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A new study conducted by Consumer Reports found that most U.S. chicken, even organic brands, was contaminated with potentially harmful bacteria.
From the report…
“More than half of the samples contained fecal contaminants. And about
half of them harbored at least one bacterium that was resistant to three
or more commonly prescribed antibiotics.”
The study was conducted using more than 300 chicken breasts purchased at stores across the country.
Chicken is America’s most popular meat, with the average american consuming approximately 83 pounds annually.
The complete report can be read here. | <urn:uuid:ca1f60d0-0216-4aef-b6fb-0f76a18ec404> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.boulderweekly.com/news/study-finds-most-us-chicken-contaminated/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00274-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969331 | 122 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Global Salam pioneering in giving priority to agricultural investments has developed a unique buy back model to promote the growth of Agricultural Exports by an alternative method to farmers to sell their organic goods for specific international buyers in defined quantities at prearranged prices. Global Salam has taken the initiative to introduce innovative methods that farmers may not be able to have access on their own.
Commercial and consumer requirements such as freshness, quality, origin and presentation of agricultural goods are concerns that international buyers have to maintain consistency. Amintha de Silva, an experienced banker with well over 25 years of training in both local and international markets, qualified and studied systems of investments in the United Arab Emirates, Master in Business Administration and a trainer by profession was appointed as the CEO. Amintha speaking to the press said, “Global Salam is the need of the hour to assist international buyers gain a stronger hand in production, quality control and pricing, while farmers benefit from guaranteed income and market access”.
“Salam” contracts are one of the most effective, sound and transparent ways to setup farmers engaged in agriculture with international and national buyers for everyone to benefit fairly supported by an adequate legal framework. “Salam” is an Arabic word derived from the financial product name Bai-us-Salam, which means to pay in advance for goods (Agricultural) to be delivered at a future date.
Global Salam offers growers farm inputs, equipment and technical advice by its most experienced team of experts spearheaded by international support from legal scholars, agricultural experts, producers and traders to ensure “Salam” contracts are sustainable. The Experts panel at Global Salam comprises of Tissa Jayaweera, leading past public official and a current corporate leader, Ms. Chandani Dais Abeygunawardana, an agronomist, former head of Exports at Cargills Quality Foods and Deputy Director of Export Agriculture/Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Gordon de Silva, Former Managing Director Hayleys Exports and M.R. Omar, Attorney-at-Law, Legal Consultant and Advisor to the Panel. | <urn:uuid:3e1fc028-ba38-4b82-984a-21a9b79dd3ef> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://nation.lk/online/2015/09/26/global-salam-appoints-amintha-as-ceo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00228-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94945 | 427 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Enter (02/27/06)
TITLE: Another Level
By Vanessa Severino
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After being born-again,He continues to draw us into communion with Him, "entering" into a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Jesus is not only our God, but He calls us friend. It is his divine will, that we enter in, go "beyond the veil".
Before God made this new covenant with his people, in accordance to the old covenant, the priests where the only ones who can "enter the inner courts". However, thanks to the price Jesus paid, we can "enter" past the inner courts, and go "beyond the veil", and meet our Savior in true intimacy by the supernatural power of His Holy Spirit.
If you truly want to know what it means to KNOW JESUS, not simply know about HIM, but know HIM, then draw near to HIM, and HE will be faithful to draw near to you. Enter in, and HE will make HIMSELF known.
Let Him, by the power of His Holy Spirit, fill you with his love, power and peace, let His love flow in and through you, touching body, mind, soul and spirit.
There is nothing like HIS PRESENCE. There is nothing that compares to HIS love, and strength and comfort and peace. Trust Him, hold Him to His word, HE will let you enter. Ask Him, and HE will take you "behind the veil". God bless you.
I pray that this passage will plant a seed of desire, to seek HIS face like never before. Enter in, He is waiting. There is so much more He is waiting to show you. Don't settle for the crumbs, offered to us, by hearing from God second-hand, not when you have open access to your Savior Jesus Christ.
He wants a personal relationship with you, nothing less then that will ever satisify HIM or you. He loves you and desires constant communion with His beloved. You are his beloved ones, rest at His feet, and let Him make Himself known to you. Let the power of His spirit enter your heart. Don't quench it, let his love flow, let it fully enter in. Amen.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel. | <urn:uuid:0ac26049-e35c-43aa-b89f-5988b7bf45e3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.faithwriters.com/wc-article-level1-previous.php?id=6881 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00559-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959192 | 562 | 1.742188 | 2 |
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman admitted physicists can't really define "energy," let alone understand it. "We have no knowledge of what energy is," he said. "We don't have a picture that energy comes in little blobs of a definite amount." It's unlikely you'll advance scientific understanding of energy, but you almost certainly boost your natural grasp of what energy feels like inside and outside your body. You develop a more intuitive knack for its ebb and flow and find tips on how to make it work for rather than against you. You're smart, but you'll get even smarter. | <urn:uuid:faf84985-1443-4894-90c8-29f2dbdaaa7e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://folioweekly.com/TAURUS-May-22-28,5035 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00024-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980594 | 133 | 1.726563 | 2 |
LINCOLN, Neb. — If all goes according to Dennis Molfese's plan, the day is coming when a football player who takes a hit to the head will come to the sideline, take off his helmet and slip on an electrode-covered mesh cap.
The team's medical staff will analyze the player's brain waves on the spot and determine within minutes whether he can safely return to the game or whether he has sustained a concussion and, if so, how severe.
Putting the finishing touches on that device is among the projects planned in the University of Nebraska's Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, which opens this month in Memorial Stadium's newly expanded east side.
CB3, as it's called, is housed in the same $55 million structure that holds 38 luxury suites and an additional 6,000 seats for the football stadium. The center is one of a number of university-affiliated research centers across the nation looking for better ways to diagnose and treat traumatic head injuries and make football and other sports safer.
"There has been great concussion research that's been going on for decades," said Molfese, the CB3 director. "It's disconcerting to realize just how little we really know."
Tom Osborne, Nebraska's retired football coach and athletic director, said CB3 and the adjoining Athletic Performance Lab fit his vision for what he wanted to include in the stadium expansion.
The project was one of Osborne's major initiatives in his five years as athletic director. Osborne envisioned a collaboration of the athletic and academic sides of the university. So while athletes participate in concussion studies, political science researchers might use CB3's brain-scanning technology to see if they can figure out why some people lean conservative and others liberal.
Concussions have become one of the top concerns in sports in recent years after prominent brain injuries and disease in former NFL players, driven in part by some high-profile suicides. Thousands of former players are suing the league, saying that for years the NFL did not do enough to protect players from concussions. The NCAA also is addressing the issue.
"There are a lot of things that are very important with the NCAA as far as the health and safety of the student-athlete," NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline said, "and concussion is right up there as first and foremost. It's the elephant on the table, and we, with everyone else, we have to solve it."
There are about 300,000 sports-related concussions reported in the United States annually, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been funneled into research, with much of the funding going to universities.
Nebraska recruited the 67-year-old Molfese away from the University of Louisville, giving him virtual carte blanche in the design and equipping of CB3.
Molfese is among 14 experts serving on the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine Committee on Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, which will report to Congress and President Barack Obama on brain injuries in children and young adults. He also heads a Big Ten-Ivy League partnership studying brain injuries in sports.
Nebraska's brain center is connected by a 100-foot skywalk to the new Athletic Performance Lab, which will research, among other things, injury prevention and high-tech ways to maximize performance of athletes. CB3 and the performance lab will partner on some projects.
CB3's main attraction is a type of magnetic resonance imaging machine — known as a functional MRI — that tracks the brain's blood flow. It's hoped the $3 million scanner helps in the effort to better define what is and is not a concussion.
"There's no question it's going to move the dial forward," the NCAA's Hainline said. "The big, hoped-for dream would be, let's have a biomarker in brain imaging. If you're to the left of that, you're safe; if you're to the right of it, you're not. That's probably a few years out. But functional brain imaging and blood flow are going to be a very important part of that."
The MRI machine also can be used on game days to assess injuries of all kinds.
Molfese said the sideline concussion assessment tool would be the first of what he hopes are many groundbreaking developments to come out of CB3. The device would allow medical personnel to go beyond the standard practice of asking the injured athlete questions and judge, based on his or her answers, whether it's safe for him or her to return to a game.
If a linebacker took a hit to the head, he would come to the sideline and have an electrode net placed over his head. Battery-powered brain-recording equipment would measure the player's responses to stimuli.
"We can get an idea of what area of the brain is being involved in the process, whether the speed of processing is at the rate it should be," Molfese said. "The different areas of the brain that normally integrate information quickly stop doing that, so that's another way we should be able to pick up whether there is an injury or not."
Molfese said the device, which should be ready for use within one to two years, eventually could be used in hospitals to screen patients for head injuries.
"It would be routine," he said, "and they'd know within 10 minutes."
Osborne said he's fascinated by the possibilities. He said suspected concussions were dealt with the same way throughout his football coaching career. The athletic trainer would hold up two or three fingers in front of the woozy player's face as he came off the field and ask him how many.
"If you could come close," Osborne said, "they'd put you back in. That wasn't very effective." | <urn:uuid:25ce2d72-a28e-4e67-af6c-e5025b22f62c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.startribune.com/new-nebraska-brain-research-center-to-study-concussions/214314991/?c=y&page=all&prepage=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718957.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00435-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975623 | 1,183 | 2.25 | 2 |
“TED is a non-profit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual TED conferences, in Long Beach/Palm Springs and Edinburgh, bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes or less).”
Many of the TED talks are available for free viewing on their website and on YouTube. The one I linked to above was sent to me by one of my adult students — and it is quite an interesting one that talks about the value of classical music.
The NCKP’s “PEDxi” sessions are inspired by the TED talks. They are short 25-minute talks that are focused on keyboard pedagogy and technology.
- Who Would’ve Thought It Was Possible? | Lori Frazer gave an inspiring session on how technology has allowed her to bring music and music making to serve the medical and wellness community, including seniors and individuals with special needs.
- Mud Huts, MIDI, and Light Bulb Moments | Kristin Shoemaker shared her story about how the Internet has allowed her to erase the boundaries of her Minnesota-based piano studio. Not only has she been give lessons to individuals in Africa, but she’s also been able to have her Minnesota students and her African students perform for each other on over the web!
- An International Piano Competition Is Now in Your Living Room | Alexander Braginsky is the Founding President and the Artistic Director of the Minnesota International Piano e-Competition. He shared with us how the competition began and has evolved. This competition utilizes technology to allow individuals to give their auditions at various centers around the world, and judges to hear their performances — acoustically — on a piano in another location! They use Yamaha Disklaviers to record the performance information and sync it with a video so it can be watched too.
- And They Still Play Today! | Pianist and software engineer and co-founder of Zenph Technologies, John Q. Walker talked about the process of converting old recordings and turning them into a data file that allows for real-time playback on a player piano. What amazing technology! We were fortunate to hear Glenn Gould play the first two movements of the Goldberg Variations — LIVE — on a Yamaha Disklavier! It was incredible.
- The Pianist of the Net Generation | Pianist Mei-Ting Sun was the performer for Friday’s lunchtime recital, and also spoke to us beforehand about the challenges of being a pianist in the age of the Internet, Facebook, and Twitter. It was fascinating to hear him speak of his travels to the hometowns of composers in Europe in search of a better understanding of their music. These are all things you cannot learn in school! It is all because of the advance of technology that we are able to easily so access information that would have been nearly impossible to find 20 years ago. | <urn:uuid:f1897f7e-61ee-4252-af9d-c68c8760ed31> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://colorinmypiano.com/2011/08/12/nckp-2011-12-pedxi-sessions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.96449 | 644 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Item description for Why Is That in Tradition? (T10) by Patrick Madrid...
Overview This book explains what the Church has always taught about hot topics like Mary, praying for the dead, indulgences, the difference between Tradition with a capital T, and the many traditions that are simply customary.
Publishers Description The author of Where Is That in the Bible? tackles the other half of the divine revelation. This book clears away the distortions and explains what the Church has always taught about hot topics like Mary, praying for the dead, and indulgences.
Promise Angels is dedicated to bringing you great books at great prices. Whether you read for entertainment, to learn, or for literacy - you will find what you want at promiseangels.com!
Studio: Our Sunday Visitor
Est. Packaging Dimensions: Length: 7.22" Width: 4.38" Height: 0.53" Weight: 0.4 lbs.
Release Date Mar 1, 2002
Publisher Our Sunday Visitor
ISBN 1931709068 ISBN13 9781931709064
Availability 9 units. Availability accurate as of Jan 20, 2017 09:17.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
Orders shipping to an address other than a confirmed Credit Card / Paypal Billing address may incur and additional processing delay.
More About Patrick Madrid
Patrick Madrid is a life-long Catholic. He has authored or edited 16 Catholic books including Search and Rescue, Where is That in the Bible, and the acclaimed Surprised by Truth series. Patrick serves as the Director of the Envoy Institute, which is dedicated to teaching Catholics how to explain their Faith more intelligently, defend it more charitably, and share it more effectively.
Patrick Madrid was born in 1960.
Patrick Madrid has published or released items in the following series...
Reviews - What do customers think about Why Is That in Tradition? (T10)?
Apologetics about Catholic Tradition Feb 24, 2003
We can't have enough good books explaining the reasons for our Catholic beliefs and worship. Patrick Madrid once again does an immense service to the Church in this regard. A companion volume, also published by Our Sunday Visitor, would be David Lang's "Why Matter Matters: Philosophical and Scriptural Reflections on the Sacraments", wherein many Scriptural arguments for Catholic rites (i.e., the Sacraments) are furnished. This book also has a great Preface by Dr. Peter Kreeft. | <urn:uuid:c5837268-b24c-40ce-a263-0cefc009dc62> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.promiseangels.com/patrick-madrid/why-is-that-in-tradition-t10/SKU/102322 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00047-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925071 | 520 | 2.1875 | 2 |
A statute of the State of Florida undertakes to make it unlawful for anyone to sell, offer for sale, ship, or deliver for shipment, any citrus fruits which are immature or otherwise unfit for consumption.
Plaintiff in error, S.J. Sligh, was charged by information containing three counts in the Criminal Court of Record in Orange County, Florida, with violation of this statute. One of the counts charged that Sligh delivered to an agent of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company, a common carrier, for shipment to Winecoff & Adams, Birmingham, Alabama, one car of oranges, which were citrus fruits, then and there immature and unfit for consumption. Upon petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Circuit Court of Florida for Orange County, the court refused to order the release of Sligh, and remanded him to the custody of the Sheriff. Upon writ of error to the Supreme Court of Florida, that judgment was affirmed (65 Florida, 123), and the case is brought here.
The single question is: Was it within the authority of the State of Florida to make it a criminal offense to deliver for shipment in interstate commerce citrus fruits, — oranges in this case, — then and there immature and unfit for consumption?
It will be observed that the oranges must not only be immature, but they must be in such condition as renders
That Congress has the exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce is beyond question, and when that authority is exerted by the State, even in the just exercise of the police power, it may not interfere with the supreme authority of Congress over the subject; while this is true, this court from the beginning has recognized that there may be legitimate action by the State in the matter of local regulation, which the State may take until Congress exercises its authority upon the subject. This subject has been so frequently dealt with in decisions of this court that an extended review of the authorities is unnecessary. See the Minnesota Rate Cases, 230 U.S. 352.
While this proposition seems to be conceded, and the competency of the State to provide local measures in the interest of the safety and welfare of the people is not doubted, although such regulations incidentally and indirectly involve interstate commerce, the contention is that this statute is not a legitimate exercise of the police power, as it has the effect to protect the health of people in other States who may receive the fruits from Florida in a condition unfit for consumption; and however commendable it may be to protect the health of such foreign peoples, such purpose is not within the police power of the State.
The limitations upon the police power are hard to define,
The power of the State to prescribe regulations which shall prevent the production within its borders of impure foods, unfit for use, and such articles as would spread disease and pestilence, is well established. Such articles,
Nor does it make any difference that such regulations incidentally affect interstate commerce, when the object of the regulation is not to that end, but is a legitimate attempt to protect the people of the State. In Geer v. Connecticut, 161 U.S. 519, a conviction was sustained of one who was charged with having in his possession game birds, killed within the State, with the intention of procuring transportation of the same beyond state limits. This law was attacked upon the ground that it was a direct attempt to regulate commerce among the States. After discussing the peculiar nature of such property, and the power of the State over it, this court said (p. 534): "Aside from the authority of the State, derived from the common ownership of game and the trust for the benefit of its people which the State exercises in relation thereto, there is another view of the power of the State in regard to the property in game, which is equally conclusive. The right to preserve game flows from the undoubted existence in the State of a police power to that end, which may be none the less efficiently called into play, because by doing so interstate commerce may be remotely and indirectly affected. Kidd v. Pearson, 128 U.S. 1; Hall v. De Cuir, 95 U.S. 485; Sherlock v. Alling, 93 U.S. 99, 103; Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1." In New York, ex rel. Dilz
So it may be taken as established that the mere fact that interstate commerce is indirectly affected will not prevent the State from exercising its police power, at least until Congress, in the exercise of its supreme authority, regulates the subject. Furthermore, this regulation cannot be declared invalid if within the range of the police power, unless it can be said that it has no reasonable relation to a legitimate purpose to be accomplished in its enactment; and whether such regulation is necessary in the public interest is primarily within the determination of the legislature, assuming the subject to be a proper matter of state regulation.
We may take judicial notice of the fact that the raising of citrus fruits is one of the great industries of the State of Florida. It was competent for the legislature to find that it was essential for the success of that industry that its reputation be preserved in other States wherein such fruits find their most extensive market. The shipment of fruits, so immature as to be unfit for consumption, and consequently injurious to the health of the purchaser, would not be otherwise than a serious injury to the local trade, and would certainly affect the successful conduct of such business within the State. The protection of the State's reputation in foreign markets, with the consequent beneficial effect upon a great home industry, may have been within the legislative intent, and it certainly could not be
As to the suggestion that the shipment of such fruit may be legitimately made for commercial purposes, for the purpose of making wine, citric acid, and possibly other articles, it is sufficient to say that this case does not present any such state of facts, and of course the constitutional objection must be considered in view of the case made before the court, which was a delivery for shipment of oranges so immature as to be unfit for consumption. Whether such a case, as supposed, of shipment for commercial purposes, would be within the statute, would be primarily for the state court to determine, and it is not for us to say, as no such case is here presented.
It is pointed out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Florida, and we repeat here, that no act of Congress has been called to our attention undertaking to regulate shipments of this character, which would be contravened by the act in question. As the Florida court says, the sixth subdivision of the Food and Drugs Act, if citrus fruits should be held to be within the prohibitions against vegetable substances, includes only such as are in whole or in part filthy, decomposed or putrid. Green or immature fruit, equally deleterious to health, does not seem to be within the Federal act. Therefore until Congress does legislate upon the subject, the State is free to enter the field. Savage v. Jones, 225 U.S. 501.
In the Vermont Case, referred to by counsel for plaintiff in error, State of Vermont v. Peet, 80 Vermont, 449, the act made it unlawful to ship without the State veal less than four weeks old when killed, and it was held to run counter to the Federal act and regulation upon the same subject.
We find no error in the judgment of the Supreme Court of Florida, and it is | <urn:uuid:07a181c4-56e0-49f6-abbd-1da95e554ecc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.leagle.com/decision/1915289237us521283 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.969553 | 1,526 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Community Breastfeeding Educators
MilkWorks is pleased to join hands with numerous organizations in Lincoln and Omaha to support culturally diverse Community Breastfeeding Educators. CBEs are passionate about breastfeeding and are found throughout our communities, supporting other mothers who share similar languages and cultures.
Lincoln Community Breastfeeding Educators
List of Lincoln CBEs
Meet a Lincoln CBE:
Omaha Community Breastfeeding Educators
The North Omaha Community Breastfeeding Advisory Team has a mission to create a supportive breastfeeding environment for families in the North Omaha community through outreach, engagement, and education.
The South Omaha CBEs provide breastfeeding support for mothers in collaboration with OneWorld Community Health Centers. Their goal is to help mothers initiate and maintain breastfeeding, promote lifelong health, and reduce childhood obesity within the OneWorld community. | <urn:uuid:4a75b027-2997-4b58-9335-2118ec3ab523> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://milkworks.org/education-support/community-breastfeeding-educators/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.909459 | 162 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Parr Pot; Sudeley Castle Tankard: 16th century
© Museum of London
Full image caption
Parr Pot; Sudeley Castle Tankard. A globular tankard of vetro a fili latticino glass with a silver-gilt lid and foot-ring. The hallmarks are the earliest complete English set known, including all four marks, viz. the date letter for 1546-7, the leopard crowned, the lion passant and the makers mark a fleur-de-lis. The coat of arms enamelled on the lid are those of the Parr family, combining the azure bars of Parr with the sable water bougets of Ross. The influx of precious metal imports and the dispersal of church silver at the Reformation meant that more silver was available for domestic plate. Those unable to afford silver, or wishing to enhance valued pieces of glass of pottery, ordered precious metal mounts.The arms are those of Sir William, Lord Parr of Horton in Northamptonshire, uncle to Queen Catherine, whom he served as Chamberlain until his death in 1546. Recent analysis suggests that the glass is a later, perhaps 18th or 19th century replacement.
1546 AD - 1547 AD | <urn:uuid:d8a9516d-b172-451f-90ed-08d379e30577> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image/140579/unknown-parr-pot-sudeley-castle-tankard-16th-century | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281226.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00382-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898683 | 260 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Welcome to Healthcaremagic.
From your query i understood that you had Type 3 shoulder injury
Usually separated shoulder
type 3 resolve in 6 weeks.
Some times it may take upto 12 weeks.
It depends upon the previous shoulder disease, level of injury and stickiness to doctors advice.
These are all rough values.
Everyone heals at different rate.
Sometimes this type of injury leaves permanently leave small bump in shoulder.
You must start with gentle stretching exercises that become more intense as you get better.
But with your Orthopedician and Physiotherapist follow up.
If you start using your shoulder before it's healed, you could cause permanent damage.
So better wait and watch.
Do not resume to your normal physical activity until you feel your injured shoulder is as better as uninjured shoulder.
Hope this helps. | <urn:uuid:cb4e7861-ab7e-461d-b95d-4cc71a7b10e5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.healthcaremagic.com/questions/Type-3-shoulder-injury-conservative-therapy-pain-exist-with-bumps-Guidance/385601 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00214-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93777 | 173 | 1.546875 | 2 |
ÃÂCharity in truth places man before the astonishing experience of gift. Gratuitousness is present in our lives in many different forms, which often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of lifeÃÂ. The pope is stating in Chapter 3 how we can be perfectly self sufficient on our own, but helping others is more important. We are practicing original sin and donÃÂt even realize it, we are ignorant to the facts around us because of the economy we have been brought up in.
ÃÂThe conviction that man is self-sufficient and can successfully eliminate the evil present in history by his own action alone has led him to confuse happiness and salvation with immanent forms of material prosperity and social action. Then, the conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from ÃÂinfluencesÃÂ of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive wayÃÂ.
This is affecting us in the long term, crushing social systems and personal freedoms and is not bringing us the justice we need in society.
People are being blinded by the material possessions we see all around us, and are not staying away from the original sin of greed. This is toppling society and is hurting everyone in that society. The Pope has Charity in truth be a stepping stone to build communities and to bring people of different races together, and to have people help each other, and not just themselves. Our problems will not be solved because of numbers and statistics, we need to look into our hearts and do the right things.
ÃÂEconomic activity cannot solve all social problems through the simple application of commercial logic. This needs to be directed towards the pursuit of the common good, for which the political community in particular must also take responsibilityÃÂ. Political actions will not bring justice to the redistribution of the economy, only the people themselves can do this. The Pope is strongly suggesting that people will have to solve our economic turmoil and not keep looking towards the governments to do the proper thing.
Societies cannot be turned into a communist like system where there is a wealthy class and a poor class, there must be a median, and the strong must not over take the weaker. In and of itself, the market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak. The Market is our friend, we do not have to shield ourselves from the outside, but we need to help contribute to the growth and prosperity. ÃÂMy predecessor John Paul II drew attention to this question in Centesimus Annus, when he spoke of the need for a system with three subjects: the market, the State and civil society. He saw civil society as the most natural setting for an economy of gratuitousness and fraternity, but did not mean to deny it a place in the other two settingsÃÂ.
We need a solidarity in the market, where the market and society come together. Deviations and failures is becoming a new way of understanding, and this is what we need to steer clear from. ÃÂDespite some of its structural elements, which should neither be denied nor exaggerated, ÃÂglobalization, a priori, is neither good nor bad. It will be what people make of itÃÂ. We should not be its victims, but rather its protagonists, acting in the light of reason, guided by charity and truthÃÂ. We need to look to grow upon what we have, and to stop fighting it. By being charitable, the truth and goodness will come out of us. ÃÂCharity in truthÃÂ LetÃÂs act today.
Citing and Quotes from Pope Benedict XVI http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html | <urn:uuid:55891525-2abf-41e8-a90d-f6c4526597c7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.writework.com/essay/charity-truth-chapter-3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00344-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958149 | 790 | 2.234375 | 2 |
To "send her out" is a translation into English of the Hebrew word "shalach." It means that the husband has abandoned her by either passively letting her leave, or actively by casting her out. If the wife were ejected permanently from the house without receiving a bill of divorcement, she would remain married to her husband. Of course, he could remarry by taking an additional wife. Family styles among the ancient Hebrews were very flexible. Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth, along with hundreds of concubines.
It is important to realize that before these bills of divorcement were instituted, a man who was displeased with his wife would simply toss her out of the house. This placed her stranded in an untenable position:
The bill of divorcement at least released her bond to her original husband. It changed her status to a single woman, and allowed her to marry another man. Still, as The New Commentary on the Whole Bible states: "The abandonment of one's wife in the ancient Near East usually meant that she and her children would suffer poverty and oppression. In order to survive they were often forced into slavery."
It is also important to realize that divorce involved two steps. As implied in this passage it may have usually been done in the following order:
At this point, she would be in a precarious position unless she married another man.
These procedures are very similar to modern day separations and legal divorces.
|The King James Version: "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that
he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his
garment, saith the LORD of hosts."
|The 21st Century King James
Version did not change the King James Version.
|Young's Literal Translation of the Bible: "For I hate sending
away, said Jehovah, God And he who hath covered violence with his
clothing, said Jehovah of Hosts."
At least two versions of the Bible translate "shalack" as applying to both the issuance of a bill of divorcement and a sending away:
|The Amplified Bible: "For the Lord, the god of Israel, says: I
hate divorce and marital separation and him who covers his garment
[his wife] with violence."
|The Revised English Bible: "If a man divorces or puts away his wife, says the Lord God of Israel, he overwhelms her with cruelty, says the Lord of Hosts."|
Most other translations render the Hebrew word "shalach" as divorce -- apparently in error.
|James Moffatt Translation: "For I detest divorce and cruelty
to a wife, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel declares."
|Living Bible: "For the Lord, the God of Israel, says he hates divorce and cruel men."
|Modern Language: "For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God
of Israel, and the one who covers his clothing with cruelty, says the
Lord of Hosts."
|The New International Version: "I hate divorce, says the Lord God of
Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as
with his garment" says the Lord Almighty."
Living Translation: " 'For I hate divorce!' says the Lord, the God of Israel. 'It is as
cruel as putting on a victim's bloodstained coat,' says the Lord Almighty."
|Revised Standard Bible: "For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel, and covering one's garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts.|
Before a "keriythuwth" (a "bill of divorcement") became possible, the practice was for husbands to eject their wives from the matrimonial home. This would have been a vicious act, leaving her still married and probably destitute. He alone was free to marry another spouse.
After the keriythuwth was introduced, the husband could institute a divorce, leaving his ex-wife and himself single. Both were free to marry others.
The passage in Malachi is critical to the understanding of divorce in the centuries before the rise of Christianity.
|A literal interpretation of Malachi 2:16 is that God hates husbands
"putting away" or ejecting their wife from the family home, without giving
her a bill of divorcement. As the verse states, this would be an act of real
cruelty to the wife. Being still married, she was not free to remarry. Yet
being away from the matrimonial home, she had no way to support herself.
Verse 14 seems to confirm this. In the King James Version it states: "...Because
the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against
whom thou hast deal treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of
thy covenant." That is, God witnessed the original marriage. She remains
his wife and companion, until he issued a bill of divorcement. The rest of
the chapter discusses the practice of Jewish men getting rid of their wives
in order to marry foreign women -- brides from other lands who followed
|Malachi really intended to write that God hates bills of divorcement.
That is, he should have written in the original Hebrew, "keriythuwth"
instead of "shalach" in verse 16. He either made a mistake, or some
later copyist changed the wording.
|Malachi really intended to write that God hates both marital separation and divorce. That is, he should have written both "keriythuwth" and "shalach" in this passage.|
One often hears the phrase "God hates divorce" -- extracted directly from Malachi -- in sermons. But whether it is an accurate reflection of Malachi's original writing is in doubt.
Copyright © 2005 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Originally posted: 2005-SEP-11
Latest update: 2011-MAY-30
Author: B.A. Robinson
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is as inspiring as ever
Peggy Ann Garner and Ted Donaldson in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), public domain.
“Some people identified as it the Tree of Heaven. No issue in which its seed fell, it built a tree which struggled to arrive at the sky. It grew in boarded up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly but only in the tenement districts.” This is the portrait which Betty Smith (née Elisabeth Lillian Wehner) paints of the Ailanthus altissima which grows in eleven yr previous Francie Nolan’s Williamsburg property circa 1912 in Smith’s celebrated 1943 semi-autobiographical coming of age novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Francie and her brother Neeley are 2nd generation Us citizens. Their father Johnny is a charming, superior-looking Irish-American with a critical drinking dilemma. “Johnny is someone who would have carried out a great deal much better in the “Old Nation,” novelist Spencer Baum said about Johnny in a 2018 article for Medium, “a land where by a man’s job is carved out for him and strongly enforced by a rigid social framework. In the Outdated Nation, a spouse and children like the Nolans could hardly ever escape their social station, but a male like Johnny would have hardly ever been authorized to deteriorate so absolutely possibly.”
Due to Johnny’s alcoholism and sporadic work as a singing waiter, Francie’s mom Katie, a stunning Austrian-American, functions as a janitress to preserve a roof more than the family’s heads. The Tree of Heaven which “likes lousy people” is the anchor of the novel. It signifies not only Francie’s desire to increase above her impoverished qualifications, but also symbolizes the American desire the place common people today can elevate on their own out of cyclical poverty as a result of challenging perform and instruction. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was perfectly acquired by both the general public and the critics, promoting 300,000 copies within 6 weeks of its first launch. The New York Situations hailed Smith’s perform as “A profoundly moving novel, and an trustworthy and true one particular. It cuts appropriate to the heart of life…If you overlook A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you will deny by yourself a wealthy experience.”
Smith’s novel is so punctuated with abject poverty, illness, alcoholism, social inequities and previous-fashioned undesirable luck that it would be a incredibly depressing story if it have been not filtered by Francie’s prism. Francie, who reads a library reserve a day and two on Saturday, writes stories and goals of being a author. While Francie’s creative imagination and literary ambitions are her personal, she is also highly influenced by her illiterate immigrant grandmother Mary who knew that acquiring an education and learning was vital to upward mobility. Therefore, she insisted that Katie browse aloud each individual evening to Francie and Neeley from the King James Bible and The Total Works of William Shakespeare. Like all little ones, Francie and Neeley perform video games and have interaction in imaginary eventualities. Their cultivation of the great helps facilitate the idea of a larger entire world exterior of their Williamsburg tenement.
Education turns into Francie’s lodestar. However, her attendance at the local general public college the place 3 thousand students crowd into a place built for a thousand is fraught with everyday indignities and pretty minimal studying. “Teacher acted as however the [poor students] experienced no right to be in the faculty but that she was compelled to take them and was accomplishing so with as very little grace as possible. She begrudged them the couple of crumbs of studying she threw at them.” Francie at the age of eleven realizes that in buy to be effectively educated, she needs to change educational facilities and tells her father that she desires to go to another faculty found just exterior the Nolans’ immediate neighborhood. Employing a wrong address, Johnny, in a gesture which may perhaps mark the earliest occurrence of faculty decision in literature, writes a letter to the principal notifying him that Francie requires a transfer as she would be residing with family members at a house in the catchment location of the other college.
Francie would keep on to undertake remarkable measures to obtain an instruction. Immediately after Johnny’s loss of life when money was even a lot more scarce than normal, Katie decides to pull fourteen-year old Francie out of school to perform. Francie assuages her disappointment by attending faculty courses in the course of the day though doing work evenings as a reader at a clipping provider. Her voracious finding out pays off when at age sixteen, she passes the Regents examinations, getting admission to the College of Michigan regardless of never having attended large college.
I initial read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when I was twelve many years old, as component of a summertime studying requirement. I uncovered the nearly 500-page novel to be so participating that I study it a few instances before returning it to the library. I felt an quick kinship with Francie’s adore of mastering, inner thoughts of insecurity and wish to make a variation in the globe. As a boy or girl raised with the expectation that I would go to faculty and likely graduate university, I experienced a remarkable appreciation for the obstacles which Francie overcomes to pursue an education and learning. I was also incredibly touched by her unconditional love for her charming but flawed father.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a runaway ideal-vendor, was also launched in an Armed Solutions edition and tailored for movie, television, radio and Broadway. Just about eight decades following its first publication, the novel’s hopeful information about empowerment through education and learning and challenging do the job proceeds to catch the attention of new generations of adolescent and adult audience. As Anna Quindlen states in her introduction to the 75th anniversary edition, “This is not 1 of those people social welfare novels in which the people exist as marionettes, the strings jerked by the stylish triggers of their time… As a substitute it is that unusual and enduring issue, a book in which, no matter what our backgrounds, we acknowledge ourselves.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, has obviously stood the test of time, securing its location in the canon of America’s finest 20th Century literature, and I stay as enraptured by it as when I was a soaring seventh grader. | <urn:uuid:e79aed94-8b4e-4da1-b770-7796206ce6fe> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thehillchronicles.com/2020/08/22/betty-smiths-enduring-tribute-to-the-american-aspiration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.96634 | 1,382 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Philosophy of space and time
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Philosophy of space and time is the branch of philosophy concerned with the issues surrounding the ontology, epistemology, and character of space and time. While such ideas have been central to philosophy from its inception, the philosophy of space and time was both an inspiration for and a central aspect of early analytic philosophy. The subject focuses on a number of basic issues, including whether or not time and space exist independently of the mind, whether they exist independently of one another, what accounts for time's apparently unidirectional flow, whether times other than the present moment exist, and questions about the nature of identity (particularly the nature of identity over time).
- 1 Ancient and medieval views
- 2 Realism and anti-realism
- 3 Absolutism and relationalism
- 4 Conventionalism
- 5 Structure of spacetime
- 6 Direction of time
- 7 Flow of time
- 8 Dualities
- 9 Presentism and eternalism
- 10 Endurantism and perdurantism
- 11 See also
- 12 Notes
- 13 References
- 14 External links
Ancient and medieval views
The earliest recorded Western philosophy of time was expounded by the ancient Egyptian thinker Ptahhotep (c. 2650–2600 BC), who said, "Do not lessen the time of following desire, for the wasting of time is an abomination to the spirit." The Vedas, the earliest texts on Indian philosophy and Hindu philosophy, dating back to the late 2nd millennium BC, describe ancient Hindu cosmology, in which the universe goes through repeated cycles of creation, destruction, and rebirth, with each cycle lasting 4,320,000 years. Ancient Greek philosophers, including Parmenides and Heraclitus, wrote essays on the nature of time.
Plato, in the Timaeus, identified time with the period of motion of the heavenly bodies, and space as that in which things come to be. Aristotle, in Book IV of his Physics, defined time as the number of changes with respect to before and after, and the place of an object as the innermost motionless boundary of that which surrounds it.
In Book 11 of St. Augustine's Confessions, he ruminates on the nature of time, asking, "What then is time? If no one asks me, I know: if I wish to explain it to one that asketh, I know not." He goes on to comment on the difficulty of thinking about time, pointing out the inaccuracy of common speech: "For but few things are there of which we speak properly; of most things we speak improperly, still the things intended are understood." But Augustine presented the first philosophical argument for the reality of Creation (against Aristotle) in the context of his discussion of time, saying that knowledge of time depends on the knowledge of the movement of things, and therefore time cannot be where there are no creatures to measure its passing (Confessions Book XI ¶30; City of God Book XI ch.6).
In contrast to ancient Greek philosophers who believed that the universe had an infinite past with no beginning, medieval philosophers and theologians developed the concept of the universe having a finite past with a beginning, now known as Temporal finitism. The Christian philosopher John Philoponus presented early arguments, adopted by later Christian philosophers and theologians of the form "argument from the impossibility of the existence of an actual infinite", which states:
- "An actual infinite cannot exist."
- "An infinite temporal regress of events is an actual infinite."
- "∴ An infinite temporal regress of events cannot exist."
In the early 11th century, the Muslim physicist Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen or Alhazen) discussed space perception and its epistemological implications in his Book of Optics (1021), he also rejected Aristotle's definition of topos (Physics IV) by way of geometric demonstrations and defined place as a mathematical spatial extension. His experimental proof of the intromission model of vision led to changes in the understanding of the visual perception of space, contrary to the previous emission theory of vision supported by Euclid and Ptolemy. In "tying the visual perception of space to prior bodily experience, Alhacen unequivocally rejected the intuitiveness of spatial perception and, therefore, the autonomy of vision. Without tangible notions of distance and size for correlation, sight can tell us next to nothing about such things."
Realism and anti-realism
A traditional realist position in ontology is that time and space have existence apart from the human mind. Idealists, by contrast, deny or doubt the existence of objects independent of the mind. Some anti-realists, whose ontological position is that objects outside the mind do exist, nevertheless doubt the independent existence of time and space.
In 1781, Immanuel Kant published the Critique of Pure Reason, one of the most influential works in the history of the philosophy of space and time. He describes time as an a priori notion that, together with other a priori notions such as space, allows us to comprehend sense experience. Kant denies that either space or time are substance, entities in themselves, or learned by experience; he holds, rather, that both are elements of a systematic framework we use to structure our experience. Spatial measurements are used to quantify how far apart objects are, and temporal measurements are used to quantitatively compare the interval between (or duration of) events. Although space and time are held to be transcendentally ideal in this sense, they are also empirically real—that is, not mere illusions.
Absolutism and relationalism
Leibniz and Newton
The great debate between defining notions of space and time as real objects themselves (absolute), or mere orderings upon actual objects (relational), began between physicists Isaac Newton (via his spokesman, Samuel Clarke) and Gottfried Leibniz in the papers of the Leibniz–Clarke correspondence.
Arguing against the absolutist position, Leibniz offers a number of thought experiments with the purpose of showing that there is contradiction in assuming the existence of facts such as absolute location and velocity. These arguments trade heavily on two principles central to his philosophy: the principle of sufficient reason and the identity of indiscernibles. The principle of sufficient reason holds that for every fact, there is a reason that is sufficient to explain what and why it is the way it is and not otherwise. The identity of indiscernibles states that if there is no way of telling two entities apart, then they are one and the same thing.
The example Leibniz uses involves two proposed universes situated in absolute space. The only discernible difference between them is that the latter is positioned five feet to the left of the first. The example is only possible if such a thing as absolute space exists. Such a situation, however, is not possible, according to Leibniz, for if it were, a universe's position in absolute space would have no sufficient reason, as it might very well have been anywhere else. Therefore, it contradicts the principle of sufficient reason, and there could exist two distinct universes that were in all ways indiscernible, thus contradicting the identity of indiscernibles.
Standing out in Clarke's (and Newton's) response to Leibniz's arguments is the bucket argument: Water in a bucket, hung from a rope and set to spin, will start with a flat surface. As the water begins to spin in the bucket, the surface of the water will become concave. If the bucket is stopped, the water will continue to spin, and while the spin continues, the surface will remain concave. The concave surface is apparently not the result of the interaction of the bucket and the water, since the surface is flat when the bucket first starts to spin, it becomes concave as the water starts to spin, and it remains concave as the bucket stops.
In this response, Clarke argues for the necessity of the existence of absolute space to account for phenomena like rotation and acceleration that cannot be accounted for on a purely relationalist account. Clarke argues that since the curvature of the water occurs in the rotating bucket as well as in the stationary bucket containing spinning water, it can only be explained by stating that the water is rotating in relation to the presence of some third thing—absolute space.
Leibniz describes a space that exists only as a relation between objects, and which has no existence apart from the existence of those objects. Motion exists only as a relation between those objects. Newtonian space provided the absolute frame of reference within which objects can have motion. In Newton's system, the frame of reference exists independently of the objects contained within it. These objects can be described as moving in relation to space itself. For many centuries, the evidence of a concave water surface held authority.
Another important figure in this debate is 19th-century physicist Ernst Mach. While he did not deny the existence of phenomena like that seen in the bucket argument, he still denied the absolutist conclusion by offering a different answer as to what the bucket was rotating in relation to: the fixed stars.
Mach suggested that thought experiments like the bucket argument are problematic. If we were to imagine a universe that only contains a bucket, on Newton's account, this bucket could be set to spin relative to absolute space, and the water it contained would form the characteristic concave surface. But in the absence of anything else in the universe, it would be difficult to confirm that the bucket was indeed spinning. It seems equally possible that the surface of the water in the bucket would remain flat.
Mach argued that, in effect, the water experiment in an otherwise empty universe would remain flat. But if another object were introduced into this universe, perhaps a distant star, there would now be something relative to which the bucket could be seen as rotating. The water inside the bucket could possibly have a slight curve. To account for the curve that we observe, an increase in the number of objects in the universe also increases the curvature in the water. Mach argued that the momentum of an object, whether angular or linear, exists as a result of the sum of the effects of other objects in the universe (Mach's Principle).
Albert Einstein proposed that the laws of physics should be based on the principle of relativity. This principle holds that the rules of physics must be the same for all observers, regardless of the frame of reference that is used, and that light propagates at the same speed in all reference frames. This theory was motivated by Maxwell's equations, which show that electromagnetic waves propagate in a vacuum at the speed of light. However, Maxwell's equations give no indication of what this speed is relative to. Prior to Einstein, it was thought that this speed was relative to a fixed medium, called the luminiferous ether. In contrast, the theory of special relativity postulates that light propagates at the speed of light in all inertial frames, and examines the implications of this postulate.
All attempts to measure any speed relative to this ether failed, which can be seen as a confirmation of Einstein's postulate that light propagates at the same speed in all reference frames. Special relativity is a formalization of the principle of relativity that does not contain a privileged inertial frame of reference, such as the luminiferous ether or absolute space, from which Einstein inferred that no such frame exists.
Einstein generalized relativity to frames of reference that were non-inertial. He achieved this by positing the Equivalence Principle, which states that the force felt by an observer in a given gravitational field and that felt by an observer in an accelerating frame of reference are indistinguishable. This led to the conclusion that the mass of an object warps the geometry of the space-time surrounding it, as described in Einstein's field equations.
In classical physics, an inertial reference frame is one in which an object that experiences no forces does not accelerate. In general relativity, an inertial frame of reference is one that is following a geodesic of space-time. An object that moves against a geodesic experiences a force. An object in free fall does not experience a force, because it is following a geodesic. An object standing on the earth, however, will experience a force, as it is being held against the geodesic by the surface of the planet. In light of this, the bucket of water rotating in empty space will experience a force because it rotates with respect to the geodesic. The water will become concave, not because it is rotating with respect to the distant stars, but because it is rotating with respect to the geodesic.
Einstein partially advocates Mach's principle in that distant stars explain inertia because they provide the gravitational field against which acceleration and inertia occur. But contrary to Leibniz's account, this warped space-time is as integral a part of an object as are its other defining characteristics, such as volume and mass. If one holds, contrary to idealist beliefs, that objects exist independently of the mind, it seems that relativistics commits them to also hold that space and temporality have exactly the same type of independent existence.
The position of conventionalism states that there is no fact of the matter as to the geometry of space and time, but that it is decided by convention. The first proponent of such a view, Henri Poincaré, reacting to the creation of the new non-Euclidean geometry, argued that which geometry applied to a space was decided by convention, since different geometries will describe a set of objects equally well, based on considerations from his sphere-world.
This view was developed and updated to include considerations from relativistic physics by Hans Reichenbach. Reichenbach's conventionalism, applying to space and time, focuses around the idea of coordinative definition.
Coordinative definition has two major features. The first has to do with coordinating units of length with certain physical objects. This is motivated by the fact that we can never directly apprehend length. Instead we must choose some physical object, say the Standard Metre at the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (International Bureau of Weights and Measures), or the wavelength of cadmium to stand in as our unit of length. The second feature deals with separated objects. Although we can, presumably, directly test the equality of length of two measuring rods when they are next to one another, we can not find out as much for two rods distant from one another. Even supposing that two rods, whenever brought near to one another are seen to be equal in length, we are not justified in stating that they are always equal in length. This impossibility undermines our ability to decide the equality of length of two distant objects. Sameness of length, to the contrary, must be set by definition.
Such a use of coordinative definition is in effect, on Reichenbach's conventionalism, in the General Theory of Relativity where light is assumed, i.e. not discovered, to mark out equal distances in equal times. After this setting of coordinative definition, however, the geometry of spacetime is set.
As in the absolutism/relationalism debate, contemporary philosophy is still in disagreement as to the correctness of the conventionalist doctrine. While conventionalism still holds many proponents, cutting criticisms concerning the coherence of Reichenbach's doctrine of coordinative definition have led many to see the conventionalist view as untenable.
Structure of spacetime
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Building from a mix of insights from the historical debates of absolutism and conventionalism as well as reflecting on the import of the technical apparatus of the General Theory of Relativity, details as to the structure of spacetime have made up a large proportion of discussion within the philosophy of space and time, as well as the philosophy of physics. The following is a short list of topics.
Relativity of simultaneity
According to special relativity each point in the universe can have a different set of events that compose its present instant. This has been used in the Rietdijk–Putnam argument to demonstrate that relativity predicts a block universe in which events are fixed in four dimensions.
Invariance vs. covariance
Bringing to bear the lessons of the absolutism/relationalism debate with the powerful mathematical tools invented in the 19th and 20th century, Michael Friedman draws a distinction between invariance upon mathematical transformation and covariance upon transformation.
Invariance, or symmetry, applies to objects, i.e. the symmetry group of a space-time theory designates what features of objects are invariant, or absolute, and which are dynamical, or variable.
This distinction can be illustrated by revisiting Leibniz's thought experiment, in which the universe is shifted over five feet. In this example the position of an object is seen not to be a property of that object, i.e. location is not invariant. Similarly, the covariance group for classical mechanics will be any coordinate systems that are obtained from one another by shifts in position as well as other translations allowed by a Galilean transformation.
In the classical case, the invariance, or symmetry, group and the covariance group coincide, but, interestingly enough, they part ways in relativistic physics. The symmetry group of the general theory of relativity includes all differentiable transformations, i.e., all properties of an object are dynamical, in other words there are no absolute objects. The formulations of the general theory of relativity, unlike those of classical mechanics, do not share a standard, i.e., there is no single formulation paired with transformations. As such the covariance group of the general theory of relativity is just the covariance group of every theory.
A further application of the modern mathematical methods, in league with the idea of invariance and covariance groups, is to try to interpret historical views of space and time in modern, mathematical language.
In these translations, a theory of space and time is seen as a manifold paired with vector spaces, the more vector spaces the more facts there are about objects in that theory. The historical development of spacetime theories is generally seen to start from a position where many facts about objects are incorporated in that theory, and as history progresses, more and more structure is removed.
For example, Aristotelian space and time has both absolute position and special places, such as the center of the cosmos, and the circumference. Newtonian space and time has absolute position and is Galilean invariant, but does not have special positions.
With the general theory of relativity, the traditional debate between absolutism and relationalism has been shifted to whether or not spacetime is a substance, since the general theory of relativity largely rules out the existence of, e.g., absolute positions. One powerful argument against spacetime substantivalism, offered by John Earman is known as the "hole argument".
This is a technical mathematical argument but can be paraphrased as follows:
With use of this function d we can construct two mathematical models, where the second is generated by applying d to proper elements of the first, such that the two models are identical prior to the time t=0, where t is a time function created by a foliation of spacetime, but differ after t=0.
These considerations show that, since substantivalism allows the construction of holes, that the universe must, on that view, be indeterministic. Which, Earman argues, is a case against substantivalism, as the case between determinism or indeterminism should be a question of physics, not of our commitment to substantivalism.
Direction of time
The problem of the direction of time arises directly from two contradictory facts. Firstly, the fundamental physical laws are time-reversal invariant; if a cinematographic film were taken of any process describable by means of the aforementioned laws and then played backwards, it would still portray a physically possible process. Secondly, our experience of time, at the macroscopic level, is not time-reversal invariant. Glasses can fall and break, but shards of glass cannot reassemble and fly up onto tables. We have memories of the past, and none of the future. We feel we can't change the past but can influence the future.
One solution to this problem takes a metaphysical view, in which the direction of time follows from an asymmetry of causation. We know more about the past because the elements of the past are causes for the effect that is our perception. We feel we can't affect the past and can affect the future because we can't affect the past and can affect the future.
There are two main objections to this view. First is the problem of distinguishing the cause from the effect in a non-arbitrary way. The use of causation in constructing a temporal ordering could easily become circular. The second problem with this view is its explanatory power. While the causation account, if successful, may account for some time-asymmetric phenomena like perception and action, it does not account for many others.
