motive’. In this book the author brings forth many surreptitiously ‘overlooked’ issues on raising employee motivation (and increasing profits) but ‘neglecting’ to properly reimburse them for their contributions. Professor Piperopoulos answers many mute questions and raises as many in his iconoclastic book. I would recommend it as I feel that it will help start a much needed debate as the problems of massive introduction of superior technological products (read, robots) will make hundreds of millions of employees redundant forcing Nations across the globe to provide them with retraining.
As a researcher and holder of a PhD in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour, I cannot agree more with the statement that Human Resources is the key towards creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Indeed, investing in employees’ skills, knowledge and abilities will ultimately lead to employees’ enhanced productivity, and thus, to organisational performance. Taking this argument into consideration, the specific book provides an in depth understanding of how management strategies and techniques can motivate employees’ behaviour in ‘giving their best selves’ to their companies, or in other words, how management can create the so-called organisational citizenship behaviour of its employees. Additionally, this book underscores the significant role that a psychologically safe workplace has to play not only in increasing employees' productivity, but also in creating a resilient workforce that sustains through time. The latter contributes to the competitiveness and survival of organisations. In a nutshell, I am quite positive that this book will be extremely useful to both employees and employers. Excellent piece of work!
I believe, and surely I am not alone, that when employers will be able to provide their employees with a work environment where psychological safety is guaranteed the benefits they will collect will be immense. Humans are not lazy and when properly motivated will give their best making work a meaningful, pleasant, fun-filled engagement. I also believe that despite all honest efforts many large scale corporations and organizations will, unfortunately, sacrifice the psychological safe environments they have created if the need for 'redundancies' (avoiding the term 'firings') becomes a reality. Professor Piperopoulos has provided both employers and employees, as well as University and College students and members of the broad interested public with a provocative and fascinating monograph on the evolution of work and working conditions. Here is a book that deserves our attention and will probably begin a necessary debate.
I read the press release announcing the publication of this book in one of my favourite Greek blogs and I was curious to downloaded and read it since the author, before his recent retirement, was a well-known professor and Chairman of the department of Business administration of the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece where I am now finishing my studies leading to the Bachelor’s degree. The book is full of information relating to my studies and the author has provided an extensive bibliography supporting his arguments. I found it to be provocative in its thesis relating to the ‘antagonism’ between employers and employees in corporations and organizations where the supreme value is ‘profit’. I think the discussion on the history and the global prospects of Business Schools will generate a vivid dialogue in many countries and the prospects of humans ultimately being replaced by robots will bring the chills to the book’s readers. I believe that the book should be read not just by us as students in management and other specialities of the business administration fields but by our professors and also by managers and owners of corporations and members of Board Directors hoping to bring into focus the value of human beings and their role in enterprises and organizations.
A book written using the past experience for the future best practices. Reading the book, cannot leave you without the satisfaction that despite you feel aware of most of its contents, they are all presented in such a way and language that makes you to not want stop reading. Probably one of the most important aspects of the book is its analysis about the human behaviour in the modern businesses environment. An aspect that generally is missing. Its a real privilege to follow a long standing expert while discussing issues like business ethics, personal accountability, corporate responsibility, etc. Excellent, highly recommended.
As a University student majoring in Business Administration I found this book, written by a well-known Greek Professor of management, to be extremely informative and challenging in presenting the evolution of working conditions which have influenced not only the lives of individual employees but also the structures of societies. The book will start a dialogue especially as it presents to future large scale entrance of Robots loaded with Artificial Intelligence into the work environments replacing up to 800 million employees worldwide. The ethical considerations relating to brutal 'profit-not people' orientation are clearly presented in this book and the extensive bibliography opens up a large window for obtaining useful information.
I have worked with managers who were able to motivate us as employees and 'get the best out of us' by creating feelings of psychological safety. This is a reality much needed but it does not guarantee job security as decisions for 'redundancies' are placed in higher corporate levels. This book is well documented and should gain a proper place in the relevant bibliography of Human Resources management.
This is a book that will stir-up a series of conversations as it takes a daring and bold stance at a number of issues relating to employer-employee relations, motivation, loyalty, improved productivity and profits and 'forgotten promises'. Professor Piperopoulos presents a convincing and provocative thesis in a monograph which should be read by students, practicing managers, corporate stakeholders and organization Board members as we progress rapidly to worki environments where robots will be working side-by-side with humans in numbers never encountered before.
Here is a book that will stir up a new dialogue on work conditions, the human predicament of employees and the eternal insatiable quest for profits. The author does a good job examining the past, present and future of business schools. Great bibliography.
A really fascinating journey comparing and contrasting capitalism and socialism with workers caught in between and crashed under the profit motive. Things will worsen as IT and AI create unbelievably smart, efficient and not demanding robots.
All corporate managers & organizational board members through their human resource departments usually aim to improve employee loyalty, commitment & creativity which ultimately improve productivity, profits & organizational image. Surely the creation of work environments interlined by psychological safety is a desirable objective culminating in improved balance sheets. Professor Piperopoulos with this book will upset some delighted in their serenity, will challenge some who are innovative thinkers & is adding a much needed new approach to preparing managers in the world's 13000 business administration schools. Provocative in it's thesis supported by a rich bibliography. Worthwhile reading!
Recalling my experiences from several workplaces and supervisors I will clearly state that this book will be useful to both employers and employees. Professor Piperopoulos presents a strong case for avoiding the utopia of 'frail psychological safe workplaces' which disappear as soon as the company stock looses ground at its Stock Exchange or profits fall. The concept can go into synergy in corporations operating with the Rhineland philosophy but will certainly prove fake in those operating with Anglo/US style.The book will reward its readers for time invested.
Professor Piperopoulos, has produced a provocative, innovative and iconoclastic monograph, well supported by extensive bibliography. As a practitioner, I feel that this book, belongs to the desktops, lptops and ipad of corporate managers and organisation boards!
Here is a book that delivers its promise written by an academic practitioner who knows his stuff. Iconoclastic indeed and should be read by students and managers as well as corporate owners and Board Directors. Let us hope that the day will come when employers and employees will THRIVE together.
The ideas of the writer are always radical and ahead of the events. In this book he managed to comprehend the fundamental values of a healthy work environment with the current contemporary points and so to draw conclusions and suggestions for the working environment we live in. His book is beyond any expectation readily compelling and useful to anyone involved in the workplace. I did not expect anything different from the wonderful Professor and Writer George Piperopoulos. | 2019-04-18T15:12:09Z | https://bookboon.com/es/psychologically-safe-workplaces-utopiare-visited-ebook |
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Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Hingoli for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Basmath, Babhulgaon, Hingoli, Kalamnuri, Our PCD Franchise in Hingoli is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Hingoli Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Hingoli, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Hingoli , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Jalgaon , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Jalgaon.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Jalgaon for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Parola, Faizpur, Chopda, Erandol, Amalner, Dharangaon, Raver, Jalgaon, Savda, Kandari, Chalisgaon, Nimbhore Budruk, Bhusawal, Yawal, Pachora, Our PCD Franchise in Jalgaon is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Jalgaon Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Jalgaon, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Jalgaon , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Jalna , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Jalna.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Jalna for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Ambad, Jalna, Partur, Bhokardan, Our PCD Franchise in Jalna is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Jalna Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Jalna, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Jalna , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Kolhapur , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Kolhapur.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Kolhapur for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Vadgaon Kasba, Kolhapur, Korochi, Kabnur, Jaysingpur, Gandhinagar, Panhala, Malkapur, Ajra, Kagal, Ichalkaranji, Kalambe Turf Thane, Hupari, Gadhinglaj, Pachgaon, Murgud, Kurundvad, Uchgaon, Our PCD Franchise in Kolhapur is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Kolhapur Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Kolhapur, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Kolhapur , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Latur , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Latur.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Latur for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Nilanga, Ahmadpur, Latur, Udgir, Ausa, Our PCD Franchise in Latur is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Latur Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Latur, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Latur , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Greater Mumbai, Our PCD Franchise in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Mumbai (Suburban) and Mumbai , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Nagpur , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Nagpur.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Nagpur for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Mowad, Davlameti, Digdoh, Chicholi, Ramtek, Kalameshwar, Mohpa, Yerkheda, Savner, Totaladoh, Nildoh, Wanadongri, Sonegaon (Nipani), Kanhan (Pipri), Sillewada, Nagpur, Mahadula, Khapa, Narkhed, Kandri, Umred, Walani, Kamptee, Tekadi, Katol, Wadi, Mansar, Our PCD Franchise in Nagpur is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Nagpur Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Nagpur, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Nagpur , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Nanded , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Nanded.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Nanded for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Nanded-Waghala, Kandhar, Peth Umri, Mukhed, Hadgaon, Mudkhed, Kinwat, Deglur, Kundalwadi, Loha, Biloli, Dharmabad, Wajegaon, Our PCD Franchise in Nanded is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Nanded Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Nanded, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Nanded , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Nandurbar , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Nandurbar.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Nandurbar for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Nawapur, Purushottamnagar, Talode, Shahade, Nandurbar, Our PCD Franchise in Nandurbar is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Nandurbar Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Nandurbar, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Nandurbar , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Nashik , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Nashik.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Nashik for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Nashik, Trimbak, Lasalgaon, Manmad, Soyagaon, Sinnar, Igatpuri, Surgana, Ozar, Deolali, Yevla, Satana, Dyane, Malegaon, Nandgaon, Ghoti Budruk, Bhagur, Eklahare, Our PCD Franchise in Nashik is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Nashik Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Nashik, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Nashik , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Osmanabad , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Osmanabad.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Osmanabad for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Tuljapur, Umarga, Paranda, Bhum, Murum, Kalamb, Osmanabad, Naldurg, Our PCD Franchise in Osmanabad is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Osmanabad Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Osmanabad, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Osmanabad , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Parbhani , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Parbhani.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Parbhani for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Gangakhed, Pathri, Sonpeth, Manwath, Purna, Jintur, Parbhani, Sailu, Our PCD Franchise in Parbhani is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Parbhani Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Parbhani, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Parbhani , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Pune , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Pune.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Pune for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Manchar, Vadgaon, Tathavade, Shivatkar (Nira), Lonavala, Indapur, Kusgaon Budruk, Junnar, Jejuri, Dehu, Shirur, Kirkee, Bhor, Talegaon Dabhade, Pimpri Chinchwad, Alandi, Khadkale, Sasvad, Rajgurunagar (Khed), Daund, Chakan, Pune, Baramati, Dehu Road, Our PCD Franchise in Pune is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Pune Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Pune, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Pune , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Raigarh , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Raigarh.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Raigarh for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Mahad, Navi Mumbai (Panvel, Raigarh), Goregaon, Kalundre, Shrivardhan, Birwadi, Kegaon, Pali, Alibag, Murud, Karjat, Roha Ashtami, Utekhol, Taloje Panchnad, Dhatau, Matheran, Nagothana, Pen, Poladpur, Mohpada Alias Wasambe, Mhasla, Neral, Ambivali Tarf Wankhal, Panvel, Khopoli, Uran, Our PCD Franchise in Raigarh is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Raigarh Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Raigarh, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Raigarh , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Ratnagiri , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Ratnagiri.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Ratnagiri for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Nachane, Lanja, Ratnagiri, Chiplun, Khed, Jalgaon, Rajapur, Dapoli Camp, Guhagar, Kherdi, Our PCD Franchise in Ratnagiri is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Ratnagiri Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Ratnagiri , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Sangli , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Sangli.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Sangli for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Manadur, Ashta, Tasgaon, Budhgaon, Vita, Uran Islampur, Sangli-Miraj & Kupwad, Madhavnagar, Our PCD Franchise in Sangli is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Sangli Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Sangli, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Sangli , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Satara , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Satara.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Satara for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Khed, Vanvadi (Sadashivgad), Satara, Patan, Mahabaleshwar, Rahimatpur, Wai, Mhaswad, Godoli, Panchgani, Karanje Turf Satara, Phaltan, Karad, Kodoli, Shirwal, Our PCD Franchise in Satara is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Satara Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Satara, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Satara , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Sindhudurg , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Sindhudurg.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Sindhudurg for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Kudal, Vengurla, Malwan, Sawantwadi, Kankavli, Our PCD Franchise in Sindhudurg is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Sindhudurg Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Sindhudurg , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Solapur , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Solapur.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Solapur for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Pandharpur, Kurduvadi, Sangole, Barshi, Karmala, Dudhani, Maindargi, Solapur, Akkalkot, Mangalvedhe, Our PCD Franchise in Solapur is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Solapur Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Solapur, Maharashtra .
Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Solapur , Maharashtra.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Thane , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Thane.
Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is providing very popular and in demand pharma franchise on monopoly basis in Thane for the following vacant regions/areas/cities/villages in India: Vashind, Gokhivare, Murbad, Khoni, Mira-Bhayandar, Chinchani, Waliv, Jawhar, Dahanu, Tarapur, Kalyan-Dombivali, Shelar, Sandor, Virar, Padagha, Navghar-Manikpur, Shahapur, Thane, Boisar, Manor, Kopharad, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Ulhasnagar, Kasara Budruk, Vada, Kon, Katai, Vasai, Bhiwandi, Pasthal, Katkar, Ambarnath, Badlapur, Nala Sopara, Karivali, Umbar Pada Nandade, Our PCD Franchise in Thane is an excellent for you to become associated with leading Pharma Franchise Company. We invite all the pharma experts and entrepreneur to be our pharma franchise partner and start their own business in the pharmaceutical sector. Our PCD Franchise is the best opportunity for you to be the part of leading Pharma Franchise Company. This is one of the fast growing sectors in India and thus people are investing well in this sector. Maharashtra provides you with this amazing opportunity to start your own business in the pharma industry. Hence if you are looking top PCD Pharma Franchise company in Thane Maharashtra then Lifepure Labs is the best option for you. For more detail information call us or email at [email protected].
Note : We also undertake third party contract manufacturing for the above areas in Thane, Maharashtra .
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Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd is looking for pharma professionals, young enterpreneur and various others individuals who are looking for an opportunity to join pcd pharma franchise program in Wardha , Maharashtra. Join us and become our business franchise partner of Lifepure Labs Pvt Ltd. You will have full monopoly rights for the vacant locations in Wardha.
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Click here to submit online enquiry for pharma Franchise / PCD Franchise in Yavatmal , Maharashtra. | 2019-04-25T15:58:40Z | https://www.lifepurelabs.com/category/pharma-franchise-on-monopoly-basis-in-maharashtra/ |
There are three levels of the career continuum (residency, professional, and career) for the principal and program administrator.
Community stakeholders: Includes students, staff, families, and community members.
Cultural competence: Is the set of beliefs, practices, and behaviors that allows us to maintain and support appropriate, fair, and effective interactions with individuals from all ages, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, race/ethnicities, languages, cultures, and life circumstances. Includes knowledge of student cultural and linguistic histories and contexts, as well as family norms and values in different cultures; knowledge and skills in accessing community resources and community and parent outreach; and skills in adapting instruction to students’ experiences and identifying cultural contexts for individual students.
Culturally responsive: Practice that incorporates cultural elements in a way which reflect the school as a social system and dynamic relationship between teachers, families, and students for the purpose of increasing student achievement.
Diversity: Includes race, socioeconomic class, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and language.
Equity pedagogy: Teaching strategies and classroom environments that help students from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups attain the knowledge and skills needed to function within and help create and perpetuate a just, humane, and democratic society (Banks & Banks, 2005).
Learning community: Includes students, staff, families, community members, community resources, program(s), school, and district.
Staff: All employees including teachers, education staff associates, paraprofessional, administrators, office workers, cafeteria workers, custodial workers, bus drivers, and all other district-based support personnel.
Visionary leadership: a school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by leading the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by school/program and community stakeholders.
Strand 1 – Advancing a school- or program-wide shared vision for learning.
Articulate purposes and rationale for a site-specific vision for learning consistent with the district-wide vision. Demonstrate how schools develop an inclusive shared vision that promotes success for each student.
Develop the vision with stakeholders at a specific school/program. Build vision to include consideration of site demographics, components of research-based instruction, student achievement and other relevant data, and to identify barriers and promote the success of all. Ensure the vision aligns with the broader district-wide vision.
Continually review and restructure the vision to address changing circumstances based on relevant data, including student cultural histories and contexts. Guide others in furthering the vision. Enhance the vision to include cultural competence of the district and region.
Strand 2 – Putting the vision for learning into operation.
Identify objectives and strategies to implement a school vision. Analyze how systems are affected by a shared vision and suggests changes to an existing system. Demonstrate ability to develop school improvement plans that align structures, processes, and resources with a vision.
Use the vision to create a school/program improvement plan that in collaboration with the district shapes education programs, systems, and resources. Use action plans and timelines to communicate the school/program vision to all stakeholders. Evaluate the effectiveness of the school/program improvement plan in moving the school/program community toward the vision of promoting success of all students.
Implement the vision across multiple stakeholder groups and settings. Use data to continually monitor and revise systems to reflect the vision. Solicit from and give feedback to other administrators to analyze the effectiveness of the school/program vision in shaping education programs, systems, and resources to positively impact student learning.
Strand 3 – Developing stewardship of the vision.
Demonstrate understanding of the leader’s role as keeper of the vision while establishing a means to involve stakeholders in keeping the vision. Evaluate how the vision serves the needs of students, staff and community. Demonstrate understanding of how to use the vision to facilitate effective communication, nurture and maintain trust, develop collaboration among stakeholders and celebrate efforts and achievement of the vision.
Accept responsibility as keeper of the vision. Communicate the vision through a variety of media. Model vision to all stakeholders, focusing priorities on student learning. Systematically engage stakeholders in carrying out the vision through an atmosphere of collaboration and vision ownership. Evaluate alignment between the vision and progress toward promoting success of all students within the learning community. Facilitate, guide, and celebrate progress toward the vision.
Continually evaluate alignment between vision and progress toward promoting success of all students within the learning community. Expand base and empower stakeholders to participate in shaping education programs, systems, and resources to move the learning community toward the shared vision of promoting success of all students. Design a system of shared responsibility for renewing the vision, as well as acknowledging and celebrating progress toward the vision.
Instructional improvement: A school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by leading through advocating, nurturing, and sustaining district/school/program cultures and coherent instructional programs that are conducive to student learning and staff professional growth.
Strand 1 – Advocating, nurturing, and sustaining an effective school/program culture.
Demonstrate understanding that student learning is the fundamental purpose of schools. Identify features of organizational cultures promoting student learning. Use a variety of skills and strategies to design systems that respect and support diverse cultural perspectives and customs in order to promote success of each student. Engage in the creation and/or implementation of a school improvement plan that supports a culture of continuous learning. Promote classroom communities based on acceptance, respect, and civility.
Identify the school/program specific culture within the broader context of the district wide culture. Create a school/program improvement plan that utilizes skills and strategies to assure students and parents from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and language groups work together cooperatively to promote the success of all students. Use understanding of the school/program and district culture to analyze the ways current systems and programs, including technology, are affecting student learning.
Empower the stakeholders to define, maintain, and monitor the ways in which the school/program specific culture is affecting student learning. Collaborate with other administrators to give and receive feedback on effectiveness of expectations, implementation, respect, and fairness in improving the overall systems and programs reflective of the school or program learning culture.
Strand 2 – Advocating, nurturing, and sustaining student learning.
Demonstrate understanding of how to engage and support each student in meaningful learning that is regularly assessed to improve instruction. Supervise instruction and knows how to use a continuous cycle of assessment to improve instruction and ensure that each student has equitable and sufficient opportunities to learn and to meet high standards. Work with staff to align curriculum, instruction and assessment with state and local learning goals. Manage learning systems to assure their responsiveness to students’ cultural, cognitive, and linguistic needs. Understand the Washington teacher and principal evaluation criteria, four-tiered performance rating system, and the preferred instructional and leadership frameworks used to describe the evaluation criteria including self-assessment, goal setting, and reflective practices; evidence gathering over time; classroom observation skills; bias training; rater agreement on the four-tiered system; use of student growth data and multiple measures of performance; evaluation conferencing; development of classroom teacher and principal support plans resulting from an evaluation; and use of an online tool to manage the collection of observation notes, teacher and principal-submitted materials, and other information related to the conduct of the evaluation.
Use state and locally adopted standards, research, assessment data, and district recommendations to help make district wide curriculum decisions as well as school/program specific curriculum decisions. Use classroom-based assessment, district achievement data, state measures, and demographic data to identify the barriers to student learning and strategies to ensure that all students move towards meeting standards. Establish processes through which research-based, culturally responsive instructional strategies, and cycles of inquiry are implemented to improve instructional practice and student learning.
Facilitate the understanding and implementation of research-based teaching and assessment along with equity pedagogy that empowers students to take ownership of and to monitor their learning processes in every classroom, every day. Build greater capacity for system support for student learning in collaboration with families, stakeholders, and district staff.
Strand 3 – Advocating, nurturing, and sustaining coherent, intentional professional development.
Use evidence of student learning to create professional development systems. Use a continuous cycle of analysis to create and monitor professional development systems that have a positive impact on student learning. Understand that professional development increases the instructional and leadership capacity of staff. Use district-wide and school improvement plans to support professional development, including the use of technology. Know processes for coaching staff, conducting staff evaluation, and for using a professional growth plan to improve student learning. Demonstrate understanding of how to build leadership capacity to improve student learning.
Use a continuous cycle of analysis to create and monitor professional development systems that have a positive impact on student learning. Take responsibility for supervising and coaching staff to ensure only effective educators and support staff are in the classroom. Support staffs’ capacity to analyze student learning data in order to establish school/program goals and associated professional development. Use cycle of inquiry-identified area(s) of professional growth within the staff evaluation process.
Facilitate systems that focus staff on reflection, collaboration, and peer mentorship to support successful professional development. Build staff leadership in creating and maintaining student-centered achievement goals. Learn from and with peers to gather and interpret data to build greater capacity for professional development support using resources from community stakeholders as well as state-funded initiatives.
Effective management: a school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by ensuring management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Strand 1 – Uses a continuous cycle of analysis to ensure efficient and effective systems.
Use a continuous and repeating cycle of analysis for evaluating the effectiveness of school programs, systems, and issues. The continuous cycle of analysis includes problem framing, data collection and interpretation, synthesis, use of data to outline options for action, implementing chosen action, and gathering evidence to check progress and to judge effectiveness.
Use the continuous cycle of analysis for evaluating multiple programs, systems, and school/program issues. Model and inspire others in the learning community to use the cycle of analysis to examine difficult school/program issues and to improve student learning.
Create and sustain a culture of continuous analysis in every aspect of the learning community. Coach and mentor emerging staff, student, and community leaders. Collaborate with other administrators and education staff associates to use the continuous cycle of analysis to improve structures, procedures and resources to positively impact student learning through professional development, the family community, and community at large.
Strand 2 – Ensuring efficient and effective management of the organization.
Use organizational theory to create and support structures within a building that promote school safety, behavior management, and other site-specific issues. Demonstrate understanding of developmentally appropriate behavior expectations and discipline policies that are balanced with students’ emotional and personal needs. Assure that school policies and practices result in equitable treatment of each student.
Design and implement structures for effective and efficient operations including scheduling, classroom, and school- or program-wide progressive discipline, and other school/program specific issues specifically targeted to improve student learning opportunities. Create a school/program improvement plan that provides for monitoring and supporting these structures. Monitor the effective implementation of the school/program safety plan.
Align organizational elements of the school/program with the school/program improvement plan ensuring an effective and positive learning environment. Develop a school- or program-wide student self-regulation program. Use data to adjust the effective implementation of the school/program safety plan. Seek feedback from and give to other administrators. Share organizational expertise with others and actively mentor other educational leaders.
Strand 3 – Ensuring efficient and effective management of the operations.
Demonstrate understanding of knowledge and skills necessary for effective building-wide operations, including, including awareness of legal and ethical issues, problem-framing and problem-solving, bargaining and other contractual agreements, and group process and decision-making.
Establish procedures to ensure compliance with legal issues, bargaining agreements, maintaining confidential information, and records retention requirements. Implement effective communication plans with all stakeholders. Extend the cycle of inquiry to management operations. Collaborate with other administrators to seek and give feedback to improve the effectiveness of management procedures system-wide.
Establish a culture where everyone accepts shared responsibility for management operations. Collaborate with all stakeholders to seek and give feedback to improve the effectiveness of management procedures system-wide.
Strand 4 – Ensuring management of the resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Demonstrate understanding of procedures necessary for management and maintenance of a safe and orderly learning environment. Identify the responsibilities related to financial, human, and material resources as required by state law, Board policy, and employee contracts. Engage in the creation and/or implementation of plans to ensure responsible and equitable management of resources.
Manage and align school/program equipment and schedules to use human, technological, material, and fiscal resources responsibly. Collaborate with district staff and local educator preparation programs to determine workforce needs and focus educator and education staff associate development and recruitment efforts. Collect the relevant data needed to effectively monitor use of resources. Monitor procedures that assure the school/program facility is a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.
Maximize the use of human, fiscal, technological, and material resources based on data analysis and forecasting. Act creatively to support continuous school/program improvement in response to the changing environment. Collaborate with other administrators and stakeholders to increase and distribute available resources equitably for your school/program and district.
Inclusive practice: a school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by collaborating with families and community members, responding to diverse community interests and needs, and mobilizing community resources.
Strand 1 – Collaborating with families and community members.
Demonstrate understanding that family support affects student success in school. Demonstrate understanding that sustaining successful family partnerships is challenging, and knows the critical partnership issues that must be addressed, the barriers to success, and ways to overcome them. Demonstrate collaboration skills with diverse students and families in support of student academic performance.
View families as full partners in the education of their children. Identify the diverse family groups within the school/program community and actively invite them into the various roles families should play in their student’s learning process, involve them in school/program decision-making, and utilize family resources for the benefit of student growth. Use a variety of culturally responsive means to communicate with families and stakeholders.
Regularly seek information and respond to families’ and stakeholders’ concerns, expectations, and needs. Validate differences in values, opinions, and views, acknowledging that families, stakeholders, and educators have the best interests of the children and community in mind, leading to common goals for providing learning opportunities for all students.
Strand 2 – Collaborating with and responding to diverse communities.
Recognize the diversity within the school and the district. Understands the complex characteristics of ethnic, racial, and cultural groups and the challenges faced by immigrant communities. Understand that knowledge is socially constructed and reflects the personal experiences and the social, political, and economic contexts in which students live and work. Demonstrate understanding of the importance of each student having opportunities to participate in co-curricular activities that are congruent with the academic and interpersonal goals of the school.
Ensure that the school/program is an inclusive learning community that develops mutual respect among students, staff, families, and all other stakeholders. Model mutual respect towards students, staff, families, and all other stakeholders. Ensure students are taught about stereotyping and other related biases that have negative effects on racial and ethnic relations; values shared by virtually all cultures, such as justice, equality, freedom, peace, compassion, and charity; and social skills that are needed to interact effectively with students from other racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Students are provided the opportunity to interact with students from different racial, ethnic, cultural, and language groups under conditions designed to promote acceptance of diversity.
Lead staff in examining the personal, social, and cognitive consequences of policies and practices on equity in the schools/programs. Develop programs that promote mutual respect and understanding among students, staff, families, and all other stakeholders. Work to assure that policies encourage the use of research-based assessments appropriate for individual linguistic and cultural groups. Advocate development and recruitment of a racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse staff.
Strand 3 – Mobilizing community resources.
Recognize the importance of funding and distribution of resources to ensure that each student has equal opportunities to access learning. Engage in the creation and/or implementation of plans to obtain adequate resources, including technology. Investigates potential community resources appropriate to the plan.
Utilize funds and distribute resources, including technology, to ensure that all students have equal access to learning. Value resources of diverse community groups. Identify and nurture relationships with community leaders. Prioritize high visibility, active involvement, and regular communication, using technology, to facilitate the school/program and community serving one another as resources.
Develop strategies to ensure that all schools/programs, regardless of their locations in the district, are funded equitably. Advocate state and district level officials to provide additional funding for schools/programs with low-income populations. Develop and maintain effective media relations. Establish mutually beneficial relations with businesses, higher education institutions, agencies, and community groups that support the implementation of the School/Program Improvement Plan.
Ethical leadership: a school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by acting with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.
Strand 1 – Using the continuous cycle of analysis for self-assessment of professional leadership.
Understand and exemplify the standards, responsibilities, and indicators for the principal’s role in a democratic school. Create a professional growth plan, identifies needed growth, plans professional growth activities, and gathers evidence to document that professional growth leads to school improvement and increased student learning. Engage in self-analysis of own values, behaviors, and dispositions, including awareness of own ethnicity/culture as it relates to others.
Use the continuous cycle of analysis to assess personal progress and revise professional growth plan to include increasingly complex goals. Continually gather evidence that professional growth has led to increased student learning. Seek feedback from others about professional leadership and performance.
Use the professional growth plan to collaborate with other professionals to identify and sustain needed professional growth. Coach and mentor emerging instructional leaders. Contribute to the advancement of the profession through sharing experience, advancing best practice, and extending learning beyond the ISLLC and Washington State standards.
Strand 2 – Acting with integrity, fairness, and courage in upholding high ethical standards.
Understand the career expectation for leading within legal, ethical, and moral frameworks. Articulate and use personal values and beliefs to guide actions. Treat people fairly, equitably, and with dignity.
Act responsibly within legal, ethical, and moral frameworks. Respond to moral dilemmas using personal values and beliefs to guide actions. Treat people fairly, equitably, and with respect and dignity.
Serve as a role model of fairness, equity, and respect to the educational community and the community at large. Respond to moral dilemmas in a manner that inspires others to demonstrate integrity and exercise ethical behavior.
Socio-political context: a school or program administrator is an educational leader who has the knowledge, skills, and cultural competence to improve learning and achievement to ensure the success of each student by understanding, responding to, and influencing the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context.
Strand 1 – Understanding the role of schools or programs in a democracy.
Demonstrate understanding of the role of education in renewing a democratic society and the leader’s responsibility in influencing the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context. Advocate for equitable and inclusive policies that benefit children, families, and caregivers. Act to influence local, state, and national decisions affecting learning. Adapt leadership strategies to reflect emerging trends and initiatives.
Promote student civic involvement which prepares them for active participation in a democratic and global society. Actively participate in influencing the quality of a democratic education beyond the local levy (e.g., state and federal policy and legislation, professional associations, share knowledge and experience through workshops and written work, or mentor fellow educators through a continuing dialogue around educational issues). Empower others to create school- or program-based accountability models using the continuous cycle of analysis that goes beyond state standards for improvement of student learning.
Performance assessment: an approved preparation program for school or program administrators shall require that each candidate engage in an assessment process using the standards-based benchmarks approved by the professional educator standards board.
WCEAP-developed Common Performance Assessment for the six components of Standard 5 and draft professional growth plan with goals oriented toward the professional certificate level.
All candidates shall exit the professional certificate program with a draft professional growth plan oriented toward the expectations for the career benchmarks.
Teacher and principal evaluations: After August 31, 2013, an approved preparation program for principals shall require candidates for a residency principal certificate to demonstrate knowledge of teacher evaluation research, Washington’s evaluation requirements, and successfully complete opportunities to practice teacher evaluation skills. At a minimum, principal preparation programs must address the following knowledge and skills related to evaluations.
(Use of an online tool to manage the collection of observation notes, teacher- and principal-submitted materials, and other information related to the conduct of the evaluation. | 2019-04-19T14:43:05Z | https://www.pesb.wa.gov/pathways-workforce-development/developing-current-educators/certification-standards-benchmarks/principal-administrator/ |
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If you need to contact us regarding this Agreement, we can be reached by emailing us at [email protected]. | 2019-04-25T14:57:42Z | https://www.repio.com/repio/termsofuseBody.cfm |
Advances in anti-thrombotic and anti-platelet therapies have improved outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) through a reduction in ischaemic events, at the expense of peri-procedural bleeding complications. These may occur through either the access site through which the PCI was performed or through non-access-related sites. There are currently over 10 definitions of major bleeding events consisting of clinical events, changes in laboratory parameters and clinical outcomes, where different definitions will differentially influence the reported incidence of major bleeding events. Use of different major bleeding definitions has been shown to change the reported outcome of a number of therapeutic strategies in randomised controlled trials but as yet a universal bleeding definition has not gained widespread adoption in assessing the efficacy of such therapeutic interventions. Major bleeding complications are independently associated with adverse mortality and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) outcomes, irrespective of the definition of major bleeding used, with the worst outcomes associate with non-access-site related bleeds. We consider the mechanisms through which bleeding complications may affect longer-term outcomes and discuss bleeding avoidance strategies, including access site choice, pharmacological considerations and formal bleeding risk assessment to minimise such bleeding events.
Major bleeding or haemorrhage following a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not a benign event. There is now convincing evidence that it independently predicts increased mortality and adverse outcomes in patients.1,2 The adverse outcomes associated with a bleeding event are not just as a direct result of the haemorrhagic event, such as whether or not a patient survives their gastrointestinal (GI) or intracranial haemorrhage, but are seen in the subsequent progress of the patient up to at least one year after the event. Herein, we discuss the recent data on post-PCI bleeding and the difficulties in comparing different studies with different methodologies and definitions of major haemorrhage. We then consider the mechanisms through which bleeding complications may affect longer-term outcomes and discuss bleeding avoidance strategies to minimise such bleeding events.
The definition of peri-procedural major bleed used can eliminate the effect of a given therapeutic intervention and thereby influence the outcome of a study. The RIVAL trial,16 a landmark, multicentre trial comparing radial and femoral PCI, did not demonstrate a significant difference in non-coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) related major bleeding, as defined by the study. RIVAL defined major bleeding as either: fatal, requiring transfusion of 2 or more units, causing hypotension requiring inotropes, requiring surgery, leading to disability, intracranial bleeding or a drop of >50 g/l of haemoglobin. However, using a broader definition of major bleeding, such as the ACUITY definition,11 which includes bleeds causing large haemotomas or pseudoaneurysms requiring intervention, then radial access was associated with a significant reduction in major bleeding (odds ratio [OR] 0.43; p<0.00001) and thus the overall impact of the trial is different. It is therefore important to consider the definition of haemorrhage used in any trial related to PCI outcomes, particularly if comparison is being made between trials with different methodology. This may have a profound influence on a day-to-day practice for the clinical cardiologist and, indeed, may help influence a decision to switch from femoral to radial practice or use glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPIs), based on the ‘headline’ message of a trial.
The risk of bleeding following PCI in a patient is increased if the patient is older, has a more acute presentation, has renal failure, heart failure or is haemodynamically compromised.21,22 These factors all predict a poorer outcome in themselves. Does bleeding post- PCI independently predict poor outcome or is it a marker for other comorbidity? Previous studies, which did not account for the higher incidence of these comorbidities in patients who bled, could overestimate the impact of bleeding in the future. Indeed, following an analysis of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) data, which took account of the comorbidity, then eliminated the significance of the effect of bleeding, the authors concluded that the comorbidities associated with major bleeding accounted for the higher mortality observed.23 Our recent meta-analysis1 of 42 studies including over 500,000 patients, reported that studies that did not adjust for the incidence of confounding comorbidity in patients that bled demonstrated that major bleeding conferred a sixfold increased risk of death, which reduced to threefold once baseline covariates were adjusted for. It is therefore important to consider the confounding influence of comorbidities on the long-term impact of peri-procedural bleeding.
Peri-procedural mortality directly due to the acute haemorrhage does not explain why the adverse outcomes are observed up to a year after the PCI. Bleeding complications may affect the long-term prognosis via several distinct mechanisms. The premature discontinuation of anti-platelet medications may increase the risk of stent thrombosis, itself an independent predictor of long-term outcome.27 Erythropoietin production is stimulated in an anaemic state following blood loss. This could contribute to a pro-thrombotic state beyond the acute phase through platelet activation and induction of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and thus worsen prognosis.28–30 Treatment with erythropoietin in patients following STEMI has been shown to increase the composite end point of death, MI, stroke and stent thrombosis.31 Blood transfusions themselves have an adverse impact on mortality. This has been demonstrated independently of the bleeding and haematocrit 30 days after the event32,33 and with use of other blood products, such as plasma or platelets, which may be necessary following a major haemorrhage.34 For example, our recent meta-analysis of 2,258,711 patients undergoing PCI with 54,000 transfusion events demonstrated that blood transfusion was independently associated with an increase in mortality (OR 3.02, 95 % CI 2.16–4.21) and MACE (OR 3.15, 95 % CI 2.59–3.82) with similar observations recorded in studies that adjusted for baseline hematocrit, anaemia and bleeding.35 Potential mechanisms through which the long-term adverse outcome of transfusion may be mediated are thought to include, the prothrombotic effects of CD40 ligand released by platelets and inhibition of endogenous fibrinolytic systems.28,36 Furthermore, during storage, significant changes in the deformability of red blood cells, as well as changes in their shape, may predispose to ‘plugging’ of transfused cells at the microvascular level, leading to tissue ischaemia. Therefore, the adverse outcomes associated with a bleeding event are likely to relate to the site of the bleed and the acute haemorrhagic event itself, as well as the therapeutic interventions undertaken following the bleeding event, such as discontinuation of anti-platelet therapy, reversal of anticoagulants and receipt of blood transfusions.
The magnitude of the mortality benefit seen by pursuing a default radial strategy is related to the baseline bleeding risk of an individual patient.39 Patients with the highest risk of bleeding, assessed in this way, gained most from a transradial route for their PCI, with a greater mortality benefit than those at a lower risk of bleeding. Paradoxically, perhaps, patients assessed as having a higher risk of bleeding were unfortunately less likely to receive a transradial PCI in this retrospective study.
PCI represents a delicate balance between minimising thrombotic complications without significantly increasing haemorrhagic event rates. PCI necessitates the use of highly potent antithrombotic and anticoagulant drugs, as well as requiring arterial access and instrumentation. Bleeding complications are therefore an inevitable consequence of PCI. Awareness of the predictors and importance of major peri-procedural bleeding as well as the judicious use of efficacious bleeding avoidance strategies will optimise ouctomes of PCI procedures undertaken.
Kwok CS Rao SV, Myint PK, et al., Major bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention and risk of subsequent mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Open Heart, 2014;1:e000021.
Chhatriwalla AK, Amin AP, Kennedy KF, et al., Association between bleeding events and in-hospital mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention, JAMA, 2013;309:1022–9.
Subherwal S, Peterson ED, Dai D, et al., Temporal trends in and factors associated with bleeding complications among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a report from the National Cardiovascular Data CathPCI Registry, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2012;59:1861–9.
Mehta SR, Jolly SS, RIVAL Investigators, Effects of radial versus femoral artery access in patients with acute coronary syndromes with or without ST-segment elevation, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2012;60:2490–9.
Stone GW, Witzenbichler B, Guagliumi G, et al., Bivalirudin during primary PCI in acute myocardial infarction, N Engl J Med, 2008;358:2218–30.
Giugliano RP, Giraldez RR, Morrow DA, et al., Relationship between bleeding and outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction inthe ExTRACT-TIMI25 trial, Eur Heart J, 2010;31:2103–10.
Mehran R, Rao SV, Bhatt DL, et al., Standardized bleeding definitions for cardiovascular clinical trials: a consensus report from the bleeding academic research consortium, Circulation, 2011;123:2736–47.
Bovill EG, Terrin ML, Stump DC, et al., Hemorrhagic events during therapy with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, heparin, and aspirin for acute myocardial infarction: results of the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI), phase II trial, Ann Intern Med, 1991;115:256–65.
Mega JL BE, Mohanavelu S, Burton P, Poulter R, Misselwitz F, Hricak V, Barnathan ES, Bordes P, Witkowski A, Markov V, Oppenheimer L, Gibson CM; ATLAS ACS-TIMI 46 study group. Rivaroxaban versus placebo in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ATLAS ACS-TIMI 46): a randomised, double-blind, phase II trial, Lancet, 2009;374:29–38.
Sabatine MS, Morrow DA, Giugliano RP, et al., Association of haemoglobin levels with clinical outcomes in acute coronary syndromes, Circulation, 2005;111:2042–9.
Amlani SNT, Afzal R, Pal-Sayal R, et al., Mortality and morbidity following a major bleed in a registry population with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction, J Thromb Thrombolysis, 2010;30:434–40.
Mehran R, Lansky AJ, Witzenbichler B, et al., Bivalirudin in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (HORIZONS-AMI): 1-year results of a randomised controlled trial, Lancet, 2009;374:1149–1159.
Moscucci M, Fox KA, Cannon CP, et al., Predictors of major bleeding in acute coronary syndromes: the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE), Eur Heart J, 2003;24:1815–23.
Spencer FA, Moscucci M, Granger CB, et al., Does comorbidity account for the excess mortality in patients with major bleeding in acute myocardial infarction?, Circulation, 2007;116:2793–801.
Jolly SS, Yusuf S, Cairns J, et al., Radial versus femoral access for coronary angiography and intervention in patients with acute coronary syndromes (RIVAL): a randomised, parallel group, multicentre trial, Lancet, 2011;377:1409–20.
Kinnaird TD, Stabile E, Mintz GS, et al., Incidence, predictors, and prognostic implications of bleeding and blood transfusion following percutaneous coronary interventions, Am J Cardiol, 2003;92:930–5.
Manoukian SV, Feit F, Mehran R, et al., Impact of major bleeding on 30-day mortality and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes: an analysis from the ACUITY trial, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2007;49:1362–8.
Rao SV, Eikelboom JA, Granger CB, et al., Bleeding and blood transfusion issues inpatients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes, Eur Heart J, 2007;28:1193e204.
Chhatriwalla AK, Amin AP, Kennedy KF, et al., Association between bleeding events and in-hospital mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention, AMA, 2013;309:1022–9.
Mehran R, Pocock S, Nikolsky E, et al., Impact of bleeding on mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention results from a patient-level pooled analysis of the REPLACE-2 (randomized evaluation of PCI linking angiomax to reduced clinical events), ACUITY (acute catheterization and urgent intervention triage strategy), and HORIZONS-AMI (harmonizing outcomes with revascularization and stents in acute myocardial infarction) trials, JACC Cardiovasc Interv, 2011;4:654–64.
Mehta SK, Frutkin AD, Lindsey JB, et al., Bleeding in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: the development of a clinical risk algorithm from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, Circ Cardiovasc Interv, 2009;2:222–9.
Abbas AE, Brodie B, Dixon S, et al., Incidence and prognostic impact of gastrointestinal bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction, Am J Cardiol, 2005;96:173–6.
Doyle BJ, Ting HH, Bell MR, et al., Major femoral bleeding complications after percutaneous coronary intervention: incidence, predictors, and impact on long-term survival among 17,901 patients treated at the Mayo Clinic from 1994 to 2005, JACC Cardiovasc Interv, 2008;1:202–9.
Verheugt FW, Steinhubl SR, Hamon M, et al., Incidence, prognostic impact, and influence of antithrombotic therapy on access and nonaccess site bleeding in percutaneous coronary intervention, JACC Cardiovasc Interv, 2011;4:191–7.
Dangas GD, Claessen BE, Mehran R, et al., Clinical outcomes following stent thrombosis occurring in-hospital versus outof- hospital: results from the HORIZONS-AMI (Harmonizing Outcomes with Revascularization and Stents in Acute Myocardial Infarction) trial, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2012;59:1752–9.
Doyle BJ, Rihal CS, Gastineau DA, et al., Bleeding blood transfusion and increased mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention, J Am Coll Cardiol, 2009;53:2019–27.
Smith KJ, Bleyer AJ, Little WC, et al., The cardiovascular effects of erythropoietin, Cardiovasc Res, 2003;59:538–48.
Corwin HL, Gettinger A, Fabian TC, et al., Efficacy and safety of epoetin alfa in critically ill patients, N Engl J Med, 2007;357:965–76.
Najjar SS, Rao SV, Melloni C, et al., Intravenous erythropoietin in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: REVEAL: a randomized controlled trial, JAMA, 2011;305:1863–72.
Chase AJ, Fretz EB, Warburton WP, et al., Association of the arterial access site at angioplasty with transfusion and mortality: the M.O.R.T.A.L study (Mortality benefit Of Reduced Transfusion after percutaneous coronary intervention via the Arm or Leg), Heart, 2008;94:1019–25.
Rao SV, Jollis JG, Harrington RA, et al., Relationship of blood transfusion and clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndromes, JAMA, 2004;292:1555–62.
Robinson SD, Janssen C, Fretz EB, et al., Non-red blood cell transfusion as a risk factor for mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention, Int J Cardiol, 2012;157:169–73.
Kwok CS, Sherwood MW, Watson SM, et al., Blood transfusion after percutaneous coronary intervention and risk of subsequent adverse outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis, JACC Int, 2015; in press.
Yacoub D, Hachem A, Theoret JF et al., Enhanced levels of soluble CD40 ligand exacerbate platelet aggregation and thrombus formation through a CD40-dependent tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor-2/Rac1/ p38 mitogen-activation protein kinase signaling pathway, Atherioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, 2010;30:2424–33.
Mamas MA, Ratib K, Routledge H, et al.; British Cardiovascular Intervention Society and the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research, Influence of arterial access site selection on outcomes in primary percutaneous coronary intervention; are the results of randomized trials achievable in clinical practice?, JACC Int, 2013;6:698–706.
Mamas MA, Ratib K, Routledge H, et al., Influence of access site selection on PCI related adverse events in STEMI patients; meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Heart, 2012;98:303–11.
Mamas MA, Anderson SG, Carr M, et al., on behalf of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society and the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research, Baseline bleeding risk and arterial access site practice in relation to procedural outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention, JACC, 2014;64:1554–64.
Brener SJ, Barr LA, Burchenal JE, et al., Randomized, placebocontrolled trial of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa blockade with primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction. ReoPro and Primary PTCA Organization and Randomized Trial (RAPPORT) Investigators, Circulation, 1998;98:734–41.
Montalescot G, Barragan P, Wittenberg O, et al.; ADMIRAL Investigators, Abciximab before direct angioplasty and stenting in myocardial infarction regarding acute and longterm follow-up. Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibition with coronary stenting for acute myocardial infarction, N Engl J Med, 2001;344:1895–903.
Stone GW, Grines CL, Cox DA, et al., Controlled abciximab and device investigation to lower late angioplasty complications (CADILLAC) investigators. Comparison of angioplasty with stenting, with or without abciximab, in acute myocardial infarction, N Engl J Med, 2002;346:957–66.
Shahzad A, Mars C, Kemp I et al., Unfractionated heparin versus bivalirudin in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (HEAT-PPCI): an open-label, single centre, randomised controlled trial, Lancet, 2014;S0140–6736.
Montalescot G, Wiviott SD, Braunwald E, et al., Prasugrel compared with clopidogrel in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (TRITON-TIMI 38):double-blind, randomised controlled trial, Lancet, 2009;373:723–31.
Steg PG, James S, Harrington RA, et al., Ticagrelor versus clopidogrel in patients with ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes intended for reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention: a Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes (PLATO) trial subgroup analysis, Circulation, 2010;122:31–41.
Yusuf S, Mehta SR, Chrolavicius S, et al., Comparison of fondaparinux and enoxaparin in acute coronary syndromes, N Engl J Med, 2006;354:1464–76.
Rao SV, McCoy LA, Spertus JA, et al., An updated bleeding model to predict the risk of post-procedure bleeding among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A report using an expanded bleeding definition from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry CathPCI Registry, J Am Coll Cardiol Intv, 2013;6:897–904.
Gedikoglu M, Oguzkurt L, Gur S, et al., Comparison of ultrasound guidance with the traditional palpation and fluoroscopy method for the common femoral artery puncture, Catheter Cardiovasc Interv, 2013;82:1187–92. | 2019-04-25T05:44:21Z | https://www.icrjournal.com/articles/percutaneous-coronary-intervention |
To analyze the feasibility of active breath control (ABC), the lung tumor reproducibility and the rationale for single-breath-hold cone beam CT (CBCT)-guided hypofraction radiotherapy.
Single-breath-hold CBCT images were acquired using ABC in a cohort of 83 lung cancer patients (95 tumors) treated with hypofraction radiotherapy. For all alignments between the reference CT and CBCT images (including the pre-correction, post-correction and post-treatment CBCT images), the tumor reproducibility was evaluated via online manual alignment of the tumors, and the vertebral bone uncertainties were evaluated via offline manual alignment of the vertebral bones. The difference between the tumor reproducibility and the vertebral bone uncertainty represents the change in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone. The relative tumor positions along the coronal, sagittal and transverse axes were measured based on the reference CT image. The correlations between the vertebral bone uncertainty, the relative tumor position, the total treatment time and the tumor reproducibility were evaluated using the Pearson correlations.
Pre-correction, the systematic/random errors of tumor reproducibility were 4.5/2.6 (medial-lateral, ML), 5.1/4.8 (cranial-caudal, CC) and 4.0/3.6 mm (anterior-posterior, AP). These errors were significantly decreased to within 3 mm, both post-correction and post-treatment. The corresponding PTV margins were 4.7 (ML), 7.4 (CC) and 5.4 (AP) mm. The changes in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone displayed systematic/random errors of 2.2/2.0 (ML), 4.1/4.4 (CC) and 3.1/3.3 (AP) mm. The uncertainty of the vertebral bone significantly correlated to the reproducibility of the tumor position (P < 0.05), except in the CC direction post-treatment. However, no significant correlation was detected between the relative tumor position, the total treatment time and the tumor reproducibility (P > 0.05).
Using ABC for single-breath-hold CBCT guidance is an effective method to reduce the PTV margin of hypofraction radiotherapy for lung cancer. Using ABC, the tumor position was significantly altered relative to the vertebral position. The reproducibility of the tumor position was affected by the vertebral bone but not by the relative tumor position or the total treatment time.
The precision of radiotherapy, which involves image acquisition, treatment planning and radiation delivery, is affected by respiratory motion [1–3]. Active breathing control (ABC) can suspend breathing during the acquisition of simulation CT or cone beam CT (CBCT), thereby eliminating the artifact of respiratory motion and enabling accurate delineation of the gross tumor volume and image registration. Second, breath-holding during inhalation increases the total lung volume and reduces the lung mass, resulting in a decreased dose to the normal tissue and an increased dose to the tumor [4, 5]. Third, eliminating the effects of respiratory motion during dose delivery would increase the precision of dose distribution. The reproducibility of ABC has been validated by fluoroscopy, electronic portal images and repeated CT scans [5–7]. However, the fluoroscopy and electronic portal image methods include inherent uncertainties, as the vertebral bone was used as a surrogate for the tumor position in many cases because of the poor visibility of the tumor . Although the tumor variability was accurately quantified using repeated CT scans , performing repeated CT scans outside of the treatment condition is a potential source of uncertainty. CBCT accurately displays the changes in the internal anatomy under the treatment condition. However, the short period of any single breath-hold limits the potential of CBCT. We previously reported the use of single-breath-hold CBCT guidance combined with ABC in liver cancer patients . To our knowledge, there is no other institute that has a successfully used single-breath-hold CBCT guidance. However, it is more challenging to use such a technique for lung tumors due to the associated decline in respiratory function and the heartbeat . Furthermore, tumors in different locations undergo distinct respiratory motion during free breathing (FB), which may influence the tumor reproducibility of the breath-hold method.
In our study, single-breath-hold CBCT images acquired using ABC in a cohort of 83 lung cancer patients (95 tumors) treated with hypofraction radiotherapy were analyzed retrospectively, which may provide the largest cohort reported to date. We investigate the lung tumor reproducibility and the corresponding PTV margin, as well as the relationships between the tumor reproducibility, the relative tumor position, the total treatment time and the uncertainty of the vertebral bone.
From September 2007 to August 2013, 121 patients who planned to be treated with single-breath-hold CBCT guided hypofraction radiotherapy for lung cancer were trained using modified Active Breathing Coordinator software (version 1.1, Elekta Oncology Systems, Stockholm, Sweden) to follow a specific ABC flowchart. Motion of the tumor or the pulmonary vessels near the tumor were measured via fluoroscopy (Elekta Oncology Systems Synergys, Motion View, version 3.5) for FB and breath-holding using diagnostic computed tomography (CT) as a position reference. During the training session, the patients were placed in the supine position. The airflow through the nose was blocked using a nose clip, medical cotton or a hand. The patient was instructed to inspire deeply before the breath hold, followed by full expiration. Normal breathing was resumed by opening the balloon valve with a hand-held switch or by releasing the mouthpiece. The initial breath threshold was set at approximately 75% (adding 0.1-0.3 L according to the patient’s compliance) of the measured deep inspiration volume (DIV).
During the initial practice (between 2007 and 2008), four patients complained that the airflow was blocked too early for them to comfortably hold their breath using the initial threshold after three to five training days. Another four patients displayed a significant change in the lung contours between the CBCT and the simulation, leading to a substantial change in the tumor position. For these eight patients, the ABC thresholds were re-set, the CT scans were re-simulated, and the ABC flowchart was amended accordingly. DIV re-measurement after ABC training for five days was added to the flowchart to determine a suitable breath-hold threshold (Figure 1). Patients displaying less than 5 mm of respiratory motion of the tumor or the pulmonary vessels near the tumor were excluded from this study. A planning CT and single-breath-hold CBCT-guided hypofraction radiotherapy plan were performed when the breath-hold duration was greater than 40 s with less than 100 ml threshold fluctuation after ABC training for five days. Four strategies were used to confirm the validity of ABC .
The modified ABC procedure. Crucial steps included respiratory motion less than 5 mm, maximum breath-hold duration less than 40 s and deep inspiration volume (DIV) re-measurement after ABC training for five days.
While following the ABC flowchart, 83 of the 121 lung cancer patients (95 tumors) were treated with single-breath-hold CBCT-guided hypofraction radiotherapy using ABC. Written consent was obtained from all patients prior to enrollment in the study. All cases of primary lesions were confirmed based on biopsies. The study included three patients experiencing Stage I (T1-T2 N0) NSCLC and 80 patients exhibiting lung metastases from lung cancer (n = 42), head and neck cancer (n = 9), breast cancer (n = 6), liver cancer (n = 6), prostate cancer (n = 2), colorectal cancer (n = 5), rectal cancer (n = 4) or sarcoma (n = 6). The diagnosis of metastasis was established via CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT). The median gross tumor volume (GTV) was 2.4 cc (range: 0.50-33.0 cc). The median age was 54 years (range 22–78). The Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score was greater than 80 for all patients. The ratio of the forced expiratory volume in 1 s to the forced vital capacity (FEV1) was greater than 80%.
The patients were placed in the supine position in a stereotactic body frame (SBF, Elekta Oncology Systems) (n = 77) or in blue bags (Elekta Oncology Systems) (n = 6). Planning CTs were performed using a Philips Gemini 16-slice CT with a 2-mm slice thickness from the throat to the liver after administration of an intravascular contrast solution (100 ml of iodine solution (300 mg/ml) administered at 3 ml/s for a volume of 2 ml/kg up to a maximum of 150 ml). According to the literature and our previous results , the PTV was generated based on an 8 mm expansion in both the ML and AP directions and a 10 mm expansion in the CC direction around the clinical tumor volume (CTV). The CTV was defined as the GTV + 3 mm. Conformal 3D plans including 6–10 beams were designed using Precise PLAN® (Elekta Oncology Systems) or Pinnacle 9.0 (Philips Medical Systems, Madison, WI). The tumors were subjected to one of seven different doses based on the tumor size and pathology: 26 Gy × 1f (n = 1), 15 Gy × 3f (n = 15), 12 Gy × 4f (n = 37), 10 Gy × 5f (n = 12), 10 Gy × 6f (n = 8), 8 Gy × 7f (n = 16) or 6 Gy × 10f (n = 6).
In each fraction, all patients underwent pre-correction CBCT imaging using ABC after completing the setup. For some patients, second and third CBCT images were recorded. A second CBCT (post-correction) was acquired to validate the couch shifts. The couch shifts were performed manually with a threshold of 2 mm in any direction. A third CBCT (post-treatment) was acquired to assess the intra-fraction error for some patients according to each patient’s physical state or total treatment time.
Each CBCT imaging was acquired within a single breath-hold, with the breath-hold duration ranging from 40–70 s. Even small tumors are easily visible in all CBCT images (Figure 2A), which facilitates alignment of the reference CT and CBCT images. The tumor reproducibility was evaluated based on the automated alignment of the grey values within the region of interest around the tumor. Subsequently, the tumor contour was manually aligned to verify the automatic alignment results when all rotational errors were set at zero. Note that in some cases, improper matching results were obtained using the grey value alignment, or the images could not be aligned. Therefore, all of the tumor alignment errors were determined using a manual method.
The alignment of the tumor contours using CBCT and the relative tumor position. A: The alignment of the tumor contours using CBCT. The tumor contours in the reference CT image were aligned with those of the CBCT image because the tumor was highly visible in the CBCT image. B: The relative tumor positions defined in the coronal, sagittal and transverse axes.
The parameters for CBCT imaging (Elekta Oncology Systems synergys, version 3.5) were 120 kV, 361 frames, 25 mA, 32 mS, bowtie filter, 288.8 mAs, a gantry start angle of 260° or 100°, a gantry stop angle of 100° or 260°, a gantry speed of 3.18°/s and 5.5 frames/s for at least 200 frames.
The CTV-PTV margin was calculated as the sum of the setup margin (SM) and the internal margin (IM). The amplitude of the tumor motion was defined as IM based on the fluoroscopy measurement data or published results [7, 10]. The alignment results were used to calculate the SM using the formula developed by Sonke et al.: SM = 2.5 ∑ + β σ 2 + σ p 2 - β σ p , where σ p = 0.64 for the lungs, β = 0.84 for SBRT (80% isodose line), Σ represents the systematic error and σ represents the random error .
To calculate the changes in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone, all of the CBCT images were retrieved for retrospective analysis. The vertebral bone uncertainties were evaluated by first automatically aligning the vertebral bones in the reference CT and CBCT images. Subsequently, manual alignments of the vertebral bones were performed if there were incorrect matching results or if the images could not be aligned. For each patient, the difference between the tumor reproducibility and the vertebral bone uncertainties represented the changes in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone. During data analysis, all rotational errors were neglected, as no 6D treatment could correct for these errors.
CCR = The distance between the lung apex and the caudal portion of the tumor (Dcc)/The distance between the lung apex and the diaphragm (DCC).
MLR = The distance between the body midline and the lateral border of the tumor (Dml)/The distance between the body midline and the lateral border of the lung (DML).
APR = The distance between the posterior portion of the lung and the anterior portion of the tumor (Dap)/The distance between the posterior and anterior portions of the lung (DAP).
Annotation: CCR, MLR and APR represent the relative tumor positions in the CC, ML and AP directions, respectively.
The correlations between the relative tumor position, the vertebral bone uncertainty and the reproducibility of the tumor position were analyzed using Pearson correlations, and p values ≤ 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software, version 16.0.1, or Microsoft Excel.
A total of 1084 CBCT images were obtained from the 83 patients displaying 95 lung tumors, including 474 pre-correction images, 336 second scan images and 238 third scan images.
For the pre-correction scans, the systematic/random errors of the tumor position reproducibility range from 2.6 to 5.1 mm; the corresponding vertebral bone uncertainties were noteworthy, in the range of 3.4-5.5 mm. The reproducibility of the tumor position decreased to within 3 mm in any direction on the second and third CBCT images. However, the reduction in the vertebral bone uncertainty was not comparable to that of the tumor position reproducibility (systematic/random error range from 1.6 to 4.4 mm) of the second and third CBCT images. Similar to the vertebral bone uncertainty, the changes in tumor position relative to vertebral bone displayed systematic/random errors of 2.2/2.0 (ML), 4.1/4.4 (CC) and 3.1/3.3 (AP) mm. The details of these errors are presented in Table 1.
Notes: Σ: the SD of the individual means; σ: the root-mean-square of the individual SD; SM = set-up PTV margin = 2.5 ∑ + β σ 2 + σ p 2 - β σ p , where σ p = 0.64 for lung, β = 0.84 for SBRT (80% isodose line).
The calculated SM values are listed in Table 1. The SM values were 5.5, 14.1 and 10.9 mm in the ML, CC and AP directions when evaluated based on the vertebral bone position errors. In contrast, the SM margins were 4.7 (ML), 7.4 (CC) and 5.7 mm (AP) when the tumor position reproducibility was used to analyze the SM.
The tumor motion (IM) along the AP axis was not quantifiable for all patients’ tumors due to the poor visibility in the fluoroscopic images. Only 26 tumors in 24 patients were visible, and the motion amplitude of these tumors was quantified in the CC and ML directions via fluoroscopy. The use of ABC alone decreased the tumor motion to less than 1 mm in both the CC and ML directions for 19 tumors (17 patients). In contrast, the tumor motion amplitudes were 7–21 mm in the CC direction and 1–3 mm in the ML direction for FB. The other 7 tumors (7 patients), which were located near the heart (less than 3 cm), displayed 2–3 mm motion in the CC and ML directions using ABC. For FB, theses amplitudes were 12–17 mm in the CC direction and 3–5 mm in the ML direction.
Compared with FB, there was sharp reduction in the IM in the CC direction upon use of ABC (the IM was detected as 0 mm in the majority of patients). As a result, the CTV-PTV margins were 3.3 (ML), 2.6 (CC) and 2.3 mm (AP) smaller than the clinical margins (8 mm in the ML and AP directions, 10 mm in the CC direction), except for tumors located near the heart (less than 3 cm).
As shown in Table 2, there was a significant Pearson correlation between the tumor position reproducibility and the vertebral bone uncertainty except in the CC direction post-treatment (P < 0.05). The Pearson coefficients using the pre-corrected images in the ML, CC and AP directions were 0.795, 0.838 and 0.701, respectively. These Pearson coefficients decreased sharply in all three directions using the second and third CBCT images.
The median relative tumor positions were 0.62, 0.68 and 0.42 in the ML, CC and AP directions, respectively. We did not detect any significant Pearson correlations between the relative tumor position and the tumor position reproducibility in any direction for all CBCT images (P > 0.05) (Table 3).
The maximum, minimum and median total treatment time (from the pre-correction to the post-treatment CBCT images) was 49, 9 and 20 min, respectively. There was no significant Pearson correlation between the total treatment time and the tumor position reproducibility (post-treatment) in any direction (P > 0.05).
While following specific ABC training program using an appropriate threshold, 69% of the lung cancer patients successful used the ABC method. It should be noted that this percentage would be sharply decreased when considering patients exhibiting less than 80% FEV1. We strongly recommend DIV re-measurement after ABC training for five days to determine a suitable breath-hold threshold. In the current study, we found no correlation between the maximum breath-hold time and the breath-hold threshold, suggesting that a patient exhibiting a low breath-hold threshold may exhibit long breath-hold duration.
Consistent with previous reports [5, 6], the inter-fraction tumor position reproducibility using ABC displayed substantial systematic and random errors, particularly in the CC direction, suggesting that image guidance is essential. Under conventional fraction treatment, the inter-fraction variability of the tumor position was substantial due to tumor regression and pathological changes over the course of the treatment [5, 14–16]. In our study cohort, the tumor was not likely to undergo substantial regression due to the brief treatment duration (maximum two weeks). Meanwhile, no pathological changes occurred over the course of treatment. From our results, the vertebral bone uncertainties were larger than those reported by Brock J (3.4-5.5 mm range versus 1.4-3.7 mm range). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between the tumor position reproducibility and the vertebral bone uncertainty. According to these results, we conclude that setup error was a fundamental factor affecting the inter-fraction tumor position reproducibility .
The systematic and random errors of the tumor position were significantly decreased to within 3 mm both post-correction and post-treatment, clearly indicating the benefit of image guidance. As the corresponding vertebral bone uncertainties were larger, these errors were corrected according to the tumor position rather than the vertebral uncertainties. The small Pearson Correlation coefficients revealed that the vertebral bone uncertainties exerted little contribution to the post-correction and post-treatment tumor positions. Previous reports have indicated little change in the lung volume between different breath-holds [5, 14, 15], which can induce errors in the tumor position. Tumors in the upper lobes tend to display less motion than tumors in the lower lobes, making them less sensitive to changes in the lung volume. In our study cohort, the tumor positions were in the lower and lateral portions of the lung because the median relative tumor positions were greater than 0.5 in the ML and CC directions, making these tumors more sensitive to changes in the lung volume. Furthermore, Shah C reported that different immobilization devices can influence the post-correction residual error. In our study, no significant differences were detected between the immobilization devices used, which may be due to the small number of samples in the blue bag group (n = 6) and the fact that both of these devices are vacuum bags. Furthermore, no significant associations were detected between the tumor position reproducibility and the total treatment time, which was consistent with the report of Peguret . Fortunately, as a result of the integration of different uncertain causes, the tumor position reproducibility under single-breath-hold CBCT guidance using ABC was at a clinically acceptable level.
The limitations of our study include the inability to investigate the lung volume due to the small (S20) FOV for the CBCT scan and that the registration results of the second and third CBCT images do not represent the actual intra-fraction error. To perform a simple calculation of the CTV-PTV margin, the post-treatment tumor position reproducibility was used to determine the SM, and the tumor motion measured via fluoroscopy was used to determine the IM. Using ABC, the IM was significantly reduced in the CC direction (7–21 vs. less than1 mm). However, ABC displayed little ability to reduce the motion amplitude in the ML direction (1–5 vs. 1–3 mm). Seppenwoolde Y reported a 1–4 mm range of tumor motion (most prominent in the lateral direction) caused by the heart beat , and only 0–2 mm motion was detected using ABC . Considering these results, we conclude that when using ABC, consideration of the IM was unnecessary for tumors far away from the heart, but the tumor motion should be measured to determine the IM of tumors located near the heart (less than3 cm), especially for those near the left ventricle. Our results revealed that single-breath-hold CBCT guidance using ABC is effective for the management of respiratory motion because the CTV-PTV margin was significantly smaller than that reported by Brock (11.9 (ML), 18.1 (CC) and 11.9 (AP) mm) and Panakis (8.3 (ML), 12.0 (CC) and 9.8 (AP) mm) .
The results of changes in the tumor position were obtained between the CBCT and planning CT scans, representing the inter-fraction error. Weiss reported that changes in the tumor position relative to the vertebral bone displayed inter-fraction systematic and random errors of 3.0-4.6 mm and 2.6-2.9 mm, respectively. These errors were significant and in agreement with our findings. In our opinion, the changes in the tumor position primarily contributed to the changes in the tumor baseline position from the CT simulation to the treatment time. The changes in the tumor baseline position can be explained by the changes in the breath-hold lung volume post-CT simulation. Changes in the lung volume are primarily affected by two causes: (1) due to differences in the flow rate between individual patients, the delay between the activation of the ABC when the threshold volume is reached and the closure of the balloon valve causes a variation in the lung volume ; (2) differences in the residual volume prior to inspiration when performing the breath-hold. These two causes could have significant effects in most patients after ABC training . However, the lung volume could not be analyzed in the current study. The present data exclusively displayed large PTV margins (range 7.2-13.9 mm) when using the vertebral bone position as a surrogate for the tumor position. In other words, greater care should be taken when using 2-D image guidance (portal images or fluoroscopy) to perform lung tumor radiotherapy using ABC.
The location of the lesion affects the magnitude of tumor motion during FB . However, Peng noted that the extent of tumor motion during normal respiration does not influence the tumor position under breath-hold conditions. In our study, we also did not detect any correlation between the relative tumor position and the tumor position error. These results suggest that tumors at lower locations or displaying larger excursion during FB would be better candidates for the use of ABC.
Purdie TG reported an intra-fraction error shift when the interval between the initial localization and the repeated CBCT was more than 34 min. In our study, total treatment time was less than 34 min in 96% of the cases. Furthermore, post-correction error, post-treatment error and post-treatment error minus post-correction error only represent the errors during this limited period (40–70 seconds during CBCT imaging), which were determined based on the changes in the lung volume between different breath-holds. Therefore, the reproducibility of the tumor position was not affected by the total treatment time in our study.
By following a specific ABC flowchart, single-breath-hold CBCT guidance can be performed successfully in 69% of lung cancer patients. Using ABC for single-breath-hold cone beam CT guidance is an effective method to reduce the PTV margin of hypofraction radiotherapy for lung tumors. Using ABC, the tumor position reproducibility was affected by the vertebral bone but not by the relative tumor position or the treatment time. The lung tumor position changed significantly relative to the vertebral position, which should be studied further. Large PTV margins are recommended when using the vertebral bone as a surrogate for the tumor position in lung cancer patients.
Sen Bai and You Lu contributed equally to this work.
RZ designed the study and drafted the manuscript. JW revised the manuscript. FX and NC analyzed the data. LZ, LL, JZ and XJ helped to collect the data. YL and SB contributed equally to the conception of this study and the final approval of the version to be published. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. | 2019-04-23T22:23:43Z | https://ro-journal.biomedcentral.com.preview-live.oscarjournals.springer.com/articles/10.1186/1748-717X-9-77 |
Edited by Kareeah_Indaga at 23:48, 25 Mar 2014.
Black hair, light brown eyes. Fair skinned.
Injuries—gash on arm, ribs. Scrape on forehead, bruise on back of skull.
NOTES: Injuries. Left wing broken; no Ground immunity until it heals.
Appearance: Tallish (6 ft), wide shoulders, youthful, skinny, only slightly muscled, just the hints of a beard, blue eyes, dark blond hair (nothing like Mr. Edn's hair ), sometimes wears a pair of glasses. He has a permanent half-smile. Right arm is prosthetic, made from a black plastic and reinforced by metal at the joints (The arm is slightly stronger than the flesh and blood one it replaced). Wardrobe includes an assortment of clothing colors and styles, but mostly T-shirts with funny sayings and blue jeans.
Background: Lost his arm while in Helnith a few months back while wandering about with Zelgius and a few other military friends. He volunteered to find Zelgius, who had become dangerously unstable, and avoid the mounds of homework that awaited him back home.
NOTES: Put future EVs in Attack.
NOTES: Split future EVs into Speed and Special Attack.
Pokemon: Skarmory - Trained (0, 1, 0) in the last three days.
NOTES: Put 3/4 future EVs in Speed, 1/4 into Attack.
NOTES: Put 1/2 future EVs in Special Attack, 1/2 into HP.
NOTE: Put future EVs in Special Attack.
Pokemon: Swellow- Trained (0, 1, 0) in the last three days.
NOTES: Split future EVs into Attack and Speed.
Pokemon: Inkel - Trained (0, 1, 0) in the last three days.
Clothing: Consists of tees, polos, button-downs, vests, a coat, and pants. Colors vary through blues, greens, violets, and white.
NOTE: Friendship at 178 as of 3/25/2014. Happiness increases are doubled for the rest of the game-day (Day 17).
Edited by Kareeah_Indaga at 00:39, 19 Jan 2014.
You can train your Pokemon whenever you have some time to kill and a reasonable amount of space to train in. You train your Pokemon by working with them uninterrupted for a certain stretch of time (dependent on level); you can fluff it however you like. Beyond that, there are no specific requirements other than that your Pokemon must be in reasonable state to be trained (i.e. not unconscious, asleep, or similarly inconvenienced) and you the trainer must be involved in the training (not asleep or doing something that would significantly distract you).
You can train a Pokemon up one level in (current level/10 drop decimal) hour(s) (or half an hour if they’re below level 10). You may only train one Pokemon at a time using this method.
*You can only train one Pokemon at a time (i.e. leveling up both Sandshrew at level 11 and Pikachu at level 12 one level would take an hour EACH, so a total of two hours).
*Two trainers assisting each other can each level up a Pokemon (so if Misty were to help Draloed, she could level up Hedge from 13 to 14 while he levels up Ironsides from 10 to 11, and only an hour will be needed, not two).
*Pokemon that are Shadowed or otherwise disobedient must succeed an Obedience roll to get the level up.
-In addition to the usual options (Attack, Use Item, Switch Pokemon) you also have the option to order your Pokemon to Defend (halves damage for the course of the round) or Evade (Pokemon effectively has 1 evasion level for the duration of the round). In general, you are allowed 1 option per Pokemon per round, as in the games.
-Stat reducing moves that hit more than one target (Leer, Growl, Tail Whip, String Shot etc…), will hit 10 targets for every 10 levels the user has (ie. Levels 1-10 will hit 10, levels 11 – 20 will hit 20, and so on). Also Smokescreen and Sand Attack are multi-target under this system.
-Status inflicting moves that hit more than one target are 1 target for every 5 levels (ex: a level 15 Pokemon will be able to hit 3). Sing is multi-target under this system.
2 + ((38-20) / 10) = 3 targets.
In other words, 1 target for every 10 points in the relevant stat, with a minimum of 2 targets. Attacks that can hit friend or foe have the number of targets split, and the user chooses half—the other half are determined randomly. (If it’s an odd number, the user gets to pick the ‘extra’ – IOW if the Pokemon will hit 9 targets, the user picks 5.) No Pokemon can be hit more than once, and the user can’t hit themselves.
-Weather moves will affect everyone on the battlefield.
-Most attacks work as they did in Diamond/Pearl, except where unavailable or as specified otherwise.
-Natural Gift does not consume the held Berry.
-Copycat, Mirror Move etc. are not limited to attacks that only affect an opposing Pokemon, HOWEVER their effects cannot be re-directed. If you Copycat a Milotic using Water Pulse, you will attack the Milotic with Water Pulse, you can’t use it on the hordes of Geodude around the Milotic.
Also, the move Softboiled no longer drains the user's HP, in OR out of combat.
-Pressure affects ALL moves the opposing Pokemon makes, not just offensive ones. On the other hand, if an allied Pokemon uses a move that will hit the Pokemon with Pressure, it won’t have its PP cost doubled.
-Pokemon with field affecting abilities (Tyranitar’s Sand Stream, Abomasnow’s Snow Warning) will have the effects of their abilities wear off 5 rounds after they leave the field rather than last indefinitely. This is boosted to 8 rounds if they were using a held item that increases the duration of the effect (Smooth Rock for Sandstorm, Icy Rock for Hail etc…).
-Struggle works as it did in Gen III (recoil is based off damage dealt, not user’s max HP).
-If Sturdy is activated more than once, its protective effects will have a failure chance for every time after the first, as with Protect, Endure, etc.
--Mist now prevents positive stat adjustments on the affected side as well as negative.
--Shadow Tag's effects are limited to 10 Pokemon per 10 levels the Pokemon with Shadow Tag has, as with Tail Whip.
To mix Poffin, you need one or more Berries and access to a Blender. Berries are scattered throughout Helnith. Blenders you will usually find in Contest Halls, though of course smaller, portable versions exist.
For each Berry you mix into Poffin, you are required to guess 1 flavor of the resulting Poffin, starting with the highest flavor and going to the lowest, in order. ((EX: You mix an Oran Berry, you have to guess the highest flavor. You mix an Oran Berry with a Hondew Berry, you need to guess the highest and second highest flavors.)) You are required to guess the flavor itself, not the value of the flavor. As the Blenders don't get large enough to allow more than 4 Berries, the most you will ever have to guess is 4 flavors.
If your first guess is correct, you get a bonus of 1 second per correct first guess per flavor per person (so, two people mixing a total of two Berries can get 4 seconds off their time assuming they both guess correctly for both flavors). If your second or third guess is correct, you receive neither bonus nor penalty. Your fourth guess will accrue a Burn and you fifth guess will accrue two Burns.
If two flavors are tied for a spot, you can guess either of them and it will count as correct.
The Poffin will be ruined (Foul Poffin) if you accrue EITHER 5 Burns, 5 Spills or a combination of 6 total Burns and Spills.
All boosts are +1 to the stat for every 15 points of Condition. Conditions cap at 255, so the maximum stat gain in a category is 17 points.
HP is boosted by increasing any of the other conditions, up to a max of 34 points. Also, you have a "Feel" cap of 255.
-You can still feed your Pokemon Poffin after their Feel caps out, however, DOING SO WILL NOT INCREASE THEIR STATS IN ANY CATEGORY, it’s solely a roleplaying aid and Happiness boost at that point.
-We aren’t playing with Nature so your Pokemon liking/disliking a certain flavor will not affect its Contest stat growth.
-Growth mulch requires Berry plants to be watered 5 times for max yield (1/stage plus once more—with reasonable gaps between waterings, watering twice in a 5 minute span will invoke DM ire) and Gooey Mulch allows you to skip 1 watering.
-Chilan Berries now activate only on super-effective Normal attacks.
-Pokemon are limited to 10 of each vitamin in most cases.
-Rare Candies subtract 2 from max HP for each one used.
-The EV enhancing items increase their respective stats by 1 point per level up and 1 point per two hours of training. (The points acquired from the Macho Brace can be applied to any stat.) EX: training a level 20 Pokemon to level 21 while it has the Power Lens equipped will increase its Special Attack by 2—one for the level up and one for the two hours you spent earning the level up.) Each item gives a max of 20 points.
-In addition to their normal effects (lower Happiness and whatever else they do depending on the type) the use of these herbs will increase a Pokemon's resistance to disease by 50% for one day, or decrease the amount of time they spend sick by 50% for one day if they are already ill (ex: Pokemon would be sick for 3 days, you give it a Bitter herb on Day 1, it will now only be sick for 2 ½ days). They CAN be used on successive days, just remember that Pokemon don't actually LIKE these and you'll be taking the Happiness hit.
+1 for each day that passes in the RPG.
+1 for each mile traveled during your adventures.
+2 for each vitamin used on it.
+3 each time it is sent out to battle. Bonus applicable once per battle.
-HM moves can be overridden as normal moves. You don't need a Move Deleter to get rid of them.
-There is no Name Rater in Helnith. You can change the nicknames of Pokemon you get in trades or have already nicknamed yourself.
70% – (Pokemon level – highest level of Pokemon in team who is 100% obedient) – hostility – Legendary Status – extenuating circumstances.
Pokemon that assist in winning a Badge gain points to a stat determined by the badge. The max number of points a Pokemon can have from this category is 15/stat.
The mining minigame can be played whenever you’re in a place suitable for digging (EX: mountains, caves). You use the radar included in the Mining Kit to detect spots where treasure is hidden. After you locate a spot, you may proceed with a round of digging.
The game itself works a bit like a cross between the Pokewalker Dowsing Machine game and digging in the Underground: I give you a row of fifteen numbers ranging from 1 to 3. That’s the depth of your stone. You have 10 ‘hits’ before the spot you work on collapses, destroying any unexcavated treasure.
Your goal is to get the stone numbers down to 0 before you run out of ‘hits’ and ideally find treasure, so choose your hits wisely. Item sizes range from 1 to 3 slots.
Please note that you can’t choose to distribute the hit over a pattern other than the one specified. (EX: Hitting slots 1-4 with the mallet on one swing is fine; hitting slots 1, 5, 7, and 10 on one swing is not.) Also note, you’re free to switch between the two tools between hits.
Mining takes 1 hour for every round of the minigame you play.
X = 50 if both parties are willingly participating, 0 otherwise.
This roll can be modified by other factors, most noticeably if there is more than one Pokemon riding the same mount at the same time.
Also, when riding/being ridden on and being targeted by an attack that would only hit one of them, the rider/mount can make a roll to have the other Pokemon hit instead, EX: if Houndoom is riding Skarmory, and a Wispaferyn uses a Fire attack targeting Houndoom, they can roll to have Houndoom be hit instead.
If the mount is a Flying type or has Levitate, the rider will also be unaffected by Ground moves (barring things like Gravity being in effect or other situations that would negate that immunity in the first place).
Unlike Gym battles, Contests are held at pre-determined times and cannot be participated in outside those times. (You can however practice outside those times.) Upcoming Coordinators would do well to make note of the Contest schedule.
Contests in Helnith are divided into the Appeal Round and the Battle Round; unless noted otherwise, you are required to use the same Pokemon for both rounds.
We're using Super Contest game stats for this game, and I will make up attack stats for Helnith and Gen V+ moves.
Rather than have completely separate rounds for showing off pure Contest stats and attack useage, I'm combining them. The number of rounds you have to Appeal is dependant on the Contest; generally more advanced Contests have more rounds.
No item uses are allowed by the trainer, but held items are fine.
Mega Stones can be found in Helnith, but there are some differences from the main games: when you find a Mega Stone, odds are it will be unattuned to any particular Pokemon. This means that it will be a generic 'Mega Stone' rather than 'Charizardite X' and it must be attuned to a Pokemon to be used. (The method to do this will be revealed later.) Once it has been attuned to a Pokemon, it cannot be re-attuned; in other words if you turn it into Charizardite X it can't be re-made into Ampharosite.
Unlike the games, a held Mega Stone CAN be taken with Thief, Covet, or other item-stealing attacks, and rendered unusable via Embargo or similar attacks as a normal Held Item.
-Shadow moves cannot be Sketched, and a Pokemon that transforms into a Shadow Pokemon will have the moveset the target would have had as if it were NOT Shadowed unless the transforming Pokemon is also Shadowed. Likewise, a Shadowed Pokemon transforming into a non-Shadowed Pokemon will have a Shadowed moveset.
Edited by Kareeah_Indaga at 00:38, 19 Jan 2014.
Spectral Pokémon cannot be trapped in a battle by moves like Mean Look and Spider Web. They may still be trapped by Pokémon abilities.
Evolves: Evolves into Pupawisp at level 8.
Large groups of Wiliter can be found in arid forests, eating the local vegetation to develop their flame glands and prepare for evolution.
Evolves: Evolves into Wispaferyn at level 12.
This Pokémon cannot live in humid areas. As it nears evolution, its cocoon starts to heat up, until it evolves in a burst of flames.
This Pokémon flies using its flame glands to produce small amounts of steam. Its wings are completely useless, and are rumored to be vestiges of an ancient age.
Ability: Dark Absorb - Dark attacks heal this Pokémon for up to 25% of its Max HP, instead of dealing damage.
The eternal archenemies of Angerazms, Desparats have long sewn despair in the hearts of humans and Pokémon alike. It feeds off the darkness in human souls.
Ability: Photobarrier - During a Sunny Day, this Pokémon cannot be Burned or Frozen and is unaffected by Fire and Ice attacks.
The eternal archenemies of Desparats, Angerazms have long brought hope to humans and Pokémon alike. It flourishes when surrounded by happiness and other positive emotions.
Evolves: Evolves into Shambak at level 22.
It is said that this Pokemon can eat anything that grows. Ancient cultures used them to plow fields in mountainous regions.
This Pokemon was valued for its versatility in ancient times. Its durability, stamina, and even temperament made it popular in rural areas.
Ability: Destructor – if this Pokemon hits for super-effective damage, the attack's power will be increased by 50%.
Evolves: Evolves into Millibleed at level 37.
Usually found in dry, rocky regions, this Pokemon shows its strength by curling up and smashing into boulders. It wraps around trees and rocks to sleep.
Solitary and aggressive, this Pokemon dwells in deep, dark forests far away from people. It attacks by goring with its tusks.
Evolves: Evolves into Ryskimara at level 25.
A rare, but social Pokemon that lives in waterfalls. They communicate with a large variety of clicks and whistles.
Rarely seen by people, it defends itself by surrounding its body with fog and steam. Pieces of its fins were highly prized for use in ancient jewelry.
Evolves: Evolves into Archeokat at level 29.
As a species it is even-tempered but protective. This Pokemon normally lives near caves and old ruins.
In ancient times, this Pokemon was often used to guard temples and tombs.
Fickle and fierce, this Pokemon punishes people that cross it by bending reality.
Evolves: Evolves into Spriggin via Leaf Stone.
Skittish and shy, this Pokemon escapes its enemies by leaping high into the air.
Proud and easily slighted, this Pokemon spites those that wronged it by stealing food and causing mischief.
Evolves: Evolves into Stellas at level 35.
Thought to originate from space, this Pokemon favors clear, starry nights. It is said to be looking for its home planet in the sky.
Ability: Ink Cloud - The Pokemon's Evasion rises 2 levels if it falls below 25% max HP.
Evolves: Evolves into Sinkohl at level 30.
This Pokemon can sometimes be seen digging for grubs and roots. Its skin secretes a substance that was used as ink in ancient Helnith.
This Pokemon is said to be the spirit of dead fires. It is attracted to sources of light and heat.
A Pokemon from the Spectral Dimension. Very little is known about this species, except that it is very stubborn.
PLEASE CONSULT THE WIRELESS POKEMON NETWORK FOR MORE INFORMATION.
This Pokemon is a pack hunter that lives in another dimension. It is theorized to have descended from ancient dog Pokemon that were trapped there long ago.
This Pokemon lives in deep water and swims in large schools. It is seldom seen except in the waters around the Helnith region.
A nearly extinct species. This Pokemon is said to be able to hold its position for days at a time, never moving.
Ability: Shadow Cloak – Raises Evasion by 10%.
Evolves: (Level up Tyrogue in the Spectral Dimension.) Does not evolve.
This Pokemon is a mutated evolution of Tyrogue. It is found only in the Spectral Dimension, and behaves more callously than Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop.
Evolves: Evolves into Zorpaleus during a greater dimensional convergence.
It is playful and child-like, but rarely seen. Little else is known about this Pokemon.
Ability: Phase* - 20% chance Physical moves have no effect.
Evolves: Evolves into Fieberdra at level 65.
An extremely rare Pokemon, it is said to be able to phase in and out of this dimension.
Ability: Slime Body - The Pokémon takes half damage from Fighting, Water and Fire-type Moves.
This Pokémon was recently discovered by an expedition into another dimension led by a scientist of Helnith. Its body resists various forms of attack.
A legendary Pokemon said to live in the Helnith region. Shrouded in myth, it is said to be a conduit for the sea.
A legendary Pokemon said to live in the Helnith region. Shrouded in myth, it is said to be a conduit for the land.
A legendary Pokemon said to live in the Helnith region. Shrouded in myth, it is said to be a conduit for the sky.
- Completely restores the user's HP.
- Moonlight is unaffected by weather conditions.
- Synthesis is unaffected by weather conditions.
Dark Absorb – Dark attacks heal this Pokémon for up to 25% of its Max HP, instead of dealing damage.
Photobarrier – During a Sunny Day, this Pokémon cannot be Burned or Frozen and is unaffected by Fire and Ice attacks.
Slime Body – The Pokémon takes half damage from Fighting, Water and Fire-type Moves.
Metal Armor – the Pokemon has weaknesses and resistances as if it were a Steel type. This stacks with existing weaknesses and resistances.
Shadow Cloak – Raises Evasion by 10%.
Ink Cloud – The Pokemon's Evasion rises 2 levels if it falls below 25% max HP.
Stability – The Pokemon does not take additional damage from attacks boosted by weather conditions (Water moves via Rain Dance, Fire moves via Sunny Day f. ex.).
Egg Sensing – The Pokemon can 'feel' nearby eggs of other Pokemon, and has a rough idea of when the egg will hatch as well as what is in it.
Wound Sensing – The Pokemon can 'feel' injured Pokemon nearby. The Pokemon can use Softboiled at x2 effectiveness.
Destructor – If this Pokemon hits for super-effective damage, the attack's power will be increased by 50%.
Iron Mind – Inner Focus + immunity to Attract and Confusion.
Diamond Mind – Iron Mind + immunity to Sleep.
Flash Flood – on entering the battle, there is a 50% chance that each Pokemon already in battle is affected as if by Soak.
Phase – 20% chance Physical moves have no effect.
Gray Smoke – White Smoke + immunity to status conditions (Sleep, Poison, Confusion, etc...).
Graceful Dance – Synchronize + Serene Grace.
Note: If the Pokemon's name has an Ability in parenthesis next to it, that means ONLY a member of that species with that specific Ability is eligible to get the non-typical Ability.
Obtained: Eevee holds a Sun Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Eevee holds a Moon Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Pichu holds a Thunder Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds an Iron Amulet while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds a Cloudy Crystal while evolving.
Obtained: Happiny holds a Green Oval Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Happiny holds a Blue Oval Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Happiny holds a Black Oval Stone while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds a Spring while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds an Espresso while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds a Silk Scarf while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds a Black Sludge while evolving.
Obtained: Pokemon's pre-evolution holds a King's Rock while evolving.
Deals damage. Raises Shadow Gauge of non-Spectral Pokemon by 3-5%.
Weather move. While in effect, the power of Dark and Ghost type moves are increased by 50%. The power of Psychic, Fighting and Normal type moves are decreased by 50%.
All types except Dark and Ghost lose 1/16 HP each round. Lasts for 5 turns (8 while holding a Shadowy Stone).
Sound based. Deals damage, and has a 50% chance of Attracting foes of the opposite Gender. Raises Shadow Gauge of non-Spectral Pokemon by 4-8%.
Power is doubled if inside or underground.
Increased priority (same level as Follow Me). The Pokémon skips its turn to reduce damage suffered by 50%. In addition, in 2vs2 Battles and Wars, this Pokémon becomes the attack target for all opposing Pokémon that target itself or its allies.
Deals damage. If the attack hits, the user must recharge for one round afterwards. Raises Shadow Gauge of non-Spectral Pokemon by 10-20%.
The user's critical hit ratio, Attack, Special Attack, and Speed rise one level each.
Deals damage. Increased critical hit ratio (12.5% instead of 6.25%). Raises Shadow Gauge of non-Spectral Pokemon by 5-10%.
Deals damage. 20% chance to Burn the target.
Cloaks the battlefield in fog for 5 rounds (8 while holding a Cloudy Crystal).
Boosts the next Fire move by the user and also increases Special Attack.
This move removes all stat changes on the target (positive or negative), and for each level of stat change consumed the user regains 10% of their max HP. This move will fail if the target is not affected by any stat changes.
Traps all participants currently in battle.
The user deals damage by expelling flame as it charges. There is a 50% chance the flames will hit again at half power (Power 25). 10% chance of Burning the target.
Deals damage. 30% chance to absorb damage from the target (restores ½ the damage dealt).
Deals damage. 10% chance to Freeze the target.
Deals damage. 20% to Poison the target. 10% to Toxic (badly poison) the target.
Deals damage. 20% chance to cause the target to Flinch.
Instantly de-Shadows all Shadowed Pokemon.
Will fail if the Pokemon targeted are higher level than the user. (ala Sheer Cold etc...) Pokemon in a Shadow Rage only have their Rage Gauge decreased by 50% (normal Shadow Gauge is unaffected).
Raises the user's Speed by two levels. Raises the Speed of all nearby Shadow Pokemon (friend or foe) by one level.
Instantly Shadows all non-Spectral type Pokemon. Will fail if the Pokemon targeted are higher level than the user. (ala Sheer Cold etc...) Pokemon protected by Safeguard only add 50% to their Shadow Gauge.
Heals 50 points of damage on allies and clears all weather effects.
The user exhales a burst of hot steam, dealing damage and reducing the target's Accuracy by one level.
Removes positive stat changes in the target and reduces the target's Accuracy by 2 levels. Fails if the target has no stat changes above 0.
Swaps trapping effects (Fire Spin, Mean Look, etc...) from the user to the user of the trapping move. Doesn't work on Gordian Knot (since that traps everyone).
This move summons up water from beneath the user, dealing Water damage to the target and a lesser amount of Water damage to the user.
Note that unlike recoil damage, this is NOT untyped--i.e., a Golem using Upwelling will take x4 damage from it. Damage to the user is calculated using the user's Special Attack and Special Defense as though it were being attacked by a Pokemon with identical stats, typing, etc.
The user coats itself with a slippery, metallic substance, raising their Evasion 1 level. This is increased by 50% in sunshine (up to the normal maximum of +6 effective levels) and decreased by 50% in rain.
Creates a gust of negative energy that damages and traps the victim in battle for 1-3 turns. Flying Pokémon/Levitaters/Other Spectral Pokémon are unaffected by the trapping effect. Raises Shadow Gauge of non-Spectral Pokemon by 2-4%, then + 1% for every round spent trapped.
Does more damage the stronger the foe is compared to the user.
Although only the first hit can critical hit, each successive hit after will deal the same amount of damage.
5% chance to flinch each time it connects.
A Berry native to the Helnith region, it grows well in warm climates.
Restores 20 HP or 20% of max HP (whichever is higher), up to max HP.
A Berry native to the Helnith region, it is commonly used in ice cream.
Negates loss of Accuracy once.
If it's Gen IV or earlier check Bulbapedia. Otherwise if it isn't on this list ping the Dungeonmaster.
Lowers the Voltage of the selected Judge by 1.
If the previous user got a boost from matching the Contest type, removes it. (Does NOT remove the bonus received from maxing the judge's gauge though, just the +1 for being the same type as the Contest.
Earn +2 if the Judge's Voltage goes down.
If the previous performance earns a bonus ((the +2 Magnitude gets for going last, for example)), the user gets that bonus too. | 2019-04-22T23:55:17Z | http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=39081 |
This morning we have the privilege of considering parts of Hebrews 11, which, for obvious reasons, has come to be known as the “faith chapter” in Scripture. Now if we had to provide our own definition of “faith,” I imagine we would say things like faith is a hope—or a desire—or a wish—or a belief—that can be asserted but not proved. In other words, we tend to see faith as highly subjective, tied to the individual who has it. Likewise, faith is sometimes viewed as being in opposition to, or at least in tension with, “reason.” Given its disprovable nature, faith is reduced to something irrational akin to a personal wish fulfillment and hence as unreasonable.
But “hope,” too, Scripturally understood isn’t simply a desire for something to be the case, but “hope” is certain because what we desire isn’t something of our own inventing, but something that God has disclosed to us by his Word and, because God is the source, his Word is ever true. So, too, the realm of the “unseen.” Though since the time of the Enlightenment and the advent of science those of us in the western world tend to accept as reasonable only that which can be proved by the scientific method, by repeated experimentation, and so relegate the unseen—the spiritual realities—to the private realm of opinion and feeling, it’s not so with Scripture. Though God is Spirit—he is real; though God is Spirit—in Jesus Christ he’s manifested himself, he’s disclosed himself in the flesh, in human form, so that we might know what God is like.
But what is interesting in these opening verses of Hebrews is that in verse 2 we’re told that this confidence in what was hoped for and assurance in what wasn’t seen is what the “ancients were commended for” (2). This is what those living prior to God’s eternal Son coming to earth were commended for. And what becomes evident as we read through this “faith” chapter is that what the ancients were commended for was for believing God—for taking him at his word. And this belief was displayed and confirmed by their actions, by their obedience.
Who made the sun that shines down upon us? God did.
Who made the trees and the flowers? God did.
Who made the stars in the sky? God did.
Who made the animals on the earth? God did.
Who made you and me? God did.
Though he is unseen to us, look how real God, who made the world we see, is. This is where Scripture begins in the opening verse of Genesis: “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And it’s followed by a repetition of “And God said” and this simple action of God speaking brings all of creation into existence. Though he is Spirit; though he is unseen, he nonetheless was able to create a material, seeable, touchable world with but a word. And that material, seeable, touchable world should ever and always remind us that he who made it—that he who made us in his image—is as real as reality can get.
Having established that God is the source of all that exists, the author of Hebrews goes on to highlight not only that God is real but that he is personal. He is a Person who created his image-bearers to be in relationship with him. So we’re provided snapshots in the lives of a few exemplars of faith among God’s chosen people, the “ancients,” those through whom the LORD worked to bring about his plan of redemption. After acknowledging Abel (4), Enoch (5–6), and Noah (7), we come to the focus of our passage, Abraham, beginning in verse 8.
As we’ve noted before, the identity of Israel as a nation begins with Father Abraham for in his divine wisdom, God did not choose to favor any existing nation through whom all the world would one day be blessed, but instead chose to create a nation from this one man, Abraham. And I suspect that part of the reason for this is that the effects of sin upon humanity was such that humans would need to be taught from ground zero what a righteous life looks like. So by beginning with one man, the LORD was able to start from the bottom up in teaching this faithful saint his will and his ways.
Now one of the things that make Abraham so extraordinary is not just that he believed God when he first came to him but that he continued to believe God throughout the 25 years it took from the promise of an heir to the receiving of that same heir. When God promised Abraham, who was known as “Abram” at the time, that one day all of the nations of the world would be blessed through him, Abraham was 75 years old. And it wasn’t until he was 100 years old that his wife, Sarah, bore him Isaac in fulfillment of God’s promise. Throughout those years, Abraham believed that God would bring to fruition what he had promised.
Verses 9 and 10 of Hebrews 11 elaborate on how unique it was for Abraham to follow God in this manner. “9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Abraham left his home in Haran and journeyed to Canaan, a land already occupied, and lived in tents all because he believed God. All because he had faith in God. At this time Canaan was promised, but it wasn’t his. No matter. Abraham went and dwelled there in tents like the stranger he was. And so, too later, did his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob, whose name would be changed to Israel. What the author of Hebrews reminds us of is the dual nature of Abraham’s faith—he believed that the earthly promised land of Canaan would one day belong to his as yet non-existent descendants, the people God would make from his seed, and, ultimately, he believed that his true home wouldn’t be an earthly city but a heavenly one. As God created the earthly city, so Abraham believed that he created the heavenly. And Abraham looked forward to his homecoming into the heavenly city one day.
Now if faith was required by Abraham to conceive a child of God’s promising at the age of 99, this was even more the case with Sarah, his wife, who would have borne Isaac at the age of 90. For Abraham to conceive a child was unlikely—this is indicated in his being referred to as being “as good as dead” in verse 12; for Sarah to conceive was nothing less than a miracle—a violation of, an impossibility due to, the laws of nature—for, as we’re told in verse 11, she “was past childbearing age.” Even allowing for greater longevity among some Old Testament saints, menopause had long been in Sarah’s rear-view mirror and childbirth, therefore, was a physical impossibility. And I don’t think the NIV does justice to Sarah by translating the Greek as “even Sarah” being enabled to bear children—Sarah was no better or worse than Abraham in regards to faith. But a better translation is that Sarah herself “was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.” In other words, just as fathering a child was highly unlikely for Abraham given his age, so it was for Sarah who, similarly, was beyond her childbearing years. And, if you’ll recall, there was a bit of very understandable disbelief in Sarah mixed in with her belief. She laughed when she heard this promise, as did Abraham, by the way. In Genesis 18:11–12 we’re told: “11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?’” Now I don’t mean to be too indelicate, but if, as has been indicated, the evidence of having faith is acting upon that faith in obedience, then the evidence that Abraham and Sarah believed God, that they acted on his promise, is that they did have this pleasure in their old age and so they knew each other in the biblical sense—and so Isaac, their only child together, was born when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90. Amazing grace, indeed!
In the end, despite their imperfect faith—in addition to laughing, Abraham initially assumed his heir, in keeping with the customs of the day, would be his servant, Eliezer of Damascus. And, later, he impregnated his servant Hagar at Sarah’s request—yet despite the imperfect faith of Abraham and Sarah, God still managed to accomplish his plan. Go figure. As we’re told in verse 12 of Hebrews 11: “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Abraham and Sarah believed God. Abraham and Sarah acted on God’s extraordinary promise. And so Abraham became the father of all who believe, of Israel first, but also of non-Israelites, of us Gentiles who were later grafted into this one family of our father Abrahams’s faith and who are, as a result, now entitled to call God our Father.
Next, verses 13–16 of Hebrews 11 provide a summary assessment of these Old Testament followers of God—of these faithful disciples of God—of these believers in God—of these act-ers upon God’s Word. We’re told in verse 13 that “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” The author of Hebrews is telling us, essentially, that none of these recipients of God’s promises lived to see the fulfillment of those very same promises. They didn’t live to see them because, first, their fulfillment lay in the future and, second, because they were also promises of heavenly realities, not earthly. Nonetheless all of these believers knew them to be true.
Notice the twist on faith provided here. Whereas normally we distinguish between walking by faith during our earthly lives and living by sight once we die and go to heaven, here we’re told that these ancient saints saw the things promised and even welcomed them, but they did so from a distance. So we can think of faith as a kind of sight, but one that requires binoculars, a belief in God’s Word, to bring its objects into focus. Further, these saints understood that earth was never intended to be their final home. While living on earth, they were but “foreigners” and “strangers.” They were in a country that, ultimately, wasn’t their own. For them earth was an unfamiliar place for they were made for heaven.
And, to underscore the point that this was in fact how these ancients understood their lives, we’re told in verses 15 and 16, “15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left,—[in other words, their own country]— they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.” And this perspective, this understanding of their earthly lives, is why “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” And this city is a heavenly one where they would dwell with him forever. As God, who is Spirit, is more real than any of the material and physical things we may experience, so, too, heaven is more real than this earth we now inhabit. Harry Blamires, a British theologian who wrote a wonderful book entitled The Christian Mind, expresses this Scriptural understanding so well when he states that a prime mark of the Christian mind is that it cultivates an eternal perspective—it looks beyond this life to another and brings to bear upon earthly considerations the fact of Heaven and of Hell. Quoting Blamires, the Christian mind “sees human life and history as being held in God’s hands, the whole universe sustained by his power and love, the natural order as dependent upon the supernatural order, time as contained within eternity. It sees this life as an inconclusive experience, preparing us for another; this world as a temporary place of refuge, not our true and final home” (67). Isn’t that great? What an insightful summary of a biblical understanding of our lives—both earthly and heavenly—under God’s providence and care.
So what are we to make of all of this? If, in the end, the meaning of our lives is to be found not on earth, but in heaven, then what’s the point of our lives now? Well, I think that our challenge is to walk between the rock of believing that our earthly lives is all there is, is all that matters, and the hard place of being so heavenly-minded that we’re no earthly good. Though our earthly lives and the decisions we make each day matter greatly in that they indicate whom we believe and therefore how we live, our earthly lives aren’t our final end or destiny for we were made for heaven. Heaven will be even more real than anything we have experienced or ever will experience during our earthly lives. Earth is the shadow; heaven is its source.
Listen to what Scripture says about this. In proclaiming Jesus Christ’s coming to earth, in fulfillment of what the prophet Isaiah foretold by God during Old Testament times, Matthew records that with Christ’s coming, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” And Christ is that light. So, too, in Zechariah’s Song recorded for us in Luke, part of what Zechariah sings to the baby Jesus in the manger is “76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Brothers and sisters, because of the Fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, you and I and all who have lived since live in a world of darkness; we live in the shadow of death; we are in need of God’s salvation; we are in need of the forgiveness of our sins. But, fortunately for us, by God’s tender mercy, the rising sun has come to us from heaven to give us his light, to give us his truth, to give us his peace.
This is the basis of the solidity of our faith—not subjective, but sure; not wish fulfillment, but certain. Our faith is substantial—it has substance—it is reliable because it is grounded upon a reliable God who made us and all the world and who desires that we know him. Our faith is grounded upon a reliable God who in Christ and in Scripture has disclosed himself and his will that we might know and enjoy him not only now but forevermore.
Our faith is solid because God entered history in the person of Jesus Christ, showing us the way to heaven, with himself as the means for entering there. Brothers and sisters, we were made for God, we were made for heaven. And in heaven we will no longer feel like the foreigners and aliens that we are but will be welcomed and embraced by our heavenly Father into his loving arms and the place prepared for us by none other than Jesus Christ, our Savior, Lord, and brother.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to ground us.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to cultivate in us an eternal perspective on our earthly lives.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to encourage us.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to give us confidence in God and his Word.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to help us live in obedience to God’s Word as we seek to love him with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and our neighbor as ourselves.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to help us live in the earthly shadows of death by the light of Christ who has conquered death and offers us his eternal life.
Let us allow this biblical perspective to provide us assurance about what we do not see so that we, too, along with the ancients—along with our Father Abraham—along with our Mother Sarah—may one day be commended for our faith that God may not be ashamed to be called our God and so make our joy complete.
Genesis 12:4: 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. See also Genesis 15:6 in which the promise is repeated and Abram’s response is recorded: 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
See footnote #5 below, verse 17.
Genesis 16:1–4, 15–16: 1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress…. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Luke 1:76–79. The entire passage reads: 67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn[Horn here symbolizes a strong king.] of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us— 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit[or in the Spirit]; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
John 14:1–3: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. | 2019-04-24T10:20:21Z | http://www.linebrook.org/uncategorized/the-solidity-of-faith-hebrews-111-3-8-16/ |
Period of Transition in Italy.
Modern Hebrew literature (1743-1904), in distinction to that form of Neo-Hebraic literature known as rabbinical literature (see Literature, Hebrew), which is distinctly religious in character, presents itself under a twofold aspect: (1) humanistic, relating to the emancipation of the language by a return to the classical models of the Bible, leading to the subsequent development of modern Hebrew; (2) humanitarian, dealing with the secularization of the language with a view to the religious and social emancipation of the Jews of the ghetto. These two tendencies are expressed by the word Haskalah, a term denoting the movement which predominated in Hebrew literature from the second half of the eighteenth century down to the death of Smolenskin in 1885.
Beginning with the seventeenth century, many attempts were made to emancipate Hebrew from the forms and ideas of the Middle Ages. Italy, with critics and poets like Azariah dei Rossi, Leon of Modena, Francis, etc., who were inspired by the Italian Renaissance, led in this period of transition in Hebrew literature. But it was not until the appearance of Moses Ḥayyim Luzzatto that Hebrew poetry shook off the medieval fetters which hindered its free development. His allegorical drama "La-Yesharim Tehillah" (1743), which may be regarded as the first product of modern Hebrew literature, is a poem that in its classic perfection of style is second only to the Bible. In the less advanced countries especially it has contributed to the regeneration of Hebrew and has stimulated a host of imitators among writers removed from modern literary centers.
At Amsterdam, Luzzatto's pupil, David Franco Mendes (1713-92), in his imitations of Racine ("Gemul 'Atalyah") and of Metastasio ("Yehudit"), continued his master's work, without, however, equaling Luzzatto's poetic inspiration and originality. In Germany, where, in consequence of the ideas promulgated by the encyclopedists, the Jews developed more normally, and where, moreover, in the middle of the eighteenth century, Hebrew was still almost the only literary language accessible to the masses, another successor of Luzzatto, Naphtali Hartwig Wessely (1725-1805), inaugurated the haskalah movement. His "Shire Tif'eret," or "Mosiade," which, though falling short of poetic inspiration, is written in a pure, oratorical style and is marked by a lofty, moral tone, made him, so to speak, poet laureate of the period.
Under the stimulus of Mendelssohn, literary societies were formed by the Maskilim in the large communities, which undertook to propagate modern ideas among the Jews and to familiarize them with modern secular life. Two schools or parties, which were more or less distinct, undertook this work: (1) the Biurists, a group of commentators and translators of the Bible who, under the leadership of Mendelssohn, desired to replace the Judæo-German dialect with pure German and to provide a more rational interpretation of the sacred text; (2) the Me'assefim, scholars connected with the first literary collection in Hebrew, "Ha-Me'assef," which was established in 1785 at Breslau by Isaac Eichel and B. Lindau, and which became the organ of the haskalah and a bond of union among the Hebraists.
Wessely may be regarded as the spiritual leader of the Me'assefim. Although a devout believer himself, he did not hesitate to meet the objections which the Orthodox rabbis of Austria and Germany opposed to all educational and civic reforms advocated by the government of Joseph II. In his eight messages (1784), "Dibre Shalom we-Emet," he emphasized the necessity, even from the standpoint of the Talmud, of these reforms as well as of secular studies, especially the study of modern languages and classical Hebrew and of manual training. Despite the opposition of the Orthodox rabbis of Germany and Austria, the aid of the liberal Italian rabbis enabled him to arouse public opinion in favor of the haskalah, and thus to prepare the way for the Me'assefim. "Ha-Me'assef" was discontinued after an existence of seven years, the French Revolution and the downfall of the old order of things destroying the interest in the Hebrew language, which was the only relic left to the emancipated Maskilim. The literary and scientific value of "Ha-Me'assef" is very doubtful. In their instinctive aversion to everything medieval and rabbinic, the Me'assefim went to the other extreme and adopted the affected style of the "meliẓah," which was cultivated by their successors, and which often ended in mere artificial juggling with words. As regards their content most of the pieces in the collection have only a slight interest, being merely puerile imitations of German pseudo-romanticism. Having broken with the Messianic ideal of traditional Judaism, and being unable to replace it with another ideal more in conformity with modern ideas, the Me'assefim ended in advocating assimilation with the surrounding people. But the importance of this first secular periodical in Hebrew was such that it imposed its name upon the entire literary movement of the second half of the eighteenth century, which is called "the period of the Me'assefim."
Among the Me'assefim, I. Eichel is noteworthy for his uncompromising attitude, unusual at that time, toward rabbinism, and Baruch Lindau is known for his works on the subject of natural science and written in Hebrew. The most influential, however, was the rabbi Solomon Pappenheim (1776-1814), an eminent philologist, whose sentimental elegy, "Arba' Kosot," was the book of the day and contributed much to the dissemination of the meliẓah. The most valuable contributors to "Ha-Me'assef" were, perhaps, the Me'assefim of Polish origin, especially the grammarian and stylist S. Dubno; S. Maimon, the commentator of Maimonides; the eccentric but gifted Isaac Satanow, author of the maxims "Mishle Asaf"; and the grammarian Judah Ben-Zeeb (Bensew) of Cracow.
In short, although the Me'assefim lacked originality, they accomplished the double task which they had set themselves. Hebrew, which had been almost entirely neglected in the Slavic countries, was again studied, giving rise to a literature more or less worthy the name and producing the Maskilim, a class of secular scholars who were active during the following century in awakening the masses from their medieval slumbers and in disputing, in the name of science and modern life, the authority of the Rabbis over the people (see Haskalah).
The nineteenth century did not open auspiciously for Hebrew literature, especially in western Europe. Hebrew disappeared more and more as a living language among the emancipated Jews, who had broken with their national ideals and were ambitious of assimilating themselves entirely with their neighbors. It is true that the Napoleonic wars gave birth to a whole literature of odes and hymns, many of which were sung in the synagogue, the most poetical and characteristic being Elie Ḥalfan Halévy's "Ha-Shalom" (Paris, 1804); but the few rabbis who continued to use Hebrew did not influence the masses. In Italy, however, there was still an ardent band of Hebrew scholars, among them the poet E. Luzzatto. About this time the center of literary activity was definitively transferred to the Slavic countries, where was witnessed a remarkable revival of Hebrew letters. The lead which Austria, followed by Italy, took in the movement at the beginning of the nineteenth century was later yielded to Russia; and that country has maintained its leadership down to the present time.
At the close of the eighteenth century Polish Judaism, which for a long time had been politically isolated and had devoted itself entirely to pious observance and to the study of the Talmudic law, came in contact with modern ideas, and awakened from its centuries of slumber. Galicia became a center for the haskalah. The "Me'assef,"which had been edited in a new series in Germany by Solomon ha-Kohen (Dessau, 1809-11), but without much success, was revived at Vienna and later in Galicia, and succeeded, first under the title of "Bikkure ha-'Ittim" (1820-31), and then under that of "Kerem Ḥemed" (1833-42), in gathering together many writers, the larger proportion of whom were Polish. In Poland, however, where the Jewish population lived apart, and could not even aspire to the dreams of equality and liberty of the German writers, the Maskilim were confronted with very complicated problems. On the one hand, political upheavals, modern instruction, and military service had paved the way for the mysticism of the Ḥasidim, which seized the masses despite the efforts of the liberal rabbis aided by writers like D. Samoscz and Tobias Feder.
On the other hand, light literature and romantic imitations could not satisfy scholars saturated with Talmudic study. In order to meet these needs Hebrew literature descended from its heights to devote its attention to the necessities of daily life. Joseph Perl, a Mæcenas and himself a scholar, encouraged this movement, and published the parody "Megalleh Ṭemirin," directed against the superstitions and the cult of the Ḥasidic ẓaddiḳim. Solomon Judah Rapoport (1790-1867), who began by translating Racine and Schiller, now turned to the critical study of the past. By his able reconstruction of the lives and the scientific work of the masters of the Middle Ages, by his careful critical method, and by his devotion to the Law and the Jewish spirit, Rapoport created the Science of Judaism.
But this science, which was warmly received especially by the cultivated minds of western Europe, could not satisfy the poor Polish scholars, living in entirely Jewish surroundings, and, no longer contented with the reasons advanced by the medieval masters, anxiously questioning the wherefore of the present and future existence of Israel. Then a master mind arose, to give an answer at once ingenious and adapted to the time. Nachman Krochmal, teaching gratuitously in his obscure corner of Poland, succeeded in uniting the propositions of modern critics with the principles of Judaism by the bond of nationalism, as it were, thus creating a Jewish philosophy in conformity with modern thought. Starting with Hegel's axiom of real and of absolute reason, Krochmal sets forth in his essays and in his ingenious Biblical and philosophic studies that the Jewish people is a concrete national organism, a separate unity, whose existence is justified, as the existence of all other nationalities is justified. But, at the same time, as the people of the Prophets, it has in addition a spiritual reason for its existence, which transcends national boundaries, and will join the entire human race in one bond.
Many poets, scholars, and popular writers besides Rapoport and Krochmal contributed to the dissemination of Hebrew and to the emancipation of the Jews of Galicia. The satirical poet Isaac Erter (1792-1841), whose collection of essays, "Ha-Ẓofeh le-Bet Yisrael," is one of the purest works of modern Hebrew literature, attacked Ḥasidic superstitions and prejudices in a vigorous and classical style, marked by bright fancy and a cutting sarcasm which heaped ridicule upon the rabbi and satire upon the ẓaddiḳ.
Meïr Halevy Letteris acquired merited renown and was for a long time considered poet laureate of the period by reason of his numerous translations, both in prose and in poetry, including "Faust" and works by Racine and Byron, and also on account of original lyric poetry, his song "Yonah Homiyyah" being a masterpiece. The popularizer of Galician history and geography, Samson Bloch, also won a reputation, although his insipid and prolix style does not warrant the success achieved by his works. The Galician scholar Judah Mises is noted especially for his violent attacks on rabbinical tradition and for his extreme radicalism, his work being continued by I. A. Schorr, the daring editor of "HeḤaluẓ."
Outside of Galicia, where the scholars issued their works, and where periodicals multiplied, some of which were published at Vienna, as "Kokebe Yiẓḥaḳ" (ed. Stern), "Oẓar Neḥmad" (ed. Blumenfeld), Kerem Ḥemed, etc., groups of Maskilim or individual scholars were to be found toward the middle of the century in all the countries of Europe. In Germany the campaign for and against religious reform gave opportunity to certain scholars and rabbis to conduct their polemics in Hebrew. Zunz, Geiger, Z. Frankel, Jellinek, Carmoly, Fürst, J. Schwarz, and others, also published part of their works in Hebrew. Moses Mendelssohn of Hamburg, a pupil of Wessely and author of the maḳamat "Pene Tebel" (Amsterdam, 1872), may be considered as the epigone of the Me'assefim. In the Netherlands, especially at Amsterdam, there was also a circle of epigones, including the poet Samuel Molder (1789-1862). In Austria, Vienna was the depot for publishing Hebrew books and periodicals, and Prague became an active center for the haskalah. The best known among the Maskilim here is J. L. Jeiteles (1773-1838), author of witty epigrams ("Bene ha-Ne'urim") and of works directed against the Ḥasidim and against superstition, and director of the "Bikkure ha-'Ittim." There were scholars in Hungary also, the most gifted among them being Solomon Lewison of Moor (1789-1822), a remarkable stylist, whose classical "Meliẓat Yeshurun" places him above all the poets of the period. Gabriel Südfeld, father of Max Nordau, and Simon Bacher, may also be mentioned. The reflex of this movement was felt even in Rumania (J. Barasch, etc.). Galicia, however, the center of the haskalah, finally succumbed to Ḥasidism, while the moderns gave up Hebrew, and ended by more or less openly advocating assimilation. A few circles of Maskilim barely succeeded in perpetuating the Hebrew tradition, but had no influence on the masses.