However, asymmetry of causation can be observed in a non-arbitrary way which is not metaphysical in the case of a human hand dropping a cup of water which smashes into fragments on a hard floor, spilling the liquid. In this order, the causes of the resultant pattern of cup fragments and water spill is easily attributable in terms of the trajectory of the cup, irregularities in its structure, angle of its impact on the floor, etc. However, applying the same event in reverse, it is difficult to explain why the various pieces of the cup should fly up into the human hand and reassemble precisely into the shape of a cup, or why the water should position itself entirely within the cup. The causes of the resultant structure and shape of the cup and the encapsulation of the water by the hand within the cup are not easily attributable, as neither hand nor floor can achieve such formations of the cup or water. This asymmetry is perceivable on account of two features: i) the relationship between the agent capacities of the human hand (i.e., what it is and is not capable of and what it is for) and non-animal agency (i.e., what floors are and are not capable of and what they are for) and ii) that the pieces of cup came to possess exactly the nature and number of those of a cup before assembling. In short, such asymmetry is attributable to the relationship between temporal direction on the one hand and the implications of form and functional capacity on the other.
The application of these ideas of form and functional capacity only dictates temporal direction in relation to complex scenarios involving specific, non-metaphysical agency which is not merely dependent on human perception of time. However, this last observation in itself is not sufficient to invalidate the implications of the example for the progressive nature of time in general.
The second major family of solutions to this problem, and by far the one that has generated the most literature, finds the existence of the direction of time as relating to the nature of thermodynamics.
The answer from classical thermodynamics states that while our basic physical theory is, in fact, time-reversal symmetric, thermodynamics is not. In particular, the second law of thermodynamics states that the net entropy of a closed system never decreases, and this explains why we often see glass breaking, but not coming back together.
But in statistical mechanics things become more complicated. On one hand, statistical mechanics is far superior to classical thermodynamics, in that thermodynamic behavior, such as glass breaking, can be explained by the fundamental laws of physics paired with a statistical postulate. But statistical mechanics, unlike classical thermodynamics, is time-reversal symmetric. The second law of thermodynamics, as it arises in statistical mechanics, merely states that it is overwhelmingly likely that net entropy will increase, but it is not an absolute law.
Current thermodynamic solutions to the problem of the direction of time aim to find some further fact, or feature of the laws of nature to account for this discrepancy.
A third type of solution to the problem of the direction of time, although much less represented, argues that the laws are not time-reversal symmetric. For example, certain processes in quantum mechanics, relating to the weak nuclear force, are not time-reversible, keeping in mind that when dealing with quantum mechanics time-reversibility comprises a more complex definition. But this type of solution is insufficient because 1) the time-asymmetric phenomena in quantum mechanics are too few to account for the uniformity of macroscopic time-asymmetry and 2) it relies on the assumption that quantum mechanics is the final or correct description of physical processes.
One recent proponent of the laws solution is Tim Maudlin who argues that the fundamental laws of physics are laws of temporal evolution (see Maudlin ). However, elsewhere Maudlin argues: "[the] passage of time is an intrinsic asymmetry in the temporal structure of the world... It is the asymmetry that grounds the distinction between sequences that runs from past to future and sequences which run from future to past" [ibid, 2010 edition, p. 108]. Thus it is arguably difficult to assess whether Maudlin is suggesting that the direction of time is a consequence of the laws or is itself primitive.
Flow of time
The problem of the flow of time, as it has been treated in analytic philosophy, owes its beginning to a paper written by J. M. E. McTaggart. In this paper McTaggart proposes two "temporal series". The first series, which means to account for our intuitions about temporal becoming, or the moving Now, is called the A-series. The A-series orders events according to their being in the past, present or future, simpliciter and in comparison to each other. The B-series eliminates all reference to the present, and the associated temporal modalities of past and future, and orders all events by the temporal relations earlier than and later than.
McTaggart, in his paper "The Unreality of Time", argues that time is unreal since a) the A-series is inconsistent and b) the B-series alone cannot account for the nature of time as the A-series describes an essential feature of it.
Building from this framework, two camps of solution have been offered. The first, the A-theorist solution, takes becoming as the central feature of time, and tries to construct the B-series from the A-series by offering an account of how B-facts come to be out of A-facts. The second camp, the B-theorist solution, takes as decisive McTaggart's arguments against the A-series and tries to construct the A-series out of the B-series, for example, by temporal indexicals.
|This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2016)|
Presentism and eternalism
According to Presentism, time is an ordering of various realities. At a certain time some things exist and others do not. This is the only reality we can deal with and we cannot for example say that Homer exists because at the present time he does not. An Eternalist, on the other hand, holds that time is a dimension of reality on a par with the three spatial dimensions, and hence that all things—past, present, and future—can be said to be just as real as things in the present. According to this theory, then, Homer really does exist, though we must still use special language when talking about somebody who exists at a distant time—just as we would use special language when talking about something far away (the very words near, far, above, below, and such are directly comparable to phrases such as in the past, a minute ago, and so on).
Endurantism and perdurantism
The positions on the persistence of objects are somewhat similar. An endurantist holds that for an object to persist through time is for it to exist completely at different times (each instance of existence we can regard as somehow separate from previous and future instances, though still numerically identical with them). A perdurantist on the other hand holds that for a thing to exist through time is for it to exist as a continuous reality, and that when we consider the thing as a whole we must consider an aggregate of all its "temporal parts" or instances of existing. Endurantism is seen as the conventional view and flows out of our pre-philosophical ideas (when I talk to somebody I think I am talking to that person as a complete object, and not just a part of a cross-temporal being), but perdurantists have attacked this position. (An example of a perdurantist is David Lewis.) One argument perdurantists use to state the superiority of their view is that perdurantism is able to take account of change in objects.
The relations between these two questions mean that on the whole Presentists are also endurantists and Eternalists are also perdurantists (and vice versa), but this is not a necessary connection and it is possible to claim, for instance, that time's passage indicates a series of ordered realities, but that objects within these realities somehow exist outside of the reality as a whole, even though the realities as wholes are not related. However, such positions are rarely adopted.
- Arrow of time
- Being and Time
- Eternalism (philosophy of time)
- Identity and change
- Milič Čapek
- Presentism (philosophy of time)
- Process and Reality
- Process philosophy
- Temporal parts
- Time geography
- Time Reborn
- Time travel in science and time travel in fiction
- Quentin Smith
- William Lane Craig
- Zeno's paradoxes
- Thompson, Richard L. (2007). The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana: Mysteries of the Sacred Universe. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 225. ISBN 978-81-208-1919-1. Extract of page 225
- Dagobert Runes, Dictionary of Philosophy, p. 318
- Atuq Eusebio Manga Qespi, Instituto de lingüística y Cultura Amerindia de la Universidad de Valencia. Pacha: un concepto andino de espacio y tiempo. Revísta española de Antropología Americana, 24, pp. 155–189. Edit. Complutense, Madrid. 1994
- Stephen Hart, Peruvian Cultural Studies:Work in Progress
- Paul Richard Steele, Catherine J. Allen, Handbook of Inca mythology, p. 86, (ISBN 1-57607-354-8)
- St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 11. http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/augconf/aug11.htm (Accessed 19/5/14).
- Craig, William Lane (June 1979). "Whitrow and Popper on the Impossibility of an Infinite Past". The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 30 (2): 165–170 [165–6]. doi:10.1093/bjps/30.2.165.
- Nader El-Bizri, 'In Defence of the Sovereignty of Philosophy: al-Baghdadi's Critique of Ibn al-Haytham's Geometrisation of Place', Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 17 (2007), 57–80
- Smith, A. Mark (2005). "The Alhacenian Account Of Spatial Perception And Its Epistemological Implications". Arabic Sciences and Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. 15 (2): 219–40. doi:10.1017/S0957423905000184.
- Borchert, D.M. (2006) Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd Ed. Vol. 9. MI: Cengage Learning. P. 468.
- Albert, David (2000) Time and Chance. Harvard Univ. Press.
- Dainton, Barry (2010) Time and Space, Second Edition. McGill-Queens University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-3747-7
- Earman, John (1989) World Enough and Space-Time. MIT Press.
- Friedman, Michael (1983) Foundations of Space-Time Theories. Princeton Univ. Press.
- Adolf Grünbaum (1974) Philosophical Problems of Space and Time, 2nd ed. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Vol XII. D. Reidel Publishing
- Horwich, Paul (1987) Asymmetries in Time. MIT Press.
- Lucas, John Randolph, 1973. A Treatise on Time and Space. London: Methuen.
- Mellor, D.H. (1998) Real Time II. Routledge.
- Laura Mersini-Houghton; Rudy Vaas (eds.) (2012) The Arrows of Time. A Debate in Cosmology. Springer. ISBN 978-3642232589.
- Hans Reichenbach (1958) The Philosophy of Space and Time. Dover
- Hans Reichenbach (1991) The Direction of Time. University of California Press.
- Rochelle, Gerald (1998) Behind Time. Ashgate.
- Lawrence Sklar (1976) Space, Time, and Spacetime. University of California Press.
- Turetzky, Philip (1998) Time. Routledge.
- Bas van Fraassen, 1970. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Space and Time. Random House.
- Gal-Or, Benjamin "Cosmology, Physics and Philosophy". Springer-Verlag, New York, 1981, 1983, 1987 ISBN 0-387-90581-2
- Ahmad, Manzoor (May 28, 1998). "XV: The Notion of Existence". In Naeem Ahmad; George F McClean. Philosophy in Pakistan. Department of Philosophy, University of Punjab, Lahore, Punjab Province of Pakistan: Punjab University press. pp. 245–250. ISBN 1-56518-108-5. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
- "Time" by Ned Markosian;
- "Being and Becoming in Modern Physics" by Steven Savitt;
- "Absolute and Relational Theories of Space and Motion" by Nick Huggett and Carl Hoefer.
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "Time" by Bradley Dowden.
- Brown, C.L., 2006, "What is Space?" A largely Wittgensteinian, approach towards a dissolution of the question: "What is space?"
- Rea, M. C., "Four Dimensionalism" in The Oxford Handbook for Metaphysics. Oxford Univ. Press. Describes presentism and four-dimensionalism.
- CEITT - Time and Temporality Research Center. "Time and Temporality".
- http://www.exactspent.com/philosophy_of_space_and_time.htm and related subjects
- "Gods and the Universe in Buddhist Perspective, Essays on Buddhist Cosmology" by Francis Story.
- Mark P. de Munnynck (1913). "Space". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. | <urn:uuid:247025dd-0533-446d-aa5c-06264f0427bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721387.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00447-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92543 | 7,431 | 3.125 | 3 |
Papua New Guinea has a great linguistic diversity that is due to the isolation of many of its villages by the sea and by the mountains, without external contact. Most are native languages with less than a thousand speakers.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of eight million people, is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse places in the world. The most recent data indicate that only in its territory some 848 different languages are spoken, a fact that shows that in this country more languages are spoken than in the entire European continent.
One of the reasons that explain this great diversity is that the country is populated by a great variety of tribes. In fact, today, less than 20% of the population lives in cities.
Despite having a large territory, hundreds of islands also make up the country that have allowed many villages to remain isolated from each other over the years by the sea or the mountains, forging their own languages without external influences thanks to these natural barriers.
This is how languages with ancestral roots developed without foreign influences. The presence of weak central governments also contributed to the survival of this linguistic richness. Colonization by English speakers led to the emergence of the Tok Pisin language, which is the most widely spoken in the country.
It is a simplified form of English and one of the country’s four official languages (including hiri motu and sign language). Despite the great linguistic diversity that the country presents, the vast majority of native languages have less than 1,000 speakers. Among them one of the most spoken and popular is the enga, which has just under 200,000 speakers in the territory.
Beyond its paradisiacal landscapes, Papua New Guinea has an exceptional linguistic diversity and culture that they try to maintain as much as possible, because most of those more than 800 languages have fewer and fewer speakers.
Many of the tribes in the mountainous interior have little contact with each other, let alone the outside world, and live within an unmonetized economy that depends on subsistence farming.
Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea is 63 years (men) and 68 years (women). In addition, the main religions in this place are Christianity and indigenous beliefs. A world yet to be discovered, but most importantly, a culture to be preserved for many more years. | <urn:uuid:291ee9f1-5cb1-4b3f-bc2e-2fd7b3caab85> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://marketresearchtelecast.com/papua-new-guinea-is-a-country-in-which-848-different-languages-are-spoken/256352/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.955731 | 478 | 3.53125 | 4 |
I’ve been asked many times about how to take good photographs 3D prints, and it’s always hard to answer in a brief format. Just like giving advice with 3D printing, it’s hard to know what will be useful without knowing more about the hardware, software, experience, and intentions. Even in a longer format, photography is just too large of a subject to cover without skipping over a lot of important details. I actually started this post years ago, but every time I try to finish it, it just keeps growing. So I’m going to split it into sections, starting with the basics, and I hope to get to the rest someday.
Keep in mind that my goal with most of these pictures is efficiency, not photography, it’s to get a technically acceptable picture with the least amount of effort. It’s very different from the portrait or landscape photography I sometimes do as a hobby. You can see some of my landscapes here if you like.
As usual, links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links, mostly from Amazon USA, I may receive a small percentage of the purchase price if you buy using these links, at no cost to you.
Start with the light
Photography is all about lighting, and it’s much harder to get good photos in bad lighting. If you’re not sure what’s good light and bad light, here are some examples (of course this is subjective, and I’m focusing specifically on lighting for 3D print photos). It’s also a lot easier and more convenient to take photos in controlled lighting instead of natural lighting.
- Outside when the sun is high (too directional, too contrasty)
- Mixed sun and shade
- Under most desk lamps (too directional)
- Fluorescent lights in your kitchen (limited spectrum with many fluorescent or LED lights)
- Outside around dawn and dusk (may require a tripod)
- Outside in the shade (as long as you correct for color balance)
- Outside on a bright overcast day of when a cloud blocks the sun
- Light coming though translucent white curtains
- Inside a light tent lit with flashes
I’m going to focus mostly on that last one, inside a light tent, at least for the first posts in this series. Light tents are particularly good for getting a clean white, high-key look, which I use for most of my pictures. This works well for photos of 3D prints, and it’s also easiest kind of photo to take once you have everything setup, which is why most of my pictures are of that type.
Leftovers from dinner
To give you an idea of what is involved, here’s a typical photo session
- Put 3D print in light tent*. Ideally I do this as soon as it comes off the printer, otherwise it starts to collect dust which will show up in the pictures.
- Turn on the camera and the IR flash trigger. Pop off a couple of flashes* with the trigger to wake up the main flashes.
- Take a few pictures, adjusting the position of the print or the camera. Adjust the flash light level or position, camera aperture, or change lenses as necessary. For the easiest shoots this should only take a minute, but can easily take a lot longer.
- I use an eye-fi card, so pictures are transfered to my computer automatically.
- Load up the pictures in Lightroom* and find the ones I want to keep. If I don’t like the results, I’ll take new pictures. Once I’ve selected the pictures I want to use, I’ll adjust the cropping, exposure, and other settings before exporting.
More posts to cover everything in more detail to come. | <urn:uuid:b4653d51-9a7c-4382-a516-1f701d727747> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://thrinter.com/photographing-3d-prints-1-overview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.925756 | 806 | 1.875 | 2 |
08 Jan 2013
Iran is investing in customized software to help the government restrict and control citizens’ access to social networking platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.
Currently, Internet users in Iran cannot legally access popular social networking platforms as their government filters and blocks these websites with a state-approved mechanism as part of the national Internet censorship act.
Apparently these measures haven’t managed to stop Iranian Internet users from accessing banned sites because people became good at finding and using various methods to circumvent the blocks. This made the government realize that restricting and controlling users while on these sites can be more effective than banning the sites altogether.
“Smart control of social networks is better than filtering them completely,” Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam, head of the national security forces in Iran, told local newspaper 7Sobh. “The designing of intelligent software to control social networking websites is underway."
The “smart software” agenda follows the setting up of a Facebook page dedicated to the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – a page that shortly became the center of attention of crowds of people in the country and abroad.
Throughout the years, Iranian authorities put a lot of effort into convincing their citizens that using social networks makes them part of a scheme set up by Western world to undermine the Islamic regime.
The Iranian Internet censorship program includes also a customized intranet meant to shield citizens against anti-Islamic content.
Source: Security Week | <urn:uuid:49f91ffd-f681-4655-b5d2-5923c9b66667> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bitdefender.com/security/iran-creates-smart-software-to-supervise-users-on-social-media.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00239-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947716 | 303 | 2.0625 | 2 |
In March 1997 Zimbabwe launched Vision 2020. Vision 2020 promised:
- Housing for all by 2020,
- Healthcare for all by 2020,
- Education for all by 2020, and
- Jobs for all by 2020
Today we have none of all the promises THAT 2020 is upon us. As sure as the sunrise, time has come to test our resolve and has found us wanting.
We have no healthcare, no housing, no universal education and no jobs. 23 years later we have a rapidly deteriorating healthcare system where doctors have to protest for medicines and equipment and where teachers cannot afford to send their own children to school.
We have a beautiful AND RICH country, with talented people and a wealth of natural resources. Ours is ONLY a failure of leadership.
The Zimbabwe of today is the product of and an expression of poor leadership. The crisis in Zimbabwe is man-made.
We are a broken and divided nation, led through fear, governed by force and ruled through violence.
Man-made poverty is being used as a tool of repression and oppression, while poverty has been weaponised to enrich a few. Food continues to be used as a political weapon to sow divisions, fuel hate and instill fear. This can’t be allowed to continue.
Right now, we are struggling with everything and anything education, school fees and teachers conditions of service, doctors, water, electricity, transport and social service delivery in general.
People have been impoverished beyond measure, no jobs, no income, no lights, no water, no fuel, prices are escalating while incomes are plunging. It’s just hell on earth, a beautiful country and hitherto relatively prosperous country turned into a hellhole by a failed, rogue and corrupt politics and policies.
THIS IS THE SIGNAL!
The old order has failed to bring forth the new. They have shown that they possess neither the appetite nor capacity to change. They’re vacuous. Their politics is vapid, insipid and out of time.
To place any hope on the past and on yesterday’s people is an act of cruelty and a betrayal of our children’s future.
- The old order is struggling on the governance and legitimacy fronts.
- The old order is struggling on the re-engagement front.
- The old order is struggling on the national convergence platform.
- The old older is struggling on the economic front.
- The old order is struggling on the policy FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION fronts.
- The old order is struggling on the credibility and integrity fronts.
Continued next page | <urn:uuid:a40fafdb-112f-4fe8-a890-6952f7f9e85a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://insiderzim.com/chamisas-agenda-2020-address-to-the-nation/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.942291 | 542 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Design in Paris is hardly a luxury; in everything from carrier bags to window dressing, it’s central to local life. Over 8,000 designers call this region home and now there is a special event on the calendar just for them. The new Paris Design Week intends to work as a complement to the fashion shows and art fairs that take place each autumn.
Like design in Paris itself, the fair seeks to embrace every discipline. It offers graphics, gastronomy, eco-designs and high-tech creations. Plus its launch was nothing if not ambitious, taking place in sites across 13 of our 20 arrondissements.
Its events embraced cult locations such as Colette and Baccarat while including big names like Jean Nouvel, Philippe Starck, Andrée Putman and Patrick Jouin. Yet it was something called Le Off that held the real excitement.
In French, an off is an informal, not-for-attribution briefing given by a politician to those in the know. So, when Design Week wanted a VIP moment, they called it Le Off and staged it at Docks en Seine. The evening featured a stimulating set of younger talents—producers of everything from plates to pop-up parties. Installing them at Docks en Seine guaranteed a crowd of the curious, since Parisians follow this building with particular interest.
Most visitors know the site as an architectural stunner, quickly glimpsed on a Seine-side walk or during a river cruise. From there, it appears as a long gray skeleton crowned with a green carapace. When it was built in 1907 (as a warehouse for the river’s cargo), that same industrial concrete was a first for Paris. One of the architect Le Corbusier’s all-time favorites, the building is a listed historical monument. But, after much consultation about its modernization, the glittering outside layer was added to transform it.
The aim was to establish a marriage of the old and the new. For the City of Paris had a special tenant in mind: La Cité de la Mode et du Design, a center for style and creation.
The idea was to install a fashion school, boutiques, exhibition halls and a public restaurant. But progress has been slow so its only resident is the school, L’Institut Français de la Mode. However, Design Week was used to make the dramatic announcement that, with new firms on board, it would open in 2012.
The reason to believe this is the hiring of Cyril Aouizerate. Aouizerate’s firm Urbantech is known as the cofounder (and co-owner) of Mama Shelter. They also rehabilitated the popular nightspot La Flèche d’Or. For Docks en Seine, they promise four more eateries, as well as a rooftop club and shops manned by younger designers. Other proposals include a dock for water buses, a floating café and public openings every Sunday. You can add unusual exhibitions, such as Le Off’s “Dessine-Moi le Japon,” for which 100 artists made works whose auction will benefit Japan’s rebuilding effort.
By temporarily filling the space with new design, Le Off gave a preview of what all this might mean. Sipping champagne and chatting about Aouizerate’s vision, it was easy to imagine a destination spot. Well before 6 p.m., the free drink was exhausted, but minicelebrations were taking off at every stand. So you can take part, here is a guide to some of the stars. All are names you’ll find around town in the future, offering their own take on design in Paris.
Bina Baitel is an architecture graduate who specializes in flexible objects. The furniture she placed on show was inspired by drawings from Le Petit Prince. Her work is shown as art in the NextLevel Galerie; she also works with Ciné 104, Clinique Paris and a lace museum in Retripnac.
Find her in Paris at 72, rue St.-Maur, in the 11th Arrondissement; 01 48 05 77 37.
For three years, Céline Merhand and Anaïs Morel have worked together under this label, nominated in 2010 for un grand prix de la création by the City of Paris. Their specialty is objects remade in witty ways such as the “Julio Design” mirrors made from scrubbing brushes.
Find them in Paris at Cornershop, 3, rue St.-Paul, in the 4th. Also at buyMeDesign.com and super-ette.
A line of slipper-soft shoes in a multicolored palette whose sales finance improvements in a Katmandu orphanage, these were slipping onto foot after foot at Le Off.
Find them in Paris at Merci, 111, boulevard Beaumarchais, in the 3rd; 01 42 77 00 33.
Dani, the designer behind Wanda Barcelona, runs a team specializing in ephemeral spaces. All are made using eco-elements such as cardboard and paper. In addition to pop-up parties and window dressing, they design events for hotels and companies such as Veuve Clicquot.
Find them in Paris via Paola Miranda, 06 30 42 32 67; email@example.com
Paris Design Week
Docks en Seine
La Cité de la Mode et du Design
L’Institut Français de la Mode
La Flèche d’Or | <urn:uuid:af06840e-26f3-463d-8e6d-cca51cabf752> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://girlsguidetotheworld.com/2011/09/26/paris-design-week-preview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.938691 | 1,231 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Evan Fairbanks April 19, 2011 at 07:01:03 Specs: Windows XP, AMD Athlon II X2/ 2GB RAM
Hello!! Im thinking of building a PC from scratch but im kinda low on the cash money.... What is the most inexpensive way I can build a high-end machine for less than $600.... (By high-end, I mean like able to run Crysis 2 at MAX!!!)
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Transformers of ТК-301,ТК-302, ТК-401, ТК-501 type are designed as power supply for contact welding machines; they may also be used for continuous current (no more than 5,6; 6,4; 7,1; 9,1 кА) machines (for example, МТ-1701, МТ-1861, МТ-1930-1, МТ-1930-2, МТ-2221, МТ-2361, МТ-2661, МТ-3001, МТ-3501, МТP-02, МRТ-3501, МRТ-4001).
Characteristic features of transformers ТК-301,ТК-302, ТК-401, ТК-501
- Liquid cooling
- Insulation class «F» (maximum temperature – no more than 155 ˚С)
- Core pieces providing for minimum electromagnetic energy waste are produced according to Unicore technology
- Winding unit is filled with epoxy compound
- Climatic category - UKHL4
*Please pay attention that the technical specification and the appearance of the equipment placed on this web-site are only for informational purpose and are not a public offer. The producer reserves the right to make any changes.
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Bloating is one of the most common complaints I see in my practice. Abdominal bloating can cause discomfort, pains, soreness, distention and stomach cramping. I would estimate that as many as 80% of my patients complain of some degree of bloating as either their primary or secondary complaint. It is one of the most common symptoms that my patients want help with, and over the years it has become apparent that there are many causes of bloating. So many of my patient’s make comments such as ‘I’m bloating, but isn’t everybody?” No! It is a sign that there is disharmony in your digestive tract that needs to be addressed
For many it’s not just the discomfort but also the appearance- they hate the way that their stomach sticks out. I find a lot of my patients who suffer from bloating feel self-conscious and even wear clothes that will hide their bloated stomach.
While bloating might just be the result of over eating, large portion sizes or overindulgence, many other more serious causes do exist. Here are the most common causes of bloating that I find in my clinics:
Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance between the good and bad strains of bacteria in the digestive tract. A healthy digestive system will contain between 2.5-5kg of bacteria and this should be made up of around 75% of the ‘good’ guys with 25% of the ‘bad’ strains. These bacteria have many important functions such as balancing our immune system, extracting nutrients and helping us to breakdown our food. Too many of the bad bugs can lead to bloating and discomfort.
2- Food intolerances
Food intolerances are incredibly common, largely due to our modern western diet. Immune imbalance, food manufacturing and processing and excessive consumption of foods that we are not designed to eat in large quantities (such as dairy and wheat) are the main reasons that food intolerances are so common. The most common intolerances include wheat, gluten, yeast, soy and dairy. Food intolerance testing is the best way to determine if there are foods affecting your health.
3- Poor stomach acid secretions
Our stomach acid secretions are vitally important to our whole digestive function. Food once swallowed is sent to our stomach and mixes with our acids and enzymes to break it into smaller particles and primarily digest proteins. Poor protein digestion can occur if stomach acids are not up to scratch. It is our stomach acids that are used to ‘kick start’ the whole digestive process further along the digestive tract therefore this can lead to a whole host of symptoms.
4- Poor bile flow
Our bodies secrete bile from the gall bladder during our meal to aid fat digestion. Bile is also used as a natural laxative to promote regular bowel movements. A sluggish bile flow can lead to feeling nauseas, bloated and sluggish after fatty foods or alcohol.
5- Irregular bowel movements or constipation
In an ideal world we would have a bowel movement every morning on waking. This is often not the case, and in part is due to our rushed lifestyle. We literally do not give ourselves time in the mornings to get the urge to go! Irregular bowel movements will lead to a lot of discomfort, gas and bloating.
6- High sugar intake
A high sugar diet causes acidity and an inflammatory reaction in the digestive tract. Sugar also feed bacteria and yeast, so dysbiosis can be made a lot worse in people with a high sugar diet. Our bodies are not designed to cope with the excessive levels of sugar found in the modern western diet and it will take its toll after a while. Bloating is a common effect.
7- High grain intake
Grains are another common cause of bloating, particularly wheat. Wheat is the primary grain eaten in the western world and we could quite easily consume wheat with every meal and snack of the day. The problem is that genetically we are not designed to eat such a high grain intake- we should be consuming about 5-10% of our food as grain. We simply do not have the enzymatic capacity to get through grains all day long and this can easily lead to bloating.
Simply eating too much can lead to bloating and discomfort. Our stomachs are only as big as a closed fist when empty but standard portion sizes are often much bigger than this. Overeating places a huge strain on our digestive system and is bound to lead to bloating, gas and sluggishness.
9- Inadequate movement/activity
Did you know that our digestive system needs physical activity and movement in order to work well? Moving our body literally helps digestive contents to move through the large and small intestines. With the sedentary lifestyle that so many people lead this could be playing a huge role. Exercises such as abdominal work, yoga and pilates are all a big help, but simply going for a walk for 20 minutes a day will do the trick.
10- Hormonal fluctuations
Hormonal fluctuations in women can lead to bloating, fluid retention and abdominal tenderness, particularly pre-menstrually. This is a huge factor and discomfort for many women. While some degree of bloating before the period is inevitable, if you are experiencing bloating for more than 3 days then this is a sign that your hormones need balancing.
Hayley Stockbridge is a Naturopath in Sydney. She works from two clinics- Manly and Stanmore. Please contact Hayley via email at [email protected] if you would like more information or to book an appointment | <urn:uuid:3740bd0e-d4c1-46d2-937c-9731d319dd0d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hayleystockbridge.com.au/blog/2014/09/29/causes-bloating-naturopathic-perspective/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.965513 | 1,170 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The purpose of this paper was to analyze undergraduate students’ use of Wikipedia bibliographies. The study has implications for Wikipedia as a “discovery tool” of library collections, library instructional practices and understanding the complex ecology of students’ research processes.
Thirty undergraduate students were recruited from introductory English writing classes. A controlled survey was conducted in Qualtrics®, including the following sections: pre and post test of students’ understanding of authority/quality of sources; tasks analyzing participants’ choices for further research after reading a Wikipedia article; and students’ determination of the authority/quality of sources in Wikipedia reference pages, using an adapted version of the Turnitin® Source Educational Evaluation Rubric.
The investigator found that students were unlikely to follow references they found in bibliographies of Wikipedia pages, unless instructed to do so. This was expressed most clearly in their comments, which revealed that Wikipedia’s reference sections are found to be too overwhelming and numerous. These entries are depicted by order of appearance in the text and are not ranked, or presented in an order students considered useful. Participants were not likely to use Wikipedia as a discovery tool of library content because they perceived Wikipedia as being markedly different, even in opposition to, library resources. Students disclosed being warned by their faculty and instructors not to use the online encyclopedia at all in their research process. However, paradoxically, after reading a Wikipedia article, students were most likely to go to Google, or revisit Wikipedia, for more information, as opposed to using the library. Study participants reported that “ease of access” is the most important consideration when choosing sources to include in research papers, followed by the actual authority/quality of these sources. Students also greatly benefited from having a structured rubric available at the point of their research process when they are asked to determine the authority/quality of sources, and especially within Wikipedia bibliographies.
This is a small-scale study of students’ use of Wikipedia in one university campus, but its results can spark a discussion of the larger question of undergraduates’ research trajectories. The findings of the study suggest that these trajectories are extremely influenced by two conflicting issues: faculty influence and resource convenience. The researchers plan to extend the study to include faculty’s perceptions of the value of Wikipedia to undergraduate students’ research, including faculty’s own involvement as Wikipedia editors and contributors. Future research of undergraduate’s use of Wikipedia could benefit from a greater recruitment of participants across a diverse pool of academic institutions, as well as a mixed research method of observation, task analysis and interviews.
The findings of the study offer suggestions for both the design aspect of Wikipedia and the instructional methods of academic librarians. This study also informs library practices and emerging collaborations with Wikipedia, specifically the “Wikipedian in Residence” program and the concept of using Wikipedia as one type of a discovery tool.
There is a lack of empirical evidence showing how or if students use Wikipedia bibliographies to continue their research. The possibility of the online encyclopedia as a discovery tool for library collections is relatively unknown and unexplored. The topic of collaboration between Wikipedia and libraries is new and emerging in the field.
The author gratefully acknowledges the collaboration of Yu-Hung Lin, Head of Continuing Resources, Scholarship, and Research Data in designing the survey used to gather data for this publication. The author is also very thankful and appreciative of the support of Grace Agnew, Associate University Librarian for Digital Library Systems at Rutgers University Libraries.
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited | <urn:uuid:9696f62c-3303-45cc-ad50-0b2c8b25dba1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NLW-07-2014-0086/full/html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.940911 | 778 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Full Name: Pele [Edson Arantes do Nascimento]
Profession: Brazilian Football Legend
Why Famous: Regarded by many football critics, past players, current players and football fans in general to be the best player of all time. In 1999, he was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
Since retiring in 1977, he has been a worldwide ambassador for football.
- 1994-04-30 Soccer great Pele (53) weds psychologist Assiria Seixas Lemos (36)
- 1969-11-20 Brazilian soccer icon Pele scores his 1,000th goal
- 1974-10-03 Pele retires as soccer player
- 1977-10-01 Brazilian soccer great Pele retires with 1,281 goals in 1,363 games | <urn:uuid:99e54874-6a0f-4297-bb43-513fc4f0e777> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.onthisday.com/people/pele | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00175-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933418 | 177 | 1.507813 | 2 |
GFDL’s Hurricane Forecast Model Achieves High Accuracy in 2008 Season
November 30, 2008
The 2008 hurricane season officially came to a close on November 30,
marking the end of a season that produced a record number of consecutive
storms to strike the United States and ranks as one of the more active
seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive records began.
Since it became operational in 1995, the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
Laboratory?s (GFDL) hurricane forecast model has consistently been among
the leading models used by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) for
accuracy in predicting hurricane track and intensity. GFDL?s hurricane
forecast model performed extremely well again in the 2008 hurricane
season. In both the East Pacific and Atlantic basins, the GFDL model
had the lowest track forecast errors when compared to the other standard
numerical guidance. In the critical 48-hour and 72-hour time period,
the model errors in the Atlantic basin were about 13 and 8 percent
(respectively) better than the next best standard model guidance.
Similarly, in the East Pacific, where the GFDL model had the lowest
track errors at all time levels, the model errors at the critical
48-hour and 72-hour time period, were 21 and 12 percent less
(respectively) than the next best performing model. The excellent
guidance of the GFDL model was an important contributor to the
outstanding performance by NHC in the very active 2008 Atlantic season.
A total of 16 named storms formed in the Atlantic this season, based
on an operational estimate by the National Hurricane Center. The storms
included eight hurricanes, five of which were major hurricanes at
Category 3 strength or higher. An average season has 11 named storms,
six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. Overall, the season is tied as
the fourth most active in terms of named storms (16) and major
hurricanes (five), and is tied as the fifth most active in terms of
hurricanes (eight) since 1944, which was the first year aircraft
missions flew into tropical storms and hurricanes. | <urn:uuid:b30f2f9d-726b-485e-b886-3ec9f0769bb0> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/news-gfdl-s-hurricane-forecast-model-achieves-high-accuracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719453.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00229-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955581 | 445 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Former US attorney for the Southern District of New York makes the case for indicting a sitting president: 'It's a policy — it's not the law'
Can a sitting president be indicted?
The question has been thrown around a lot with President Donald Trump in the White House, and multiple investigations progressively finding more and more illegal behavior in the president's inner circle. The prevailing narrative, however, has been that a sitting president is immune from prosecution and the only avenue for punishing presidential crimes is impeachment — which is backed up by a Justice Department memo warning that indicting the president would "unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions."
But not so fast, says David Kelley, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York under President George W. Bush, the same district where federal prosecutors are currently investigating Trump's business dealings with his former attorney Michael Cohen.
As Kelley explained to MSNBC's Ari Melber on Thursday, there is no hard and fast rule that forbids a president from being indicted — and that he, personally, would consider throwing out Justice Department etiquette if the accusations against a president were serious enough.
"It's a policy, it's not the law," said Kelley. "Policies can be bent, policies can be broken. And I think it's going to depend on the facts and the gravity of the offenses, if any, that they find."
"I gotta push you then," said Melber. "If you were back in that office — I'm not naming a president, say any president. President Johnson. President X. Would you have considered that a potential option on the table?"
"Sure," said Kelley. "I mean, certainly — look, I think the people who are the prosecutors are going to be the ones who are really going to be pushing to say, look, this is really bad, and the person should be prosecuted and here's why. On the other side of the coin, they may find some fairly minor offenses, and they said, they wouldn't push up against the policy."
"If he went ahead and committed murder on Fifth Avenue like he says you could get away with, I don't think he would, policy or no policy," added Kelly. "So let's see how this plays out."
Former U.S. Attorney for SDNY says despite DOJ policy, he would have considered indicting a sitting President, depending on the charge: pic.twitter.com/bssFc31VA3
— TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) February 28, 2019 | <urn:uuid:b8deb887-5cc5-4c21-9e2b-a3e2fc9788be> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/former-us-attorney-for-the-southern-district-of-new-york-makes-the-case-for-indicting-a-sitting-president-its-a-policy-its-not-the-law/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.979863 | 540 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Boosting your self-esteem is giving yourself those things that you want in life. Things that could make you happy and feel accepted in the society you belong. It is accepting yourself the way you are.
It is giving credit to yourself as the best person you know irrespective of what other people think or say about you. Low self-esteem calls for a boost in self-esteem
Self-esteem simply means knowing your worth, understanding your importance, and accepting yourself as valuable. It is like when you love someone and you are willing to do anything for that person. You could apply it to yourself and always give yourself the best treatment in life.
How do you know you need to boost your self-esteem? You might not know, maybe until someone tells you or until you notice the way other people are reacting towards you.
Now supposing you find out that you do not like your appearance, maybe you are not naturally endowed, yet decide not to work towards it. When pretty people come around, you try to shy away from them. This means you are having low self-esteem and you need to boost it.
You happen to find yourself amid rich people and they try to bully you with their arrogant words. If you decide not to challenge back it means you need to boost your self-esteem.
Again, you like doing certain activities like attending parties, visiting friends, and eating certain foods. If you have the opportunity of doing them but simply, ignore yourself. Then you need to boost your self-esteem.
Sometimes we understand that certain forces might be responsible for an individual having low self-esteem. Thus, the person might realize it and want to make improvements. Below are 10 ways to help boost such an individual’s self-esteem.
Learn to say no
You cannot just accept everything that comes your way may be in other to please people while displeasing yourself. Learn to say “no” to what you do not like. Learn to reject offers that do not align with your clear conscience.
Understand that people will appreciate you more when they learn that you are a person of principles who knows what he wants and go for it. Learn that when you accept or reject things, people will have no other option but to accept your way.
Face your challenges and fears
For instance, your fears of responding to arrogant words indicate that you are having low self-esteem. Those words could make you feel sad because you do not like them so you always shy away. Then you need to challenge those people when they speak those words by arguing with them.
For instance, someone might say “I don’t like black people they are not my type”. You could respond by saying. I am black and I love my color because black is beautiful”. Then to crown it all while responding you are also demonstrating how proud you are. If you do this, the spirit of confidence will immediately engulf you and you will gain more power to defeat.
Do good things that interest you
So long, you have the means and opportunity of doing nice things that interest you, do not deny satisfying the urge. This could be the best thing you could do to yourself.
Do not act on other people’s judgment
You cannot always satisfy people and their desire. For this reason, you do not also need to go by their judgments because their judgments might contradict yours. The best way is to be yourself and act according to your clear conscience. Do what you know is right in the sight of God and anyone.
Work towards your goal
You need visions, passions, and purpose in life. You need to plan on how to realize those visions. Start working towards actualizing your desired purpose. Your goals could be what you aspire to be in life, so start being creative about it all. Shun distraction and stick to your plan. Entertain good advice but do not let anyone stop your ambitions
Do not underrate yourself
Do not allow anyone to put you low or see you as a less important person. Therefore, you need to always take care of your looks and dress moderately especially in public. Be cautious of the words that proceed from your lips and do not make unnecessary arguments. Fight for what belongs to you but in a respectful manner.
Be positive in your thoughts and attitude
Negative thoughts can kill dreams and it has no space for people’s progress in life. Be positive in every plan you make even if you have no means of realizing your goals. Believe in a brighter future that things will likely change even as you struggle for it.
Speak out where necessary
In public places or social gatherings always let your voice be heard. Make suggestions and contributions where necessary. Speak out your mind and do not be afraid of saying the truth. Be brave enough in contradicting people’s wrong decisions that might lead to damage or future regrets. But always respectfully do these so as not to cause a quarrel
Take care of your relationship with others
Interpersonal relationship matters, therefore take adequate consideration of your affairs with other people. Relate with all by showing courtesy to everyone but be selective in making friends. Make friends with people that have a positive mindset, and self-esteem, and are hard-working
Start loving yourself
Eat good foods, stay in a healthy environment and engage in daily exercise. Take care of your mental health by cherishing your happiness. Take care of your physical health by visiting your doctor and taking medication when you are ill | <urn:uuid:3f8ce876-3757-4a21-a09e-90d2040162ef> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://improvingfortune.com/10-ways-to-easily-boost-your-self-esteem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00064.warc.gz | en | 0.965427 | 1,123 | 2.25 | 2 |
“To me, innovation in education is anything that helps learners make progress that wasn’t being done before. It doesn’t have to involve technology, and it doesn’t have to involve a newfangled design. In many cases innovation can mean executing something more purposefully and deliberately to produce enormous gains.”
In R.E.A.L. Time:
A series about teachers (who are the main characters of our mission) out there hustling to make their students feel known, heard, and challenged through student-led discussion. | <urn:uuid:a3126c23-e7df-49b7-bdaf-7a0d38866d46> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.realdiscussion.org/category/protagonists/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571911.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813081639-20220813111639-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.968071 | 120 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Human Nutrition, Environment and Health, Beijing, October 14—18, 2015
Organized in collaboration with BGI. Sponsored by Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences. Part of the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Diet is the most important environmental factor for maintaining health and preventing disease. The increasing incidence of complex, age-related chronic diseases, as well as the ongoing prevalence of malnutrition, is fueling scientific, ethical and economic calls for intensifying and improving translational health care research. Understanding the interactions of nutrition and lifestyle with an individual’s genetic makeup is a necessary first step to developing strategies to prevent or delay metabolic and cognitive decline and to complement the reactive approach of using pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms.
Translational research to maintain health and prevent and/or delay disease onset requires an interdisciplinary systems approach that embraces complexity of human individuality in a rapidly changing environment.
Nutrigenomics overarches this theme by investigating how genomic and epigenomic individuality predisposes to dietary response, health and disease and how an individual’s genome expresses itself at different omic levels (proteomics, metabonomics, lipidomics) in response to environment, including nutrition.
Molecular phenotyping of humans over time and across healthy and safe exposures and challenges represents a new research strategy that begins to embrace nutritional, environmental, genomic, microbiological and epidemiological competencies and will thereby challenge more classical nutritional approaches. At the same time, nutrition is advancing from a rather reductionist and descriptive approach to a more quantitative, systems-level science.
The goals and outcomes of this meeting include: 1) Bringing together researchers from traditionally rather separated disciplines: nutrition, (gen)omics, clinics, physiology, epidemiology, analytics, biomathematics; 2) Advancing nutrition research as a quantitative, holistic and molecular science; 3) Reviewing/challenging classical pre-clinical models and clinical study designs and incorporating improved translational in vitro and in vivo models, human intervention study designs, and innovative new tools/technologies for molecular phenotyping and capture of human diet and lifestyle; and 4) Connecting basic laboratory science to patient- and consumer-relevant outputs in terms of personalized dietary/nutritional counseling and monitoring/diagnostics. | <urn:uuid:5e85eb3a-1f69-4b77-a91d-ae08a195fbb5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://npjbiofilmscommunity.nature.com/posts/2425-human-nutrition-environment-and-health-beijing-october-14-18-2015 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.883379 | 469 | 2.28125 | 2 |
It has been unveiled this week that Google has been trialling its Google Street View technology indoors expanding on its Google Art Project. With the aim of allowing users of Google Street maps to be able to view the interiors of buildings and businesses.
The new service for businesses will allow customers to see the interior of their premises and is currently being offered by Google on a voluntary basis and is currently only on trial at the moment. 360 degree fisheye lenses are being used to create views of the selected businesses which are then being added to Google maps.
It’s also been rumoured that big brand names will be left out of the trials, with Google opting for smaller businesses, hotels, restaurants and gymnasiums to test out their new indoor Street View technology.
A Google spokesperson explains:
“Building on the Google Art Project, which took Street View technology inside 17 acclaimed museums, this project is another creative implementation of Street View technology, to help businesses as they build their online presence,”-“We hope to enable businesses to highlight the qualities that make their locations stand out through professional, high-quality imagery.”
Google also explained in the search site notes that all photographs taken will become its property and that they may be used for other applications. But business owners may request their removal, but the terms and conditions do not include a commitment to comply.
Source: BBCFiled Under: Camera News, Technology News | <urn:uuid:d02023ae-6290-479a-af2d-c8cd1e5c342e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/google-street-view-goes-indoors-31-10-2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00247-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962681 | 295 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Gil Fronsdal for his permission to include his translation of The Metta Sutta in his book The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice.
The DharmaCare Handbook series is based, in part, on translations of the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Nanamoli, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Maurice Walshe, and Nyanaponika Thera.
© 2011 by Pamela Ayo Yetunde
All Rights Reserved. No Part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
Layout and design by Renise Black/Metaph4r Digital
What does it mean for someone to care for another person? On a very basic level, it means that the one who is responding to the perception that the other person needs something is doing so with the intention of being helpful or beneficial in some way. In other words, the one who is responding senses that the other person is in pain, unhappy, confused, hungry, broke, afraid, sick, dying, lonely or in some other perceived or actual state of deficiency. This sensing is the beginning of care, but care involves something more than just sensing.
Care involves not only sensing a state of lack or deficiency in someone else, it involves forming the intention to act based on what has been felt. The intention to act comes from a thought, a tug, and a pull at the heart and/or the gut that tells us on different levels that there is a problem or issue in need of attention. Assessing, sensing and forming the intention to care moves us toward the other person, but the assessing, sensing and intending must accompany the communication of this process in order for it to be received. How is care communicated? This is the area where many people feel trepidation about whether what they intend to communicate will be received as it was intended.
Communicating care is not formulaic. Care can be communicated with silence to indicate deep listening and respect for what is being experienced, or it can be communicated with lots of talking when the silence becomes too much for the receiver to bear. Care can be communicated with direct eye contact to show you are connected, or it can be communicated with downcast eyes to show respect for boundaries when there has been no invitation to be intimate. It can be communicated with touch or without touch. Communicating care is not formulaic, therefore we must take risks, in the interest of connecting with others, to demonstrate our care for them, and be willing to apologize when our attempt to communicate care is misinterpreted. This is what it means to give care from the most basic perspective. So what if we were to complicate matters by defining pastoral care? What does that look like? What does it feel like?
Pastoral care involves all the elements of caring for others, including assessing, sensing, forming intentions and communicating those intentions, but what makes pastoral care pastoral is that the caregiver is assessing, sensing, forming intentions and communicating those intentions from the viewpoint of something believed to be greater than the caregiver and the care receiver. Some call this “something greater” God, Consciousness or Allah. Others call it Jesus, the Buddha, or any of a thousand other names. If we get locked into an argument about what to call that something greater, we will miss out on understanding what it feels like to give pastoral care and what it feels like to receive it. This handbook is about the feeling of pastoral care from the exchange of what in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are known as metta (loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion). Given my emphasis in this handbook on metta and karuna, concepts that are universal, we can relax, hopefully, and not ascribe pastoral care to only one religious tradition. And yet the approach to pastoral care described in this handbook is most definitely inspired by the Buddhist tradition. Why is this important to note?
The U.S., like many other countries, is pluralistic. Yet in most public settings where you find pastoral caregivers, an overwhelming majority were educated and trained by Christian seminaries. If pastoral care departments are interested in serving a pluralistic community, it would be wise for leaders in the pastoral care professions to emphasize the universal concepts of loving-kindness and compassion over religious affiliations. In fact, it appears that in a post racial segregation, post Women’s Movement, and present-day Gay Marriage movement, younger people in the U.S. are less interested in living discrete existences within their affinity groups — they are mixing it up more than ever. I find this trend evolutionary and predict there will be no turning back. If I am right about this, then it stands to reason that pastoral caregivers from different backgrounds will be increasingly accepted by the mainstream, and that Buddhism’s rich tradition of pastoral care will play a more prominent role.
In this handbook, you will learn about some of the principles of pastoral care from a Buddhist perspective. By Buddhist perspective I mean from the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama 2,600 years ago as recorded in the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon is a collection of suttas (I liken them to sermons or lessons) on how to alleviate suffering, enjoy life and abide in other realms of existence. Buddhism means the practice of awakening. It is a process of evolving past hurt, pain, unhealthy attachment, unwholesome desires and personality limits in order to grow in loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity and joy. Awakening is a set of practices that creates a dynamic exchange sparked by a desire to accept reality rather than be deluded, cultivate love where hatred can fester and grow, act with kindness where indifference, distance, and meanness can prevail, and feel compassion where apathy begins to takes hold. This is also the principle outlined in St. Francis’ Prayer. It bears mentioning because the Buddhist and Catholic traditions, though certainly very different, share many universal principles. This is true for other religions as well. So what does Buddhism have to offer pastoral caregivers and the pastoral caregiving professions, including pastors, chaplains, pastoral counselors, and pastoral psychotherapists?
Buddhism offers: mindfulness, formation in character, meditation, practices for dealing with anxiety and depression, the Eightfold Path to contentment, and a belief system that never invokes the name of God or gods to blame people for being sick, but instead puts the potential for healing squarely in our hands. Buddhism offers healing hands and healing hearts, and the practice itself can be considered a healing art. With these things in mind, let’s examine how Buddhist pastoral care can be efficacious to everyone, regardless of creed.
The Buddha as a Pastoral Caregiver
In the Christian tradition, the word “pastoral” comes from the function of herding sheep. The Bible includes stories about lost sheep being sought out in the pasture, found and returned to the flock. This was the job of the herder or shepherd in the pasture — the pastor. The lost sheep returning to the flock, guided by the shepherd, is a metaphor to describe the dynamic between people who have left the community of followers who believe in God and Jesus, and their leader, the pastor. In the church, the minister is the pastor, responsible for gathering the believers, caring for their well being, and leading the believers or flock to their destination, heaven. The image of the sheep and pastor carry a significant image in the Christian tradition. In Buddhism, the significant image that describes this relationship is the cow and the cowherd. The cows are like the sheep and the cowherd is like the herdsman or shepherd.
In The Greater Discourse on the Cowherd (Mahagopalaka Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya) it is said that the Buddha said a cowherd should possess 11 factors, making him capable of keeping and rearing a herd of cattle. Those factors are:
1) knowledge of form
2) skilled in characteristics
3) picks out flies’ eggs
4) dresses wounds
5) smokes out the sheds
6) knows the watering place
7) knows what it is to have drunk
8) knows the road
9) skilled in pastures
10) does not milk dry
11) shows extra veneration to those bulls who are fathers and leaders of the herd
The Buddha gave this discourse to a gathering of monks about how to keep and raise a community of adherents. The monks were not cowherds in the literal sense, but dharma teachers or would-be dharma teachers, counselors, and healers who taught people what they themselves had learned directly from the Buddha. The purpose of this handbook is to illustrate pastoral care from a loving-kindness perspective, but it makes sense here to briefly touch on the 11 factors of cowherding.