The Italian school exercised a more pronounced influence. I. S. Reggio (1784-1854) endeavored in his "Ha-Torah weha-Filosofiah" to reconcile modern thought with the Jewish law, while in his numerous writings and publications he openly sided with the German religious reformers. Joseph Almanzi,Ḥayyim Salomon, S. Lolli, and others wrote poems on the grandeur of the Law and the glory of Israel; these contained, however, not a spark of originality. More interesting perhaps is the only poetess of the period, Rachel Morpurgo (1790-1860), whose poems evince religious piety and a mystic faith in Israel's future. The most original and gifted Italian writer of the period is Samuel David Luzzatto (SHeDaL, 1800-65), whose influence reached beyond Italy and beyond his time. Gifted with an encyclopedic mind, Luzzatto did good work alike in poetry ("Kinnor Na'im"), in philology ("Bet ha-Oẓar" and "Betulat Bat Yehudah"), in philosophy, and in general literature. At the same time Luzzatto was the first modern writer to introduce religious romanticism into Hebrew and to attack northern rationalism in the name of religious and national feeling. "True Jewish science is founded on faith. . . . Faith is the only arbiter of supreme morality which gives us true happiness. The happiness of the Jewish people, the people of morality, does not depend on its political emancipation, but on faith and on morality. . . ." These ideas led Luzzatto into polemics with his northern friends, but they also helped to familiarize the believers in Russia with modern literature. Luzzatto thus found the key to the heart of the masses; and it was due to him that the work of the Maskilim, which had failed of permanent results in the West, in the East led to the development of a national literature. But in Italy also Hebrew declined more and more, even among scholars; and by the second half of the century it was almost entirely forgotten in the civilized countries of Europe.
The large bodies of Jews in the Polish districts annexed to Russia were entirely removed from all political and social life, and vegetated in a kind of profound resignation or in mystical piety. At the Europeanized city of Odessa, however, Galician Jews formed a circle of Maskilim, which, though active, was restricted in its influence. Here in the middle of the century were the scholars S. Pinsker and S. Stern, who were soon joined by the Karaite Firkovich and by the poet Jacob Eichenbaum. The acknowledged leader of these Maskilim of southern Russia was Isaac Bär Levinsohn, the apostle of humanism in Russia, whose influence penetrated even into government circles, but whose literary work has been overestimated. His personal endeavors, as well as his books ("Te'udah be-Yisrael" and "Bet Yehudah"), in which he recommends to the Orthodox the study of the sciences and the pursuit of manual employments, contributed to general emancipation rather than to that of Hebrew literature in particular. Lithuania, an eminently Jewish country, was more favored by circumstances; and here the haskalah was destined to lead to the unfolding of a literature. At Shklov, the first city to come in contact with the outside world, a group of humanists arose as early as the beginning of the century. But it was at Wilna, the capital of the country, abandoned by its native population and entirely removed from outside influence, that the Hebrew language flourished to an extraordinary degree. It was due to the enlightened tolerance of the gaon Elijah Wilna and the zeal of his pupils that Wilna became, toward the end of the eighteenth century, the home of excellent grammarians and stylists. About 1820 or 1830 a circle of Maskilim, called "Berliner," and evidently inspired by the writers of Germany, was formed, which assiduously cultivated modern Hebrew literature. Two eminent scholars lent special luster to this new literary movement. M. A. Günzburg well deserves his title "the father of prose," which he won for himself through his numerous translations, histories, and scientific compilations, his picturesque narration of the ritual murder at Damascus, his realistic autobiography "Abi'ezer" (a glowing criticism of customs of the past), and especially through his style, which is at once temperate, realistic, and modern.
At the same time Abraham Bär Lebensohn, called "the father of poetry," lent new radiance and vigor to Hebrew verse. The touching lyric quality of some of his poems, the profound pessimism, the plaint over life, and the fear of death, which betray the feelings of the Jew tried by the ordeal of ghetto life, all stamp him as the veritable poet of the ghetto. The simplicity of his ideas, his rabbinical dialectic and even his frequent prolixity only added to his popularity. His poems "Shire Sefat Ḳodesh" were extraordinarily successful; and his elegant, limpid, and often energetic style is still justly admired.
It was due to these two masters that modern Hebrew literature was widely disseminated throughout Lithuania, circles devoted to the haskalah being formed nearly everywhere. Hebrew became the language of daily life, the literary language, and, what is still more characteristic, the language of folk-lore. In fact, the list of popular Hebrew poems by known or unknown authors is too long to be noted here. The unhappy political situation of the Russian Jews under Nicholas I.—a period of persecutions of all kinds and of terror—had particularly contributed to produce this state of mind in the harassed people; and while Ḥasidism completed its work of producing intellectual obscurantism and hopeless resignation in the province of Poland and in southern Russia, mysticism found in Lithuania a redoubtable enemy in the sentimentality of the unfolding Hebrew literature.
The diffusion of the affected style of the meliẓah and the return to the language of the past awakened among this unhappy people a regret for the glorious Biblical times and a romanticism that was to bear rich fruit. Popular Hebrew poetry had become fundamentally Zionistic, as is evident from the anonymous poems then written ("Shoshannah, Ẓiyyon, Ẓiyyon," etc.). Literary romanticism soon followed upon this romantic tendency. The Lithuanian writers, sharing the life and patriotic thoughts of the people, and encouraged by the example of S. D. Luzzatto, who united modern culture with ardent patriotism, turned to romanticism. The prolific popularizer Kalman Schulman (1826-1900) inaugurated romantic fiction and introduced the romantic form into Hebrew through his Hebrew version of "Les Mystèresde Paris" ("Mistere Paris"); and he became one of the civilizers of the ghetto through his numerous popular scientific works and especially through his studies of the Jewish past. His pure, flowing, meliẓah style, his extreme sentimentalism as well as his naive romanticism in all matters touching Judaism, won for him great influence. For fully half a century he, in spite of his lack of originality, ranked as a master. The young and gifted writer Micah Joseph Lebensohn (1828-52), the first true artist and romantic poet in Hebrew, has left poems that are perfect in style, including an admirable translation of the "Æneid," lyrics of love, of nature, and of sorrow. But his masterpieces are romantic poems ("Moses," "Judah ha-Levi") dealing with Israel's glorious past.
The creator of the Hebrew novel was Abraham Mapu (1808-67), whose historical romance "Ahabat Ẓiyyon" exercised an important influence on the development of Hebrew. This novel, which deals with the golden age of Judah, that of Isaiah, and is couched in the very language of that prophet, is rather a succession of poetic pictures reconstructing the civilization of ancient Judea than a connected story. Simple and primitive in his thoughts, Mapu was so imbued with the spirit of the Bible that, although unconsciously, he was translated to ancient times, and, guided by a marvelous intuition, he succeeded in reconstructing the free, agricultural life of ancient Judah, in the land of the prophets, of justice, and of truth, the land of love and of the joy of life. This past, to renew which was the ambition of scholars and people, superimposed itself upon the present, and it was due to Mapu's novel that an entire people came forth from its long lethargy, to be reborn. Another novel ("Ashmat Shomeron") by Mapu served to increase his popularity.
Many imitators of these leaders of Hebrew romanticism appeared, and at a time when the political outlook checked all hopes of a better life: the Maskilim demanded, in the name of the prophetic past, the rights of civilization and progress. Many persons, also, were won over to the reading of secular literature. When in 1856 Silbermann founded at Lyck the first political journal in Hebrew, "Ha-Maggid," he met with unexpected success and had many imitators. In Austria, Russia, and even in Palestine, periodicals, more or less successful, appeared, furthering the cause both of Hebrew and of emancipation. Among these journals were "Ha-Karmel," founded by the scholar Samuel Joseph Fuenn; "Ha-Ẓefirah," founded by the popularizer of science C. Z. Slonimsky; and "Ha-Meliẓ," founded by A. Zederbaum.
The accession of Alexander II. radically changed the condition of the Russian Jews. A wave of liberty and radicalism swept through the empire, and for the first time the Russian Jews could hope for a lot similar to that of their western coreligionists. Awakened from their century-long sleep, the backward people of the ghetto began to shake off religious and other fetters, becoming imbued with modern ideas and adopting modern modes of life. In the large centers there was no serious opposition to emancipation, and the Jews flocked in masses to the schools and sought secular employments. The scholars themselves, encouraged by the government and by the notables of the great cities, decided to attack all the "domains of darkness" of the past, and to occupy themselves with the affairs of the day; and when the small provinces, less disturbed by the economic and moral upheavals, bitterly opposed this social emancipation—which led to forgetfulness of the Law and endangered the faith—the Maskilim knew no limits to their fury against the fanatics of the ghetto. Hebrew literature, at first realistic, attacking customs and superstitions in the name of utility and the reality of things, became more and more anti-rabbinical as it opposed religious tradition. Mapu led the way in his novel "'Ayiṭ Ẓabua'," which, though a failure from a literary point of view, depicts the backward types of the ghetto, the Tartuffes, and the enemies to progress, with a realism intentionally exaggerated. Abramowitsch, then a young man, described in his novel "Ha-Abot we-ha-Banim" the customs of the Ḥasidim and the struggles of their progressive sons. The aged poet Abraham Bär Lebensohn published his drama, "Emet we-Emunah" (written twenty-five years previously), in which he satirized cabalistic hypocrisy and mysticism. The number of popularizers of science, critics of belated customs, and belittlers of the religious past became legion.
The most distinguished among these writers was the poet Leon Gordon, an implacable enemy of the Rabbis, who personified in himself this realistic epoch. He began by writing romantic poems in imitation of the two Lebensohns. But when the horizon widened for the Russian Jews, he was filled with pity for the deplorable state of the Orthodox masses, to whom he addressed his "Haḳiẓah 'Ammi"—"Awake, my people, to a better life," i. e., "to the life of those about you." Of a mettlesome spirit, he unmercifully attacked the rabbinical law, the dead letter, the religious yoke weighing upon the masses. He regarded rabbinism as the greatest misfortune of the Jewish people, which killed the nation by delivering it up to the more secular Romans, and which hindered its participation in the realities of modern life. Gordon's activity covered all branches of literature. He ranks foremost in Hebrew literature as a satirical poet and critic of manners; and as a writer of fables he has no equal. But in spite of his apparent severity and his extreme skepticism, he remained at heart a patriot; and when he criticizes he does so in order to elevate the social life of the Jews, while grieving for the misery of the Messianic nation. Even in his historical poems, "Ẓidḳiyahu be-Bet ha-Peḳudot" and "Bi-Meẓulot Yam," he displays all his love for his people, which became more pronounced during the years of persecution and misery in Russia. But even then he believed that rabbinism was the enemy which prevented a national renascence. Gordon was among the first successfully to introduce Talmudisms into poetry.
The hopes of the Maskilim were not realized: Russia did not continue its radical reforms; and areaction began between 1865 and 1870. Disappointed in their dreams of equality, writers now bent all their energies to the work of the emancipation of individuals from among the masses, by disseminating instruction and by advocating the pursuit of trades as being necessary to fit the Jews to deal with the exigencies of life and to take part in the battle for subsistence incident to the economic changes of the time.
In Galicia a circle of scholars, under the leadership of Schorr, director of "He-Ḥaluẓ," and A. Krochmal, advocated religious reforms, boldly attacking tradition and even the law of Moses. But in Russia, especially in Lithuania, the scholars did not go so far. The ideology of the Maskilim was not accepted by the scholars who came in closer contact with the masses; and instead of attacking principles, they advocated practical reforms and changes in conformity with the needs of daily life. Utilitarianism succeeded to the ideology of the earlier scholars. Abraham Kowner in his pamphlet "Ḥeḳer Dabar," etc. (1867) attacked the masters of Hebrew for being idealists, and the press because it ministered neither to the strict necessities of daily life nor to the material well-being of the masses. Paperna and others were also pronounced realists. Moses Lilienblum inaugurated a campaign in favor of the union of life and faith—an endeavor perilous to its author and his emulators, but noteworthy as being the last attempt of rabbinic Judaism to adapt itself to the needs of modern life without giving up its minute observances. In his instructive volume "Ḥaṭṭot Ne'urim," Lilienblum has left a curious document describing the inner conflicts of a young Talmudist of the ghetto who has passed through all the stages between the simple life of an Orthodox believer and that of a skeptical freethinker. Viewing the life of the modern Jew, emancipated and indifferent to all that is Jewish, he is shaken in his highest convictions and cries out, "The Law will never go hand in hand with life." Lilienblum himself at last became a utilitarian, seeking in Jewish life nothing but individual material well-being, and testifying regretfully to the downfall of the haskalah by reason of an excess of ideology. "Young men must think and work for their own lives only." This became the watchword of the last Maskilim toward 1870.
The ghetto, however, had not yet spoken its final word. Within the confines of traditional Judaism itself the modernization of Hebrew and of the religious spirit was accentuated, leading to a compromise between faith and life. Orthodox journals were beginning to be the mouthpieces of a conservative party more in touch with modern ideas. Side by side with the realistic press—"Ha-Meliẓ," the organ of the realists; "Ha-Ẓefirah," a popular scientific journal; "He-Ḥaluẓ," an antireligious paper; and others—there were "Ha-Maggid" and "Ha-Lebanon," in which Orthodox rabbis enthusiastically advocated the cultivation of Hebrew and boldly offered plans for its rejuvenation as well as for the colonization of Palestine. Michel Pines, the antagonist of Lilienblum, published in 1872 his "Yalde Ruḥi," a treatise displaying deep faith, and in which he bravely defends traditional Judaism, insisting that ritual and religious observances are necessary to a maintenance of the harmony of faith, which influences the mind as well as the morals. Reforms are unnecessary, because believers do not feel the need of them, and freethinkers no longer cherish any beliefs. Like the mass of believers, Pines does not share the pessimism of the realists, but he firmly believes in the national renascence of Judaism. Any understanding between the two parties seemed impossible, the realists no longer believing in the future of Judaism, and the conservatives refusing all attempts at religious reform. Even skeptics like Gordon were alarmed to see "the young people leave without returning." Then, once again, a man arose to undertake the work of mingling the humanistic and the romantic currents and of leading the haskalah back to the living sources of national Judaism.
This was Perez Smolenskin, the initiator of the progressive national movement. He, also, began his career, in 1867, with a critical article of pronounced realism, "Biḳḳoret Teḥiyyah." But, disheartened by the fanaticism of the ancients and by the indifference and narrowness of the moderns, he left Russia and traveled first through Austria and later through the other western countries, sorrowfully noting the decadence of Judaism and of his patriotic ideal. At Vienna he issued in 1868 "Ha-Shaḥar," whose object it was to attack medieval obscurantism and modern indifference. For eighteen years Smolenskin continued this laborious campaign. In his "'Am 'Olam" (1872) he appears as the champion of the national preservation of Israel and of the realization of the rabbinical ideal freed from all mysticism. This secularization of an ideal which had constituted Israel's power of resistance had important results. In the first place it restored to Judaism and to Hebrew the best among the young men, who, while still profoundly attached to Judaism and to the life of the masses, had no longer any faith. This prepared the way for Zionism. But this was not all. Smolenskin recognized that one of the chief factors in the process of assimilation was the idea set forth by Mendelssohn and especially by his disciples (Geiger and others) that Judaism does not constitute a nation but a religious confession, an idea which would naturally induce the assimilation of the freethinkers. Smolenskin attacked this idea in a series of articles, which, though violent and often unjust, were yet needed to point out the priority of the national factor over the religious factor in the conservation of Judaism.
For eighteen years "Ha-Shaḥar" was the rallying-point for daring ideas and campaigns against the obscurantists and the moderns. It was especially noted for the realistic novels of Smolenskin, which, despite their technical shortcomings, take a high place in Hebrew literature. Side by side with character sketches of the ghetto and violent attacks on obscurantism appear a profound love for the masses and an ardent faith in Israel's future and in the apotheosis of young scholars endowed with the soul of prophecy, veritable dreamers of theghetto. For the first time the Hebrew language, as modernized by Smolenskin, took immense strides. "Ha-Shaḥar" published only original work; and through the support and influence of its editor there arose a whole school of realists who wrote in Hebrew. In addition to Gordon and Lilienblum, there were Brandstädter (the clever creator of the short story in Hebrew), S. Mandelkern, J. L. Levin, Ben Ẓebi, M. Cohn, Silberbusch, Mandelstam, and others. Science was represented by S. Rubin, D. Kohan, Heller, D. Müller, etc.
The influence of "Ha-Shaḥar" was felt throughout Hebrew literature. The popular poet and scholar of the south, A. B. Gottlober, founded his review "Ha-Boḳer Or" (1876) for the purpose of defending Mendelssohn and the haskalah. Gottlober himself contributed character sketches of the Ḥasidim, while the gifted writer R. A. Braudes began in its pages his novel "Ha-Dat weha-Ḥayyim," in which he depicts with masterly hand the struggle for the union of life and faith. Even America boasted a Hebrew journal, "Ha-Ẓofeh be-Ereẓ Nod," published by Sobel. A converted Jew, Salkinson, produced an admirable Hebrew translation of Shakespeare and of Milton, and the socialist Freiman published a review in Hebrew entitled "Ha-Emet" (1878). More important, however, was the great work by I. H. Weiss, "Dor Dor we-Dorshaw," dealing with the evolution of religious tradition. The sciences were taken up by H. Rabbinowitz, Pories, S. Sachs, Reifman, Harkavy, Gurland, J. Halevy, A. Epstein, Zweifel, Popirna, Buber, etc. Even the style was modernized, although the meliẓah did not disappear, as is seen by the writings of Schulman, Friedberg, and others.
Smolenskin's ideas bore fruit. With the return of the national ideal, Hebrew as the national language was again revived. Leon Gordon's literary jubilee was enthusiastically celebrated in St. Petersburg, and after his return from a journey through Russia in 1880, he was everywhere received as the national author, even by the students of the capitals. The appearance of anti-Semitism, the renewed persecutions, and the terrible years 1881 and 1882 finally destroyed the ideals of the haskalah, whose last Hebrew followers were forced to admit that Smolenskin was right.
When the first colonies in Palestine had been founded, and there existed no longer a belief in the possibility of religious reform without an upheaval of Judaism as a whole, it was commonly admitted that the work of Israel's national rebirth should be encouraged. The Hebrew press undertook especially to support the "Ḥobebe Ẓiyyon" (Chovevei Zion), as the Zionists were then called. Hebrew modern literature, which for a century had been progressive and secularizing, now became the instrument of patriotic propaganda. Often those who had formerly advocated reforms now urged the abandonment of modern ideas in order to conciliate the masses. Smolenskin alone did not abandon his civilizing mission, and remained a progressive realist. He finally succumbed to overwork and died in 1885. On his death "Ha-Shaḥar" ceased publication, just one century after the appearance of "Ha-Me'assef" (1785). This was the end of the haskalah. It now gave place to Zionism, which was at first hesitating, but gradually arose to the realization and assertion of its full strength.
The changing attitude in the profession of faith among Hebrew scholars and the young men who had returned to the national ideal and to the prophetic dreams was of advantage to Hebrew, which now came to be considered as the national language of the Jewish people and the tie uniting the Jews of all countries. While E. Ben-Judah at Jerusalem, through personal example and through propaganda in his journal "Ha-Ẓebi," restored Hebrew as a living language in Palestine, there was an increasing demand for Hebrew books in Russia, and the modernized Jews became ambitious to cultivate the national language. The success of the great literary collection "Ha-Asif" (edited by the writer N. Sokolow), which succeeded "Ha-Shaḥar," soon called forth other publications, noteworthy among which was the Zionistic work "Keneset Yisrael" by the historian S. P. Rabbinowitz, and the more scientific "Oẓar ha-Sifrut."
In 1886 L. Kantor began the publication of "Ha-Yom," the first Hebrew daily paper; and soon after "Ha-Meliẓ" and "Ha-Ẓefirah" were changed into dailies. A political press, also, was established, and contributed largely to the propagation of Zionism and to the modernization of Hebrew style. The founding of two large publishing-houses (the "Aḥiasaf" and "Tushiyyah"), through the efforts of Ben-Avigdor, finally regulated the conditions for the progress of Hebrew, and created a class of paid writers. Journals, more than other forms of literature, are multiplying, and there are a number even in America.
Literary activity was resumed after a short interval, now on an entirely national basis and in agreement with the many needs of a nationalist group. All the branches of letters, science, and art were assiduously cultivated, without neglecting the renascence of the Jewish people in the land of their fathers. In the field of poetry, besides Mandelkern and Gottlober, both converted to Zionism, are to be found Dolitzky, author of Zionistic songs describing the miseries of the Russian Jews; the two Zionist poets Isaac Rabinowitz and Sarah Shapira, and the gifted lyric poet M. H. Mané, who died at an early age. Perhaps the most noteworthy was C. A. Shapira, an eminent lyric poet, who, embittered by indignation, introduced a new note into Hebrew poetry—hatred of persecution. There is, finally, N. H. Imber, the poet of renascent Palestine and the author of popular songs. Bialik is a lyric poet of much vigor, an incomparable stylist, and a romanticist of note, while his younger contemporary Saul Tschernichowsky is proceeding along new lines, introducing pure estheticism, the cult of beauty and of love, in the language of the Prophets. The most gifted among the younger poets are S. L. Gordon, N. Pinés, A. Lubochitzky, Kaplan, Lipschütz, and A. Cohan.
In the field of belles-lettres Ben-Avigdor is the creator of the new realistic movement; this he expoundsin his psychologic stories and especially in his "Menaḥem ha-Sofer," in which he attacks, in the name of modern life, national chauvinism. Braudes became prominent as a romanticist. The aged A. J. Abramowitsch, who has returned to Hebrew, delights his readers by his artistic satires. I. L. Perez has in his songs, as in his poetry, a tendency toward symbolism. M. J. Berdyczewski attempts to introduce Nietzschian individualism into his stories and articles. Feierberg expresses the sufferings of a young scholar seeking truth. Goldin is a pleasing but sentimental writer of stories. Bershadsky is an outspoken realist and close observer. Others deserving mention are: J. Rabinovitz; Turov; A. S. Rabinovitz; Epstein; Asch; J. Steinberg; Goldberg; Brener; the Galicians Silberbusch and Samueli; the poet and prose-writer David Frischman, the translator of "Cain"; J. Ch. Tawjew, who is a distinguished feuilletonist and writer on pedagogics; A. L. Levinsky, the story-teller, author of a Zionist Utopia ("Travels in Palestine in 5800"); and J. L. Landau, the only dramatic poet. As Landau is a poet rather than a psychologist, his "Herod" and other plays are not intended for the theater. The Orientalist Joseph Halévy has published a volume of patriotic poems.
The reaction of 1890 in the work of colonizing Palestine and the evident necessity of taking some steps to meet such a reaction produced the work of "Aḥad ha-'Am" (Asher Ginzberg). He is notably a critic of manners; and in the name of pure ideology he attacked first actual colonization and then political Zionism. Judaism before everything, and not the Jews; a moral and spiritual, not an economic and a political center; a national ideal taking the place of faith—such, in the rough, is the idea of this acute and paradoxical publicist. A number of young men, influenced by his collection "Ha-Pardes" and the review "Ha-Shiloaḥ," founded by him and continued by Klausner, have followed in his lead. Quite opposite in tendencies is Zeeb Ya'beẓ, the editor of "Ha-Mizraḥ," a remarkable stylist and religious romanticist. L. Rabinovitz, the director of "Ha-Meliẓ," in his articles "Ha-Yerushshah weha-Ḥinnuk" also shows himself to be a defender of Jewish tradition, while Ben-Judah, the author of "Hashḳafah" (Jerusalem), constantly opposes obscurantism. N. Sokolow, by the power of his genius, forces Hebrew and modern ideas even upon the Ḥasidim. The critic Reuben Brainin is a close observer, an admirable stylist, and a charming story-teller. The historian S. Bernfeld is a scholarly popularizer of Jewish science.
Pedagogics and juvenile literature also have their periodicals and worthy representatives. Among these are: Lerner, S. L. Gordon, Madame Ben-Judah, Yellin, Grosovsky, and Berman. Many scholars have devoted themselves to science, as the late philosopher F. Misés; the grammarian J. Steinberg, who is an admirable writer; the anatomist, archeologist, and author of popular stories Katzenelenson; Neimark; and Hurvitz. There are, in addition, many translators and compilers who have rendered into Hebrew Longfellow, Mark Twain, Zola, and even De Maupassant; and this work is being actively carried forward. There is a steady increase in the number of daily and weekly journals, all of which, though Zionistic, are none the less progressive. With the emigration of the Russian Jews to foreign countries, Hebrew is finding new centers. In 1904 a course in modern Hebrew literature was instituted at the Sorbonne. Palestine is in a fair way to become the home of Hebrew as a living language, and in America and in England there are numerous publications in Hebrew. Even in the Far East, Hebrew books and periodicals are to be found in increasing numbers, stimulating national and social regeneration. But it must be remembered that the future of Hebrew is intimately connected with Zionism, which is accepted by the masses only by reason of the ideal of national renascence. Faithful to its Biblical mission, the Hebrew language alone is able to revive moral vigor and prophetic idealism, which have never failed where the sacred language has been preserved.
M. Mendelssohn, Pene Tebel, Amsterdam, 1872. | 2019-04-21T06:13:36Z | http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10032-literature-modern-hebrew |
A January-7 deadline approaches and I noodle notes here and there: on my studio chalkboard, a scrap of paper, my laptop. Can’t find the focused time I need right now to hunker down and write the grant and that seems all right.
Underneath, there’s a sense that things will fall into place as and when they should. There’s time for the busyness, it tells me, later. Right now, I need to sit with the larger question than meeting a deadline. Can I do the projects that align with the funding? Will I have the personal energy, the volunteers and enthusiasm of others? This is clearly not a solitary endeavor, even though it seems so in this moment.
I’m wary of completely giving myself away to projects that will obviously companion and deepen Artsy Fartsy*. I stand at an all-too-familiar crossroads. I have given myself away countless times before. Is this one of those times or is it really where God is leading me? Could my surrender be to let go of the pretense of a livelihood and live my passion sans a paycheck? I struggle here. Earning my own way is so intrinsic to who I have been.
More simply, deeply and profoundly for me is that taking care of myself, independently, is all I’ve known. It’s a locked pattern, trapped in my psyche. Perhaps mistakenly, I’ve thought my task was to ask for help, human help.
I had a wide opening Wednesday during my monthly shamanic-counseling session. Insight into where, why and how I have been wounded. It’s almost too much to discuss yet. Generally, I was hurt and left alone to tend to the wound, then never given the opportunity to talk about it. Alone, alone, alone. That’s where I always seem to be.
Until I remember I’m not. This sucking up that I do whenever there is something that I [think I] have to do myself, which is most of the time, is so wrongfully inherent. I’ve been surrendering to God half-assed. Saying yes, but still feeling responsible and trying to control aspects. Surrendering some aspects is not surrender.
So how do I let this rip, I mean really rip? Like the way I felt a layer melt off Wednesday through breath work. I feel apart right now, like I’m living somewhere in between. Some kind of waiting-to-totally-surrender purgatory because I don’t know the next step.
I keep getting the message to pursue my passion and the paycheck will follow. Not sure what that means, but, I believe, it includes carefully discerning what is mine to do and what is not … not just doing because I have or can.
So through the holidays, the celebration of Jesus’ being in the world and anticipation of the clean slate of a new year, I will wait and see what settles and where I can surrender fully.
• How have I only half surrendered?
• What will it take for me to fully surrender?
• What’s holding me back?
• What patterns must I break?
• What is my prayer right now?
Christmas has arrived early. Unannounced, in smallish ways and yet, it's really here in my heart forever.
These gifts are altering my attitude about generosity, abundance and money – greatly. Oddly enough, I think this wave of Spirit began four weeks ago EXACTLY at the Alamo. The floodgates opened and anything is possible. I am proof.
To backtrack a bit, I arrived at the Alamo on a chilly-for-San-Antonio morning to visit the Mission. Yes, though remembered for its bloody battle in American history and the stirrings of Texas' independence, it was first built as a Spanish Catholic Mission – a sacred spot. Many consider it hallowed ground for the violent sacrifices that occurred. I stumbled in as an official gathering was happening and was encouraged to stay. It was an invitation I'll never forget: the presentation of Segways to American veterans of Afghanistan now rendered immobile ... as in missing or non-functioning legs, mostly. At its conclusion, I found myself third in line shaking each soldier's hand, looking him/her square in the eye and saying thank you. Some hung on, most thanked me and a few found the direct contact unsettling. I was just the vessel: a peace-loving, anti-war, gun-shy Quaker thanking soldiers.
That experience has opened me. Forever, I hope.
To new encounters, new leadings, new openings, new friends, new understanding, new compassion.
Is this the New Kingdom of which Jesus speaks? I want to hope that it is, Heaven on Earth. Early Quakers believed it was in the here and now.
So odd for me to use that language. I'm typically more inclusive, yet it is what's on my heart.
Thursday, I went to an interview with a wonderful BIG arts organization to see if my at-risk kids' arts exploration, Artsy Fartsy , was a match. Normally, I would have over-prepped and stressed. I wasn't nervous. I did my homework the day before (because that's all the time I had) and waltzed in joyful to find the interviewer easy. It was just a conversation. One in which I was affirmed in this work and encouraged to apply for a grant next month. I even expressed my philosophy that this project is about depth, not breadth and he agreed that was the right path.
Wow, I'm still pinching myself. I may get some new programming funded. Of course, I am still battling the idea that I can't yet fund myself ... but I am learning to trust that will come, just as everything else has aligned.
Today, I felt compelled to return a long overdue call ... I am almost ashamed to admit it took me so long because it was a reminder that something awaited me. Just before that life-altering trip to San Antonio, someone I respect from our days together mending the local racial divide said she had a bunch of stuff left over from the local Obama headquarters for Artsy Fartsy (AF) if I wanted it. "Yes," I said sight unseen.
Well out of sight and mind, I had forgotten until her gentle reminder call. So, today, I toddled on over the hill to her wonderful home and came back loaded with six boxes of binder clips, paper clips, pens, markers, highlighters, flashlights, hand warmers, hand sanitizer, paper towels, napkins, plastic cups, paper plates, sticky tack, tacks, clipboards, paint sponges, post-its, staplers, staples, staple-removers, giant flip charts, balloons and reams of printer paper. Unpacking it all was better than Christmas morning. All the ideas of how AF can use these flowed through my head. Can't you just imagine using twine and binder clips to hang a show of the kids' work? Let them create shadows with the flashlights ... maybe give them a ghost tour of Milford Main? Load them with school supplies when they run low or can't afford them? Make them feel important writing on clip boards?
And then I came across a plain, unmarked box. I gingerly lifted the lid to discover a stash of manilla file folders. Exactly what I had needed to get all of my forms, lesson plans, agendas, meeting notes and locker assignments organized. I'd been too busy and, perhaps, too cheap to purchase a box. God really had taken care of my needs! The room, especially the car, looked like Staples had exploded.
I am so thrilled that one AF kid's family for whom I am collecting to purchase a computer, printer and, hopefully, internet, has an almost-eternal supply of paper!!!
Christmas has come early and I hope its spirit stays forever ... in my heart and being.
• What happens when I let Spirit in?
• How does it alter my thinking?
• My way of being in the world?
• How am I opened?
• How do I express that opening?
* I wrote this Friday, turning off the radio when I heard there was going to be bad news and not yet knowing what it was. I was better able to handle it Saturday and Sunday, with my faith community.
I was wired in Meeting for Worship Sunday from the wonderfully wild drumming of the day before with my Artsy Fartsy kids. I tried to settle in, but it just wasn't happening. I was fully attentive to the minister's message on giving. She and I had had a conversation a few days earlier on the subject. I mentioned I was tired of an idea I had that kept meeting with conditions and restrictions. So I decided to sit with it awhile. My choice.
I couldn't handle it Sunday, especially after her message. I fought it, pushed it out of my head and heart. Re-focused, yet it kept returning, making my heart churn faster and faster. In the Quaker tradition that usually means you have a vocal message you're meant to share in worship. So, up I stood. Struggling, even telling other worshippers I didn't want to do this.
I talked about Dorrian's family of seven. Mom, dad and five kids ages four to 6th grade. They live in a teeny house between a church and my best friend, just down the block from me. The kids are always outside playing ... no room inside, it seems. Lately, I've been seeing Dorrian and his younger brother on bikes all over the neighborhood probably getting off on their own. Often dad's with the younger ones. He's the caregiver.
I'd never seen mom until last Thursday, when I made a personal visit to ensure Dorrian got to Artsy Fartsy Saturday. There was a mix up last month and he'd forgotten. Mom opened the door and warmly welcomed me inside. She hugged me and thanked me for taking an interest in her oldest. "He forgot and went off to play last month," she confessed. "When he got back, he cried because he'd missed it. You know he has such beautiful writing, this will be so good for him. So does my son Dalton." Dalton pretends to be mad at me when I see him with Dorrian. It's because he's too young for Artsy Fartsy and keeps trying to charm his way in. I tell him he has to wait, but each smile he flashes chips away at my resolve.
Then mom pointed to another son, playing games and confided that he's on an IEP (individualized-education plan) at school for learning disabilities. She's battled leukemia for 13 years and through all the pregnancies. The only one she struggled with was his. I think she blames the chemo. She whispered so as not to get his attention. Then she looked me square in the eye, though her tone was conversational and casual, and said "we really need a computer. It would make such a difference for him."
I immediately recognized this as God speaking to me through this woman. Getting this family a computer has been on my heart two years. It gained momentum when I reconnected through Dorrian, a great kid with loads of potential.
I'd recommended this family to my Quaker Meeting as needing financial help this Christmas, though I really wanted to get them a computer. Over the years, when I have vocalized this concern, I am often kindly reminded that refurbished or used computers are easy to find.
My hearts silently screams: "But why can't they have new, like everybody else? Why does this family with very little and only what the mother's assistance check can supply, have to get castoffs?
All weekend, I plotted in my head what I wanted for them: a new iMac, two years of internet (because, frankly, what's the use of a computer these days without it?), printer, cache of ink and technical assistance. About three grand, I figured.
I didn't share my financial noodling with my Meeting when I spoke. I wasn't asking for anything, just releasing what had a tight grip on me and requesting prayer. Unlike anything I have ever experienced in Quaker worship before, someone tossed cash in the collection plate and it made the rounds, landing at me. I could barely bring myself to touch the wooden bowl overflowing with money ... let alone count it. Someone else did and, in a matter of minutes, about 20-some people donated $500. Noting short of amazing.
Yesterday, a neighbor brought me a $100 Best Buy gift card. There's a printer, I thought.
Just as I wanted others to release their idea of used goods for this family, I am releasing mine of the perfect scenario. I have a feeling I will know when the collecting is finished (I'm not putting a Christmas deadline on it) and am confident there will be enough to purchase whatever this family is supposed to have.
Spirit is moving and I best get myself out of the way!
• When has Spirit pushed me to speak or act?
• What happened when I resisted?
• How was the result better than I ever could have imagined?
• What have I learned as a result?
The second Thursday, late afternoon, of every month is reserved. Without question. Not even marked on my calendar. That's when I dutifully pull out my log of Artsy Fartsy kids' names and phone numbers and begin the round of reminder calls.
The first time, I was a bit nervous. I hadn't yet met many of these parents. What if they have no idea what I am calling about? What if they hang up on me? Yell at me? Don't answer?
Get a grip, I told myself then. You were, afterall, a reporter and called strangers ALL of the time. Not just strangers, but important, intimidating people and you always more than ambled through those calls. You often had friendly conversations. Remember when your husband overheard once and asked how long you'd known the person on the other end? A half hour, you replied. Instant phone rapport: one of your gifts. Why should this be any different? Because this matters more; this isn't a job, it's a calling. So get CALLING!
That's pretty much how it began. It never hurts that I start in the order in which the kids came to Artsy Fartsy. Always, Layla and Justice, sisters, first. I remember the drive up the hill from my house, into the Oakbrook parking lot. How I pulled out the beautifully printed yard signs announcing this new program and art-filled afternoon of registration. Layla was right there, reading the sign, bobbing up and down with excitement. "When? When? When?" she asked.
She, her dad, and sister, were the FIRST in line (as if there were a line, more of a slow trickle throughout the afternoon), Right on the dot at one o'clock.
So I start with Brandon first. I consistently catch him live on the phone. "Oh, yes, they will be there!" He's one caring dad, ensuring his girls make the most of their opportunities. He never fails to thank me for the program. Even wished out loud that he could volunteer to drive, but, at the time, his car wasn't running and he couldn't afford to get it fixed.
This week, I didn't catch Marilyn, Emijah's grandmother. We had quite a talk, getting acquainted over two of her granddaughters on that August registration afternoon. She's called me just to chat and I've bumped into her at Kroger's. Or Anjela's mom. A recording said the phone was no longer in use. This has happened before when parents can not afford the minutes. So, I asked another mom to check for me, though I may have to see for myself.
A few hours after I made my calls, this time disappointed to reach mostly voice mail, I answer my vibrating phone, unable to quickly recollect the familiar voice. "Did you call this number? she asks. "Oh, I made a bunch of calls for Artsy Fartsy a few hours ago and I'm sure I called you. "Oh, Miss Cathy, is that you?" "Yes, Nia, just reminding you about Saturday. You know your daughter was sassy this last time. I mean sassy as in fun. She's not so shy anymore." "Yeah, it takes her awhile to open up. And, yes, she knows it's this week."
I understand it's hard for the kids that it's once a month. It can seem like an eternity, even to me. That's one reason, midway through, I write them each a personal postcard. Parents usually mention on the reminder calls that the sons and daughters loved getting the mail. I feel it's a good way of nurturing the child by remarking on the exceptional project they completed last time, the way they helped another child or how much I enjoy their energy. When I have made similar comments to the parents about their child, I see that it buoys them as well.
This chore has really become prayerful and so filling for me. Plus, it builds the anticipation in my heart as I look forward to seeing these amazing creatures in two days. Sometimes I can hardly stand it ... waiting. Fortunately, there are a myriad of tasks to complete before they bounce off the van, up the stairs and into Artsy Fartsy every second Saturday afternoon.
But, always, two days before, the date – Thursday, late afternoon – is permanently etched on my heart's calendar.
• When has an ordinary task taken on a prayerful dimension?
• How have I witnessed that transformation?
• How does that influence other areas of my life?
• How do I own it?
• How does it connect me more deeply to others and also Spirit?
Last week, I wrote about serendipitously meeting Rebecca at Whole Foods. Today, I believe that wave of Spirit put me in the path of Amanda and Scott, again, two strangers I encountered while having tea.
I'd taken my younger daughter to Starbucks enroute to picking up her sister from band practice. I had to be fair, not necessarily by my accounting, since I'd schlepped the older one out earlier in the week for refreshment.
Hadn't but just sat down, when, the man sitting across from me noticed my keycard was the same as his wife's. He wondered if we worked at the same place. No, we just had the same brand of key cards. The conversation got deep very fast as I learned they have 5 sons, one of whom died in his mother's arms, was revived and, later, survived a heart surgery. There were two miscarriages. Amanda, who was also present,though more quietly so, was a stay-at-home mom until Scott found himself out of work. Their roles are reversed. They used to live close to me in Milford, but moved six years ago when busing was cut and they could no longer afford it here.
Once again, death entered the equation. But so did religion, spirituality and faith. We talked about so much distraction in the world when I mentioned I was Quaker and, for the most part, we wait in silence listening for God. That captivated Scott. He is an informal student of religion and open to new ideas. Scott and Amanda actually met at church. He spotted her all in black, beautifully playing the trumpet, when they were both pretty young.
It was a very even exchange of listening and being listened to: a rare gift, especially in the care of complete strangers. But then, were they – really? Scott didn't think so. Upon parting, which we were disinclined to do, he said he had felt not only blessed by the encounter, but certain we were supposed to meet. "Usually, we just get our coffee and go," he said. "But something told me to comment on your keycard; not what I'd normally do."
They both looked me back straight in the eye, which I liked. I think you get soul-to-soul that way. In the same manner I'd get naked-to-naked, skin-to-skin with my kids when they were babies. It's a way I like to connect and the manner in which I recently greeted wounded American soldiers back from Afghanistan. Mostly amputees and those with limited mobility that I think rarely get seen as whole. (link) Looking someone square in the eyes helps me witness their essence, their wholeness.
Scott's eyes told me more than his words. At some point in the conversation, I mentioned how wise they seemed for their ages, mid 30s. That blew Scott away. "Just today, I was praying for wisdom and right here, right now, you just gave me my answer."
How often do we experience this? Perhaps more than we recognize.
Well, they had to be on their way and we soon had to be on ours. We vowed to meet again at Starbucks because we just knew we would. They left ahead of us and as I was packing up, I used the last $10 in my wallet to buy a gift card for them next time they visited. A random act of kindness? A thank you for such instantly deep community? A desire to see them again? Who knows? Only Spirit.
• When have I felt on a wave of Spirit?
• What was it like?
• What were my experiences?
• Who or what came into my path?
*homage to my favorite book, the last line, from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are"
She's still out there, somewhere, on her own, tending to her mother's death, trying to find like-minded community for the few weeks she's visiting. She's still tugging at my heart though.
I met Rebecca earlier this week as I was writing the last post, as a matter of fact. My oldest had been off sick and I gathered her up mid afternoon and took her for tea and a homework session at Whole Foods. I had some supplements to purchase and a blog to write. I like the energy in the communal cafe.
Funny thing is I was writing about feeling disconnected from meaningful community as I overheard a conversation happening next to me. One sided, clearly a woman was finalizing insurance and cremation details after her mother's death. She was so matter of fact and clear. Unlike someone lost or stumbling. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to say something.
"Not that I was really eavesdropping, but I happened to hear that your mother just died. I am sorry," fell from my lips almost before I could really think too much and shut off my heart.
Unsure as to what the response would be, I braced myself a bit. The brown eyes penetrated mine and she said something like "Thank you. Yes, she did and I'm the only one left and have to handle everything."
All else melted away and we merged into a very engaging connection that covered diverse topics from her reiki work to my fibromyalgia, her home in Hawaii and schooling at SCPA*, my amazing shaman and how she's been her mother's therapist since she was two and that this death, welcomed by her mother, was, somehow, freeing, for Rebecca.
She admitted that she doesn't connect easily and was struggling to find some deep community in Cincinnati while she's here for three weeks. As we parted, she thanked me for reaching out.
I went back to my daughter and blogging, but I wasn't finished with her. As she was packing up, I stopped her and hastily jotted down my phone number. I selfishly prefaced it, handing it to her with "I'm not always so available with kids and all, but if you'd need to call me or need someone here's my number."
I'm not very proud that I didn't do this right off and that I had to set some boundary. That may be experience speaking. I have the kind of face that complete strangers spill their life story to, entangling me in something before I even realize. She had mentioned that she didn't have a car and if I was going to see the shaman, maybe I could give her a ride. I knew I wasn't while she was in town, so I didn't offer. Besides, how inconvenient would it be to drive from Milford to Hyde Park to take her to Goshen and then get her back -- all when I didn't even have a shamanic session scheduled?
How utterly selfish. I am kicking myself a bit and secretly hoping she'll call.
She's not like that, I believe now. And I also understand that I did act on some spiritual leading and now I have to let the rest go. I did give her an opening; albeit a narrow one, but an opening nonetheless.
• When have I unexpectedly encountered a stranger?
• How did I open myself?
• Did I fully trust Spirit's leading?
• How do I let go of my response and not judge it?
• What has a Rebecca-like experience tapped in me?
After experiencing the intensity of a gathering of caricature artists secondhand during my husband's recent convention, I returned home a little deflated. Jealous even. Missing something. Not feeling connected. To the point of posting so on Facebook.
The first response came from a young adult, whose wisdom I have learned to trust. Remember "awesome Quakerness," she responded. Oh, yeah, my Quaker Meeting, the one I have attended regularly for 14 years, served on numerous committees, loved and been annoyed with, but mostly loved. The place I feel accepted for who I am, but, sometimes, also unseen. The one I've disengaged from a bit to go out into the real world and complete the work to which God calls. That one.
So I journeyed there Sunday with those thoughts in my head and heart. I wanted someone to reach out to me. Little did I know it would start with my 15-year-old being tempted to worship with a bookstore trip after. As I headed into worship, I left her and my younger daughter behind to debate whether to attend First Day School or hang, silently, with the adults. The younger went one way and the older, another. When she brushed up against me on the pew, my being fluttered. It took me Somewhere Else. To the first time I held her hand, we pushed through the glass-and-wood doors and took our seats on the satiny benches polished by 50 years of phantom fannies. She was a toddler and I, a young(er) mother seeking relief from the pain of an auto accident. When my favorite song, the Shaker "Simple Gifts," lulled out of the piano, I knew I was home. Before any worship had officially begun.
How many stories had I heard of people seeking the right faith community for, well, years? I merely went where my mother and daughter told me to. My mom had known I was struggling and searching and encouraged me to try the Quakers. "I think you'll like the simplicity," she said. Didn't hurt that my favorite Methodist pastor from childhood was the interim. Shortly before that, one morning my daughter greeted me, unprompted, with "Mommy, I know Jesus." Yes you do, I thought, and it's time to find a spiritual home.
That home has been Cincinnati Friends Meeting, through thick and thin. Sunday, the minister's message focused on getting young Quakers back to meeting. Like Autumn and baby Carter, who came with his dad (the first person to ever give Autumn, gum and I reminded him) and mom, granddad, who grew up in the meeting, and great-grandparents. They have been rocks of this meeting. In fact, Papa Paul was the first to speak to me that initial visit with Autumn. We bonded over his Cincinnati Mortuary School shirt because I had worked in the funeral industry.
After a few months, back when Autumn and I first attended and when a permanent minister was hired, Quakers asked if I would leave as well. No way, I invariably answered because I remembered Paul and his kindness to a stranger. He reminisced about how he'd get down on the playroom floor with both of my girls, just like he now does with Carter.
It all was a warm reminder that I do, indeed, have more than pockets of community.
• Where do I experience community?
• How do I experience it?
• What's my role in building that community?
• When it seems lacking, how do I fill that need?
• How has Spirit filled it for me?
It was a smaller affair, which may have sharpened the lens of perspective. So often, we tumbled out of the house, food in hand, kids in tow and arrived a few minutes late for Thanksgiving at my parents'. This year, we were ahead of schedule with the exception of my husband driving back a half hour later to pick up our 15-year-old after her outfit was out of the dryer.
Mine were the only children: my nieces grown up and onto their own lives, my out-of-town sister making the trip at Christmas.
And yet, my mother had polished the silver, laid out the family china, cooked a turkey, made two kinds of dressing (one gluten free just for me), boiled the potatoes and arranged appetizers ... all the while on oxygen. She struggled with the long, green snake trailing her for 50 feet as she flowed between the dining room and kitchen. She was most concerned someone else would trip.
Just last week, as I was out of town on a trip planned for months, she, my father and twin sister traipsed to the Cleveland Clinic to get more definitive answers on what, specifically, could be done for her two weakened heart valves. Essentially, she was told they'd have to get her lung pressure down before they could do anything invasive, hence the full-time oxygen. I remember when she came home from a long hospital stay this summer and talked her primary-care doc out of the full-time air. He made her take a healthy walk without and agreed she could cut the day-time cord. I also remember her, two days home, green snake in hand, riding her stationery bicycle: I want to get in as good a shape as I can, she said at the time. She was sick of having been in a hospital bed for 10 days.
Wednesday evening as my mother and I were making last-minute food decisions, we talked about her cardiologist appointment earlier in the day. She said that doc calculated she'd be having her heart surgery in a few months. How's that? I asked because it didn't seem to square with what she heard in Cleveland. Oh, she said, we misinterpreted the surgery risk. What we'd thought was risk of survival, which looked pretty low, was risk of failure!
When I discussed this yesterday with my sister, she had not misunderstood the risk as we had, but it wasn't good enough yet for Cleveland.
If anybody can beat those odds I know it's my mom. She never ceases to amaze me with her positive attitude, hard-work ethic, sense of humor and deep faith that she is where God wants her.
We've had some pretty amazing talks about death lately, a subject that I welcome because it is so little spoken about. Hasn't hurt that I worked in the funeral industry a few years. Turns out neither of us, my mother or me, is afraid of what comes after life. It occurs to me that we have been heavily influenced by my mom's baby sister who died of breast cancer, but with such a rare and glowing grace that you could palpably feel God's touch. You just knew she wasn't alone.
That comforts me as I know my mom's time is limited here, as it is for all of us.
• Who have been my examples of faith?
• What lessons have those encounters imparted?
• What are my feelings about death?
• In general? For someone I love? For myself?
• How can I witness God's presence even in death?
I have a broken body though you can't see it. I hide it pretty well. Unfortunately, years of chronic pain have twisted my mind toward the negative. I am working on reversing that trend and I see rays of hope. This invisible cloak, however, isn't always so easy to wear. Take, for example, the time I was desperate and visited a new physician begging for help. "Well, you don't look sick," he said. I told him looks could be deceiving.
But then, last week, I witnessed my predicament in reverse. Overtly wounded veterans looking tall as they strode in – braces, canes and prosthetics in place – on Segways in a ceremony giving them the gift of mobility in return for their courage and loss. It all transpired at the Alamo.
It broke my heart. Broke.
At the conclusion, we were invited to meet these veterans of Afghanistan. Staring into their young faces startled me. My instinct was to grab their hands and hold on for dear life, theirs and mine. I detected anguish and uncertainty in those brave eyes. I think they were soldier expressions for the most part. And not used to being looked at so directly since the loss of wholeness. But the touch, that was revealing. Some was tentative, but some was fierce, accompanied by a constant round of thank you Mams after I thanked them. I felt they were reaching for connection in this new state. Perhaps thanking me for noticing they were still human, if bionicly so. No complaints, no whining, simply a demeanor of acceptance and a preparedness for what comes next.
What a lesson for me! I have never experienced being seen as unwhole in the way I suspect these injured soldiers have.
Stilled awed, I stumbled away, caught off guard by a city ambassador with whom I struck up a conversation. I related what I had just witnessed at the Alamo. He was riveted and mentioned a fellow guide was struggling from the ravages of war silently, mentally and alone. He was angry at how this invisible wound is not recognized. We talked a bit more and he said a WWII veteran told him once, "There are no atheists in the fox holes."
I believe that means we're not alone, ever ... in the good stuff or the bad. It's mostly that we don't notice during the hopeful times.
All of this brokeness can be overwhelming until I am reminded of healing and that mending often makes the wound stronger. Knitting together injured parts creates a new bond, one that had not previously existed and one tougher than the original. It's that liminal place where two or three come together to create a newness. The wounded, Spirit and healing.
Our brokenness makes us stronger, if only we could recognize and acknowledge that in each other, then thank God.
• In what ways have I been broken?
• How have I experienced that in others?
• How do I respond to brokenness?
• What has it taught me?
• Where do I see God in the brokenness? | 2019-04-23T14:40:06Z | http://salonforthesoul.blogspot.com/2012/ |
Using saunas is a great way to improve health aliments and can assist with many medical procedures. A sauna can be placed in the home or can be used at a spa or a gym. These intense rooms are full of proven health benefits, that make them an essential part of a health program.
In a home, a sauna can be placed outside near a pool shed, or inside the house. Both options work great and it all depends on how much space is in the home and if a sauna is wanted inside or outside. Some people prefer this room be kept outside, along with a hot tub and pool area. While others enjoy using it in their home.
The size of a sauna room does not have to be too big. While some of these rooms can be quite large and hold many people, there are smaller ones designed for home use. These rooms may hold around four to five people, which make it perfect for entertaining a few family members or friends.
Typically a small room area is all that is needed. The sauna area can be constructed in a fairly small space and be installed in a short amount of time. There will be a door for entering and exiting, and a turn dial on the outside wall of the sauna. This dial will assist someone in picking the desired time limit for the experience.
Many people find that using a sauna has many health benefits. It can relieve stress by just sitting in the steam and letting it relax the muscles and the mind. These rooms can be placed on a very hot heat, and with the right breathing techniques can help someone focus and develop a sharper more relaxed mind.
Many gyms feature sauna rooms. These rooms are designed to hold many people and will contain benches that may be stacked in an upward motion. This allows many people to sit on one wall area and look out onto the burning sauna rocks. The steam that is generated from the center, will help to relax the muscles after a long workout. They can make people feel great after stretching and working out muscles in an intense way.
A spa will also contain a sauna area. This can be the perfect place to relax with some friends before or after a spa treatment. Some people may have a massage and then head into the sauna to feel even more relaxed or keep the massage experience lasting a little bit longer. It can be a nice place to chat with friends and unwind after a long day.
Sore muscles or ones that have suffered torn ligaments will benefit from using saunas. The hot heat will make a torn or sore muscle feel better. A sauna may be recommended a few times a week to help with health ailments. Some people even feel that this type of pre-fab saunas help to lose weight. Many people also believe that sweat can get rid of harmful toxins inside the body. Whatever the reason for using a room like this, it can help someone feel better in many different ways.
What Are The Health Benefits Attributed To Regular Use Of Saunas And Steambaths?
There are a lot of health benefits attributed to regular use of saunas and steambaths. A room used for hot heat session or dry heat sessions is referred to as a sauna. It has hot, humid temperatures inside which could be more than eighty degrees Celsius. These hot temperatures cause perspiration of the body.
Saunas have undergone tremendous changes in the past years. They were originally underground pits that used firewood to heat them. Their purpose was provision of warmth in winter. Today, solar power, gas or electricity are used to heat them. They come in various types also including smoke saunas, steam saunas and dry saunas.
Baths can be taken using steam. These are called steam baths and they produce water vapor by use of a humidifying steam generator. This vapor is spread to the whole body and this causes perspiration. The temperature in steam baths varies between 43 degrees Celsius and 46 degrees Celsius.
These facilities can be found in places of recreation and homes. Their use is for recreation and therapy. Both cause the body to sweat within a short while.
The mind and body relax when a person uses sauna and steam bath regularly. The spirit is rejuvenated and refreshed by this relaxation. Excessive stress hormones are burned off and thus the mind is cleansed. If used before sleeping, sound and restful sleep is induced.
Their regular use also gives relieve to people with problems related to respiration. The steam gets rid of any allergens and mucus from the lungs. Catching of common colds is also minimized.
There is improvement of joints movement for sufferers of rheumatic disease. This happens because heat is helpful in managing muscular pains. Heat causes reduction of pain in the joints and causes improvement in the healing process.
Circulation of blood improves for athletes and also volumes of red blood cells and plasma improve. The athletes tolerance to exercise thus improves. Functions of those with high blood pressure and congestive heart failure improve. Lifestyle ailments like obesity or diabetes can also be treated using them.
Perspiring is good for skin to be healthy. It opens up pores and washes away dead skin and cells thus detoxifying your skin. Circulation of blood to your skin is increased giving it a healthier glow. This makes your beauty to improve overall.
Steam baths and saunas are supplied by many firms today. They give customers variety to choose from like infrared saunas that use infrared heaters to emit infrared radiant heat. This heat gets absorbed directly into your body. Insulated outdoor saunas are available too and can be used in the patio. There is also a pre-fab sauna that is ready to use and does not need additional frames or insulation. You can also set up a sauna of your own using sauna heaters and sauna material kits which are also on sale.
There are many more health benefits attributed to regular use of sauna and steambaths. When used regularly, they clear drugs, solvents, heavy metals and organic chemicals from the user’s body. The user becomes healthier as activities of his body organs get stimulated.
Saunas have been around in one form or another for thousands of years. From European steam baths to Indian “sweat lodges,” people have recognized the value of a good sweat through the ages.
According to many health professionals, the benefits of regular sauna use are widespread, and include: strengthened immune system, improved blood circulation, enhanced detoxification processes, deep skin cleansing and rejuvenation and tension and stress relief. During a sauna, blood flow to the skin increases to as high as 50 to70 percent of cardiac output. This figure is usually around 5 to 10 percent. This brings nutrients to subcutaneous and surface tissue resulting in glowing healthy skin. Profuse sweating has been shown to enhance the detoxifying ability of the skin by opening pores and flushing impurities from the body.
When you are exposed to a high heat infrared sauna it creates an artificial fever state within your body. Fever is part of the body’s natural healing process. Fever stimulates the immune system which results in increased production of disease fighting white blood cells and other antibodies.
Perhaps the greatest benefit sauna users can expect is the impact they have on the heart. The heart benefits of regular sauna use have been studied and proven through medical studies. One study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology tested sauna therapy on a group of people with risk factors for coronary disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking. The subjects of the study used a sauna daily, and in only two weeks, doctors noticed improved blood vessel function of 40 percent. The end result of the study was that even people who currently suffered from heart disease or severely blocked arteries realized great benefit from regular sauna therapy.
The ways in which saunas benefit the most important muscle in your body are varied. During a 10-20 minute sauna session, your heart rate increases by 50 to 75 percent. Sitting in a sauna generally gives you the same kind of benefit you would receive from a brisk walk. Through exercise, the blood vessels relax and heart function improves. This process is called vasodilatation and it improves the way the heart pumps blood to the rest of the body. This can have an effect on blood pressure and other coronary risk factors. If you’ve experienced any heart problems or your family has a history of coronary risk, a sauna is definitely a worthwhile investment commonly recommended by doctors and cardiologists.
Effective blood circulation is one of the main elements to healthy heart function. When your blood is circulating well, it helps to transport nutrients throughout your entire body. It also helps purge toxins from your skin and body tissue, improves the function of your liver, kidneys and of course your heart. As your body heats up in a sauna, it increases sweat production in an attempt to keep cool. Your heart ends up working harder, pumping blood at a greater rate, which ends up providing many of the same conditioning benefits of aerobic exercise.
Find a way to add regular saunas to your routine, and your heart will thank you.
Today, more people are suffering from such high stress levels that it is seriously impacting their health. Studies have shown that stress is a significant contributor to insomnia, increased blood pressure, poor concentration, short temper, increased heart rate, increased tension headaches, depression, and fatigue. Relaxation is an essential part of reducing stress and maintaining optimal health. Because so many people live such stressful lives, there are a variety of options available to help one relax and reduce their stress. One way of reducing the stress in your life is to spend time in a sauna.
Spending time in a sauna on a regular basis has been shown to help one relax which causes a significant reduction in stress. For this reason, more people are taking advantage of a sauna to relax and unwind. The calming and soothing heat from a sauna relaxes the entire body and the mind. The heat relaxes the muscles and joints which gives one a feeling of serenity and tranquility. One can feel the stress melt away.
When your mind and body is under stress, the negative effects can reach the cellular level. When a person sits in a sauna, the heat increases blood circulation and increases the production of a hormone called norepinephrine. This hormone works as a neurotransmitter which tells the body to combat increased stress levels. An abundance of the hormone norepinephrine allows the body to fight stress and anxiety. As well, another benefit of saunas in there is an increase in adrenocorticotropic hormone production. This hormone helps to promote an overall feeling of good health and well being which helps to reduce stress levels.