It is said that the Buddha said to have knowledge of form, one knows that the materiality of a human body is made of the four elements — earth, wind, fire and water.
To be skilled in characteristics, the cowherd knows when a follower is foolish and when a follower is wise. Picking out flies’ eggs is a simile for removing things that get in the way of spiritual growth. In order to dress wounds, the monk notices when his senses are engaged. Noticing how he begins to cling and crave, he abandons those desires and practices restraint and renunciation. Smoking out the sheds refers to how a monk teaches the dharma. Is the ability to teach such that it helps remove ignorance? Knowing the watering place is akin to the cowherd, as leader, also being a good follower, or cow, of wiser cowherds. The knowledge of having drunk is the same as having been inspired and gladdened by the teachings. Knowing the road is knowing the Eightfold Path. Being skilled in pastures is knowing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. A monk who does not milk dry is like a guest who does not overstay his welcome. The monk should take what is given only in moderation. Lastly, the monk should show extra veneration for respected leaders and wise ones in the community of followers—the founders and leaders of the herd--through private and public acts of loving-kindness . According to the Buddha, this is what a good pastor needs to be, do and understand to successfully keep his flock.
The Mahagopalaka Sutta is probably not as well known as other discourses because it was written with a small group of people in mind--—dharma teachers and leaders. But despite its obscurity, it packs a powerful message about the pastoral aspect of teaching the dharma—it takes insight, skill, reverence, authenticity and understanding the true nature of being human.
There are many stories about the Buddha, who went by the name Siddharta Gautama prior to his enlightenment.. According to one story, for example, his father did everything in his power to hide the reality of suffering from his son, based on a seer’s prophecy that if young Siddhartha saw the extent of human life, he would become a caregiver, not the heir to his father’s wealth. When Siddhartha saw that people age, become ill and die, he was shocked, so shocked that he renounced his high place in the community and fled to the forest for six years trying every way possible to see if old age, illness and death could be avoided. After making himself sick trying to avoid sickness, he woke up to the true nature of being human. His first thought was to keep what he had learned to himself, but as the sutta goes, he was visited by the god Brahma, who inspired him to share what he learned out of compassion for the pain and suffering of others. In other stories, the Buddha was visited by Mara, the Indian equivalent of Satan, who attempted to persuade the Buddha to sin rather than teach. Siddhartha was divinely inspired, despite these temptations, to gather cows as cowherd, and lead them to drink.
Bringing comfort in the Buddhist tradition is about good self-care, understanding that a caregiver who cares well for herself has a good idea about how others might care well for themselves. Again, the caregiver’s role is to put the potential for healing squarely in the receiver’s hands, artfully. How? According to Siddhartha, it begins by simply sharing the truth of reality. Sharing the truth of reality is the job of a teacher. Teaching was one of Siddhartha’s ways of conveying information. He also preached to a congregation. Siddhartha was an itinerant preacher who went from grove to park, spreading his message of salvation from suffering. But did he actually heal people?
The Buddha as Healer
The bulk of the suttas do not suggest that Siddhartha laid his hands on people and cured them of physical diseases or restored abilities where disability existed, yet there are suttas that include stories of Siddhartha’s many lives and many superpowers. Buddhism, like Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, is not a tradition completely removed from magical thinking, and like people from other traditions, many who call themselves Buddhists, especially in the West, privilege the practices over belief in the magical. Siddhartha’s ministry was mostly one of helping people understand how to live with more contentment. Is arriving at contentment healing? If contentment means less stress, less striving, less fear, a sense of satisfaction, no desire for things to be different than they are, then arriving at contentment is healing and being content is good health in the mental and emotional senses.
According to a medical study done of women who had a mastectomy, those who were not content with the decision they made to have the surgery may have experienced depression due to dissatisfaction with their appearance, even when fully dressed. These feelings of depression may also have been related to their perceptions of being in poor or fair health even when the cancer was cured. (Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 24, No. 9 (March 20), 2006: pp. 1350-1356).
In Nursing Science Quarterly, researchers White, Peters, and Schim defined “well-being” as “a perceived condition of personal existence including persons’ experiences of contentment... (Nursing Science Quarterly, January 2011; vol. 24, 1: pp. 48-56.)
Does contentment play a part in helping addicts recover and stay sober? According to researchers, there is a relationship between length of sobriety, spirituality and contentment for those who attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Length of sobriety was significantly associated with spirituality in men and women, but as it relates to contentment, men’s contentment was significantly related to lower stress levels, but not for women. (Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 29, Issue 9, December 2004, pg. 1857-1862.) Can anorexia nervosa and bulimia coexist with contentment about the body? No. Contentment is healthy.
Siddhartha did not address breast cancer, alcoholism (though he did teach against abusing intoxicants) or body image, but he did teach that the human condition includes a constant strand of discontentment or dukkha, and that the spiritual practice of awakening is to awaken to the fact that we have in our hands the ability to transform discontentment and prevent unnecessary dis-ease. How?
Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
As the story goes, Siddhartha was fooled by his father into thinking life was full of young people who never got sick or died. When he learned the truth, he fled to the forest for six years, tried all manner of ascetic spiritual practices to avoid the human condition, failed, then professed: 1) there is discontentment/suffering; 2) discontentment/suffering has its causes; 3) there is a way to eliminate these causes; and 4) eliminating the causes is through the Noble Eightfold Path. The path includes:
Put simply, to achieve contentment, one must cultivate wisdom, act ethically and, with proper perseverance, develop one’s mind toward the liberation from clinging. This handbook, however, is not a book about the religion of Buddhism—it is an introduction to pastoral care from the perspective of loving-kindness and compassion.
In the Metta (translated as loving-kindness) Sutta it is written:
To reach the state of peace
One skilled in the good
Capable and upright
Straightforward and easy to speak to,
Gentle and not proud,
Contented and easily supported,
Living lightly and with few duties,
Wise and with senses calmed,
Not arrogant and without greed for supporters,
And should not do the least thing that the wise would criticize.
[One should reflect:]
“May all be happy and secure;
May all beings be happy at heart.
All living beings, whether weak or strong,
Tall, large, medium, or short,
Tiny or big,
Seen or unseen,
Near or distant,
Born or to be born,
May they all be happy.
Let no one deceive another
Or despise anyone anywhere;
Let no one through anger or aversion
Wish for others to suffer.”
As a mother would risk her own life
To protect her child, her only child,
So toward all beings should one
Cultivate a boundless heart.
With loving-kindness for the whole world should one
Cultivate a boundless heart,
Above, below, and all around
Without obstruction, without hate and without ill-will.
Standing or walking, sitting or lying down,
Whenever one is awake,
May one stay with this recollection.
This is called a sublime abiding, here and now.
One who is virtuous, endowed with vision,
Not taken by views,
And having overcome all greed for sensual pleasure
Will not be reborn again.
Translated by Gil Fronsdal in The Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice
Let’s break down the Metta Sutta into segments. The first segment on reaching the state of peace is about a pastoral caregiver’s formation. One interested in reaching states of peace is working the Right Intention aspect of the Eightfold Path. To alleviate one’s suffering, one must have the intention to do so. Having the intention to alleviate suffering is the definition of Right Intention, but intention is not enough. One must also be “skilled in the good.” In other words, one must be experienced in living a wholesome lifestyle. This involves Right Speech, Action, and Livelihood.
Right Speech can mean refraining from all forms of communication, depending on what the caregiver perceives as wise action, or it could simply mean engaging only in speech that is truthful, timely, spoken with no intention of harming, but with the intention of being helpful, and gentle. Right Action (which also includes speech) is also motivated by an intention to do no harm but be beneficial. Right Livelihood is earning one’s keep with no intention of harming, not profiting from someone else’s unwholesome actions, and being of benefit to others. A pastoral caregiver interested in being inspired and motivated by loving-kindness would do well to be formed in cultivating a mind and heart for peace, experienced in actually living peacefully, but loving-kindness requires more than this — it requires capability and character.
For a pastoral caregiver to be capable and upright in the loving-kindness tradition, one would do well to also develop the other character perfections (as loving-kindness is just one of ten) including:
Resolution, Perseverance or Determination, and
One skilled in these areas is considered upright in this spiritual tradition. In an upright caregiver, the intention to be peaceful and the actual experience of living peacefully are accompanied by active listening and a certain directness in speech. (I like to think of this as making an effort to be clear rather than confusing.) This directness is balanced with gentleness and humility. If I can privilege the value of any particular aspect in pastoral caregiving, it would be listening. I have yet to meet a person who deep down did not want to be lovingly listened to, heard in some way or kindly and compassionately witnessed. Even those who initially said they did not want to share anything about themselves later confessed that they were just afraid that they would not be accepted in the condition they found themselves in. Pastoral caregivers trained in this tradition know that whatever condition we find others in, it is not a condition that we ourselves can avoid. To remember that we cannot avoid the human condition, there is a contemplation practice called The Five Remembrances:
1. I am sure to become old; I cannot avoid aging.
2. I am sure to become ill; I cannot avoid illness.
3. I am sure to die; I cannot avoid death.
4. I must be separated and parted from all that is dear and beloved to me.
5. I am the owner and heir of my actions… good or bad.
When offering pastoral care, remembering the impermanence of our true material condition allows us to be fully present with those who are suffering. We remember that our experience is a shared experience, and that what may be causing the receiver’s suffering is already present in us, perhaps to a different degree or with a different shade, but present within us at that moment and always. The purpose of this practice is to be content with what is and when content, we are easier to be with — we do not cause the receiver to become our caretaker. With this knowledge and remembering, we listen differently, with empathy and with compassion arising naturally. This is part of the process of developing loving-kindness. In order to make this go more smoothly, it is important to be mindful of how we actually live.
The Metta Sutta states that one should live lightly and with few duties. This is countercultural in the United States, but a pastoral caregiver burdened by many responsibilities and tasks is not likely to have the energy (one of the perfections) to be loving or kind or a good listener. The caregiver will more than likely think about the next thing they have to do while present with the receiver. It is likely the receiver will notice this and interpret the interaction with the caregiver as obligatory at best, and uninterested at worst. All these teachings are on the path to wisdom.The pastoral caregiver should be wise (omniscience is not required) and calm. What is the benefit to the receiver of having a wise and calm caregiver? More often than not, in my experience, a receiver wants something from the caregiver. Never have I experienced ignorance being the thing they needed. The right words at the right time (sometimes in the form of a cliché), an accurate observation of one’s condition and experience, when to tell the truth, when to let the receiver dwell in denial, when to comfort and when to challenge all require the experience and skill that leads to wisdom. And what about calm senses?
The calm caregiver, as opposed to the one who is agitated, nervous, or overly excited, is the one most likely to be fully present for the receiver and the receiver’s experience. In Buddhism, understanding the self as impermanent means understanding that the sensations, objects, perceptions, interpretations and meanings that occur and arise through seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling continually change. Agitation can be transformed into calm through mindfulness. Bringing awareness to sensations in the body and mind, and slowing down racing thoughts, rapid breathing, tense muscles and the jitters can be accomplished by awareness and deep breathing, focusing the mind on an object or image. Calming also has the effect of dampening the need to project one’s personality outward, in other words, to be arrogant.
The Metta Sutta states that reaching the state of peace requires that one not be arrogant and greedy for supporters. Arrogance has many downsides,one of them being the amount of energy it takes for the receiver to adjust to such neediness on the part of the caregiver. If the caregiver needs the support of the receiver, when ostensibly the caregiver is there to be of support, the relationship is twisted in such a way that the receiver who is in need has to put his or her own needs aside to give care to the professional. This dynamic raises ethical concerns.
In the formation section of the sutta, the last sentence in the first stanza states that one should not act in ways that wise people would criticize. There is a collective wisdom about caring for others that transcends religions, cultures and generations but is also embedded in our religions, cultures and generations. We should be mindful to remember that as caregivers, we belong to a tradition and profession that has collected wisdom from the ages. To be formed in this tradition involves some letting go of one’s own concepts of right and wrong in order to surrender to the human experience that transcends our own personal experience.
Reflection, Contemplation and Meditation
The sutta states that one should reflect. The practice of reflecting involves thinking and feeling. It’s like the experience of being in a dream while you’re awake. It’s not discursive as in connecting thoughts to create a coherent sentence. It’s arriving at one thought and staying with that thought until it actually affects your way of thinking and being. A pastoral caregiver in the Metta tradition should have a commitment to reflecting. Reflecting on what? “May all be happy and secure.”
What does it feel like to reflect on a wish for the well being of all? Knowing from experience the feelings of happiness and security, when I reflect (put myself in a dream-like state) on those feelings, imagining this feeling for all, I intensify the feeling. I cannot bring to mind every living being in existence, but I can rid myself of feelings of resistance that arise when my mind discriminates against myself and others. Should feelings of discrimination arise, I can also reflect: “May all beings be happy at heart.”
To be happy at heart is not the same happiness that comes from getting needs and wants met — it even goes beyond feeling secure. Happy at heart is about joy. Touching on my own experience of joy, I move my internal experience from sympathy to empathy. I go from guarded to emotionally vulnerable and because I do this, I feel tenderness and fear. Why fear? I’m reflecting on wishing joy for all. If I’m really serious about all, that includes those who I feel have hurt me. In my hurt, I learned how to protect myself from that person, or defend myself from similar attacks. One way of protecting and defending is to withhold well wishes, love, affection, emotion, etc. from those who have hurt me. A pastoral caregiver in this tradition is also asked to reflect on those who have hurt us, to wish for them deep joy. Lastly, there is another category of beings -- we have not met them yet.
Living beings come in all shapes and sizes. These shapes, sizes, sounds, beliefs, preferences, identities, personalities, etc. also form the texture of our prejudices, therefore the sutta says that one interested in reaching the state of peace should reflect positively on all beings no matter their strengths or weaknesses, no matter their height or width, whether you’ve seen these beings or have never seen them, no matter how close or far away they are from you and even if the being has yet to come into material existence. Reflecting, as in a dream, that all beings be happy at heart, over time, transforms us from enemy to friend. Pastoral caregivers in this tradition practice cultivating the quality of friendship toward all receivers no matter what. The sutta states that one reaching the state of peace should not despise anyone anywhere. Peace and hatred are mutually exclusive as are friendship and dishonesty. The quality of friendship that comes with being a pastoral caregiver demands honesty.
The Metta Sutta states: Let no one deceive another. Reflecting on the concept of deception, forming Right Intention, one makes a commitment to authenticity. Why is authenticity so important in this tradition? As the story of the Buddha’s life goes, Siddhartha’s father did everything in his power to deceive Siddhartha. Immense suffering arose when Siddhartha learned the truth. If caregivers are not honest with care receivers, caregivers become part of the problem — we create conditions for the eventual immense suffering people are likely to experience when they realize the truth, especially if that truth is the opposite of what the receiver has come to believe and accept. Of course caregivers must be wise about what truths to tell, how to tell them and when, but authenticity is believed to be more comforting, ultimately, than obscuration. The ability to be wise, honest and gentle is a great asset for the caregiver.
When I think of images of pastoral caregivers, I think of sweetness, smiles, direct eye contact, affection and serenity. Somewhere and at some time, the image of the pastoral caregiver has become a caricature — a one-dimensional, nice and non-confrontational pseudo-person. In other words, pastoral caregivers are not supposed to feel anger, as if feeling angry is a sin or fault, indicative of poor spiritual formation. One need not give up personhood to be a pastoral caregiver, but one need pay attention to what makes him or her angry, how often anger arises, and what is done in reaction or response to anger. The sutta states: “…Let no one deceive another or despise anyone anywhere; let no one through anger or aversion wish for others to suffer.” I interpret this stanza to suggest that feelings of anger are permitted as long as hatred is not the consequence. One way to avoid anger transforming into hatred is the practice of mindfulness. Through mindfulness of feelings and sensations, we become aware of the tension and constriction in the muscles, and the sensation of heat in our skin. Through mindfulness of breathing, we experience rapid breathing from the rise and fall of the chest, or the inability to take deep breaths to relax. Through mindfulness of thoughts, we become aware of imagining pushing the other person away somehow, yelling at them, calling them names, cutting off the relationship, and or feeling a deep sense of satisfaction imaging that person failing, not getting what they want or being embarrassed. Noticing some of these reactions or all of them, we then name it “anger.” After we name it, we claim it. We claim it to protect the care receiver from hatred, we claim it so that the receiver does not become the caregiver, and we claim it because we are the only ones who can transform it back onto the path of metta and karuna.
The Metta Sutta is clear that loving-kindness is to be bestowed on every being by wishing them well, but the sutta does not stop there. There must be an intense conviction to work toward cultivating loving-kindness. If possible, it should be like the bond and attachment between mother and child. Loving-kindness should be natural, fierce and pervade the universe at all times. It should not be abandoned for a lesser state of being, ever. That is the aspiration. The pastoral care giver in this tradition should transmit and convey to the receiver a loving-kindness that is real. It is embodied. It does not discriminate. It is not limited to the interaction between the caregiver and receiver, but pervades the space in which they meet. This is how reflection and contemplation form the pastoral caregiver, yet there is another tool in the pastoral caregiver’s medicine bag — meditation.
Meditation is a spiritual practice shared by many religious traditions, but meditation is central to the spiritual life in the Metta tradition. Why? On a practical level, we learn to relax through meditation. It is difficult to be loving, kind and compassionate when we are on edge. On another level, meditation allows us to perceive more of what is happening in our lives and in others’ lives. This is important because pastoral caregivers need to perceive what is happening in them even as they perceive what is happening with the receiver. This is how we form appropriate responses.
Meditation, especially mindfulness of the body, allows us to understand how our bodies react to stimuli and forms a base of knowledge on how to understand how others’ bodies react. It also reminds us of the essential commonality we share — we may have different opinions, different histories, different stories, but our bodies are made of the same elements. Knowing our bodies are made of the same elements, and remembering that fact, the caregiver always has a point of reference, a point of commonality, and a source of empathy.
Mindfulness of the Body Exercise
Mindfulness meditation of the body can be done with the body in practically any position: sitting, lying down, standing or walking. The point of the exercise is to put one’s attention on specific body parts, the various sensations throughout the body, and even imagining the various bodily functions that occur. Here’s an exercise:
Sit comfortably in a chair in such a way that your body feels solid and supported. Usually with feet flat on the ground, legs at a comfortable and natural distance apart, arms supported in such a way that there is not too much heaviness in the shoulders (arm rests or lap pillows are helpful), the chin tilted slightly toward the middle of the neck, the tongue at the roof of the mouth, with eyes gently closed.
With the body comfortable and alert, bring your attention to your toes. Let your attention rest there for a few seconds before bringing your attention to your feet. Rest there. After resting your attention at your feet, bring your attention to your ankles, rest, then lower legs, rest, knees, rest, and upper legs. In the mindfulness of the body practice, one is slowly moving their attention from the toes up toward the scalp, resting at each stop. As you develop in this practice, you can imagine perhaps even feeling fluids in the body, like sweat forming in the hands, arm pits, and forehead. You can feel the vibrations of the heart beating, or a pulse in the abdomen. You can feel the pressure of gas building, bloating and releasing. There may be throbbing, tension, pain and the absence of sensation. Whatever is felt or not felt, mindfulness meditation of the body is grounding and allows us to remember our essential commonality — the body. Pastoral caregivers are also called to attend to the body of the receiver, for it is the body (which includes the mind) where the receiver experiences this life.
It is one thing to read the Metta Sutta, but it is another thing to embody it. It is one thing to think it, but it is another thing to breathe it. It is one thing to imagine it, and another thing to be it. Embodying, breathing, and being loving, kind and compassionate takes practice in a society and culture that supports the notion of justice as punitive. Much of the way we deal with our hurt, pain, disappointment and anger stems from an “eye for an eye” mentality. But as Gandhi one said “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” We may have justice, but justice does not equal enlightenment. As pastoral caregivers, we are called to pay attention to injustice, for many of whom we will care for have been treated unjustly. The essence of our work is not justice making (though we certainly contribute positively to addressing certain wrongs) but escorting people on the path to wholeness. Can we be pastoral escorts to the receiver if we harbor anger, resentment, hatred or indifference to the receiver’s wrongdoer? It would be very difficult indeed, especially if our attention is on the wrongdoer. Let’s reflect on the sutta again.
“May all be happy and secure;
May all beings be happy at heart.
All living beings, whether weak or strong,
Tall, large, medium, or short,
Tiny or big,
Seen or unseen,
Near or distant,
Born or to be born,
May they all be happy.
Let no one deceive another
Or despise anyone anywhere;
Let no one through anger or aversion
Wish for others to suffer.”
Let’s put these sentiments into a guided meditation. Just like in the mindfulness meditation of the body exercise, get your body ready for meditation. Bring your attention to your chest, your heart space. Let your attention rest there until you feel a vibration. If you don’t feel a vibration, do not worry. Just note in your mind that you do not feel a vibration. Say to yourself, “May I be happy.” Take a few breaths. Notice whether there is any resistance to your wish for you to be happy. If there is resistance, notice it. If resistance persists, gently shift your meditation to someone you know for whom there is no resistance. It may be that you can hold positive wishes for the receiver. If you have no resistance to wishing yourself well, rest in this positive self-regard. Starting a meditation practice can be difficult when there is resistance unexamined. When examining resistance, be gentle and be true. Resistance is just resistance…it is not the truth of existence, just resistance.
After resting after “May I be happy,” transition your attention to a living being for whom there is no resistance. It may be someone you love dearly like a life partner, a child, parent or close friend. Bring an image of them to your mind and say to yourself, “May ______ be happy.” Rest. Then bring your attention to someone who you don’t know well enough to have real positive or negative feelings towards. Just like for yourself and the person close to you, you wish them well, “May ______ be happy.” Rest. If there is someone you don’t like, just like for yourself, your loved one, and the one you don’t know well, you wish for them the same happiness. Bringing them to mind, rest with the feelings that come up for you when you bring them to mind. Keep resting until you feel less tense. “May ____ be happy.” When thoughts arise that you believe justify your negative feelings, put your attention on your chest and heart space as a way of not getting caught up in your negative thoughts. Be mindful of your body. Recognize how difficult it is to love, be kind, and forgive those who have hurt, angered and disappointed you. “May they be happy.” And remember that no one said spiritual transformation would be easy. Jesus implored God to forgive his persecutors for their ignorance. We can wish all being happiness even if we can’t forgive them just yet. We can wish that they experience forgiveness in the universe, even if we are not ready to release them from our negativity. This is the meditation practice of metta. Pastoral care giving is the service practice of love, kindness and compassion.
The metta meditation practice can be extended beyond wishing ourselves and others happiness. We can hold in our hearts a wish, a prayer, a chant or a meditation that all beings, including ourselves, feel secure, be healthy, and be free from suffering. The Buddha said that one of the main components of suffering is clinging. Clinging to hatred causes more suffering than hatred that comes and goes. Why? Modern neuroscientists have noted that clinging to thoughts makes it physiologically harder to let go. It is as simple as that.
Many pastoral caregivers in the metta tradition have sat in silent meditation retreats for several consecutive days reflecting on the sutta and practicing the loving-kindness meditation led and guided by dharma teachers. For many, this practice has been a breakthrough to compassion, joy and liberation from suffering. These retreats provide a solid foundation in the formation of metta pastoral caregiver.
Having been formed in metta with mindfulness of the body and the metta and mindfulness meditations as breakthroughs to compassion, what does the compassionate pastoral caregiver do that may be different than other pastoral caregivers? What we do may not be much different, but what we aspire to understand may be different if circumstances and wisdom suggests. For example, there may be different ways of understanding care receivers.
Assessing a need through deep listening and renunciation of proselytizing
The Buddha said that there are three types of patients: one who despite being well cared for, will not recover from illness. Another type of patient is one who will recover whether or not he or she was properly cared for. The other type of patient is one who will only recover because he or she got the proper treatment. The Buddha likened these types of patients to types of people who could be more whole if they understood the Buddha’s teachings. The one person/patient most in need of these teachings is the one who will most benefit from the teachings. How, as pastoral caregivers, do we know who will best benefit? Caregivers must discern the receiver’s issues as the receiver understands it. Failing to understand the receiver’s issues as the receiver sees it risks precious time in establishing rapport. Metta pastoral caregivers know intuitively that the purpose of their work is not to prove who is right or wrong in their perceptions, but to join with the receiver, as much as possible, with their understanding of reality — at least initially. Understanding that reality forms the basis for determining whether education is the medicine needed for the ailment of ignorance. If ignorance is not the illness, education is not the cure. The compassionate pastoral caregiver is mindful of the value of silence and listening for clues as to what is important to the receiver.
The compassionate pastoral caregiver should be careful not to confuse an interest in communicating with a desire to be educated or proselytized. Neuroscientists have discovered that it is the brain’s natural function to initially block perceptions that do not automatically conform to our sense of reality. Therefore proselytizing can be expected to be met with resistance. The patient/person for whom The Buddha’s teachings should be shared, is the patient/person for whom these teachings already mean something. These teachings are not meant to be held as the truth, but as something that is meaningful to those who have found them helpful. Some teachings from all traditions are meaningful to those who are a part of that particular tradition, therefore the compassionate pastoral caregiver should seek to know what teachings hold the greatest meaning for the receiver, not to teach them what they already know, but to remind them that they already have within them the internal psychic resource of meaning and meaning making. Meaning is like a deep well that can quench the thirst for wholeness.
Spiritual and religious traditions, including the metta and karuna traditions, include stories about curing disease. In some traditions, it is believed that only one person had the power to cure physical diseases, restore abilities and raise dead people to life. In Buddhism, the disease to be cured was mental and emotional dis-ease, and the power to cure was in the hands of the afflicted — they just did not know or forgot they had the power.
In the Pali Canon, there is a story of an afflicted monk who was said to be gravely ill. The Buddha said that if the monk remembered the ten perceptions, he might be immediately cured of his affliction. The ten perceptions are:
4) danger of disease
9) impermance in all formations and
10) mindfulness of breathing.
For anyone not of this pastoral caregiving tradition, it is important to understand that the affliction to be cured is not physical disease, but mental and emotional dis-ease. Looking at affliction as mental suffering, let’s apply the ten perceptions to one who is physically sick and is also suffering mental dis-ease, or non-contentment, to discover the efficacy of contentment. The instruction to the pastoral caregiver is as follows:
1) Invite the receiver to reflect on the perception of impermance. As reflecting on the Metta Sutta, the caregiver invites the receiver into a dream-like state where they keep their attention on the these facts:
a) form is impermanent
b) feeling is impermanent
c) perception is impermanent
d) volitional (images created in the mind) formations are impermanent
e) consciousness is impermanent
The receiver is invited to reflect on and dwell in the fact that everything changes. If reflecting on these facts brings acceptance, then the receiver is freed from clinging to the wrong belief that some things never change or should never change, like their health.
2) Invite the receiver to reflect on the perception of non-self. The concept of non-self is misunderstood by many who have tried to understand it without understanding the whole of the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha taught mindfulness of the body, therefore it is not consistent with Buddhist teachings that there is no body. I would recommend that the word “non-self” not be used; instead, the giver would probably do better to guide the receiver to reflect on the existence of consciousness, the part of the receiver that remains after dissolution of the body. If the receiver understands the concept of non-self in a way that is healing, the instruction goes:
a) the eye is non-self
b) forms are non-self
c) odors are non-self
d) the tongue is non-self
e) the nose is non-self
f) tastes are non-self
g) mind-objects are non-self.
The receiver is invited to remember to not overly identify with the sense doors, that which is perceived through those sense doors, and that which is interpreted through those doors. Why is that? Physical pain is experienced in the sense doors. If the receiver overly identifies with the sense door as self, it is likely the pain will worsen, as well as prohibit the ability to gain perspective on the experience of pain. The receiver becomes the pain itself, which makes it more difficult to dwell on consciousness.
3) Invite the receiver to reflect on the foulness of the body. The Buddha wasn’t much for hiding from any reality. When we are physically sick and gravely ill, we begin to get in contact with the fact that our bodies are mushy, that the contents of our bodies stink, and that fluid oozes out in unattractive ways and unexpected places. If we think our bodies are otherwise, the truth will be quite disturbing. Rather than be reactive when fluids ooze and emit their odors, better to be proactive and reflect on the reality of our bodies. The instruction is similar to the mindfulness of the body except we are instructed to reflect on:
a) skin and flesh
b) bones and bone marrow
c) bowels and intestines
d) excrement, bile, phlegm, pus and snot and
There are a host of other aspects of the body to focus on, but if we reflect on the reality of the unpleasantness of the body, pastoral caregivers can help receivers face the fear of the loss of appearance and beauty. With so much of our time spent on appearances and looking good, it is a gift to the receiver that the pastoral caregiver be able to accompany the receiver through this dramatic loss.
4) Invite the receiver to reflect on danger (the widespread existence of disease). Siddhartha was brought up by his father to believe that there was no such thing as disease for fear Siddhartha would be compassionate towards those who were afflicted with disease, and would therefore abandon his wealth and power. In Western culture we “fight” disease. We sometimes blame people for contracting diseases. When people die from disease, we often say they fought a good fight. All of this suggests that we have a collective resistance to the existence of disease. How does being a part of this collective resistance help the person who actually has the disease? We can understand why some sick people isolate themselves—we fight against an aspect of their condition because we reject it. They overly identify with their illness, therefore they isolate before we get to reject them. Do we think that by resisting disease we cure it? Do we believe that passivity to disease is the only alternative to fighting it? What about a middle way approach? Rather than fight it or be passive in the face of it, we simply accept it and treat it. How? Invite the receiver to reflect:
a) the body is the source of much pain and many dangers
b) these dangers include diseases that affect the organs
c) toothaches and coughs
d) itching, scabs and jaundice
e) cold, heat, hunger and thirst
g) add whatever disease or ailment they are seeking treatment for.
5) Invite the receiver to reflect on the presence of and abandon any thoughts of:
a) sensual desire
b) ill will
The caregiver’s role here is to guide the receiver away from discontentment of any kind.
6) Invite the receiver to reflect on the feeling of dispassion. In other words, having taken the receiver through the first five perceptions, they will have had a taste of dispassion, or letting go of craving. The caregiver should ask them, “How does it feel to let go?” or “When you let go of fighting your disease rather than accepting it and treating it, how did that feel?”
7) Invite the receiver to reflect on the feeling of cessation, or the end of suffering.
8) Invite the receiver to reflect on the feeling of disenchantment with the world. Disenchantment is not hatred or dislike; it is the state of not being taken by illusions. If one is not taken by illusions, they do not desire, crave, cling to, and crave more of that illusion. They see illusion as illusion.
9) According to the instructions, the receiver should, after proper pastoral guidance, be disgusted with all formations. This seems harsh, especially out of context. The context of these teachings is within a monastic order. Monks in the Buddhist tradition were trained to adopt an aversion to the body to eliminate sexual desire. Loving-kindness pastoral caregivers should be mindful not to impose teachings meant only for living a monastic lifestyle onto householders.
10) Invite the receiver to practice mindfulness of breathing. Mindfulness of breathing, after having reflected on the nine contemplations is a lot different than engaging in the exercise before reflecting because of the intense hindrances to meditation that can arise for an ill person in deep denial about their experience. Typically it is taught there are five hindrances to mindfulness meditation: sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.
Reflecting on the first nine perceptions, we can see that reflecting on foulness is a way to remove the hindrance of sensual desire. Reflecting on abandoning helps remove the hindrance of ill will. Mindfulness of breathing is a way to deal with sloth and torpor because it calms the body, helps clear the mind of agitation, and therefore provides rest, restoring energy to mind and body. But what to do about restlessness and remorse? Mindfulness meditation is an antidote to restlessness. When dealing with remorse as a hindrance to mindfulness meditation, two avenues are worth traveling. One, practice self-forgiveness and two, ask for forgiveness (if just in your heart) from those you have hurt. Forgiveness, letting go of the power that past hurts and present resentments have over your willingness to engage with the perpetrators, can be difficult but is so liberating. It is fair to say that there is no contentment without forgiveness. It is also fair to say that oftentimes when the receiver becomes so ill that they begin contemplating their lives, issues of forgiveness arise. People desperately want to be forgiven. They want to enter the next realm, even if they are not sure whether there is another realm, with a clean slate. I believe this is a universal tendency that pastoral care givers do well to remember.
Facing Death and Dying
Pastoral caregivers in the metta and karuna traditions are usually exposed to teachings on death and dying. Why is that? Over the years we have learned that much suffering arises as the result of the fear of death and the experience of dying. In our formation as pastoral caregivers, we are called and advised to tend to our own suffering and transform that suffering into the path of contentment, tranquility and liberation. Our own experience on this path gives us deeper insights into caring for the receiver. How we help them transform their suffering, even as they die, may be informed by how we transformed our own suffering. The Metta Sutta states, “May all be happy and secure…all living beings, whether weak or strong.” Understanding the spirit of the sutta as being inclusive of all living beings, we can interpret the sutta to also include the dying beings that are still alive. May they also be happy at heart and secure. How can one who is dying be secure? Let’s begin with The Buddha’s teachings.
It is said that a holy high priest approached The Buddha to argue a point: There is no one who does not fear death. The Buddha did not agree. The Buddha said that there are four kinds of people facing grave illnesses that grieve, lament, and moan over the loss of sensual pleasures (that which is pleasing to the senses). The one who is not afraid of death is not afraid because he or she is free from lust for sensual pleasures, desire and craving. The one who is not afraid is the one whose mind is absent of grief over loss and is free from the consequences of having done bad acts. This fearlessness is also the manifestation of having done good acts. They are free from doubting the value of their beliefs and practices. This is the person who is not afraid of death. It is the pastoral caregiver’s responsibility to incline themselves towards fearlessness in the face of the inevitable — death. How is this practiced?
The pastoral caregiver, well-formed in this tradition, has engaged in a practice called The Five Remembrances. The basic practice is a contemplation practice that involves stilling the body and reflecting for some time on five facts of their life:
1) I am subject to aging, I cannot avoid aging.
2) I am subject to illness, I cannot avoid illness.
3) I am subject to death, I cannot avoid death.
4) I will part from all who are dear to me, I cannot avoid this parting.
5) My actions carry consequences, I cannot erase the impact of my actions.
The Five Remembrances, like many of the teachings attributed to the Buddha, was written in the Pali language. The rendering above is a simple explanation of the crux of the practice. Remembering the fact of the impermance of our physical self, followed by another humbling fact— I am powerless— holds the potential to lust less for sensual pleasures and grieve less over loss.
I have found it important to state the fact of our physical existence and immediately follow it with the humbling fact (powerlessness) as a technique to not engage in denial, delusion or folly. For example, I could contemplate, “I am subject to aging.” pause, then allow the resistance to arise in the form of wishful thinking like, “Yeah, but I’m going to keep telling people I’m 29 when really I’m 40.” This practice says, in essence, it is a waste of time to go there, just accept the humbling fact of your powerlessness, understanding it deeply, then live your life.
When I introduced this practice to my meditation community, I introduced it in such a way as to illustrate the broadness of the Buddha’s teachings on the body, the personality, the identity and nature. Later, recognizing that these teachings, in the hands of those who may be so depressed and suicidal that they are misconstrued as an invitation to kill oneself, I introduced the teachings as The Five Remembrances Plus One Precept:
I will not cause the death of any living being.
The composite materials in fire, water, wind, wood, soil, DNA, other elements, along with this personality and identity, all together called “I,” is subject to aging.
The composite materials in fire, water, wind, wood, soil, DNA, other elements, along with this personality and identity, all together called “I,” is subject to illness.
The composite materials in fire, water, wind, wood, soil, DNA, other elements, with this personality and identity, all together called “I,” is subject to death.
The composite materials in fire, water, wind, wood, soil, DNA, other elements, with this personality and identity, all together called “I” will dissolve and separate from other composite materiality that is also subject to aging, illness and death.
As I exist, I exist in relationship with the elements that make up all of life, therefore my thoughts, speech and actions carry consequences and karma. What is left after dissolution is karma and consciousness.
I will not cause the death of any living being.
I believe it is important to begin and end this practice with the precept of refraining from killing because these teachings can be wrongly misconstrued as an invitation to prematurely bring about the inevitable. Nothing about the the Buddha’s teachings would support such an interpretation. Also, I expanded the facts to illustrate, from a mindfulness of the body reflection, that we all share, on a physical level, the same elements found in other natural things. What we call “I” includes what we are made of, and also our ways of being, called the personality. The “I” also includes how we see ourselves and how others see us–what we call identity. Our bodies, our personalities, and our identities will dissolve, but in this tradition, something remains. Some call it the soul, others call it spirit, some consciousness, ghosts, others atman. In Taoism they say it is nameless. Traditions share the belief that something remains after the dissolution of the “I” and it is the recognition of this something that pastoral caregivers are called to attend to.
Pastoral care giving in the Buddhist tradition is about 2,600 years old. Enlightened care involves the practices of metta and karuna. It also involves cultivating wisdom that comes through the experience of giving pastoral care to a variety of people in a variety of circumstances. Ultimately, pastoral care in the metta and karuna traditions means helping receivers experience contentment, for it is contentment that is healing.
In Buddhism, one will find a long tradition of pastoring beginning with the Buddha as an itinerant teacher/minister/preacher of the truth as he experienced it— the dharma. His primary pastoral role was teaching people the truth about human existence, and instructing them on how to live with more contentment. The Buddha predates modern western medicine; therefore the suttas do not address healing and curing through medicine and surgery. The Buddha’s healing terrain was the mind and he explored through his own mind how a contented mind eases bodily stress. We now know, through modern science, how stress can lead to a variety of physical illnesses. The Buddha had a few prescriptions for what ailed his followers.
The Buddha prescribed the Eightfold Path, loving-kindness, compassion, perfections of character, mindfulness, the ten perceptions, the Five Remembrances, and the practices of reflecting and meditating to help pastoral caregivers and care receivers interact in such a way as to be healing to both parties involved. The formation of pastoral caregivers is not an overnight process, but the healing that can take place for a care receiver guided by a well-formed caregiver who is perceived by the receiver as authoritative, can be sudden.
Dharma Care (Part I) does not include all of the Buddha’s teachings on pastoral care. This handbook touches on just a few aspects of the teachings. May this handbook be of benefit to you and those you serve in your family, community, spiritual home, hospital, hospice, prison, school, and anywhere you find people in need of pastoral care. | <urn:uuid:900f8e69-4789-40b9-9163-773619617355> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dharmacare.com/dharma-care-handbook | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572581.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816211628-20220817001628-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.955654 | 12,837 | 2.59375 | 3 |
CHETEK, Wis. (WEAU) -- Three years ago, nearly half the students in the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser School District were either overweight or obese. Thanks to $1 million grant and the Tri-County Medical Society, that number has dropped significantly over the years.
The PEP grant was aimed at improving the students' health through education, nutrition and fitness.
In 2009, around 43 percent of the students were overweight or obese. By 2013, after BMI's were measured again, Dr. Fred Bannister, MD who led the study, said the number dropped to 30 percent.
"It became very obvious there was a tremendous obesity epidemic as evidenced by many of the kids in our community walking down the street with bottles of soda," said Bannister. It was in 2008 the Tri-County Medical Society physicians figured something out. "So we decided what to do and we obviously knew exercise and nutrition was a big part of this."
Bannister said it's important to note Weyerhaeuser wasn't part of the Chetek School District when the study began in 2009. But the final results in 2013 includes the students of the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser School District.
Dietitian Sarah Teele, CN who was hired by Tri-County Medical Society said there major changes right off the bat, like getting rid of chocolate milk.
"We gave it to them on Friday as kind of an end of the week treat," said Teele.
"I thought we were all going to get assassinated by the kids," joked Bannister. "However, we found the grade schools, we could do anything with their nutrition with absolutely no comment by them or interest."
The older students had a problem. They ended up bringing their own chocolate syrup, said Teele. But the cafeteria food also changed.
"Obviously the healthier food options, calorie ranges and restrictions on saturated fat and sodium, so you're seeing all that in our school breakfast and lunch program here," said school nutrition director Jessica Deringer, MS, RDN, CD.
Deringer said more fruits and vegetables are offered every day and students have a lot more to choose from.
"We're hoping the healthier choices they're making at school, they'll be making at home, outside of school and beyond their years here," she said.
Teele said the group went to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations incrementally per year.
"Slowly going down from 1200 mg per meal at lunch time down to a more reasonable amount, around 440 mg per meal at lunch time with sodium," said Teele. She said it took some coaching for the kitchen staff to know how to compensate with different types of seasonings and spices.
"I think they're a little bit closer to where they want to be now," said Teele.
The elementary school also got a new climbing wall, thanks to the grant. The middle school ended up revamping their weight and exercise rooms.
"We did put some TV monitors in the cafeteria as well as near the liens for getting food so people could draw their eyes to the monitor during the lunch hours. There were Powerpoint presentations related to healthy diet and exercise. The middle school and high school provided those lessons," said Teele.
Students and parents were also encourage to invite doctors with the Tri-County Medical Society into their homes.
"The people who requested that were obese or overweight, it really surprised us in that many times the people didn't feel threatened by obesity," said Bannister.
Three years later, the overweight or obesity rate dropped to 13 percent which Teele said is a significantly successful number.
"We're looking for that normal range to increase as the years go on," she said."
"We were all very surprised and very excited about the fact that we were able to drop the body mass index every year," said Bannister. "Obesity levels, overweight levels dropped about the same. It was pretty exciting."
The study will be discussed at an upcoming school board meeting where they'll look at the data and talk about what is the next step. | <urn:uuid:be0f6b19-13bc-43a7-b130-57ec2f2dfdda> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/Study-helps-Chetek-Weyerhaeuser-School-Dists-obesity-rate-decline-263733891.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00320-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987651 | 858 | 2.28125 | 2 |
En analys i prestation och aktiv förvaltning mellan svenska large- och small-cap fonde
An analysis of performance and active management between swedish large- and small-cap funds
The aim of this thesis is to explore whether there is a significant difference between Swedish large- and small-cap mutual funds. The study will examine each fund’s performance compared to one another. To investigate the performance of each fund category, performance measures such as the excess return, Sharpe ratio, Jensen’s alpha, Treynor ratio and information ratio will be used. Furthermore, the study also intends to answer the question if active management has an impact on these measures by using regression analysis and including the active share, tracking error and volatility as control variables. The study finds that there is a significant difference between small-cap funds and large-cap funds, where small-cap funds are able to consistently outperform their counterpart in regards to risk adjusted return. Our analysis also shows that there is a positive correlation between tracking error and risk adjusted return. Contrary to this, we found a negative relationship between risk adjusted returns and active share. Confirming that there is little evidence to support the conclusion that a higher active share leads to higher returns. | <urn:uuid:a7f330db-68d2-4727-941f-792595b7dfee> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/68733 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.914705 | 270 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Racing through Time is an exceptional series entailing the sensational beginnings of a much loved global sport. From the grease and glamour, to the danger and thrills, this is an action-packed, fact filled tour of the world of motor racing, featuring in-depth stories on the legends of motor racing, the high-performance machines, the men behind the wheel, and the circuits that have made history. The History of Le Mans: The history of the world's most famous sports car race, from the beginning in 1923 up to 2002, it's the race that all drivers like to have on their records. Full of drama the race is important to car companies as well. Some like Bentley and Jaguar made their reputation at Le Mans. | <urn:uuid:17b22495-5b01-4f01-bb16-98db47fcaf5a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cinemaparadiso.co.uk/rentals/racing-though-time-the-history-of-le-mans-72478.html?trkId=-p-1VftqM8Y1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00359-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96334 | 149 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The legal framework for the Green Deal is in place. This regulatory green light signals to industry that the market can now get started. In…
The legal framework for the Green Deal is in place. This regulatory green light signals to industry that the market can now get started.
In practice it means that Green Deal providers, assessors and installers can start to become authorised, and display the Green Deal Quality Mark, and put in place their systems for delivering assessments to consumers - although consumers won’t be able to sign up to a Green Deal finance plan until 28th January 2013.
The Green Deal will remove the biggest barriers to demand for energy efficiency solutions, opening up the market for more participants and giving people more choice.
From late January, Green Deal Providers will be able to offer Green Deal plans to consumers and begin delivering energy efficiency and heating measures and go on to meet the Government’s ambitions for a major programme of national energy efficiency retrofit.
The Green Deal will empower consumers by giving them new ways of funding home improvements, and empower businesses by enabling them to compete for energy efficiency opportunities in new and innovative ways. It will boost the low carbon economy by supporting up to 60,000 jobs in the insulation sector alone by 2015, up from around 26,000 today.
The Green Deal could see British homes and businesses save enough energy to power 1 million homes in 2020.
Businesses wanting to find out about the Green Deal for the first time can find out more on the Green Deal Industry pages or contact the Green Deal Oversight & Registration Body.
Consumers wanting general energy efficiency advice, including information about the Green Deal, should call the ESAS helpline on 0300 123 1234. | <urn:uuid:6ba47c1b-e297-4ad5-98cd-b74c252d1431> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/legal-framework-for-green-deal-signals-green-light-for-industry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720468.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00488-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918143 | 350 | 2.0625 | 2 |
If you’re wondering how to donate to homeless shelters, read this article. You’ll learn about the different donation options available and find ways to support local homeless shelters in your community. You can also make a monetary donation to a specific shelter. Donations can go toward helping the shelter’s staff or expanding their programming.
Keep reading with https://www.censusoutreach.org/ for more details!
How to donate to homeless shelters
Whether you’re a business owner or just looking for a good cause, there are many ways to donate to homeless shelters in Canada. Whether you’re looking to help refugees, fleeing violence, or simply needing a place to stay, shelters across the country provide assistance to the people who need it the most.
Shelters offer temporary or long-term housing, health care, and employment services to those who are in need. Donations to these organizations help those in need and give them hope.
Donating hygiene products to homeless shelters is an excellent way to help the homeless. Many of these people are women, and hygiene products can make a huge difference. Donate tampons and pads for women and men alike, or travel-size feminine care products.
You can use a Ziploc bag to package your donation so that it is easy to transport and reuse. Donations of feminine care products are especially helpful for homeless women.
You also see: How Much Does a Homeless Person Make a Year?
Homeless shelters need resources from the community to stay open and operate. Donations allow shelters to grow their capacity, provide supportive programming, and support residents.
Before donating, it is important to understand the types of donations that shelters accept. These donations can be money, time, or tangible supplies. To learn more about how you can help, read on. Donation options for homeless shelters include:
While used clothing and books are the staples of donations, shelters often need specific types of clothing. Donating new or gently used clothing is a popular choice, but check with your local shelter first.
Sometimes, shelters have plenty of clothes but need specific garments. Before making a donation, find out the shelter’s policy on accepting donated clothing, as well as its hours and location. Donate as much clothing as you can afford, and be sure to ask about any donation policies.
How can I help local homeless shelters?
How to donate to local homeless shelters? Donations are always welcome at shelters. Food, clothes, and toiletries are always in demand. Donations of money or time also go a long way in helping these organizations remain open.
Shelters are typically run on limited resources and are staffed only part-time. To make your donation more effective, you should research your local shelter first. Donating to a shelter is a great way to help improve the lives of the people living in these facilities.
Donating clothes to a local shelter is an excellent way to help the homeless in your community. A homeless person needs clothes for cold weather and other activities. A lack of clean clothes can hurt his or her self-image and chances for advancement.
Since homeless people are usually forced to travel with bare minimums, they don’t have much time to clean and store their clothes. Poorly dressed people often don’t stand a chance at a job interview.
Before organizing a clothing drive, talk to your local shelter. Shelters usually need seasonal clothing; some lack essential items like towels and linens.
See more: How to Donate to Homeless Shelters 2022
How do I donate to the homeless in Chicago?
During this bitterly cold winter, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is trying to raise money through CrowdRise to support its work. The faith community of Saint Sabina is also accepting donations of food and winter clothing for the homeless.
Chicago’s homeless population is suffering, as six people have died due to the cold weather. The Chicago Fire Department is also collecting donations. You can also donate your time to these organizations.
If you’d like to help those experiencing homelessness in Chicago, consider donating to the Salvation Army. Chicago’s Homeless Coalition is a 501(c) (3) organization and its tax status is 1984.
Donations to these nonprofit organizations are tax-deductible. The Star Rating Portal is a website that allows you to rate nonprofits and submit data. By submitting data, you can review the shelters and select the ones that deserve your support.
See more: What Are Anti-Homeless Lights?
One important element of fundraising for homeless shelters is maintaining a strong relationship with current donors. While many nonprofits focus on attracting new donors, existing supporters often continue to support the cause without much thought. In fact, existing donors are the easiest group to motivate, as they’ve already chosen to contribute to the cause. Follow https://www.censusoutreach.org/ for more information! | <urn:uuid:e7e1d5ab-359b-4b39-8f53-83e74019674a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.censusoutreach.org/how-to-donate-to-homeless-shelters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.946049 | 1,025 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed umbrella of militant groups blamed for most violence in Pakistan, has set up a special cell in Syria to coordinate the ongoing ‘jihad’ against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, reports the BBC Urdu.
“The cell has been established with the help of the Arab fighters who had fought in Afghanistan and have now moved to Syria to take part in the jihad,” a Taliban official told the BBC Urdu. “In the last two months, around 12 information technology experts have moved to Syria.”
Pakistani authorities have refused to comment on the revelation.
According to the Pakistan-based militant groups, the majority Sunni population in Syria has been subjected to oppression by the minority Alawite regime of Bashar al Assad.
The coordinating official of the cell, Muhammad Amin, told the BBC that the cell was set up six months ago “in order to keep a watch on the ongoing jihad”. The cell shares information regarding the Syrian conflict with Pakistan-based militants.
According to Muhammad Amin, the Taliban’s Syrian friends, who had helped them in the ‘Afghan jihad’ now help the people running the cell. “The cell assesses the needs of Syrian jihad and offers help in joint operations.” He added that dozens of fighters in Pakistan were ready to take part in the war in Syria.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2013.