The heat from outdoor saunas promotes a natural state of relaxation. Because the stress and anxiety that affects the body causes a build up of chemicals that cause a feeling of stress, when the heat from the sauna causes one to perspire, the stress reducing hormones will be released and the stress causing chemicals will be drastically reduced. For instance, when one is stressed, they will produce more of the hormone cortisol. This is a hormone that increases heart rate and blood pressure. When cortisol is reduced, people will be less at risk of acquiring health problems and they will have a relaxed state of mind and body.
Not only are saunas a great way to relax, but millions of people use saunas for their health benefits. However, the most immediate benefits of sitting in a sauna are an almost instant feeling of relaxation. The heat from a sauna penetrates the body and the tight muscles, nerves, and joints will relax and the mind will become calm and serene. As the heat envelopes the body, there will be an instant feeling of contentment. Sauna users will feel rejuvenated and the tension and stress will just melt away. They will feel physically and emotionally restored and ready to take on the day’s challenges with a positive outlook and feeling of contentment. More people from all walks of life are now benefiting from the stress reducing features that come with using a sauna.
Today, millions of people are looking for unique and alternative ways not only to relax, but also to improve their health and well being. Two such alternative ways of getting fit and healthy is to use a Sauna or Steam Bath. Both saunas and steam baths are popular ways to alleviate stress and tension and benefit from other health promoting effects. When deciding whether to have a sauna or a steam bath, it is important to know the differences between each one and how they work.
The main difference between a sauna and a steam bath is that a sauna makes use of dry heat and a steam bath utilizes moist heat. Conventional saunas can use either wood, electric, or gas-fired heaters. Generally, saunas are rooms that are wood paneled. The heat generated is provided by heated rocks. One will heat the room by putting a bit of water over the rocks to produce steam which will heat up the room. The temperature of a sauna can range from 140 to 200 F. Saunas are effective at promoting weight loss as they cause one to lose water through perspiration. One can burn up to 600 calories per session. The sauna itself can be at risk of getting mold so it is necessary to clean the wood panels and benches with water and mild soap to prevent mold growth. The more modern saunas are known as infrared saunas. The infrared sauna uses infrared heaters that dispense radiant heat which heats the body instead of the air.
Steam rooms are rooms that are sporadically heated using a steam generator. Steam is sent into a nearly airtight room where it accumulates and creates a high humidity level. Because the steam rooms are nearly airtight, they will hold the moisture that is created by the steam. In most instances, steam rooms are constructed with a ceiling that is slanted so moisture does not drip all over the people sitting in the room having a steam. As well, the material used is similar to tile which makes it easy to clean. This humid vapor heat has a temperature that can from 110 to 120 F. Steam baths are effective at alleviating sore throats and breaking up congestion in the lungs and sinuses. They also help alleviate respiratory conditions causing breathing difficulties. One disadvantage of a steam room is that they are more prone to mold and bacteria growth because of the high humidity. One who has a steam bath will have to regularly clean and disinfect it to prevent the growth of microorganisms.
Sauna and steambaths both have therapeutic benefits that include: alleviating muscle tension, improving blood circulation, detoxifying the body, allowing one to relax and reduce stress, restoring and rejuvenating damaged skin, fighting off colds and the flu, relieving allergies and bronchitis. The one you choose is a matter of personal choice. Usually one can sit longer in a sauna as it is not as steamy. Whether you choose a sauna or steam bath, you will definitely love the experience and benefit from an improvement in your health and well being.
Once thought of as a luxury item, saunas are now used by a diverse range of people all over the world. Not only are saunas a great way to relax, but millions of people use saunas for their health benefits. A sauna can be used alleviate a wide number health issues which results in an improved quality of life. When it comes to the health benefits of using a sauna, it is understandable why people are using them not only in spas, fitness centers, and gyms, they are also installing them in their homes.
1. Too much stress can result in such health conditions as headaches, insomnia, and anxiety. A sauna is a great way to reduce stress. The heat from a sauna causes a natural relation. As well, stress causes the buildup of certain chemicals that promote a feeling of stress. Perspiration from a sauna causes these stress causing chemicals to be released and decreases the production of these chemicals. This results in the stress feeling going away leaving a more relaxed state of mind and body.
2. We are constantly exposed to chemicals and toxins in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, and from the products we use. Over time, the accumulation of external toxins and heavy metals in our body can negatively impact our health. A sauna acts as an effective body detoxifier. The perspiration we undergo in a sauna helps to release toxic elements from the skin. The result is healthier skin and improved health and well being. The increased blood to our skin caused by an increase in temperature allows the skin to receive more nutrients and oxygen which rejuvenates the skin leaving it smooth and beautiful.
3. Excess weight has been proven to have a negative effect on one’s health. A sauna is a great way to shed unwanted pounds. When sitting in a sauna, one’s heart rate is increased which increases blood circulation much like light exercise does. This causes fat to burn resulting in a loss of weight. As well, sweating in a sauna helps one to drop the weight.
4. Spending time in a sauna helps to ward off colds and the flu. A sauna causes our body to heat up much like a fever. A fever produces more white blood cells and other cells to help combat the illness. A sauna triggers the exact same response. Immunity also becomes strengthened which helps to shorten colds and the flu. A sauna also helps with breathing. It helps to drain congested sinuses and congested airway passages.
5. The increase heat of a sauna helps to alleviate muscle soreness and joint pain. This is helpful for those suffering from bone and joint conditions such as arthritis. The increased temperature causes blood vessels to expand and improve blood circulation. More oxygen and nutrients are carried to the strained areas reducing pain, inflammation, and promotes faster healing. Muscles and joints will also be more flexible.
Whether it is for healing or prevention, research has shown that there are many health benefits to using a sauna. Spending time in a sauna is great way to nor only escape the stresses that accompany daily life, but is also an effective way to improve one’s overall health and well being.
Sitting in a sauna is a great way to relax and let the stress and anxiety drain from your body. Over the years there have been a number of advancements in saunas. One such advancement is the infrared sauna. An infrared sauna uses special heaters instead of steam to heat the sauna room. This type of sauna uses a specific heater to emit Infrared Radiation (IR) which heats the body. The infrared waves cause the body to warm up while the air stays cooler allowing one to stay in the sauna longer. The deep penetration into the skin allows for better bacteria and toxin elimination and helps to stimulate muscle and joint healing. The temperatures in an infrared sauna are lower than a steam sauna allowing one to sit longer and produce more sweat which makes it a better body detoxifier.
1. If you are taking any medication or have any health problems such heart disease, consult your physician before using infrared saunas. Don’t use the sauna right after exercising. You should relax and let your heart and breathing return to normal. As well, do not eat a heavy meal prior to use because you may get sick to your stomach and your blood will also be aiding digestion instead of strongly circulating throughout the body. Remove any jewelry containing metal as they can get quite hot. Make sure you have gone to the bathroom before going into the sauna so you do not interrupt the session.
2. When you go into the sauna, you should begin by sitting on the lower bench. If you feel dizzy or ill at anytime while in the sauna, you should immediately exit the room. If it is your first time, you should gradually get use to the environment by sitting for about 15 minutes at a time. Work your way up to the upper benches as you get accustomed to the heat. As well, maintain a lower temperature so that you can adjust to the temperature better and not feel faint or ill. Avoid taking alcohol and drugs and make sure you have a bottle of water available after you are done sitting.
3. Whenever you move around in saunas during your sessions, do not get up quickly to avoid dizziness because the blood pressure is normally lower in a sauna. Relax during the session to feel its full benefits. If you are sitting with friends, avoid any conversations that cause stress. After the session, rinse off in the shower.
For more than forty years, infrared heat therapy has been used as a treatment for many injuries and aches in the body. The infrared sauna has proven health benefits such as relieving aching and swollen muscles and joints, relieving stress, detoxifying the body of harmful chemicals and toxins, and improving the condition of the skin. It also relieves tension headaches, clears up chest and nasal congestion, and provides relief of such conditions as arthritis, muscle and joint stiffness, and osteoporosis. When taking the proper precautionary measures, an infrared sauna is an enjoyable way to relax and improve your health.
Every winter, many of us face the dreaded frigid temperatures and bone chilling blowing snow. We find ourselves bundling up in thick layers of clothing to go to work and perform other activities such as shopping. It may seem like that wherever we go, the cold is with us. Fortunately, people can find a way to escape the cold. For many people, saunas have become the perfect escape from the winter.
For those who cannot afford a hot tropical vacation during the winter months, a relaxing warm sauna provides a great break from the cold weather. Saunas such as the traditional steambath or a relaxing infrared sauna, will give the warm sensation that you have been missing. Saunas warm the body from head to toe, helps the mind and body relax, and provides a reprieve from the stresses of daily life. The result is a rejuvenated mind, body, and spirit.
Not only does a hot sauna cleanse your mind of all of your worries, but it also cleanses the body. When one perspires, there skin pores open up and releases all of the toxins and bacteria from the skin. Your skin will look good and feel smooth and soft, and your body will be healthier. The penetrating heat of the infrared sauna is a great body detoxifier. Saunas are also a great way to shed excess pounds from the lack of exercise and the increase in consumption of high calorie foods during the winter. The warm sauna heater will encourage your body to be less demanding for food. A person can burn up 300 to 800 calories during a 30 minute sauna sitting. As well, with a refresh and rejuvenated mind and spirit, you will chase those winter blues away.
The cold winter is also difficult time for people suffering from joint and muscle pain. The heat from a sauna will help improve blood circulation, warm the body and alleviate joint and muscle pain, and relaxes the muscles allowing for better flexibility. Studies have shown that the heat from an outdoor sauna causes an increase in body temperature which causes the release of endorphins, the natural chemicals in the body which helps to relieve pain. Saunas also boost serotonin levels; a hormone associated with relaxation and sleep which allows for a more peaceful and restful sleep.
Winter is a time of colds and the flu. A sauna helps ward off colds and infections. The high temperatures produced by the sauna can help kill germs as it simulates the effects of a fever. There is mounting support that a fever can in fact help the body resist and fight infections.
High temperatures from the sauna help the body to fight off colds and the flu. As well, since blood circulation is improved, there is a boost to the immune system making it stronger to fight off colds.
The icy temperatures of winter tend to make people want to hibernate. The healthy effects of a sauna will provide a much needed break from the cold winter and gives a boost of energy while making people feel healthier, refreshed, and much happier. Saunas are the perfect escape from the winter.
In recent years, the popularity of saunas has significantly increased due to its numerous health benefits and its ability to help one relax and reduce stress. The Infrared Sauna is one type of sauna that is becoming well known for its positive health impact on the mind and body.
An infrared sauna is different than a conventional sauna as it does not use steam. Instead, it utilizes special heaters that produce and disperse infrared rays. Infrared light is a wavelength of light naturally emitted by the sun. Infrared saunas produce the same infrared energy we get from the sun, but it is not harmful ultraviolet light. Infrared is thermal radiation, meaning that it conducts heat. The electromagnetic energy enters the body and causes it to heat up which results in sweating. Ceramic heaters are used in modern infrared saunas. The temperature created ranges from 110 to 130 °F. It is cooler than a traditional sauna which allows one to sit in the sauna longer thereby perspiring more. The infrared radiation only heats the body, and not the air. The heating effects are produced below the skin and the deep penetration of the infrared rays into the skin allows more contaminates to be removed than if one were to use a conventional steam sauna.
Infrared rays have shown to be beneficial to the body. The harmless rays enter skin and the heat produced will cause fat cells to loosen up resulting in toxins, metals, and other harmful elements being released. As one perspires, toxins, bacteria, and metals, are driven out from the body which makes infrared saunas an effective method of body detoxification. Once one eliminates the harmful substances from their body, they will have more energy, be more alert, and have an overall feeling of good health. They will even sleep much better. Infrared saunas are also effective at clearing up acne. As well, it helps to reduce cellulite, improves skin elasticity and tone, and even helps to heal such conditions as burns, eczema, scars, and psoriasis. In fact, for those interested in shedding some extra pounds, infrared saunas can burn 400-600 calories in one 30 minute sitting.
Infrared saunas are also an effective therapeutic technique for relieving muscle pain and spasms, as well as speeding up the healing process for injured muscles and tissue. The heat that is produced warms up the body internally which boosts blood circulation and brings oxygen and nutrients to the injured area and removes fluid build up from the area. As well, the deep penetration of the infrared rays is an effective method of treating bone and joint conditions such as osteoarthritis. The healing properties and its stress alleviating effects makes this type of sauna a good choice for those wanting to improve their overall health and well being.
The health benefits for both the mind and body have made infrared saunas a popular choice for the home as well as in wellness spas. Regular use of an infrared sauna will detoxify the body of harmful chemicals, metals, bacteria, and other toxins from the environment, and one will soon achieve healthy weight loss, a strengthened immune system, and most importantly, good health.
How Do You Build an Outdoor Sauna?
Outdoor saunas are a relaxing and healthy way to relieve stress and an attractive addition to any home. In recent years, outdoor saunas have become very popular for many homeowners. They are easy to build, especially if you have purchased an outdoor sauna kit. They are great way to improve one’s health and well being. If you are planning to build an outdoor sauna, there are just a few simple steps you have to follow, and in a few hours you will have your very own sauna to enjoy.
1. You first have to select where you want to build the sauna. You need to have a strong foundation for the sauna to rest on. Once you have prepared the area and poured the concrete, you can begin to build.
2. Before you start to build, you will need to have a construction plan. There will be one with a sauna kit, or you can obtain a plan online or in books and magazines.
3. You will need your construction materials. Oak or Birchwood are an attractive and durable wood. The inside walls tend to be made of cedar planking. Make sure you buy the appropriate size wood for the size of the sauna you will be building. You need to determine the size so you can buy enough wood and other building materials.
4. Cut the wood and planks according the specifications that you will need based on your construction plans. You will also want to apply a water seal on the exterior wood once the sauna has been built.
5. You will want to build the floor first. Start by building the floor frame. Make sure you have nailed it together so it is strong. Once you have the frame constructed, nail the birch or oak planks to make the floor.
6. You will now want to build the frames for the roof and walls. You do this the same way as building the floor frame. Nail the wall frame to the floor and then nail the planks to the wall frame and floor. Lay insulation over the walls. On the interior, cover the wall and insulation with cedar wood planks. Make sure you have used plenty of nails and everything is secure and air and moisture tight.
7. Now it is time to complete the roof. Use birch or oak wood planks and follow your blue prints. You can then add shingles to the roof once the roof is complete. It is essential to make sure the roof has been nailed tight and is secure. You can then build a bench seat and install it inside the sauna.
8. Depending on the type of sauna heater you have purchased, install it by following the instruction manual that would have come with the sauna heater.
There are a number of different types and styles of pre-fab saunas and sauna material kits available. Whether it is for your health or just for relaxing, saunas make a great addition to the home.
Saunafin.com for information on saunas, sauna kits, sauna heaters, steam shower generators and more.
Our main site has all the up-to-date product and pricing information you will need to help you with your sauna and steambath needs.
To read up on saunas and steam before you visit our main site, please read our informative blog - see the categories below. | 2019-04-23T13:04:32Z | http://www.saunafin.ca/category/saunas |
The protests, however, garnered limited coverage by the American press (and even less so by European media outlets where several million of Ahwazi Arab population remained stranded under the oppressive yoke of the Islamic Republic’s racist policies. These policies include cultural genocide through a ban on the study of Arabic and wearing of the ethnic garments, restrictive educational policies, deliberate depopulation, disproportionate executions, and facilitation of drugs, exploitation of natural resources, as well as hiring discrimination and disproportionate arrests and torture of peaceful protesters.
Recently, the regime announced plans for a new dam that would further divert water from the Ahwaz region, contributing to a further environmental degradation. The regime also imprisoned 20 peaceful protesters from a group of sugar cane workers, who haven’t been paid wages in over a year and cannot provide for their families – even as the regime-backed factory owners unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of the Ahwazi workers. The regime has decried allegations of racism and discriminations at its convenience, for instance, against Palestinians; however, it would never confront its own legacy and persistent practice of abuse of the non-Persian nations in its own borders. And when the Ahwazis came out to demonstrate against the latest slew of discriminatory incidents and policies, these rallies were met with a violent response and mass arrests of as many as 140 men and women. The Iranian authorities have begun to target women activists in particular; for that reason, thousands of Ahwazi women likewise came out to protests. These incidents included the death of yet another peaceful Ahwazi activist in custody under torture.
Other attacks on Ahwazi culture included racist content on radio and television. Systematic and persistent demonization and defamation of an entire group of people are one of the factors that is often a step towards potential genocide; all that is required to take dehumanization of a group of people on the basis of ethnic or racial origin is an element of planning and intent towards a mass extermination. The regime has not yet openly articulated such intent, but de facto, all of its actions aimed at depriving of Ahwazis of livelihood and ability to have funds for survival shows a propensity towards a Holodomor-like event that is at risk of taking place if the international community, including the United States, does not intervene in the near future. As a result of the ongoing protests, the regime imposed tighter security measures, making life even more difficult for the disenfranchised and disempowered Arab population. The regime has been weakened by persistent attacks on its legitimacy; losing control over the hearts and minds of people over time cause paranoia and panic. The regime thus has come to disregard even the semblance of keeping with international norms, and rather has chosen to encourage or overlook racial violence against the Ahwazis.
During the course of the most recent uprising, an arson attack on an Arab Ahwazi cafe killed 11 people, including children and injuring dozens others. Finally, the continuous video coverage and detailed reports of the ongoing protests and their importance to the understanding of the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran took its toll, and the US State Department’s outreach team will follow up on the Arab Ahwazi protests. However, this important development is only the first step towards achieving justice for the millions of men, women, and children victimized and isolated by the regime’s exclusionary policies. Much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the oppressive racism and its destructive effect on the entire communities.
According to the Ahwazi human rights activist, Rahim Hamid: Ahwazi Arab regions particularly the city of Ahwaz – have experienced a wave of anti-Persian racism protests over the past week, as of April 4. The demonstrations have been in response to a children’s television show that highlighted diversity in Iran while excluding Arab people. The protesters have accused the Iranian government of discriminatory policies towards Arab citizens and Arab-majority areas. Security forces have reportedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Sporadic outbreaks of violence have occurred and over 200 Ahwazi Arab protesters have been arrested. Increased security measures have been imposed in the region. Continued protests are likely in the coming days and weeks. Additionally, a fire broke out at a teahouse in Ahwaz on Tuesday, April 3, killing at least 11 people and dozens of others. An initial investigation indicated the fire was started by a former disgruntled employee using gasoline to commit arson but the incident remained suspicious since it coincided with the Ahwazi protests. Protests on Tuesday night were reportedly especially large as anti-racism demonstrators also paid tribute to those killed in the fire.
The U.S. State Department has continued to monitor the situation and its outreach team has accused the regime of thuggery and for three days straight commented about the ongoing protests and their causes. Nevertheless, the mainstream media has been quiet, deliberately so, as the sheer extent of the human rights violations would put a strain the efforts to preserve or fix the nuclear deal before the May 12 deadline. One cannot help but wonder at the discrepancy of the West’s disinterest towards the plight of the Ahwazis and the anti-colonialist rhetoric imbuing university Middle East Studies programs around the United States and Europe. Entire courses are dedicated to Edward Said’s “Orientalism”, a critique of the Westerners’ tendency to view Middle Eastern countries as exotic and fantastical, never able to grasp the reality of these nations thanks to always being the outsiders looking in. Critical theories have permeated interdisciplinary coursework with obsessive decoupling from remnants of European identities imposed by colonialist powers. The “White Man’s Burden” of improving the life for the Third World countries is discarded in favor of the widely supported interest in rediscovering indigenous practices and folk traditions. Exploitation of natural resources and condescending, derisive, infantilizing attitudes towards the nations of the territories once conquered by European empires have rightfully been exposed and decried.
Yet the same courtesy does not extend to the Islamic Republic’s violent hold on its Ahwazi Arab population and on other non-Persian nations. The issue here is not just the forceful annexation of land, which occurred before the current regime came to power in 1979. The ayatollah-led government’s excesses in the peripheries has overshadowed the discriminatory practices of the Shah. Entire nations have been deprived of both their cultural identities and access to the benefits from the natural resources which once enriched their lands. None of this is being taught in textbooks around the Western world. One can hardly find mention of Al Ahwaz in whatever form even in university-level classes.
Though there are scholars with an interest in non-Persian nations, they do not appear in conferences on human rights, nor are part of the mainstream discourse on Iran. There are no popularized books on the history and culture of Ahwaz, nor calls for sanctions and boycotts of the regime for its despicable violations of human rights of their own citizens on the basis of their ethnic identity. (I challenge the readership to identify any such resources, courses, popular texts, or calls for boycott by any major student campus or activist association). No one consulted the Ahwazi community in the United States as to the likely effect of the nuclear deal and sanctions relief on Iran on their families back home. On the contrary, these critical voices were shut down, minimized, and scoffed at. At best, they remain unknown to most people, even those with an interest in Iran. At worst, the regime propaganda machine has labeled them as separatists, making them untouchable in the public discourse – through the right of self-determination, and certainly, at the very least, self-identification is apparently essential to many other nations around the world.
There are several possible reasons for these unfair double standards. First, Iran is not a white, European, Christian power. If the entire doctrine of anti-colonialism is based not in the condemnation of the associated practices, but in the identity politics, there will be convenient and inconvenient oppressors, just as there are convenient and inconvenient victims. A Middle Eastern power oppressing another Middle Eastern nation is not controversial, does not speak to the expected indignation, and is of limited interest to the demagogues who claim they care about human rights – only when it fits their agendas. Iran is also far away and does not promote the domestic agendas of the alleged anti-colonialists. Much of the liberation movements around the world, with the accompanying critical theories, originated in the Soviet Union’s opposition to the West, and were cultivated not to promote social equality, freedom, or justice for the oppressed, but rather as a political attack on Western interests. Russia, the Soviet Union’s descendant, which has now embraced the same methodology of infiltrating Western institutions, is solidly in Iran’s camp, and has shared both intelligence gathering methodology and torture techniques with the oppressors. It will not finance any anti-colonialist movements against its staunch ally.
Second, anti-colonialism against Iran means admitting that the Islamic Republic is not a legitimate government, which means reexamining engagement with its government. That goes against the entire foreign policy establishment that supported the nuclear deal, largely as the way of promoting the legacy of their own role in signing JCPOA, as well as in reaping the financial benefits of direct engagement with Iran. Such interest groups prefer to have the regime in power, for fear that defending the defenseless would cost them in tenders, investments, and other financial benefits of siding with Iran.
Third, acknowledging that Iran is a colonialist power and treating it as such means also confronting Iran’s aggression and warmongering all over the Middle East, as well as other places around the world. Being an anti-Colonialist in 2018 is easy, because former Colonial powers have long since released their former colonies. There are no risks to condemning past history, no battles to fight, and no difficult political and military decisions to make. Essentially, being a vocal anti-Colonialist against old dead Europeans amounts to nothing more than self-righteous and facile virtue signaling. On the other hand, standing up to an existing rising hegemon that is oppressing and torturing its own people requires principles, courage, and a willingness to confront a bully. How many people prefer to merely make empty statements about justice for all and how few are willing to write to their governments and support taking decisive action against human rights violators? The answer is self-evident, as no country in the West, at this point, has yet issued a definitive statement, nor taken action of any kind to punish Iran specifically for its exploitative colonialist practices against its non-Persian minorities. That would mean contending with uncomfortable realities that many of these groups have distinct cultural identities and yet are being forced to live in such conditions that none of these so-called human rights defenders would ever tolerate in the United States or Europe.
Finally, many of the anti-colonialist activists may very well themselves be racist. To them, Arab blood is cheap, and Arab lives matter only when they can be paraded for the sake of some effortless political agendas, and make these activists look and feel good. However, outside some narrowly defined contexts, these individuals care nothing about Arab cultures, have no interest in the region, have a poor understanding of regional politics, and a weak grasp of the issues Ahwazis are facing and why the matter. Secretly, many of these colonialists look down on this nation and it is for that reason, which they refuse to raise their voices in their defense. Let’s not hide behind a masque of ignorance and virtue. Let’s admit that many of the anti-Colonialists have actually nothing to fight or die for; their dedication to protecting the past is merely symbolic as it requires no risks nor sacrifices, and most often they do not even like the people they are defending and for that reason choose to stick with the past.
Western hypocrisy on colonialism lies in their failure to confront colonialism in all its forms, even when it means making enemies, going against popular trends, risking one’s reputations as foreign policy “experts”, or otherwise challenging superficial talking points and valuing Ahwazis for being human beings, not merely looking for easy and convenient victims for the sake of boosting one’s own self-esteem. However, even the US government is finally beginning to wake up to the danger Iran’s brutality presents to the nations it is oppressing, all over the Middle East. The State Department’s continuous coverage of the event is putting pressure on the regime and for the first time since the Islamic Revolution, signaling a change in the way the United States approaches the right of non-Persian nations in Iran, as well as a more serious stand against human rights violations in general.
There is a lot more to be done. The Ahwazi movement is gratified for the unparalleled support from the Trump administration; no other Western government has commented on the situation or confronted the ayatollahs about it. The morale boost for people defending their rights through this principled stand by the US government is of immeasurable value. The next step, however, is for the State Department’s outreach to come into closer contact with the leaders of the movement and to learn in more detail about what is going on. The Ahwazis are friendly to the US; they wish to enter into a dialogue, to inform and educate others about the situation, and to help with finding a solution to Iran’s security threats to the Middle East and the West, and its oppression of various peoples.
Just like the United States, Ahwazis wish to see free, secure, peaceful, stable, just, and prosperous the Middle East, and are ready, with gratitude to extend their hand to the US and to assist in any way. The State Department should also inform its partners and the wider public about what is going on. The mainstream media will not start covering the protests of their own accord, but if the US takes note and makes a priority to comment on these important developments, they will have no choice but to start asking questions inconvenient to the destructive and false narrative, which ignored the reality of the majority of the Iranian population. The first step is to issue an official press release in English expressing the awareness and concern about the situation and to make other official inquiries that will finally put Iran’s disgraceful oppression of Ahwazis on the map. And for the regular American citizens, this is an opportunity to exercise goodwill by standing in solidarity with the Ahwazis defending their rights, organizing rallies in support, informing themselves and writing about the issue, and giving Ahwazi activists an opportunity to speak about it on air, just as the regime apologists have had the opportunity to do so unchallenged for so many years. They should share the images and the videos of the brave people refusing to stay silent any longer; spread the word on social media, write to newspapers, write to Congress, and demand hearings on this issue.
The Ahwazi movement is not giving up; it is determined, organized, and strong. But it has been ignored in favor of regime’s narratives. When Ahwazi women march for their rights, there are no images of them inspiring others in the West to share in their struggle. There is no discussion of the abuses they have suffered or the sacrifices they have made. Yet, just as the brave Iranian women in Tehran, the women who have participated in the protests, are risking their lives exposing the racism, discrimination, and denigration of their families, their identities, their culture, and their communities. They have been considered “lesser” – lesser women, lesser people, lesser citizens of Iran, and their voices have remained unheard. That’s all about to change, for in response to the silencing of their roles, in response to the lies about their lack of social role, they have been coming out in the thousands to stand side by side with the men.
We hope that the State Department takes note of that and remembers. There is no going back; only continuing to resist the oppression, the discrimination, the injustice, and the tyranny of a violent, terrorist, and illegitimate regime which has tried to turn all the nations of Iran into slaves. The time of servitude is over; now comes freedom.
By Irina Tsukerman , Irina Tsukerman is graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 2009 and received her BA Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006. Her legal and advocacy work focuses on human rights and security issue, mostly in Muslim countries. She is also involved in diplomatic outreach and relationship-building among different communities. | 2019-04-22T12:11:01Z | http://www.ahwazmonitor.info/articles/why-are-the-european-and-us-human-rights-activists-silent-on-irans-oppression-of-ahwazis/ |
Where can I find sunglasses in Port Charlotte?
Protecting your eyes and your eye health is essential, so it is important not to forget it. You can care for your eyes by keeping up with routine exams and checkups, but there are a few things you can do in your everyday life to keep your eyes and your eyesight healthy as well – and that actually includes wearing sunglasses. Here at Optical Outlets we can help you find the perfect pair of sunglasses in Port Charlotte.
Sunglasses aren’t just meant to look cool or make a fashion statement. Sunglasses are meant to protect the eyes from glare and bright lights, both of which can be temporarily blinding, and potentially dangerous as well. Aside from making seeing easier when it is bright outside, sunglasses can also shield your eyes from UV damage – granted they are UV protected, of course. Any old pair of sunglasses won’t do, you need to make sure that your lenses are 100% UV protected in order for them to be fully effective. Here at Optical Outlets we can provide you with basic optical services like tests and screenings, but we can also help you get designer frames as well as 100% UV protected sunglasses. Most people know just how much the sun can damage their skin, but it can do just as much harm to the eyes as well, which is why UV protected sunglasses are a must, whether you need prescription lenses or not. Once we have provided you with your tests and screenings, determining your prescription requirements if needed, we can walk you through our selection of frames.
In addition to the latest designer frames, we also carry affordable options as well as different frames for different activities such as outdoor sports and frames for kids. If you need sunglasses in Port Charlotte, then come on down to Optical Outlets to get your pair of prescription designer frames today.
This entry was posted in Sunglasses and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on January 28, 2018 by pjdhanoa.
If you wear contacts, it is especially important that you know how to take care of your lenses. People who wear contact lenses on a regular basis can potentially develop conditions such as keratitis, which is a contact lens related infection. If this sort of problem occurs and you wear contacts in Port Charlotte, then we here at Optical Outlets can help.
Wearing contact lenses requires taking some responsibility. If you are new to wearing contacts, you will be walked through a complete contact lens fitting. During this fitting, you will be able to sample many different types of contact lenses while also learning how to properly care for these lenses. Taking extra effort to make sure that your contact lenses are clean when you put them in, that you put them in correctly, and that you take them out properly, can all help when it comes to maintaining your overall eye health while living with contacts. Infections can occur for a number of reasons.
Contacts in Port Charlotte can become dry, making them hard to take out of your eyes, so it is possible that you might scratch your eyes when removing them if the lenses are too dry when you try to take them out. Additionally, contact lenses can become dirty the longer you use them, especially contact lenses that are not dailies or thrown out once they are used. Here at Optical Outlets we can help diagnose any issues, especially if you begin to develop any symptoms such as discharge, discoloration, discomfort, pain, and itchiness. We can provide you with a diagnosis and treatment and restore your health.
If you regularly wear contacts in Port Charlotte and have noticed any strange symptoms, please visit us here at Optical Outlets as soon as you can. Our specialists here at our Port Charlotte optometry office will be able to provide you with whatever care you need.
This entry was posted in Port Charlotte and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on November 27, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
At Optical Outlets we recommend patients come in for a Port Charlotte eye test once a year. Having eyes checked yearly is the best way to figure out if there are any eye conditions or diseases present, such as glaucoma. Glaucoma is a serious disease that afflicts many people over the age of 50. Glaucoma is caused by abnormally high pressure inside the eye, known as intraocular pressure.
Many people think that glaucoma is a single eye disease but it is actually a group of eye conditions which results in damage to the optic nerve. The second leading cause of blindness in seniors, glaucoma causes damage to eyes and eventual loss of vision. It can have little to no symptoms and it comes on very slowly, so it’s important to have your eyes checked annually and have a Port Charlotte eye test. Vision loss sometimes happens so gradually that many people don’t even notice their vision is failing until the disease becomes more advanced, but early diagnosis can help prevent further damage. Glaucoma cannot be cured but it can be stopped from progressing if it’s caught early enough.
Testing can also catch other eye diseases like cataracts. Cataracts cloud the eye’s lens and cause the sufferer to see very blurry. This makes it difficult to drive, read or see things close up. As with glaucoma, cataracts develop slowly over time and may not cause early vision changes. Over time however, vision may start to change. Surgery for cataracts has shown to be highly effective. Strong lighting and prescription eyeglasses can also help alleviate symptoms. If your Port Charlotte eye test has shown that you suffer from cataracts, we may suggest eye surgery. Cataract eye surgery can greatly benefit those in need of it and make their lives easier and more manageable.
This entry was posted in Eye Test and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on October 28, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
It is now recommended that people wear sunglasses year round in order to protect their eyes from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of the sun. At Optical Outlets we carry an exciting and large selection of sunglasses 33948 for men, women, and children.
When you come to our vision practice and optical store to purchase sunglasses, our frame experts will be happy to help you find the sunglasses that work well with your face shape fashion sense, and budget. Our frame experts enjoy working with children, as well, so you can be sure that your children can find sunglasses or eyeglasses which they enjoy wearing, and are happy to show to their friends. It is important that your sunglasses block out 100% of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays in order to make sure that your eyes are fully protected from the sun. This protection is very important because studies have shown that the sun’s UVA and UVB rays have been responsible for patients developing cataracts and macular degeneration later in life. Many of our customers choose to buy wraparound frames which offer the greatest sun protection.
Our optician can also talk to you about the different lenses and lens coatings that are available to help protect your eyes under other conditions. We offer an extremely large selection of designer sunglasses 33948. However, if you are looking for a particular eyeglass frame, our frame experts will be happy to try to locate the particular frames for you. If you want to get prescription sunglasses, our optometrist can provide you with a comprehensive eye exam which will include a new lens prescription. This way you will be able to benefit from the protection of your sunglasses whether or not you are wearing contact lenses on any particular day.
For an appointment to be seen by our optometrist, simply contact our office. Otherwise feel free to stop by anytime to purchase your new sunglasses 33948.
This entry was posted in Sunglasses and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on September 26, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
Our Optical Outlets practice helps patients improve their vision through the use of both eyeglasses and contact lenses in 33948. Based on a complete eye exam by our doctor and the use of the highest quality lenses our patients overwhelmingly enjoy clear vision in their contact lenses with no problems. However, some contact lens wearers do develop problems including eye infections primarily from improper use or care of their lenses.
Keratitis is the most common infection from wearing contact lenses in 33948. It is when the cornea, the clear, front part of the eye becomes infected. In some cases, it can scar the cornea, affecting your vision. If the cornea is severely scarred, the patient may need a cornea transplant to have clear vision again. There are a number of things that can cause a contact lens-related infection including the use of extended wear lenses, sleeping in your contact lenses, microbe build-up in the yes, herpes virus, bacteria, fungus, improper cleaning of contact lenses.
Symptoms of infections due to contact lenses in 33948 include blurry vision, unusual redness of the eye, pain, tearing, light sensitivity, and the feeling that there is something in the eye. These infections can be avoided through proper maintenance of the lenses including cleaning them often and rubbing them when cleaning the lenses as well as using the recommended cleaning solutions. Wear your lenses according to our doctor’s instructions and give your eyes occasional breaks from contact lens use. Sleeping in most contact lenses will irritate the eye and can cause abrasions and infections of the eye and should be avoided. Change your lenses as often as recommended. Our practice uses the highest quality lenses available and we recommend that you continue using those lenses when reordering. If a problem arises contact our office and see the doctor as soon as possible.
This entry was posted in Contact Lenses and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on August 28, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
It is important to have a comprehensive eye exam at least once a year to make sure that your eyes are remaining healthy. But even if you have had an eye exam recently, if you develop certain symptoms it is important that you immediately come in to see our optometrist at Optical Outlets. At our office, you can receive an eye test in Port Charlotte to make sure that your eyes are not experiencing serious vision problems.
If you have eyes that are red and itchy, you may simply have seasonal allergies. However, if these problems develop, and you have not been diagnosed with allergies, you will want to come to our see our optometrist to make sure that you have an eye allergy problem and not an eye infection. Our eye doctor can provide you with a prescription for medications which can help ease your eye allergies in certain situations. If your vision is blurred, it is important to come in to see our eye doctor to make sure you are not developing any serious vision problems. Both glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy can create problems with blurred vision. Immediate diagnosis is necessary to make sure that you stand the greatest chance of not developing any permanent vision problems. Blurred vision can also be caused by cataracts or dry eye. When you have dry eye, the blurred vision can be intermittent.
These problems need to be addressed as well, but not on an immediate basis in order to prevent vision loss. If you are experiencing a sudden increase in the number of floaters in your eyes and have sudden flashes of light, you will also want to come in to see our optometrist on an immediate basis for an eye test in Port Charlotte. These symptoms may be a sign of something completely harmless, or they can be caused by a retinal tear which can lead to an extremely serious retinal detachment.
For an appointment to visit our eye doctor, and to receive an eye test in Port Charlotte for glaucoma or other vision problems, contact us today.
This entry was posted in Eye Test and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on July 28, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
Going crazy over poor vision? Looks like it’s time for you to change how you look at things. Not figuratively—literally. And all without the intrusiveness of surgery. Don’t waste another second and head over to Optical Outlets. Check out our impressive selection of sunglasses in Port Charlotte.
No sooner than a second after walking through our doors, you’ll be wow by our dizzying selection of eyewear. On one hand, contact lenses are a great alternative for maximizing both function and aesthetic. But they come at a cost, that being how incredibly cumbersome they are to maintain. Besides, who wants to get back home from a late-night hangout, only to have to fiddle around with lenses? Eyeglasses can be cool—it’s all about finding the right match. Because getting the right frames is like shopping for a new face. Don’t let the harsh summer days force you into a decision between staying protected and being able to see. You should be able to do both at the same time. Fortunately, now you can. All you have to do is go through our variety of designer frames, some of which include: Burberry, Calvin Klein, Charmant, Cartier, Nautica, Nike, Roberto Cavalli, Polo, Ray Ban, and Silhouette. And we’re just getting started. See? Style and function don’t have to be mutually exclusive. At least not the inventory you’ll find at Optical Outlets. Well, what are you waiting for? Come check out our sunglasses in Port Charlotte. Finally, your fantasy of cruising down the high way with the top down, wearing U.V. repellant sunglasses can finally come true.
Don’t have a prescription? No problem. Reach out to us via phone or e-mail to schedule an appointment at Optical Outlets. After that, you’ll be well on your way to shopping around for the perfect sunglasses in Port Charlotte.
This entry was posted in Sunglasses and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on June 27, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
If you wear contact lenses, you are at increased risk for developing an eye infection. At the earliest sign of any type of eye infection symptoms, you should visit our optometrist at Optical Outlets. It is possible to safely wear contacts in 33948, and there are tips which can help you avoid getting contact lens-related infections.
When you get new contacts in 33948, it is extremely important that you follow all lens care instructions that you receive at our vision practice. You will want to be sure to disinfect the lenses as directed, and to never wear contact lenses for a time longer than they are prescribed for. You will also never want to share your contact lenses with anyone else. Additionally, you will want to make sure that your hands are freshly washed whenever you touch your eyes, or insert or remove your contact lenses. It will also be important to make sure that your contact lens case is kept clean, and replace it from time to time. However, even with the very best care, eye infections can develop.
Common signs of keratitis or other eye infections can include: eye redness; eye pain; excessive tearing; a bloody, green, or yellow discharge from your eyes; difficulty opening your eye due to pain; blurred vision; decreased vision; sensitivity to light; or the feeling that there is something in your eye that cannot be removed. When you have any of these signs of eye infection, it is important that you make an appointment to come in to see our optometrist for eye care. Our eye doctor will determine the exact cause of your eye problem and treat your eye accordingly. Eye infections can go on to cause serious problems, including permanent vision loss, so you never want to let them progress, hoping they will simply clear up on their own.
For an appointment to come in to see our eye doctor, or to get an exam for contacts in 33948, contact us today.
This entry was posted in Contacts and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on May 24, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
Are you seeking an eyecare office where you or a family member can find the perfect Port Charlotte sunglasses? Look no further than Optical Outlets, where you can connect with a specialist who has the training and experience to meet all your optical needs!
At Optical Outlets, our team has been offering compassionate optical treatment to the Port Charlotte community for many years. We’re proud of our ability to bring clear vision and optimum optical health to our patients of all ages; that’s why we use state-of-the-art technology and cutting edge optical techniques to make sure that our facility offers the most effective and pain-free treatments possible. Our friendly staff also goes the extra mile to make you feel comfortable; we make sure that our office is relaxing and welcoming to patients of all ages.
Our wide variety of services includes eye exams for adults and children, contact lenses and their requisite exams and fittings, eyeglasses, and sunglasses, transitions, anti-reflective, crystalCLEAR A/R lenses, invisible bifocals, mirrored lenses, polarized lenses, polycarbonate lenses, progressive lenses, and eyeglass styles for kids, adults, and seniors. We also offer a large selection of designer brands including Nike Vision, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Carrera, J-Lo, Saks Fifth Avenue, Jhanes Barnes, Kenneth Cole, Giorgio Armani, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Liz Claiborne, Bongo, Kensie, Flexon, Calvin Klein, Fendi, Banana Republic, Fossil, Nine West, Ecko, and Thalia. In other words, if you’re looking for the right place to find Port Charlotte sunglasses, you’ve come to the right place! UV light can damage the eyes whether it’s summer or winter, and it can be particularly powerful on freezing, sunny days when light is reflected off of the snow.
Curious whether Optical Outlets might carry the Port Charlotte sunglasses you’ve been searching for? Drop by our location today and connect with a friendly staff member who can help you find your new favorite frames!
This entry was posted in Sunglasses and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on April 26, 2017 by pjdhanoa.
Some things are worth risking. But health? Unquestionably, no. Sure you can try to just ignore the issue. But letting an existing condition be is (almost always) a surefire way to make things far more complicated than they ever needed to be. So…don’t do that? Not only don’t do that, but take control of the situation by visiting Optical Outlets for Port Charlotte eye testing.
Baby steps first, though. Before you jump straight into eye exams, you’ll want to get a vision screening first. We completely understand if your eyes just glazed over—most folks don’t know the difference between both evaluations. Let’s clear through the confusion fog, shall we? A vision screening is the type of evaluation you get done when you just need to know how great or poor your vision is. If it turns out that your sight is more than a little bit blurry (coupled with other possible symptoms), you’ll moved on to the next tier of testing—eye exams. A more thorough evaluation, eye exams are there to thoroughly investigate what’s affecting your eye. After all, you can’t solve a problem until assessing what it is. After which, a specialist will devise a plan of action to combat the affliction—that simple. So don’t shy away from finding out. Knowledge can be power. Step into a new realm of authority by reaching out to us friendly Optical Outlets staff for Port Charlotte eye testing.
Wait no more. Take charge and empower yourself by getting a vision screening and/or an eye exam. Most eye conditions are incredibly easier to manage if found during their earlier stages. So don’t wait for them to really become a problem. Pick up that phone, punch a few numbers and dial optical outlets for Port Charlotte eye testing. That’s all there is to it.
This entry was posted in Eye Testing and tagged Contacts, Exams, Eye Doctor, Eyeglasses, Kids Eye Doctor, Kids Eyewear, Lenses, Optometrist, Optometry, Port Charlotte on March 24, 2017 by pjdhanoa. | 2019-04-24T20:51:43Z | http://port-charlotte.opticaloutlets.com/eye-exams/florida/contacts/ |
What is the Hebrew Root?
The Hebrew Root is simply a way of describing the idea that the church is in-grafted as wild branches into the "olive tree" of God's elect. The apostle Paul was crystal clear that this is the case. (Romans 11:17-21, in particular is the key text here although all of Romans 9; 10; 11 should be read to get a biblical understanding of this). The church is not an independent or free-wheeling "religion" – it is "rooted". When the roots of a plant suffer then the whole plant suffers. If we have dry roots our "Christianity" will also be dry. In the same way we need to absorb spiritual nutrients through the root. The plant is not the root, nor is the root the plant. The two are inseparable.
The church has artificially separated root from plant and suffered accordingly. Whilst there are numerous reasons for the churches' patchy record down through history, PYF believes (and we are far from alone on this) that artificial separation of root from branch has made the church "proud" and too willing to ignore the Jewishness of its Saviour. The Bible reminds us that pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
By acknowledging the Hebrew Root we express joyfull and confidently the uniqueness of Jesus, our Lord, who was born, lived, died and was raised again as a Jew living in a Jewish context. We love Him as Saviour, we love Him as Shepherd and we want to recognize His voice ever more clearly. Part of that is to understand Jesus the Jewish teacher; Jesus the Jewish observer of the Law; Jesus the fulfillment of prophesy; Jesus within His Jewish community and hinterland. We should not knowingly neglect any aspect of Jesus our Lord – and His Jewishness is surely an aspect for which we need to make room in our appreciation of His beauty and His holiness.
Is this a 'front' for Christian Zionism? Is this 'political'?
No. There are a range of views about what is loosely called Zionism (and incidentally what sort of Zionism does this question address? Is it Jewish Zionism? Or Jewish anti-Zionism? Is it Christian Zionism or Christian anti-Zionism? Is it Covenantal Zionism or Classical Zionism?). If we were to choose a 'label' for our understanding here at PYF it would be Classical Zionism as adopted by the likes of Charles and John Wesley, the Puritan John Owen, Charles Simeon of Cambridge, Bishop Ryle of Liverpool, the Baptist Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Scots Andrew Bonar and Murray McCheyne. Also William Wilberforce, Lord Shaftesbury, and some politicians such as David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, and Harold Wilson. These are just some notable UK people who have subscribed to what is now called a 'classical' understanding of God's ongoing purposes for Israel.
This is not political at all. The manager of this website subscribes broadly to the ideas set out by Rev Alex Jacob in his helpful short book "Receive The Truth!" (published 2011) in which the author sets out 20 FAQs and 10 short bible expositions relating to key issues in contemporary Christian-Jewish relations and Christian Spirituality. This book is available from CMJ (the Church's Ministry among Jewish People). It is also available via Glory to Glory Publications. David Pawson's "Defending Christian Zionism" is also a helpful short book exploring Classical Zionism.
God has chosen to reveal Himself first through a chosen people (the Hebrews) and the Laws which He gave to them. And then through God's Son, Jesus/Yeshua, who came to fulfil God's Law and become the acceptable sacrifice for the sins of all Mankind. UK writer Steve Maltz has used the term “God's Signature” to describe the wonders of the Hebrew Scriptures, which teach us so much about the nature of God, as we delve into His word, as well as the wonderful promise of a Saviour or Messiah who would come at a distinct point in the history of the world. Steve Maltz wrote a short book called “God's Signature” which looks into how and why the Old Testament came to be written, at some of the things we often miss because we do not appreciate those same Scriptures in their Jewish context, and at a range of other questions. Google Steve Maltz and God's Signature if you want to know more.
Is the Hebrew Root divisive?
No – the very opposite. It unites believing Jew to Believing Gentile. And in a church riven with theological and praxis differences, the Hebrew Root will become increasingly important in the 21st Century in enabling Believing-Christians (and Believing Jews) to see and to strengthen those things that unite them rather than those things that divide them.
Is the Hebrew Root secondary?
It is arguable that the church has misunderstood its root from the time that the church ceased to be predominantly Jewish – in other words from the Second Century onwards. Once the church in effect became 'nationalised' (this is a gross over-simplification, but people will have a sense of what this means!) by the Roman Emperor Constantine, the church began to identify ever more closely with the State and this has been an issue for the church ever since. As the church relies more upon the State, arguably it relies less upon the Lord! Again this must be an over-simplification but the history of the church and its close dealings with the State - with temporal 'powers' - has led to many compromises. How can we forget that the present "Church of England" was born out of a divorce controversy!
Few Christians would argue that the church is in a healthy state. The emptying pews in the older established churches suggest it is unhealthy – possibly terminally unhealthy. (This is not true of the non-denominational churches nor of the church in the developing world). The Bible suggests, in any case, that the church will seriously rebel against the Holy Spirit towards the end times – and we have no real idea as to how close we may be to those end times.
Remedying the defects of the past is becoming a priority. The Bride must make herself ready for the Groom (Revelation 19:7–8). It is arguable that a rediscovery of the Hebrew Root will be an important part of the church's preparation for His return in Glory. That is certainly the broad view of PYF 'friends'.
So no, rediscovering our Hebrew Root and exploring it as a wonderful fresh vista showing us God's utter faithfulness is surely not secondary - indeed the reverse must be true. Reevaluating our Hebraic inheritance may be a real key to facing the undoubted challenges ahead – not least of which will be heightened persecution.
How does the Hebrew Root help us to draw closer to Jesus?
Simply by better recognizing and understanding our Saviour – the Jewish man, the itinerant Jewish teacher (rabbi), the true Yeshua who lived in our world as the perfect man and as the Second Adam. As God decided to place Yeshua into a recognized and indeed "chosen" people-group, within their 'promised land', it is surely less than honouring to God for us to ignore the context into which our Lord was placed. It is the expectation of most Christians that at His triumphal return He will return to Jerusalem – to the place from which He left His disciples (see Acts chapter 1 and especially verse 11). These things surely speak of the importance of the Hebraic connection?
Which is the best/most reliable translation of the Bible?
In our basis of faith we affirm a high view of Scripture. Some translations are paraphrases and others use a theological translation technique called dynamic equivalence. Whilst not ruling out the usefulness or efficacy of many translations, we prefer the use of the New King James Version (NKJV) in the English language. The New International Version (NIV) is good. We merely caution our friends that not all Bible translations are equally good, and some adopt a rather partisan approach. It is important, then, to select a good, trusted version – and preferably not a paraphrase, which can actually be rather misleading.
Yeshua (Jesus) lived, died and was raised again as a Torah-observant Jew. Ironic as it may seem, we really cannot call our Lord a "Christian".
Of the 66 books that make up the Bible, certainly 64 were written by Jewish men. Is this a mere coincidence? The two that may have been an exception are the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. But even here there is a suggestion that Luke MAY have been a gentile convert to Judaism before discovering Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah.
The Old Testament and the New Testament are intimately linked. There are over 900 prophesies in the Old Testament that point towards Yeshua (Jesus). To help understand our Lord's teachings we do well to understand more of His cultural hinterland and His cultural mindset.
The New Covenant grows out of the Old Covenant. It is difficult to argue (as some attempt to) that the Old Covenant is extinguished by the New.
When our Lord returns physically in Glory to this World, it is clear that He will return to Jerusalem.
It is powerfully argued that God's purposes for the Hebrew people continue to this day and that in God's good time, the majority of Jewish people will also joyfully recognize and receive Yeshua (Jesus) as their Saviour.
There are powerful allusions to Yeshua (Jesus) throughout the Old Testament. This is often called "typography" of Christ – one powerful such "type" is the sense in which The Tabernacle in its physical "furnishings" speaks powerfully of the life and ministry of Yeshua (Jesus).
However uncomfortable or controversial it may be there are many who understand the return of the Jewish people to the lands we now call Israel as being a fulfillment of prophesy both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. Is the church ready to welcome Jewish Believers in Yeshua?
The debt owed by Christians as chosen people (chosen individual people - Ephesians 1:4) to The Chosen People, the Hebrews, is enormous, as set out in Romans 11.
The ten thoughts above are aimed to help stir-up an interest in your Hebrew root, if you are a Christian. We are "wild olive branches" grafted into the Hebrew root stock (Romans 11:17). This is a vital allusion made by the apostle Paul; we need to understand it and to live it. We do not do so by becoming Jews! Such an idea is absurd and already dismissed by Paul (see Galatians 5:1-15).
We see the beauty of Yeshua (Jesus) magnified. He was a real man living in a real community, among God's chosen people.
Jesus the real Man becomes the Saviour we understand more closely. We grow to love Him more intimately and want to serve Him more truly.
Our understanding of Scripture is enhanced and our trust of the Word is increased. This has to be a good thing as the world becomes increasingly hostile to "Christianity" and as persecution increases.
We can find ourselves freed from denominational theologies that can be destructive and divisive. We begin to acquire the mind of Christ rather than the minds of "theologians"
Our love for our neighbour will become more reflective of our love for the Lord – the two loves will tend to work "hand in glove". We will grow to love our Lord more so our love for our neighbour increases.
Our gift of discernment will be strengthened.
There are no doubt other ways in which our discipleship will be blessed. But the above seem to be the most visible benefits of acknowledging our Hebrew lineage.
Beware of Greeks bearing ……… Ideas!
There is a growing consensus that early Christianity leaned heavily upon Greek Philosophy as a mechanism through which to share the gospel. Whilst no doubt God graciously allowed Christianity to flourish in the ancient Graeco/Roman world, the wholesale adoption of the Ideas of Plato and Aristotle seems to have led directly to the "spiritualizing" of parts of the Bible and to a slow dilution of key Biblical themes.
It is helpful for Christians to see how these ideas seeped into the church and to seek to think Hebraically rather than think within a Greek mindset. The Greek mindset is the mindset of the world. We are called to be distinctive within the world. Thinking more as Yeshua (Jesus) thought will help us to approach life's problems and questions more in the manner that our Lord Himself would do so.
Why is the Christian Church too often such a poor witness to the Gospel?
There is an enemy out there (the Bible calls him the devil) who seeks to spoil and to destroy. He particularly likes to keep the church on its back-foot, focusing on side-issues rather than preaching the gospel of Yeshua (Jesus). One weapon in his arsenal is Greek philosophy. Greek philosophy is sharp contrast to the certainties of Hebraic thought patterns. Hebraic thought patterns often allow us to see innumerable Godly possibilities where Greek thought patterns restrict us only to 'logical' thought processes. This is not to suggest that there is anything 'illogical' in Hebraic thought, or in the Gospel, but where we use the "tools" of Greek philosophy to settle what Scripture means, we often end-up by undermining Scriptural truths.
It is noteworthy that in the eighteenth century, during what historians call "The Enlightenment", Greek philosophy was reinvigorated in Western thought and Greek philosophy once again became popular and dominant among the intelligentsia and ruling elites. The church once again became subject to these philosophical "norms" and during this period there began two centuries of attack upon the truthfulness and dependability of Scripture. It is arguable those attacks continue unabated in our own day.
The Greek mindset is not the sole culprit in the Churches' weakened witness BUT it is one area of Church weakness that can be addressed by consciously seeking-out a better and fuller understanding of the Hebraic dynamic underlying the Christian faith.
Just how reliable is the Christian Bible in its various 'translations'?
This website is not the place to settle so profound a question as to the reliability of otherwise of the various translations of the Scriptures. Searchers will find a wealth of guidance elsewhere.
The point we would like Friends to note is that to honour Scripture in the way that our Lord Yeshua (Jesus) honoured Scripture will bring those Scriptures alive to us in a much more profound way that we may have experienced in the past.
It has been argued that the philosophy called "Replacement Theology" (the idea that the Church has replaced the Jewish people in God's affections) probably owes much to Greek thinking and Greek philosophizing. A helpful corrective to this is the adoption of a more consciously Hebraic approach and understanding.
This is the reality that Believing-Jew and Believing-Gentile are brought together as one before our Lord, through repentance (turning away from known sin) and placing our faith in Yeshua (Jesus). So we can declare along with Paul "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
This is what it means to be One New Man. This is the effect of the New Covenant that grows out of the Old Covenant; the blessings of God's promises are extended to all Mankind (all people) and are no longer experienced by observing the Law; they are experienced only by faith in Yeshua (Jesus).
Jewish people still need to receive their Messiah. Jewish people do not need to become culturally "Christians" (whatever that may mean – and the definitions of Christianity are numerous and confusing!) but they, as all people everywhere, do need to become Believers, to repent, be baptized and be discipled by Yeshua (Jesus). Yeshua is the Saviour of Jews as much as He is of Gentiles. The consequences of rejection of Yeshua is the same for Jew as it is for Gentile.
I'm interested! What should I do next?
If you are not yet a Disciple of Jesus and what to know want it truly means to be His follower, then please go to this website which should help you.
There are probably the best detailed popular introductions to the issues we have started to explore in this PYF website. If you want to buy them then please go to this link. Alternatively these books are available via the book-chain CLC in UK.
We think the works of David Pawson at a more generic level are also very helpful. Go to the http://davidpawson.org/books/ for details of these. | 2019-04-18T12:38:16Z | http://christian-publications-int.com/default.aspx?ID=156 |
SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ — Mundipharma today announced successful results from the testing of BETADINE® formulations against the MERS virus, which remains a serious health threat with a new outbreak in Saudi Arabia, the largest since the peak of the last MERS outbreak there in the summer of 20143. With more than two million pilgrims to the Muslim holy city of Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage expected in September4 and more than 5 million Saudi students starting classes this week, there is a significant risk of the virus spreading nationwide.
The South Korea outbreak which concluded in July 2015, where 185 people were infected, 36 killed and more than 16,000 quarantined, has demonstrated the need for effective preventative measures to reduce the spread of the virus5.
To date, there is no specific medication or vaccination available to effectively combat MERS or its spread, raising tremendous concern in today’s globally connected population. Hence, in an effort to contain the spread of infectious diseases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has emphasised the importance of good hygiene and issued guidelines on maintaining good personal hygiene, highlighting regular hand washing with soap, as the first line of defence in disease prevention and infection control6.
A recent in-vitro research study, conducted at Marburg University, Germany, on BETADINE® range of products including 4% PVP-I (BETADINE® Skin Cleanser), 7.5% PVP-I (BETADINE® Surgical Scrub), 1% PVP-I (BETADINE® gargle and mouthwash) demonstrated scientifically proven virucidal in-vitro efficacy against the MERS virus and the modified vaccinia virus type Ankara, considered to be one of the toughest enveloped viruses (Ebola, influenza and coronaviruses are also enveloped viruses)7.
The study was conducted based on the latest EU test standard EN14476:2014 for antiviral enveloped virus testing (similar to that for Ebola). The three PVP-I products tested in this study demonstrated virucidal activity against MERS with a rapid kill rate of ≥99.99% within only 15 seconds of exposure, and reaffirms BETADINE®‘s broad virucidal efficacy against a wide range of viruses including MERs. Proper hand and respiratory hygiene coupled with PVPI antiviral efficacy will help in limiting the transmission of the virus and protect against the spread of infection among health healthcare workers and the public during future MERS outbreaks.
The Mundipharma network of independent associated companies consists of privately owned companies and joint ventures covering the world’s pharmaceutical markets. These companies are committed to bringing to patients the benefits of pioneering treatment options in the core therapy areas of oncology, pain, respiratory and rheumatoid arthritis.
SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ — The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (MERSCoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS-CoV, like other coronaviruses, is thought to spread from an infected person’s respiratory secretions, such as through coughing. However, the precise ways the virus spreads are not currently well understood1. It has a high fatality rate of approximately 36%. Since September 2012, 1461 cases and at least 514 deaths in 25 countries2 have been confirmed, with a fresh outbreak appearing in Saudi Arabia on 18 August. More than two million pilgrims are projected to visit the Muslim holy city of Mecca in for the annual hajj pilgrimage in September and the Ministry of Health of Saudia Arabia has stepped up efforts to contain the current outbreak of the virus3.
BETADINE® (povidone iodine, PVP-I), has proven strong efficacy against a wide variety of clinically relevant viruses3A recent in-vitro research study4, conducted at Marburg University, Germany, on BETADINE® surgical scrub (7.5% PVP-I), skin cleanser (4% PVP-I), gargle and mouthwash (1% PVP-I) products demonstrated virucidal in-vitro efficacy against infectious pathogens such as MERs, SARs and Influenza that have reported to cause hospital acquired infections and serious consequences on public health.
The study was conducted based on the latest EU test standard EN14476:2014 for antiviral enveloped virus testing (similar to that for Ebola). The results of excellent virucidal activity of various BETADINE® products against Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) were demonstrated with a rapid kill rate of ≥99.99% with 15 seconds.
To date, there is no specific medication or vaccination available to effectively combat MERS or its spread, highlighting the importance of good personal hygiene as the first line of defence in disease prevention and infection control5.
Multiple nonpharmaceutical interventions are required for successful infection control. During high risks of respiratory infections, healthcare workers are encouraged to use gloves and masks as physical barrier against infectious pathogens. Simple hygiene practices such as gargling and hand washing are among the principal means of the prevention of respiratory transmitted infections.
Current guidelines have also suggested healthcare workers to observe proper hand hygiene for decontamination against viruses before and after the change of gloves and masks. Aseptic hand washing with an antiseptic hand wash is deemed as a higher level of hand hygiene over social hand washing. Aseptic hand washing provides the removal and destruction of viruses via disruption of viral replication and metabolic processes6,7.
Encouragement of gargling is important for the control of opportunistic and community acquired infections inJapan8.The primary goal is to encourage everyone to take precautions not only to prevent infection to themselves but also prevent as much human exposure to the respiratory virus as possible.
The recently completed study indicates the potential role of PVPI in protecting against the spread of infection among healthcare workers and the public during infectious disease outbreaks. Adhering to WHO-issued guidelines on hand, respiratory and PPE (personal protective equipment), coupled with PVPI broad virucidal efficacy will help in disrupting the transmission of viruses and limiting the spread of infectious diseases.
Mundipharma will be presenting the full research data BETADINE® antiviral efficacy results at the International Meeting on Respiratory Pathogens from 2 – 4 September 2015 in Singapore.
SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ — Nine out of 10 physicians in Asia-Pacificuse some form of online search to aid clinical decision-making, with Google being the most popular and frequently used non-evidence based search engine. Yet searching for the “most trusted” and “most updated content” emerged as a priority for majority of those surveyed, highlighting a gap between what physicians are really looking for and the information sources they use to search, a survey amongst 210 Asia Pacific healthcare professionals reveals.
Click here to download infographic on findings.
The survey — Clinical Search – An understanding of healthcare professionals’ attitudes, needs and challenges —conducted by Global Growth Markets (GGM) and commissioned by Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, underlines the integral role of the internet and online search to the way healthcare decisions are made today, while highlighting the challenges physicians face in their quest for clinical information.
Findings from the survey were presented today, at the 14th Hospital Management Asia (HMA) conference in Yangon, Myanmar, which was attended by more than 800 hospital and healthcare leaders across the region.
“As physicians, we are increasingly aware that to consistently provide our patients with the best care, we must not only know where to look for the information we need to solve complex medical questions, but more importantly, we must find information sources that we can trust as evidence-based, current, and reliable,” said Dr. Peter Edelstein, M.D., FACS, FASCRS, Chief Medical Officer, Elsevier Clinical Solutions, who was also a plenary speaker at HMA. “Almost anyone can publish anything today on the internet. Thus we as doctors and healthcare professionals need to be careful and use only clinical search engines that quickly and easily deliver trusted and updated content to support our critical patient care-based clinical decisions.
The survey also found that 8 in 10 physicians indicated that having “instant access” to the latest reference content is “very” or “extremely important” in influencing their clinical decisions. However, the two most common challenges listed were limited subscriptions to clinical information services by hospitals or healthcare facilities and issues with Wi-Fi or network access.
The top reason cited for the search of clinical information was to “stay abreast of latest developments in their field,” followed by “reference during treatment and surgery.” Physicians also use online search to plan treatment therapy, diagnostic tests, ensure best care is delivered at the lowest cost, establish clinical standards of patient care, and to prepare for a patient interaction. The clinical specialties most reliant on search include cardiology, internal medicine, general surgery, neurology and oncology.
Survey results also showed that 58 percent of physicians prefer to access information from their computers while 14 percent still refer to printed sources of information. One in three physicians said they use a mobile device at the point of care, especially during patient consultation or treatment.
The Clinical Search – An understanding of healthcare professionals’ attitudes, needs and challenges survey was conducted with 210 doctors and healthcare professionals from seven countries in Asia-Pacific, including Japan,Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, China, India and Australia. The survey was prepared by Global Growth Markets, a global healthcare market information provider, and funded by Elsevier.
SAN DIEGO, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — ResMed (NYSE: RMD) today announced that SERVE-HF, a multinational, multicenter, randomized controlled Phase III trial did not meet its primary endpoint. SERVE-HF was designed to assess whether the treatment of moderate to severe predominant central sleep apnea with Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV) therapy could reduce mortality and morbidity in patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure in addition to optimized medical care.
SERVE-HF is a multinational, multicenter, randomized controlled Phase III study that was designed to assess whether treatment of moderate to severe predominant central sleep apnea with ASV therapy in addition to optimized medical care could reduce mortality and morbidity in patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure.
The global team at ResMed (NYSE: RMD) is united in their commitment to changing lives with every breath. With more than 4,000 employees and a presence in over 100 countries, the company has been pioneering new and innovative devices and treatments for sleep-disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other key chronic diseases for more than 25 years. ResMed’s world-leading products and innovative solutions improve the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide, reduce the impact of chronic disease, and save healthcare costs. For more information about ResMed and its businesses, visit http://www.resmed.com or follow @resmed on Twitter.
Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for the development of evofosfamide (previously known as TH-302), administered in combination with gemcitabine, for the treatment of previously untreated patients with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer. Evofosfamide is an investigational hypoxia-activated prodrug thought to be activated under severe tumor hypoxic conditions, a feature of many solid tumors. The compound, currently in Phase III trials, is being developed in collaboration with Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Merck over the past years has bolstered its growth platforms in healthcare, life science and performance materials to provide solutions in areas with high demand for innovation. In its biopharmaceuticals business, the company has strengthened its research and development activities and is increasingly counting on partnerships to optimize relevance and efficiency.
Threshold received the first Fast Track designation for the development of evofosfamide in combination with doxorubicin for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma in November 2014.
The FDA established the Fast Track designation process to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs.
Pancreatic cancer is a relatively uncommon, but lethal cancer. Ranked as the 12th most common cancer worldwide, it is the 7th most common cause of cancer-related death, accounting for 4% of deaths. With 93-95% of patients dying from their disease within 5 years, pancreatic cancer has a low survival rate., There has been little improvement seen in the survival of patients with this disease over the past 30 years and there remain limited treatment options for pancreatic cancer. Surgery remains the only curative approach for pancreatic cancer; however, many patients (80-85%) present with advanced, inoperable disease. For this large group of patients ineligible for surgery, the aim of treatment is prolongation of survival and palliation of symptoms.
Ferlay J, et al. Int J Cancer 2015;136(5):E359-86.
National Cancer Institute. SEER Stat Fact Sheets: Pancreas. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html Accessed: May 2015.
EUROCARE-4 database on cancer survival in Europe. Long-term survival expectations of cancer patients in Europe in 2000-2002. Available at: http://www.eurocare.it/Results/tabid/79/Default.aspx Accessed: May 2015.
Siegel R, et al. CA Cancer J Clin 2012;62(1):10-29.
Malik NK, et al. J Gastrointest Oncol 2012;3(4):326-34.
Loc WS, et al. World J Gastroenterol 2014;20(40):14717-25.
Seufferlein T, et al. Ann Oncol 2012;23(Suppl 7):vii33-40.
For more information on Merck Serono in oncology, please visit: http://www.globalcancernews.com.
Evofosfamide (previously known as TH-302) is an investigational hypoxia-activated prodrug that is thought to be activated under severe tumor hypoxic conditions, a feature of many solid tumors. Areas of low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in solid tumors are due to insufficient blood vessel supply. Similarly, the bone marrow of patients with hematological malignancies has also been shown, in some cases, to be severely hypoxic.
Evofosfamide is currently under evaluation in two Phase III trials: one in combination with doxorubicin versus doxorubicin alone in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (the TH-CR-406 trial), and the other in combination with gemcitabine versus gemcitabine and placebo in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer (the MAESTRO trial). Both Phase III trials are being conducted under Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreements with the FDA. The FDA and the European Commission have granted evofosfamide Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of STS and pancreatic cancer. The FDA has also granted Fast Track designation for evofosfamide for both STS and pancreatic cancer. Evofosfamide is also being investigated in a Phase II trial for the treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, and in earlier-stage clinical trials of other solid tumors and hematological malignancies.
Merck signed a global license and co-development agreement for evofosfamide with Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in February 2012, with an option for Threshold to co-commercialize in the U.S.
Evofosfamide is currently under clinical investigation and has not been approved for use in the U.S., Europe, Canada, or elsewhere. Evofosfamide has not yet been proven to be either safe or effective and any claims of safety and effectiveness can be made only after regulatory review of the data and approval of the labeled claims.
Merck is a leading company for innovative, top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses – Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Merck Millipore and Performance Materials – and generated sales of around € 11.3 billion in 2014. Around 39,000 employees work for Merck in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to further the success of customers, and to help meet global challenges. Merck is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70% interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company operates as EMD Serono, EMD Millipore and EMD Performance Materials.
An innovative system for accurate patient positioning already received attention at its market launch in 2014. Now the first of these systems has been commissioned at MedAustron, an Austrian Center for Ion Beam Therapy, and will there be used clinically for the first time. Cancer patients can be positioned better than ever before and will thus be able to receive pin-point accuracy radiation treatments.
To guarantee a successful Ion Beam treatment – a particularly accurate and effective form of radiation therapy – it is essential to position the patient accurately in relation to the radiation beam and to permanently observe and – if necessary – adapt the patient position during the whole treatment session.
MedAustron will be the first Ion Beam Therapy Center worldwide to use completely new medical systems for these tasks: the exacure system of BEC GmbH (Reutlingen, Germany) as well as the Imaging Ring of medPhoton (Salzburg, Austria). Both systems meet the special requirements for Ion Beam Therapy and ensure the highest degree of patient safety. Together they allow for highly accurate and efficient treatments.
A custom-modified industrial robot, designed and adapted for medical use, is the core of the exacure-system. Its most distinctive feature is the ceiling mount, which allows for movement in seven independent degrees of freedom. The robot can not only be positioned in all three dimensions and six degrees of freedom, but can also be moved along the ceiling towards and away from the beam nozzle in order to further improve flexibility of patient positioning. Another advantage of the ceiling-mounted system is the integrated optical tracking system: it monitors the treatment couch position 500 times per second and applies corrections in real time, if necessary, to ensure optimal treatment results.
The so-called Imaging Ring System (IRS) verifies the correct position of the patient prior to irradiation in order to treat the patient with highest possible accuracy. The IRS is integrated into the patient couch and allows very fast three-dimensional Cone Beam-CT imaging. The CT images are compared with the CT image set used for treatment planning. Any necessary corrections can be executed by the exacure robot immediately. This procedure guarantees that the tumour is irradiated exactly as planned by the physicians. The IRS – which has already received multiple technology awards – features a flat panel detector and an x-ray tube, assembled in such a way that they can be moved independently, thereby previously unreachable acquisition speed, field-of-view and image quality can be achieved and make the IRS the gold standard for image guided particle therapy.
“The unprecedented combination of these new systems at MedAustron provide unique accuracy, speed as well as image quality for radiation therapy, unparalleled in the areas of medical robotics and imaging. We are very proud to have engineered this highly innovative solution together with our partners BEC and medPhoton, establishing new standards in Ion Therapy,” commented Dr. Bernd Mößlacher, CEO of MedAustron, after the successful acceptance of the systems.
“Accurately irradiating a tumor while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue calls for the ultimate solution in patient positioning technology. Transferring technology from industrial applications to medical robotics was a key factor to successfully develop the exacure system. Our congratulations go to MedAustron for this unique and innovative treatment center,” said Matthias Buck, CEO of BEC GmbH.
“After years of pioneering work in the field of image guided radiation therapy, we are very pleased that patients in Ion Bean Therapy will also benefit from robot-controlled positioning combined with unique image guidance,” Heinz Deutschmann, CEO of medPhoton GmbH, added.
The medPhoton Imaging Ring has not been cleared by the US Food and Drug Admininstration (FDA) for commercial distribution in the US and is not available for commercial distribution at this time.
While making friends is not always easy, new research shows that pet ownership can improve the likelihood of forming new relationships, especially in your neighbourhood. The international study, conducted by The University of Western Australia (Australia) in collaboration with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition (UK) underscores the important role pets can play in helping humans build social relationships and support networks.
Overall, the study found that pet owners are significantly more likely to meet new people in their neighbourhoods than non-pet owners. Around a quarter of those who met people through their pet said that this resulted in at least one new friendship rather than a mere acquaintance. Dog owners fare even better as they are five times more likely to get to know people in their neighbourhoods compared with other pet owners, with dog walking being one of the top five ways for people to meet new people. The study surveyed residents in three US and one Australian city and found many similarities when it comes to pets. For instance, in all four cities people got to know others in their neighbourhoods through pets more often than through children’s schools or community events.
“We’re all guilty of being a little too fixated on our screen based devices these days, whether we’re walking and talking on the phone, texting or sending e-mails. Pets, and specifically dog walking, bring us out of the technology bubble and create opportunities for the kind of real interpersonal interactions that can lead to deep, human friendships,” said lead study author Associate Professor Lisa Wood from The University of Western Australia.
The study involved a telephone based survey of over 2500 randomly selected adults aged 18 and over +from four cities, including: Perth (Australia); San Diego, CA; Portland, OR; and, Nashville, TN (US).
The study was featured in the April 2015 edition of the peer-reviewed scientific publication, PLOS ONE http://www.plosone.org. The full article can be read here.
Celebrating over 50 years of innovative science, the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition serves as a leading scientific authority in advancing the frontiers of research into the nutrition and health of companion animals. Located in Leicestershire, England, the renowned state-of-the-art science institute for Mars, Incorporated generates knowledge that enables the development of innovative products that meet pets’ needs in a practical way. Since the publication of its first original research in 1963, WALTHAM® has pioneered many important breakthroughs in the field of pet nutrition and human-animal interaction, resulting in more than 1,700 publications, including over 600 peer-review scientific papers. Today, WALTHAM® continues to collaborate with the world’s foremost scientific institutes, driving Mars’ Petcare vision to create a better world for pets and providing the science and expertise that underpins leading Mars brands such as WHISKAS®, PEDIGREE®, NUTRO®, IAMS®, EUKANUBA®, NATURA, TRILL®, CESAR®, SHEBA®, KITEKAT®, DREAMIES™, AQUARIAN®, WINERGY®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital and ROYAL CANIN.
In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars’first roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s,Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY® bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the objective of creating a “mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders” – this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 75,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.
Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, IAMS®, KITEKAT®, BANFIELD® Pet Hospital, NUTRO®, SHEBA®, DREAMIES®, CESAR®, EUKANUBA® and NATURA; Chocolate – M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Wrigley – DOUBLEMINT®, EXTRA®, ORBIT® and 5™ chewing gums, SKITTLES® and STARBURST® candies, and ALTOIDS® AND LIFESAVERS® mints. Food -UNCLE BEN’S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS®, SEEDS OF CHANGE® and ROYCO®; Drinks – ALTERRA ® Coffee Roasterscoffee, THE BRIGHT TEA CO.® tea,DOVE®/GALAXY® Hot Chocolate, and FLAVIA® brewer; Symbioscience – COCOAVIA®, WISDOM PANEL® and SERAMIS®.
For more information, please visit http://www.mars.com. Follow us: http://facebook.com/mars, http://twitter.com/marsglobal, http://youtube.com/mars. | 2019-04-23T01:15:15Z | https://asiafreshnews.wordpress.com/category/healthcare/ |
CIT Bank Review - What They Promise. What They Deliver.
If you’ve looked at CD rates lately, you’re probably very disappointed and frustrated. I know many of the people I speak with feel that way. That’s why I decided to write this CIT Bank review.
You see, in an effort to earn higher rates on deposits, you might be looking online for better alternatives. And CIT is one online bank you might be considering.
But can an online bank like CIT be trusted? Are they secure? Are they worth the extra interest they pay? Do they deploy any special tricks you need to be aware of? Those are the questions I’m going to address in this review.
CIT Group was founded in 1908 and is traded on the NYSE (CIT). When they began doing business over a hundred years ago they focused on making business loans and not much has changed since then.
According to their website, they are a Fortune 500 company and they are on the Small Business Administration “SBA” Preferred Lender list. They have over one million business clients in over 30 industries. The online CIT Bank is owned by CIT Group.
Like the other online banks I’ve written about, CIT is FDIC insured. That means that each depositor is insured up to $250,000. There are ways to increase your coverage but let’s just assume that the most you’ll keep in any bank – including an online institution is $250,000. This is going to be important later on so keep this number in mind.
As far as safety goes, their website is locked down pretty tight. They have taken great pains to make sure you are the only one who can login to your accounts. They have set up some sophisticated anti-virus programs, firewalls and encryption to keep your money safe.
This is pretty standard for all banks these days so I didn’t get that excited to learn about it. And since hackers are pretty smart, there are no guarantees when it comes to online or brick and mortar banks. Just the same, it’s nice to know they take security very seriously.
In 2009 CIT Group went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged from that process within 40 days. Pretty quick.
The bank was not part of that bankruptcy. But the FDIC had a cease-and-desist order in place from July 2009 through April 2011 keeping the bank from accepting new deposits during that time.
Of course that hurt the profitability of the bank and they did post a loss in the third quarter of 2011 but it did beat Wall Street estimates.
Currently the bank has a four-star rating out of five from Bankrate’s Safe & Sound Star Ratings which is very good.
While I don’t think the bankruptcy is a deal breaker, I do think it’s very important to keep your deposit within the $250,000 FDIC guarantee limit if you decide to do business with them. But that goes for any bank these days. You just never know.
Of course you can access your account information and transact 24/7 by phone or web. If you want to speak with a human being they also offer service 7 days a week. You can call until 9:00 p.m. (Eastern) during the week, 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. That’s convenient enough for most of us.
I called customer service and it was really refreshing. A real live person picked up the phone almost immediately and answered all my questions fully and completely. Ahhhhhhh……….
No incoming wire transfer fees.
No outgoing wire transfer fees if you have a daily balance of $25,000 or more.
This is one time when you love to hear “no” from someone you are doing business with.
You can either let the interest compound or you can call the service center to get a check sent to you. Alternatively, you can have the interest sent to another institution (or to your home) automatically every month.
30 days before your CD matures, CIT will email you to let you know. If they don’t hear from you by email or phone 10 days prior to maturity they’ll renew your CD for the same term at the prevailing interest rate.
They still provide another 10 day grace period for you to change your mind so you have plenty of access and time to shop rates elsewhere if you like.
CIT offers a nice menu of savings options. In fact, this is where they really shine.
You can open an account with as little as $1,000 for a CD or $100 for a savings account. Interest compounds daily and they don’t charge any fees no matter how large or small your account is as I said above.
Some of the CDs even allow you to raise your rate and/or increase your deposit even after you establish the account. That’s flexibility and really valuable if you think interest rates are about to rise.
You can buy CDs with a 6 month, 1, 2 or 3 year maturity. Or, if you want to have more liquidity, use their CIT Savings account. This is always liquid and this is the only savings account I know of that still pays a decent return.
CIT Bank consistently has the some of the highest rates on FDIC insured CDs available. They compound interest daily and they credit your account monthly.
3 months interest for the amount you withdraw from your account if it has an original maturity of one year or less.
6 months interest for the amount your withdraw if your account has an original maturity of more than a year but less than three year.
12 months interest for the amount you withdraw if the account has an original maturity of more than three years.
The account opening process is very simple. All you need is your Social Security number, driver’s license and a check or bank account number to electronically transfer money into your new CIT Bank account.
How to fund your account.
You can transfer money into CIT through an ACH transfer. Their account opening process walks you through this so you don’t have to be an Einstein to figure this out. They make it very easy. All you need to do this is a check from your other account.
You can also wire the money into your account or send them a check. Either way, all the information is on the site and this is a very straight-forward process.
Once you open your account you’ll have 24/7 online access to review your account, view statements and see the recent activity.
Are there any restrictions on savings account transactions?
You can make up to six transactions per statement cycle. That’s a limit that is imposed by the Feds – not CIT. Sorry. But the good news is you can link up to 3 outside accounts to your savings account and you can even set up automatic deposits from your employer, pension or even Social Security. This feature will save you time and hassle.
The site says they place a hold on deposits for 5 to 10 days. This seems standard and appropriate. I don’t have a problem with this.
While I really liked the service I got on the phone, there are a few things that disturbed me when I did my research. Some minor and some not so minor.
First, some petty stuff. The website doesn’t have a search function. That might be a small issue but it bugs me. It was a little harder to navigate the site because of that oversight and I don’t have that kind of time to waste. Again, not a deal breaker but I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening.
The bank does not take retirement or trust accounts. You can only open an account as an individual, open a joint account or a TOD (Transfer of Death) account.
I have no idea why these restrictions are in place but they are. That limits your ability to really make use of this institution. And if you want cash, better ask your Uncle Ned for some green because this bank has no ATM network. Bummer.
The rates these people offer are excellent compared to the competition. Not only that, remember that they offer a CD that allows you to both add additional funds and adjust your interest rate (twice) in case rates go up. That sounds like a winner to me.
If you are looking for great rates & FDIC insurance CIT might be for you. If you compare CIT to other banks, it certainly has some impressive advantages.
If you are looking for an easy place to park some CD money and want very attractive rates, this is a good option.
If you are looking for a bank to provide more extensive services like checking and investment services, this is not a good fit for you.
Likewise if you need to open a CD for a trust or retirement account – CIT is not your bank. Either way, make sure to never go above the FDIC insured levels no matter which bank you work with.
I wanted to write this comment since it’s 2019 now and a lot of the comments below from 2014 and earlier were complaining about login issues and having to change their passwords after funding their accounts, messed up login photo… etc. All those issues seem to have been fixed. They now use 2FA by calling your registered phone and asking you to enter the 5 digit number they display on login. So no more login photo. I was also never asked to create a new password when I log in.
Now the website/app are both bare metal and are not that intuitive. Other banks I’ve dealt with have way better interfaces. CIT should really hire a good UX/UI engineer in house or just get someone to design their app/website for a better/more efficient experience.
But their rates make it still worth the hassle of dealing with their website. So, I’ll have to give them that.
Thanks for the update, Ash. I found the article informative and reassuring. And I appreciate you adding recent experience to the conversation. CIT is indeed offering the best online savings account returns today and we plan to take advantage of that.
I have previously, and without any hitches, opened online savings accounts with Ally Bank and AmEx Bank. I recently opened an online savings account with CIT Bank. While I may have had to speak to a rep at the first two banks one time during the AC opening process, I have had to speak with CIT reps several times. I have no complaints about the level of service each rep offered, but I do have complaints about CIT Bank’s processes. I set up ACH transfer option to initially fund my account. I NEVER received an email with instructions how to verify the two small deposits into my home bank. Got it done. In my mind, my AC is good to go! Nope…when I tried to do an online ACH transfer, I had to RE-REGISTER MY ACH INFO and verify two more small deposits into my AC. Why? CIT already was able to ACH transfer my original funding $1000 deposit. Neither Ally nor AmEx made me do such a redundant exercise. I confirmed online my second set of small deposits from CIT to my home bank. I’m ready to make a larger ACH transfer BUT my AC is limited to $15,000 per day in and out ACH transfers FOR SIX MONTHS. Silver lining: I was able to verbally (on the phone) instruct CIT to transfer (presumably by ACH) $99,000 from my home bank to my CIT AC. Why do I have to wait SIX MONTHS to be able to do ONLINE ACH transfers? The whole point of having an ONLINE AC is do be able to transact ONLINE!!! With both Ally and AmEx banks, I was able to fund transfers ONLINE from the get go.
Maybe I should have been cognizant of CITs limitations, but given my pleasant experiences with Ally and AmEx, I assumed (I know…) that using a CIT online AC would be a breeze. Nope. If I knew what I now know, I would choose another option.
I opened a savings account recently and no problems. The problem is people are too lazy to follow directions and want the money in the account immediately. If you can follow simple instructions and wait a few days I recommend it. If you can’t do that then it’s not for you.
That has been my experience as well most of the time.
The bank has been great – best rates AND FREE Wire transfers! Big drawback is lack of Quicken support – having to manually enter my transactions seems outdated. What’s more annoying is they continue to support MS Money-which is now an extinct program. If it weren’t for the Quicken issue, I’d give them 5 stars.
I opened the account online this past Saturday 4/26. Source account received test deposits and I verified it Tuesday. Money was moved to new CIT accounts by yesterday (Wednesday). Submitted a request after work yesterday to allow external transfers, received a response a couple hours later that the request was received and I’d be set up in 1-2 business days. Just got another reply LESS THAN 24 HOURS LATER that I was all set. Logged on and linked up my external accounts already. Again, It’s only been since Saturday 4/26 that I even appled for the accounts online. Not sure what you’re all talking about, but seems pretty quick and efficient to me.
Chris. Glad you had a good experience. I hear this often actually. I sense they are a very good place to do business with.
I called today with similar issues and told the representative I wanted to speak with a supervisor or manager. She put me on hold for a moment and then said they would return my call. This was at 11AM, and nobody called the rest of the day.
I have a full 250K to deposit. They will be lucky to get 10,000 now, if that. No time for this kind of foolishness and jumping through hoops for a puny 1%.
I do not understand all the above comments on having problems establishing and funding the account.
I opened the account on a Saturday and Tuesday I checked the mini verification deposit and withdrawal at my source bank and it was there. I then went to CIT and followed directions and the next day the money was transferred into my account.
I do admit their web site is not too intuitive and hard to find what you are looking for.
I wish I had read all of these comments before opening an account with CIT Bank. Prior to opening a CIT savings account I had HSBC. Their online system was so much easier to use. I was astonished any online savings account would not automatically allow you to make incoming and outgoing transfers between banks. How on earth do they expect anyone to fund their account? I called and ran into the same issue where they told me I have to “request” to have that capability added. I was told it would only take a couple of days. It’s been a week now and still nothing. I don’t think the hassle is worth using this bank. I fully intend on closing this account and moving on to one that actually makes the customer’s life easier. Who has time to deal with this nonsense?
It’s NOT going easier from here. The first deposit did go through. It took 9 days from when I submitted the application to actually having the money in the CIT account (with multiple steps including waiting intervals and 2 phone calls).
Now I am trying to initiate a second deposit, withdrawing from the same account as the initial withdrawal to set up the account. Unfortunately, they require the same convoluted test depositing system for your second deposit as they did for your first even if it is from the same account. So after another phone call and another waiting period and another input of deposit amounts, I am again stuck. I cannot make the next deposit, I get the warning that some amount has been exceeded; really, a $5000 deposit exceeds some limit? So again, round number 3, I will have to hit the phone and ask what is going on?
Just a warning: DO NOT expect to have a working savings account with transfer in and out privileges within 2 weeks after setting up the account even if you are on top of the process spread out over 10+ days and do the multitudinous steps at the first opportunity.
I am in day 6 of trying to establish my account. The weird test deposits did arrive after 3 business days, and I then I went on the website and verified that. Received the congratulations email that the account is up.
The hitch came next. When I went in to establish the online account, I got locked out and it’s after 9PM EST so I will have to call back tomorrow to get it reset. My mistake was that the initial password I chose had a symbol, and this was OK. When you log in to set up the online account, the password has to be immediately changed, and the next one that you set up next CANNOT have symbols. Put symbols in and you get locked out on the first try to establish the account– no warning, kaput, you can’t proceed.
I hope it goes easier from here– the online system is the lifeline to the account.
I tried to open a savings account and found the processes are very awkward.
It is unnecessarily complicated. The same is also true for Ally bank. Both banks take a few days (up to a couple of weeks) to open an account. I bet most people end up have to call to get clarifications. At the end things are all worked out fine, but the processes are frustrating. Perhaps they can learn a few things from, Bank of Internet, TD Ameritrade Bank, Charles Schwab Bank …..
I have had some of the “learning curve” issues setting up a savings account with CIT as some of the other posters. Since the Costco benefits of my account with Capital One were being discontinued, I was looking for someplace to park some funds at better than average rates and CIT was hard to beat.
You first set-up your log-in/password information for your application and then need to re-do the entire process once you account has been approved. Secure, I guess. A hassle, certainly.
If you ask me, their entire website interface seems kind of antiquated for this day and age.
A few days after the savings account was funded, I received an email stating I could now set-up external transfers. I checked the site and was not able to find any menus or drop downs where I could execute. Well, now a few weeks later I logged in and the transfer menu was visible. I have set-up a few other accounts for transfer purposes and we’ll see how it goes.
CIT seems like it will be an OK institution to park some money you will infrequently need access to, but certainly not an everyday retail bank (granted, that is not what they are).
It took two phone calls with a vice-presdient at CitBank to get my account working (I asked to speak to higher authorites when the customer serivce managers couldn’t help me).
Yet, not surprisingly, weeks later when I got an email saying my first statement was online, “click here” to see it, I got to a page with yet a different security picture than the one I had arleady chosen. I instead went directly to their website and logged it, which had my correct picture. In spite of this, now that things are working I’m sitcking with them since their rate (at the moment) is better than the others.
I had similar experience in setting up/longin of my online account. The image I chose is not used. The first time I went through a series of security questions and then got an “could not load the page” error after submitted them. The second time to set up the login, they did took the user name and password I set the previous time, but prompted me with another set of security questions. After submitted them I got a system error. I then called the service person there and she offered to setup the account for me. I went through with her again. Meanwhile I had two email notes stating that my online account access is locked up since I attempted several times to login and failed, which was actually due to their system errors.
I already sent deposit checks there but I don’t receive any email notification nor normal mail confirmation. After I talked to the service person, she said that she is put my request for me. after a week, I received “CD certificate” that printed on a general printing paper. There is not water mark or anything that prove it from this bank.
My experience so far has been the same as Bob’s. Still waiting for a transfer link. And even more annoying, they don’t support Quicken downloads! I guess they’re still waiting to see if Quicken catches on. Looks like I’ll stick with ING and hope Capitol One doesn’t screw them up too.
Just opened an account for savings. The process got me nervous — when you first sign up you provide securuity questions and answers, you choose a security “image,” ID and password. They do a test transfer from your bank account. This all seemed normal. Then you have to wait a week for a confirmation email (which only came after I called tiwce).
But then when you finally go to log in, there’s a different security “image,” and they ask for news security questions all over again. I called them, worried this was a scam (a different security image than the one I had chosen a week earlier?). They said this was normal. But once it was all set up, I logged in to my “home page,” where it says “to make a transfer, click on the transfer tab.” But there was no transfer tab. I called (now my third call) and they said that you can’t transfer money IN on line until the account is mature. Huh! The person I spoke to was going to put my request in (and she took my transfer over the phone), but their communication does not inspire much confidence. If they can’t get their website right, and don’t tell you when you sign up you’ll have to wait a few weeks to tranfer money in, what else don’t they do right? The rep I spoke to claimed this was all for security purposes, but I think it’s poor management. I’m sticking with them for now, having gotten this far, only bec. of the better interest rate, but Emigrant Direct (slightly lower rate) has been error free for me in the past.
I will call them to discuss. This is the first time I’ve heard such a problem. Thanks for bringing it up.
I called CIT and what I heard seemed very reasonable to me. First, on the confirmation email – they ask you to check with your old bank to make sure the transactions worked. If you don’t get back to them, they remind you after a few days. You probably didn’t get back to them or didn’t understand that. I know Paypal works the same way.
They also told me that the transfer tab is only available after you call to get it set up. That also seemed reasonable to me. Bottom line – I think these kinds of things reflect a learning curve more than poor management. But I would love to hear about your experience going forward.
Will I be able to see the interest posted to my account monthly?? I understand Ally bank posts yearly??
Yes. The site says yes.
thank you for the info. I am looking for a safe place to put my IRA . currently have it in a cd that will mature in Jan. Do you know of any cd options with decent returns that offer a retirement cd. do not want to go into stocks or bonds. Cd info only , if you please.
Thanks for your time, looking forward to hearing from you.
This post might be useful to you. | 2019-04-25T23:45:47Z | https://wealthpilgrim.com/cit-bank-review/ |
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Need to find the best integration solution for each part of your business? Learn more about Sage Intacct here.
Most, if not all, businesses understand that they need to embrace digital transformation, but don't understand how to go about it. What are the specific steps businesses need to take?
In the next few weeks, Menlo Technologies will talk about those steps, starting with tips for preparing your team. Learn more here.
With the advent of Intelligent Cloud/Intelligent Edge computing, Microsoft is re-thinking its product development directions with Microsoft 365.
Understanding how great ideas become products. A Quick Guide to App Development for non-technical founders.
Market demand for mobile app development services continues to grow, and today’s users expect the highest quality user experience. They demand the most efficient, effective and secure methods for their mobile app development processes, including mobile app testing.
To ensure their mobile apps perform reliably for every user, businesses need to test on key variations of the burgeoning variety of mobile devices.
The Solution? A Mobile Device Testing Cloud.
Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s AWS cloud platforms are the top choices when it comes to enterprise-level IaaS. AWS continues to lead in public cloud adoption. But Azure continues to grow quickly, reducing AWS’s lead, especially among enterprises. But what is the cost of cloud ownership?
Cloud computing has become more than a significant trend. It is the new normal and for good reason. The many benefits offered by the cloud have made it an irresistible choice for businesses. Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s AWS cloud platforms are the top choices when it comes to enterprise-level IaaS.
Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s AWS: Which cloud platform is right for you?
There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a digital revolution. Consumers and enterprises have a lot to look forward to, as frontier technologies are becoming affordable enough for everyone. So, what exactly will 2018 have in store? Here are five tech trends we are keeping our eye on.
Menlo Technologies is a proud member of the Microsoft Partner Network that serves more than 430,000 businesses with more than 160 million mutual customers worldwide.
Crcl engaged Menlo Technologies when they needed to accelerate development of their mobile app, and could not find iOS developers with satisfactory experience. Menlo Technologies developed Crcl’s iOS and Android applications. Read more here.
Apps such as Uber, Twitter and Instagram, many believe, gained worldwide popularity and thousands of users in a very short time. But that is not the case. Each were once primitive apps that no one had heard about. Can you remember what these apps looked like at the beginning?
Material and Fluent Design are the two hottest application UI/UX development trends. Menlo Technologies has prepared this overview of these exciting design principles. Read it here.
With the ever-increasing business consumption of IT services, IT organizations need a sustainable way to scale their service capacity. They need to manage increasing demand while developing efficient, sustainable processes to safely scale.
But faster delivery of applications is challenging for both Infrastructure and Operations professionals as well as Application development and delivery teams. Both teams are under pressure to increase speed without compromising quality.
The solution to this challenge is at the core of the DevOps movement.
Download Transforming Software Delivery with DevOps.
Intelligent Structures is an information and decision support company that combines the technologies of the Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) with Structural Health Monitoring to create intelligent bridges and other large infrastructures.
The company wanted to leverage sensor device data to monitor various kinds of indicators such as cracks, temperature, icing, scouring, wind speed and load on bridges across the U.S. and Canada.
Menlo Technologies implemented a Microsoft Azure based architecture to capture the device data synchronously which provided the dashboards required to archive the data.
Read more about Menlo's solution here.
Equilar is the leading provider of board intelligence solutions. Companies of all sizes rely on Equilar for their most important boardroom decisions, including 70% of the Fortune 500 and institutional investors representing over $13 trillion in assets.
Equilar partnered with Menlo Technologies for development and QA services around a Java/Oracle/PostGres stack.
Menlo Technologies coordinated with the Equilar management team to spearhead a DevOps approach for development, QA, and deployment to solve the problems that were continuing to grow-- and cost Equilar real dollars and time."
Renesas Electronics America (REA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation. The Japan-based semiconductor manufacturer is the world’s largest manufacturer of microcontrollers and the second largest manufacturer of application processors.
REA had an on-premises, legacy integration system that required a tedious manual process of custom coding by an on-site expert which was costly and unnecessarily complicated. 27 racks of servers had accumulated through years of mergers and acquisitions, and the Director of IT chose to move to the cloud rather than continuing to manage a data center.
Read about the cloud integration success story here.
"How does that website make you feel?"
Since Menlo Technologies provides User Design Services, we decided to drill down into the psychology of UX design, and turned to Dr. Susan Weinschenk. She has been applying psychology to the design of technology for 30 years and is the author of several books on the topic, including 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, which combines real science and research with practical examples.
Read our Q&A with UX expert Susan Weinschenk on THE PSYCHOLOGY OF USER DESIGN.
As the approach to software development evolves, the industry as a whole and the technical leaders and engineers in the industry constantly look for areas that could benefit from continuous improvement.
How do we get solutions to customers faster? Make changes quicker? Reduce the risk of regression defects during a release? Isolate performance issues?
By designing software apps as a suite of independent deployable services that can scale and grow as needed.
Azure Cosmos DB is Microsoft’s globally distributed, horizontally partitioned, multi-model database service, and is the result of a seven-year project to create a database designed for global reach and customer accountability.
"The app is amazing—best in class—and we are just about to launch."
Menlo Technologies built a cloud-based application for iOS, Android, and the web. The solution includes AI technology and functionalities for document acquisition and retention.
The team immediately grasped the unique set of requirements and market conditions. The app's high-quality technology and performance reflect the team's invaluable insight. At this time, the product is ready to launch.
A corporate attorney, I also founded a startup to automate private investment fund subscriptions.
For what projects/services did your company hire Menlo Technologies?
Menlo Technologies needed to develop a web and mobile application from scratch.
I wanted the company to become a market leader.
I asked around Silicon Valley’s venture capital network. After identifying Menlo Technologies, I vetted the company, checked references, and reviewed their past work.
First, we discussed our goals and opportunity in the market. Menlo Technologies then developed the cloud-based app from scratch for iOS, Android, and web. Features include AI, a custom-built e-signature functionality, and document acquisition and retention.
The team includes 10–15 between two continents.
The team got it right from day one. Their effort to understand our business and the unmet need in the market did not go unnoticed, rather it distinguished Menlo Technologies from the competition. Development was smooth and timely, especially given the solution’s complexity. The app is amazing—best in class—and we are just about to launch.
Menlo Technologies communicates effectively across a wide variety of platforms.
They understood our needs in a way no other vendor did. Consequently, the team was able to point us toward the best technological solutions.
"They do what needs to be done, do it well, and do it fast."
Fixing a past vendor’s work, Menlo Technologies rewrote an iOS and Android app in the React Native environment. New features will include video and AR.
The updated app has been well-received. The team corrected bugs quickly and responded equally as promptly to other concerns. Menlo Technologies' efficiency, expertise, and patience justify the investment and make them a valuable partner.
I'm the head of product for Kudos&Co. We create a safety-first social media community, primarily for kids under 13.
What challenge were you trying to address with Menlo Technologies?
We needed to rewrite an existing mobile application because we’d originally written it on a cross-platform development environment that was no longer working.
We spent several months talking with the team at Menlo Technologies to figure out which of their options made the most sense for us. We decided to redo the entire app in the React Native environment, so they’re providing us with two React Native developers. One developer specializes in iOS and the other on Android.
They duplicated the existing functionality and design by using the original app as a template. We had design meetings with Menlo Technologies to discuss how to adapt the UI for new features. They’ve added a feature to the app to support video. They're working on adding a Paint feature with filters and stickers. They also plan to add augmented reality masks.
My primary contact is their VP and head of technology. We’ve contracted with two React Native developers.
How did you come to work with Menlo Technologies?
We were introduced to Menlo Technologies by one of our advisors, who had an existing relationship with their owner.
We've budgeted for an annual contract of $240,000.
The project began in April 2018 and they’re providing ongoing development work.
As a startup, we have a very small development capacity. They helped us get our new product out quickly. The app is very popular with its user market. The kids who use it, love it.
How did Menlo Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?
I'm managing the project. I want the developers to be part of our team even though they’re based in Uruguay. They participate in our daily stand-up meeting. They’re members of our Slack groups, and we use Jira as an administrative tool. If we need a longer meeting, we use Zoom for video calls. They also came to our California office for a couple of weeks. They’re amazing at addressing problems and making fixes. If I send them a bug list, the bugs are gone by the next day.
The team is patient and efficient. They’re extremely committed and capable. They put a lot of time, energy, and passion into their work, which makes them good team members. They're fun to work with because they have a good sense of humor and no drama. They do what needs to be done, do it well, and do it fast. They're awesome.
Trust the advice you get from their management. They're a well-managed, professional organization with a lot of expert assets they can provide. They're willing to spend a lot of time upfront to help you find the right solution that’s a good match with their resources.
Overall Score Working with them has been an extraordinary experience.
They’re always right on schedule.
They provide high-end developers for a reasonable cost.
They’re knowledgeable in terms of code and bugs.
"They greet any possibility, thought, or idea with curiosity."
Menlo Technologies has built several patient- and practitioner-facing healthcare applications to educate users about treatment.
Despite a few setbacks, Menlo Technologies has continually delivered on time. The team approaches issues proactively, creatively, and thoughtfully. Their orderly workflows and enthusiastic attitude ensure speedy turnarounds.
IHTC is a nonprofit bleeding disorder clinic in Indianapolis, IN. I am the Payer Relations Manager. I work on insurance issues and special projects.
Menlo developed our first app.
We built an app that provided information to internal and external physicians about care management of bleeding disorders. The scope of the project has expanded to include patient-facing applications.
We searched online for app developers across the country, comparing companies' capabilities to our needs. Menlo Technologies stood out as the interactive partner we wanted. We discussed their performance with a current client and received positive feedback.
We discussed the scope of work with Menlo and agreed to terms. After they introduced us to the project team, we began work. We've been working just a few months.
We have had the same project lead throughout the entire project. Their developers and other team members stay in the background, but are available for consultation if needed.
Even though we've thrown a few curveballs at Menlo Technologies, they've kept the project comfortably on schedule. Its launch only awaits a few minor details on our end. They address issues and provide solutions promptly.
Weekly meetings are helpful in keeping our workflow and communication open. Our project manager and her team view all problems as opportunities. They establish an effective, efficient workflow. Their project management is impressive!
The word "no" isn't in their DNA. They greet any possibility, thought, or idea with curiosity.
Menlo took over the development of a mobile app started by another vendor and enhanced overall functionality. They continue to provide support.
Menlo’s quality deliverables demonstrate a deep understanding of business goals. The team was able to overcome onboarding issues, working after business hours to hit deadlines.
Our core product is a mobile app that serves as a "kayak" for ground transportation and food delivery services. We aggregate ride and restaurant options from popular apps to deliver convenience, comparison shopping, and coordination capabilities.
We didn't have in-house engineers, so we chose to outsource app development and support.
We used various metrics, including company portfolio, client list, team size, economics, digital content quality, and references.
Menlo took over the project after we’d developed our minimum viable product. They were tasked with onboarding additional suppliers, updating the UX based on feedback, and maintaining the platform. Menlo did a full-stack mobile app development using the following technologies: React Native, HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, Amazon Web Services, Docker, Kubernetes, and RabbitMQ.
We worked with a relationship manager and their part-time CTO. The project also involved a project manager and two offshore developers.
Menlo’s execution was excellent and followed the project scope.
During the development phase, the team was willing to work long hours to help us meet our milestones. It took a little time for both teams to adjust, but the workflow soon became quite smooth.
We are impressed with their CEO.
Our project required a lot of knowledge transfer from another vendor. Menlo could have placed some additional controls around that process, allowing their dev team to be more effective sooner.
Using provided guidelines and specifications, Menlo Technologies developed an internal mobile app for tracking sample drives. Key components included bar code scanning and data integration.
Although key functionalities are not yet employed, the app has drastically improved the reporting and tracking of sample drives. The team from Menlo was attentive and responsive, and their support adequately compensated for the differences in time zones.
Toshiba Memory America, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Toshiba Memory Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs). I am the Assistant General Manager of the SSD Business Unit (BU).
We hired them to develop a mobile application for tracking sample drives.
The goal was to develop an internal application with secure login that could integrate dispositional information from various databases. The product had to be capable of capturing drive information accurately and efficiently each time the disposition status changes. We needed to be able to search drives using bar code scanning or a keyword search, and we wanted the app to facilitate complete physical inventories as required.
I had worked with Dave Hickman (VP of Menlo) at my previous company. I invited him to participate in our vendor selection and they provided a cost-competitive solution with a solid understanding of what we wanted.
I provided thorough guidelines and documentation for the app's scope and specifications, including its key functionalities and technical requirements. Menlo provided solutions for each of my requests.
I was the primary project manager with a few contributors from my BU to define specs. Several additional IT personnel were also involved. Menlo had one project lead in the U.S. and a offshore development team in India. Their team was self-assembled and provided sufficient support.
The application has been developed but due to internal issues, the functionalities have not yet been fully utilized. However, the reporting functions were improved and we are able to more easily track sample drives.
Each member of Menlo's team was very attentive, providing timely responses and solid support.
They are a good team and were enthusiastic about being part of the project's success.
Although the differences in time zones were a bit challenging, Menlo delivered the utmost care to minimize the inconvenience.
"The productive discussions we've had with Menlo Technologies have made our specs better and ultimately improved the software."
Menlo Technologies has been a long-time IT resource for the company and has worked on software development and ongoing support projects.
The client is very pleased with the successful, cost-effective work produced by Menlo Technologies. Their ability to comply with aggressive deadlines and complex projects has led the client to continue the engagement.
We're the 4th largest US translation agency offering localization services.
I am the senior manager of globalization technology strategies. I am responsible for deployments to enterprise clients of any software or customizations relating translations.
We had a customer who was looking for us to develop a Java-based cloud application for their resellers. It needed to aggregate a number of terms which needed translation, allowing users to vote on translations. Depending on the reliability of the translator, the reseller would make the decision of finalizing the term.
Menlo Technologies developed our software using Java, with a MySQL database customized to our specs. LDAP was used for user management.
We had a previous relationship with Menlo Technologies' chief executive officer, who used to work for our company. Menlo Technologies was a natural fit. They had a very strong development arm and good knowledge of the software they’d be working with.
How much have you invested with Menlo Technologies?
The cost of our initial deployment was between $40,000 and $45,000. We have been building enhancements to it, amounting to around $20,000 per year, for each subsequent year. This includes support and maintenance. We have customers who need specific reports and enhancements.
Our work with Menlo Technologies began 6 years ago. The first iteration was released at that time, and it's still being used by enterprise clients. Menlo Technologies is continuing to support the software and make enhancements to it.
Our internal metrics were test cases which the software needed to pass. There is no such thing as having no bugs at all, but all the critical issues which we needed to fix in order to roll out were taken care of in a timely fashion.
A part of the reason for getting additional translation business is that our software is strong and reliable. It increased our standing with customers relative to competitors.
Menlo Technologies always met deliverable deadlines, even working over the weekend for this purpose. We had weekly report meetings, and if Menlo Technologies identified something as being a risk, they called it out immediately.
What did you find most impressive about Menlo Technologies?
Menlo Technologies is very good at participating in spec designs with us. It's one thing to work with someone who takes specifications and develops code, but with Menlo Technologies, we have a trusted consultant which we can use in order to find more efficient approaches for our projects. The productive discussions we've had with Menlo Technologies have made our specs better and ultimately improved the software.
Are there any areas Menlo Technologies could improve?
No. Menlo Technologies has even assigned a vice president of delivery for our company, so we always had an escalation path.
Overall Score We've recently used Menlo Technologies on a project for an enterprise client. They managed to pull off a piece of software within an extremely aggressive schedule.
One of the reasons for continuing to work with Menlo Technologies is that they've been cost-effective, and continue to do so.
I wouldn't rate anyone a perfect 5.
I've recommended Menlo Technologies to other companies.
"We've been pleased with Menlo Technologies' process of assigning a lead project manager with a strong technical and management background..."
Menlo Technologies has been involved in various development projects for the client, including iOS and Android application development.
The client appreciates Menlo Technologies' ability to perform well under difficult deadlines. The results have been largely successful and the client highly recommends them to others.
We provide technology solutions to organizations, primarily within the thoroughbred industry. I am the president of the organization.
We needed to supplement development resources. We have our own staff and wanted to extend it.
Menlo Technologies has assisted us with some development projects, primarily for iOS and Android apps. Menlo Technologies has provided additional development resources, and didn't have an architectural involvement. Menlo Technologies has also performed some platform data services work for our company, as an extension of our existing system.
We found Menlo Technologies through a referral from an organization which had previously used them, and had had good success.
We started working with Menlo Technologies more than 2 years ago, and have an ongoing relationship.
We've been pleased with Menlo Technologies' process of assigning a lead project manager with a strong technical and management background as our primary point of call. We are able to distribute the work, and we're pleased with the results.
We use collaboration tools, and Menlo Technologies has been good at keeping updates. There have been some projects with tough timelines, but Menlo Technologies went above and beyond for them. We've overcome the time difference between our organizations, so I've been very pleased.
I like the management attention that Menlo Technologies has offered us, not just through their project manager, but also at an executive management level. Whenever anything derailed, Menlo Technologies was quick to get it back on track, keeping an eye on the work both onshore and offshore.
I've been working in IT for over 30 years and found that it's not realistic to expect things to come back perfect the first time. Menlo Technologies has done a fairly good job and the quality provided is usually good.
Overall Score Other than a couple of bumps, I have no complaints.
We've had some projects run over, but Menlo Technologies stuck to estimates.
Menlo Technologies assisted the client in the development of their platform, including frontend and backend development for an iOS application.
The delivered application is working amazingly, according to the client. Menlo has met deadlines and has been offered a personalized approach to the client's project.
We are a mobile recommendations service similar to Yelp. I am the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the company.
Menlo Technologies helped our company build the frontend and backend of our iOS app. We have a team of UI [User Inteface] designers who provided Menlo Technologies with screenshots for every component and asset needed within our app. Menlo Technologies' team converts those into the correct sizes, creates navigation bars, buttons, and all other frontend elements. Menlo Technologies, together with our team, also handled all backend server-side elements of the software.
We interviewed 25 different agencies across the country. Menlo Technologies had the best qualifications for the tech stack that we were using, namely Node.js, Swift and a MongoDB database.
We started working with Menlo Technologies in mid-July 2016, and are currently working on the Android version of our app.
We're currently beta-testing the iOS version of our app, and it works amazingly. Menlo Technologies has a QA team which takes care of any bug or quality problem, working alongside our team. Everything has worked well, and Menlo Technologies will usually fix any bug within 24 hours free of charge, as per our contract.
We have bi-weekly check-ins on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Menlo Technologies gave us real-time feedback on how things are going, and what can or can't be done. They are always within hours of their estimates, and meet deadlines on 95% of cases.
We have a slack channel, and also use Basecamp and Jira, which is an amazing tool.
What distinguishes Menlo Technologies from other providers?
Menlo Technologies offered very personalized attention to us. Their vice president of delivery is one of our contacts, and takes part in all of our check-in calls. We've spoken with Menlo Technologies' CEO on a couple of occasions, and their general manager has also been present during communications. Our project manager from Menlo Technologies went to college in the US, and has a fantastic English level. He also used to work for AOL, and has a background in consumer technology.
Is there anything Menlo Technologies could have improved or done differently?
Any improvements are 2-sided, and we should also be more upfront in asking for features.
Overall Score It's been great working with our local team, and having Menlo Technologies as an extension.
Menlo Technologies has been great at estimating costs.
"Since we've been working with Menlo Technologies for a long time, the inherent knowledge they have with our systems has helped a lot. "
Menlo Technologies has provided technical resources for various projects with the client throughout their long, ongoing engagement.
The client is very pleased with the work delivered by Menlo Technologies, specifically in regards to their code review and training services. Although Menlo could provide feedback and suggestions during projects, the client highly recommends them to others.
Our company gathers pay compensations information and board issues for public institutions. We perform analytics and sell that information through a software-as-a-service platform. Our company has been in business for 16 years. I am the Vice President of Products and Technology. I head engineering, product management and IT for the company.
We have been using Menlo Technologies for a long time, so I'm not sure what the original challenge was, but it was definitely related to further leveraging our budget on the development front. We were able to get people of equal capabilities for a lower rate than the local one.
We have 4 distinct product areas, and Menlo Technologies is involved in each of them. We assign a tech lead as the manager of the engineering team, as well as a local product manager. They determine what will occur within each development cycle, as well as individual tasks, and who will be assigned to each one of them. As much as half of our team is comprised of offshore developers and QA resources. Depending on the development type, we will assign tasks to the most well-equipped technical leads. Menlo Technologies has provided technical resources across a variety of projects. At any given time, we've used up to 33 resources from Menlo Technologies.
I wasn't working with the company at that time.
The cost of Menlo Technologies' services is within the millions of dollars range.
We have an ongoing relationship with Menlo Technologies.
We've been very happy with Menlo Technologies' work, given that we've engaged them for so many years. We don't have to spend a lot of time getting them up-to-speed on certain projects because many of the developers have been working with us for a long time.
Tracking performance metrics was a very subjective process when I first came onboard, so I spent a year putting together strict criteria for tracking how the work was being accomplished. Menlo Technologies has told us that we're by far their most advanced client in this regard, so much so that they've started implementing these methods with some of their other projects.
We specifically keep a close eye on how many items are assigned to particular engineers, how long it takes them to finish tasks, as well as what they're quality of code is, measured in bug counts. Every once in a while, we have had to dig in deeper during code reviews, but I've been generally happy and found that Menlo Technologies is almost as critical as us during this process.
We have a few methods in place to address working remotely with Menlo Technologies' team. We use a Slack channel and have a dedicated project manager on-site. Given the fact that we've worked through distinct sprint cycles, and Menlo Technologies' is given specific assignments and due dates, we tend to be okay.
Since we've been working with Menlo Technologies for a long time, the inherent knowledge they have with our systems has helped a lot. If we ever need to add additional resources, Menlo Technologies can provide the training. Swapping resources at will without losing a serious amount of time is a unique advantage.
Menlo Technologies tended to be a little less critical in terms of code quality than our team. Like many offshore service providers, Menlo Technologies has usually done what we specified, and nothing more, rarely questioning what is being done. I can understand this since Menlo Technologies wasn't involved in the design, but it would be nice to have pushback when something doesn't make sense. On a couple of occasions, something wasn't on-spec and wasn't caught, which was a little concerning. Tightening up those areas, and providing more resources able to think outside the box would be an improvement and aid for our team.
Another company I've used actually sent one person back-and-forth between sites, getting an idea of the culture and vibe at the client's location, and transferring that offshore. This helped tighten up the teams. When I brought this up to Menlo Technologies, they were willing to do it but wanted to triple the cost for that person. They did hire a senior person for this, but he only visits us about once a month.
Overall Score One of the big challenges in working with offshore teams is the gap in communication.
Menlo Technologies is good in this regard.
"Menlo Technologies worked with our own team, providing solutions which hadn't existed before."
Menlo Technologies is the client's IT services resource and has developed various tools including a revenue forecasting application.
Menlo Technologies has been able to deliver projects successfully and on time for the client. They continue to be a reliable and effective resource on IT projects.
The company is a semiconductor manufacturer. I am the Senior Manager and IT department administrator for the company. I am responsible for business processes and applications.
Menlo Technologies has been our go-to IT source for quite a while.
Menlo Technologies has provided consultation for technical challenges in our applications area.
One of the main projects on which Menlo Technologies worked was development for a revenue forecasting application for our sales team, which was presented with some decision-support information like open orders, sales forecasts, histories of sales, etc. The sales people needed to enter what they believed to be the forecast for the upcoming 15 months. The application required a .NET user interface, as well as bringing in data from various sources and normalizing it. It was intended to be used by various sales professionals across the US and Canada.
Menlo Technologies was put in place by our previous IT director, so I was not involved in the selection process.
We have an ongoing retainer with Menlo Technologies for support, mainly offshore. The same team also handles development on some of our projects.
Menlo Technologies worked with our own team, providing solutions which hadn't existed before. Our revenue forecast application replaced work being done through manual spreadsheets, with many different rules, and in a chaotic manner. Menlo Technologies enhanced the monthly revenue forecasting process to a point of being completely reliable. The time savings have been huge, amounting to several man-months per year. We no longer need to keep our sales people occupied with data collection and consolidation.
We have not had any issues with Menlo Technologies in this respect. Whenever we were presented with new staff on Menlo Technologies' team, their skills were as-advertised. This can sometimes be an issue with consulting firms, but Menlo Technologies has vetted its resources properly. We've worked together through a partnership, rather than using them as hired bodies, and I've appreciated Menlo Technologies' ability to give suggestions and offer different solutions.
Base on my experience, Menlo Technologies' dedication to getting the job done has been unique. We have an offshore delivery manager working part-time with our team. He's been very effective and saved us a lot of mental energy and time by making sure that our teams are working with each other. This was problematic, given that we're on opposite sides of the Earth.
We've had minimal turnover on Menlo Technologies' staff, and they always planned out transitions as to not make them my problem.