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VIRGINIA BEACH — Have you ever wanted to take part in a free training that will enable you to help out in times of need in your neighborhood or your community?
For those who do, the City of Virginia Beach is holding a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) six-week training that begins with an orientation on June 4.
“The Virginia Beach CERT team participates and volunteers at many different events in the city during the year, such as Strawberry Festival, Shamrock Marathon, and Senior Showcase,” said Cookie Ketcham, VBCERT program manager in the Office of Emergency Preparedness. “They’re doing everything from traffic control, to driving handicapped carts, manning a handicapped parking lot, set-up, setting up a booth, and many other things.”
She said one of CERT member’s favorite things to do is work with the police and fire departments when they do exercises, giving CERT volunteers the opportunity to participate as victims.
Anyone can participate in the training. Ketcham said they accept volunteers from age 12 and older.
“We even had a lady who was 82 years old take the training and she loved it. Those from age 12 to 18 must bring a responsible adult with them,” she added.
The six-week course will educate residents about disaster preparedness, especially those that might impact the area in which they live. They’ll be trained in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety and suppression, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster medical operations, and disaster psychology.
There are no physical requirements, Ketcham said. There’s a place on the CERT team for everyone, since some volunteers are tasked with the more physical activities while others take notes or map out locations of victims.
If a disaster happens that overwhelms local emergency responders, CERT volunteers would have the opportunity to put their training to use, she said.
All classes except the last will be at the Fire Training Center, 927 S. Birdneck Road.
Information is available on the VBCERT website or by calling Ketcham at 757-385-2914.
Here’s the complete training schedule:
- June 4, 2018 – Orientation
- June 6, 2018 – Disaster preparedness
- June 11, 2018 – Fingerprinting, EOC, 911 call center, terrorism training (FBI)
- June 13, 2018 – Weather and team organization
- June 18, 2018 – Disaster medical operations I
- June 20, 2018 – Disaster medical operations II
- June 25, 2018 – CPR certification
- June 27, 2018 – Light search and rescue operations
- July 9, 2018 – Fire suppression and Hazmat
- July 11, 2018 – Disaster psychology/radio training
- July 14, 2018 – Practical evolution/mock disaster | <urn:uuid:5cc08d56-a207-4364-b755-3d1482a9ef8b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wydaily.com/news/local/2018/05/24/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-be-a-cert-member-heres-one-way-to-find-out-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.95827 | 600 | 1.671875 | 2 |
DGGS MI 126-1
Title:Preliminary report on some pumice deposits, Katmai national monument
Publisher:Alaska Territorial Department of Mines
Ordering Info:Download below or please see our publication sales page for more information.
Keyword(s):Construction Materials; Geology; Pumice; Size Analysis; Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
Roehm, J.C., 1947, Preliminary report on some pumice deposits, Katmai national monument: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Mineral Investigation 126-1, 10 p. http://doi.org/10.14509/662
- mi126_01.pdf (866.0 K) | <urn:uuid:b8e001b4-edd6-42f9-ba0c-bb7a6749fc79> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/id/662 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720153.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00324-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.669365 | 147 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Magazines and E-zines Programming Computers
A news site for software developers. Broad range of coverage, from embedded to enterprise. Also does business news, products. Is associated with Australian Developer Magazine (print publication).
Top: Computers: Programming: Magazines and E-zines
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- Embedded Systems Programming - A monthly magazine for engineers, programmers, and project programming leaders who magazines and e-zines build microcontroller and embedded microprocessor-based systems.
- Bulletin for Applied Computing and Information Technology - Published by New Zealand\\'s NACCQ along with JACIT (The Journal for Applied Computing and Information Technology), BACIT provides a forum for work in progress and scholarly writings with a strong applied computing focus.
- International Developer - A news site for software developers. Broad range of coverage, magazines and e-zines from embedded to enterprise. Also does business news, products. Is magazines and e-zines associated with Australian Developer Magazine (print publication).
- developer.* Magazine - Web-based magazine for software developers of all kinds, featuring articles, magazines and e-zines essays, and book reviews on a wide variety of topics, magazines and e-zines both technical and non-technical.
- MSDN Magazine - Microsoft's Magazine for Developer's.
- DDJ - Doctor Dobb's Journal - A classic programming magazine.
- C Programming Trends - CProgrammingTrends is a free email newsletter from iEntry, programming Inc. Topics include ray tracing, .NET, C#, C++, programming and other areas of interest to professional programmers.
- Visual Systems Journal (VSJ) - The independent source for software developers focus on programming COM, Java, programming Visual Basic and Delphi, published on programming line and in print.
- Methods and Tools Newsletter - A free PDF and HTML based newsletter focusing programming on software computers development.
- SD Times - Software Development, a BZ Media LLC publication.
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Excited dogs greeting returning soldiers have become an Internet staple, but here’s one with a special twist.
Emma, a pitbull mix who suffers from a congenital anomaly that affects her spine — leaving her front legs only partially functioning and her back legs useless — didn’t let that stop her when her human returned from a six-month deployment.
She pulled and slid herself across the floor to greet him, along with the other two family dogs.
Melissa Swanson uploaded the video of her returning husband and excited dogs on YouTube.
“Emma and her daddy were very close! It broke her heart when he left,” she wrote. “When I come in the door, she normally sits at the end of the hallway and waits for me to pick her up. This time, when her daddy came in, she went to him … Gotta love homecomings!”
The Swansons heard of Emma through SNARR (Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation), and became her foster parents. They’ve since decided to adopt her. They’re still trying to find the perfect cart for Emma — one that will require her to keep using her front legs without putting too much pressure on them.
You can learn more about Emma on her Facebook page.
Posted by John Woestendiek April 26th, 2013 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: adopt, animals, congenital, deployment, dog, dogs, emma, family, foster, greeting, hemivertebrae, homecoming, homecomings, pets, returning, reunion, snarr, soldier, soldiers, special needs animal rescue and rehabilitation, spinal, swanson, video, war
A good year before I was born, my father wrote a letter while sitting in Korea, and sent it back home to friends in North Carolina.
A week ago, it came back to him — in Arizona.
“It’s so damn cold in here that I just about can make my fingers work,” the letter begins. “… Even so , it’s indoors, so I can imagine how really miserable the boys living in holes are tonight…”
Typewritten on flimsy stationary, the letter goes on to recount a weekend in Tokyo during which he enjoyed burgers and “Jap beer, which is very good.” He asks about what’s going on back home and wonders when he might return. “I’m supposed to come home in February. And now there is a rumor making the rounds that we’re supposed to be rotated to Japan after 10 months in Korea. So I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”
It was mailed to Lil and Roy Thompson, friends and co-workers at the Winston-Salem Journal, both now deceased.
Apparently Lil filed it away in a book, to be specific, an autobiography of William “Billy” Rose, the showman and lyricist who wrote, among other songs, “Me and My Shadow” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”
I don’t know whether Lil parted with the book long ago, or whether it was part of her estate when she died a few years ago, but somehow it ended up among the stock of a second-hand book dealer in Carrboro, N.C.
Robert Garni, once he opened the book, found the letter and read it, took to the Internet to locate my father, Bill Woestendiek, then mailed him the original, along with this note:
” … Quite coincidentally, the other day while sorting out some used books for sale, I came across an old letter that had apparently been tucked away in a hardcover copy of Billy Rose’s autobiography …
“Upon examination of the letter, I realized it may be of some sentimental value to someone and therefore I did a quick search of the Internet where I was able to locate your full name and current address. I am enclosing the letter herewith. I am hoping my information is correct and current so that this letter may finally return to its rightful owner.”
In my father’s letter, he mentions what turned out to be his most cherished memory of the war. He was a lieutenant in the Army, but he was also writing a weekly column for his newspaper back home called “Battle Lines.” The columns weren’t so much about the war as they were Korea and its people. Most of the stories he wrote focused on the children, often orphans of war, and the poverty in which they lived.
His stories led to an outpouring of support from back home in North Carolina — hundreds of pounds of clothing and toys were donated by readers, shipped overseas and distributed at a Christmas party.
“I am overwhelmed, no kidding,” he writes in the letter of the readers’ response. “We’ll have clothes for our party and still some extra to give to the orphanages around here which are also hurting for clothing.”
Reading over those articles, which I found amid my stuff, in a green scrapbook whose binding was falling apart, I understand a little better why he got so misty when, 19 years ago at Los Angeles International Airport, my father watched as my son arrived, a six-month-old, adopted from Korea.
In the faded old letter he thanks Lil for her support, and for keeping him up on the goings on at the newspaper. “You are one of the best morale builders I have,” he writes.
It took a little help from a thoughtful second-hand book dealer, but, judging from the joyful response my father, now 87, had to getting the letter back, it seems Lil — even though she’s no longer with us — did it again.
Posted by John Woestendiek May 7th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: army, bill woestendiek, book dealer, carrboro, children, friends, journalism, korea, korean war, letter, lil thompson, mail, newspapers, north carolina, orphans, poverty, returned, robert garni, roy thompson, second hand, soldiers, used, war, winston-salem journal
Target, the dog brought to the U.S. from Aghanistan by one of the soldiers whose lives she was credited with saving — only to be accidentally euthanized by an animal shelter — was remembered in a memorial service last night.
The candlelight vigil was held at the Pima County Animal Shelter in Tucson.
In Afghanistan, Target, a stray befriended by a group of American soldiers, kept a suicide bomber who was trying to enter a building on a military base from gaining access. Instead, the bomber instead set off his bomb in a doorway. Five soldiers were injured, several of whom credited Target with helping save their lives.
Phoenix soldier Terry Young brought Target back home to Arizona. Last month, the dog escaped from Young’s yard and ended up in at the Pinal County animal shelter in Casa Grande, where she was accidentally euthanized the next day. The employee responsible for the mistake has been suspended.
Young said his son, Tavius, and the rest of the family is still working to get over the dog’s death, according to KGUN9.
“It’s been a few weeks already and Tavius still says, ‘Where’s Target?’ It’s heartbreaking.”
Posted by John Woestendiek December 4th, 2010 under Muttsblog.
Tags: accidentally euthanized, afhganistan, animal shelter, animals, bomb, dogs, euthanasia, euthanized, hero, hero dog, memorial, military, pets, pima county animal shelter, pinal county, shelters, soldiers, stray, suicide bomber, target, terry young, tucson, vigil
Target’s owner, Sgt. Terry Young, found out his dog had been killed when he showed up at the shelter to claim her.
The dog had escaped from his backyard over the weekend.
“When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow,” Ruth Stalter, Pinal County animal-control director, said in a statement. “Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures.”
The county is investigating the accidental euthanization at its Casa Grande shelter.
In Afghanistan, Target snapped and barked at a suicide bomber, who was trying to enter a building on a military base. The bomber instead set off his bomb in a doorway. Five soldiers were injured, several of whom credited Target with helping save their lives.
“I just can’t believe that something like this would happen to such a good dog,” Young told the Arizona Republic.
When he returned to the U.S., Young brought Target with him to his home in the Phoenix area.
A county spokesman said a shelter employee has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
Young said he found the gate to his backyard open on Friday morning, the day after Veterans Day.
Heather Murphy, a spokeswoman for Pinal County, said Target was found by a nearby resident, who put her in his backyard and called the pound.
Later that night Young saw Target’s picture on a website used by Pinal County’s animal control office, and, assuming the shelter was closed for the weekend, figured she would be safe until he could pick her up Monday.
When he arrived, he filled out some forms and a staff member brought him another dog. Young then showed the employee a picture of his dog. Then he waited for an hour.
According to the Republic, Young saw one worker sobbing. And the director of the shelter told him there had been a mistake.
Posted by John Woestendiek November 16th, 2010 under Muttsblog.
Tags: accident, accidentally euthanized, afghanistan, animal control, animal shelter, arizona, casa grande, dog, euthanized, hero, killed, lives, mistake, news, pinal county, put down, saved, soldier, soldiers, suicide bomber, target, terry young, war
Faith, the two-legged dog, continues to spread inspiration — most recently last weekend when she visited McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis in Washington state.
Faith met thousands of soldiers — some headed to war, some coming back.
“She just walks around barking and laughing and excited to see them all,” Faith’s owner, Jude Stringfellow, told the Associated Press.
“There is a lot of crying, pointing and surprise. From those who have lost friends or limbs, there can be silence. Some will shake my hand and thank me, some will pat her on the head. There is a lot of quiet, heartfelt, really deep emotion.”
Faith, a Lab-chow mix, was born to a junkyard dog around Christmas of 2002. Her mother rejected her and she was rescued by Jude Stringfellow’s son, Rueben, now in the Army. The mother and son taught the dog to walk on her rear legs — using peanut butter and a lot of practice.
Since then Faith has done the talk show circuit, and Stringfellow has become a motivational speaker. She has written two books about Faith and is working on a third, “Faith Walks.”
They get more than 200 letters and e-mails a day, run a website and make dozens of appearances every year, including stops at veterans’ hospitals across the country to cheer injured soldiers.
Rueben Stringfellow left Iraq in September and is stationed in Alaska. He is scheduled to get out of the Army and head home on Jan. 1.
Posted by John Woestendiek December 17th, 2009 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: air force, army, base, chow, coping, disabilities, dog, faith, fort lewis, hope, inspiration, jude stringfellow, lab, legs, limbs, lost, mcchord, motivation, on two legs, rear legs, rueben, soldiers, two legs, two-legged, video, walks, washington
Nubs, the one-time Iraqi street mutt — so named by American soldiers for the stubs where his ears used to be — appeared on this morning’s Today Show, along with the Marine major who rescued him.
Nubs befriended Marine Major Brian Dennis and his fellow soldiers while Dennis was on patrol in the Anbar province.
When Dennis was required to report to another location, 70 miles away, he bid his friend farewell and left with little hope that Nub would survive on the war torn streets. Already, the dog had his ears cut off, and had been stabbed in the side with a screwdriver — both, Dennis believes, by Iraqi soldiers.
Two days after Dennis arrived at his new location, Nubs showed up.
Dennis said he was inside headquarters when a fellow Marine came in and said, “You’re not going to believe who’s outside.”
“Who’s outside?” Dennis asked.
“Nubs is outside,” the soldier said.
After a joyful reunion, Dennis was informed that, since the military prohibits keeping dogs in war zones, he had four days to get rid of him. Given the bond they’d established and the dangers Nubs faced, Dennis was hesitant to do that.
Strays in Iraq, Dennis said today, serve as a needed escape for soliders — “an escape from the drudgery and the mundane life and the bad things you see at times.”
Dennis and his friends launched an Internet campaign and raised $5,000 to send Nubs to a friend in the U.S..
In March 2008, about a month after Nubs arrived, Dennis returned from Iraq and was reunited with the dog.
Now the whole story has become a book, “Nubs, the True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle.”
Posted by John Woestendiek November 2nd, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, dog, dogs, ears, finds, found, home, internet, iraq, major brian dennis, marines, mutt, nubs, pets, reunited, shipped, soldiers, stray, today show, troops, u.s., war | <urn:uuid:a98a077a-4a4e-4989-9a89-5972663eb054> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.ohmidog.com/tag/soldiers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720468.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00488-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971121 | 3,081 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Part 5 out of 7
boasted our superiority to him at every point, and at last, for the sake
of our own selfish ease, helped him to forge new chains for his victims,
and received as our only reward fresh insults. White slaves! We,
perhaps, and not the English peasant, are the white slaves! At least, if
the Irishman emigrates to England, or the Englishman to Canada, he is
not hunted out with blood-hounds, and delivered back to his landlord to
be scourged and chained. He is not practically out of the pale of law,
unrepresented, forbidden even the use of books; and even if he were,
there is an excuse for the old country; for she was founded on no
political principles, but discovered what she knows step by step, a sort
of political Topsy, as Claude Mellot calls her, who has 'kinder growed,'
doing from hand to mouth what seemed best. But that we, who profess to
start as an ideal nation, on fixed ideas of justice, freedom, and
equality--that we should have been stultifying ever since every great
principle of which we so loudly boast!--"
* * * * *
"The old Jew used to say of his nation, 'It is God that hath made us,
and not we ourselves.' We say, 'It is we that have made ourselves, while
God--?'--Ah, yes; I recollect. God's work is to save a soul here and a
soul there, and to leave America to be saved by the Americans who made
it. We must have a broader and deeper creed than that if we are to work
out our destiny. The battle against Middle Age slavery was fought by the
old Catholic Church, which held the Jewish notion, and looked on the
Deity as the actual King of Christendom, and every man in it as God's
own child. I see now!--No wonder that the battle in America has as yet
been fought by the Quakers, who believe that there is a divine light and
voice in every man; while the Calvinist preachers, with their isolating
and individualising creed, have looked on with folded hands, content to
save a negro's soul here and there, whatsoever might become of the
bodies and the national future of the whole negro race. No wonder, while
such men have the teaching of the people, that it is necessary still in
the nineteenth century, in a Protestant country, amid sane human beings,
for such a man as Mr. Sumner to rebut, in sober earnest, the argument
that the negro was the descendant of Canaan, doomed to eternal slavery
by Noah's curse!"
* * * * *
He would rouse himself. He would act, speak, write, as many a noble
fellow-countryman was doing. He had avoided them of old as bores and
fanatics who would needs wake him from his luxurious dreams. He had even
hated them, simply because they were more righteous than he. He would be
a new man henceforth.
He strode down the hill through the cannon-guarded vineyards, among the
busy groups of peasants.
"Yes, Marie was right. Life is meant for work, and not for ease; to
labour in danger and in dread; to do a little good ere the night comes,
when no man can work: instead of trying to realise for oneself a
Paradise; not even Bunyan's shepherd-paradise, much less Fourier's
Casino-paradise; and perhaps least of all, because most selfish and
isolated of all, my own heart-paradise--the apotheosis of loafing, as
Claude calls it. Ah, Tennyson's Palace of Art is a true word--too true,
"Art? What if the most necessary human art, next to the art of
agriculture, be, after all, the art of war? It has been so in all ages.
What if I have been befooled--what if all the Anglo-Saxon world has been
befooled by forty years of peace? We have forgotten that the history of
the world has been as yet written in blood; that the story of the human
race is the story of its heroes and its martyrs--the slayers and the
slain. Is it not becoming such once more in Europe now? And what divine
exemption can we claim from the law? What right have we to suppose that
it will be aught else, as long as there are wrongs unredressed on earth;
as long as anger and ambition, cupidity and wounded pride, canker the
hearts of men? What if the wise man's attitude, and the wise nation's
attitude, is that of the Jews rebuilding their ruined walls,--the tool
in one hand, and the sword in the other; for the wild Arabs are close
outside, and the time is short, and the storm has only lulled awhile in
mercy, that wise men may prepare for the next thunder-burst? It is an
ugly fact: but I have thrust it away too long, and I must accept it now
and henceforth. This, and not luxurious Broadway; this, and not the
comfortable New England village, is the normal type of human life; and
this is the model city!--Armed industry, which tills the corn and vine
among the cannons' mouths; which never forgets their need, though it may
mask and beautify their terror: but knows that as long as cruelty and
wrong exist on earth, man's destiny is to dare and suffer, and, if it
must be so, to die....
"Yes, I will face my work; my danger, if need be. I will find Marie. I
will tell her that I accept her quest; not for her sake, but for its
own. Only I will demand the right to work at it as I think best,
patiently, moderately, wisely if I can; for a fanatic I cannot be, even
for her sake. She may hate these slaveholders,--she may have her
reasons,--but I cannot. I cannot deal with them as _feras naturae_. I
cannot deny that they are no worse men than I; that I should have done
what they are doing, have said what they are saying, had I been bred up,
as they have been, with irresponsible power over the souls and bodies of
human beings. God! I shudder at the fancy! The brute that I might have
been--that I should have been!
"Yes; one thing at least I have learnt, in all my experiments on poor
humanity;--never to see a man do a wrong thing, without feeling that I
could do the same in his place. I used to pride myself on that once,
fool that I was, and call it comprehensiveness. I used to make it an
excuse for sitting by, and seeing the devil have it all his own way, and
call that toleration. I will see now whether I cannot turn the said
knowledge to a better account, as common sense, patience, and charity;
and yet do work of which neither I nor my country need be ashamed."
He walked down, and on to the bridge of boats. They opened in the
centre; as he reached it a steamer was passing. He lounged on the rail
as the boat passed through, looking carelessly at the groups of
Two ladies were standing on the steamer; close to him; looking up at
Ehrenbreitstein. Was it?--yes, it was Sabina, and Marie by her!
But ah, how changed! The cheeks were pale and hollow; dark rings--he
could see them but too plainly as the face was lifted up toward the
light--were round those great eyes, bright no longer. Her face was
listless, careworn; looking all the more sad and impassive by the side
of Sabina's, as she pointed smiling and sparkling, up to the fortress;
and seemed trying to interest Marie in it, but in vain.
He called out. He waved his hand wildly, to the amusement of the
officers and peasants who waited by his side; and who, looking first at
his excited face, and then at the two beautiful women, were not long in
making up their minds about him; and had their private jests
They did not see him, but turned away to look at Coblentz; and the
steamer swept by.
Stangrave stamped with rage--upon a Prussian officer's thin boot.
"Ten thousand pardons!"
"You are excused, dear sir, you are excused," says the good-natured
German, with a wicked smile, which raises a blush on Stangrave's cheek.
"Your eyes were dazzled; why not? it is not often that one sees two such
suns together in the same sky. But calm yourself; the boat stops at
Stangrave could not well call the man of war to account for his
impertinence; he had had his toes half crushed, and had a right to
indemnify himself as he thought fit. And with a hundred more apologies,
Stangrave prepared to dart across the bridge as soon as it was closed.
Alas! after the steamer, as the fates would have it, came lumbering down
one of those monster timber rafts; and it was a full half hour before
Stangrave could get across, having suffered all the while the torments
of Tantalus, as he watched the boat sweep round to the pier, and
discharge its freight, to be scattered whither he knew not. At last he
got across, and went in chase to the nearest hotel: but they were not
there; thence to the next, and the next, till he had hunted half the
hotels in the town; but hunted all in vain.
He is rushing wildly back again, to try if he can obtain any clue at the
steam-boat pier, through the narrow, dirty street at the back of the
Rhine Cavalier, when he is stopped short by a mighty German embrace, and
a German kiss on either cheek, as the kiss of a housemaid's broom; while
a jolly voice shouts in English:--
"Ah, my dear, dear friend! and you would pass me! Whither the hangman so
fast are you running in the mud!"
"My dear Salomon! But let me go, I beseech you; I am in search--"
"In search?" cries the jolly Jew banker,--"for the philosopher's stone?
You had all that man could want a week since, except that. Search no
more, but come home with me; and we will have a night as of the gods on
"My dearest fellow, I am looking for two ladies!"
"Two? ah, rogue! shall not one suffice?"
"Don't, my dearest fellow! I am looking for two English ladies."
"Potz! You shall find two hundred in the hotels, ugly and fair; but the
two fairest are gone this two hours."
"When?--which?" cries Stangrave, suspecting at once.
"Sabina Mellot, and a Sultana--I thought her of The Nation, and would
have offered my hand on the spot: but Madame Mellot says she is a
"Gone? And you have seen them! Where?"
"To Bertrich. They had luncheon with my mother, and then started by
"I must follow."
"_Ach lieber_? But it will be dark in an hour."
"But you shall find them to-morrow, just as well as to-day. They stay at
Bertrich for a fortnight more. They have been there now a month, and
only left it last week for a pleasure tour, across to the Ahrthal, and
so back by Andernach."
"Why did they leave Coblentz, then, in such hot haste?"
"Ah, the ladies never give reasons. There were letters waiting for them
at our house; and no sooner read, but they leaped up, and would forth.
Come home now, and go by the steamer to-morrow morning."
"Impossible! most hospitable of Israelites."
"To go to-night,--for see the clouds!--Not a postilion will dare to
leave Coblentz, under that quick-coming _allgemein und ungeheuer
Stangrave looked up, growling; and gave in. A Rhine-storm was rolling up
"They will be caught in it."
"No. They are far beyond its path by now; while you shall endure the
whole visitation; and if you try to proceed, pass the night in a
flea-pestered post-house, or in a ditch of water."
So Stangrave went home with Herr Salomon, and heard from him, amid
clouds of Latakia, of wars and rumours of wars, distress of nations, and
perplexity, seen by the light, not of the Gospel, but of the
stock-exchange; while the storm fell without in lightning, hail, rain,
of right Rhenish potency.
THE THIRTIETH OF SEPTEMBER.
We must go back a week or so, to England, and to the last day of
September. The world is shooting partridges, and asking nervously, when
it comes home, What news from the Crimea? The flesh who serves it is
bathing at Margate. The devil is keeping up his usual correspondence
with both. Eaton Square is a desolate wilderness, where dusty sparrows
alone disturb the dreams of frowzy charwomen, who, like Anchorites amid
the tombs of the Thebaid, fulfil the contemplative life each in her
subterranean cell. Beneath St. Peter's spire the cabman sleeps within
his cab, the horse without: the waterman, seated on his empty bucket,
contemplates the untrodden pavement between his feet, and is at rest.
The blue butcher's boy trots by with empty cart, five miles an hour,
instead of full fifteen, and stops to chat with the red postman, who,
his occupation gone, smokes with the green gatekeeper, and reviles the
Czar. Along the whole north pavement of the square only one figure
moves, and that is Major Campbell.
His face is haggard and anxious; he walks with a quick, excited step;
earnest enough, whoever else is not. For in front of Lord Scoutbush's
house the road is laid with straw. There is sickness there, anxiety,
bitter tears. Lucia has not found her husband, but she has lost her
Trembling, Campbell raises the muffled knocker, and Bowie appears. "What
news to-day?" he whispers.
"As well as can be expected, sir, and as quiet as a lamb now, they say.
But it has been a bad time, and a bad man is he that caused it."
"A bad time, and a bad man. How is Miss St. Just?"
"Just gone to lie down, sir. Mrs. Clara is on the stairs, if you'd like
to see her."
"No; tell Miss St. Just that I have no news yet." And the Major turns
Clara, who has seen him from above, hurries down after him into the
street, and coaxes him to come in. "I am sure you have had no breakfast,
sir: and you look so ill and worn. And Miss St. Just will be so vexed
not to see you. She will get up the moment she hears you are here."
"No, my good Miss Clara," says Campbell, looking down with a weary
smile. "I should only make gloom more gloomy. Bowie, tell his lordship
that I shall be at the afternoon train to-morrow, let what will happen."
"Ay, ay, sir. We're a' ready to march. The Major looks very ill, Miss
Clara. I wish he'd have taken your counsel. And I wish ye'd take mine,
and marry me ere I march, just to try what it's like."
"I must mind my mistress, Mr. Bowie," says Clara.
"And how should I interfere with that, as I've said twenty times, when
I'm safe in the Crimea? I'll get the licence this day, say what ye will:
and then you would not have the heart to let me spend two pounds twelve
and sixpence for nothing."
Whether the last most Caledonian argument conquered or not, Mr. Bowie
got the licence, was married before breakfast the next morning, and
started for the Crimea at four o'clock in the afternoon; most
astonished, as he confided in the train to Sergeant MacArthur, "to see a
lassie that never gave him a kind word in her life, and had not been
married but barely six hours, greet and greet at his going, till she
vanished away into hystericals. They're a very unfathomable species,
Sergeant, are they women; and if they were taken out o' man, they took
the best part o' Adam wi' them, and left us to shift with the worse."
But to return to Campbell. The last week has altered him frightfully. He
is no longer the stern, self-possessed warrior which he was; he no
longer even walks upright; his cheek is pale, his eye dull; his whole
countenance sunken together. And now that the excitement of anxiety is
past, he draws his feet along the pavement slowly, his hands clasped
behind him, his eyes fixed on the ground, as if the life was gone from
out of him, and existence was a heavy weight.
"She is safe, at least, then! One burden off my mind. And yet had it not
been better if that pure spirit had returned to Him who gave it, instead
of waking again to fresh misery? I must find that man! Why, I have been
saying so to myself for seven days past, and yet no ray of light. Can
the coward have given me a wrong address? Yet why give me an address at
all if he meant to hide from me? Why, I have been saying that too, to
myself every day for the last week? Over and over again the same dreary
round of possibilities and suspicions. However, I must be quiet now, if
I am a man. I can hear nothing before the detective comes at two. How to
pass the weary, weary time? For I am past thinking--almost past praying
--though not quite, thank God!"
He paces up still noisy Piccadilly, and then up silent Bond Street;
pauses to look at some strange fish on Groves's counter--anything to
while away the time; then he plods on toward the top of the street, and
turns into Mr. Pillischer's shop, and upstairs to the microscopic
club-room. There, at least, he can forget himself for an hour.
He looks round the neat pleasant little place, with its cases of
curiosities, and its exquisite photographs, and bright brass
instruments; its glass vases stocked with delicate water-plants and
animalcules, with the sunlight gleaming through the green and purple
seaweed fronds, while the air is fresh and fragrant with the seaweed
scent; a quiet, cool little hermitage of science amid that great noisy,
luxurious west-end world. At least, it brings back to him the thought of
the summer sea, and Aberalva, and his shore-studies: but he cannot think
of that any more. It is past; and may God forgive him!
At one of the microscopes on the slab opposite him stands a sturdy
bearded man, his back toward the Major; while the wise little German,
hopeless of customers, is leaning over him in his shirt sleeves.
"But I never have seen its like; it had just like a painter's easel in
its stomach yesterday!"
"Why, it's an Echinus Larva: a sucking sea-urchin! Hang it, if I had
known you hadn't seen one, I'd have brought up half-a-dozen of them!"
"May I look, sir?" asked the Major; "I, too, never have seen an Echinus
The bearded man looks up.
"Mr. Thurnall! I thought I could not be mistaken in the voice."
"This is too pleasant, sir, to renew our watery loves together here,"
said Tom: but a second look at the Major's face showed him that he was
in no jesting mood. "How is the party at Beddgelert? I fancied you with
"They are all in London, at Lord Scoutbush's house, in Eaton Square."
"In London, at this dull time? I trust nothing unpleasant has brought
"Mrs. Vavasour is very ill. We had thoughts of sending for you, as the
family physician was out of town: but she was out of danger, thank God,
in a few hours. Now let me ask in turn after you. I hope no unpleasant
business brings you up three hundred miles from your practice?"
"Nothing, I assure you. Only I have given up my Aberalva practice. I am
going to the East."
"Like the rest of the world."
"Not exactly. You go as a dignified soldier of her Majesty's; I as an
undignified Abel Drugger, to dose Bashi-bazouks."
"Impossible! and with such an opening as you had there! You must excuse
me; but my opinion of your prudence must not be so rudely shaken."
"Why do you not ask the question which Balzac's old Tourangeois judge
asks, whenever a culprit is brought before him,--'Who is she?'"
"Taking for granted that there was a woman at the bottom of every
mishap? I understand you," said the Major, with a sad smile. "Now let
you and me walk a little together, and look at the Echinoid another day
--or when I return from Sevastopol--"
Tom went out with him. A new ray of hope had crossed the Major's mind.
His meeting with Thurnall might he providential; for he recollected now,
for the first time, Mellot's parting hint.
"You knew Elsley Vavasour well?"
"No man better."
"Did you think that there was any tendency to madness in him?"
"No more than in any other selfish, vain, irritable man, with a strong
imagination left to run riot."
"Humph! you seem to have divined his character. May I ask you if you
knew him before you met him at Aberalva?"
Tom looked up sharply in the Major's face.
"You would ask, what cause I have for inquiring? I will tell you
presently. Meanwhile I may say, that Mellot told me frankly that you had
some power over him; and mentioned, mysteriously, a name--John Briggs, I
think--which it appears that he once assumed."
"If Mellot thought fit to tell you anything, I may frankly tell you all.
John Briggs is his real name. I have known him from childhood." And then
Tom poured into the ears of the surprised and somewhat disgusted Major
all he had to tell.
"You have kept your secret mercifully, and used it wisely, sir; and I
and others shall be always your debtors for it. Now I dare tell you in
turn, in strictest confidence of course--"
"I am far too poor to afford the luxury of babbling."
And the Major told him what we all know.
"I expected as much," said he drily. "Now, I suppose that you wish me to
exert myself in finding the man?"
"Were Mrs. Vavasour only concerned, I should say--Not I! Better
that she should never set eyes on him again."
"Better, indeed!" said he bitterly: "but it is I who must see him, if
but for five minutes. I must!"
"Major Campbell's wish is a command. Where have you searched for him?"
"At his address, at his publisher's, at the houses of various literary
friends of his, and yet no trace."
"Has he gone to the Continent?"
"Heaven knows! I have inquired at every passport office for news of any
one answering his description; indeed, I have two detectives, I may tell
you, at this moment, watching every possible place. There is but one
hope, if he be alive. Can he have gone home to his native town?"
"Never! Anywhere but there."
"Is there any old friend of the lower class with whom he may have taken
"There was a fellow, a noisy blackguard, whom Briggs was asking after
this very summer--a fellow who went off from Whitbury with some players.
I know Briggs used to go to the theatre with him as a boy--what was his
name? He tried acting, but did not succeed; and then became a
scene-shifter, or something of the kind, at the Adelphi. He has some
complaint, I forget what, which made him an out-patient at St.
Mumpsimus's, some months every year. I know that he was there this
summer, for I wrote to ask, at Briggs's request, and Briggs sent him a
sovereign through me."
"But what makes you fancy that he can have taken shelter with such a
man, and one who knows his secret?"
"It is but a chance: but he may have done it from the mere feeling of
loneliness--just to hold by some one whom he knows in this great
wilderness; especially a man in whose eyes he will be a great man, and
to whom he has done a kindness; still, it is the merest chance."
"We will take it, nevertheless, forlorn hope though it be."
They took a cab to the hospital, and, with some trouble, got the man's
name and address, and drove in search of him. They had some difficulty
in finding his abode, for it was up an alley at the back of Drury Lane,
in the top of one of those foul old houses which hold a family in every
room; but, by dint of knocking at one door and the other, and bearing
meekly much reviling consequent thereon, they arrived, "_per modum
tollendi_" at a door which must be the right one, as all the rest were
"Does John Barker live here?" asks Thurnall, putting his head in
cautiously for fear of drunken Irishmen, who might be seized with the
national impulse to "slate" him.
"What's that to you?" answers a shrill voice from among soapsuds and
"Here is a gentleman wants to speak to him."
"So do a many as won't have that pleasure, and would be little the
better for it if they had. Get along with you, I knows your lay."
"We really want to speak to him, and to pay him, if he will--"
"Go along! I'm up to the something to your advantage dodge, and to the
mustachio dodge too. Do you fancy I don't know a bailiff, because he's
dressed like a swell?"
"But, my good woman!" said Tom, laughing.
"You put your crocodile foot in here, and I'll hit the hot water over
the both of you!" and she caught up the pan of soapsuds.
"My dear soul! I am a doctor belonging to the hospital which your
husband goes to; and have known him since he was a boy, down in
"You?" and she looked keenly at him.
"My name is Thurnall. I was a medical man once in Whitbury, where your
husband was born."
"You?" said she again, in a softened tone, "I knows that name well
"You do? What was your name, then?" said Tom, who recognised the woman's
Berkshire accent beneath its coat of cockneyism.
"Never you mind: I'm no credit to it, so I'll let it be. But come in,
for the old county's sake. Can't offer you a chair, he's pawned 'em all.
Pleasant old place it was down there, when I was a young girl; they say
it's grow'd a grand place now, wi' a railroad. I think many times I'd
like to go down and die there." She spoke in a rough, sullen, careless
tone, as if life-weary.
"My good woman," said Major Campbell, a little impatiently, "can you
find your husband for us?"
"Why then?" asked she sharply, her suspicion seeming to return.
"If he will answer a few questions, I will give him five shillings. If
he can find out for me what I want, I will give him five pounds."
"Shouldn't I do as well? If you gi' it he, it's little out of it I shall
see, but he coming home tipsy when it's spent. Ah, dear! it was a sad
day for me when I first fell in with they play-goers!"
"Why should she not do it as well?" said Thurnall. "Mrs. Barker, do you
know anything of a person named Briggs--John Briggs, the apothecary's
son, at Whitbury?"
She laughed a harsh bitter laugh.
"Know he? yes, and too much reason. That was where it all begun, along
of that play-going of he's and my master's."
"Have you seen him lately?" asked Campbell, eagerly.
"I seen 'un? I'd hit this water over the fellow, and all his play-acting
merryandrews, if ever he sot a foot here!"
"But have you heard of him?"
"Ees--" said she carelessly; "he's round here now, I heard my master
say, about the 'Delphy, with my master: a drinking, I suppose. No good,
"My good woman," said Campbell, panting for breath, "bring me face to
face with that man, and I'll put a five-pound note in your hand there
"Five pounds is a sight to me: but it's a sight more than the sight of
he's worth," said she suspiciously again.
"That's the gentleman's concern," said Tom. "The money's yours. I
suppose you know the worth of it by now?"
"Ees, none better. But I don't want he to get hold of it; he's made away
with enough already;" and she began to think.
"Curiously impassive people, we Wessex worthies, when we are a little
ground down with trouble. You must give her time, and she will do our
work. She wants the money, but she is long past being excited at the
prospect of it."
"What's that you're whispering?" asked she sharply.
Campbell stamped with impatience.
"You don't trust us yet, eh?--then, there!" and he took five sovereigns
from his pocket, and tossed them on the table. "There's your money! I
trust you to do the work, as you've been paid beforehand."
She caught up the gold, rang every piece on the table to see if it was
sound; and then--
"Sally, you go down with these gentlemen to the Jonson's Head, and if he
ben't there, go to the Fighting Cocks; and if he ben't there, go to the
Duke of Wellington; and tell he there's two gentlemen has heard of his
poetry, and wants to hear 'un excite. And then you give he a glass of
liquor, and praise up his nonsense, and he'll tell you all he knows, and
a sight more. Gi' un plenty to drink. It'll be a saving and a charity,
for if he don't get it out of you, he will out of me."
And she returned doggedly to her washing.
"Can't I do anything for you?" asked Tom, whose heart always yearned
over a Berkshire soul. "I have plenty of friends down at Whitbury
"More than I have. No, sir," said she sadly, and with the first touch of
sweetness they had yet heard in her voice. "I've cured my own bacon, and
I must eat it. There's none down there minds me, but them that would be
ashamed of me. And I couldn't go without he, and they wouldn't take he
in; so I must just bide." And she went on washing.
"God help her!" said Campbell, as he went downstairs.
"Misery breeds that temper, and only misery, in our people. I can show
you as thorough gentlemen and ladies, people round Whitbury, living on
ten shillings a week, as you will show me in Belgravia living on five
thousand a year."
"I don't doubt it," said Campbell.... "So 'she couldn't go without he,'
drunken dog as he is! Thus it is with them all the world over."
"So much the worse for them," said Tom cynically, "and for the men too.
They make fools of us first with our over-fondness of them; and then
they let us make fools of ourselves with their over-fondness of us."
"I fancy sometimes that they were all meant to be the mates of angels,
and stooped to men as a _pis aller_; reversing the old story of the sons
of heaven and the daughters of men."
"And accounting for the present degeneracy. When the sons of heaven
married the daughters of men, their offspring were giants and men of
renown. Now the sons of men marry the daughters of heaven, and the
offspring is Wiggle, Waggle, Windbag, and Redtape."
They visited one public-house after another, till the girl found for
them the man they wanted, a shabby, sodden-visaged fellow, with a
would-be jaunty air of conscious shrewdness and vanity, who stood before
the bar, his thumbs in his armholes, and laying down the law to a group
of coster-boys, for want of a better audience.
The girl, after sundry plucks at his coat-tail, stopped him in the midst
of his oration, and explained her errand somewhat fearfully.
Mr. Barker bent down his head on one side, to signify that he was
absorbed in attention to her news; and then drawing himself up once
more, lifted his greasy hat high in air, bowed to the very floor, and
"Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors:
A man of war, and eke a man of peace--
That is, if you come peaceful; and if not,
Have we not Hiren here?"
And the fellow put himself into a fresh attitude.
"We come in peace, my good sir," said Tom; "first to listen to your
talented effusions, and next for a little private conversation on a
subject on which--" but Mr. Barker interrupted,--
"To listen, and to drink? The muse is dry,
And Pegasus doth thirst for Hippocrene,
And fain would paint--imbibe the vulgar call--
Or hot or cold, or long or short--Attendant!"
The bar girl, who knew his humour, came forward.
"Glasses all round--these noble knights will pay--
Of hottest hot, and stiffest stiff. Thou mark'st me?
Now to your quest!"
And he faced round with a third attitude.
"Do you know Mr. Briggs?" asked the straightforward Major. He rolled
his eyes to every quarter of the seventh sphere, clapped his hand upon
his heart, and assumed an expression of angelic gratitude:--
"My benefactor! Were the world a waste,
A thistle-waste, ass-nibbled, goldfinch-pecked,
And all the men and women merely asses,
I still could lay this hand upon this heart,
And cry, 'Not yet alone! I know a man--
A man Jove-fronted, and Hyperion-curled--
A gushing, flushing, blushing human heart!'"
"As sure as you live, sir," said Tom, "if you won't talk honest prose,
I won't pay for the brandy and water."
"Base is the slave who pays, and baser prose--
Hang uninspired patter! 'Tis in verse
That angels praise, and fiends in Limbo curse."
"And asses bray, I think," said Tom, in despair. "Do you know where Mr.
Briggs is now?"
"And why the devil do you want to know?
For that's a verse, sir, although somewhat slow."
The two men laughed in spite of themselves.
"Better tell the fellow the plain truth," said Campbell to Thurnall.
"Come out with us, and I will tell you." And Campbell threw down the
money, and led him off, after he had gulped down his own brandy, and
half Tom's beside.
"What? leave the nepenthe untasted?"
They took him out, and he tucked his arms through theirs, and strutted
down Drury Lane.
"The fact is, sir,--I speak to you, of course, in confidence, as one
gentleman to another--"
Mr. Barker replied by a lofty and gracious bow.
"That his family are exceedingly distressed at his absence, and his
wife, who, as you may know, is a lady of high family, dangerously ill;
and he cannot be aware of the fact. This gentleman is the medical man of
her family, and I--I am an intimate friend. We should esteem it
therefore the very greatest service if you would give us any information
"Weep no more, gentle shepherds, weep no more;
For Lycidas your sorrow is not dead,
Sunk though he be upon a garret floor,
With fumes of Morpheus' crown about his head."
"Fumes of Morpheus' crown?" asked Thurnall.
"That crimson flower which crowns the sleepy god,
And sweeps the soul aloft, though flesh may nod."
"He has taken to opium!" said Thurnall to the bewildered Major. "What I
should have expected."
"God help him! we must save him out of that last lowest deep!" cried
Campbell. "Where is he, sir?"
"A vow! a vow! I have a vow in heaven!
Why guide the hounds toward the trembling hare?
Our Adonais hath drunk poison; Oh!
What deaf and viperous murderer could crown
Life's early cup with such a draught of woe?"
"As I live, sir," cried Campbell, losing his self-possession in disgust
at the fool; "you may rhyme your own nonsense as long as you will, but
you shan't quote the Adonais about that fellow in my presence."
Mr. Barker shook himself fiercely free of Campbell's arm, and faced
round at him in a fighting attitude. Campbell stood eyeing him sternly,
but at his wit's end.
"Mr. Barker," said Tom blandly, "will you have another glass of brandy
and water, or shall I call a policeman?"
"Sir," sputtered he, speaking prose at last, "this gentleman has
insulted me! He has called my poetry nonsense, and my friend a fellow.
And blood shall not wipe out--what liquor may?"
The hint was sufficient; but ere he had drained another glass, Mr.
Barker was decidedly incapable of managing his affairs, much less
theirs; and became withal exceedingly quarrelsome, returning angrily to
the grievance of Briggs having been called a fellow; in spite of all
their entreaties, he talked himself into a passion, and at last, to
Campbell's extreme disgust, rushed out of the bar into the street.
"This is too vexations! To have kept half-an-hour's company with such an
animal, and then to have him escape me after all! A just punishment on
me for pandering to his drunkenness."
Tom made no answer, but went quietly to the door, and peeped out.
"Pay for his liquor, Major, and follow. Keep a few yards behind me;
there will be less chance of his recognising us than if he saw us both
"Why, where do you think he's going?"
"Not home, I can see. Ten to one that he will go raging off straight to
Briggs, to put him on his guard against us. Just like a drunkard's
cunning it would be. There, he has turned up that side street. Now
follow me quick. Oh that he may only keep his legs!"
They gained the bottom of that street before he had turned out of it;
and so through another, and another, till they ran him to earth in one
of the courts out of St. Martin's Lane.
Into a doorway he went, and up a stair. Tom stood listening at the
bottom, till he heard the fellow knock at a door far above, and call out
in a drunken tone. Then he beckoned to Campbell, and both, careless of
what might follow, ran upstairs, and pushing him aside, entered the room
Their chances of being on the right scent were small enough, considering
that, though every one was out of town, there were a million and a half
of people in London at that moment; and, unfortunately, at least fifty
thousand who would have considered Mr. John Barker a desirable visitor;
but somehow, in the excitement of the chase, both had forgotten the
chances against them, and the probability that they would have to retire
downstairs again, apologising humbly to some wrathful Joseph Buggins,
whose convivialities they might have interrupted. But no; Tom's cunning
had, as usual, played him true; and as they entered the door, they
beheld none other than the lost Elsley Vavasour, alias John Briggs.
Major Campbell advanced bowing, hat in hand, with a courteous apology on
It was a low lean-to garret; there was a deal table and an old chair in
it, but no bed. The windows were broken; the paper hanging down in
strips. Elsley was standing before the empty fireplace, his hand in his
bosom, as if he had been startled by the scuffle outside. He had not
shaved for some days.
So much Tom could note; but no more. He saw the glance of recognition
pass over Elsley's face, and that an ugly one. He saw him draw something
from his bosom, and spring like a cat almost upon the table. A flash--a
crack. He had fired a pistol full in Campbell's face.
Tom was startled, not at the thing, but that such a man should have done
it. He had seen souls, and too many, flit out of the world by that same
tiny crack, in Californian taverns, Arabian deserts, Australian gullies.
He knew all about that: but he liked Campbell; and he breathed more
freely the next moment, when he saw him standing still erect, a quiet
smile on his face, and felt the plaster dropping from the wall upon his
own head. The bullet had gone over the Major. All was right.
"He is not man enough for a second shot," thought Tom quietly, "while
the Major's eye is on him."
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Vavasour," he heard the Major say, in a gentle
unmoved voice, "for this intrusion. I assure you that there is no cause
for any anger on your part; and I am come to entreat you to forget and
forgive any conduct of mine which may have caused you to mistake either
me or the lady whom I am unworthy to mention."
"I am glad the beggar fired at him," thought Tom. "One spice of danger,
and he's himself again, and will overawe the poor cur by mere civility.
I was afraid of some abject methodist parson humility, which would give
the other party a handle."
Elsley heard him with a stupefied look, like that of a trapped wild
beast, in which rage, shame, suspicion, and fear, were mingled with the
vacant glare of the opium-eater's eye. Then his eye drooped beneath
Campbell's steady gentle gaze, and he looked uneasily round the room,
still like a trapped wild beast, as if for a hole to escape by; then up
again, but sidelong, at Major Campbell.
"I assure you, sir, on the word of a Christian and a soldier, that you
are labouring under an entire misapprehension. For God's sake and Mrs.
Vavasour's sake, come back, sir, to those who will receive you with
nothing but affection! Your wife has been all but dead; she thinks of no
one but you, asks for no one but you. In God's name, sir, what are you
doing here, while a wife who adores you is dying from your--I do not
wish to be rude, sir, but let me say at least--neglect?"
Elsley looked at him still askance, puzzled, inquiring. Suddenly his
great beautiful eyes opened to preternatural wideness, as if trying to
grasp a new thought. He started, shifted his feet to and fro, his arms
straight down by his sides, his fingers clutching after something. Then
he looked up hurriedly again at Campbell; and Thurnall looked at him
also; and his face was as the face of an angel.
"Miserable ass!" thought Tom, "if he don't see innocence in that man's
countenance, he wouldn't see it in his own child's."
Elsley suddenly turned his back to them, and thrust his hand into his
bosom. Now was Tom's turn.
In a moment he had vaulted over the table, and seized Elsley's wrist,
ere he could draw the second pistol.
"No, my dear Jack," whispered he quietly, "once is enough in a day!"
"Not for him, Tom, for myself!" moaned Elsley.
"For neither, dear lad! Let bygones be bygones, and do you be a new man,
and go home to Mrs. Vavasour."
"Never, never, never, never, never, never!" shrieked Elsley like a baby,
every word increasing in intensity, till the whole house rang; and then
threw himself into the crazy chair, and dashed his head between his
hands upon the table.
"This is a case for me, Major Campbell. I think you had better go now."
"You will not leave him?"
"No, sir. It is a very curious psychological study, and he is a Whitbury
Campbell knew quite enough of the would-be cynical doctor, to understand
what all that meant. He came up to Elsley.
"Mr. Vavasour, I am going to the war, from which I expect never to
return. If you believe me, give me your hand before I go."
Elsley, without lifting his head, beat on the table with his hand.
"I wish to die at peace with you and all the world. I am innocent in
word, in thought. I shall not insult another person by saying that she
is so. If you believe me, give me your hand."
Elsley stretched his hand, his head still buried. Campbell took it, and
went silently downstairs.
"Is he gone?" moaned he, after a while.
"Does she--does she care for him?"
"Good heavens! How did you ever dream such an absurdity?"
Elsley only beat upon the table.
"She has been ill?"
"Is ill. She has lost her child."
"Which?" shrieked Elsley.
"A boy whom she should have had."
Elsley only beat on the table; then--
"Give me the bottle, Tom!"
"The laudanum;--there in the cupboard."
"I shall do no such thing. You are poisoning yourself."
"Let me then! I must, I tell you! I can live on nothing else. I shall go
mad if I do not have it. I should have been mad by now. Nothing else
keeps off these fits;--I feel one coming now. Curse you! give me the
"How do I know? Agony and torture--ever since I got wet on that
Tom knew enough to guess his meaning, and felt Elsley's pulse and
"I tell you it turns every bone to red-hot iron!" almost screamed he.
"Neuralgia; rheumatic, I suppose," said Tom to himself. "Well, this is
not the thing to cure you: but you shall have it to keep you quiet." And
he measured him out a small dose.
"More, I tell you, more!" said Elsley, lifting up his head, and looking
"Not more while you are with me."
"With you! Who the devil sent you here?"
"John Briggs, John Briggs, if I did not mean you good, should I be here
now? Now do, like a reasonable man, tell me what you intend to do."
"What is that to you, or any man?" said Elsley, writhing with neuralgia.
"No concern of mine, of course: but your poor wife--you must see her."
"I can't, I won't!--that is, not yet! I tell you I cannot face the
thought of her, much less the sight of her, and her family,--that
Valencia! I'd rather the earth should open and swallow me! Don't talk to
me, I say!"
And hiding his face in his hands, he writhed with pain, while Thurnall
stood still patiently watching him, as a pointer dog does a partridge.
He had found his game, and did not intend to lose it.
"I am better now; quite well!" said he, as the laudanum began to work.
"Yes! I'll go--that will be it--go to ---- at once. He'll give me an
order for a magazine article; I'll earn ten pounds, and then off to
"If you want ten pounds, my good fellow, you can have them without
racking your brains over an article." Elsley looked up proudly.
"I do not borrow, sir!"
"Well--I'll give you five for those pistols. They are of no use to you,
and I shall want a spare brace for the East."
"Ah! I forgot them. I spent my last money on them," said he with a
shudder; "but I won't sell them to you at a fancy price--no dealings
between gentleman and gentleman. I'll go to a shop, and get for them
what they are worth."
"Very good. I'll go with you, if you like. I fancy I may get you a
better price for them than you would yourself: being rather a knowing
one about the pretty little barkers." And Tom took his arm, and walked
him quietly down into the street.
"If you ever go up those kennel-stairs again, friend," said he to
himself, "my name's not Tom Thurnall."
They walked to a gunsmith's shop in the Strand, where Tom had often
dealt, and sold the pistols for some three pounds.
"Now then let's go into 333, and get a mutton chop."
Elsley was too shy; he was "not fit to be seen."
"Come to my rooms, then, in the Adelphi, and have a wash and a shave. It
will make you as fresh as a lark again, and then we'll send out for the
eatables, and have a quiet chat."
Elsley did not say no. Thurnall took the thing as a matter of course,
and he was too weak and tired to argue with him. Beside, there was a
sort of relief in the company of a man who, though he knew all, chatted
on to him cheerily and quietly, as if nothing had happened; who at least
treated him as a sane man. From any one else he would have shrunk, lest
they should find him out: but a companion, who knew the worst, at least
saved him suspicion and dread.
His weakness, now that the collapse after passion had come on, clung to
any human friend. The very sound of Tom's clear sturdy voice seemed
pleasant to him, after long solitude and silence. At least it kept off
the fiends of memory.
Tom, anxious to keep Elsley's mind employed on some subject which should
not be painful, began chatting about the war and its prospects. Elsley
soon caught the cue, and talked with wild energy and pathos, opium-fed,
of the coming struggle between despotism and liberty, the arising of
Poland and Hungary, and all the grand dreams which then haunted minds
"By Jove!" said Tom, "you are yourself again now. Why don't you put all
that into a book!"
"I may perhaps," said Elsley proudly.
"And if it comes to that, why not come to the war, and see it for
yourself? A new country--one of the finest in the world. New scenery,
new actors,--Why, Constantinople itself is a poem! Yes, there is
another 'Revolt of Islam' to be written yet. Why don't you become our
war poet? Come and see the fighting; for there'll be plenty of it, let
them say what they will. The old bear is not going to drop his dead
donkey without a snap and a hug. Come along, and tell people what it's
all really like. There will be a dozen Cockneys writing battle songs,
I'll warrant, who never saw a man shot in their lives, not even a hare.
Come and give us the real genuine grit of it,--for if you can't, who
"It is a grand thought! The true war poets, after all, have been
warriors themselves. Koerner and Alcaeus fought as well as sang, and sang
because they fought. Old Homer, too,--who can believe that he had not
hewn his way through the very battles which he describes, and seen every
wound, every shape of agony? A noble thought, to go out with that army
against the northern Anarch, singing in the van of battle, as Taillefer
sang the song of Roland before William's knights, and to die like him,
the proto-martyr of the Crusade, with the melody yet upon one's lips!"
And his face blazed up with excitement.
"What a handsome fellow he is, after all, if there were but more of
him?" said Tom to himself. "I wonder if he'd fight, though, when the
singing-fever was off him."
He took Elsley upstairs into his bed-room, got him washed and shaved:
and sent out the woman of the house for mutton chops and stout, and
began himself setting out the luncheon table, while Elsley in the room
within chanted to himself snatches of poetry.
"The notion has taken: he's composing a war song already, I believe."
It actually was so: but Elsley's brain was weak and wandering; and he
was soon silent; and motionless so long, that Tom opened the door and
looked in anxiously.
He was sitting on a chair, his hands fallen on his lap, the tears
running down his face.
"Well?" asked Tom smilingly, not noticing the tears; "how goes on the
opera? I heard through the door the orchestra tuning for the prelude."
Elsley looked up in his face with a puzzled piteous expression.
"Do you know, Thurnall, I fancy at moments that my mind is not what it
was. Fancies flit from me as quickly as they come. I had twenty verses
five minutes ago, and now I cannot recollect one."
"No wonder," thought Tom to himself. "My clear fellow, recollect all
that you have suffered with this neuralgia. Believe me all you want is
animal strength. Chops and porter will bring all the verses back, or
better ones instead of them."
He tried to make Elsley eat; and Elsley tried himself: but failed. The
moment the meat touched his lips he loathed it, and only courtesy
prevented his leaving the room to escape the smell. The laudanum had
done its work upon his digestion. He tried the porter, and drank a
little: then, suddenly stopping, he pulled out a phial, dropped a heavy
dose of his poison into the porter, and tossed it off.
"Sold am I?" said Tom to himself. "He must have hidden the bottle as he
came out of the room with me. Oh, the cunning of those opium-eaters?
However, it will keep him quiet just now, and to Eaton Square I must
"You had better be quiet now, my dear fellow, after your dose; talking
will only excite you. Settle yourself on my bed, and I'll be back in an
So he put Elsley on his bed, carefully removing razors and pistols (for
he had still his fears of an outburst of passion), then locked him in,
ran down into the Strand, threw himself into a cab for Eaton Square, and
asked for Valencia.
Campbell had been there already; so Tom took care to tell nothing which
he had not told, expecting, and rightly, that he would not mention
Elsley's having fired at him. Lucia was still all but senseless, too
weak even to ask for Elsley; to attempt any meeting between her and her
husband would be madness.
"What will you do with the unhappy man, Mr. Thurnall?"
"Keep him under my eye, day and night, till he is either rational again,
"Do you think that he may?--Oh my poor sister!"
"I think that he may yet end very sadly, madam. There is no use
concealing the truth from you. All I can promise is, that I will treat
him as my own brother."
Valencia held out her fair hand to the young doctor. He stooped, and
lifted the tips of her fingers to his lips.
"I am not worthy of such an honour, madam. I shall study to deserve it."
And he bowed himself out, the same sturdy, self-confident Tom, doing
right, he hardly knew why, save that it was all in the way of business.
And now arose the puzzle, what to do with Elsley? He had set his heart
on going down to Whitbury the next day. He had been in England nearly
six months, and had not yet seen his father; his heart yearned, too,
after the old place, and Mark Armsworth, and many an old friend, whom he
might never see again. "However, that fellow I must see to, come what
will: business first and pleasure afterwards. If I make him all right--
if I even get him out of the world decently, I get the Scoutbush
interest on my side--though I believe I have it already. Still, it's as
well to lay people under as heavy an obligation as possible. I wish Miss
Valencia had asked me whether Elsley wanted any money: it's expensive
keeping him myself. However, poor thing, she has other matters to think
of: and I dare say, never knew the pleasures of an empty purse. Here we
are! Three-and-sixpence--eh, cabman? I suppose you think I was born
Saturday night? There's three shillings. Now, don't chaff me, my
excellent friend, or you will find you have met your match, and a leetle
And Tom hurried into his rooms, and found Elsley still sleeping.
He set to work, packing and arranging, for with him every moment found
its business: and presently heard his patient call faintly from the next
"Thurnall!" said he; "I have been a long journey. I have been to
Whitbury once more, and followed my father about his garden, and sat
upon my mother's knee. And she taught me one text, and no more. Over and
over again she said it, as she looked down at me with still sad eyes,
the same text which she spoke the day I left her for London. I never saw
her again. 'By this, my son, be admonished; of making of books there is
no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments; for
this is the whole duty of man.'.... Yes, I will go down to Whitbury,
and he a little child once more. I will take poor lodgings, and crawl
out day by day, down the old lanes, along the old river-banks, where I
fed my soul with fair and mad dreams, and reconsider it all from the
beginning;--and then die. No one need know me; and if they do, they
need not be ashamed of me, I trust--ashamed that a poet has risen up
among them, to speak words which have been heard across the globe. At
least, they need never know my shame--never know that I have broken the
heart of an angel, who gave herself to me, body and soul--attempted the
life of a man whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose--never know that I
have killed my own child!--that a blacker brand than Cain's is on my
brow!--Never know--Oh, my God, what care I? Let them know all, as long
as I can have done with shams and affectations, dreams, and vain
ambitions, and he just my own self once more, for one day, and then
And he burst into convulsive weeping.
"No, Tom, do not comfort me! I ought to die, and I shall die. I cannot
face her again; let her forget me, and find a husband who will--and be a
father to the children whom I neglected! Oh, my darlings, my darlings!
If I could but see you once again: but no! you too would ask me where I
had been so long. You too would ask me--your innocent faces at least
would--why I had killed your little brother!--Let me weep it out,
Thurnall; let me face it all! This very misery is a comfort, for it will
kill me all the sooner."
"If you really mean to go to Whitbury, my poor dear fellow," said Tom at
last, "I will start with you to-morrow morning. For I too must go; I
must see my father."
"You will really?" asked Elsley, who began to cling to him like a child.
"I will indeed. Believe me, you are right; you will find friends there,
and admirers too. I know one."
"You do?" asked he, looking up.
"Mary Armsworth, the banker's daughter."
"What! That purse-proud, vulgar man?"
"Don't be afraid of him. A truer and more delicate heart don't beat. No
one has more cause to say so than I. He will receive you with open arms,
and need be told no more than is necessary; while, as his friend, you
may defy gossip, and do just what you like."
Tom slipped out that afternoon, paid Elsley's pittance of rent at his
old lodgings; bought him a few necessary articles, and lent him, without
saying anything, a few more. Elsley sat all day as one in a dream,
moaning to himself at intervals, and following Tom vacantly with his
eyes, as he moved about the room. Excitement, misery, and opium were
fast wearing out body and mind, and Tom put him to bed that evening, as
he would have put a child.
Tom walked out into the Strand to smoke in the fresh air, and think, in
spite of himself, of that fair saint from whom he was so perversely
flying. Gay girls slithered past him, looked round at him, but in vain;
those two great sad eyes hung in his fancy, and he could see nothing
else. Ah--if she had but given him back his money--why, what a fool he
would have made of himself! Better as it was. He was meant to be a
vagabond and an adventurer to the last; and perhaps to find at last the
luck which had flitted away before him.
He passed one of the theatre doors; there was a group outside, more
noisy and more earnest than such groups are wont to be; and ere he could
pass through them, a shout from within rattled the doors with its mighty
pulse, and seemed to shake the very walls. Another; and another!--What
was it? Fire?
No. It was the news of Alma.
And the group surged to and fro outside, and talked, and questioned, and
rejoiced; and smart gents forgot their vulgar pleasures, and looked for
a moment as if they too could have fought--had fought--at Alma; and
sinful girls forgot their shame, and looked more beautiful than they had
done for many a day, as, beneath the flaring gas-light, their faces
glowed for a while with noble enthusiasm, and woman's sacred pity, while
they questioned Tom, taking him for an officer, as to whether he thought
there were many killed.
"I am no officer: but I have been in many a battle, and I know the
Russians well, and have seen how they fight; and there is many a brave
man killed, and many a one more will be."
"Oh, does it hurt them much?" asked one poor thing.
"Not often," quoth Tom.
"Thank God, thank God!" and she turned suddenly away, and with the
impulsive nature of her class, burst into violent sobbing and weeping.
Poor thing! perhaps among the men who fought and fell that day was he to
whom she owed the curse of her young life; and after him her lonely
heart went forth once more, faithful even in the lowest pit.
"You are strange creatures, women, women!" thought Tom: "but I knew that
many a year ago. Now then--the game is growing fast and furious, it
seems. Oh, that I may find myself soon in the thickest of it!"
So said Tom Thurnall; and so said Major Campbell, too, that night, as he
prepared everything to start next morning to Southampton. "The better
the day, the better the deed," quoth he. "When a man is travelling to a
better world, he need not be afraid of starting on a Sunday."
THE BANKER AND HIS DAUGHTER.
Tom and Elsley are safe at Whitbury at last; and Tom, ere he has seen
his father, has packed Elsley safe away in lodgings with an old dame
whom he can trust. Then he asks his way to his father's new abode; a
small old-fashioned house, with low bay windows jutting out upon the
Tom stops, and looks in the window. His father is sitting close to it,
in his arm-chair, his hands upon his knees, his face lifted to the
sunlight, with chin slightly outstretched, and his pale eyes feeling for
the light. The expression would have been painful, but for its perfect
sweetness and resignation. His countenance is not, perhaps, a strong
one; but its delicacy, and calm, and the high forehead, and the long
white locks, are most venerable. With a blind man's exquisite sense, he
feels Tom's shadow fall on him, and starts, and calls him by name; for
he has been expecting him, and thinking of nothing else all the morning,
and takes for granted that it must be he.
In another moment Tom is at his father's side. What need to describe the
sacred joy of those first few minutes, even if it were possible? But
unrestrained tenderness between man and man, rare as it is, and, as it
were, unaccustomed to itself, has no passionate fluency, no metaphor or
poetry, such as man pours out to woman, and woman again to man. All its
language lies in the tones, the looks, the little half-concealed
gestures, hints which pass themselves off modestly in jest; and such was
Tom's first interview with his father; till the old Isaac, having felt
Tom's head and hands again and again, to be sure whether it were his
very son or no, made him sit down by him, holding him still fast, and
"Now, tell me, tell me, while Jane gets you something to eat. No, Jane,
you mustn't talk to Master Tom yet, to bother about how much he's
grown;--nonsense, I must have him all to myself, Jane. Go and get him
some dinner. Now, Tom," as if he was afraid of losing a moment; "you
have been a dear boy to write to me every week; but there are so many
questions which only word of mouth will answer, and I have stored up
dozens of them! I want to know what a coral reef really looks like, and
if you saw any trepangs upon them? And what sort of strata is the gold
really in? And you saw one of those giant rays; I want a whole hour's
talk about the fellow. And--What an old babbler I am! talking to you
when you should be talking to me. Now begin. Let us have the trepangs
first. Are they real Holothurians or not?"
And Tom began, and told for a full half-hour, interrupted then by some
little comment of the old man's, which proved how prodigious was the
memory within, imprisoned and forced to feed upon itself.
"You seem to know more about Australia than I do, father," said Tom at
"No, child; but Mary Armsworth, God bless her! comes down here almost
every evening to read your letters to me; and she has been reading to me
a book of Mrs. Lee's Adventures in Australia, which reads like a novel;
delicious book--to me at least. Why, there is her step outside, I do
believe, and her father's with her!"
The lighter woman's step was inaudible to Tom; but the heavy, deliberate
waddle of the banker was not. He opened the house-door, and then the
parlour-door, without knocking; but when he saw the visitor, he stopped
on the threshold with outstretched arms.
"Hillo, ho! who have we here? Our prodigal son returned, with his
pockets full of nuggets from the diggings. Oh, mum's the word, is it?"
as Tom laid his finger on his lips. "Come here, then, and let's have a
look at you!" and he catches both Tom's hands in his, and almost shakes
them off. "I knew you were coming, old boy! Mary told me--she's in all
the old man's secrets. Come along, Mary, and see your old playfellow.
She has got a little fruit for the old gentleman. Mary, where are you I
always colloguing with Jane."
Mary comes in: a little dumpty body, with a yellow face, and a red nose,
the smile of an angel, and a heart full of many little secrets of other
people's--and of one great one of her own, which is no business of any
man's--and with fifty thousand pounds as her portion, for she is an only
child. But no man will touch that fifty thousand; for "no one would
marry me for myself," says Mary; "and no one shall marry me for my
So she greets Tom shyly and humbly, without looking in his face, yet
very cordially; and then slips away to deposit on the table a noble
"A little bit of fruit from her greenhouse," says the old man in a
disparaging tone: "and, oh Jane, bring me a saucer. Here's a sprat I
just capered out of Hemmelford mill-pit; perhaps the Doctor would like
it fried for supper, if it's big enough not to fall through the
Jane, who knows Mark Armsworth's humour, brings in the largest dish in
the house, and Mark pulls out of his basket a great three-pound trout.
"Aha! my young rover; Old Mark's right hand hasn't forgot its cunning,
eh? And this is the month for them; fish all quiet now. When fools go
a-shooting, wise men go a-fishing! Eh? Come here, and look me over. How
do I wear, eh? As like a Muscovy duck as ever, you young rogue? Do you
recollect asking me, at the Club dinner, why I was like a Muscovy duck?
Because I was a fat thing in green velveteen, with a bald red head, that
was always waddling about the river bank. Ah, those were days! We'll
have some more of them. Come up to-night and try the old '21 bin."
"I must have him myself to-night; indeed I must, Mark," says the Doctor.
"All to yourself you selfish old rogue?"
"We'll come down, then, Mary and I, and bring the '21 with us, and hear
all his cock-and-bull stories. Full of travellers' lies as ever, eh?
Well, I'll come, and smoke my pipe with you. Always the same old Mark,
my lad," nudging Tom with his elbow; "one fellow comes and borrows my
money, and goes out and calls me a stingy old hunks because I won't let
him cheat me; another comes, and eats my pines, and drinks my port, goes
home, and calls me a purse-proud upstart, because he can't match 'em.
Never mind; old Mark's old Mark; sound in the heart, and sound in the
liver, just the same as thirty years ago, and will be till he takes his
last quietus est--
'And drops into his grassy nest.'
Bye, bye, Doctor! Come, Mary!"
And out he toddled, with silent little Mary at his heels.
"Old Mark wears well, body and soul," said Tom.
"He is a noble, generous fellow, and as delicate-hearted as a woman
withal, in spite of his conceit and roughness. Fifty and odd years now,
Tom, have we been brothers, and I never found him change. And brothers
we shall be, I trust, a few years more, till I see you back again from
the East, comfortably settled. And then--"
"Don't talk of that, sir, please!" said Tom, quite quickly and sharply.
"How ill poor Mary looks!"
"So they say, poor child; and one hears it in her voice. Ah, Tom, that
girl is an angel; she has been to me daughter, doctor, clergyman, eyes
and library; and would have been nurse too, if it had not been for
making old Jane jealous. But she is ill. Some love affair, I suppose--"
"How quaint it is, that the father has kept all the animal vigour to
himself, and transmitted none to the daughter."
"He has not kept the soul to himself, Tom, or the eyes either. She will
bring me in wild flowers, and talk to me about them, till I fancy I can
see them as well as ever. Ah, well! It is a sweet world still, Tom, and
there are sweet souls in it. A sweet world: I was too fond of looking at
it once, I suppose, so God took away my sight, that I might learn to
look at Him." And the old man lay back in his chair, and covered his
face with his handkerchief, and was quite still awhile. And Tom watched
him, and thought that he would give all his cunning and power to be like
that old man.
Then Jane came in, and laid the cloth,--a coarse one enough,--and Tom
picked a cold mutton bone with a steel fork, and drank his pint of beer
from the public-house, and lighted his father's pipe, and then his own,
and vowed that he had never dined so well in his life, and began his
traveller's stories again.
And in the evening Mark came in, with a bottle of the '21 in his
coat-tail pocket; and the three sat and chatted, while Mary brought out
her work, and stitched listening silently, till it was time to lead the
old man upstairs.
Tom put his father to bed, and then made a hesitating request--
"There is a poor sick man whom I brought down with me, sir, if you could
spare me half-an-hour. It really is a professional case; he is under my
charge, I may say."
"What is it, boy?"
"Well, laudanum and a broken heart."
"Exercise and ammonia for the first. For the second, God's grace and the
grave: and those latter medicines you can't exhibit, my dear boy. Well,
as it is professional duty, I suppose you must: but don't exceed the
hour; I shall lie awake till you return, and then you must talk me to
So Tom went out and homeward with Mark and Mary, for their roads lay
together; and as he went, he thought good to tell them somewhat of the
history of John Briggs, alias Elsley Vavasour.
"Poor fool!" said Mark, who listened in silence to the end. "Why didn't
he mind his bottles, and just do what Heaven sent him to do? Is he in
want of the rhino, Tom?"
"He had not five shillings left after he had paid his fare; and he
refuses to ask his wife for a farthing."
"Quite right--very proper spirit." And Mark walked on in silence a few
"I say, Tom, a fool and his money are soon parted. There's a five-pound
note for him, you begging, insinuating dog, and be hanged to you both! I
shall die in the workhouse at this rate."
"Oh father, you will never miss--"
"Who told you I thought I should, pray? Don't you go giving another five
pounds out of your pocket-money behind my back, ma'am. I know your
tricks of old. Tom, I'll come and see the poor beggar to-morrow with you,
and call him Mr. Vavasour--Lord Vavasour, if he likes--if you'll warrant
me against laughing in his face." And the old man did laugh, till he
stopped and held his sides again.
"Oh, father, father, don't be so cruel. Remember how wretched the poor
"I can't think of anything but old Bolus's boy turned poet. Why did you
tell me, Tom, you bad fellow? It's too much for a man at my time of
life, and after his dinner too."
And with that he opened the little gate by the side of the grand one,
and turned to ask Tom--
"Won't come in, boy, and have one more cigar?"
"I promised my father to be back as quickly as possible."
"Good lad--that's the plan to go on--
'You'll be churchwarden before all's over,
And so arrive at wealth and fame.'
Instead of writing po-o-o-etry? Do you recollect that morning, and the
black draught? Oh dear, my side!"
And Tom heard him keckling to himself up the garden walk to his house;
went off to see that Elsley was safe; and then home, and slept like a
top; no wonder, for he would have done so the night before his
And what was little Mary doing all the while?
She had gone up to the room, after telling her father, with a kiss, not
to forget to say his prayers. And then she fed her canary bird, and made
up the Persian cat's bed; and then sat long at the open window, gazing
out over the shadow-dappled lawn, away to the poplars sleeping in the
moonlight, and the shining silent stream, and the shining silent stars,
till she seemed to become as one of them, and a quiet heaven within her
eyes took counsel with the quiet heaven above. And then she drew in
suddenly, as if stung by some random thought, and shut the window. A
picture hung over her mantelpiece--a portrait of her mother, who had
been a country beauty in her time. She glanced at it, and then at the
looking-glass. Would she have given her fifty thousand pounds to have
exchanged her face for such a face as that?
She caught up her little Thomas a Kempis, marked through and through
with lines and references, and sat and read steadfastly for an hour and
more. That was her school, as it has been the school of many a noble
soul. And, for some cause or other, that stinging thought returned no
more; and she knelt and prayed like a little child; and like a little
child slept sweetly all the night, and was away before breakfast the
next morning, after feeding the canary and the cat, to old women who
worshipped her as their ministering angel, and said, looking after her:
"That dear Miss Mary, pity she is so plain! Such a match as she might
have made! But she'll be handsome enough, when she is a blessed angel in
Ah, true sisters of mercy, whom the world sneers at as "old maids," if
you pour out on cats and dogs and parrots, a little of the love which is
yearning to spend itself on children of your own flesh and blood! As
long as such as you walk this lower world, one needs no Butler's Analogy
to prove to us that there is another world, where such as you will have
a fuller and a fairer (I dare not say a juster) portion.
* * * * *
Next morning Mark started with Tom to call on Elsley, chatting and
puffing all the way.
"I'll butter him, trust me. Nothing comforts a poor beggar like a bit of
praise when he's down; and all fellows that take to writing are as
greedy after it as trout after the drake, even if they only scribble in
county newspapers. I've watched them when I've been electioneering, my
"Only," said Tom, "don't be angry with him if he is proud and peevish.
The poor fellow is all but mad with misery."
"Poh! quarrel with him? whom did I ever quarrel with? If he barks, I'll
stop his mouth with a good dinner. I suppose he's gentleman enough, to
"As much a gentleman as you and I; not of the very first water, of
course. Still he eats like other people, and don't break many glasses
during a sitting. Think! he couldn't have been a very great cad to marry
a nobleman's daughter!"
"Why, no. Speaks well for him, that, considering his breeding. He must
be a very clever fellow to have caught the trick of the thing so soon."
"And so he is, a very clever fellow; too clever by half; and a very
fine-hearted fellow, too, in spite of his conceit and his temper. But
that don't prevent his being an awful fool!"
"You speak like a book, Tom!" said old Mark, clapping him on the back.
"Look at me! no one can say I was ever troubled with genius: but I can
show my money, pay my way, eat my dinner, kill my trout, hunt my hounds,
help a lame dog over a stile" (which was Mark's phrase for doing a
generous thing), "and thank God for all; and who wants more, I should
like to know? But here we are--you go up first!"
They found Elsley crouched up over the empty grate, his head in his
hands, and a few scraps of paper by him, on which he had been trying to
scribble. He did not look up as they came in, but gave a sort of
impatient half-turn, as if angry at being disturbed. Tom was about to
announce the banker; but he announced himself.
"Come to do myself the honour of calling on you, Mr. Vavasour. I am
sorry to see you so poorly; I hope our Whitbury air will set all right."
"You mistake me, sir; my name is Briggs!" said Elsley, without turning
his head; but a moment after he looked up angrily.
"Mr. Armsworth? I beg your pardon, sir; but what brings you here? Are
you come, sir, to use the rich successful man's right, and lecture me in
"'Pon my word, sir, you must have forgotten old Mark Armsworth, indeed,
if you fancy him capable of any such dirt. No, sir, I came to pay my
respects to you, sir, hoping that you'd come up and take a family
dinner. I could do no less," ran on the banker, seeing that Elsley was
preparing a peevish answer, "considering the honour that, I hear, you
have been to your native town. A very distinguished person, our friend
Tom tells me; and we ought to be proud of you, and behave to you as you
deserve, for I am sure we don't send too many clever fellows out of
"Would that you had never sent me!" said Elsley in his bitter way.
"Ah, sir, that's matter of opinion! You would never have been heard of
down here, never have had justice done you, I mean; for heard of you
have been. There's my daughter has read your poems again and again--
always quoting them; and very pretty they sound too. Poetry is not in my
line, of course; still, it's a credit to a man to do anything well, if
he has the gift; and she tells me that you have it, and plenty of it.
And though she's no fine lady, thank Heaven, I'll back her for good
sense against any woman. Come up, sir, and judge for yourself if I don't
speak the truth; she will be delighted to meet you, and bade me say so."
By this time good Mark had talked himself out of breath; and Elsley
flushing up, as of old, at a little praise, began to stammer an excuse.
"His nerves were so weak, and his spirits so broken with late troubles."
"My dear sir, that's the very reason I want you to come. A bottle of
port will cure the nerves, and a pleasant chat the spirits. Nothing like
forgetting all for a little time; and then to it again with a fresh
lease of strength, and beat it at last like a man."
"Too late, my dear sir; I must pay the penalty of my own folly," said
Elsley, really won by the man's cordiality.
"Never too late, sir, while there's life left in us. And," he went on in
a gentler tone, "if we all were to pay for our own follies, or lie down
and die when we saw them coming full cry at our heels, where would any
one of us be by now? I have been a fool in my time, young gentleman,
more than once or twice; and that too when I was old enough to be your
father: and down I went, and deserved what I got: but my rule always
was--Fight fair; fall soft; know when you've got enough; and don't cry
out when you've got it: but just go home; train again; and say--better
luck next fight." And so old Mark's sermon ended (as most of them did)
in somewhat Socratic allegory, savouring rather of the market than of
the study; but Elsley understood him, and looked up with a smile.
"You too are somewhat of a poet in your way, I see, sir!"
"I never thought to live to hear that, sir. I can't doubt now that you
are cleverer than your neighbours, for you have found out something
which they never did. But you will come?--for that's my business."
Elsley looked inquiringly at Tom; he had learnt now to consult his eye,
and lean on him like a child. Tom looked a stout yes, and Elsley said
"You have given me so much new and good advice in a few minutes, sir,
that I must really do myself the pleasure of coming and hearing more."
"Well done, our side!" cried old Mark. "Dinner at half-past five. No
London late hours here, sir. Miss Armsworth will be out of her mind when
she hears you're coming."
And off he went.
"Do you think he'll come up to the scratch, Tom?"
"I am very much afraid his courage will fail him. I will see him again,
and bring him up with me: but now, my dear Mr. Armsworth, do remember
one thing; that if you go on with him at your usual rate of hospitality,
the man will as surely be drunk, as his nerves and brain are all but
ruined; and if he is so, he will most probably destroy himself to-morrow
"He will. The shame of making a fool of himself just now before you will
be more than he could bear. So be stingy for once. He will not wish for
it unless you press him; but if he talks (and he will talk after the
first half-hour), he will forget himself, and half a bottle will make
him mad; and then I won't answer for the consequences."
"Good gracious! why, these poets want as tender handling as a bag of
gunpowder over the fire."
"You speak like a book there in your turn." And Tom went home to his
He returned in due time. A new difficulty had arisen. Elsley, under the
excitement of expectation, had gone out and deigned to buy laudanum--so
will an unhealthy craving degrade a man!--of old Bolus himself, who
luckily did not recognise him. He had taken his fullest dose, and was
now unable to go anywhere or do anything. Tom did not disturb him: but
went away, sorely perplexed, and very much minded to tell a white lie to
Armsworth, in whose eyes this would be an offence--not unpardonable, for
nothing with him was unpardonable, save lying or cruelty--but very
grievous. If a man had drunk too much wine in his house, he would have
simply kept his eye on him afterwards, as a fool who did not know when
he had his "quotum;" but laudanum drinking,--involving, too, the
breaking of an engagement, which, well managed, might have been of
immense use to Elsley,--was a very different matter. So Tom knew not
what to say or do; and not knowing, determined to wait on Providence,
smartened himself as best he could, went up to the great house, and
found Miss Mary.
"I'll tell her. She will manage it somehow, if she is a woman; much more
if she is an angel, as my father says."
Mary looked very much shocked and grieved; answered hardly a word; but
said at last, "Come in, while I go and see my father." He came into the
smart drawing-room, which he could see was seldom used; for Mary lived
in her own room, her father in his counting-house, or in his "den." In
ten minutes she came down. Tom thought she had been crying.
"I have settled it. Poor unhappy man! We will talk of something more
pleasant. Tell me about your shipwreck, and that place,--Aberalva, is it
not? What a pretty name!"
Tom told her, wondering then, and wondering long afterwards, how she had
"settled it" with her father. She chatted on artlessly enough, till the
old man came in, and to dinner, in capital humour, without saying one
word of Elsley.
"How has the old lion been tamed?" thought Tom. "The two greatest
affronts you could offer him in old times were, to break an engagement,
and to despise his good cheer." He did not know what the quiet oil on
the waters of such a spirit as Mary's can effect.
The evening passed pleasantly enough till nine, in chatting over old
times, and listening to the history of every extraordinary trout and fox
which had been killed within twenty miles, when the footboy entered with
a somewhat scared face.
"Please, sir, is Mr. Vavasour here?"
"Here? Who wants him?"
"Mrs. Brown, sir, in Hemmelford Street. Says he lodges with her, and has
been to seek for him at Dr. Thurnall's."
"I think you had better go, Mr. Thurnall," said Mary, quietly.
"Indeed you had, boy. Bother poets, and the day they first began to
breed in Whitbury! Such an evening spoilt! Have a cup of coffee? No?
then a glass of sherry?"
Out went Tom. Mrs. Brown had been up, and seen him seemingly sleeping;
then had heard him run downstairs hurriedly. He passed her in the
passage, looking very wild. "Seemed, sir, just like my nevy's wife's
brother, Will Ford, before he made away with hes'self."
Tom goes off post haste, revolving many things in a crafty heart. Then
he steers for Bolus's shop. Bolus is at "The Angler's Arms;" but his
assistant is in.
"Did a gentleman call here just now, in a long cloak, with a felt
"Yes." And the assistant looks confused enough for Tom to rejoin,--
"And you sold him laudanum?"
"And you had sold him laudanum already this afternoon, you young rascal?
How dare you, twice in six hours? I'll hold you responsible for the
"You dare call me a rascal?" blusters the youth, terror-stricken at
finding how much Tom knows.
"I am a member of the College of Surgeons," says Tom, recovering his
coolness, "and have just been dining with Mr. Armsworth. I suppose you
The assistant shook in his shoes at the name of that terrible justice of
the peace and of the war also; and meekly and contritely he replied,--
"Oh sir, what shall I do?"
"You're in a very neat scrape; you could not have feathered your nest
better," says Tom, quietly filling his pipe, and thinking. "As you
behave now, I will get you out of it, or leave you to--you know what, as
well as I. Get your hat."
He went out, and the youth followed trembling, while Tom formed his
plans in his mind.
"The wild beast goes home to his lair to die, and so may he; for I fear
it's life and death now. I'll try the house where he was born. Somewhere
in Water Lane it is I know."
And toward Water Lane he hurried. It was a low-lying offshoot of the
town, leading along the water meadows, with a straggling row of houses
on each side, the perennial haunts of fever and ague. Before them, on
each side the road, and fringed with pollard willows and tall poplars,
ran a tiny branch of the Whit, to feed some mill below; and spread out,
meanwhile, into ponds and mires full of offal and duckweed and rank
floating grass. A thick mist hung knee-deep over them, and over the
gardens right and left; and as Tom came down on the lane from the main
street above, he could see the mist spreading across the water-meadows
and reflecting the moon-beams like a lake; and as he walked into it, he
felt as if he were walking down a well. And he hurried down the lane,
looking out anxiously ahead for the long cloak.
At last he came to a better sort of house. That might be it. He would
take the chance. There was a man of the middle class, and two or three
women, standing at the gate. He went up--
"Pray, sir, did a medical man named Briggs ever live here?"
"What do you want to know for?"
"Why"--Tom thought matters were too serious for delicacy--"I am looking
for a gentleman, and thought he might have come here."
"And so he did, if you mean one in a queer hat and a cloak."
"How long since?"
"Why, he came up our garden an hour or more ago; walked right into the
parlour without with your leave, or by your leave, and stared at us all
round like one out of his mind; and so away, as soon as ever I asked him
what he was at--"
"To the river, I expect: I ran out, and saw him go down the lane, but I
was not going far by night alone with any such strange customers."
"Lend me a lanthorn then, for Heaven's sake!"
The lanthorn is lent, and Tom starts again down the lane.
Now to search. At the end of the lane is a cross road parallel to the
river. A broad still ditch lies beyond it, with a little bridge across,
where one gets minnows for bait: then a broad water-meadow; then silver
The bridge-gate is open. Tom hurries across the road to it. The lanthorn
shows him fresh footmarks going into the meadow. Forward!
Up and down in that meadow for an hour or more did Tom and the trembling
youth beat like a brace of pointer dogs, stumbling into gripes, and over
sleeping cows; and more than once stopping short just in time, as they
were walking into some broad and deep feeder.
Almost in despair, and after having searched down the river bank for
full two hundred yards, Tom was on the point of returning, when his eye
rested on a part of the stream where the mist lay higher than usual, and
let the reflection of the moonlight off the water reach his eye; and in
the moonlight ripples, close to the farther bank of the river--what was
that black lump?
Tom knew the spot well; the river there is very broad, and very shallow,
flowing round low islands of gravel and turf. It was very low just now
too, as it generally is in October: there could not be four inches of
water where the black lump lay, but on the side nearest him the water
was full knee deep.
The thing, whatever it was, was forty yards from him; and it was a cold
night for wading. It might be a hassock of rushes; a tuft of the great
water-dock; a dead dog; one of the "hangs" with which the club-water was
studded, torn up and stranded: but yet, to Tom, it had not a canny look.
"As usual! Here am I getting wet, dirty, and miserable, about matters
which are not the slightest concern of mine! I believe I shall end by
getting hanged or shot in somebody else's place, with this confounded
spirit of meddling. Yah! how cold the water is!"
For in he went, the grumbling honest dog; stepped across to the black
lump; and lifted it up hastily enough,--for it was Elsley Vavasour.
No. But wet through, and senseless from mingled cold and laudanum.
Whether he had meant to drown himself, and lighting on the shallow, had
stumbled on till he fell exhausted: or whether he had merely blundered
into the stream, careless whither he went, Tom knew not, and never knew;
for Elsley himself could not recollect.
Tom took him in his arms, carried him ashore and up through the water
meadow; borrowed a blanket and a wheelbarrow at the nearest cottage;
wrapped him up; and made the offending surgeon's assistant wheel him to
He sat with him there an hour; and then entered Mark's house again with
his usual composed face, to find Mark and Mary sitting up in great
"Mr. Armsworth, does the telegraph work at this time of night?"
"I'll make it, if it is wanted. But what's the matter?"
"You will indeed?"
"'Gad, I'll go myself and kick up the station-master. What's the
"That if poor Mrs. Vavasour wishes to see her husband alive, she must be
here in four-and-twenty hours. I'll tell you all presently--"
"Mary, my coat and comforter!" cries Mark, jumping up.
"And, Mary, a pen and ink to write the message," says Tom.
"Oh! cannot I be of any use?" says Mary.
"No, you angel."
"You must not call me an angel, Mr. Thurnall. After all, what can I do
which you have not done already?"
Tom started. Grace had once used to him the very same words. By the by,
what was it in the two women which made them so like? Certainly, neither
face nor fortune. Something in the tones of their voices.
"Ah! if Grace had Mary's fortune, or Mary Grace's face!" thought Tom, as
he hurried back to Elsley, and Mark rushed down to the station.
Elsley was conscious when he returned, and only too conscious. All night
he screamed in agonies of rheumatic fever; by the next afternoon he was
failing fast; his heart was affected; and Tom knew that he might die any
The evening train brings two ladies, Valencia and Lucia. At the risk of
her life, the poor faithful wife has come.
A gentleman's carriage is waiting for them, though they have ordered
none; and as they go through the station-room, a plain little
well-dressed body comes humbly up to them--
"Are either of these ladies Mrs. Vavasour?"
"Yes! I!--I!--is he alive?" gasps Lucia.
"Alive, and better! and expecting you--"
"Better?--expecting me?" almost shrieks she, as Valencia and Mary (for
it is she) help her to the carriage. Mary puts them in, and turns away.
"Are you not coming too?" asks Valencia, who is puzzled.
"No, thank you, madam; I am going to take a walk. John, you know where
to drive these ladies."
Little Mary does not think it necessary to say that she, with her
father's carriage, has been down to two other afternoon trains, upon the
chance of finding them.
But why is not Frank Headley with them, when he is needed most? And why
are Valencia's eyes more red with weeping than even her sister's sorrow
need have made them?
Because Frank Headley is rolling away in a French railway, on his road
to Marseilles, and to what Heaven shall find for him to do.
Yes, he is gone Eastward Ho among the many; will he come Westward Ho
again, among the few?
They are at the door of Elsley's lodgings now. Tom Thurnall meets them
there, and bows them upstairs silently. Lucia is so weak that she has to
cling to the banister a moment; and then, with a strong shudder, the
spirit conquers the flesh, and she hurries up before them both.
It is a small low room--Valencia had expected that: but she had
expected, too, confusion and wretchedness: for a note from Major
Campbell, ere he started, had told her of the condition in which Elsley
had been found. Instead, she finds neatness--even gaiety; fresh damask
linen, comfortable furniture, a vase of hothouse flowers, while the air
was full of cool perfumes. No one is likely to tell her that Mary has
furnished all at Tom's hint--"We must smarten up the place, for the poor
wife's sake. It will take something off the shock; and I want to avoid
shocks for her."
So Tom had worked with his own hands that morning; arranging the room as
carefully as any woman, with that true doctor's forethought and
consideration, which often issues in the loftiest, because the most
He paused at the door--
"Will you go in?" whispered he to Valencia, in a tone which meant--"you
had better not."
"Not yet--I daresay he is too weak."
Lucia darted in, and Tom shut the door behind her, and waited at the
stair-head. "Better," thought he, "to let the two poor creatures settle
their own concerns. It must end soon, in any case."
Lucia rushed to the bed-side, drew back the curtains--
"Tom!" moaned Elsley.
"Lucia?--Lucia St. Just!" answered he, in a low abstracted voice, as if
trying to recollect. | <urn:uuid:3e8117d7-2a42-4ef2-a230-442e6bc9b4a1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fulltextarchive.com/page/Two-Years-Ago-Volume-II-5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00402-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976208 | 23,618 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Jobfuscate allows software developers to obfuscate (protect) their Java class files. Otherwise, without protection, anyone could use a Java decompiler to effectively get back your Java source code!
We wrote Jobfuscate out of our frustration using other commercial Java obfuscators. We tried many products and not one worked for our Java code! Our protected programs would simply not run! That last thing we needed (and you as a software developer) is to track down bugs that are not yours, but a result of obfuscation.
The Problem: Java class files contain lots of symbolic information from your source code, including all variable names and method names that you used in your source code! This symbolic information allows Java decompilers to very effectively reconstruct your source code with the variable names you used. If you have not used a Java decompiler, get one and try it out and you will be amazed. Without obfuscation protection, you are giving away your source code when you ship Java class files.
The Solution: Remove all symbolic information that can be removed. Jobfuscate allows you to use fully descriptive variable names and method names in your Java code. It then renames your classes, variables and methods to meaningless names. No attempt is made to alter the Java byte code because that is where all other obfuscators cause bugs for you to track down.URL: http://www.duckware.com/jobfuscate/index.html | <urn:uuid:880f1ea7-ff50-4616-9bc8-a0d630c85711> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.java-tips.org/java-applications/101-obfuscator/552-jobfuscate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00393-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.874603 | 291 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Staunton, February 20 – The reduction in the length of service Russian draftees are now required to spend in the military may have increased the amount of “dedovshchina,” the situation in which soldiers who have been in uniform longer oppress in one way or another their more junior colleagues, investigators say.
But this development, one exactly the opposite of what officials and experts predicted earlier, may reflect two other developments: the increasing willingness of soldiers and their parents to complain about such violations of the military code and a reduction in the number of officers responsible for morale (www.nr2.ru/rus/321242.html).
Citing Newsru.com, Interfax and other outlets, the New Region agency reported yesterday that on Friday, the press service of the Chief Military Investigation Administration of the Russian Investigation Committee had reported that “in all military districts and in the fleets, there has been an outburst of crimes committed by draftees.”
“More than 90 percent” of these violations of military and civil law have been committed by draftees even as the number of crimes committed by officers has declined, the investigators said. And Aleksandr Sorochkin, the head of that agency, linked this upsurge to changes in the draft cycle.
When everyone served two years, he said, most crimes among soldiers were committed by the 25 percent in their last six months of service, a pattern that gave rise to the term “dedovshchina.” With the reduction in service to a year, Sorochkin said, “now almost half of those drafted consider themselves” senior enough to oppress those more junior.
At the same time, the investigator continued, some of this increase reflects the cutback in the number of training officers, a reduction that has allowed “informal leaders” to fill that gap and “affect the psychological climate in military collectives,” often in an extremely negative way.
According to an article in “Svobodnaya pressa,” the number of soldiers ready to oppress their fellow draftees has risen by a third, exactly the opposite pattern that those who argued for a reduction in the length of service said would obtain. But as the New Region agency report makes clear, it is hard to evaluate these numbers.
Aleksandr Sharavin, the director of the Moscow Institute of Political and Military Analysis, suggested that it may simply reflect a greater willingness on the part of soldiers and their parents to complain. “Earlier, they remained silent on the principle” that things could get worse. But now, they are ready to complain.
Thus, this rise could be a statistical artifact and instead point to a positive trend in which soldiers and their parents are less afraid to complain because they have become convinced that they will be protected and that perhaps commanders or others will prevent things from getting worse. | <urn:uuid:26904d86-19a1-4f91-9231-d630f189faa2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2011/02/window-on-eurasia-reducing-length-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00035-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971671 | 607 | 1.78125 | 2 |
'Glomjford - Operation Musketoon’
Captain Graeme Delamere Black DSO, MC
Captain Joseph Blundell Houghton MC
Sergeant Miller Smith
Lance Bombardier William Henry Albert Chudley
Private Reginald Henry Makeham
Rifleman Cyril Henry Abram
Private Eric Gordon Curtis
The Commandos were accompanied by 2 scouts from Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Noric1), an SOE unit who were both later killed.
Lance Sergeant Richard O'Brien, Guardsman John Fairclough, and Private Frederick Trigg all escaped and made it back to the UK rejoining No.2 Commando. Private Trigg was killed in action in Italy on 16 February 1944.
Ask Questions / Add Information / Add Photos | <urn:uuid:1bf93819-09f9-4016-aa2b-5370fa0389db> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.commandoveterans.org/Musketoon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.879735 | 176 | 1.773438 | 2 |
What is the Third Age?
After the ages of childhood and full-time work there comes a third age of freedom. Time to explore new interests, share skills and experiences, and make new friends.
The u3a (originally the ‘University of the Third Age‘) movement started in France and spread to Britain in the early 80s. There are now over 1000 local u3as in Britain and more than 450,000 members. It is one of the fastest growing organisations in the UK. It is a self-help organisation for people no longer in full time employment. Local u3as are learning cooperatives which draw upon the knowledge, experience and skills of their own members to organise and provide interest groups in accordance with the wishes of the membership. The u3a approach to learning is “learning for pleasure”. There is no accreditation or validation and there are no assessments or qualifications to be gained.
What does East Lothian u3a offer?
What u3as provide reflects the wishes of the members. At present East Lothian u3a has interest groups in music, languages, history, literature and science. There are also activity and leisure groups for walking, painting, photography, bridge, and gardening. Click on the Groups button above for a full list. In addition there are several open meetings each year with specialist lecturers and open coffee mornings. See the News and Events lists on the right-hand side of the screen for up-to-date information on u3a activities. | <urn:uuid:04aac271-7bf7-4524-922d-2a9b60a90b4c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://eastlothianu3a.org.uk/about-us/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571472.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811133823-20220811163823-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.941713 | 315 | 2 | 2 |
Normal profit is equal to the best return that the firm's self-owned, self-employed resources could earn elsewhere. It can be regarded as the minimum payment required by the owner of the firm to stay in the particular business. Normal profit includes the cost of the owner's time and capital and is included in the firm's economic costs. If an economist therefore talks about the cost of doing business, he or she would include the normal profits that must be paid to the owners to keep them in the particular business.
Questions about Perfect competition: Normal profits
Want more info about Perfect competition: Normal profits?
Get free advice from education experts and Noodle community members. | <urn:uuid:dd4ea44a-3e58-4da1-8b19-0a39802c3c84> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.noodle.com/learn/details/85898/perfect-competition-normal-profits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00548-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973389 | 135 | 2.8125 | 3 |
|Metro is a
fast-operating, easy-to-learn high-powered sequencer for the design of
professional audio projects. It stands alone as a complete and
integrated MIDI, audio and video production system.
Metro is engineered with two primary design goals: stability and performance.
The audio system supports up to 128 audio tracks. Tracks, Auxillary
busses and Mixer Channels can all have their own effect chain. Eight
aux busses are also supported. Chains can be made up of VST effects
(OS X only). VST 2.x is supported. All effects can be automated.
Real-time editing is encouraged. Software audio play-thru allows the
original audio to be recorded regardless of what plug-ins are currently
The MIDI system has been around since the 1980's and is the most
versatile and stable product of its kind on any platform. Metro
combines all the functionality expected from a professional Macintosh
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as the Rhythm Explorer™ and the algorithmic Note Spray Paint tool.This
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The video system uses Apple's QuickTime technology for recording,
applying video effects and overlaying text.
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now at the Sagan Technology Store!
"Packed with innovative features...the most bang for your buck."
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sequencer features at a bargain price."
- Electronic Musician magazine
"A respectable sequencer program in its own right."
- Craig Anderton
Here To Read User Testimonials | <urn:uuid:d124e613-bc0e-4473-b627-70c014689494> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sagantech.biz/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00274-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901564 | 375 | 1.632813 | 2 |
The real problem is that currently IM uses -gravity for BOTH positioning, and justification at that position.
However there is a way out of this problem, look at -draw with gravity. The examples for this is a little odd as it actually even pre-dates IM Examples!
IM Examples, Annotating, Text Positioning with Rotation http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/annota ... t_rotation
Until we get a proper justification setting for positioning both text and images on another image, that is the bast that can directly.
Indirectly is another matter! You can
- render your text into a separate image, with whatever justification, (gravity) you want in that box
- Now distort that image using SRT, with scale, rotation and more importantally translation to place the text where you want
- and finally 'layer' the image onto the background.
The only problem with this technique is that you can't position or translate the image with 'gravity' you need to do this yourself by using some equations in the distort string.