We're considering acquiring some apps and cloud solutions. As with any other company, we've looked towards less building and more buying, so we've turned to quick solutions from cloud providers, and haven't interacted with Menlo Technologies on this area. I'm not sure how a transition like this would fit within our consulting model. | 2019-04-19T04:42:57Z | https://clutch.co/profile/menlo-technologies |
In this paper I will discuss current understandings of “addiction,” now considered a “brain disease” but having specific brain-organism-body deficiencies which effect mental state, emotional state and externalized behaviors. If alcohol were indeed the culprit then everyone who ever drank it would be “addicted.” Alcohol can be seen as the catylist. Gasoline burns. If you throw gasoline on flame retardant material, only the gasoline burns. Throw gasoline on a cotton sheet, they both burn. Alcohol can be seen like this in regard to its effects on the human brain. “It’s not the drug, it’s the brain’s reaction to the drug.” (Georgi, 2000).
The causative agent, alcohol, and its effects are well known. It is well known from twin studies there is genetic predisposition for alcoholism; it tends to run in families. It wasn’t known however, that the D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens were deficient in “the addicted person,” until research by Dr. Nora Volkow, M.D., Director of NIDA (MRI Trials with alcoholics), showing deficiencies in this area of the brain. In her presentation at Harvard Medical School, (The Addictions: Treatment approaches, 2004), she spoke and showed pictures of her research, demonstrating D2 deficiency in the nucleus accumbens. She stated that in the addicted person drug response is different. Alcohol has different effects on different people. It is understood today that one third of all people who use drugs or alcohol are addicted or have problems. Addiction today is defined as biological vulnerability, psychological liability, social ineptness and spiritual bankruptcy. A family with alcoholism probably has serious deficiencies in these very important areas. It remains unclear if alcoholism effects intelligence, however one can assume intelligence does factor in mediation of externalized behaviors.
Alcohol itself is a depressant. It depresses the central nervous system. It causes 5-10 times more dopamine to be released to the nucleus accumbens where D2 receptors are located and where “reward” is experienced (depending on the drug). It also causes endorphins to be released throughout the brain, most likely the mu opiod system is most affected. The exact receptor sites for alcohol have not been identified (LeDoux, 2002). The endorphin receptors in the mid brain, the amygdala, the thalamus and hypothalamus are flooded with endorphins, hence the sedative-body-effect, muscle relaxation, motor impairment, speech impairment, etc. “Normal” people don’t find getting drunk attractive, learn their lesson quickly, and stop. “Addicted people just get started,” the genetic reduction of D2 receptors causes a different mental, emotional response, the person “lights up,” feels better than ever and at that moment “saliency” occurs. Pleasure, whereas little or none was experienced before, now is felt, the feeling is novel and unexpected. (This example is directed towards early use.) In the addicted person, there is a continued drive for pleasure. It is the compulsion, the continuation despite negative consequences. Natural reinforcers become no longer salient. As dopamine is depleted by continued use and the potential reduction of D2 receptors occurs, neuro adaptation occurs on the dopamine two receptors as well as the mu opiod receptors. The process is drug liking, drug abuse and drug dependence. It is important to distinguish between true addiction, the genetic lack of D2 receptors and dependence spurned by abuse of the drug, creating physiological dependence. Does true addiction create dependence? Probably yes. However, not always. Is dependence addiction? Some say yes, however most neuroscience oriented addictions people say no.
Withdrawal from alcohol is a result of norepinephrine release increase due to lack of alcohol, which causes anxiety, shaking and agitation. Thinking is impaired due to increase of norepinephrine to the frontal cortex as well as immune system relaxation caused by cortisol. The negative effects of alcohol in the predisposed people are devastating. Loss of control, compulsion, repeated negative behaviors, etc., are hallmarks of alcohol’s effect on mental, emotional and behavioral realms. It certainly has the potential to create poor judgment in anyone, whether there is predisposition involved or if they are early abusers with negative consequences.
Alcohol’s effects on executive functioning (mental), is noted to negatively effect frontal cortex responsibility of logic, reason, judgment, decision, integration, etc. Euphoria is created which, depending on the person, may or may not be an issue. All sensory information terminated in the thalamus (except smell). The thalamus sends information to the frontal cortex, the hippocampus, the hypothalamus and the amygdala. Alcohol impairs and changes perception. In short term memory, the hippocampus, which also stores new long-term information, up to 3-5 years by some reports (Carlson, 2004, LeDoux, 2002), records solutions to situations under the influence effecting current and later frontal cortex evaluation of new experiences (LeDoux, 2002). Alcohol stimulates endorphins throughout the brain, helping keep the amygdala calm, the hypothalamus relaxing the body and influencing the thalamus in the information sending to the frontal cortex. State dependent learning is a term known today as the brain’s learned events under influence and operating normally under influence versus non-influence and the potential “agitation” or not able to work at capacity without the drug.
The cause of alcoholism, its etiology, is still debated heavily today. As stated, alcohols positive reinforcement comes from the release of dopamine to the nucleus accumbens. The cause of lack of D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens is considered to be due to genetics, experiences, environment, intelligence, etc., which may be the “cause” of the underlying deficits in the brain. Alcohol also enhances the action of GABA at GABAa receptors and interferes with the transmission of glutamate at the NMDA receptors (Carlson, 2004). Thus, abnormalities in the mesolimbic dopaminergic pleasure pathway, from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens and the frontal cortex. The number of D2 receptors or the lack of dopamine being stimulated, the increase of endorphins release on the mu opiod receptors, the facilitation of GABA, the interference of glutamate, all factors in the cause of alcoholism. Depending on the individual’s brain and its uniqueness, the cause of alcoholism is therefore unique to the individual. Whatever caused the lack of D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens is probably for that person the reason they have an addiction to alcohol.
Causative agents and factors regarding alcoholism are numerous and profound. How is one organism alcoholic and another not? The DMS-IV clearly distinguishes the criteria for abuse versus dependence. It does not address “addiction.” It addresses criteria, behavioral criteria, not neuroscience. Therefore the causative agent and factors specific to alcoholism are under current, intense research. Neurobiology, specific to brain systems, genetics, the specific gene for alcoholism near or possibly now known, the individuals specific brain makeup, perception, experiences, memories, insight, are all factors. A person raised in an alcoholic home, with possible chaos, abuse, neglect, physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse, poor nutrition, poor spiritual foundation, lack of structure, morals, values and ethics, would certainly be a factor in the organism’s predisposition. Addiction, if seen from attachment disorder, is a consequence of the impaired ability to establish and maintain healthy attachment relationships (Flores, 2004). The lack of pleasure and the damage to or of the pleasure pathway via potential influences is noted above. The perception of self, the equation of ones validity in the surroundings and the ability to express, communicate and belong, are all factors if a chemical is introduced which in itself is a brain changing experience.
Discussion of alcohol etiology must include comorbidity and multiple disorders, which are more common in people who abuse, are dependent and/or addicted to alcohol. Research literature today is full of articles sharing the likelihood of substance abuse in psychosis, bipolar spectrum and anxiety disorders. I have written in numerous papers the high probabilities of substances, self-medication attempts, in the disorders noted above. Also reported is the high use of substances by personality disorder people. I see in group therapies what is being understood and presented recently that, people who’s addiction is opiods/opiates, rage is being suppressed; people who’s addiction is barbiturates, alcohol and marijuana, are settling anxiety; people who’s addiction is stimulants are trying to calm ones self down or are trying to lift oneself up from depression (Harvard, The Addictions: Treatment approaches, 2004). The newest presentations of addiction via the above mentioned conference, also Addiction Medicine: Evidence-based strategies, Harvard Medical School, Oct. 22-23, 2004, are presenting it in a way that the addiction field will not like. Again, understanding neuroscience, brain systems, is in my opinion, the etiology of addiction. In understanding alcohol’s sedative, calming effect, one can understand how it can help calm voices, fear, anxiety, mood disturbance, switching, anger, loneliness and pain. Addiction, alcoholism, is considered chronic and a long-term condition.
It is absurd to believe that six to eight sessions or 28 days is the answer. It is understood today that treatment modalities for addiction do not work (Schaffer, 2004). Emphasis today is how our expectations as therapists dramatically influence patient outcome (Schaffer, 2004). The relationship developed between therapist and patient is highly emphasized today. The focus that the therapist has, understanding comorbidity, addictions, neurobiology, brain systems, etc., has everything to do with outcome. It is estimated that only one-third of patients see will “buy in” to the concept of therapy (Harvard, March 2004). “We do what we can” (Berk, 2004). It is extremely rare in any treatment modality today, to just see a substance disorder on Axis I. Is a schizophrenic’s compulsive use of alcohol about the alcohol or about the attempt to calm the voices? I worked in a state hospital for 3 years in the Department of Rehabilitative Services. My caseload was with primarily schizophrenic patients being discharged. My job was to help them re-enter the community. I secured housing and a job, paid for 1 month of groceries, medicines, etc. A large percentage of these patients stopped medicines, became delusional/psychotic, used alcohol heavily and other drugs, especially marijuana, requiring legal/safety interventions resulting in rehospitalization. I also have seen people discharged recently, with the best of stated intentions, medicines, appointments, meetings, all set up before discharge, only to return to previous dysfunctional behaviors when faced with stress, sadness or anger.
Anxiety in itself is incredibly important to understand. When the amygdala is activated, it dominates working memory (LeDoux, 2002). Background, understanding the patient’s anxiety versus focus on the chemical – it’s negative effects, etc., etc., is more effective. I have stated in other papers that if a person is so anxious and knows how to self-medicate, it is very difficult to get them to endure pain and misery. Dependence is the avoidance of discomfort and withdrawal. It does have compulsive behavior. Addiction is about misery and pain. There can be anxiety in both. It is important to know which one or both are being medicated.
Within the context of comorbidity and etiology, medical problems such as illness, physical discomfort, physical pain, arthritis, malformation, pre and post surgery, etc., all can involve the use of alcohol. Alcohol is effective in numbing paid. The mu opiod system, responsible for paid reduction does so via endorphins. Alcohol also involves endorphins on the mu opiod receptors. I have worked with many adults who’s physical injuries leading to inactivity and/or physical pain, sought alcohol and often drugs to relieve the paid, only to become dependent physiologically with “pathological dependence,” which by some, equals addiction (Erickson, 2004). It is therefore very important to accurately assess a patient’s physical status and refer to appropriate treatment when indicated. Rational thinking and logic are often discarded when faced with pain. Intent focuses on alleviation of pain. Alleviation of pain takes many forms. What works tends to be what is done. What works depends on the person.
Pain tolerance per individual is biological and/or psychological, but can also be learned. Etiology of alcoholism can also include environment. As Berk has illustrated in her book “Child Development” immediate environment is family. Genetics are indeed a factor, however learned behavior, simulation, and influence, etc., effects children dramatically. Ericksons psychosocial stages of development are remarkedly accurate. The effects of the environment, what is given or not, the child’s perception of being wanted and loved, the effects of abuse, are all so influential. Early experiences influence brain plasticity and the neuronal pathways ability to adapt and develop new receptor sites. Extreme negativity via environment hinders pleasure pathway development, increases the likelihood of fear conditioning and bring about anxiety (LeDoux, 2002). Low self-esteem, poor boundaries, executive functioning disruption, rage, fear, etc., results from negative environment. I have worked with many adolescents from horrible homes, no structure, no rules, no expectations with abuse, violence, drug abuse etc., who’s use of nicotine, alcohol and marijuana were all attempts to medicate self-blame, shame, hurt and anger (Berk, 2004). Often these types of homes are located in impoverished areas. Low income, poor, addicted, defeated and often intellectually limited people procreate with horrible results. Children who feel shame, when the eyes turn inward and the child sees themselves as bad, meet other children who perhaps see themselves the same way, may discover effective but inappropriate ways to feel better.
Social ineptness, one of the criteria for addiction, is a predisposing factor. If a child is socially inept, without reference or example on appropriate behaviors, and finds inappropriate, illegal and unacceptable ways as satisfying, then in effect, this is predisposisng. I have worked with adolescents from horrible backgrounds who had physiological dependence of alcohol at age 16. I have also worked with adolescents who had the ability at age 14 to drink in excess of 14 beers in one occasion, not get sick, pass out or have and extreme hangover. Not all impoverished homes produce children as I have described, as there are exceptions to every rule. I have worked with adolescents from very good homes, neither parent a user of nicotine, drugs or alcohol. However their having an alcoholic parent or grandparent predisposes the adolescent to be a heavy drinker with high tolerance, but showing no immediate physical problems. In this case genetics are dominant.
Spiritual bankruptcy is also a factor in predisposition. Negative produces negative. The environment I have described can destroy hope. Jeff Georgi describes hope, belief, desire and motivation as elements of spirituality. When a person’s spirit is broken, especially a child’s self-belief and ability to see the future or have hope inside, the spirit is diminished. I hear many patients, adolescent and adult, who via abuse, mental disorder, trauma and stress that have given up. People who have little ego strength, who are fear conditioned, who see life as threatening, etc., are predisposed to addiction. Addiction known today as a brain disease is just beginning to be understood in all elements of addicted people. Spirituality, which includes values, morals, ethics, religion, love or whatever an individual holds as, in my opinion, what can be referred to as “self.” I have discussed sense of self. This perception comes from many experiences with many memories and a place where one stands and how they see themselves to their surroundings. This certainly has influence on decisions but also is a factor in predisposition. Many patients I have worked with, because of severe abuse, physical or sexual, hate themselves, blame themselves and are prone to irrational behaviors and thinking, will continually perpetuate their negative self-concept. Their “externalized behaviors,” reflect low intelligence, learned behaviors and attitudes, severe depression and substance abuse, all of which are predisposing elements of addiction. Spirituality therefore is a very complicated entity. Spiritual bankruptcy can begin very early. As Erickson so accurately pointed out, abuse, neglect and abandonment can begin in infancy (as well as prenatal) and that the results affect numerous elements of being human, and that predisposition is multifaceted and very complicated.
Biological vulnerability, psychological liability, social ineptness and spiritual bankruptcy are the known etiology of addiction today (Georgi, 2002). Perhaps today in 2005 and with constant research, particularly in FMRI by Dr. Nora Volkow, we will come to greater understandings of alcohol addiction’s etiology. I believe it is far too complicated to focus on the simplicity of “using a drug causes addiction.” I have discussed this earlier and in numerous papers and will continue to differentiate drug liking, drug abuse, drug dependence and drug addition. Etiologies for each can be different as well as very similar.
There are many ways alcoholism is assessed today. They are well known and there are many accurate assessment techniques, questionnaires, guidelines, etc. being used. Today, as presented by Harvard, current methods of trying to help addiction have fallen short.. Assessment by the professionals on the problem seems to be the easy part. Assessment of the patient, what they want, what they are willing to do, try or change, is the hard part. In my opinion, assessment of addiction is a delicate, every changing balance that is there for a reason, has been for a time, and will not easily go away. Treatment for alcoholism, medically, has followed a necessary path. Withdrawal from alcohol can be fatal, benzodiazipine and barbiturates often must be used to “mimic” alcohol in the brain and decrease risk of seizure.
In the latest edition of Addiction Professional, Dr. Volkow notes how science is shaping services. She also states that medical interventions need flexibility. In her presentation at The Addictions: Treatment approaches, March 5-6, 2004, Harvard Medical School, she strongly emphasized the importance and need to medicate appropriately. I have noted in other papers that her plea was to give the brain what it needed. She proposed Adderall as a treatment for addictions or drugs or alcohol. Scientifically, this makes sense. She has demonstrated via FMRI a lack of D2 receptors in people addicted. Drugs and alcohol increase dopamine to this area. Why not treat with Adderall? Fear, lack of knowledge or not being current or willing to adapt and change to new ways of treatment are the answers. In two recent patient cases of severe alcoholism, after 7-15 inpatient admissions, the standard caveat of medication interventions – SSRIs, Benzos, atypical antipsychotics, severe depressive symptoms were reported by both, so they drank. Both reported it was the only way they knew to lift themselves up. Despite AA, knowledge of alcoholism, sponsors, and one failed marriage, they both drank when in this deep depression. After attending Harvard in March and hearing Dr. Volkow, I initiated treatment (only one psychiatrist agreed to try this initially) with Adderall and Topomax for these two patients while inpatient. The results are amazing. There have been no incidents of drinking or inpatient admissions. Both (being inpatient at different time periods) reported recently, dramatic increase in functioning, thinking, focus, no depression and no desire to drink. The dose of Adderall was 10mg a.m. and 10mg at noon. One patient actually cut the second dose in half to assist sleep. The psychiatrist and I are quite pleased with these results.
This specific body-mind problem, the predisposition for alcoholism, addiction is more than just genetics. There are many facets, predisposing factors as Jeff Georgi and many others, particularly those at Harvard, are presenting. Knowledge is power. Lack of knowledge is unfortunate; it hinders progress and increases suffering.
Balderssarini and Tarazi (2001), Schatzberg, Nemeroff (2004).
Barkai et al. (1978), Schatzberg, Nemeroff (2004).
Evans, K. & Sullivan, J. (2001). Dual Diagnosis, 2nd Ed.
Harvard Medical School (2004). The Addictions: Treatment Approaches, Mar. 5-6, 2004.
Psychiatric Annals (June, 2004). Vol. 34, No. 6; Jan. 2004) Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 27.
Genetic links to bipolar disorder.
Shaffer, H. (2003). Risks to Successful Protocols: From cormorbidity to countertransference.
Takanash et al (1975), Schatzberg, Nemeroff,(2004). | 2019-04-20T04:19:06Z | http://centeronbehavioralmedicine.com/web_pages_behavioral_medicine/2_Body%20Mind/2-1_Behavioral%20Genetics/Related%20Papers/White-predisposed_to_alcoholism.html |
Not to be confused with the lung disease caused by asbestos, asbestosis.
For other uses, see Asbestos (disambiguation).
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, which all have in common their asbestiform habit: i.e., long (roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes. The minerals are chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite.
Asbestos has been mined for over 4,000 years, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties. Some of those properties are sound absorption, average tensile strength, affordability, and resistance to fire, heat, and electricity. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibers are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties led to asbestos being used very widely until the late 20th century.
Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Asbestos is currently estimated to cause 255,000 deaths per year. Concern for asbestos-related illness began in the 20th century and escalated during the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1980s and 1990s, asbestos trade and use were heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries. Many developing countries still support the use of asbestos as a building material, and mining of asbestos is ongoing, with the top producer Russia producing around one million metric tonnes in 2015.
Despite the severity of asbestos-related diseases, the material has extremely widespread use in many areas. Continuing long-term use of asbestos after harmful health effects were known or suspected, and the slow emergence of symptoms decades after exposure ceased, made asbestos litigation the longest, most expensive mass tort in U.S. history though a much lesser legal issue in most other countries involved. Asbestos-related liability also remains an ongoing concern for many manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers.
The word "asbestos", first used in the 1600s, ultimately derives from the Ancient Greek ἄσβεστος, meaning “unquenchable” or “inextinguishable”. The name reflects use of the substance for wicks that would never burn up.
It was adopted via the Old French abestos, which in turn got the word from Greek via Latin, but in the original Greek, it actually referred to quicklime. It is said by the Oxford English Dictionary to have been wrongly used by Pliny for asbestos, who popularized the misnomer. Asbestos was referred to in Greek as amiantos, meaning "undefiled", because it was not marked when thrown into a fire. This is the source for the word for asbestos in many languages, such as the Portuguese amianto. It had also been called "amiant" in English in the early 15th century, but this usage was superseded by "asbestos". The word is pronounced /æsˈbɛstəs/ or /æsˈbɛstɒs/.
People have used asbestos for thousands of years to create flexible objects, such as napkins, that resist fire. In the modern era, companies began producing asbestos consumer goods on an industrial scale. Now people recognize the health hazard that asbestos poses, and it is banned or strictly regulated around the world.
Asbestos use dates back at least 4,500 years, when the inhabitants of the Lake Juojärvi region in East Finland strengthened earthenware pots and cooking utensils with the asbestos mineral anthophyllite (see Asbestos-ceramic). One of the first descriptions of a material that may have been asbestos is in Theophrastus, On Stones, from around 300 BC, although this identification has been questioned. In both modern and ancient Greek, the usual name for the material known in English as "asbestos" is amiantos ("undefiled", "pure"), which was adapted into the French as amiante and into Spanish and Portuguese as amianto. In modern Greek, the word ἀσβεστος or ασβέστης stands consistently and solely for lime.
The term asbestos is traceable to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder's manuscript Natural History, and his use of the term asbestinon, meaning "unquenchable". While Pliny or his nephew Pliny the Younger is popularly credited with recognising the detrimental effects of asbestos on human beings, examination of the primary sources reveals no support for either claim.
Wealthy Persians amazed guests by cleaning a cloth by exposing it to fire. For example, according to Tabari, one of the curious items belonging to Khosrow II Parviz, the great Sassanian king (r. 531–579), was a napkin (Persian: منديل) that he cleaned simply by throwing it into fire. Such cloth is believed to have been made of asbestos imported over the Hindu Kush. According to Biruni in his book, Gems, any cloths made of asbestos (Persian: آذرشست, āzarshost) were called shostakeh (Persian: شستكه). Some Persians believed the fiber was the fur of an animal, called the samandar (Persian: سمندر), which lived in fire and died when exposed to water, which was where the former belief that the salamander could tolerate fire originated.
Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor (800–814), is said to have had a tablecloth made of asbestos.
Marco Polo recounts having been shown, in a place he calls Ghinghin talas, "a good vein from which the cloth which we call of salamander, which cannot be burnt if it is thrown into the fire, is made ..."
Industrial scale asbestos mining began in 1878 in Thetford township, Quebec. By 1895, mining was increasingly mechanized.
The large-scale asbestos industry began in the mid-19th century. Early attempts at producing asbestos paper and cloth in Italy began in the 1850s, but were unsuccessful in creating a market for such products. Canadian samples of asbestos were displayed in London in 1862, and the first companies were formed in England and Scotland to exploit this resource. Asbestos was first used in the manufacture of yarn, and German industrialist Louis Wertheim adopted this process in his factories in Germany. In 1871, the Patent Asbestos Manufacturing Company was established in Glasgow, and during the following decades, the Clydebank area became a centre for the nascent industry.
Industrial-scale mining began in the Thetford hills, Quebec, from the 1870s. Sir William Edmond Logan was the first to notice the large deposits of chrysotile in the hills in his capacity as head of Geological Survey of Canada. Samples of the minerals from here were displayed in London, and excited much interest. With the opening up of the Quebec Central Railway in 1876, mining entrepreneurs such as Andrew Stuart Johnson established the asbestos industry in the province. The 50 ton output of the mines in 1878 rose to over 10,000 tons in the 1890s with the adoption of machine technologies and expanded production. For a long time, the world's largest asbestos mine was the Jeffrey mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec.
Asbestos production began in the Urals of the Russian Empire in the 1880s, and in the Alpine regions of Northern Italy with the formation in Turin of the Italo-English Pure Asbestos Company in 1876, although this was soon swamped by the greater production levels from the Canadian mines. Mining also took off in South Africa from 1893 under the aegis of the British businessman Francis Oates, the Director of the De Beers company. It was in South Africa that the production of amosite began in 1910. The U.S. asbestos industry had an early start in 1858, when fibrous anthophyllite was mined for use as asbestos insulation by the Johns Company, a predecessor to the current Johns Manville, at a quarry at Ward's Hill on Staten Island, New York. US production began in earnest in 1899, with the discovery of large deposits in the Belvidere Mountain.
The use of asbestos became increasingly widespread towards the end of the 19th century, when its diverse applications included fire-retardant coatings, concrete, bricks, pipes and fireplace cement, heat-, fire-, and acid-resistant gaskets, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, fireproof drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and drywall joint compound. In 2011 it was reported that over 50% of UK houses still contained asbestos, despite a ban on asbestos products some years earlier.
In Japan, particularly after World War II, asbestos was used in the manufacture of ammonium sulfate for purposes of rice production, sprayed upon the ceilings, iron skeletons, and walls of railroad cars and buildings (during the 1960s), and used for energy efficiency reasons as well. Production of asbestos in Japan peaked in 1974 and went through ups and downs until about 1990, when production began to drop dramatically.
For additional chronological citations, see List of asbestos disease medical articles.
In 1899, Montague Murray noted the negative health effects of asbestos. The first documented death related to asbestos was in 1906.
In the early 1900s researchers began to notice a large number of early deaths and lung problems in asbestos-mining towns. The first such study was conducted by H. Montague Murray at the Charing Cross Hospital, London, in 1900, in which a postmortem investigation of a young man who had died from pulmonary fibrosis after having worked for 14 years in an asbestos textile factory, discovered asbestos traces in the victim's lungs. Adelaide Anderson, the Inspector of Factories in Britain, included asbestos in a list of harmful industrial substances in 1902. Similar investigations were conducted in France and Italy, in 1906 and 1908, respectively.
The first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in the UK in 1924. Nellie Kershaw was employed at Turner Brothers Asbestos in Rochdale,Greater Manchester, England from 1917, spinning raw asbestos fibre into yarn. Her death in 1924 led to a formal inquest. Pathologist William Edmund Cooke testified that his examination of the lungs indicated old scarring indicative of a previous, healed, tuberculosis infection, and extensive fibrosis, in which were visible "particles of mineral matter ... of various shapes, but the large majority have sharp angles." Having compared these particles with samples of asbestos dust provided by S. A. Henry, His Majesty's Medical Inspector of Factories, Cooke concluded that they "originated from asbestos and were, beyond a reasonable doubt, the primary cause of the fibrosis of the lungs and therefore of death".
As a result of Cooke's paper, parliament commissioned an inquiry into the effects of asbestos dust by E. R. A. Merewether, Medical Inspector of Factories, and C. W. Price, a factory inspector and pioneer of dust monitoring and control. Their subsequent report, Occurrence of Pulmonary Fibrosis & Other Pulmonary Affections in Asbestos Workers, was presented to parliament on 24 March 1930. It concluded that the development of asbestosis was irrefutably linked to the prolonged inhalation of asbestos dust, and included the first health study of asbestos workers, which found that 66% of those employed for 20 years or more suffered from asbestosis. The report led to the publication of the first Asbestos Industry Regulations in 1931, which came into effect on 1 March 1932. These regulated ventilation and made asbestosis an excusable work-related disease. The term mesothelioma was first used in medical literature in 1931; its association with asbestos was first noted sometime in the 1940s. Similar legislation followed in the U.S. about ten years later.
Approximately 100,000 people in the United States have died, or are terminally ill, from asbestos exposure related to ship building. In the Hampton Roads area, a shipbuilding center, mesothelioma occurrence is seven times the national rate. Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in World War II ships to insulate piping, boilers, steam engines, and steam turbines. There were approximately 4.3 million shipyard workers in the United States during WWII; for every 1,000 workers about 14 died of mesothelioma and an unknown number died from asbestosis.
The United States government and asbestos industry have been criticized for not acting quickly enough to inform the public of dangers, and to reduce public exposure. In the late 1970s, court documents proved that asbestos industry officials knew of asbestos dangers since the 1930s and had concealed them from the public.
In Australia, asbestos was widely used in construction and other industries between 1946 and 1980. From the 1970s there was increasing concern about the dangers of asbestos, and its use was phased out. Mining ceased in 1983. The use of asbestos was phased out in 1989 and banned entirely in December 2003. The dangers of asbestos are now well known in Australia and there is help and support for sufferers from asbestosis or mesothelioma.
Example of asbestos cement siding and lining on a post-war temporary house in Yardley. Nearly 40,000 of these structures were built between 1946 and 1949 to house families.
In the European Union and Australia it has been banned as a potential health hazard and is not used at all. Japan is moving in the same direction, but at a slower pace.
Thermal and chemical insulation (e.g., fire rated doors, limpet spray, lagging and gaskets).
Cigarette manufacturer Lorillard (Kent's filtered cigarette) used crocidolite asbestos in its "Micronite" filter from 1952 to 1956.
While mostly chrysotile asbestos fibers were once used in automobile brake pads, shoes, and clutch discs, contaminants of amphiboles were present. Since approximately the mid-1990s, brake pads, new or replacement, have been manufactured instead with linings made of ceramic, carbon, metallic and aramid fiber (Twaron or Kevlar—the same material used in bulletproof vests).
Artificial Christmas snow, known as flocking, was previously made with asbestos. It was used as an effect in films including The Wizard of Oz and department store window displays and it was marketed for use in private homes under brand names that included "Pure White", "Snow Drift" and "White Magic".
Older decorative ceilings, similar to this one, may contain small amounts of white asbestos.
1929 newspaper advertisement from Perth, Western Australia, for asbestos sheeting for residential building construction.
The use of asbestos in new construction projects has been banned for health and safety reasons in many developed countries or regions, including the European Union, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and New Zealand. A notable exception is the United States, where asbestos continues to be used in construction such as cement asbestos pipes. The 5th Circuit Court prevented the EPA from banning asbestos in 1991 because EPA research showed the ban would cost between $450 and 800 million while only saving around 200 lives in a 13-year timeframe, and that the EPA did not provide adequate evidence for the safety of alternative products. Until the mid-1980s, small amounts of white asbestos were used in the manufacture of Artex, a decorative stipple finish, however, some of the lesser-known suppliers of Artex were still adding white asbestos until 1999.
Prior to the ban, asbestos was widely used in the construction industry in thousands of materials. Some are judged to be more dangerous than others due to the amount of asbestos and the material's friable nature. Sprayed coatings, pipe insulation and Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) are thought to be the most dangerous due to their high content of asbestos and friable nature. Many older buildings built before the late 1990s contain asbestos. In the United States, there is a minimum standard for asbestos surveys as described by ASTM Standard E 2356–04. In the UK the Health and Safety Executive have issued guidance called HSG264 describing how surveys should be completed although other methods can be used if they can demonstrate they have met the regulations by other means. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes some but not all asbestos-contaminated facilities on the Superfund National Priorities list (NPL). Renovation and demolition of asbestos-contaminated buildings is subject to EPA NESHAP and OSHA Regulations. Asbestos is not a material covered under CERCLA's innocent purchaser defense. In the UK, the removal and disposal of asbestos and of substances containing it are covered by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
U.S. asbestos consumption hit a peak of 804,000 tons in 1973; world asbestos demand peaked around 1977, with 25 countries producing nearly 4.8 million metric tons annually.
In older buildings (e.g. those built prior to 1999 in the UK, before white asbestos was banned), asbestos may still be present in some areas. Being aware of asbestos locations reduces the risk of disturbing asbestos.
Removal of asbestos building components can also remove the fire protection they provide, therefore fire protection substitutes are required for proper fire protection that the asbestos originally provided.
Some countries, such as India, Indonesia, China, Russia and Brazil, have continued widespread use of asbestos. The most common is corrugated asbestos-cement sheets or "A/C sheets" for roofing and for side walls. Millions of homes, factories, schools or sheds and shelters continue to use asbestos. Cutting these sheets to size and drilling holes to receive 'J' bolts to help secure the sheets to roof framing is done on-site. There has been no significant change in production and use of A/C sheets in developing countries following the widespread restrictions in developed nations.
As New York City's World Trade Center collapsed following the September 11 attacks, Lower Manhattan was blanketed in a mixture of building debris and combustible materials. This complex mixture gave rise to the concern that thousands of residents and workers in the area would be exposed to known hazards in the air and in the dust, such as asbestos, lead, glass fibers, and pulverized concrete. More than 1,000 tons of asbestos are thought to have been released into the air following the buildings' destruction. Inhalation of a mixture of asbestos and other toxicants is thought to be linked to the unusually high death rate from cancer of emergency service workers since the disaster. Thousands more are now thought to be at risk of developing cancer due to this exposure with those who have died so far being only the "tip of the iceberg". Some commentators have criticised authorities for using asbestos in the buildings' construction.
In May 2002, after numerous cleanup, dust collection, and air monitoring activities were conducted outdoors by EPA, other federal agencies, New York City, and the state of New York, New York City formally requested federal assistance to clean and test residences in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site for airborne asbestos.
Vermiculite is a hydrated laminar magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate which resembles mica. It can be used for many industrial applications and has been used as insulation. Some deposits of vermiculite have been found to be contaminated with small amounts of asbestos.
One vermiculite mine operated by W. R. Grace and Company in Libby, Montana exposed workers and community residents to danger by mining vermiculite contaminated with asbestos, typically richterite, winchite, actinolite or tremolite. Vermiculite contaminated with asbestos from the Libby mine was used as insulation in residential and commercial buildings through Canada and the United States. W. R. Grace and Company's loose-fill vermiculite was marketed as Zonolite but was also used in sprayed-on products such as Monokote.
In 1999 the EPA began cleanup efforts in Libby and now the area is a Superfund cleanup area. The EPA has determined that harmful asbestos is released from the mine as well as through other activities that disturb soil in the area.
A laboratory heat spreader made of asbestos, on tripod over a Teclu burner.
Talc can sometimes be contaminated with asbestos due to the proximity of asbestos ore (usually tremolite) in underground talc deposits. By 1973, US federal law required all talc products to be asbestos-free, and today there is strict quality control in the production of talc products, separating cosmetic-grade talc (e.g. talcum powder) from industrial-grade talc (often used in friction products) has largely eliminated this issue for consumers.
In 2000, tests in a certified asbestos-testing laboratory found the tremolite form of amphibole asbestos used to be found in three out of eight popular brands of children's crayons that were made partly from talc: Crayola, Prang, and RoseArt. In Crayola crayons, the tests found asbestos levels around 0.05% in Carnation Pink and 2.86% in Orchid; in Prang crayons, the range was from 0.3% in Periwinkle to 0.54% in Yellow; in Rose Art crayons, it was from 0.03% in Brown to 1.20% in Orange. Overall, 32 different types of crayons from these brands used to contain more than trace amounts of asbestos, and eight others contained trace amounts. The Art and Creative Materials Institute, a trade association which tested the safety of crayons on behalf of the makers, initially insisted the test results must have been incorrect, although they later said they do not test for asbestos. In May 2000, Crayola said tests by Richard Lee, a materials analyst whose testimony on behalf of the asbestos industry has been accepted in lawsuits over 250 times, found its crayons tested negative for asbestos. In spite of that, in June 2000 Binney & Smith, the maker of Crayola, and the other makers agreed to stop using talc in their products, and changed their product formulations in the United States.
On July 12, 2018, a Missouri jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay a record $4.69 billion to 22 women who alleged the company’s talc-based products, including its baby powder, contain asbestos and caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
Six mineral types are defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "asbestos" including those belonging to the serpentine class and those belonging to the amphibole class. All six asbestos mineral types are known to be human carcinogens. The visible fibers are themselves each composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by abrasion and other processes.
Blue asbestos (crocidolite). The ruler is 1 cm.
Chrysotile, CAS No. 12001-29-5, is obtained from serpentinite rocks which are common throughout the world. Its idealized chemical formula is Mg3(Si2O5)(OH)4. Chrysotile appears under the microscope as a white fiber.
Chrysotile has been used more than any other type and accounts for about 95% of the asbestos found in buildings in America. Chrysotile is more flexible than amphibole types of asbestos, and can be spun and woven into fabric. The most common use was corrugated asbestos cement roofing primarily for outbuildings, warehouses and garages. It may also be found in sheets or panels used for ceilings and sometimes for walls and floors. Chrysotile has been a component in joint compound and some plasters. Numerous other items have been made containing chrysotile including brake linings, fire barriers in fuseboxes, pipe insulation, floor tiles, residential shingles, and gaskets for high temperature equipment.
Amphibole class fibers are needle-like. Amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite are members of the amphibole class.
Amosite, CAS No. 12172-73-5, often referred to as brown asbestos, is a trade name for the amphiboles belonging to the cummingtonite-grunerite solid solution series, commonly from South Africa, named as a partial acronym for "Asbestos Mines of South Africa". One formula given for amosite is Fe7Si8O22(OH)2. Amosite is seen under a microscope as a grey-white vitreous fiber. It is found most frequently as a fire retardant in thermal insulation products, asbestos insulating board and ceiling tiles.
2Si8O22(OH)2. Crocidolite is seen under a microscope as a blue fiber.
Crocidolite commonly occurs as soft friable fibers. Asbestiform amphibole may also occur as soft friable fibers but some varieties such as amosite are commonly straighter. All forms of asbestos are fibrillar in that they are composed of fibers with breadths less than 1 micrometer in bundles of very great widths. Asbestos with particularly fine fibers is also referred to as "amianthus".
Other regulated asbestos minerals, such as tremolite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-68-6, Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2; actinolite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-66-4, Ca2(Mg,FeII)5(Si8O22)(OH)2; and anthophyllite asbestos, CAS No. 77536-67-5, (Mg,FeII)7Si8O22(OH)2; are less commonly used industrially but can still be found in a variety of construction materials and insulation materials and have been used in a few consumer products.
Other natural asbestiform minerals, such as richterite, Na(CaNa)(Mg,FeII)5(Si8O22)(OH)2, and winchite, (CaNa)Mg4(Al,FeIII)(Si8O22)(OH)2, though not regulated, are said by some to be no less harmful than tremolite, amosite, or crocidolite. They are termed "asbestiform" rather than asbestos. Although the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not included them in the asbestos standard, NIOSH and the American Thoracic Society have recommended them for inclusion as regulated materials because they may also be hazardous to health.
World production of asbestos (metric tons) from 1900 to the present, also including a trend line.
In 2017, 1.3 million tonnes of asbestos was mined worldwide. Russia was the largest producer with 53% of the world total, followed by Kazakhstan (16%), China (15%), and Brazil (11.5%). Asia consumes some 70% of the asbestos produced in the world with China, India and Indonesia the largest consumers.
All types of asbestos fibers are known to cause serious health hazards in humans. Amosite and crocidolite are considered the most hazardous asbestos fiber types; however, chrysotile asbestos has also produced tumors in animals and is a recognized cause of asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma in humans, and mesothelioma has been observed in people who were occupationally exposed to chrysotile, family members of the occupationally exposed, and residents who lived close to asbestos factories and mines.
During the 1980s and again in the 1990s it was suggested at times that the process of making asbestos cement could "neutralize" the asbestos, either via chemical processes or by causing cement to attach to the fibers and changing their physical size; subsequent studies showed that this was untrue, and that decades-old asbestos cement, when broken, releases asbestos fibers identical to those found in nature, with no detectable alteration.
Researcher using a fiber length classifier to produce length-selected fibers of asbestos for toxological studies.
The United States remains one of the few developed countries to not ban asbestos which is legal and still widely used in such commonly used products as clothing, pipeline wraps, vinyl floor tiles, millboards, cement pipes, disk brake pads, gaskets and roof coatings.
In 1989 the EPA issued the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule but in 1991, asbestos industry supporters challenged and overturned the ban in a landmark lawsuit: Corrosion Proof Fittings v. the Environmental Protection Agency. Although the case resulted in several small victories for asbestos regulation, the EPA ultimately did not put an end to asbestos use. This ruling leaves many consumer products that can still legally contain trace amounts of asbestos. For a clarification of products which legally contain asbestos, read the EPA's clarification statement.
In 2010, Washington State banned asbestos in automotive brakes starting in 2014. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has set limits of 100,000 fibers with lengths greater than or equal to 5 µm per cubic meter of workplace air for eight-hour shifts and 40-hour work weeks.
In Vietnam, asbestos is not banned and still widely used. Vietnam is one of the top 10 asbestos users in the world with an annual import volume of about 65,000-70,000 tons of chrysotile. About 90% of the imported asbestos is used to produce about 100 million m2 of roofing sheets of cement-roofing (asbestos-cement). According to one study, among 300 families in Yen Bai, Thanh Hoa, 85% of households use asbestos roofing sheets, however, only 5% know about their harms.
However, in the project of adjusting the master plan for construction materials development to 2020 with orientation to 2030 submitted by the Ministry of Construction to the Government in January 2014 still suggests to continue using chrysotile for a long time.
The use of crocidolite (blue) asbestos was banned in 1967, while the use of amosite (brown) asbestos continued in the construction industry until the mid-1980s. It was finally banned from building products in 1989, though it remained in gaskets and brake linings until 31 December 2003, and cannot be imported, used or recycled.
Asbestos continues to be a problem. Two out of three homes in Australia built between World War II and the early 1980s still contain asbestos.
The union that represents workers tasked with modifying electrical meter boxes at residences stated that workers should refuse to do this work until the boxes have been inspected for asbestos, and the head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has called on the government to protect its citizens by ridding the country of asbestos by 2030.
Handlers of asbestos materials must have a B-Class license for bonded asbestos and an A-Class license for friable asbestos.
The town of Wittenoom, in Western Australia was built around a (blue) asbestos mine. The entire town continues to be contaminated, and has been disincorporated, allowing local authorities to remove references to Wittenoom from maps and roadsigns.
From December 31, 2018 it was illegal to import, manufacture, sell, trade or use products made from asbestos. There are exemptions for its use in the chlor-alkali industry, the military, nuclear facilities and for magnesium extraction from asbestos mining residues.
Revelations that hundreds of workers had died in Japan over the previous few decades from diseases related to asbestos sparked a scandal in mid-2005. Tokyo had, in 1971, ordered companies handling asbestos to install ventilators and check health on a regular basis; however, the Japanese government did not ban crocidolite and amosite until 1995, and a near complete ban with a few exceptions on asbestos was implemented in 2006, with the remaining exceptions being removed in March 2012 for a full-fledged ban.
In 1984, the import of raw amphibole (blue and brown) asbestos into New Zealand was banned. In 2002 the import of chrysotile (white) asbestos was also banned. In 2015 the government announced that the importation of asbestos would be completely banned with very limited exceptions (expected to be applied to replacement parts for older machines) that would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
North-west of Nelson, in the Upper Takaka Valley is New Zealand's only commercially harvested asbestos mine. A low-grade Chrysotile was mined here from 1908 to 1917 but only 100 tons was washed and taken out by packhorse. A new power scheme enabled work to renew and between 1940 and 1949, 40 tons a month was mined by the Hume Company. This continued to 1964, when, due to the short length of its fibre, the limited commercial viability forced mining to cease.
In May 1997, the manufacture and use of crocidolite and amosite, commonly known as blue and brown asbestos, were fully banned in South Korea. In January 2009, a full-fledged ban on all types of asbestos occurred when the government banned the manufacture, import, sale, storage, transport or use of asbestos or any substance containing more than 0.1% of asbestos. In 2011, South Korea became the world's sixth country to enact an asbestos harm aid act, which entitles any Korean citizen to free lifetime medical care as well as monthly income from the government if he or she is diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
In the United Kingdom, blue and brown asbestos materials were banned outright in 1985 while the import, sale and second hand reuse of white asbestos was outlawed in 1999. The 2012 Control of Asbestos Regulations state that owners of non-domestic buildings (e.g., factories and offices) have a "duty to manage" asbestos on the premises by making themselves aware of its presence and ensuring the material does not deteriorate, removing it if necessary. Employers, e.g. construction companies, whose operatives may come into contact with asbestos must also provide annual asbestos training to their workers.
Fiberglass insulation was invented in 1938 and is now the most commonly used type of insulation material. The safety of this material has also been called into question due to similarities in material structure. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer removed fiberglass from its list of possible human carcinogens in 2001 and a scientific review article from 2011 claimed epidemiology data was inconsistent and concluded that the IARC's decision to downgrade the carcinogenic potential of fiberglass was valid (however, this study was funded by sponsored research contract from the North American Insulation Manufacturer’s Association).
In 1978, a highly texturized fiberglass fabric was invented by Bal Dixit, called Zetex. This fabric is lighter than asbestos, but offers the same bulk, thickness, hand, feel, and abrasion resistance as asbestos. The fiberglass was texturized to eliminate some of the problems that arise with fiberglass, such as poor abrasion resistance and poor seam strength.
In Europe, mineral wool and glass wool are the main insulators in houses.
Many companies that produced asbestos-cement products that were reinforced with asbestos fibers have developed products incorporating organic fibers. One such product was known as "Eternit" and another "Everite" now use "Nutec" fibers which consist of organic fibers, portland cement and silica. Cement-bonded wood fiber is another substitute. Stone fibers are used in gaskets and friction materials.
Another potential fiber is polybenzimidazole or PBI fiber. Polybenzimidazole fiber is a synthetic fiber with a high melting point of 760 °C (1,400 °F) that also does not ignite. Because of its exceptional thermal and chemical stability, it is often used by fire departments and space agencies.
The demolition of buildings containing large amounts of asbestos based materials pose particular problems for builders and property developers – such buildings often have to be deconstructed piece by piece, or the asbestos has to be painstakingly removed before the structure can be razed by mechanical or explosive means. One such example is the Red Road Flats in Glasgow, Scotland which used huge amounts of asbestos cement board for wall panelling – here British health and safety regulations stipulate that asbestos material has to be removed to a landfill site via an approved route at certain times of the day in specially adapted vehicles.
In the United States, the EPA governs the removal and disposal of asbestos strictly. Companies that remove asbestos must comply with EPA licensing. These companies are called EPA licensed asbestos contractors. Anytime one of these asbestos contractors performs work a test consultant has to conduct strict testing to ensure the asbestos is completely removed.
Asbestos can be recycled by transforming it into harmless silicate glass. A process of thermal decomposition at 1,000–1,250 °C (1,800–2,300 °F) produces a mixture of non-hazardous silicate phases, and at temperatures above 1,250 °C (2,300 °F) it produces silicate glass. Microwave thermal treatment can be used in an industrial manufacturing process to transform asbestos and asbestos-containing waste into porcelain stoneware tiles, porous single-fired wall tiles, and ceramic bricks.
The combination of oxalic acid with ultrasound fully degrades chrysotile asbestos fibers.
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^ Flanagan, Daniel M. (31 January 2018). "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2018" (pdf). Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey. p. 27. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
^ "Asbestos" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program. January 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
^ Tsujimura, Tatsuya (18 November 2014). "Japanese docs trying to stop all asbestos use in Asia". The Japan Times. Tokyo. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
^ "Asbestos" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program. January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
^ Straif, K; Benbrahim-Tallaa, L; Baan, R; Grosse, Y; Secretan, B; El Ghissassi, F; Bouvard, V; Guha, N; Freeman, C; Galichet, L; Cogliano, V; WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph Working Group (2009). "A review of human carcinogens—Part C: Metals, arsenic, dusts, and fibres" (PDF). The Lancet. Oncology. 10 (5): 453–4. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70134-2. PMID 19418618.
^ Kanarek, M. S. (2011). "Mesothelioma from Chrysotile Asbestos: Update". Annals of Epidemiology. 21 (9): 688–97. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2011.05.010. PMID 21820631.
^ Marbbn, C.A. (2009). "Asbestos Risk Assessment". The Journal of Undergraduate Biological Studies: 12–24.
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^ "Building unions seek laws to clear asbestos". The Sydney Morning Herald. SydenyMorningHerald.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
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^ "All buildings should be cleared of asbestos by 2030 to save future generations". ACTU. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
^ Asbestos use banned on all products from this month. Etoday.co.kr. Retrieved on 2015-10-17.
^ Smartt, Pamela (2004). "Mortality, morbidity, and asbestosis in New Zealand: the hidden legacy of asbestos exposure". The New Zealand Medical Journal. 117 (1205): U1153. PMID 15570336.
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^ "Fiber Glass: A Carcinogen That's Everywhere". Rachel's News. Environmental Research Foundation. 31 May 1995.
^ Marsh, G. M.; Buchanich, J. M.; Youk, A. O. (2011). "Fiber glass exposure and human respiratory system cancer risk: Lack of evidence persists since 2001 IARC re-evaluation". Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. 60 (1): 84–92. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2011.02.009. PMID 21345360.
^ Dixit, B., "Performance of Protective Clothing: Development and Testing of Asbestos Substitutes," Performance of Protective Clothing, ASTM STP 900, R. L. Barker and G. C. Coletta, Eds., American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 1986, pp. 446–460 ISBN 0-8031-0461-8.
^ Gualtieri, A. F.; Tartaglia, A. (2000). "Thermal decomposition of asbestos and recycling in traditional ceramics". Journal of the European Ceramic Society. 20 (9): 1409–1418. doi:10.1016/S0955-2219(99)00290-3.
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^ Francesco Turci; Maura Tomatis; Stefano Mantegna; Giancarlo Cravotto; Bice Fubini (2007). "The combination of oxalic acid with power ultrasound fully degrades chrysotile asbestos fibres". Journal of Environmental Monitoring (10): 1064–1066.
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Asbestos general article and chrysotile specifically: comprehensive coverage of all aspects of chemistry, biological interactions, destruction, and social/clinical scientific knowledge related to Asbestos, on the Toxicology Data Network, with full library of cites on many aspects and sub-topics]. | 2019-04-22T19:03:57Z | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos |
The LM stickers have arrived!
Now that it is on the cover of Time and has been featured on Oprah, it is unlikely that most have not heard of Twitter.
For the last year or so I have been trying to explain to myself and to others what Twitter is, and it is only in the last several months that I have come to at least a more concrete answer to that question. Ashton and Oprah do a good job giving examples (such as the power that Twitter returns to the individual over the news media) but those seem to be "effects", not an answer to what it is.
Said simply: Twitter is a broad window into what and where people are feeling, doing, and saying.
Said more technically: It is location-tagged, microblogging over text.
THEN Twitter allows all of us to talk to all of us across the phone and the internet.
I know...I know, of course you get it, but what does this mean? really?
"Twitter is a broad window into what and where people are feeling, doing, and saying."
Though Local Motors is not in the same business, it actually matters for the same reason that Twitter does. We access and deliver local content to the people who are interested - open and available at all time for people to see. Our micro-factories and regional focus on car manufacturing, selling, and service is a return to a connectedness between company and consumer last seen in the days of Wally's Service Station in Mayberry.
We use 21st century tools to re-establish this connection, but the connection and the feeling is the same. We want to know what you are thinking locally and we want to deliver that to you in your auto experience. It should be no surprise that we also therefore use Twitter (#localmotors, @localmotors, @johnbrogers).
Gone is the days of the Mass product and the Dealership.
On the night of, came the Hotwash (a term we used in the Marines for a quick debrief after an intense engagement), now here we have a more complete post with pictures.
-All were fed, great burgers from the Kool Kone - Local Burger joint run by Tom Strom.
-All (or most of age) had a Narragansett (local) beer. Getting ready for the 'Gansett event shown here is the multi-talented LM team member, Karin Drake Ostebo.
-All learned something about welding and about vehicle rear suspension... specifically the Watts Link, demonstrated by LM Master Welder, Colby Whipple, (facing camera, on left, in black) and Chief Motorhead, Jay Rogers (pointing and talking...as usual:)).
-People came from all over. NYC to France, and across all jobs - auto techs, finance, marketing, clergy, parents... what a diverse and wonderful crowd.
-Kids played in heaven in the pink foam squares.
-Adults mingled and learned about the automotive industry's newest entrant.
-The Rally Fighter was exposed for the first time to the prying public.
-Everyone is ready to come back with a friend who loves cars on July 10th at 5 pm.
"to introduce Local Motors as a local car company that is reinventing the way in which people experience cars."
We achieved that goal in spades. Join us at the next one July 10th 5pm. The burgers, the teaching, the fun, and the Pride in Local auto is free! The bragging right to say you attended the few events where it all began is priceless.
Two Big Stories today on LM - Both about LM, only one knew it and one did not.
What detroit can learn from the apple store.
Jeff details in explicit terms why the Local Motors model is disrupting the status quo industry.
The mass market is dead, replaced by the mass of niches. I don’t want the same car you want. I want choice. Hundreds of microfactories can give it to me.
Eliot writes a compelling thought piece on dealerships being a thing of the past, building upon the precise theme that Jeff ends with. Only Eliot does not even know that LM exists.
I rarely make requests of you, our earnest LM Vision readers, but here is a simple one. Write Eliot and his editor, John, a note, and let's help them to write the story about LM that was already embedded here. America needs to know that automotive is not only alive but coming on strong.
Tell them that you saw the article on What detroit can learn from the apple store. And maybe it should have been "What Local Motors is doing to bring Apple Stores to Automotive - the birth of the Micro-Factory".
.....especially now that Hummer is going to be Chinese....Yikes.
Unless you are not plugged in to any type of news the title of this post will be synonymous with the fall of an American Business Icon. Though the details are readily available below, first, some stunning facts, all of which are part of the pain of watching a Company, once so strong, fall into bankruptcy.
GM's press release claims that it has reached an agreement to "accelerate its reinvention and create a leaner, stronger "New GM".... reinvetion? .... It has gone bankrupt and destroyed all of the value of its equity and much of its debt.
Taxpayers just finished lending $19.4BN to GM and will now inherit only $6.7BN of bonds. What a loss!
We will now lend another $30BN ($15BN available (i.e. spent) immediately today) to GM in exchange for $2.1BN in Preferred Stock and 60% of GM's Common Stock. Another loss?
What could other businesses do - and who could they employ - with $49BN of capital?
....This is Painful, but please read on.
GM has blamed most everything on most everyone but themselves: "last week, G.M.’s newly retired vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, said the automaker had experienced a 'world of hurt, much of it not of our own doing.'" What? In the end, the management was in charge and they (and their predecessors) should shoulder the burden. Who's doing was it?
The benefits paid to employees still seem to be outsized. For a prominent example, Rick Wagoner, recently ousted CEO, left a month ago with $20.2MM in pension, because the Company was barred from paying "severance". Who cares whether it is called severance or pension benefits? $20.2MM seems like a lot no matter what you call it for the CEO of an about-to-be bankrupt company. We could all be upset with this outcome in the face of the bankruptcy until you read that only $1MM of that CEO pension was guaranteed and that the rest may never be paid if the Company goes bankrupt...which, again, it has. I am not sure now whether to feel justified or sad or both. Please note though that only certain high-level execs like Mr. Wagoner could lose their outstanding pension benefits, whereas the rest of the employees will see theirs. And watch the fine print in the future, becasue when the dust has cleared, and no one is watching, I wonder what Mr. Wagoner will actually be paid? This is just messy and sad. It is hard to know whether to feel pity or anger, since we all own this company now.
A decade ago, GM's stock stood at $70 per share. It closed at $0.75 per share on Friday and is worth nothing ($0.00) as of yesterday.
GM has been removed from the Dow Jones Average and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and GM's new stock will likely not trade publicly for 2 years or more. In actuality, it will not trade publicly until the public wants to buy that stock, which may be never.
Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab are dead (or sold, if possible). Appears there is a China-based buyer for Hummer. Only Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, and Buick remain. Will Corvette survive as part of Chevy? Again, watch out for the fine print in the future. An American military truck icon - owned by the Chinese. Not Hummer - Bummer.
6,000 dealers in the US will become 3,600 dealers over the next 1.5 years creating job losses of 100,000 and those jobs aren't even on the Company's books.
In 1979, GM's U.S. workforce peaked at 618,365, making it the largest private employer in the country. In 2008, GM employed only 116,000 in the US (only 243,000 worldwide). 20,000 of those 116,000 are about to be cut with plant closures associated with the bankruptcy.
If you divide up the Government funding the US has offered GM this year by employee it would be $203,703.70 per each GM employee worldwide, or $426,724.14 per each GM North American employee, or $129,973.47 per worldwide retiree. If all of this effort was being made to stem the pain to those losing jobs, there seems to have been plenty of pain-relieving money to go around. Have we really done a good thing. I would have liked to have received$130-426K.
Time will tell, but these stunning facts are only the beginning of the story.
To learn more, I would start with GM's release. And here is the video to go along with it.
DETROIT, June 1, 2009 - General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) today announced that it has reached agreements with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario to accelerate its reinvention and create a leaner, stronger "New GM" positioned for a profitable, self-sustaining and competitive future.
Pending approvals, the New GM is expected to launch in about 60 to 90 days as a separate and independent company from the current GM ("GM"), with two distinct advantages: it will be built from only GM's best brands and operations, and it will be supported by a stronger balance sheet due to a significantly lower debt burden and operating cost structure than before. The New GM will incorporate the terms of GM's recent agreements with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) unions and will be led by GM's current management team.
The New GM will execute the key elements of its April 27 viability plan, along with additional initiatives, to achieve winning financial results by putting customers first, concentrating on adding to the company's line of award-winning cars and trucks through four core brands and continuing to invest in green, energy-saving technologies.
Under its plan, GM will sell substantially all of its global assets to the New GM. To implement the sale agreement, GM and three domestic subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the sale is subject to the approval of the Court. Because GM's sale of assets to the New GM already has the support of the U.S. Treasury, the UAW and a substantial portion of GM's unsecured bondholders, GM expects the sale to be approved and consummated expeditiously.
GM has asked the Court to approve a number of steps to protect current and new GM customers, ensure that its operations will continue uninterrupted during the court-supervised process, and provide for a smooth transition to the New GM.
GM dealers will continue to service GM vehicles and honor GM warranties, and U.S. and Canadian government guarantees of manufacturers' warranties are designed to reassure consumers.
GM will use its cash-on-hand and a new Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing of approximately $33 billion to: ensure an uninterrupted supply of goods and services and provide for other cash requirements prior to closing of the asset sale; fund liabilities to secured lenders; and provide contingency funding to handle any potential unexpected needs. Furthermore, in conjunction with the sale, the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian and Ontario governments will provide funds to administer the wind down of the remaining assets and the closing of the chapter 11 cases.
GM employees worldwide will become part of the New GM.
"Today marks a defining moment in the reinvention of GM as a leaner, more customer-focused, and more cost-competitive company that, above all, can quickly generate winning bottom line results," said Fritz Henderson, GM president and CEO. "The economic crisis has caused enormous disruption in the auto industry, but with it has come the opportunity for us to reinvent our business. We are going to do it once and do it right. The court-supervised process we are pursuing provides us with powerful tools to accelerate and complete our reinvention, as well as strong safeguards for our customers and our business. We are focused on the job at hand, for the benefit of our customers, employees, dealers, suppliers, retirees, taxpayers, investors and other stakeholders.
"We recognize the sacrifices that so many have been asked to make as we have worked to reinvent GM and the automobile," said Henderson. "GM deeply appreciates the support and the demonstration of confidence in our future by President Obama, the Presidential Task Force on Autos, the Canadian and Ontario governments, American and Canadian taxpayers, the unsecured bondholders who are supporting the proposed sale transaction, the UAW and CAW and their leadership, and the men and women of GM, including our retirees. You have enabled us to carry out this vital transformation for the good of GM, our customers and the economy, and we are working to validate your trust each day.