I am sure a complete textual/image positioning system could be worked out using SRT distortion. http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/distort/SRT
It's arguments was designed with full positioning controls in mind, though only with absolute offsets. However as you can use % escapes you can make your own offsets, relative to the original image, or with some extra work even relative to some other (final destination) image. Also unlike other methods (direct compose) the positioning can be to a sub-pixel level. | <urn:uuid:607cb0d3-07d0-4f2c-b3d9-0c52de5c57fc> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.imagemagick.org/discourse-server/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18915 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720238.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00188-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905946 | 336 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Semipelagianism is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought on salvation; that is, the means by which humanity and God are restored to a right relationship. Semipelagian thought stands in contrast to the earlier Pelagian teaching about salvation (in which people are seen as effecting their own salvation), which had been dismissed as heresy. Semipelagianism in its original form was developed as a compromise between Pelagianism and the teaching of Church Fathers such as Saint Augustine, who taught that people cannot come to God without the grace of God. In semipelagian thought, therefore, a distinction is made between the beginning of faith and the increase of faith. Semipelagian thought teaches that the latter half - growing in faith - is the work of God, while the beginning of faith is an act of free will, with grace supervening only later. It too was labeled heresy by the Western Church at the Second Council of Orange in 529.
Catholicism teaches that the beginning of faith involves an act of free will, that the initiative comes from God, but requires free collaboration on the part of man. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration". "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life."
The term "semipelagianism", a 16th-century coinage, has been used as an accusation in theological disputes over salvation, divine grace and free will. Theologians have also used it retrospectively to refer to the original formulation, an anachronistic use that has been called inappropriate, ambiguous and unjust. In this context, a more historically accurate term is Massilianism, a reference to the city of Marseilles, with which some of its proponents were associated.
Pelagian and semipelagian theology
Pelagianism is the teaching that people have the capacity to seek God in and of themselves apart from any movement of God or the Holy Spirit, and therefore that salvation is effected by their own efforts. The doctrine takes its name from Pelagius, a British monk who was accused of developing the doctrine (he himself appears to have claimed that man does not do good apart from grace in his letters, claiming only that all men have free will by God's gift); it was opposed especially by Augustine of Hippo and was declared a heresy by Pope Zosimus in 418. Denying the existence of original sin, it teaches that man is in himself and by nature capable of choosing good.
In semipelagian thought, man does not have such an unrestrained capacity, but man and God could cooperate to a certain degree in this salvation effort: man can (unaided by grace) make the first move toward God, and God then increases and guards that faith, completing the work of salvation. This teaching is distinct from the traditional patristic doctrine of synergeia, in which the process of salvation is cooperation between God and man from start to finish.
The term "semipelagianism" was unknown in antiquity, appearing for the first time only in the last quarter of the 16th century. It was used in connexion with Molina's doctrine of grace. Opponents of this theologian believed they saw a close resemblance to the views advocated by monks of Southern Gaul at and around Marseille after 428. After this confusion between the ideas of Molina and those of the monks of Marseille had been exposed as an error, the newly coined term "semipelagianism" was retained in learned circles as an apt designation for the views of those monks, which was said to have aimed at a compromise between the Pelagianism and Augustinism, and was condemned as heresy at the local Council of Orange (529) after disputes extending over more than a hundred years.
Development of the term and subsequent use
Early use of the term
The Epitome of the Lutheran Formula of Concord (1577) rejects "the false dogma of the Semi-Pelagians, who teach that man by his own powers can commence his conversion, but can not fully accomplish it without the grace of the Holy Spirit."
The Orthodox Church generally emphasizes the synergistic doctrine of theosis in its conception of salvation as a process of personal transformation to the likeness of God in Christ through the Spirit. Theosis closely links the ideas of justification and sanctification; salvation is acquired through the divinization of man. This doctrine is sometimes dismissed as semipelagian by theologians of the classical Protestant traditions on the grounds that it suggests that man contributes to his own salvation. The accusation is rejected by Orthodox Christianity, which unlike the established Western traditions remained for the most part uninfluenced by Augustinian theology and holds that "for the regenerated to do spiritual good–for the works of the believer being contributory to salvation and wrought by supernatural grace are properly called spiritual–it is necessary that he be guided and prevented [preceded] by grace … Consequently, he is not able of himself to do any work worthy of a Christian life".
John Cassian, known particularly for his teachings on theosis, is considered to be a Saint in the Eastern Churches as well as in Roman Catholicism. He is generally considered to have been an early proponent of semi-Pelagianism But some recent scholars deny that his views were in fact semi-Pelagian. Lauren Pristas writes: "For Cassian, salvation is, from beginning to end, the effect of God's grace. It is fully divine." Augustine Casiday states that Cassian "baldly asserts that God's grace, not human free will, is responsible for 'everything which pertains to salvation' – even faith." Others hold that "the view of Cassian as the ringleader of 'semi-Pelagianism' rests on a conjectural chronology". The Roman Catholic Church includes John Cassian in its official list of recognized saints, with a feastday on 23 July, and cites him in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It did not endorse Augustine entirely and, while later Catholic theologians accepted Augustine's authority, they interpreted his views in the light of writers such as Cassian. West and East consider both John Cassian and Augustine of Hippo as saints.
Calvinism and Arminianism
In more recent times, the word has been used in the Reformed Protestant camp to designate anyone who deviates from what they see as the Augustinian doctrines of sovereignty, original sin and grace: most notably Arminian Protestants and Roman Catholics. Although Calvinist and Lutheran theologies of salvation differ significantly on issues such as the nature of predestination and the salvific role of the sacraments (see means of grace), both branches of historic Protestantism claim the theology of Augustine as a principal influence.
Many Arminians have disagreed with this generalization, believing it is libelous to Jacobus Arminius (from whose name Arminianism derives) and the Remonstrants who maintained his "Arminian" views after his death. John Wesley (an Anglican defender of Arminianism and founder of Methodism) and other prominent classical and Wesleyan Arminians maintained the doctrines of original sin and the total depravity of the human race. Likewise, ever since the Council of Orange (529), the Roman Catholic Church has condemned semipelagianism and has not accepted the Calvinist interpretation of Augustine.
Jansenism and the Jesuits
In the 18th century, the Jesuits accused the Jansenists of affirming the radical Augustinian doctrines of Calvinism; the Jansenists, in turn, accused the Jesuits of semipelagianism. The 1713 papal bull of Pope Clement XI, Unigenitus, in declaring Jansenism heretical, upheld the Jesuits' objections.
- Augustine of Hippo
- Fall of man
- Grace (Christianity)
- Heresy in Christianity
- Irresistible grace
- Original sin
- Prevenient grace
- Sola gratia
- Synergism and monergism
- Total depravity
- The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3), article "semipelagianism".
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 2008
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 2010
- Donato Ogliari, Gratia Et Certamen (Peeters 2003 ISBN 978-90-4291351-6), pp. 8-9
- Anthony Dupont, Gratia in Augustine’s Sermones Ad Populum During the Pelagian Controversy (Brill 2012 ISBN 978-90-0423157-3), pp. 64-65
- Adams, Nicholas (2007). "Pelagianism: Can people be saved by their own efforts?". In Quash, Ben; Ward, Michael. Heresies and How to Avoid Them. London: SPCK Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-281-05843-3.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Semipelagianism". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Joseph Pohle, "Semipelagianism" in Catholic Encyclopedia 1912
- Article II. Of Free Will. Negative III
- Horton, Michael (2004). "Are Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism compatible? No". In James Stamoolis. Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. pp. 139–140. ISBN 0-310-23539-1.
- Confession of Dositheus, Decree 14
- Encyclopædia Britannica: Saint John Cassian
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- Richard Lischer,The Company of Preachers (Eerdmans 2002 ISBN 0-8028-4609-2), p. 182
- William W. Kibler, Medieval France (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities 1995 ISBN 0-824-04444-4), p. 180
- Lauren Pristas (1993), The Theological Anthropology of John Cassian, PhD dissertation, Boston College, OCLC 39451854
- Augustine Casiday, Tradition and Theology in St John Cassian (Oxford University Press 2007 ISBN 0-19-929718-5), p. 103
- Allan D. Fitzgerald (Eerdmans 1999 ISBN 0-8028-3843-X), p. 763
- Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7), p. 385
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2785
- Edwin Zackrison, In the Loins of Adam (iUniverse 2004 ISBN 9780595307166), p. 73
- Justo L. González, A History of Christian Thought (Abingdon Press 2010 ISBN 9781426721915), vol. 2, p. 58
- James Akin, "A Tiptoe through TULIP"
- Robert A. Maryks, Saint Cicero and the Jesuits (Ashgate Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7546-6293-8), p. 130
- Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff, An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies (Liturgical Press 2007 ISBN 978-0-8146-5856-7), p. 664 | <urn:uuid:7f6f1b43-e529-4d24-94ce-64c995ae1195> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semipelagianism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00282-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918355 | 2,465 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Iran: Release imprisoned trade unionists and uphold workers’ rights
Several trade unionists in Iran languish in prison while many others face prison sentences of up to a decade solely for their peaceful trade union activities, Amnesty International said today, on the eve of International Worker’s Day on 1 May.
The organization renews its calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release those imprisoned for their peaceful trade union work, and quash the harsh prison sentences that have been handed down to others for similar reasons. The authorities must lift their repressive and unlawful ban on independent trade unions, and allow workers to hold peaceful gatherings, including on International Workers’ Day, and to exercise their right to form and join independent trade unions to improve their living situations, which they describe as increasingly dire and poverty-stricken.
Trade unionists currently jailed in Iran for their peaceful activism include Esmail Abdi, a mathematics teacher and a member of the board of directors at the Teachers’ Trade Association of Tehran (ITTA-Tehran), who is serving a six-year prison sentence; and Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a member of the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’ Organizations, who has spent nearly seven years in prison, serving two separate prison terms totalling almost 13 years. On 22 April 2017, Esmail Abdi announced that he would launch a hunger strike on the eve of International Workers’ Day “in solidarity with all teachers and workers, and in protest at the lack of independence of the judiciary, which is issuing national-security convictions against individuals who are active with workers’ and teachers’ trade associations.”
The prospect of imprisonment looms over several other trade unionists, including three other members of the board of directors at the Teachers’ Trade Association of Tehran, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, Mohammad Reza Niknejad, and Mehdi Bohlooli; a member of the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’, Mahmoud Salehi; three members of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, Davoud Razavi, Ebrahim Madadi, and Reza Shahabi; and two members of the Free Union of Workers of Iran, Jafar Azimzadeh and Shapour Ehsanirad.
These men have all been sentenced to harsh prison terms ranging from five to 11 years, after grossly unfair trials before Revolutionary Courts on trumped-up national security charges such as “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”, “spreading propaganda against the system”, “disrupting public order” and “forming a group with the purpose of disturbing national security”. Most are free on bail pending the outcome of their appeals; Reza Shahabi was granted medical leave in October 2014 after spending four years in prison but has recently been summoned back to prison. The men’s court verdicts blatantly reveal the extent to which Iran’s courts cite peaceful trade union activities as “evidence” of “acts against national security” and “anti-revolutionary propaganda”. These activities include: organizing peaceful gatherings, including on International Worker’s Day; attending peaceful protests against poor wages and publishing their photographs on-line; receiving invitations to attend international meetings of trade unions; signing statements in support of trade union rights; and launching petitions to seek a rise in the national minimum wage.
Repression of international workers’ day gatherings
International Workers’ Day this year appears already to be following a common pattern whereby the Iranian authorities deny workers the right to peaceful assembly.
The Free Union of Workers of Iran has reported that several trade union activists, including Ali Nejati, a member of the board of directors of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Trade Union in Dezfoul, Khuzestan Province, and Sheys Amani, a member of the board of directors of the Free Union of Workers of Iran in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, have been summoned by intelligence officials for interrogation ahead of 1 May and were warned against organizing gatherings.
In 2016, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, an independent human rights organization, reported that security forces supressed May Day gatherings across the country, detaining at least 12 trade union activists from different cities and summoning another four for interrogations.
In the court verdicts of trade unionists reviewed by Amnesty International, participation in International Workers’ Day gatherings is consistently cited as “evidence” of “spreading propaganda against the system” or other national-security related offences. Sometimes, as in the case of construction worker Osman Esmailee, this appears to be the main activity for which a prison sentence was handed down. Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Saqqez, Kurdistan Province, sentenced him to a one-year prison sentence in October 2015. He is currently at liberty pending the outcome of his appeal hearing, which took place in March 2017.
On the eve of planned May Day demonstrations, Amnesty International urges the Iranian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and end all repressive measures aimed at prohibiting peaceful gatherings.
By criminalizing peaceful trade union activities and banning the formation of independent trade unions, the Iranian authorities are flagrantly violating their human rights obligations under international law. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which Iran has ratified, impose an obligation on the Iranian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as the right to form and join trade unions of one’s choice. Trade unionists are also protected under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which highlights the obligation on states to respect the right to defend human rights, which includes trade union rights, and protect human rights defenders from harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment.
Iran’s Labour Code permits worker representation only through an Islamic Labour Council (ILC) or a trade association (also known as a Guild Society). Under the existing legal framework, an ILC and a trade association cannot exist at the same enterprise. In practice, ILCs receive more support from the government, which has resulted in an organizational monopoly in their favour.
The primary purpose of ILCs, as set out in Iranian legislation, is to support the Islamic Republic system rather than trade union rights. Section 130 of the Labour Code states that the establishment of Islamic societies is “to propagate and disseminate Islamic culture and to defend the achievements of the Islamic revolution.” Furthermore, candidates standing for election to ILC boards face discriminatory screening procedures, including the need to demonstrate their Islamic belief and “practical allegiance” to Islam, and show that they are faithful to the rule of the Supreme Leader (velayat-e faqih).
Trade associations are not independent either and must obtain state approval to function. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is mandated to inspect the election of trade association officials. Trade associations are required to inform the Ministry of general assemblies at least 15 days before they take place. Ministry officials are entitled to observe, interfere with and disrupt such meetings, and issue measures of suspension and dissolution.
Despite undue restrictions on the right to freedom of association and a ban on independent trade unions, many workers in Iran have courageously formed such unions as well as workers’ support organizations in order to protest against unpaid wages, precarious work conditions, staggering inflation and poor living conditions.
Workers’ rights are human rights. Amnesty International stands in solidarity with trade unionists in Iran as they strive to ensure their right to establish independent trade unions and bring about a day where all persons in the country are able to enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to just and favourable conditions of employment, social security, and an adequate standard of living for oneself and one’s family, including access to adequate food, clothing, housing, education and quality health services. | <urn:uuid:b1af5908-8443-436d-b97c-43caa85da593> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.amnesty.nl/actueel/iran-release-imprisoned-trade-unionists-and-uphold-workers-rights | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.956741 | 1,661 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Lunch hour lectures repository Autumn 2008
- 7 October 2008: Is Human Evolution Over?
- 9 October: A Tale of Two Churches
- 14 October: How Does My Brain Hear Your Voice?
- 16 October: Voice of God
- 21 October: The Zen of Running
- 23 October: UrbanBuzz - Building Sustainable Communities
- 28 October: Darwin, Microbes and the Increasing Incidence of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS, WE WERE UNABLE TO RECORD THIS LECTURE AND IT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE)
- 30 October: What's New in Magnetic Healing?
- 11 November: The Northern Utopia: What is Distinctive About the Nordic Countries
- 13 November: Do We Need a British Bill of Rights and a Written Constitution?
- 18 November: TRIM5, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Red Queen
- 20 November: Rescuing the Past: Prayer Books, Parchment and Multi-Spectral Imaging
- 25 November: The Secret of Man's Red Fire
- 27 November: From 'Grey Goo' to Nanomedicine
- 2 December: Earthquake Vulnerability: An Engineer's Perspective With a Difference
- 4 December: Stemming Vision Loss With Stem Cells - Seeing is Believing
Download Lunch Hour Lectures
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from 7 days after the live event
at iTunes U.
13 November: Do We Need a British Bill of Rights and a Written Constitution?
13 June 2007
Professor Richard Bellamy – UCL Political Science
It has become increasingly fashionable to argue that democracy in Britain isn’t working and that a written constitution and a bill of rights could be at least part of the answer. By contrast, this lecture argues that these are part of the problem and not the solution. Drawing on his recent books ‘Political Constitutionalism’ (2007) and ‘Citizenship’ (2008), Professor Bellamy will show how democratic processes are far more effective at delivering the constitutional goods of rights and the rule of law than courts and also have more legitimacy. Constitutions subvert those processes and contribute to popular disaffection with them, producing a decline in rights protection in the process.
Page last modified on 10 sep 08 11:04 | <urn:uuid:1985e3a4-a7cb-4dcc-9918-be2b87c4cada> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl/lhlpub2/10_131108 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00183-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.850068 | 495 | 2.328125 | 2 |
As robots seek to mimic humans’ ability to see and hear, they have a secret weapon in Microsoft’s Kinect game motion-sensing controller.
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Laboratory (CSAIL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which I toured Friday, is piled high with all kinds of hardware, including laptops, unmanned submarines, and mechanical limbs. But when it comes to equipping robots with artificial eyes and ears, robotics hackers are clearly enamored with the Kinect motion-sensing controller and sensors like it.
The Kinect motion-sensing controller is attached to the head of the humanoid PR2 robot as it tries to bake cookies. It’s also attached to a robotic wheelchair, as well as unmanned vehicles for exploring the ocean and the air. For robot builders, Kinect’s depth camera provides a relatively cheap set of eyes–crucial to giving them more autonomy–that plug in nicely to onboard computers.
“Kinect costs $150 and replaces $7,000 in sensors,” said mechanical engineering student Mario Bollini. And plugging the control into a robot–Bollini is working with Willow Garage’s PR2 robot–and writing software for it is straight-forward, he said.
In another effort, the Kinect motion-sensing controller is attached to a wheelchair to improve automated navigation. Researchers are writing algorithms that would allow a person to teach the wheelchair the ins and outs of a nursing home by following a person around or taking voice commands.
The depth camera of Kinect can also be used to navigate environments where robots can’t take advantage of GPS. The Robust Robotics Group at MIT and a team at the University of Washington have equipped a quadrotor, which is a four-propeller helicopter, with a Kinect motion-sensing controller to create a three-dimensional map of a location, which could be a building post-earthquake.
As the system flies around, the Kinect sensor sends out an infrared beam and, based on the reflections, can start to build, point by point, a colored map of an indoor or outdoor space in software. The cameras also allow the quadrotor to avoid colliding into other objects.
All that sensor data requires some hefty onboard processing. The Robust Robotics Group’s machine, which is about as wide as a pizza box, has two computers, including one that’s about as powerful as a laptop processor, according to a researcher.
Giving robots a better way to understand their environment with off-the-shelf products is helping lead to more capable robots. iRobot CEO Colin Angle said because of its low cost and capabilities, the sensor in the Kinect controller is “incredibly disruptive” because of its consumer electronics price.
Bookmark this page for “Kinect robots” and check back regularly as these articles update on a very frequent basis. The view is set to “news”. Try clicking on “video” and “2” for more articles. | <urn:uuid:16cf9ec0-3f6c-402d-a0b8-ea57e2b86687> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.innovationtoronto.com/2011/12/microsofts-kinect-a-robots-low-cost-secret-weapon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00111-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942047 | 630 | 2.921875 | 3 |
It is too soon to know what changes, if any, might be made to the Affordable Care Act as a result of the recent elections and the upcoming debates over taxes, spending cuts and sequestration. What we do know is that the most effective healthcare reform will happen through collaboration at the local level among health systems, physicians, employers, and payers.
Healthcare should not be a partisan issue. We must work together to meet the challenges of providing quality healthcare for the people in the communities we serve and control the cost of care. Our hope is that we can put aside partisan differences and focus on real solutions. There are many parts of the Affordable Care Act that are good and other parts that could be improved. We hope that our policy makers can work together on improving what needs to be improved and that we do not lose the progress that has been made on many critical issues, such as expanding the availability of insurance coverage.
In North Texas, the spirit of collaboration is strong, and the results of joint efforts are impressive.
One area of collaboration focuses on information technology infrastructure. Texas Health Resources and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas worked together to develop one of the first health information exchanges (HIE) in the state that enables us to securely share patient information across information technology platforms. We’ve participated with Sandlot Solutions, a health information technology company in Fort Worth, for several years in developing a health information exchange for securely sharing information about Medicare patients.
Texas Health is also launching an HIE in the late first quarter of 2013 that will create a patient record that combines information from physician and hospital visits, regardless of organizational boundaries and type of electronic medical record used by physicians. Currently, data is being gathered and input into the HIE from Texas Health hospitals, joint ventures and Texas Health Physician Group offices. The Texas Health HIE eventually will connect to the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council’s HIE so that the single-view patient record will include information from any member hospitals with HIEs.
As I mentioned in this column before, Methodist Health System of Dallas and Texas Health collaborated on a joint venture with LHC Group to create Methodist HomeCare and Texas Health HomeCare. This joint approach to coordinating transitional and home care services is already proving to be an effective link in the continuum of care, and we believe it will ultimately improve patient outcomes and reduce readmissions.
Texas Health and North Texas Specialty Physicians have learned a great deal in just a few months of working together in the Plus Accountable Care Organization (ACO), and we have plans in the works to expand on that foundation. Plus is one of 35 pilot programs under the Pioneer ACO program sponsored by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Across our system, Texas Health now has more than 45,000 people covered under the umbrella of accountable care, either in an ACO framework or under a Medicare Advantage program. In early 2013, we expect that number will grow to more than 70,000 as we establish collaborative relationships for accountable care with more independent physician practices.
UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health are continuing to build on the collaborative relationship we announced last year to develop and enhance graduate medical education programs with the goal of alleviating the shortage of physicians and other medical professionals in Texas. We’re also working with University of Texas at Arlington to support nursing education to meet the future needs of our rapidly growing population.
Working through a partnership announced last April with Healthways, an independent global provider of well-being improvement solutions, we have developed several initiatives that will begin rolling out in early in 2013, enhancing our alignment with both employed and independent physicians through collaborative approaches to patient care. For example, we will begin implementing a care transitions program that will expand and enhance the coordination of post-acute care.
We have also made significant strides in developing a comprehensive approach to diabetes care coordination not only in the acute care setting but also outside the walls of our hospitals. Our soon-to-be-launched diabetes management program will provide closer monitoring and management of patients with diabetes who come into our hospitals for some other condition. Specially trained nurses will follow them through their hospital stay and will help them transition from the hospital to care outside the hospital, whether that is in another facility or at home. This has the potential to make a significant long-term improvement in managing one of the most critical chronic conditions impacting the health of our communities.
We’re also developing the data infrastructure to collect, analyze and share patient data with physicians to help them better manage the overall health of their patient population.
Ultimately what all our efforts boil down to is expanding beyond our walls and working more closely with other community partners to improve the care experience for individuals across North Texas. By developing best practices and relationships with other providers we can address the behavior and lifestyle changes needed to improve the health and well-being of North Texans. And that is a mission I think we can all get behind as the industry transitions in the coming years.
— Douglas D. Hawthorne is CEO of Texas Health Resources | <urn:uuid:5edfcaa3-f3e5-49c9-b391-74be3c296cdf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://healthcare.dmagazine.com/2012/12/10/the-new-world-of-healthcare-will-be-built-through-collaboration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00204-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954468 | 1,026 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A recent American Banker article titled The Power of Mobile Remote Deposit Capture quotes a fellow industry analyst who states that:
“Mobile remote deposit capture (RDC) is one of the reasons people understand the value of mobile banking. Mobile RDC — in which people use the smartphone’s camera to take a picture of a check to commence a deposit — is becoming so popular, banks may actually be able to charge for the product while saving overhead costs at the same time.”
My take: I disagree.
According to research recently completed by Aite Group, using a generous definition of mobile banking adoption, about one in four US consumers are mobile bankers (a more conservative definition puts the adoption rate at 20%). Of these mobile bankers, about one in five used a smartphone to take a picture of a check in the past three months, one in ten used a feature phone to perform the task, and 7% used a tablet to do it.
Based on this rate of usage, it’s hard for me to agree the RDC is a major reason why people “understand the value of mobile banking.” More than half of all mobile bankers are Gen Yers — a generation that is already a major user of everything mobile-related. These folks don’t need RDC to convince them of the value of mobile banking.
Furthermore, the assertion that banks “may actually be able to charge for the product” should be reconsidered for (at least) four reasons:
1. Consumers always overestimate their willingness to pay. I can’t even begin to count the number of surveys I’ve seen — and done — where consumers have expressed a willingness to pay for something, but when the rubber meets the road, those intentions never materialize.
2. The demographics of RDC users. About seven in 10 RDC users are Gen Yers — also known as the generation least able to pay for more banking-related fees. In fact, an analysis I did of consumers who switched banks last year found that the addition of account-related fees was the number one reason why people switched.
3. The potential political backlash. When a number of banks tried to assess a fee for debit card usage (used by a very high percentage of Gen Yers in particular), the political reaction was fierce. One politician even went public saying that customers of one of those banks should pull their money out of the bank.
4. The cost savings opportunity. The AB article says that “RDC check deposits cost as little as four cents per check, [while] it costs between 75 cents to more than three dollars to process check deposits via traditional means.” Let’s do a little math here, shall we? At the conservative end of those estimates, the cost savings of an RDC-deposited check is $0.74/check. It seems very unlikely to me that, even if consumers were willing to pay for RDC, they’d pay $0.75 per check. What does seem likely to me is that if a bank charges a fee for RDC, the percentage of customers that will adopt the service will likely be in the single digit percentages. So sure, there will be some revenue generated. But with smartphone adoption skyrocketing, the opportunity to generate significant cost savings — if these estimates are correct, and represent variable costs — by giving it away for free is far more significant than the revenue generating opportunity.
Bottom line: Don’t get me wrong. RDC may be a very important feature when it comes to attracting customers to mobile banking. But it’s not why people “understand the value” of mobile banking, and is unlikely to be a significant revenue generator. | <urn:uuid:bf4c9cd5-9257-4095-b02e-59e706ed3770> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thefinancialbrand.com/47099/remote-deposit-capture-really-that-big-a-deal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00089-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950261 | 774 | 1.742188 | 2 |
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 32,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes on U.S. roadways in 2014. In the same year, 2.3 million people were injured in crashes. A large percentage of these crashes were caused by alcohol impairment, speeding, distracted driving, and drowsy drivers. There’s a lot we can do to prevent crashes and reduce the number of deaths and injuries on roads. Here are a few ideas to consider before you start the engine.
Take a moment to consider whether driving is a good idea – you may not be fit to operate a vehicle. If you have been drinking or if you are taking any medication that can impair your judgment, coordination, attention, vision, or reaction time, do not drive the vehicle. Ask a friend for a ride, catch a cab, or take a bus.
Consider your state of mind. Make sure you are well-rested. If you start to feel drowsy once you’ve started driving, park your vehicle somewhere safe (not on the shoulder of the road) and take a break until you feel more alert. If you are angry or upset, don’t get behind the wheel of any vehicle. Your emotions can distract you and lead to an accident.
Plan the trip and make sure your vehicle is ready. Try to avoid driving at night and in severe weather whenever possible. If your arrival time is critical, check online for road closures and heavy traffic. Leave a little bit early, just in case. Clean the lights and windows, and make sure your windshield wipers are working properly. Make sure you have enough fuel. Check your tires. Adjust the steering wheel, seat, control and mirrors before you take off.
Once you’re on the road drive safely:
- Avoid distractions like drinking, eating, talking on the phone, texting, adjusting the radio or other controls, and talking to a passenger. Driving requires your full attention.
- Make sure you and your passengers wear a seat belt at all times.
- Stay alert. Changing situations on the road require immediate reaction.
- Always travel at a safe speed. Consider factors like the weather, road conditions, traffic, construction work, and whether kids, cyclists, or pedestrians are, or might be, nearly.
- If you’re driving long distances, stop at least every two hours for a break. Get out of the vehicle, stretch, and walk around a little.
- Watch out for pedestrians, bikes, and motorcycles.
- Ignore horns and rude gestures directed at you. Don’t make hand or facial gestures at other drivers. Give angry drivers plenty of room.
It’s not just drivers and their passengers who are at risk. Each year, thousands of pedestrians and hundreds of cyclists are killed in motor vehicle accidents. | <urn:uuid:930aef04-c20a-4ef0-9b62-cecb6a56c465> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.martinkanekuper.com/prevent-motor-vehicle-crashes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.944569 | 585 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Today, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced US$700 million in new IDA funding for the scale-up of results-based financing (RBF) programs to help save more women and children’s lives, an endorsement of the idea that the RBF approach is an opportunity to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5—reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.
With less than 829 days to the target date in December 2015, Dr. Kim’s announcement at the United Nations shines a spotlight on the positive transformation that has taken place in health systems across Africa and beyond. The efforts of governments and frontline staff at the primary care level to prioritize key health services, link payments in the system to the delivery of those services, and verify the results rigorously, have started to pay off. By embracing this approach, countries also welcome an intervention that demands greater accountability to the populations they serve. Their efforts have started to yield impressive results.
Currently, 36 programs are supported in 31 countries, representing funding of US$1.6 billion from IDA and US$410 million from the Health Results Innovation Trust Fund (HRITF), supported by contributions from the governments of Norway and the United Kingdom.
I have been fortunate to watch the RBF program grow—first as a practitioner, helping to design and implement the RBF programs in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and now as the program manager of the HRITF portfolio. Admittedly, it took us a while to get our act together and there was no shortage of people to ask us what was taking us so long. We learned the hard way that well-designed and implemented RBF programs need cultural change, not only among our country clients, but also in the way the World Bank does business.
After sorting out these initial growing pains, how satisfying it was to see health workers in Zimbabwe embracing more autonomy, tracking their own performance and using new resources to improve services based on local needs. The results are encouraging.
As the HRITF manager, I’ve watched the programs become more diverse, incorporating a wide variety of RBF approaches, including on the demand-side. On a daily basis, we continue to learn from the trust fund’s portfolio of projects, thanks to the unique opportunity to monitor performance data in an RBF program.
High-quality and rigorous verification of results is a key feature of a successful RBF program, which enhanced health systems reporting. Each program is also accompanied by a rigorous impact evaluation; recently published results from Argentina’s Plan Nacer (PDF) showed improved health services and accessibility for poor women and children, leading to a 74% reduction in neonatal mortality among women enrolled in the program.
In the next year, we will continue to learn about how modifications in specific design features can further enhance performance of RBF programs. This way we will continuously expand the program’s knowledge agenda and enhance our understanding of important design questions, including: the impact of autonomy on program performance; the intensity and frequency of verification and its impact on accuracy of reporting; and the impact of the size of individual bonuses on health worker performance (to name a few).
With Dr. Kim’s announcement today, the key focus going forward will be on how to best support country governments to implement RBF programs on a national scale. I hope, as an international community, we can learn from countries like Burundi, where the government supports a nationwide RBF program with a comprehensive package of priority maternal and child health services and a request to partners to harmonize support around it. For Denise in Vyegwa, Burundi, this has meant the opportunity to access prenatal care and to deliver in a health facility for the first time, with the support of a skilled birth attendant. Isn’t that the point?
Follow the World Bank health team at @worldbankhealth.
Follow the RBF team at @RBFhealth or at Facebook/RBFhealth.
Release: World Bank Group to Invest $700 Million by 2015 to Improve Women and Children’s Health in Poor Countries
Results-Based Financing for Health
IDA: World Bank Fund for the Poorest
World Bank and Health | <urn:uuid:be6c7900-45cc-4225-b835-d8fc0f775e25> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://blogs.worldbank.org/health/results-based-financing-proven-model-better-maternal-and-child-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721174.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00283-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942696 | 867 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Celebrated every year, EidUlFitar is one of the most festive events for Muslims all over the world. This Eid is celebrated after the end of Ramadan, the holiest of all months. It has been notified as the celebration after spending such a holy month in good health and wealth. Although there are two Eids in Islam , yet this Eid is celebrated the most. People gather from all around the world to have fun in Pakistan. Pakistan becomes a whole new city at the arrival of Eid filled with lights and colors. Nothing can be compared to the celebrated Eid here in Pakistan when men and women of all ages gather in open areas to offer prayers and thank God Almighty for everything He has granted them.
Importance for children:
As EidUlFitar is an incomparable event, it brings happiness to people of all ages. Children aging from 5 years to sixteen are the most rewarded at this Eid. They are given “Eidi” which is some monetary value according to the giver. This money is like a gift for the child for praying and fasting during Ramadan. All children dress up in traditional clothes and shoes, and go collecting Eidi from all their relatives and elder siblings. The children even compete about collecting the most Eidi. This Eidi is either spent on buying new video games or clothes. Wherever it is spent in, the end result is happiness on the faces of little children.
Importance for girls:
All girls like to dress up, and this is the festival that requires the best dressing up ever. They pour Mehndi or Hena on their hands and feet. Just one night before Eid i.e. the night of the crescent, the girls get ready in their cars and go for shopping spree. They buy all kinds of bangles and jewelry pieces that match perfectly with their Eid dresses. Special dresses are stitched and bought for this purpose. The application of Mehndi during the crescent night makes the beauticians their livings for the rest of the year. Girls go for crazy shopping because they want to look the best on this festival, as the best looking girl will get the most Eidi! There is excitement and joy in all the streets and even houses because of these girls who gear up to go for shopping.
Joy all over:
During Eid, Pakistan become a full of sensation country. Streets and houses are lightened with bulbs and tube lights. Usually, people stay awake the whole night before Eid. Three days of Eid is an occasion that brings all the relatives together, mends all the broken hearts, and brings those who haven’t spoken for years. Eid holds a very important impact on the lives of all Muslims.
View the Original article | <urn:uuid:ddfcdca6-6b1b-4543-af26-d167c06a713f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://islamisloveandpeace.blogspot.com/2013/08/importance-of-eidulfitar.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00029-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956564 | 554 | 2.1875 | 2 |
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remarkable, issues out of one of those mountains which Shalum wished might fall upon his brother, when he cursed him in the bitterness of his heart.
Hilpa was in the hundred and sixtieth year of her age at the death of her husband, having brought him but fifty children before he was snatched away, as has been already related. Many of the antediluvians made love to the young widow; though no one was thought so likely to succeed in her affections as her first lover Shalum, who renewed his court to her about ten years after the death of Harpath; for it was not thought decent in those days that a widow should be seen by a man within ten years after the decease of her husband.
Shalum falling into a deep melancholy, and resolving to take away that objection which had been raised against him when he made his first addresses to Hilpa, began, immediately after her marriage with Harpath, to plant all that mountainous region which fell to his lot in the division of this country. He knew how to adapt every plant to its proper soil, and is thought to have inherited many traditional secrets of that art from the first man. This employment turned at length to his profit as well as to his amusement: his mountains were in a few years shaded with young trees, that gradually shot up into groves, woods, and forests, intermixed with walks, and lawns, and gardens; insomuch that the whole region, from a naked and desolate prospect, began now to look like a second Paradise. The pleasantness of the place, and the agreeable disposition of Shalum, who was reckoned one of the mildest and wisest of all who lived before the Flood, drew into it multitudes of people, who were perpetually employed in the sinking of wells, the digging of trenches, and the hollowing of trees, for the better distribution of water through every part of this spacious plantation.
The habitations of Shalum looked every year more beautiful in the eyes of Hilpa, who, after the space of seventy autumns, was wonderfully pleased with the distant prospect of Shalum's hills which were then covered with innumerable tufts of trees and gloomy scenes, that gave a magnificence to the place, and converted it into one of the finest landscapes the eye of man could behold.
The Chinese record a letter which Shalum is said to have written to Hilpa in the eleventh year of her widowhood. I shall here translate it, without departing from that noble simplicity of sentiments and plainness of manners which appears in the original.
Shalum was at this time one hundred and eighty years old, and Hilpa one hundred and seventy.
" SHALUM, MASTER OF MOUNT TIRZAH, TO HILPA, MISTRESS OF THE VALLEYS.
In the 788th year of the Creation. What have I not suffered, O thou daughter of Zilpah, since thou gavest thyself away in marriage to my rival! I grew weary of the light of the sun, and ever since have been covering myself with woods and forests. These threescore and ten years have I bewailed the loss of thee on the top of Mount Tirzah, and soothed my melancholy among a thousand gloomy shades of my own raising. My dwellings are at present as the garden of God; every part of them is filled with fruits, and flowers, and fountains. The whole mountain is perfumed for thy reception. Come up into it, O my beloved, and let us people this spot of the new world with a beautiful race of mortals; let us multiply exceedingly among these delightful shades, and fill every quarter of them with sons and daughters. Remember, O thou daughter of Zilpah,
that the age of man is but a thousand years; that beauty is the admiration but of a few centuries. It flourishes as a mountain oak, or as a cedar on the top of Tirzah, which in three or four hundred years will fade away, and never be thought of by posterity, unless a young wood springs from its roots. Think well on this, and remember thy neighbour in the mountains.'
Having here inserted this letter, which I look upon as the only antediluvian billet-doux now extant, I shall in my next paper give the answer to it, and the sequel of this story.
* No. 585. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1714.
Ipsi lætitia voces ad sidera jactant
VIRG. ECL. v. 68.
The mountain-tops unshorn, the rocks, rejoice;
THE SEQUEL OF THE STORY OF SHALUM AND
THE letter inserted in my last had so good an effect upon Hilpa, that she answered it, in less than a twelve month, after the following manner:
'HILPA, MISTRESS OF THE VALLEYS, TO SHALUM, MASTER OF MOUNT TIRZAH.
In the 789th year of the creation.
WHAT have I to do with thee, O Shalum ? Thou praisest Hilpa's beauty, but art thou not secretly enamoured with the verdure of her meadows? Art thou not more affected with the prospect of her green valleys than thou wouldest be with the sight of her person? The lowings of my herds and the bleatings of my flocks make a pleasant echo in thy mountains, and sound sweetly in thy ears. What though I am delighted with the wavings of thy forests, and those breezes of perfumes which flow from the top of Tirzah, are these like the riches of the valley?
I know thee, O Shalum; thou art more wise and happy than any of the sons of men. Thy dwellings are among the cedars: thou searchest out the diversity of soils, thou understandest the influences of the stars, and markest the change of seasons. Can a woman appear lovely in the eyes of such a one? Disquiet me not, O Shalum; let me alone, that I may enjoy those goodly possessions which are fallen to my lot. Win me not by thy enticing words. May thy trees increase and multiply! mayest thou add wood to wood, and shade to shade! but tempt not Hilpa to destroy thy solitude, and make thy retirement populous."
The Chinese say that a little time afterwards she accepted of a treat in one of the neighbouring hills to which Shalum had invited her. This treat lasted for two years, and is said to have cost Shalum five hundred antelopes, two thousand ostriches, and a
thousand tun of milk; but what most of all recommended it was, that variety of delicious fruits and pot-herbs, in which no person then living could any way equal Shalum.
He treated her in the bower which he had planted amidst the wood of nightingales. The wood was made up of such fruit-trees and plants as are most agreeable to the several kinds of singing birds; so that it had drawn into it all the music of the country, and was filled from one end of the year to the other with the most agreeable consort in season.
He showed her every day some beautiful and surprising scene in this new region of woodlands; and, as by this means he had all the opportunities he could wish for of opening his mind to her, he succeeded so well, that upon her departure she made him a kind of a promise, and gave him her word to return him a positive answer in less than fifty years.
She had not been long among her own people in the valleys, when she received new overtures, and at the same time a most splendid visit from Mishpach, who was a mighty man of old, and had built a great city, which he called after his own name. Every house was made for at least a thousand years, nay there were some that were leased out for three lives; so that the quantity of stone and timber consumed in this building is scarce to be imagined by those who live in the present age of the world. This great man entertained her with the voice of musical instruments which had been lately invented, and danced before her to the sound of the timbrel. He also presented her with several domestic utensils wrought in brass and iron, which had been newly found out for the conveniency of life. In the mean time Shalum grew very uneasy with himself, and was sorely displeased at Hilpa for the reception which she had given to Mishpach, insomuch that he never wrote to her or | <urn:uuid:4e3b98af-5d57-4f71-a6e5-e98a430bc5a3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=vsoPwYHrqwgC&pg=PA162&focus=viewport&vq=%22Else+whence+this+pleasing+hope,+this+fond+desire,+This+longing+after+immortality+%3B+Or+whence+this+secret+dread,+and+inward%22&dq=editions:HARVARD32044017977125&lr=&hl=ko&output=text | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.982378 | 1,828 | 2.359375 | 2 |
The live attenuated yellow fever (YF) vaccine comes with an excellent record of efficacy and one dosage provides long-lasting immunity, which oftentimes may last an eternity. subsets to pathogen neutralization. Regardless of specific variation, a considerable percentage of neutralizing activity were because of antibodies aimed to complicated quaternary epitopes shown in the virion surface area only however, not on monomeric E. Alternatively, DIII-specific antibodies (presumed to really have the highest neutralizing activity) aswell as broadly flavivirus cross-reactive antibodies had been absent or present at suprisingly low titers. These data offer new information in the great specificity aswell as variability of antibody replies after YF vaccination that are in keeping with a strong impact of individual-specific elements on immunodominance in humoral immune system responses. Author Overview The live-attenuated yellowish fever vaccine continues to be administered to a lot more than 600 million people world-wide and is known as to be one of the most effective viral vaccines ever created. Following shot, the apathogenic vaccine pathogen replicates in the vaccinee and induces antibodies that mediate pathogen neutralization and following security from disease. In process, many different antibodies are induced by viral antigens, nonetheless it is becoming significantly clear that just a subset of these is certainly with the XL184 capacity of inactivating the pathogen, plus some antibody populations may actually dominate the immune system response. Nevertheless, to date there’s been very little details on individual-specific variants of immunodominance and exactly how such variations make a difference the efficiency of antibody replies. In our research, we dealt with these problems and examined the great specificities of antibodies induced by YF vaccination aswell as the contribution of different antibody subsets to pathogen neutralization in 51 vaccinees. We demonstrate a thorough degree of specific variation regarding XL184 immunodominance of antibody populations and their contribution to pathogen neutralization. Such variants can impact on vaccine-mediated security, and thus understanding into this sensation can provide qualified prospects for book strategies in contemporary vaccine design. Launch The live-attenuated yellowish fever (YF) vaccine predicated on the 17D pathogen strain is known as to be one of the most effective vaccines ever created , . Since its advancement in the 1930s by Utmost Theiler, many hundred million dosages have been implemented and its efficiency in safeguarding from disease continues to be reported to become at least 90% . Latest research, including systems biology techniques , examining innate, mobile and humoral immune system replies after YF vaccination reveal that all hands from the disease fighting capability are activated, resulting in a polyfunctional response that’s most likely needed for the long-lasting immunity induced by this vaccine , , . Regardless of the wide immunological stimulation, there is certainly strong proof that humoral immunity mediated by virus-neutralizing antibodies may be the major effector system of security . Such antibodies may persist for a lot more than 45 years and evidently drive XL184 back all naturally taking place genotypes of YF pathogen . YF pathogen may be the name-giving and prototypic person in the genus flavivirus, family members flaviviridae . It really is linked to various other mosquito-borne and tick-borne individual pathogens carefully, the main which Mouse monoclonal to CD35.CT11 reacts with CR1, the receptor for the complement component C3b /C4, composed of four different allotypes (160, 190, 220 and 150 kDa). CD35 antigen is expressed on erythrocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, B -lymphocytes and 10-15% of T -lymphocytes. CD35 is caTagorized as a regulator of complement avtivation. It binds complement components C3b and C4b, mediating phagocytosis by granulocytes and monocytes. Application: Removal and reduction of excessive amounts of complement fixing immune complexes in SLE and other auto-immune disorder. are dengue, Japanese encephalitis, Western world Nile XL184 and tick-borne encephalitis infections . Structural information on flaviviruses have already been elucidated for dengue, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Western world Nile (WN), and Japanese encephalitis infections using X-ray cryo-electron and crystallography microscopy , , but no such data are however designed for YF pathogen. However, predicated on the similarity from the buildings motivated for different flaviviruses and their close molecular natural as well as antigenic relationships, it really is justifiable to postulate the fact that structural firm of YF pathogen particles aswell as its constituting protein comes after the same concepts that are regular of flaviviruses generally (Body 1). Immature virions (Body 1A, left -panel) are constructed in the ER and include three structural protein, specified as C (capsid), prM (precursor of membrane) and E (envelope). These contaminants include 60 trimeric spikes of prM-E heterodimers and so are secreted through the exocytotic pathway from the cell . In the acidic environment from the trans-Golgi network, prM is certainly cleaved by furin and in this procedure the E proteins is totally rearranged to create a herringbone-like lattice of 90 E homodimers at the top of mature virions , (Body. | <urn:uuid:2be3700e-0ba4-48f8-a019-27938c2854e2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://azd6482.com/the-live-attenuated-yellow-fever-yf-vaccine-comes-with-an-excellent/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.934348 | 1,172 | 2.71875 | 3 |
11.11.11 and the facts about Life as a 4th dimensional human
Andromeda Council: 11.11.11 & the facts about life as a 4th dimensional human
By Alfred Lambremont Webre, JD, MEd
This is the 4th article in a series of articles on information of the Andromeda Council, a reported galactic governance council composed of selected star system representatives that carry out governance and development functions in a selected areas of our populated and organized galaxy and universe.
ED. NOTE: CAVEAT LECTOR - The opinions expressed in this article by interviewees are solely those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this reporter or Exopolitics.com. Thank you.
In an exclusive ExopoliticsTV interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre released Oct. 15, 2011 a self-described representative of the Andromeda Council, a reported galactic governance council whose membership consists of star systems and includes representation from the galactic governance council of our Milky Way Galaxy, discussed a wide-range of aspects of life of 4th dimensional humans in a 4th dimensional Earth, including: 4th dimensional food, sleep, adjusting to 4th dimensional life, infants and children, the aged, work, 4th dimensional money (there is none), education, marriage, sex, procreation, and gifts and abilities (including telepathy, telekinesis, transformation, and teleportation).
Update: “Setting the Record Straight”
The Andromeda Council representative – Tolec – also released an October 15, 2011 statement entitled “Setting the Record Straight”, clarifying the nature and makeup of the Andromeda Council itself. “Setting the Record Straight” appears in full later in this article.
In a prior ExopoliticsTV interview the Andromeda Council representative stated that the process of our solar system’s and Earth’s transformation via dimensional shift to the 4th dimension is scheduled to accelerate starting in around October 15, 2011, and be completed by January 2014.
Andromeda Council - 11.11.11
The Andromeda Council representative Tolec also released the Council's perspective on the multidimensional function of 11.11.11 (Nov. 11, 2011).
Tolec states, "The official beginning of 4th dimensional energy will affect Earth's solar system on 11.11.11 as it encounters the galactic equatorial plane region - as a universe & galactic wide harmonic frequency - will open and affect this whole area of space. The saturation of this higher frequency vibration will continue through all of 2012, reaching full strength during the time frame of December 2012, through March 2013 when the final rotation of the 90 degree shift of Earth's crust happens with the present day East/West orientation of the continents moving into their new North/South orientation.
"These changes are expected to settle down throughout remaining 2013, and will begin the completion of this cycle by the end of October, winding down in December 2013.
"During this time every living thing from the largest to the smallest will be offered the opportunity to change, to evolve, into 4th dimensional life.
"It is expected Earth will begin to settle into its new 4th dimension vibration existence, its new 4D life, in January 2014. Yes, planet Earth will likely go through dramatic changes to get there. But these events as life changing they will be to both humans and all life on the planet... these changes are normal and necessary for this process. It is evolution."
Statement: “Setting the Record Straight”
In his statement “Setting the Record Straight”, the Andromeda Council representative Tolec writes,
“For those people who are somewhat confused about some of the various exopolitical organizations in space, I am going to set the record straight.
“There are many ‘councils’, or aligned star systems & planets out in space. Many of them have visited Earth, continue to visit Earth, and have done far more than visit Earth… for years now. Each has its own interests and ‘agenda’.
“Therefore to provide clarity, I believe the below information will help. Please read it in its entirety. It will lay out the facts of the Andromeda Council’s highest & best interest in Earth, in humanity. There are some new facts here worth taking note of. Please pay close attention to “dates”, in terms of years. And of course, use your own inner guidance, your discernment as to how you feel when you read the below.
“The Andromeda Council
“The Andromeda Council ("the Council") is an intergalactic governance body of affiliated star systems and planets. It is made up of worlds, people, and beings that are some 3rd and primarily 4th, 5th & 6th dimensional. Though of varying colors, sizes and races these people are very human, though in different stages of evolution. It is the predominant life form in the cosmos. There are twelve (12) senior chaired members of the Andromeda Council. You can read about which specific star systems & planets hold these council member seats on page two of the Andromeda Council web site:
“The Council itself has been organized for about: 20,000 years, as measured in Earth years.
“The Council itself is held responsible by its governing laws & mandates originally created, and amended when necessary, by its own member star systems & planets.
No other authority.
“The Council is very careful, and very prudent about the decisions & actions it takes. Its conduct is guided, measured, and adhered-to, by the highest degree of rigorous intergalactic standards, ethics, & protocols. Every decision it makes is very cautious and deliberate.
“Most important, it values the inherent sovereignty & freedom of all sentient intelligent life, including Earth humans. Which means it absolutely values humanity’s right, each person’s free will choice, to make decisions that are best suited… for his/her own growth and evolution.
Reasons for the Andromeda Council’s Continued Work on Earth – Since Winning the War in Space in Defeating the Draco & Hydra Reptilians and Orion Grey Alliance.
“The Council has been very busy, as evidenced by the work of our people from the Procyon star system since late August - using highly pin-pointed, highly focused sonic beams to destroy the underground bases & tunnel systems in Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and others, to clear out the remaining Reptilians & Greys on Earth. I, Tolec, have been saying this for six (6) straight weeks now. We are now also progressively working in other areas around your planet to clear out the remaining underground & undersea Reptilian & Grey operational bases. But, the area of the United States had the highest concentration of these malevolent beings. It needed to be addressed first. Job done.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AT: | <urn:uuid:8e55f365-cb83-49ce-911a-c36b2b2b93f4> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://ufodigest.com/article/111111-and-facts-about-life-4th-dimensional-human | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721387.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00447-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944207 | 1,437 | 1.625 | 2 |
As Paris reels from the dual acts of terrorism that rocked the city last week, leaders from around the globe converged on the French capital to show their support for the victims of the attacks: The staff of the Charlie Hebdo satyrical newspaper, and Jews at a local kosher supermarket who were targeted simply for being Jewish.
Heads of state from across Europe and beyond, including Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, lined up to march through the Parisian streets in solidarity with the millions (estimates range from 1-4) of ordinarily French citizens who stood up and declared “Je Suis Charlie,” “Je Suis Juif,” and “Je Suis Ahmed.” The result was an overwhelming demonstration of resolve in the face of terrorism, in which – for a brief, shining moment – global leaders were seemingly able to put aside petty differences and take a stand for the freedoms many of us so often take for granted.
Still, though, no event, no matter how somber, with that many presidents and prime ministers is an entirely frictionless affair. And while pictures like this:
…offer powerful imagery, and a show of strength against the evils of terrorism, there’s always more going on before and after the camera goes “click”
Here, then, are three brief observations about Bibi Netanyahu’s march through the streets of Paris:
1) He totally shoved his way to the front of the line.
I know in Israel the concept of a “line” can be a little tricky (don’t believe me, try patiently waiting your turn to buy something at the shuk, and see how that goes…) but there’s something pretty funny about watching a Prime Minister push and shove his way past other notables, just to get to at the front of the line. (He was, evidently, not the only one)
2) He cropped Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas out of his official Prime Minister Tweet:
Look at this rousing and inspirational message from Bibi’s official twitter feed. Notice anyone missing? Our pal Shmarya over at Failed Messiah did.
I marched in one row with world leaders in order to unite against terrorism. Any terrorism must be fought to the end pic.twitter.com/X5oFg5r3cB
— בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 11, 2015
Take a look at this other picture from the march. That’s Bibi on the left and P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas on the right. At most they’re about twenty feet apart, give or take. Now here’s Bibi’s picture: All that’s left of Mahmoud in Bibi’s shot is a little bit of ear.
3) The entire thing was just a big photo-op, anyways.
…What? You didn’t really think world leaders would actually stand shoulder to shoulder with ordinary Joes (well, “Jacques”) like you and me, did you? | <urn:uuid:ca9fd5be-cdc0-416a-aaaf-c39a594f546e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://heebmagazine.com/three-brief-observations-bibis-appearance-paris-anti-terror-march/53950 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00204-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948511 | 662 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Border shelters remind migrants of ‘human dignity’
August 13, 2019
A child’s drawing greets asylum-seekers with a friendly Texas message at a Catholic Charities shelter in Laredo. After seeing a surge in numbers, shelters along the Texas-Mexico border are seeing a downturn. (James Ramos/Texas Catholic Herald)
LAREDO — Each time Jennifer Gonzalez held up a kids T-shirt, she couldn’t help but think of her own two toddlers back in Houston.
Two weeks after joining women religious and other Catholics in protesting family separation and child detention at an East Downtown Houston facility housing unaccompanied teenaged minors, Gonzalez found herself sorting through hundreds of donated clothes during a mission trip she coordinated to the La Frontera Shelter in Laredo.
The facility, operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Laredo, is a waystation for immigrants and asylum seekers. Gonzalez, director of social justice ministries at St. Michael Catholic Church, led a group of more than a dozen Houston parishioners and community members that served at the shelter July 25 to July 27.
They joined other groups who have also trekked down to Laredo during the summer, including volunteers from the University of St. Thomas, Maryknoll, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Houston, the Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office of the Archdiocese and several more.
Catholic Charities and other similar agencies are operating shelters and centers to help border towns like Laredo, El Paso and McAllen. These shelters welcome migrants and refugees, who are in the country legally after traveling to the Texas border to present themselves to U.S. Border Patrol as asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers are people who have left their country of origin and applied for asylum status, typically fleeing persecution and violence in their homeland. In Laredo, many come from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, and other Central and Latin American countries.
After Border Patrol processes them, they are sent via bus from detention and processing centers like the La Frontera shelter in Laredo, where they stay briefly before continuing to their final destination with their families across the country, where they will await their court hearing for their asylum request.
Associates at the shelter help asylum seekers reach family to notify them of their safe arrival. The families then arrange for the asylum seekers travel.
In Laredo, Catholic Charities volunteers were urging migrants to travel solely by bus, as they had received reports that asylum seekers were being detained and deported at major airport hubs in the South. Shelter records indicate that migrants are traveling to at least 600 cities from Laredo.
The shelters offer them a brief home on their long journey, with many traveling for three weeks to several months from Central and South America to reach the U.S. Many only have the clothes they are wearing, and have not had a clean shower or a warm meal in several days. The shelters are equipped to offer showers, clothing, meals, and a place to rest and sleep.
Previously, Border Patrol had been releasing families at the bus stations in border cities like Laredo and El Paso.
When the detention centers began reaching capacity in May, Laredo Catholic Charities staff had 24 hours to prepare to receive families released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Quickly, Ben de la Garza, Laredo Catholic Charities’ executive director, formed a team to handle the influx.
Since then, the Laredo shelter, a humble red-roofed, two-story building across from Holy Name Catholic Church, has grown to a fully serviced center, featuring a clinic, clothing center, hygiene facilities, cafeteria and a chapel.
In May, the shelter consistently saw 200 to 300 families a day. The shelter had opened in April and has since seen nearly 16,000 people.
A similar shelter in McAllen, which has been running for more than five years and is led by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, saw numbers soar to the thousands. By February 2019, in El Paso, 400 to more than 700 refugees were sent to a Catholic shelter in the west Texas border city.
But when Gonzalez and her crew reached the Laredo shelter, she saw dwindling numbers.
Gabriela Karaszewski, director of the Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministry at the Archdiocese who led a group of volunteers to Laredo the week before Gonzalez arrived, also saw lower numbers. Still, there was more than enough work for the volunteers to do.
Officials at the shelter said Catholic Charities attribute the sharp decline to a newly implemented government action, the migrant protection protocol. In this action, asylum seekers are processed and given a U.S. court date and then returned to Mexico.
However, the Laredo Catholic Charities leaders said they would rather have the migrants in the U.S. where they would be safe from cartels and other dangers. If it were not for these shelters, many would go homeless, leaders said.
Jo Barron, whose office as program manager of Catholic Charities’ senior center sits just inside the shelter’s cafeteria, emphasized the strong working relationship that Catholic Charities has with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, and other related state and national groups, as well as other shelters in Laredo. Because the shelter’s overnight capacity of 20 was often reached, they worked with nearby shelters to handle the overflow.
Volunteers used the lull to thoroughly clean the facility and prepare for what could come next. Other volunteer groups delivered dozens of donations from parishes and groups in Galveston-Houston.
Max Linnville took a group of University of St. Thomas students. The campus minister said the trip “brought a different understanding to the whole immigration crisis.”
“It put the human aspect into the whole issue, versus it being [only] a political issue. What about their human dignity? How can we make sure that they’re being respected as human beings?”
Back home in Houston, anytime Linnville opens his wallet he’s reminded of his time in Laredo. A young father and his son spent time with Linnville as they waited for their bus ride out of town to their own family a day’s ride away.
Even despite the language barrier, Linnville said, “there was an immediate connection. There was a Spirit that connected us. There was obviously a presence in my heart and their heart that drew us together.”
He said when they left, the young boy gave him some Honduran money to remember them by. Today, he keeps the Honduran lempira in his wallet.
“Any time I see the money, I see the faces of these people,” he said.
Back in Laredo, De la Garza credited the success of the shelter as a “combined effort of many people of goodwill.”
Despite lower numbers, the shelter still prepares to welcome the next migrant, or guest, as the volunteers call them.
“Today’s a new day, tomorrow you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he said. “I know that currently there are like 70 million people migrating around the world. Today things are slow, but that can change. It’s (always) a new day, and tomorrow things can be different.”
What is asylum?
Asylum is a form of humanitarian protection available under U.S. law. A person located in the U.S. may be granted asylum if they are unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality because of past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
The main difference between an asylee and a refugee is largely the process through which an individual ultimately attains protection status. Refugees, for instance, are granted protection when they are abroad before the enter the U.S.
An asylee applies for protection once they have entered the United States, as an asylum seeker.
The Catholic Church recognizes the right of sovereign nations to control their borders, but also believes that those fleeing violence and persecution should be protected. | <urn:uuid:a40ded51-2a8f-406b-9f9c-6339da3aa9ab> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.archgh.org/news-events/news/texas-catholic-herald/texas-catholic-herald-news/texas-catholic-herald/border-shelters-remind-migrants-of-human-dignity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572033.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814113403-20220814143403-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.969679 | 1,735 | 2 | 2 |
From the Woodworking in America “Instructors” web page, this is the summary of George Walker’s session:
Use dividers to lay out anything, from dovetails to casework
One of the simplest woodworking layout tools is also the most powerful. The are precise. They don’t require mathematics to use. And they simplify many of the layout operation. You layout dovetails quickly and perfectly with dividers, plus you can use them for many other layout chores that would be tedious and prone to error with numbers and math. George R. Walker, the host of two influential DVDs on design and the “Design Matters” columnist for Popular Woodworking Magazine, shows how you can use dividers at every stage of a project, from designing the carcase and mouldings to placing the hardware.
In this video Walker gives the historical background of the divider, and sets the stage for laying out drawers. I had a bad angle to show properly the layout of the graduated drawers using dividers; but you are in luck, because you can read his Popular Woodworking Magazine article “Graduated Drawers”, at this link. Toward the end of the video Walker shows the “classic Doric order” to illustrate proportions (bingo – perfect for using dividers!), stating that it “…contains the “DNA of traditional design…”, studied by architects, carpenters, silversmiths, etc.
— Al Navas | <urn:uuid:01c58b07-fe20-4c39-afc5-2674affc26ae> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://sandal-woodsblog.com/tag/3d-cabinet-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280587.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00560-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925273 | 313 | 3 | 3 |
St James' Cross
What's in this section?
» The Patron Saint of Galicia and his Red Cross
» "Could the Danish Flag have a Galician origin?"
» I'd like to buy this flag!
You may also want to read these pages:
» Galician Christian Crosses: The Blue Cross
» Flag of the Kingdom of Galicia
» Royal Standard of the Swabian Kings of Gallaecia
Patron Saint of Galicia and his Red Cross
The red cross over a white field is the most popular Christian cross of all times. The cross is the symbol of Christianity and God's protection; the white colour is the symbol of purity and the red colour symbolises the blood of Christ. The red cross over a white field was used regularly during the Middle Ages, among others, by the French crusaders (which had the largest army fighting in the Crusades), the Knights Templar, and also as the national flag of England since the 16th century.
Galicia was the only kingdom of the Iberian peninsula which was not conquered by the Muslim armies. The Galician kings of the time worshipped St James or Saint Jacob (Sant-Iago, as he is called in the Galician language), for they believed that the Compostellan apostle was granting them holy protection over the Muslim armies.
King Ramiro's father, Afonso II Galletiae Rex (813-842 AD) promoted the cult to St James in Galicia, where the remains of the Holy Apostle had allegedly been found. His son Ramiro I (842-850 AD) became the leader of the Christian army in the Battle of Clavijo, and the legend has it that the king asked the Patron Saint of Galicia for help in order to gain victory over the Muslims.
Thereafter, the red cross depicted in the 'Book A' of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela evolved into a red sword, and from Galicia it was exported out to the iberian kingdoms of Leon, Portugal and Castile, where St James became a Muslim slayer who helped Christians to gain victory over their islamic neighbours.
This Galician cultural export became eventually the symbol of the Military Order of Santiago, a Christian knighthood founded in the 12th century in the kingdoms of Castile and Portugal for patrolling their borders with Muslim Spain.
The red sword-cross known as the "Cross of St James" is represented as a red cross flory or flowered cross over a white field, where the shape of the cross is actually the blade of a sword. The military red cross of St James of Compostela is one of Galicia's oldest national symbols and can often be found in Galician heraldry and iconography.
Santiago de Compostela to Denmark:
Could the Danish Flag have a Galician Origin?
Summary of a theory by Prof. Vicente Almazan, Doctor in Roman Philology by the University of Cologne, Professor of Medieval History in the universities of Sudbury, Windsor, Wayne State and Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Member of the International Committee of the Way of St James
According to Danish tradition, the flag of Denmark fell from the sky during a battle fought around 1219 AD between Danish Christians and Pagan Estonians. As the white cross flag was given to the Danes, a voice in the sky told the Christian army that they would win their fight over the pagans. The voice in the sky was right and the Danes defeated the Estonians.
Some centuries before that miracle happened, St James was already showing himself in the sky to the Christians while promising military victory over the Muslims. That occurred in the before-mentioned Battle of Clavijo (844 AD) as well as in many other battles like Simancas (939 AD), Ourique (1139 AD), Navas de Tolosa (1212 AD) or Alcacer do Sal (1217 AD).
In those days, the city of Santiago was the spiritual capital of the Christian world. During the Middle Ages the religious capitals of Christendom were Jerusalem in the East, Rome in the centre, and Santiago in the West. Since the 12th century, the Pilgrimage to Santiago became more popular among Christians than Rome and Jerusalem.
Considering those facts, as well as many others as detailed in his book Gallaecia Scandinavica, Dr. Vicente Almazan concludes:
1) The legend of the Danish cross falling from the sky in a battle against the pagans is similar to previous legends of St James showing himself in the sky during battles against Muslim armies. It is also a matter of fact that Danish soldiers were fighting in battles against the Muslims, such as in Alcacer do Sal (1217 AD), where St James also showed himself in the sky.
2) The oldest known Danish flag is the Flag of the Scandinavian Union of 1427 where, next to the Scandinavian cross, there was a large St James dressed as a pilgrim and holding his typical scallop shell, just in the way he was originally represented in Galicia. What was the Patron Saint of Galicia doing in the Flag of the Scandinavian Union? Dr Almazan also brings to our attention that the scallop shell of St James is a very popular feature in the heraldry and coats of arms of Denmark.
Therefore, according to Dr Almazan, it would be reasonable to suggest that the national flag of Denmark was inspired by the religious folklore surrounding St James. Many Danish crusaders visited Jakobsland, then went south to fight against the Muslims, heard stories about St James' miracles in the battle, and many of them even saw with their own eyes those miracles like in the Battle of Alcacer do Sal. Back to Scandinavia, the Danish crusaders spread the story about the heavenly miracles of St James against the infidels, and this very same story was replicated once again during a battle against the pagans where a Christian cross fell from the sky and a voice could be heard promising victory to the Christians. This was the origin of the Danish flag, which in turn served as inspiration for the subsequent Scandinavian flags of Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Feroe islands, etc...
Flag of the Cross of St James of Compostela, made in polyester with two metal rings to allow the flag to be hoisted on a flagpole. The flag measures 150 x 90 cm.
» Please click here to see a list of Galician shops that sell this flag...» | <urn:uuid:9eee86b6-dfce-4f58-891c-1d52c46d345a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.galicianflag.com/saint_james_cross.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00344-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962013 | 1,347 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Joined: 07 February 2005
ENGLISH IS A "STUPID" LANGUAGE !
Lets face it
English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England.
We sometimes take English for granted
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
If writers write, how come fingers don't fing.
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught.
If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways
How can the weather be as hot as hell on one day
And as cold as hell on another
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill IN a form
By filling it OUT
And a bell is only heard once it GOES!
English was invented by people, not computers
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)
That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
But when I wind up this poem
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Trivia - Longest English Word And Carbon Footprint
Author: Manzz Replies: 4 Views: 1753
|Manzz||4||1753||05 September 2008 at 11:13pm by Manzz|
English...a stupid lang.????
Author: Safiyah Replies: 15 Views: 1317
|Safiyah||15||1317||26 February 2005 at 12:14pm by fatty1|
THE STUPID TEST!
Author: _anonymous Replies: 7 Views: 817
|_anonymous||7||817||23 January 2005 at 10:24pm by -misha|
English Tounge Twisters
Author: kaleidoscope Replies: 4 Views: 3369
|kaleidoscope||4||3369||14 September 2004 at 6:18am by kaleidoscope|
The English Language
Author: anjuman Replies: 4 Views: 1630
|anjuman||4||1630||29 July 2004 at 3:29pm by current|
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If I understand what you're asking:
You want to be able to manipulate a Date global Variable to where you can enter in the date (if the date isn't coming from the database). Just set up a global variable named "gv_Date" and you can do an ActiveX Script for that with the following:
a=inputbox("What is the date?")
if a <> "" then DTSGlobalVariables("gv_Date").Value=a end if Main = DTSTaskExecResult_SuccessEnd Function
hi dude, thanks 4 your answer.
but i need to do something like this:
select * from table where fieldvalue= <dtsglobalvar1>
u got it?
i need to use an external parameter to find data on my db.
thanks a lot.
put the SQL you want to execute into a stored procedure.
In the DTS Execute SQL step put something like:
EXEC mystoredprocedure @myglobalvar = ?
Then hit the "Parameters" button. Select the global variable you want to put in the parameter.
For some reason, the Execute SQL steps will only see the parameter marker (a question mark) when you are executing a sproc.
I wish it was easier!
One way is to use the xp_cmdshell to call the DTS command line command. For instance, for the command line command...
DTS /Usa /Ppassword /Sserver /Npackage_name /Mpackage_password /A"SQLCatalog:8=dist" /A"SQLTable:8=dist.dbo.co" '
which uses two global variables that are char type (SQLCatalog and SQLTable), you would wrap the above statement in
xp_cmdshell 'DTS /Usa ...etc.'
You can also query a package using...
SELECT * FROM OPENROWSET('DTSPackageDSO','/Usa /Ppassword /Sserver /Npackage_name /Mpackage_password /A"SQLCatalog:8=dist" /A"SQLTable:8=dist.dbo.co", 'Select * from DTSStep_DTSDataPumpTask_1')
where the first argument ('DTSPackageDSO') is the provider info for DTS packages. It seems like performance is not great, but it may be due to the fact my packages refer to a non-sql database that is large. | <urn:uuid:5905ae09-7e24-44db-8dd8-9b0d21a84efb> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic131980-169-1.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719136.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00467-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.813619 | 530 | 1.96875 | 2 |
The three-story Fall City Brick School, located where the parking lot for Fall City Elementary School now sits, served kindergarten through high school students from 1916 to 1944. Only a handful of graduates from the Brick School are still with us. The well maintained Fall City Gymnasium, built in 1931, remains in use today. After Snoqualmie Valley high schools were consolidated to Mount Si High School in 1944, the Brick School continued to house elementary school students until the late 1960s before its demolition in 1970. Read more about the Fall City Brick School here. | <urn:uuid:647f2ee0-c76b-403c-8595-a49ae4b399a3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://savorsnoqualmievalley.org/venue/brick-schoolgymnasium/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571982.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813172349-20220813202349-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.981596 | 112 | 1.898438 | 2 |
When Francis was three years old, his teacher in pre-school told the story about how her dog had been sprayed by a skunk and they had to give it a bath in tomato juice. Francis thought this was the worst thing ever because he HATED tomato juice.
With both a severe vision impairment (legally blind) and obsessive compulsive disorder, Francis began to worry about getting sprayed by a skunk. Obviously, taking a bath in tomato juice would be the most horrible thing ever. He refused to go outside to play in our backyard because he was so afraid he would step on a skunk which he couldn’t see. We put up a chicken wire fence to keep the skunks out. (Up until this point, we had never seen a skunk in our yard, but Francis was sure there was a skunk out there just waiting to rush up to him to spray him!) He was still leery about going out and had a few more questions.
“What happens if the skunk jumps over the fence?” he asked, and we reassured him that skunks don’t jump that high. (I don’t know if this is a fact, but it served the purpose of reassuring him a skunk would jump.)
“What happens if a skunk digs under the fence” he asked, and again we reassured him that skunks don’t dig under fences. (?) It would have to be one motivated skunk to go through all of that work just to spray Francis!
His next question sealed his fate. “What happens if the skunk sprays me THROUGH THE HOLES IN THE FENCE?” I had no answer except to say that that was absurd, which would not do anything to allay his fears! I gave up. He didn’t go outside to play for the rest of the summer! | <urn:uuid:325e6d92-d02d-4a30-9890-89c0628c3629> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://5kidswdisabilities.com/tag/sprayed-by-skunk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00436-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991964 | 390 | 2.296875 | 2 |
This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.
In this paper, I will explain human capital within organizations and how human capital is used to maximize business profit and if used properly, retain its employees to keep continuity. Personally, I believe with human capital it is about educating your employees and bringing out the best in them to achieve the overall organizational goal, and give people sense of accomplishment. Some things that can help maximize each individual's potential is proper time management, education, incorporating value added HR, quality recruiting and evaluation performance.
Human Capital Development
Recent surveys tell us that although business executives firmly believe that people are the most important asset, most executives are at a loss to prove that investments in people lead to enhanced business results. Common metrics like economic value added and return on investment shed little light on how organizations human assets are performing. The question rises "What needs to be measured?" Through interviews with senior HR executives, chief financial officers and financial analysts all refer back to the common theme of human capital. This reflects the way managers want to create value in their organization. Second measures need to be useful from an investment perspective. Executives and top management of organizations need to know what they should be investing in for the future, both in terms of skills that their employees will need to achieve the organizations goals, and the types of human resource capabilities that will need to develop and retain employees with those necessary skills. A way for organizations to do this would be to minimize risk associated with new technology, markets and acquisition. The challenge of effectively linking human capital development to financial performance is three-fold. It measures must capture direct and indirect effects, be simple and compile results so that future planning and forecasts can be built from them. There are outside agencies that you can hire to come to your organization and evaluate the human capital practices. Their assessment includes variables that influence the relationship between a company's human capital assets and its financial performance.
In the Article "Removing Performance Appraisal and Merit Pay in the Name of Quality, An Empirical Study of Employees Reaction" goes on to explain the management trends across the American industry, specifically the banking industry placing high emphasis on excelling in customer service and embedding continuous improvement into all bank processes (Waite, 2000). The role of a company's human resources department will be able to help facilitate the goals of the organization. Ensure timely performance appraisal of the employee's job performance. Provide direct feedback on their strength and weakness will improve the organization. An interesting point made in the article was how performance appraisals can be criticized for stifling teamwork. When it comes time for performance appraisals, it is done on an individual basis, giving some people the thought of undermining group efforts and working as an individual, and not looking out for the needs of the whole team. Being a team player is a part of individual performance, but does not have a major part in an individual assessment.
Meyer (2010) conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of comprehensive performance appraisals process. Special attention was focused on the interview between the subordinate and his or her manager, because this is the discussion, which is supposed to motivate them to improve performance. He found that criticism had a negative effect on achievement of goals, praise had little effect, performance improved when specific goals were established, defensiveness resulting from critical appraisal produced inferior performance, coaching should be a day-to-day not once a year activity, and participation by the employee in the goal setting procedure helped produce favorable results.
To measure the true effectiveness of an appraisal program at the workplace, appraisals should be based on job responsibilities rather than on personal characteristics of the individual. Setting up an intensive training program by managers to help them in the appraisal process should be implemented and given techniques to help them establish rapport with their employees instead of just evaluating them once a year, but make it an ongoing process to give effective communication and feedback. An effective performance appraisal is designed to serve two major purposes. The first is to justify recommended salary action, and the second was to present an opportunity for the manager to review a subordinate's performance and promote discussion on needed improvements by drawing up a specific plans and goals for the subordinate to help improve their job performance and hopefully qualify them for future promotion (Meyer, 2010).
Every ten years or so, a management innovation comes along that gives new ideas to organizations and ways to boost the organization. Three hundred sixty degree feedback has been the most notable innovation for management since the 1990s (Waldman, 1998). According to the research in the article, it says that every individual has received some written form of feedback from sources that were once nontraditional or unheard of. These sources include subordinates, peers, and internal and external customers. The goal of this type of feedback was to increase the individual's awareness of themselves and they can improve in performance. I have learned that 360 feedbacks is not only for subordinates or employees, but today an estimated 20-25 percent of organizations actually ask followers, peers, and our customers to rate managers for developmental and learning purposes (Waldman, 1998).
This process is similar to a former rating process called upward feedback, where feedback is gained from subordinates to rate superiors but does not include peers or customers. When it comes time to give yourself a performance rating, research shows that individuals do not evaluate themselves accurately or at least not in line with how others view them, because of unreliability and bias and are inaccurate when compared with ratings provided by others or with other objective measures (Meyer, 2010). Negative feedback is usually discounted or not mentioned, but on the other hand, positive feedback is generally more accepted and is the most accurate than the negative feedback. Meyer (2010) also noted that when negative feedback is in the form of an anonymous message, it is difficult to discount or deny what was said, so it is more likely to be accepted. Personality plays a big part in this, and alters an individual's reality of self perception.
The intent of an effective performance evaluation to me is to modify my actions at work to get in line with the goals of the organization and making sure that I am doing my part to the best of my ability to uphold my weight at work. In the military, I have seen more than one type of evaluation being done and is very effective. Early on in my career, I was introduced to 360 degree feedback that was anonymous and was done after working with some peers after several weeks, and sometimes results can be surprising or can be a wakeup call for some. The people you work with and not the ones you work for, often give you a more accurate assessment because they are with you every day and know your strengths and weaknesses. The objective of performance evaluations in the military is to weed out the weak and to promote the strong.
Every time I start a new job, I am given an initial counseling outlining my goals, objectives, expectations and professional development. After the initial counseling, feedback is given to me verbally along the way, and then quarterly, I will sit with my supervisor and receive a formal evaluation letting me know if I have been meeting the intent or not. If this process is done correctly in any organization, it will force people to be more responsible and hold them accountable for their actions. The only thing that differs from performance evaluations in the military and ones done in the civilian sector, is that in the military, you will get a pay increase every year in January, and also get one at least every two years in your career whether you advance in rank or not. There are time requirements for rank, but good performance evaluations can help you accelerate on time or sometimes faster than usual.
I believe 360 degree feedback is the most effective system to measure individual performance, and gives managers a good idea of who is a good team player and who only works well with management supervision. It is nearly impossible for a manager of a large company to effectively evaluate each employee and give an accurate account of their work performance. The use of supervisors and peers help to facilitate and provide details and usually is more accurate when coming from someone in the same position as you. Companies began to use 360 feedback from customers to improve business practices and stay competitive. Performance evaluations for some people can be a wake-up call, and takes a good manager to have the ability to evaluate someone fairly and be able to let them know if they are just not doing what they are supposed to. Professionally developing the individuals in your organization will be key to overall success and making the goals of your company.
Information Technology Uses
Information is defined as all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange and utilize information in its various forms including business data, conversations, still images, motion pictures and multimedia presentations according to http://www.entrepreneur.com. Understanding your business needs and intent will help you to identify what type of equipment you will need and how you will use it once you receive it. No matter what business venture you plan to go into or analyze, information technology has taken its place among businesses and is growing rapidly. When we think of information technology, it is not just the development of computers, but it is the use of technology to allow you to maximize productivity more efficiently and effectively. The impact that it has is that in order to be effective, you have to be able to educate yourself and keep up with changes in technology. Relating from this week's article entry, information technology has to be adopted and embraced by managers. Effective communication is key to success in any organization, and if done properly, you will keep employees and other members of management informed on your goals and vision.
In the article, "Information Technology and Business Process Redesign", (Davenport & Short, 1990) builds a link to help those aspiring to improve the way work is done and how to apply the capabilities of information technology to redesign business process. Business process design and information technology are natural partners, and their relationship today is still never utilized to their maximum capabilities, leaving managers scared to adopt it into their organizations. The businesses that have used information technology have benefited from it enormously. Information technology deals with expanding the capabilities offered by computers, software applications and telecommunications. The business process design analyzes the work flow and processes within the organization as well as between other organizations. This is the link that researchers are still trying to figure out, and encourage other top decision makers in business to adopt some form of relationship between the two.
The objectives of information technology and business process redesign, is to reduce cost, reduce time by allowing computers and software to process more data and streamline data to cut employee labor, and in return saving the company on payroll expenses. A major benefit that I can see about information technology is that it can help you to easily track the output quality and results can be measurable over a period of time. Managers can take this data and be able to see if the change in information technology was as useful. One of the major unseen benefits would be the quality of work life, allowing control over output of products and enables employees to control productivity potential.
In Forbes magazine, an interesting point that Cakebread (2010) brought up in regards to implementing information technology into your business to take your business to the "clouds", should be done one step at a time, being careful to not lose continuity while preparing your business for an I.T. breakthrough. One key thing as a manager is to sometimes sit back and see how the software and hardware is working for companies that are local or have the same background as yours before permanently changing over. A vendor and partners must also have a working knowledge of the new equipment you will be using, so that if you have issues, it can be resolved quickly and not cause a pause in business operations.
In my career, information technology is so widespread, it will be nearly impossible to go without it. We have software updates, new hardware, and new ideas to improve efficiency daily. After reading the article for this week, I can tie in how information technology can be easily resisted by those who have to work with it on a daily basis. Your business will have its own unique set of equipment needs that probably differ from those of the company next door and have a different amount of money to spend. At my job, the use of spreadsheets, word documents, presentations and audio/visual equipment is a daily need. We spend millions every year for updates and supplements that we think will allow us to complete missions faster, and help manage the resources that we are allocated to its fullest extent. Depending on what you use your business for and the size of your business, the amount of technology you need will differ but the concept will remain the same.
While researching some job opportunities, your knowledge of computers and software play a big part in the growing age of information technology. What I have noticed is that the younger generation adults and teenagers are becoming more efficient at operating computers and the latest technology, versus an older adult with working experience. Companies seek out the younger generation because of their understanding of technology and help them to take their companies to the next level with minimal training required.
Time management is an essential talent if you aim is to enjoy success in your life. Living a full and productive life mean that you should not be spending 55 hours a week or more at work, even if you are making really good income. What would be the reason for earning a large sum of money if you did not have time to enjoy it?  We are all aware that there are many things in life more important than working. Family, friends, and hobbies are all part of having a satisfying life. People have to be able to effectively control their time, so that you can experience life the way it was intend to be.
Many people are not fond of the idea of controlling their time for the reason that it make them feel like they are losing their control, but you can truly experience much more freedom if you can manage your schedule so your use of time will be more effective. Additionally, many people spend a great deal time at their businesses or jobs because they are incapable to let go of the control because they do not have the confidence that their employees may be able to do just as good of a job. Remember, that we all want to achieve success because we want to enjoy our lives. However, we will not enjoy success fully if we do not control our schedule so that we have time to relax.
Value Added HR
During the last ten years, there has been tremendous importance placed on HR practitioners becoming strategic business partners and being a reliable source within organizations. Previously, HR professionals could talk vaguely and theoretically about employee morale, change in employees, and employee devotion being outcomes of HR efforts. Moreover, the HR section is often viewed as a business expense and an administrative function and not as strategic partner. Ulrich (1997b)," reiterated that to fulfill the business partner role of HR, concepts need to be replaced with evidence, ideas with results, and perceptions with assessments".
Human resources today are currently under pressure to keep up with changing technology and industry. The role of HR is to create innovative people strategies to guarantee mission success. Today, there are still many companies that still use the traditional HR model, and limit the role of the HR department to administrative providers. This is not added value, and HR is viewed as necessary but not very valuable.
The role of HR is to develop company policies, employment laws, and help in maintaining company earning. In simple terms, human resource management focuses on the company's mission, and help in the planning process of getting to that goal. HR is an necessary department to every executive, and can either make or break a corporation. According to Ulrich (1997a)," to create value and deliver results, HR professionals must begin by not focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. HR's roles in building a competitive organization include management of strategic human resources, management of transformation and change, management of firm infrastructure and management of employee contribution".
Some things that a company can do to create value added to their human resource department is to first come up with a plan that is aligned with the company's overall vision and mission. When implementing new plans, you want to start small and depending on the size of your company, implement policies and procedures that will allow you to take it slow and observe the progress. Communication is an important and crucial area of HR. All information and changes should reflect the company's image, and communicated to personnel at all levels that is easy to understand.
Increasingly, an organization's ability to react and change quickly while providing improved performance in the middle of change is a great starting point for attaining competitive advantage. However, this is not about quick fix or alternating between two different plans; change needs to be based on a solid plan. Organizations can get trapped in pendulum swings from one trend to another. Sometimes Human Resources professionals are responsible for flavor-of-the-month initiatives; other times they may be fascinated by flawed strategies press on by senior executives. In today's business environment, organizations need to be steadily evaluating their internal and external surroundings for challenges and opportunities to stay competitive and to maintain growth. Political, economic, social, and even psychological changes within our societies create important impact on organizations. Given any significant change or event, how ready are we as an organization to respond in order to remain competitive?Â
According to Cumming & Worley (2002), "many factors are effecting changes in organizations today including the use of technology, globalization, and changes in workforce demographics, eliminating the bureaucracies in organizational structures, and balancing work-family issues". Understanding the potential of an organization's resources and optimizing the output of such resources given the changes, provides the drive for HR being the main source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. Too many changes to a plan may lead to a predictable pattern likely to lead organizations down paths filled with disappointment, confrontation, and eventually return to the status quo. After persuasive arguments are developed as to why change is required, a plan for getting from "where you are now" to "where you want to be" is viewed as the solution, with implementing the plan seen as the final step. However, if your dream of the future the "where you want to be" is a shift from one pole of a polarity to the other, your efforts are guaranteed to create resistance.
Resistance in the work place is not always a bad thing. Resistance sometimes can mean that people are just fearful of change or when people get wrapped up into managing the business like they have always done, they limit their earning and growth potential. Today, you will notice that companies are recruiting young, energetic people who have the drive and bring new ideas to organizations to help it get to new levels. As a manager, you always have to remember that there is always going to be resistance in any judgment that you make.
To conclude, human capital development is used to maximize business profit by developing its employees to perform at their potential to accomplish the goals of the organization. It is more cost effective to cross train and educate team members, than recruit other candidates. Employees feel job satisfaction when they are involved in the decision making process. Some areas I feel are important incorporating valve added HR, recruiting, training and development, and performance evaluation. | <urn:uuid:554ab397-3db2-4a7e-be6c-b22ad7d2552e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/human-capital-development-and-human-capital-within-organizations-business-essay.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00330-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963847 | 3,956 | 2.578125 | 3 |
What does integrity mean?
adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.
What is integrity in simple words?
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In this context, integrity is the inner sense of “wholeness” deriving from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character.
How can I use integrity in a sentence?
Integrity sentence examples Integrity is a quality that makes for a successful individual. She looked for an employer who had integrity and valued its employees as well as the planet. Integrity is an important quality for an employee to exhibit. The engineers were concerned about the structural integrity of the dam wall.
What word is near to meaning of integrity?
honesty, honor, integrity , probity mean uprightness of character or action.
What are the five attributes of integrity?
Character traits related to integrity Gracious. Those with integrity are gracious when others provide assistance. Respectful. People with integrity value other people by showing them respect at work. Honest . Integrity requires honesty . Trustworthy. Hardworking. Responsible. Helpful. Patient.
What Bible says about integrity?
for I have acted with integrity ; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart.
What are 10 traits of a person with integrity?
Characteristics Of People Who Have True Integrity They are authentic. Authentic people are humble, approachable and genuine. They Know That Other People’s Time Has Value. They Give Credit To Other People. They Are Humble. They Apologize. The Know When Someone Is Wrong. They Give The Benefit Of The Doubt. They Believe In Others.
How do you say someone has integrity?
You could use another adjective with a similar meaning, such as honorable, instead. Alternatively, you could use the noun integrity in a sentence like this, “She is a woman of integrity .” “A man/woman of integrity ” is a common expression, and others will definitely understand it.
What is the importance of integrity?
It is perhaps the most important principle of leadership and dependent on integrity because it demands truthfulness and honesty . Many companies and organizations fail because they don’t follow the reality principle. Integrity means telling the truth even if the truth is ugly.
What is the difference between honesty and integrity?
Honesty , by definition, is to tell the truth and being true. Integrity is having strong moral principles based on honesty and to follow those principles religiously.
Is integrity a virtue?
Lewis, “is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking.” Integrity is a foundational moral virtue , and the bedrock upon which good character is built. Acting with integrity means understanding, accepting, and choosing to live in accordance with one’s principles, which will include honesty, fairness, and decency.
What is a person without integrity?
“In our view ‘ integrity ‘ connotes moral soundness, rectitude and steady adherence to an ethical code. A person lacks integrity if unable to appreciate the distinction between what is honest or dishonest by ordinary standards. (This presupposes, of course, circumstances where ordinary standards are clear.
What is the opposite word of integrity?
integrity . Antonyms: unfairness, sleight, underhandedness, meanness, chicanery, duplicity, fraud, roguery, rascality. Synonyms: uprightness, honor, honesty, probity, truthfulness, candor, single-mindedness, conscientiousness, entireness, rectitude, completeness, parity.
What do you call someone with no integrity?
Opposite of the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. dishonesty. chicanery. crookedness. | <urn:uuid:86228eee-5f83-4079-925a-3430144e1fe1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://estebantorreshighschool.com/how-do-you-spell/how-do-you-spell-integrity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.94329 | 833 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Skills:3D Modelling (Maya), Compositing (Nuke), 2D digital art (Photoshop)
I'm currently studying Animation at Northumbria Uni! I love sketching and bringing ideas to life using 3D software because of how there's no limit to what you can make.
Recent project reports
The final part of my make was to add in audio to help bring the animation to life. Using audition, and audio files sourced from freesound.org, I compiled a short soundtrack with sound effects to replicate what the make would sound like if it were to function in real life.
Having the video file in the corner of the screen helped me align and edit the audio with ease.
A quick video to show the process.
With 3D animation there are multiple ways of going about it.
The clouds, drone and flare all follow a 'motion path'. This allows objects to be attached and animated along them seamlessly.
For the bug I wanted the animation to add some depth, so after animating the wings as separate objects, I used A 'nonlinear deformer' which allowed me to make additional movement to the tail, legs and antennae. With all that grouped, I animated it moving up and down in sync with the other movement. | <urn:uuid:4f8c36a7-1abf-4f9e-b7ef-e86c212eb40d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pioneers.littleinventors.org/makers/harry-david-johnston/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570977.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809124724-20220809154724-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.927221 | 294 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Taiwanese designer Yenwen Tseng has created a selection of functional objects that do not boast, they withdraw in to the background, generating both space and order.
Donald Judd is quite the enigma. He didn’t like to work with his hands, he especially hated the fuss of working with tools or mechanical aids. So why did he experiment with woodcuts?
I was fortunate enough to connect with Jacqueline Scholes who provided me with some fantastic imagery and a good idea of her design process, also what inspires her and how she became a silversmith.
Mr. Anastassiades, an industrial designer who earned his masters at the Royal College of Art, shares a desire that many, if not most, share on OEN: a innate drive to foster ideas into reality.
Japanese metal worker Rieko Fujimoto for example is one that really struck a chord with me. When I first discovered her works I was fascinated by her unique style, also her pursuit of making objects for everyday use.
I find the production of glass very intriguing. The fact that there’s certain limits when making glass is an interest to me, the material is notoriously hard to work with and not that simple to conquer as a maker. | <urn:uuid:6ffb770d-1930-4e6d-b50d-1afa87dfd727> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://the189.com/category/design/page/8/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00181-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977619 | 254 | 1.6875 | 2 |
|Scientific Name||Conyza canadensis|
|Identifying Characteristics||Thin and hair with yellow florets|
- 1-7′ tall,
- Leaves alternate around stem
- Flowers less than 1/8th inch across
- No floral scent noticeable
- Tufts of light brown or white hair
- Prefers full sun, grows typically anywhere
- Europeans and Native Americans used as a remedy for dysentary
- Mixed with cinnamon oil to stop bleeding in the digestive tract
- Flowering Tops
- Used in a tea for fevers, cough and sore throat.
- Can be dried and used as an herb similar to Tarragon
- Essential Oil
- Used in the creation of candy, condiments, etc.
“Horseweed, Mare’s Tail”. Eat the Weeds. Green Deane, LLC. 2007. Web.
1,488 total views, 1 views today | <urn:uuid:4c97c936-6d85-441d-8563-442a6bf0b7c0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://sandyhookherbarium.org/conyza-canadensis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.791655 | 259 | 2.5 | 2 |
Enhances your body’s absorption of dietary magnesium for general health and wellbeing
Magnesium is a key nutrient for optimal health and wellbeing. Your body uses it to assist muscle and nerve function—and Magnesium Drink Mix has optimal levels for body absorption.
Dissolve this magnesium-rich powder in hot water for an effervescent, herbal, citrus drink to unwind from your day. Enjoy a warm, fizzy serving 30–60 minutes before bed to help centre your thoughts and prepare for a good night’s rest.
- Helps enhance general health and wellbeing
- Promotes increased absorption of magnesium
- Helps body’s utilization of magnesium
- Assists with cellular uptake of magnesium
Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist, talk to your health professional. | <urn:uuid:d99c8cf4-f16c-4959-a7e6-d1a1715b5ce5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://nutritionlife.com.au/collections/usana-mood-and-relaxation-supplements/products/magnesium-drink-mix | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.865271 | 176 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The thing is, everyone uses their PC or laptop differently. Microsoft believes having that information when a user is setting up their new Windows 10 laptop or PC will help customize the experience better. In what is a new setup screen for Windows 10 that us being tested, users will be asked what they will use the PC for. The larger bucket of use cases mentioned include Gaming, Family, Creativity, Schoolwork, Entertainment and Business. A user will have the option to select multiple scenarios from this, depending on what all they intend to do with their new computing device. This new start screen is rolling out with the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20231 that is now available for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Microsoft says this feature will be initially available to a subset of users within the Windows Insiders Dev Channel and will be rolled out for all testers in the coming days. It is not clear exactly what customizations Microsoft intends to make for the Windows 10 installations on PCs based on the options a user may select on this setup screen. All the screen communicates to users is that “if you choose to tell Microsoft how you plan to use your device, we’ll customize suggestions for tools and services during the device setup and your welcome experience.” No further details on what exactly the changes would be, as far as the user experience goes. You can, however, also select the Skip option and not share any specific usage plans with Windows 10 during the setup process.
For the rest of us, this feature may be available in one of the Windows 10 updates rolled out via automatic updates in the coming months, depending on how testing goes. | <urn:uuid:db9d77ce-9d7c-4bdd-bd91-1eba065588f2> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wi-fi-votaniki.net/a-new-windows-10-setup-screen-wants-to-know-if-you-use-the-pc-for-schoolwork-gaming-or-business.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.924325 | 332 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The amount of money paid out to charities and community groups by the National Lottery hit a five-year low of €232m last year.
National Lottery sales fell by nearly 1.5% to just over €760m in what the company called a "challenging retail environment". Scratchcard sales rose, as did revenues from online gaming, but Lotto sales were down by €40m to €282m.
The falling sales come as the Government is preparing the terms of a 20-year licence to run the lottery business, which will be put out to public tender later this year.
National Lottery Chief Executive Dermot Griffin said new game initiatives will provide added value to whoever wins the licence to operate the lottery for the next 20 years.
The Government has signalled its intention to sell the licence, with estimates of between €400m and €600m.
On RTÉ's News at One, Mr Griffin said there was potential to grow online, but that was limited by the current laws governing the lottery in Ireland.
He said the Lottery Act was published in 1986 at a time when the internet was not envisaged.
He said whether the Government will raise €600m from the sale will depend on the structure of the licence.
"Certainly a 20-year licence gives the opportunity for extra value. There are a lot of games initiatives that we can generate over the years, which will generate extra value.
“There's a world game concept on the horizon. The internet gives potential for extra revenue and extra value"
"Looking at other markets, the Scandinavians lead the way in internet sales. Some of those countries have nearly 20% of their sales coming through the internet, and certainly there is the potential to grow it.
“We work very closely with the Department of Public Expenditure, which is our regulator, to ensure our controls work very satisfactorily in that particular space." | <urn:uuid:1aaf2cf6-9af1-4cca-9626-5715ffbfa8ec> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0427/318693-lottery-charity-payout-hits-five-year-low/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718957.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00436-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969701 | 397 | 1.773438 | 2 |
||Partial autograph, 1755?
At first, this was a copyists' score of C.P.E Bach's Concerto for Organ or Harpsichord (H.444/Wq 34) but later changes were made by C.P.E. Bach. The Flute part was created on an empty system at the top and the keyboard part crossed out at the beginning. Changes and additions to the String parts were also made. Mostly, the Flute part must be read from the right hand of the keyboard system, apart from where the Flute differs from the original. It is very possible to construct the original Keyboard version from this score, although it has survived in many other manuscripts. | <urn:uuid:90f3f5f3-1a88-4876-9732-9ffa8012d96d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Concerto_in_G_major,_H.445_(Bach,_Carl_Philipp_Emanuel) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00508-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965434 | 146 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Writing Memoir (Lit Starts)
A Book of Writing Prompts
San Francisco Writers' Grotto
A book of writing prompts from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, authors of the bestselling 642 Things series
Focus on a single aspect of the craft of writing with help from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. Writing Memoir starts with a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims, who offers pointers for crafting a compelling narrative from your own experiences. The rest of the book consists of prompts and space to think, providing opportunities to reframe aspects of your life in thoughtful and interesting ways. Among other ideas, you’ll be asked to write:
- a virtual tour of your hometown
- a description of what’s in your purse or wallet right now
- a list of all the lies you’ve told
- an account of a historical event from your own lifetime, in a way that reveals something significant about yourself
Take to a café, on vacation, or on your morning commute and practice your creative writing a little bit at a time.
- Advice from a published writer, followed by prompts
- Part of the Lit Starts series, a collection of single-subject writing prompt books by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto
Check out the other books in this series: Writing Action, Writing Character, Writing Dialogue, Writing Humor, and Writing Sci-fi and Fantasy. | <urn:uuid:51394dcc-5f50-486d-8ebd-06fce6300711> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://nightstandreads.mymustreads.com/id005457528/Writing-Memoir-Lit-Starts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.882572 | 322 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The White House and FCC's Genachowski Say Owners Should Decide on Unlocked Cell Phones
Wireless carriers such as Verizon and AT&T probably won't be too crazy about FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's remarks regarding the recent ban on unlocking cell phones.
At a recent TechCrunch CrunchGov event last week, Genachowski said it "raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns."
The ban makes it illegal for cell-phone owners to unlock their phones to be used on a wireless network different from which it was originally used. Since carriers need to keep subscriber churn to a minimum, making it difficult (or more expensive) to change providers would be to their advantage.
The carrier-friendly ban became effective on Jan. 26, when the Librarian of Congress removed the unlocked-cell-phone exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. The legislation, enacted by Congress in 1998, was meant to make illegal any technology designed to bypass copyright protections. However, since the language of the DMCA was so broad, Congress gave the Librarian of Congress the discretion to issue exemptions to the law.
Obviously, this ban on modifying one's own cell phone to use it on a different carrier's network has led to some consumer outrage, enough so that a We the People petition was started that has gone over the signature threshold of 100,000 and now warrants an official administration response.
And the White House did respond with this from R. David Edelman, senior advisor for Internet, innovation, and privacy:
"The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. ... It's common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers' needs."
In addition, the FCC released a statement from Genachowski, which included this statement:
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The article The White House and FCC's Genachowski Say Owners Should Decide on Unlocked Cell Phones originally appeared on Fool.com.Fool contributor Dan Radovsky owns shares of AT&T. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. | <urn:uuid:22ce55b5-f934-4dc7-8df6-e43ddc7769b6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.aol.com/article/2013/03/04/the-white-house-and-fccs-genachowski-say-owners-sh/20488179/?gen=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00459-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952496 | 602 | 1.765625 | 2 |
We regret to report there has been an error in the April, 2001 issue of Infection Control Today®. In the Best Practices article entitled “Preoperative Measures to Prevent Surgical Site Infections,” by Carolyn A. Ramsey, we incorrectly labeled the answer for test question #8 as being true. The answer is actually false. We regret the error.
Preoperative Measures to Prevent Surgical Site Infections
By Carolyn A. Ramsey, RN, MSN, CNOR
Figure 1. Use of battery operated clippers. Performed in the preoperative holding area.
The fight against post-operative wound infections has long been undertaken by practitioners. We appreciate that surgical site infections (SSIs) are frequently caused by bacteria commonly found on the skin. Therefore, reducing the number of bacteria on the skin has been a common preoperative practice. Standards and recommended practices from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) state preoperative skin preparation of surgical patients should include little or no hair removal, cleansing of the area around the surgical site, and use of an antiseptic agent immediately before the surgical incision.1
Removal of hair at the surgical incision site has been discussed for some time. Traditionally, the surgeon has always made the decision of how much hair should be removed and the technique for removal. Many studies show hair removal with a razor or clippers can cause skin abrasion, or even nicks in the skin, which can lead to the development of pseudofolliculitis and subsequent SSIs. In a study discussed in the Guideline for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection, 1999, "SSI rates were 5.6% in patients who had hair removed by razor shave compared to a 0.6% rate among those who had hair removed by depilatory or who had no hair removed."2 To have the best patient outcome, perioperative nurses should be involved with physician education in areas of preoperative preparation and infection control.
Plastic surgeons have requested hair be left in place on patients having scalp lacerations as early as 20 years ago. Neurosurgeons have notoriously shaved the entire head for all types of cranial surgery. An editorial in The Lancet described a non-controlled study that showed no increase in infection rate when scalp hair was left in place. The patients shampooed with chlorhexidine the night before surgery. In the OR the scalp was scrubbed for eight minutes and irrigated with alcohol. The hair was parted at the proposed incision site and tied back.3 Leaving hair intact greatly reduces the patients' anxiety, especially when it can be readily seen, as on the head.
Price lists skin preparation as a major intrusion into the patients' body space. Removal of hair also can be very embarrassing for the patient, giving them a sense of loss of control and even a loss in sexual identity, especially when pubic hair is removed. Discomfort is felt while the hair removal is taking place, and serves as a constant reminder of the surgical experience and illness while the hair is growing back.4 This discomfort and reminder could have an adverse effect on the psychological recovery of patients undergoing surgery.