"From day one, the New GM will be well-positioned to capitalize on the award-winning vehicles we have developed and launched during the past few years, and on our investments in exciting new technologies like the Chevy Volt, so that we can build and return value to our customers and to the millions who will have a stake in our success. The New GM will play a critical role in the future of the automobile, and assure that the U.S. has a strong stake in this rapidly changing global manufacturing industry," Henderson said.
GM's North American manufacturing operations continues to monitor production output to make sure it aligns with market demand, and currently intends to ramp up manufacturing operations as market demand improves during the latter half of the year.
None of GM's operations outside of the U.S. are included in the U.S. court filings or court-supervised process, and these filings have no direct legal impact on GM's plans and operations outside the U.S. GM confirmed that all business operations are continuing without interruption in its Europe; Latin America, Africa and the Middle East; and Asia Pacific regions.
"Worldwide, GM dealers are open for business, offering competitive financing options on our award-winning vehicles, continuing to honor our industry-leading warranty coverage, and providing outstanding service," said Henderson. "Furthermore, the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian governments have issued a strong vote of confidence by backing GM's vehicle warranties."
GM's agreements with the U.S. Treasury, the Canadian and Ontario governments and the UAW and CAW, in addition to the support of a substantial portion of GM's unsecured bondholders, will enable the New GM to be a leaner, faster and more customer-focused enterprise, consistent with the vision, goals and plans of GM's enhanced operating plan announced April 27.
A critical element of GM's reinvention is to achieve a significantly stronger and healthier balance sheet. On March 31, 2009, GM reported consolidated debt of $54.4 billion, along with additional liabilities, including an estimated $20 billion obligation to the UAW VEBA.
Other than the $8 billion of debt owed to the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian and Ontario governments by the New GM, all amounts owed by GM or the New GM to the U.S. Treasury and Canadian and Ontario governments would be equitized in exchange for the New GM securities described above, and no other debt will be owed by GM to the U.S. Treasury and the Canadian and Ontario governments.
GM announced separately today, GM Europe has an agreement for €1.5 billion of bridge financing from the German government and a Memorandum of Understanding to partner with Magna International Inc. Under the agreement, the Opel/Vauxhall assets have been pooled under Adam Opel GmbH, with the majority of the shares of Adam Opel GmbH being put into an independent trust (the balance to remain with General Motors), while final negotiations with Magna proceed. Negotiations to close the agreement should take several weeks. Additional details will be available athttp://media.gm.com/eur/gm/en/.
The revolutionary Chevy Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle that can travel up to 40 miles on battery power alone with the extended-range capability of more than 300 total miles.
"Our products are our future, and our lineup of new cars and crossovers are a great foundation for success," said Henderson. "The New GM is here to stay, and our brands position us to compete well in profitable segments with vehicles that are second-to-none."
GM also reaffirmed its commitment to improve the fuel efficiency of its vehicle fleet, meet or exceed new federal fuel economy and emissions regulations, and push ahead with advanced propulsion technology. GM will launch the Chevrolet Volt extended range electric vehicle in 2010, expects to have 14 hybrid models in production by 2012, and will have 65 percent of vehicles alternative-fuel capable by 2014.
GM's primary bankruptcy counsel is Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. GM is also represented by Jenner & Block LLP and Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP as counsels. Cravath, Swaine, & Moore LLP is providing legal advice to the Independent Directors of GM. GM's restructuring advisor is AP Services LLP and its financial advisors are Morgan Stanley, Evercore Partners and the Blackstone Group LLP.
More information about GM's chapter 11 cases is available at www.GM.com/restructuring.
Court filings and claims information are available at www.GMcourtdocs.com.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world's largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the U.S., followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
This news release and management's comments on it contain "forward-looking statements." These statements are based on GM management's current expectations and assumptions, and as such involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that we now anticipate -- both in connection with the Chapter 11 filings we are announcing today and GM's business and financial prospects. Those risks are described in GM's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 which was filed March 5, 2009, GM's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2009 which was filed on May 8, 2009, GM's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 14, 2009 and other GM filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. | 2019-04-20T13:17:36Z | http://blog.local-motors.com/2009/06/ |
I sit here in tears realizing that time is going by too quickly. I feel like you just barely made me a mother. I held you in my arms only a moment ago yet it was 11 years ago. My time with you is too short and I am wasting it. You are an amazing boy. You have so much life, and so much strength. You give wholeheartedly and you feel with every part of yourself. I love, love, LOVE you and I wish I could help you better, I wish I could take away your trials and tears.
This past year, you have realized a few things about growing up and you have both matured and grown is ways that Dad and I didn't expect. You set your mind to a goal (The Death Star!) and it was hard work and took a lot of discipline and patience but you put your mind to it and there was no stopping you from realizing your dream! You have become more loving to your bothers and sisters. You care so deeply about them and you live to make them laugh or smile and giggle. You look forward to the games and special moments you have with each of them and as your mom, it warms my heart to see your true self come out. You have worked very hard at school this year and you've improved your handwriting (which is beautiful!) and you've improved your reading level (by 2 grades! good job!) and you've basically memorized the entire history of the world! You are amazing! Schoolwork is hard for you and it is not something that has ever come easy but, I've seen your hard work come out and I've seen you push through and I've seen you succeded. You have always had a PASSION FOR LEARNING and that is something I hope you are always able to hold onto. You want to learn and you want to know everything and you want to have all of your questions answered.... keep asking, Sunshine because it will pay off. You deserveto know everything and more!
This year you've realized your Autism more then you ever have and you've really come to recognize the difference between your own emotions and emotions governed by Autism... it is something I didn't even know exsisted but you've developed the skills to communicate and express that to us and I love it. You share your trials and your thoughts with us. Please don't ever stop. We are trying to understand you better and while we aren't always perfect, we do try! You've figured out ways to settle yourself down by reading or playing Legos, snuggling with Aspen or boxing. They're all things that I see you go to for solice and safty and I'm glad that you have learned and overcome so much. I know and I see how hard Autism is on you and I wish I could take that pain away from you but you have shown me that it is something you can carry around with you 'in your pocket' but not let it get too big. Everyone in the world might not understand but, I promise that Dad and I see your strength. You are amazing.
This year the thing that I think that you've contributed most to this family is JOY! You are my smily, happy, sunshine boy! You want to cheer others up, you're quick to give hugs or pat my back, you're quick to crack a joke and to make a funny face. You want everyone around you to be happy and your smile is infectious. Keep doing it! We all need it and the world needs it and your smile is perfect!
I love you so much and I love being your Mom. Please forgive the mistakes that I make. Please forgive my lack of patience or temper- you really do inspire me to be a better Mom to you and all the other kids and for that I both thank you and apologize that I didn't learn it fast enough with you. I'm looking forward to this next year with you- I'm excited for you to be in Boy Scouts, I'm excited for you to learn calligraphy, I'm excited for you to develop your wood-carving skills, I'm excited for you to travel and have all the adventures you're going to have this year. I'm looking forward to playing chess with you and reading Percy Jackson with you, I can't wait for all the snuggles and kisses and giant hugs I'm going to get from you. I know you're a big 11 year old now but, will do you me a favor? Please always be my boy? Because I'm always going to love you soo much it hurts. I'm always going to be on 'Team Ethan' and I'm always going to want you to be happy inside and out.
You can see more of your birthday Letters HERE.
#34- You UNDERSTAND special needs.
I have faith today. Faith that people can repent. Faith that tomorrow can be better and Faith that God can carry our burdens while we gain the strength to stand tall another day.
Lego Robotics on a Budget.
Someone as been watching a little too much Robot Combat League.
I love how his mind works.
My mind has been racing this past weekend since I heard about the terrible tragedy in Connecticut. As a parent of three elementary aged children I was horrified and sicked by almost every tiny bit of information that was released since then. I haven't been able to sleep and there is still so much disbelief and shock that it just seems unreal. I home school my oldest and since the news broke I have been in a constant internal struggle with myself questioning if I should keep my 2 others home from now on to. Is that the only way I can protect them from a world so scary?
Then the reports of the shooter having Asperger's shifted my thinking a little. I am sure the the shooters family is suffering just as terribly as the victims families, if not more. Hopefully it has a lot of people thinking differently. I posted 4+ years ago about my thoughts then on Violence and Autism but today I feel a strong need to update my feelings. I still stand by my original thoughts that My son needs me to advocate for him, to be stronger for him. But I've also come to understand him a lot better since then. I'm the one that's changed, and in turn it has changed him.
I think this is going to be devastating for the Amazing Autism Community. Personally, I've already heard comments about how they need to be drugged and locked up at all costs and it has me both hurt and offended and protective. Instead of people trying to understand what is going on and reach out, people are scared and pulling away from something that they just aren't familiar with. My Ethan has already had people push him away because of his diagnosis. He's had parents pull their kids from him and teachers give up on him and this was before Friday! Personally, I am trying to fill that void. I just don't know if only 1 or 2 loving people can.
Ethan lives in a world that he doesn't understand and that doesn't understand him.... on a daily basis he feels this and in turn he is soo much more sensitive to everyone around him. He can't express his emotions very well and he still doesn't even understand why people have feelings other then what he is feeling at that exact moment. That being said, he has an amazing pulse on people. A few years ago my SIL said it best,that "there are some people who soak up others emotions for them like a sponge and then, for better or worse, don't know how to let go of it themselves." Ethan is one of those people. He is a terrible communicator yet he can sense (and then magnify) your happiness or excitement or anticipation (which is why he's the best to be around at Christmas time!). Unfortunately it isn't always rainbows and butterflies, it also applies to more negative and harder to understand emotions like tension, frustration, betrayal, deceit, jealousy, and anger and disappointment. He doesn't even comprehend them himself yet internalizes those emotions and turns them on himself before you have even had a chance to identify them in yourself or those around you. Ethan literally feels your frustration or pain. Often I have put on a happy face for the kids during a trial and Ethan is NEVER fooled by it. He becomes agitated or restless and figgets. It's not just with me either, it's with anyone around him. If his little brother or sister is frustrated and losing his temper Ethan is often in the other room crying hysterically because he can't handle the upset. If the Baby is excited and giggling Ethan is bouncing off the walls and can't contain his joy and happiness. This is why homeschooling him has been soo wonderful. I've been able to fully control who is in his life and who is influencing him. I can see what triggers him and divert it. We started doing homework in the kitchen but that was too close to Daddy who was downstairs in his home office... stressed. By moving upstairs and being two flights away Ethan was better able to concentrate and be motivated and feel more empowered, because he wasn't sensing anyone elses stress. Frankly it isn't that he's full of empathy, it is that he is absorbing others energy. So his violent outbursts tend to be a microcosm of what people in the room are feeling. This translates in every area of his life. If I want him to or need him to learn something I don't so much have to tell him he can do it, I need to actually believe it, fully 100%. When he's around other kids, the same thing happens, if they are are healthy, well adjusted and kind, he picks up on that without talking (and yes, he often comes across as rude to them because of it). If others are feeling threaten and competitive or even testing the waters of life (as many 9 year old boys do) he picks up on that and doesn't understand it the same way as a typical boy does, so he becomes tense and confused and starts to feel like he's being backed into a corner- even if he's not the child being picked on or pushing boundaries. It's both fascinating and terrifying and only points to to me how important it is to surround him with positive influences in his life. No negative news shows, scary movies or shoot'em-up video games, because these things affect him differently then they do my other children.
What I'm getting at is that these kids that are absorbing the world around them need to live in a world that is full of people who are up to the task of positivity and strength and growth. I have changed over the course of the last 4 years and come to understand this about him and most kids like him. But...One mother alone trying to protect her child isn't enough, it takes an entire community of acceptance.
I'm so worried that now foster parents will be less likely to take him Autistic foster children, or more teachers writing off kids and creating situations for outburst so that they get sent to a more severe classroom, it's already hard for Autistic/Aspergers children to have friends, I'm worried parents will teach their children fear and won't allow their kids to play with kids on the spectrum. The more isolated and away from the world and community these children feel the more extreme their emotions become.
I guess I'm just hurting right now and need someone, anyone out there, to understand instead of pass judgement. Frankly, As a country we need to open our minds and our hearts a little more, help others more and build support systems for everyone going through trials to understand that they are not alone. It'll strengthen us all.
We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop and look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
*as I have said before, comments will not be censored in an effort to open the discusion and learn from eachother in a meaningful way.
I was taught to dream big. My entire life I've believed in magic and miracles and the unexplainable. I believe in dreams coming true. It's fuuny though, you work for so long for certain dreams only to realize when they come true that they aren't the ones that actually made you happy. Surprisingly, it's in the progress that the happiness is most often found.
With Ethan's autism and school struggles I think I've had that moment. We spent years in IEP meetings and fighting for his right to an education. We worked with him and he improved and exceeded all expectations. We felt like we were 'living the dream' so to speak with him the last few years we had in Bethlehem. When we moved we knew we'd be starting over in most regards but we also knew that the end goal was totally worth it.... then everything got tricky. After the roller coaster 18 months we've had with his schooling and a lot of regression we realized that things weren't working and we started homeschooling... who knew that this is exactly where he belonged all along?!! He is thriving, I am enjoying it and he is learning and happy and progressing. It's amazing! This is soo not where I dreamed myself to be but it's where I was supposed to be all along. Nothing else mattered as much as I thought and what I was fighting for was within my grasp all along! If only I had beleived in myself as much as I believed in my son.
I need to force myself to sit down everyday to blog and self reflect. In the last month my life has changed so dramatically (for the better, overall) that it's hard to sometimes remember to keep doing the things that are good for me that I was doing before.... like updating my blog! I use this place as my emotional file cabinet and it totally forces me to digest the struggles and savor the peace. Without that it's easy to lose the balance that I need so desperately. So... a few quick updates?
Ethan's homeschooling is going sooo well! I love being with him more, I love seeing him happier and watching him discover the world around him. Yeah, I know there are hard days and I know he's tough to motivate but it is sooo worth it. I honestly had not idea how much fulfilment I would get from this. I have been taking the option of homeschooling off the table as an option for years, convinced that I wasn't enough of a woman or mother. Sure of what I didn't know rather then what I did. I had built up in my head that only wonder women could do amazing things like home-school. Guess what I found out? no one that home schools wears a cape at home?! Seriously, how did I not know how achievable this was?! A little research, a lot of prayer, and even more determination to make it work and ta-da! It's working!! It was absolutely achievable and within reach this entire time and I wasn't even considering it out of principle.... I guess better late then never, right?
Ethan actually has a lot going on right now. Every six months we re-evaluate Ethan and his progress. How he can process concepts, his fine/gross motor skills, his perceptive skills, etc. They rate his individual strengths and weaknesses and give them an age score.... developmentally speaking. Like, gross motor skills are that of a 6 year 5 month old child or something like that. We've been doing this since he turned 4. EVERY 6 months. Most kids on the Autism spectrum have this done. From the beginning his developmental age was about 9-19 months BELOW his actual age. So at age 7 years 4 months most of his results were 6 years 1 month. His therapist kept telling us that this was perfect and actually good news because he was developing 6+ months worth of skills in the past 6 months. So what if it was "X" number of months behind, as long as he was progressing appropriately time wise. So we watched him develop at his own rate. Progress at his own speed. Learn on his terms. It has been rewarding and fascinating to watch the process and to understand our son more and more. Technically Ethan's official diagnosis is SEVERE AUTISM, VERBAL W/ A CHANCE FOR REGRESSION. We were told that because Ethan started speaking at 18 months then stopped that it was another 'red flag'. The Doctors cautioned us that this might indicate that later in his life he may possibly lose skills he had previously mastered. We took it and marinated on it, we were warned that this commonly happens at at 5 so when he took a little dip in developemental age then we were prepared. But then Ethan came back with a huge burst of skills at 7. We started describing him as not just High Functioning but 'typical with a few quirks'. Many people Ethan have met over the years could not tell he had Autism until they spent more then and hour or two with him. Yeah, over the years Ethan has had a lot of struggles and Autism has certainly made his life harder but overall I've maintained that Autism isn't this big terrible life sentence that is to be mourned forever. There is growth and happiness and progress. Maybe it's just this week but I'm not feeling the Autism love lately.So the eval results came back this week.... usually they say he's about 1-2 years behind developementally. We were expecting that. No. No. No. In 6 months he has regressed in so many areas its scary. He's regressed in things he's had conqured for years. He's regressed in things all of us have worked so hard on! He's regressed about 2 years in 6 months... So now at 9 years- almost 10 years old. He's now developementally 5 yrs and 9 months. I really need a punching bag labeled AUTISM REGRESSION right now.
In other news, I got a new calling at church. Since we moved here I've been on the RS Activities committee and that was actually really a perfect calling for me. I didn't have any pressure to attend every Sunday, I felt like I was contributing and still being true to myself. I got to know a lot of amazing women and as childish as it sounds, I was able to kinda lick my wounds and heal from my last ward. Because Doug helped so much with the kids, when I went to church I was able to focus 100% on me and my testimony. I didn't go for the social aspect or out of abligation, I went for me and it was wonderful to be able to put that part of my life back together again. I have felt more like myself this past year and more true to who I am as a person. Sometimes in the hussle and bustle of life just being who you want to be gets lost. I've really been trying a lot lately to be who I know I am, all the time and to be the person I know I want to be, regardless of situation. Life happens but I 'm trying to not let the unexpected become excuses or road block to who I want to be. So what if Doug's not a member anymore. I am and I like who I am in the church. I am happier being the Mormon me. Respecting Doug's views is part of who I am but, that shouldn't can't change who I am or what I believe. Before he left I was able to not really put a lot into my own testimony. I knew it was there and called on it when I was in a tricky situation, I was constantly in callings and loved sharing it with outher but I didn't actually put anything into it to help it to grow, to strengthen it or maintain it. After he left, for some reason, it was harder to just call on it when needed and holy cow, I needed it! When Doug announced he was done, I was in the Young Women's persidency. I specifically asked the Bishop at the time to please keep me in that calling. He released me the next week. I begged to please give me another calling where I could be a part of the ward. I wanted to give and felt like being in a calling where my testimony was desperately needed my force me to rely in it. Looking back I can now see that what the Bishop was trying to give me was time exactly like this past year. A year for myself. A year to re-center myself and freshen up. A year for growth instead of depleation. I didn't see it that way at the time.. Even when it comes to Husbandface and his pain, people in the ward rejecting him and stopping friendships just when he needed it most, I can now see that some of those people were hurting and scared to. They had leaned on him spiritually and losing that was a little bit of a shock to them just as it was to me. They needed time to lick thier wounds and heal as well. I guess time really does heal old wounds. So back to that calling I mentioned... A few weeks ago the Bishop called Doug and I into his office and asked if I'd accept the calling. The entire ime he was speaking I just kept going over in my head, "Why would they want me to be in that calling?", "Do they even know me?", "I'm not the typical person for this!" So, yeah. To put it mildly I was SHOCKED when they asked me to be in the Relief Society Presidency. Don't get me wrong, I am honored and excited for the opportunity to work the crazy amazing women in the Presidency with me. I just hope I don't screw it up.
I guess this is all where faith has to come in... I say I have Faith and now it's time to test it. | 2019-04-26T07:37:13Z | https://joannajune.typepad.com/work_in_progress/autism/ |
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Kings Crown Restaurant & Pub having an address at University street, 6th khoroo, khurd international, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. If you have trouble to visit Kings Crown Restaurant & Pub at the address University street, 6th khoroo, khurd international, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, You can use GPS to access the location coordinates Kings Crown Restaurant & Pub that is 47.9274,106.917164. You just open your phone and open googlemaps. Input coordinates 47.9274,106.917164 and you will easily reach the location Kings Crown Restaurant & Pub who has an address at University street, 6th khoroo, khurd international, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this.
UB Kebab and Burger having an address at Seoul St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. If you have trouble to visit UB Kebab and Burger at the address Seoul St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, You can use GPS to access the location coordinates UB Kebab and Burger that is 47.9130689,106.9046553. You just open your phone and open googlemaps. Input coordinates 47.9130689,106.9046553 and you will easily reach the location UB Kebab and Burger who has an address at Seoul St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this.
Delhi Darbar having an address at Usnii St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. If you have trouble to visit Delhi Darbar at the address Usnii St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, You can use GPS to access the location coordinates Delhi Darbar that is 47.9145971,106.9071869. You just open your phone and open googlemaps. Input coordinates 47.9145971,106.9071869 and you will easily reach the location Delhi Darbar who has an address at Usnii St, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this.
Oriental Treasure having an address at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. If you have trouble to visit Oriental Treasure at the address Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, You can use GPS to access the location coordinates Oriental Treasure that is 47.9144453,106.9072157. You just open your phone and open googlemaps. Input coordinates 47.9144453,106.9072157 and you will easily reach the location Oriental Treasure who has an address at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this.
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Data: Characters assigned by numbers (e.g. MARKETINGS assigned as M=0, A=1, R=2 & so up to 9).Input: CharactersCondition: Apply to Input CharactersOutput Should be: Some of the number for the input characters.
I'm trying to use column A as a 'sequence' number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...) in a spreadsheet, so I enter '1' in cell A1 and enter the simple formula =A1+1 in cell A2 (which correctly returns the number 2). But, when I copy the simple formula in cell A2 and paste it into cell A3, the value in the cell is 2 even tho the formula shows as =A2+1. This works just fine in Excel 97 and 2003, so what am I doing wrong?
Thx for any advice you can give.
I've just tested this out on Excel 2007 and it works fine on my PC. I'm at a total loss as to why it would add 1+2 and make 2?
Question: MS office 2007 office button immediatly closes program??
I use MS office 2007 daily, but today I cannot access it properly. I attempted to open a file by clicking on the "office button" and it immediatly closed everything. I tried to save from the office button and each time I click on the office button it closes everything out. I just discovered other things are affected as well. I cannot access any drop down items on anything. So it is not just an Office thing.
Answer:MS office 2007 office button immediatly closes program??
I don't know if this matters or not but there is also a pie chart linked to this table of information.
I would like this table (H6:J19) to automatically sort by % of Total (in descending order) any time I add new expenses so that I don't always have to sort manually.
If there is a way to do this, I would so appreciate simple instructions. I've attached a sample of what the report looks like.
I hope you guys can help!!!
To do this just right-click on the Sheet1 tab and select view Code, you will automatically be in the VBAProject.
In the right screen paste the code above.
every time you change values in the list the range G7:J19 without hearders will be sorted by Total % descending order, th epoie chart will do it's own work since it's related to this table.
Firstly in cell A4 is equation A4 =sum(A1-A3) ie taking one number from another to give a total.
What I'm trying to do in the cell A4 is to compare this value with another cell say B4 and if A4 is higher to make that cell turn RED and if lower turn that cell GREEN.
I have a user we recently upgraded from Office 2003 to Office 2007. Recently she has been experiencing intermittent crashes with her Excel 2007. It usually happens when she is opening a document, the system will say it will run into an error and then shuts down. It starts trying to recover her documents but just freezes until I cancel that command. Once that command is cancelled, the program opens up again and shows all of the documents that she can recover. The below is the error message. Any ideas on a fix?
Faulting application excel.exe, version 12.0.6024.5000, stamp 465f21c3, faulting module excel.exe, version 12.0.6024.5000, stamp 465f21c3, debug? 0, fault address 0x001d70b6.
0028: 20 00 65 00 78 00 63 00 .e.x.c.
0030: 65 00 6c 00 2e 00 65 00 e.l...e.
0038: 78 00 65 00 20 00 31 00 x.e. .1.
0048: 36 00 30 00 32 00 34 00 6.0.2.4.
0050: 2e 00 35 00 30 00 30 00 ..5.0.0.
0058: 30 00 20 00 34 00 36 00 0. .4.6.
0060: 35 00 66 00 32 00 31 00 5.f.2.1.
ID: 1, Application Name: Microsoft Office Excel, Application Version: 12.0.6024.5000, Microsoft Office Version: 12.0.4518.1014. This session lasted 6231 seconds with 1260 seconds of active time. This session ended with a crash.
PLEASE, Help Me To Get Right Formula For Excel SheetSHEET:Uploaded with ImageShack.usPROBLEM:IF A2+90 IS MORE THAN 1500 THEN B2=1 IF A2+90+90 IS MORE THAN 1500 THEN C2=1 BUT IF B2=1 THEN C2=0 IF A2+90+90+90 IS MORE THAN 1500 THEN D2=1 BUT IF C2=1 THEN D2=0 IF A2+90+90+90+90 IS MORE THAN 1500 THEN E2=1 BUT IF D2=1 THEN E2=0....AND SO ONPLEASE HELP!
http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/if_nested.php has a good example at the bottom.
In the document library if I click on an word document the document opens in word.
If I click on an excel document it opens in notepad.
If I open Excel and drill down to the libary document excel file the document will open in Excel.
I looked at the document library excel files and noticed that the excel files were associated with notepad.
I then went to 'open with' and located on the desktop Excel.
What Excel is linking / associating with / opening with is Excel Component - and not the Excel Application.
Evidently I associated "open with" the Excel Componet - and I simply cannot find the Office 2007 -Excel Application when I browse through for example 'ProgramData' 'Program Files' and so forth.
Where can I find Excel.exe so that I can use the 'open with' ?
I have two tabs in my workbook, a master tab (sheet 1) and a deployment tab (sheet 2). The master tab lists all stores with all of their related data. The deployment tab lists only the stores that have had something done to them. Both tabs have the store number listed in column A.
In column B in the master tab, I want it to look at the deployment tab and if there is a match, put a Y and if not a N (or yes/no... whatever). Please help! I can not find the formula.
Question: office excel 2007 & 2003 on same computer?
we have microsoft office excel 2007 installed on our computer, however we like the older version 2003 better. are we able to load both on the same system? or do we have remove the 2007 to install 2003?
Answer:office excel 2007 & 2003 on same computer?
For earlier versions of Office products, MSFT published a number of KB articles that describe the issue of having more than 1 version of Office in OS, andthey did list some significant potential problems.
Some of the articles were KB 292491, 218081, 828956 and 290576.
In any case, you would really have to uninstall 2007 before installing 2003.
Hi All, hoping someone can give me a quick answer to this.
Bosses PC..Excel files will open, he can change items in the boxes, but cannot save them. He cannot print, alter, print preview, in fact he cant do anything with them bar open them. Ive sent the files to my PC and they are perfectly ok. IE i can work with them.
Any suggestions to this as he cannot open a file and then go into settings to change anything.
Need a quick answer as he`s a load of work on that needs to be sent back out this morning.
Would i be better trying to reinstall or repair office 2007 ?
I have a 32 gig flash drive on which is an MS Excel 2007 file with all my passwords, serial numbers etc.
Last week I purchased a new HDD and successfully installed Vista Home and MS Office 2007 but when I click on the Password File on the flash drive, I get a message that "Excel cannot open the file .............. .xlsx due the file format or extension being invalid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that file extension matches that of the file format.
I have tried opening it in MS Word and other similar programs but no joy.
Any ideas on how I can get this important file to open properly using Excel?
Virtually nothing has chaged to my way of thinking except the reinstallation of Excel again!!
It doesn't help, I know, but if you manage a successful recovery, I'd suggest saving what is a crucial file in text form. "Ah, you fool!" I hear you say. "Text files can be read by anyone. Why would I keep my passwords etc. in a text file?!?" To that, my response would be ADS. Look it up.
Question: Solved: Office 2007 Excel - Always On Top Option?
Answer:Solved: Office 2007 Excel - Always On Top Option?
I recently went from XP to Vista which has Office Excel 2007. The problem is that I saved spreadsheets from excel 2003 that saved as XLR files. The 2007 excel is supposed to open these files but it won't . There seems to be plenty of information on reading 2007 files with 2003 programs but not the reverse. Can I open them in a computer that has excel 2003 and save or convert the files to xlsx?
Hope someone can help, old dog.
If that appears too scary, google docs will open your excel 2003 spreadsheets. I'm not sure if you can convert them.
help needed please for a excel formula for the following problem.
In my daughter in laws work she as to occasionally alter the the price of a lot of the goods they supply by 1 or 2 percent. The problem is that the manager/owner does not want the price to be exactly a round figure eg £1:00 it can be £0:95 or £1:05 in divisions of 5p So she is in need of a excel formula to round up/down the price to the nearest 5p omitting the .00 Can this be done?
Not sure if this will work in 2007, I use 2010. There are two functions 'ceiling' & 'floor' that you can use.
Cell A3 = Floor(A2,0.05) will go to the nearest 5p below £0.98p (£0.95p).
Cells need to be formatted for currency.
I have MS Office 2007, Windows 7. When I double click on an xls file Excel opens up but it is just a empty excel program. It is similar to opening up excel and then just closing the book1 that opens up automatically. Just a grey background. Also I can't open up xls files by doing File > Open or dragging xls files into an already opened excel. And double clicking an xls does not work. I tried doing a detect and repair on excel but that did not seem to fix anything. Any ideas? Thanks!
Question: Solved: How Do I Get Microsoft Office Excel 2007 To Do This...?
Answer:Solved: How Do I Get Microsoft Office Excel 2007 To Do This...?
I have two users that are having problems with saving excel 2007 files on a storage server. One will save a file and the next time she opens it and makes changes it will not let her save as an xlsx file. The server shows a ~$file and cannot be deleted. It looks like it is not closing the tmp file and the next time she opens it the it thinks the file is opened by someone else.
I have a macro in Excel to filter out rows with zeros. That works good. I want to change the "0" to a text string "(A1)". How do you do that? I tried putting both double and single quotes and it wouldn't work.
i have office 2007 in my xp os & i am unable to open excel file but able to other word, powerpoint,paint,outlook applicatios.
What happens when you try to open them?
at my work we have 4 computers running MO-03 and 2 using MO-07 trial. we use excel quite a bit with imported images (.jgp and .png) in the worksheets. when a file is created in 07 it seems that the images don't compress down very much (double clicking the image and selecting the compress button in the general tab) and when printing and opening these files on a computer using 03 the images have moved from where they were first placed on the page. in addition the images are able to be compressed quite a bit then in 03, there have been files that are over 1MB that compress down to 600-700 kb. note that this is all while saving as .xls (not the new format, i don't recall the extension right not) files, i have changed the default save as such.
has anyone experienced this? i have searched on the internet to find solutions or answers of why it would behave differently but have not found any.
one of the active Add-ins is causing the problem.
subfolder called XLSTART, if there are any files in that folder, delete them.
I am creating a worksheet about financial repayments, where the repayments are irregular.
Say for example the total repayment is �1000 and I put this in cell D1 ( alongside other headers). I am putting the repayments in column C, so the first entry would be in cell C2.
Yes, I know I sound very lazy (I am), but my maths are poor and it will be a long list, so if I make just one error it will be a load of hassle.
I would be obliged for any assistance.
I'm typing up a lab report, and usually in the past I never had a problem with this. I have two graphs on there, and each one contains thousands of points. These graphs are REALLY slowing down Word. I'm getting lagged typing, and overall it feels like I'm using an ancient PC. Is there any way to flatten these images. I know saving as 97-2003 doc does this, but all of my equations blur, and everything just doesn't look good. I end up converting to PDF instead of 97-2003 format and printing that.
So other than just removing the graphs for the time being, or taking a screenshot, cropping and pasting back in, is there anyway to flatten these so they just turn into an image?
Help needed please? I just installed Office 2007 over Office 2002 Running XP win PRO. the Macros in one main column in my workbook (the onlu Macros in that book) that was working perfectly 10 min ago won't work???
I'm having a frustrating problem that I'm guessing is going to be easily solved.
I have a user who opens word and excel files directly from a website and has a requirement to fill some details in and then send them via outlook 2007 to recipients.
Up until about a week ago this was no problem... within Word 2007, simply click on the send to mail recipient button and outlook opened and off it went.
After seemingly nothing has changed, Word now wants to open outlook express instead of Outlook 2007. (The default mail program is still Outlook 2007).
Does anyone know the cause of this.
OK I think that this program change is dumb, anyway my school uninstalled word perfect 12 and installed office 2007. Is there a program that can open these projects i wrote on office 2007?
Question: Office 2007: Excel right click context menu problem.
Just recently when trying to format cells etc. after right clicking on the cell the context menu appears and disappears within a few moments. Sometimes there is sufficient time to navigate the menu but most often not. The problem is affecting the ribbon drop downs also and is present in Word. The others I haven't checked as I tend not to use them.
Tried re-booting and running in safe mode but this doesn't help. Tried a different compatibility mode and this works but is rather cumbersome and removes some functionality.
The problem only seems to exist in my profile. I've thought about creating a new profile but the thought of having to copy across all the necessary files rather puts me off.
I was wandering if anybody on here had a better suggestion or easier solution. If I have to create a new user profile I'd like it to have the same name as the original and also all of it's associated programs. Many thanks in advance.
Update: I've now installed MS Office Pro+ 2010 and the problem persists.
I have not had this trouble before but now I find I cannot print an Excel page consisting of names & addresses, phone numbers & email addresses. The page does in fact print out but is unusable because all the data is compacted into an area the size of a postage stamp. Can anyone help please?
I recently upgraded our office to MS Office 2007 SP1 Pro plus.
I generally get people complain about how slow it is, but one issue that some users have got is that the toolbar/ribbon in Excel blanks out when switching between Outlook 2007 (via exchange server 2003) and Excel. Nothing else is open at the time.
The message pops up "Not enough system resources to display completely ".
I have had a look on the web and some have mentioned the size of the spreadsheet.
I was willing to pursue this line of thought, but this morning, someone got it without opening a spreadsheet. He had Outlook open, opened Excel, walked away then came back to the ribbon blanked out.
However, the user has an addin. I will get him to try and open Excel with the addin disabled.
The machines vary in specs, but this person has a brand new HP 2.4GHz Core 2 duo/2GB ram 150GB HDD. Another has a new HP laptop, and the same specs.
i find that synchrniztion feature is not there in 2007, i downloaded in installed add-in 2007 synchroniztion but i am still not getting option of "synchronize with Sharepoint" when i right click on table..
Does this even suppose to work? if yes could someone tell me solution or workaround please..
Question: Microsoft Office 2007 - harmful to uninstall this program?
I have the full version of Microsoft Office 2003. My Microsoft Office 2007 has expired (the 6 month trial that came with my computer). Is there any reason I should not uninstal the 2007 version? I.e., would there be some documents that I would not be able to open in the older (2003) version of Office?
My main reason for wanting to delete Office 2007 is that when I attempt to open a file my computer tries to open it using Microsoft Office Picture Manager 2007. I am confident that I did not create these documents in the program, but rather in Word 2003. Will deleting Office 2007 solve this issue?
Answer:Microsoft Office 2007 - harmful to uninstall this program?
If there is download a fresh trial or purchase the product.
Excel Failed to start correctly last time. Starting Excel in safe mode will help you correct or isolate a startup problem in order to successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in this mode.
Do you want to start Excel in safe mode?
If anyone could shed some light on how to fix it, I would greatly appreciate it!
on Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. I have not faced this problem on 32 bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate.
In my view, the problem existed because proper parameters weren't passed to excel.
If there are whitespaces in the path, then enclose the path within double quotes.
Also, the %1 should be within double quotes.
3. Right click on the command value, click modify. Just put a "%1" next to the /e at the end.
My new computer came with Office 2007 Home and Student Edition. It has Word, Excel, etc. but does not have Outlook, which I need. Would it make sense to buy stand alone Outlook 2007 or should I buy a more comprehensive suite of Office itself?
If I decide to go with another email program, can I convert all my stored Outlook emails to the new program?
I am running Office Professional 2007 under W7 64 bit. I can open all programs from Explorer except Excel. This problem has surfaced recently but I don't know exactly the time and can't therefore go back to an earlier restore. I have looked on forums and see that one resolution is to untick 'Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) within Excel (Office Button/Excel Options/Advanced/General) but when I looked here it the box was already unchecked.
Hello Hallgente, welcome to Seven Forums.
Last night my daughter was doing homework on one of our computers working in Word 2007. She took a break for dinner and when she returned to the computer she was unable to open any office product. After looking further I determined that most of the .exe's in the Program Files(x86) were not working. I have tried several things with limited success. Norton 360 and Malwarebytes did not pick up anything. Since I am not sure what the cause of the problem is I started here.
This takes about 4 to 5 minutes then the chosen program appears.
Can anybody help, I have tried all of the fixes I could find on the net to no avail.
What Windows version (including 32/64bit) are you using and what version of Office 2007 as I had seen this with Enterprise version before but not the others?
Was this a new clean install of Office 2007 and its happening each time or just appeared?
Is this happening in the Admin or Limited accounts or both?
or if this is on Limited User accounts, temporarily change their account details to give them admin rights, then log in on that account, run one/all of the Office apps so that this installer runs, then reboot and log in again to check, if works ok then revert their account back to Limited User.
Outlook said the same thing.
Other users that started at the same time as she did and using the same model of laptop (and same image on the laptop) are fine and not experiencing this problem.
I disabled antivirus and all add ons, no change.
I checked she didn't have something strange in the TCP/IP bindings.
Delete. Word will create a new key when it is restarted.
Question: Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Outlook) and printer Slow When Connected To Network, But Fast When Not.
Answer:Microsoft Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Outlook) and printer Slow When Connected To Network, But Fast When Not.
i can change other programs but not these ones.
create copies of the shortcuts and change the icons of those.
on a machine with CZECH Windows, Office 2007 installation was also Czech.
(see image). Can that be fixed?
Question: [ASK] How to change Default Ms Office 2007 from Ms Office Enterprise 2007 ?
Hello. I have some .xls files on a cd which I could open fine until yesterday. The files were created on my Acer Aspire 5732Z (Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium system x64 - based pc) using Microsoft Office Excel 97-2003.
Yesterday, I opened the cd on a different laptop (Acer Aspire 5733 64 bit operating system - windows 7 home premium, service pack 1). This laptop opened the files using Microsoft Excel starter 2010. I saved the files back to my cd when I'd finished, then safely ejected the CD using the correct method.
Now when I insert the CD into either pc, it show the CD drive but there are no visible files, so I can't open anything. I tried the error checking tool, but it can't check for errors as it says "windows cannot access the disk".
Can anyone help me open the files please? I have all the files backed up elsewhere, except for the two I worked on yesterday, but I really don't want to have to type them up again unless I absolutely have to as it will take me many hours. Any help would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I'm working on a spreadsheet at the moment which displays a range of cells all containing values referenced from another spreadsheet (within the same workbook). This system works fine.
Every day, the original worksheet is updated. So, it has fields already arranged up until the end of the year. A row for every date. Now, needless to say, rows for dates in the future contain no values, and so when the spreadsheet I am working on now references those cells, it displays "$0.00" (which is correct, given I am dealing with financial figures).
Now, all of that works as expected, however, on the spreadsheet I am working on, all of those figures are displayed in a line graph. This line graph, at todays date, shows an enormous drop given that the fields for the rest of the year all show a zero balance.
What I need to do, is to get the remainder of those fields (every field that says "$0.00") to not display anything at all. So, if the value is $0.00, it would not display a value at all, and therefore not show anything on the graph.
Can someone tell me how I can achieve this? I'm sure it can be done with an "if" statement, but I'm not sure how to structure it.
Question: Getting A Graph In Microsoft Office Excel 2007 To Ignore "$0.00"
Answer:Getting A Graph In Microsoft Office Excel 2007 To Ignore "$0.00"
hello, i bought a new laptop a few months ago and rather than install my office xp pro, i chose to download the office 2007 small business trial and have been using this for 2 months including outlook for which i have many emails. my problem is i now want to use office 2007 pro and have bought an upgrade product, but to get this on my laptop i 1st need to install office xp pro then upgrade! if i bought office 2007 pro full product would this just install over trial or do i have to uninstall trial beforehand?what will happen to any files i have saved in office and also my emails? i cannot afford to lose any emails so how do i go about doing this? any help much appreciated.
We believe people everywhere have great ideas. But they do no good trapped in your head. We want to help you turn them into a flourishing business by taking the hassle out of accounting and business management. So we're offering Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 software absolutely free! No strings attached. Get your free download here.
I have an Excel workbook in which I keep racing records. The data goes back about 5 years and as i have accumulated several hundred thousand records, I have moved much of the historical data onto separate sheets in the workbook so that values for calcs that rely on the historical data can be auto updated.
For current data I use a separare sheet as i was finding that it was takin g a long time to perform calcs when all the data (up to 200,000 rows) was all on the 1 sheet.
I wanted to know if it was possible to convert what i have to Access as it has been suggested that a database would do a better job of handling so much data, rather than Excel. I have moderate knowledge of Excel and have been able to build up the series of formulas for calculations in Excel over the years and have it pretty well doing all the things i want now but I have very little knowledge of Access design so not sure if I can convert and how to do it.
The Excel workbook contains a lot of formula that do calcs on past results and then use those calcs to do predeictive calcs for upcoming races. Because it was very "maths"based to start with, I started off using Excel and it has all grown from there. Is it possible to convert what I have to Access? Is is reasonably able to be done (by a moderate user like me with some expert help)?.
The files i have are too big to attach here, but would be happy to prepare some sheets without much data to show what i am doing and get advice.
Windows 7 Dell Multimedia computer.
It has Office 2007 installed , which includes PowerPoint 2007.
We need to upgrade PP 2007 to PP 2010 to help run embedded You Tube videos.
I have an unused and unopened stand alone version of PowerPoint 2010 to install on The Dell Multimedia computer.
How is the best way to do this upgrade with the least amount of problems ??
Can I uninstall only the PP app of Office 2007?
What if I uninstall the 2007, and then have problems installing the 2010?
I am running windows 7 on a new computer. Outlook 2007 is freezing many times after it is opened. I click on an e mail and it just freezes.
Word has done it also but not as bad.
For no apparent reason my version of MS Outlook has suddenly gone belly-up. All other apps. in Office work fine.
When I now try to open Outlook I receive the following "Cannot open your default email folders. The file C:\User\Maurice\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst is not a personal folders file"
I have tried uninstalling and re-installing Office from the original disks a number of times, I have successfully installed this on another Win7 desktop computer partition and it works fine. I have attempted to follow the MS repair online notification for .pst but it doesn't seem to work (or maybe it is me that isn't working). Most frustrating. Any word by word suggestions greatly appreciated.
I'm trying to run an Excel 2007 macro from Access 2007, when I get to the point where I want the macro stored in the active workbook I'm getting the following run-time error: run-time error '91' object variable or with block variable not set . It won't run the macro at all. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could help me fix my code so the macro will run. The code is listed below; step 10 is where I get the error.
MyConnect = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0; Persist Security Info = False;Data Source= P:\FINANCE\Balance Sheet\Inventory\Project TAN\Project TAN.accdb; User ID = Admin;"
MySQL = "Select* From [mtb-TantasticJE's]Where [mtb-TantasticJE's].[Dscrptn_Text]='Culls_Stat34'and [mtb-TantasticJE's].[Co_Code]='1381'"
Question: Hp Laptop, Vista, Unable To Load Office 97 After Removing Office 2007 Trial Version.
Answer:Hp Laptop, Vista, Unable To Load Office 97 After Removing Office 2007 Trial Version. | 2019-04-19T22:44:43Z | http://postthreads.org/support/3854778/Simple-Program-in-Office-Excel-2007.html |
The Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) is a vital new element in the Navy's role in the global war on terror. The establishment of NECC in January brought the manning, training and equipping of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD); Naval Coastal Warfare; Riverine; Combat Camera Atlantic; the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center; Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support functions; the Maritime Civil Affairs Group and the Seabees under one umbrella. NECC integrates all warfighting requirements for expeditionary combat and combat support elements. This transformation allows for standardized training, manning and equipping of Sailors who will participate in maritime security operations as part of the joint force.
Rear Adm. Bullard has been the NECC commander since its establishment in January 2006. Just months away from the command's first anniversary, CHIPS asked the admiral to discuss NECC capabilities.
CHIPS: In May, the Navy reestablished its riverine forces which were last used during the Vietnam War, has the 40-year gap been difficult to overcome in terms of training and fusing forces?
Rear Adm. Bullard: Our riverine forces are just one part of the NECC puzzle which includes the Navy's expeditionary forces. Having a commander overseeing the manning, training and equipping of all these forces is new but the majority of the capability has been here within the Navy COCOMS, or combatant commands, for a long time. We have had Seabees for a long time. Underwater demolition has been here for a long time. We have been doing expeditionary logistics from the sea base for a long time.
Riverine forces establish and maintain control of rivers and waterways. They provide a continuum of capability from the green water to the brown water areas. Riverine forces balance our efforts to combat sea-based terrorism and other illegal activities, such as transporting weapons of mass destruction, hijacking, piracy and human trafficking. While many may think that is new, it really is an expansion of our current naval coastal warfare capability.
In addition to riverine, the Maritime Civil Affairs Group is a new structure in our organization, but the Navy has been doing civil military operations around the world since we came into existence. We do port visits; we do community relations projects like Project Handclasp; we have done tsunami relief, and we have assisted in Bangladesh. Those are civil military operations.
In the civil affairs group, we will formally train people on how to do civil affairs because we have been doing it ad hoc until now. This is to make sure that we have people that are well-trained to plan and assist the naval component commanders to do civil affairs.
This is a new organization, but it is not a new Navy core capability that we are building. Another new organization within NECC is the Expeditionary Training Command because we recognize the need to focus on our partners' ability to help with maritime security operations. But the Navy has been training with foreign militaries around the world for many years. Many countries do not have a big navy, but they do have small navies. They have small boats, and they do have maritime security concerns in their territorial waters, in their ports and harbors.
The Expeditionary Training Command will deliver timely, focused and customized training to host nations. This supports critical regional stability by helping improve the recipient nation's capabilities in exercising maritime sovereignty.
None of this is new, it is simply adapting to what the maritime environment looks like today. It is balancing the Navy's capability across the full spectrum to be able to make sure that the sea lines of communication in blue water are secure — and that the harbors, ports and littorals are secure. It's extending our reach, doing maritime security operations on inland waterways whether it is on the Euphrates in Iraq or elsewhere.
This is ensuring that the Navy has capability across the full spectrum over the blue water, the green water and the brown water, and that is what NECC is doing.
A lot of people focused just on riverine because it's the 'Gucci' thing. Even though it is important that we be able to operate in that environment, so we deny sanctuary, freedom of movement of terrorists, and interdict arms and human trafficking, piracy — all of those things — it is just part of the continuum that we are building. It does not stand alone — nor can it stand alone.
NECC is all about closing any gaps or seams that may exist. It is not to duplicate or take away from what another service might be doing. It is to be sure there is seamless transition from what the Marine Corps does to what we do.
As we see in riverine, we are supporting the Marine Corps with its mission coming up after the first of the year. There has been a lot of supposition that we were building the 'naval infantry' — the naval infantry is the U.S. Marine Corps. We are better organizing and improving our warfighting effectiveness in these core maritime expeditionary areas.
CHIPS: You had to start from scratch as far as organizing the groups that are now under NECC. How did that come together?
Rear Adm. Bullard: We have force commanders that are charged to man, train, equip, organize and resource. We have had those for a long time — for AIRFOR (air forces), SURFOR (surface forces) and SUBFOR (submarine forces) — they are called type commanders (TYCOMS).
About 18 months ago, we saw that we had other forces that did not have a coherent force commander, and they had been below the threshold until 9/11 — Seabees, EOD, and naval coastal warfare. They have been around for a long time and are now in high demand by a lot of the geographical naval component commanders.
In the past, they had some challenges, whether it was resources or training support. They did not have anyone with the oversight to help them get the visibility they needed. They needed to be properly organized to respond more effectively to the demand signal and request for forces by the naval component commanders or by the COCOMS, and they needed visibility in the budget.
We needed to establish, just like we did for AIRFOR, SURFOR and SUBFOR, a command that brings this all together, that better organizes them, capitalizes on the synergy in training and equipment, gives them visibility in the budget and can better package them in their mission for the naval component commanders — and provides a better command and control structure for them. They need a commander that can do all that.
About 18 months ago, the decision was made to stand up another type commander, and we went to CNO, the Chief of Naval Operations, with our proposal. Also about that time, the Navy recognized that it needed to expand and balance these capabilities and better organize them, and soon after that Navy decided it needed to expand into the inland waterways. Even though we had naval coastal warfare, we felt the need to expand that.
We need to better organize civil military operations and have teams of regional experts so that when we do tsunami relief, for example, we better connect to the combatant commander's theater security operational plan.
As the CNO expressed his vision of the 1,000-ship Navy, a global architecture of allies and coalition partners and friends that can act together globally to create maritime security — whether it be counterterrorism or piracy or human trafficking that also has an interactive full-time global force, the realization was that many countries do not have a large, traditional navy. They have small boats. We need to train to them, and that's how the idea for the Expeditionary Training Command came up.
We recognized that we needed a type commander for existing expeditionary forces. They all operate in about the same battlespace — near coast, near inland, inland waterway so it made sense to bring them under this commander also.
They were already organized as Seabees, EODs and naval coastal warfare forces. Riverine, Maritime Civil Affairs Group and the Expeditionary Training Command are in the same area too — in this maritime expeditionary environment. It made sense to bring them under NECC. There are lots of synergies in training and equipment that we can capitalize on.
Last October it was approved by the CNO to bring all of these capabilities under a new type commander, and January 13, 2006, we stood up. For 10 months we have been bringing this all together. Our focus is on properly organizing these forces, increasing the warfighting effectiveness for our naval component commanders, making sure they are properly equipped and trained, making sure they see the right resources and visibility in the budget and providing a more coherent command and control structure for the warfare commander of these forces. It has been a challenge.
CHIPS: Is the intent to deploy with the strike group and the Marine Expeditionary Force? Or are your forces deployed on the request of the COCOMs and component commanders?
Rear Adm. Bullard: NECC is not a warfare commander. We are a TYCOM. We are charged with manning, training, equiping, organizing and resourcing the Navy's expeditionary forces. We are a force provider. We get a mission request from one of the fleet commanders, and we make sure to build an adaptive force that meets that capability, and then we will deploy a force to that fleet commander.
In conjunction with our two training fleets, 2nd Fleet and 3rd Fleet — they are the ones that deploy the forces around the world — we are in charge of making sure these adaptive forces meet the mission capability. We are not a warfare commander; we are a type commander, or force provider.
CHIPS: The forces that are under NECC, for example, the EOD capability that you have and the riverine forces, will they become a regular part of the strike group?
Rear Adm. Bullard: Some of our forces are integrated into strike groups and expeditionary strike groups, like the EOD, but the Seabees are not. Seabees are deployed on a rotating basis around the world to the different naval component commanders — 6th Fleet, 5th Fleet and 7th Fleet.
EOD is also deployed to those fleet commanders and the naval component commanders as are the maritime security forces. Some maritime security forces are integrated.
Our objective here is to take the mission requirement —whether it be an integration into another force, with the Marines, Army or carrier strike groups or on their own — and assure that the deployed unit can meet its mission. As a force provider, our forces could be integrated into the joint force, into the Marine force, into other naval forces or they can act independently depending on the mission requirements.
Riverine is not a permanent part of the strike group, but riverine could operate in an environment where it reports to the strike group commander. We are not going to deploy a bunch of small boats in a strike group.
CHIPS: Can you talk about the coastal warfare mission?
Rear Adm. Bullard: Naval coastal warfare has been done for many years, but the current genesis came out of Vietnam. In Vietnam, naval coastal warfare went into riverine and when it came out of Vietnam, it was split into two areas: one was special boat teams that went to the SEALs, and naval coastal warfare, which was mainly all Reservists until recently. Their mission is coastal surveillance and maritime security operations.
Today, we do surveillance and small boat security operations in three or four different ports in U.S. Central Command. We provide high-visibility or high-value unit protection, procure needed small boats to protect them and provide force protection teams for transit of noncombatant vessels for the Maritime Sealift Command, for example.
We have security teams. Naval coastal warfare is about security in harbors and bays in the near shore to be able to do surveillance and interdiction and maritime security.
CHIPS: Does maritime civil affairs fill a diplomatic role?
Rear Adm. Bullard: We are not in charge of diplomatic engagement with countries. The State Department does that. We are there to support those objectives with certain civil military operations. Are we training diplomats? No. We are training individuals to be regionally focused, who are able to coordinate civil military operations into a coherent plan that connects into the naval component commander's engagement objectives. The COCOMS are connected with the State Department. We are down the chain quite a bit.
The purpose of Maritime Civil Affairs Group teams is to gain expertise and knowledge of how to work with the interagency process and how to work with the NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in disaster situations. It is about the Navy having a trained set of individuals who can plug into the humanitarian disaster relief organizations.
As we saw with Katrina, the main thrust of the first responders came from the Navy. No one could get in there. We did an amazing job. We had quite a few of our forces down there. We want to have people professionally trained to be able to run civil military operations from the sea and better connect with the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Agency for International Development if needed.
Do we support the State Department and the country teams diplomatically? Sure we do.
CHIPS: I've read news reports about the enthusiasm of the brown water Sailors. Why do you think they have this level of enthusiasm?
Rear Adm. Bullard: It is not just the brown water Sailors; everybody connects brown water Sailors with riverine because that is what everybody thinks it is. But there are other people doing brown water stuff. It is really about expeditionary Sailors. I have people doing customs and cargo handling in Kuwait, who are just as excited as the Sailors on those boats.
I have good Sailors, who are teaching Iraqis security procedures and how to guard oil platforms in the North Arabian Gulf, who are just as excited as the people on those boats. It is about expeditionary Sailors; it is about all of them.
Why are they excited? It is the small unit camaraderie in most cases. It is personal involvement when you talk about four people on a boat. They rely on each other. It is up close and personal with the environment. Even though our Navy mission out at sea is just as important, I would not trade one of my boats for an aircraft carrier. It is the full spectrum that we need.
The Sailors see that we, the Navy, need to be in this environment because this is a maritime environment. It's challenging both mentally and physically.
CHIPS: Do expeditionary Sailors exploit technology or would you say that their work is more hands-on?
Rear Adm. Bullard: That is part of NECC's charter, to see where we can bring in technology to improve warfighting effectiveness, to provide better force protection and to reduce the manpower load.
We have tactical unmanned air vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles. We are bringing in sensors and data technology to the boats. By having that technology, we can expand maritime domain awareness from near inland harbors and all the way out to the blue water with the carriers so you have an integrated picture.
Bringing technology into this area will allow us to have that common operating picture that spans the blue, green and brown water.
CHIPS: Is there a group doing experimentation for NECC's mission areas?
Rear Adm. Bullard: We are capitalizing on the normal Navy process as well as the joint process. The Office of Naval Research is looking into some things for us. We are capitalizing on some of the things that DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is doing for the other services. We are working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
Do we have a science and technology entity that specifically supports us? No, but I do have a technology strategy directorate that is leveraging all the other things that go on. We need to bring in today's technology.
We are leveraging off all the other efforts that are going on. It can be Army, Air Force or industry. When we talk about security, which is our main function here, there are a lot of things that are commercially available or that research is doing about security issues that can apply here.
CHIPS: Can you talk about the gaps that you are filling for the Special Operating Forces and Marines.
Rear Adm. Bullard: We are trying to see what our interdependencies are with the Marine Corps, the Special Forces and the Coast Guard. We are still doing that analysis. There are interdependencies.
There may be times where there is a maritime security mission that is just Navy. There may be a maritime security mission supporting the Marines on the ground, or there could be a maritime security mission where the Marines need to support us.
We are developing the concept of operations and trying to see where there are gaps. The Coast Guard owns many small boats. We are working to where we have the right commonality and techniques, tactics and procedures. The Coast Guard has officers embedded in our naval coastal warfare, and they deploy with us. We have Coast Guard boats around the oil platforms and harbors working with us overseas.
We have lots of small boats too. Since the Coast Guard is in charge of homeland security, if need be, we're looking at how could we add to their capacity. We are looking at that interdependency.
Where can we support the Special Forces mission? We are helping Special Forces in a couple of places to do some of their security. We're asking, what do we need to do to build capability that better enhances their mission?
CHIPS: Can you talk about what you would like NECC to look like in five years?
Rear Adm. Bullard: In five years we want to see it as a mature TYCOM, such as AIRFOR and SURFOR. We want to have a mature structure that provides the best warfighter effectiveness of these forces and the best effectiveness and efficiency in responding to the mission requirements from the naval component commanders.
We want to ensure that we have the process that gives us the best command and control and force protection for our Sailors. We want to be an established pillar within the Navy. There is surface, there is sub-surface, there is air and there is medical, and we want expeditionary to be that pillar across the full spectrum of the supportable community in detailing, resources and equipment.
We have made leaps and bounds in the last year. All of the capabilities that we have talked about will be deployed in the next six months. Civil affairs and riverine will deploy sometime after the first of the year . It took 10 months from the word go to stand these up with fully trained Sailors and equipment.
All of these capabilities will be deployed and will be operating in the maritime environment whether it is in blue water or green or brown water. Will it be fully mature? No, but we will have initial operating capability. We will be maturing and building the processes and learning more about how we can get more effective warfighting out of these capabilities and how we can get better efficiency in providing and resourcing them.
In five years we will have an established force that has all the support and processes within the Navy to man, train, equip, organize and resource to support this expeditionary mission. I can see it today. By the end of next summer, we will really be able to see it because it will be there in a small portion.
The Navy is pushing for it and adapting to this new environment — understanding where they need to be, understanding what capabilities they need to have, understanding that these are Navy core competencies and going full speed ahead to make this happen. I think we are going to get there.
Santa Rita, Guam (Dec. 15, 2006) – Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Rear Adm. Donald K. Bullard, displays the Navy's first Expeditionary Warfare pin, awarded to Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Carl Hurtt, assigned to Mobile Security Squadron Seven (MSS-7), during a ceremony onboard U.S. Naval Base Guam. The Expeditionary pin, the Navy’s first new warfare device issued in the last six years, is the latest in a series of milestones implemented by the Navy to acknowledge the service’s need to have Sailors with core expeditionary capabilities. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Edward N. Vasquez.
Whidbey Island, Wash. (Dec. 12, 2006) – Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Rear Adm. Donald Bullard, speaks to members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eleven during his visit to the unit. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bruce McVicar.