In 1979, Tkach, Shannon, and Beastrom conducted a study of patients having lower abdominal surgery to compare close shaving of the pubic hair with a technique developed to leave approximately 1 mm of stubble. By leaving stubble, it was felt that the patient would be less likely to develop pseudofolliculitis. Course, kinky hair is especially susceptible to re-growing out of the side of the follicle and curling up into the skin, causing an ingrown hair.5
The best practice is to refrain from hair removal unless it interferes with the surgical procedure or wound closure.6 If hair is removed, it should be done so using clippers or a depilatory cream (Figure 1). Razors have no place in the preoperative setting. It has been reported that surgical residents or surgeons have used a razor to remove hair in an emergency situation to save time. In this situation, it would be better to leave hair intact.
Figure 2. Use of a Povidone-Iodine scrub in the operating room.
Depilatory creams are usually used the night before surgery. Most patients having elective surgery are not hospitalized the night before surgery; therefore, careful instructions must be given to patients who are expected to use the depilatory cream before coming to the hospital or outpatient surgery center. A skin sensitivity test must be performed to assure no allergies are present. Depending on the surgical site, the process can be time consuming and tedious, but may save the patient embarrassment if carried out before he or she reports for surgery. The nursing staff must be reminded to leave any hair that might not have responded to the depilation, or remove using clippers, just before surgery in an area outside of the operating room.
In 1983, 253 patients took part in a study by de Koos and McComas. Half of the subjects had skin prepared for surgery using a wet shave 30 minutes before surgery. The other half used a depilatory cream the night before surgery. The results of this study showed no statistical difference in the infection rate between the two methods of hair removal. All of the subjects also were given a preoperative shower of povidone-iodine soap the night before surgery and on the day of surgery,7 which may account for the discrepancy in the findings, compared to similar studies.
Preoperative showers have also been used to reduce skin colonization of staphylococci, a frequent organism found in post-operative wound infections. In a study conducted in 1988, chlorhexidine gluconate (Hibiclens) was found to be more effective in reducing organisms than povidone-iodine (Betadine).8 Other studies also showed Hibiclens to be the preferred agent of choice for preoperative showers. One study compared the results of preoperative baths and showers. Showers were found to reduce more skin bacteria than baths. The most effective number of showers was also studied. Bryne revealed a study that included eight showers. When showers were compared to hand disinfection, flora decreased up to the fifth time the hands were washed.9 Two showers were most frequently advised--one the night before surgery and one the morning of the procedure.
The agent used to cleanse the skin before surgery and the agent used in the operating room to disinfect the surgical site have also been discussed. Chlorhexidine is frequently used as a preoperative shower. It is well tolerated and does not leave discoloration as a povidone-iodine preparation does. Hayek (1989) described a study that compared 4% Chlorhexidine and an unnamed bar soap. Considering methods of showering that could not be controlled, and definitions of surgical infection, the study was inconclusive, but Hayek continued to recommend Chlorhexidine be used in preoperative cleansing.10 Chlorhexidine can also be used immediately before the surgical incision, but many practitioners are choosing a povidone-iodine and alcohol product(Figure 2). The one-step application saves time and leaves a film on the skin that continues to reduce the number of bacteria during the surgical procedure.
Recently, lay magazines and news reports have discussed the everyday use of antimicrobial soaps and lotions. Described as a concern by Byrne "suppression of the normal flora ... has led to colonization by Proteus species."11 We should perhaps limit antimicrobial soaps except in cleansing minor cuts and abrasions. Normal flora has a role in protecting the body against potential harmful pathogens.
In conclusion, preoperative skin preparation continues to be an area of varied procedures. Healthcare providers strive to provide surgical patients with a safe and non-complicated recovery. Prevention of infection is of utmost concern. Preoperative reduction of skin flora remains the goal and standard of care. Skin should be cleansed before surgery. Preoperative showers have been adopted as a routine in many hospitals. Patients are given a chlorhexidine soap to use the night before surgery and the morning of surgery. If the patient is hospitalized before surgery, the nursing staff assists the patient with a shower or bath as appropriate.
Hair should ideally be left in place. If hair interferes with the surgical procedure it can be removed using scissors or clippers, and should be carried out in an area outside the operating room. A patient's privacy must be of utmost concern and a professional atmosphere and uncluttered space should be provided. Many preoperative areas consist of a large room with only curtains separating patients, providing little in the way of privacy. If this is the case, staff should keep this in mind and speak quietly at all times. If possible, a separate room should be used for hair removal.
Additional cleansing is performed immediately before the surgical incision is made in the operating room using sterile technique. The nurse checks patient allergies and after the patient is anesthetized and positioned, a sterile prep is carried out. Basic principles include using an antimicrobial agent, preventing unnecessary exposure, beginning the prep at the incision site, and working outward toward the periphery. Once the sponge is used on the outer edges, it should be discarded and not used at the incision area again. If a combination povidone-iodine/ alcohol agent is used, the same principles are used. When using this product, one application is all that is necessary. A film of antimicrobial agent remains on the skin during the surgical procedure, which prolongs the bacterial kill. Practitioners should keep in mind that even the most rigid preoperative preparation cannot reduce the need for strict aseptic technique, gentle handling of tissues and control of bleeding to help prevent postoperative SSI's.
1. Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN). Recommended Practices
for Skin Preparation of Patients, In: Standards, Recommended Practices and
Guidelines. Denver: AORN; 2000:329-333.
2. Mangram, A J, Horan, T C, Pearson M L, Silver, L C, and Jarvis, W R. Guideline for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection. Infection control and Hospital Epidemiology. 1999; 20(4):257-258.
3. Editorial, Shaving the Head: Reason or Ritual? Lancet. 1992; 340(8829): 1198-1199.
4. Price B, Dignity That Must Be Respected. Body Image and the Surgical Patient. Professional Nurse. 1993; 8(10): 670-672.
5. Tkach J R, Shannon A M, and Beastrom R Pseudofolliculitis Due to Preoperative Shaving. A.O.R.N. Journ. 1979; 30(5): 881-884.
6. McIntyre F J, and McCloy R, Shaving Patients Before Operation: A Dangerous Myth? Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1994; 76(1): 3-4.
7. deKoos Paul T, and McComas Bruce Shaving Versus Skin Depilatory Cream for Preoperative Skin Preparation. American Journal of Surgery. 1983; 145(3): 377-378.
8. Kaiser A B, Kernodle D S, Barg N L, and Petracek M R Influence of Preoperative Showers on Staphylococcal Skin Colonization: A Comparative Trial of Antiseptic Skin Cleansers. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 1988; 45(1): 35-38.
9. Byrne D J, Napier A, and Cuschieri A Rationalizing Whole Body Disinfection. Journal of Hospital Infection. 1990; 15(2): 183-187.
10. Hayek L A Placebo-controlled trial of the Effect of Two Preoperative Baths or Shower: With Chlorhexidine Detergent on Postoperative wound Infection Rates. Journal of Hospital Infection. 1989; 13(2): 202-204.
11. Byrne D J, Napier A, Phillips G, and Cuschieri A Effects of Whole Body Disinfection on Skin Flora in Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery. Journal of Hospital Infection. 1991; 17(3): 217-222.
To describe the AORN preoperative skin preparation recommendations. To describe the importance of hair and removal. To identify the importance of preoperative showers.
True or false questions
1. AORN recommends total hair removal during preoperative skin
For a complete list of references click here | <urn:uuid:a5499a15-9388-40a6-895b-65cf8fd56fa4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2001/04/preoperative-measures-to-prevent-surgical-site-in.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00090-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930809 | 2,595 | 2.03125 | 2 |
objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.
a condition of disorder or untidiness:
We were appalled at the litter of the room.
a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth:
a litter of six kittens.
a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.
a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.
straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.
the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.
to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.:
to be fined for littering the sidewalk.
to scatter (objects) in disorder:
They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.
to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often followed by up):
Bits of paper littered the floor.
to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.
to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.
to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.
to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.
to give birth to a litter:
The cat had littered in the closet.
to strew objects about:
If you litter, you may be fined.
pick of the litter,
the best or choicest of the animals, especially puppies, in a litter.
the best of any class, group, or available selection.
small refuse or waste materials carelessly dropped, esp in public places
(as modifier): litter bin
a disordered or untidy condition or a collection of objects in this condition
a group of offspring produced at one birth by a mammal such as a sow
a layer of partly decomposed leaves, twigs, etc, on the ground in a wood or forest
straw, hay, or similar material used as bedding, protection, etc, by animals or plants
See cat litter
a means of conveying people, esp sick or wounded people, consisting of a light bed or seat held between parallel sticks
to make (a place) untidy by strewing (refuse)
to scatter (objects, etc) about or (of objects) to lie around or upon (anything) in an untidy fashion
(of pigs, cats, etc) to give birth to (offspring)
(transitive) to provide (an animal or plant) with straw or hay for bedding, protection, etc
c.1300, “a bed,” also “bed-like vehicle carried on men’s shoulders” (early 14c.), from Anglo-French litere “portable bed,” Old French litiere “litter, stretcher, bier; straw, bedding,” from Medieval Latin lectaria “litter” (altered in French by influence of lit “bed”), from Latin lectus “bed, couch,” from PIE *legh-to-, from root *legh- “to lie” (see lie (v.2)).
Meaning extended early 15c. to “straw used for bedding” (early 14c. in Anglo-French) and late 15c. to “offspring of an animal at one birth” (in one bed); sense of “scattered oddments, disorderly debris” is first attested 1730, probably from Middle English verb literen “provide with bedding” (late 14c.), with notion of strewing straw. Litter by 19c. had come to mean both the straw bedding and the animal waste in it after use.
late 14c., “provide with bedding,” from litter (n.). Meaning “to strew with objects” is from 1713. Transitive sense of “to scatter in a disorderly way” is from 1731. Related: Littered; littering.
litter lit·ter (lĭt’ər)
A flat supporting framework, such as a piece of canvas stretched between parallel shafts, for carrying a disabled or dead person; a stretcher.
The offspring produced at one birth by a multiparous mammal. Also called brood.
(Heb. tsab, as being lightly and gently borne), a sedan or palanquin for the conveyance of persons of rank (Isa. 66:20). In Num. 7:3, the words “covered wagons” are more literally “carts of the litter kind.” There they denote large and commodious vehicles drawn by oxen, and fitted for transporting the furniture of the temple.
a form of public worship; ritual. a collection of formularies for public worship. a particular arrangement of services. a particular form or type of the Eucharistic service. the service of the Eucharist, especially this service (Divine Liturgy) in the Eastern Church. Contemporary Examples Instead of pelting me with liturgy, he dialed it back a bit. […]
adjective supportive of national sovereignty Examples The anti-Maastrichtian group seeks to restore British “freedom.” Word Origin The Maastricht Treaty of 1991 sought economic and political unity within the European Community, considered by some to endanger national sovereignty. Usage Note politics
of or relating to the theories of T. R. , which state that population tends to increase faster, at a geometrical ratio, than the means of subsistence, which increases at an arithmetical ratio, and that this will result in an inadequate supply of the goods supporting life unless war, famine, or disease reduces the population […]
preventing, curing, or palliating the symptoms of mania. Pharmacology. a pharmacological substance used to treat mania, as lithium. | <urn:uuid:c6539d23-9054-40ff-a3b6-7c712ca189f3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://definithing.com/define-dictionary/anti-litter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00401-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905601 | 1,288 | 2.875 | 3 |
SPRINGFIELD — Addiction experts say thousands of Illinois residents could lose drug treatment services if a temporary tax increase expires later next year.
The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports the Illinois Department of Public Health's drug treatment programs could lose $20 million in funding if the income tax falls from 5 percent to 3.75 percent.
IDPH officials estimate that would cut services for almost 16,000 people.
Sara Howe is a spokeswoman for the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association.
She says the potential budget cuts come at a time when heroin use is increasing in Illinois.
Gov. Pat Quinn wants to make the tax increase permanent before it expires on Jan. 1. | <urn:uuid:7e70c609-e136-4960-b9a9-eaf8d7f62c89> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2014/04/16/addiction-experts-cuts-could-hurt-drug-treatment/am835bb/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00127-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920014 | 140 | 1.640625 | 2 |
The Urban Umbrella turns scaffolding into a pleasant sight for pedestrians.
Courtesy James Ewing/Urgan Umbrella
Anyone who’s walked down a city block knows that nothing destroys a neighborhood’s beauty more than construction scaffolding. In 2009, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the urbanSHED International Design Competition, challenging designers to create a sidewalk shed that’s beautiful, sustainable, and economical, while meeting safety requirements.
University of Pennsylvania student Young-Hwan Choi joined forces with architect Andrés Cortés, structural engineer Sarrah Khan, and designer Scott Wagner, all from the design firm Agencie Group, to create the Urban Umbrella. “We love cities and feel people should be stimulated during their transit between places,” says Cortés. “We’ve always found scaffolds oppressive.” The designers used umbrellas—lightweight and portable—as the inspiration for an elegant, harmonious shield from debris. There were multiple design iterations, but the team never lost sight of its goal. “It comes back to respect for the pedestrian experience,” says Cortés. Their focus paid off—the award-winning design debuted in New York City in December 2011; expect a new and improved version soon on a sidewalk near you. Cortés describes the scaffolding here:
Courtesy Scott Wagner
"The umbrella is made with rigid and ultra-rigid high-strength steel alloys. Most scaffolding relies primarily on steel and plywood (originally a product of World War II); it’s time to bring twenty-first-century materials to the fore."
"Each structure is custom tailored to a building’s width, length, sidewalk pitch, and facade projections; all cross-bracing members are seven feet aboveground."
"Made of clear polymer resin, the panels allow 90% light transmission and are designed for the most extreme environmental conditions."
"LED lights deliver brighter and more distributed illumination. With long life and low energy consumption, the lighting also addresses the dual challenges of sustainability and keeping costs down."
YOUNG-HWAN CHOI (b. 1981), now a designer at Frederic Schwartz Architects, received his master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in 2011. ANDRÉS CORTÉS (b. 1974), who received a masters in architecture from Columbia University, and SARRAH KHAN (b. 1977), a graduate of Columbia University with master’s degrees in both engineering and architecture, co-founded the Agencie Group in 2005. SCOTT WAGNER (b. 1986), a graduate of the University of Idaho, joined the team in 2011.Edit ModuleEdit Module | <urn:uuid:836dcf80-3392-498d-bda1-9e261c790832> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.metropolismag.com/April-2013/Sidewalk-Save/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00456-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933247 | 567 | 1.96875 | 2 |
NAIROBI, Kenya — Sudan’s interim government said on Thursday that it had reached a financial settlement with families of the victims of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, an effort to persuade the United States to remove Sudan from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Seventeen sailors died and another 39 were wounded in the attack, which took place in 2000. Sudanese officials said a settlement had been reached with the families on Feb. 7, but did not specify how much compensation would be given.
There was no confirmation of a deal from American officials. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department on Thursday morning in Washington had no immediate comment.
The U.S.S. Cole, a Navy destroyer, was attacked by suicide bombers in an explosive-laden skiff as the destroyer was preparing to refuel in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000. The terrorist group Al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Relatives of victims and surviving sailors accused Sudan of having supported Al Qaeda, and sought to hold the country liable through American courts.
Sudan’s interim government said in a statement announcing the settlement on Thursday that it “is not responsible for this act or any other acts of terrorism.” It said Sudan is offering the compensation “only in order to meet the prerequisites set by the American Administration for removing the name of the Sudan from the list of states sponsors of international terrorism, so that relations with the United States of America and the rest of the world could be normalized.”
The Trump administration has been looking at lifting the terrorism designation for Sudan “for quite some time,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters on a plane to Germany, before visiting several countries in Africa and the Middle East.
“The Sudanese reminded me that they would love to get off that list and we always measure twice and cut once before we remove someone from a list like that,” Mr. Pompeo said.
Sudan’s announcement of a compensation deal comes as the African nation undergoes a fragile transition after the fall last year of president Omar al-Bashir, who ruled with an iron fist for nearly three decades. Sudan’s interim ruling council, composed of civilian and military officials, is now seeking to shake off decades of diplomatic and economic isolation. Being removed from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism would be a significant step.
Sudan was added to the list in 1993, joining North Korea, Syria, and Iran. The designation restricts foreign assistance, bans defense exports and sales and limits financial transactions. Inclusion on the list has crippled Sudan’s economy and deterred foreign investors and commercial banks from doing business in the country.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a prominent economist, visited Washington in December in a bid to lobby the Trump administration to remove it from the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism. The two countries agreed in December to exchange ambassadors again after a break of 23 years.
In 2017, the Trump administration lifted longstanding sanctions against Sudan, saying Khartoum had made progress on counterterrorism efforts and expanded access to humanitarian aid in war-torn regions.
American officials have pressed Sudan for reparations in recent months, the state department said, saying compensation for the victims of terrorism remained a priority if the United States was to remove Sudan from the blacklist. Under presidents Obama and Trump, the United States has targeted in airstrikes those it suspected of plotting the Cole attack.
Sudan is still in the process of negotiating a settlement with families of those killed in the bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. The nearly simultaneous attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam killed 224 people and wounded thousands.
Sudan has for years denied allegations that it provided material support to Al Qaeda or caused the attack on the Cole. In their announcement today, officials from the transitional government reiterated this.
“The Government of the Sudan would like to indicate that it was clearly stated in the concluded settlement agreement that the government is not responsible for this act or any other acts of terrorism,” the state-run Sudan News Agency quoted a justice ministry statement as saying.
The government, the statement said, “has entered into this settlement out of its keenness to settle all historical terrorism claims” generated by “the defunct regime.”
Lara Jakes contributed reporting from Washington. | <urn:uuid:d8cfdba2-9056-4912-955f-5e9bc14e6622> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ultranews.info/sudan-says-it-agrees-to-compensate-families-of-u-s-s-cole-bombing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00668.warc.gz | en | 0.962011 | 928 | 1.648438 | 2 |
7th International Particle Accelerator Conference
In the JLab Electron Ion Collider (JLEIC) project the traditional electron cooling technique is used to reduce the ion beam emittance at the booster ring, and to compensate the intrabeam scattering effect and maintain the ion beam emittance during collision at the collider ring. A new electron cooling process simulation program has been developed to fulfill the requirements of the JLEIC electron cooler design. The new program allows the users to calculate the electron cooling rate and simulate the cooling process with either DC or bunched electron beam to cool either coasting or bunched ion beam. It has been benchmarked with BETACOOL in aspect of accuracy and efficiency. In typical electron cooling process of JLEIC, the two programs agree very well and we have seen a significant improvement of computational speed using the new one. Being adaptive to the modern multicore hardware makes it possible to further enhance the efficiency for computationally intensive problems. The new program is being actively used in the electron cooling study and cooler design for JLEIC. We will present our models and some simulation results in this paper.
Original Publication Citation
Zhang, H., Chen, J., Li, R., Zhang, Y., Huang, H., & Luo, L. (2016). Development of the electron cooling simulation program for JLEIC. Paper presented at the 7th International Particle Accelerator Conference, Busan, Korea. doi:10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2016-WEPMW014
Zhang, H.; Chen, J.; Li, R.; Zhang, Y.; Huang, H.; and Luo, L., "Development of the Electron Cooling Simulation Program for JLEIC" (2016). Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications. 41. | <urn:uuid:d1a2300d-d31a-4769-8c72-9e521b0964c6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/mathstat_fac_pubs/41/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.778703 | 457 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Understanding Nonverbal Communication
Name Product: Understanding Nonverbal Communication
Market price: $99
Instructor: Ray Lane
File Size: 4.75 GB
Posture. Eye contact and blinking. Gestures. Tone and pitch. Gait. Body type and clothing choices. How much of our communication is nonverbal? Many people have heard the claim that 93% of what we express is conveyed through nonverbal communication. After a study in the 1960s, this idea spread into mainstream thinking and changed the way we viewed and interpreted our interactions with others.
In Understanding Nonverbal Communication, you’ll discover that nonverbal communication is less intentional and harder to control than the words you choose to speak, and you are less aware of it than you are of your words, so it provides better clues to what you are feeling and thinking. You can deliberately decide what to say, but from the deeper subcortical regions of your brain come your involuntary nonverbal expressions, including changes in blood pressure, sweat, pupil dilation, increased heart rate, facial movements, or blushing cheeks—any of which can speak more about your intentions or emotions than your actual words might. In 12 revealing lectures, you’ll explore the history, evolution, and context of both the outright obvious and the sublimely subtle nuances of personal expression.
Interestingly, the 93% statistic mentioned above is not accurate—it’s impossible to truly quantify every nuance of nonverbal communication. Regardless, what made this study so important was the revelation that recognizing and correctly interpreting nonverbal expressions is essential to fully understanding how people communicate. Once begun, the study of nonverbal communication was embraced by psychologists, communication scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, ethologists, biologists, and even political scientists and economists. The science of nonverbal communication has revealed intriguing insights into everything from how aspects of your reactions are biologically hardwired to how you are subconsciously influenced to vote by political speakers, and even to predicting relationship status—whether people are attracted to each other and the likelihood that they will stay together.
Throughout this course, you will explore the role of nonverbal communication as it relates to understanding other people’s worldviews and interaction styles. With careful observation, you can capitalize on this science to further appreciate human expression, smooth social interactions, and strengthen relationships—helping to make the world a better and more accepting place.
There is certainly no lack of resources for information about nonverbal communication; however, very little of what you will come across is based on systematic studies. This course will view the scope of nonverbal communication through the lens of science, led by Dr. Mark Frank, Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Communication and the Director of the Communication Science Center at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. From what you choose to wear to how fast you walk, you’re consciously and unconsciously sending messages about yourself, your beliefs, and your personality, and we are consciously and unconsciously receiving these signals and making assumptions about you. This course provides the scientific analysis of the message being sent and how it is received.
TTC5937 S01E01 The Science of Nonverbal Communication.mp4
TTC5937 S01E02 The Meaning of Personal Space.mp4
TTC5937 S01E03 Space, Color, and Mood.mp4
TTC5937 S01E04 What Body Type Doesn’t Tell You.mp4
TTC5937 S01E05 Evolution’s Role in Nonverbal Communication.mp4
TTC5937 S01E06 Secrets in Facial Expressions.mp4
TTC5937 S01E07 Hidden Clues in Vocal Tones.mp4
TTC5937 S01E08 Cues from Gestures and Gait.mp4
TTC5937 S01E09 Interpreting Nonverbal Communication.mp4
TTC5937 S01E10 Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Communication.mp4
TTC5937 S01E11 Spotting Nonverbal Deception.mp4
TTC5937 S01E12 Communicating Attraction.mp4
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***If link dead, please leave a message,or to send message to a [email protected] We will update immediately*** | <urn:uuid:07752b2b-6e33-4c52-ab8b-e1caf0e99ef9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://businessdl.com/understanding-nonverbal-communication/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00407-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.876836 | 897 | 2.625 | 3 |
iPrep: The Miami Flex
There are lots of Reasons Districts Should Open Flex Schools. Flex
classified by Innosight Institute
are small individualized schools with an online curriculum. Students move at their own pace and augment online work with projects, tutoring, and work-based
learning. Flex schools create personalized options for students and an example of competency-based learning for educators to visit.
Miami Dade, more than any other district, has embraced the innovative model. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho serves as the principal of the first iPrep Academy, a flex school located in the district headquarters. Eight more iPrep sites were opened on existing high school campuses serving more than 800 students.
iPrep Academies provide students in grades 9-12 with the opportunity to accelerate in the high school curriculum in a technology-rich, non- traditional academic setting. The environment is uniquely designed to meet each student's individual needs. iPrep students are able to participate in college prep and college-level courses, using both face-to-face and online instruction. The rigorous online curriculum powered by Florida Virtual School (FLVS) includes honors, Advanced Placement (AP), online, and dual enrollment courses. Some courses are taught by teachers on site, some by FLVS teachers online.
Students have the flexibility in their school day to include internships and community-based service projects. Each iPrep site has different community connections. They all aim to prepare students for success in a digital world and global economy.
In a Wall Street Journal video about the first iPrep, Superintendent Carvalho said, " There's no reason schools should be boring, should be monotone, or should disengage young people today."
Learning labs. Florida's class size restricts led to unintended consequences of limiting secondary school access to critical courses. Learning labs powered by FLVS was Miami Dade's solution. Labs are staff by a facilitator and courses are taught by FLVS teachers. The labs not only extend access to core curriculum, they provide credit recovery and advanced options for Dade students.
There are learning labs in two thirds of Dade secondary schools and 314 learning labs across Florida--14,000 students enrolled in 23,000 courses.
Learning laps facilitate what Innosight Institute calls self-blends where students enroll in online courses for a portion of the day. The are a great way to extend access to hard to staff AP and foreign language courses. FLVS offers rolling enrollment which facilitates individual circumstances.
Miami Dade is expanding digital learning opportunities for secondary students with new flex academies and learning labs--an example every district should be following.
FLVS is a Getting Smart Advocacy Partner. | <urn:uuid:33ad543e-4296-4c42-b927-98bbe259ca7d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/on_innovation/2012/10/iprep_the_miami_flex.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00181-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951043 | 548 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Most recent news reports surrounding Oklahoma State government and politics have been largely negative. Yet in approximately one month, a beautiful and unifying event is set to take place at the State Capitol, one that brings people from various political and personal backgrounds together.
I refer to Rose Day, the annual pro-life event that takes place inside the State Capitol each February. Now in its 27th year, the Rose Day event continues to be a unifying force for good and for the unborn in this state.
In recent years, some 16 life-protecting laws have been passed in Oklahoma, and our state has been named near the top of Americans United for Life’s list of pro-life friendly states in recent years.
And yet, the tragedy of human abortion continues apace in America and right here in Oklahoma. In fact, Oklahoma has seen the number of abortion businesses double in the last 12 months, and we are only beginning to understand the devastating toll chemical abortion is taking.
To compound matters, elements of the pro-life movement face increased hostility from pro-abortion forces, including power groups like Planned Parenthood. For these reasons and more, that is why it is so important to gather for Rose Day each year.
By coming to the Capitol with red roses in hand to deliver to the Governor, Lt. Governor and your state legislators, you are saying we want—we demand—life-protecting laws in our state.
Some will tell you abortion can be outlawed in America overnight. While I hope that is true, we understand that, like William Wilberforce working to abolish slavery in the British Empire before us, efforts like these often take years, even decades to change hearts, minds and laws.
The 2018 Rose Day on Wed., Feb. 7 (rose distribution at 9:30 a.m., indoor rally at 11:30 a.m. in the 4th floor State House Chamber) will feature a variety of important elements, including music, testimony, and a keynote address by Alveda C. King, the niece of the famed Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and longtime pro-life activist.
A sought-after speaker, King currently “serves as a pastoral associate and director of Civil Rights for the Unborn, the African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries. She is also a voice for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, sharing her testimony of two abortions, God’s forgiveness, and healing.”
King “sees the prolife movement as a continuation of the civil rights struggle,” and she is exactly right. The only question left then is, will you be part of this great struggle for the unborn?
Through fervent prayer and by participating in events like Rose Day (www.bgco.org/roseday), your voice for the unborn will be heard. Whether you are a pastor, Sunday School teacher, deacon or church member, we need you. This is a life-and-death issue. Your voice could make all the difference for unborn boys and girls now in the womb, and in future generations.
At the outset of his Parliamentary career, Winston Churchill famously said, “I stand for liberty.” The rest of Churchill’s prestigious career would give life and witness to his stand.
When we take part in Rose Day, we are saying collectively, “We stand for life.” This Feb. 7 at the Oklahoma State Capitol, will you stand with us? | <urn:uuid:5cbd5c75-5d9b-4fc8-8a2c-d85d75d694bb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.baptistmessenger.com/conventional-thinking-we-stand-for-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573908.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820043108-20220820073108-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.949657 | 722 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Author Topic: What are tree rings, and do all trees grow at the same rate? (Read 11554 times)
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The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large. | <urn:uuid:c3bfd935-7e5a-4655-a444-1e39f599d21f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=6259.0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719136.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00467-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.841291 | 108 | 2.046875 | 2 |
(Above) Seahorse © Julie Hatcher (below) Undulate Ray © Peter Tinsley
Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is shocked and bitterly disappointed that Studland Bay has not been included in the latest MCZ (Marine Conservation Zone) public consultations.
23 other sites around England are being considered, as well as additional conservation features for the Chesil Beach and Stennis Ledges MCZ and the South Dorset MCZ, which were designated after the last public consultations.
DWT’s Marine Awareness Officer, Julie Hatcher said, “Currently there is still no protection in place for Studland Bay, despite clear ecological evidence in support of the designation, and Natural England identifying it as a site at high risk of damage. During a survey carried out in 2013, 88% of boaters questioned* expressed support for protection for Studland Bay.”
Studland Bay important for both seahorses, fish and undulate ray
Studland Bay is home to a large seagrass meadow, which is a priority conservation habitat and important for both UK seahorse species the spiny seahorse and the short snouted seahorse. It also provides a nursery area for a range of commercial fish species such as bream, plaice, sole, pollack and bass, and for the endangered undulate ray.
Julie adds: “DWT believes that management measures are available that will allow recreational boaters to carry on visiting the bay and strengthen the local economy. Defra has not taken into account that there are potential economic benefits of designating the site and restoring it to its full health.”
How you can help Studland Bay
DWT is looking for as much support as possible to get Studland Bay considered in the next set of public consultations. To send an email to Defra asking them to consider this important site for protection, visit www.wildlifetrusts.org/saveMCZs. To sign up to become an MCZ friend at www.wildlifetrusts.org/MCZfriends.
*The Studland Seagrass Report 2013 written by Darren Lloyd and Lynn Marsland, Studland wardens who carried out a questionnaire of boaters at Studland from their kayak.
For more information please contact Sally Welbourn at Dorset Wildlife Trust on 01305 264620 or 07436158325.
Working for a secure future for Dorset’s wildlife enriching the quality of life
Follow us on Twitter @dorsetwildlife and facebook.com/dorsetwildlife
Dorset Wildlife Trust works to champion wildlife and natural places, to engage and inspire people and to promote sustainable living. Founded in 1961, DWT is now the largest voluntary nature conservation organisation in Dorset, with over 25,000 members and over 40 nature reserves. Most are open daily and there are visitor centres providing a wealth of wildlife information at Brooklands Farm, Lorton Meadows, Kingcombe Meadows and Brownsea Island Nature Reserves, The Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve and the Urban Wildlife Centre at Upton Heath Nature Reserve. DWT plays a key role in dealing with local environmental issues and leads the way in establishing the practices of sustainable development and engaging new audiences in conservation, particularly in the urban areas. | <urn:uuid:9ca95a4d-98e6-4038-bac8-e98085c19e0c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/Disappointment_for_Studland_Bay_protection_plans.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00128-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924385 | 682 | 2.125 | 2 |
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Oxytocin is a peptide consisting of nine amino acids that acts as a neurotransmitter in biological systems. It is known for its roles during and after childbirth, however, it is also the focus of many research projects investigating treatment of disorders such as depression and autism. As such, the concentration of oxytocin found in patient serum is often of interest. Presented here is a method for analysis of oxytocin in serum samples using the Hitachi Chromaster HPLC with diode array detection. | <urn:uuid:6fcdaf45-3c5a-411f-a793-0fa454d1c9e3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hitachi-hightech.com/us/library/application/analysis-oxytocin-serum-using-chromaster-hplc-diode-array-detection.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.974411 | 107 | 2.125 | 2 |
Distance from Austin, TX to Waxahachie, TX is 166Miles or 268 Km. You can get this distance about 2 hours 28 mins. If you want to planning travel with plane for 156 Miles or 251 Km, You can get this distance about 50 mins .
A car with an average MPG will needs 7.69 gallons of gas to get the route between these points.
The estimated cost of gas to get between Austin, TX and Waxahachie, TX is $17.46.
During the route, an average car will release 150.66 pounds of CO2 to the atmosphere. Your carbon footprint is 0.91 pounds of CO2 per mile.
* Average US MPG used for calculations is 21.6 MPG.
* Average US gas price used for calculation is 2.27 per gallon.
* Coordinates of Austin, TX is 30.2671031, -97.7430795 and coordinates of Waxahachie, TX is 32.3865255, -96.8483316 | <urn:uuid:1f87222c-47f0-409e-962d-b68bd790936a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.distancebetweencities.net/austin_tx_and_waxahachie_tx/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00061-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897598 | 214 | 1.523438 | 2 |
40 Bible Verses about joyful
Most Relevant Verses
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
“For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
We will sing for joy over your victory,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man despises his mother. | <urn:uuid:dbb0a993-6490-4e61-8d4b-17377a189809> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Joyful | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.930975 | 403 | 1.804688 | 2 |
How to use Grabbing in a sentence
He moved swiftly, ducking down and grabbing her ankle.
He jumped up, grabbing a paper towel to clean up the mess.
Alex said, grabbing the reins.
Josh was instantly beside her, grabbing her arm and twisting her to face him.
Grabbing her purse, she ran out the door.Advertisement
Grabbing her canteen and a feed sack, she leaped from the wagon.
Grabbing an armful of the hay they had packed around the supplies in each wagon, she dropped it on the sand and the mules eagerly began devouring it.
Jackson recovered first, grabbing her around the waist.
Carmen lunged at Josh, grabbing his arm and jerking on it.
Josh pulled his truck through the gate and leaped out, grabbing his shotgun from the rack behind the seat.Advertisement
Grabbing the rope, she pulled it back a little way from the creek.
Carmen said, grabbing her hand and kissing the chubby little fingers.
Grabbing the canteens, she headed for the spring.
He disappeared, and she stared after him for a long moment before grabbing as many weapons as she could carry and returning to her room.
Instead of grabbing her, he slid something cool around her neck.Advertisement
She followed them and set her cocoa down on the counter, grabbing the whiskey and retreating with the intent of drinking herself to sleep.
Grabbing the flashlight, she shined it into his eyes, screaming again.
Grabbing her shoulders, he stared down at her.
Grabbing her robe, she hurried to the living room.
Grabbing the receiver, she answered breathlessly.Advertisement
Grabbing a bucket, she headed for what used to be her goat dairy.
It was day three, and she was no closer to grabbing it.
Grabbing her hands, he pushed her back on the bed and held her down.
He signaled to the other insurgent, who obeyed and moved forward, grabbing the dead man's ankles and hauling him out.
Elise demanded, grabbing her with a shake.Advertisement
Grabbing his wobbly, stumbling partner, the man made a dash for the curb, nearly knocking down Fred O'Connor, who was only steps from the bar.
Grabbing the scrub sponge, she started cleaning the oven again.
He kept grabbing my arm.
Grabbing a paper towel, she began wiping the eggs off and putting them in cartons people had given her.
Grabbing the saddle horn, he pulled himself up, but didn't get his other foot high enough.Advertisement
She slid, bounced and screamed her way to the edge of the cliff, finally stopping her descent by grabbing the base of a bush.
Grabbing a wash cloth, she moistened it with cold water.
Grabbing a rag, she exited the laundry into the courtyard.
Grabbing her purse, she darted for the door.
Grabbing her purse, she got out and joined him.Advertisement
Jessi struggled to keep from running across the road and grabbing her cousin.
Rhyn rolled his eyes and got up, grabbing an orange off the fruit basket on Sasha's desk.
She hesitated, reviewing what the inmates had told her about grabbing the robed man's necklace.
Grabbing the edge of it, she tugged it toward the hole.
He slid back away from the table, grabbing a napkin to dam the tea from the edge of the table.Advertisement
He caught up with her where the hallway turned, grabbing her waist and turning her around.
Grabbing her cell phone, she called Connie's number.
Anywhere was better than living with that no-good woman chasing, land grabbing thing that called himself a father.
As her body flew over it, she saw the snake's fangs sink into Ed's upper leg – and then she was tumbling down the hill, grabbing at anything available and hoping it wasn't a snake.
Bring your left foot up to your left buttock, grabbing your foot with your left hand.Advertisement
No. 4 Key, King's Dock, offering 400 m of quayside and three 10-tonne capacity grabbing cranes.
So after grabbing the first (of many) caffeine rushes we take our place for the first of many horrific delectations.
It was Jay King who with an outrageous dummy left the Shelford fullback Astin grabbing for thin air as he went in unopposed.
These attacks on an almost hard-wired complacency are vital in terms of grabbing the audience and demanding that they listen.
For now, we'll just have to keep letting number 27 grabbing the headlines!Advertisement
Nick Read 7/10 Overcame a nervous start (24 off his first four overs) to bowl with control, grabbing two wickets.
Once baby becomes more mobile, you may need to distract her from grabbing her older brother or sister's things.
Choosing a marine battery charger is not as simple as just walking into a store and grabbing something off the shelf.
The convenience of just grabbing flowers in season to decorate your home will probably do a good job of squelching any desire to have a specific type of flower in your home at all times.
Some merchants offer these cards to customers; in some instances buying one of these cards is as easy as grabbing one from a grocery store kiosk and then funding the card at the register.
A travel mug is best for grabbing coffee on the way to work.
Natural Cleaning Wipes - The natural cleaning wipes can be used on counters, stainless steel, granite, sinks, toilets … nearly any surface that is dirty can be quickly and easily cleaned by grabbing a Natural Cleaning Wipe.
Most people start interior design projects by grabbing some pencils and paper and starting to sketch.
That'll keep the tanner from grabbing on too much, which in turn will make your tan more even from head to toe.
With on screen film cosmetic demands and application woes, lip gloss helped Max Factor add the shine necessary shine to create an attention grabbing pout without layering color endlessly.
While standing in the kitchen after dinner, try grabbing a sponge with some soap and start making tiny little clockwise circles in the sink as you emulsify the bubbles under soft running water.
I've always been one of those women petrified of showing up in red lips; after all, that's very attention grabbing.
If you are grabbing a cup of coffee, smoking a cigarette or taking a drink, you have to know this is not way to unwind.
Pants tend to be heavy and tight, while socks should be colorful and attention grabbing.
Instead of just grabbing a bag of chips without thinking about its impact on your body, stop and consider if you should really eat it.
They're memorable, unique, and fantastic at grabbing attention.
You will miss not having that first cigarette of the day with your paper, coffee or grabbing one when you feel stressed.
With the pressure to stay thin always on these women, grabbing a cigarette instead of a snack might seem an obvious choice.
Two noticeable differences are that in college hockey, there is no clutching and grabbing and there is no fighting.
If your new puppy is running around the house like crazy, grabbing for the collar will help you gain control of the situation more quickly than trying to wrestle your dog to the ground.
Since 1881, American gardeners have enjoyed the wintertime ritual of opening their mailbox, grabbing the Burpee flower catalog, and settling by the fire to peruse the gorgeous pictures and descriptions of plants for sale.
Whenever you're looking for something unique, you usually have to take another approach rather than just strolling into your local chain music store and grabbing something off the rack.
If you want to do home repair yourself, there are some things to consider before grabbing your hammer and saw.
Standing in front of your packed closet, aimlessly grabbing the nearest pair of trousers and matching top and slipping into a pair of dress shoes is your early morning ritual.
You'll probably find a favorite or two that are perfect for grabbing when you want to wear a dress that makes you feel beautiful every time.
Since most people do not remember their dreams for long, get in the habit of waking up and immediately grabbing the pen.
These are the expected results of sleep deprivation or insomnia, but grabbing one full night of sleep does not repair a sleep deficit.
The clean lines and slightly urban style make these the city guy's best friend for looking hot, grabbing attention and feeling good about his accessories of choice.
It's time the finish the fight with Master Chief, so complete the adventure by grabbing a copy of the Halo 3 soundtrack.
Then apologize for grabbing your friend, and convince them to come over and play the game with you.
In Quantum Redshift you race around various richly-detailed tracks grabbing power-ups, shooting your opponents and trying to get first place.
Despite some frustrations with the game, you can still get some enjoyment out of it by grabbing rings in some unusual places, battling enemies and trying out the different Sonic characters' interesting abilities.
Backflips, rope climbing, grabbing ledges and darting across the floor to fire her dual pistols are just a few examples.
These are often great places to find big hit games, sometimes at a discount, while also grabbing any gaming or computing supplies that make your heart go flutter-flutter.
You may also want to give your stems a quick wipe down after you take them off the rack because when grabbing them to take them down, you could inadvertently leave fingerprints on the bowl of your glass.
Hand-eye coordination begins to develop between the ages of two and four months, inaugurating a period of trial-and-error practice at sighting objects and grabbing at them.
Although their grasp is still clumsy, they have acquired a fascination with grabbing small objects and trying to put them in their mouths.
During the latter half of the first year, they begin exploring and testing objects before grabbing, touching them with an entire hand and, eventually, poking them with an index finger.
Penmanship, if taught at all, is best taught using fat crayons or short and stubby pencils, as it forces their little fingers to hold the pencil correctly rather than grabbing it with their whole fist.
For those men that aren't afraid to show off their assets, but want a slightly tamer suit, Koala still offers the standard speedo-type swimsuit bottoms, but in colors and fabrics that are still quite attention grabbing.
The Necessity look is actually a thong bikini, but even that is not the attention grabbing headline; it's the fact that this swimsuit, particularly when wet and in the Shiny Peach color, is completely see-through!
The best effect is achieved when the top is light and attention grabbing - think floral prints and vivid patterns.
Instead of racing through a night of unimpressive mall shopping and grabbing the first thing you see, why not buy a cocktail dress that fits and flatters and is perfect for a special event?
Who cares if you break your neck running to the office kitchen when you see him grabbing a quick cup of coffee?
One of my best friends told me yesterday that he has been texting her to tell her she is hot and cute, and he has also been grabbing her.
While it is still important to be honest, you should also look for an attention grabbing headline that gets your ad noticed!
Unusual engagement rings are attention grabbing.
Keep your eye out for particularly attention grabbing quotes and suggest the editor use them as pull quotes to draw the potential reader into the story.
Grabbing the handles makes it easy to take your Bible anywhere, and can be big help when you have other items you need to carry as well.
A checkbook clutch wallet is the perfect size for grabbing out of a bigger bag, and sized to be able to include your checkbook, bills, cards, ID, coins, and small essentials.
This makes grabbing it from the baggage carousel quick and easy.
While visiting the Hard Rock Café, it would be hard to simply stop by without grabbing a bite to eat.
If you are in the habit of grabbing a quick lunch from the local fast food restaurant, packing a nutritious low-calorie lunch will benefit your wallet as well as your waistline.
For this exercise, stand on top of your band, grabbing the ends in while holding your arms at your side.
Ensure that you don't fall into that category by grabbing a measuring tape and measuring just under your arms and above your breast.
As country club employees, the cast sings about getting their work done, grabbing their paychecks and heading out to enjoy the cash that they've earned.
Unfortunately many men make the mistake of grabbing a simple bar of soap when it's time to clean up.
Rules went into play in the professional league to stop players from grabbing facemasks almost right away.
The sound of bodies hitting the stone floor behind her preceded Darkyn grabbing her by a few seconds.
He turned to leave, grabbing a protesting Ginger by the arm.
Dean caught sight of Paulette Dawkins grabbing wildly at a purple contribution.
Fitzgerald answered but Dean intervened, grabbing the old man's arm.
She backed away slowly, flashing the light on the forms, and then ducked into the barn, grabbing a feed sack she remembered throwing beside the barn door.
Grabbing the worn roots of an old tree, she climbed out of the pool.
He smiled, grabbing her hand, turning it palm up and planting a soft kiss in the middle.
Plumping Lips Glaze, but on any shopping trip I have a tendency to wander to the makeup and skincare aisles to check out new products and attempt to have the willpower to refrain from grabbing all the delicious new beauty finds.
Grabbing her clothes and the towel, she took them to the laundry room.
Grabbing the saddle horn, she vaulted into the saddle and kicked the horse into a run.
Grabbing a camera, he hopped out into the fury of the storm, "for a few quick lightning shots."
Grabbing a towel, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
Grabbing the bra and panties, she went to the living room and threw them into the fireplace. | <urn:uuid:bb53bf53-1b8e-4523-9df3-9a53c4c55f07> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sentence.yourdictionary.com/grabbing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572870.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817062258-20220817092258-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.960775 | 2,991 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Finally, the seminar will explore any gaps in the area of accreditation and standards of restorative justice. Pulling together the excellent work that has been done by a number of organisations will allow the movement to reflect on what has been done and, in consultation, decide what remains to be achieved.
.... It has been almost 3 years since the European Institute of Crime Prevention and Control affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) published Gavrielides T (2007) “Restorative justice theory and practice: addressing the discrepancy”. The book's fundings and recommendations were based on five surveys conducted over a period of 7 years some focusing on the use of restorative justice in the UK, others covering international practices and others examining serious and complex cases.
There is consensus in the literature that there is still a long way to go before the restorative justice movement can safely claim that its practitioners, researchers and policy makers are all moving in the same direction.
To collect new and additional evidence that will help bridge the persistent gap in the restorative justice movement, the project will carry out fieldwork in the form of a series of expert, international seminars. These will be carried out in partnership with the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR) at Open University. | <urn:uuid:6541c741-f6aa-49aa-b7c2-7fec9ab4292b> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://restorativejustice.org/rj-library/drawing-together-research-policy-and-practice-for-restorative-justice/12319/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720941.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00518-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93995 | 262 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Measurements of particle number density and Fuchs surface area, together with a range of gaseous pollutant concentrations, have been made in June 1995 at a coastal site in eastern England which receives air from a range of polluted and less polluted origins. Periods of enhanced local particle production were identified and found to be associated predominantly with relatively polluted air sectors. An examination of the factors contributing to homogeneous nucleation and hence new particle production suggests that those most important at this location are probably the production of hydroxyl radicals and the availability of ammonia. A numerical modeling study calculating characteristic timescales for new particle production and for condensation onto existing aerosol surfaces is able to predict periods of new particle production. The model suggests that oxidation of dimethyl sulphide and sulphur dioxide and homogeneous nucleation of sulphuric acid and water, probably in combination with ammonia, are the source of new particles at this site. | <urn:uuid:205680d1-63b1-4b9e-b942-7d7b4b3d6800> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/observations-of-new-particle-production-in-the-atmosphere-of-a-moderately-polluted-site-in-eastern-england(9b500157-f689-457c-84c5-b5549829cad9).html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00082-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946378 | 185 | 2.359375 | 2 |
This Java applet computes alcohol-by-weight (ABW) and alcohol-by-volume (ABV) given the specific gravity (Original Gravity) and temperature of the "green" beer and the specific gravity (Final Gravity) and temperature of the finished beer.
Since temperature effects specific gravity of a liquid, this must be taken into account when measuring gravities of beer and wort. The benchmark temperature is 60 degrees fahrenheit. Any deviation from this requires adjustment. This calculator performs this adjustment based on the Hydrometer Correction tables in The Home Brewer's Companion, by Charlie Papazian and the The Brewer's Companion by Randy Mosher. | <urn:uuid:c8720e3a-9261-43f8-9f16-0157a81a1247> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://djmphotography.com/www/Brewing/Homebrewing/Applets/JDK112/Gravity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571911.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813081639-20220813111639-00473.warc.gz | en | 0.885868 | 135 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Are you worried about genetically modified trees replacing what was once known a nature? Protection groups from around the globe have unified to publicly condemn the US government for allowing the first genetically modified tree to be legalized with zero government or public oversight and zero environmental risk assessments. What’s more, the decision was made despite overwhelming public opposition.
A letter from the USDA to GE tree company ArborGen dated last August was recently exposed by scientist Doug Gurian-Sherman of the Center for Food Safety. It appears that the USDA, in all its glory, decided to allow ArborGen to pursue unregulated commercial cultivation of a genetically modified loblolly pine for altered wood composition. These trees could be planted anywhere – without you knowing.
Biologist Dr. Rachel Smolker of Biofuelwatch says:
“If these GE loblolly pines are released on a large scale in the US, there will be no way to stop them from cross contaminating native loblolly pines. This is deliberate, irreversible and completely irresponsible contamination of the environment with unknown and possibly devastating consequences. Forest ecosystems are barely understood, and the introduction of trees with genes for modified wood characteristics could have all manner of negative impacts on soils, fungi, insects, wildlife, songbirds, and public health. And all this for short term commercial profit.”
Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of Center for Food Safety, said:
“Forests are complex ecosystems, and GE trees could be very disruptive. Instead of protecting our precious natural forests, USDA is allowing ArborGen to make a complete end-run around the regulatory system with this GE pine.”
‘Transgenic’ trees are touted as:
- A means to increase productivity, including the increase of wood fibers and wood pellets needed for paper production.
- Restore certain diseased or damaged tree species.
- A means for toxic cleanup and bioremediation that will help to remove heavy metals, and reduce contaminated soils.
- Fast growing, non-GMO trees are not looked to as a resource. Bamboo, for example, is fast-growing and is a carbon sink.
- The level of disease in GMO-planted forests is not yet determined, and since GMO crops have led to super bugs and weed-resistant super-weeds, assuming that GMO forests would be any different is less than logical.
There is no question that the genetically modified foods infiltrating our food supply could be causing negative health effects and compromising the quality of the ecosystem.But the genetic modification we’re working so hard to prevent goes beyond the food supply, as even trees are being genetically engineered. Some experts say that these genetically modified trees are even more environmentally-damaging than GM foods.
In one documentary, Dr. Suzuki explains how the issues concerning genetic engineering revolves around using horizontal gene transfers, as opposed to vertical gene transfers, to create the genetic abominations. Vertical gene transfer deals with moving genes from the parent generation to offspring via sexual or asexual reproduction. Horizontal gene tranfers deals with injecting a gene from one species into a entirely different species – something that leads to unpredictable outcomes.
What do you think of introducing genetically engineered trees?
||Mike is the co-founder, editor, and researcher behind Natural Society. Studying the work of top natural health activists, and writing special reports for top 10 alternative health websites, Mike has written hundreds of articles and pages on how to obtain optimum wellness through natural health. | <urn:uuid:4f5c1d0a-2b53-47a9-b336-4ec22cc13122> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://naturalsociety.com/new-genetically-modified-tree-approved-usda-no-assessments/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720026.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00457-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942555 | 712 | 3.046875 | 3 |
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