China Lake, Calif. (Nov. 6, 2006) – Sailors from Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron Five and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group One shoot an M-16 at a target 25 yards away for a weapons qualification course during a joint task force exercise. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jose R. Rolun. | 2019-04-21T22:49:12Z | https://www.doncio.navy.mil/chips/ArticleDetails.aspx?ID=2970 |
Any and all existing and future business relationships with us are exclusively subject to the present terms and conditions (hereinafter referred to as “T&C”). They also apply to those business relationships that are initiated and completed as part of distance sales / e-Commerce.
The present T&C take effect upon their publication on 1st December 2018 and apply – also if no reference to them is made in individual cases – to all business relationships unless deviating conditions were agreed in writing. Terms and conditions of the customer that deviate from, supplement or even oppose the present T&C will not become part of the contract even if we are aware of them.
Any T&C applicable or published prior to 1st December 2018 will lose their validity upon the present T&C entering into effect.
We only operate in the commercial sector. This means that customers are exclusively entrepreneurs, legal persons under public law or special funds under public law in terms of section 310 clause 1 BGB [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, German Civil Code]. All offers, also that of the online shop, are therefore not aimed at end consumers.
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The contractual object is the delivery of goods/the provision of services in the sector light and event technology. Our goods and services are reserved for commercial customers/the trade sector. This means that we only intend to enter into business relationships with the above kind of customers. By ordering, the customer simultaneously confirms that they mainly use the goods/services for commercial or self-employed purposes and that they are therefore not entitled to a right of withdrawal under Fernabsatzrecht [Distance Sales Law].
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Our offers are valid for a period of 28 days, they expire after lapse of that period.
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If the goods suffer from a defect that was already present at the time of transfer of risk and if the customer complied with their obligations regarding notice of defects, we shall have the right to, in the first place, provide a supplementary performance, namely at our choice by rectification/removal of defect or replacement delivery of goods free from defects in return for release of the defective goods. In case of incorrect quantities, we will provide an additional delivery. We shall always be granted the time and opportunity necessary for execution of the supplementary performance. If all our reasonable attempts at removal of defects or additional delivery were unsuccessful or not possible within an appropriate period, or if a reasonable grace period set by the customer lapses without the defect being repaired, the customer may at their choice withdraw from the contract or demand reduction (price reduction). There is no right to any further claims against us.
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We retain title to the delivered goods until payment of all outstanding claims under the entire business relationship with the customer in full. This shall also apply to all future deliveries, even if we do not expressly refer to this provision. We shall have the right to demand the customer to release the goods in case of the customer being in breach of contract.
Until revocation, the customer has the right to resell the goods in our possession as part of his normal business operations and to collect the purchase price claims. The customer assigns the claims against the purchaser of the resale of the goods that are subject to retention of title to the amount of the invoice (including value added tax) to us in advance. We accept this assignment now already. This assignment shall apply irrespective of whether the goods were resold without or after processing. The customer shall remain entitled to collect the claim also after assignment. Our right to collect the claim ourselves shall remain unaffected by the above. We shall not collect the claim for as long as the customer complies with their payment obligations towards us from the generated proceeds, is not in delay with payments, and especially no application for opening of insolvency proceedings was filed or as long as payments do not cease.
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The customer shall notify any enforcing body and any third party immediately of the ownership and other rights we are entitled to should enforcement measures against the goods that are subject to retention of title in our favour or against the claims assigned to us in advance under a resale of those goods become known. We as well shall be informed hereof and shall be sent all required enforcement documents associated with the case.
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We guarantee to release the securities we are entitled to on request of the customer if their value exceeds the claims that are to be secured by more than twenty per cent.
In application of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), we only store data concerning our business partners for the contractually agreed fulfilment of the business relationship. This means that these data will only be processed in the form as is required.
This contract and all legal relationships of the parties are exclusively subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany under exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
Unless stated otherwise in the order confirmation, the place of performance and exclusive place of jurisdiction for any and all disputes under this contract is our registered place of business. We do, however, have the right to bring action against the customer at any other place of jurisdiction.
All agreements concluded between us and the customer for the purpose of fulfilment of this contract are recorded in writing in these Terms and Conditions.
If one or more of the provisions of these T&C is/are or become(s) void or in case of a regulatory gap, the parties to the contract agree to engage in negotiations with the objective to replace or supplement the void or incomplete provision with that appropriate agreement that largely corresponds to the economic purpose of the intended regulation. The validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected by the above. | 2019-04-23T17:49:51Z | https://www.major-lighting.com/en/terms-and-conditions.html |
Your product's packaging is part of the first impression it makes, whether customers find it online or on shelves. It helps your products sell themselves.
On this episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll learn about an entrepreneur who invested heavily in her packaging design and the steps she took to avoid common packaging mistakes.
Patrice Mousseau is the founder of Satya: fragrance-free, Health Canada approved, certified organic, anti-inflammatory balm for eczema relief.
Felix: Today I’m joined by Patrice Mousseau from Satya. Satya sells a fragrance free, Health Canada approved, certified organic anti-inflammatory balm for eczema relief and was started in 2014 and based out of Vancouver. Welcome, Patrice.
Patrice: Thanks, Felix. Thank you for having me on your show.
Felix: Of course. Tell us a bit more about this product that you sell. What was the idea behind it? How did you come up with the product?
Patrice: Well, it was out of necessity. It was for my daughter, but first I think I better back up a little bit and talk a bit about what my background is, which is actually in journalism. I’m a researcher by trade and was in radio and television broadcasting for probably about 15, 16 years. Then I got pregnant and had a baby. Of course, my world just completely changed, my priorities and how I was spending my time. When she was about eight months, my daughter Esme, ended up getting eczema. She was scratching so bad that her arms and legs were bleeding. I would pick her up out of her crib and there’d be blood on the crib sheets. It was a real kick in the gut for me as a mother because I felt very powerless to help her.
Because when I took her into the doctor, their only option was steroid creams, which I knew based on my past experience in media, I’d seen the stories about how negative and detrimental steroids can actually be especially used in the long-term. I was up all night basically taking care of her anyway and I just started researching. I started looking at normally traditional medicine, but I looked at academic studies from different universities to see what people have come up with in the last 10 years or so around nontoxic anti-inflammatories. Then basically took all that information and combined it together in my kitchen in my crock-pot and created this product.
Felix: Wow. This was a homemade remedy that you then decided to productize. Talk to us about that process. You created this. Of course, you tested it on someone that needed the product. How did you take that jump to the next step which is that I should sell this?
Patrice: Right. For my daughter, it cleared her eczema up in two days. It worked very quickly, very effectively with her. Of course, it does come back from time to time, but I just then put the product on her again and it goes away again. Now as I mentioned, I made this in my crock-pot so obviously I had some leftover. I went on my mom’s Facebook group and I said to the moms, “Does anybody want some?” 70 jars went out my door in a month and a half. I thought, “Huh. That’s interesting,” but I did nothing with it because I had never considered myself to be a businessperson. Like I said, my background isn’t something that I considered to be vastly different.
I always had this stereotypical perception in my mind of what a businessperson was is someone who was good at math, someone who was into spreadsheets and wore a suit and briefcase and frankly was a man. That was my perception. I later interviewed a woman for a friend of mine who had her own company. She said, “You know, I think that you have something. You should come to this business conference for women called SVI,” which is here in Vancouver. It stands for Social Venture Institute. Basically what it is is about people who not only want to have businesses, but they want to have business for a greater good. It’s not just about the bottom line per se.
Like it’s important obviously to have a healthy company, something that’s financially viable and you’re able to make money, but it’s also not just the only reason why you do business. The women that I met there were so full of social values and integrity and I thought, “You know, this is the type of business that I could do, that I would want to do.” At that point I decided okay, maybe I could be a businessperson and ended up deciding, “Well, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it to the very best of my ability.” I chose the name Satya because it’s actually a philosophy of finding truth. Personal truth, I could do this business. Truth to my customers, my company was going to be of service, again not about just profit. That’s become the North Star of the company.
If I was going to do it, it had to be the best of the best. I decided that for people with sensitive skin issues for example, it has to be really clean. I went USDA certified organic. It’s not just about the ingredients, but it’s also about the policies and procedures, about getting those ingredients and how you prepare the ingredients and the cleanliness of the facilities, all those sorts of things. It’s a very high standard. Then I submitted it into Health Canada. Sorry. That’s my coffeemaker in the background. Submitted it into Health Canada with all of my research because that was a hoop I also wanted to jump through. I wanted people to know that the research had been done and this had been provably shown to work for people as well.
Yes, I submitted it into Health Canada and they agreed in fact I could make those health claims based on that research. My packaging, again it had to be the best of the best even though it was more expensive. I use a glass jar for example because even food safe plastics will leech into your product. My paper is 100% recycled. It’s created by a woman owned business. They use wind power offsets to actually make the paper. It’s all veggie and soy based things. These are all more expensive options, but they’re inline with my integrity. They’re inline with what I’m trying to do with the company. I think that resonates with people.
Patrice: It was a mommy’s Facebook group. People get together and talk about mom issues or swap clothing, that sort of stuff.
Felix: I think this is an approach that is a safe low risk approach for a lot of businesses just to reach out to an existing group, an existing community, and see what the response is. Do you remember how you approached the group? The reason I’m asking is because a lot of times nowadays this is a good kind of a known strategy to go into these groups. You see a lot of spam, right? You see a lot of people going around posting about their product, trying to validate it. Sometimes if you join multiple groups, you’ll see the same post over and over again and of course, that can be annoying. How did you approach it? How did you approach it in a way that came across the right way?
Patrice: Well, you’re absolutely right. It’s super annoying and very disingenuous. When I went on my mom’s Facebook group, it was just like I literally wanted to know if anybody wanted the extra. It was not that I was planning on selling it per se, although I did end up selling it because just so many people wanted it. I actually had to make more batches. Yeah. I just was honest about what it was and what I was trying to do. I thought that it would be of service to other people. I think again it didn’t come across as salesy because it wasn’t.
Felix: Do you remember how you figured out the price point early on and has that changed over time?
Patrice: Oh yeah. Yeah, no, radically changed. I looked at how much everything was going to cost and what are the prices that I was going to do. My industry, like sort of the medicinal skin care industry, a lot of the larger manufacturers they’re making products for pennies and they’re selling it for like $12-$15. My product costs significantly more than that and on the shelf it is on the higher end, but a couple of things. One is that it’ll actually last a lot longer because you don’t need very much. Two, I wanted to keep the price low because I’m a single mom. I want everyone to be able to afford to buy this product. It wasn’t just about how much money can I make. It’s like how can I make this product, still make money and provide it to people.
Felix: Make sense. Now I’m looking at your site. In the beginning and up until now even you basically have I guess two products today. You started with one. Now you have two products. I guess two ways to use the product. What made you make that decision to stick with these two products? The reason I’m asking you this question is because a lot of times new entrepreneurs will just launch with as many things as possible and kind of stuff their catalog. Was this a conscious decision to stick with just a couple products?
Patrice: Yeah. Well first, I need to clarify. It’s just actually two different sizes of the same product in each container. The reason why I have the small container or the travel size is because you don’t actually know how something is going to work with your individual skin. A lot of people what they do is they buy these products and they spend all this money and they don’t work for them and then they hide it in the back of their closet because they don’t want to throw this away because they spent all this money on it, but it doesn’t work for them. I never wanted to be that product. What I did was I created actually the travel size, which is the second product that you’re looking at.
There’s enough in there to last about two weeks for people to test with their individual body chemistry. Then when it’s empty, you don’t throw the package away. It’s a sliding tin container. You buy the jar and then you can refill it and then you carry the small one around in your bag. It was more about problem solving versus providing more options. Because it’s an anti-inflammatory, like I formulated it for eczema, but people with psoriasis picked it up right away, rosacea, rashes. I have a lot of athletes who are actually using it for cut and broken hands, for like crossfitters. I’ve got marathon runners using it. People do use it for anything. Anything and everything really.
Felix: That’s interesting that all of these other uses, all of these other problems are coming to you for their solution. Does that affect how you market or does that change the way you want to market your product because it solves other needs and clearly there are people that are discovering your product to solve their needs?
Patrice: Yeah. Well, eczema is such a big issue for so many people that I want to make sure like … We’ve basically just scratched the surface on letting people know about the product. I want people to know that there is another good option out there for eczema because it’s such a huge issue and steroids for the longest time have been the only option. People again they have taken it and said, “Well, what about this?” They try it and it works fantastically. Like sunburn. I had a grandmother email me and say, “I tried it on my grand kid’s sunburn and it worked fantastically and then I tried it and it worked really well for me as well.” It really just becomes about people taking it. It becomes like the Windex from Big Fat Greek Wedding.
I don’t know if you saw that movie where they put the Windex on everything kind of thing. It becomes like a multipurpose product for a lot of people once they purchase it, but I think the initial purchase is always either eczema or psoriasis.
Felix: You do want to keep the kind of marketing and the messaging focused on that specific … I guess probably the largest type of problem?
Patrice: Yeah. I mean if you try to be too much for too many people, like people do use it for everything, but again I just try to keep it focused on the one issue. I am actually coming out with a second whole product, which should be the two SKUs, specifically for psoriasis as well. That hopefully will be coming out in the next year.
Felix: That make sense. When you do roll out this other product, you plan on keeping it on this site still, right? You don’t open up a new store for it?
Patrice: No. Yeah, it’ll absolutely be on the same site, Satya Organics. You’ll be able to actually use it for both. The psoriasis product will be nut free and vegan as well. If the original Satya product isn’t something that you feel like you can use, then you can try the psoriasis product on your eczema. Because psoriasis and eczema, although they do tend to come from different places, they present themselves very similarly. The treatment very often is the same.
Felix: Make sense. Now you mentioned that there was a time, I guess a time between when you sold the products for the first time and then the time where you actually decided to launch a real business. What was the timeline? How much time passed during that period?
Patrice: Several months for sure. I would say eight or nine months before I finally did my first farmer’s market and sold $100, which was pretty awesome. I was really excited that people were buying something that I had made.
Felix: Those first sales are always the biggest rush that everyone kind of chases after again.
Patrice: Huge. I was so nervous too. It was amazing. It was great.
Felix: Did you have packaging and all that ready to go by then? I guess what version or how ready was your product when you started to sell it as a legitimate business?
Patrice: Right from the very beginning, this is actually the second version of our packaging design, but when I first started selling it, I knew how important good design was. Right from the very beginning I had already decided the good paper I was going to use, the glass jar. I got a proper designer who is still with the company today who’s amazing. She did a fantastic job. I can’t express enough how important it is for packaging and for products how important good design is.
Felix: Why do you say that? Why do you find that that’s an important aspect because it sounds like it makes your product much more … Not much more, but I’m sure it makes your product more expensive for you to produce. What made you decide that it’s a good investment to spend the time, spend the effort, spend the money on having this kind of packaging?
Patrice: Well, I mean there is a legitimacy issue. When you pick up a product from a plastic container that’s obviously been handmade and hand labeled versus something that looks professional and well done, when people pick … It might even be the same product, but people are always going to choose the one that they can tell time and effort has been made into making that product. I think there is a definite value to that. In addition, moving forward, if you want to go into a retail space, retailers are going to like your packaging. That to them says it’ll be easy for them to say yes to put it on their shelves versus again packaging that’s obviously very amateur. Good design, again can’t stress it enough, is super important.
Felix: Talk to us about this process of packaging and creating the design. We’ll start with the design first. Did you hire a packaging designer? How specific do you need to get if you are looking to hire someone to help you out with your packaging?
Patrice: It was actually at the conference that I mentioned, SVI, that I ran into a woman who had a design company. I was talking to her because I knew how important design was and she said, “You know, I could do this for you, but it’s going to cost you $20,000.” I’m like, “I can’t.” Obviously it’s not even an option for me. She said, “However, one of my senior designers is leaving and she’s opening her own company and maybe you should talk to her.” I was able to get this amazing senior designer who was incredibly talented and is opening her own business. I got her for a few thousand dollars, which was incredible. It’s about sourcing like a good designer. Somebody who has designs that resonate with you and are inline with what you’re trying to do.
Felix: You’re looking like their portfolio to see what other designs they’ve created and then you wanted to see if it matches your idea of what your products would look like?
Patrice: Design is like an extra voice to have of your company.
Felix: Now when you sit down with the designer to work with them, what do you do? What’s your role in working with a designer?
Patrice: Well, obviously it starts the conversation about my story, the things that are important to me, what this product is all about and the values behind that. It’s looking at obviously their past designs. Usually they go away and they start to have a bit of an idea. Then they’ll give you say five or six options and then you can narrow it down to maybe your top one or top two. Then you just keep honing it and honing it until you get something where you’re like, “Yup. That seems like my product, my company and who I am.” Also, it’s really important to also trust your designer too. My background isn’t in design.
To a certain extent, I have to trust that she is an expert in this or he or she is an expert in this and that they’re going to make great design choices. Maybe even not. Maybe in opposition of what I would necessarily choose.
Felix: Yeah, that’s a great point because a lot of times whether it be designers or developers, you’re hiring these experts. As entrepreneurs sometimes of course this is your baby that they’re working on, this is your product, this is your brand that they’re working on so you feel that you have to be super involved and contribute. Maybe even feel like you need to contribute more than they should be, which is like you’re alluding to is the wrong approach because you’re hiring people and you have to trust the people that you’ve hired that they’re going to do the job better than you. That’s why you hired them in the first place.
Felix: Now when you look at your packaging in the state that it’s at today, what changes did you make along the way? What kind of things did you notice maybe in the initial design respects that you knew you had to change to improve the design of the packaging?
Patrice: Well, one of the major shifts for us was actually taking the glass jar and putting it in a box. That wasn’t a choice that we made because we thought it would look prettier. It was actually a requirement for our Health Canada recommendations because when you get this approval, you actually have to have everything in English, French and the ingredients Latin. Just the simple fact that we just didn’t have enough real estate on the jar that putting it in a box was necessary. We’re also a little bit tired of the original one and it just became something that was even more sort of on brand with what we are trying to do. Just honing it down and getting it to more of what it should be.
Felix: When you see products in stores and the physical stores or you look at maybe new brands online, you look at their packaging, what kind of common mistakes do you see based on your experience that you think entrepreneurs should pay close attention to?
Patrice: I see a lot of stuff that isn’t very clear. Not only I’m trying to figure out what the brand name is, as well as what the purpose of the product is. There seems to be a lot of noise on a lot of labels. I think simple and clean and clear is always better. That’s also like not just a personal philosophy, but it’s a philosophy of my company. We only have five ingredients in our products. For me I think it should be very straightforward for the consumer to pick up your product and go, “Oh, that’s what this is,” and yes or no if I need that.
Felix: Now did you test that out? Did you have to test it out whether your packaging kind of ticked those boxes when you get it in front of potential customers? Did you do any of that?
Patrice: No, I didn’t. Honestly Felix, like I said, my background is not in business. So much of what I do is based on gut. What is my gut telling me about these decisions? I can try to overthink things or my brain is telling me all these wrong things, but what is my gut, what is my heart telling me? Very often that’s the right choice to make.
Felix: Right. I want to go back to all of these certifications and approvals that you got for your product. Can you list them again? Tell us what kind of certifications you had to get or that you want to get for your product?
Patrice: We are USDA certified organic. Although we are a Canadian company, the Canadian government actually doesn’t certify skin products. We did have to go to the USDA in order to get organically certified, which is actually even better because the standard is higher. I was quite pleased with that. Again going through Heath Canada and getting these processes done. They’re both really involved. The paperwork and the things that they’re asking for are just pretty extraordinary. Like the flowcharts and the overhead aerials and plant diagrams and all these sorts of things. A lot of hoops to jump through, but again I’m really glad I did it. Probably next we’ll be looking at FDA approvals, moving into other countries.
There’s a lot of interest in other international markets for the product and for the company. We’ll be looking at those as well. I would say people have said to me, “Well, you can move into this country and you can get in under the radar.” I would never recommend doing that especially for me. I want to jump through those hoops. I want to make sure that all of the regulations and qualifiers are done.
Felix: I guess it’s a good way to do a health check of your company, of your brand, of your products as well and just for yourself, not just for the customers and not just to slap it on the label, but just as a way to keep things tidy it sounds. Now when you go through these processes, are you able to reuse any of the kind of work that you do going from USDA certified organic to Health Canada? Were there reusable documents or did you have to pretty much start from scratch?
Patrice: A lot of the stuff can translate. I mean I did my USDA certification by myself, which was tough. When I went through my Health Canada certifications, I actually hired a consultant, which was such good money spent. I would highly recommend if you’re going to go this route is to get somebody who really knows and will take it off your plate for you. It’s actually not that expensive to get somebody to help you to do this. I would definitely recommend that as well.
Felix: Can you give me an idea of what kind of budget we’re talking about before this make sense for a store?
Patrice: You’re looking at anywhere from say three to $4,000 to get a consultant to help you do this.
Felix: Yeah, not bad especially if it’s a product like this that people need for health reasons.
Patrice: Yeah. Then you can actually make those health claims. It’s definitely worthwhile. It’s a good investment in your company. It’s for your customers too.
Felix: Where do you find a consultant like this? What are you looking for? What are you googling to find a consultant to help with this process?
Patrice: Well, obviously talking to your network, finding people if anybody else has worked with somebody in the past. A lot of it’s just digging into the internet and googling and talking to people and sort of getting what you feel like is going to be a good fit for you because the chances are you’re going to be working with them again and again. You want to too. You want somebody who knows your product. If you end up going for something else, they understand where you’re coming from.
Felix: You’re just like googling Health Canada consultants? Is there label for these types of folks?
Patrice: For Health Canada it’s called a NPH or a NPN, which is a natural health product number or natural health product. There’s a number of consultancies out there. They’re fairly easy to find.
Felix: When you did this yourself for … You said you did it yourself for the USDA certified organic?
Felix: What are some things that almost I guess tripped you up that you wish you would have prepared more for if you were to do this again by yourself?
Felix: As a warning for anyone else out there.
Patrice: As a warning. Track everything. Know where everything is coming from. All of your invoices, your lot numbers, where everything is stored. Just be very, very organized as much as possible.
Felix: Now that you had this all this done, you had the packaging done, you had the certifications done, what was the method that you decided to go after for driving the traffic in sales to your business?
That was my first store. At this point, people were actually calling me because they’d heard of the product. We got up to about 70 stores in Western Canada, so BC basically, mostly. I was still doing the farmer’s market.
Felix: Real quick. These farmer’s markets, do you find that they helped you with these retail stores or do you feel you could have gone straight into the retail stores?
Patrice: The farmer’s markets were great for a number of reasons. One, talking to customers and getting to know what it is that they really wanted. Like when I first produced my product I thought, “Oh, it can be like a baby balm kind of thing.” People weren’t interested in the baby balm, but they were very interested in the eczema. That was like a market research. It’s also very supportive of the retailers because when somebody buys a product for you at a farmer’s market, they’re not necessarily going to be back in a week or a month to get more, but you can say, “I’m in this store and that store and you can pick it up there when you need it again.” That was very supportive of the retailers as well.
We were doing really well and going quite fast and I ended up deciding to get somebody to come in and help me with operations. One of the things that she said, first thing that she said is that, “You no longer can do farmer’s markets,” because I was working seven days a week. I’m a single mom so I was taking care of my daughter throughout the week and doing these farmer’s markets on the weekends. I was exhausted. I wasn’t able to get really good time spent. I just was constantly trying to put up fliers and run to the next thing. She was like, “You need to back up a little bit and figure out where you want to go next.” At that point we had been talking to a distributor, one of the big national distributors up here in Canada.
They said, “We are very interested in carrying your product,” but I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have the capacity at that point to be supplying more stores than I was at the time. I said no actually, but they said, “Okay. We’ll stay with you. You let us know when you’re ready.” I started building out capacity at that point saying, “Okay. How do we streamline our suppliers? How do we figure out where we’re going to store everything?” Then all those sorts of issues. Then probably I guess it was about a year later and we said yes to the distributors because we were ready. Then we went from 70 stores to about 400 stores in two months.
Felix: Wow. What was scaling up from 70 to 400 like?
Patrice: We had done our work ahead of our time, right? We were ready. It was still a bit of a shock. We certainly weren’t expecting that to happen and certainly not that fast. Luckily we had put some processes in place. It was relatively painless. Exciting, super exciting, but it was a good thing to have happened for sure. They’ve been great also supporting us through this entire time.
Felix: Now what about the online presence? Are most of the sales coming from these retail locations or do you push a lot onto the online store as well?
Patrice: Never been like a super focus. Again it’s been a lot of like organic growth online and in the retailers as well. It’s been the couple different revenue streams. It used to be three, but then I dropped the farmer’s markets. We had the retail, the online and the farmer’s markets. The retail strategy obviously we have some social media … Associate media person working with that, but our major sort of big push happened … Again it was actually kind of by accident. I had done my first media interview in January of this year. We’ve done only one marketing campaign before that, but no advertising, no media, nothing. I was a finalist in a business competition called SheEO, which is amazing.
If you’re a woman and you’re looking for venture capital or any kind of like growth in your business, look to SheEO. A friend of mine has this show on CBC Radio One, which is our big national broadcaster, show called Unreserved. She asked me to come on and talk about the product and talk about SheEO. I said, “Sure. No problem.” I was on for about eight or nine minutes and just chatting. The retail set like that awesome Shopify chaching sound. That started happening like every 30 seconds. It was insane.
Felix: How long did that last?
Patrice: Well, we did $36-$37,000 in sales in 10 days online alone. Our entire online sales from the year before we did in like 10 weeks basically. All 400 stores across Canada sold out in two days. There were waiting lists across the country. In addition, we also got another 60 days that joined up from that. The power of the media and reaching people is huge. If you get an opportunity, don’t ever pass it up. Don’t ever think that you’re not expert enough or you don’t have something to say or you can think of somebody else who do a better job. Never do that. Just get out there and talk about what you’re passionate about and that will translate and hopefully translate into some amazing sales as well.
Felix: Now this show that you’re on, was it for business people? What was the audience of the people that are tuning in?
Patrice: It was actually a very small show. Well, I shouldn’t say very small show because it was hugely impactful, but it’s one hour every week. It’s called Unreserved and it focuses on first nation’s people and what they’re doing just in general. Our story on Unreserved, my 10 minute story, was the most shared story in all of the CBC Radio One Broadcast. Even like their big shows, like The Current and Q, we out shared them by hundreds and hundreds of shares. It was super popular. People really responded to it.
Felix: Now do you have any tips for anyone out there that is thinking about taking this approach of getting on TV shows or getting into more kind of a nationwide media appearances?
Patrice: Well first off, don’t be intimidated. I know it’s easy to say, but honestly, I come from a background of radio and television. If we have somebody that’s going to talk and be a good interview and can be an expert for us and help solve our time crunch problems because we’re always looking for good content, we are going to be super happy to talk to you or they are going to be. I’m not in the media anymore, but they are going to be super happy to talk to you. Don’t feel shy about reaching out to people. I would avoid press releases like the plague. Never read them.
What I would do is reach out to people who have a beat, sort of a focus on what it is that you’re doing and reach out to them directly to try and develop some kind of relationship with them to let them know that you’re available as an expert to them. Just be passionate. I mean there’s a reason why you got into what you’re doing and just share that with people.
Felix: Do you need preparation? I guess for you you’re much more experienced. For anyone out there that has never done an interview before, that definitely has not been on TV or radio before, any tips on how to prepare the days leading up to your first interview?
Patrice: Sure. Well first off, you’re not providing like a dissertation on your product and the industry. Although it’s important to have facts, facts aren’t really what people get engaged with. They get engaged with your passion. Have a few talking points. Let’s say four or five things that you want to discuss and maybe some key points around that, but avoid having to read or be too scripted. Just go out there and be yourself because it’s you that people are really interested in.
Felix: Now when you are going down this path of getting on TV or getting on the radio, who should you be trying to connect with? Who is I guess the decision maker at these companies?
Patrice: There is obviously the manager editor or the producer or those sorts of people. They get inundated a lot and again I would say if you can, talk to the writer, talk to the individual reporter, talk to those specific people because they’re looking for you right now. They want to have someone like you on their program to talk about these things because content creation is huge and they don’t have a lot of time. They’re going to be happy to speak with you. Consider trying to get to them directly and there are ways to do that. You can go on … I forget the name of it, but there are … You look up on Twitter which reporters are reporting on what kind of thing. You can just do some googling and reach out to those people directly.
Felix: I’ve heard of this service. I haven’t used it myself, but I heard of other entrepreneurs using it called … I think it’s pronounced HARO, H-A-R-O, Help A Reporter Out. You sign up and I think you get to mark yourself down as an expert or someone involved in a specific industry. I think you get a couple of emails a day, depending on which industry you’re in of course, from reporters that are just looking for people that are experts that can comment on whatever is in the news or whatever they’re writing about. The great way to get essentially someone to do the PR for you without you having … Passively essentially without you having to reach out yourself. Definitely check that out. Now I want to talk a little bit about site.
The design of it I love it. I think it matches your packaging so well. Who designed that? What was the process behind creating this site?
Patrice: Same person. Same person who did my packaging did my website. It’s going to be pretty in line with that. Her name is Nanda Van Der Meer. Originally I met her here in Vancouver, but she moved to The Netherlands. I still work with her, just remote and that’s been fantastic as well. Don’t limit yourself just to your specific market obviously.
Felix: For sure. Now has the site gone through iterations like the packaging as well or is this the design that you’ve always had?
Patrice: It’s pretty much been the design we’ve always had. Again we had a little bit of an update in the past year or so, but nothing too radically to change it. Again it’s just very straightforward and it’s about getting people the information that they’re looking for. Being a place where people can actually look for our reviews as well and hear what other people have to say about the product. Because I think very often versus me talking about it, it’s so important to hear other voices. That’s a really good opportunity to let people do that.
Felix: Because a lot of your revenue is coming from the retail store, I’m assuming that’s where a lot of your focus is as well. When you sit down and think about how you should be spending your time with the website, the online store, where do you spend your time? Where do you focus on these days to grow the business when it comes to your online store, your online sales?
Patrice: Obviously our social media we’re trying to engage our customers. We do have a specific Facebook group that we started just for people to be able to talk together versus us talking about discount codes and all that kind of stuff. It’s just a place to build some community because this can be also a very isolating disease if you don’t know other people that you can talk to about it and you haven’t had experience with it. Having eczema and psoriasis can be … It can be just terrible. It’s not just about itchy, scaly skin. It’s also about the way that people look at you when they see you on the street and how that feels as a teenager or as a professional and you don’t want to shake someone’s hand because of the state of your skin.
These are very real things that people are suffering with. It’s an opportunity again to just get together and build a community and share things like that.
Felix: I like the Facebook group is built around the problem rather than your solution, right? I think a lot of times people will have a brand, have a store and they decide to start a group and the group is all about their products rather than people coming together as a community. Because no one really wants to spend time online talking about a product, right? You barely are going to participate in a group like that. If the topics, the conversations around problems, the stigma as you are talking about, if the topic is around that, then there’s a lot more for people to contribute. There’s a lot more value people will get out of it because you can only talk about your product so much.
I think that’s an important thing that you’ve certainly nailed is that your group is focused on support around the problem that your product solves, but it’s not about the product itself.
Patrice: Mm-hmm (affirmative). It’s not just always about monetizing everything either. If I’m out there providing some sort of relief to people and not just the literal relief, but making them feel better, that to me is a huge payoff. When people email me and call me and tell me, “You made a difference to me or to my children,” that’s huge. I think that’s probably why I got into journalism in the first place is I wanted to feel like I was making a difference. At some point it became clear to me that I didn’t feel like I was making the difference that I wanted to. Now again everyday people are telling me that I’ve helped them. That has huge, huge value to me.
Felix: Now because you are pretty much the only person running this business, of course, you’re hiring people to help you out. I’m sure you rely on a lot of tools and applications to help you out. Can you talk a little bit about those and what kind of technology do you employ whether it’d be on Shopify or outside of Shopify to help you run the business?
Patrice: Well, Shopify has been incredible. I mean I don’t think I could have created this online store without Shopify and all the tools that are available to us for mailing out our shipments to just tracking where our sales are coming from, all the tools that are out there. Being able to export to QuickBooks from Shopify, those apps, it’s been sort of our go to place for sure. I also want to be pretty clear. I do have a team with me and without whom I wouldn’t be successful the way that I am. My operations person, Hillary, down to like the team that helps me with labeling and fulfillment of all my products as well. It’s definitely a group effort for sure.
Felix: Any tools that you can mention or that you can think of that you rely on heavily?
Patrice: Not off the top of my head. No. Other than just everything on it. Like the Shopify is just the go to place for me. If I need something, I just look and look at what they have available.
Felix: Very cool. Thank you so much, Patrice. Satya is Satya.ca. Where do want to see the business go this time next year? What are your focus? What are your goals for the coming year?
Patrice: Well, obviously we’re going to continue to grow in Canada. It’s really about getting people to know that there is another option out there, another good option out there to the steroids. We do have interest in possibly going overseas to some few other countries as well and just continue with sort our mission, which is to be of service in a product industry.
Felix: Awesome. Thank you so much, Patrice.
Patrice: Thank you so much, Felix.
Speaker 1: When people [inaudible 00:48:00] they feel like it’s important enough that you feel that you want to pack someone that I think it’s always some good content. | 2019-04-23T10:55:03Z | https://www.shopify.com.au/blog/satya-product-packaging-tips |
Scotland has a tradition of creating distinctive places; derived from a deep understanding of local context and opportunities. The distinctiveness of these places creates the character which allows Scotland’s citizens to feel association with a place that they belong to, and has also created a visual environment that is attractive to visitors from around the globe. In developing new built environment, it is critical that we enhance, rather than detract from the qualities of place that make Scotland what it is.
Creating new and altering existing places within our communities requires design consideration at all levels. The decisions taken throughout the design process – from the strategic choice of site, design team and procurement methods, through to the detailed design, selection of materials and construction – all impact on the resultant quality of the buildings and places we create.
Through analysis of projects seen at Design Forum (previously Design Review), we have sought to draw out a number of specific considerations which apply across project types and which we consider to be Key Placemaking Issues.
A project champion is an individual with the ability to communicate with a wide audience and the authority to ensure that the vision for a project is maintained throughout its development.
He or she plays a vital role as part of the team, in realising a project’s potential and in making sure that the aims around client goals, community aspirations, and response to the surrounding fabric do not become diluted in implementation.
The champion needs to be tenacious, to avoid or work around any obstruction to the implementation of the vision, and in that way create something that in the long term will be well used and respected, including, but also beyond, the initial requirements of the immediate functional brief.
Making spaces and buildings for people, as opposed to only the practical processes which go on in buildings, is how the built environment becomes place. It is important not to lose touch with that even when the pressures of brief, budget, and timescale are weighing heavily.
What kind of place should it be?
Over time, we hope that this website will start to provide a starting point which shows how some projects might have responded to challenges which are similar to those which other might face. In this way we seek to give credit to those who have achieved, and provide inspiration to those who are at the early stages of a project. Other resource sites include Creating Places and Inspirational Designs.
Only by getting the right people with the right skills together can you realise the full potential of a site. A+DS’ experience is that projects in which skilled designers of the appropriate disciplines jointly develop a concept from an early stage in the design process has a positive outcome both in terms of quality of environment created, and in the directness of the design route.
Scotland’s landscape and culture has resulted in very different environments being created across Scotland, these environments being a reflection of our culture and our individuality. Going into the future, it is equally important that each development is treated as part of a community, from national to local, and hence deserves and requires site specific solutions which will embed it in that place.
Vision and wider aspirations need to be established at the outset, including real understanding of the functional drivers that will secure vitality, economic prosperity and environmental quality. These should underpin the brief, and yet be proportionate to the scale of influence within city, townscape, or rural context.
In addition, places are never static but constantly evolving, and it is important there is a public/civic context to future planning. As surrounding circumstances evolve, development projects have to be robust and flexible to accommodate that change.
Strategic thinking is about considering the wider aspects of development and the qualities which make it specific to where it is, in order not only to provide new living or working environments, but to root these into the fabric of the place. Such rooting includes wayfinding, linkage to existing established routes and places, scale, extension and connection of green spaces, in essence building places that promote quality of life and encourage development of active communities.
Creating Places, the Scottish Government policy statement on Architecture and place for Scotland, describes the six qualities of positive placemaking as: Distinctive, Safe and Pleasant, Easy to move around and beyond, Welcoming, Adaptable, Resource Efficient.
Mixed economies and mixed places encourage interaction, and hence the potential for the influence of serendipity, innovation and creativity coming about through chance meetings. Having been developed as a concept from the sphere of workplace design, this same principle can also be applied to placemaking in the wider built environment.
Scotland is a plan led system which sets out strategic decisions on, for example, land release, however the system can fail to encourage co-operation beyond masterplan or site red lines. Civic or regional leadership is needed to direct and advise, and to ensure that the right people come together at the right time. A+DS has sought to encourage this type of dialogue.
Local Authorities can assume an active role in development, encouraging thinking beyond site boundaries and also between departments in order to achieve the best possible places for people.
Entrusted with developing a vision and expressing this through local plan policy, the Local Authority’s vision can then be maintained and developed through urban design frameworks, development briefs, and masterplans. Design Forum support Local Authorities in these endeavours, and in particular to the commissioning and ownership of these documents.
What is sustainability? Sustainability includes reducing travel by car by colocation of uses or by providing viable and attractive transport options, longevity of the places created to reduce the waste of frequent redevelopment, and the consideration of both potential reuse of existing fabric and the utilisation of energy efficient technology and materials. It is by its nature inherently difficult to measure, but what is certain is that early design and briefing considerations can have a greater effect on the end outcome than the inclusion late on of features to offset inherently challenging location, uses, orientation, and sense of place. This is a much more difficult concept than reliance on certification to assess success or otherwise, however advice given at Design Forum is to consider holistic sustainability from the outset, and to ensure buy-in from all members of the team from the earliest stages of briefing.
There is an enormous amount of embodied energy that goes in to producing buildings, not to mention the construction waste which can emanate from the process. Designing for adaptability and for economic reuse of building shells can reduce this waste at a fundamental level. A useful reference is Design for Deconstruction by SEDA which identifies principles of design to facilitate reuse and recycling.
Within our towns and cities there exists a number of redundant buildings, the incidence of which has the potential to rise as institutions seek ever more flexible space with higher servicing requirements. However, refurbishment of buildings serves not only to conserve embodied energy, it also provides for the retention of social and historical capital.
There are clear advantages to existing buildings being reused where possible, and to consideration of new uses which might address either positive or negative social capital in addition to energy and flexibility issues.
The document A Low Carbon Economic Strategy for Scotland states that 40% of CO2 emissions are generated through the heating, lighting and running of buildings, and against that background includes Objective 7: Moving towards a low carbon built environment: Reducing carbon emission, through all phases of the building process, from design to construction, through operation and maintenance, within the new and existing building stock.
There is a significant gap between the design performance of buildings and the actual performance of buildings as built. Closing this gap is becoming increasingly important in moving towards zero carbon buildings.
There is an interplay between energy use, comfort and health. Whereas previous models of ‘mean’ thermal comfort were derived from study of sealed environments, on the assumption that all individuals will experience the resultant environment in the same way, adaptive models of thermal comfort allow that the users might influence their environments by opening windows or altering their clothing in order to create the environment that suits their health, comfort and other needs at that time. This flexibility however, brings challenges in terms of efficient energy use, and relies on cooperation between users to avoid waste.
Research into movement in cities and buildings confirms that linking planning to public health needs can support better health by creating walkable environments and by supporting “livability” within city centres. Scottish Government policy recognises that people are not designed to live isolated lives, and that building communities is the sustainable route forward, including by empowering people to allow them to take control of their environments. See Isle of Eigg case study by the Homes & Communities Agency.
Sustainable development includes the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, economic climate, demographics and other trends, by providing flexible use typologies for changing lifestyles and needs. Such flexibility can bring with it economic benefit as well as more integrated, socially rich, communities.
Integrating infrastructure into landscapes is an ever increasingly important issue for Scotland, due to the drive for sustainable energy sources and the resultant implication on our uplands and coastal landscapes. In addition, landscape is a critical component of the context and layout of all but very few projects, and specifically in managing the change brought about by development.
A common recommendation at Design Forum is that early consideration of landscape as a source of inspiration; a retreat, a natural and biodiversity resource, and the day to day canvas of our lives, can provide opportunity for development, and assist in rooting proposals into the physical and cultural form of their setting.
Within the Creating Places, landscape is highlighted as shaping “our impressions and experience of place … potentially providing numerous benefits including wellbeing, stimulation of our senses, biodiversity, and opportunities for economic development”.
In the absence of a specific landscape policy for Scotland, the policy context is described as the European Landscape Convention, which the Scottish Government signed up toin 2006 and Green Infrastructure, Design and Placemaking produced by the Scottish Government in 2011.
How architects respond to context and layout is fundamental, including the specifics of a place, physical, cultural, historical and over time. The revealing of the layers of a place allows an understanding of context, and informs how appropriate proposals might evolve.
All buildings exist in a time context beyond their initial purpose, which purpose might easily evolve and change within the lifespan of the building fabric. Buildings make up the built environment, and hence those commissioning and legislating on buildings have a responsibility to that wider built environment.
A&DS is interested in individual buildings for the impact that building has on its context, and how the people who use it, walk around it, see it from a distance are impacted by its effect on the environment, rather than as a stand-alone object in its own right. Design Forum does not comment on stylistic issues other than their implication for that context.
Ownership and management of the space between buildings is critical to the success of place. No matter how well designed the space between buildings is, if there is no plan from the outset how this space will be managed and maintained, it will not deliver the environment intended.
The interface between building and public realm is important in creating a setting appropriate to the building scale, function, activity, nature of users, frequency of use.
An obvious example of this would be the interface between a transport interchange and the surrounding public realm, and the need to accommodate large numbers at specific times, to be welcoming and support way finding, to be safe for a variety of user abilities, to accommodate people moving through, waiting, greeting, in a hurry, in daylight, in darkness, in all weather conditions.
All building types will have their own specific imperatives, but all must deal with the human needs for shelter, direction, safety, and the interface between inside and outside requires both practical and emotional needs to be met. Where there is lots of public activity, such as at entrances to major public buildings, courtyards or canopied space can be beneficial as thresholds to roads and busy streets, creating protected and, preferably sunlit, spaces.
Active frontages mean people outside buildings being informed by activity inside them and vice versa. It means individuals in both environments being reassured that they are part of a society and community in a place.
Beneficial activities located on street-fronts are important for the success of the public realm, whether city streets, urban closes, mews or rural lane. In an urban context this can include attractions such as cafes, bars, and shopfronts. In a residential context this might simply involve kitchens, offices or front doors onto the street.
This is relevant at any scale from cities to villages. Where there is little public activity, such as in residential streets, windows and doorways located on the street and sized to allow direct access and good views into the street can bring people into the street and bring streets to life. This helps keep the street a safe, lively and attractive place. Where possible parking locations should be such that this important and mutually beneficial relationship is maintained.
When buildings and structures outlive their original purpose, with the exception of the most specialised of building forms, their design and construction should be strong enough to accommodate new uses. Consideration of the relationship between economic life, design life and construction life will result in a more sustainable proposition and efficient use of resources.
A mix of uses in any location provides 24hour occupation, helping streets become safer and more attractive places throughout the day, during twilight hours and even at night to support town centres activities. In addition, maximising the positive benefits for passers-by can be achieved by providing shelter, allowing sunlight penetration and keeping views open whilst trying to avoid detrimental climatic effects of building size such as wind funnelling and overshadowing.
Public fronts and private backs of buildings, in residential buildings in particular, must have a suitable interface with the public realm to avoid insecure exposure of private boundaries or private spaces. Secondary schools, sports halls, and supermarkets are examples of buildings types that must be carefully handled in respect of avoiding long blank frontages to adjoining street and closes, making them less safe and enjoyable places to walk through. Containing areas such as service yards, goods yards and storage facilities in between buildings rather than on the street avoids detrimental impact of these areas on the experience of passers-by.
Limited parking in front of buildings can be beneficial to the street, bringing people and activity as in the historic High Street. Where possible, it is beneficial to keep car parking between buildings and within the urban block, avoiding adjoining private boundaries.
Car parks can be designed to be pleasant and attractive places in their own right, with good pedestrian and disabled accessibility, for example by limiting impact of large-scale car parking by breaking it up with landscape. Parking lots, to the USA model, act as a barrier severing neighbourhood streets from people arriving and using large attractions. They tend to cut off local people walking, cycling or arriving by public transport, and hence be detrimental to urban life, minimising the capacity for new investment to contribute to local streets and neighbourhoods. Preventing car parking becoming a barrier can provide vital activity and hence help economic regeneration.
New office development can take a variety of sizes and forms – from a single building in the heart of a city centre to a mixed use development.
Here is a PDF version of the Key Placemaking Issues page for you to download.
Key Placemaking Issues: Public buildings form an integral part of the fabric and civic identity of our towns and cities.
Streetscape and Public realm can be defined as the shared outdoor space between buildings.
The National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 (NPF 2) dated 2009 described the long term spatial strategy for Scotland's development. | 2019-04-20T08:56:17Z | https://www.ads.org.uk/key-placemaking-issues-overview/ |
Many nonprofit (NFP) financial executives are struggling with the changes posed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, (Topic 606) and how this will impact their organizations. Their concerns are primarily around which of their revenue streams this new standard will apply to, how to apply the standard and when the standard will take effect.
Converges with International Accounting Standards: The new standard is the result of a convergence effort between the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and it took the two standard setting bodies over 10 years to develop the final standard. The end result is the removal of numerous inconsistencies between the FASB and IASB revenue recognition standards, which currently make up the accounting principles that are generally accepted both in the United States and globally. However, challenges remain as the constituents of each standard setter work through implementation questions.
Principle-Based Focus: One of the biggest changes is the move from rules-based accounting to a principle-based focus. Most of the rules-based standards currently used will be gone once this new standard takes effect. The core principle of the new standard focuses on the contract between the NFP and its customers for the provision of goods or services, and more specifically, the rights and obligations between the two parties (a reciprocal transaction).
Not All Revenue Sources Are Impacted: The new standard will impact just about every organization—and some more than others. That said, it won’t impact all revenue sources. For example, many NFP organizations receive a significant portion of their revenue from contributions and investment income. Both of these revenue sources are not impacted by the new standard.
5. Recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.
Each of these five steps contains concepts that can have a significant impact on the revenue recognition process. For example, the first step requires that an organization must conclude it is probable that it will collect consideration from the customer for the goods and services transferred. For healthcare organizations, this first step may not be met due to certain patients’ (or customers’) inability to pay. Ultimately, this may delay the recognition of revenue until cash is collected.
Effective Date: The new standard is currently effective for nonpublic entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. NFP organizations can transition to the new standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. One reason for the additional time, relative to other new accounting standards, is to allow NFP organizations to fully assess the impact of the standard and properly prepare for adoption.
In April 2015, the FASB issued an exposure draft to receive feedback from constituents on whether to give a one-year extension on the proposed effective dates.
See the section, "To Delay or Not to Delay” for more information.
All NFP organizations’ revenue recognition policies for exchange transactions will be affected by the new ASU. The degree to which the recognition and measurement of a NFP’s revenue streams will be affected depends on its own facts and circumstances. However, one thing is certain: NFP organizations will need to evaluate whether any changes are needed to their current revenue recognition and financial reporting processes, as well as accounting and financial systems, to comply with the new ASU. This will undoubtedly require substantive involvement by more than just those involved in the NFP organization’s accounting function. Even though delayed effective dates are provided in the ASU, it is not too early to start having conversations with various stakeholders in your NFP organization, your auditors and other financial advisors.
The key to the implementation of this new standard is for NFPs to become familiar with the new standard early. Asking questions and discussing the new standard with your accounting advisors and evaluating the impact the standard will have on all facets of your NFP’s revenue streams should not be delayed.
Which Revenue Streams are Covered, and Which are Excluded?
ASU 2014-09 provides a robust framework for addressing revenue recognition issues, and it replaces almost all existing revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance, in current U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). As a result of these wholesale changes, when the new guidance is implemented, the FASB and the IASB believe that there should be improved comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets.
Contributions received from donors are not specifically scoped out of the ASU. However, the ASU defines revenue as “inflows or other enhancement of assets of an entity or the settlement of its liabilities (or a combination of both) from delivering or producing goods, rendering services, or other activities that constitute the entity’s ongoing and major activities.” In other words, revenue is a reciprocal transfer between parties in which the parties are expecting to exchange similar value. On the other hand, a contribution is defined as “an unconditional transfer of cash or other assets to an entity or a settlement or cancellation of its liabilities in a voluntary nonreciprocal transfer by another entity acting other than as an owner.” Since a contribution is both voluntary and nonreciprocal, it is scoped out of the ASU by definition.
At this time, products and services, tuition and advertising are considered to be fairly straightforward. However, sponsorships and licensing contracts may be more complex.
As an example of how the accounting for a NFP’s exchange transactions could be affected by the ASU, consider a contract that a hypothetical “University” has with an alumnus for annual membership in an alumni association. An alumni association often provides the alumnus with a variety of benefits, such as a subscription to the university’s monthly magazine, tickets to cultural events on campus, use of library facilities and various items of branded apparel. The contract should first be assessed to determine whether it includes an exchange transaction, a contribution or both. Next, the portion of the contract representing an exchange transaction must be identified and bifurcated from the contribution component. These two amounts must be separated, since only the exchange transaction is subject to the new standard.
It is probable that the NFP will collect the consideration to which it will be entitled in exchange for the goods or services that will be transferred to the customer.
The goods and services in the separate contracts constitute a single performance obligation.
The guidance in the ASU for combining and segmenting contracts may provide different results than under current guidance for an exchange transaction that is deemed to be a long-term contract.
A modification of the existing contract that does not create a distinct additional performance obligation.
Under the ASU, a performance obligation is a promise in a contract with a customer to transfer a good or service to the customer. If the NFP promises in a contract to transfer more than one good or service to the customer, the NFP should account for each promised good or service as a performance obligation only if it is distinct or a series of distinct goods or services that are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer.
Capable of being distinct – The customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer.
Distinct within the context of the contract – The promise to transfer the good or service is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract.
The ASU requires that the NFP organization determine the total consideration to which it expects to be entitled from the customer in exchange for the goods and services that the NFP organization has promised to transfer to the customer, excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties.
If the amount of consideration in a contract is variable, an NFP should determine the amount to include in the transaction price by estimating either the expected value or the most likely amount. The NFP should choose the method that it expects will provide the better prediction of the amount of consideration that it will be entitled to.
Expected value – The sum of the probable weighted amounts that the NFP organization expects for the exchange.
Most-likely amount – The single amount that the NFP organization expects as the most likely result for the exchange.
An NFP should include in the transaction price some or all of the estimate of variable consideration, but only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
An NFP should adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of the time value of money if the period between payment by the customer and transfer of the goods or services is expected to exceed one year.
If any portion is to be received in a form other than cash, an NFP must measure the noncash consideration at fair value.
Should be accounted for as a reduction in the transaction price.
The new guidance would require sellers to allocate the total transaction price to each performance obligation on the basis of its relative standalone selling price at inception. The new guidance further states that the best evidence of the standalone selling price is the observable amount that the seller receives from a similar performance obligation delivered separately. In the absence of an observable standalone price, the seller may estimate the standalone price, but must do so using observable inputs to the extent that they are available.
Allocation of consideration when a portion of the price remains contingent on future events.
The ASU provides implementation guidance and examples that illustrate the allocation of the contract price.
The guidance states that a performance obligation is satisfied when the NFP organization transfers goods or services to the customer. The transfer is deemed to occur when the customer obtains control over the goods or services, demonstrated by the ability to direct the use of the items and receive benefits from them.
The transfer of the risks and rewards of ownership.
The NFP organization’s work does not create an asset with an alternative use to the NFP, and the NFP has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date.
Time-based methods, such as straight-line.
Measurement of progress toward completion using an input method.
Under current guidance, an NFP organization may recognize revenue when it transfers the risks and rewards associated with the goods or services to the customer. The timing of revenue recognition under the new guidance is when control of the goods or services under the contract in question transfers to the customer. Under the ASU, the transfer of the risks and rewards of ownership is just one factor to consider for determining whether a customer has obtained control. Application of this new criteria may result in a significant change to current practice.
Under the new guidance, a NFP should capitalize the incremental costs to obtain a contract with a customer (i.e., sales commissions), if the entity expects to recover those costs. However, the ASU has a practical expedient, which is a NFP is not required to capitalize the incremental costs to obtain a contract if the amortization period for the asset would be one year or less.
Costs that will be incurred regardless of whether the contract is obtained, including costs that are incremental to trying to obtain a contract, such as bid costs that are incurred even if the NFP is not awarded the contract, are expensed as they are incurred, unless they meet the criteria to be capitalized as fulfillment costs.
They are expected to be recovered.
If the costs incurred to fulfill a contract are in the scope of other guidance, then the organization accounts for them in accordance with that other guidance.
a. For completed contracts, an entity need not restate contracts that begin and end within the same annual reporting period.
b. For completed contracts that have variable consideration, an entity may use the transaction price at the date the contract was completed, rather than estimating variable consideration amounts in the comparative reporting periods.
c. For all reporting periods presented before the date of initial application, an entity need not disclose the amount of the transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations and an explanation of when the entity expects to recognize that amount as revenue.
b. An explanation of the reasons for significant changes.
Upon issuance of the ASU, these were the effective dates that were stated.
See the section, "To Delay or Not to Delay” for further discussion of a projected change to the ASU’s effective dates.
A nonprofit entity that has issued, or is a conduit bond obligor for, securities that are traded, listed or quoted on an exchange or an over-the-counter market.
An employee benefit plan that files or furnishes financial statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Early application is not permitted.
For all other entities (who are considered nonpublic entities), the ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018.
An annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within that reporting period (public entity effective date).
An annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017.
Included in this section are some hypothetical examples of standard nonprofit transactions with an analysis of these items under the guidance in ASU 2014-09.
The examples included herein are provided for illustrative purposes only. The outcome may differ based on specific facts and circumstances.
How Will the New Revenue Recognition Standard Affect the Way Your Nonprofit Operates?
Judgments and estimates: In some situations, management will be required to make more estimates and use more judgment than under current guidance, such as estimates related to variable consideration. Those matters will be highlighted for users through increased disclosure requirements.
Covenants: Management may need to discuss the new ASU with lenders to revise debt covenants that are impacted by revenue, such as Receivable Turnover, Liability to Net Asset ratio, and other ratios and requirements.
Contract terms: Management may consider possible changes to its standard contracts.
Internal controls: Management will likely need to revise documented processes and controls to ensure they are sufficient to prevent or detect misstatements under the new guidance.
Accounting policies: Management may need to perform a comprehensive gap analysis of its organization’s accounting policies.
Technology: Management may need to consider updates and enhancements to the NFP’s current accounting and financial reporting software to capture new information that may not have been necessary previously.
Income tax effects: The changes in timing of revenue recognition may result in changes in current taxable income, since many entities use U.S. GAAP to determine revenue recognition for income tax purposes. The new standard may also impact an entity’s deferred taxes. Since an entity’s income tax accounting depends on specific facts and circumstances, consultation with a tax advisor may be useful.
Become familiar with the new standard, discuss the new standard with your accounting advisors and evaluate the impact the standard will have on all facets of your organization’s revenue streams.
Inventory all current revenue streams and evaluate whether there are differences between current practices and the new standard. Organizations should also consider the potential effect of these differences on their financial statements.
Evaluate whether there are differences between current practices and the new standard on how you address contract modifications.
Reconsider whether revenue will be recognized over time or at a point in time based on both the new criteria and specific guidance for licenses or other multi-year contracts. Systems, processes and controls may need to be updated as a result of the new criteria and any changes in the timing of revenue recognition.
Historically, many nonprofits have not tracked costs to acquire a contract, namely because they have been expensed as incurred. To maintain compliance with the new standard, nonprofits will need to consider necessary resources for accumulating costs incurred that need to be capitalized.
Identify data gaps between what is presently available and what will be needed for the required disclosures in the new standard.
Nonprofits may want to consider preparing mock-up financial statements to understand the impact of the new standard, as well as begin the education process of their boards and other financial committee members.
Okay, I have taken a few liberties with Shakespeare. But over the past several months, there has been a lot of dialogue and speculation among preparers, auditors and users of financial statements as to whether the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) will be delayed.
In April, the FASB issued a proposed ASU which would defer the effective date of the new revenue standard. The deadline for comments on the proposal is May 29, 2015. In coming to this decision, the board members and staff performed field visits to public and private companies, performed outreach with various stakeholders and conducted other research to judge whether the standard should be delayed to allow more time for all organizations (i.e., public and private companies, as well as nonprofits) to get prepared to implement the new standard.
If the FASB’s proposed ASU is finalized, the revenue recognition standard would take effect in 2018 for calendar year-end public entities. For private entities, including nonprofits, it would take effect in 2019. Still, that does not mean nonprofit organizations should wait to consider the implications the standard will have, even if there is a postponement of the implementation date.
The revenue recognition standard, whether or not the implementation date is delayed, will be a major change for many nonprofit organizations. Some organizations will want to retrospectively adopt the new standard, and they will need to start gathering or preserving data for 2016. This means they will need to start looking at their organization’s policies, procedures and systems now—not in 2016. By then, it might be too late.
As a nonprofit starts to approach the implementation of the new revenue recognition model, it should be considering not only its accounting policies and procedures—which is a necessary first step—but also what it will need in terms of resources. This includes systems and people resources, processes and technology, and determining how other departments beyond the finance and accounting departments, such as development and program services, will need to be involved to make sure that the organization not only becomes compliant with the new standard, but also remains compliant in the future.
As FASB officials gather feedback from stakeholders, nonprofits should start preparing to implement, regardless of whether or not a delay is approved. But keeping in mind the impact that the new standard will have on nonprofits, we would advise that instead of delaying, these organizations use every minute and resource they have available to get ready.
For more information on the new revenue recognition accounting standard and how it may affect your nonprofit organization, visit BDO’s Revenue Recognition Resource Center.
For more information contact Lee Klumpp, director, at [email protected].
National Nonprofit & Education IG Catalyst, Greater Washington, D.C. | 2019-04-21T18:24:20Z | https://www.bdo.com/insights/industries/nonprofit/nonprofit-standard-newsletter-special-edition |
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